Bleach Fanstory: After the War

Bleach Fan story: After the War

By Michael Xu

Initial Comments:

Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo

This is purely a fan story and I don't own any of the characters in it, apart from OC I may create.

Summary

Aizen Sousuke has succeeded in creating the King's key, and has taken his place as God of all Dimensions. The Soul Society is in ruins, with Karakura Town completely obliterated. The survivors of Karakura Town and the Gotei 13 have retreated back to the real world, merging into normal society, in the hopes that one day; they may truly overthrow Aizen for good. The story begins four years later, with Ichigo continuing his double life as a substitute Shinigami.

Story so far: After returning from Hueco Mundo, Ichigo, Rukia and the other captains and vice captains of the Gotei 13 commenced preparations for the invasion of the King's Realm. After Ichigo trained and organised his new division into a disicplined fighting force, he assisted Rukia to obtain her Bankai in the underground training chamber hidden inside the Sokyoku. After a passionate moment of lovemaking, Ichigo and Rukia agreed to marry. The two of them approached their prospective families in war to ask for their permission. Both Byakuya and Isshin accepted their proposals and gave them both gifts to give each other on the wedding day. In the meantime, the other members of the Gotei 13 continued their preparations. After reminiscing about the deaths of Tousen and Komamura at the hands of Aizen at the conclusion of the Winter War, the third, seventh and ninth division captains Rose, Love and Kensei, along with Hiyori, Lisa, Hachigen and Mashiro, agreed to help Sado suppress his inner hollow. At the same time, Ishida and his father were formally accepted as Soul Society's Quincy Task Force by Unohana. The day of the invasion draws near...


Chapter 28: Council of War

Hitsugaya Toushiro woke up feeling tired all over. He had been working all night as usual, sorting out a mess of papers that his lazy Vice Captain Matsumoto Rangiku naturally enough didn't bother to go through. The last few days had been especially hectic, as more than fifty new recruits, some fresh out of the Academy, others reassigned from the traitors Tengu squads, joined his division. He got out of bed and walked to his desk. There was a small memo on the table. Hitsugaya read it and knew what it was. A general meeting? What a pain in the arse, he mumbled to himself. Before he got changed into his captain's robes, he decided to take a stroll out in the garden just outside his main office compound. As he walked outside, he heard a girl's voice and the sound of sword swings. When he finally got to the garden, his eyes widened. It was Hinamori. She was up and about in her Shishakusho, her usually neat and done up hair flowing gracefully down her shoulders. There an aura of vitality and liveliness in her that Hitsugaya had not seen since the day Aizen faked his death and consigned his former subordinate to a nightmare of despair and betrayal.

"Hinamori," he said as he approached within two feet of her.

"Huh?" Hinamori suddenly her around. She accidentally swung at Hitsugaya with her sword, but he easily blocked it with his hand. "Toshiro! Oh, I'm so sorry I almost hit you!" Hitsugaya smiled.

"You're looking great today, Hinamori-chan," he said. "Did you decide to do a bit of training?" Hinamori bowed her head.

"I wanted to make up for the crazy things I've done in the past, Toshiro," Hinamori said with a sad face. "Everything I had believed in for the last four years, no ever since I joined the Gotei 13, was a lie. I was a fool for believing in Captain Aizen and the lies he infected me with. I was a fool for thinking he was a pure and innocent person who genuinely cared for me. I was a complete fool for mistrusting you and the others and betraying Soul Society!" Hinamori started sobbing in Hitsugaya's arms.

"There, there Hinamori-chan," Hitsugaya hugged her tight around his body and patted the back of her head softly. "You don't have to be sorry for anything. I forgive you for everything you've done, and so does the rest of the Soul Society. It's not your fault you became like you were. That was Aizen's doing, and his alone. He singled you out because he knew you were emotionally vulnerable, and then he used his hypnosis to poison your mind, until eventually you could no longer discern truth from lies. You're not the only who's fallen victim to him. I and everyone else have as well. So you can stop blaming yourself Momo-chan." Hinamori's sobbing slowed down and eventually stopped. She looked up at Hitsugaya, who grabbed a handkerchief from his shirt pocket and gave it to her to rub her eyes.

