Chapter 590

Silence, a long silence.

Head Captain Yamamoto spoke of the past, long buried by time, telling the assembled Shinigami Captains of a powerful figure named Yhwach.

"A thousand years ago, I was able to defeat Yhwach, but there were too many contributing factors, and I very nearly lost. 

"A thousand years have passed, and to be honest, if Yhwach were to recover his former strength and return, I don't know what the outcome of a great war would be. Especially if Yhwach were to join forces with Aizen Sōsuke."

It was rare, even unimaginable, that the invincible Head Captain, the powerful and confident Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, who controlled everything, would say such words.

The Shinigami Captains present were deeply shaken by his words.

They stared blankly at Yamamoto. His face was weathered, his body stooped. Time had left its mark on him.

He was old after all, and perhaps wouldn't have much longer to live...

At this moment, the Shinigami Captains present felt a complex mix of emotions, filled with melancholy.

Time... even Shinigamis, even a Shinigami as powerful as the Head Captain, could not escape the erosion of time.

"But even so, if Yhwach and Aizen were to act against the Soul Society, I, with this decaying body, would still wield my sword and slay one of them for the Soul Society!"

Yamamoto spoke again, and this time, he regained his usual domineering aura. 

A surge of power emanated from him, Reiatsu overflowing from within his body, putting immense pressure on all the Shinigami Captains present.

It also reminded them that the Head Captain was still the Head Captain. 

Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni was still Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni. Even though he was old, he was still undeniably powerful!

So they breathed a sigh of relief.

But immediately, their hearts grew heavier.

Yamamoto was very strong at this moment. If he went all out, all the Captains present believed that there were very few people in this world who could stand against him, perhaps only one or two.

However, the current Yamamoto was certainly not as strong as he was a thousand years ago.

And a thousand years ago, the man named Yhwach almost defeated Yamamoto. Now that he was returning, how powerful would he be?

And just as their Head Captain, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, had said, if Yhwach and Aizen were to join forces...

Thinking of this possibility, all the Shinigami Captains felt a chill in their hearts.

"Captain-Commander Yamamoto, what should we do next?"

Unohana Retsu, spoke up.

At her words, the other captains also looked at Yamamoto. They were feeling lost, and Yamamoto was their backbone.

Yamamoto's face turned grave. He looked at everyone and said,

"We need to break them down one by one before they can unite! Our primary target is Aizen. 

"We don't know Yhwach's whereabouts, and since he was able to hide for a thousand years without being discovered, we won't find him in a short amount of time." After Yamamoto finished speaking, the captains nodded in agreement. Currently, this was the only viable option: eliminate Aizen first.

"However, we can't send all our forces to Hueco Mundo. Since Yhwach has returned, he definitely won't miss any opportunity to conquer Soul Society. 

"If we mobilize everyone, Soul Society might be taken advantage of by Yhwach. Therefore, we need to leave some forces here to defend Soul Society against any unforeseen circumstances." 

A thousand years ago, Yhwach didn't lead the Quincy in a direct assault; he was a man who would use any means necessary. 

Yamamoto was absolutely certain that if Soul Society lacked strong defenses, Yhwach would seize this golden opportunity and launch a sneak attack. 

After all, weaker forces could only rely on surprise attacks to achieve victories against stronger opponents.

However, what he didn't know was that the current Quincy force was vastly different from a thousand years ago. 

Their overall strength far surpassed Yamamoto's estimations. Just the twenty-plus members of the Sternritter, each one, at the very least, possessed power equivalent to a Soul Society captain. 

Among them, the members of Yhwach's personal guard, such as Jugram Haschwalth and Lille Barro, were even more terrifying. 

Each of them far surpassed all the other captains except for Yamamoto himself.

"Therefore, I will remain here to safeguard Soul Society. The rest of the captains, all of you will enter Hueco Mundo. Before Aizen can fully fuse with the Hōgyoku, we will kill him!" Yamamoto issued his final order to the captains. 

This time, he never intended to personally participate; he chose to remain in Soul Society.

There were three reasons for this: First, as mentioned before, to guard against Yhwach's potential sneak attack. 

Second, Aizen hadn't fully merged with the Hōgyoku yet. 

Even though, according to Unohana, Aizen's current power, even without complete fusion with the Hōgyoku, already surpassed that of a captain, that was only in terms of individual strength. 

If all the captains went together, Yamamoto believed that victory would ultimately belong to Soul Society, to the captains.

As for the third reason, Yamamoto intended to train these captains. 

Perhaps due to a long period of peace, with no strong enough enemies for nearly a thousand years, the strength of these captains, compared to their predecessors, had declined considerably. 

This operation to suppress Aizen would undoubtedly be a very difficult one for the captains; victory would be hard-won.

This experience would pave the way for a brighter future for them.

It was for these three reasons that Yamamoto dispatched all the captains of the Gotei 13.

Putting aside these three reasons, this arrangement also clearly demonstrated his emphasis on eliminating Aizen, his unwavering determination to kill him. 

Towards Aizen, this villain who manipulated the shinigami, this traitor who deceived the Soul Society, Yamamoto had long harboured murderous intent.

"Yes!" All the captains responded.

A day later, the captains of Soul Society mobilized, heading towards Hueco Mundo. Their target: the ruler of Hueco Mundo, Aizen Sōsuke.

However, while they were on their way to Hueco Mundo, someone else had already arrived there ahead of them. 

This person was the Grandmaster of the Sternritter, a top-tier Quincy: Jugram Haschwalth!