At this moment—
In the video footage, the mysterious Soul King's inner chamber was exposed, revealing its specific interior for the first time.
At the entrance, Yhwach's sinister figure stepped onto the staircase, climbing upward one step at a time as he walked toward the deepest part.
And as the camera continued to move along with him, it was clearly visible that on both the left and right sides of the stairs, there were countless bodies—
All of them already fallen, dead on the ground.
These corpses were the attendant guards who protected the Soul King.
Every one of them had been formidable, yet they were still slaughtered!
Plainly—
After the "Monk Who Calls the True Name" had been dismembered, and Squad Zero had been completely wiped out, ordinary guard forces simply had no way to stop Yhwach!
And before long—
When Yhwach reached the end of the corridor at last…
Right at that moment—
The camera suddenly spun, following his line of sight and locking onto the space ahead.
And then it was revealed outright—
There, floating in midair, was an enormous, special crystal.
Its entire surface emitted a faint glow.
Through the gaps in that light, it was clearly visible:
A dismembered,残—no, a severed body—was sealed and bound inside.
No arms. No legs.
Even the eyes held no emotion, no ripples at all, as if its mind had been stripped away.
In that state—
It was nothing but a limbless stump.
To put it harshly, even livestock in a pigpen lived with more dignity than a "Soul King" like this!
And the moment this scene was exposed by the ranking video and transmitted to the real world—
It instantly triggered an enormous uproar!
Viewers across the entire world, without a single exception, were shocked beyond belief!!!
"What the hell?!"
"No—this… this thing is the Soul King?!"
"The legendary god of the Three Realms looks like THIS? Are you kidding me?!"
"No wonder Lord Aizen refused to remain just a Soul Reaper captain, and spent all that time plotting to replace the Soul King!"
"This kind of… thing… deserves to be called the god of the Three Realms?!"
Shock.
Astonishment.
The entire world erupted into chaos.
At this very moment, nearly every viewer in the Bleach world looked like their eyeballs were about to pop right out of their heads!
It was too outrageous…
No one could have imagined…
In everyone's original expectations, the Soul King should have been an invincible existence—overwhelming power, overwhelming presence, overwhelming abilities.
Yet instead…
He was a pitiful, dismembered cripple.
Imprisoned, too—seemingly without even a will of his own, without even a self to speak of.
No wonder.
He needed Squad Zero to protect him.
Once those five were wiped out, the Soul King didn't even have the ability to protect himself!
All he could do was let intruders violate him however they pleased!
No dignity. No mystique. Nothing.
The gap between the Soul King people had imagined, and the Soul King before their eyes, was simply enormous.
And it was no wonder that once the truth was revealed, viewers around the world couldn't accept it right away—
Because this single scene blew their entire worldview to pieces!!!
"Lord Aizen…"
"After seeing how weak the Soul King looks, I understand you even more… and I support you replacing him."
Inside Las Noches—
The Seventh Espada, Zommari, was the first to recover from his shock.
His eyes brimmed with fervent worship as he lifted his head to look up at Aizen, speaking from the bottom of his heart.
Yes.
In Zommari's eyes—
Aizen's very presence—his handsome face, his strength, his abilities, his bearing, his charisma—
That was what the Soul King should have been like!
Not the useless trash in the footage!
One look at it was enough to make someone furious, enough to make them want to kill it on the spot!!!
In fact—
Zommari had already decided that a broken thing like that couldn't even be called a living being anymore.
It was—
A useless tool that had to exist solely to stabilize the Three Realms.
Therefore—
There was no need to hold any reverence for the Soul King.
On the contrary: supporting Aizen with everything they had, obeying his orders without question—
And one day storming the Soul King's Palace to replace the Soul King—
That was what the Espada, and the entire Arrancar army, should do without hesitation!
"Exactly!" Nnoitra piled on with flattery. "Lord Aizen is wise! Only now that the truth is out can everyone finally understand your foresight!"
Before this—
Including Nnoitra himself—
Every Hollow and Arrancar had believed Aizen was simply a traitor who betrayed the Gotei 13.
A would-be king trying to seize power for himself—nothing more.
But now?
Now it looked like they had misunderstood Aizen all along.
With a "Soul King" like that, who would ever submit?!
Wanting to replace him was completely normal!
The difference was—
Only Aizen had that kind of ambition, and that kind of execution, to carry out a plan spanning more than three hundred years!
