Yhwach has been revived again.
After calmly stating this sentence, Mayuri seemed to emphasize it by repeating at this moment:
"And that guy... seems to have become even stronger."
As if it was difficult to understand this phenomenon.
Even Mayuri himself couldn't help but half-turn his head to look beside him at this moment.
Only then did Seiya notice the other people present.
Among them was Yamamoto, with a tired face and withered appearance. Seiya nodded slightly to acknowledge him.
His gaze naturally shifted to the other people beside him.
Ichigo, Uryu... and many high-ranking figures from the Soul Society, almost all the high-level officials who could influence the Gotei's decisions were here.
Even Aizen was among them.
A certain guy wearing a hat with a miserable expression noticed Seiya's gaze.
He seemed somewhat excited, his eyes brightening slightly as he raised his right hand, pointing to his own face.
"Do you still remember me?"
"No, no impression. I only know through advance information... You are the current Captain-Commander, Kyoraku, right?"
The other's face showed obvious disappointment.
It seemed that wasn't what he wanted to hear, but... worthy of being the so-called Captain-Commander, his emotional control ability was definitely not fake.
He quickly adjusted his emotions.
Kyoraku, who had returned to normal, coughed lightly twice. After pondering for a moment, he said with slightly focused eyes:
"Since everyone is here, let's go through everything from the beginning... Urahara-san?"
"Here~"
Urahara, who had been hiding in the back, suddenly appeared.
After all, he had a 'familiar' relationship with Seiya, plus his position was outside the Soul Reaper group, so this guy's attitude was quite casual.
At this moment, taking out a fan from who knows where, while waving it, he said in a light tone:
"If we're going through everything from the beginning, then we must praise Arima-kun's efforts!"
"Really amazing, completely beyond what someone of my level could imagine... honestly, I thought you were going to lose at one point."
"But I didn't expect you could display such power in the end. It seems our planning back then wasn't wrong, this was indeed the correct path."
Of course.
The praise was only to an appropriate degree.
Urahara folded his fan, his gaze slightly focused, speaking in a slowed tone at this moment:
"But from the results... it seems we were doing useless work?"
Not minding using the sharpest tone to evaluate the current situation, this was also why Kyoraku was willing to give him the right to speak.
After all, among the people present, only this guy was most qualified to say such things...
"Everyone, do you know of a sacred song that has been passed down among Quincies for generations?"
"According to legend, the Quincy King will regain his heartbeat in 900 years, regain his intellect in 90 years, and regain his power in 9 years..."
"Although it's just a saying used to boost faith and cohesion, conversely, don't these things also have a reference value?"
Without waiting for others to answer.
Urahara had already given the answer himself.
"That's naturally affirmative."
"Quincy power is completely different from our system."
"We Soul Reapers, as individuals, become stronger through continuous training, complete individuals who strengthen themselves."
But.
"Quincies are somewhat... no, rather, they're different from all living beings."
Urahara raised both hands, making two '1' gestures, then slowly brought them together until they touched.
"Strictly speaking... all Quincies in the world are just seeds that Yhwach scattered to the outside world to extend his own life."
That's right, exactly.
Urahara emphasized by repeating:
"Seeds..."
If one had to describe it, Yhwach was like a lazy gardener who didn't want to expend effort.
"He only needs to divide and deploy his own power, then quietly wait for the time to come."
Seeds would struggle continuously to survive.
Absorbing nutrients, breaking through soil, witnessing sunlight after countless hardships, glimpsing a corner of true freedom.
"Everyone should understand up to this point, right? Then... next we'll encounter some things that don't quite conform to common sense."
Urahara's gaze fell on Ichigo at the edge, but quickly moved away.
"As the gardener, Yhwach has always held the lifeline of all Quincies."
"As long as he's willing, all Quincies can be harvested by him, with their given life and power reclaimed."
"This is also the essence of the ability called 'Auswählen.' It's a time bomb that Yhwach has buried deep within all Quincies."
Ichigo's brow furrowed unconsciously, as if recalling some past events.
But now wasn't the time for sentimentality.
Because Urahara's theory hadn't stopped there.
"Of course, if it were just these theories, it would still be far from enough to support what we want to say."
So there was room for further advancement.
"In fact, we originally thought Auswählen was just simple directional harvesting. But that's not the case..."
"Auswählen had already laid three checkpoints 900 years ago, and this is the source of Yhwach's ability to continue resurrecting."
"If everyone imagines it a bit, you should understand, right? The question is... why could Yhwach regain his heartbeat after 900 years?"
After a moment's pause, Urahara said softly:
"Because of Auswählen."
"This is the first step of soul harvesting, by reclaiming the power he scattered, allowing that broken corpse to regain vitality..."
"What an emotional power, having been directly slashed by the former Captain-Commander, with even the corpse burned and roasted beyond recognition."
Moreover.
"As we know."
"The weight between souls is different."
"The stronger a person is, the more exaggerated the price needed to do similar things."
So following this theory...
"To take this first step, everyone, what kind of price do you think this requires?"
Unimaginable.
But this was the fact, and the source of Yhwach's power.
"Then following this theory, the arrival of the next 90 years would be the second round of harvesting."
