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The barracks corridors echoed with hurried footsteps as Hisagi Shūhei walked beside Abarai Renji, both vice-captains carrying themselves with the weight of new duties.
"This is the first time I've been ordered to wear the vice-captain's armband," Renji muttered with clear irritation, adjusting the white band marked with the insignia of the Sixth Division tied around his left arm. Ever since he had formally inherited the position, he had avoided wearing it whenever possible, but today was different.
"Same here," Shūhei admitted, tugging at his own Ninth Division band with little enthusiasm. "The order came directly from the Head Captain. All vice-captains are to wear armbands and assemble outside the Second Division's annex until summoned."
Renji grunted, then shifted the topic with a curious gleam in his eye. "Senior Shūhei, I heard you were at the scene during the travel disaster at the Western Baidaomon. What were they like? What did they look like?"
Renji's mind went back to the Penitentiary earlier that day, when he had visited Rukia. She had pleaded with him to uncover more about the intruders who had shaken the Seireitei.
"They weren't particularly strong," Shūhei answered, disdain flickering briefly in his tone, before his expression hardened. "But a grave incident took place. Captain Ichimaru and Captain Shiraha fought—Baidaomon itself was obliterated. Surely you've already heard the rumors?"
"I did. My men wouldn't stop talking about it." Renji's brows furrowed as he nodded.
"You weren't there, so you can't grasp the scale," Shūhei said, his voice lowering. "Captain Shiraha shattered Baidaomon without even drawing his Zanpakutō. The sheer pressure of his Reiatsu alone was unbearable. Captain Ichimaru was forced into Bankai, and had it not been for Captain Unohana and Commander Kyōraku rushing to intervene, the consequences could have been catastrophic."
A shadow of remembered fear lingered in Shūhei's eyes. He and Kira Izuru had barely managed to withdraw their squads before being crushed by the shockwaves of power those two captains released.
"Captain Shiraha really is that strong," Renji murmured, his mind churning.
The two men stopped before a looming set of double doors. With a push, Shūhei swung them open, and they stepped into the Captain's Chamber.
The air was suffocating with concentrated Reiatsu. Every captain save Ukitake Jūshirō was already present, standing in two solemn rows. At the head, Yamamoto Genryūsai sat with his eyes closed, wooden staff resting across his knees, ancient and immovable like a mountain. Kyōraku Shunsui leaned against his post with a deceptively lazy air, while Unohana Retsu stood serene, hands folded in her sleeves.
Only two positions remained unoccupied. Ichimaru Gin slid into his place with his perpetual crescent smile, while opposite him Kuchiki Shiraha entered, calm and unyielding as stone.
"You have arrived. Third Division Captain Ichimaru Gin. Seventh Division Captain Kuchiki Shiraha." Yamamoto's eyes snapped open, the weight of his gaze pinning both men. His voice rumbled like thunder contained.
Gin gave a theatrical bow, his hands folded within his sleeves. "Ah, what an honor. All the proud captains of Soul Society, gathered here just for me and Captain Shiraha. Don't you agree, Captain Shiraha?" His grin widened, silver words floating as if this were casual banter.
Before Shiraha could reply, a harsh voice cut in. Zaraki Kenpachi's single eye glared like a drawn blade. "Don't play games, Ichimaru. You two went to the Western Baidaomon to crush the intruders. With the strength you both possess, wiping out four or five ryoka should have been effortless. Yet they're still alive. What happened?"
His tone carried more than curiosity—suspicion and scorn seethed beneath it. Zaraki had wanted the fight for himself, only to hear it was already seized by Shiraha and Ichimaru. Now the prey still roamed free.
Gin's smile never wavered. "Captain Zaraki, it seems you misunderstand. I believed I'd already killed them, but perhaps I've grown dull. My apologies."
Shiraha's lips curved in the faintest of smiles. "You let them go deliberately, Captain Ichimaru. I suspect you share a connection with these intruders."
"Now, now, Captain Shiraha," Gin chuckled, his eyes slitted. "Among those so-called intruders was one Kurosaki Ichigo. According to the records, he was destroyed during Rukia Kuchiki's arrest. Yet he's alive, lively as ever, hardly looking destroyed to me."
"Don't twist words without proof," Shiraha answered evenly, though his voice carried steel. His Reiatsu suddenly surged, oppressive pressure blanketing Gin in an instant.
Gin's own spiritual force rose to meet it, the two captain-class powers colliding, filling the chamber with crushing weight. The atmosphere crackled with hostility, air thickening as if the world itself bent under their confrontation.
"Enough."
Yamamoto's staff slammed against the floor. A tide of overwhelming Reiatsu erupted, dwarfing both captains and snapping the tension like brittle glass. His voice thundered, tinged with anger. "Cease this posturing!"
Both Gin and Shiraha immediately suppressed their power, bowing their heads under the Head Captain's rebuke.
"I have grasped the essentials," Yamamoto said, eyes sharp as a drawn blade. "First, as captains, you abandoned your posts, acted without authorization, and allowed intruders to escape. This is dereliction of duty of the highest order. Second, Captain Shiraha—why did you destroy the Baidaomon?"
The chamber stirred. The Baidaomon, a gate forged from murderous stone capable of nullifying all spiritual power, had stood inviolate since the founding of the Seireitei. For one man to destroy it was unthinkable.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri let out a twisted chuckle, eyes glittering with perverse fascination. "Remarkable. To obliterate murderous stone itself… Captain Shiraha, your abilities are truly worth dissecting."
Shiraha met the curious stares calmly. "It was not my intention. When I witnessed Captain Ichimaru releasing the intruders, I attempted to seize him and bring him before you, Head Captain. I did not anticipate his inability to withstand even a casual blow. The result… was Baidaomon's destruction."
His voice was smooth, even, yet every syllable carried weight.
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