(Flashback, Silbern)

"Your Majesty." Haschwalth bowed as he reached the Quincy King's throne. "We have received reports that Ichigo Kurosaki is indeed in the World of the Living."

Yhwach narrowed his eyes and smiled at the recent news. "Is that so?" he grunted. "Very well. Send Sternritters E, H and T to immediately locate and eliminate him."

Haschwalth tilted his head in confusion and asked, "Were you not going to recruit him, Your Majesty?"

"It seems like I will never be able to return him to his brothers and sisters and he is too much a threat for our plans, so it is better to eliminate him. You may leave." Haschwalth bowed and turned to leave the room. "How is my daughter? Is she coming along nicely, or is she struggling with her education?" Yhwach asked.

The blonde haired man turned around and spoke, "Just like her brother, she has an astounding growth rate. Her speed is steadily increasing and her close quarters combat is now on par with most of the Soldats." Yhwach nodded. "It would appear like that boy was the right choice to educate her. What about her Schrift?" He asked, noticing Haschwalth's body language slightly shift in uncomfortableness. "What is it?"

Hesitant, the Sternritter Grandmaster spoke, "Your Majesty, her Schrift is very unique and dangerous, also very unstable. According to him, when she used it the first time, she... nearly killed him." That caused the Quincy King's eyes to widen. Her Schrift, whatever it was, was that powerful that it nearly killed that boy on her first try? That was interesting, to say the least. This now meant that only six Sternritter, including himself, that can fight evenly with and kill him at full power. He shook himself out of his thoughts and dismissed his 'second half', who bowed and left the room. Not long after that, a random Soldat barged into them, his uniform was bloodied and a lot of holes were visible.

Yhwach narrowed his eyes in annoyance and grunted, "You must have a very good reason for barging in here without my permission, boy."

The Soldat, now scared shitless, immediately got down on one knee and spoke, "I apologize for barging into your room without your permission, Your Majesty! It was not my intention! I am one of the Jadgarmee that you sent to Hueco Mundo to eliminate the Hollows." The Jadgarmee. To be honest, he had nearly forgotten about them, since the Hunting group were doing a good job at keeping the Hollows and Arrancar at bay."Very well. You will not punished for your disrespect. Continue.

"The Soldat silently breathed a sigh of relief and began reporting, "Yes, Your Majesty. As we were standing there watching over the Hollows, a group of three Arrancar women suddenly attacked us and killed several of our men. Luckily, Mr. Opie defeated them easily. Just before he could kill them, they appeared."

"Who?"

The Soldat gulped. His Majesty was not going to like what was coming next. "A group of black cloak wearing people suddenly appeared and killed everyone with suprising ease, including Sternritter J, Quilge Opie. I was let go by them to deliver a message to you. I am the only survivor left, sir." There was silence for a few moments.

"And?"

The Soldat looked up at the King, perplexed. "Your Majesty?"

"You said they gave you a message. Where is it?"

The Soldat said nothing as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small device that looked like a metal disk. He then clicked a button and a projection appeared, showing a video of six figures wearing black cloaks, concealing their faces and body. They were also surrounding a huge spike with Quilge Opie's head on the spike with his face looking shocked, as if he couldn't believe what was happening.

"Hello, Yhwach, Progenitor of the Quincy." A deep voice spoke. "You do not know us, but we know all about you."

"You may call us Garras del Diablo (Claws of the Devil)." A woman's voice was heard.

"We have a message for you from us and our King." Another male voice was heard. This one however, had no emotion.

"Fuck the message!" Another male voice growled. "How dare you attack our home and our people, all because you want to create a world where people are not afraid of death? You killed many of our kind, for what? Who are you to disrupt the entire fucking balance?!" The man, Yhwach assumed, calmed down as a hand rested on his shoulders.

"What my partner is saying is that what you have done is inexcusable and unacceptable and you will pay dearly for it." The woman spoke.

"We may be Arrancar and Hollows, but Hueco Mundo is our home."

"And we will be damned If we let you come here and destroy it."

"Be prepared, Yhwach." A male spoke, but this one was cheery, despite the situation. "Because your time is running out." Then the video cut to static. After a few seconds of silence, the middle aged looking man looked at the man who was still bowing down.

"Leave."

The man did not need to be told twice as he ran out of the room. Yhwach sat back in his chair and frowned as a familiar emotion rose from the depths of his soul. Unfortunately, it was the same feeling he felt during the first Blood War.

Frustration.

He was frustrated because of a number of reasons. The return of his son borne in the darkness, probably more powerful than ever, now this group calling themselves Carras del Diablo suddenly appearing out of nowhere and telling him his time was coming, not to mention the fact that the captains who had their Bankai stolen now had it restored thanks to the reluctant help of Kisuke Urahara.

