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"No!"
A shout echoed from the underground council chamber of Central 46.
"Amakado Nayura, this is against the rules. I admit he made a great contribution in this incident, but a commoner from Rukongai is not qualified to become a sage of Central 46!"
"That's right."
"Amakado Nayura, I've also heard about this person from my elder brother. Even setting aside his status, he himself is a huge threat to the stability of Soul Society."
"Ever since he entered Seireitei, he has been taking money to do shady things for nobles. Such a person must never be allowed to become a sage."
"..."
Amakado Nayura stood in the center of the underground council chamber, facing the torrent of reprimands from all directions. She showed no fear, but instead retorted, "If I recall correctly, when Central 46 was first established, its members were composed of forty sages and six judges gathered from all over Soul Society."
"And this 'all over' naturally includes Rukongai!"
As she finished speaking, Amakado Nayura's gaze swept over everyone's faces, one by one, and she said in a cold tone, "Many of you here are successors chosen by the previous sages and judges. I imagine you are not unfamiliar with your respective family histories, are you?"
"Commoners?"
"Begging your pardon, some of your ancestors here were precisely the commoners you speak of."
"Presumptuous!"
At these words, figures rose from their seats in the octagonal underground council chamber, looking grimly at Amakado Nayura in the center of the chamber.
"Who is being presumptuous!?"
Nayura's tone instantly turned icy, and an indescribable majesty emanated from her petite frame: "Don't forget, according to the rules of Central 46, only by notifying the Soul King and having one's name recorded in the Soul King Palace is one qualified to become the Soul King's mouthpiece and a member of Central 46."
"And among everyone here, only my name is recorded in the Soul King Palace. Please do not forget this point."
Nayura looked at the speaker and said, word for word, "While I cannot erase your name from Captain-Commander Yamamoto of the Gotei 13, before your name is sent to the Soul King Palace, I can execute you on the charge of 'offending a sage.'"
"This applies to everyone else as well!"
Silence ~
As Nayura's words fell, the sages in the underground council chamber seemed to have their throats choked, falling directly into silence.
"Very good."
Nayura nodded: "Then I will continue. When Central 46 was born, there was a rule that its members could only be held by those of high moral standing and respected by the public in Soul Society; not just by elder families and nobles. I believe you all remember this, right?"
"And as for Ishikawa, whom I recommended, the fact that he is highly respected in Rukongai, as successors chosen by the previous sages, you should not be unaware of this, right?"
"Then..."
Nayura scanned the crowd: "Please tell me, what qualifications does he lack?"
Upon hearing this, the dozen or so sages and judges present couldn't help but look at each other, wanting to refute but not knowing how.
Finally, an old man sitting on the judgment stand, after a long hesitation, spoke: "Amakado Nayura, even if he does have this qualification... his instability is also a fact. As far as I know, although he has great prestige in Rukongai, he has also subdued all the villains in the lower-numbered areas of Rukongai."
"A fellow who can stand with those villains could at any time use this to threaten the stability of Seireitei."
"Most importantly..."
"Since he entered Seireitei, the incidents he has caused are countless: unauthorized combat with Zaraki, suspected unauthorized travel to Hueco Mundo, secretly doing shady work for nobles, recruiting Squad Members from the Shin'ō Academy and the Gotei 13, leading Rukongai residents and villains to oppose Captains of the Gotei 13, protecting Quincies..."
"His actions, without exception, are behaviors that would lead to turmoil in Soul Society."
"Begging your pardon, such a person should not only not be allowed to become a sage, but should instead be imprisoned in Muken!"
"That's right!"
As soon as these words were uttered, a chorus of agreement followed.
"Then shouldn't he be even more deserving of becoming a sage of Central 46?"
Nayura smiled slightly: "You have all said that Rukongai is completely under his control. If such a person is not allowed to become a member of Central 46, then one day in the future, Rukongai might break away from Seireitei's jurisdiction and truly become Ishikawa's personal territory."
"From this perspective, it is necessary for him to become a sage of Central 46."
"As for what you call recruitment, that's nonsense. Since when can helping others be considered recruitment?"
"Moreover, what you call recruitment, in Ishikawa's eyes, is just work. It's only because he does it too well that people respect him. And he has truly achieved the point of treating everyone equally, regardless of their status, never being perfunctory because of the other person's identity."
"As for secretly doing shady work for nobles..."
Nayura shook her head, picked up a document from the side, and looked at the judge, saying, "I think it's not just nobles, right? Many members of the elder families have also entrusted him with tasks. In Ishikawa's records, I've seen many familiar surnames, including your family, Judge Tachibana!"
"Many families that caused too much trouble were secretly dealt with by the previous Central 46 members. The document I hold lists the families that were not dealt with. I believe you esteemed sirs should know what consequences this information would bring if it were to be spread, right?"
The record Nayura held was precisely the dark secrets about nobles that Ishikawa had recorded while working for them after partnering with the Golden Seal Association.
Although it had never been put to use, Ishikawa, with the idea that it's always better to be prepared, had never stopped recording.
"You..."
Looking at the record book in Nayura's hand, the expressions of nearly half of the members present changed.
Without exception, these people were all from families who had previously entrusted Ishikawa through the Golden Seal Association...
Although they strongly rejected Ishikawa, the fact that Ishikawa was 'very useful' had long been widely spread among the nobles.
When family members got into trouble, many people's first reaction was to entrust Ishikawa, because Ishikawa's Everything Store had always been known for its Concealment, and had never used these secrets to threaten customers... by demanding money or status or anything similar.
