I swear the timing of this is pure coincidence, I don't like screwing with people that I know wait for long stretches of time for new chapters to come out.
Leaving the Muken after a spar with Yamamoto was always a unique experience. Everything seemed crisp, like standing on a mountaintop. Almost chilly despite that I knew it was June and could see people around me sweating or complaining about the weather. But it was difficult for the first few minutes to perceive anything as hot after fighting in a space where the air was burning away and my opponent was practically the sun molded into human shape. As usual, Unohana and Yoruichi had been waiting outside for us to finish. After nearly a year of sparring almost every week in Bankai, Yamamoto was back in top form, though we continued the practice at his request. I knew why, and it was a bit on the unfortunate side. He could tell that I needed something to push myself against, to receive the satisfaction of a good fight, but even he wasn't enough to reach that threshold for me. The bearded captain could decipher that, but we both understood that he was the best I was going to realistically get, so we maintained the habit of meeting up every Saturday morning we could.
"As usual, a good match, Kurosaki." The ancient captain breathed, the lightness in his tone always at its most pronounced just after our spars. I had apparently been just what he needed to be more relaxed and at ease, and it showed in how he seemed more open to letting down his guard. Before me, Unohana had been just about the closest he had to someone who could keep up with and understand him, but she notably fell short in most cases. Unlike him, she hadn't even had someone to be emotionally close to until long after their first encounter with Yhwach, and thus couldn't have understood what it was like to lose someone like that in a war. She also was poignantly weaker than him and stood no chance if he were to break out his Bankai. Someone like me, who had the power and guts to stand up to him, as well as similar emotional experiences, was a perfect match. His appointing me in a position where I could take the reins wherever he faltered was a now obvious sign of trust and appreciation.
"That it was, Yama." I agreed, the four of us walking side-by-side towards his office. I had learned quickly to simply discard most of my clothes before my spars with him, though since he lacked the battle-lust Unohana and I possessed, he always forced me to keep my hakama on. This meant that Yoruichi held Zangetsu while I slipped my robes and armor back on, the bearded captain pointedly ignoring the display. "Are we good for next week?"
"It remains to be seen." He grunted, irritation manifesting in his voice as he chose to fire a glare at me from the corner of his eye. "In lieu of your rejecting Central 46's summons, they have chosen to focus their attention on me." A smirk came upon my face at his words.
"I keep telling you, it's easier to just say no. The worst they'll do is fire you, which won't make a difference since everyone will still listen to you."
"Stop tempting me, you brat, I'm running out of reasons to not listen." He grinned back. The two of us shared a laugh. "What is your plan, in any case? I know you well enough to understand there is motive behind such blatant disregard." With my clothes in place, I took Zangetsu back from Yoruichi.
"Ichigo has made it clear behind closed doors that he seeks to dethrone Central 46 in its entirety." Unohana hummed, watchful that we remained alone in the hallway. "He was initially prepared to take on the task by his lonesome, but when Ossan informed him that Kuchiki-taicho was similarly willing to partake in a mutiny, he reconsidered his strategy."
"He's been keeping tabs on the Great Noble Clans in his spare time." The ex-captain picked up. "And he's been checking on the Captains he knows are more likely to either be neutral or for C46. Honestly, our biggest concern was Kyoraku-taicho and Ukitake-taicho. Doing what Aizen did and just killing C46 isn't a long-term solution, there's going to be demands for order, so we're trying to make sure that when we show our hand, we have as many people on our side as we can."
"My pupils 'were' your biggest concern? I take it, then, that they are no longer likely to pose an issue for your goal?"
"Ossan makes sure to talk with them often." I nodded. "The knowledge that I've got the Kuchikis and the Shihouin on my side is what got them to agree."
"Are the Shihouin truly on your side? Your girlfriend was removed from her clan when she was exiled, and though her ban has been lifted, her family has not rescinded their excommunication."
"My younger brother no doubt became Clan Head after I was removed." The werecat announced, not an ounce of concern or hurt in her voice. "Yushiro always followed me around like a lost puppy, he'd be willing to do anything for me, and that's if we don't take into account that the Shihouin have merely been quiet about our distaste for C46. The Shiba were the only ones vocal about their disapproval, and we all know where that got them."
"If your brother is the Clan Head, why has he not permitted your return to the clan?" The fire-user questioned, suspicion dusting his words.
