Shin'ō Central 46

By the time Shuichi returned to the First Division Barracks, night had fallen.

The lights were still on in the main hall. He reached the door and was about to speak when he heard voices inside. Yamamoto was not alone.

Shuichi stopped.

"Come in," Yamamoto called.

Shuichi slid the door open and saw the scene inside.

Yamamoto sat behind a low table with a stack of documents spread before him.

Chōjirō Sasakibe stood at his side.

Shihōin Qianri sat to the left, clutching a scroll, his expression hard as iron. Two men sat on the right.

One was Third Division Captain Yanyuan Jinle, his hair slicked back, gray glasses on his face, his expression unreadable.

The other was Tenth Division Captain Wang Tuchuan Yuxuji, his long black hair tied behind his head.

Dozens of reports lay on the table. Some had been unsealed, others were still rolled up, and some lay half-open with their corners curling. The ink on the topmost report was fresh. It contained phrases such as "South District 36," "Quincy," and "Hollow group annihilated."

Yamamoto looked up at Shuichi.

"South District 47?"

Shuichi straightened. "The Hollows' reiatsu was chaotic. There were signs that some had escaped wounded, and signs of Quincy activity at seven or eight sites across a fan-shaped area. One or two people couldn't have done it."

He paused and glanced at the stack of documents.

"It was a sizable force."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

Shihōin Qianri slapped his scroll onto the table.

"South District 36, District 32, District 28." His voice was heavy. "The Second Division alone has reported six incidents in the past half month. Hollow groups were wiped out on a large scale, and their residual reiatsu cut off completely. The Quincy did it. This isn't a small infiltration. It's an organized operation."

Yanyuan Jinle adjusted his glasses. "Last week, the Third Division found a battlefield in South District 21. Twenty-seven Hollows, all destroyed. The residual reiatsu matched the Quincy traces we've seen before exactly. But the scale..."

Wang Tuchuan Yuxuji looked at no one. His gaze stayed on the documents, and his voice was quiet.

"The Tenth Division received eleven eyewitness reports this month. Seven were confirmed Quincy sightings. We used to go an entire year without receiving that many."

Yamamoto said nothing. He sat behind the table, hands clasped beneath his chin, eyes on the documents. From the doorway, Shuichi could see his expression. It held neither anger nor surprise, only a deep stillness, like an ancient well.

"Captain-Commander."

Shihōin Qianri spoke. "This isn't the first time. The Quincy have been active in Rukongai for decades, killing Hollows and taking work from Soul Reapers. It used to be small groups, three or five people. They'd kill a few Hollows and leave. If Soul Reapers encountered them, we drove them off. But this time is different."

He pointed at the stack of documents.

"These are from the last three months. Sightings, kills, large-scale sweeps. This isn't decades of accumulated reports. It's three months. The frequency and scale of Quincy activity over those three months are at least triple what we'd see in a year."

Yanyuan Jinle added, "They're testing our response."

"They aren't testing us." Yamamoto finally spoke. His voice was calm, but everyone in the hall fell silent.

"They're creating facts on the ground."

He looked at the documents.

"The Quincy didn't begin hunting Hollows today. They've been active in Rukongai for decades. When Soul Reapers encountered them, we drove them off. When we didn't, we let it go. Soul Society didn't consider them a threat because they weren't one. Three or five people killing a few Hollows couldn't cause much trouble."

He paused.

"But over the past three months, they've stopped hiding."

Shuichi stood in the doorway, looking at the growing stack of documents. Each recorded an incident: a sighting, a kill, a sweep. South District 36, District 32, District 28, District 21... He knew those names. They were districts closer to the front of Rukongai, not far from Seireitei.

This wasn't infiltration. It was an advance.

Shihōin Qianri spoke again. "Last week, the Twelfth Division detected a massive reiatsu reaction in South District 19. It wasn't from Hollows. It was Quincy—at least twenty of them operating in the same area at once. Captain Shandingsi said he'd never seen Quincy activity on that scale."

Yanyuan Jinle adjusted his glasses. "Twenty acting together isn't a hunting party. It's a combat unit."

Wang Tuchuan Yuxuji raised his head. "They're preparing for something."

"Shuichi."

Yamamoto called his name.

"Yes."

"The traces in South District 47. You're certain they were left by Quincy?"

