Deep within the Seireitei lay a district defined by an austere, forbidding architecture.
The light seemed colder and dimmer here than anywhere else, the air heavy with an invisible, suffocating pressure.
This was the seat of the Soul Society’s supreme legislative and judicial authority—Central 46.
Passing through several heavily fortified checkpoints bristling with dense spiritual pressure, Kaito Yanagawa and Isshin Shiba declared their identities and were escorted into an audience chamber.
There were no seats and no tea.
There was only the vast, empty expanse of the hall, where the two of them stood alone, facing a raised dais where several figures sat lined in a row like a tribunal of judges.
These were not the entirety of Central 46, but several “Sages” representing the will of their assembly.
They peered down at the two newcomers from their lofty perches, their gazes icy.
Their eyes drifted repeatedly toward the glaring Squad 0 haori draped over Yanagawa’s shoulders.
There was little of the reverence rightfully owed to the Royal Guard in their eyes.
Instead, their stares carried cold scrutiny, calculated appraisal, and a thinly veiled irritation.
“Squad 0 provisional member, Kaito Yanagawa.
Squad 10 Captain, Isshin Shiba.”
The elderly sage seated in the center spoke slowly, his hair silver-white and his features stern.
His voice was dry, dripping with the haughty detachment of someone long accustomed to absolute authority.
“To what do we owe your presence at this hour?”
The inquiry sounded proper on the surface, but the chill in his tone was unmistakable.
Evidently, these sages were deeply displeased that an upstart bearing the title of Squad 0 had suddenly arrived to meddle in an affair they considered well within their grasp.
Isshin’s brow twitched.
Just as he opened his mouth to reply, Yanagawa took half a step forward and raised his chin slightly to meet their downward stares.
His voice was calm and clear, echoing through the oppressive chamber:
“Naturally, I have come to meet the two key parties in person: Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Sōjirō Kusakabe.
May I ask where they are currently detained, and what their present condition is?”
His request was reasonable, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
Having been issued under the dual authority of Squad 0 and the Captain-Commander, it was theoretically impossible to refuse.
Yet, atop the high dais, several sages exchanged knowing glances.
On the left, a ruddy-faced sage let out a cold harrumph and took the floor first, his tone authoritarian and absolute:
“Meet the parties involved?
Yanagawa…
*sir*.
You have only just arrived, so perhaps you are unaware of the gravity of this situation.”
“This matter is unprecedented.
It strikes at the fundamental laws of the Soul Society, presenting an immense anomaly and a grave danger.
To preserve the stability of the Seireitei and the purity of the Zanpakuto system, we have deliberated for days and formulated a sound resolution.”
He paused, sweeping a look over Yanagawa with an arrogant air of superiority, as if proclaiming an immutable fact:
“Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Sōjirō Kusakabe both wield the same ‘Hyōrinmaru.’ The rules cannot tolerate such a contradiction.”
“To eliminate this anomaly, the only viable course of action is to pit the two against each other in an honorable duel.
The victor shall prove his right to bear Hyōrinmaru and be permitted to live.”
“The loser…
whose very existence is an aberration, shall naturally be annihilated.”
A duel between them—the victor lives, the loser dies!
Such a callous, brutish, yet twistedly pragmatic solution was uttered by this sage as though it were absolute gospel.
Clearly, long before Yanagawa’s intervention, Central 46 had already forged their consensus, regarding it as the sole “correct” resolution.
In their eyes, Yanagawa’s arrival and demands were nothing more than a blatant challenge to their authority—an unwelcome complication disrupting an already settled verdict.
Isshin’s fists clenched tight, fury flaring in his eyes.
He forced it down, though his expression darkened considerably.
He cast a worried glance toward Yanagawa, wondering how this newly appointed Royal Guard member would react.
Yanagawa listened quietly, his face devoid of emotion, as if he were hearing nothing more than a trivial report.
Until the goateed sage finished speaking, Yanagawa remained silent.
Only then did he speak, his tone still level:
“And this final resolution was decided solely by Central 46?”
“Naturally!” the goateed sage declared proudly.
“Our deliberation is the final judgment!
Disposing of anomalies falls strictly within Central 46’s jurisdiction!”
The corner of Yanagawa’s mouth twitched ever so slightly in what resembled a frigid sneer.
