Szayelaporro licked the blood from his fingertips, his gaze turning toward the still-fleeing wise sages and judges.
He toyed with them like a cat playing with mice, first driving them into corners, then leisurely harvesting lives.
"Help! Help me!"
"Chiaki Setsuna! Come save us!"
The wise sages panicked, their usual dignified and solemn images completely gone.
Watching this scene, the students felt a complex mix of emotions.
These lofty figures who decided the lives and deaths of others, when truly facing death themselves, behaved no better than this.
Setsuna was still bound by the golden Reishi Chains. He deliberately furrowed his brow in a show of difficulty. "But... I'm still accused of colluding with Hollows. If I act, won't I be suspected of being an accomplice in this massacre? After all, this Menos Grande is the one I 'brought' here."
As he spoke, Szayelaporro tore apart two more wise sages.
Blood splattered onto the judge's bench emblem, staining the scales of justice a dark crimson.
"No! It's not your fault!" A surviving judge screamed hoarsely. "It's all Sato Taishi! He is the criminal of the Soul Society! He colluded with the Menos Grande! We unanimously believe… Chiaki Setsuna, you are the hero of the Soul Society! The true Shinigami!"
"Really?" Setsuna tilted his head. "Do all the honorable wise sages of the Central 46 think so?"
"Yes, yes! We all testify!"
"You are the hero of the Soul Society!"
Pleas and cries blended together.
Only then did Setsuna sigh softly. "Since all the esteemed lords say so..."
The golden chains binding him shattered with a sound.
Setsuna took a step forward. Just one step.
Szayelaporro immediately retreated like a startled beast, blustering, "Don't come any closer!"
Setsuna remained unfazed, continuing to walk forward.
Szayelaporro suddenly raised his head, beginning to condense a black light in his mouth.
It wasn't a Cero, but a more dangerous variant of a Bala, containing the terrifying power to tear space.
"Die!" He roared.
The black orb shot forth. Where it passed, space cracked like glass.
Setsuna extended his right index finger, lightly tapping the approaching black orb.
Sekishiki Meikai Ha!
Pop.
Like popping a soap bubble, the orb vanished.
No explosion, no energy leakage. It simply disappeared into thin air as if it had never existed.
"How...?" Szayelaporro lunged at Setsuna in a frenzy.
Although he wasn't skilled in combat, that was only relative to other beings of his level.
In the eyes of the nobles and wise sages present, Szayelaporro's speed was astonishingly fast. Their eyes couldn't capture his movement at all.
Szayelaporro's Reiatsu was even more astounding. Just the residual waves from the Reiatsu Clash were suffocating them.
Yet this powerful Menos Grande was utterly dominated in close combat by Setsuna.
"Go to hell!" Enraged, Szayelaporro raised his right arm, condensing all his Reiatsu into his fist, bringing it down in a heavy hammer blow.
Setsuna also raised his right arm. Conqueror's Haki coiled around it like dark red lightning.
He had no physical body now, so naturally he couldn't use Armament Haki. But Conqueror's Haki was unaffected.
"Supreme King's Infusion - Titan's Nova!"
Wrapped in Conqueror's Haki, combined with the secret technique he learned from the Taurus Gold Saint, the power of this punch had been amplified to its limit.
The moment their fists collided, the bones of Szayelaporro's entire arm, from fingertips to shoulder, instantly turned to dust under the terrifying vibration and impact.
"Ahhh—!" Szayelaporro screamed as he was sent flying backward, smashing through a corner of the judge's bench.
The courtroom fell deathly silent.
Everyone stared blankly at this scene.
They knew Setsuna was strong. They knew he had captured a Vasto Lorde-class Menos Grande.
But in their imaginations, that should have been a brutal, hard-fought battle.
Setsuna should have been fighting with all his might, covered in wounds, barely achieving victory.
Not this… like an adult disciplining a child… casual, effortless, even somewhat indifferent.
Szayelaporro struggled to his feet, let out a cry of terror, and with all his strength, charged toward the courtroom's dome.
He smashed through the Sekkiseki-reinforced dome, crashed through layer after layer of barriers, and fled into the Seireitei sky like a shooting star.
"After him!" A wise sage couldn't help but shout.
Setsuna turned around, his calm gaze sweeping over.
The shouting wise sage instinctively took a step back.
Setsuna smiled. "I think ensuring the safety of you esteemed lords is the priority. Don't you agree?"
The wise sage being stared at chuckled awkwardly. "Ha... haha... of course. Setsuna-sama's consideration is indeed thoughtful."
Setsuna's gaze swept over the devastated courtroom.
Blood stained the floor, soaking the luxurious carpets.
Shattered corpses were scattered about, some already unrecognizable from their former identities.
Setsuna couldn't help but sigh. "Thirteen wise sages, two judges... truly a great loss for the Soul Society."
