Outside the doors, Momo Hinamori and the others waited with bated breath.
The moment the captains began filing out one after another, their hearts leaped into their throats.
Holding their breath, their eyes darted anxiously among the emerging figures.
And then, they saw him.
Following the slightly hurried departure of several captains, a figure stepped over the threshold with calm, unhurried strides.
Sunlight washed over him, immediately catching the pure white haori draped across his shoulders.
Beneath that haori was a face they knew so well, yet at this moment, felt almost foreign.
Yanagawa.
A white…
haori?
How could Yanagawa possibly be wearing a captain’s haori?!
Renji Abarai was the first to find his voice amid the staggering shock.
Pointing an accusatory finger at Yanagawa, he blurted out what he convinced himself was a rational explanation:
“That bastard Yanagawa!
He was getting a promotion all along!
I knew something felt off when I saw him yesterday!
Is that…
the Grand Kidō Chief’s robes?!
You mean he quietly took over as Grand Kidō Chief without telling anyone?!”
His voice rang out jarringly loud across the edge of the courtyard.
Even Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake, conversing in hushed tones in the distance, couldn’t help glancing back.
Subtle, amused smiles touched their lips, and with a quiet shake of their heads, neither paused their stride.
“Renji, that’s not it!” Shūhei Hisagi was equally rattled by the sight of that white garment, but his composure as a lieutenant helped him steady himself faster, instinctively refuting Renji’s absurd theory.
“Use your head!
Even if the Grand Kidō Chief leads the Kidō Corps, their uniform looks nothing like a captain’s haori—least of all with this cut and color!
This…
this looks far more like…”
He trailed off, his voice thick with hesitation and mounting dread.
“Could Yanagawa have filled a vacant captaincy?
But…”
He rapidly cycled through the thirteen captains and recent rumors in his head, only growing more perplexed.
“I haven’t heard of anyone stepping down or any squad having a vacancy…
Besides, even for a newly appointed captain, there would be a formal ceremony and an official announcement.
How could it happen so suddenly, stepping out of a Captains’ Meeting already wearing it…?”
His reasoning was entirely sound, which only made the scene before them all the more surreal.
If not the Grand Kidō Chief and not an ordinary captain, what on earth did that white haori signify?
Just then, a quiet voice cut through Hisagi’s brooding thoughts.
It was Rukia Kuchiki.
At some point, she had taken half a step forward, her gaze locked onto the crest stitched onto the back of Yanagawa’s haori.
It was a design completely unlike any squad insignia or noble crest in the Seireitei.
Rukia’s breath caught in her throat.
She could not be mistaken.
Never.
In the archives of the Kuchiki Clan, she had seen rubbings and records detailing that very emblem.
It was a symbol tied inextricably to the Soul King Palace—to the mythical realm reigning above the Gotei 13.
“Squad…
Squad 0…”
Rukia’s voice was barely a whisper, trembling with disbelief as she forced the syllables past her throat.
“That emblem…
belongs to Squad 0.”
Squad 0!
Those two words struck like a thunderbolt, crashing into the hearts of everyone present.
Izuru Kira staggered backward, nearly losing his footing.
Squad 0?
The Soul King Palace?
That mythical organization whispered of only among the highest ranks—a legend to ordinary Soul Reapers.
The supreme authority that stood above the Gotei 13 to guard the foundation of the world, whose few members were all titans who had contributed irreplaceable creations to the Soul Society.
And Yanagawa…
their academy classmate, who had settled into a quiet, leisurely life in the Kidō Corps, was now a member of Squad 0?!
Yanagawa came to a halt.
Naturally, he had spotted the group waiting outside for him.
“Hey!
Yanagawa!
What the hell is going on here?!
Squad 0?!
When the hell did you join them?!
A massive deal like this, and you didn’t say a damn word to me?!
Do you still consider me a friend or what?!”
Renji’s outburst was characteristically blunt.
There was no awe or reverence for the royal guard in his voice, only the raw indignation and utter disbelief of a friend kept in the dark.
That familiar, brash attitude served as a wedge, gently cracking the suffocating tension that had gripped the courtyard.
Looking at the familiar faces before him and Renji’s unabashed interrogation, Yanagawa sighed softly to himself.
He knew he owed them an explanation, even if it could never fully satisfy their burning curiosity.
“It’s a long story, and it involves matters that…
aren’t suited for public discussion.”
“All I can tell you is that, for certain exceptional reasons—reasons I must ask you not to press me on—the Soul King Palace took notice of me and offered this promotion to Squad 0.
I didn’t hide it out of malice; the decision wasn’t officially finalized until today’s meeting, and strict confidentiality was required.”
After all, anything touching upon Squad 0 and the Soul King Palace was shrouded in secrets forbidden to outsiders.
He paused, turning his gaze toward Momo Hinamori.
“As for the Twin Hyōrinmaru crisis, the Captain-Commander officially placed me in sole charge of the investigation during the meeting.”
“Hitsugaya is your childhood friend.
Officially and personally, I will do everything within my power to ensure his safety.
You have my word on that.”
“Yanagawa-kun…” Hinamori nodded vigorously.
“Thank you, Yanagawa-kun!
I…
I believe in you!
Please…
take care of Shiro-chan!”
Her absolute trust in Yanagawa’s competence, coupled with the inexplicable reassurance granted by his newly revealed authority as Squad 0, finally allowed the heavy weight pressing down on her heart to ease.