Ever since Kyoya became the Captain of the 11th Division, Ichinose's seat had been consistently dropping.
From Lieutenant, to Third Seat.
Just as Gin left, Zaraki and Yachiru arrived, pushing Ichinose down to Fourth Seat.
Subsequently, Kyoya reformed the 11th Division, almost splitting it into two parts, implementing an identical seated officer system for both, and making Ichinose the Lieutenant of the 11th Division stationed in the Rukongai.
But looking at the situation, it seemed Ichinose wouldn't be able to hold onto this Lieutenant's position for much longer.
Currently, Koga had just joined the 11th Division and wasn't very familiar with the division's affairs in the Rukongai.
Also, back when Koga was in the 6th Division, high-ranking seated officers not only required a certain level of strength but also had to be personally appointed by the Captain.
Although Koga knew the 11th Division's seats were challenge-based, without fully understanding the 11th Division's situation, he wouldn't rashly initiate a seat challenge.
Once Koga understood the 11th Division's situation in the Rukongai, he would inevitably challenge Ichinose for his seat.
This was one reason Kyoya had brought Koga under his wing.
Koga also knew that to provide more help to Kyoya, he needed to secure a high enough position.
As for Ichinose...
There was no helping it. In handling division's affairs, Ichinose was impeccable.
But his strength fell short compared to true powerhouses.
If placed in another division, Ichinose would indeed be qualified to be a Lieutenant.
But it just so happened that within the 11th Division, Zaraki was Captain-level, and now the newly joined Koga was also a Captain-level existence.
"Welcome, Kuchiki-sama."
Ichinose said to Koga, "I have heard of your renowned reputation within the 11th Division."
"It is my honor to work alongside you, Kuchiki-sama."
"Not at all. I learned about Lieutenant Ichinose's matters from Captain Kyoya..."
Here, Koga paused.
Compared to Ichinose's repeated demotions and promotions, Koga felt that his own betrayal by his father-in-law seemed not such a big deal.
Even if their positions were swapped, and he were in Ichinose's place, he suspected he would have left the division on the very first day he was demoted from Lieutenant to Third Seat.
And if Ichinose were the Kuchiki Clan's heir possessing Muramasa, he likely could have eventually regained the trust of Ginrei and Yamamoto, even after some setbacks.
Ichinose's mentality was just too steady!
"There are many areas where I need to learn from you."
This statement from Koga wasn't false modesty… he genuinely felt he needed to adopt Ichinose's mindset.
Otherwise, he feared future setbacks might cause him to lose his balance.
The truth was, Koga knew his Zanpakuto was considered a major threat among Shinigami.
But the Shinigami's greatest enemy was still the Hollows.
Eventually, his Zanpakuto's Ability would be useless against Hollows who lacked Zanpakuto.
Many Shinigami he had defeated might be able to vanquish Hollows that he himself couldn't.
At that time, the treatment he faced would likely be even worse than what he had encountered in the Seireitei.
To prevent such a situation, Koga needed to, on one hand, strengthen his mental resilience.
On the other hand, he also needed to focus on mastering the Four Fundamental Shinigami Arts to raise his baseline capabilities.
If he could master one of Zanjutsu, Hoho, Hakuda, or Kido to its limit, then even if his Zanpakuto's Ability was ineffective against non-Shinigami enemies, his own strength would allow him to rank within the lower Captain-level fighters.
"Kuchiki-sama, you flatter me too much."
Ichinose shook his head, not believing he possessed anything worth Koga learning.
"By the way, Kuchiki-sama, let me first show you to your living quarters."
"Generally, everyone in the 11th Division lives in the division's barracks."
"But since you, Kuchiki-sama, have a family, living in the barracks would be inconvenient. Therefore, we have arranged accommodation for you in that building over there."
As Ichinose led Koga and Haruko forward, he pointed ahead.
"The conditions here temporarily cannot compare to the Seireitei."
