"The second matter concerns Central 46. Aizen Sōsuke and Ichimaru Gin murdered every one of its sages, leaving the chamber without any decision-makers. Each captain will now state their position on whether Central 46 should be rebuilt."
Captain-Commander Yamamoto smoothly brought the issue onto the table.
This was the real main event.
The captains below straightened almost as one, yet for a while, no one offered an opinion.
This decision concerned not only the Gotei 13, but all of Soul Society.
Would authority stay in the hands of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads from now on, or would it once again return to the nobility?
The meeting hall fell into a suffocating silence. You could have heard a pin drop.
A long time passed without anyone speaking.
"I see no reason to rebuild Central 46."
Kazuma was, in the end, the one who stepped forward.
"The affairs of the Gotei 13 and Soul Society should have been ours to handle from the start. What right did Central 46 have to keep ordering us around? I propose that it be permanently abolished."
He'd slipped into his role as captain remarkably quickly.
Kazuma had deliberately let Aizen slaughter Central 46's sages in the first place.
Now that they were discussing rebuilding it, he would naturally be the first to object.
His words startled everyone.
They glanced at Kazuma, then up at the Captain-Commander, each privately making their own calculations.
"I agree. Get rid of Central 46."
Zaraki Kenpachi, whose mind was usually filled with nothing but fighting, was the first to voice his support.
He couldn't be bothered to think too hard about politics.
Since the strongest person in the room had made the proposal, agreeing with him seemed good enough.
"I support Captain Kazuma's proposal. Central 46 should be abolished."
The moment Kenpachi finished, Kazuma's number-one admirer, Komamura, charged forward as the vanguard and backed him without hesitation.
With Kenpachi and Komamura having broken the silence, the remaining captains could no longer pretend to be invisible.
"I agree as well," Kurotsuchi Mayuri said.
He had no strong feelings about the matter.
He wasn't a noble, and Kazuma's proposal would greatly increase the Gotei 13's authority.
For him, it was a deal with nothing but profit.
"I also agree."
Unohana naturally stood in the same camp as Yamamoto and Kazuma.
As one of the original members of the Gotei 13, her voice carried considerable weight. More importantly, she'd never established a noble family of her own.
After Unohana stated her position, it was as though someone had pressed a mute button over the meeting hall.
A short but heavy silence descended once again.
Everyone exchanged glances, but no one seemed willing to be the first to break the oppressive mood.
Each of them clearly had concerns and calculations they couldn't easily put into words.
The silence didn't last long.
"I object."
The firm voice cut through the room like thunder, drawing every gaze to its source.
It was Kuchiki Byakuya.
Byakuya wasn't merely a captain of the Gotei 13.
Behind him stood the Kuchiki Clan, one of Soul Society's ancient and powerful noble houses.
Someone in his position naturally had every reason to oppose a decision that might undermine the nobility's core interests.
Abolishing Central 46 was no small matter. It directly affected the heart of the noble class's authority.
Byakuya's declaration set off a chain reaction.
Several others with noble backgrounds or close ties to the aristocracy followed immediately.
"I also object," Suì-Fēng said, her clear voice carrying through the hall with undeniable authority.
Kyōraku Shunsui's lazy but steady voice followed. "I'm afraid I have to oppose it too."
Even the usually calm and gentle Ukitake Jūshirō voiced his objection without hesitation.
The once-silent meeting hall immediately filled with overlapping voices.
The First, Fourth, Seventh, Ninth, Eleventh, and Twelfth Divisions supported abolishing Central 46.
The Second, Sixth, Eighth, and Thirteenth Divisions opposed it.
The vote currently stood at six to four.
"Captain Hitsugaya, you are now the only captain yet to state a position," Yamamoto said, turning to Tōshirō.
"What is your opinion?"
His vote had suddenly become especially important.
Every captain's gaze fell on Hitsugaya Tōshirō. The unexpected attention made the already tense young captain even more uncomfortable.
He was still a child, after all.
Although he held the rank of captain, the way Aizen and Gin had so easily deceived him showed that he still lacked experience and judgment in matters like these.
Asking him to decide something this important on the spot was admittedly rather cruel.
Tōshirō hesitated a moment before finally answering.
"For now, I'll reserve my opinion. I neither support nor oppose the proposal."
He'd clearly chosen the safest middle ground, one that wouldn't offend either side.
With the vote already six to four, his neutrality wouldn't greatly change the result anyway.
Just as Yamamoto prepared to announce that the proposal had passed, Byakuya spoke again.
"Captain-Commander, the positions of Third and Fifth Division captain are currently vacant. I believe this matter should be postponed until a later date."
Byakuya's reasoning was entirely fair, leaving Kazuma and the others without a proper basis to object.
Yamamoto frowned and considered it in silence.
If he ignored the objections and forced the decision through, the consequences could be severe.
The Gotei 13 had always relied on unity to resist outside enemies and keep peace within Soul Society.
If this resolution created a deep internal rift, the whole organization's strength would suffer.
At the thought, Yamamoto quietly sighed.
Everyone then turned toward Kazuma.
In the earlier battle, he'd shown strength that left them all astonished.
Even if Byakuya and the others attacked him together, they likely wouldn't be enough to beat him.
Naturally, they were eager to see what stance Kazuma would take now that abolishing Central 46 had become such a thorny issue.
"Why are you all staring at me? Did flowers suddenly start growing on my face?"
Kazuma touched his cheek, looking thoroughly confused and a little awkward under everyone's attention.
He knew he had overwhelming strength, but forcing the matter through with violence wasn't what he wanted.
After all, getting through the world wasn't only about whose fist was harder.
More often than not, complicated relationships and affairs called for brains and tact.
Life wasn't just fighting and killing. Understanding people and knowing how to deal with them mattered just as much.
If Kazuma resorted to force today and set such a dangerous precedent, it might trigger a whole chain of unpredictable consequences later.
Solving the problem without violence was clearly the better choice.
"Captain Kuchiki's suggestion is reasonable. We can discuss this again once the vacant captain positions have been filled."
Byakuya and the others immediately relaxed.
They'd truly feared that Kazuma might ignore every objection and force the resolution through.
"Then we will follow Captain Kazuma's suggestion and postpone this matter."
Yamamoto no longer pressed the issue.
"Meeting adjourned!"
Since Kazuma himself had backed away from his own proposal, Yamamoto saw no reason to keep fighting over it. Besides, the matter had originally been raised by Kazuma.
If he was willing to let it go so easily, he'd probably already thought of another solution.