Soul Society: Battle Ready

Soul Society: Battle Ready is an event taking place during the Quincy Blood War that focuses on the Gotei 13's preparations for their inevitable second battle against the Wandenreich.

Prelude[]

When the Wandenreich invade Soul Society on June 13th, they completely decimate the Seireitei.^[2] After Yhwach leaves, the Royal Guard arrive^[3] and take Ichigo Kurosaki, 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki and Lieutenant Renji Abarai, 13th Division Lieutenant Rukia Kuchiki, and the broken blade of Ichigo's Bankai, Tensa Zangetsu, to the Soul King Palace in order to repair Ichigo's Bankai and heal Byakuya, Renji, and Rukia, leaving the Gotei 13 to begin rebuilding.^[4][5]

Rebuilding, Regrowing[]

Days later, within the Seireitei, Shūtetsu Nagakiso paces along the edge of a room filled with Shinigami practicing Zanjutsu and admonishes them for not performing swings capable of cutting down Quincy, which they acknowledge. During this, two unseated Shinigami discuss 10th Division Captain Tōshirō Hitsugaya losing his Bankai, which one of them considers proof that Hitsugaya is finished and that the fate of his division is uncertain, before Nagakiso reprimands them for talking, to their startlement.^[6]

Suddenly, Hitsugaya opens the door, and when a surprised Nagakiso approaches and inquires about what brings him here, Hitsugaya bows and requests that Nagakiso train him because his Bankai being stolen means he must retrain from the basics to fight with Zanjutsu. With Nagakiso shocked by this and the two Shinigami smiling at each other, Hitsugaya takes his place among the other training Shinigami and begins practicing sword swings while ruminating on how he had perfected his Bankai following Sōsuke Aizen's defeat, only for it to be stolen all the same, before telling himself that there is no time to mourn for what has been lost because he cannot get it back and must look forward.^[7]

Simultaneously, on the outskirts of the Rukongai, 9th Division Lieutenant Shūhei Hisagi follows his captain, Kensei Muguruma, to a clearing in the forest and questions why they are here, which leads Kensei to declare that he wants Hisagi to use his Bankai. Kensei explains to a startled Hisagi that while his Bankai was not stolen during the last invasion, there is no guarantee that it will not happen during the next one, making it paramount for the Gotei 13 to have as many officers capable of Bankai as possible. When 9th Division Lieutenant Mashiro Kuna leaps down in front of Hisagi with a flip, Kensei has her don her Hollow mask.^[8]

As a grinning Kensei warns Hisagi that she is strong with her mask on and that he will only survive if he achieves Bankai, Hisagi frantically tells Mashiro to wait and begins to protest this, only for Mashiro to punch him hard in the stomach, causing him to collapse. Upon seeing this, Kensei berates Hisagi for not heeding his clear warning, and as Mashiro asserts that there is no way a lieutenant could defeat a super lieutenant while brandishing her custom lieutenant's badge, Kensei clarifies that Mashiro will not hold back from killing Hisagi during this because Kensei is not soft like Kaname Tōsen was, causing Hisagi to force himself up in response.^[9]

After observing that he has always respected and admired Kensei, Hisagi proclaims the latter has no right to disparage Tōsen regardless of this, leaving Kensei to stare down at him.^[10] During this, at the Shinigami Research and Development Institute, 12th Division 3rd Seat Akon enters the control room, where Niko Kuna wonders if it is okay for him to walk around yet, prompting Akon to refuse to lie in bed all day despite his pain and inquire about the whereabouts of their captain, Mayuri Kurotsuchi. In response, Kuna reveals Mayuri has stayed in his office with his lieutenant, Nemu Kurotsuchi, ever since the Quincy invasion.^[11]

Once he confirms what Kuna said and looks around the room to see the surveillance bugs inactive, a perturbed Akon opens a panel on the nearby wall and begins typing into the keypad within while explaining to Kuna that Mayuri has never left the bugs inactive while in his office for more than 24 hours. Concluding Mayuri either has experienced a crisis or is conducting experiments he does not want anyone else to see through the bugs, Akon asserts he is going to take a look either way and presses the large red button on the control panel, creating a medium-sized screen hanging in the air. At Kuna's inquiry, Akon bluntly reveals this displays the feed of a hidden camera he installed in Mayuri's office, only to be bewildered alongside her when the feed displays Mayuri asking someone on a table in front of him if they can move.^[12]

Meanwhile, at the Ōmaeda Clan estate, Mareyo Ōmaeda looks for her brother, 2nd Division Lieutenant Marechiyo Ōmaeda, before finding him lounging on the porch. After apologizing for bothering Marechiyo while he is trying to take a nap, Mareyo requests that he play with her while holding up a ball. However, Marechiyo declines and assures a distraught Mareyo that he is just busy, prompting Marejirōsabu Ōmaeda to promise to read Mareyo a nice book while Marechiyo rests, due to the latter clearly being tired from work. In turn, Mareyo bluntly refuses to go along with this because she finds Marejirōsabu's books to be creepy.^[13]

As Marejirōsabu attempts to laugh this off as her not understanding the complexities of his literature, Mareyo tells Marechiyo she is going to take a walk to escape from Marejirōsabu, leaving Marechiyo nonplussed as he looks up at the sky and wonders why Suì-Fēng decided not to take him with her, with Suì-Fēng performing one-handed pushups on a rocky spire elsewhere.^[14] Simultaneously, a shirtless and sweating 7th Division Lieutenant Tetsuzaemon Iba finishes lifting a boulder in repetitions and sets it down while looking back toward a cave entrance flanked by a torii gate and wondering when Sajin Komamura is going to come out of there.^[15]

