One Piece: The Living Devil

Chapter 772: This Is the Victory of Democracy

From the moment Ichigo stepped out of the Fifth Division captain's office, the situation in Soul Society seemed to hit the fast-forward button and rapidly spiral downhill.

After Rosse took over as Head Captain, he rolled out a series of new policies.

On paper, many of them sounded perfectly reasonable.

For example, division autonomy. Or directly delegating control of the Rukongai districts to each division.

But the flaw in any system lies in the people enforcing it.

If even one of the thirteen captains turned out to be a reckless madman, then that seemingly ideal decentralization would instantly become a disaster.

———

[Ten days later, Tenth Division, Captains' Conference Room]

This time, the one who called for the meeting wasn't Head Captain Rosse, but Seventh Division Captain Komamura Sajin.

The atmosphere in the conference room felt frozen solid, the tension so thick it was practically ready to ignite.

Komamura Sajin stood stiffly in place, his massive frame taut, eyes wide with fury as he glared at the seat diagonally across from him.

At the end of his line of sight, Ichigo sat leaning sideways against his chair, one hand propping up his chin.

He didn't even bother looking directly at Komamura. His unfocused gaze rested lazily on the table in front of him, his face filled with detached indifference.

"Ichigo… have you lost your mind?"

Unable to hold back any longer, Komamura finally shattered the silence, his voice low and rough like a growl forced through clenched teeth.

"Me?"

Ichigo raised his eyelids slightly, his tone completely flat.

"What did I do that makes me crazy?"

"You still have the nerve to ask?"

Komamura slammed a massive hand onto the table.

"There are three hundred and sixty districts in the Rukongai in total. Your Thirteenth Division was assigned jurisdiction over twenty-seven of them. And in just these few days, the five districts closest to the Seireitei under your control have already been reduced to complete ruins! Don't tell me you know nothing about it!"

The moment those words fell, several captains who had been resting with their eyes closed or only half-paying attention immediately opened their eyes and looked toward Ichigo.

Aside from the few captains who had secretly been keeping tabs on him, most of the others were only learning about this now.

A low murmur spread through the conference room.

To be honest, five districts meant millions of souls.

Erasing several million lives in one go… that was vicious to a horrifying degree.

Facing everyone's gaze, Ichigo merely straightened up slowly and spread his hands.

"So what? Those were the Rukongai districts under the Thirteenth Division's jurisdiction. According to the rules, the other divisions have neither reason nor authority to interfere in my territory, do they?"

"They're ruins! Then what about those souls? Where did they go?"

Komamura ground his teeth so hard they audibly creaked.

"The souls…", Ichigo dragged out the words as his eyes swept across everyone present before calmly delivering his answer, "I turned every last one of them into Hollows."

"You really have gone insane!"

Hearing that response, Komamura froze in place as though struck by lightning.

And he wasn't the only one. The expressions of several other captains changed as well.

Hollows transformed from ordinary souls inevitably became the lowest class of Hollows, chaotic, mindless creatures with no spiritual foundation whatsoever.

Most importantly, that transformation meant they had completely lost their nature as souls. It was equivalent to permanently falling into Hollowhood, never to reincarnate again.

That was entirely different from a Shinigami undergoing Hollowfication.

"What's there to make such a fuss about?"

Ichigo let out a mocking laugh, the ridicule at the corners of his mouth completely undisguised.

"Aren't all of you here combinations of Hollow and Shinigami too? Hollows and Shinigami are fundamentally the same thing, aren't they? If we're all the same, then why do you think I'm crazy?"

Those words were something Rosse himself had once said during a meeting. They were also the method Aizen had taught him over the past ten days to break the deadlock.

Since the entire Seireitei was pretending everything was peaceful under Rosse's overwhelming authority, then Ichigo would personally rip away that mask.

First, he would turn all the souls within the Thirteenth Division's jurisdiction into Hollows. And if the other divisions still chose to play deaf and dumb, then his next step would be to start transforming the districts under their control too.

Aizen had told him that this social experiment engulfing all of Soul Society was fundamentally built on one thing: From the very beginning, Rosse would judge everything from the standpoint of absolute fairness and impartial rules.

As long as Ichigo's actions did not violate any regulation personally established by Rosse, then no matter how monstrous or immoral those actions were, Rosse would never punish him.

And clearly, turning souls into Hollows did not violate Rosse's rules.

From the perspective of the old Gotei Thirteen, transforming souls into Hollows was naturally a grave crime.

But now, every captain present possessed Hollow nature within them, and Rosse himself was the Hollow King.

