Two members of Squad Zero stood proudly before hundreds of thousands.
The one on the left was tall and lean, yet carried an unruly arrogance like a street thug.
He wore a captain's haori open at the chest, a toothpick hanging casually from his mouth. The most eye-catching feature was his exaggerated black pompadour.
This man was the First Officer of Squad Zero, known as the Hot Spring Demon, Kirinji Tenjiro.
Even in the face of the neatly arrayed Gotei 13, his posture remained loose. One hand rested on his hip, a seemingly frivolous yet actually cold smirk hung on his face. His gaze swept across the entire field as if it had substance, like he was sizing up a group of livestock waiting to be slaughtered.
Beside him stood a woman with an extremely plump figure and a kind, gentle expression.
Her long purple hair was styled into a strange spiral, and her lips were coated in thick purple lipstick. Though her chubby cheeks held a harmless, neighborly smile, like that of an aunt next door, the narrow slits of her occasionally squinting eyes flashed with a sharp light that made every captain present feel a chill.
She was the Second Officer of Squad Zero, the Ruler of Grain who created the concept of Artificial Souls(Gikon), Hikifune Kirio.
Though she currently appeared in her fat form to store spiritual pressure, just standing there, the sheer density of the pressure she emitted was no less than Kirinji's sharp presence. Like an immovable mountain, it pressed steadily on everyone's chest.
The two did not speak immediately. They simply stood quietly at the edge of the crater, their gazes passing over countless heads of Soul Reapers, landing directly on the man in white standing at the very front.
Rosse stood there, his expression unchanged. Not even the hem of his clothes had been disturbed in the slightest.
After a brief moment of eye contact, Rosse raised his hand slightly.
The next second, a prepared wave of sound erupted like a tsunami.
"Welcome, Lords of Squad Zero!"
As Rosse lifted his hand lightly, the hundreds of thousands of Soul Reapers who had just been as noisy as a marketplace suddenly roared in perfect unison.
The sound surged like a tidal wave, sweeping across the entire Seireitei and scattering the thin clouds in the sky.
Yet within this seemingly respectful cheer, there was little genuine reverence.
It was just people shouting at the top of their lungs to complete a task. Many even had mockery and impatience written in their eyes.
For most of these newly recruited Soul Reapers who had once struggled in the Rukongai, talk of protecting the world or Squad Zero were nothing more than distant, irrelevant legends.
The only reason they had climbed up from that bottom layer where they could barely eat, and now wore these Shihakusho symbolizing power and status, was all thanks to the man standing at the front, Captain-Commander Rosse.
Power, resources, opportunities to grow stronger, all of it had been given by him.
So in their hearts, the only ones they respected were their own captains and lieutenants, and that man at the very front.
As for these two who dropped down from the sky?
Hmph! They were no different from those old nobles who once controlled the Seireitei and looked down on commoners. Just old fossils relying on seniority to come back and throw their weight around.
Hikifune Kirio and Kirinji Tenjiro had both lived for countless years. Naturally, they could keenly sense how much real malice and disdain was hidden within that overwhelming cheer.
But as members of Squad Zero, their expressions didn't change. As if completely ignoring those unfriendly looks, they walked straight toward the man surrounded like the center of attention.
Yet deep in their seemingly calm eyes, there was a trace of gravity.
'He is strong. Too strong.'
It wasn't just the abyss-like aura emanating from Rosse himself, but also that terrifying level of control.
Before, they had thought this Hollow King was merely a schemer, someone who used tricks to kill Yamamoto, forced out Kyoraku Shunsui and the others, and then relied on force to suppress a mob.
But after facing him in person, that notion vanished instantly.
That man only needed to stand there casually. Even without making a move, that calm, composed kingly presence naturally became the center of the entire world.
With just a simple gesture, he could make this originally loose, chaotic army of hundreds of thousands, filled with contradictions and friction, instantly obey orders without question.
Even the former Captain-Commander Yamamoto had never achieved such terrifying cohesion and centripetal force.
Kirinji even had an absurd thought.
