"As for the Shihoin side, as long as they don't take the initiative to stir up trouble, everything will proceed as usual," Rosse replied indifferently.
He had never worried about the Shihoin family.
Ever since Shihoin Yoruichi defected, the Shihoin clan's influence within the Gotei 13 had already declined significantly.
Although their noble status had not suffered much on the surface, because the clan head had defected and they were successively suppressed by the Tsunayashiro family and the Kuchiki family, they were now far from what they once were.
They only retained the name of one of the Five Great Noble Houses. Their actual strength was probably only one notch above the Shiba family. Setting aside the foundation left behind by their ancestors, they were already nowhere near old upper nobles like the Kyoraku family.
With the reconstruction of Central 46 now underway, for their family itself plus its affiliated families to secure a total of five seats was already quite good.
"Captain Kuchiki, has the noble side worked out the rules for reselecting Central 46?"
Rosse looked toward Kuchiki Byakuya, who was standing quietly to the side. From the moment he had entered, as long as no one asked him a question, Kuchiki Byakuya stood there like a handsome statue, never once taking the initiative to speak.
"Captain Rosse, the nobles have already restarted the selection process. As for the 'Rukongai Land Reform Plan' you proposed, the Kuchiki family expresses its support."
Kuchiki Byakuya nodded lightly, counting as acknowledgment of Rosse's words.
"What land reform in Rukongai? What is that supposed to be?", Ise Nanao could not help but ask. She had never even heard of this plan before.
Clearly, according to standard procedure, all plans should have gone through her review first.
Thinking of this, she could not help but look at Captain Rosse, her gaze carrying a bit of doubt.
Compared to Kyoraku Shunsui, whom she could trust completely, her trust in Rosse was not much at all, even less than her trust in captains like Ichimaru Gin.
After all, Rosse was an airborne captain, someone she had never interacted with. She did not believe he was any kind of good person.
"Are you questioning me, Vice-Captain Ise?", Rosse cast a cold glance at Ise Nanao. He merely released his spiritual pressure casually, yet it made her feel an overwhelming sense of suffocation.
That solid, unmistakable captain-level spiritual pressure alone already made it impossible for her to breathe.
In an instant, Ise Nanao's mind went blank, and she subconsciously dropped to her knees on the floor.
A vice-captain and a captain seemed to differ by only one rank, but in reality, the gap was like a chasm.
Especially for someone like Ise Nanao, who was fairly ordinary even among vice-captains, and the one she encountered was someone of Rosse's level. With just a trace of his aura, Rosse could crush her to death.
These past few days, he had simply been too lazy to bother with Ise Nanao. That did not mean she was qualified to be unruly in front of him.
Just that moment of questioning alone, even if he executed Ise Nanao on the spot, Kyoraku Shunsui would only be able to swallow his emotions.
"Captain Rosse, let us continue the discussion," Kuchiki Byakuya spoke calmly, but from beginning to end, his eyes never once turned toward Ise Nanao.
Even his speaking up was not to ask Rosse to spare Ise Nanao, but because he felt there was no need to waste their valuable time over someone who did not know how to behave.
"Go on then. I've already obtained the approval of all captains except the First, Second, Eighth, and Thirteenth Divisions. Mm, that includes you as well. This was something I promised you before," Rosse spoke with a smile, no longer paying any attention to Ise Nanao.
If he did not need a mouthpiece, he would have kicked her out long ago.
Since he still needed someone to pass messages to Kyoraku Shunsui, he would let Ise Nanao stay a little longer for now.
"That is only proper. As the captain of the Sixth Division, I have the duty to consider matters from the standpoint of the Gotei 13," Kuchiki Byakuya nodded lightly, then continued, "Although this move runs counter to tradition, Central 46 and the Gotei 13 are fundamentally interdependent. There should not be a distinction of superiority or inferiority between their positions."
Hearing Kuchiki Byakuya's words, a hint of amusement appeared at the corner of Rosse's mouth.
Such high-level remarks did not sound like something Kuchiki Byakuya himself would say.
If nothing unexpected had happened, it must have been a decision made by the old head of the Kuchiki clan.
Taking advantage of the reorganization of Central 46, he had not been idle either.
He had simply asked the Kuchiki family to help with a very reasonable request.
That was to conduct unified planning of all land in Rukongai. Aside from the ancestral lands of various families that had already been established before the founding of the Gotei 13, all remaining land would belong to the Gotei 13.
The entire Soul Society was under the protection of the Gotei 13, so having all land belong to the Gotei 13 also seemed only natural.
As for how the land would later be distributed to souls and nobles after being reclaimed by the Gotei 13, that would be the next step afterward.
In any case, regarding this initial proposal, aside from the uninformed Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro, almost all captains had expressed their agreement.
Even Kuchiki Byakuya, standing from the standpoint of the Gotei 13, felt that there was no problem with this proposal.
The land of Rukongai had belonged to Seireitei from the very beginning. It was just that no one paid attention to such things in the past, and the nobles could not be bothered to fight the souls for land.
Now that the divisions were made clear and explicit, this was actually a good thing for Kuchiki Byakuya.
As for the deeper reasons, Kuchiki Byakuya had also understood them from his grandfather.
Put simply, once Captain-Commander Yamamoto stepped down, unless it was the stability-seeking Kyoraku Shunsui who took the position, any new Captain-Commander with real strength would inevitably make such a move.
There was only one reason.
The balance of power between the nobles and the Gotei 13 was unequal.
The nobles did have their own hidden strength. Each upper noble family had one or two old monsters at the captain level. But even if they all joined forces, they might not be able to defeat Kyoraku Shunsui, let alone someone at Captain-Commander Yamamoto's level.
Even if the new Captain-Commander were only at Kyoraku Shunsui's level, with the assistance of the other captains, the nobles would have no chance of winning.
The nobles lacked sufficient strength, yet occupied the greatest share of interests in Soul Society. A new Captain-Commander would inevitably target them.
All this talk of land planning was nothing more than an excuse for Rosse to make his move.
Kuchiki Byakuya understood this clearly, but he agreed even more with his grandfather's thinking.
Without power to protect, one should not take more. One should take benefits commensurate with one's strength. What does not belong to you will never truly belong to you.
At least for the current Kuchiki family, they had not taken a single bit of what they should not have. Everything they possessed had been obtained through strength.
As the captain of the Sixth Division, and at the same time a model for the nobles, Kuchiki Byakuya felt it was his duty to reshape the noble ranks and return them to their proper place.
"What about Central 46? I heard 13 candidates have already been confirmed?"
Rosse asked with a smiling expression. He was already clear on the progress over at Central 46.
Some people had survived back then, but most had been badly frightened. Quite a few chose not to continue serving as sages, wanting to return to their families to cultivate quietly.
In the end, only a few remained. So, under the Kuchiki family's proposal, the entire Central 46 was to be reselected, with all noble families allowed to participate.
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