Since everyone was already part Hollow, on what grounds could Rosse object to souls becoming Hollows?

"Head Captain Rosse!"

Komamura stopped paying attention to Ichigo and abruptly slammed the table as he stood.

"Ichigo's thinking has become dangerously twisted! I propose we immediately place him under imprisonment and investigation!"

"What law of the new Soul Society have I violated?", Ichigo leaned back in his chair and coldly shot back.

"You Hollowfied millions of souls!", Komamura glared at him furiously.

"There's no rule saying souls can't be Hollowfied," Ichigo refused to give an inch, "Didn't we undergo Hollowfication ourselves? So officials can set fires but commoners can't light lamps?"

Everyone's gaze instinctively shifted toward Sixth Division Captain Kuchiki Byakuya.

Among everyone present, others might not remember every last complicated regulation, but this noble model certainly could recite them word for word.

"There is indeed no such rule."

Byakuya shook his head expressionlessly and gave an impartial answer.

His eyes lowered slightly, and he didn't spare Ichigo an extra glance.

He had never cared much for lower-class souls to begin with.

Especially recently, because of Rosse's identity as the Hollow King, massive division and turmoil had erupted within the Kuchiki family.

Every day, he was already overwhelmed suppressing the family's internal conflicts. He had neither the time nor the energy to concern himself with the fate of Rukongai.

As long as Ichigo didn't go even further off the rails, Byakuya was perfectly willing to ignore it.

"Fine. If there's no explicit rule against that, then using souls for experiments should still count as a serious crime, shouldn't it?", Komamura stubbornly pressed the point.

"Keh! Heh! Heh! Heh!"

A shrill burst of laughter rang out from the Twelfth Division's side. Kurotsuchi Mayuri folded his arms and sneered at Komamura.

"Captain Komamura, your information is badly outdated. The restriction against experimenting on souls was already removed when Head Captain Rosse revised the laws after taking office."

"That's bullshit! There's no way a righteous rule like protecting souls would be abolished! I've never heard of this!", Komamura roared.

"Captain Kurotsuchi is correct. It was indeed removed. Though to be precise, it can't exactly be called abolition," First Division Captain Sasakibe Chojiro clasped his hands before him as he explained in a rigid, icy tone, "After the Seireitei announced the abolition of noble privilege, the Head Captain proposed a supplementary clause. Official members of the Gotei Thirteen would automatically inherit and possess all rights previously held by the nobility. And in the old Seireitei, nobles were legally permitted to slaughter souls for the sake of their own interests. That has been the rule since ancient times."

Ignoring the shock in Komamura's eyes, Sasakibe continued stating the facts.

This cold-blooded rule had been established during Head Captain Yamamoto's era, and naturally remained tacitly approved and valid now.

Nobles could freely kill and abuse ordinary souls. Even lower-ranking Shinigami could be legally erased if a noble so desired.

Now, the only thing that had changed was the identity of the people exercising those rights, the Gotei Thirteen Shinigami themselves.

And Ichigo was now one of the Seireitei's new nobles.

"Damn it!"

Komamura clenched his fists tightly and slammed them against the wooden table.

It felt like something was lodged in his chest, suffocating him with pressure and pain.

Suddenly, he turned toward Rosse seated at the head position, the last trace of hope burning in his eyes.

"Head Captain Rosse! Are you really going to stand by and do nothing while such unjust atrocities are committed?"

Rosse rested his cheek on one hand as he looked down over the crowd, his gentle voice carrying clearly throughout the room.

"According to the current rules, Captain Kurosaki is not at fault."

The light in Komamura's eyes instantly dimmed.

He took a deep breath, his hand already gripping the hilt of his Zanpakuto.

If the rules could not punish him, then Komamura would personally seek justice for those millions of souls with his own strength.

Just as he was about to draw his blade, Rosse spoke again.

"However…"

Everyone's attention snapped back to him.

"Personally, I believe Ichigo's large-scale Hollowfication of souls severely damages the future reserve manpower and overall strength of the Gotei Thirteen. From the standpoint of the Head Captain, I believe his actions are wrong."

The smile at the corner of Rosse's lips faded, his tone turning sharp and murderous.

"Therefore, I hereby initiate a vote. Should Ichigo be stripped of his position as Captain of the Thirteenth Division and sentenced to execution?"

Hearing Rosse personally initiate a death penalty vote, the despair in Komamura's heart instantly reignited into hope. He was the first to raise his hand high, looking at the other captains with eager anticipation.

Several million lives had been massacred. Faced with such obvious evil and injustice, no matter how much these captains schemed against one another normally, surely they would agree now?

