Ichigo leaves and takes up residence in Soul Society!

Unohana Retsu stepped forward and admonished him in a stern yet regretful tone.

Matsumoto Rangiku also squeezed out of the crowd, her face full of concern.

"team leader……!"

Although both of them meant well, Toshiro had no such concept in his mind. As soon as he sensed someone approaching, he lost control of his emotions and roared in fury.

"Get away! Get away from me!"

"Captain, calm down!"

"If you dare take one step forward... I'll kill you all."

"!?"

Matsumoto Rangiku was stopped by Unohana Retsu.

Even if she hadn't done that, she would have already been frozen in place.

Because Toshiro's words were not a roar.

It's more like the serious tone used when handling official business.

Correct.

He means it.

Unohana Retsu sighed softly, then helped up the frightened Yuune, intending to ask her about the specific details of the crime scene.

At that moment, a frivolous voice began to lament.

"That's so pitiful."

"A kind, well-behaved, and clever girl, such a lovable girl, died just like that... This world is so cruel, always hurting such kind and good girls."

"People who can do such things are crueler than the world itself."

"Who did this... It's so hard to guess. If we had seen through this person's true colors sooner, this wouldn't have happened."

Everyone subconsciously followed the sound.

In this oppressive atmosphere, as if it were a powder keg, Ichimaru Gin sat leisurely on the wooden handrail under the eaves of the corridor.

"What an ill-timed remark..."

Kyoraku lowered the brim of his hat and muttered something.

"Ah, he did it on purpose."

Ukitake's expression was somber.

Anyone could see that Gin Ichimaru was intentionally provoking Toshiro.

Although he lamented and tried to put on a regretful expression, his smiling face showed no sign of tension, which only made people feel... an indescribable irony.

"Captain Ichimaru..."

Aizen seemed to want to support his vice-captain, but Toshiro suddenly stood up and glared at Gin Ichimaru with murderous intent.

"Did you do this? Ichimaru...!"

"What are you saying all of a sudden, Captain Hitsugaya~"

Gin Ichimaru looked panicked, but his reaction was a bit exaggerated.

"you……!"

This familiar line appeared in a conversation with Aizen not long ago.

Furthermore, the previously mentioned thought, "If I had seen through this person's true colors earlier, this wouldn't have happened," suddenly brought to Toshiro's mind the strange, unsettling behavior of Gin Ichimaru after driving away Urahara's gang yesterday.

In an instant, it seemed like I had found the answer.

It seems I've figured out the truth.

The reason for restlessness.

Aizen's unwarranted warning to Gin Ichimaru.

And now, his words and actions are full of irony, as if he were admiring his own masterpiece.

All the clues vaguely point to Gin Ichimaru.

Normally, evidence needs to be collected before a suspect can be classified as a criminal.

But Toshiro couldn't care less about all that.

The moment the thought that "Hinamori was most likely killed by this man" crossed her mind, the fragile string of reason that had been worn down to the last thread by her rage snapped completely.

"Aaaaaaah! I'm going to kill you, Ichimaru—!"

The scabbard transformed into spirit particles, and Toshiro raised the blade, which was wrapped in icy torrents.

Enraged and out of control, he was prepared to take revenge at all costs.

"Swastika...!"

boom!

Just as the tide of spiritual pressure was about to form a blizzard that would engulf the surroundings, Toshiro was struck hard on the back of the neck and immediately fell unconscious to the ground.

The crowd lowered their hands from their faces and saw the old man with a cane next to the white-haired boy, then realized what had happened.

"Commander-Commander!?"

"With so many people here, they can't even control one captain. I have to take action myself. This is getting more and more ridiculous."

Yamamoto Genryusai's scathing rebuke left the captains speechless and the vice-captains trembling in fear.

After he finished cursing, Kyoraku chuckled and said, "Don't be angry, old man. We were just afraid of making things worse, so we decided to wait and see. Besides, this is the First Division barracks, so in every sense, it's not our place to deal with it."

"Stop talking nonsense, what exactly is going on?"

Yamamoto Genryusai slightly widened his eyes, his calm and solemn gaze sweeping over the girl's corpse and the unconscious Toshiro, then over the smiling but silent Ichimaru Gin, and finally settling on Unohana Retsu's face.

"Yongyin?"

"Ah? It's...it's like this!"

Yongyin shuddered and quickly recounted what had happened.

"I met up with everyone in the adjutant's office, but Vice-Captain Hinamori was still nowhere to be seen. We were all discussing why she, who is always so responsible, would be late. With the meeting almost over, I went to the restroom, and when I came out, I found that Vice-Captain Hinamori was..."

"So, she was already like that when you came out, right?"

