Central 46 Chambers — Seireitei
The silence after Yamamoto's command lingered heavy, broken only when one of the faceless elders leaned forward, voice like grinding stone.
The elders frowned. "Who is this boy he speaks of so desperately elder intoned. "Why were we not informed of his existence."
Whispers rippled through the captains' line. Several eyes flicked to Rangiku, who stiffened, biting her lip as her heart lurched. Her secret was no longer hers. The Head Captain let out a breath and then turned to the council.
"Lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto found and harbored this boy in Soul Society after the Hollow attack. Not only did she conceal his presence, she brought him into Seireitei itself for treatment, hiding him from the Central 46." He had to state it as it was.
Rangiku's eyes widened, panic flashing across her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but the elder cut her off, his voice a final hammer..
"Concealment of an outsider is treason. Both the lieutenant and the boy must be dealt with harshly lest this corruption spread."
The chamber exploded with reaction. A few lieutenants gasped. Ukitake's expression tightened, his hands clenching at his sides. Even Shunsui's normally easy eyes hardened.
At the center of the chamber, Minato surged against his restraints, spiritual pressure flaring so sharply the kido bindings crackled. His eyes burned blue fire.
"Enough! Leave them out of this!" His voice thundered raw and furious, his calm finally broken. "She saved him, when none of you even lifted a hand! And Genma...he's just a child! A boy who lost everything in the Rukongai, caught in your wars and your laws! If you dare touch him, then I swear.."
The restraints glowed brighter, suppressing his power, but still the air trembled with his rage. The elders recoiled slightly, some bristling, others muttering in indignation.
Yoruichi stepped forward, her golden eyes blazing, her presence commanding.
"Central 46, hear me clearly. If your hand falls on Matsumoto or the boy, then it will not be justice, it will be cowardice. Minato's trial is one thing. But to punish a child, to brand a lieutenant for compassion? That is a disgrace to everything Soul Society stands for."
Her words cracked through the chamber like a whip. Even captains stirred, emboldened by her defiance. But the elders remained unmoved.
"Compassion is weakness," one elder hissed. "The law does not bend for sentiment. This child is an aberration, his presence forbidden. And the lieutenant knowingly disobeyed."
"Then punish me!" Rangiku cried suddenly, her voice trembling but resolute. She stepped out from the line of lieutenants, her fists clenched. "If anyone bears the guilt, it's me. Don't touch the boy!" The smile on Gin Ichimaru's face froze for a minute second, as his gaze fell onto Rangiku's figure.
The cold judgment of the elders was immediate. "You will both be punished. The boy will be removed from Seireitei and eliminated. The lieutenant will be stripped of rank and confined for her treachery."
"No!" Minato roared, straining violently against the bindings. The stone floor beneath him cracked as his reiatsu fought to break free. "You'll have to go through me first!"
The captains braced, the atmosphere thickening to the point of suffocation. Kenpachi's grin widened at the tension. Shunsui and Ukitake looked ready to intervene, though they hesitated under Central 46's iron law.
And then...
BANG.
Yamamoto's staff slammed against the ground, louder than before, reverberating like an earthquake. His spiritual pressure erupted, an ocean of flame and authority that smothered even Minato's fury and forced silence upon the chamber.
"Enough."
The word rolled like fire through the air. The elders stiffened in their seats, their shadowed forms suddenly far less imposing beneath the weight of the Captain-Commander's reiatsu.
"This council will not touch the boy," Yamamoto declared, his tone brooking no argument. A single eye burned, daring even Central 46 to object. "Lieutenant Matsumoto acted under my orders in the matter. She will not be punished. The child will remain under my authority until I deem otherwise."
The elders began to protest, their whispers hissing like serpents, but Yamamoto's glare silenced them.
"You presume to judge strength, loyalty, and compassion from shadows," he thundered. "But this boy is under my watch. Should you desire otherwise, then you may take him from my hands yourselves."
The weight of his words fell like a guillotine. Not one elder stirred. Yamamoto's staff struck the floor once more, a final note of finality. "This trial concerns Minato Namikaze alone. You will leave the others out of it."
