"That pair of eyes…"
"Way too terrifying!!!"
"Why does it feel like, just from a single glance, every secret in my body has already been seen through by Yhwach?"
"Could it be… this is his Schrift power, and it lets him know everything?"
In the First Division barracks.
The Shinigami captains' faces changed dramatically.
Just from one look—meeting Yhwach's gaze through the screen from afar—
the next instant,
everyone felt their scalps go numb.
It was as if their bodies—along with their souls, their entire spiritual forms—had turned transparent!
Even though in the footage,
that Yhwach, who was preparing to kill the Soul King,
had all his attention fixed on his standoff with Ichigo Kurosaki, and clearly knew nothing about the viewers outside the screen…
still…
the captains
all experienced the same illusion:
as if those omniscient eyes were staring right at them.
That feeling…
was horrifying beyond words.
A chill that couldn't be explained—pure dread.
In just that brief span,
even the Captain-Commander and every one of them were drenched in sweat, as though the barrier of time and space had been pierced—
as though they had truly seen the future,
standing on the scene inside the Soul King's bedchamber, facing Yhwach in person!!!
"Captain Mayuri…"
"Can you infer what those eyes actually do?"
Shunsui Kyoraku was the first to snap back to his senses. Suppressing his shock, he tilted his head and looked toward Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Among all the captains,
only Mayuri's experience, eyesight,
and his research into strange, complex abilities
might be able to answer something like this!
However…
the reply he gave
left Shunsui—and the other captains nearby—deeply disappointed.
Shaking his head,
beneath the blue-and-white mask, Mayuri's expression was severe. He spread his hands and admitted on his own:
"Heh heh… I'm the same as all of you. This is the first time I've ever seen eyes like these!"
"But… the one thing I can confirm is this—during his battle with Ichibe, it must have been because of these eyes that he defeated him, yes?"
Mayuri spoke with certainty.
Even now, the power of Ichibe's Zanpakuto, Ichimonji, remained vivid in his mind.
That Zanpakuto—
that ability that could practically be called invincible—
had no reason to lose.
Which meant…
Yhwach's power was even more unsolvable. Even more terrifying.
That was why, at the end, he reversed the outcome—killing Ichibe outright—
and even brutally dismembering him!!!
"A power that stands above something akin to a Creator… that grants all things their names, and the meaning of their existence…"
"…seems like the only thing that could surpass it would be… the legendary… omniscience and omnipotence!!!"
After a heavy silence,
Mayuri blurted it out.
In his understanding, "omniscience and omnipotence" had only ever been a concept.
But…
the exposure of Yhwach's eyes,
and the sensation everyone felt simply by meeting that gaze,
gave Mayuri a powerful intuition—
Those eyes!
Those double pupils—the all-seeing eyes!
They carried power that could know the past and the future… everything!!!
That was why,
after that distant eye contact through the screen,
the captains all felt the same unified unease—
as if their very souls had been seen through!!!
———
At the same time,
before the captains could calm down from that anxiety,
from within the screen,
Yhwach's cold, merciless voice sounded again:
"My eyes… can see through everything!"
"The Soul King, you… all of your futures—everything—is within my grasp!!!"
When those words
reached the real world—especially once they reached Hueco Mundo—
the Arrancar army's first reaction
was to freeze in place.
Then, as if in perfect tacit agreement, their gazes all turned toward Aizen on the throne, and they spoke in unison, teasing him:
"Lord Aizen…"
"This bastard Yhwach is even stealing your lines now!"
"Seeing through the future? Controlling everything? What an arrogant tone!!!"
All this time,
the phrase "control everything"
was one of the lines Aizen said most often.
Who would've thought…
once his power was exposed,
Yhwach would start copying him like some cheap knockoff!
Unfortunately,
from Yhwach,
the Hollows and Arrancar didn't feel even a trace of outstanding personal charisma.
On that point, he couldn't compare to Aizen at all!
Even if, at this moment,
the revelation of those all-seeing eyes
did make the Arrancar army feel the same fear the Shinigami captains had…
still…
it couldn't shake their devotion.
Their worship and loyalty toward Aizen remained absolute!!!
That was why this scene of collective disgust happened at all.
