Bleach: From the moment I was invited by Squad Zero.

If not handled properly, the chain reaction it triggers could be more fatal than the Kasumi family incident itself.

"Yun Jingyaojue, that piece of trash!" the first sharp voice cursed again, filled with resentment.

"It's bad enough that they exposed themselves, but they also dragged our people down with them! They're good for nothing but causing trouble! If only we had known back then..."

"Enough!" the aged voice at the head of the table interrupted sharply, clearly unwilling to delve into some even more unpleasant past events in this place.

"Complaining now is useless. Those three... must be dealt with as soon as possible."

Whether to force them to resign or find a scapegoat, a decision must be made immediately.

We cannot leave any evidence, and we cannot give Liuchuan the opportunity to dig deeper!

However, at this moment—

"Tap, tap, tap."

A sudden, unhurried knocking sound rang out, echoing in the empty, deathly silent hall, striking the taut strings of every sage's heart.

This was neither a coded message from an internal servant or guard, nor a hurried knocking for an urgent message.

The voice... was too calm, and too unfamiliar.

Since its construction, the Central 46th Room has never had such an uninvited visitor who announced his arrival in such a "polite" manner.

All eyes under the hoods turned to the door.

An ominous premonition crept up the backs of many wise men.

"Who...who are you?" The elderly sage at the head of the table asked in a deep voice, trying to remain calm.

"Squeak-"

A figure in pure white, with steady steps, stepped into this place that symbolized the highest laws and judgment authority of the Soul Society.

It was Liuchuan.

His face was expressionless, showing neither the tension of someone who had just entered the place nor the awe of those "wise men." He was as calm as if he had simply stepped into an ordinary tea room.

"!!!"

Dozens of sages, whether they were angry, calculating, or fearful before, now stared at that figure in disbelief.

How dare he?! How could he?! This is Central Room 46!

It is an absolutely forbidden area that even Captain-Commander Yamamoto is not allowed to enter without being summoned!

How did he silently pass through layers of external barriers and guards, and how did he so "easily" open this door?!

“Liu…Liuchuan?!” A sage exclaimed in shock, his voice trembling.

"Zero Squad...you, you dare to trespass into the important meeting place of the Forty-Sixth Chamber!"

Another sage shouted in a fierce but intimidating tone, trying to intimidate others, but the trembling at the end of his voice betrayed his inner fear.

Liu Chuan ignored the exclamations and questions from those around him.

He got straight to the point:

"I've come here to take three people with me."

Three people?

Chapter 123 The Captain-Commander's Request

They instantly understood who Liu Chuan was referring to—the three sages who were implicated by Yun Jing Yao Jue, accepted bribes, and pushed for the obstruction of the investigation back then!

"Absurd!" The aged sage slammed his hand on the armrest, shouting angrily, attempting to suppress the argument with his power and rules.

"Yanagawa! Even if you are a member of the Zero Division, you have no right to take away the sage of my Central 46 Chamber without authorization!"

Even if a sage is guilty, he should be reviewed and punished according to the law by the 46th Chamber! This is an ironclad rule of Soul Society for a thousand years!

"Excellent!" Several sages immediately echoed, their voices shrill with excitement and fear.

"The crimes of the wise shall be judged by the forty-six chambers! How dare outsiders interfere?"

"Even if it was a case of accepting bribes, and the evidence is conclusive, it should be left to us to investigate and handle!"

Another sage spoke in a slightly gentler tone, attempting to reason with them, "This is procedural justice! Lord Yanagawa, as the Zero Squad, you should uphold the rules, not break them!"

Despite the opposition ostensibly based on "rules" and "procedures," Yanagawa's expression remained unchanged.

He waited until the sounds subsided slightly before speaking slowly, his tone still calm:

"Rules? Procedures?" He tilted his head slightly, as if pondering the meaning of these two words.

"If following the rules results in evil going unpunished under the protection of 'procedure,' and accomplices who obstruct the investigation continuing to sit on the bench..."

Therefore, in my opinion, such rules are unnecessary.

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.

"I'm here today to give the victims of this incident an explanation," Liu Chuan said softly.

Liu Chuan took a step forward, a small step that instantly heightened the tension in the entire hall.

"As a member of the Zero Division, one of my duties is to eliminate the parasites that threaten order—no matter how respectable the place in which they are hidden."

His words were a blatant comparison of certain members of the 46th Chamber to "parasites," and his provocation and contempt were made without any attempt to conceal them.

"You...you dare to insult my Forty-Sixth Chamber like this!" A wise man trembled with anger.

"Liu Chuan! Don't go too far!"

Before the other party could answer, Liu Chuan changed the subject, his tone becoming casual:

"Actually, whether or not I take those three with me is really irrelevant to me; the choice is yours..."

"However, afterwards, I will formally submit a detailed report to my direct superior, Lord Hyosube Ichibei, in the name of a member of the Zero Squad."

