Just then, a familiar Spiritual Pressure appeared at the entrance of the courtyard.
Everyone turned toward the aura, all slightly taken aback.
Standing there with immaculate posture was Chōjirō Sasakibe, Lieutenant of Squad 1.
He was clad as always in his crisp Shihakushō and haori, his mustache impeccably trimmed, his expression wearing its perpetual mask of solemn, strictly business-like composure.
His presence inherently represented the will of the Captain-Commander and Squad 1, feeling utterly out of place at an informal gathering of young seated officers.
“Lieutenant Sasakibe?” Shūhei Hisagi was the first to react.
As Squad 9’s lieutenant, he was the most attuned to the arrival of the Captain-Commander’s adjutant, immediately stepping forward half a pace to offer a polite greeting.
The others, including the anxious Momo Hinamori, quickly composed themselves.
Sasakibe’s steady gaze swept across the group, lingering briefly on Kaito Yanagawa, before he announced in a crisp, clear voice:
“By order of the Captain-Commander.”
“Regarding the matter of the ‘Twin Hyōrinmaru Zanpakuto’ manifested by Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Sōjirō Kusakabe of the Shin’ō Academy, the Captain-Commander has decreed an immediate emergency Captains’ Meeting of the Gotei 13.
Aside from the mandatory attendance of all squad captains…”
“…the Captain-Commander has specifically summoned Kaito Yanagawa of the Kidō Corps to attend.”
“What?!”
“Yanagawa?
The Captains’ Meeting?!”
“How could…”
The moment the words fell, Renji Abarai’s eyes shot wide, sheer disbelief plastered across his face.
A Captains’ Meeting!
That was the highest decision-making assembly in the Gotei 13.
Only captains had the right to attend; lieutenants typically waited outside or were present only under orders to take records.
A mere member of the Kidō Corps personally summoned by the Captain-Commander?
It was utterly unheard of!
Was it because Yanagawa had just defeated Renji, and his display of power had caught the Captain-Commander’s attention?
No, a Captains’ Meeting would be convened to address the Twin Hyōrinmaru crisis—a matter concerning the fundamental laws and future of the Soul Society.
It was far beyond simple recognition of strength.
Countless thoughts raced through everyone’s minds as they stared at Yanagawa in utter bewilderment.
Just what other secrets did their former classmate possess that they knew nothing about?
Yanagawa felt a slight tremor of surprise within himself, though Captain-Commander Yamamoto’s order was both sudden and, in a way, entirely expected.
Sasakibe said nothing more, turning and gesturing for Yanagawa to follow.
The two figures swiftly disappeared beyond the courtyard.
Leaving behind five people exchanging blank looks, struck speechless for a long time.
“Hey…
what is this…” Renji scratched his head, completely bewildered.
Renji suddenly recalled, “Come to think of it, Yanagawa went to Squad 1 yesterday.
Something big really must be going on with him.”
“A Captains’ Meeting…
Yanagawa-kun…” Momo Hinamori murmured.
Izuru Kira knitted his brows tightly.
“This is definitely not simple.
What could Yanagawa…”
“It’s an order directly from the Captain-Commander,” Shūhei Hisagi said in a deep voice.
“Speculating here won’t do us any good.
Let’s return to our squads for now, and if any news surfaces, we’ll keep each other posted.”
Being a lieutenant after all, he was the first to regain his composure.
Gazing toward the direction Yanagawa had left, Rukia Kuchiki murmured softly, “Yanagawa-kun…
always seems full of surprises.”
She remembered their academy days—a brilliant student who had always kept a certain aloof distance—as well as his composed analysis of the situation just now, and his serene calm when singled out by the Captain-Commander.
The man seemed wrapped in a shroud of mist she had never truly seen through.
Renji paced back and forth a couple of steps before stopping abruptly.
“What’s the point of just standing here talking!
A Captains’ Meeting!
Hitsugaya’s situation, and that bastard Yanagawa suddenly being called in—it’s all definitely being discussed in there!
Rather than racking our brains guessing, why don’t we go catch wind of what’s happening?!”
He turned toward the others.
“Since it’s such an important meeting, we can head right to the gates of Squad 1!
Once it ends, we might be able to intercept the captains coming out or pry some details from the Squad 1 members!
That’s way better than blind guessing here!