"However, I believe under Kyoya-sama's leadership, this place will inevitably reach, even surpass, the Seireitei in the future!"
Although Kyoya wasn't following them closely, with his perceptive abilities, he still heard Ichinose's words.
'Sometimes having perception that's too strong doesn't seem like a good thing either...'
Kyoya fell into a contemplative silence.
Initially, his desire to change the Rukongai was simply to grind for achievements and obtain rewards.
Even later, when he genuinely wanted to improve the Rukongai due to certain events, he never intended to develop it into another Seireitei.
The existence of the Soul King Palace and the Zero Division destined that the center of the Soul Society could only be the Seireitei!
In the future, he might directly replace the Gotei 13 of the Seireitei, but this city didn't have the potential to develop to the Seireitei's level.
Yet, some people had made this their life's goal.
'It seemed I would need to devote more time here in the future.'
'At the very least, I couldn't disappoint those who sincerely worked for this city's development.'
For the Shinigami of the Seireitei, time was of the essence.
But it also seemed not to be the most important thing.
…
Byakuya's return to the Kuchiki Clamn caused a series of reactions among the nobility.
After all, prior to this, the Kuchiki Clan's heir had been Koga.
Forcing out an adopted heir who had married into the family and having one's own grandson inherit the family violated the rules established by the nobility.
For the nobility, bloodline was important, but 'name' was even more crucial.
Because one's own bloodline wouldn't necessarily continue to uphold one's will, but a nurtured 'heir' would inevitably inherit and implement one's will, ensuring the family's legacy endured.
If in the future, some fallen noble family also followed the Kuchiki Clan's example, absorbing a highly talented heir to overcome difficulties, only to kick them out once their blood descendants matured, how could the family's will continue to be passed down?
Such a precedent could not be allowed!
Especially since the Kuchiki Clan was a 'model' for the nobility, which made their every move regarded as 'truth' by other nobles.
This kind of incident, which could create conflict between 'blood descendants' and 'will descendants' among the nobility, had to be prohibited.
Even for the Kuchiki Clan, such an action had to be met with resistance from other nobles.
Under these circumstances, Ginrei had no choice but to reveal the ability of Koga's Zanpakuto to the nobles of the Central 46, allowing them to judge whether his actions violated 'noble' decorum.
As expected, faced with such a 'dangerous' Zanpakuto's Ability, the nobles viewed it as a fierce tiger and unanimously approved of Ginrei's actions.
Simultaneously, because such a terrifying ability had emerged among the Shinigami, the nobles of the Central 46 imposed further restrictions on the Shinigami of the Gotei 13.
Yamamoto conveyed the new prohibitions issued by the Central 46 during a Captains' Meeting, instructing the Captains to disseminate them.
Among these prohibitions, the two most important ones made the Shinigami of the Gotei 13 grit their teeth in frustration.
First: Within the Seireitei, only the Captains of each division were qualified to carry their Zanpakuto on their person anywhere in the Seireitei.
Other Shinigami, including Lieutenants, could only carry their Zanpakuto within their own division barracks or while executing missions.
Furthermore, all Shinigami were prohibited from releasing their Zanpakuto within the Seireitei.
Without permission from the Captain-Commander or a special pardon from the Central 46, any Shinigami found releasing their Zanpakuto within the Seireitei would be charged with violating the prohibition.
Second: In the Shin'o Academy, Menos Grande-level Hollows and above were removed from the curriculum. It was changed to state that all Menos Grande-level Hollows were purified by the legendary Zero Division.
The duty of Shinigami was primarily the purification of medium-level Hollows and below.
It must be said that the nobles of the Seireitei possessed highly refined skills in limiting the potential of the lower classes.
They knew that a person's strength was largely related to the strength of their enemies.
If students of the Shin'o Academy knew that Menos Grande-level Hollows and above were purified by Shinigami, a significant portion would inevitably set purifying Menos Grande-level Hollows and above as their life's goal.