He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and looked at the surviving wise sages. "Ah, right. With fifteen members missing from the Central 46, will it be renamed the 'Central 31' in the future? That name... feels like it lacks some majesty."
An elderly wise sage forced a faint smile. "N-no, it won't. We will promptly elect new wise sages to fill the vacancies. The Central 46 will always remain the Central 46."
"That's good," Setsuna nodded. "By the way, may I leave now? The Shin'o Academy's graduation exam isn't complete yet. My classmates also need to return and rest."
"Of course! Of course!"
"Please, go ahead!"
"We owe our thanks to Setsuna-kun this time..."
The wise sages nodded repeatedly, their tones full of sycophancy and fear.
They didn't even dare meet Setsuna's eyes, keeping their heads bowed, sending him off with the most respectful posture.
Setsuna turned. The Shin'o Academy's teachers and students, along with the surviving nobles, followed behind him.
They walked through the courtroom filled with blood and corpses, stepped over shattered family crests and scepters, and exited this building symbolizing the Soul Society's highest judicial authority.
Sunlight fell on their faces, a bit dazzling.
Only after Setsuna's figure completely disappeared at the street's end, only after confirming he would absolutely not return, did the suppressed anger and fear in the courtroom erupt like a volcano.
"He did it on purpose!" A surviving wise sage slammed his scepter on the ground. The staff symbolizing power broke in two. "He deliberately let that Menos Grande escape! He clearly had the ability to capture that monster!"
"Nurturing a threat to enhance his own importance! That's what this is!" Another judge's face was livid. "He kept that Vasto Lorde alive so we would forever fear this day!"
"What can you do about it?" A cold voice spoke up.
Everyone turned. The speaker was one of the eldest judges.
He sat in the shadows of a corner, half his face stained with splattered blood, looking like a demon crawling out of hell.
"You'll arrest him? You'll judge him?" The old judge sneered. "Don't forget what just happened. That Menos Grande didn't even dare resist in front of him. And us... hah, we couldn't even handle that Menos Grande."
He slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over each person present. "This guy is just like those Captains from the first generation of the Gotei 13… cold-blooded monsters. Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni at least follows rules, at least acknowledges the Central 46's authority. But Chiaki Setsuna? You saw it. He simply doesn't care."
The courtroom fell into dead silence.
"Moreover, the one who acted was a Hollow," The old judge continued. "We have no evidence whatsoever linking Chiaki Setsuna to that Menos Grande. On the contrary, everyone saw Chiaki Setsuna subdue him, saw Chiaki Setsuna save us. We can't even publicly accuse him of 'letting the enemy escape', because that would expose our incompetence."
He walked to the window, looking in the direction Setsuna had left. "Forget about revenge. Captain-Commander Yamamoto is at least constrained by rules, by the Soul Society's balance. But Chiaki Setsuna... he's a ruthless bastard with no f**ks to give."
"He could bind himself today to prove his innocence. Tomorrow, he could chase a Menos Grande right into our family estates. Do you think he, like Captain-Commander Yamamoto, would care about noble dignity, about the three-world balance?"
No one answered, because everyone had the answer in their hearts.
After a long silence, someone growled angrily, "It's all Sato Taishi's fault! All the Kasumioji Clan's fault! If not for them—"
"The Kasumioji Clan is a high-ranking noble family," The old judge interrupted. "And they have the Tsunayashiro Clan backing them. Do you really want to offend two major noble families at once?"
The questioner choked.
"Then what do we do? Fifteen high-ranking members are dead. Someone has to be held responsible."
The old judge turned around, a cold smile appearing on his face. "Of course, it's the Sato Family."
Everyone was taken aback.
"Sato Taishi is already dead. The Sato Family now only has a few collateral descendants. It has long declined," The old judge said slowly. "Place all the blame on the Sato family. Sato Taishi colluded with the Menos Grande. Sato Taishi brought in the Vasto Lorde. Everything, all this tragedy, is the Sato Family's fault."
He paused, adding, "As for the Kasumioji Clan... we can 'remind' them privately. If they don't want to be implicated, they'd better proactively sever all ties with the Sato Family and... make appropriate compensation."
The courtroom fell silent again. But this time, a certain consensus was brewing within the silence.
A wise sage slowly nodded. "Correct. It's all the Sato Family's fault."
"Sato Taishi's crimes are heinous. His death was deserved."
"The Sato Family should bear full responsibility for today's tragedy."
"We need to draft an announcement, explaining the truth to the entire Soul Society."
Consensus was quickly reached. Driven by fear and self-interest, these surviving high-ranking members unified their stance with astonishing efficiency.
"Ah, right," The old judge suddenly spoke. "Regarding Chiaki Setsuna's graduation exam, give him the highest evaluation. Also, in the name of the Central 46, award him the title of [Special Class Honorary Shinigami]."
Someone wanted to oppose, but the words died in their throat.