"Knott Vohtz, male, twenty-four years old at the time of death, arrived in Soul Society one hundred and fifty-two years ago."
"Fiedel, male, thirty-three years old at the time of death, arrived in Soul Society one hundred and forty-six years ago."
As Kōe spoke, he pulled a piece of paper from his robes, unfolded it, and tossed it face-up directly to Tsunayashiro Daisuke. "The sixty-nine people listed here are all Quincies. The time they arrived in Soul Society varies, but none of them were over forty years old when they died!"
"If this is true, then they were indeed far too young," Tsunayashiro murmured as he caught the paper. He passed it to Kamidera beside him and continued, "But this alone is not enough!"
Quincies were not ordinary humans. Aside from Shinigami, Hollows, and themselves, there was almost nothing in the living world that could threaten their lives.
Furthermore, over the past millennium, there had been no reports of conflicts between stationed Shinigami and Quincies in the living world. If they died from Hollow attacks or infighting, their souls would not come to Soul Society. This left only two possibilities: one, they died from severe injuries inflicted by Hollows, or two...
"This is only a fraction of them; there are definitely more out there! I don't know the exact cause of death, but it is highly likely they took their own lives!" Meeting the gazes of the six men opposite him one by one, Kōe said in a deep voice, "Everyone, with such an obvious transfer of military power, I shouldn't need to explain what they are plotting, right?"
"A very interesting conjecture, but as evidence, it is insufficient."
Kuchiki Ginrei picked up where Kamidera Miya left off, adding, "Stop keeping us in suspense. Tell us everything you know."
Kōe wasn't angry. He had originally planned to take it step by step to spare these old men's hearts, but it seemed that wasn't necessary anymore. Time to drop the bomb!
"The Star Cross Fortress, a holy city spoken of by the Quincies, is currently located deep within the Zaraki District, toward the northeast!"
"Impossible!" Shihōin Dōzō suddenly spoke up, interrupting Kōe. "Unless the city is completely encased in Sekkiseki, it would be absolutely impossible to safely build a city there! Furthermore..."
"Furthermore, Sekkiseki has always been firmly under the control of the Seireitei. It would be impossible for you all not to notice such a massive movement of resources, correct?"
The five clan heads nodded simultaneously. The function of Sekkiseki was to block and dissolve spiritual power, and it was primarily used in the outermost walls of the Seireitei. As a vital strategic resource of the Seireitei, it had always been strictly controlled by them; there was no way any could have slipped out.
As mentioned before, a large gathering of spiritual bodies, especially Shinigami, would emit spiritual power that easily attracted Hollows. This was the greatest difficulty in establishing a stronghold in the Plains of Slaughter, and the only solution was Sekkiseki.
Kōe wasn't in a hurry to explain. He raised his right hand, forming a sword gesture with his fingers, and traced two rings of spiritual power in midair—one large and one small.
"The inner one is the Star Cross Fortress," Kōe said. He moved his fingers to the outer, larger circle and traced its circumference. "And this is a spherical, spirit-free zone created by Quincy power. It's less than five centimeters thick with a radius of fifty kilometers. It is completely devoid of spiritual power! I trust you can all imagine what that entails."
The room fell into a brief silence. A spirit-free zone simply did not exist in a Hollow's perception. Therefore, unless a Hollow was bored enough to take a casual stroll through the Plains of Slaughter, it would never wander inside.
"When did this appear?" Yamamoto's voice broke through everyone's thoughts.
"I'm not sure, but it has been there for at least two hundred years!" Kōe shook his head and continued, "A large number of young Quincies appeared after this, which also aligns with the timeline."
"One last question. In all this time, has not a single Shinigami stumbled upon this place by accident?"
"There have been, but I reckon most of them died before they even caught sight of the fortress." Kōe said, lifting his chin toward the pile of bodies in front of him. "Didn't they stumble around blindly and end up attracting a Gillian? They nearly lost their little lives!"
