Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

Yhwach was the name of the man who led the Quincies in the great war against the Shinigami nearly a thousand years ago. Currently, there were no written records of this war within the Seireitei. In fact, the number of Shinigami in the entire Seireitei who even knew the name Yhwach could be counted on one hand.

As a transmigrator, Kōe naturally knew of Yhwach’s existence. This man was not merely the leader of the Quincies at that time; he was the sole ancestor and the source of power for all Quincies.

This infamous Quincy ancestor was a ruthless figure who would come close to overturning the entire world in the future. Yet, even in his past life, Kōe never understood why Yamamoto hadn’t just killed him directly in the beginning. Did he think Yhwach was so heavily injured that he would inevitably die, and thus left him alone? That shouldn’t be the case. Having been taught by Yamamoto since childhood, Kōe knew perfectly well that the man was not the merciful or soft-hearted type—at least, not in his youth.

When he was younger, Kōe would occasionally bring up the topic in a veiled manner. However, Yamamoto absolutely refused to speak a word about the events of a thousand years ago, leaving Kōe with zero progress in his investigation.

During this Quincy eradication operation, Kōe had been constantly worried that Yhwach might have some connection to the Sternritter Fortress. If there had been even the slightest sign of something amiss back then, he probably would have turned tail and run immediately. That kind of existence was absolutely not someone he could afford to provoke at his current level.

Fear was one thing, but on the other hand, Kōe was actually quite hopeful that the Sternritter Fortress might hold clues regarding Yhwach. If that were the case, the Seireitei could realize the threat ahead of time and strike first, making it highly likely that the future Thousand-Year Blood War would not repeat itself.

To that end, he had ordered the Star Eradication Unit to thoroughly search every corner of the Sternritter Fortress. The results were within expectations—the Sternritter Fortress had absolutely nothing to do with the future Yhwach.

But one always had to try. Just like right now—looking at Vohtz’s expression, it was obvious he knew something.

”Wh-what Yhwach? I’ve never even heard of him!” Vohtz’s eyes darted around as he feigned composure. ”I really don’t understand what you’re talking about!”

”You really don’t understand?” Kōe’s gaze was piercing. Even through his sunglasses, Vohtz felt as though he could see two sharp points of light. ”Let me remind you. The sealed King of the Quincy. Over nine hundred years, he shall recover his heartbeat. Over ninety years, he shall recover his intellect. Over nine years, he shall recover his power. And finally...”

”...”

With every word Kōe spoke, Vohtz felt as if his heart was being ruthlessly hammered. *’Why does he know this? Did someone else tell him? No, impossible. There aren’t many people who know about this to begin with, and...’*

”And finally, over nine days, he shall recover the world! And this sealed King of the Quincy is none other than Yhwach!”

The final hammer fell ruthlessly. Kōe’s eyes were so close to him, and the light reflecting off his sunglasses pierced Vohtz’s pupils, causing him to subconsciously furrow his brow.

”Wh-where did you hear that?” Vohtz’s throat bobbed, swallowing his intended words along with his saliva before changing his tune. ”Th-that’s just a legend. You can’t take it seriously.”

”And what about the Wandenreich? Is that just a legend too?!” Kōe pressed on, his voice like the whispers of a demon, making Vohtz feel his psychological defenses crumbling bit by bit.

*’He knows! The Seireitei knows too! Who exactly betrayed the ancestor?!’*

No! Vohtz shook his head vigorously, trying to force himself to calm down. *’There are already very few who know of the ancestor’s existence, and I’m probably the only one who knows about the Wandenreich. But I haven’t said a word. Could he possess an ability to read memories?’*

Kōe had no idea what Vohtz was thinking at this moment. He just wanted to push a little harder and dig out everything hidden inside Vohtz’s brain!

”The life of one person versus the lives of thousands—it’s not a hard choice to make! Think of your family, the families of your comrades! Especially those children. They still have plenty of time, a bright future ahead of them, but because of your stubbornness, bang, it’s all gone!” Kōe patted Vohtz on the shoulder, speaking with earnest gravity. ”Such stubbornness is far too selfish, isn’t it, Vohtz?”

Kōe’s words were deeply moving, but in reality, Vohtz, the listener, didn’t absorb a single word.

*’A deal. That’s right, this is a deal! If the Seireitei already knew of the ancestor’s existence, would they come to make a deal? Especially with me?’* The immense sense of crisis didn’t crush Vohtz; instead, it helped him figure out a lot of things.

With the Shinigami’s arrogant posture, they would never stoop so low as to negotiate with their own prisoner, even if they knew of Yhwach’s existence! After all, the Quincies had suffered a crushing defeat nearly a thousand years ago. If the Shinigami could win once, they could win a second time. It was just Yhwach—they would just kill him again. Vohtz understood the Seireitei’s mindset all too well.

And even if it were a negotiation, they should be talking to the surviving Konrad, not a ’nobody’ like him. Furthermore, the one representing the Seireitei was actually Kōe. No matter how much of a genius he was, someone of his age couldn’t possibly represent the Seireitei, right?

Therefore, although he couldn’t be one hundred percent certain, Vohtz was largely convinced that this deal was solely Kōe’s own initiative.

And the reason it was framed as a deal was so that after Vohtz spilled the details, Kōe could go to Central 46 or his master, Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, and claim that this deal was proposed by the Quincy, Knott Vohtz!

