Beneath the pitch-black sky, above the trembling earth—
A massive white Menos Grande, towering higher than mountains, charged forward like a natural disaster.
Its breath turned into scorching whirlwinds, its raging spiritual pressure blending into a terrifying storm.
With every step it took, it shook the world itself. Even the endless grains of reishi sand across Hueco Mundo trembled in unison with its movements.
And yet, standing atop those white sands, Genichi remained motionless—
Even as that towering beast, as if the embodiment of catastrophe itself, loomed before him.
> "Pitiful Soul Reaper… would you join me in returning to the Soul Society to exact vengeance?"
The massive Hollow spoke, its voice thunderous enough to blow away buildings, its enormous gaze locked onto the Shinigami below, who looked no more than an insect in comparison.
> "Not interested," Genichi replied, eyes shut.
Whether it was because he physically could not see the monstrous creature, or because he had unwavering confidence in his strength, it was unclear.
But what was clear—was that his tone didn't change in the slightest.
> "The Soul Society isn't as simple as you think. If you want to die, go alone."
The Hollow burst into laughter, its roar stirring the reishi particles into an even greater frenzy.
> "Coward! Then cower here in Hueco Mundo forever! Watch as I wipe out everything in the Soul Society!"
It stomped past Genichi, its every step rumbling like a marching nation. It seemed to be heading far beyond the horizon.
> "Next time we meet… I'll probably be calling you Yhwach."
Genichi muttered quietly after a long pause.
He had just spoken aloud the future fate of this rampaging Hollow—what it would eventually become.
> "What a wasted opportunity… It's going to be even harder to get to the Soul King Palace now."
Slowly, he opened his eyes.
His pupils were a lifeless gray—each one etched with a single line resembling the number "one."
Once, his eyes had been seared by an immense power, destroying his vision along with them.
Now, the only thing he could see was endless darkness.
> "The Tsunayashiro Clan…"
Genichi softly whispered the name of that noble house.
> "Why is it that everyone seeks entry to the Soul King Palace…? Maybe heading to the Soul Society wouldn't be such a bad detour after all…"
---
Genichi was not originally from this world. He was a transmigrator—suddenly transported into the Bleach universe while doing his daily grind in Dungeon Fighter Online.
To be specific, he found himself in the Soul Society—two thousand years in the past.
Back then, the Gotei 13 hadn't even been formed. The nobility system was barely taking shape.
Chaos reigned across the Soul Society as slave-owning families waged brutal wars among themselves.
And his new identity?
A slave of the Tsunayashiro Clan.
But fate had a twisted sort of mercy.
He wasn't just any slave—he was one chosen for human experimentation.
No need to fight, no need to worry about food. His only job was to live under surveillance—as a test subject.
The experiment?
> To fuse a Soul Fragment of the Soul King into a human soul.
Since the Three Realms were first formed a million years ago, the Tsunayashiro Clan had been secretly collecting shards of the Soul King.
They had already amassed a substantial amount—gathered from humans, Shinigami, and other beings.
Each Soul King fragment held immense power—enough to elevate a mortal to godlike heights if properly harnessed.
And Genichi... was their first test subject.
They implanted a fragment—one that contained a portion of the Soul King's optic nerve—into his soul.
The moment that overwhelming power entered him, it incinerated his retinas and completely destroyed his vision, plunging him into eternal darkness.
From that moment on, he suffered the Soul King's backlash—endless agony, every second of every day, as if his body was being torn apart from within.
But maybe it was because he'd been "grinding dungeons" as Emperor of Heaven before his transmigration—because the moment he lost his sight, he awakened.
---
> [Character: Genichi]
[Template: Great Dark Heaven]
[Level: 54]
[EXP: 6000 / 10,000]
A game-like character panel appeared before his mind's eye.
This was the power he'd awakened—the Asura class from DNF's Ghost Swordsman branch.
Nicknamed: Stainless Steel Bowl, Blind One, Sky Emperor Dove, Aiyaya...
After awakening, he gained Wave Energy—an ability that let him sense that the Tsunayashiro Clan was planning to kill him and extract the Soul King fragment after failing to see immediate results.
So, he made his move. He struck first.
He escaped, seizing a Zanpakutō on the way.
Coincidentally, a Menos Grande had just launched an attack on the Soul Society.
Genichi forced one of the Gillians to take him to Hueco Mundo, threatening it along the way.
Staying in the Soul Society—at the Tsunayashiro Clan's main base—would've meant endless pursuit and assassination attempts.
At the time, he was only around Level 20.
The system seemed based on the old Level 60 cap in DNF:
Level 18: First Job Change
Level 48: Awakening
(Unclear whether 2nd Awakening exists...)
He theorized that:
Level 18 Job Change ≈ Zanpakutō Shikai
Level 48 Awakening ≈ Zanpakutō Bankai
When he poured his soul essence into the stolen Zanpakutō, it was named "Asura."
At the time, he wasn't particularly strong, but thanks to his ability to release his Zanpakutō, he could survive against most Hollows—so long as they weren't at the Adjuchas level.
Over the years in Hueco Mundo, he leveled up to 54, fully awakened the Asura template, and gained power equivalent to what this world calls Bankai:
> Great Dark Heaven
That was why he could stand so confidently before the rampaging Hollow.
At Level 54, his spiritual pressure matched that of a Gotei 13 captain.
Combined with Bankai, while he couldn't defeat the creature, escaping from it was no issue at all.
That Hollow—who would later become Yhwach—could devastate the current Soul Society, maybe even defeat Yamamoto Genryūsai of this era.
But time changes everything.
In the future, especially in the Soul Society, where the Shinigami gain access to Zanpakutō forged by Ōetsu Nimaiya, their power will surpass the limits of Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hōhō, and Kidō.
Hueco Mundo, chaotic and lawless, has no genius inventors. No cutting-edge research. No structured progression.
So while Yhwach could crush Yamamoto now, two thousand years later, Yamamoto might defeat him with just his Shikai.
And that meant—if Genichi wanted to make moves in the Soul Society, now was the time.
> "The Tsunayashiro Clan still has tons of Soul King fragments. If I can steal them, I'll break past my limits."
Even though he had the Asura template, Genichi's soul remained that of a mortal.
As he leveled up, his growth in strength, speed, and spiritual pressure slowed significantly.
He feared that after reaching Level 60, he might plateau completely.
Which would mean—no 2nd Awakening.
No access to the true pinnacle of power.
If First Awakening (Great Dark Heaven) = Typical Captain-level Bankai...
Then the journey from Great Dark Heaven to Sky Emperor should represent the full captain-class spectrum.
The end of Great Dark Heaven, and the beginning of Sky Emperor, would mark the true limit of a Shinigami—
The level of Yamamoto Genryūsai or Sōusuke Aizen.
Aizen wasn't a big concern—because Genichi was blind, he couldn't see Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis trigger.
Meaning: he was immune to it.
But Ryūjin Jakka, Yamamoto's blade, was a major threat.
And given Genichi's status, he was likely to become an enemy of the Gotei 13—formed in the future under the control of the Central 46 and noble houses.
It was entirely possible…
That one day, he would stand face-to-face with Yamamoto Genryūsai himself.