Bleach: The Strongest Shinigami-Chapter 290 ⥤ Freeloading

The Greater Palace and Akira remained unchanged from their last visit.

Not a single guard stood watch.

The group advanced unhindered to the Palace, where Yhwach gazed contemplatively at the massive crystal in the room's center.

"Let me put an end to this endless humiliation."

He could barely contain himself as countless Reishi gathered in his palm, forming a black Quincy cross blade. Multiple blood-red pupils writhed within his eyes as he stared ahead.

"Farewell, Soul King. My father..."

Standing before the crystal, he thrust the Quincy cross blade into it without hesitation. Despite some resistance, the blade slid in smoothly.

As the blade pierced the Soul King's body, vast power flowed through it and into Yhwach.

Kisuke stood speechless at the sight.

Just as he moved to question Aizen, he noticed the Soul King's faint smile within the crystal. Those hollow eyes held a glimmer of liberation.

Strangely, Kisuke found this expression familiar. After a moment's reflection, realization struck.

It was the same look one shows after completing an arduous task!

Having absorbed the Soul King's power, Yhwach's fierce face showed satisfaction as his Reiatsu surged and intensified!

The Greater Palace shuddered under the released pressure, dust particles dancing across the ground, unable to withstand such power.

Aizen observed calmly, blue-purple light flickering behind his glasses.

"The end of the old world begins."

Yhwach spread his arms wide, a savage smile crossing his face as his laughter echoed through the Palace.

"Everyone, let us... ARGHHHH!!!"

His words cut short as his features twisted grotesquely, his body erupting with bulging blood vessels that layered upon each other, rendering him hideous.

"Who is it?! Your Majesty!" Jugram called out anxiously, stepping forward to aid Yhwach.

Before he could act, his majesty unleashed a powerful Reiatsu blast that sent him flying.

Blood-red pupils rotating in their sockets, Yhwach witnessed scenes that had previously escaped his notice.

A Shinigami wearing a black Shihakushō with the "12th Division" badge on his shoulder was developing some kind of drug in a laboratory, then injecting it into the body of a World of the Living Gemischt Quincy.

As the Auswählen began, this Shinigami calmly observed everything, his serene gaze seeming to pierce through time itself to lock eyes with him.

Though it seemed absurd, Yhwach's scalp tingled. Even during his slumber, this adversary had been laying plans.

Who was this person?!

The Almighty activated once more, time flowing forward, and that Shinigami materialized in the Wandenreich. As the disguise fell away, Yhwach's eyes widened.

"Madara Uchiha?!" His blood-red pupils spinning, his distorted and fierce gaze swept across everyone, "You betrayed me!"

Aizen smiled and nodded, his outer disguise melting away to reveal the face Yhwach loathed.

"Allow me to introduce myself: Twelfth Division Third Seat, Sōsuke Aizen."

Yhwach's expression twisted further.

He had considered many possibilities, but never imagined a Shinigami spy would infiltrate his inner circle, outmaneuvering him so thoroughly.

Blinded by imminent victory, he hadn't bothered to scrutinize the Schutzstaffel after gaining the Almighty — a fatal error born of trust.

"Hashirama, kill him!" With his attention fixed on Aizen, Yhwach committed another oversight.

Akira's grin widened as his Blut patterns flared to life. His body coiled like a spring, muscles crackling as his arms spread wide and his right fist launched forward.

At the last moment, Yhwach sensed the danger approaching. Fighting through searing pain, he desperately raised a Reishi barrier.

"Hashirama, you too—"

Before he could finish, Akira's meteoric fist shattered the barrier and crashed into his body, leaving him staring in disbelief.

⤫ Maji Naguri: Kazan-Ken ⥤ Serious Punch: Volcanic Fist! ⤬

Raw power surged forth, the impact radiating outward and shattering the mighty Greater Palace, fractures spreading everywhere.

The force was so overwhelming that Yhwach couldn't even curse before being hurled backward, a sonic boom echoing as his body smashed into the wall.