The moment the name "Hyōnobu Ichibei" was uttered, the entire council hall seemed to be instantly emptied of all air!

The leader of the Zero Division! "His true name is Hoshino"! He is a mythical being who truly transcends all rules and power in Soul Society!

Report to him...report what? Report the sage of the Forty-Sixth Division who shielded him from bribery, obstructed the investigation, and indirectly caused the death of the Grim Reaper?

Is there internal corruption within the 46th office?

Once things reach that level, they will no longer be concealed by the "rules" and "procedures" within Soul Society!

The Forty-Sixth Chamber will be utterly disgraced, its authority vanished, and it may even face direct intervention and purge from the Spirit King Palace!

This is a blatant and undisguised threat! Moreover, it's a threat delivered from a level that they simply cannot resist!

All the sages understood that Liuchuan had given them a choice—either hand over the three sages who were destined to be abandoned and keep the situation under control.

Either they'll suffer a complete defeat, but the chances of that happening are extremely slim, and they, the "fish," will likely be utterly crushed on the beach.

The choice is self-evident.

The aged sage slowly waved his hand.

He didn't look at Liu Chuan, nor at anyone else, but simply uttered a few words to the shadow beside him:

"...Bring...they up here."

Although no names were mentioned, every wise man present knew who "they" referred to.

A chilling sense of shared fate, accompanied by an understanding that "we have indeed been abandoned," arose in the hearts of many wise men.

But there was also a secret sense of relief—thankfully, it wasn't me who was abandoned.

A moment later, the side door opened, and the three sages who had accepted bribes were "invited" out by two expressionless guards.

The three men were deathly pale, their eyes filled with extreme terror, bewilderment, and disbelief.

They clearly already knew some of the details, but when they saw the figure in the center of the hall and the deliberately evasive gazes of their colleagues, their last shred of hope was shattered.

"No...no! You can't do this! I am a sage! I have served the Forty-Six Chambers for over a hundred years! You cannot hand me over to outsiders!"

One of the bald old men roared excitedly and tried to rush toward the old sage, but was firmly held down by the guards.

"Let me go! I am innocent! It's Yun Jingyao who's slandering me! It's slander!" Another fat sage, his face covered in grease and sweat, struggled and shouted.

“We have done good for the 46th Chamber! You can’t kick us while we’re down!” The last tall, thin old man was relatively calm, but his voice was trembling as he tried to persuade his colleagues with his “merits.”

However, their cries and explanations seemed so pale and powerless, even somewhat ridiculous, at this moment.

Not a single wise person spoke up for them, and even those who had previously clamored most fiercely for "procedural justice" fell silent and lowered their heads.

The only sound echoing in the hall was their desperate wails.

Liu Chuan had no interest in the three men's performance. He slightly turned his head and gestured towards the door.

A squad of First Division soldiers dressed in black Shinigami uniforms strode in, led by Vice-Captain Sasakibe Chojiro.

Indeed, it was at Captain-Commander Yamamoto's request that Yanagawa take away the three sages who had accepted bribes from the 46th Chamber. In order to give an explanation to his dead subordinates, he absolutely could not let any of the participants go.

Even if Captain-Commander Yamamoto wanted to take these sages away, he would face many difficulties due to his status, so he asked Yanagawa, who had the Zero Division status, to help him handle the matter.

Chojiro Sasaki nodded slightly to Yanagawa, then ordered his men to put, without hesitation, handcuffs and shackles made of killing intent stones that could greatly suppress spiritual pressure on the three sages who were still struggling.

"Snap! Snap!"

The sound of the chains closing was crisp and cold, like the final death knell.

When the heavy, murderous stone shackles were placed on them, and their spiritual pressure was suppressed by more than half in an instant, the three sages finally collapsed completely.

They were dragged out of the council hall, where they had once held such high positions and acted with such arrogance, by the First Division soldiers like dead dogs.

The wails and the sound of chains dragging on the ground gradually faded away, eventually disappearing outside the gate.

The hall fell silent once more, but this silence was permeated with an atmosphere of humiliation.

Having achieved his goal, Liu Chuan stopped lingering. He didn't even glance at the figures on the stone seats again, as if they were merely insignificant background figures.

He turned around and, with the same steady steps he had taken, walked toward the still-open bronze door.

"Bang." The soft sound of the door closing completely was like the final, muffled blow to the hearts of all the sages.

“Liu…Chuan…” The old sage at the head of the table squeezed out the name through clenched teeth, his voice filled with intense resentment and murderous intent, yet also with a deep sense of powerlessness and apprehension.

Today, Central Room 46 was slapped hard across the face by Liu Chuan in the most direct and domineering way.

Not only did they lose three of their own people, but they were also completely stripped bare of their pretense of "rules" and "authority" in front of all the members.