In short—
After the previous ranking, Hueco Mundo had already completely submitted to Aizen.
And now—
With the exposure of the "limbless Soul King,"
That emotion only exploded further, intensifying into outright fanaticism!!!
———
Meanwhile—
Inside the First Division.
The Soul Reaper captains felt like the sky was falling.
"…"
Total silence.
At this moment, in the lines to either side, everyone wore the exact same expression—
The same stunned, bewildered look.
"The Soul King…"
"Was he… being raised like livestock?"
"Who did this? Who had the nerve?!"
"To dismember the Soul King… and then imprison him?!"
Kenpachi Zaraki furrowed his brows, utterly unable to understand.
Even someone like him—someone who didn't like thinking—only had to think for a moment to realize something didn't add up.
The Soul King wasn't just some title.
He carried real power—and the power of the Soul King was proof enough.
In the last ranking—
When the Soul King was devoured, the dark torrent that spilled out and fell from him had nearly destroyed the Seireitei!
That alone proved it:
The Soul King's power must originally have been unimaginably strong—supreme beyond all else!
So why…
Why would the ruler of the Three Realms end up like this for no reason?
It made people's heads hurt just trying to process it!!!
"Heh."
"It was probably the ancestors of the Five Great Noble Clans."
"Back in ancient times, only they would have had the means to make the Soul King submit willingly…"
Mayuri Kurotsuchi spoke another bombshell, stating his guess bluntly in front of everyone.
After all—
As the head of the Research and Development Institute, and someone who had entered the Great Archives Corridor many times and pored over its ancient records—
Mayuri had studied the legends of the distant past.
And he had long since begun to suspect the truth.
That was why he dared to say it out loud like this.
Hearing that—
Across from him, Byakuya Kuchiki's expression changed, and his entire demeanor stiffened.
Among everyone present—
He was the only one born into one of the Four Great Noble Clans.
And he was also the current head of the Kuchiki Clan.
So when the topic suddenly turned to the nobles—especially framed as a conspiracy—
Byakuya's reaction was naturally intense, and his shock was immediate.
If Mayuri's guess was correct…
Then wouldn't Byakuya's ancestors be criminals?
Whether it was for selfish reasons—
Or for some other reason—
Either way, it would mean they betrayed the Soul King and committed a grave sin!
An act so horrifying, so disgraceful—
That even Byakuya himself found it difficult to accept.
———
At the same time—
While viewers across the world were still drowning in the massive shock brought on by the Soul King's true appearance—
The video on the translucent screen continued.
At this moment—
Yhwach had already stepped up to the sealing crystal.
His blood-red eyes stared forward with cold indifference as his voice carried open mockery:
"Soul King…"
"Here and now, when you can't even run…"
"As an incomplete god…"
"All the humiliation and torment you have endured across endless ages…"
"I will personally bring it all to an end!"
And then—
After those chilling words—
His next line was even more explosive, instantly setting off another huge uproar:
"Farewell."
"Soul King…"
"My father."
The words—
Carried through the ranking video into the real world—
And the audience erupted again.
This time—
Even the pure-blood Quincy were collectively stunned!!!
"What the hell?!"
"No way…!"
"His Majesty… is the Soul King's son?!"
"Then that means we, the pure-blood Quincy, are the Soul King's descendants?!"
"Then why destroy the Soul King's Palace… and kill the Soul King?!"
"His Majesty's behavior… I have to say, that's some next-level 'filial piety' right there!"
In that instant—
Inside the Ice Crystal Palace, gasps and shouts rose one after another.
Even though the elites of the Wandenreich had always held Yhwach in awe—
Absolute loyalty, absolute devotion—
Still…
Killing your own father—
Just hearing it made people's scalps go numb.
No wonder they couldn't help but complain, feeling that Yhwach's thinking was…
Way too unhinged!!!
"Tch."
"But a useless Soul King like that deserves to die."
"An incomplete person has no right to be called a god!"
Gerard Valkyrie crossed his arms and sneered coldly.
He himself was the Soul King's heart.
So he felt no sense of belonging toward the Soul King.
He recognized only Yhwach, the one who granted him the power of a Schrift…
And besides—
At the end of the previous ranking, he had witnessed it personally:
After devouring the Soul King's power, the darkness-drenched "Soul King Yhwach" possessed a surging force so vast it was practically unfathomable.
