Soul Society
In the Soul Society, beyond the first districts of the four Rukongai areas (East, South, West, and North), where all four directions converge, lies a vast territory known as the Seireitei. This is the political and military headquarters and center of the entire Soul Society.
Many Soul Reapers live here, and the Seireitei also houses noble mansions, schools for training Soul Reaper talents, and private academies that teach martial arts, all built here for generations.
However, when ordinary people think of the Seireitei, they probably immediately associate it with the "Gotei 13" (Court Guard Squads).
First Division Barracks
In a corridor that gives an overall ancient impression, two men wearing white captain's haori met.
One man's haori has "2" written on the back, while the other has "11" written on his.
This indicates that they are two of the thirteen people with the highest authority and power in the Gotei 13.
Second Division Captain - Commander of the Stealth Force
Eleventh Division Captain - Combat Specialist Squad
"Oh, Captain Shihōin," the tall man serving as the Eleventh Division Captain greeted the nobleman-like man ahead of him.
"Captain Kuchiki," the Second Division Captain, who was a noble, didn't show any surprised expression. He smiled and nodded slightly to the Eleventh Division Captain.
"I was thinking of talking to you later."
"Let's not do that," the Eleventh Division Captain said with a bitter smile, waving his hand.
"Being approached by the Stealth Force Commander for a chat would give anyone nightmares, so I thought I'd come find you first."
"Being called by Captain Kuchiki, who bears the title of Kenpachi and can be said to be the strongest Soul Reaper - should I take that as a compliment?"
These two individuals are both absolutely not to be underestimated. The keywords revealed in their conversation would probably make ordinary Soul Reapers tremble with fear.
However, in this long corridor leading away from the First Division meeting room, there were no other people besides them, so there was no need to worry about that.
"Let's skip the mutual flattery. Although I was thinking of discussing this matter with Captain Shihōin in detail later, seeing you here, I couldn't help but come over and ask for your thoughts."
Without stopping to chat, the two walked side by side toward the exit of the First Division barracks, but both unconsciously slowed their pace considerably.
"As expected, the Captain-Commander only called the two of us," the Second Division Captain said meaningfully, slightly narrowing his eyes.
"To be precise, he called our Second Division and Eleventh Division. Sigh... Really, what troubled times we live in."
The Eleventh Division Captain, who specializes in combat, let out a sigh. If someone uninformed were here, they might mistake him for someone who dislikes battle.
"The dialogue with the Quincy can now almost be considered a failure. Although the Captain-Commander said 'prepare for battle first, and if dialogue completely fails, we'll mobilize to completely eliminate the Quincy existence,' these words can already be considered a mobilization order. But calling only us without bringing other divisions - does this mean he doesn't intend to publicize the battle information with the Quincy?"
The Eleventh Division Captain scratched his head, looking quite troubled.
"To be precise, it's mobilizing your Eleventh Division. Haven't you all been sharpening your swords, eager for a fight? You finally get the opportunity and you're still not satisfied?"
Compared to the troubled Eleventh Division Captain, the Second Division Captain's face always carried an unfathomable faint smile.
"The final warning has been given, and the final bottom line has been drawn. When the Quincy insist on provoking and crossing that line, their fate is already sealed. When the Captain-Commander spoke those words, it meant that the option of 'no next time' has disappeared."
"Don't be like that, Captain Shihōin. Although our Eleventh Division specializes in combat, isn't it obvious that the Captain-Commander doesn't want the information to leak out? That's also why he called you, as the Stealth Force Commander, isn't it?"
The Eleventh Division Captain reached out to nudge the Second Division Captain, but was nimbly dodged.
"Of course, there will be no shortage of assistance in that regard. But we also have other matters to attend to. We can't help much with the battle against the Quincy."
At this point, the Second Division Captain's expression finally showed some change.
"Although the Captain-Commander didn't say it explicitly, it's probably because his position makes it inconvenient for him to say more, so he can only hint. The problem at the execution grounds."
Soul Society has nobles, and the Seireitei is the best place for nobles to fight each other. Even ordinary squad members should have heard scandals about nobles competing for power and position.
Those nobles who are defeated in the struggle are charged with various crimes and sent to the execution grounds to await being devoured by captured Hollows.
This can be said to be the dark side of the Seireitei.
However, this has been the case for hundreds of years.
However, a few years ago, when the power struggle among nobles became increasingly fierce and was about to evolve into undisguised conflict, an accident occurred.
The Shiba family - originally quite excellent in martial arts and still possessing considerable wealth despite later encountering misfortune - was framed by other nobles and sent to the execution grounds.
This should have been the most ordinary defeat in noble struggles, but an accident occurred in this incident. Everyone in the entire execution ground, including the presiding and several supervising nobles, as well as other Soul Reapers who came to witness, were all killed by cruel means.
The surviving heir of the Shiba family, Shiba Sōya, disappeared without a trace.
This incident became a terrible catalyst, triggering fear within the nobles and even greater chaos. Not only the Noble Assembly that specifically handles affairs between nobles, but even Central 46 was affected.
And now, not only the Noble Assembly and Central 46, but finally even the Gotei 13 has been implicated.
Due to fear of this incident and worry that the same thing might happen to them, nobles who advocate heavier punishment, strict investigation and handling, and nobles who think this is an opportunity to end the unscrupulous power struggles among nobles that are almost becoming public, are at odds with each other.
It can be said that this has become an internal battle among nobles.
No longer just false accusations and frame-ups with fake information, but directly beginning to hire and dispatch assassins to kill each other.
This behavior that crossed the line not only resulted in the deaths of several major families, including branch family members of the five great noble houses, but also caused great turmoil within the Seireitei.
The Noble Assembly, which is basically mutually constrained by nobles, and Central 46, which leans toward and tries to please the nobles, can no longer handle this chaos suddenly triggered by the Shiba family incident.
In the end, the pressure was passed down to the pure violence organization - the Gotei 13.