"Thank you, Toshiro," Hinamori said. "Despite the grumpy uncaring front you put on when we were kids, you always stood by me. When I joined the academy I would always visit you and your grandma, and you would listen silently to my stories, whilst I secretly wished you could join me. Then, five years later, you joined the academy after your grandma died. I should have been overjoyed and happy for you, but my heart was already set on Captain Aizen. But now I realize that my admiration for Captain Aizen was just an illusion. You're the one I really loved, Toshiro."

"Hinamori-chan…" Hitsugaya said. Hinamori kissed him on the lips, which surprised him a bit, but he decided to kiss her back. They embraced each other for more than a minute, both of them rediscovering their childhood love for each other.

"Thank you Toshiro, I've finally found my place here, and it's by your side," Hinamori smiled. She looked every bit like the young Hinamori Hitsugaya knew.

"I'm glad you're back to your normal self again, Hinamori-chan. It's been years since you've been this happy," Hitsugaya smiled back. "If you're content to be my 3rd seat, then I'm fine with that." Hinamori nodded. Just then, Matsumoto came storming into the garden, her hair completely unkempt, and her robes down so low that they almost revealed her entire breasts.

"Captain Hitsugaya!" Matsumoto shouted. Hitsugaya was so caught off guard by her sudden voice that her tripped forward and bumped into Hinamori. They both ended up toppling to the ground."

"What is it Matsumoto?" Hitsugaya asked. He looked up and freaked out when he saw her appearance. "Gods, can you cover up? I don't want to see your chest exposed."

"Sorry," Matsumoto said in a slurred voice. She did up her robes properly. "What are you and Hinamori doing lying on the ground?"

"You made me do that!" Hitsugaya shouted as he stood up again. He helped Hinamori to her feet. "Alright, what do you want?"

"The captain's meeting is starting in twenty minutes. You'd better get changed captain," Matsumoto said in a condescending voice which made Hitsugaya furious. "It feels kind of awkward for me to wait for you. Usually it's the other way around." Hitsugaya blushed and pushed Matsumoto aside. He stormed back to his room to put on his captain's robes.


Ichigo and Rukia entered the doors of the 1st division's office and quickly got into their designated positions. The heads of seven other divisions were already present, with five more yet to arrive. Five minutes, the other captains and vice captains appeared and everyone gathered around a giant circular table. The Commander General Unohana Retsu, with Urahara Kisuke standing by her side, ordered the captains to sit down on the chairs that were lined up around the table and the vice captains to sit down on chairs right behind them.

"Has everyone got a seat?" Unohana asked. The captains and vice captains all nodded. "Good, it is time to begin this Council of War. As all of you are aware, the rebuilding of Seireitei has almost been completed, and the reconstruction work on the surrounding Rukongai districts has begun. But that is not why I called you here. I have summoned you all here to discuss our plans for our invasion of the King's realm in order to bring down Aizen for good. Thanks to information gained from interrogations of the seven imprisoned Royal Guards, and the intelligence provided by Urahara Kisuke, we now have an accurate picture of the current military strength that Aizen possesses. Captain Shiba, if you would like to begin?" Unohana motioned for Isshin to start his presentation. Isshin stood up and inserted a disc into the projector at the centre of the table. A second later a gigantic holographic image appeared, taking up nearly the whole table. It presented a full three dimensional map of an enormous complex. At the centre was a colossal palace, with a domed tower at the pinnacle. Surrounding the palace were numerous small buildings, gardens and roads, which were in turn surrounded by a wall very much like the one that encircled Seireitei.

