In the high-ranking aristocratic meeting hall, Sōgo a passionate speech.
"Work... Why do humans work?"
"We, who consider ourselves superior beings, send other animals to zoos, serving them their every need, but the end result is that we have to toil endlessly! Is this fair? This is absolutely unfair!"
"One of the Five Great Noble Clans of Soul Society, the first in line to inherit the Shihoin Family, Sōgo Shihoin loudly proclaimed. Below him, in order, were the representatives of the Kuchiki Clan, the Shiba Clan, the Tsunayashiro Clan, and that family."
In addition, some newly promoted noble families also sent representatives to the meeting, which was a Sōgo to Sougo.
" Sōgo, we are Soul Reaper, not humans, and everyone here is Soul Reaper too..."
Sitting next to Sōgo Shaoling Fon listened to Sōgo impassioned speech and whispered a reminder.
"... That's right! We are life forms far superior to humans, even considering ourselves gods, yet we need to work. Is that reasonable? It's very unreasonable!"
Sōgo hearing Shaoling Fon's reminder, Sougo remained silent for a moment, then continued his sermon without changing his expression.
"Clap clap clap..."
As Sōgo finished speaking, applause erupted in the conference hall. Although they couldn't understand what Sōgo was saying, it sounded impressive, so they just clapped.
"Quiet... everyone, please be quiet."
Hearing the applause from below the stage, Sōgo gently pressed his hands into the air, signaling everyone to be quiet.
As Sōgo made his move, the venue fell silent once again.
"The work of the Soul Reaper is hard and tiring! We desperately need rest, but the time of death doesn't stop just because we have a holiday. They won't just look at the calendar and see it's Sunday and then force themselves to stay alive until Monday. So, in the end, if we had weekends off, the streets of the World of the Living would be overflowing with people, attracting even more Hollows from Hueco Mundo to the World of the Living. Therefore... we will implement a shift system, an eight-hour workday with rotating shifts, with three shifts working 24/7. Let's give a round of applause to this great new system!"
Sōgo addressed the group of representatives below him in a loud voice.
"Clap clap clap clap..."
A burst of enthusiastic applause echoed throughout the conference hall. Although they still didn't understand what had happened, the general consensus was that it was amazing, truly amazing...
One week later, Central 46 Chambers.
"Have you heard? That Sōgo has mobilized all the nobles who are affiliated with the Five Great Noble Clans to promote his new policies. With his push, now it's not just the nobles, but many commoner Soul Reaper are starting to side with him. The most dangerous thing is that, it's said that a group of defecting Soul Reaper surrendered yesterday, claiming that they were moved after listening to Sōgo's policies."
The judges were having a terrible headache. They couldn't believe that a vacation was so tempting to the Soul Reaper. They couldn't understand why the lower-level Soul Reaper couldn't work properly and love their jobs as much as they did.
"What kind of world is this... people's hearts have lost their traditional values!"
The sages muttered angrily.
Little did they know that in the Seireitei, a place rife with involution and where class divisions were almost fixed and had remained unbroken for over a thousand years, the Soul Reaper had long since lost their Seireitei fighting spirit.
"What should we do? Should we just reject that brat's proposal outright?"
A wise man, his eyes gleaming with a cold light, spoke in a chilling voice.
"What are you thinking? If we really reject this proposal like this, we'll truly be at odds with the Five Great Noble Clans. Now is not the time. One Yoruichi Shihōin is not enough to cripple the Five Great Noble Clans; we need more people's 'sacrifice'."
One of the six judges shook his head slightly. They couldn't afford to lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of small gains. They couldn't afford to waste their hard-won advantage by making hasty decisions.
"So what should we do?"
A wise man pondered for a long time but could not come up with a solution, so he asked in distress.
"..."
This sage's problem was also the problem of all the other sages. Suddenly, countless sages were all embarrassed and speechless, frozen in place, not knowing what to do. It was truly a disgrace to this group of people who were only entitled to the title of 'sage' by those who were known as the greatest geniuses in Soul Society.
"Let him do it! We'll just say it's entirely up to him to decide whether to implement this system. We won't say whether we agree or disagree; it's all up to them to do it themselves. If problems arise, we can use it as a reason to seize some power from the Five Great Noble Clans. If no problems arise, that would be best, of course. What do you say?"
Finally, the wisest of the wise spoke in his own self-important way.
"That makes sense! That's very reasonable!"
"Let's do it this way!"
"Well said!"
Immediately afterwards, a group of brilliant minds followed suit, all giving a thumbs up to that brilliant one.
"In our capacity as judges, we hereby declare the meeting adjourned!"