He quickly buried the feeling. It mattered not. His Sternritter could easily defeat anyone who stood in their way and the Soldats were all well trained. The Schutzstaffel could turn the tide of the battle like a snap of a finger, his secret weapon was with his lost daughter and his eyes will finally open soon enough.

He grinned.

Let them come.

If he ever meets them in battle...they will die.

XXXXXXXXXX

A heavy silence lingered over the battlefield. Smoke curled from the deep crater, its swirling tendrils masking whatever lay within. The only sound was the distant crackle of dissipating energy.

Three figures, clad in pristine white, stood at the edge of the destruction, looking down with smug amusement—except for one.

"Well, that was a fucking disappointment."

Candice Catnipp scoffed, flipping her vibrant green hair back arrogantly. She stood with her hip cocked, arms crossed over her exposed midriff as she peered into the smoldering pit.

"There's no way either of them survived that."

"Don't get cocky, Candice. Always have your guard up."

Bazzard Black, better known as Bazz-B, narrowed his emerald eyes as he spoke, his voice gruff with warning. He looked more like a delinquent than a Quincy—a long red Mohawk, piercings in his ears, and a skull-emblazoned armband giving him a rough, punkish appearance. Yet, beneath that attitude lay a seasoned warrior who had seen far too much to be so easily convinced of a victory.

"It can't possibly be the end of him. You saw his 'battle' with Jugram—if you could even call it that. That kid took one of the strongest Sternritter down without breaking a sweat."

Candice rolled her eyes. "I think you overestimated him, Bazz-B. Probably overthinking this too."

Beside her, Bambietta Basterbine yawned, clearly uninterested. She flicked a speck of dust off her pristine uniform. "He's dead. That explosion was enough to reduce anything to ash. His Majesty overestimated him. Simple as that."

A smirk played on her lips. "Too bad we weren't ordered to capture him. He was quite the handsome one, don't you think?"

Candice shot her a glare, sharp enough to cut steel.

"What?" Bambietta asked, feigning innocence.

"Why, so you could kill him before anyone else got a taste?" Candice sneered.

A faint blush dusted Bambietta's cheeks. "He was going to be an exception."

"Oh, really?"

"Um..."

"Liar! You were going to kill him and rob the rest of us of our fun, you—!"

"Enough."

Bazz-B had had enough of their nonsense. He let out an exasperated sigh and turned away, motioning for them to follow.

He didn't trust it.

As much as he wanted to believe Candice and Bambietta's words, something gnawed at his instincts, warning him that this wasn't over.

Then—

A flicker of movement.

Bazz-B's breath hitched.

The crater, once filled with nothing but dust and flame, now housed a shadow. Small at first. Growing. Expanding.

His heart slammed against his ribcage.

"MOVE!"

The ground erupted.

A monstrous dragon composed of molten lava surged forward, tearing through the battlefield with devastating force. The three Sternritter barely managed to dodge in time, propelling themselves into the air as the scorching beast slammed into the earth, melting everything in its path.

Heat waves distorted the air, making it shimmer like a mirage.

A voice—smooth, amused—broke the stunned silence.

"You Quincy truly are a rude bunch, attacking us while we were having a conversation."

Candice whipped around, her hands crackling with electricity.

And there she was.

The woman who should have died.

Aura Michibane stood levitating effortlessly, arms folded across her chest. The flames licking at her heels did nothing to mar her flawless appearance. A small, knowing smile curled at her lips, mysterious and confident.

"Judging by your uniforms, you're part of the same group that went after the captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads."

Candice snarled, summoning a lance of pure lightning into her grasp.

"How the fuck are you alive?!" she demanded. Her voice cracked slightly, an edge of disbelief lacing her words.

Aura tilted her head, her smirk deepening.

"You should be dead—along with him!"

Candice's rage burned hotter, but then—

She noticed something.

Bazz-B and Bambietta had moved.

Far.

And they weren't looking at Aura.

Their wide eyes were locked onto something behind her.

Candice frowned. "What are you idiots looking at?"

No one answered.

A chill crept down her spine. Slowly, with mounting dread, she turned her head—

And felt her blood freeze.

Towering over her was a monstrous figure, shrouded in shadow and radiating an unfathomable pressure.

A mask.

White, skeletal. Two long, curved horns jutted from its forehead. Jagged red markings slashed through its eye sockets, which burned with cold, predatory gold.

The sensation that crawled up her spine was something foreign, something she had never felt before.

Pure. Unadulterated. Fear.

