A few days after that earth-shattering battle, a Captains' meeting was convened.
Inside the courtyard of the Squad 1 barracks.
Ukitake Jūshirō stepped inside with a gentle smile on his face.
The weather today was exceptionally clear, and his body felt lighter than ever before. It was as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders, leaving him completely at ease.
Not only had his body fully recovered, but he had also finished processing the backlog of files in his squad.
In the past, even though he was frequently bedridden, he constantly worried about various miscellaneous tasks.
Things like documents requiring a Captain's approval, social interactions between noble families, tedious internal clan matters, and so on.
There were many things that Kotsubaki Sentarō simply couldn't decide on his own.
Fortunately, they had recently discovered a young girl named Kotetsu Kiyone. Both her strength and work ethic were excellent. Perhaps he could promote her to a higher-seated officer so the two of them could handle the squad's administrative work together.
But it seemed there was no need to go through all that trouble anymore.
Now that his health was restored, he had plenty of energy to tackle all sorts of work.
For this, he really had to thank his junior martial brother.
If Sora hadn't recruited those two subordinates skilled in medical Kidō, Ukitake wouldn't have bounced back so quickly. Even Captain Unohana was full of praise for the replaced lungs.
Speaking of which, his junior martial brother truly had an exceptional eye for talent.
Currently, in the Shino Prison, aside from talents like Urahara Kisuke and Kurotsuchi Mayuri, the performance of the other Soul Reapers holding seated officer positions was also absurdly impressive.
Setting everything else aside, the former rising star of the Soul Society, Kuchiki Kōga, was a powerhouse whose strength rivaled that of a Captain. His Zanpakutō, Muramasa, was practically the ultimate weapon against Soul Reapers.
Strangely enough, however, whether he was out on missions or punishing criminals internally, Kuchiki Kōga rarely used his Zanpakutō's abilities anymore.
*Did my junior martial brother teach him some crooked methods?*
Besides Kuchiki Kōga, there was also the former Tsunayashiro clan member, Kakyo. Her talent was outstanding, and the power of her Shikai was astonishing—she could easily defeat an average Lieutenant.
Then there were Komamura Sajin and Tōsen, whom he had brought back from the Rukongai...
Thinking of this, Ukitake Jūshirō couldn't help but feel a bit stunned.
If he remembered correctly, the current Captain of Squad 11 was also brought back from the Rukongai by Naraku Sora.
He still clearly remembered Zaraki Kenpachi's outrageous performance during the Captain's proficiency test.
Without a Shikai, without a Bankai, he had forcefully hacked the incumbent Captain, Muguruma Kensei, into a state of critical injury.
It defied all logic and reason.
At this thought, the corners of Ukitake Jūshirō's mouth curled up slightly.
It was truly wonderful that Naraku Sora had joined the Genryū school.
Whether it was their teacher, Yamamoto, or anyone else, everyone seemed to be subtly influenced by him. Even the Soul Society itself was developing in a better direction.
At this rate, the ideal world he envisioned didn't seem too far away.
Feeling somewhat emotional, Ukitake Jūshirō approached the meeting room. Just as he was about to enter, he spotted two familiar figures.
*Is junior martial brother here too?*
*Makes sense. The Captains' meeting Teacher called today must be related to what happened a few days ago.*
Thinking of this, Ukitake Jūshirō shook his head and chuckled.
His junior martial brother was great in every way, except for one thing: he could never sit still.
Once he had been quiet for a while, you had to be on guard against him suddenly doing something earth-shattering.
Take this recent upheaval in Muken, for example.
Their teacher had been so infuriated by the brat that he hadn't held back at all when disciplining him.
But looking at him now, it seemed his junior martial brother hadn't sustained any serious injuries.
When it came to having thick skin and a durable body, he was several times tougher than both Ukitake and Kyōraku combined.
A helpless expression surfaced on Ukitake Jūshirō's face as he shook his head and walked into the meeting room.
Out in the corridor, Naraku Sora stared indignantly at the armband symbolizing Aizen's rank, looking thoroughly disappointed.
"Sōsuke, have you fallen from grace?"
"To think you'd be satisfied with the mere position of Lieutenant, willingly submitting to someone else."
Aizen: "..."
He felt that someone must have been hit in the head by Yamamoto, causing whatever little intellect he originally possessed to completely vanish.
After a few seconds of silence, he took a deep breath and said calmly, "I've been going to Hueco Mundo a bit too frequently lately. Hirako Shinji might have noticed something, which is why he arranged for me to be his Lieutenant."
"Furthermore, he no longer allows me to access certain classified files."
Hearing this, Naraku Sora raised an eyebrow. "Is that guy's curiosity really that strong?"
Aizen nodded and analyzed in a deep voice, "From the day I joined the squad, Hirako Shinji has been wary of me."
"Or rather, his initial motive for bringing me into Squad 5 was impure to begin with."
"At first, due to a lack of information, I couldn't guess the reason. It was only during the Zanpakutō rebellion that I discovered his Zanpakutō and my Kyōka Suigetsu both belong to the illusion type."
"Moreover, in terms of abilities, the two have a superior-subordinate relationship."
"So it's inevitable that he would harbor unnecessary suspicions."
Naraku Sora suddenly realized, "I see, I get it now! Two scheming bastards trying to out-act each other!"