"Yes. The way the reiatsu cut off matched what Lieutenant Chōjirō Sasakibe taught me. The spread of the scorch marks suggests at least three to five people acted together."

Yamamoto nodded without asking more.

"Go. Write your report and give it to Shimura."

"Yes."

Shuichi turned, left the main hall, and slid the door shut gently.

The full Shin'ō Central 46 rarely assembled.

The highest judicial authority, composed of forty sages and six inquisitors, normally exercised its power through reishi messages and written resolutions. Only matters concerning Soul Society's survival required every member to attend.

Today was one of those occasions.

The oval hall's vaulted ceiling rose high overhead. Forty-six seats formed a ring, each occupied by one of Soul Society's most influential people—not necessarily its strongest, but certainly its most powerful. Nobles, elders, and heads of great families sat with their faces shifting between light and shadow beneath the blue glow of the Reishi Lamps.

The Four Great Noble Clans occupied seats at the front of the hall, set apart from the others like a raised dais.

Shihōin Qianri sat in the Shihōin Clan's seat. He wore formal black, and his short silver-white hair stood out beneath the lights. His face was calm, but his fingers tapped lightly on his knee. Anyone who knew him recognized the habit: he did it when he was thinking.

The Tsunayashiro Clan's seat was occupied by its current head, Tsunayashiro Shiki. He was a slender-faced middle-aged man with narrow eyes and a faint smile that never quite left his lips.

It was the same smile Tsunayashiro Shisei wore, only more practiced and more guarded.

The Tsunayashiro Clan managed the Great Spirit Library and held every piece of Soul Society's buried history and secrets.

They knew more than anyone else, but they were never in a hurry to speak.

In the Kuchiki Clan's seat sat a young man, Kuchiki Ginrei, the current head's eldest son. He had already begun taking over the family's affairs.

He wore the Kuchiki Clan's signature white haori, with his dark brown hair tied behind his head. His features were gentle, but his gaze was steady. He looked less like a man in his twenties than a blade still in its sheath.

The Kuchiki Clan stood first among the Four Great Noble Clans. They had no need to fight or scramble for position. They only had to stand where they were and do what they believed was right.

A tall man sat in the Shiba Clan's seat: Shiba Chuanlu.

His hair was a mess, his formal clothes hung loose, and his collar lay open. Leaning back with his chin propped on one hand, he swept a lazy gaze across the hall.

He looked as if he couldn't be bothered with any of it. But those who knew him knew that, apart from Yamamoto, he was the strongest person present.

Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto sat in a guest seat.

He was not a member of Shin'ō Central 46. Since the founding of the Gotei 13, no captain had ever joined it. But he sat here today because he was the Gotei 13's Captain-Commander, because he held Soul Society's strongest Zanpakutō, and because everyone present knew that without him and the army he had built, Central 46 would be nothing but a council of empty talk.

A stack of documents lay on the table before Yamamoto.

Three months. Forty-six reports.

He placed a hand on the documents and spoke. His voice was not loud, but every word carried clearly through the hall.

"Quincy activity in Rukongai over the past three months: forty-six eyewitness reports, twelve confirmed incidents of Hollow groups being wiped out on a large scale. South District 36, District 32, District 28, District 21. Their operations have advanced steadily from the outer districts toward Seireitei."

The hall fell silent for a moment. Then the forty sages and six inquisitors began murmuring among themselves, a low hum like bees in the distance.

An elderly sage raised a hand. "Captain-Commander, the Quincy have always hunted Hollows. They've been active in Rukongai for centuries. When Soul Reapers encounter them, we drive them off. Why call them a 'grave threat' now?"

Yamamoto met his gaze calmly.

"Because of the scale. Erasing Hollows on a large scale will affect Soul Society's Reishi Cycle."

Another sage frowned.

"The Reishi Cycle?"

"When a Soul Reaper purifies a Hollow, its soul returns to the cycle of rebirth and its reishi returns to the atmosphere. When a Quincy destroys a Hollow, its reishi vanishes outright. It no longer takes part in the cycle. One or two Hollows make no difference. What about a hundred? A thousand? The number of Hollows in Rukongai is finite, but the balance of reishi affects all of Soul Society. The more Hollows the Quincy destroy, the less reishi Soul Society has."

Yamamoto's voice remained calm, but every word drove into the minds of those present like a nail.

