Chapter 37: Yuhabah's Purpose

One of the four gates protecting the Pure Spirit Court…

West Gate—White Path Gate!

This area is personally overseen by the First Squad of the Guard Court…

Amid the raging flames, a figure not very tall but full of authority walked silently, stepping over the corpses scattered everywhere.

Beneath his feet lay the skeletal remains of dead Death Squad soldiers and the charred remains of a Vanquisher whose body had been half‑burned by the fire.

Yet whether the mountain of corpses or the successive wails and pleas on the battlefield, none could deter his advance; his heart was iron, his eyes like steel blades…

It wasn't until the man received Araki's "Heavenly Sky‑Loom" that he halted his stride.

"Hmm? That brat Araki, suppressed the turmoil at Zhuwa Gate so quickly?"

"That does make me see him in a new light…"

The man muttered softly, clearly surprised by Araki's speed.

But when the man thought that Araki was the first of all captains to set out, he understood.

"Die! Death God!!"

At the moment the man whispered, behind the towering wall of flames, several Vanquishers clad in white knight armor burst from the fire, charging at him.

"Foolish!"

In response, the man wielding a flame sword looked up at the Vanquishers rushing toward him, his gaze tinged with disdain.

"All phenomena become ash! You too shall become the remnants beneath this fire‑like flowing blade in my hand!"

Indeed, the lone figure wielding the flame sword strolling across the battlefield was Yamamoto Motoyasai Juukoku, Captain‑General of the Thirteenth Squad of the Guard Court; he brandished the blade that unleashed endless flames, slashing at the clamoring Vanquishers.

"Boom!!"

Violent flames burst from Yamamoto Motoyasai's Zanpō Blade, forming a massive "Fire Dragon" that devoured everything before his eyes!

Whether the rain of arrows aimed at Yamamoto or the several members of the "Star Cross Knight Order" leaping into mid‑air toward him, the instant they touched the raging flames they all turned into ash scattering across the sky…

Along with those "Star Cross Knight Order" members vanished the kneeling, wailing ordinary Vanquishers and some ordinary Death Squad soldiers, crippled and beyond rescue, lying half‑dead on the ground.

"Fear not! You shall not die in vain! When the war ends, I will present the enemy commanders' heads to soothe your departed souls…"

After erasing a swath of Vanquishers' lives, Yamamoto Motoyasai Juukoku spoke to himself…

His words seemed both a soliloquy and addressed to the "heroic sacrifices"—the Death Squad soldiers who had become scattered souls returning to the soul cycle.

Yamamoto did not know how to protect; he was not adept at healing others' paths, only at destroying the enemy's. His Zanpō Blade lacked any healing power; it was the strongest "attack power" Zanpō Blade in the entire Soul Realm, so potent that even allies near him were wounded by its aftershocks. Thus, after the war began, he chose to walk alone…

But Yamamoto was not heartless; he observed the efforts of the Death Squad soldiers of each squad for the Pure Spirit Court.

Therefore, in Yamamoto's view, the only thing he could do now was "Kill"!

Kill! Kill! Kill! Slay all enemies!

Thus to console those Death Squad soldiers who perished fighting the Vanquishers.

A moment later…

As Yamamoto Motoyasai Juukoku sheathed his Zanpō Blade, the battlefield of the West White Path Gate of the Pure Spirit Court turned into a deserted sea of fire; aside from Yamamoto, no living being remained in the flames.

"Chōjirō…"

Yamamoto Motoyasai Juukoku, having sheathed his Zanpō Blade, called coldly toward the empty battlefield ruins.

"I am here, Lord Motoyasai!"

At the instant his words fell, a gray figure appeared behind him.

The newcomer was Chōjirō, deputy captain of the First Squad.

"Inform the whole squad: the enemy forces that attacked the White Path Gate have all been slain by me personally!"

Motoyasai, with his back to Chōjirō, spoke with confidence.

"Understood…"

Chōjirō, upon hearing, was startled, then immediately bit his own thumb and drew circles upon his arm.