This was the Soul King's Greater Palace — not the Soul Society. The high Reishi density made the structures here far more resilient.

Yet even these mighty walls crumbled under the aftershocks, devastation spreading in every direction.

"Ha! Your Majesty, hungry?" Akira shed his disguise, revealing his true form with a righteous yet maniacal grin as he flashed before Yhwach, "If so, feast upon my fist!"

⤫ Genshiki-ryū: Kyojin Ryū Inseki Shōgeki ⥤ Origin Style: Titan Dragon Meteor Impact! ⤬

Before Yhwach could recover, a fist wreathed in black flames hurtled toward him, threatening to crush his skull to dust.

Disregarding his body's changes, he swung his Quincy cross blade in response, attempting to block.

The moment they connected, a terrifying Reishi storm erupted!

Space itself tore apart from the aftershocks, with vast patches of darkness appearing everywhere as waves of accumulated energy spread like concentric circles across the sky above the Soul King Palace.

BOOM!!!

The overwhelming force obliterated stone and building alike, completely destroying the Soul King Palace. The devastating explosion sent everyone flying.

Even Kisuke, the weakest among them, needed his Zanpakutō's power to halt his backward flight. An elegant woman in a sleeveless kimono appeared behind him, embracing and shielding him protectively.

Jugram slammed into the Zero Division's protective barriers, his head ringing.

Dazed, he stared at the explosion's center, struggling to process the sudden turn of events.

Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha — both undercover agents?!

What was happening to his world?

His gaze caught another member of the Schutzstaffel removing their disguise, revealing their true identity.

It was none other than the Lieutenant of the 11th Division, one of the five Special War Powers — Kisuke Urahara!

Jugram's eyes widened as he watched Kisuke step from Benihime's embrace, nodding at him with an insufferably smug smile.

What of Pernida? Could they also be an agent?

As if answering his thoughts, a short figure emerged from Aizen's shadow.

Ice-cold dread gripped Jugram, chilling him from head to toe.

Pernida, you too?

"Lord Jugram." Aizen materialized before him, studying his disheveled appearance with composed eyes, "Let me explain something. Yhwach is not the empire's rightful ruler. Everything he has done stems from selfish desire — creating a world free from the fear of life and death.

Yet the moment he kills the Soul King, this so-called new world will vanish, leaving only eternal oblivion. From the beginning, he never saw the Quincy as subjects — merely as disposable tools for his goals."

Jugram watched him warily, gripping his Reishi sword, "Why are you telling me this?"

Aizen's gaze shifted to the explosion's center, and without turning back, he said, "Someone doesn't want to see a friend perish. That's all there is to it. The choice is in your hands — you can act according to your own thoughts."

From within the rolling dust clouds came Yhwach's furious curse:

"Akira Kisaragi, you deserve to die!"

A storm of violent Reiatsu swept through, clearing away the surrounding dust and revealing a monstrous figure before everyone.

By now, Yhwach had broken free from Aizen's techniques and restored himself to full power through The Almighty.

Black, materialized Reiatsu surged over his body, writhing like a living thing. Half of his face had vanished, replaced by several eyes emanating an ominous aura that made him utterly hideous.

"Kekeke, Yhwach, in your current state, you're not worthy to be my opponent." Akira stood in the sky, his muscular frame gleaming in the sunlight like perfect jade, "In terms of style points, you're not even one-thousandth my equal!"

Yhwach stared at the figure before him with pure hatred. Never before had anyone stirred such emotions in him — not even Genryūsai Yamamoto and Ichibē Hyōsube from a thousand years ago.

Using underhanded methods to gain my trust, then launching a sneak attack — you think this means you've achieved final victory?

Ridiculous, naive! Akira, you don't understand what it means to be a being that transcends everything. You don't comprehend what The Almighty truly is!

An insect like you could be completely annihilated by just the power that leaks between my fingers!