"As you can see, this is what the centre of the King's realm looks like," Isshin explained. The Royal Palace in the image is on par in size with Seireitei. It is surrounded by a much stronger version of the Seki-seki stone that makes up our defensive wall, complete with a force field that covers the entire palace like a dome. It would be impossible for any of us to breach through the force field and survive."

"What about sending in troops using an object like Shiba Kukaku's flower crane cannon?" Ichigo asked his father. Isshin shook his head.

"Even that would just disintegrate upon impact," he said. "Assuming we somehow breach the walls, we then have to navigate a series of passages, buildings and complexes, all of them heavily defended, before we reach the main citadel. This is surrounded by a deep moat of pure spirit energy which is lethal to any souls who fall into it. The only way to get in is through a drawbridge that's guarded at all times, or through a series of tunnels beneath the citadel itself. Once inside the citadel, there are a number of courtyards, towers and buildings that surround a central throne room, where Aizen and his Queen reside."

"Thank you, Isshin," Unohana said. Isshin bowed and sat down on his chair. "As you have just seen, we will have to break through the walls surrounding the palace before we can even think about entering Aizen's citadel. Captain Kurotsuchi, I believe you have developed the means to do so?"

"Yes, Commander Unohana," Mayuri replied as he stood up. "My team of scientists are busy constructing a number of weapons designed to shatter seki-seki stone. Shiba Kukaku has been generous enough to lend her some of her reishaku cores, which we have analysed and manufactured on a large scale. We now have about a thousand specially made cannonballs that can punch through the hardest seki-seki stone. In addition, I have recovered the remains of the shattered Sokyoku blade and my top researchers are reconstructing and reengineering it into a battering ram large enough to break through the walls." The other captains and vice captains were impressed at the ingenuity of Mayuri's inventions. Ichigo himself thought they sounded like medieval siege weapons.

"Thank you, Captain Kurotsuchi," Unohana said as she motioned to Mayuri to sit down. "Now, shattering the force field and breaking through the walls is all well and good, but we also know that Aizen's forces aren't going to stand there and watch us do it. Captain Soifon, can you give us a briefing of on the total military strength we expect to face once we get there?" Soifon nodded and stood up. Her vice captain Yoruichi handed her a portfolio of documents.

"During our interrogations of the imprisoned Royal Guards, Yoruichi and I learned that Aizen had at least twenty Royal Guards at his side. Each one was a former captain of immense power, and they commanded a unit roughly comparable in strength to one of our divisions. In a rough estimate we figured there were about three thousand soldiers defending the King's Realm at the time of Aizen's ascension. Seven hundred soldiers, along with seven Royal Guards, were sent down to administer Soul Society, and two more Royal Guards led an invasion of Arrancars upon Tokyo city. That currently leaves Aizen with eleven Royal Guards and roughly two thousand three hundred soldiers protecting the palace. Three Royal Guard squadrons are stationed in the citadel itself, whilst the rest are spread out across the outer palace complex." Soifon finished her brief and sat down. As soon as she did, Renji raised his hand. Unohana motioned him to speak.

"I get the general picture of the layout of the King's palace and disposition of Aizen's forces, but the first question is, how are we going to invade the realm en masse?" Renji asked. "We're going to need to mobilize all thirteen divisions if we're to stand a chance at defeating all of the Royal Guards."

"That's an excellent question Captain Abarai," Unohana nodded. "I was planning to leave the means of deployment till later on, but I guess it's easier if all of you understand how you're meant to get into the King's Realm. Urahara, would you show us all the Royal Key?" Urahara nodded and took out a golden box and placed it at the centre of the table. He then muttered a series of incantations that undid the seals surrounding the box. Like magic the lid of the box slowly opened and everyone in the room covered their eyes as a brilliant glaring light shone out of it. A few moments later the intensity of the light dimmed and for those who were still able to see, they made out a shimmering key, three inches long. It was radiating outwards with the voices of billions of souls, greatly disturbing for every captain and vice captain to hear. Urahara hastily muttered a series of incantations again to close the box and seal it.

