Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 444 Orochimaru and Mayuri Kurotsuchi, they are sworn brothers!

After explaining all these things.

Bane was having tea when Genjiro Okabe walked in from outside the courtyard, accompanied by Orochimaru.

"Lord Spirit Lord, Orochimaru-sensei says he has something to discuss with you," Genjiro Okabe said softly.

Normally, even if someone comes looking for Bane, they would be taken to the reception room to wait. Then it would depend on whether Bane was willing to see them. If he was not, Genjiro Okabe would tell them something like, "The Spirit Lord is busy with affairs and it is inconvenient to meet him today. Please come again another day."

Orochimaru is different. Orochimaru's public persona is directly that of a "retainer of the Spirit Lord".

In other words, Bane has never bought a house in Seireitei. He has always gone with the flow. When he returned to the Shinigami Academy, he lived in the courtyard there. When he was in the Ninth Division, he lived in the courtyard here.

Otherwise, Orochimaru would have lived with Bane, thus solidifying the concept of a 'vassal'.

Because of his status, Genjiro Okabe could not make things difficult for him, and every time he came to see Bane, he would go directly to Bane.

"Have you two had breakfast?" Bane greeted them with a smile.

Genjiro Okiga nodded and said, "I had already eaten before you arrived."

This detail also shows that the atmosphere in the Ninth Division is very harmonious, without many rules, such as having to wait for the captain to appear before you can start eating.

Orochimaru smiled and said, "No, it's been a long time since I've had Kensei's breakfast at the fifth ceremonial table. I've been missing it, so I came here so early today just for this."

Kensei Muguruma, who had just been saddened by Bane and Shinji Hirako's comment that he was "tired of the food," immediately perked up and exclaimed happily, "Great! My cooking skills are recognized after all!"

Orochimaru and Bane are very familiar with each other and there's nothing between them. He also has a good relationship with Hirako Shinji and others.

He sat down at the table, took the bowl and chopsticks, and began to eat.

As Bane sipped his tea, he casually asked, "What brings you here?"

"Excuse me," Orochimaru replied casually.

"Going to see Mayuri Kurotsuchi again? Or should I find an excuse to have Senjumaru arrest you, throw you in the big prison, and arrange for you to be Mayuri's cellmate?" Bane complained.

Ever since Orochimaru discovered Mayuri Kurotsuchi, he's treated him like a treasure, always wanting to chat with him whenever he has a spare moment.

It has to be said that he and Mayuri Kurotsuchi are a match made in heaven and sworn brothers. Not only do they have similar interests, but their personalities and ways of doing things are also like they were born from the same mother!

Orochimaru repeatedly refused Kisuke Urahara's invitations, partly because he was unwilling to leave the Shinigami Academy and wanted to continue improving himself there.

On the other hand, she felt that it was better not to get too close to Kisuke Urahara.

Maintaining a certain distance, and that sense of beauty that comes from distance, would definitely lead to irreconcilable ideological conflicts between the two if they were to actually spend every day together.

After all, Kisuke Urahara still had some principles when it came to scientific research; he was still a decent human being.

Orochimaru, on the other hand, was truly inhuman.

Conversely, Orochimaru and Mayuri Kurotsuchi are like fish in a rotten pond, completely compatible. Even though Mayuri Kurotsuchi is in jail, Orochimaru still tirelessly visits him.

What was that saying again?

Urahara Kisuke's goddess...cough.

"Then forget it. Besides, I came prepared this time." Orochimaru put down the bowl of porridge, took out a document from his robes, and handed it to Bane, saying, "Take a look and see if it's alright?"

"What is this?" Bane took it and began to look through it.

After a moment, Bane asked in surprise, "You mean, as the headmaster of the Kidoin Academy, I should sign this application and then hand it over to me as the captain of the Ninth Division, thereby procedurally reducing Mayuri Kurotsuchi's sentence and releasing him?"

"Although it's you on both my left and right hands," Orochimaru chuckled, "the procedures are completely in accordance with the law, and there's substantial academic paper to support it, isn't there? The paper that Mayuri Kurotsuchi and I co-authored and published in this academic journal has been approved. It's progressive for Soul Society and meets the criteria for a reduced sentence."

Upon hearing this, Hirako Shinji smiled and said, "It sounds rather sordid, but upon closer inspection, it's not sordid at all; it conforms to procedural justice."

"If I remember correctly, Mayuri Kurotsuchi only has less than four years left in his sentence, right? Giving him a reduced sentence wouldn't be a big problem, it's just a little bit earlier," Hiyori Sarugaki pondered for a moment and said.

Prisoners in jail can indeed have their sentences reduced if they do something that contributes to the progress of Soul Society.

Of course, it depends on whether Warden Bane approves it or not.

But under normal circumstances, you're already in prison, how could you possibly have the opportunity to benefit the Soul Society!?

It was thanks to Mayuri Kurotsuchi having connections outside, with Orochimaru as a friend who ran around helping him, and even co-authored a paper with him, that he would have had this opportunity.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Bane put the application form on the table, took out his seal as the headmaster of the Ghost Path Academy from his pocket, and pressed it onto the application form.

Then, he put away the seal of the headmaster of the Kidoin Academy, took out the seal of his own Ninth Division Great Warden, flipped through a few pages, and pressed it on the last page, which was considered as approval.

That's power. He doesn't need to ask anyone else for approval; he can complete this whole legal and legitimate process all by himself!

From the moment he put down his seal, Mayuri Kurotsuchi regained his freedom.

