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Creak—
With a grinding sound, the heavy door slowly opened.
Outside the door, a figure lying in the shadows lifted the straw hat from his face: "Handsome, how was it?"
"Hmm, with the method Yoruichi taught me, the seal was easily undone."
Following the words, a middle-aged man with a full head of white hair, holding a shield in one hand and a stick-like object in the other, slowly walked out from inside the door.
If Ishikawa were here, he would realize...
This figure was none other than Ukitake, who had been on sick leave and hadn't attended any meetings.
Hearing this, the person lying in the shadows slowly got up, revealing his distinctive floral haori: "Tsk, tsk, no matter what, the message Yoruichi sent still makes me feel a bit unbelievable."
"Indeed."
Ukitake nodded: "But if we infer from what she said being true, many things I couldn't understand have now been answered."
After speaking, a serious look flashed in his eyes: "With Yoruichi's help, the preparations to stop the execution have been made. During the time before the execution begins, we can completely verify Yoruichi's words ourselves."
"Mm."
Kyōraku Shunsui pressed down on his hat brim: "However, I'm more curious about how that Ishikawa discovered it."
"I don't know."
Ukitake shook his head and said: "Although I've had a few encounters with him, I still don't quite understand him. The only thing I can confirm is... he is not our enemy."
"But he's not necessarily an ally either."
Kyōraku Shunsui couldn't help but recall what Ishikawa had said at the previous Captains' meeting and chuckled: "However, now is indeed the best time for us to verify it."
"Although that Ishikawa-sama is 'imprisoned' in the Ninth Division by Head Captain Yama, whether it's Head Captain Yama, or Central 46, or... the person Yoruichi mentioned, they are all focused on him. This, in turn, facilitates our actions."
"I just feel a bit sorry for Ishikawa-sama. He has to deal with the Ryoka, appease Head Captain Yama, and at the same time, he needs to constantly guard against the person Yoruichi mentioned."
"He's clearly a bit dissatisfied with the current situation."
Kyōraku Shunsui said, with a hint of schadenfreude: "You didn't see it when you were inside, but that Ishikawa just recently vented his frustrations quite thoroughly, causing a huge commotion."
"Hmm?"
...
Regret—
Looking at the devastation before him, Ishikawa felt nothing but regret.
Why did he idly practice his fists? He was doing perfectly fine slacking off, but he just had to create a pile of work for himself.
"Sigh."
Ishikawa let out a heavy sigh, took the materials handed to him by a Squad Member nearby, and continued his repair work.
He hadn't noticed while fighting, but only when repairing did he realize...
He had inadvertently caused so much destruction.
Not only the streets, but even the buildings and walls on both sides of the streets were damaged to varying degrees. Even with Ishikawa's working speed, it would take at least several days to complete all repairs.
Fortunately, he wasn't alone.
Ishikawa turned his head and saw hundreds of Shinigami in shinigami uniforms continuously transporting various materials to this area.
Although they couldn't do the skilled work of repairing roads or houses, each of them had plenty of strength. All the physical labor could be left to them, and Ishikawa only needed to be responsible for the skilled work.
At this rate, it should be finished by tomorrow morning.
"Captain."
A call came from a distance, and Ishikawa looked up to see Hisagi Shuuhei, who had gone to attend the Vice-Captains' meeting, walking towards him.
Seeing this, Ishikawa couldn't help but sigh.
Because...
This guy was truly rigid; no matter what it was, he had to report everything to him.
Even if Ishikawa told him 'you can decide for yourself,' it was no use. As long as he received the latest progress on the Ryoka from the Vice-Captains' meeting, he would return and give a detailed report to him.
Ishikawa couldn't even avoid listening.
"Captain."
Hisagi Shuuhei came to Ishikawa's side, looked at Ishikawa, who was covered in dust, and said with a somewhat strange tone: "Why don't you just leave these tasks to the Squad Members."
"Forget it, I don't want to create more work while repairing."
Ishikawa shook his head, then changed the subject: "Tell me, are there any new developments?"
"Abarai, the Vice-Captain of the Sixth Division, was severely wounded and has now been sent to the Comprehensive Relief Station of the Fourth Division for treatment, and the Ryoka who attacked Vice-Captain Abarai is missing." Hisagi Shuuhei said with a solemn tone.
First Ikkaku Madarame and Ayasegawa Yumichika, and now Abarai Renji. Since the Ryoka invasion began this morning, in less than 10 hours, the Gotei 13 has successively lost several high-ranking Seated Officers and a Vice-Captain.
This was the first time he had encountered such an urgent situation since becoming a Shinigami!