Valkyrie wanted the old Soul King dead even more.
Only then—
Only then could the old order be broken.
Only then could the Bleach world be "purified" anew.
In a sense—
That thinking wasn't much different from Aizen's.
In the end, it all came from the same source:
The "limbless Soul King's" ugliness and weakness—creating ambition and extremism in those who saw him.
———
After that—
Under the eager, curious gazes of the pure-blood Quincy—
In the footage—
Yhwach's black cloak flipped back.
He raised his hand and gripped an enormous holy sword.
Then, in full view of the camera, expressionless, he swung it down!
Slash—!!
No surprise. No twist.
Before everyone's eyes, the blade pierced into the crystal, punching through from the outside.
And along with it—
It pierced straight through the Soul King's body as well!!!
In an instant—
A glaring crack spread from the middle of the sealing crystal.
The entire mass was split in two, swaying as it teetered on the verge of collapse!!!
But—
Right at that moment—
Before the viewers could even finish reacting—before anyone could cry out at the thought that the Soul King was truly about to be killed—
Suddenly—
The camera whipped around.
It locked onto the space behind Yhwach—toward the entrance of the Soul King's chamber.
The camera pushed in!
The video zoomed!
And then it revealed it clearly:
Led by Ichigo Kurosaki, the group that had arrived to stop him—his wife and companions—had rushed in!!!
"As expected…"
"The second battle between Kurosaki Ichigo and Yhwach really did take place inside the Soul King's chamber!"
"Looking at the timing, it's perfect—the sealing crystal hasn't been fully cut open yet!"
"And with Orihime Inoue's ability, she should be able to salvage this in time, right?"
Inside Urahara's shop—
Isshin Kurosaki stroked his chin, thinking hard, then spoke carefully.
Even though he knew the outcome—
That the Soul King was destined to be killed and devoured, becoming part of Yhwach's power—
Still…
Every time Ichigo showed up—
As a father, Isshin couldn't help but place his hope in his son.
Besides—
Reviving the dead, or restoring severed limbs—
Orihime had done those things more than once during these rankings already!
So even if the one who needed healing…
Was the Soul King—the former god of the Three Realms—
Isshin still couldn't help but fantasize.
Maybe… just maybe… there was still a chance to save him!!!
But—
The moment he finished speaking, Kisuke Urahara poured cold water all over it.
Shaking his head slightly, eyes lowered beneath the brim of his striped hat, Urahara spoke as if he had already abandoned hope:
"It'll be difficult."
"Even setting aside the sealing crystal—Yhwach is standing right behind it. In terms of distance, he has an absolute advantage."
"And with killing intent, at any moment he can use the sword in his hand… or the power of a pure-blood Quincy…"
"To shatter the sealing crystal—and the Soul King's body with it—in 0.4 seconds."
"And on top of that, subduing Yhwach is the biggest problem of all!"
Even though Urahara had sharply noticed something—
That his old partner, Yoruichi, was also present!
It seemed possible to exploit the "Flash Goddess" speed to pull off something and set a plan in motion—
But…
Up to now, Yhwach's Schrift power still hadn't been exposed.
So Urahara still believed—
Defeating Yhwach inside the Soul King's chamber…
That possibility was simply far too low!!!
———
After that—
Back in the footage—
Because Ichigo and the others had arrived, Yhwach's cold, cruel voice rang out again:
"Kurosaki Ichigo…"
"I've already seen it."
"You and your companions are here to stop me from killing the Soul King, aren't you?"
Facing the camera—
Yhwach spoke without expression.
"Seen it? What do you mean…?" Ichigo frowned.
He didn't understand what that meant.
And at that moment, Orihime, at his side, panicked and warned him—something was wrong with Yhwach's eyes!
Then—
The camera moved.
It framed Yhwach's face in a close-up.
For the first time—
It exposed it:
After opening his eyes through the power of The Almighty—
The all-seeing eyes Yhwach possessed!!!
And once this image was revealed—
Because it came right alongside the concrete ability of Yhwach's Schrift—
The shock it brought was no less than the "limbless Soul King."
A colossal wave rose within the Bleach world!
The viewing atmosphere—
Once again, instantly reached a boiling point!!!
(End of Chapter)
[200 Power Stones = 1 Extra Chapter]
[Check out my Patreon to read 20+ chapters ahead]
[[email protected]/Zukooo]
[Thanks for your support!]