Marrying Unohana Retsu from Bleach

Chapter 37: Chapter 37: Yhwach's Purpose



One of the four gates protecting the Seireitei... The West Gate—Hakudo (White Road Gate). This sector fell under the jurisdiction of the Gotei 13's 1st Division.

Amidst the raging inferno, a figure, not particularly tall but radiating an undeniable majesty, walked silently across the battlefield. 

Corpses littered the ground: fallen Shinigami soldiers and the charred remains of Quincy, reduced to ash by the intense flames. 

Neither the piles of dead nor the cries of the wounded could deter his advance. His resolve was as unyielding as iron, his gaze as sharp as a honed blade.

The man halted only upon receiving a message via Tenjō Kura from Araki.

"Hmm? Has that little brat Araki suppressed the disturbance at the East Gate so quickly?" he muttered, a hint of surprise in his voice. "This... warrants a second look."

He considered that Araki had been the first captain to mobilize, and a flicker of understanding crossed his face.

"Die, Shinigami!"

Just as he finished his thought, several Quincies clad in white Sternritter uniforms leaped from behind a wall of flames, charging towards him.

"Fools," the man holding the flaming Zanpakuto said, his eyes filled with disdain as he watched their reckless assault. "All things in the world turn to ashes." 

"You shall become mere remnants of this blade."

This man was none other than Captain-Commander Yamamoto, the captain of the 1st Division and the leader of the Gotei 13. He swung his zanpakuto, Ryūjin Jakka, unleashing torrents of fire at the attacking Quincy.

BOOM!

Violent flames erupted from Ryūjin Jakka, transforming into a colossal fire dragon that engulfed everything in its path: arrows fired at Yamamoto, Sternritter attempting to engage him in close combat, and even ordinary Quincy kneeling in fear—all were instantly consumed by the inferno, reduced to nothing more than drifting ash. 

Even some Shinigami who had been too wounded to escape were engulfed by the flames.

"Fear not," Yamamoto murmured, his voice resonating across the ravaged landscape. "Your sacrifices shall not be in vain. When this war concludes, I will offer the enemy's heads as solace to your departed souls."

His words were spoken as much to himself as to the countless Shinigami who had perished, their spiritual particles returning to the cycle of reincarnation. 

Yamamoto was a warrior, not a healer; he was not skilled in Kaidō; his purpose was destruction—the annihilation of his enemies. Ryūjin Jakka was the embodiment of this purpose: the Zanpakuto with the greatest offensive power in all of Soul Society, so potent that even allies risked injury from its unleashed power. 

Therefore, Yamamoto chose to fight alone, a one-man army against the Quincy threat.

But Yamamoto was not heartless; he had witnessed the unwavering dedication of the Shinigami across all divisions; he understood the weight of their sacrifice. 

And in his own way, he grieved. The only way he knew to honor their sacrifice was to kill. To kill every enemy that threatened the Soul Society.

Moments later, as Yamamoto sheathed Ryūjin Jakka, the battlefield surrounding the West Hakudo Gate was transformed into a desolate sea of fire. Only Yamamoto remained standing amidst the devastation.

"Chōjirō," Yamamoto called out, his voice echoing across the desolate landscape.

"Here, Master Genryūsai." A gray-clad figure materialized behind him. It was Chōjirō, Lieutenant of the 1st Division.

"Inform all divisions that the enemy forces attacking Hakudo Gate have been personally eliminated by me," Yamamoto stated, his back still turned to his lieutenant.

"Yes, sir." Chōjirō replied, a brief flicker of surprise crossing his face before he composed himself. 

He bit his thumb, drawing intricate patterns on his arm, preparing to activate a high-level Kidō.

"Silken net of black and white! Twenty-two bridges, sixty-six crowning sash, footprints, distant thunder, pointed peaks, revolving grounds, nightly prostrations, sea of clouds, the pale ranks of troops, complete the grand circle and surpass the heavens." (TL/This is the actual chant used in the anime.) 

"Bakudō #77. Tenteikūra!"

"Calling all divisions." Chōjirō announced, his voice amplified by the Kidō. "This is Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe of the 1st Division. The enemy forces attacking Hakudo Gate have been personally eliminated by Captain-Commander Yamamoto! I repeat! The enemy forces attacking Hakudo Gate have been personally eliminated by Captain-Commander Yamamoto!" Chōjirō emphasized Yamamoto's personal involvement, ensuring the message reached every captain in the Gotei 13.

"Excellent work, Chōjirō," Yamamoto acknowledged. Receiving the confirmation of his message's transmission, he turned to face his lieutenant, a rare hint of approval in his eyes.

"It was nothing, sir," Chōjirō replied with a respectful smile; he had served Yamamoto for many years and understood his captain's heart. 

He knew that after receiving Araki's message and witnessing the speed with which the 11th Division Captain had quelled the Quincy at the East Gate, a sense of competition had ignited within Yamamoto. 

As the Captain-Commander and Araki's superior, Yamamoto likely felt the need to demonstrate his own power to prove he was not outdone by his subordinate.

"Very well. Now, order all Gotei 13 divisions to retreat to the interior of the Seireitei," Yamamoto commanded. "Since the Quincy 'Emperor' Araki warned us about is neither at the West Gate nor at the East Gate, it is unlikely he is at the other two gates either."

"It's possible," Yamamoto continued, his tone turning grave, "that he used the assault on the four gates—Hakudo, Sōryū, Kokuryū, and Suimon—as a diversion, leading his personal guard directly into the heart of the Soul Society."

"A troublesome tactic, I underestimated his ambition and his knowledge of the Soul Society's inner workings. But no matter," Yamamoto declared, a fierce light in his eyes. "Let him wreck havoc. I will cut him down myself within the Seireitei." 

He turned his gaze towards the inner districts of the Soul Society, sensing a different kind of danger lurking there.

As if confirming Yamamoto's suspicions...

Yhwach, the Quincy Emperor, had indeed bypassed direct confrontation with the bulk of the Gotei 13. 

He had used the legions deployed at the four gates as a distraction, a sacrifice to pave his way to his true target: the noble districts of the Soul Society.

The once-magnificent palaces, symbols of the Soul Society's elite, now burned fiercely; the ruins spoke of a brutal and swift attack.

"If I take the heads of these five noble families, tainted by the blood of the 'despicable' Soul King," Yhwach said, his voice echoing through the burning ruins, "then you can no longer remain in the Palace, watching me dismantle your world, can you?" He looked upwards, his cold gaze piercing the sky, directed at unseen entities.

From the beginning, his true objective was not the Gotei 13, nor the destruction of the Seireitei itself, but the Royal Palace, where the Soul King resided. 

His attack on the noble families was a strategic move, a way to force the hand of those who dwelled in the Royal Palace.

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