According to Kōe, whenever a Shinigami accidentally entered, the breach in the spirit-free zone would cause a highly conspicuous fluctuation in spiritual power, turning them into a giant seasoning shaker. At the same time, Hollows from Hueco Mundo would instinctively follow the scent. The spiritual fluctuation would be masked by the Gargantas opened by the Hollows, leaving the trespassing Shinigami trapped in a desperate situation with little chance of survival.
"Even if a powerful one managed to survive by some fluke, they would then be either persuaded to leave or killed by the arriving Quincies. Afterward, the Hollows would be dealt with, and it would just be chalked up to a delayed rescue. Everyone's happy, and no suspicion is ever raised," Kōe said, spreading his hands in a mocking tone.
At these words, the expressions of the Shiba and Shihōin clan heads instantly turned grim. Tsunayashiro stared at the two circles in midair, his brows tightly furrowed. Even Kamidera Miya, who hadn't shown a single ripple of emotion, now had a slight bulge in his jaw as he clenched his teeth.
"It seems we have all lived far too comfortably these past few centuries," Kuchiki Ginrei said flatly, glancing to his left and right. "I do not know what the rest of you think, but our Kuchiki clan agrees to war!"
"The Shihōin clan agrees to war!"
"The Shiba clan... agrees to war!"
The consecutive declarations from the three clans finally allowed Kōe to breathe a sigh of relief. He had been genuinely terrified that someone would say, "You need to prove the existence of the Star Cross Fortress." If they had, he would have been completely out of options—it wasn't like he could just move the city over here, right? Thank goodness! Thank goodness these guys weren't senile old fools!
"Starting tomorrow, the Seireitei will enter a state of combat readiness. Yamamoto will have full authority, with Central 46 providing joint supervision. This authorization will be secretly relayed to the captains of the Gotei 13. The formal order will be issued once the preparation phase concludes."
Tsunayashiro's words marked the finalization of the matter. The storm that had raged around Yamamoto and Kōe for over a century had finally subsided.
"The injustices this little guy suffered can now be repaid a bit," Kamidera Miya said, looking at Kōe. He twitched the corner of his mouth into what could loosely be considered a smile, pointed at the pile of bodies in front of Kōe, and continued, "Among these people, who was the one that spread the false information back then?"
From the initial rumor of him framing two Shinigami, to the later incident of him publicly blasting seven people to death, these two stories had turned Kōe into a sinner of the Seireitei, making him a wanted man across all of Soul Society for one hundred and forty-three years.
The second incident was done intentionally by Kōe, so that could be set aside for now. But the first was a textbook frame-up, and it was the catalyst for the reshuffling of power within the Seireitei. As a Shinigami, regardless of their motives, this false accuser harbored malicious intent that deserved death!
To spread such news, one had to ensure that the truth was known by as few people as possible. Therefore, the false accuser was undoubtedly among the seven people present at the scene back then.
However, how many of them were the accusers? Or were all seven of them in on it? For a moment, Kōe couldn't make up his mind.
"Did the families of these seven people spread the news in the Seireitei back then?"
"Naturally not. Little guy, you need to pay closer attention to what your elders say."
Kamidera Miya's words left Kōe completely baffled. What did he mean by 'pay closer attention to what your elders say'? Did what they said have anything to do with what he was asking?
*'Among these people, who was the one that spread the false information back then?'* This sentence Kamidera had spoken flashed through his mind. Was this what he was supposed to pay attention to? Was there some hidden meaning in it?
Kōe lowered his head, silently repeating the sentence word by word in his mind. When he reached the fifth character, realization suddenly dawned on him. He lifted his head with a look of joy, meeting Yamamoto's kindly gaze. "I assume you elders also have a list in your hands?!"
"Not too stupid," Kamidera Miya said with a smile. This time, it was a genuine smile.
Yamamoto didn't speak. He pulled a scroll tied with a thin purple ribbon from his robes. At that moment, the melodious sound of wooden clappers echoed from outside the room once again.
"Exactly the hour of the Ox! The grass and trees slumber, and a hundred demons walk the night!"
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