"Kurosaki-kun..."
A very sudden calling out.
Making the person involved look up slightly stunned, meeting Urahara's gaze.
The shop owner's expression rarely showed some reluctance, his tone becoming somewhat subtle.
"Regrettably, your situation... is inseparably connected to this."
The same was true for Uryu.
After brief silence, it was still Ichigo who responded.
"It's fine, I was already mentally prepared... Urahara-san, please continue."
This public execution-like measure wasn't simply to reopen wounds.
But needed to use facts to further prove his ideas.
After all, simple speculation was always just castles in the air, and baseless speculation had no credibility.
And now with Ichigo's help.
Urahara's proof reached its final stage.
"Yhwach used two Auswählen in 900 and 90 years, selecting and restoring different stages of power for himself."
"Undoubtedly, during this period he definitely didn't have the ability to actively use this power... so we can only believe he made preparations in advance and laid much groundwork for this behavior."
"Then everyone, in these final 9 years, there must also be Yhwach's final 'method' hidden."
And this was the truth behind Yhwach's resurrection.
The layout he had buried for a thousand years would absolutely not allow this situation of 'dying before achieving success' to occur!
At this very moment, from an unknown angle, Yhwach had already passed through this final Auswählen, recalling his consciousness and power.
Undoubtedly.
When he returned, Yhwach would possess even more exaggerated power than before.
After understanding the logic here, everyone present was immediately in an uproar.
Many people began discussing, in contrast... the few who could still maintain calm expressions spontaneously stood outside the formation.
Seiya watched as everyone gathered toward him, with Urahara at the front showing him a rather tired expression.
"Convincing these people... really isn't easy."
Seiya was silent for a moment.
"Thank you for your hard work."
"Thanks~ Also, I have something I want to confirm."
Urahara glanced at Seiya with a subtle look, then said softly:
"Were these situations also within your expectations?"
Seiya shook his head without hesitation.
"Of course not..."
He even had the mood for jokes.
"If I had known this earlier, would I have needed to fight him so desperately... This guy is too hard to kill."
While sighing, Kyoraku stepped forward and said:
"Well... overall, it shouldn't be a bad thing, right? After all, according to Urahara-san's theory, Auswählen is actually a large-scale blood-sucking."
"Following this line of thought, can we understand... that the current Yhwach has almost exhausted his reserve power?"
"After all, this is energy that could revive him again."
As if to confirm his thoughts, Nanao beside him nodded repeatedly and said:
"After Yhwach's defeat, many Quincies who hadn't been suppressed or captured also disappeared with the emergence of black mist."
Taken away foot soldiers?
In that case... except for some necessary figures, the Quincy side must have also suffered heavy losses?
"Unable to die at the hands of Soul Reapers, but instead slaughtered by Yhwach in this way..."
Uryu said these words softly, finally closing his eyes.
Frowning deeply... the beliefs and persistence passed down through generations of the Ishida family made him absolutely unable to approve of Yhwach's behavior!
Urahara looked around twice, sensing the subtle atmosphere, and laughingly tried to smooth things over.
"Speaking of this, we really owe thanks to Ishida-kun's help this time..."
After all, without Uryu's help, they would have been completely unable to detect information about Yhwach's side, let alone confirm news of his revival.
Ichigo looked at him strangely.
"When did you make your move?"
The latter had a completely dismissive expression.
"Even if I told you, you wouldn't understand..."
"That's a bit harsh?!"
Only Seiya vaguely recalled the two figures that had disappeared from the royal guard during his previous battle with Yhwach.
Uryu and Haschwalth.
The strength of these two after using their Schrift abilities was basically similar. Without completely tearing apart their relationship and determining a winner... it would be difficult for them to compete.
Using completely opposite abilities, quietly slipping some harmless things to the other side... didn't seem difficult.
After sorting through these thoughts, Aizen's voice came at this moment.
"So, given the current situation, what should we do next?"
A stronger opponent was about to make a comeback.
And the Soul Society side seemed unable to produce any more concrete and effective responses or power?
Surrender?
Of course not...
But Kyoraku couldn't help sighing at this moment.
"Indeed, at the final moment, we still need to ask those few for help..."
...
At the same time.
On the Wandenreich side.
The empire that had always been filled with oppression and solemnity was now permeated with the aura of 'death.'
People appeared scattered throughout the streets and alleys.
Their manner of death was remarkably consistent... clutching their throats, eyes bulging, reaching out as if trying to grasp something.
Yet only able to clutch air.
The final Auswählen.
As the price for regaining power, regaining the self, and taking control of everything again.
How many lives would need to be sacrificed?
The answer was naturally straightforward...
Askin covered his nose as he passed these street alleys, the light in his eyes showing nothing but fear besides terror.
All dead.
The former empire, the endless descendants of Quincies... had already drawn a sharp and clear conclusion.
As if from now on, no new Quincies would be born.
The one who had given life had now reclaimed all his rights.
Using poison balls to corrode and clean these corpses... Askin looked up toward the distant platform.
There...
The aura of malice and resentment, like undissolved gel, continuously twisted and rose in the air.
Yhwach was angry.
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Powerstones?
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