In the Seireitei, inside the Squad 1 Captains' assembly hall, Yamamoto watched Ichimaru Gin, Zaraki Kenpachi, and Kurotsuchi Mayuri bickering among themselves. He furrowed his brow slightly. *They are all captains, yet each of them is still so rash!*
"Silence! Bickering like this is truly unsightly!" Yamamoto scolded loudly. "Zaraki and Kurotsuchi, both of you, stand down!"
The three who had been clamoring to fight instantly quieted down. The two who were called out pretended not to see each other, silently retreating to their respective positions.
Seeing this scene from the lineup, Kyōraku Shunsui hastily pulled down his bamboo hat to conceal the somewhat gloating smile on his face, as well as his gaze that constantly drifted across the various captains, centering on Ichimaru Gin in the middle.
The Reigai brought back by Kuchiki Rukia had been swiftly destroyed. Although the intelligence regarding this matter was still incomplete, the fact that a Reigai was brought back from the World of the Living, combined with her stationing in Karakura Town, made Shunsui absolutely certain that this incident was connected to Urahara Kisuke.
This seemed to explain why Rukia was sentenced to the ultimate penalty, yet at the same time, it made it even more inexplicable. Central 46 had always treated matters concerning Urahara as a strict taboo; such a highly publicized approach contradicted their original intentions.
Furthermore, from the moment the execution date was moved up, the entire affair became increasingly suspicious in Shunsui's mind. It happened right after the Ryoka appeared. If Central 46 was influenced by the Ryoka, was advancing the date by five days an act of fear, or was it bait?
Perhaps within Central 46, the birth of an order was like a race—the outcome remained unknown until the very last moment.
But once a result was produced, it would be executed with absolute decisiveness. It was a simple matter of the winner taking all, perfectly reflecting Central 46's chosen interests without any hesitation.
For example, if they judged that Rukia's current threat far outweighed their own prestige, the order would likely be to carry out the execution immediately. If their prestige outweighed the threat, they wouldn't have altered their original order at all.
Central 46 never competed with outsiders. They would never participate in a back-and-forth race where one side takes a step and the other speeds up to match.
*So who exactly is pulling the strings in the shadows?* If it was Old Man Yama, influencing Central 46 wasn't entirely impossible. But as for who the other party—or parties—might be, Shunsui still had no clue.
Yet, just as he linked the mastermind to Yamamoto, the order for an emergency captain's meeting was issued. This was not good news, as it likely meant that even the Head Captain, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, was still trying to figure out the situation.
A captain's meeting convened specifically for Ichimaru Gin, who had repelled the Ryoka. At the very beginning, Yamamoto even tolerated Zaraki Kenpachi and Kurotsuchi Mayuri bluntly expressing their suspicions.
Everything was developing toward Shunsui's worst-case scenario. The possibility that Old Man Yama wasn't the mastermind had grown even larger. At the same time, did Old Man Yama suspect that a captain-class individual within the Seireitei was colluding with Urahara Kisuke?
"This time, you acted alone without receiving orders, and you even allowed the targets to escape. As a captain, this is a grave lapse in judgment!" Yamamoto stood with his hands resting at his sides, looking as though he didn't place much importance on the matter. "I want to hear your explanation regarding this point, which is why this captain's meeting was convened."
"Well? Do you have anything to say for yourself, Ichimaru?"
Yamamoto's tone was clearly very peaceful, but the captains present instantly felt as if they were sitting on pins and needles. Shunsui was all too familiar with this feeling. There was no need to even steal a glance; his mind automatically conjured the image of Yamamoto's emotionless eyes—eyes that looked at a person as if they could be allowed to live, but it wouldn't really matter if they died.
*So he really is testing the waters?* According to the intelligence, Ichimaru Gin had repelled the Ryoka yesterday with just a single strike. But it was merely a repulsion; he hadn't inflicted any casualties on the enemy.
Winning with a single strike indicated a massive gap in strength between the two sides. The lack of casualties could be interpreted as the invading Ryoka possessing enough skill to escape a captain, or it could be understood as this captain intentionally letting them off the hook...
If a Ryoka with strength rivaling a captain had appeared, yesterday's intelligence report should have been much more detailed. An error in judgment? Or some other excuse? But could those excuses really hold up? Furthermore, just explaining why he was there in the first place would be difficult enough for Ichimaru Gin.
Shunsui was also looking forward to Ichimaru Gin's answer. Protecting oneself in this kind of situation would take a lot of effort, and any lie carried the risk of being seen through. Through those lies, he might be able to glimpse more of the truth.
"I have nothing to say!"
What Shunsui hadn't expected was for Ichimaru Gin to give an answer he couldn't have anticipated at all. Not only did he not expect it, but Old Man Yama probably hadn't expected it either.
"What?"
"I have nothing to say. It was my dereliction of duty, and I don't wish to defend myself." Ichimaru Gin clutched his head, acting as if saying such words gave him a headache.
Yamamoto hesitated for only a fraction of a second before continuing, "Very well. No matter what the punishment..."
"Wait a moment, Ichimaru..." Yamamoto glanced at the person who had interrupted him—Squad 5 Captain, Aizen Sōsuke. *What is he jumping out for?*
Convening the captain's meeting was not only to test the highly suspicious Ichimaru Gin but also to observe the reactions of the other captains. But was there really a problem with Ichimaru Gin? Not necessarily. It was even possible that all the captains present were completely innocent.
Now, Ichimaru Gin had given the most ambiguous answer possible. Was it truly an incredibly foolish blunder? Or was it done on purpose? One could only say that both were possible.
Because of this, Yamamoto couldn't actually hand down too severe a punishment. Aside from Zaraki Kenpachi, everyone present was likely well aware of this fact.
Now that Aizen had suddenly interjected, it didn't seem like he was pleading for leniency on Ichimaru Gin's behalf either. Was someone unable to hold back and jumping out to add fuel to the fire? Or did he simply want to force Ichimaru Gin to explain himself more clearly?
*I'll just watch and see...*
Unfortunately, the follow-up that Yamamoto and Shunsui were anticipating never happened. Aizen had only spoken half a sentence before his words were cut off by the blare of an urgent alarm.
"Emergency alarm! Emergency alarm!"
The captains present looked toward the door almost simultaneously. "There are intruders within the Seireitei! All squads, please hold your positions!"
"I repeat! Emergency alarm! Intruders have been discovered within the Seireitei..."
Hearing the broadcast twice, the captains confirmed that no specific location was given. This proved that there were multiple points of intrusion and more than one intruder, making it easy to associate them with the Ryoka from the intelligence reports.
"Is it really... the Ryoka?" Aizen murmured to himself. Behind him, Unohana also felt that something was amiss. Invading without any prior warning signs indeed did not seem like the behavior of Ryoka.
Zaraki Kenpachi couldn't care less about all that. Without saying a word, he dashed out of the assembly hall. *Ryoka capable of surviving under Ichimaru Gin's hands should at least be good enough to kill some time.*
The person with the most suspicious behavior had appeared. Shunsui watched the spot where Zaraki Kenpachi had just vanished. If anyone else had pulled a stunt like that, people would likely suspect they were rushing off to rendezvous with the intruders. But since it was *this* guy... it held absolutely no reference value.
This alarm had come at far too convenient a time. Assuming everything was premeditated and someone on the outside was coordinating with Ichimaru Gin, then this coordinator...
Shunsui turned his head to look at Yamamoto, who was sitting upright in his chair. *This meeting has been such a failure that it's truly disappointing, Genryūsai-sensei.*