In the Soul Society, All I Want Is to Coast into Retirement — Chapter 12

The Twenty-Third Chapter: We Could Clearly Just Rob You, Yet We're Still Sitting Here Negotiating Terms

Tsunayashiro Fūka's legs went weak with fright, and he nearly collapsed to the floor. He had seen the power of the Blazing Fire Sword before. If that blade came down, the entire Seireitei would be reduced to ashes!

What Five Noble Clans? What Central 46?

Before absolute power, they were all nothing but paper tigers!

The sages of Central 46 were completely dumbfounded.

"What are you doing?! What are you doing?! This is the core of power in the Soul Society! Are you challenging the rules that the Soul Society has upheld for millions of years?!" The Great Sage sprang to his feet and shouted sternly.

"You're so clever! You saw right through us at a glance!" Yamabuki Chidori clapped continuously in mockery. "Since the dog won't obey, we'll just replace it with another one! As for disobedient dogs, take a guess what happens to them? Hmm? Rules? Our rules are the rules."

Damn it!

Why weren't these bandits playing by the rules?

You barbarians!

You... wait, don't draw your swords!

Ryūjin Jakka left its sheath, and the temperature of the surrounding air instantly soared.

Only then did Tsunayashiro Fūka understand the philosophy of those lunatics in the Gotei 13.

The Soul King was number one, and they were number two. Central 46? What number were they? If they had the guts, they could fight him one-on-one! If they won, they could be whatever number they wanted!

That was also why Yamabuki Chidori dared to be so arrogant.

The Gotei 13 was the only organization in the entire Soul Society that possessed "nuclear weapons." Shouldn't they be this arrogant? Shouldn't they be this domineering?

As for all the tedious formalities left behind by the nobles...

Sorry, he didn't acknowledge them. He was a bandit!

They could clearly just rob them outright, yet they were still sitting here negotiating! How could they be so gentle? He was practically moved to tears! Another day of being touched by his own kindness!

At that moment, the Great Sages were like a pack of monkeys about to be executed, leaping and scrambling about. Where was even a trace of their former arrogance and superiority?

They might have been old-fashioned, but they were definitely not stupid.

They had witnessed the power of Ryūjin Jakka yesterday.

Let alone Central 46—even the entire Soul Society had no one who could withstand a single exchange.

"Wait! Wait a moment! Don't get so worked up. Aren't we here to negotiate...? Why are you drawing your sword? Calm down!"

"Yes! Calm down! If you aren't satisfied with the conditions we proposed, we can revise them slowly. Young man, don't be so hot-tempered!"

"Easy, easy! If we did something wrong, we can change it, can't we? Don't draw your sword yet! Calm down!"

"Let's negotiate, let's keep negotiating! Drawing your sword is such a bad look! Let's keep talking!"

The forty-six sages descended into chaos.

Yamamoto barely held back a laugh. Yamabuki Chidori gave him a look, and the Captain Commander sheathed his sword.

Only after seeing Yamamoto put away his sword did the forty-six sages finally sit down in peace.

Tsunayashiro Fūka's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Using absolute military force to threaten Central 46! Nothing like this had happened in the Soul Society for thousands of years!

So absolute force was what shattered power!

Force was much more useful than power!

Tsunayashiro Fūka thought back to all the power games he had played before. Why did they suddenly seem so vulgar? True high-class people disdained playing political schemes with others. You refused to submit? Then he would cut you down with one stroke!

What? Your whole family refused to submit? Then he would kill your whole family!

What? Your entire clan refused to submit? Then he would wipe out the clan directly.

In this high-martial world of Soul Reapers, one person's strength could easily crush an army of thousands. There was no need to worry about military rebellion. Even if every army in the Soul Society were tied together, they probably could not withstand a single strike from the old man's Bankai.

It was as though Tsunayashiro Fūka had opened the door to a new world!

The sages immediately came up with a new proposal.

"How about we forget about jurisdiction and change it to supervision instead?"

Yamamoto gave a low "Mm" and placed his hand on Ryūjin Jakka's hilt.

The sage who had suggested "supervision" was immediately pinned to the ground and beaten up by everyone else.

"Nonsense! They were established to protect the Soul Society. Does an organization like that need our supervision?"