Getting firsthand intelligence will be crucial for deciding what we should do next!”
It was a bold proposal.
Lurking outside the Squad 1 barracks to corner people during a Captains’ Meeting was by no means permitted by the rules.
Yet at this very moment, Renji’s somewhat reckless suggestion unexpectedly struck a chord with everyone’s restless anxiety.
Hinamori was the first to look up, a flicker of hope kindling in her eyes.
Though still uneasy, Renji’s words offered her a glimmer of proactive possibility.
“W-would that be all right?
Wouldn’t we be troubling the captains…?” she worried habitually.
“Trouble what?!” Renji waved it off.
“It’s not like we’re breaking in!
We’ll just wait outside.
The meeting has to end eventually!
We’ll play it by ear then!”
“Squad 1’s gates are heavily guarded,” Kira pointed out cautiously.
“Gathering there rashly might draw unwanted attention.”
“However…
if we simply ‘happen’ to wait nearby, or make a brief stop on the pretext of delivering routine reports between squads, it might work.”
He always had a knack for finding a secure path along the edges of the rules.
Shūhei Hisagi pondered for a moment, then nodded.
“Makes sense.
Better to move closer to the source than wait passively.
Squad 9 happens to have some routine paperwork to submit to Squad 1 anyway.
I can use that as an excuse.”
Providing a more legitimate pretext, consensus was reached in an instant.
And so, harboring their own tangled thoughts, the group departed the secluded courtyard and headed toward the Squad 1 barracks.
Meanwhile, inside the Grand Assembly Hall of Squad 1.
The air hung heavy, saturated with centuries of solemn dignity and the invisible weight left behind by countless monumental decisions.
At the head of the chamber, Captain-Commander Yamamoto sat poised, both hands folded over his weathered cane.
Like a dormant volcano, his mere presence anchored the entire room’s atmosphere.
Flanking both sides, figures of the Gotei 13 captains stood in place, every single one exuding an overwhelming aura of authority.
Squad 2 Captain Suì-Fēng stood with arms crossed, her frosty gaze periodically darting toward the entrance.
Her sharp eyes carried the vigilance and efficiency unique to the Commander-in-Chief of the Stealth Force, as though calculating the cost of every lost second.
Squad 3 Captain Gin Ichimaru wore his perpetual fox-like grin, masking any trace of his true intentions.
He idly flicked the tsuba of Shinsō at his waist, producing faint, rhythmic clicks as if tapping out the beat to a tune hummed only to himself.
“My, my, quite the rare emergency summons, isn’t it~?” Gin remarked languidly, his tone slick and drawling.
Squad 4 Captain Retsu Unohana did not join in the chatter; her gentle gaze merely grazed the gathered captains, lingering for an extra beat on the coughing Jūshirō Ukitake.
Squad 5 Captain Sōsuke Aizen, his gaze behind his glasses warm and wise, conversed quietly with the two captains beside him.
His voice was subdued yet resonant with persuasive magnetism.
“…Indeed.
The uniqueness of a Zanpakuto is an ironclad law.
This incident certainly warrants serious consideration.”
When he spoke, he always gave others the impression that he was listening with utmost sincerity and responding with consummate care.
Squad 6 Captain Byakuya Kuchiki radiated a frigid, untouchable aloofness.
He took no part in the chatter, as if the surrounding noise had nothing to do with him; only the order of the Seireitei and the honor of the Kuchiki Clan commanded his focus.
Squad 7 Captain Sajin Komamura kept a solemn, composed vigil.
Squad 8 Captain Shunsui Kyōraku spoke in a lazy, teasing cadence.
“Well, well~ rules are made to be broken, aren’t they, Captain Aizen?
Personally, I’m dying to know what kinds of faces Central 46 are making right now~”
As he spoke, he glanced up at Captain-Commander Yamamoto resting with closed eyes at the head of the room, before quickly pulling his gaze away.
Squad 9 Captain Kaname Tōsen stood upright and motionless.
Though blind, his solemn countenance reflected an absolute, unyielding devotion to “justice” and “order.”
He remained silent, yet focused intently on sensing every shift in his surroundings.
Squad 10 Captain Isshin Shiba looked visibly distressed and weighed down with worry, as if this crisis held personal ties to him.
Squad 12 Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi let out a shrill, grating cackle, his exaggerated gestures causing his bizarre attire to rustle loudly.
