Setsuna was left speechless.
The expression on his face shifted from gravity, to contemplation, and then to a sort of absurd bewilderment.
He had considered many reasons for Yamamoto's compromise... fear of chaos, protecting his reputation, being domesticated by the rules, even secretly scheming...
But he had never imagined that the most fundamental reason would be because those nobles had many children? And had been doing so for a long time?
'Because for millions of years these nobles had been able to reproduce, were good at reproducing, and the children they bore had at least some Reiryoku, they therefore became the 'foundation' that could not be touched?'
'What kind of bizarre 'population determinism' plus 'Reishi bloodline theory' was this?'
After a brief moment of being dumbfounded, Setsuna suddenly asked, "The reason for continuously increasing the total amount of Reishi, is it because of the Konso Reisai for Captain-level Shinigami?"
A flicker of surprise appeared in Yamamoto's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure:
"You are also a Captain, it is not strange that you know this. Correct. Captain-level Shinigami possess at least 3rd-class or higher Reiryoku."
"This power is too immense, too condensed, so much so that after death, their spiritual bodies cannot naturally decompose and smoothly return to the Reishi Circulation of Soul Society like ordinary souls."
"Therefore, after a Captain-level Shinigami falls, a Konso Reisai must be held, to send their spiritual body into Hell through a special ritual."
"You can imagine just how vast the Reiryoku accumulated through a lifetime of training by a Captain-level Shinigami is."
"Every Konso Reisai is equivalent to permanently removing such a massive package of Reishi from the circulation system of the three worlds, and casting it into Hell."
"As time goes on, the total amount of Reishi in the three worlds slowly but steadily decreases, while the Reishi in Hell continuously accumulates."
"Now, do you understand? If we cannot maintain the nobles as a relatively stable 'source of new souls', one day the total Reishi of the three worlds will fall below a certain critical point."
"The balance will be completely broken, the structure will collapse, and the entire three worlds will irreversibly capsize and fall into that ever-expanding abyss of Hell."
"This is why, even though the nobles are rotten and sinful, we have no choice but to compromise, to proceed from the 'overall situation', and maintain the fundamental reason for their existence."
Beside them, Shusuke had long been listening, stunned and dumbfounded, his face pale as paper.
'The Gotei 13's Captains who upheld justice and protected Soul Society would, after death, fall into Hell?'
"This is too cruel, too absurd! Is the price of justice ultimately to become the fuel for maintaining this distorted balance?" Shusuke roared in his heart.
Yamamoto let out a long sigh:
"Captain Chiaki, now that you understand the ins and outs of the matter, take Shusuke and return. As for avenging Shin'etsu, I will find a way to seek justice for him, but... not now."
Setsuna, however, began to laugh:
"Captain-Commander, I understand what you just said. But really, is there any logic in, for the sake of getting pigs to produce more piglets, turning around and treating the pigs like ancestors and letting the pigs' status override that of humans?"
"Are you saying that if we abolish the nobles' transcendent privileged status, deprive them of their ill-gotten gains, and require them to abide by the most basic laws, they would collectively become sterile and stop bearing offspring?"
"Reproduction is an instinct of living beings. As long as you give them the most basic survival guarantees, they will still propagate. They might even propagate better and with higher quality because the environment is fairer and has less internal friction!"
Yamamoto and Shusuke were somewhat dumbfounded by this, 'Was he really treating the nobles as pigs?'
Setsuna continued:
"For those in power who truly wield strength and shoulder the responsibility of maintaining the world's balance, not treating these guys, who think highly of themselves merely because of their reproductive function, like pure livestock, confining them, and subjecting them to strict management and planned animal husbandry, but merely requiring them to abide by basic rules and depriving them of their undue privileges is already a fairly civilized, fairly restrained, and one might even say overly merciful approach!"
"You..." Yamamoto was shocked speechless by this even more extreme and merciless 'pig farming and animal husbandry theory'. "This is utterly absurd and incomprehensible!"
He simply could not accept the mindset of completely objectifying nobles, who possessed intelligence, history, and culture, into mere production units.
Setsuna, however, wasted no more words and directly asked the decisive question, his gaze piercing:
"I am now preparing to take Shusuke and leave, to seek a long-overdue justice for his father and for those killed by the Kasumioji Clan. Captain-Commander Yamamoto, do you intend to stop me?"
Yamamoto's gaze turned completely cold. All complex emotions were replaced by the absolute authority and responsibility of Gotei 13's Captain-Commander.
He slowly stood up. Within that seemingly aged body seemed to slumber a volcano capable of burning the world.
His terrifying Reiatsu was no longer concealed, sweeping outward like tangible waves of heat. The wooden structure of the tearoom began to groan under the strain, the air distorting and boiling.
"The Gotei 13 is under my command. All actions of its members must conform to the overall deployment and uphold the stability of the overall situation."
He grasped the hilt of the Zanpakuto at his waist. A destructive aura, causing the entire 1st Division's barracks to tremble, began to awaken:
"You want to bypass me? Fine! First become Captain-Commander, sit in this seat, possess the power to judge all things and the resolve to bear everything!"
Setsuna also grasped the hilt of his Zanpakuto, giving tit for tat: "Ha, my sword is not without its edge either!"
"Captain-Commander, Captain Chiaki, please stop!" Shusuke was almost suffocated by the clash of this terrifying Reiatsu. He shouted with all his might.
"Captain Chiaki, thank you! Truly, thank you! I already know my father was innocent. I already have the courage and goal to live on! Someday, I will rely on my own strength to take revenge..."
"No, Shusuke." Setsuna's voice remained clear amidst the violent surging Reiatsu.
The golden-red glow around him grew increasingly intense, as if about to burst through the roof, competing on equal footing with Yamamoto's world-burning Reiatsu.
"Now, this is no longer just about your father, or about you alone."
His gaze locked onto Yamamoto:
"This is about the future of this world. Whether it will continue to linger on under these distorted rules that, in the name of balance, tolerate decay and sacrifice the innocent."
"Or whether it will be fundamentally redefined and open up new paths by those who truly possess the strength and determination to break the shackles!"
"Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni! Your flames have burned for a thousand years, yet they have only warmed the few and scorched far more innocents."
"Today, let me test whether this flame of yours, this stability-maintaining blade, can still dispel the cold beneath the darkness!"
Shusuke was at a loss. He never imagined that his own suicide attempt would become the fuse igniting this conflict.
But deep down, he felt a faint stirring of excitement.
Perhaps the very structure of Soul Society was about to be rewritten from this day forward!