"It doesn't matter…"
Upon the throne,
after sensing the Hollows' loyalty,
Aizen wore a faint smile and said calmly:
"At least now, Yhwach's ability is gradually being exposed…"
"As an enemy, that is actually good news for us."
With that,
Aizen's eyes returned to the screen, his gaze locking onto Ichigo Kurosaki.
And what Aizen was even more interested in next
was how Ichigo—
and his twin Zangetsu blades—
would confront Yhwach's Schrift power head-on.
In the entire world of the Shinigami,
Ichigo was the only man qualified to step between them and join that battle.
Aizen
cared about the next moments
far more than anyone else—
every single detail that would be shown from here on out!!!
———
After that,
the video fast-forwarded.
The conversation ended. Ichigo drew his blade.
Holding twin Zangetsu in his hands, with no fear in his eyes, he took the initiative and launched an attack at Yhwach!
"BOOOOM—!!!"
Blade and spiritual pressure collided,
triggering a massive explosion.
A violent shockwave erupted, making the Soul King's bedchamber shake violently as it was damaged and torn apart!!!
"So it finally begins…"
"The second official battle between Ichigo and Yhwach…"
"Compared to last time, now that he has twin Zangetsu, he's clearly improved!!!"
Inside Urahara's shop,
Kisuke Urahara smiled as he spoke in agreement.
Last time,
even though they traded blows for a moment,
Ichigo was quickly suppressed completely—unable to move at all.
In the end, he only narrowly avoided being killed on the spot thanks to the awakening of Blut—
and Aizen's hypnosis prepared in advance!
But this time,
right from the start, they were evenly matched!
And it even looked like he blasted Yhwach right out of the Soul King's bedchamber!
A good opening.
Later… maybe… just maybe…
he really could defeat him!!!
———
Afterward,
above the Soul King's palace—
gold and blue, the two figures crossed and clashed repeatedly, engaging in three fierce exchanges in midair!
Whether it was the collision of spiritual pressure,
the slashing of blades,
or even…
Yhwach continuously releasing two high-level techniques of Quincy power—
"Ring of Suffering!!!"
"Sanctuary Hymn!!!"
He raised a hand.
Spiritual power condensed.
A massive array of light appeared—both offense and defense as one—countless holy reishi arrows bombarding outward!
In an instant,
the entire screen
became brighter than ever before—completely swallowed by blue radiance as that surging power overflowed!
"This is…"
"One of His Majesty's two most commonly used techniques!"
"Looks like he wasn't lying—facing twin Zangetsu… His Majesty is actually being forced to go all out!"
"Ichigo Kurosaki… after upgrading his Zanpakuto, he really has gotten far too strong!"
"Good thing the eight of us didn't fight him to the death back in Seireitei… otherwise we'd probably all have been slaughtered!!!"
At this moment,
watching the footage,
within the Ice Crystal Palace, the pure-blood Quincies all stared wide-eyed.
They were stunned that Yhwach was going all out—
and still couldn't suppress Ichigo.
The fight was completely even!
And with Yhwach as the comparison,
the Wandenreich's strong fighters—especially the eight who had surrounded Ichigo in the previous segment—
Liltotto,
Candice,
and the others…
each secretly let out a breath of relief, feeling lucky.
Thank goodness
when they'd wanted to chase down Ichigo, they had been stopped by the Shinigami captains!
Otherwise,
even if it had been eight against one…
they would've been wiped out.
No one had the right to stand against twin Zangetsu at all!!!
"Still…"
"His Majesty is already going all out!"
"Next, Ichigo Kurosaki should be suppressed, right?"
Lille Barro narrowed his eyes and spoke in a heavy tone.
In the past,
with his usual arrogant mindset—his contempt for Shinigami and every other race—
he would've declared it on the spot:
Ichigo would be killed next, immediately.
But…
after watching that battle,
it really wasn't so easy to say.
Even Lille Barro no longer dared to make a casual judgment!
"Tch…"
Gerard Valkyrie,
on the other hand, was as arrogant as ever.
Arms crossed, he gave a disdainful cold laugh:
"Relax! It's impossible… that twin Zangetsu can just casually cut through His Majesty's techniques, isn't it?"
"I don't believe it! It's just a Zanpakuto—"
However,
before he could finish,
Gerard Valkyrie's expression changed, his pupils widening sharply.
As if he'd witnessed something
impossible—
his face turned to panic, and he couldn't speak a single word!