She stumbled backward, nearly tripping over herself.

This wasn't Ichigo Kurosaki.

This was something else entirely.

This was the thing that had turned Ulquiorra Cifer into nothing.

A monster that had been spoken of in hushed whispers among the Arrancar.

Bazz-B clenched his fists, trying to keep his composure, but he felt it too—that sickening weight pressing down on them.

'So this is the form that annihilated Ulquiorra.'

At the time, he had scoffed at it. Mocked it. Said he could kill him in five minutes.

But now—

Now, he wasn't so sure.

No. He wasn't sure at all.

His fingers twitched. His instincts screamed at him to act.

"Burner Finger 1!"

A beam of searing flames shot forward, aimed directly at the hollowed-out version of Ichigo.

But—

He was gone.

Bazz-B barely registered what had happened before a force slammed into his face with bone-shattering impact.

The next thing he knew, he was airborne.

He crashed through trees, earth, and rock, hurtling through the air like a ragdoll.

The only sound was the eerie echo of his body breaking the terrain.

Back at the battlefield, Candice and Bambietta could only stare, shaking.

Their minds refused to process what had just happened.

Ichigo—no, the thing he had become—had moved so fast, it was as if he had simply teleported.

And Bazz-B, one of the strongest Sternritter, had been swatted aside like an insect.

Candice swallowed hard, gripping her lightning lance with trembling fingers.

This wasn't a battle.

This wasn't even a fight.

This was a massacre waiting to happen.

As for the three, well two ladies as Aura got out of there as fast as she could, manifested spirit weapons and shoving their fear deep down, tried to attack him, an unbelievable amount of reiatsu slammed onto them, making them crash onto the ground with full force before disappearing. Before they even got to get up, they felt a hand grab their throat tightly and lift them off the ground. Ichigo glared at both of them when he suddenly saw the green haired woman lift up a hand that was holding a javelin, made of electricity, and threw it at his face, point blank range. An explosion erupted, letting go and making the two Femritters fly off and landing pretty hard on the ground.

'Too close. He was definitely going to kill me for sure!' Candice thought as she groggily got up and looked at the damage she caused Ichigo, or lack thereof as the overpowered being in a teen's body was healed within seconds.

"Was that all you got? If that was the full power of a Sternritter, then I have nothing to worry about." Ichigo growled in a dual layered voice that sent chills down the two Femritters (or Bambis, depending on what you want to call them) spines. Bambietta quickly gathered her courage and activated her Vollständig, gaining red wings and a red Halo on top.

"Eat this!" She yelled as dozens of balls of reiatsu came flying out of her wings and rained on Ichigo, who just swatted them away from him with his sword at incredible speeds, causing them to erupt all around him. The green haired woman started throwing lance after lance made of electricity at him, but Ichigo was just dodging and swatting them away as if it were the easiest thing in the world. After a couple of minutes, it began to dawn on the female Sternritters that they clearly were outmatched and they were slightly panting and beats of sweats were starting to appear on their face.

'Fuck!' Bambietta thought. 'He's not fighting us, he's toying with us. Just like he did to Haschwalth.' She watched with anger as Ichigo just stood there, watching them, or glaring at them. You really couldn't tell because of his mask. 'Damn him. What the hell is he?!'

'King?'

'Yeah?'

'I think I speak for everybody here when I say: I'm bored.' Shiro whined.

'I'm inclined to agree. You have proven that you are more powerful than them, why are you not finishing them?' Juha Bach asked.

'Just wanna torture them.' Ichigo replied.

'...You are frustrated that they are not giving you a challenge.' The Reiō asked.

'You're half right. I want them to know exactly who they are fucking with AND because it's so much fun to do.'

Damn right! Oh, and you know what else would be fun? Ichigo raised an eyebrow, prompting the spirit to continue. That new move we learned.

Shiro, we learned a LOT of new moves, be specific.

Shadows. Juha Bach replied for Shiro.

'Shadows?' Ichigo froze as it suddenly clicked. 'Oh. That could work.'

He then dismissed his Resurreccíon form, leaving him half naked with his muscular build and scars on his torso in full display, much to the confusion (and hidden enjoyment and relief) of the Femritters.

'OH MY GOD! HE'S SO FUCKING RIPPED! WHY DID WE HAVE TO BE ENEMIES?!'

'I WANT TO FUCK HIM, I WANT TO FUCK HIM, I WANT TO FUCK HIM, I WANT TO FUCK HIM, I WANT TO FUCK HIM!'

