"You?"
Kyoraku looked at Toshiro in surprise.
Although Toshiro, as the Vice-Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, does have the authority to issue an emergency assembly order like Yamamoto, he rarely uses this power.
Because there's simply no need. Although Toshiro can exercise some of the Captain-Commander's powers, with Yamamoto usually around, there's no need for him to overstep his bounds.
Usually, except when Yamamoto assigns some of the Captain-Commander's duties to Toshiro to train his abilities, Toshiro generally just handles the 10th Division's affairs, behaving no differently from an ordinary captain.
For Toshiro to proactively issue an emergency assembly order like this is definitely a very strange thing.
"Then where is Genryusai-sensei? Why don't we need to wait for him?"
Ukitake noticed the deeper meaning in Toshiro's words.
"Genryusai-sensei has disappeared."
Toshiro said solemnly.
"What!"
"Old Man Yama has disappeared!"
"How could Captain-Commander suddenly disappear?"
Hearing Toshiro's words, everyone was shocked.
"Here's what happened. Earlier, when I went to see Genryusai-sensei, I found the gate of the 1st Division wide open. Realizing something was wrong, I immediately went to his office to look for him. But only Lieutenant Sasakibe was there, injured and unconscious on the floor. Genryusai-sensei was gone."
Toshiro explained.
"Lieutenant Sasakibe was injured and unconscious, which means Old Man Yama didn't go out because he had business elsewhere... He might have been forced to go out, or even kidnapped... But who could possibly kidnap him? Such a person shouldn't exist..."
Kyoraku said worriedly.
Although he usually calls Yamamoto 'Old Man Yama' in a disrespectful way, he actually respects and cares about him deeply in his heart.
Just then, Unohana stepped forward and said, "Now that Captain-Commander Yamamoto is absent, the Gotei 13 cannot be left leaderless. I suggest that Vice-Captain-Commander Hitsugaya Toshiro act as Temporary Captain-Commander, leading everyone to investigate the truth behind his disappearance. What does everyone think?"
"Toshiro as acting Captain-Commander?"
Kyoraku was stunned for a moment, then nodded and said, "Mm, if it's Toshiro, I have no problem."
Ukitake also agreed: "Toshiro is already the Vice-Captain-Commander. Now that Genryusai-sensei, the Captain-Commander, is absent, it is only right for Toshiro to temporarily act as Captain-Commander."
Sui-Feng said simply: "Agreed."
Byakuya, with his usual unchanging icy expression: "Toshiro is fine."
Komamura agreed: "Hitsugaya-dono is the successor personally chosen by Yamamoto-dono. I naturally have no problem."
Mayuri waved his hand nonchalantly: "This kind of thing fundamentally doesn't matter. You all decide for yourselves."
The 3rd, 5th, and 9th Divisions had no Captains. Zaraki was nowhere to be found, as when Toshiro issued the emergency assembly order via Hell Butterfly, he couldn't be located.
None of the remaining Captains objected, so the matter of Toshiro temporarily acting as Captain-Commander was thus decided.
"Everyone, the matter of temporarily acting as Captain-Commander isn't important right now. What's important is to find Genryusai-sensei's whereabouts and figure out what happened and who the enemy is."
Even if he were truly made Captain-Commander, Toshiro wouldn't be particularly happy. The position of Captain-Commander doesn't just represent power, it also means more work and more responsibility. Toshiro isn't too keen on being Captain-Commander either. It's just that someone has to succeed Yamamoto, and Toshiro happens to be the most suitable one.
"Captain Hitsugaya, do you have any clues about this enemy?"
Unohana asked.
"Mm, speaking of that, I do have some clues."
Toshiro mused.
"In fact, the reason I suddenly went to see Genryusai-sensei was that I discovered something unusual and wanted to discuss it with him."
"Today, after handling the 10th Division's work, I took the opportunity to train my Zanpakuto's power."
At this point, Kyoraku suddenly interjected: "Well, everyone probably knows about that. After all, the sky suddenly went dark in broad daylight. It's hard not to notice. And when it comes to abilities that can change the weather, the first thing that comes to mind is naturally your Hyorinmaru, Toshiro."
Nanao beside him snorted coldly: "Hmph! So you did know it was just Captain Hitsugaya's ability! Then how could you brazenly say things like 'since it's dark, sleeping is only natural'?"
"Cough..."
Shunsui Kyoraku cleared his throat lightly to hide his embarrassment, then changed the subject: "Toshiro, you mentioned Zanpakuto just now... Could this incident possibly be related to them?"
Toshiro said seriously: "That's right. Earlier, while training my Zanpakuto's power, I suddenly lost control. My connection with Hyorinmaru was interrupted. Although it was only for an instant, given my level of control over my power, this shouldn't have happened."
"And if it were just me, it could be dismissed as an accident. But afterwards, I learned that Matsumoto's and Lieutenant Kotetsu's Zanpakuto also had problems. Some were sluggish, some completely unresponsive to their owner's call."
"If it were only me, it could be called an accident. But for multiple people to experience this simultaneously is definitely not normal. So I wanted to report this to Genryusai-sensei, but in the end, I found him gone."
Hearing Toshiro's words, Byakuya suddenly stepped forward and said: "Actually, my Senbonzakura has also exhibited similar problems."
"What! Byakuya's Zanpakuto also has problems?"
Ukitake exclaimed in surprise.
"Mm. Today, I had a sparring match with Renji. But after using Bankai, Senbonzakura's power suddenly went out of control. The scattered blades cut my right hand."
As he spoke, Byakuya extended his right hand, revealing a small scratch on the back of it.
"Even Byakuya's Zanpakuto has shown the same situation. This is definitely not just a coincidence anymore."
Kyoraku said with a grave expression.
"Zanpakuto are showing abnormalities, and then Genryusai-sensei disappears. I think there's likely a connection between these two things. But for now, everyone should test their own Zanpakuto and see if they have also shown abnormalities."
Toshiro suggested.
"Mm, that's a good idea."
With that, Kyoraku drew his Zanpakuto, preparing to release it.
However, just then, a thick fog suddenly rose, enveloping everyone.
"Heh heh heh... Don't waste your effort. Zanpakuto are no longer your companions."
A cold laugh came from within the white mist.