After that, the ranking video continued.
But the scene abruptly cut, revealing the devastated landscape of Hueco Mundo after the war—
As far as the eye could see…
It was pitch-black and lightless.
That artificial "sky-dome" that had shocked viewers time and again in the past had now been completely smashed apart!
Hueco Mundo's environment…
Had reverted to what it used to be: endless darkness.
And that wasn't all. Even the towering pillars around Las Noches, and those pale underground palace structures—
At this moment…
Had already turned into broken walls and ruined rubble!
Anywhere the camera panned, there was no longer a single intact building in sight!
And when this bleak scene was exposed by the ranking video and transmitted into the real world—
Especially inside Las Noches—
When the Hollows and Arrancar saw it…
Everyone's expression changed at once. Alongside the shock and unfamiliarity, anger rose across their faces!
"Damn it…"
Yammy was the first to explode.
Gritting his teeth, he roared, "Those pure-blood Quincy trash! They actually wrecked Hueco Mundo into THIS?!"
"When the Thousand-Year Blood War happens in the future, we're going to invade their territory too—pay them back for every bit of destruction tenfold!!!"
Murderous intent surged clearly in Yammy's eyes.
After seeing that scene, he became even more certain of one thing—
That compared to the Shinigami of the Gotei 13…
The pure-blood Quincy of the Wandenreich were the real number-one enemy!
In the future…
No matter what…
Even if it meant cooperating with the protagonist, Ichigo Kurosaki—
They still had to kill every last pure-blood Quincy first!!!
"Yeah…" Nnoitra gripped his scythe-like weapon, his expression cold as he said, "With more secrets being exposed, their advantage is getting smaller and smaller!"
"And besides, in the later rankings, Ichigo Kurosaki and his 'Zangetsu' are definitely going to keep fighting those pure-blood Quincy nonstop!"
"All we have to do is stay as observers, gather more intelligence, and our chances will keep growing…"
When Nnoitra brought up Ichigo Kurosaki—
And that second-generation Zangetsu that everyone had already acknowledged as a "version-defining artifact"—
His tone was full of gratitude.
When you got down to it…
It was all thanks to the protagonist!
If it weren't for Ichigo Kurosaki—and Zangetsu—
None of the footage in this ranking would have been exposed!
And Hueco Mundo…
The entire Arrancar army…
Could be said to be riding the protagonist's coattails and "lying down for a win" in the future!!!
"Everyone remembers, right?"
"The pure-blood Quincy have that ability called 'Schrift'…"
"In the battles coming up, we need to pay attention to every Schrift shown—maybe even Yhwach's Schrift as well…"
"Surely those will be exposed and explained one by one, too?"
Tier Harribel cut in, proactively reminding them.
As she spoke—
She stood with her arms crossed, her forearms propping up her chest.
It certainly "proved" that—
With Harribel's figure, if she became ruler of Hueco Mundo in the future, no man would object!
"Yhwach's power, huh?"
Hearing that—
On the throne, Aizen's gaze flickered.
In those calm, black eyes, a visible ripple finally appeared.
What he could confirm was this:
In the previous ranking segments—
Whether it was Yhwach fighting the Commander-General, or dueling the "Monk of the Eyes" in the Royal Palace—
In the end…
Yhwach had turned the tables and defeated both Shinigami leaders.
Even though the exact "defeat" footage had been skipped by the ranking video and not shown—
There was no need to think twice.
It had to be connected to Yhwach's abilities!
And what, exactly, those abilities were—this was one of the things Aizen cared about most right now!!!
——
Meanwhile.
The scene cut again.
The battle the viewers had been waiting for… finally happened!
An encounter.
Ichigo Kurosaki—carrying Nelliel on his back—
In a battlefield that had just seen fighting—
Ran head-on into a powerful member of the Sternritter!
"Hm?"
"A Shinigami carrying an Arrancar on his back? That's rare…"
"But… Ichigo Kurosaki, I know your name!!!"
A military cap on his head.
The Wandenreich's white uniform—exclusive to pure-blood Quincy.
His Schrift: "J".
Its meaning: The Jail.
He was the Wandenreich's—
Hueco Mundo Hunting Force Captain: Quilge Opie!
At this moment—
Facing the camera—
With a hint of amusement in his eyes, he confronted Ichigo directly!
And when this footage was exposed—
When it reached the real world and the pure-blood Quincy saw it—
It instantly caused a massive uproar!