Even if they exposed Rosse on the spot and publicly accused him of being the master of the Hollow King's Palace, this group of Soul Reapers probably wouldn't waver at all.
When the time came, the ones who would be attacked by everyone wouldn't be Rosse, but the two of them, members of Squad Zero, the ones spreading "lies."
Thinking of this, Kirinji suppressed the shock surging in his heart. A roguish grin spread across his face as he took the initiative to break the silence.
"Well now, what a scene. Captain-Commander Rosse, the Gotei 13 these days is a lot livelier than in our time. So many people, it's enough to make your head spin."
It sounded like a routine courtesy, but it was also a kind of probing.
"You flatter me, Lord Kirinji."
Rosse smiled politely, his tone gentle and appropriate, leaving no fault to pick.
"In the past, the Soul Reapers were severely understaffed. Their influence only covered the first ten districts of Rukongai. For a place as vast as Soul Society, that was far from enough in terms of security and management."
"So this was something I had no choice but to do. While there are indeed many more people now, it's precisely to ensure that the justice of the Soul Reapers can reach every corner of Rukongai, truly becoming omnipresent."
'Omnipresent?'
'More like too many people have made conflicts in Rukongai even worse.'
Kirinji muttered inwardly.
Even without deliberately sensing it, the restlessness and hostility filling the air made his brow twitch.
It wasn't that the Gotei 13 hadn't wanted to expand before, they simply didn't have the management capability.
These captains and lieutenants, one by one, knew nothing but how to cut people down or stand around in a daze. At their core, they were a group of illiterates who had never received formal military management training.
Forget hundreds of thousands, even when there were just a few thousand before, they could already stir up plenty of trouble.
Now the numbers had increased tenfold, but had this management actually improved?
Kirinji glanced at the faces standing in the front row. Zaraki Kenpachi was picking his ear impatiently. Kurotsuchi Mayuri looked like he was scheming some sinister experiment. The other new faces all carried an unreliable air.
'No way this group can manage an army of hundreds of thousands.'
These thoughts, Kirinji kept to himself. Not a single word could be spoken.
Looking across the entire Gotei 13, those veterans who used to spot problems at a glance and dared to voice objections, either had been pushed out by Rosse through various means, or had long since switched sides and become his people.
The only outsider left who might notice this hidden danger was probably Kuchiki Byakuya of the Kuchiki family.
But at this moment, standing at the head of the Sixth Division with a cold expression, the icy gaze in his eyes held nothing but disdain for the disorder of the other divisions.
In the eyes of this self-disciplined noble head, all this chaos existed purely because the other captains were incompetent and unworthy of their positions.
As for flaws in the system itself? Those simply didn't exist.
At least under his strict control, the Sixth Division still maintained aristocratic pride and discipline.
Moreover, the current Gotei 13 was far stronger than before.
The thirteen divisions of the past, even combined, couldn't match a single division now.
With the Hogyoku, the top-tier combat power now was on an entirely different level.
Kuchiki Byakuya even felt that this kind of chaos was normal.
After all, in his upbringing, aside from the Sixth Division, when had the other divisions ever gone a day without trouble?
Captains getting themselves killed, personnel changes flowing like water, wasn't that just daily life for the Gotei 13?
He wasn't the Captain-Commander, and he had no interest in meddling in others' affairs.
As long as the honor of the Kuchiki family remained intact, everything else could rot for all he cared.
With this mindset of minding his own business, the only "clear stream" left in the Gotei 13 calmly watched as the entire system headed toward an irreversible collapse right before his eyes.
"Since the pleasantries are over, the two of you, please follow me. This isn't a place for conversation," Rosse turned slightly, a perfectly measured smile on his face.
He casually raised his right hand and waved.
The next second, the tightly packed crowd instantly split apart like the sea before Moses, creating a wide, straight path through the center of the plaza.
"This way."
Rosse stepped forward first, heading toward the Tenth Division.
Kirinji Tenjiro and Hikifune Kirio exchanged a glance, then followed without hesitation. The captains of the Gotei 13 trailed behind, forming a strange procession that looked respectful on the surface but hid undercurrents beneath.
