[Late at night, Eighth Division]
"Several of you paying a late-night visit to my Eighth Division together, is there something the matter?", At the main gate of the Eighth Division, Kyoraku Shunsui frowned slightly as he blocked Kuchiki Byakuya and Rosse in front of him.
The number of people who came to his Eighth Division this time was no small matter. Led by Kuchiki Byakuya and Rosse, Hitsugaya followed behind with the majority of the Second Division, practically surrounding the Eighth Division.
At the same time, the Third Division captain Ichimaru Gin and the Ninth Division captain Tosen Kaname also came along to join the excitement.
Although the two of them didn't look like they were about to make a move, if something really were found, who knew what they might do.
After all, those two were Aizen's people.
Faced with such a sudden situation, even Kyoraku Shunsui didn't have the time to send Inoue Orihime away.
Although this was also part of the plan, the fact that Aizen himself wasn't among those who came, and that the one leading the group was Kuchiki Byakuya, still surprised him somewhat.
But since things had already reached this point, he could only keep acting it out.
"Captain Kyoraku, Captain Kuchiki has formally reported you by name for harboring a human from the Human World. Please explain yourself," Standing at the very front, Rosse spoke in an official, by-the-book manner.
"Harboring a human? Where is this coming from?", Kyoraku Shunsui played dumb as he spoke, while secretly guessing in his heart who had leaked Inoue Orihime's information.
In order to throw Soul Society into chaos and force Aizen to reveal himself, he had indeed planned to use Inoue Orihime and Rukia as chess pieces.
But even if they were chess pieces, it still had to wait until all preparations were complete.
There was still some time before Rukia's punishment date. He didn't know how far Aizen's side had prepared, but on their side, they still needed time.
Captain-Commander Yamamoto had been asleep for several years. Even if his body had temporarily recovered, he still needed a period of recuperation.
Right now was absolutely when Captain-Commander Yamamoto was at his weakest.
They hadn't planned to expose Inoue Orihime at this time, yet Rosse still came knocking late at night with people in tow, and with the Kuchiki clan even backing it with their reputation.
Kyoraku Shunsui really wanted to know how the Kuchiki clan had learned this information.
Were they simply being used as a gun by Aizen's side, or did they also have some unknown channels, or perhaps the Kuchiki clan was also colluding with Hueco Mundo's royal palace.
'Soul Society is very chaotic right now.'
In Kyoraku Shunsui's eyes, aside from Rosse, Captain-Commander Yamamoto, and himself and Ukitake as fellow disciples, everyone else could possibly be someone from the Hollow King's palace.
The reason he excluded Rosse was mainly because during these years as acting Captain-Commander, although Rosse's actions had been somewhat radical, the overall direction was still improving Soul Society.
And after Captain-Commander Yamamoto awakened, Rosse showed no greed for power at all.
No matter how one looked at it, Rosse didn't resemble someone from the Hollow King's palace. Otherwise, he should have made his move long ago while Soul Society was weak.
Because of this, although Kyoraku Shunsui and Rosse had ideological conflicts over which side to stand on, the two still had a fairly good personal relationship, and over the years had developed considerable mutual understanding.
This time, Rosse leading the group was also within his expectations, and for their plans, it was actually a good thing.
At the very least, even if the other captains were all people from the Hollow King's palace, with Rosse mediating, things wouldn't head toward the worst possible outcome.
"Captain Kyoraku, don't waste everyone's time. The Eighth Division has already been completely surrounded. Whether you're harboring a human or not, we'll know after a search," Tosen Kaname spoke calmly at just the right moment.
"I have no intention of stopping you. It's just that going around the Captain-Commander and entering the Eighth Division for a search like this isn't very appropriate, is it?", Kyoraku Shunsui narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Captain Kyoraku, two years ago all divisions jointly signed the 'Gotei 13 Regulations.' One of the clauses states that while the Gotei 13 follows self-management by each division, with the agreement of more than half of the captains, a comprehensive investigation can be conducted on a problematic division. You also signed that set of regulations at the time."
Kuchiki Byakuya remained composed throughout, speaking in an unhurried manner, as if not rushed at all.
That set of regulations was the management proposal put forward by Rosse. It was also from the moment those regulations were signed that Soul Society entered an era where the Gotei 13 held dominant power.
Although Kyoraku Shunsui's stance was certainly on Captain-Commander Yamamoto's side, from a captain's perspective, he also acknowledged Rosse's regulations.
The contents of those regulations clearly defined each division's responsibilities, obligations, and authority.
At the same time, they greatly weakened the Captain-Commander's power and increased the autonomy of each division.
But now there was one problem. At that time, Captain-Commander Yamamoto had not yet awakened, and the one who signed on his behalf was the First Division vice-captain, Sasakibe Chojiro.
Now that Captain-Commander Yamamoto had awakened, although he hadn't personally nullified those regulations, whether they should still be followed, and how much binding force they still had, was still a big question mark.
Of course, Kyoraku Shunsui had no intention of betraying the regulations. He didn't want to be the one sticking his neck out. He raised both hands helplessly and said, "I did sign those regulations, but they also state that it requires the agreement of seven captains, right?"
His gaze swept across everyone present. There were indeed quite a few captains this time, a full five.
Needless to say, these five certainly supported the search, but they were still short of two more.
"This old man also agrees to the search. Captain Kyoraku, forgive the offense. If nothing is found, this old man will personally apologize to you," Komamura Sajin walked over from a distance and loudly expressed his stance.
The Seventh Division's barracks were right next door. Seeing his close friend Tosen Kaname step forward, there was no way he could stay out of it.
Like Tosen Kaname, he was also someone who hated evil deeply.
Recently, because of Rukia's matter, Soul Society had already been thrown into an uproar.
Because captains' authority had grown unprecedentedly large in recent years, Komamura Sajin subconsciously felt that in Rukia's case, Captain-Commander Yamamoto had gone a bit too far.
Since Rukia belonged to the Thirteenth Division, if she committed a mistake, it should have been handled by the Thirteenth Division. Why was it escalated to Central 46 and even ended with a death sentence?
Because of this, when facing Kuchiki Byakuya's counterattack against Kyoraku Shunsui this time, both he and Tosen Kaname chose to stand on the side of justice.
You punished Rukia in a lawful and proper manner. We reported you, Kyoraku Shunsui, and that is of course also lawful and proper.
"The Twelfth Division also agrees to search the Eighth Division."
A petite yet voluptuous female figure walked over from the other side.
"Vice-Captain Nemu, is this Captain Kurotsuchi's order?"
Kyoraku Shunsui raised an eyebrow slightly, not surprised by her appearance.
Everyone knew that among those who benefited the most from Rosse's reforms was the Twelfth Division's captain.
After gaining his own territory and manpower, that person could be said to conduct experiments without any restraints.
But because of the 'Gotei 13 Regulations,' under normal circumstances, other divisions had no right to interfere with another division's voluntary actions.
Therefore, even if some people found Kurotsuchi Mayuri's methods unpleasant, as long as the experimental subjects were all willing, there wasn't much they could say.
As for how Kurotsuchi Mayuri made all the experimental subjects willingly comply, that wasn't their concern. They had asked both openly and in secret, and those experimental subjects were indeed acting of their own free will.
Whether it was because they had no money and no power, or because they were at a dead end, or because Kurotsuchi Mayuri's offer was simply too good.
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