Just as Yanagawa had finished calming Momo Hinamori and was about to discuss their next steps with Renji and the others, a cheerful, slightly intrusive voice broke through the tense atmosphere.
“Well well, looks like I showed up at just the right time!”
Everyone turned.
At some point, Tenth Division Captain Isshin Shiba had quietly made his way over.
He wore his usual bright, mischievous grin, though his movements were oddly furtive.
First, he glanced around to confirm the other captains had left.
Only then did he stride over to Yanagawa.
“Captain Shiba?” Yanagawa sounded slightly surprised, though his expression remained calm.
Renji, Hinamori, and the others quickly bowed, wondering why this captain had returned.
“Don’t be so distant, Yanagawa!”
Isshin laughed, scratching his slightly messy black hair.
“I heard everything in the meeting,” he said, first offering an easy compliment before lowering his voice and getting straight to the point.
“That kid, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, one of the people at the center of this whole mess—he’d already agreed to join my Tenth Division after graduation.
I even secretly prepared a draft of his application!
He’s someone I had my eye on as a future right-hand man!”
He paused, glancing at Renji, Hinamori, and the others before looking back at Yanagawa.
His smile faded slightly, replaced by a captain’s genuine concern for a prospective subordinate.
“So this isn’t just about your old classmate’s childhood friend.
In a way, he’s already a future member of my division.
If something happens to him, I can’t just stand by and watch, can I?”
It was a straightforward and reasonable argument.
He had made clear both his connection to Hitsugaya and his reason for getting involved.
“So—”
Isshin clasped his hands together and gave Yanagawa a pleading grin that was hard to dislike.
“Lord Yanagawa, can you count me in on this?
Don’t let the way I look fool you.
The Shiba clan may have fallen from its former glory, but it’s still tied to the Five Great Noble Houses.
As head of a branch family, I still have some pull in the Seireitei.
Gathering information, smoothing things over, opening a few doors—I might be useful.
And I’m not bad in a fight either!”
He patted the Zanpakutō at his waist with full confidence.
It sounded like bragging, but given his status as a captain and his Shiba background, it was no empty boast.
Even if the Shiba clan no longer stood as high as families like the Kuchiki or Shihōin, its ancient noble foundation and broad connections could still prove unexpectedly useful.
More importantly, Isshin Shiba might seem careless, but he was sharp beneath the surface.
He was generous, loyal, and well-liked within the Gotei 13.
His help would undoubtedly make many things easier.
Yanagawa looked at the captain before him, who had stated his intentions without ceremony.
Isshin’s personality was indeed different from many Shinigami Yanagawa had met.
Yanagawa did not dislike that.
He was not antisocial, he simply disliked hypocrisy and needless complexity.
Isshin’s bluntness was, in fact, refreshing.
And as Isshin himself had said, he could provide considerable support.
The formal assistance of an active captain carried far more weight than that of lieutenants and seated officers, especially when dealing with other divisions or organizations under the Central 46.
The Shiba name could also offer protection and channels of information on certain levels.
Yanagawa barely needed to weigh the matter.
He needed allies, and Isshin had come to him with strength, status, motive, and a personality he could tolerate.
There was no reason to refuse.
“You are too modest, Captain Shiba,” Yanagawa said calmly.
“Since Tōshirō Hitsugaya has an agreement with the Tenth Division, it is only natural that you would be concerned.
With your assistance, this investigation should proceed much more smoothly.”
“Haha!
Great!
Straightforward, I like it!”
Isshin slapped Yanagawa’s shoulder and grinned broadly.
“I knew you weren’t one of those stiff types!
I like that kid Shiro too.
If I can help, all the better.
And don’t call me Captain all the time—it’s too formal.
Isshin is fine!”
He casually threw an arm around Yanagawa’s shoulder, then winked at the still-dazed Hinamori, Renji, and the others.
“And you kids, relax.
With me and Yanagawa here, we’ll get your little friend out in one piece!”
Isshin’s arrival was like a warm current, instantly easing the heaviness brought by Yanagawa’s sudden change in status and the incident itself.
His optimistic, open-hearted presence affected everyone there.
After Renji, Hinamori, and the others left, only Yanagawa and Isshin remained.
“Then,” Yanagawa said, looking at Isshin and getting straight to the point, “according to the plan, we will first meet the two people involved.
Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Sōjirō Kusaka should currently be held separately for isolation.
The location is with the Central 46.”
At that, Isshin’s cheerful smile faded somewhat.
He rubbed his chin and nodded.
“Yeah.
Once something like the twin Hyōrinmaru incident came out, the Central 46 took over for ‘protective’ custody and review.
Standard procedure.
He paused, then looked at Yanagawa with a subtle expression and began explaining the highest judicial body in Soul Society, his tone openly laced with criticism.
“The Central 46 is made up of forty sages and six judges.
Those people… heh, they’re not easy to deal with.”
“Every one of them sees themselves as the embodiment of Soul Society’s wisdom and law.
Their noses are so high in the air they can barely see the ground.”
“The only things in their heads are ancient regulations and what they call ‘stability of the greater order.'”
“They sit all day in that underground assembly hall without seeing the sun, deciding other people’s fates based on mountains of records and their own assumptions.”
He clicked his tongue.
“But this time is different, Yanagawa.
You’re representing the Royal Guard.”
He pointed at Yanagawa’s white haori.
“That thing is your biggest pass and your strongest shield.
No matter how arrogant those old relics are, as long as they haven’t completely lost their minds, they won’t openly block or defy the will of the Royal Palace.
They don’t have the guts for a direct clash.”
“But—”
Isshin’s tone shifted, a sharp, knowing glint appearing in his eyes.
“Playing games behind the scenes, obeying in public while resisting in private, making things difficult through procedure, hiding key information… that’s their specialty.”
“Those people value their authority and rigid procedures above everything else.”
“I’d bet that if the Royal Guard hadn’t stepped in and pressured them, they would’ve already made some quiet assessment and handed down a decision that was technically legal—but not necessarily fair.”
His analysis cut straight to the heart of the matter, clearly laying out the nature of the Central 46, their likely response, and the hidden obstacles Yanagawa might face.
Yanagawa listened silently.
Isshin’s words matched his own earlier expectations.
The Royal Guard identity was a banner strong enough to intimidate them on the surface, but it could not eliminate every hidden current.
Those sages and judges held authority over Soul Society’s laws, interpretations, appointments, and punishments.
Their power and elevated status had inflated their sense of self to the extreme.
Yanagawa might represent the Royal Guard, but he was still far too young.
Those old men would almost certainly try something behind the scenes.
“A game of power and rules, then…” Yanagawa murmured.
“I understand.
Thank you for the warning, Captain Isshin.”
“No need for thanks!”
Isshin waved a hand, returning to his bold, easygoing manner.
“We’re on the same side now!
Come on, I’ll lead the way.
Let’s go meet those old bastards who think they’re above everyone else.”
Save to Library:>