The three walked side by side along the path lined with Soul Reapers. The sound of wooden sandals echoed clearly in the brief silence.
"Speaking of which, the message from Squad Zero the other day only mentioned that the two of you would descend, but didn't explain the reason."
Rosse looked ahead as if making casual conversation, though there was a faint hint of something deeper in his tone.
"I wonder what has brought you down here in such a grand manner? Soul Society is at peace right now. Surely it doesn't warrant such trouble."
"Hahaha! Captain-Commander Rosse, you're too sensitive. What grand manner?"
Kirinji Tenjiro laughed heartily, a bit rough around the edges, the toothpick in his mouth bobbing up and down.
"You know how things have been lately. First that old man Yamamoto died, then someone reckless attacked the Royal Palace. And I hear the Hollow King's Palace has been stirring lately too…"
At that, he cast a meaningful glance at Rosse, a flash of light passing through his eyes.
"His Majesty the Soul King couldn't rest easy, so he specially sent the two of us down to station ourselves in the Gotei 13. Just to lend everyone a hand."
"That's all?"
Rosse didn't stop walking. The smile at the corner of his mouth grew harder to read.
"If it's just stationing, with your strength, there's nothing I could stop you from doing. But I believe the Soul King's will wouldn't be so simple."
Hearing this, Kirinji's smile not only didn't fade, it widened further, even carrying a shameless honesty.
"Heh! Can't hide it from you. Talking to smart people really is easier."
He paused, raising his voice slightly so all the captains following behind could hear clearly.
"His Majesty's intention is that the current situation is complicated. To better deal with future crises, it's been decided to establish a Squad Zero unit within the Gotei 13."
The moment those words were spoken, the moving procession came to a halt.
Rosse slowly stopped and turned around. His deep blue eyes calmly fixed on Kirinji, as if trying to see straight through him.
"Oh? Establish a Squad Zero unit? And how exactly will the authority of this new division be defined?"
The air seemed to freeze.
Behind Rosse, figures like Kurotsuchi Mayuri and Hitsugaya Toshiro raised their heads almost at the same time, their gazes sharp as blades directed at Kirinji and Hikifune.
It wasn't just dissatisfaction. It was naked hostility.
Everyone present was now among the top combat forces of Soul Society.
After undergoing Rosse's Hogyoku enhancements and Hollowfication experiments, each of them had long surpassed their former selves. Their confidence had swollen to the extreme.
In their eyes, this so-called Squad Zero was nothing more than remnants of an old era.
Drop in from above and start ordering them around?
On what basis? Just because you've lived longer?
"Relax! Relax!"
Feeling the killing intent around him almost turning tangible, Kirinji quickly waved his hands, his exaggerated expression bordering on comical.
"We're not here to seize power, and we're definitely not here to act like overlords."
He and Hikifune Kirio possessed the immortality granted by the Royal Key, allowing them to be reborn in the Royal Palace even if they died. But that didn't mean they wanted to throw their lives away here for nothing.
More importantly, they understood just how delicate the current situation was.
For some reason, Rosse had managed to make the connection between Hueco Mundo, the Human World, and the Soul King become faint and unstable.
It was precisely because of sensing this weakening connection, and not wanting to confront Rosse head-on, that Ichibe had come up with this approach.
If Rosse could rise step by step as the Hollow King to become Captain-Commander of Soul Society, then as the legitimate Squad Zero, wouldn't it be even more reasonable for them to descend and gradually take control of the Gotei 13?
If, even with timing, location, and conditions all in their favor, they still couldn't outmaneuver Rosse, they might as well accept death.
Up above, Ichibe and Oetsu were already working on a way to break Kyoka Suigetsu. It probably wouldn't be long before they could free themselves from its control.
If all else failed, Ichibe could forcibly seal that name.
They just didn't want Aizen and Rosse to notice and tear things apart openly.
Once things truly broke down, and Rosse led this army of hundreds of thousands to attack the Royal Palace, even if they could kill everyone, the completely shattered three realms would be finished.
They had come this time to slowly dismantle Rosse's power from within, like boiling a frog in warm water, not to rush toward their own deaths.
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