Bleach: Awakened — Chapter 49 - A Day Destined for the Annals of History

"If it actually comes to a fight, leave that one to me." Uryu Ishida pushed up his glasses. "Does Miss Yoruichi have any intelligence on the abilities?"

"The Zanpakuto ability is Kido-type. Shikai isn't particularly strong." Yoruichi thought for a moment. "As for Bankai, it seems to be something along the lines of stripping away the five senses. Fairly troublesome."

"Stripping away the five senses, huh..." Uryu mulled it over, then said slowly: "It's not like there's no countermeasure. That kind of opponent is manageable enough."

"What about Sui-Feng?" Ichigo asked. "Any chance of talking her down?"

"Sui-Feng... that kid... how do I put it, it's a bit tricky." Yoruichi sighed. "The thinking runs a little extreme. I'll handle her myself. No sense of restraint either—things could easily get out of hand."

"An old acquaintance, huh." Ichigo nodded. "So the only ones we actually need to deal with are Kaname Tosen and the Captain-Commander."

"More or less." Yoruichi reminded him: "We don't need to fight to the bitter end either. We just wait for Sosuke Aizen to expose himself."

"Expose himself, expose himself." Ichigo shook his head. "What if that guy just fakes his death and slips away? Hides completely in the shadows? What then?"

"We've already taken down several Captains. There's no patching things up with Soul Society anytime soon."

That was something Ichigo had been worried about all along. If Rukia as the "bait" wasn't weighty enough, Aizen pulling something like that could bring a world of trouble down on all of them.

Soul Reapers were defined as protectors of the Three Realms. Judged by actions rather than intentions, Soul Reapers had always maintained the peace of the Three Realms, this much had been made perfectly clear to Ichigo from the very start of his training, whether by Kisuke Urahara or Isshin Kurosaki.

Masaki Kurosaki was a different story. Head of the household, former bearer of Quincy power, she was a destroyer of the Three Realms.

Humans, Soul Reapers, Hollows: a soul balance mechanism existed among the three. A Soul Reaper slaying a Hollow fell within that balance. But a Quincy annihilated Hollows completely, pulling them out of the cycle entirely. One or two cases were fine. But if quincy eliminated Hollows in great numbers, the entire Three Realms would be driven toward extinction.

"That won't happen." Yoruichi shook her head with complete certainty. "There's no way he won't take the bait. According to Kisuke, the reason he hasn't moved yet is simply that apart from using the Sokyoku, he hasn't found another way to extract it."

"...I see." Ichigo nodded slowly, eyes narrowing. "No wonder he's been so fixated on the execution. So that's what it's about... That bastard Urahara factored this in too, didn't he."

"Of course." Yoruichi said: "The execution being moved up again—that probably means a second method has been found."

"So it'll all be wrapped up tomorrow, then." Ichigo nodded and smiled. "Finally get to cut that guy a couple of times."

"Speaking of which..."

Orihime, who had been quiet this whole time, spoke up softly. A question had just occurred out of nowhere.

"Hypothetically, just hypothetically—if Sosuke Aizen already had the ability to extract that 'bait,' why hasn't he done it yet?"

This was destined to be an uneasy night. The twin defeats of Squad 6 Captain Byakuya Kuchiki and Squad 11 Captain Kenpachi Zaraki left countless Soul Reapers across Seireitei with their jaws on the floor.

The earlier defeats of Sajin Komamura and Mayuri Kurotsuchi had also been unbelievable, but at least digestible. The former's Bankai was undeniably formidable, yet its weakness was equally obvious, losing a one-on-one with mutual damage was something people could wrap their heads around.

As for the latter, the impression was more mad scientist than warrior. Personal combat ability was never the strong suit there, so a defeat was something people could accept.

But Byakuya Kuchiki and Kenpachi Zaraki were the most prominent Captains of the past century. The former was head of the Kuchiki Clan, foremost among the four great noble families. The latter was the brute who had cut down the previous Kenpachi without even having mastered Bankai.

In the hearts of many Soul Reapers, these two were the standard-bearers of Captain-level strength, the Captain-Commander excluded as a matter of course, and if there was one piece of gossip Soul Reapers couldn't let go of, it was whether these two could ever settle the question of who was stronger.

Yet now, the two of them together had still been beaten to critical condition by a Ryoka. For ordinary Soul Reapers, this was nothing short of the sky caving in. What could possibly stop the Ryoka now? The Captain-Commander? The legendary Squad Zero?

It wasn't just the ordinary Soul Reapers. Most of the Captains found sleep nearly impossible that night.

Some were excited at having spotted the trail of a black cat. Some were still bedridden. Some were puzzling over the corpse from that afternoon. Some were quietly plotting their final move.

Some were murmuring endlessly before a memorial tablet. Some lay in bed seething at their own powerlessness. Some were weighing which side to stand on come morning. Some were busy working behind the scenes. Some were hesitating over whether to commit an act of treason.

Some were reflecting on when they had become so weak. Some were staring at a large screen, calculating something no one else could read. Some were coughing, yet had already made up their minds about what to do tomorrow.

And finally, the Captain of Squad 1, Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, entered Jinzen and meditated for the first time in a long while, communing with his Zanpakuto in the quiet. Somewhere in that stillness, he felt that tomorrow he might...

The pitch-black horizon faintly began to pale. Time passed. The rising sun scattered the darkness and lit the world. Today was a day destined to be written into the annals of history.

The execution was set for ten o'clock in the morning. Soul Reapers were up early, gazing from afar. The battle to come at Sokyoku Hill was not something ordinary Soul Reapers could participate in, even a Lieutenant getting caught up in it would be in extreme danger.

Most of the Captains straightened their uniforms and composed themselves, preparing to head to Sokyoku Hill. Among them, Sajin Komamura, bandages wrapped head to toe, and Kenpachi Zaraki ignored the protests of the Squad 4 seated officers and insisted on getting out of bed to make their way there.

After being reprimanded by Squad 4 Captain Retsu Unohana and strictly forbidden from engaging in combat, the two were finally permitted to go.

After the three Captains set off, a certain white-haired figure who should have remained unconscious for several more days slowly opened those long, narrow eyes.

At nine-thirty in the morning, the execution detail escorted the condemned, Rukia Kuchiki, to Sokyoku Hill.

The Sokyoku consisted of a scaffold and a spear. The scaffold was where the condemned stood; the spear, once released, transformed into a giant bird that devoured the condemned whole.

Rukia was led by the execution detail onto the scaffold. Once her restraints were removed, the detail departed. They knew perfectly well, if they didn't leave now, they wouldn't be able to once the Ryoka came cutting through.

"Squad 10 Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya and Squad 12 Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi have not come?"

Sweeping his gaze across the assembled Captains, Captain-Commander Yamamoto glanced, without a trace of expression, at his two rogue disciples.

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