"?"
Aizen almost lost his composure. *What exactly did you get this time?*
He took a deep breath, suppressing his rising blood pressure. "I'm telling you this mainly to remind you to act cautiously, to prevent Hirako Shinji from discovering any anomalies."
"You don't need to worry about that." Naraku Sora grinned. "As my Hollowfication deepens, my Pesquisa has evolved into a passive ability."
"Any anomaly within the range of my Reiatsu cannot escape my perception."
"Not even Senior Brother Kyōraku's Shikai can bypass it!"
Hearing this, Aizen paused slightly, a complex look flashing through his eyes.
If he remembered correctly, not even the self-made Arrancar, Arturo, could achieve that with Pesquisa.
This guy seemed to be becoming more and more like a Hollow.
"There's one more thing, because of Hirako Shinji."
Aizen seemed to suddenly think of something and reminded him, "I will be reducing my trips to Hueco Mundo for the time being. If you don't have anything else to do, make a few more trips to Las Noches."
"You don't need to do anything. Just show your face in front of Szayelaporro and the others."
Naraku Sora revealed a thoughtful expression.
The Captains' meeting was about to begin. After forcibly shooing a certain someone away, Aizen subconsciously focused on the issue he had just thought of.
If Naraku Sora's Hollowfication continued to deepen, would he completely lose his rationality and turn into a pure Hollow?
When that time came, would he still be himself?
It seemed he needed to increase the priority of his research in this area.
Inside the meeting room.
Yamamoto stood at the head of the room, a faint, oppressive aura sweeping across the space as he slightly raised his eyelids to look at the crowd.
"Today's Captains' meeting is primarily to discuss the riot that occurred in Muken a few days ago."
As soon as these words were spoken, many Captains subconsciously looked toward Naraku Sora, who was standing at the edge of the room.
No wonder this Prison Warden, who was outside the Gotei 13, had appeared here. It turned out he was the main character of this meeting.
However, in terms of authority, the Prison Warden's jurisdiction was actually quite similar to that of a Captain.
The number of squad members in the Shino Prison was no less than any of the squads, and perhaps even exceeded them.
As for their scope of work...
Ever since Naraku Sora took office as the Prison Warden, his subordinates had started snatching jobs that originally belonged to the Gotei 13.
For example, heading to the Rukongai to suppress rebellions, solving cases in various squad districts, and occasionally even going to the World of the Living through the Senkaimon to hunt Hollows...
Even though they had a lot more free time now, many squad members felt very weird about this.
Driven by this subtle psychology, they even actively competed with the Shino Prison members for missions, often arguing fiercely over trivial matters.
Originally, the Gotei 13 and the Shino Prison were two distinctly separate organizations, but after this period of development, the distance between them was constantly shrinking.
There was a faint trend of them developing into a Gotei 14.
Under everyone's gaze, Naraku Sora returned a polite smile, showing absolutely none of the guilt a culprit should have.
It was as if the Muken riot had nothing to do with him at all.
"After an investigation by myself and the Head Captain, it has been determined that this vicious incident was caused by Azashiro Sōya. His goal was to modify humans in the World of the Living and destroy the balance between the Soul Society and the World of the Living."
"Central 46 has ruled that an additional five thousand five hundred years be added to his sentence."
"The location of his imprisonment will be the eighth level of the Shino Underground Prison, the deepest part of Muken."
As soon as these words were spoken, the Captains' expressions couldn't help but look a bit strange.
What was this?
Making a huge fuss only to let him off with a slap on the wrist?
Even a blind man could see that this incident was inextricably linked to Naraku Sora, yet he was being completely absolved of all blame so casually?
Thinking of the relationship between Yamamoto and Naraku Sora, and combining it with the battle that had erupted at the Squad 1 barracks earlier, a terrifying thought couldn't help but arise in everyone's minds.
*Head Captain Yamamoto, have you fallen from grace too?*
Seeming to see through their thoughts, a hint of helplessness surfaced on Yamamoto's aged face.
This matter actually had nothing to do with him.
The ruling was handed down by Central 46; he was merely responsible for relaying it.
"Now then, let us proceed to the second item on the agenda."
The authoritative voice rang out, drawing the attention of the Captains. Yamamoto raised his gaze, a fiery glint flashing through his eyes.
"Regarding the arrangement for the position of Squad 3 Captain, Lieutenant Iba Chikane has privately made a recommendation to me."
"The squad's 3rd Seat, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, has now mastered Bankai."
As soon as this was said, several gazes turned toward Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō.
They had been wondering why even a 3rd Seat was attending the Captains' meeting, but it turned out he was a Captain candidate.
Facing everyone's stares, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō straightened his back, not showing the slightest bit of timidity.
This was what Iba Chikane had taught him: when out in public, he represented the face of Squad 3 and must never show any signs of weakness.
Just then, Yamamoto's voice rang out again:
"The Captain's proficiency test is scheduled for tomorrow. The examiner will be..."
His gaze swept through the crowd and happened to land on Naraku Sora's eager expression. Yamamoto subconsciously recalled this brat's previous combat performance and decisively crushed the thought that had just popped into his head.
"Captain of Squad 13, Ukitake Jūshirō."
As his words fell, Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō let out a long breath, his tense body finally relaxing.
*Thank goodness it's not him...*