Seireitei, Central 46, underground assembly hall.
Two documents lay on the long table.
One was the Seventh Division's final report on its expedition to Hueco Mundo. The comments were brief: [No source of the spatial anomaly was found. Menos Grande encountered along the route were eliminated according to standard procedure.]
The other was a captain's resignation letter.
"Huashen Jing, what is the meaning of this?"
The Rotating Speaker's voice came from behind the hanging curtain, carrying a barely suppressed note of displeasure as he slammed the document onto the table.
Standing in the hall, Huashen Jing slowly spread his hands, palms up, at the question. As he spoke, he began strolling leisurely through the spacious hall, glancing this way and that. "I'm resigning, obviously."
Silence fell over the hall.
One Sage spoke coldly. "Absurd! Seireitei's divisions have only just stabilized, and now you submit your resignation? Who will oversee your division's defenses? A captain's handover is no trivial matter!"
Huashen Jing waved his outstretched hands back and forth. "I had no objections when Rose Ōtoribashi was transferred to the Third Division to take Oda Tenza's place, but now Love Aikawa has successfully mastered Bankai too. You should accept my resignation."
Honestly, he really did not want the job anymore.
Ever since putting on that white Captain's Haori, he had not been able to spend a proper afternoon in a Rukongai gambling den. Every day brought nothing but endless paperwork and summons from Central 46.
Compared with his life now, his days as the Third Division's Third Seat had been so comfortable they almost seemed like a dream.
He regretted it.
"Preposterous!"
The Inquisitor's voice abruptly rose. "What do you take a captain's seat in the Gotei 13 for? Love Aikawa has mastered Bankai? How long has it been since