"I'm sorry if you guys were blinded by the light," Urahara said. "As you just witnessed, the thing inside the box is the Royal Key. It is the most highly concentrated spiritual object in existence. It acts like a conduit, or a direct link, to the Sea of Souls, which the human world, Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the King's realm all rest on. It was created at the birth of Soul Society itself, thousands upon thousands of years ago. As such, it has access to billions of souls. Its original purpose was to act as stabilizer between dimensions, to keep the number of souls in Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the human world in balance. However, during the greatest natural disturbance to the balance in recorded history, the Quincy Wars, the Royal Key developed a secondary purpose. It siphoned the influx of souls in the human world and created an entire new dimension, the King's realm. This new realm was set apart from the three intertwined realms of Soul Society, Hueco Mundo and the human world, and rests upon the highest spiritual plane. It became the direct counterpart to Hell, which sits on the lowest spiritual plane. In order to access the King's realm, a special portal had to be developed that allowed souls to transcend into the higher state. This could only be done with the Royal Key by tapping into the Sea of Souls."

"So, in summing up the long lecture you just gave us, by using the Royal Key to into the Sea of Souls, we can create portals large enough to send a sizeable force into the King's Realm?" Hitsugaya asked. Urahara nodded. "If so, how do we tap into the Sea of Souls then?" Urahara was about to answer, but Byakuya butted in first.

"If you would like to know, the former King's Palace complex, better known as the Central 46 chambers, contains a hidden courtyard that is restricted even for the Central 46 members. Inside this courtyard is a circular raised stone which has a key shaped indentation. This stone is the Well of Souls. The Royal Key must be inserted into the stone for it to work," Byakuya explained.

"Wouldn't that only create one portal?" Ichigo asked. "The Royal Key's power can create a portal large enough for hundreds of souls to fit through, but we need to fit thousands. And I doubt that courtyard is large enough to function as a staging area."

"Excellent observation, Captain Kurosaki," Unohana said. "No doubt all of you have realized that immense size of the logistics that are involved in a full scale mobilization of the Gotei 13 for war. Fortunately, Urahara Kisuke has studied the mechanisms of the Royal Key extensively." She gave the signal for Urahara to continue.

"Yes, Commander Unohana," Urahara said. "The Former Commander General Yamamoto handed to me a series of instructions on how to use the Royal Key along with the key itself. He made me swore an oath of secrecy but at this point it would be best if I break it and tell all of you about it. As Captain Kuchiki explained, the Well of Souls allows the Royal Key to access the Sea of Souls. In addition, there is a network of hidden powerlines that radiate out from the Well of Souls. These powerlines carry the spiritual current that overflows from the Royal Key to ten designated gateway points spread out across Seireitei. Each gateway point has a conduit that opens a portal to the King's Realm once it is linked up with the Royal Key. When opened, each portal can allow a force of over two hundred high density souls to pass through. As each of your divisions is at precisely that size, it would be a simple matter to coordinate the passage of ten full divisions through the portals simultaneously."

"Enough with the long drawn out explanations!" Kenpachi suddenly shouted. "I just want to know what happens when we get there. Who gets to fight what and whom?"

"We were just about to get into that," Unohana said in her most patient most. "Although the portals are two-way, in order to maintain contact with Soul Society, each division will have to establish a beachhead into the King's Realm before a permanent base can be set up. To do so, you will have to eliminate all enemy defences that are outside the walls. Captain Soifon, I assume that Aizen has placed a substantial number of soldiers in the area around the palace?"

"Yes, Commander Unohana. "Soifon replied. "The Royal Guards said they had left about seven hundred to eight hundred troops on patrol duty in the region surrounding the palace. If we can catch them by surprise, we can decimate Aizen's forces by a third before he can respond." Unohana and the other captains and vice captains nodded.

