Within the quiet yet tense atmosphere of the Seireitei, all available Shinigami were patrolling the whole court. Now that the wall protecting them has returned to the Royal Palace and most of the Captains and Lieutenants had left for a massive operation against Hell, no one was able to calm themselves down and this was especially true for the nobles who are now feeling very defenseless.
Because of that, they had no choice but to reveal the hidden forces they'd been gathering in the shadows.
"This is totally absurd." Nanao murmured while looking from the veranda of the 1st Division barracks, "Who would have thought that they'd have gathered this much? No wonder we were having a hard time securing and replenishing our manpower these last few years."
Nanao heard several people walking up from behind her but she didn't turn around because she knew who they were, "That's not all, Nanao-chan. The prison that the 2nd Division has been managing has been cleared out through the years."
Nanao's eyes widened, and faced the man who spoke to her, her Captain, "T-then..." And by turning around, she also saw the other three people behind him, two of them with shackled arms and necks.
Kyouraku was also looking at the same scenery as Nanao and asked, "They were being funneled towards the nobles, right, Soifon-san?"
One of the shackled people remained expressionless and answered, "If you think I can stop them just because I'm a Captain and control the Onmitsukidou then you're giving me too much faith. One word from the Central 46 is enough to shut me up."
Kyouraku sighed and was disappointed that he couldn't deny that. He turned around and faced Soifon, Shinji, and Mayuri. Obviously, the former two were the ones shackled, "I didn't think you'd be roped in like this."
"I also didn't think I'd be like this too." Shinji answered with an annoyed expression, "Apparently, someone reported that I was seen with Soifon meeting suspicious people."
Shinji turned to Soifon. At first, he could see her struggling trying to remove the shackles. However, it seems that these shackles are specially crafted to contain Magic and Ki which he heard about from Soifon.
'In the first place, we wouldn't have ended up like this if not for a sudden surprise attack by this guy.' Shinji turned to Mayuri with a glare.
"Don't resent me. If it was an order directly from the Zero Division. I can't say no to it even if I want to." Mayuri guessed what was on his mind and answered.
Shinji sighed and stopped glaring at him since his words were true. Unfortunately, he'd regret ever thinking that and his blood pressure would spike up again when he heard his next words.
"It was me who reported your suspicious meeting, though."
"Huh!? So it was you!?"
But Mayuri couldn't entertain the angry Shinji when he felt the atmosphere around Kyouraku getting colder, "Hmmm... Why is this the first time I've heard of this?"
From the pressure Kyouraku was emitting, it was obvious to everyone, especially Nanao that he was very angry right now, 'This... I can understand. Captain Kurotsuchi is essentially spitting on his authority as the Captain Commander right now.'
Nevertheless, Mayuri was a bit intimidated and even sharpened his eyes at him, "Captain Commander... You do realize that you're more suspicious than Captain Hirako here."
Kyouraku furrowed his brows and couldn't say anything back for a few moments. But it also became obvious that something else was going on when Mayuri saw the forced poker face that Nanao was making.
"Captain Commander, all these years, you've been far too passive. It was too passive that it allowed the nobles to gather that much force for themselves. Aren 't you worried that they'll force the weakened Gotei 13 to sink further?"
Still, no words came out from Kyouraku.
"Too bad that this fear of yours only fueled their ambitions."
The first sound that Kyouraku made was by clicking his tongue, "Tch... So they intend to replace the Gotei 13?"
"They've wanted to take back the military power. Instead of the Gotei 13 where they only have limited control in times of emergency, they'd rather have faithful servants regardless of the occasion. The death of the former Captain Commander only revived those old desires."
Kyouraku's serious expression changed into a wry smile filled with lamentation, "So that's why the operation to route old man Yamamoto and the others was approved in an instant."
"Yes. They fear his return. And for some reason, the Zero Division has the same opinion as them so it was an easy choice for them. With an unspoken agreement, the Zero Division, on purpose or not, ended up approving of what they wanted to happen."
Kyouraku was suddenly craving some drink right now, "The fact that you know all of these... They were able to reel you in?"
Not just Nanao, but also Soifon and Shinji glared at him.
Even then, Mayuri was not affected, "My loyalty lies in the Sereitei. Gotei 13 or not, it's the same Seireitei in the end."
"How did you come in contact with them?" Soifon curiously asked. She knew for sure that not all nobles wanted to replace the Gotei 13 and she actually has been working behind the scenes to find out who these people are. While she was able to figure out their tail, Soifon still had no idea of where the head was.
She has a feeling that he's the one who initiated the contact because she knows for sure that these nobles are actually very afraid of the Captain of the 12th Division for what he can do.
Mayuri smiled in response and said while turning back, "It was thanks to her."
Immediately after several steps echoed and a woman with long black hair, wearing standard Onmitsukidou attire appeared.
Seeing her, Soifon immediately recognized her, "You?". It was one of the best assassins they discovered a year ago who came by the name 'Hime', 'So she was a spy...' Soifon wanted to ask her who are the nobles behind her but immediately stopped after noticing something amiss, 'Hmm?'
Upon closer inspection, Soifon immediately noticed what was a strange point about her and her eyes opened wide in surprise, "This..."
She didn't know what to say or what to make out of it but when she turned back to Mayuri, Soifon also saw him making a surprised expression, "Huh?"
Mayuri was certain that Soifon noticed so there was no point in hiding it and asked, "What now?"
"Cut the crap. That guy is about to flip the whole table." The black-haired woman answered with a nonchalant voice.
"My... And here I was, still trying to push everyone into a corner. Couldn't he delay it for a bit longer?"
"Don't ask me that. I'm not exactly sure what's going on down there either."
Confused by this turn of events and the contents of their conversation, Shinji leaned into Soifon who seemed to have noticed something, and asked, "What's going on?"
"...That woman... She has a Magic Body."
This time, it was Kyouraku, Nanao, and Shinji who were surprised, "Huh? Magic Body? Kurotsuchi already has that kind of technology?"
Soifon wanted to answer no because the aura surrounding her reminded her of exactly three people, Ophis, Lilith, and Flanna.
She couldn't explain but she didn't have to due to the event unfolding in front of their eyes.
"So what are you going to do now?" Mayuri asked, "There's no way up there now. I doubt they'd left any doors open after they left."
"Don't worry. We have a battering ram."
"Battering ram? A battering ram that's enough to poke holes through all those barriers and thick walls?"
The woman just nodded.
The next instant, another person jumped up to the veranda. With her swaying and flaming red hair, she introduced herself with a wide smile, "Hello~ Battering ram here~!"
"Flanna!?" Soifon yelled.