'Is this gonna happen every time I reveal my body?' Ichigo asked his spirits as he watched the two ladies practically drooled at the sight of him. Much to his chagrin, they didn't answer him. Anyway, he got down on one knee and put his hand and sword next to each other on a shadow. To the others, it seemed as if his hand disappeared into the shadow.

"Getsuga Umbra."

At first, the air remained still, as if the world itself was holding its breath. The shadows beneath Ichigo's hand did not stir, did not react—until, almost imperceptibly, they began to stretch and ripple outward, like ink bleeding through paper.

A hand emerged.

Not flesh and bone, but pure darkness, its surface shifting like liquid yet remaining solid. Fingers, long and eerily smooth, curled against the ground. Then came a head—featureless, save for two hollow slits where eyes should have been. The rest of the body followed, rising seamlessly from the depths of the shadow, taking the form of a humanoid figure slightly taller than Ichigo.

Before anyone could react, movement spread like wildfire.

All around them, every existing shadow—from the trees, from the Quincy, from Ichigo himself—began to stretch unnaturally, writhing as if alive. More figures emerged, their forms identical: tall, faceless, cloaked in absolute blackness, shifting like living silhouettes.

One by one, they rose. First in pairs. Then in clusters.

Then in dozens.

A silent army of shadow-born entities encircled them, their presence suffocating, unnatural. They did not breathe. They did not sway. They merely stood, motionless yet imposing, surrounding Ichigo, Bambietta, and Candice in an unbreakable ring of darkness.

Candice's grip on her lightning lance tightened. She could feel the electricity crackling along her fingertips, her body screaming at her to act, to strike. But her instincts warned her of something far worse—something unspoken.

They weren't just surrounded.

They were hunted.

"Go."

As soon as Ichigo spoke, the shadows started to run towards the Sternritters, who were so shocked and tired, that they were captured in barely any time at all. Ichigo Sonido'ed to the females and roughly grabbed them by their chins.

"Did that parasite sent you here to kill me?" he asked calmly, getting no response. He sighed irritably. "Look, I don't want to kill you, but you are seriously making me consider breaking my promise to him. I will ask one more time..."

His grip on their chins tightened. "Did that fucking parasite sent you here to kill me?"

"Yes."

Ichigo let go of their chins and turned to look at the person who just spoke. They were wearing all white with a hoodie covering their face and head. When Ichigo blinked, the person was no longer there. Instead, they were behind him, having freed Bambietta and Candice from the shadows. They turned around and stared at Ichigo, who had no arm.

"I will be taking them back home, unless you are going to stop me." A female voice spoke.

Ichigo folded his arms and narrowed his eyes. He knew that voice from somewhere as it sounded very familiar. "For the last time, I will make this clear, since I know that fucking parasite is watching. I don't care about any of you, and by you I mean the Quincy, Wandenreich, Sternritter, whatever you guys want to call yourselves. I only care about killing the fucker who killed my mother, AKA your leader. That being said, I will not hesitate to kill anybody who stands in my way."

The person gestured to the females behind them. "But you didn't kill them."

"But I didn't kill them."

The person was silent for a couple of seconds before saying, "Then as a reward for not killing my fellow comrades, I will show you who I really am."

They then grabbed their hoodie and removed it from their head, revealing curly brown hair.

Ichigo's eyes widened to their limits as he unfolded his arms, a look of pure shock on his face as he could not believe what was in front of him.

Who was in front of him.

"Yuzu."

Yuzu coldly stared at her brother. "At least you remember my face and name."

"Yuzu..."

"You lied to us and the same people who tried to kill you have corrupted you into working for them. But do not worry, Onii-chan." The last word was spit with so much venom that Ichigo for a second could not believe that the woman he was looking at was his sister. "I will free you from their corruption and kill all of them. Until then," a shadow appeared behind the three ladies, "Tell Karin and that Shinigami Isshin Kurosaki I said hi." She spoke as they began disappearing in the shadows.

"No, Yuzu!" Ichigo screamed as he approached his sister, but she and the two Sternritter disappeared within the shadow. Ichigo then glared at his arm as it began to regenerate rapidly. He thought about Yuzu. That person couldn't be his sister. She may have had her face and hair, but that was not possibly her. Yuzu had life in her eyes and was always vibrant. That woman was stoic and her eyes had no life in them.

Two completely different girls.

'Ichigo.' Shiro growled, which surprised Ichigo as his inner Hollow rarely said his name. 'When you see that fucker, make him feel the most excruciating pain he had ever felt in his life before killing him. Make his death slow and brutal.'

'Will do.'

"That was someone close to you, wasn't it?" The young man didn't flinch when Aura appeared in front of him.

