"Kurosaki Ichigo's father is Shiba Isshin."
Rosse lightly tapped his fingers on the table. He didn't give any lengthy explanation, only tossed out this seemingly casual remark.
"He was the previous captain of the Tenth Division. I assume none of you are unfamiliar with that name."
For a brief moment, the air in the conference room seemed to freeze.
The captains present, even the youngest among them, had all heard of the former captain of the Tenth Division from back then.
Seeing the look of sudden understanding appear in everyone's eyes, Rosse said nothing further.
He had no obligation to carry the banner for the already fallen Shiba family. Even Shiba Kukaku herself had long since stopped caring about the former glory of her clan.
The reason he chose this moment to point out that connection was purely to complete the logical chain.
Kurosaki Ichigo had indeed made contributions in the previous battle, but when he transformed into a Hollow earlier, he had also very much demolished quite a few buildings in Seireitei.
Shiba Kukaku was willing to compensate for Kurosaki Ichigo and allow him to ascend to the position of captain. If there were no blood ties backing it up, it would instead arouse suspicion.
Now that the truth had been revealed, everything naturally fell into place.
"Next, the fourth point."
Rosse paused briefly before continuing.
"From today onward, anyone who enters the ranks of captain within the Gotei 13 will be granted the title of High Noble, regardless of background. Their prestige will be second only to the Top Nobles, and it will remain so until they step down from their post."
"If their term exceeds five hundred years, or if three consecutive generations of their family serve as captains, that family will obtain the permanent hereditary qualification of a High Noble."
At this point, Rosse's lips curved into a meaningful smile as his gaze swept across the captains present, most of whom had risen from humble origins.
"In other words, everyone here, aside from Captain Kuchiki and Captain Shihoin who are already nobles by birth… from today onward, congratulations. You have all become the new elites of Soul Society."
As soon as those words were spoken, the expressions in the meeting room varied.
Kenpachi Zaraki let out a snort of laughter, clearly having no interest in this kind of empty title.
But Shinigami who had grown up under traditional customs, like Hitsugaya and Komamura Sajin, showed a trace of complicated emotion in their eyes.
This wasn't just a title.
It meant that those old nobles who once stood high above everyone else, treating the commoners of Rukongai like weeds while possessing no real strength, had finally been swept into the trash heap of history.
Replacing them were these captains who truly held power and protected Soul Society.
This was the victory of strength.
"Ara~ If that's the case, then the so-called Top Nobles probably aren't permanent either, are they?", Ichimaru Gin, who had been watching the whole show with narrowed eyes, suddenly spoke up. His signature Kansai accent carried a thick tone of teasing.
"If they no longer meet the strength requirements, will they also be kicked out of that circle?", From his point of view, this was simply too amusing.
As the King of Hueco Mundo, Rosse was now acting like a diligent reformer, earnestly planning what seemed like a bright future for Soul Society.
The extreme contrast and absurdity of it almost made him laugh out loud.
Would Soul Society really even have another five hundred years?
"That's right."
Rosse nodded with complete seriousness, confirming Gin's guess.
"Power must match strength. There is no such thing as permanence for Top Nobles. Once a family declines and no longer has multiple captains to support it, it will automatically be downgraded to High Noble, or even Lower Noble."
In fact, this proposal had been actively put forward by Kuchiki Byakuya.
However, whether it came from absolute confidence in his own family, or from disdain for sharing the future with families who held noble titles without matching ability, no one could say.
In any case, among the once glorious and illustrious Five Great Noble Families, after this reshuffling the only family that truly remained standing and still held real power was the Kuchiki clan.
The Shiba family still carried the name of a top noble, but in reality they barely had any members left.
"Fifth point."
Rosse's voice continued, constructing the next layer of this pyramid.
"The same applies to vice-captains. During their tenure, they will be granted the title of Middle Noble. As for Lower Nobles, they will be formed by those former High and Middle Nobles who are downgraded after stepping down."
In truth, this seemingly complete and vibrant promotion system was nothing more than a castle in the air.
According to Rosse's plan, Soul Society had at most one year left to exist.
The so-called five-hundred-year tenure or three-generation inheritance was merely a tempting cake drawn on the wall, one that could never actually be eaten.
Even so, he presented it without altering a single detail.
Because the rounder and more appealing that cake looked, the harder these people would work to maintain this new order.
"So what about privileges?"
A cold voice suddenly cut in.
A greedy smile appeared on Kurotsuchi Mayuri's face, which was covered in thick paint. His mismatched pupils stared fixedly at Rosse.
"If it's just an empty title without any real authority, then being a noble wouldn't taste very good, would it?"
He didn't care about honor at all.
What he cared about were the rights the nobles once had, the legal privilege that allowed them to casually arrest civilians from Rukongai and use them for experiments.
Of course Rosse understood what he was thinking.
"In principle, within the jurisdiction of each of your divisions, you will obtain a piece of legally recognized private territory."
Rosse calmly threw out the most tempting bargaining chip.
"Although the territory belongs to the division, its internal administrative authority belongs to the individual. However, population movement must follow the principle of voluntariness. In other words, the souls within that territory can only become that noble's retainers or employees if they personally agree."
"Hehehe! That's good! That's very good!"
Mayuri rubbed his hands together excitedly, his grin rather chilling.
With this layer of legal cover, using his methods to make those ignorant Rukongai souls sign voluntary consent forms would be easier than crushing an ant.
The issue of experimental materials had finally been solved legally.
He knew it. Standing firmly on Rosse's side would bring him the reward he wanted.
The captains around him reacted differently.
Some frowned deeply, like Komamura Sajin and Hitsugaya, clearly seeing the hidden dangers within.
Others showed faint smiles, like Ichimaru Gin and Aizen, as if they didn't care about the problems at all.
But among everyone present, not a single person raised an objection.
This was the power of binding interests.
This privilege wasn't granted only to Mayuri. It was granted to everyone sitting there.
If someone jumped out to oppose it, that meant opposing the entire group of beneficiaries, in other words, all their colleagues.
Offending a large number of colleagues over some supposed moral purity was obviously not a wise choice.
Besides, that principle of voluntariness also gave those captains with a conscience room to maneuver.
If they truly couldn't stand some of Mayuri's excessive behavior, they could strictly regulate matters within their own jurisdictions, or even send people to warn the souls not to go near Mayuri's territory.
This subtle balance and restraint was exactly what Rosse wanted to see.
"Since none of you have objections, the New Nobility Act will take effect immediately," Rosse did not linger on this topic for long.
He didn't actually have much real interest in the distribution of these powers.
No matter how beautifully power was described, one still needed time to enjoy it.
There was less than a year left until Yhwach's return. After that would be the moment he delivered the final curtain to Soul Society.
Compared to that, there was something that interested him much more.
If the system wanted this world to become better, and both the upper and lower classes also wanted this world to become better, then what kind of method could be used to destroy that system from within?
He had already completed the foundation of the new era.
After some time passed, it would be his turn to become the destroyer and give Soul Society a proper lesson.
[🎉 Shoutout to Little_Demon, Thanh, WetWatee, Slashdog, Darklouche and Michael for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]
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