The trial concluded.
Amidst the awe of many Shinigami, the fear of the nobles, and the numbness of the wise sages, Setsuna, leading Shusuke and his division members, turned and left the Central 46.
After the various nobles and Shinigami also departed, the magnificent yet oppressive courtroom of the Central 46 sank into an even more suffocating dead silence.
The lamplight flickered, casting shadows on the faces on the high platform… some pale, some livid, some numb.
The wise sages and judges, these beings who usually considered themselves the supreme arbiters of Soul Society and the guardians of noble privilege, now felt a sense of powerlessness and fear.
A long time passed before someone finally broke the silence with a dry voice:
"What exactly is Captain-Commander Yamamoto's intention over there? Is he just going to watch Chiaki Setsuna run rampant like this? The Kasumioji Clan is gone, just like that!"
An elder sighed. "I sent someone to ask the Captain-Commander. He said he also cannot do anything about Chiaki Setsuna. For the sake of the overall situation of Soul Society, he will not intervene to stop him."
"Are we just supposed to watch him act so arrogantly, treating the Central 46 as if it doesn't exist, and trample on noble dignity as he pleases?"
A more hot-tempered elder couldn't help but growl, slamming his fist on the table before him, producing a dull thud.
His only response was a long, weary sigh:
"Enough. No matter how powerful a Shinigami, as long as they do not enter the Zero Division and undergo the modification to obtain the Oken, their lifespan is ultimately limited. At most, they can live a few thousand years."
"When he dies of old age, or falls in a challenge from a later generation, the old order will naturally restore itself and return. We can wait."
This was a typical noble mindset of 'waiting out the opponent', placing hope in the passage of time and the natural demise of the strong.
Though humiliating, it was very effective.
In the past, they had used this very method to wait out quite a few powerful, unscrupulous Shinigami.
"Alas," an elder couldn't help complaining, "If only the other families among the Five Great Nobles, besides the Tsunayashiro, would firmly stand on our side."
"If they joined forces to apply pressure, utilized their family accumulated strengths, combined with the authority of the Central 46, we might not necessarily be unable to counterbalance or even suppress Chiaki Setsuna."
Just as the assembly hall was filled with pessimism, complaints, and each one's own calculations, the heavy stone door was silently pushed open.
A figure walked in slowly.
He was dressed in extremely luxurious dark green robes, his hair meticulously combed. His face appeared only middle-aged, but his eyes seemed to have endured countless years.
His pace was composed, as if he were not entering this supreme court that had just weathered a storm, but stepping into his own back garden.
"Tokimune-sama!" All the elders and judges now rose and bowed respectfully.
As the head of the Five Great Nobles, the head of the Tsunayashiro Clan visiting the Central 46 in person was of extraordinary significance.
Tsunayashiro Tokimune nodded slightly, his gaze calmly sweeping over those present.
"Everyone, there is no need to be so discouraged." His voice was gentle, yet carried the composure of one long accustomed to a superior position.
"In my view, the matter of the Kasumioji Clan is not necessarily a bad thing. On the contrary, it may be a good thing."
"A... a good thing?" The assembly was stunned, thinking they had misheard.
An upper noble family had been uprooted, noble privileges openly trampled, a millennium-old barrier broken… how could this possibly be a good thing?
Tokimune walked to the center of the courtroom, standing with his hands behind his back:
"You only saw the Kasumioji Clan fall, saw Chiaki Setsuna's arrogance. You did not consider that he has also, for us, opened an unprecedented 'door'."
He paused, his gaze becoming sharp. "Since the status of an upper noble family can be abolished due to crimes..."
"Then, theoretically, the status of the [Five Great Nobles] can also be abolished, can it not?"
"What? Abolish the status of the [Five Great Nobles]?"
These words were like thunder, exploding in the minds of all elders and judges.
A shock and fear ten times, a hundred times stronger than when they heard Setsuna wanted to abolish the Kasumioji Clan's status instantly seized their hearts!
The Five Great Nobles… those were the creation families of Soul Society, the supreme existences directly related to the founding of the three worlds, truly 'coexisting with the world'.
Their history was the history of Soul Society. For a million years, no matter how turbulent Soul Society or how regimes changed, the transcendent status of the Five Great Nobles had never been shaken.
Even though the power of the Five Great Nobles had contracted somewhat in recent years, they still remained rule-makers, transcending all rules.
Abolish the status of the Five Great Nobles? That would truly be overturning the very cornerstone of Soul Society's existence.
The turmoil it would trigger would be nothing like the destruction of the Kasumioji Clan. It could be a massive wave sweeping across all of Soul Society, even affecting the balance of the three worlds!
"Tokimune-sama, these words... are these words not too extreme?" A highly senior elder braced himself and asked in a trembling voice.
Other elders also cast incredulous glances his way.
They did not understand why the Tsunayashiro Clan, as the head of the Five Great Nobles, would voluntarily propose such an almost 'self-destructive' idea?
Tokimune merely smiled faintly. "Everyone, do not panic. Naturally, I am not saying we should do it in one step and immediately abolish one of the Five Great Nobles. That would be no different from seeking our own destruction and would also trigger uncontrollable chaos."
"I plan to first test the positions of the Kuchiki and Shihoin Clans. Besides the Shiba Clan, which has allowed itself to degenerate, the other families can be won over."
"Once we reintegrate the power of the Five Great Nobles and reconvene the Five Great Nobles Conference, I can issue orders to the Zero Division, letting them restore order to the chaos in the Gotei 13."
"Reconvene the Five Great Nobles Conference?"
This term was unfamiliar to many younger elders, but those oldest, well-versed in hidden history, instantly changed expression dramatically.
That was an even more ancient and more core power structure than the Central 46.
Before the establishment of the Gotei 13 and the perfection of the Central 46 System...
The supreme decision-making power in Soul Society had always been held by the [Five Great Nobles Conference], directly participated in by the heads of the Five Great Noble families.
That was the true 'source of rules' transcending all rules, capable of even driving the Zero Division.
Some elders hesitated. Reconvening the Five Great Nobles Conference meant the Central 46 might once again become a subordinate executive body or advisory body under it.
They couldn't help weighing in their minds: which posed a greater threat… Chiaki Setsuna, or the Five Great Nobles Conference?
Tokimune asked in a gentle tone, "You will all support me, won't you?"
Although his tone was gentle, all the elders perceived the chill behind these words.
Connecting it to some rumors about the Tsunayashiro Clan, they immediately declared their position:
"Support, of course we support."
"For the stability and future of Soul Society, reconvening the Five Great Nobles Conference is indeed necessary."