The silent Ice Crystal Palace became lively again in an instant!
"Quilge…"
"No way—Ichigo Kurosaki's first opponent is YOU?"
"As a Sternritter, you should be able to give him plenty of trouble, right?"
Valkyrie pulled his lips into a grin.
Arrogantly crossing his arms, he turned toward the crowd behind him as he spoke.
At this moment—
Within the crowd—
Quilge Opie himself, the man involved, clearly looked surprised.
For a moment, he even seemed flustered—obviously not mentally prepared.
But…
The arrogance in his bones—
And the pride and confidence that came with being a Sternritter—
Let him steady himself quickly.
With complete confidence, he replied, "In terms of raw combat power, I might not necessarily beat Ichigo Kurosaki and his Zangetsu!"
"But…"
Quilge paused.
Pushing up his glasses, he said decisively, "His Majesty sent me to Hueco Mundo—so he must have already foreseen that Ichigo Kurosaki would come here to 'rescue' someone in the future!"
"And the prison created by my Schrift… will not disappoint His Majesty's expectations!"
"I will restrain Ichigo Kurosaki—no, imprison him in Hueco Mundo!!!"
Yes.
Quilge Opie wasn't wrong.
His Schrift allowed him to fire a fixed Reishi prison from the tip of his blade.
While it trapped the opponent—
Those bar-like seals could also lock down the surrounding shadow passages.
And—
Once this ability was deployed—
Even if Quilge Opie himself was killed in battle—
The prison would not disappear. It would continue to trap the enemy for a long time!!!
That—
Was Quilge Opie's greatest source of confidence.
And he'd already guessed the mission Yhwach had given him in the future.
When the Wandenreich launched war in Seireitei—
He, on his side—
Had to do everything possible in Hueco Mundo…
To delay—to stop Ichigo Kurosaki at all costs!
That was war strategy.
And it was also one of the reasons the Gotei 13 would suffer a disastrous early defeat in the original timeline!!!
However…
The moment Quilge Opie finished speaking—
Not far away, Bazz-B shook his head and openly pointed out the hidden danger:
"Don't celebrate too early! Don't forget—there's a fragment of His Majesty inside Ichigo Kurosaki!"
"He has Quincy blood that's stronger than ours!"
"Quilge… whether your Schrift will even work on Ichigo is still an open question!"
Even though Bazz-B was always a prick—
And he spoke to everyone in that same blunt, disrespectful tone—
This time, he wasn't targeting Quilge on purpose.
He genuinely believed it.
Bazz-B didn't think—
That against Ichigo Kurosaki—whose power was "four-in-one" and who carried Quincy blood—
Unless you snapped Zangetsu, or stripped his power away again—
Then…
A "normal" Schrift ability most likely wouldn't just be ineffective against Ichigo—
It might even backfire, accelerating the process of Ichigo's power awakening!
And that would be the worst possible outcome!!!
——
And now.
Inside the video.
After the standoff ended, the fight began.
"Sh-sh-sh!!!"
As Quilge Opie drew his military blade—
And activated a Reishi-concentration technique—
A storm of blue holy arrows blasted out, targeting Ichigo Kurosaki and kicking up explosive shockwaves!
The result—
Not a scratch.
Ichigo Kurosaki even faced the camera, caught part of the arrow barrage with his bare hands, and hurled it back!
Forcing Quilge Opie to retreat—
And pushing him to immediately "go big" and release a more complete form of power!
"BOOOOM—!!!"
A massive pillar of Reishi light surged into the sky.
It swallowed Quilge Opie's figure whole.
And his aura, power—and even his appearance—
Shifted rapidly within the light…
Before being fully revealed to the camera!!!
"Heh…"
"Shopkeeper… this happening here is going to become one of your research materials again, isn't it?"
"Your so-called comprehensive analysis of pure-blood Quincy!!!"
Inside the shop, Tessai chuckled softly and looked at Kisuke Urahara beside him.
As a partner of a hundred years—
He understood Urahara's thoughts instantly.
Urahara would absolutely try to—
Use the exposure from this battle to find ways to counter Schrift and counter that "complete form" power!
"Heh…"
"Tessai… you're right."
Urahara tipped his hat lower, smiling lightly as he nodded. "This is a rare chance! A one-on-one duel—without outside interference."
