— — — — — —
The meeting chamber was wide and imposing.
Omaeda Marechiyo, huge and heavyset, was drenched in cold sweat. Beads of it clung to his forehead like glittering grains.
Before him stood the current captains of the Gotei 13.
Among them was Shinji Hirako, sporting his signature straight bang. He had taken over the Fifth Division captain seat that had belonged to Aizen Sousuke.
Technically, he was just reclaiming the position he'd held a hundred years ago before Aizen's schemes forced him out of the Soul Society and into the world of the living.
Next was the Third Division. With Gin Ichimaru gone, the one who replaced him was the wavy blond man who looked more like a musician than a Shinigami: Rojuro Otoribashi.
Then there was Kensei Muguruma, silver-haired and sharp as a drawn blade, whose power was fully captain level. He filled the vacancy left by Kaname Tosen in the Ninth Division.
And finally, Urahara Kisuke… who now technically led the Twelfth Division, taking Mayuri's place. He was too important to ignore, despite being a high-profile criminal, but at the moment he was still locked up inside his headquarters.
Counting the captains who were still in the human world due to Aizen's past plots, the Soul Society had not weakened after Aizen's betrayal. If anything, it was stronger than before.
But that only made Omaeda even more terrified.
"Head Captain, I swear I'm innocent! I wasn't hiding my strength!"
"Oh? So we've actually got another vice-captain secretly packing power?" Shinji gave a lopsided grin, sweeping his eyes around the room before letting them flick toward Yamamoto's lieutenant, Chojiro Sasakibe.
That man, who Ichigo had one-shotted in the original timeline, was in reality a genuine captain-level Shinigami, complete with a Bankai.
In other words, he was the true hidden-power vice-captain here.
And he was the only vice-captain ever permitted to attend these meetings.
Well… aside from Yachiru from Squad Eleven, who was an actual monster with no bottom to her power.
Renji Abarai also counted, in a way. He had Bankai and was basically brushing up against captain-level strength.
But Omaeda? Omaeda Marechiyo definitely shouldn't have been on that list.
Yet… according to the Onmitsukidō's report, this very Omaeda had scared off Ryo Yagami.
The room collectively winced.
Could he be… another Aizen-level threat?
Shinji stared at Omaeda's tearful, trembling, fat face, the gaudy gold dog-head necklace around his neck, the golden bracelets on his wrist… His entire expression warped.
He didn't look like it. More like a nouveau riche who hit the jackpot.
Shinji had sensed Aizen's abnormality years ago. But this guy? Nothing.
Unless… he hid his power even better than Aizen?
It was possible.
After all, this was the man Ryo Yagami —who had defeated even the Head Captain— was supposedly wary of.
And let's be honest—Omaeda was still vice-captain of Squad Two, an assassination unit, despite having a body that should've disqualified him immediately. That alone meant something.
Could Omaeda Marechiyo be the mastermind hiding deeper in the shadows than Aizen?
"I mean, I hid a little bit of my strength, sure, but just a tiny bit! At most it's just that I'm actually decent at Kido, that's all!"
Omaeda felt like crying.
With nearly all the captains gathered here to interrogate him, even he could guess where this was going.
The torture chamber. Pepper sprays. Hot irons. Rack and rope. All the nightmares he had no desire to experience.
Thinking about those, he babbled in panic, "Please believe me! Please! I'm not pretending to be a wolf in sheep's clothing! I really am a sheep!"
"Better to be cautious, old man." Shunsui Kyoraku tilted up the edge of his straw hat.
After Aizen, everyone was terrified of another traitor hiding among them. One who was strong. One whose abilities were unpredictable.
If another Aizen appeared…
The Head Captain wouldn't be able to look the Soul Society in the eye again.
Which meant Omaeda needed to be thoroughly checked.
"In that case, imprison him on level three. Heavy guard."
Yamamoto had barely spoken when the doors opened.
Unohana Retsu walked in, her braided hair resting neatly down her back, her expression serene.
She bowed slightly. "Head Captain, please retract that order for now."
"Oh?" Yamamoto lifted a brow. "Did Soi-Fon give a testimony?"
If the loyal commander of the Onmitsukidō was willing to vouch for Omaeda, he could accept that.
But Unohana shook her head with a gentle smile.
"Soi Fon? She was never brought. In fact, she never returned to the Soul Society at all."
The room erupted instantly.
Yamamoto struck the floor with his cane.
"Explain. In detail."
Unohana stepped forward and handed over a photograph.
"This was taken from Captain Urahara's surveillance system."
It was an image of Ryo walking away with Orihime Inoue.
Yamamoto studied it for a long moment. Then his shoulders sagged lightly as he exhaled.
"I understand."
He looked toward the captains, expression grave.
"Effective immediately, Seireitei is entering special war-readiness status."
"The war has already begun."
"Yes, sir!" ×14
Once he issued several more orders, the meeting was dismissed.
After the room cleared, Shunsui slipped back in. Yamamoto nodded, and they stepped into a quiet side chamber.
Shunsui removed his hat and turned to him.
"Old man… Soi Fon should still have her Onmitsukidō communicator on her, right?"
"She does. And it can still be activated." Yamamoto gave him a brief look.
Shunsui's eyes darkened.
"You didn't mention this during the meeting. Are you planning to use her? As an informant? Or to assassinate Yagami or Aizen?"
Yamamoto didn't answer. Silence was enough.
He was ready to sacrifice her.
Realistically, no one expected good things to happen to a captured female captain.
"You think she can transmit information? Or assassinate one of them? Forget Aizen… Ryo Yagami is also not someone you can trick easily. How is she going to gain his trust? How is she going to kill him?"
Shunsui's voice was heavy.
Yamamoto said quietly, "The Onmitsukidō is an assassination unit. And Soi Fon is one of their best."
Shunsui scoffed.
"You'd be better off sending Captain Unohana. Her success rate would be higher."
It was no secret what assassination specialists were usually ordered to do. Shunsui was not naïve.
Judging from the intel, Yamamoto probably saw the beautiful woman constantly at Ryo's side and thought of exploiting that weakness. Combine that with Soi Fon's sudden disappearance, and the idea formed.
And actually, sending Unohana wasn't without logic.
The gentle-looking captain—formerly the terrifying first Kenpachi—had not hidden Ryo's confession to her. The whole Seireitei was buzzing with the scandal.
For some reason, the "older woman chasing younger man" rumor didn't embarrass her in the slightest.
And precisely because of that, Shunsui believed her chances of success were higher.
According to intel analysis, Ryo rarely lied about those kinds of things. His brain worked in strange ways, but he was probably seriously interested in Unohana.
A lover defecting was the kind of thing he'd accept… even if he knew it was a honey trap.
"Sending her is too risky. The Soul Society can't afford to lose another precious fighter right now."
Yamamoto's tone was firm.
So he had considered it. Shunsui's mouth twitched before he sighed.
"The old man still hasn't lost his edge."
The demon of a thousand years ago, ruthless and unflinching, was beginning to show again.
Sometimes Shunsui forgot that the gentle old hermit who held the Soul Society together was once a blade-wielding monster with blood on his hands.
But that wasn't why he'd come here.
His expression hardened. "For that matter… let Captain Unohana handle it. At least she has a real chance of surviving."
Yamamoto fell silent.
That silence was all the answer Shunsui needed.
"I see."
With that, Shunsui turned and walked out.
.
.
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