"Silence!"
With Captain Commander Yamamoto's furious shout, the meeting hall fell silent once more.
Captain Commander Yamamoto glanced at Duan Mu, then turned his gaze back to Ichimaru Gin, waiting for his answer.
"I..."
Ichimaru Gin still wore that half-smiling expression. He slipped his hands into his sleeves and said, "I have nothing to say."
"Hmm?"
"This was my dereliction of duty. There is nothing to argue. No matter what punishment I receive, I will accept it calmly."
As soon as he said this, varying degrees of surprise appeared in everyone's eyes.
If Ichimaru Gin had tried to defend himself, they might not have believed him, but at least they could have used his words to speculate about why he had let that traveler escape.
Yet Ichimaru Gin's response caught everyone off guard.
Not only had he offered no explanation, he had openly admitted his mistake, making it seem as though he had deliberately allowed that traveler to get away.
"Ichimaru Gin, you..."
Aizen's brows knitted tightly as he looked at Ichimaru Gin with suspicion, as if he were deeply wary of him.
Keep acting. Go on, keep acting.
Duan Mu resisted the urge to roll his eyes and showed no reaction, but he could not help grumbling inwardly.
"Since that is the case, we will discuss your punishment later."
Captain Commander Yamamoto nodded, then suddenly shifted his gaze to Duan Mu at the end of the line. "Next, we will deal with Duan Mu."
"Hmm?"
Duan Mu's brows drew together slightly. Here it comes?
Although he knew very well that Captain Commander Yamamoto could not have summoned him merely to sit in on the meeting, he had thought about it for a long time and still could not figure out why Yamamoto had called him here.
"You forcibly entered