A greedy glint flashed in the eyes beneath his mask.
“If only I could get my hands on research specimens—what marvelous material that would be!”
Squad 13 Captain Jūshirō Ukitake looked sickly pale and coughed softly into his sleeve.
Still, a warm, tolerant smile remained on his face as he watched the captains talk, interjecting a gentle word here and there to ease tensions, his eyes brimming with genuine concern for the younger generation.
Squad 11 Captain Kenpachi Zaraki was by far the most impatient.
His single eye repeatedly darted toward the entrance, his face plainly expressing *this is boring* and *spit it out so we can wrap this up*.
“So, who the hell are we waiting for, Old Man Yama?!” Kenpachi finally barked toward the head of the room, unable to hold back his frustration.
“Everyone’s here, aren’t they?
Did some captain oversleep or something?”
His boisterous roar brought the room’s murmurings to an abrupt halt.
Puzzled glances flickered among several captains.
Indeed, all thirteen captains were accounted for.
What could the Captain-Commander possibly be waiting for with his eyes closed?
Right then—
The heavy doors of the assembly hall were pushed open from the outside by Chōjirō Sasakibe.
Every captain instinctively turned toward the entrance, all remaining chatter dying out completely.
And there, stepping measuredly behind Lieutenant Sasakibe, walked a solitary figure.
It was a young Shinigami.
He entered with unhurried, measured steps, facing the concentrated spiritual pressure of all the captains gathered together—an oppressive aura potent enough to make even seasoned lieutenants buckle.
Yet he seemed entirely unaffected, or rather, bore the weight with an astonishing, placid composure.
Unfamiliar.
Utterly unfamiliar.
Almost every captain harbored the exact same question in their heart: *Who is this?*
At Lieutenant Sasakibe’s gesture, Yanagawa stepped to the very center of the hall and came to a halt.
Only then did Captain-Commander Yamamoto slowly open eyes that seemed to smolder with molten lava.
Offering no preamble for Yanagawa’s arrival, his gaze swept steadily over the assembly, subjecting every captain to the crushing weight of his presence.
“Now that everyone is present,” Yamamoto’s aged, sonorous voice rumbled, extinguishing any faint lingering rustle in the room, “we shall begin.”
“First, I have a personnel appointment to announce.”
The Captain-Commander’s words caught the captains off guard.
*A personnel appointment?
At a time like this?*
Yamamoto’s gaze fell heavily upon Yanagawa like tangible iron:
“Kidō Corps member Kaito Yanagawa, following review by the Soul King Palace, has been approved for promotion to Squad 0 as a provisional member.
The induction ceremony will take place in the coming days.”
Silence.
Dead silence.
*Squad 0?
Provisional member?
Yanagawa?!*
The combination of those words struck the heart of every captain like silent claps of thunder!
Even the ever-unflappable Byakuya Kuchiki felt his pupils contract sharply.
The gentle smile on Sōsuke Aizen’s face did not waver in the slightest, yet the gaze behind his spectacles darkened imperceptibly.
Kenpachi Zaraki’s single eye snapped wide in genuine shock.
The Kidō Corps guy who had trounced Abarai in his Squad 11 dojo just yesterday was being promoted to Squad 0 today?
Squad 0!
That enigmatic pinnacle of authority that stood above the Gotei 13 and answered solely to the Soul King!
This unknown Kidō Corps member who had just walked through the doors was about to become one of them?!
To them, this felt even more unbelievable than the “Twin Hyōrinmaru” crisis itself!
Ignoring—or perhaps having fully anticipated—the kaleidoscope of expressions across the room, Captain-Commander Yamamoto continued:
“Consequently, the preliminary investigation, evaluation, and intelligence compilation regarding the Shin’ō Academy students Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Sōjirō Kusakabe and their Twin Hyōrinmaru Zanpakuto…
shall be placed under the full authority of provisional Squad 0 member, Kaito Yanagawa.”
He paused, his eyes sweeping across the captains—lingering on those whose faces were still frozen in disbelief—before adding in a deliberate tone:
“This mandate was issued directly by the Soul King Palace.”
A mandate issued directly by the Soul King Palace!
That final statement slammed the door shut on any possible objection or dissent.
This was the will handed down from the very pinnacle of the Soul Society—an absolute command transcending the authority of the Gotei 13.