”It must be exhausting staying in a place like this, right, Kōe?” Vohtz said. He cleared his throat, spitting out the blood clogging it, and continued, ”Clearly knowing so many things, yet having to tread carefully, using the mouths of your enemies to let your comrades know. Clearly having good intentions, yet still drawing suspicion. But that is the Seireitei—the cold home you Shinigami have built!”

”...”

”You guessed it?” Kōe asked aloud after a moment of silence. Seeing the other man nod, he clutched his head and said in frustration, ”I was so close! Couldn’t you have been just a little bit stupider?!”

”You came to me to make the emergence of this deal seem more logical, ensuring that you only gain merit without being held accountable for any mistakes. What a brilliant calculation. I was almost bluffed by you.”

”Can’t you think of me in a more positive light, Vohtz?” Kōe shrugged, then sat down cross-legged, speaking as if chatting with an old friend. ”I’m giving you an opportunity—a chance to return to a peaceful life. As long as you speak up, I guarantee that all Quincies will survive!”

”An opportunity? An opportunity to live like captive livestock under constant surveillance?”

”It might be like that for a while, but it won’t last long. Eventually, you’ll all be able to return to your previous lives and live with dignity!” Kōe said, waving his hand.

He wasn’t lying about this. The Quincies’ power came from Yhwach. If they could find and kill him as early as possible through Vohtz, then all Quincies would likely lose their powers and revert to being ordinary humans. In a way, this was also a roundabout method of completely eradicating the Quincies.

”Wouldn’t that just be marching in place? This world needs to change, and only the ancestor can reshape this world!”

Vohtz spoke with impassioned fervor, as if he had undergone a baptism. ”Unlike the stubborn, stagnant, unchanging world you rule over! A world with no suspicion, no mutual harm, where everyone is radiant enough to be proud! Do you understand that kind of world, Kōe? That is our dream!”

After Vohtz finished speaking, his eyes grew hazy, as if intoxicated by the beautiful scene constructed in his mind. Kōe, however, gritted his teeth, the corners of his mouth twitching unnaturally. Yhwach would create a world like that? What an absolute joke!

”Stop dreaming, Vohtz! Isn’t your dream just to sweep aside the Shinigami and ascend to that crumbling throne you speak of? And then what? Overthrow the cold Seireitei, only to build an even colder, more ruthless palace with whatever name you please with your own hands?”

”This is your dream?” Kōe sneered. ”No, this is just your wishful thinking. This is desire, not a dream!”

”You don’t understand. What we want is not power. Our conflict with you is only because you are the greediest power-mongers, the most stubborn conservatives. And our dream has never been something you care about.”

In the face of Kōe’s reprimand, Vohtz appeared calm and breezy, looking completely unbothered. He didn’t expect Kōe to understand him anyway. There were always people in this world who claimed to be sober while drunk, even if there were quite a few of them.

”Nine days. Sometime in the future, it will only take nine days, and this world will be completely changed.” Vohtz spoke slowly, almost as if singing. ”It’s just a pity that you won’t be able to see its beautiful appearance after those nine days.”

”Hmph!” Kōe replied disdainfully. ”Of course I won’t see it. But you’re lucky—the feeling of a shattered dream isn’t something just anyone can endure.”

After speaking, Kōe pushed himself off the ground with his right hand and stood up. This deal was a failure. You could never wake up someone who was daydreaming, because the other party also thought you were the one daydreaming.

But competing in stubbornness? Competing in thick-headedness? Trying to out-stubborn a transmigrator meant he had really picked the wrong opponent. In Kōe’s eyes, the current Vohtz was just a foolish mortal arguing with God over who had better foresight.

”You don’t know what kind of opportunity you’ve missed, Vohtz.” Kōe dusted off his hands, though there was no dirt on them, and continued, ”Since I know of the existence of Yhwach and the Wandenreich, I will definitely be able to find them!”

”Oh? Then go find them. This world is quite vast, after all.”

”Aren’t they just hiding in the shadows of the Seireitei? Give me a hundred years, and I’ll find them no matter what!” Kōe probed, pretending to be nonchalant.

”In the shadows? Then why don’t you try lighting up the entire Seireitei and see.” Vohtz replied just as nonchalantly, though it was impossible to tell if he was faking it or not.

Kōe narrowed his eyes. He truly couldn’t read anything from Vohtz’s expression. It seemed this deal was an absolute, utter failure. What rotten luck! As a transmigrator, couldn’t he have been equipped with some sort of protagonist halo or something?

Feeling irritated, Kōe waved his hand, dispelling the Kidō used to seal the room. Just as he reached the door and prepared to leave, he suddenly remembered something. With his back to Vohtz, he said in a low voice, ”Do you remember when I said that sometimes, dying is actually the easier way out?”

”Did you say that?”

”Didn’t I?” Kōe thought about it. His words had seemingly been interrupted by Vohtz back then. ”Alright, well, now you know. If you change your mind when the time comes, have someone fetch me anytime.”

”Torture?” Vohtz replied with a smile. ”I’m already used to it.”

”No, no, no. It’s something you’ve never experienced before. But very soon, you’ll get to taste it.”

Without waiting for Vohtz to speak, the door shut with a *bang*, and Kōe’s back completely disappeared from Vohtz’s sight. And this was also the last time Vohtz would ever see him.

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