The elders retreated into silence, their voices swallowed by the chamber's oppressive dark.
Minato, chest heaving, stared at Yamamoto with a mix of disbelief and gratitude, though his glare toward the council did not fade. Yoruichi let out a quiet breath, her shoulders easing slightly, while Rangiku stood frozen, relief and fear warring in her eyes.
The trial pressed on, but the balance of power had shifted. For the first time, the shadows of Central 46 seemed to flinch beneath the fire of the old man who had built the Gotei 13.
The council's silence lingered after Yamamoto's rebuke. Then, like a knife drawn across stone, an elder's voice broke the stillness:
"Child and lieutenant aside… this man himself remains an infection within Seireitei. His actions prove him reckless. He trespasses into restricted grounds, strikes down captains, and slaughters our operatives. Minato Namikaze is too dangerous to be left unattended."
Another elder followed, voice low but venomous:
"He has shown no respect for authority. His possession of a Zanpakutō without sanction, his wielding of a forbidden art that mirrors Quincy sorcery… Such power in the hands of an outsider is intolerable. If left unchecked, he threatens the balance of Soul Society itself."
The chamber darkened with the weight of their words.
"Therefore," a third voice declared, "his Zanpakutō shall be confiscated. It will not remain in his hands. No blade should answer to one who stands outside our laws."
Yoruichi stepped forward sharply, fists clenched. "This is madness! Confiscating his Zanpakutō is no different from crippling him!"
"Silence." The elder's voice cracked like a whip. "He forfeited the right to wield that power the moment he raised it against Soul Society's own."
But the council's decision was already falling like a blade.
."You shall be stripped of your Zanpakutō immediately. It will be confiscated by the Onmitsukidō and sealed away. Furthermore, for your crimes and the danger you pose, you will be imprisoned within the Maggots' Nest for no less than two hundred and fifty years."
The words hit the chamber like thunder. Gasps rippled among the lieutenants. Rangiku took a step forward, horror in her eyes. Shunsui's brow furrowed beneath the brim of his hat. Even Ukitake's usually calm expression flickered with visible dismay.
Yoruichi's eyes narrowed like sharpened steel. Several captains shifted uncomfortably, but none spoke, until Minato himself lifted his head.
His expression was calm, almost serene, and the silence of the hall deepened as he spoke.
"… I see." His voice carried no anger, no defiance, only acceptance. "If that is your judgment, I will abide by it."
Whispers broke out among the nobles above, shocked by his composure. But within him, another voice stirred, soft, resonant, echoing in the quiet of his mind.
"Are you truly ready to throw your life away like this, Minato?" Sorasen's voice asked, its tone heavy with both sorrow and quiet fury. "To let them bury you in darkness, to silence your blade for centuries?"
Minato closed his eyes, breathing slowly, as if to still the turmoil inside. This is what it means to carry the weight of my choices.
"… It matters," he answered in the silence of his soul. "As long as they are safe… as long as Rangiku and the boy are spared… I can bear this. I am at peace now."
Sorasen's voice lingered, a soft echo in the recesses of his spirit.
"… Foolish… and yet, that resolve of yours has never wavered. Very well. If peace is what you choose, then I will sleep with you in the darkness."
The connection faded, leaving only the cold judgment of the chamber. Two Onmitsukidō operatives appeared, kneeling before the council. The elder's voice boomed again.
"Confiscate his Zanpakutō."
They unfastened the hilt on his lower back, his tool pouch and the small bag containing the money the old man had given him. He let out a breath, feeling the faint warmth of Sorasen's spirit. Then he watched as they took it away and handed it to Yoruichi.
Yoruichi's gaze softened for the briefest second, though her jaw remained set like iron.
Kenpachi, however, laughed low and dangerous. "Keh-heh-heh… lock him away, huh? Just don't expect him to stay there forever. I'll be waiting when he gets out."
The gavel of judgment fell.
"Minato Namikaze, stripped of his blade, condemned to two hundred and fifty years within the Maggots' Nest."
The Head Captain's eyes closed briefly, his face unreadable as the sentence echoed through the chamber.
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