"The Shihouin have always taken great care to fade into the background in the noble scene. We do what we can to avoid as much heat as possible. They removed me when I was exiled so there wouldn't be any talk about 'supporting traitors', and they're most likely not welcoming me back now because I'm publicly dating someone causing problems for the Tsunayashiros."
"I see. And do you have a plan for the Tsunayashiros?" He directed that question at me.
"The Clan Head and his wife aren't problems. They're just loud and whiny." I stated. "Most of my concern is on one of their sons, Tokinada. He sets my instincts on edge. I've been meaning to talk with Kyoraku about it but I keep getting distracted."
"That's not much of a plan."
"If they end up becoming a problem before the Blood War, I'll deal with them. Otherwise, they can be on the backburner until Yhwach is permanently in the ground." Yamamoto sighed one more time.
"Well, you are keeping an eye on them, and we all would rather your focus be on preparing for the Quincy, so I cannot argue with such a decision." He relented. "But please do something about them; I'm getting tired of repeating to Central 46 that I cannot force you to do anything you do not wish to." My lovers and I laughed at his misery.
Upon entering Las Noches once more, and discovering that Nel was once more playing Eternal Tag with a pretty sizable group of arrancar, I couldn't help but wonder if she did anything else. The day Shiro trained Grimmjow was the only one I was aware of where she hadn't been playing. Thinking on it now, I started to wonder what arrancar actually could do to pass the time, outside of the library I already knew most of them didn't bother with. It had never been a concern of mine, as the few arrancar that lived in my time usually remained close to me. But since nearly all of them were alive and well, I couldn't help the idle curiosity.
"I understand that it was my fault for jumping at the bit when you asked us if we wanted to accompany you for this training session," Unohana hummed by my side, "but you haven't informed me of who we're to be training today." As much as it would've been nice to have Yoruichi join us, she had declined in favor of letting me know that she was going to join Orihime and Chad again. I had tasked the werecat, to her resounding agreement, with keeping a close eye on their training with Xcution. Whatever his reasoning had been, Ginjo was a suspicious person, and I didn't want to risk of something untoward happening. So Yoruichi would join them, under the guise of being Orihime's pet, and stay at the ready in case one of the Fullbringers tried something. So far, they hadn't, but we weren't going to let down our guard just yet.
"It's Nel's turn." I chuckled, still finding it amusing how quickly Unohana had said 'yes' to my offer. "After thinking it over for a bit, I realized her training is something that doesn't necessarily have to be done by me, so long as the person doing it is properly informed of what they're doing. Think of this like a test run for the future, to see how well I can get someone else to perform specialized training." She nodded sagely at my explanation.
"If this succeeds, you can start providing instructions to the Captains so that they may be able to train their own subordinates rather than having to go to each individual yourself. It would massively improve training for the Gotei 13."
"I'll still come around for personalized training on members of the Gotei, but yeah. If this turns out well, I'll feel confident trusting most of the seated officers to their respective Captains. High-demand general training is all unseated Shinigami need, to have them all unlock Shikai and increase the baseline. As time goes on and things become less chaotic, we can afford more attention to unseated, but right now, as Ossan said, it's more important to make our strongest fighters stronger than to bring the weaker up to par."
"That it is." The First Kenpachi supported. "So what shall I be doing for Nelliel-san's training?"
"She latches onto her humanity too much." I informed. "She tries to ignore and disregard her Hollow side as much as she can. She's no pacifist, but she'll only treat combat as a last resort after all other options have been exhausted." My girlfriend's eyebrows furrowed.
"She associates combat with savagery, then?" She suggested, to my nod of confirmation. "I see. Similar issue to Sado-kun, but far more grievous. He suppressed his bloodthirst due to a combination of fearing what he may become were he to give in, as well as out of respect for his Grandfather. Nelliel-san seems to believe it to be a trait fitting for beasts, and wants to distance herself from it as much as she can. Why, then, were you originally going to train her rather than Shiro-kun?" Was her inquiry.
"He's too abundantly Hollow." I smiled at her question. "While she would consciously understand that we wouldn't be trying to teach her that lesson without good reason, I don't think she'd be able to stop herself from disregarding a Hollow trying to tell her it's okay to like fighting."
"In opposition, you're far more genial and collected." The Captain of the 4th understood. "It would be more difficult for her to ignore the words of someone whose opinion she would value. Even further if that person were to demonstrate that they, too, enjoy the thrill of combat."