Finally, the six judges exchanged smiles and announced the end of the meeting.
As soon as the meeting of the Central 46 Chambers ended, Sougo, who was at the Shihoin Family, Sōgo the news immediately.
"Good news, Sōgo! Central 46 Chambers has approved your application. It seems your efforts these past few days haven't been in vain."
Holding the notice issued by the Central 46 Chambers, Shaoling Fon excitedly entered Sōgo's room and began to speak.
"Oh? Let me see."
Sōgo, who was drinking green tea, showed a hint of surprise upon hearing Shaoling Fon's words, which was quickly replaced by amusement. He guessed that the Central 46 Chambers would definitely not pass the proposal, so he found it very interesting and wanted to see what the Central 46 Chambers was up to.
"OK..."
After hearing Sōgo's words, Shaoling Fon quickly handed the notice to Sōgo.
"Let me do it myself!"
"So that's how it is... You don't want to take responsibility, do you? A bunch of old fogies..."
After reading the notification in his hand, Sōgo set it on fire, burning it to ashes. He cursed under his breath, thinking that those old foxes in Central 46 Chambers neither intended to offend him nor to pass his proposal; they wanted to benefit from both sides...
" Sōgo, what should we do?"
After hearing Sōgo's words, Shaoling Fon realized that things were not as simple as he thought, so she quickly asked.
"Spread the word that our protest was successful, and I'll take care of the rest."
Sōgo stood up and began to preach.
"OK..."
After hearing Shaoling Fon 'Sōgo words, Aya didn't think much of it. Since Sōgo asked her to do something, she would just do it.
"We've won!"
"We've won!"
"This is a victory for ' Soul Reaper,' seemingly a small step forward, but in reality a giant leap forward in institutional advancement!"
With the Central 46 Chambers passing the review, and with Sōgo Shaoling Fon promote it, countless Soul Reaper cried out from the bottom of their hearts after hearing the news of the Holiday Bill's passage.
Eventually, even the First Division was alerted.
" Genryūsai, have you heard about Sōgo's affair? It's causing quite a stir throughout the entire Gotei 13..."
The First Division's thousand-year vice-captain Chōjirō Sasakibe, personally came behind the Old Man Yama, bowed his head, knelt on one knee, and reported the earth-shattering news he had learned.
"Don't worry about it, it's just childish nonsense, let him keep acting up!"
After hearing what Chōjirō Sasakibe said, the Old Man Yama opened his sharp eyes and spoke in a cold voice.
"Should we notify the other squads and tell them not to interfere with Sōgo's antics either?"
Chōjirō Sasakibe seemed to have already guessed what the Old Man Yama had said. His face showed no surprise at all. He nodded slightly without any expression and then continued to ask.
"Ignore him... If any squads are planning to mess around with Sōgo, let them do it!"
However, this time, the Old Man Yama's answer was something that Chōjirō Sasakibe had not expected.
"Shouldn't we just ignore it?"
Chōjirō Sasakibe was startled by the Old Man Yama's words and raised his head, which had been lowered, to look at the Old Man Yama's face.
It was at this moment that Chōjirō Sasakibe noticed that, without him noticing, the Old Man Yama had once again adopted a squinty-eyed, expressionless poker face.
"Yes, sir."
Chōjirō Sasakibe seemed to understand something, nodded slightly to the Old Man Yama in front of him, and then disappeared from the spot in a Shunpo.
"The Soul Society has stagnated for far too long. It's time for something new to stimulate this stagnant world."
After the Chōjirō Sasakibe left, the Old Man Yama muttered to himself, looking up at the birds in the sky, lost in thought.
Squad Zero, officially known as the Royal Guard Unit, is actually a vast palace where, apart from the arrogant and ever-watchful Soul King, no one else with the Soul King's bloodline resides.
"The old world was eliminated because it stagnated and never progressed. Therefore, after the creation of the Three Realms, our Squad Zero's selection criteria are based on those who can promote the progress of Soul Society. Only those who create history are qualified to transcend history and observe it from the outside... Sōgo Shihoin, you are truly an interesting person, always doing interesting things that even this million-year-old feels a sense of novelty. Breaking the existing system and creating a completely new one is itself an act of creating history. Even without that incomparably powerful Spiritual Pressure, you are qualified to be promoted to the Squad Zero. It's a pity... a pity..."
The Big-Eyed Monk kept shaking his head. Although he looked like a dark-skinned man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, he was more meticulous than anyone else.
He left his detached palace and came to the palace where the great Soul King resided— the Soul King Palace!
" Lord Soul King, was this also part of the future you foresaw back then?"
