"ROSSE!"
Amid Zaraki Kenpachi's sandpaper-like mocking laughter, Kurosaki Ichigo completely snapped.
Especially the moment his eyes met Rosse's.
Not only did that man show no anger at the accusation, he looked back at him with a teasing, almost playful gaze. Then, he deliberately made an extremely provocative gesture.
His tongue slowly slid across the corner of his lips, as if savoring some unspeakably exquisite taste. [T/N: Dayum! Ragebaiting much.]
Boom!
That was the final straw. In an instant, Kurosaki Ichigo's reason was burned to ashes by the flames of humiliation and rage.
"BANKAI!"
With a roar that shook the entire meeting room, Ichigo suddenly drew his Zanpakuto. Violent black spiritual pressure erupted uncontrollably like a volcanic explosion.
"Tensa Zangetsu!"
That terrifying pressure, enough to reach the peak of captain level, surged with pitch-black lightning, about to crush the sturdy captain's conference table into powder.
However, at the very moment that world-shattering power was about to spiral out of control, something strange happened.
Almost all the captains instinctively gripped their sword hilts, ready to step in and stop this farce. Fighting inside the captains' meeting room was far beyond the rules.
But in the next second, every single one of them froze, their pupils shrinking as they watched the unbelievable scene unfold.
That violent black spiritual pressure was being forcibly dissipated at an astonishing speed, as if some invisible beast was devouring it.
Around Kurosaki Ichigo, the Bankai transformation that should have completed in an instant was abruptly interrupted mid-process.
The sleek black Shihakusho that symbolized Tensa Zangetsu's power had only formed halfway, hanging off his body like torn strips of cloth.
The dual blades Zangetsu in his hands, which were just about to take shape, flickered wildly like a projection with a bad signal.
The rampant spiritual particles that had been spilling out, enough to crush lieutenants, began to collapse inward instead. Under the keen spiritual senses of the captains, they were gradually turning into nothingness.
In the end, with a faint sound like glass shattering, all the spiritual particles sustaining his Bankai dissolved completely.
The twin blades reverted uncontrollably back to their ordinary asauchi form. The half-formed, imposing Shihakusho on his body reverted awkwardly to the captain's haori of the Thirteenth Division he had been wearing.
"What… what's going on…"
Feeling the emptiness inside his body, unable to squeeze out even a trace of spiritual pressure, Kurosaki Ichigo was completely stunned.
His hand holding the sword froze mid-air. He remained in a slashing stance, his eyes filled with confusion and fear.
Since becoming a Shinigami, no matter how powerful the enemy he faced, this was the first time he had encountered his power being erased out of thin air.
'Could it be… Kyoka Suigetsu?'
The thought flashed through his mind. Instinctively, he tried to turn his head to look toward Aizen, seated in the Fifth Division captain's position, the one who had once guided him to awaken his power, whom he had regarded as both family and mentor.
But before he could even raise his eyes, a cold voice devoid of emotion, yet unbearably familiar to his very soul, suddenly sounded from the shadows behind him.
"Sorry for causing trouble for everyone… and for His Majesty."
In that instant, Kurosaki Ichigo's entire body went rigid.
A figure dressed in the specially made pure black uniform of Hueco Mundo's Espada slowly stepped out from the shadows. Her beautiful wavy long hair floated slightly with the fluctuations of spiritual pressure. Her face, mature and stunning, was filled with cold indifference.
Kurosaki Masaki.
"Mom…"
At the sight of the figure behind him, Ichigo's voice felt like it was clogged with sand, unbearably dry.
He had imagined being knocked down by Rosse with a single finger. He had imagined being stopped by a battle maniac like Zaraki Kenpachi. He had even imagined Aizen stepping in to stop him…
But he had never, even in his wildest dreams, imagined that at this critical moment, the one who would stand in his way and personally shatter his power would be his own mother.
"Ichigo, don't let these meaningless personal matters affect the overall harmony of Soul Society."
Kurosaki Masaki's voice was so cold it felt unfamiliar, like she was reprimanding an insubordinate subordinate rather than her own son.