"How about cooperation? We can have a cooperative relationship!"

"But the selection of personnel..."

"And the handling of criminals..."

Central 46 was equivalent to the Soul Society's highest court. No one could alter the judgments they handed down.

What made them most uncomfortable was that if a member of the Gotei 13 committed a crime, the authority to punish them had to be handed over to the Gotei 13. This greatly weakened their power, and they were very unhappy about it!

Yamabuki Chidori viciously struck the floor with his sword. "Everyone, we've stated our conditions. If you agree, stamp this document, and from this day onward, the Gotei 13 will be an official organization. We will also take responsibility for protecting your personal safety. If you don't agree... Captain Commander, draw your sword!"

"Wait, wait, wait... Don't draw your sword yet, don't draw your sword! Can't you give us a little time to think?" the Great Sage asked with a terrified expression.

"Fine, I'll give you five..."

"Five days! Fine, fine, fine! We'll definitely give you a satisfactory answer in five days."

"Four!"

"???"

"Three!"

So he meant five seconds?

Five seconds weren't even enough time to use the bathroom!

Were they here to rob them or negotiate?

"Two!"

Stop counting, stop counting! Couldn't he see that they hadn't even reacted yet? They were all elderly! Didn't he understand the principle of respecting the old and caring for the young? Old people's brains didn't turn that fast!

"One! Captain Commander, draw your sword and silence them!"

"Stop!!!!! We agree!" The Great Sage screamed with more force than he had ever used in his life. "We agree to every demand you've made! Is that enough now?!"

"You won't regret it? You're willing to do this?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

"We're willing! We're willing!"

"Then stamp this document. Every major noble clan head in the Soul Society is watching. It'll be too late if you try to go back on your word!" Yamabuki Chidori pulled out a document he had prepared long ago.

"We wouldn't dare go back on our word! We wouldn't dare! We'll stamp it right now!" 2

"That's wonderful! From now on, we're one of our own. If anyone bullies you, just use the Gotei 13's name. We've got your backs!" Yamabuki Chidori said.

"Fine, fine, fine! Where's the seal? Hurry up and bring it over! What are you useless fools standing around for?" The Great Sage berated the Soul Reaper who had failed to deliver the seal with Flash Step.

Then, beneath the humiliated gazes of all forty-six sages, they helplessly stamped the document!

With this document and Central 46's recognition, the Gotei 13 officially became an organization of the Seireitei. They could now openly recruit members from among the nobles!

Tsunayashiro Fūka felt like he had hit the jackpot!

His greatest goal had once been to become a member of Central 46 and wield supreme power.

But now...

"I'm a Reserve Captain of the Gotei 13 now. What the hell is Central 46?"

The Twenty-Fourth Chapter: Central 46's Greatest Humiliation in a Thousand Years

After the Gotei 13 and the heads of the noble clans left, Central 46 fell into dead silence.

After a long while, the Great Sage slammed his fist against the table.

"Humiliation! This is humiliation! In all the thousands of years since Central 46 was established, we have never suffered such humiliation! Don't think I'll let this go!"

"That's right, we absolutely cannot let this go! We have to let those brutes know how formidable we are! We must resist to the bitter end!"

As a result, a whole crowd of people shot them disdainful looks.

Why hadn't they been this tough just now?

The Great Sage snorted coldly. "Resist? With what? When Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto brings down Ryūjin Jakka, should I throw you in front of it to block the blade? We definitely can't beat them head-on. Looking across the entire Soul Society, no one can defeat Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto! Unless a mighty warrior descends from the heavens, there is probably no such person in the Seireitei. We can only search in the Rukon District! Starting today, send some people into the Rukon District to search for powerful fighters. Besides, we can't win through brute force, but can't we take a softer approach?"

"We control most of the resources. The Gotei 13 has only just been established, and they want to build an academy too. They'll definitely need vast amounts of resources. I've got it—we'll drag this out. We'll keep dragging it out until they give in to us!" Just as the Great Sage finished speaking, the doors of Central 46 were opened again, and Yamabuki Chidori walked in with a smile.

"I forgot to mention something earlier. While the Gotei 13 is preparing to expand, we're also preparing to build a school, so we need a large amount of resources. When will those resources arrive? You wouldn't renege on your promise, would you?" Yamabuki Chidori asked with a smile that did not reach his eyes.

