"Just because you know him, Captain Rosse, you want to protect him? That doesn't seem to follow the rules, does it," After everyone had more or less understood the situation, Ichimaru Gin suddenly spoke up.
Quite a few people looked at him in surprise.
With Head-Captain Yamamoto awake, Rosse's position being threatened was something very likely to happen.
But as beneficiaries of the current situation, most captains, including Kuchiki Byakuya and Kyoraku Shunsui, actually did not want to stand up and openly oppose Rosse at this moment.
No one expected that Ichimaru Gin would be the first to step forward instead.
"If it were just because I know him, then of course it wouldn't follow the rules," Rosse smiled faintly, his expression unusually calm.
"But this time, I'm not speaking to shield that boy from the standpoint of the Tenth Division's captain, but as a retainer of the Shiba family."
"The Shiba family… that boy is from the Shiba family? The Tenth Division… Vice-Captain Matsumoto… is he a descendant of Shiba Isshin?", Kyoraku Shunsui exclaimed in surprise, almost instantly putting everything together.
He already knew that Shiba Isshin had not died and was hiding in the world of the living. He learned that after getting in contact with his own vice-captain.
But he had never imagined that Shiba Isshin had even had a child in the world of the living.
"That's right. Kurosaki Ichigo is Shiba Isshin's son. Otherwise, there would be no way for him to gain captain-level power in such a short time," Rosse said this with a calm smile.
"No wonder… the child of a captain-level," Kyoraku Shunsui understood at once, and the sense of mystery around Kurosaki Ichigo's talent faded.
If he was the descendant of a captain-level Shinigami, then the spiritual pressure accumulated over so many years really could allow him to grow rapidly to captain level once awakened.
From awakening to quickly reaching captain-level spiritual pressure, there were quite a few such prodigies.
People like that usually built up for a long time before erupting, rather than making an instant leap.
"Even if he is a descendant of the Shiba family, setting aside Shiba Isshin's situation, if his Shinigami powers were still awakened by Rukia, then he has still violated the laws of Seireitei," Kuchiki Byakuya spoke in a cold, clear voice.
A Shinigami having children with an ordinary human was already something absurd.
Now adding that the child's Shinigami powers were awakened by another Shinigami made it a complete mess.
Thump!
The dull sound of a cane striking the ground cut off the captains' arguments.
"That's enough!"
Head-Captain Yamamoto slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over everyone.
"A trivial matter, yet so much noise. What kind of decorum is this?"
"This matter will be handed over to the Central 46 for judgment. We shall simply follow the orders of the Central 46."
As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the captains all changed.
The Central 46.
How long had it been since they last heard that name?
Ever since the last reorganization of the Central 46, that body had existed in name only.
Although its authority had never been explicitly stripped, it had long since degenerated into a place for the nobles' internal amusement, completely unable to interfere with the affairs of the Gotei 13.
But this time, the other captains could not help but acknowledge this proposal.
They could see clearly that while the matter itself was not a big deal, it was in fact a covert clash between Head-Captain Yamamoto and Rosse.
It was obvious that Rosse had jumped out early and taken a clear stance, openly stating that he intended to protect Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo.
As for Head-Captain Yamamoto, although he had not stated his own thoughts, his attitude was already clear. Letting the Central 46 intervene essentially meant dealing with Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo.
Otherwise, he could have simply minimized the issue on the spot. There was no need at all to escalate it to the Central 46.
Those people in the Central 46, although they had all offered pledges of allegiance to Rosse before taking their positions, had already been sharpening their knives ever since hearing that Head-Captain Yamamoto had awakened.
With this incident, the two sides were bound to determine a winner.
Once the main issue was settled, there was nothing else to discuss.
At the end of the captains' meeting, Rosse was the first to leave the conference chamber, clearly stating his position through his actions.
How many people would think he was just lashing out in impotent rage was something he could not know.
In any case, life was like a play, and it all depended on acting. He believed his performance had been quite good.
After Rosse left, Hitsugaya and Zaraki Kenpachi also chose to leave immediately.
Zaraki Kenpachi's thinking was simple. In a place where people only argued with words, he could not stay for even a moment.
Hitsugaya's reasoning was even simpler. He came from the Tenth Division and had become the Second Division's captain because of Rosse. Leaving together at this time was a clear statement of position.
After the two of them left, Mayuri Kurotsuchi and Tosen Kaname departed, followed by Aizen and Ichimaru Gin, then Kuchiki Byakuya, Komamura Sajin, and Unohana. Finally, Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro were directly kept behind and did not leave.
Who was close and who was distant was already obvious at a glance.
From the current situation, things were clearly looking very favorable for Head-Captain Yamamoto.
At the very least, after Rosse left his seat, only Hitsugaya followed him out immediately. The other captains all waited a short while before leaving.
That brief wait already represented their stance.
———
On the way back to the Tenth Division, Rosse and Hitsugaya met up with Matsumoto Rangiku and Shiba Kukaku, and the group headed toward the Tenth Division together.
"That's basically what happened."
Hitsugaya, acting as the one explaining, gave a rough account of what had happened at the captains' meeting.
After hearing it, Matsumoto Rangiku immediately got angry.
"What is this nonsense! Why did something like this have to be taken to the Central 46? So what if a normal human was given Shinigami powers? Just bring him into Seireitei, or directly issue a Substitute Shinigami permit. Haven't there been similar cases before?", In Matsumoto Rangiku's heart, she still regarded Shiba Isshin as a friend to some extent.
And back then, Kurosaki Masaki had been taken away right in front of her.
Although she could more or less guess afterward that Rosse had played a role in it, it was precisely because Rosse was involved that Rangiku felt even more guilt.
After all, Shiba Isshin had once been her captain.
Now that the child was in trouble, she had to protect him, if only to repay the kindness of being looked after back then.
"Isshin's child, huh… in terms of seniority, I should be his big sister."
Shiba Kukaku's expression was a bit complicated as she subconsciously glanced at Rosse.
She herself could not really say what kind of feelings she had toward Shiba Isshin and Kurosaki Ichigo.
After all, she was not particularly close to Shiba Isshin and the others to begin with, and it had been almost twenty years since they last met. That connection had long since been severed.
When the Shiba family suffered its calamity, Shiba Isshin had never appeared.
Still, Rosse standing in the name of the Shiba family to block the first wave of pressure, and bringing this matter to light, could be considered preserving the Shiba family's reputation.
Shiba Kukaku was already thinking about how she should repay Rosse later that night.
The group simply chatted casually along the way, roughly expressing their own thoughts.
Even Hitsugaya understood clearly that Rosse must have his own considerations, and that he did not need their help at all.
If there ever came a time when help was truly needed, Rosse would definitely come to them.
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