"Yup."
"Hence, why you asked Yoruichi-chan and myself. Yoruichi-chan is openly playful and teasing, something she extends to spars to make them seem less gruesome and ominous. She would help in making friendly practice seem like a game rather than a test of strength. While I am generally polite and motherly to those around me, but vicious and brutal in combat. The cognitive dissonance would be too much for her."
"Exactly." My grin widened as we were nearly upon the group playing Tag. "By the way, no knives." Her pout was instantaneous.
"I wouldn't have drawn them." She attempted to defend.
"You use them when you're bored, and none of the Espada come close to you in strength."
"That's quite derogatory to them, don't you think?"
"Kenpachi would've been able to kill Yammy in that ogre form by himself by the end of our first training session with him, and that form is arguably the most powerful form any arrancar has taken to date." Her pout deepened into a disappointed frown.
"Two knives." She haggled. "To use at my leisure."
"She's not even going to make you use Bankai." I bartered back. "No knives."
"One, and if I throw it, I cannot reclaim it." We met each other's eyes.
"One knife, that you can't reclaim after throwing, that you have to throw in the first five minutes." Pools of sapphire bore into me as she thought it over.
"Ten minutes, but I must reveal that I have a knife before we begin." This time I was the one staring as I thought over the offer.
"Deal." I accepted, to which she smiled with satisfaction. The two of us then turned to the game, which had noticeably stalled due to our presence. Nel was the one to come up to us, a beaming smile on her face, which was directed at me more than Unohana. I was almost caught off guard witnessing the former Espada's outfit, though that was mostly due to not having noticed when she got a proper set of clothes. It couldn't have been her original Espada outfit, there was too much color. She wore a white unitard, with red pauldrons covering her shoulders and white fur lining the leg holes, which I couldn't help but think might be uncomfortable after long stretches of time. Around the neck was a fur collar, the same shade as her hair, and she wore white arm-length sleeves which had white fur over the elbows and aquamarine fur over the biceps. To complete the outfit, she had white stockings with, once again, fur lining the edges matching her hair. Her zanpakuto was sheathed at her left hip.
"Great to see you, Ichigo! And you too, Unohana-taicho!" She chirped. "What brings you to Las Noches today?"
"You're the next one on the chopping block." I answered. "Unohana volunteered to come along to help out with your training." There was a flash of confusion on the arrancar's face as she presumably tried to figure out what purpose a third party might serve for her training. It didn't last long, though, I figured she deferred to trusting my judgment and accepting I had good reason.
"Sounds good. Do we need to take this somewhere else?" I turned back to my partner at Nel's question, silently asking if she felt the need. The Captain glanced around the area, which was largely empty as the participants of the game were a ways away.
"This should be a sufficient area." She concluded. "We are a fair distance away from the others, they are not likely to be drawn in. I feel certain that Ichigo would prevent such a thing anyway." I nodded in support of her statement.
"I asked Unohana if she was up for helping today as a sort of test run." I informed the former 3rd. "We're seeing if I'm able to explain to someone else how to perform specialized training sufficiently enough that it's successful without me having to be the one to do it. If it works out, I'll write out individual lesson plans to send out to the Captains so we can massively increase productivity in the way of training." Nel's face brightened immensely at the explanation.
"That sounds amazing! That'll free up a lot of your time and take a lot of pressure off your shoulders, right?"
"That's the idea." Was my agreement as I stepped to the side, making room for the two of them. "I'll still have an immense amount of paperwork, there's no avoiding or relieving that, but it'll free me up a lot to only have to check in rather than get people started. So, I'll be on the wayside for this. I've already told Unohana what the objective is, I'm gonna leave it up to her to handle this. Hopefully, I won't need to provide input, but I'll be paying close attention so I can if I feel I have to." After my explanation finished, the two women turned to each other.
"Okay, then." The Espada was the first to speak. "What are we doing?"
"You understand what we are trying to achieve, correct?" The ancient captain wanted to confirm.
