The Gotei 13 Have Been Provoked (4K)

Three days later, First Division Captain's meeting was held in the First Division's Great Hall, and all the top fighters of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were present!

The "natural disaster" of the day before yesterday caused great damage to Seireitei, with at least one-tenth of its area completely destroyed, and the area affected by the aftershocks was even greater.

In addition to the material losses, the casualties are also particularly heartbreaking:

The Tenth Division was wiped out!

Even when they fought the Quincy, they had not suffered such a devastating blow, leaving no trace of ease on anyone's face, and even Shunsui was extremely serious.

The atmosphere became even more tense after the cause of the incident was thoroughly investigated...

"I propose it!"

After the Vice-Captain Sasakibe read out the investigation report, an unbearable silence ensued. Iori had made a great contribution the day before, broke the silence by speaking first.

What he said was truly earth-shattering, not only causing Shunsui and the others to widen their eyes, but even Yamamoto was slightly moved:

I think it's time—

Private research facilities of a certain size or above will be shut down, and the Seireitei Research Institute, currently under the control of nobles, will be reclaimed and merged with other research organizations, all to be supervised by the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!

From this day forward, all research related to 'Artificial Soul' is strictly prohibited without the permission of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!

Chapter 270: The Enraged Thirteen Court Guard Squads (4K)

"Oh dear, he's really stirred up a hornet's nest this time!"

The warm sunlight shone on the courtyard corridor, illuminating the yellow wooden floor and creating a cozy atmosphere. Meanwhile, the Captain of the 8th Division, Kyōraku Shunsui, wearing a magnificent cloak, held a cup of tea and observed the birds hopping around in the courtyard, searching for insects.

Although he appeared to be appreciating the scenery, his gaze was not focused on any particular point. Instead, it seemed to pass through everything in front of him, gazing at a more distant and ethereal place.

He still had a relaxed smile on his face and spoke in a calm and collected tone. At first glance, he seemed no different from usual, but only those who knew him well knew that he had actually entered a state of very serious thought.

This was incredibly unusual for someone who considered slacking off as a creed, and it made the bespectacled secretary, Yagyu Lisa, frown slightly.

"Are you referring to Captain Aizen?"

Lisa adjusted her glasses. "What exactly happened at the Captain's meeting? I've never seen you look so worried, and you keep unconsciously mentioning Captain Aizen's name."

"Huh? Did I say that?"

"I deduced it from your lip movements without you making a sound."

"You really are very talented..."

Considering the difference in their social status, this statement was already considered disrespectful. However, Shunsui has always been gentle and kind to people, and his relationship with Lisa is more like that of a kind elder. Therefore, the two of them can interact without any reservations in private.

Shunsui didn't answer immediately. In Lisa's eyes, he looked "worried." This time, he remained silent for a long time before letting out a bitter laugh, "This involves the explosion the other day. I don't know if I should tell you or not."

"An explosion...wasn't that Menos Grande invasion?" Lisa's eyes flashed.

"Yes, that's the explanation we give internally, and that's the only explanation we can give. No one below the Vice-Captain is qualified to investigate the truth."

After finishing her sentence, Shunsui turned to look at Lisa and chuckled, "Of course, Lisa-chan is special~"

"Tell me quickly!" the bespectacled girl urged, forgetting even basic politeness. "Then what exactly happened? If it wasn't a natural disaster caused by Menos Grande... then what could it be?"

Shunsui gazed intently at his secretary, taking in her anxious and sorrowful expression, and sighed almost imperceptibly.

He didn't blame Lisa for being so rude; in fact, anyone would have been unable to remain calm in her presence.

It should be noted that an entire squad of Shinigami was wiped out in the disaster the day before yesterday!

What does this mean?

Losing 20% of your strength in one battle is already considered a major blow, and losing more than 50% is equivalent to breaking the backbone of the entire squad, which may be disbanded and reorganized at any time.

Total annihilation? Even when we wiped Quincy, it wasn't this devastating!

From the team leader down to the lowest-ranking members, only a handful of lucky people who were on duty outside survived...

Those who died in battle also had family, friends, colleagues, and comrades-in-arms. Especially within the Thirteenth Division, countless people were unable to accept this devastating blow.

Yagyu Lisa must have lost her composure because someone she knew had died, right? But wasn't Shunsui in the same boat?

At this point, the fact that he could still laugh, even if it was just a bitter laugh, was already better than most people.

"The Seireitei is not so weak that it would allow Menos Grande to act so recklessly, and the captain of the Tenth Division is not an incompetent person... It's just that the disaster happened too suddenly, and the destructive power is beyond human control."