“And which law of the Soul Society stipulates that two Soul Reapers who wield the same Zanpakuto through no fault of their own must fight to the death to decide who lives and who dies?”
“You—!” The sage choked on his words, his face flushing an even deeper shade of red.
Their so-called “resolution” was merely an internal decree born of their narrow interpretation of “the rules” and their desperate need to uphold their own supremacy.
There was no written law to support it.
Overcome with indignance, he lurched forward, stabbing a finger toward Yanagawa as his voice rose in outrage:
“Insolent brat!
How dare you question a decree of Central 46!
So what if you are a provisional member of Squad 0?
Do not think you can throw your weight around here simply because you hide behind the Royal Guard!
The stability of the Soul Society and the purity of the Zanpakuto system take precedence over all else!
Withdraw at once and obey our orders, or else—”
His words cut off abruptly.
Because just as the final syllable of his threat was about to leave his lips—
*Hummm—!*
A titanic wave of spiritual pressure erupted from Yanagawa’s frame!
Yet the spiritual pressure did not lash out indiscriminately.
Instead, it condensed with razor-sharp precision, pinning itself exclusively onto the insolent, goateed sage!
“Guh—aaagh!”
Every shred of bravado and rage froze on the sage’s face, contorting into sheer terror and agony.
Letting out a choked groan, he slumped to the floor like a sack of wet mud, curling inward and trembling violently.
He could not even lift his head, let alone stand.
A deathly silence swallowed the audience hall.
The arrogance and impatience vanished from the faces of the remaining sages, supplanted by boundless shock and horror.
Even though they only felt the residual fringe of that pressure, the sheer density was far beyond what any ordinary Soul Reaper could muster!
This was undeniably…
captain-level!
No, it was far beyond that of an ordinary captain!
How could this seemingly youthful Soul Reaper possess such terrifying spiritual pressure?!
Standing just behind Yanagawa, Isshin’s eyes went wide, his jaw dropping slightly.
He had known Yanagawa was no ordinary kid; Squad 0 wouldn’t have scouted him without good cause.
But to crush a Sage of Central 46 so brazenly and overwhelmingly with raw spiritual pressure…
this ruthless style was something he had not anticipated!
Yet, an exhilarating surge of catharsis welled up from the bottom of his heart, nearly making him cheer out loud.
He had long detested these arrogant relics who treated human lives like dirt and threw around “the greater good” and “the rules” whenever it suited them!
Unfortunately, bound by his status as a captain and noble decorum, he had always been forced to swallow his frustration.
Seeing Yanagawa “reason” with them in the most direct and decisive manner possible, Isshin felt as if a heavy weight had finally been lifted from his chest.
*As expected of someone chosen by Squad 0…*
Isshin praised him inwardly.
Looking at Yanagawa’s back, his earlier appreciation and desire to cooperate were now joined by a flicker of genuine excitement.
Working alongside someone like this was definitely not going to be boring.
Yanagawa slowly reined in the suffocating spiritual pressure, allowing the stagnant air of the chamber to circulate once more.
He acted as if he had merely swatted a fly.
Without sparing a single glance for the sage whimpering like a beaten dog on the floor, his calm gaze swept across the other trembling figures on the dais.
His voice remained steady, yet chilled to the bone with indisputable authority:
“Now, will you take me to see Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Sōjirō Kusakabe?”
“Or rather,” he tilted his head slightly, his gaze landing on the collapsed sage with an eerie indifference that sent shivers down their spines, “would any of you care to deliberate a little further?”
Silence reigned over the dais.
The remaining sages exchanged glances, witnessing profound dread and helplessness in one another’s eyes.
His status as Squad 0 stripped them of their usual political leverage.
And his overwhelming power, coupled with an uncompromising and brutally straightforward demeanor, utterly shattered their usual games of bureaucratic stalling and pompous posturing.
“L-Lead the way!” the eldest sage in the center croaked, barking at the petrified guards standing frozen in the corner.
Turning back toward Yanagawa, he finally lowered his posture, his voice quivering with an almost imperceptible tremor.
“Lord Yanagawa, please…
follow me.”
Yanagawa said nothing more and stepped forward.
Isshin hurried after him.
As he passed the collapsed sage, he purposefully “stumbled” and kicked him lightly, drawing a muffled grunt of pain that made Isshin feel all the more gratified.