"The main objective for the Espada is for them to unlock Segunda Etapa." The aquamarine-haired woman nodded. "I've discussed it with Halibel-san and Ulquiorra-san. We're operating under the belief that working on the self is the method to achieving it. Ulquiorra-san's goal is to be comfortable with his emotions, and Halibel-san's to be more conscious of her retaliatory rage. Grimmjow-san's, I believe, was to acknowledge that he wasn't the most powerful of the arrancar and get him to work on his own to change that. Based on Halibel-san's training," Nel winced at this, "I'm going to take a guess and figure mine is something along the lines of being too forgiving of my enemies? Something that's an issue because I don't think it's an issue?"
"You aren't wrong in concluding the nature of your training." Unohana smiled sweetly. "Similar to Halibel-san, you are to work on rectifying a skewed belief, but it is not your being too merciful. One could liken that to a symptom of a greater disease. Based on what I have been told of you, I believe my next words will be greatly disappointing: your training will be far closer in practice to Grimmjow-san's than Halibel-san's." A frown quickly marred the former Espada's face, but she remained silent, even as the medic drew her sword. "I am obligated to inform you that Ichigo and I agreed that I could use one of my knives during this spar. Out of kindness, I will further state that, per our agreement, once I throw said knife, I am not allowed to reclaim it." The frown was blinked away by a baffled stare.
"…One of?" Nel made the mistake of speaking as her first action in the spar, not that I could blame her. She was not aware of what Unohana classified an 'informed start' to be. The arrancar panic-dodged back out of the way of the First Kenpachi's opening strike, then scrambled to stay out of the range of the next three. She bolted to the side and rolled into a stand, drawing Gamuza just fast enough to block another horizontal slash. A startled shriek left Nel as she threw herself back, Unohana's left hand having snapped out with the intent to stab with her allowed knife. "Why are you using knives?!" The founding captain shook her head, tutting as she rushed back into the fight.
"That's not the question you should be focusing on." She sighed as she, to me, lazily swiped and stabbed at her sparring partner. The verdette was barely capable of successfully defending. "This training is for you, after all. You've already deciphered what the general intent is, and I'm sure you already understand that simply telling you offers far less growth. Think, dear, why would your training necessitate combat when your counterpart Halibel does not?" The older woman pushed as she left a shallow cut on the outside of Nel's right arm. She then frowned. "That was less resistance than I was expecting. Is there that much of a difference between Ichigo's Hierro and others?"
"I've never wanted to be the most powerful." Nel seemingly chose to ignore Unohana's last comment. "I never even wanted to become an Espada, just to be strong enough to keep Pesche and Dondochakka safe. I know that there are people out there I couldn't possibly protect them against, but I don't need to be omnipotent out of some misguided belief that I have to protect them against everything. I'm content in the day-to-day, and I know that I have friends who can take care of the things I can't handle." Her own frown dominated her face as she continued thinking aloud. "I don't need to be stronger. I have no reason to fight right now." I caught the sharpening of Unohana's eyes from where I stood.
"Why is it that you feel the need to have a reason for growing stronger?" The woman pressed as she darted out of the way of a thoughtlessly fired bala, shutting down Nel's desperate attempt to create some breathing room with ease. "Do you feel no satisfaction in self-improvement? Do you have no pride in your own strength?" Hazel eyes narrowed, though the impact of her bubbling irritation was lessened by the fact that she was unable to get any ground on the far superior fighter.
"Why should I have pride in how much destruction I can cause? How much pain and suffering I can invoke? Why should I want that capability to grow?" She demanded. "I'm able to accomplish everything I desire to with the strength I have now, I'm not going to be one of those power-hungry fools who seek strength for no other reason than to be stronger!" While she held back Minazuki, she was unable to protect against Unohana's knife leaving a shallow cut along her abdomen.
"Why is it foolish to want to better oneself?" The Captain challenged. "You demonize strength, acting as though it is something so volatile and malicious that one would be better off in its absence. Is there truly an issue with one desiring to have more than what they can get by with?"
"I know you're trying to twist it to sound better." Nel glared. "That concept doesn't apply universally. Anyone would want security over basic survival! There's always a point, however, where that security turns into greed, into hoarding, into wastefulness! You can accomplish far more with civil conversation than mindless slaughter!"
"There you go again." Her opponent chided. "Applying reason to fighting. Why can someone not merely enjoy testing themselves? Why can they not relieve themselves in the straightforward simplicity of a spar? Why is it that you treat fighting as though it is something reserved for mindless beasts?"