It is said that during the massive explosion the day before yesterday, a significant portion of the mutated Reishi escaped from Soul Society and fell into the World of the Living ... meaning their power was even enough to transcend worlds.

"Indeed, it's hard to imagine that this was actually made up, but if..." Yagyu Lisa pursed her lips.

Shunsui narrowed her eyes slightly. "I know what you're thinking, that's right—this is a man-made disaster!"

Really!

Lisa quietly clenched her little fists, and despite her young age, her eyes revealed anger.

"Is the root cause... the Seireitei Research Institute?"

Shunsui was immediately stunned, then understood. "As expected of Lisa-chan, you deduced it based on the information you had on hand?"

"If you ask me what's special about the Tenth Division's base, this is the first thing that comes to mind."

Lisa's glasses flashed with a glint. "Moreover, this time the research institute was clearly within the blast radius, but when the damage and the list of victims were released, the research institute's situation was not listed, as if the information was deliberately erased."

After my investigation, and learning from the Thirteenth Division's containment team, I discovered numerous remains of Tenth Division Shinigami at the scene, while almost no bodies remained belonging to the researchers at the Seireitei Research Institute... Therefore, I conclude that the epicenter of this explosion was not the Tenth Division's base, as everyone assumes, but rather the [Seireitei Research Institute]!

"So clever!"

Shunsui organized his thoughts and said carefully, "It was indeed a project at the Seireitei Research Institute that went out of control, causing a large-scale Reishi rampage, which in turn triggered this disaster... However, the institute itself has been razed to the ground, and all we can find is a small portion of the data that was preserved, making it difficult to pursue further accountability."

"Hmm!" Lisa, somewhat unwillingly, "Are we just going to let it go like this?"

Shunsui didn't elaborate on who the culprit was. He didn't intend to tell Lisa such a confidential matter, even if the two were close. Given Lisa's status, knowing too much wouldn't be a good thing.

However, after hearing the girl's words, he lowered his gaze and fell into deep thought again.

"Team leader?"

"... Ah, sorry, I was a little distracted."

Shunsui forced herself to put on a relaxed expression. "Don't worry, it won't end like this. Such a serious scientific research accident will definitely be investigated thoroughly. However, it's hard to say what the results will be right now. What we need is patience, understand?"

"Even if you say that..." Lisa suddenly remembered, "Then why did you mention Captain Aizen?"

"..."

Shunsui's gaze was deep, and he recalled Iori's groundbreaking proposal at the Captain's meeting yesterday.

——

"Suppress the Seireitei Research Institute? That thing has already been completely wiped out, so it doesn't matter. But what's with banning all private research?"

The one speaking was the Captain of the Fifth Division, Shūsui Seigen. He was a young man with red hair and a handsome appearance, but his demeanor and expression made him look rather fierce.

Of course, appearances can be deceiving; once you get to know him, you'll find that this captain is actually a very nice guy.

There's no precedent for this, is there?

"This kind of accident has never happened before."

When speaking to her senior, Iori said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "This is a problem left over from history. Of course, we can turn a blind eye and pretend we don't know anything, just like before, but that would undoubtedly be irresponsible to future generations."

To avoid similar incidents from happening again, I think this is the safest approach, Captain Zhu Sibo.

"Isn't that irresponsible to future generations...? That makes sense."

Although his tone was somewhat unfriendly at first, after hearing Iori's words, the head of the Fifth Division quickly agreed with this viewpoint, stroking his chin as he said:

"I don't know the specifics about Mod Soul, but the explosion was caused by the research institute, right?"

In that case, I think Captain Aizen makes a good point... Captain-General Your Excellency, could you formally submit this proposal to the Central 46?

As soon as the words were spoken, more than two-thirds of the team leaders focused their attention on the Yamamoto. Some were calm, some were expectant, and some were nervous... It's no wonder that these important figures were so shaken; this matter was truly of utmost importance!

Don't be fooled by how simple and relaxed Iori sounds; none of the points she raised can be easily implemented!

The so-called "Seireitei Research Institute" is, as the name suggests, a research facility located within the Seireitei. It is not a specific building, but a collective term for many similar places.

As Iori said, this is a "legacy issue"...

At the beginning of the original Bleach storyline, the Seireitei's Spirit Particle Technology was mainly researched by the Research and Development Bureau under the 12th Division. Although it did not achieve a monopoly, it could be said to be the dominant force.

However, there is no "Research and Development Bureau" yet. Among the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, only the 12th Division is relatively professional because the captains of each generation have been experts in this field, gathering a large number of scholar-type talents and gradually forming a unique research atmosphere. Therefore, it is responsible for providing technical support to the Shinigami camp.