Most importantly...
Hisagi Shuuhei hesitated and said: "The place where the two fought is located in the northern part of our Squad Nine, in front of the plaza leading to the Repentance Palace."
"How can that be?"
Ishikawa frowned: "Have they investigated how they managed to break through to that location?"
Hisagi Shuuhei's face also showed a look of confusion: "The one who discovered Vice-Captain Abarai was Kira Iziru, the Vice-Captain of the Third Division. According to the investigation, the Ryoka who fought Vice-Captain Abarai seemed to appear out of thin air, and did not pass through our Ninth Division, or the jurisdiction of other Squads."
To be honest, Hisagi Shuuhei also couldn't understand how that group of Ryoka went to the Repentance Palace.
Because there were only two routes to the Repentance Palace.
Either through their Ninth Division, or through... the Captains' offices, which is the area where the Gotei 13 Headquarters and the First Division barracks are located.
If the Ryoka had passed through there, Commander Yamamoto would absolutely not have been unaware!
And on their side, Hisagi Shuuhei was certain that, apart from that big black guy, no other Ryoka had ever reached this place.
"These are the latest updates on the Ryoka incident. Besides that..."
Hisagi Shuuhei paused, then continued: "Before we left, Commander Yamamoto asked us Vice-Captains to return to our respective jurisdictions and relay to the Captains of each Squad to immediately gather at Headquarters for a Captains' meeting."
"Now?"
Ishikawa was slightly taken aback.
It was known that to ensure the Captains of each Squad could constantly guard their respective jurisdictions, after the last Captains' meeting, all Captains, except for Zaraki whose jurisdiction was in Rukongai, were ordered to stay in their own jurisdictions.
New developments regarding the Ryoka incident were also communicated by the Vice-Captains of each Squad to the Head Captain.
Now, the Commander Yamamoto had asked them to immediately go to Headquarters.
From this, it was clear that a Vice-Captain being severely wounded had made Commander Yamamoto take the Ryoka seriously.
"Mm."
"Sigh— Troublesome..."
Ishikawa put down his tools: "Let everyone go back and eat first. Anyway, what they need to do is almost done. I'll do the rest myself after I return from the meeting."
"How can that be!"
Hisagi Shuuhei said with a firm expression: "Captain, please go attend to your business. I will stay here and work with everyone."
Seeing this, Ishikawa didn't continue to dismiss him. Instead, he got up, brushed the dust off his body, and without returning to the barracks to change, headed directly towards the Headquarters.
Mainly because...
There were only shinigami uniforms in the barracks, and Ishikawa was genuinely unaccustomed to wearing such clothes.
By the time he arrived at Headquarters, it was already completely dark.
However, Headquarters was brightly lit. Ishikawa, familiar with the way, arrived in front of the Headquarters' meeting room. As soon as he stood still, the two huge doors opened inwards.
Inside the meeting room, including Commander Yamamoto on the dais, ten Captains had already gathered.
With himself now, there were exactly eleven Captains.
The two who hadn't come were the old invalid Ukitake and Tōshirō Hitsugaya.
Seeing this, a hint of surprise flashed in Ishikawa's eyes.
It wasn't because two people were absent, but because...
Zaraki, that guy who had chased Ryoka all over Seireitei for two days and a night without sleep, but didn't encounter a single Ryoka, actually still had the energy to come to the Captains' meeting.
Just how boundless was this guy's energy?
"I heard you encountered a Ryoka?"
As soon as Ishikawa stood next to Zaraki, the latter excitedly leaned in: "I originally wanted to go to Squad Nine to find you, but I inexplicably ended up here, and then Head Captain Yama kept me here." After speaking, he looked Ishikawa up and down, and seeing his dusty appearance, his eyes lit up:
"To make you so disheveled, that Ryoka must be very strong, right? Why didn't I encounter them!"
"Mm, very strong."
Ishikawa was too lazy to explain that he got like this from working, and instead said directly: "You search more carefully, you'll definitely find them."
"Silence!"
Commander Yamamoto on the dais glanced at Zaraki, but he didn't get angry because of Zaraki's address. Instead, he said in a serious tone: "The situation is urgent now. The Gotei 13 has already lost a Vice-Captain. It is no longer appropriate to assign tasks to the lower-ranking Squad Members."
Commander Yamamoto looked at Ichimaru Gin, who had a slight smile on his face, and continued: "As for Ichimaru Gin's punishment for acting alone, given the current need for manpower, it will not be pursued."
"Thank you." Ichimaru Gin responded with a smile, looking as if he didn't care whether the punishment was canceled or not.