Within the cave, Komamura stands before the Wolfman Clan Elder, who opens his eyes and questions who is there. When Komamura notes that it has been a long time since they last met, the annoyed Elder counters that he has a lot of nerve coming back here^[16] and asks Komamura what he wants, leading Komamura to announce that he has come to learn their clan's secret technique. However, the Elder merely laughs at him and reminds Komamura that he has no right to make demands like this after hiding his face with a cloth and mask in order to pretend to be human because he was ashamed of his appearance. In turn, Komamura points out that he is no longer concealing himself and explains that the world outside has changed enough in the past few decades that he believes their clan can now live out in the open, though this world is presently under threat.^[17]

Despite this, the Elder angrily tells Komamura to be silent, creating a strong wind with his breath, and details how the world will remain intact while its bearers change, with their clan remaining unharmed and continuing to live in the shadows no matter who that is. Though Komamura insists that they have to change the world for the sake of their children and grandchildren, the Elder counters that it will not change and does not need to since it does not matter who controls it. Slowly standing up as Komamura continues to protest this, the Elder vows to crush Komamura if he refuses to avoid disrupting the peace of their clan, only for Komamura to welcome this challenge.^[18] Some time later, a stunned Komamura stands before the defeated Elder and repeats that their clan's secret technique is called the Humanization Technique, which the Elder affirms before explaining that the clan was sent to the Animal Realm for the sins they committed during their past lives, but were not resolved by this and so returned to Soul Society.^[19]

The Elder reveals that temporarily breaking the chain of sins that binds them allows them to return to the forms they had before they were condemned to being beasts, which lets them gain immense power in the form of the Humanization Technique. With Komamura wondering how it can be done, the Elder tells him to give up his heart and offer it to the Elder in return for the technique being bestowed upon him, leading Komamura to simply look at his hand. However, when the Elder assumes he cannot do this and claims this is fine since Komamura has no obligation to throw his life away for the Shinigami, Komamura counters that he does.^[20]

As he recounts how Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto took him in after he abandoned his clan to avoid having to hide any longer, leaving him with a vast debt to repay, Komamura reminds the Elder that the Quincy killed Yamamoto, meaning that he must now do whatever it takes to avenge the latter, before ripping his heart out of his chest while the Elder watches.^[21]

Aftermath[]

The next day, the Wandenreich's Schatten Bereich engulfs the buildings, encircling wall, and Shakonmaku of the Seireitei, replacing the entire city with the Wandenreich's city while Yhwach, Uryū Ishida, and Sternritter "B" Jugram Haschwalth stand atop Silbern. In the SRDI, 12th Division 3rd Seat Akon and Hiyosu struggle to understand what is happening due to their measuring equipment delivering impossible readings. As Akon realizes the Seireitei is gone, Yhwach asks Uryū if he knows the Kaiser Gesang, which Uryū recites as the confined Quincy king regaining his heartbeat in 900 years, his mind after 90 years, and his strength after 9 years. However, Yhwach reveals there is a fourth verse stating that the king will regain the world in 9 days and invites Uryū and Haschwalth to join him in the last nine days.^[22]

References[]

Navigation[]

Quincy Blood War
Major Participants	Ichigo Kurosaki • Uryū Ishida • Yasutora Sado • Orihime Inoue • Kisuke Urahara • Isshin Kurosaki • Gotei 13 • Royal Guard • Visored • Tier Harribel • Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez • Wandenreich • Sternritter • Asguiaro Ebern
Events
Fights & Events	The New Shinigami Guardians & the Broken Balance • Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Asguiaro Ebern • Rise of the Wandenreich • Return to Hueco Mundo • Wandenreich vs. The Arrancar • Fall of the Seireitei • Ichigo Kurosaki & Ayon vs. Quilge Opie • Byakuya Kuchiki vs. Äs Nödt • Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto vs. Driscoll Berci • Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto vs. Royd Lloyd • Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto vs. Yhwach • Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Yhwach • The Royal Guard Arrive • Royal Training • Kenpachi Zaraki vs. Retsu Unohana • The Rise & Fall of Masaki Kurosaki • Isshin Shiba & Masaki Kurosaki vs. White • Soul Society: Battle Ready • Rise of Uryū Ishida • Wartime Coordination • Tōshirō Hitsugaya & Rangiku Matsumoto vs. Bazz-B • Suì-Fēng vs. BG9 • Tōshirō Hitsugaya vs. Cang Du • Sajin Komamura vs. Bambietta Basterbine • Kensei Muguruma & Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi vs. Mask De Masculine • Renji Abarai vs. Mask De Masculine • Rukia Kuchiki vs. Äs Nödt • Yachiru Kusajishi vs. Guenael Lee • Kenpachi Zaraki vs. Gremmy Thoumeaux • Ichigo Kurosaki vs. The Bambies • The Gotei 13 vs. The Sternritter • Battle of the Zombies • The Royal Guard vs. The Wandenreich • Ōetsu Nimaiya vs. the Schutzstaffel • Ichibē Hyōsube vs. Yhwach • Fall of the Soul King • Bazz-B vs. Jugram Haschwalth • Mayuri Kurotsuchi & Nemu Kurotsuchi vs. Pernida Parnkgjas • Shunsui Kyōraku vs. Lille Barro • The Gotei 13 & The Visored vs. Gerard Valkyrie • Nanao Ise vs. Lille Barro • Uryū Ishida vs. Jugram Haschwalth • Yoruichi Shihōin vs. Askin Nakk Le Vaar • Kisuke Urahara vs. Askin Nakk Le Vaar • Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Yhwach: Rematch • Ichigo Kurosaki vs. Yhwach: Final Fight