"Once a permanent military base is firmly established inside the King's Realm, the twelfth division will bring in the heavy artillery and begin a full scale bombardment on the Palace walls. This won't necessarily ensure that the walls are breached, but rather keep the defenders distracted enough in order to send the fully completed battering ram up to the walls and break them down," Unohana explained. "Then when the walls have been breached, six or seven divisions will rush in and neutralize as much of the enemy forces as possible. One division will be tasked with breaking into the citadel using the undergoing chambers. Three more divisions will have to find a way to get in using the drawbridge. Assuming that Aizen, his second-in-command Ichimaru Gin, and his supposed Queen, Inoue Orihime, are concealed at the heart of the citadel, one brave division will be tasked to defeat them. Kurosaki Ichigo, are you willing to take up the challenge?" Ichigo nodded firmly. He looked behind at Rukia, who winked at him.

"I am, Commander Unohana," Ichigo said. "However, I am not confident that those will be the only forces inside the citadel. One more division will have to accompany my own, and I would like the Quincy task force and Yasutora Sado under my watch," Commander Unohana approved of Ichigo using Ishida and his father, but she and the other captains and vice captains were concerned about Sado. The three Vizard captains however, gave a silent acknowledgement that Sado was okay. Unohana nodded in return.

"Alright, for now, we'll allow Yasutora to be part of your division," Unohana agreed. "But, he needs to be accompanied by people who can suppress his hollow at any time. Urahara, are you able to do so?"

"Yes, I believe I can," Urahara nodded. "Hopefully that won't be necessary."

"Then it's settled. You may all go back to your divisions and continue preparing your divisions. I will personally meet each captain in person to decide what role their division will take during the invasion," Unohana said. "Once the preparations have been complete, you will all be sent instructions to assemble at the designated gateway spots. This council of war is hereby concluded."


The captains and vice captains were dismissed from the office and went back to their own divisions and resumed their preparations for the invasion of the King's Realm. Over the next two weeks, each captain met with Unohana personally to discuss their position and mission objectives. Soul Society as a whole was busier than it had ever been before, with the largest mobilization in its history slowly underway. Amidst this excitement of activity, one group of people was being left behind: the newly dead souls from Tokyo city. Most of them were being lodged in newly renovated buildings in districts one to five of Rukongai, but the families and friends of Ichigo and Ishida were allowed to stay in the residencies of the minor nobility. Nevertheless, for these people who had been victims of the recent Arrancar invasion, life was incredibly boring.

"I'm fed up with sitting around!" Tatsuki exclaimed. She, Keigo, Mizuiro and her other former school friends sat on the benches of a courtyard outside one of the divisions they had no clue about, watching hundreds of Shinigami go by.

"Everywhere we look we see Shinigami running around doing all sorts of stuff, whilst we're told to just stay here and wait. Why are we the only ones who aren't doing something? Ichigo's busy being a Shinigami, Uryu's doing something with his father, and I don't know what's gone wrong with Chad. What the hell is going on?"

"Um, I don't know. Perhaps there's something major that they don't want us to find out?" Keigo asked. He was elbowed in the head.

"Stuff this, I'm going find out exactly what's going on!"

"Um, Tatsuki, maybe you should wait. I think there's someone coming over here," Mizuiro said. Tatsuki peered out, and saw two girls dressed in white robes walking this way. As they got closer, Tatsuki could make out who they were.

"Hey, it's Ichigo's sisters, Karin and Yuzu," Tatsuki said.

"They look quite good, plus they're not wearing real world clothes like us," Mizuiro said.

"Ooh, both of them look so cute! I want to kiss them!" Keigo exclaimed. Tatsuki kicked him in the head, sending him skidding along the ground in a comical fashion.

"Tatsuki-san!" Yuzu shouted as she ran towards her. Karin followed closely behind. "What are you doing here with your nakama?"