The Great Sage hurriedly stood up and explained, "No, no! Of course not! How could we possibly go back on our word? At most, we'll deliver the resources within two or three days!"

"Isn't two or three days a little too long?" Yamabuki Chidori narrowed his eyes.

"...Then tomorrow. Tomorrow!"

"Then it's settled. Prepare all the resources on the list this afternoon. If I don't see them delivered before sunset, I'll have no choice but to trouble our Captain Commander to make the trip himself." Yamabuki Chidori casually tossed out a list, then smiled. "The Captain Commander is busy with countless matters every day. You wouldn't want to trouble him, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes! Fine, fine, fine! This afternoon, this afternoon! Please take care!" The Great Sage sent off the plague god with a smile, finally letting out a breath of relief.

Only to find all his colleagues staring at him.

"What are you looking at? Didn't you hear him? If the supplies aren't delivered this afternoon, Yamamoto will be the one coming! Why are you all staring at me? Hurry up and prepare the supplies!" the Great Sage shouted.

The Great Sage had also realized that the truly difficult person to deal with in the Gotei 13 was not Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

Indeed, Yamamoto's strength was invincible, but his way of thinking had not broken free from the constraints of this era. Without Yamabuki Chidori egging him on, Yamamoto probably would not have drawn his sword to threaten Central 46.

"In other words, the one who is truly difficult to handle is that man called Yamabuki Chidori. He is the brain of the Gotei 13. It seems we must first find a way to deal with him." The Great Sage wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. How had he run into such a troublesome person?

The two sides had talked for less than twenty minutes, and Central 46 had nearly pissed themselves.

They couldn't afford to provoke them. Until they found someone capable of standing against Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, they had better behave themselves.

Tsunayashiro Fūka followed behind the members of the Gotei 13 with his head held high, feeling as though even his walk carried a gust of wind.

He was deeply grateful for his own foresight!

If he had opposed the Gotei 13 from the beginning, his corpse might already have gone cold by now.

These lunatics did not care whether someone was a noble. Which member of Central 46 did not come from a major noble clan? And what happened? They had been frightened into acting like grandchildren!

Tsunayashiro Fūka jogged over to Yamabuki Chidori's side and said with a smile, "Chief Strategist, about that Captain position of mine... when do you think it can..."

How could Yamabuki Chidori fail to understand what he meant?

But sorry!

The Captain positions of the first-generation Gotei 13 had already been decided!

There was no place for him!

However, he could not say that outright. Wouldn't that break the man's heart? He had to paint him a grand vision first and keep him hooked!

"The Gotei 13 has too few people right now. The Captain Commander's intention is to first make sure everyone understands the Gotei 13's principles. We'll build up the ranks first, then assign duties afterward. Do you understand what I mean?" Yamabuki Chidori asked.

"I understand. I understand what you mean, Chief Strategist," Tsunayashiro Fūka hurriedly replied.

They had already agreed at Central 46 that Captain positions had to be determined by strength. It would not look good for him to use connections so openly. As for the current strength levels of the Gotei 13's members...

There was no need to explain Yamamoto.

Shunshun Shidō was also the head of one of the Five Noble Clans, but his strength was far beyond Tsunayashiro Fūka's. Competing with him for a Captain position was basically hopeless.

Then there was Saitō Fubōfu.

He felt somewhat embarrassed about competing with a little girl for a Captain position. Besides, that little girl looked rather fierce. If they really fought, wouldn't she bite him?

Yamamoto looked at the sun in the sky and felt that the sunlight was especially brilliant. Something he had exhausted every scheme trying to accomplish had been achieved by Yamabuki Chidori in barely half a month. It seemed this boy not only possessed astonishing talent, but also had the potential to become a brilliant strategist.

"I didn't expect you to actually dare do something like this." Shunshun Shidō felt a cold sweat gather in his heart.

"Nothing much! Shouldn't we have a good drink after we get back to celebrate the establishment of the Gotei 13? Oh, right, Tenjirō Kirinji took those two children out to gather medicinal herbs. Why haven't they come back yet?" Yamabuki Chidori muttered quietly.