Then, right before Ichigo's eyes, she slowly raised a pale hand and gently pressed it against the blade of his Zanpakuto, which he hadn't fully lowered yet.
"And remember, my relationship with His Majesty is something I chose willingly."
Crack!
As those words fell, the Zanpakuto, something that should have been indestructible, instantly shattered into countless reishi under her touch, dispersing into the air, leaving only a bare hilt still tightly gripped in Kurosaki Ichigo's hand.
This was Kurosaki Masaki's ability: absolute control over reishi.
Anything constructed from reishi, even a Shinigami's very own Zanpakuto, would return to nothingness the moment she touched it.
And those reishi scattered in the air didn't even require her proximity. She could control them freely.
After finishing all this, Kurosaki Masaki didn't spare her son another glance. She turned and slipped back into the shadows behind Rosse, as if she had never appeared at all.
The meeting room fell into dead silence.
With Kurosaki Ichigo's vast reserves of spiritual pressure, once Masaki stopped suppressing him, he could have forcibly reformed his Zanpakuto and fought Rosse to the death.
But at this moment, everyone present understood.
Kurosaki Ichigo couldn't do it anymore.
That hand hadn't just erased Zangetsu's blade. It had erased the very foundation of Kurosaki Ichigo's anger and stance.
The single line, "I chose it willingly," was like a resounding slap that completely ended this farce.
If it was mutual, even affectionate, what right did he have to play the righteous avenger?
"Tch!"
Zaraki Kenpachi glanced at Kurosaki Ichigo, who looked like he'd lost his soul. He had thought he might get a proper fight, but now he could only click his tongue in boredom.
"Alright, enough of this crap. If you're gonna fight, do it. If not, wrap it up. I've already wasted enough time today on this nonsense."
Without a fight, this place was just a bunch of cowards arguing. It was sickening.
"Heh! Since everyone still seems to have opinions about me, let's stick to the usual rules. Show of hands."
Rosse chuckled softly. At this point, he couldn't even be bothered to look at Kurosaki Ichigo again.
Resting his chin on one hand, he calmly scanned the room, as if the tense confrontation just now had never happened.
"Those who want to remove me from the position of Head Captain, please raise your hands. Oh, and this time the two seniors from Squad Zero can also vote. Since you're already here."
The moment his words fell—
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Yoruichi, Kurosaki Ichigo, and Kirinji Tenjiro raised their hands decisively, though unwillingly.
And then, the room fell into a strange pause.
"Hey! Chojiro! And you, Byakuya! What's your problem?"
Yoruichi's eyes widened as she looked at the few who hadn't moved, disbelief all over her face.
She hated teammates who wavered at critical moments.
'That big dog Komamura is always indecisive, so it is one thing if he doesn't raise his hand. But you two, weren't you all fired up about justice when we talked in private?'
Sasakibe Chojiro's expression was complicated. He hesitated, but in the end, the hand that should have been raised didn't move.
"I do not wish for the situation to spiral out of control. Head Captain Yamamoto's will was to protect Soul Society, not to target Hueco Mundo. Moreover, Head Captain Yamamoto died at the hands of Kyoraku Shunsui."
He had originally believed Yamamoto was killed by Rosse. Kirinji hadn't made it clear before.
But now, it was obvious he had been misled.
More importantly, he couldn't gamble with the First Division.
Deep down, he trusted Kirinji and the others' judgment, but the First Division was the last thing Yamamoto had left behind.
At this point, he shouldn't act on personal stance, but prioritize protecting what Yamamoto left behind.
He didn't support Rosse, but he wouldn't support Kirinji either.
On the other side, Byakuya Kuchiki closed his eyes, his voice cold and firm.
"I stand on the side of Soul Society's stability. At present, although Head Captain Rosse's identity is questionable, he has not caused any substantial harm to Soul Society. On the contrary, it's your aggressive actions just now that have been damaging this hard-earned balance."
"What? Did a donkey kick your brain?"
Yoruichi laughed in anger, pointing at Byakuya's nose as she cursed.