Commander Yamamoto also didn't react much to this. Instead, he struck his wooden cane on the ground.
Clang—
Along with the crisp sound, Commander Yamamoto's voice followed.
"I announce that, from this moment on, the special wartime order is activated."
"Upper Seated Officers, including Vice-Captains, must carry their Zanpakuto with them twenty-four hours a day within Seireitei, and..." Commander Yamamoto's gaze swept over everyone below:
"You are permitted to fully release them during combat!"
Full release?
At these words, a strange look flashed in the eyes of the Captains present.
Ishikawa, however, pouted. If he had known it was for this, he wouldn't have come.
I don't even have a Zanpakuto, and you're talking about full release to me?
"Including Ishikawa."
Perhaps seeing through Ishikawa's thoughts, Commander Yamamoto suddenly spoke: "According to the orders of Central 46, your Zanpakuto should have been permanently sealed by the Kidō Corps."
"But the situation is urgent now, and you have rendered meritorious service in apprehending the Ryoka, and you bear the important responsibility of guarding the Repentance Palace."
"Therefore, I permit you to continue possessing your Zanpakuto. I will discuss this matter with Central 46 later."
Ishikawa blinked his eyes upon hearing this.
"But before all invading Ryoka are apprehended, you are absolutely not allowed to leave the Ninth Division's jurisdiction without my permission; afterwards, I will allow you to return to Rukongai and continue to freely enter and exit Seireitei."
Towards the end, Commander Yamamoto's tone gradually turned cold: "But if you disobey, don't blame this old man for reclaiming everything from you and imprisoning you in Muken."
"Yes."
Ishikawa nodded in agreement.
No choice...
In front of this old man, he really didn't dare to say no.
And all things considered...
Actually, the conditions Commander Yamamoto offered weren't bad. His demands on him were nothing more than to have him fulfill his duties as the Ninth Division Captain during this period of foreign invasion, and not allow him to leave the Ninth Division.
The rewards were the Zanpakuto and the Captain's salary, as well as him taking on the retaliation and pressure from Central 46.
Although the latter point, a group of dead people wouldn't bring him any pressure, it was hard to guarantee that a certain Captain present wouldn't use this to cause trouble for him.
And the price he had to pay...
Was to handle the Ninth Division's duties, manage the Squad Members, and apprehend any Ryoka who came into his jurisdiction.
As for Aizen...
Let whoever wants to deal with him, deal with him. Head Captain Yama is watching me so closely, what else can I do?
Anyway, Aizen wants to overthrow the Soul King, not his own life.
Since there's no way to stop him from getting the Hōgyoku, then just lie flat...
Let it be!!!
At most, he just had a small conflict with him... Hmm... it should be a small conflict, right?
Ishikawa muttered to himself. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he had truly angered Aizen.
He also couldn't understand why Aizen was so interested in Ichigo.
Judging from Ichigo's journey so far, which was almost identical to his memory, it was clear that someone was secretly pushing... or rather, deliberately cultivating him, sending him suitable opponents at the right time and place.
Otherwise, everything wouldn't have developed exactly as in his memory. If that were the case, he wouldn't have met Chad today.
At this thought, Ishikawa couldn't help but glance at Kyōraku Shunsui.
Having been under house arrest in Squad Nine, he was completely unaware of the changes within Seireitei and had no idea what the other Captains were busy with.
But he always had a feeling that while he was lying flat and slacking off, the other Captains were lying even flatter than him, with their upper bodies practically buried underground...
However, Ishikawa didn't dwell on it further and turned his attention back to Aizen.
If his earlier guess was true, and Aizen had already obtained the Hōgyoku, then in Ishikawa's opinion, the greatest possibility for him remaining in Soul Society and not leaving was...
To continue observing Ichigo's growth.
And this was the part Ishikawa understood the least.
At least if he were Aizen, he would definitely not deliberately cultivate an opponent who might kill him.
Even if he wanted someone to stop him from doing what he intended, or if he wanted an opponent, Ishikawa would absolutely not do it that way.
This led Ishikawa to one conclusion.
He's crazy!!
The Captains' meeting was announced to be over, and Soi Fon and Unohana Retsu left Headquarters immediately.
One of them needed to lead the Onmitsukidō to search for the Ryoka, and the other needed to lead the Fourth Division to treat the wounded. They were arguably the two busiest Captains among all of them.
Seeing the two of them leave, Ishikawa was too lazy to exchange pleasantries with the remaining group of male beings. After retrieving his Zanpakuto from the First Division Vice-Captain, he directly left Headquarters.
He'd rather go back and continue repairing Squad Nine than waste time talking to them.
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