Kisuke Urahara was called back midway.
When Hollow Disaster broke out, he was leading the expedition team to search deep in the white sand of Hueco Mundo.
The moment he received the urgent summons, he didn't hesitate for a moment and turned back immediately. He didn't want to stay in this ghost place any longer.
After returning to Seireitei, the first thing he did was to go to Rukongai East District 70, walk over the scorched earth that had been corroded by the wandering spirits of Hollowfication, and collect a copy of the remaining Reiatsu of Arturo
A few days later, a report from Twelfth Division was submitted to Central 46.
The conclusion of the report is simple: the remaining traces of Rukongai's virtual riot are from the same origin as the Vasto Lorde who attacked Seireitei.
Arturo·Platido.
Central 46 was shocked by it
But another question still hangs there.
How on earth were those wandering souls ripened and batched into Hollowfication?
Urahara searched through all the files that could be found and tested all the Reishi samples that could be tested, but still could not find the answer.
In the end, this matter was settled.
Central 46 didn't urge again, First Division didn't ask again, Seireitei lacked the most, time, and time is enough to slowly and silently cover any scar without an answer.
A few years later.
Seireitei's cherry blossoms are blooming for another season.
"Hey, did you hear that?"
Under the corridor of the Shin'ō Academy, several young men in hospital uniforms gathered together, lowering their voices, but their eyes were bright.
"After Kaien Third Seat, another person is going to graduate early!"
"Really? Kaien Third Seat At that time, he was a genius who completed Shikai in the second grade..."
"I heard that guy was even more exaggerated! He seemed to have completed all the courses of Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hohō, and Kidō in one year."
"What?"
"Who is it?"
"Gin Ichimaru"
"What a lonely guy!?"
"Seriously?!"
"It is said that he is...Aizen Lieutenant, the child brought back from Rukongai."
Fifth Division, outside the team building.
The dusk light shone slantly, casting a slender shadow on the brisk, silver-haired young man holding a stack of paperwork in the hallway.
There was a faint and unpredictable smile on his face, and his eyes were narrowed into two curved slits, as if he was always smiling and always calculating something.
"Silver."
A gentle voice came from behind.
Sosuke Aizen stood on the corridor, his eyes behind the black-rimmed glasses falling calmly on this young man.
"How did you finish your homework today?"
Gin Ichimaru stopped, turned around, and smiled a little deeper.
"Ah, that kind of thing has been finished a long time ago, Aizen Lieutenant."
Aizen said nothing, just smiled slightly.
Central 46, Underground Council Hall.
There are three documents spread out on the long file, one is the supervision evaluation submitted by Senzaikyū, one is the combat performance verification transferred from First Division, and the other is the proposal for the captain Eleventh Division that gives everyone a headache.
"Shibata Takanobu."
Rotating Speaker's fingers pressed on the cover of the document, and his voice rolled around in the empty hall. "During his detention, Hueco Mundo accompanied him on expeditions and helped repel the Gillian group twice. Zanpakutō's ability has played a strategic role in actual combat. It is recommended that the prisoner be released and Eleventh Division be replaced as captain."
"Absurd!"
An old Sage with silver hair stood up from the table, his skinny palms shaking the tea cup on the stone table. "A man openly liberated Bankai in the center of Seireitei, causing large-scale destruction. A sinner who killed and injured dozens of people and wanted to write it off with just a few empty military exploits?! Then how to settle the score for Murata Shō's murder? How to settle the score for the destruction of the team building?! Where is Central 46's face?!"
"Second! Once this example is started, who will take the central government's orders seriously in the future? Kill a few people, perform some meritorious service, and then you can come back and become the captain?!"
"Laws?!"
On the other side, a middle-aged Sage with a loud voice sneered and stood up suddenly, "Do you still remember how Murata Shō became the captain? A private fight for the top position, Central 46 ratified it! Remember Sōya Azashiro How did get expelled? It has been confirmed that he was framed, but he was treated coldly by the previous Central 46, and Central 46 did not investigate anything! Then who did Eleventh Division ask for his face?!"
There was a buzzing sound in the hall, so loud that it almost knocked over the ceiling.
"Those are two different things!"
"Why are they two different things? They are both Eleventh Division, and they both came to power! Murata Shō can be ratified, but why can't Shibata Takanobu be replaced? You are just because Murata Shō is a descendant of the nobles, and Shibata Takanobu is not!"
"You!"
"That's enough."
An old man Sage spoke slowly. He did not slap the table or stand up, but scanned the whole place with his cloudy and cold eyes.
It wasn't loud, but everyone kept their mouths shut.
"Whether Shibata Takanobu is guilty or not, it has been decided. Senzaikyū is written in black and white, and Central 46 is stamped and archived. He is not guilty, at least not guilty of the death penalty you mentioned, but he is not a replacement captain, that is another matter."
"Imprisonment is for punishment. He has already paid it with his life in Hueco Mundo. As for the position of captain, it is not a reward, but a position. At Eleventh Division, there have been four captains since Unohana resigned until now, and something happened to each one. Why?"
He didn't wait for anyone to answer and continued, "Because Central 46 has been filling that chair with controllable people. The controllable people can't suppress those mad dogs, and the ones who can suppress them refuse to bow their heads. Shibata Takanobu Bankai killed Murata Shō. It was his own choice. Central 46 now has two choices: either continue to compete with Eleventh Division and wait for the next rebellion; or admit the fact that only the strongest person can sit in that chair."
"And Shibata Takanobu happens to be the strongest person among Eleventh Division now, and he is strong enough to convince everyone."
The hall was quiet for a long time.
The old Sage who had slapped the table earlier opened his mouth, wanted to say something, and then closed it again. Of course he knew that the specialness of Eleventh Division has never been comparable to that of other divisions.
Blood Trial was the one they nodded, and Murata Shō was the one they recognized posthumously. Every change of captain was accompanied by bloodshed, but every time Central 46 could only hold their noses and recognize it, because the essence of the team is a knife, and whoever is the strongest will hold the handle of the knife.
"But he acted in extreme ways," someone whispered.
"Murata Shō is not extreme in his actions?" asked old Sage.
Silence again.
Rotating Speaker coughed and broke the deadlock. "Then, let's vote on this motion now."
"Those who agree to appoint Shibata Takanobu as captain Eleventh Division, please light up."
In the dark hall, the lamps lit up one after another, and the blue light spread first from the left, then the right, and then the middle.
Opposition votes were sparse, less than 30%.
"The resolution is passed."
Rotating Speaker picked up the gavel and banged it three times on the stone table. "Shibata Takanobu, from now on, he will be released from custody and appointed as the replacement captain of Gotei 13 Eleventh Division. First Division will review and grant Haori."
No one in the hall cheered, and no one talked. Sage were just picking up the scattered documents in front of them, with different expressions. Some shook their heads, some sighed, and some were expressionless.
But everyone knows one thing.
The man who once drew his knife in the morning mist and used Bankai to tear up the Eleventh Division courtyard is coming back again.
Go back to the chair soaked in the blood of Kenpachi of all ages.