Everything within Seireitei continued to proceed in an orderly manner.
Although Shiba Kaien had avoided the tragic fate that once awaited him, many other events still seemed to follow a path remarkably similar to what might have occurred otherwise.
Ichimaru Gin officially became the Captain of the Third Division.
Kira Izuru followed Gin and transferred from the Fifth Division to serve under him in the Third Division.
Hinamori Momo remained in the Fifth Division, continuing to serve under Captain Aizen Sōsuke, whom she admired deeply.
As for Abarai Renji, he successfully transferred to the Eleventh Division, the combat-oriented division famous for its relentless pursuit of battle.
If events continued to unfold along the expected course, Renji would likely transfer again in the future this time to the Sixth Division, where his childhood friend Kuchiki Rukia served.
From this perspective, Renji's career path seemed rather unusual, moving between divisions several times in pursuit of growth.
At the same time, far from the internal adjustments of the Gotei 13, another young prodigy within the Shin'ō Academy was approaching an important crossroads in his life.
His name was Hitsugaya Tōshirō.
Hitsugaya was a genuine genius.
In certain respects, his natural talent even surpassed that of prodigies like Ichimaru Gin and Shiba Kaien.
When he was still very young and living in Rukongai, the enormous Reiryoku within his body had already begun to manifest.
However, because he could not properly control it, the spiritual power constantly leaked out, lowering the surrounding temperature dramatically.
During the night, frost would form in his room, and the cold aura even affected the elderly woman who had raised him.
This phenomenon eventually caught the attention of Matsumoto Rangiku, who happened to encounter him while carrying out her duties as a Shinigami of the Gotei 13.
After learning about the situation, Rangiku explained the truth to him.
The strange cold surrounding him was the result of his own powerful spiritual energy.
If he did not learn to control it, the power might eventually harm the people around him.
After hearing this explanation, Hitsugaya made an important decision.
He would follow the same path as his childhood friend Hinamori Momo.
He would enroll in the Shin'ō Academy and become a Shinigami.
For someone with Hitsugaya's extraordinary talent, gaining admission to the academy was not difficult at all.
He passed the entrance examination with ease.
This was very different from individuals like Hisagi Shūhei, who had struggled through several attempts before finally being accepted.
The difference between talent and ordinary ability could sometimes be extremely obvious.
It was during his time at the academy that Hitsugaya met someone who would become very important in his life.
His name was Kusaka Sōjirō.
Unlike Hitsugaya, Kusaka was not particularly gifted.
In fact, his abilities could only be described as average.
However, by coincidence, the two of them were assigned to the same dormitory room.
Kusaka was significantly older than Hitsugaya and carried himself with a much more mature demeanor.
In daily life, he often looked after the younger boy.
Over time, Hitsugaya began to view him as something like an older brother as well as a close friend.
Yet Kusaka had his own worries.
While Hitsugaya had already begun communicating with his Zanpakutō and had even awakened its name at an early stage, Kusaka had not experienced any such breakthrough.
Although it was not unusual for academy students to graduate without fully awakening their Zanpakutō, seeing Hitsugaya succeed while he himself remained stagnant inevitably caused Kusaka to feel a deep sense of frustration.
This feeling persisted until their sixth year at the academy, shortly before graduation.
Despite being a prodigy, Hitsugaya had not attempted to accelerate his studies the way certain other geniuses had.
Both Ichimaru Gin and Shiba Kaien had completed the academy curriculum in only one year.
Hitsugaya could likely have done the same.
However, he was still extremely young.
His primary reason for becoming a Shinigami had been to control his overwhelming spiritual power and prevent it from harming others.
Because of this, he chose to remain at the academy longer, carefully mastering the fundamentals.
Then, on the eve of graduation, something unexpected occurred.
While Hitsugaya and Kusaka were discussing which division they might join after leaving the academy
Kusaka's Zanpakutō finally awakened.
Ordinarily, this would have been a cause for celebration.
Yet the situation soon became deeply troubling.
Because the name revealed by Kusaka's Zanpakutō was
Hyōrinmaru.
Hyōrinmaru was recognized by Central 46 as the strongest ice-type Zanpakutō in existence.
Historical records suggested that such a blade had appeared in the past, and when Hitsugaya first awakened his Zanpakutō, Central 46 had officially confirmed this classification.
For comparison, the Zanpakutō wielded by Head Captain Yamamoto Genryūsai, Ryūjin Jakka, was known as the oldest and most powerful fire-type Zanpakutō.
Yamamoto's overwhelming strength was evident to everyone.
It was he who had defended Soul Society from countless powerful enemies.
There was even a saying among Shinigami:
A powerful warrior shapes the Zanpakutō—but a powerful Zanpakutō can also elevate the warrior who wields it.
With his immense talent and the power of Hyōrinmaru, Hitsugaya was widely expected to become a major pillar of the Gotei 13 in the future.
But now
Two Hyōrinmaru had appeared.
Two Zanpakutō bearing the exact same name and representing the pinnacle of ice-type power.
This situation created a serious problem.
Within Soul Society, it was believed that two identical Zanpakutō could not coexist.
Therefore, Central 46 issued a ruling.
Hitsugaya Tōshirō and Kusaka Sōjirō would be forced to duel.
Only one of them would be permitted to retain Hyōrinmaru.
The other
Would die.
Refusing the duel was not permitted.
Nor was abandoning the Zanpakutō an acceptable alternative.
Only the death of one participant would bring the matter to an end.
The duel would be carried out under the supervision of the Onmitsukidō's Punishment Force, ensuring that the ruling was enforced without interference.
Even though neither Hitsugaya nor Kusaka wished to fight one another, they had no choice but to comply.
Coincidentally, the day scheduled for their duel happened to coincide with another rare event.
It was the day when the Ōin the Royal Seal was transferred, an event that occurred only once every several decades.
On that same day, Gosuke Shigure encountered someone unexpected.
Through the Senkaimon, Shutara Senjumaru of the Royal Guard (Zero Division) had descended briefly into Soul Society.
As usual, members of the Royal Guard did not remain in Seireitei for long.
However, her brief visit answered several questions that had long lingered in Shigure's mind.
Because during the secret transfer of the Royal Seal, Senjumaru's sensory threads detected its presence.
"So today is the day the Ōin is being moved," she remarked casually.
That single sentence immediately sparked Shigure's curiosity.
"The Ōin… what exactly is its origin?"
In his previous life, even as a member of the Tsunayashiro Clan, one of the Four Great Noble Families, Shigure had not known much about the Royal Seal.
At that time, the Ōin had not even existed.
In this era, however, the Royal Seal had suddenly appeared within Soul Society's political structure.
Every few decades, it was ceremonially transferred through Seireitei.
The official explanation claimed that this ritual represented the authority of the Royal Family and reminded the Gotei 13 of the existence of the Soul King.
Shigure, of course, understood the deeper purpose.
It was a carefully constructed symbol.
By repeatedly displaying the Royal Seal, the authorities cultivated a sense of awe toward the Royal Realm and the mysterious Royal Family said to dwell above the great noble houses.
The more Shinigami believed in the sacred authority of the Soul King
The easier it became to conceal the truth.
Because very few people in Soul Society truly understood what the Soul King actually was.
To the vast majority of Shinigami, the Soul King was an untouchable, supreme ruler.
But in reality
The so-called Soul King functioned more as a symbol maintaining the balance of the worlds than as a living sovereign who governed them.
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