"Because it is!" I couldn't help but watch in awe at how smoothly Unohana was able to weave the words out from her. "The existence of a Hollow, especially any Menos, is defined by ceaselessly killing and eating, for no reason than some ephemeral need demanding that they must! It's a stupid, hellish cycle of meaningless violence perpetuated by some ridiculous part of our design that insists we devour each other just to maintain our ability to think! How they can evolve to arrancar, where they no longer face the threat of losing sentience if they do not slaughter their brethren, and choose to maintain such habits is beyond me!"
"And what of Shinigami, who possess no such biological need to consume, yet still engage in combat?" The medic kept her prodding simple.
"They're the guardians of Pluses, and ones designated by the Soul King to maintain the balance of souls." Nel's answer came easily. "They must grow stronger to be capable of cleansing Hollows. They must remain more powerful than their enemies, as those enemies threaten the balance of the worlds and mean to destroy everything. Their strength is reactionary and understandable." A questioning eyebrow raised on Unohana's face.
"So Shinigami are validated in growing stronger to combat their foes, yet Hollows are foolish for growing stronger to maintain their existence?"
"Hollows are forced into a situation where it's do or die. They aren't given a choice and can't be faulted for that. Arrancar possess no such ultimatums. They can choose to be better than vindictive, ravenous monsters constantly trying to measure better than those around them."
"Are you claiming there are no Shinigami who do choose to act like that?" The First Kenpachi purred sadistically. "Because you would be quite incorrect." Another hammering flurry of slashes beat upon Gamuza, the poor Espada barely managing to keep her arm up beneath the assault. A cry of pain escaped the verdette from Unohana's knife finding its way into her right side, before she was brutally kicked off. "I set the standard, after all." Hazel eyes widened as she cradled her new wound, her blade held up at the ready for the next attack.
"You…what?" Her voice trembled. Sapphire eyes gleamed with bloodthirst as she whipped her knife hand towards the ground, flinging the blood onto the ground.
"It might do you some good to pour over Soul Society history, Nelliel-san." The ancient Captain began. "Before the Gotei 13 were ever protectors, ever Balancers, we were a gang of prolific killers, banding together only to ensure we had no concern over killing each other. Behind Yamamoto-soutaicho, I was the most powerful, infamous for how insatiable I was in my quest to find anyonewho might offer a challenge. There are thousands of corpses to my name, dear, and I am speaking of Pluses."
"But…why?" It was clear that she was struggling with cognitive dissonance, trying to find some sort of justification for why Unohana was the way she was.
"Everyone's motivation for strength differs, and in my experience, there is no reason that is invalid." The raven-haired woman hummed. "Ichigo desires to not just protect those he cares for but to embrace the wondrous simplicity of a straightforward goal. I find the experience of throwing everything you have against a worthy opponent to be euphoric, and only later did I begin appreciating the company I kept. I imagine Grimmjow-san longs to grasp that lauded crown of 'King' for it is such a universal goal none succeed in achieving, to define his meaning in accomplishing something none believe truly possible. There is nothing wrong with strength, or desiring it." Nel bit her lip as she fought to come up with an argument to the First Kenpachi's words.
"Why is violence such a universal constant? Why can people not understand there are better ways to push your limits, better ways to protect your allies, better ways to enjoy yourself?"
"Why can you not understand that's not the point of violence?" Unohana rolled her eyes, true irritation within them. "I've been trying to impress into you; there is no reason to fight. There are excuses. You've convinced yourself that fighting is some deplorable act, dehumanizing to everyone who takes part. You're trotting about, proclaiming that it is the morally objectionable path to abstain from fighting and be civil in any and all matters. To me, at least, it couldn't be more obvious that you're disgusted with yourself for wanting to fight." The former 3rd straightened, her eyes wide and shoulders tense. "If it's in one's nature to fight, there's nothing that can be done. Moral integrity can be thrown around all they like, someone that desires to fight is going to find an excuse."
"Biological instincts are not personal desires." Nel argued. "Ignore it enough, and you'll come to understand who you are, not what you are."
"Yes." The Captain of the 4th drawled, a deadpan expression on her face. "That is why you spend so much time playing that 'Eternal Tag.' Because you possess no personal desire to feel your muscles strain with effort, you find no glee in taking part in a chase, and you find no excitement in a contest of domination. Just as, right now, you feel only the pain of the nicks and scratches I've given you, and nothing else."