Yes.
At that moment,
on the screen—
when countless massive holy reishi arrows
were about to lock onto Ichigo from all directions and fire—
right then,
something completely unexpected happened:
"Getsuga Cross!!!"
With a single slash,
dense, surging spiritual pressure—made tangible—
rode along the edge of twin Zangetsu, carving out a golden cross-shaped arc!
In the blink of an eye,
it blew apart the erected reishi light array—
and along with it, all the holy arrows…
even Yhwach's very figure!
After being struck by that cross-shaped slash,
a terrifying explosion erupted—beyond anything words could describe—
and a sky-filling spectacle of shock and devastation followed!!!
"Whoa…"
"This is… a new move?!!"
"Holy—! Ichigo Kurosaki finally has a new move?!"
"Looks like an upgraded version of Getsuga Tenshō—this power is insane!"
"If it weren't Yhwach… if it were anyone else, they'd have been killed on the spot!!!"
In that instant,
after witnessing the destructive effect
caused by Getsuga Cross exploding outward,
viewers around the world erupted in an uproar, their eyes lighting up.
No one expected…
that Ichigo would suddenly unleash a new technique!
And at least for the moment,
just this one move
seemed to suppress Yhwach in return.
It was unbelievably shocking!!!
"Good grief…"
"Even if the name didn't change much, at least he finally has something new."
In Hueco Mundo,
Gin Ichimaru narrowed his eyes and smiled like a fox.
Honestly,
just from this ranking video alone,
the words "Getsuga Cross" were already enough to give him calluses in his ears.
Sure—master one move, and you can eat for life.
That wasn't something shameful!
But…
when Ichigo only ever repeated the same move over and over,
after a while, it naturally got visually tiring. It stopped feeling fresh.
Thankfully,
the new move—Getsuga Cross—was absurdly powerful!
Gin didn't doubt it for a second.
If Ichigo aimed that at Hueco Mundo…
then after a sweep like that cross-shaped slash—
at this very moment, among the Hollows present,
more than ninety percent would be killed instantly!
Even if the Espada survived by sheer luck,
they would still end up grievously wounded!
That was Gin Ichimaru's latest impression
after watching what had just been exposed.
Put simply,
his evaluation of "Zangetsu" rose to an entirely new height!!!
"Gin…"
"You're right."
"And this is only its power in a normal state. Don't forget… twin Zangetsu still hasn't fully—"
Upon the throne,
Aizen's eyes flickered slightly as he praised it as well.
He had to admit—
at that moment in the footage, when the cross-shaped Getsuga detonated—
even Aizen
back when he hadn't fully merged with the Hōgyoku yet,
when he still only possessed the pinnacle of Shinigami power…
his expression had shifted slightly, a subconscious fear and wariness rising in him.
And that
was only through a screen—
only from the feedback of the footage.
One could imagine just how terrifying
the power amplification brought by twin Zangetsu truly was!!!
———
However,
the amazement and shock
were quickly crushed by what came next.
As the video fast-forwarded again,
Yhwach opened his eyes once more and displayed the power of "The Almighty."
The battle flipped.
The outcome plummeted.
Ichigo Kurosaki no longer had any advantage—he was soon beaten down.
His body was covered in wounds.
He was once again struck by Yhwach's controlled power and blasted back into the Soul King's bedchamber.
But—
before the viewers could even react—
next, an unexpected development happened:
Yhwach's figure
was briefly blocked by forces forming around him, as if a defensive armament had taken shape and held him in place.
Seizing that gap,
Ichigo used Shunpo, slipped past Yhwach in a flash,
and appeared directly in front of the sealing crystal.
However…
when he drew out that—
the enormous holy sword Yhwach had previously driven into the crystal—
the next instant,
something no one on Earth expected happened!
"Shhk!!!"
Blood surged.
Blue, blood-like vein patterns
spread rapidly across the surface of Ichigo's body without any warning.
Very quickly, they crawled over and covered
the arm that was gripping the holy sword completely!
And then—against his own will—
his body began to move.
His arm started to lift… and raise the blade again—
as if he were about to swing down—
about to cut open the sealing crystal!
That action—
would mean that Ichigo Kurosaki,
with his own hands,
would kill the Soul King!!!
(End of Chapter)
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