The murmurs grew louder. Sages and inquisitors leaned toward one another. Some frowned, some shook their heads, and others looked grim.

Shihōin Qianri's fingers stopped tapping. He watched Yamamoto in silence, his gaze calm.

Tsunayashiro Shiki's smile did not change, but his eyes narrowed slightly, like a cat spotting a bird flying closer.

Kuchiki Ginrei sat upright, his expression unchanged, as still as a statue.

Shiba Chuanlu yawned. He looked utterly unconcerned, but his eyes never left Yamamoto.

An inquisitor raised a hand to speak.

"Captain-Commander, what do you propose?"

Yamamoto's gaze swept across the hall.

"Deploy the Gotei 13 to clear the Quincy from Rukongai."

The forty sages and six inquisitors looked at one another. No one spoke. No one raised a hand. No one objected, and no one agreed.

Then someone spoke.

"Let's vote."

Central 46's method of reaching a decision was simple: a vote. If more than half approved, the resolution passed.

Yamamoto sat in the guest seat with his hands clasped beneath his chin, his gaze on the table before him. He looked at no one, but he could feel the atmosphere in the hall changing.

Forty-six seats. Forty-six votes.

The nobles' gazes shifted toward the seats of the Four Great Noble Clans. Toward Tsunayashiro Shiki, Shihōin Qianri, Kuchiki Ginrei, and Shiba Chuanlu. They were not looking at the men themselves. They were looking at the power behind them.

The vote began. Each sage and inquisitor raised a hand in turn.

In favor.

Against.

Abstain.

The totals climbed in turn, neither side pulling far ahead.

Twenty in favor, seventeen against, nine abstentions.

Twenty-two in favor, nineteen against, five abstentions.

Twenty-three in favor, twenty-one against, two abstentions.

Only the seats of the Four Great Noble Clans remained.

Tsunayashiro Shiki raised his hand—in favor.

Shihōin Qianri raised his hand—in favor.

Kuchiki Ginrei was silent for a moment, then raised his hand—in favor.

Shiba Chuanlu did not move. He leaned back and stared at the ceiling as though he had not noticed the vote had begun. Every gaze in the hall settled on him. The sages and inquisitors held their breath, waiting for his decision.

Chuanlu slowly lowered the hand supporting his chin and looked around the hall. His gaze rested briefly on Tsunayashiro Shiki, then on Shihōin Qianri, before settling on Yamamoto.

"Abstain."

A low stir ran through the hall. Shiba Chuanlu, a member of one of the Four Great Noble Clans and the strongest man present apart from Yamamoto, had chosen to abstain.

He offered no explanation.

He needed none.

The vote ended.

Twenty-six in favor, twenty-one against, one abstention. More than half had voted in favor. The resolution passed.

Yamamoto rose. The chief inquisitor of Central 46 struck the resolution bell. Its deep, lingering note echoed through the hall like an ancient incantation.

"Resolution: the Quincy are to be forcibly expelled or detained. Those who refuse to comply are to be killed. The Gotei 13 will carry out the order."

Yamamoto stood in the center of the hall, his shadow stretching long behind him in the lamplight. He looked at no one. He merely dipped his head.

The sages and inquisitors began to leave. Some looked grim, some whispered among themselves, and some shook their heads and sighed. But no one objected. The resolution had been made. Not even Captain-Commander Yamamoto could challenge it now, much less they.

Shihōin Qianri stood, straightened his collar, and headed out of the hall. As he passed Tsunayashiro Shiki, their eyes met. No words, no expression—just a moment's glance before they looked away and went their separate ways.

Kuchiki Ginrei rose as well. He moved slowly and steadily, as though every action deserved his full attention. He bowed slightly to Yamamoto, then turned and left.

Shiba Chuanlu was the last to stand. He tried to straighten his loose formal clothes, failed, and left them crooked. He stopped beside Yamamoto.

"Captain-Commander."

"Chuanlu."

"When you move, go easy. Some Quincy are human."

Yamamoto glanced at him.

"I know."

Chuanlu nodded and said no more. He turned toward the exit, his steps light and unhurried, just as they had been when he arrived.

When Yamamoto left the hall, Chōjirō Sasakibe was waiting outside.

"Captain-Commander."

Yamamoto did not stop. "Notify all thirteen divisions. The Captain-Commander is calling an assembly."

"Yes."