"I-That-Those are lingering instincts from my time as a Hollow, not indicators of any current desire to fight!" Her argument was getting weaker.
"Of course, which is why I, a pure Shinigami who is not even a hybrid like Ichigo, have the exact same cravings."
"I-It must be something the Soul King ingrained into you so that you would be able to be strong to fight against your enemies." It was that argument which visibly finished the last of Unohana's patience.
"Have you somehow forgotten the existence of Hell?" She protested. "A dimension of punishment even Pluses can find themselves sent to? Are you proclaiming that humans possess a biological desire for combat? Some of the people you would find the most respectable enjoy combat. Your lauded Halibel-san enjoys pushing herself in spars. Kyoraku-taicho and Ukitake-taicho leave their monthly spars with me positively glowing. Ichigo's been frustrated since coming here over lacking a satisfactory fight. You're disgracing no one by acknowledging what is a part of who you are, Nelliel-san, if anything, you're being insulting by doing the opposite." Silence filled the space between them as the verdette stared at her trainer. After a long moment, the arrancar released a heavy breath.
"Fine." She spat, her head down. "If you think you can show me how to find enjoyment in fighting, then do it." Was her challenge, before she held up her blade horizontally, her left hand bracing against the back of the blade as her reiatsu emanated from her. "I won't make it easy on you, though. Declare, Gamuza!" Her reiatsu erupted as a tornado of wind obscured her form. I took to watching Unohana's reaction, pride and satisfaction filling me at how well today has so far gone. Expectedly, there was not an ounce of excitement to be found in the medic's expression. I was certain that was her having found Nel's performance so subpar that she was not expecting anything extravagant in her Resurreccion. To my amusement, I did catch the quirk of her eyebrow at seeing Nel's centaur form be revealed.
"Watch yourself, Unohana-taicho. A single misstep might-" Her warning was cut off by a startled yelp, the verdette lurching to the side to miss the knife which had been flung at her face.
"I was worried that spontaneously gaining two more legs might take a moment of adjustment." The raven-haired woman mused. "Fascinating how Hollows work. Ichigo, get in here, would you? Witnessing the aftermath of your spar with Yamamoto-soutaicho and then barely getting a warm-up from Nelliel-san is getting me pent up." I laughed, both at her words and Nel's twitching response, and drew Zangetsu, wordlessly releasing Shikai.
"Our agreement still applies, you know." I prevented. "Technically, your fight with Nel hasn't ended."
"Dammit." My girlfriend hissed, returning the knife she had stealthily unsheathed back to its pocket.
There was a tense silence in the Urahara Shoten, Kisuke and I sitting across from each other. The table we sat at was covered in maps, once more dressed in diagrams of where the Wandenreich forces would appear and how they would move. The blonde had discovered a deep sympathy for my stress, encountering the exact same issue I had been. Acting in any way the Quincy didn't expect would have them switch to a backup plan, and they had far too many of those for us to reliably predict which they would defer to. However, acting in the ways they were expecting us to was guaranteed to end in our loss. Hueco Mundo was taken long in advance to the Opening Assault on the Seireitei, meaning that for the predicted Opening Assault to occur, we would have to intentionally let the Arrancar get slaughtered. There was no way to fake the Arrancar being taken down, because Halibel is supposed to be captured and we didn't have the means to create a body double that could withstand the torture they put her through.
What's more, Yhwach's plan depended on knowing I was stalled out by Sternritter J. As in, they didn't start until he received confirmation that I was in Hueco Mundo. Which seriously interfered with where I needed to be and what I needed to do for us to have any chance at success. When I told him my idea, Kisuke had enthusiastically agreed, supporting the idea 150%. Which meant we both were frustrated by how much of an impossible situation we were in.
Like me, Kisuke had also found it near-impossible to rig fights to result in seemingly accidental success, because too profound success was suspicious, while too little meant casualties. And, to our great frustration, those two Venn diagrams overlapped. The Wandenreich had meticulously planned a landslide victory, which meant anything but was cause for concern. There was a way for that dilemma to be resolved, but neither of us could figure out how to manufacture that circumstance. Our win condition hinged on Yhwach not activating The Almighty, and there were far too many things that would incite such a masterful tactician to use future sight.