"What, do you think? We're just sitting around here wondering what's going on. Everyone we meet seems like they're too busy to tell us anything," Tatsuki mumbled. "Where is Ichigo anyway? He's been ignoring us since the day we got here."

"Um, Onii-san has some very important duties to take care of now. Likewise Ojii-san too," Yuzu replied.

"We got bored staying in Goat face's stuffy place, so we decided to come out here for some fresh air," Karin said.

"I see. You must be as lost as we are," Mizuiro said. Just then, Yuzu caught none noticeable figure walking by. Karin and Tatsuki did too. Despite the new white robes he was wearing, his trademark hair was unmistakable. After some prompts, Keigo and Mizuiro spotted him as well They all ran towards him like an angry mob.

"Ichigo!" Yuzu and Karin shouted, nearly jumping on top of the fifth division captain.

"What the?" Ichigo said as he was overwhelmed by his sisters. He looked up and saw Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro all standing around here. "Why are you guys here?"

"We want to know what's going on!" Tatsuki shouted in Ichigo's face as he stood up. "For more than three weeks, we've been told to stay in these archaic houses and do nothing, whilst you and your Shinigami friends are running doing stuff! Tell us Ichigo, tell us what you've been doing. Why do you always hide everything from us?" Ichigo sighed deeply. Unlike Ishida, Chad or even Orihime, none of his other friends knew much about the world of Soul Society, let alone the greater spirit realm they lived in. He knew their minds would be unable to comprehend the sheer fantasy of the matters he now found common place.

"I'm sorry Tatsuki, Keigo, Mizuiro," Ichigo said. "I've been working non-stop these past two weeks and I'm awfully tired. I'm shouldering the responsibility of a person with hundreds of years of experience, and I've aged beyond my years. Needless to say, I, Rukia, Ishida, Chad, and all of the others are preparing to bring back Inoue from the clutches of the person who kidnapped her." Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro were stunned.

"This person you're referring to, is that the big bad guy that everybody around here is talking about?" Tatsuki asked. Ichigo nodded.

"I hate to say this, but none of you guys understand much about the problems I'm dealing with. Yuzu and Karin already know, as they've been exposed to the Shinigami far longer than you have," Ichigo said. Tatsuki suddenly slapped Ichigo in the cheek.

"You're doing the same thing again, telling us that we should stay out of the way, that we don't understand anything? Do you even care about us anymore? You've become one of those Shinigami!" Tatsuki broke down in tears. Mizuiro and Keigo comforted her. Ichigo could do little to console her. He turned to Yuzu and Karin, who sympathised with his plight.

"Yuzu, Karin, can you take my friends to Ojii-san? I've got an idea," Ichigo said. "Tell him that they should be enrolled in the Shinigami Academy as soon as possible. The two of you should enrol yourselves as well."

"Okay, Onii-san, we understand," Yuzu and Karin nodded. They escorted Tatsuki, Keigo and Mizuiro to Isshin's division. Ichigo walked silently back to his division to complete the final preparations.


The next morning, Ichigo and Rukia quickly got up and dressed into their robes. Today was D-day, the day of the invasion. Ichigo strapped on his sealed Zangetsu to his waist; Rukia did the same to her Zanpakto.

"Have you prepared everything?" Ichigo asked. Rukia nodded.

"All the last minute paperwork has been done, and every member is fully stocked with items," Rukia said. The two of them went outside to the fifth division's training field, where all two hundred division members had assembled. Standing in the front row were Minazawa, Mariko, and the former Rookie, Shinzo Tanaka. Ichigo was proud of Tanaka. Despite his initial pestering attitude, he had been diligent and hardworking, managing to unlock his Shikai and successfully cast Kidou in the 50s. That prompted Ichigo to make him the fifth seat. As Ichigo stood on a platform observing his troops, Rukia stood alongside him.

"Your father called you this morning," Rukia said.

"I know," Ichigo nodded. "It was about Yuzu, Karin, Tatsuki and the others. Goat-face sent them to the Commander who offered to enlist them in the Shinigami Academy as soon as possible."

