On Sōkyoku Hill, the terrifying Reiatsu continued to rise.
Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto gripped his cane, his gaze sweeping over Shunsui Kyōraku and Jūshirō Ukitake without the slightest change in his aged face.
"Shunsui Kyōraku, Jūshirō Ukitake."
"You openly obstructed an execution and destroyed the Sōkyoku. Do you know what punishment your crimes warrant?"
Shunsui Kyōraku lowered his bamboo hat, his tone turning unusually serious.
"Captain-Commander, there are too many questionable points in this verdict. We simply couldn't stand by and watch a wrongful sentence be carried out."
Ukitake coughed twice, then continued, "Master Genryūsai, I requested an audience with Central 46 several times, but I couldn't even get near the gates."
"Nothing like this has ever happened before."
Yamamoto slammed his cane down.
Bang!
A crack instantly appeared in the ground.
"Central 46 is the highest judicial authority in Soul Society. Its rulings are not yours to question."
"Enforcing the law is the duty of the Gotei 13. Defying orders means trampling upon Soul Society's order."
"What if they're wrong?"
A calm voice came from the side.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni walked slowly to Kyōraku and Ukitake's side and looked up at Yamamoto.
"If an order issued by the highest judicial authority is itself wrong, must it still be carried out?"
Yamamoto narrowed his eyes.
"You Ryoka brat. I haven't even called you to account yet, and you dare lecture me?"
"I'm not lecturing you."
Yoriichi said calmly, "I'm only stating the facts."
"Knowing something is wrong, yet ceasing to think simply because the order came from above-that isn't justice. It's merely obedience."
The Reiatsu around Yamamoto abruptly grew heavier.
The loose stones around them instantly turned to powder, and even the air grew heavy.
Shunsui Kyōraku glanced at Yoriichi.
This kid really doesn't mince words.
Anyone else facing Old Man Yama in his current temper probably wouldn't even have been able to stand straight, let alone contradict him to his face.
"A brat like you has no place telling me how to judge."
Yamamoto turned toward his two students.
"I taught you for a thousand years so that you would uphold Soul Society's principles and order."
"Disrupting an execution on your own authority, based on nothing but personal speculation, is not justice. It is merely selfish recklessness."
Shunsui Kyōraku sighed softly.
"But if the law is built on lies, does blindly obeying it still count as justice?"
Yamamoto did not answer.
Ukitake and Kyōraku exchanged a glance, then turned at the same time and rushed down Sōkyoku Hill.
They had already disrupted the execution. Now they had to find out exactly what had happened to Central 46.
Their figures had barely shot forward when an even more terrifying wave of Reiatsu bore down on them from behind.
Yamamoto vanished from where he stood.
When he appeared again, he was already blocking their path.
"Who gave you permission to leave?"
Shunsui Kyōraku stopped, resting his palm on his sword hilt.
Ukitake also looked at his teacher.
Yamamoto stood in the middle of the mountain path, his voice much lower.
"You were among the first students I accepted at Shin'ō Academy. For a thousand years, I have always taken pride in your dedication to your duties."
"Yet today, you have defied your superior and disrupted an execution."
"You have truly disappointed me."
Ukitake fell silent for a moment before saying softly, "It was precisely because you taught us to follow our hearts that we cannot turn a blind eye to these questionable points."
"You once taught us that Soul Reapers should uphold the justice they believe in."
"Ridiculous."
Yamamoto's cane scored a deep groove in the ground.
"If you can disregard the greater justice recognized throughout Soul Society, what personal justice can you speak of?"
Shunsui Kyōraku said helplessly, "Old Man Yama, we just want to get to the truth first."
"This execution was rushed, Aizen was murdered at this very moment, and Central 46 refuses to let anyone approach."
"It's all right in front of us. We can't keep pretending nothing happened, can we?"
Yamamoto slowly raised his cane.
"Further excuses are meaningless."
"Since you insist on defying the law, I will punish you myself."
"Draw your swords."
The helplessness on Shunsui Kyōraku's face vanished completely.
Ukitake also tightened his grip on Sōgyo no Kotowari.
Facing their own teacher, they knew better than anyone just what kind of power this old man possessed.
"Do we really have to fight?"
Kyōraku asked quietly, "We don't want to cross blades with you."
"You two should go."
Yoriichi approached from behind and stopped between the two sides.
Shunsui Kyōraku froze for a moment.
"Yoriichi?"
"You have more important things to do."
Yoriichi rested his hand on Hekyō's hilt and said calmly, "Leave this to me."
Shunsui Kyōraku looked at Yoriichi.
"Yoriichi, the Captain-Commander is regarded as the strongest Soul Reaper in a thousand years. Can you really handle him?"
Yoriichi looked at Yamamoto without the slightest fear in his eyes.
"I won't know until I try."
Shunsui Kyōraku stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.
"Then sorry for the trouble."
He and Ukitake used Shunpo again, heading down the mountain.
This time, Yamamoto did not stop them.
His gaze settled on Yoriichi.
"The ignorant know no fear."
"I haven't been this angry in many years. It seems peace has lasted so long that some have forgotten why I command the Gotei 13."
Yoriichi drew Hekyō.
The dark gray blade was exposed to the air, the tiny character for "sun" near its hilt clearly visible.
"I don't know the full extent of your strength."
"But I know myself."
Yoriichi held his sword in both hands, his breathing unchanged.
"And I know exactly why I'm standing here."
"Rukia did violate Soul Society's rules by giving her Soul Reaper powers to a human."
"But she simply made the right choice in the worst circumstances."
"She saved a family's lives."
Yoriichi looked at Yamamoto and said calmly, "That kind of mistake doesn't warrant death."
Yamamoto did not argue further.
At this point, words could no longer change either side's decision.
"There is no point saying more."
"Let me see just how much strength you have to back up that arrogance."
Yamamoto grasped both ends of his cane and slowly applied force with his arms.
Crack.
The outer wooden casing shattered piece by piece and fell to the ground, revealing an ancient-looking Zanpakuto in his hands.
Even before the blade was released, the temperature around them began to rise rapidly.
The flame-shaped Demon Slayer Mark on Yoriichi's forehead reddened slightly.
He could clearly see an immense amount of Reiatsu gathering within Yamamoto. Tempered over a thousand years, that power had long since reached a truly terrifying level.
This was not what he had felt when facing Shunsui Kyōraku.
Yoriichi did not retreat.
Outside its sheath, Hekyō trembled softly, as though sensing the power of another fire-type Zanpakuto.
Yamamoto raised the Zanpakuto in his hand.
"All things in the universe, turn to ashes."
Flames erupted with a roar, engulfing the entire mountain path in an instant.
"Ryūjin Jakka!"
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