"The objective of the Opening Assault is to annihilate us just enough before returning that we're forced to demand the aid of Squad Zero, which opens the possibility of the barriers between us and the Royal Palace to be broken through rather than bypassed through the Shiba launchpad." Kisuke muttered to himself, one of the ways he was able to sort his thoughts. "They don't have the means to successfully go through the barriers and reach the Palace on their own, so they have to put us in a situation where we're the ones that break them and they take advantage of the vulnerability. Would they be pacified with merely downing us rather than decimating our forces?" I shook my head, recognizing when he was asking a question.
"They know our supposed levels of strength and planned accordingly. He hasn't told anyone, but he plans for a select few Sternritter to lose to create false hope in the Gotei, so that they're further crushed when Yama gets taken out. Everyone else is supposed to have complete success. That's one of the reasons he attacked so quickly after one of his soldiers stupidly proposed that they would return in a week. He needed to ensure Kurotsuchi didn't have enough time to tell everyone about the Bankai stealing tech, because he knew that they would intentionally sacrifice a few Bankai to try figuring it out themselves." I rubbed at the bridge of my nose to try to relieve the forming headache.
"And he predicted that we would only come up with a solution to Bankai stealing during the second assault so that we would be secure in the belief that would turn things into our favor, wherein his Sternritter were to activate their Vollstandig and further crush our morale." The scientist mimicked my motion. "This means that I can neither prepare those with Bankai with the Hollowfication pills nor send them out during the Opening Assault, as that would dramatically go against their expectations and guarantee one of the hundreds of backup plans we don't have the time to appropriately counterplan for." He hissed to vent out some of his stress. "This is so painstakingly planned that any deviation is sufficient to cause suspicion and any suspicion is cause to switch to something we cannot realistically be prepared for."
"…There's one hole." I caught as I stared at the map of the Seireitei. I felt a storm-grey eye lock onto me, not needing to verbally encourage me to continue. My left pointer finger slapped onto the paper. "The real Yhwach and Balance stay by Squad One the entire assault. Outside of finishing off Yamamoto after his fight with one of the Yourselves and being ready for me, they don't do anything." The shopkeeper snapped his gaze to what I noticed, no doubt countless suggestions flowing through his head as to why. Because both of us knew that, for something this intensively planned, something like this could not be without intention.
"…What if they aren't staying by Squad One?" He breathed. I tilted my head. "Beneath Squad One is the Muken."
"As far as I know, he never entered Muken."
"You stated he predicted that you would be held off by Sternritter J longer than you were. He didn't think that you hacking away at his Jail would inadvertently awaken your Quincy powers, inciting your release." He sat up, clarity appearing in his eyes. "It was a minor change, but one there was no issue to accommodate. What if he arranged to appear before a prisoner in Muken while the Gotei 13 was preoccupied with his forces, only for his intended target to never become a prisoner?" My own mind worked to resolve what he was leading to, only confusion filtering through my mind as I attempted to figure it out. "What if his plans concluded that you would defeat Aizen, not kill him?" He announced to me. My eyes widened.
"Aizen was functionally immortal due to the Hogyoku. No one was able to figure it out until after I killed him, but the Hogyoku had made it so that his life force was directly tied to his reiatsu. No one had expected that when I got him into an endurance match and drained all of his reiatsu, he would keel over." I thought aloud. "He must've understood that Central 46 would throw him into Muken without any idea on how to kill him, so Yhwach would've been able to have a private conversation with him. He was one of the original Five Special War Powers, so he would have probably tried to recruit Aizen to his side to remove the threat."
"With Aizen being killed instead, that removed the objective he initially had for being at that location, but everything else had been sufficiently figured out that he felt no need to offer assistance. He was largely just waiting for it to be over." Kisuke picked up.
"And since that didn't disturb his plans literal days before he went to enact them this time, that means there's a gap he has the time to rectify." I felt my skin pale. The blonde, in opposition, turned even brighter. "How is that a good thing?!" I instantly shouted at him.
"Because that's a natural distortion that would incite reasonable variance." He gleamed. "A minor inaccuracy sufficiently so that no attention is put towards it." My eyes widened as I once again came this close to worshipping his brilliance. "We've been acting as though Yhwach noticing anything not exact to his predictions is cause to change plans. But so long as they only witness differences that can be easily waved off as reasonable variance, they'll adhere to their original schedule."
"Put enough cracks in a glacier, and it comes down with ease." We shared a feral grin.
Next Chapter: Alone No More