The Big-Eyed Monk gazed at the great being within the sacred crystal, his words involuntarily tinged with respect. As a contemporary of the Soul King, no one understood the Soul King's power better than him. Therefore, even though the Soul King was now dismembered and unable to speak, he still held him in high esteem.
"..."
The being within the crystal did not answer any of the Big-Eyed Monk's words. Over the long years, he had long lost the ability to speak. He had long been accustomed to standing here like a statue, offering sacrifices to the countless people who came to the Soul King Palace.
"Sorry to bother you..."
The Big-Eyed Monk waited for a long time, but the Soul King did not say anything in the end. The Big-Eyed Monk sighed helplessly and finally chose to turn around and leave.
"Gurgle~"
The instant the Big-Eyed Monk turned around, the eyes of the great being within the crystal began to rotate. Unlike ordinary beings, this great being possessed an astonishing four pupils within each eye, making a total of eight pupils—a testament to its omniscience and the Almighty...
On the other side, Sōgo is constantly promoting his policies. Because of the Central 46 Chambers's notice, which is practically the same as not approving, Sōgo, who originally didn't plan to work, still has to work for the purpose of avoiding work.
When Sōgo tried to persuade the 13 Gotei 13 to implement a system of training alongside him, the first squad that came to mind was... the Sixth Division, which was one of the Five Great Noble Clans and firmly controlled by the Kuchiki Clan.
The Kuchiki Clan... the largest courtyard in the entire Noble Street. It's more like a palace than a residence, as it's even more luxurious and grand than the Soul King Palace!
Inside the courtyard of that famous and expensive bonsai garden, a young boy was diligently practicing, constantly wielding his wooden sword.
"I admire you! I admire you!"
"I can't believe you can be this hardworking."
Just as the boy was swinging his sword, several men wearing Ginpakukazahana no Uzuginu symbolizing their noble status walked towards him from the corridor. The leader of them looked at the diligent boy and praised him without reservation.
"Hmph! I'll surpass you, Grandpa, sooner or later, and then I'll inherit the position of Captain of the Sixth Division."
After hearing the man's words, the boy turned around and said smugly.
"Really? I'm looking forward to it."
The old man with a thick head of silver hair, Kuchiki Ginrei, the current head of the Kuchiki Clan, smiled gently at the boy and nodded.
"We've all seen Byakuya's talent; he'll definitely be able to shoulder the responsibilities of the Kuchiki Clan in the future."
Behind Kuchiki Ginrei, Kōga Kuchiki, dressed in a red Ginpakukazahana no Uzuginu, looked at the exceptionally talented young man, nodded slightly, and spoke from the bottom of her heart.
"Hehe... Kōga, you're quite perceptive!"
After hearing Kōga's words, Byakuya smiled smugly and said arrogantly.
"How dare Byakuya speak to your uncle like that? Is that something a nobleman should say? Cough cough..."
With a pale face, Sōjun Kuchiki, who bore a striking resemblance to Jūshirō Ukitake, solemnly lectured Byakuya.
"Snort..."
Byakuya glanced at his father with some worry, but as a genius who had been pampered since childhood, his pride prevented him from putting aside his pride.
"It's okay, I don't mind."
After hearing what Sōjun Kuchiki said, Kōga quickly replied.
"This child is so spoiled that he doesn't have the demeanor of a nobleman at all."
Sōjun Kuchiki stood beside Kōga, his brows furrowed.
"If only this child were a little more introverted..."
Kuchiki Ginrei looked at the young Byakuya in front of her and gently shook her head. Everyone has a rebellious and impetuous youth, but time heals all wounds.
"Yo~ Isn't this our disrespectful young master Byakuya?"
Just as Sōjun Kuchiki and his son Byakuya Kuchiki were exchanging glances, a mocking and provocative voice rang out, Little Byakuya instantly felt his neck being grabbed and lifted off the ground.
"What's wrong, great genius? What happened to you?"
"No way~ No way~ Could it be that our Kuchiki Clan's greatest genius was caught off guard when I circled behind him and even grabbed him by the back of the neck?"
Taking advantage of his height, Sōgo Shihoin grabbed Little Byakuya by the back of his neck and shook him repeatedly.
"Put me down... you wretched Mutant White Cat from the Shihoin Family!!!"
After being swayed around like a swing by Sōgo Shihoin a few times, Little Byakuya finally realized his predicament. His neck and forehead turned bright red, radiating heat like boiling water...
"Hahahaha... Hahaha... I won't let go... Go ahead and hit me if you dare!"
After hearing Little Byakuya's words, Sōgo Shihoin let out a delighted laugh.
(End of this chapter)