1st Division, Meeting Room.
A Captains' Meeting was currently in session.
Thump!
Yamamoto forcefully tapped the ground with his cane.
"—Now that everyone is present... Captain Shiba, and... Hitsugaya Toshiro, please explain that matter once more to everyone here," Yamamoto said, looking at Isshin and Toshiro standing before him.
Isshin and Toshiro exchanged a glance. Then, Isshin stepped forward. "The origin of this incident stems from a report our 10th Division received. Last month, in one of the ten cities under our jurisdiction in the living world, Narumishi City, there was..."
...
"—That concludes the full report." After recounting the entire sequence of events in one breath, Isshin felt quite parched.
"...Understood. Although acting without authorization violates Gotei 13's regulations, constituting a fault, the primary aim was to prevent further casualties and minimize team member sacrifice. Moreover, the damage to the Living World was kept to a mild extent. Therefore..."
"...This violation of regulations will not be pursued further!" Regarding Isshin and Toshiro's unauthorized deployment, Yamamoto chose not to press the issue.
Hearing this, both Toshiro and Isshin couldn't help but sigh in relief.
Acting without permission was, strictly speaking, an offense punishable for both Toshiro and Isshin.
"That's great...!!" Unable to contain himself upon learning there would be no punishment, Isshin cheered.
Seeing Isshin's animated reaction, Yamamoto shot him a 'benevolent' look.
"No... it's not like that... Anyway… Thank you very much!!" Isshin hurriedly bowed deeply in gratitude.
Seeing Isshin's comical demeanor, the other Captains found it hard to suppress their amusement.
"Hmph!"
Kurotsuchi Mayuri, Captain of the 12th Division and Director of the Research and Development Bureau, snorted coldly.
"I, however, believe failing to recover the remains of that 'mysterious Hollow' is sufficient grounds for an offense."
For Mayuri, hearing about such a unique Hollow made his heart itch. Being unable to properly study it left him feeling extremely dissatisfied.
"Enough. The matter of violating regulations with unauthorized deployment ends here. No further discussion is needed," Yamamoto interjected, stopping Mayuri.
"Additionally... the report only mentions abnormalities regarding the Hollow... I shall assume nothing has been omitted, correct...?" Yamamoto glanced at the report in his hand, handed to him by Isshin before the other Captains arrived.
It only detailed the pitch-black Hollow, the one Aizen and Tosen called 'White', without mentioning anything else.
"...There-are-no-other-matters-requiring-specific-documentation, correct?" Yamamoto asked again, enunciating each word deliberately with an unreadable expression.
Faced with this question, Isshin, for some reason, suddenly thought of Masaki again.
Masaki, wounded by White, still harbored traces of its power within her. If this were discovered, the Soul Society, to research the truth about White, might act against Masaki's interests. Mayuri alone, once aware of Masaki's situation, would undoubtedly try every means to capture and dissect her like a lab rat.
Thinking this, Isshin, as if guided by an unseen force, answered, "...Yes. There is nothing else."
He then subtly shot a glance at Toshiro beside him, signaling him not to reveal Masaki's secret. Toshiro gave an almost imperceptible nod, indicating he wouldn't speak of Masaki.
"Hmm. In that case, we shall dispatch personnel to continue investigating that Hollow. This meeting is adjourned. Everyone may return," Yamamoto stated.
Subsequently, the Captains, the pinnacle of the Soul Society, filed out. Toshiro and Isshin also headed towards the 10th Division.
However, halfway there, Toshiro suddenly stopped.
"Captain, you go back first. I still have something to report to the Captain-Commander," Toshiro said.
"Hey! Toshiro... you're not planning to reveal Ms. Kurosaki's situation, are you?" Isshin immediately grew tense.
"That won't do! You agreed earlier not to talk about Ms. Kurosaki. You can't go back on your word, even if you only signaled agreement with your eyes..." Isshin began chattering incessantly.
"Yare yare, it seems love truly lowers one's IQ," Toshiro sighed helplessly.
Then, he said to Isshin, "Captain, you're so focused on your Ms. Kurosaki, have you forgotten about the mastermind behind this incident?"
Isshin suddenly understood. "You mean..."
"Yes. Based on my confrontation with him, although he tried hard to conceal it, my judgment suggests the other party is most likely... a Shinigami!" Toshiro stated.
Isshin also said gravely, "I think so too. Before you arrived, he ambushed and wounded me. Judging from my injuries, the weapon used was most likely a Zanpakuto."
"In that case, Captain, I'll head to the 1st Division again. You return first."
…
1st Division, Duty Room.
Creak!
The duty room door suddenly opened.
"It's you, Toshiro," Yamamoto, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them and said.
"Yes, Genryusai-sensei," Toshiro entered.
"Now that you're here, tell me everything about this incident truthfully. Don't conceal things like Captain Shiba did," Yamamoto stated.
"Oh? How did you know Captain was concealing something, Sensei?" Toshiro asked.
"Hmph!" Yamamoto snorted disdainfully. "That boy Isshin is still too green to hide things from me."
"Earlier, an immense Reiatsu erupted in the Living World, even causing the entire space there to tremble. Although fleeting, hiding it from me is impossible. The owner of that Reiatsu was you, wasn't it, Toshiro?"
Without waiting for Toshiro's answer, Yamamoto continued, "Such powerful Reiatsu... aside from myself, no one else in the Soul Society should be stronger than you. If it were merely an abnormal Hollow, it shouldn't have necessitated you unleashing such power. You must have battled someone else at the time, correct?"
"Correct. Besides the Hollow, there was a mastermind controlling it!" Toshiro said with a grave expression.
"A mastermind?!" A glint flashed in Yamamoto's eyes.
"Why wasn't this mentioned during the earlier Captains' Meeting?" Yamamoto asked.
"Because the mastermind... is a Shinigami from the Soul Society!!"
"And the most likely suspects... are the Captains of the Gotei 13...!!" Toshiro stated impassively.