"Is that what you did? I can't say I'm not surprised," Rukia smiled. Ichigo smiled back and looked at his division members again.

"Alright my men, the Commander General has made us the spearhead division. We have been tasked to break through enemy lines and penetrate right to the heart of the enemy. Are you all up for it?" Ichigo asked. With a resounding cheer the fifth division members are shouted enthusiastically. "Okay, follow us out! Our mobilization point is the Great Eastern Holy Wall. On my signal, we move out!" Ichigo nodded to Rukia and raised his hand. As soon as the two of them started to Shunpo out of the barracks, the other two hundred Shinigami followed. Like a giant flock of birds they jumped across the buildings of Seireitei until they reached the eastern wall, the infamous place where Aizen Sousuke had faked his death. The walls had been newly renovated after Kenpachi had demolished them during his battle with the Royal Guard Hachiman. Though barely visible against the surrounding timber, there was a definite rectangular indentation in the ground. Once Ichigo and Rukia had directed their troops into position, they waited silently for the portals to open.


Urahara Kisuke and Unohana Retsu stood in the court yard surrounding the Well of Souls, along with the two Ishidas and Sado. Urahara was mindful of what happened to Sado during his time with the Vizards, but decided against telling Unohana about it.

"Urahara, you may insert the key into the well," Unohana said. Urahara proceeded to take the golden box from his robes and muttered the incantations to unlock the seals around the box. Everyone around him covered their eyes as the Royal Key shone in all its radiance. Urahara inserted it into the key hole. A few seconds later the entire stone lit up in a shimmering white colour. Pure spirit energy dropped down from the Royal Key and started flowing into ten separate channels that spread outwards from the well. Unohana then sent out ten separate hell butterflies to each of the captains.

A few minutes later, gigantic yellow portals over thirty feet tall and wide enough to fit ten men side by side started appearing across the Seireitei. Ichigo, Rukia and their charges gazed in awe at the shimmering portal that appeared in front of them.

With the master hell butterfly, Unohana gave the final commands for the invasion to proceed.

"All captains and vice captains of the Gotei 13, listen carefully," Unohana said. "The hell butterflies you have been given will give up a distinctive buzzing sound. Once the sound goes off, you and your divisions will march straight through the portal. The process is instantaneous. As soon as you step through the portal, you will arrive at the King's Realm. Once through, you are to eliminate any enemies in the immediate vicinity. Then, with the spirit rods given to each division, you are to mark the foothold you have gained. Once the rods are in place, begin assembling a base camp within the boundaries of your footholds and await further orders from the central command." Unohana finished speaking and initiated the countdown process.

A few minutes later, Ichigo and Rukia heard the hell butterfly near them flash brightly and emit a loud beeping noise.

"That's the signal!" Ichigo shouted. He and Rukia charged through the portal, with their division members following right behind them.


The Great Heavenly War has begun! Ten full divisions of the Gotei 13 have invaded the King's Realm! What will they discover on the opposite side?

Notes: This chapter obviously concludes the preparation arc and begins the Heavenly War Arc. The central scene is obviously the council of war. I thought it would necessary to explain the general context of the war to readers, including the layout of the King's Realm, the disposition of forces and the general strategy and tactics of Soul Society before hand. That will save me from having to provide info dump during the middle of the following chapters in order to prevent readers from getting confused.

Apart from the council, the other scenes in this chapter focus on the characters that haven't been covered so far. I decided to remove Hinamori's infatuation with Aizen and centralize her character around her relationship with Hitsugaya. With Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki in particular, I've made them return to the state they were at the beginning of the story, confused and disorientated, to show that they haven't adjusted well to living permanently in Soul Society. It's also a recognition that they've been neglected in the story.

Thank you to all of you who have sent in reviews so far. The next chapter begins the last and most exciting arc of the fanstory, so stay tuned!