Therefore, many noble members would entrust Ishikawa to handle some shady matters for them.
They had never expected that Nayura would, under such circumstances, present such a record before them.
Even if many of these matters were done privately by family members without their knowledge, if this record were to spread, it would have a huge impact on them, and it was not entirely impossible for them to lose their positions as sages and judges.
Because...
They were not yet true members of Central 46.
If the impact were too severe, Nayura, as the only current member of Central 46, could completely use this as a reason to strip them of their inheritance qualifications. In cases of severe impact, not even Captain-Commander Yamamoto could change this.
Thinking of this, nearly half of the sages, including the speaking judge, sat down in unison.
And the rest, seeing this, couldn't help but show hesitation on their faces.
"What I said earlier were just my personal reasons for recommending 'Amakado Ishikawa' to become a sage. Whether or not to accept him still requires a vote from all members present."
Nayura did not further pressure everyone to express their stance, but instead her tone returned to calm, and she said placidly:
"But before the vote, there's something I want to ask you all."
"Did you truly learn a lesson from the demise of the previous Central 46 members?"
Upon hearing this, everyone frowned, not understanding why Nayura would suddenly bring this up.
"One captain was able to annihilate the entire Central 46. If another captain betrays us in the future, will you..."
Nayura took a deep breath and said, word for word, "...be able to protect yourselves?"
Protect themselves?
Upon hearing this, everyone instinctively wanted to retort.
If even Central 46 needed to protect itself, then what was the point of the Gotei 13?
However, the words reached their lips...
But they had no idea how to refute.
Because the previous members were slaughtered while under the protection of the Gotei 13...
"The Captains of the Gotei 13 cannot become members of Central 46, which means none of us can resist a Captain's slaughter. This is also my reason for recommending Ishikawa. Whether in terms of prestige, status, or strength, he is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate to become a sage."
"Once he becomes a sage, not only can the instability of Rukongai be eliminated, but our safety can also be guaranteed, preventing the tragedy of the previous members from happening to us!"
Silence.
The sages who were still standing looked at each other.
After a long while, one sage sighed slightly and sat down.
His sitting down seemed to be a trigger, and the sages who had stood up in refusal also took their seats one after another.
In a blink of an eye, only Amakado Nayura remained standing in the entire underground council chamber.
"Then, let us begin the vote, and Judge Tachibana will announce the results."
The voting process was not complicated, and the result was beyond doubt.
Coercion, inducement, persuasion...
After Nayura's series of words, all members present cast their votes in favor.
Some were coerced, some were for safety, and some were for the stability of Seireitei...
Judge Tachibana stood on the judgment stand, where he was the only one, and read out the voting results:
"After the vote of the sages, I announce..."
"Amakado Ishikawa is officially one of the sages of Central 46, with the thirty-eighth seat!"
The moment the verdict was announced, Nayura couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, a hint of joy appearing in her eyes.
Recommending Ishikawa to become a sage was not a temporary decision, but an idea she had had for a long time.
The reason she had this idea was precisely because of Ishikawa's impartial attitude towards the residents of Seireitei, the nobles, and the residents of Rukongai.
She had always wanted to change the 'noble-first' situation, and in Nayura's opinion, the best person to help her achieve this goal was Ishikawa!
Amakado Nayura slowly walked onto the octagonal platform and sat behind the wooden board carved with the characters 'Eleven'.
"Then, please, the new Sage Ishikawa, take your seat!"
No sooner had her words fallen than the ten layers of barriers in the long corridor outside the underground council chamber opened to both sides.
At the end of the hallway.
Ishikawa stood outside the barrier, his expression as strange as could be.
He was unaware of the conversation in the underground council chamber, but before he came, Nayura had told him...
If her proposal passed, the ten layers of barriers would open for him, and he would then become a member of Central 46!
To be honest...
Even now, Ishikawa was still in a state of bewilderment.
When he heard Nayura's plan outside the intensive care unit, he even thought for a moment that Aizen had secretly returned... wanting to set him up.
Let him be a sage of Central 46?
Was this a new type of prank?
It wasn't until the ten layers of barriers truly opened for him, just as Nayura had said, that Ishikawa truly realized...
Nayura wasn't pranking him; she genuinely wanted him to become a sage of Central 46.
Looking at the wide-open entrance before him, Ishikawa's face instead showed hesitation.
Because once he stepped in, he would become a member of Central 46, but it also meant he would truly integrate into the collective of Seireitei.
This made Ishikawa, who had always been somewhat resistant to Seireitei, hesitate whether to accept this position.
He stood there pondering for a long while, and finally, Ishikawa stepped into the hallway.
After becoming a sage of Central 46, his actions in Seireitei would become much more convenient. He wouldn't have to worry about Captain-Commander Yamamoto seeing him as a threat and eliminating him, nor would he be as timid as before.
The benefits far outweighed the drawbacks.
And most importantly...
Although he would integrate into the whole of Seireitei, what he represented was not Seireitei, but Rukongai.
He was still not a Shinigami, nor a member of the Gotei 13.
"Hoo—"
Walking through the hallway and standing at the entrance of the underground council chamber, Ishikawa took a deep breath.
Furthermore, a sage could choose to hide their identity. As long as they chose to hide, no one would know that they had become a member of Central 46.
Even other sages, without his consent, would not reveal any information about him to the outside world.
This meant Ishikawa wouldn't have to worry about his high status affecting his friendships!
If this position would affect his ability to make friends, Ishikawa would never have accepted it.
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