Unohana Retsu stepped forward to examine the corpse, her brows furrowed in concentration.

"Yes! I swear I'm not lying!"

Yongyin was very flustered, fearing that she would be mistaken for the prime suspect.

“I can attest that what Vice Captain Kotetsu said is the truth.”

Renji raised his hand with a serious expression.

“She screamed less than half a minute after she went out. At that distance and in that time, it was impossible for us not to notice anything.”

"I agree with Abarai's opinion."

Kira glanced at Gin Ichimaru with a rather complicated expression.

"Vice Captain Kotetsu has a good relationship with Hinamori and has no motive for committing the crime. Moreover, she belongs to the medical squad, so to put it bluntly... she does not have the ability to commit the crime."

"So, it seems the incident... occurred even earlier? Aizen, what do you have to say?"

Soi Fon pinched her chin and suddenly threw a question at Aizen.

Feeling everyone's gaze, Aizen's expression was heavy, with a hint of disbelief still lingering.

You can tell at a glance how complicated his feelings are.

"Hinamori... works very hard, extremely hard, so when she said she had a report to send to the First Division after her commute last night, I didn't pay much attention until this morning when I found out she hadn't come back... Although I was worried, I thought she might be staying somewhere else and would definitely come to the meeting this morning, so I came over by myself."

"Afterwards, I attended a meeting, heard the commotion, and rushed to the scene with everyone."

"I am ashamed that I was so careless as the captain. If I had just sent an email to inquire about the situation, I might have noticed something, and perhaps... Hinamori wouldn't have died."

"I'm sorry for her."

Upon hearing this, Yamamoto Genryusai gave Soi Fon a look, and the latter understood immediately.

“I’ve taken your testimony into account. You are not allowed to leave the First Division until I lead my team to find out the truth.”

"Understood, I will cooperate."

Aizen seemed to be immersed in self-blame for causing the death of his subordinates, and actually felt better about being restricted in his personal freedom.

"And you, Ichimaru..."

Soi Fon stared coldly at Gin Ichimaru.

"Spare me! I didn't do anything! Do you expect me to stay here and be investigated?"

Gin Ichimaru raised his hands, looking completely innocent.

"Stop pretending. You're not afraid at all... But I'm different from Captain Hitsugaya. I'll investigate and gather evidence before taking action. If this matter is really related to you, no matter how much you put on an act, it won't help."

"So you're not going to restrict my personal freedom, right? Well... Izuru, let's go back first. After all, we still have so many important things to do right now, we can't stay here and dawdle any longer."

"stop."

Yamamoto Genryusai suddenly called out to Ichimaru Gin, who was about to take Kira Izuru with him.

"Is there anything else you need, Captain?"

Gin Ichimaru paused, turning to look at the old man.

Yamamoto Genryusai ignored him, looked around at everyone present, and slammed his cane on the ground, creating a small dent.

"This is a special wartime order."

"All members are permitted to equip and release their Zanpakuto at any time."

"In special circumstances, you may leave the jurisdiction and act independently, but you must notify the First Division immediately."

"One more thing... Maintain regular contact with each squad and those around you, and never lose contact without a valid reason!"

"--above."

"Yes!"

The crowd responded solemnly.

Afterwards, they disbanded and went their separate ways.

Aizen watched silently as Hinamori Momo's body was carried away by Unohana Retsu's men, lost in thought.

After a while, they walked toward the room where the unconscious Toshiro was.

Because of the restrictions on his movements, the important task of investigating the deputy captain's cause of death had to be handed over to someone else.

That's just...there's nothing we can do about it.

Chapter Sixty: Hinamori Momo's Last Will and Testament

West Rukongai, Kukaku Mansion.

"This is truly...quite spectacular."

Kisuke Urahara looked up at the turret in front of him, clicking his tongue in amazement.

But Kukaku, standing to the side, scoffed.

"Come on, do you think I don't know your abilities? You're just not interested. If you wanted to, it wouldn't be impossible for you to do it even better than me."

"It's an honor to receive praise from Miss Kukaku, but we're friends, so since Miss Kukaku is already researching it, there's no need for me to do so. I can just borrow it when needed, right?"

"...Hey, Yoruichi, can I kick this shameless guy out?"

"I advise you not to do that."

Yoruichi led Orihime to the turret.

"Why? Are you worried that you'll be short of someone to do odd jobs, run errands, and be thrown out as cannon fodder at crucial moments?"

“That’s a consideration, but the main problem is that this man is too insidious. He’s even capable of doing something like putting on iron shorts and letting the other person kick him until his instep is swollen. I’m worried about your legs. You’ve already lost an arm, so don’t make your life even more inconvenient.”

"Tsk."