"My sister." Ichigo whispered as he continued to stare at the restored arm. He then levelled his gaze on the woman, making her flinch slightly. "When I see him again, I will make his death as painful as possible."

Aura stared at the young man standing in front of her with an unreadable expression before nodding. She then turned around and was about to walk away, if it were not for Ichigo grabbing her arm. She turned to stare at him. "What are you doing?" She calmly asked.

"I just want to know, why is the Reiō's Saketsū following me?" Ichigo asked, making the beautiful woman's eyes go wide. She never expected that question to come out of his mouth. She quickly regained her composure and asked, "I have no clue as to what you are talking about."

He narrowed his eyes. "Don't lie to me. I can feel the Reiō's reiatsu within you." He got no response. "Let me prove it then." Ichigo promptly let go of her arm and, with speeds that even she could not comprehend, Sonido'ed in front of her and put his hand on her chest. Suddenly, Aura very slowly but surely started to feel her reiryoku draining from her body. She then roughly grabbed his wrist and shoved it away from her, all while maintaining that calm expression, feeling her reiryoku being restored somehow.

"What do you think you are doing?" She asked coldly.

Ichigo shrugged. "Proving a point. You felt your reiryoku slowly depleting just now, didn't you?" When she continued to stare him and not responding, he continued, "Now I can't explain it as well as my Sensei would, so I'll try and summarize. Simply put, I also have the Reiō's reiatsu within me. A LOT of it and since I'm also part Quincy, I can give you my reiryoku, or take yours as my own if I wanted to."

There was silence for a few moments as she just stared at him with a blank expression on her face.

'Wow. Excellent explanation, King.' Shiro snickered as he slow clapped in Ichigo's Inner World.

'Shut up!'

'I still do not fully comprehend how you can understand an explanation made simple for you but fail to explain it the exact same way to other people.' The deity spoke, a hint of amusement in his tone.

'Not now!' Ichigo practically screamed in his mind.

"... Interesting." Aura finally spoke. She crossed her arms. "And what part of the Reiō are you then, Ichigo Kurosaki?"

"Sorry, can't tell you."

"Why not?"

"'Cause I still don't know who you're working for, or why you're following me. For all I know, you could be a spy for the Thirteen Court Guard Squads and any information I give you could be used against me in the future." He spoke, remembering what his lover Senjumaru told him a couple of years ago about trusting people too easily and that could lead to a betrayal, which had already happened.

Aura said nothing. Instead, she got closer to him and put her hand on his muscular chest, or so it seemed as it went right through him, shocking Ichigo.

'Intangibility. Ichigo, I would advise that you don't let your guard down around her.'

'Understood.'

"Fair enough." She spoke as she went through him, making Ichigo shudder a little. She continued to walk away from him. "I have a feeling we are going to meet again soon, Ichigo Kurosaki. Until then."

"Wait!" Ichigo shouted, making her stop. "What are you?"

Aura simply turned her head around.

"A Fullbringer."

In the blink of an eye, the woman disappeared with a flash of green. Ichigo tried to track her using his Perquisa, but it was like she totally vanished into thin air, literally.

"And she's gone. Great." He muttered.

'Don't worry, King. Like she said, y'all probably gonna meet soon anyways.'

'Indeed. Now it is time to go back to sleep. You need rest.'

'Right.' Ichigo said as he disappeared, knowing that there were two figures that were watching him.

"Well, that was interesting. Never thought I would see her again, much less interact with the supposed dead saviour of the Soul Society." One of the figures spoke.

"Yeah. His power is fucking insane, being able to beat three Quincy at once." The other spoke. "That will make the plans easier."

"You still want to go through with this?"

"Of course. We'll convince the kid to join us. Should be easy now that he hates Soul Society for what they did to him."

"If you say so. What about her?" The first figure asked.

"I'll deal with her later." The figure then spread his arms wide open. "You know what to do."

The other figure sighed. There was no changing his friend's mind once it was made up.

"Fine. I do hope you know what you are doing."

"Hurry up and cut me already."

XXXXXXXXXX

(Silbern)

Bambietta and Candice honestly didn't know what happened to them. One minute they were flying, crashing and rolling onto the ground because of an explosion, and then the next everything was dark until they landed hard on what seemed to be concrete in a dark room.

"Rise from the ground, my children. I do not think I gave you permission to address me while you are on the ground."

As soon as they heard that voice, they immediately juped to their knees, ignoring the pain that they felt as they looked at their leader, who was staring at them with narrowed but expectant eyes and they were surrounded by all of the other Sternritter, excluding Bazz-B since he was on the ground, bowing as well even though he was clearly in pain.

"Good. Now, let us hear your report."