Seeing Rangiku's attitude, Toshiro twitched at the corner of his mouth, barely suppressing his urge to get angry.
Toshiro felt that if he nitpicked with Rangiku, he'd definitely be driven mad.
'Sigh! Looks like I need to find a secretary to help with the workload.'
Toshiro sighed inwardly.
'Hmm, the secretary should definitely be female, young, beautiful, and capable. As the saying goes, 'Let the secretary handle matters, and when there's nothing...''
'Cough, when there's nothing, everyone can chat, talk, discuss life and ideals, right?'
'But who should I look for?'
Toshiro pondered.
Among Shinigami, males generally outnumber females. Finding a female secretary to his liking wouldn't be easy.
'Oh right, Momo!'
Toshiro suddenly realized.
In the original story, Momo was the 5th Division's Lieutenant, and her abilities were quite outstanding.
Although Momo initially joined the 10th Division with Toshiro, she had been diligently training herself to be of help to Toshiro. So, her current abilities were still quite remarkable.
Thinking this, Toshiro called out, "Matsumoto."
"Hmph, begging won't help. I said I won't do it, and I won't."
Rangiku said proudly.
"Fine, I won't make you handle the work, okay?"
Toshiro said helplessly.
"Hehe, Captain, you said it yourself."
Hearing she didn't have to handle work, Rangiku immediately cheered up.
"Alright, alright, no work for you. But I need you to run an errand for me… call Momo over."
Toshiro said.
"Momo? Sure."
Rangiku had just eaten a bit too much and wanted to take a stroll anyway.
Shortly after, Rangiku brought Momo over.
Upon hearing Toshiro wanted her help with some work, Momo agreed without hesitation.
For Momo, she had been training herself relentlessly precisely to be of help to Toshiro. Now that Toshiro asked her to assist with work, she didn't find it troublesome at all. Instead, she seemed quite happy.
The next day.
10th Division, Captain's Office.
"Momo, I need to accompany the Captain-Commander to the Central 46. So, I'm leaving the division's work in your hands for now."
Toshiro instructed Momo.
"Mm, don't worry, Toshiro. I'll definitely handle the division's work properly. I won't let you down."
Momo nodded seriously, her small face taut.
Seeing this, Toshiro couldn't help but pinch Momo's cheek. "Silly, no need to be so serious. Even if you don't handle it perfectly, it's fine. I'll review it when I get back—"
"Annoying... Don't pinch my cheek."
Momo said somewhat shyly.
"Haha, alright. I'll be off then."
Toshiro laughed.
…
1st Division, Duty Room.
"Genryusai-sensei, I'm here."
Toshiro entered.
"Mm. Since you're here, let's go."
With that, Yamamoto stood up and walked out.
On the way, Toshiro couldn't help but ask, "Genryusai-sensei, what's the matter with the Central 46 this time? Why do I need to attend as well?"
Generally, orders from the Central 46 are issued by the 1st Division. So, within the Gotei 13, the division with the most contact with the Central 46 is the 1st Division.
Other divisions rarely have direct contact with the Central 46.
"No need to worry. There's nothing particularly special about summoning you this time. It's just that you've been officially designated as the next Captain-Commander candidate and have become Vice-Captain Commander of the Gotei 13. So, the Central 46 merely wish to meet you. After all, once you become Captain-Commander in the future, you'll frequently interact with them."
Yamamoto explained.
"Is that so?"
Toshiro said noncommittally.
Then, Yamamoto and Toshiro continued towards the Central 46.
On the way, as they walked, Toshiro contemplated matters regarding the Central 46.
The Central 46 is a collective council composed of nobles and elders, similar to the upper house of parliament in some countries.
It consists of forty sages and six judges, serving as the highest judicial authority in the Soul Society, wielding immense power.
Any crimes committed by Shinigami, whether in the Soul Society or the Living World, are subject to trial by the Central 46.
If a judgment requires military force, orders are issued to the Gotei 13 or other execution units through secret channels using encrypted command tokens.
Once a verdict is rendered, even Yamamoto cannot dispute it.
In Toshiro's view, if the Soul King is likened to an emperor, then the Central 46 represent civil officials managing governance.
Meanwhile, the Gotei 13 represents military officials managing military power.
However, just like periods in China's dynasties where civil officials were prioritized over military ones, leaving generals suppressed, the status of the Central 46 is also higher than that of the Gotei 13.
Generally, orders issued by the Central 46 must be obeyed by the Gotei 13.
If the Central 46's decisions were fair and just, the Gotei 13 obeying wouldn't be an issue.
But the crux is, regardless of whether the Central 46's decisions are right or wrong, the Gotei 13 is not allowed to object. This rule has led to the Central 46's power becoming extremely inflated.
As the saying goes, absolute power leads to absolute corruption. The current Central 46 is utterly rotten.
In Toshiro's view, the Central 46's supremacy over the Gotei 13 is highly abnormal.
Because this is a world with supernatural powers, where the strong prey on the weak.
The Gotei 13, as the 'strong', must be led by the Central 46, who are 'weaker', yet also extremely rigid and self-righteous. This seems strange no matter how you look at it.
It's like the late period of a dynasty, when the world is in turmoil and heroes rise. In such times, power typically stems from the barrel of a gun, and whoever has the strongest force is the boss.
But the 'stronger' Gotei 13 must accept the leadership of the Central 46.
'Perhaps that's precisely why the Soul King allowed the Gotei 13 to be led by the Central 46?'
Toshiro speculated inwardly.
'However, once I become Captain-Commander, I won't let the Central 46 ride roughshod over the Gotei 13, bossing us around.'
Toshiro thought firmly to himself.
After walking with Yamamoto for a while, they arrived at the Central 46 Compound.