"Binding Path's Seventy‑seven Sky‑Loom!!"

"Calling all First Squad! This is Deputy Captain Chōjirō of the First Squad: the enemy forces that attacked the White Path Gate have been slain by Lord Motoyasai himself! Repeat! The enemy forces that attacked the White Path Gate have been slain by Yamamoto Motoyasai himself!!"

Chōjirō deliberately repeated Motoyasai's words twice, especially emphasizing to the heads of the Thirteenth Squad of the Guard Court that the Vanquishers who attacked the White Path Gate were all killed by the old mountain man alone.

"Hmm! Chōjirō, you did well!"

Motoyasai also received Chōjirō's message, his gaze toward him full of appreciation, nodding with great satisfaction.

"It's merely a trivial matter; you need not praise me!"

Chōjirō, upon hearing, gave Motoyasai a slight smile.

Having served as Motoyasai's longtime deputy, Chōjirō knew his heart like the back of his hand; from the moment Motoyasai received Araki's message and began to unleash his full power in battle…

Chōjirō realized that Motoyasai, upon learning that the enemy forces at Zhuwa Gate had been single‑handedly suppressed by Araki, felt a surge of rivalry.

According to Chōjirō's understanding, Motoyasai would think that, as Captain‑General of the Thirteenth Squad and Araki's master, he could not lose to his own subordinate and disciple Araki, otherwise it would be disgraceful!

"Alright, now let the entire Thirteenth Squad of the Guard Court contract toward the interior of the Pure Spirit Court!"

"Since that Vanquisher 'Emperor', repeatedly warned by Araki as not to be underestimated, is neither with Araki nor with me, perhaps the other two gates have no trace of him!"

"Perhaps that guy, taking advantage of our Thirteenth Squad's campaign against the invading forces of the four gates—White Path, Azure Flow, Black Ridge, Zhuwa—has already marched with his personal guard into the interior…"

"Seems tricky! I underestimated his ambition and his knowledge of the Pure Spirit Court's inner structure! Still, let him continue his rampage; I will cut him down with a single sword within the Pure Spirit Court…"

Motoyasai finished speaking, his gaze turning to the depths of the Pure Spirit Court, where another danger seemed to lurk.

As if to confirm Motoyasai's thoughts…

No one could have guessed that the Vanquisher 'Emperor' Yuhabah did not choose to tangle with the Thirteenth Squad, but left himself within the armies of the Pure Spirit Court's Four Great Gates as bait, while he himself rushed toward the noble estates of the Pure Spirit Court!

At this moment, what once resembled a series of opulent, undulating palaces now displayed a luxury beyond what ordinary Death Squad soldiers could even dream of!

The true "Leader"! "Powerholder"! "Ruler" of this ancient Soul Realm!

The area where the nobles enjoying the Soul Realm's "privileges" reside has turned into a sea of fire! Just by seeing the ruined architecture, one can imagine the fierce battle that took place here.

If those five families whose blood runs with the despicable ones have their family heads wiped out by me in one sweep! Then you won't be able to remain in the heavens any longer, just watching as I destroy the ground and do nothing about it, right?!

Amid the corpses littering the ground, the Exterminator Emperor Youhabhe lifted his gaze to the sky, his pair of icy eyes fixed on certain beings in the heavens, and spoke in a cold voice.

From the very beginning, his goal was not on the ground……

……but in the heavens!

Here, Youhabhe's attack on the nobles is to fulfill an official side story in 《CFYOW》: since his invasion a thousand years ago, the Forty-Six have established a rule that when the heads of the five great noble families use the underground conference hall exclusive to them in the Pure Spirit Court, only four heads may attend each meeting, with one head required to remain behind in the Pure Spirit Court, in order to prevent the heads of the five great noble families who hold the highest authority in Soul Society from being wiped out.

Finally, I'm asking for some votes! Later, I'll try to squeeze out a few more chapters!

(End of chapter)