This would stimulate their desire to train and unlock their own potential, allowing them to grow stronger at a faster rate.
But if the enemy was made to seem weak, most people would believe that the limit of a Shinigami probably ended there.
With this mindset, and especially if it became a sort of 'ideological imprint', the upper limit of Shinigami would be restricted by their own perceptions.
Under these circumstances, geniuses who originally had Captain-level potential might ultimately only grow to the level of Lieutenants.
The reason the nobles of the Central 46 Chambers issued such prohibitions was naturally because, from the Koga incident, they saw the Captain-Commander's 'weakness'.
This wasn't a weakness in strength, but a weakness in mindset.
Yamamoto had grown old!
The nobles were preparing to regain control of the Seireitei after Yamamoto's death or retirement.
Yamamoto wasn't unaware of this.
However, he did not refuse the two prohibitions issued by the Central 46. On the contrary, he endorsed them.
This caused dissatisfaction and confusion among many Shinigami.
"Damn it, what are those nobles thinking?"
In the 11th Division's barracks, after Kyoya relayed the new prohibitions he heard at the Captains' Meeting to the division members, Ikkaku's eyebrow twitched, and he roared in anger.
"Shinigami can't even carry their Zanpakuto anymore? Are we still Shinigami?"
"Have they never considered that if one day they are attacked by Hollows, they might all be killed by the Hollows before we can return to the barracks, retrieve our Zanpakuto, and save them?"
"Such a situation is almost impossible, Ikkaku."
Yumichika, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and eyes closed, said, "Firstly, the Seireitei has the Sekkiseki blocking it. Generally, it's impossible for Hollows to enter the Seireitei."
"The last recorded instance of Hollows appearing in the Seireitei was over a decade ago, during the previous 12th Division Captain's Hollowfication Experiments. But those few Hollows were already purified by Captain Kyoya."
Actually, in the Hollowfication Incident, the real culprit wasn't Kisuke.
And the three Hollows released by Aizen weren't purified by Kyoya but captured alive and eventually sent to the 12th Division.
But because Kisuke ultimately took the blame for Aizen, those three Hollows were later disposed of.
Of course, Kyoya knew these facts, but since the Seireitei's official story was as stated, Kyoya wouldn't contradict the Seireitei over such a minor matter.
"Secondly, you should listen carefully to what Kyoya-sama said."
"The prohibition states that Zanpakuto cannot be carried outside the division barracks except while 'executing missions'."
"Patrolling Shinigami are considered to be executing missions and can carry their Zanpakuto."
"Even if Hollows did appear in the Seireitei, those patrolling Shinigami could use their Zanpakuto."
"It's just unknown whether the prohibition against releasing Zanpakuto applies during combat."
"If even fighting Hollows prohibits releasing Zanpakuto, then..."
Here, Yumichika himself shook his head.
Although Yumichika was somewhat narcissistic and very confident in his own strength, even against Madarame Ikkaku, he felt he could defeat him if he released his Zanpakuto-
But if he couldn't release his Zanpakuto, two of him wouldn't be enough to fight Ikkaku.
Hearing the discussions among the surrounding squad members, Kyoya didn't say much.
He knew that although everyone strongly resisted these new prohibitions now, they couldn't stop the prohibitions from being implemented within the Gotei 13.
Kyoya remembered that in the series, when Rukia first saw a Menos Grande, she exclaimed in shock that Menos Grande were powerful enemies only the Royal Special Task Force, the Zero Division, could handle.
Clearly, Rukia and others entered the Shin'o Academy after this prohibition was implemented.
Furthermore, after Ichigo and the others entered the Seireitei via the fireworks cannon, Yamamoto issued the order allowing Shinigami to carry and release their Zanpakuto within the Seireitei.
This meant that for at least the next few decades, these two prohibitions would not be repealed.
Only after Ichigo and the others invaded the Seireitei would Yamamoto use that opportunity to abolish these two prohibitions.