"And from the looks of it, that Quincy is overly arrogant. As a Sternritter, he doesn't seem to take Ichigo seriously at all…"
"Opponents like that, compared to the monsters we've seen earlier, are actually more likely to expose openings!!!"
Granted—
Since he wasn't a member of the Schutzstaffel—
Quilge Opie's status was definitely below Valkyrie and Lille Barro, those two major Quincy who had brought crushing pressure to viewers in earlier rankings.
But precisely because of that—
In Urahara's eyes, Quilge Opie became an even more perfect observation target!
——
No matter what—
Kisuke Urahara had already made his preparations.
In the battles to come—
He would extract enough information.
And with his brainpower and high-IQ scientific analysis—
Doing that wouldn't be difficult at all!!!
Back to the video.
Perhaps after a round of fighting—
Relying on Blut Vene—
Quilge Opie calmly crossed blades with Ichigo Kurosaki.
He was even hit head-on by Getsuga Tenshō (Moon Fang Heaven-Piercer), yet took no damage!
The strength and hardness of Blut Vene—
Immediately set off heated discussion among the audience:
"'…' Blut Vene…"
"That skill—back in the Royal Palace, when Yhwach fought the Monk of the Eyes!"
"He used that same outer-shell Blut Vene, and it shocked the entire world!"
"Now it looks like every strong pure-blood Quincy knows this skill!"
Inside the First Division.
Shunsui Kyōraku said in a deep, grave tone.
Even if the scale and intensity weren't as jaw-dropping as last time—
The fact that Quilge Opie's Blut Vene could ignore Getsuga Tenshō was already shocking enough!
In response—
Retsu Unohana couldn't hide how vivid her expression was as she spoke.
With a gentle smile, she said softly, "Even so, I believe this is actually good news for Ichigo Kurosaki."
"Once the Quincy power inside him fully awakens… doesn't that mean…"
"Ichigo Kurosaki will be able to use the same techniques as well?"
"That outcome would only make his combat strength more complete in the future—and leave him with fewer and fewer holes!!!"
Just imagining it—
Filled Unohana's beautiful eyes with anticipation.
Blut Vene.
Vollständig.
Schrift…
If all those abilities also appeared on Ichigo Kurosaki—
It was hard to imagine just how strong he would become then!
A true all-rounder with no weaknesses!
"Tch…"
"So Ichigo Kurosaki will have that Blut technique too?"
"Then next time we meet, my Nozarashi won't be able to cut him at all…"
After hearing Unohana, Kenpachi Zaraki knit his brows.
He sounded annoyed.
After all—
As one of Ichigo's "opponents"—
Kenpachi had been thinking about having a fair, head-on rematch with Ichigo in the real world.
But now…
If the ranking video finished playing…
And Ichigo's entire power awakened—so overloaded that his "skill bar" could barely hold it—
Then what was Kenpachi supposed to fight with?
Wouldn't it become the other way around—Ichigo using Blut Vene and just standing there, letting Kenpachi hack away…
Like some kind of "freebie giveaway"?!
Later.
The video fast-forwarded.
Mid-battle, that Hollow monster summoned by Harribel's three female Fracción—
Even though it ambushed Quilge Opie and managed to injure him—
Once Quilge used Sklaverei—
He instead absorbed that rampaging power.
His appearance and form became even more vicious and powerful as a result!
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…"
"Fusing runaway power with a pure-blood Quincy's abilities into one?"
"This Sternritter's got quite a few tricks, doesn't he?"
Inside Las Noches.
Gin Ichimaru narrowed his eyes, wearing an interested expression.
In this short stretch of battle alone—
Quilge Opie had used too many abilities in succession.
It was practically exposing the pure-blood Quincy's combat habits and traits—completely!
"Gin…"
"You're right…"
On the throne, Aizen smiled faintly. "After watching that just now, a thought suddenly came to me!"
"Compared to the Hollowfication experiments and Shinigami soul research we repeated countless times over the past hundred-plus years…"
"Perhaps if we take the pure-blood Quincy as brand-new experimental material, we might obtain results even more unexpected?"
Aizen's eyes lifted, interest brimming.
Yes.
If, as shown—
Quilge Opie could directly absorb a Hollow's power—
Then after experimentation—
And paired with the Hōgyoku's power of manifestation—
Could it also allow the Arrancar army to reverse-learn the pure-blood Quincy's various skills and techniques?
That—
Was the intense new idea surging inside Aizen's heart at this moment!!!
(End of Chapter)
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