"He's boiling the frog in warm water! He's building up strength! Once Hueco Mundo has the power to crush us effortlessly, what will your so-called balance even mean?"
"Tch! Looks like you're the one who hasn't figured it out, Captain Shihoin."
Hitsugaya Toshiro crossed his arms and cut her off with a cold snort.
"The one just now was only the Eightieth Espada. We've fought Hueco Mundo before. Ask yourselves honestly, if we were still at our previous level, even if all of us teamed up, who could beat her?"
His ice-green eyes swept across the room, showing no attempt to hide his support for Rosse.
"What, you got stronger and forgot where that strength came from? Do you not realize how we got our current Hollowfication and spiritual pressure boosts? Without Head Captain Rosse's reforms, we'd still be stuck where we were, waiting to be slaughtered by Kyoraku Shunsui and the others."
"Oh my, oh my, since there are only three votes, let's just announce the result."
Ichimaru Gin, who hadn't spoken until now, narrowed his eyes, his fox-like smile unchanged, his tone light.
"This farce has really been hard to watch."
His hands were tucked into the sleeves of his captain's haori, as if he had already seen through everything.
From the moment these people began their attack, he knew this was a farce destined to have no result.
To openly put Rosse on trial in a captains' meeting? Impossible.
From the very beginning, every step of this so-called trial, even what these people would say and how they would react, was all part of that man's script.
'Rosse… this man is just that terrifying.'
The curve of Ichimaru Gin's lips flattened slightly.
If not for his unresolved attachment to Aizen, his desire to personally settle that cause and effect, facing a monster like Rosse, he would have already chosen to completely give up.
Rather than oppose someone who crushed others not just in strength but whose mind was like an abyss, it was better to lie low and follow along.
As long as you behaved obediently, you might even secure a decent position in the new world Rosse would build. Why struggle?
In this hopeless closed loop, blind resistance led only to death.
After all, Rosse was even more terrifying than Lord Aizen.
"Since only three votes agree…"
Rosse shrugged slightly, scanning the room with an easy tone.
"Then unfortunately, it seems I'm doing a passable job as Head Captain. If you truly want to remove me, feel free to gather more captains. Of course, that's assuming you can find them."
"This kind of vote is meaningless!"
Kirinji Tenjiro dropped back into his chair, unwillingness written all over his face. The Zanpakuto that had been ready to be drawn was slammed heavily onto the table.
"Most of the people sitting here are already tied to you. No matter what I say, no matter how far you go, there's no way a majority would agree to remove you."
He glared at Rosse, his tone filled with reluctant compromise.
"At the very least, we should have some way to supervise you, right? Don't forget, your essence is that of a Hollow King. No matter how well you behave, that won't change. Even if others support you now, they don't want to see you go out of control someday," Kirinji truly felt a sense of absurd frustration.
He never expected that even after revealing Rosse's identity as the Hollow King, so many would still stand on his side.
'Are these captains brainless?'
'Supporting a Hollow to lead the very Shinigami who feed on Hollows, isn't that courting disaster?'
"Senior Kirinji, it seems you've stayed in the Royal Palace for too long. You really don't understand how the Gotei Thirteen operates."
Rosse let out a soft laugh, shaking his head as if looking at a naive child.
"When the Gotei Thirteen was first established, Central 46 was indeed given authority to supervise captains and even the Head Captain. But that authority itself was granted by Head Captain Yamamoto. If the Head Captain doesn't want it, that supervision has no real effect. It only exists on paper."
He leaned forward, his deep eyes locking onto Kirinji.
"Fine, let's take a step back. I could have Captain Kurotsuchi's Twelfth Division monitor my every move around the clock. I have the courage to let them monitor me. But the question is, would you dare trust the results he gives you?"
"In your eyes, he's my man, isn't he?"
Seeing Kirinji fall silent, Rosse's smile deepened.
"Or perhaps you, Kirinji, would personally take charge of monitoring me?"
"Then why don't you ask the other captains here, how many of them would believe your one-sided claims? Wouldn't they think you're abusing your position for personal vendettas and fabricating evidence?"
"This kind of supervision over the highest authority… was meaningless from the very beginning."
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