Seven days later—
[Tenth Division, Conference Hall]
Ever since Captain Commander Yamamoto fell into a long coma, the authority of the First Division had been temporarily frozen, and the captain's meeting that once symbolized the highest will of Soul Society, because Rosse was acting as Captain Commander, had to be moved to the Tenth Division to be held.
This was a brand new conference room, completely different from the vast, cold rooms of the First Division where even the floor reflected a chill.
The space here was wrapped in dark, high quality wood, the woody fragrance mingling with a faint scent of ink.
A steady, heavy round conference table was placed in the center. The tabletop had been polished smooth like a mirror, reflecting the soft reishi lights on the ceiling, without a single extra decoration.
Around the round table were placed twelve chairs of different styles, yet all equally luxurious in texture.
Each chair had been custom made according to the corresponding captain's height, habits, and even the subtle characteristics of their division.
Some were wide and heavy armchairs, others had clean lines and straight backs. They stood here silently, occupied by their respective owners.
At this moment, a gravity and solemnity unlike ever before filled the air.
"Captain Commander Rosse, about former Second Division Captain Sui Feng, was that not already settled? What made you issue another statement?", Ichimaru Gin sat in the Third Division captain's seat and spoke with a smiling face.
Recently, because of the successive statements from the Shihoin and Rosse, quite a stir had been raised in Seireitei.
On the surface this matter had nothing to do with him. He was the first to speak only to speak up for Rangiku.
Lately Rosse had been getting too close to Shiba Kukaku, and the two were almost being called a married couple by outsiders, which made him dislike Rosse even more.
'As expected of a beast from Hueco Mundo, caring only about body and not feelings at all.'
What he did not know was that Rosse's relationship with Rangiku was far better than with Shiba Kukaku.
Matsumoto Rangiku was the deputy he trusted more, not Shiba Kukaku.
"I am only stating the facts. That Sui Feng was not a Hueco Mundo spy before is a fact. That she has now defected to Hueco Mundo is also a fact. What I clarified was only the former, I did not deny the latter," Rosse stated calmly.
"Oh come on, why be so long winded. She is just a captain who defected. Why explain it so clearly. Just chop her up and be done with it," Zaraki Kenpachi shouted in boredom, his face full of listlessness.
These past few years, he had completely acknowledged Rosse.
No matter how he fought, he could not win. He tried countless times and still could not win, and he could not even make Rosse get injured. No matter how reckless he was, he could see the gap.
After completely acknowledging it, Zaraki Kenpachi never went to challenge Rosse again, and followed his orders to the letter.
If you cannot beat them, you obey. That was the rule for people from the lawless districts.
When you can beat them one day, that is when you turn things around.
"Heh! Ignorant. We, the Gotei 13, are the army of justice. We must carry out acts of justice, not wrong a single good person, and not let go of a single evil one," Tosen Kaname sat upright in his chair and said coldly.
His image among the captains had always been one of upholding justice, so no one thought there was anything wrong with him saying this.
"That is how it is. Does anyone else have objections?", Rosse drew a line under this matter. His gaze fell on Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro.
These two were the most likely to raise trouble, since they were the ones who had originally suspected Sui Feng.
Although it was not out in the open, any smart captain had a clear idea in their heart.
"There are no objections at all, Captain Rosse. Let us move on to the next topic."
Kyoraku Shunsui said lazily, not showing any intention of smearing or clearing Sui Feng.
In his view, it was most likely that Shihoin Yoruichi had appeared and gone to Rosse and the Shiba family, which was why there was this cooperation between the Shihoin family and Rosse.
This kind of cooperation was normal. He naturally had no intention of interfering.
As for what Sui Feng's current situation was, he was somewhat curious, but not to the point of asking about it in front of everyone.
He knew very well that even if he asked, he would not get any answer.
After all, Sui Feng was now a traitor to Soul Society. Even if the people present had cooperation with Hueco Mundo, they could not show it on the surface.
And regarding the fact that Sui Feng had been innocent before, Kyoraku Shunsui also knew it.
After that battle in Soul Society, he had not done nothing. He had secretly gone to the Human World and reconnected with his former vice captain.
Instinctively, he felt that the Hollowfication incident from a hundred years ago had a very close connection with Hueco Mundo.
Fortunately, he still had some credibility, and after Shinji Hirako and the others had been single handedly wiped by Lilynette last time, they were in urgent need of an outside ally, so the two sides hit it off.
It was also then that Kyoraku Shunsui learned that Hueco Mundo actually had three spies in the Gotei 13, and they had been lying low for a hundred years.
He even suspected that Aizen held a very high position in Hueco Mundo, possibly among the top thirty Espada.
But after learning this information, Kyoraku Shunsui had no intention of making it public.
The true ability of Aizen's zanpakuto was just too broken. Even he could not find any way to counter it.
Under such circumstances, being in the shadows was actually more suitable.
"Then let us continue with the next topic. Rangiku, you will report last year's financial income to all the captains," Rosse showed a light smile and beckoned to Rangiku who was standing beside him.
Although Rangiku's management level was only average, Soul Society itself was just a makeshift organization. With his assistance, over these years Rangiku had already become able to stand on her own.
This captain's meeting was not just for Sui Feng's matter. That was only incidental.
This meeting was the annual financial settlement.
Since the reforms, each division had its own purse, but for the sake of group thinking, in addition to each division's money, there was also a large amount of public assets.
This part of the public assets would, after the annual settlement, be distributed to all Gotei 13 Shinigami according to rank tiers.
"Alright. Captains, last year the total public fiscal income was 112.52 million kan. This includes...", Matsumoto Rangiku held the documents in her hands, confidence radiating from her as she began her report.
Ever since she started working under Rosse, not only had her workload not decreased, it had actually increased.
But compared to her previous slacking off attitude, she was now extremely motivated.
Back then she slacked because her talent was not enough, she had no hope of becoming a captain, and her life would just be like that. All those tedious division duties were torture to her.
But now it was different. She was in charge of the purse strings.
With a bit of calculation she could squeeze out a few more tens of thousands of kan, enough for her to drink several good meals of wine.
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