"You will pay for your actions." Yhwach's cold stare fixed on him, Reiatsu swirling around his body like smoke, pupils writhing within each of his numerous eyes.

He raised his right hand as countless Reishi gathered to form a massive Sankt Bogen, and several Heilig Pfeil emanating an aura of annihilation targeted his opponent.

In an instant, the Heilig Pfeil bypassed the firing process and appeared directly before Akira. This attack had been imbued with new power and rules by The Almighty, making it impossible to neutralize with any form of power — it could only be endured head-on.

Yhwach's gaze turned cold, as if already witnessing the tragic scene of Akira being pierced by the arrows.

However, in the next moment, something unexpected occurred.

The Heilig Pfeil struck the Omotesandō below, blasting an enormous crater in the solid ground — so deep that the blue sky below was visible.

"What happened..." Yhwach's pupils contracted as he sensed an unknown power affecting him.

The Almighty activated again to analyze this mysterious force, yet strangely, everything appeared normal.

Akira suddenly materialized before him with a fierce grin, throwing a punch without hesitation. From his shoulders, scorching black flames mixed with lightning erupted like rocket boosters, amplifying his power to the extreme.

With destructive force equal to the earlier Heilig Pfeil, the attack poured into Yhwach's body as surging black flames exploded forth, instantly charring his form black.

BOOMM!!

His figure shot backward like a meteor!

If Aizen's weapon was Kyōka Suigetsu, then Akira was raw, unadulterated destruction. Their seamless coordination immediately put the Quincy King at a severe disadvantage.

Having finally steadied himself in the sky, Yhwach's expression twisted with ultimate fury.

He no longer wished to simply erase these traitors with his power. Those who betray must pay the price.

Don't forget, your power was bestowed by me!

Yhwach spread the five fingers of his right hand and began to chant an ancient incantation.

"Raise the silver crest, the ashen meadow, the circular path that is hidden in the light, the agate eyeball, the golden tongue, the cranial cup, the coffin of Adnyeus. What is raised is your heart."

Powerful Reiatsu erupted from his body, and the Soul Society, already unstable from losing its linchpin, began to shake under the impact. Azure rain of light, centered on Yhwach, fell toward the ground below.

Watching this scene, the last glimmer of hope in Jugram's heart vanished.

Indeed, to His Majesty, the Quincy and even the empire were nothing more than tools.

The scales tilted at this moment, completely falling to Yhwach's opposition.

The rain of light descended upon the Seireitei, enveloping the Quincy's bodies. Intense pain erupted from within them, as if invisible hands were pulling at their internal organs.

Genryūsai felt the energy emanating from the rain of light, his expression turning grim.

"Yhwach..."

Just as the Quincy believed death was imminent, an unprecedented power burst forth from their souls, instantly permeating their entire being.

"This... this is the Captain's energy?!"

"It's Lord Hashirama!!"

"Supreme Commander, we revere you!"

Confusion flickered in Yhwach's eyes — why hadn't this Auswählen reclaimed even a fraction of power?

Where was his power?!

His gaze crossed the seventy-two barriers outside the Soul King Palace, falling upon the Seireitei. When he saw the scene unfolding there, Yhwach fell silent.

The Auswählen had indeed descended, but his power was shielded by another force, making it impossible to strip it from the Quincy's bodies.

At the same time, he saw another detestable blazing figure: Genryūsai Yamamoto.

Seeming to sense Yhwach's gaze, the old man looked skyward, a mocking expression crossing his aged face.

Yhwach: "?"

Could someone tell him what the hell was going on?!

He, Yhwach, Father and King of the Quincy, Emperor of the Wandenreich...

Had been freeloaded off of?!

⤫⤬⤫

T/N: If you want more Chapters like this, check out my Patreon! Take a look at my other translations too, you might like them!

For just $1.50 you can access all the extra content, and descriptive images, costs only $2!

That's it and happy reading! (-‿◦)

https://www.patreon.com/collection/856663