The problem is that the Thirteen Court Guard Squads is a "young organization" that has been established for less than a thousand years, while the history of the Seireitei is far longer, measured in tens of thousands of years!

Over these long years, it was only natural that the aristocratic class was able to accumulate and pass on knowledge. As the generations progressed, they established various research organizations of all sizes, and even the Five Noble Clans were not exempt from this practice.

Even after the establishment of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the nobles' practices did not change. They still maintained facilities such as the Seireitei Research Institute. Because of their profound foundation, if we disregard geniuses like Hikifune and Kurotsuchi Mayuri, their overall research capabilities were not inferior to those of the 12th Division.

Private organizations possessing research capabilities has always been taken for granted, and no one has ever raised any objections, just as it is accepted that Great Noble can possess Senkaimon.

If this hadn't blown up so much, probably no one would have thought this was unreasonable.

This incident was triggered because the nobles were secretly researching "Mod Soul" in hopes of obtaining an army composed of immortal souls... but an accident occurred along the way.

Now that Iori has publicly made this suggestion, it's clear that it's aimed at all these private research organizations, big and small. To put it bluntly, it's targeting the entire aristocratic class, including even the Five Noble Families!

The saying goes, "Knowledge is power." Will the nobles agree to this proposal, obediently close their research institutes, seal off all data, and hand it over to the Thirteen Court Guard Squads?

It's obviously impossible!

It's important to understand that before the emergence of the Soul Reaper Academy, Shinigami from Rukongai had nowhere to learn even the four basic skills of "Strike White Flash Ghost," and could only rely on luck or join the ranks of nobles... Now, they certainly wouldn't relinquish the right to develop Reishi technology.

This was different from the establishment of the Soul Reaper Academy. At that time, the Soul Society had just been ravaged by Yhwach and desperately needed a new generation of power. Yamamoto's power was unparalleled, and no one dared to stop him from doing whatever he wanted.

But is the Seireitei in such danger now?

Does Iori have the same prestige Yamamoto back then?

The answer is no.

The nobles would certainly oppose it vehemently and try every means to obstruct it—even if they had indeed committed a terrible mistake.

In stark contrast, the Thirteen Court Guard Squads actually supports Iori!

After all, losing an entire squad was a painful lesson that left every Shinigami deeply troubled. If they couldn't be given an explanation, it would severely damage morale.

The Captains generally agreed with Iori, and even those from noble families didn't object.

Kuchiki and Shihoin, as the two leaders of the nobles, did not blindly defend their factions at this moment; instead, they seemed particularly angry. Kuchiki Ginrei, who was known for his composure, even had to keep his mouth tightly shut to maintain his expression and avoid losing his composure.

... Isn't he the one who can't stand nobles smearing the Seireitei?

This is how the higher-ups are, and once the whole story is revealed, the attitude of the ordinary team members goes without saying:

Iori's advantage will be overwhelming.

The largest violent organization in Soul Society collectively supports a proposal that is almost certain to be rejected by the Central 46, which "represents the collective interests of the aristocratic class"...

Just hearing that gives me a headache!

"I will submit the proposal to Central 46."

Yamamoto had been resting with his eyes closed, but now he quietly opened them a crack. Though small, they were unusually bright and captivating, making it hard to look directly at him.

"Blocking private research facilities requires a license, but if it's just about setting up a department to bring together and allocate the scattered researchers and resources of the Thirteenth Division —that's an internal matter, and we can start setting it up tomorrow."

"Hmm!"

"Um!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Yamamoto in surprise, not expecting that he would also stand on Iori's side!

I thought he would wait for the Central 46 to give the order before taking action... It seems that this Captain-General, who always puts the big picture first, has been angered for once.

When his bottom line is crossed, Yamamoto doesn't mind showing off his flexible approach to things.

"This matter requires a mature and prudent person to do it. Although it was Iori who proposed it, he himself is not capable of shouldering this responsibility. Therefore, I hope that the 12th Division Captain, 'Hikifune Kirio,' will be in charge of integrating the team's resources."

At this moment, a voluptuous, cheerful older sister stepped out from the end of the group. "Alright! Leave it to me, Captain-General Your Excellency!"

She didn't find it troublesome at all; on the contrary, she seemed eager to get started.

"Alright, that's the decision for now. Captain Hikifune, please make preparations first. We'll have to wait for the Central 46 to issue the order to shut down the private research institute... There's also one more thing, which concerns how to rebuild the Tenth Division."

"I have a proposal on this."

At this moment, the Shihōin Clan Head of the Second Division spoke up, "In the current situation, the Tenth Division is practically defunct, and we lack the manpower to rebuild it."

Having gone through so many major battles, Thirteenth Division is undoubtedly in its most dangerous situation right now.