At this moment, Komamura's feelings were almost identical to how Yoruichi and Kirinji had felt when Rosse publicly exposed his identity as the Hollow King before everyone.

He desperately needed support from his comrades.

Ichigo sat calmly in his chair on the surface, but when he saw Rosse and Hitsugaya raise their hands one after another, cold sweat still unconsciously seeped down his back.

After all, the current captains' conference was essentially Rosse's personal domain.

Not only was Rosse unfathomably powerful, but his authority and intimidation were overwhelming. The moment he raised his hand, the psychological pressure on Ichigo became terrifying.

Yet second after second passed.

As Ichigo's eyes swept across the long table, the tension in his muscles slowly eased.

In the end, only a handful of people raised their hands.

'Sure enough. Everything is happening exactly as Aizen-sensei predicted.'

Komamura's eyes widened further and further as he rapidly counted the raised hands.

Rosse, Hitsugaya, Unohana, Kuchiki Byakuya, Tosen Kaname and he, himself.

Only six in total.

Just one vote short of the majority needed to pass the resolution.

"Why?"

Komamura immediately glared at the captains whose hands remained calmly resting on the table.

"Sasakibe! Those were millions of lives! Why aren't you raising your hand?"

"Those rules were left behind by Head Captain Yamamoto. Noble privilege is not to be violated. Since the rules were established, they should not be casually overturned or punished due to personal sympathy."

Sasakibe Chojiro answered calmly without even looking at Komamura.

In his world, there were only rules.

He lacked broad-minded ideals, nor did he carry the world on his shoulders like Head Captain Yamamoto once had.

In his view, people should only take responsibility equal to their own strength.

It wasn't that he didn't want to manage the Rukongai. It was simply that even a single division already left him stretched thin, and he had no desire to damage any of the rules left behind by the Head Captain.

"Ichimaru! What about you?"

Suppressing his anger, Komamura turned toward the Third Division.

"Ara~ Ara~ With so many people not raising their hands, why is Captain Komamura singling me out? How scary."

Ichimaru Gin narrowed his eyes into smiling slits, grinning like a sly fox, his tone dripping with insincerity.

One look at him made it obvious he would never reveal a single truthful thought.

Grinding his teeth, Komamura shifted his gaze again, this time toward Aizen of the Fifth Division.

But his eyes only paused on Aizen for a moment before moving on.

Aizen was usually a gentle and decent man, but everyone knew Ichigo was his prized student.

As a teacher, there was no way he would vote to execute his own student in this situation.

Komamura felt that was understandable and didn't blame Aizen for it.

Next was Yoruichi of the Eighth Division.

Komamura sighed. Her current position was already extremely delicate, and she had always acted however she pleased. If she chose not to vote, that actually felt more natural.

Further down were Zaraki Kenpachi of the Eleventh Division and Kurotsuchi Mayuri of the Twelfth.

Their refusal to raise their hands was also completely within Komamura's expectations.

Zaraki Kenpachi was a pure battle maniac who spent every day hoping for more people to cut down. The more chaotic Soul Society became, the happier he would be.

As for Kurotsuchi Mayuri, he was a completely unhinged scientist who performed human experiments on souls daily.

There was absolutely no way those two would agree to restricting a captain's authority under the excuse of protecting souls.

That would be the same as shackling themselves.

As for the final person, Thirteenth Division Captain Ichigo himself, there was no way he would vote to execute himself.

Once he understood the logic behind it all, Komamura Sajin felt as though every ounce of strength had been drained from his body. Exhausted and defeated, he collapsed heavily back into his chair.

Never in his wildest imagination had he expected that the mighty Gotei Thirteen, the thirteen captains who held the highest authority in Soul Society, could watch Ichigo commit the massacre of millions, yet still fail to gather even the bare minimum majority needed for punishment because of their own interests, positions, and indifference.

And Komamura wasn't the only one who realized this.

Several of the more calculating captains present understood it too.

Inside the deathly silent conference room, the same thought surfaced in everyone's mind.

People's hearts had completely fallen apart.

"Since the votes in favor did not exceed half…"

Rosse lowered his hand and interlocked his fingers beneath his chin, a faint curve tugging at the corners of his mouth.

His voice echoed through the hall like the funeral bell of an era.

"Then I hereby declare the accusations against Captain Kurosaki invalid. Ichigo is innocent."

With Rosse's verdict, this absurd and fractured captains' meeting officially came to an end.

But everyone understood clearly, this was not the end.

On the contrary, it meant that within Soul Society, now stripped of both its bottom line and its unity, an unprecedented wave of chaos was about to erupt.

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