Chapter 468 - 468: A Suspected Truth, and a World Far Too Fragile

Seireitei had fallen into chaos.

The barrier that once covered the entire city had been completely destroyed by Cyrus's attack.

"Tch. Put a little too much into that one."

Cyrus clicked his tongue and looked toward Yamamoto, who had already regained his footing.

"Forgot how unstable this place is. Should be fine, though. It'll probably reset eventually."

Yamamoto clearly had no interest in listening.

Whoosh!

Still wrapped in Zanjitsu Gokui, the Captain-Commander appeared directly in front of Cyrus.

He drew Zanka no Tachi back to his side and swung horizontally.

Space shattered ahead of the blade, breaking apart only to repair itself almost instantly.

Snap.

The previous thrust had blasted Cyrus clean out of Seireitei.

This slash was even stronger.

Yet Cyrus caught the blade with one hand.

Holding the superheated Zanka no Tachi barehanded, he looked at Yamamoto's face, distorted by fury and surging Reiatsu.

The old man's white brows and beard whipped wildly in the pressure.

The blade being caught had clearly surprised him, but Yamamoto didn't hesitate.

He released the hilt with his right hand and drove a fist packed with enormous Reiatsu straight into Cyrus's chest.

Boom!

The impact shook the area.

Cyrus didn't move an inch.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

More than a dozen figures appeared nearby.

Not only had the captains arrived, several members of Squad Zero were there as well.

Seeing them, Cyrus released Zanka no Tachi, smiled, raised both hands, and took two steps back.

Yamamoto didn't pursue.

"That's enough for today."

Cyrus continued backing away as he looked over the gathered captains.

"If you want revenge—or want to eliminate a threat—come to the World of the Living."

"I'll be heading there soon."

His gaze swept over them.

"That's where the real battlefield will be. You still have time to prepare."

A green doorway appeared behind him.

Cyrus stepped backward through it and vanished.

"Captain-Commander."

Once Cyrus was gone and the flames around Yamamoto faded, the captains gathered around him.

"Prepare yourselves."

Yamamoto gave the order before anyone could ask anything.

"The next battle will not be easy. We will have to fight with everything we have."

"That man…"

Soi Fon looked at him, still struggling to accept what she had witnessed.

Even the Captain-Commander couldn't defeat him?

"He is strong."

Yamamoto didn't hide the truth.

"Stronger than I am."

Against an opponent like Cyrus, the slightest carelessness could mean death.

No amount of caution would be excessive.

The captains' expressions changed immediately.

Byakuya stepped forward.

"I request permission to enter Hueco Mundo ahead of the others."

"Because of Aizen?"

Yamamoto only needed to look around once. Aizen was absent, and Byakuya's expression explained the rest.

"He abducted Captain Kuchiki's sister."

Shunsui filled in the missing detail.

"Is that his objective?"

Yamamoto frowned, then looked toward Senjumaru.

"It seems he is involved."

The investigation into the missing Shinigami and Hollowfication incidents had produced no useful leads for some time.

But with everything happening now, Aizen was almost certainly connected to them.

Perhaps he had even been behind the entire affair.

"Going alone will accomplish nothing."

After hearing Senjumaru's assessment, Yamamoto rejected Byakuya's request.

Then he looked across the other captains.

"But we do need information."

"Since that man said he intends to go to the World of the Living, we'll act on both fronts. One team will investigate Hueco Mundo, while another heads to the World of the Living and prepares there."

"Yes."

No one argued.

"That man may leave Hueco Mundo soon. That will give us a window."

Yamamoto's voice hardened.

"While investigating, determine whether there is an opportunity to act."

"If possible, bring Aizen back."

"Understood."

…

Hueco Mundo.

When Cyrus returned to the great forest, Aizen, Tosen, and the unconscious Rukia were standing in the middle of a ring of powerful Hollows.

No one had attacked, but the atmosphere was tense.

Aizen himself seemed largely unconcerned.

Robin, Hancock, and Baby 5, however, had clearly been waiting for Cyrus. The moment he appeared, all three visibly relaxed.

"Everything okay?"

Robin asked.

"What could happen to me?"

Cyrus shook his head helplessly.

"I just overestimated how durable this place is."

He thought back to the fight.

"So when I attacked, I used more strength than I should have without thinking."

He spread his hands.

"Looks like I made the grudge a lot worse this time."

Aizen's expression shifted.

"Did you destroy Seireitei?"

"Not completely."

Cyrus shook his head.

"I realized what was happening after I attacked and pulled back some of the power."

Aizen stepped toward him despite the Hollows watching from all sides.

"I want to know what you meant before."

His expression was serious.

"When you said this world was false—what exactly did you mean?"

"You've already guessed, haven't you?"

Cyrus smiled.

"For all you know, even your desire to rebel against this world may only exist because someone wanted you to have that desire."

The wording was convoluted, but Aizen understood perfectly.

"You can test it if you want."

Cyrus patted him on the shoulder.

"Though I doubt you have much time left."

Aizen's eyes narrowed.

"So whatever you intend to do may affect the entire world?"

He had already drawn that conclusion from Cyrus's warning.

"Maybe."

Cyrus didn't pretend to know for certain.

"Or maybe every guess I've made is wrong, and this world is nothing like I think it is."

Even Aizen couldn't immediately think of a way to stop something on that scale.

More importantly, he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to.

Even if what happened next rendered years of planning meaningless, part of him still wanted to see where this would lead.

After all, what was happening now might be unprecedented in all of Soul Society's history.

"Is it connected to the Soul King?"

Aizen thought for a moment.

"Does everything come back to him?"

"Don't ask me."

Cyrus shook his head.

"I genuinely don't know. My knowledge only extends to people like you."

That part was true.

Everything else was speculation based on what he had observed.

Before arriving here, Cyrus had expected the upper limits of Bleach's world to surpass those of the One Piece world.

But after experiencing it firsthand, reality seemed very different.

More importantly, the world itself was absurdly fragile.

Far more fragile than the One Piece world.

That weakness was what had first made Cyrus suspicious.

And if his guess was right, then the connection between the two worlds might not have been an accident at all.

Perhaps the stable passage between them had always existed.

It had merely been concealed for some unknown reason.

And if that was true—Cyrus could find it.

A permanent route between the two worlds.

One he could use whenever he wanted.

A path home whenever he chose.