After putting away the seal, Bane looked at Orochimaru and said, "I told you last time, you better behave yourself and don't cause the same mess you did back in Konoha. When you were doing research with the Ryukon, the Second Division was already watching you. If it weren't for Kisuke Urahara's help and my influence, you might have already been taken to the Maggot Nest."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru retorted firmly, "The Second Division is utterly lawless, arbitrarily arresting and imprisoning people. Is this system reasonable? Besides, although I use Ryukon, I only use traitors captured by the Eleventh Division after their extermination of rebels. I haven't caused any trouble in Rukongai. Can those traitors even be considered human? I'm not afraid to take this matter to the Central 46 Chambers. This is what it means to have a clear conscience!"

Hearing the phrase "A straight body casts a straight shadow" from Orochimaru's mouth made Bane feel like he'd taken the wrong medicine.

"Tell me honestly, is everything under your butt clean?" Bane asked after thinking for a moment.

Orochimaru paused for a moment, then rubbed his nose somewhat embarrassedly and said, "Scientific research can be a little dirty, but I haven't crossed that line."

"You didn't draw that line in the right place, and you even crossed it," Bane complained.

However, Bane's words were merely a reminder to Orochimaru not to go too far. As for whether the Second Division would actually dare to arrest Orochimaru and imprison him in the Maggot Nest?

That's probably out of the question. Orochimaru's current persona is that of a retainer of the Spirit Lord. As long as the Shihōin family doesn't intend to turn against him, they can't possibly arrest Orochimaru and imprison him in the Maggot Nest without any evidence.

Otherwise, it wouldn't be slapping Orochimaru's butt; it would be slapping Bane's face.

Not a single mistake, not a single poem, not a single post, not a single piece of content, not a single look!

He's been in the Soul Society for so long, and even the Soul King's Palace doesn't dare to mess around with him. How could the Second Division have the guts to do that?

Orochimaru isn't like Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who has no backing and can be manipulated by others.

At the same time, if Orochimaru goes too far and is criticized, it will be Bane who loses face. That's why Bane often reminds Orochimaru not to cause too much trouble.

As for scientific research, there's really no way around it. Even someone as decent as Kisuke Urahara secretly conducts research on the Hogyoku.

If this matter is taken too seriously, it could be sent to the Central 46th Bureau, and Kisuke Urahara would immediately be sent to Bane's territory as a guest.

Let alone Kisuke Urahara, even Kiryu Hikifune's research on temporary souls also has its irregularities.

It's just that everyone turns a blind eye to these things. If you don't weigh the facts, the matter won't be considered serious. But if you do weigh the facts, everyone involved will be sent to jail and sentenced to several years in prison.

After finishing breakfast and chatting for a while, Bane and his group soon headed towards the underground prison.

The entrance was still so close, so there was no delay.

But today was quite unusual. As I passed by the entrance to the Great Book of Spirituality, I happened to see Kyoraku Shunsui sitting on the steps, looking utterly listless.

"Oh ho, you're here for work?" Bane looked at Kyoraku Shunsui with a teasing expression.

"That's certainly a strange thing," Hirako Shinji added from the side.

Kyoraku Shunsui stood up abruptly and said, "What are you talking about? I'm just usually too busy with the Eighth Division's affairs to be in the Great Spirit Book Corridor. I just happened to have nothing to do today, so I came here to take my post."

Bane looked at Lisa Yadomaru, who stood respectfully behind Kyoraku Shunsui like a secretary, and asked, "Is that really the case? Is it true what our Kyoraku captain said?"

Lisa Yadomaru smiled almost imperceptibly as she picked up on the teasing remark, saying, "No."

"Hahahaha." Everyone laughed along with him upon hearing this.

Kyoraku Shunsui smiled helplessly and shook his head, not caring. After all, slacking off was the norm for him, and as long as he could get things done, it didn't matter if everyone laughed at him.

Moreover, although he often cheats and makes excuses to take time off.

But who can say that he is incompetent?

The most important thing is that anything entrusted to him that requires his serious attention has almost never gone wrong!

"Orochimaru-san, you've come to visit Mayuri Kurotsuchi again today?" Kyoraku Shunsui greeted Orochimaru casually upon seeing him.

Orochimaru said with a smile, "Today should be the last time. It's time for him to be released from prison."

Kyoraku Shunsui didn't see anything wrong with Bane taking Orochimaru to the Great Prison. After all, the Great Prison wasn't against visiting prisoners; it was just that Orochimaru was coming a bit too often. But then again, there was no limit to the number of visits. As long as Bane, the warden of the Great Prison, was willing, Orochimaru could come every day, which was in accordance with the rules.

Since it complies with the rules, there's nothing wrong with it.

"I think it's better for him not to go out." Kyoraku Shunsui sighed and said, "Either he should just join the Spirit Lord as a retainer, or given what he did back then, even if he finishes his sentence, he'll still be watched by the Second Division, and he might get arrested any day now."

"That guy would never be my retainer," Bane laughed, waving his hand dismissively. "Good luck."

Bane served as the warden of this prison for 160 years and was very familiar with Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Otherwise, how would Orochimaru have known about such a person?

Therefore, he was very certain that even if Mayuri Kurotsuchi were captured by the Second Division and taken to the Maggot Nest, he would never become his retainer; that guy still had that much pride.

Later, when he became the captain of the 12th Division, he continued to do as he pleased, and didn't even take Yamamoto Genryusai seriously.

Orochimaru said with a hint of helplessness, "Now that you mention it, Captain Kyoraku, I'm starting to have doubts. It seems like that's really the case."

(End of this chapter)