Bleach: Watch Closely, This Is How You Use a Zanpakutō-Chapter 381: Save the World with Me

Soul King Palace, within the Soul King’s inner sanctum.

Having encountered no further resistance along the way, Masatsuki Aozaki passed through several layers of barriers, making his way toward the Throne of Heaven.

Finally, after overcoming countless obstacles, he crossed the Front Approach to the Soul King’s Palace and stepped into the inner sanctum.

Ōetsu Nimaiya stood at the gate, gave a small wave, and turned to leave.

Masatsuki Aozaki pushed open the doors and entered. A grand palace stretched before him, its interior suffused with an air of mystery.

He walked forward slowly, the sound of his footsteps echoing through the empty hall.

"You’ve finally come."

The voice came from afar, gentle and kind like a spring breeze, yet imbued with a majesty that allowed no irreverence.

Masatsuki Aozaki looked toward the sound and saw a figure appear in his view.

A man sat casually on the steps, dressed in a flowing white robe styled after ancient Greek—pure, clean, with not a trace of other color. His short black hair was neatly trimmed, his face ordinary yet well-defined.

But his deep eyes—each with four pupils glowing faintly—were unmistakable. A symbol of divine authority.

Masatsuki Aozaki recognized him instantly. He was the sole god of this world.

Yet there were no attendants at his side, no divine radiance surrounding him. He simply sat there, quietly, beside a massive crystal.

Within the crystal was a limbless man—identical in appearance to the one beside him.

A clone? An illusion?

Masatsuki Aozaki couldn’t tell—at least not yet.

"Sit wherever you like."

The man spoke again. His voice carried a strange magic, soothing and disarming.

Though this should have been their first meeting, for some reason, Masatsuki Aozaki felt an odd familiarity, as if he’d seen him before.

He locked eyes with the man, trying to pull the answer from memory.

In a flash, it hit him.

...That plain, unremarkable middle-aged man from his dream!

Exactly the same!

Confusion filled Masatsuki Aozaki’s mind.

Those four glowing pupils were so distinctive—how had he not recognized him before?

He looked up at the man, who sat with an almost casual ease. Yet from him radiated a sacred, comforting aura—like a kind god descending to the mortal world.

Then, a soft voice reached him again:

"Ah... forgive me. It’s been quite a while. Allow me to reintroduce myself."

"I’m what you all call the ’Soul King.’ My name is Yahweh."

Masatsuki Aozaki slowly lowered his head, just as Yahweh offered a faint, apologetic smile—seemingly on behalf of the impoliteness just shown.

As Masatsuki looked down, Yahweh’s four sacred pupils softened with a light smile, his tone warm and sincere:

"Your caution is well-placed. But even so, I hope you can trust that I mean you no harm."

Masatsuki Aozaki plopped down beside him, as if reuniting with an old friend after years apart. He pouted a bit and asked with a casual, even cheeky tone:

"So why didn’t you go with the whole dream-trick routine this time?"

"I appreciate your confidence in my abilities. But I’m sorry—long ago, I lost the power to interfere with you that way."

Yahweh turned his gaze away from Masatsuki Aozaki, resting a hand gently on the massive crystal behind him.

His eyes—those four glowing pupils—seemed to be watching the entire world.

"So why did you want to meet me this time?" Masatsuki Aozaki asked.

Yahweh didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he posed a seemingly unrelated question:

"Do you know how I was born?"

Masatsuki Aozaki shook his head.

He honestly had no idea—and there hadn’t been any clues in the original story.

Yahweh smiled and replied calmly:

"There was once an enormous Hollow in this world—far larger than any you’ve ever seen.

It endlessly devoured souls, greedily consuming everything in existence.

Eventually, it became so massive that its very presence threatened the world itself.

And so, I was born.

No father, no mother—no past, no future.

I was born of the world itself. My power is the world’s power.

I stand before all for the sake of this world.

The meaning of my existence is this world."

He looked at Masatsuki with sincere eyes.

"So, Masatsuki—I ask you... join me in saving this world."

Masatsuki Aozaki blinked in disbelief, pointing at himself.

"Me?!"

Had he misheard?

The Soul King—asking him for help to save the world?

If Yahweh had to ask for help, that meant the situation was beyond even his reach.

What was the difference between this and some demon king telling his henchmen to go deal with a monk and his disciples on their journey to fetch scriptures from the West?

"What kind of trouble could be serious enough for you to come ask me? Don’t tell me it’s Yhwach again?"

Masatsuki scratched his head, genuinely puzzled.

It wasn’t that he looked down on Yhwach—but with his scrawny frame, Yhwach didn’t seem like someone who could go toe-to-toe with the Soul King.

Yahweh replied slowly, "Yhwach? He’s just a wayward child."

Then his tone turned grave.

"This time... the trouble comes from outside the world."

...

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto’s cane had already transformed into a long sword sheathed in brown.

He rested both hands on the hilt, his gaze cold and resolute.

"Exterminate the traitors."

His low voice carried boundless killing intent.

Without giving the Quincy a chance to resist, blades clashed in a flash—slicing through their bodies in an instant, splattering still-warm droplets of blood.

Steel unsheathed, enemies destroyed.

Up ahead, his students and subordinates had already engaged the enemy in fierce combat.

The Quincy had clearly not expected any Shinigami to make it this deep into their territory and were caught completely off guard.

After all, not every Quincy was part of the Sternritter.

The outer ranks were poorly prepared and quickly suffered devastating losses.

But the Shinigami showed no mercy. They weren’t leaving survivors.

Even the wounded Quincy who had lost their ability to fight were swiftly finished off—cold and efficient.

Those who could still fight were shocked and enraged.

They grabbed their Reishi bows and fired arrows into the sky.

The arrows exploded midair, scattering into countless glowing particles of spirit energy.

"Don’t panic! Reinforcements are on the way! Just hold the line! Don’t let those Shinigami reach Silbern!"

One Quincy shouted, trying to rally his comrades.

Kenpachi Zaraki burst out laughing, the blade in his hand gleaming with a deadly light.

He pointed into the distance, as if his sword could pierce the heavens.

His voice was loud, wild, and full of taunting energy as it echoed through the air.

"Silbern, huh? That castle sounds pretty important. I wonder if there’s someone stronger waiting for me there?"

Not far away, a Quincy roared furiously:

"Damn it! Just a bunch of Shinigami, and they dare look down on us..."

Before he could finish, Kenpachi Zaraki spun around.

With a backhanded swing, a wave of razor-sharp sword pressure cut through the air and struck the Quincy dead on.

"You talk too much. In a fight, you come at me. You don’t stand there whining like a coward."

Zaraki’s mouth twisted into a savage grin.

His jagged Zanpakutō flashed with icy light, and each swing brought a violent gust that cut down enemy after enemy without pause.

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m