Who are you calling a stable boy?!

He knew it was done.

Then, Milneren quickly composed himself, turned around with just the right amount of respect, faced Mole City, and bowed slightly.

"As you wish, Captain Mole City."

-

"I have also heard about this matter."

Upon hearing Aizen's words, Zheng Jing exchanged a glance with him and immediately understood.

I've only heard of it.

It was clear that when Kenpachi Nazaka submitted the plan to the Central 46, the document directly fell into Old Blue's hands and was personally reviewed by him.

With Lao Lan's memory, he certainly wouldn't forget this.

"This matter did circulate among some nobles at the time, but it was basically used by those nobles as a topic of conversation to ridicule Captain Mole City."

Yoruichi seemed a little irritable.

She tapped on the copies of the dossier she had brought, which contained information about Kenpachi Momoshiro.

"Although some talented individuals do emerge in Rukongai, and sometimes even unparalleled geniuses like you and Aizen appear..."

As she said this, she glanced at Zheng Jing and Aizen.

"But most of the residents of Rukongai simply do not have the potential to become combatants."

"Even those criminals who dare to trespass into the Seireitei and have a notorious reputation, if they really face a Hollow, even if it is a Hollow that has only been born for a short time, they will probably become useless cowards."

Yoruichi sighed.

"Furthermore, those good-for-nothings are already used to looking down on the residents of Rukongai, treating them like dirt..."

She curled her lip, making no attempt to hide the disdain in her expression.

"To them, Captain Mole City's plan was nothing but a ridiculous joke."

"The 46th Chamber probably thought the same way, so the plan was officially rejected less than a week after it was submitted, on the grounds that it was impractical and a waste of resources."

"Actually, I've heard about this before."

At this point, Yoruichi rubbed her temples.

"To my shame, I didn't take it too seriously at the time, just thinking that Captain Mocha's ideas were a bit... too radical. It wasn't until this time, when I reinvestigated his recent whereabouts, that I discovered that in the year since he took over as captain of the 11th Division, he has been going to Rukongai with an unusually high frequency!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Jing raised an eyebrow.

"How to say?"

"Generally speaking, the Eleventh Division does indeed have the highest frequency of missions to Rukongai."

Yoruichi said, "In addition, the Eleventh Division has a precedent of recruiting members directly from Rukongai to replenish fresh blood. Among the Kenpachi series, there are many like Azajo who came from Rukongai, or who went to Rukongai specifically to search for promising talents. So I didn't really pay much attention to this aspect before."

"After all, as the new Kenpachi and captain of the 11th Division, Azashiro can indeed legitimately go to Rukongai. As long as he reports his trip as being to search for talent, inspect the situation, or carry out a cleanup mission, it won't attract anyone's special attention..."

Yoruichi's tone suddenly turned somber, and she picked up a copy of the dossier and tossed it into Zheng Jing's hand.

"But he went there way too often!"

"In the first half of his first year in office, he visited Rukongai eight times."

"And since his renovation plan was officially rejected by the 46th Chamber six months ago, the number of times he went to Rukongai has skyrocketed to 22 in the following six months!"

Yoruichi poked the copy of the dossier in Zheng Jing's hand repeatedly.

"Most importantly, in all 30 of these reporting records, he went alone without any of the Eleventh Division members accompanying him."

"So many solo operations? Didn't anyone in the Eleventh Division find it strange or... oh, I see."

Zheng Jing was halfway through his question when he realized what was happening.

He recalled what he had heard from the 8th Division Captain, Kyoraku Shunsui, about the duel a year ago between the former Kenpachi, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, and Azumajo, which determined who would become the captain.

When Kenpachi Kuruyashiki was in office, he was a highly respected and beloved captain not only within the Eleventh Division but also throughout the entire Seireitei.

His passing was undoubtedly a huge blow to the Eleventh Division members who had come together because of him.

Although at the last moment, Kuruyashiki himself acknowledged Azaki's strength and passed on the name Kenpachi, it was extremely difficult to get the veteran members of the Eleventh Division to accept and be loyal to this new captain from the bottom of their hearts within just one year, given their deep affection for Kuruyashiki.

In fact, according to Zheng Jing, the number of members of the Eleventh Division, especially those with more seniority and stronger abilities, has decreased by nearly one-third in the past year.

Generally speaking, members of the Gotei 14 do not voluntarily leave the team unless they are retired due to injury or die in the line of duty.

Therefore, one-third of the squad members were actually transferred to other squads through various channels.

It is said that Kenpachi Azajo approved all of these transfer requests to leave the Eleventh Division without any attempt to retain them or make things difficult for them, and he was unusually calm... even indifferent.

"It seems he's not very popular within his own team."

Zheng Jing scratched his cheek.

A captain who cannot unite his team members will naturally tend to act alone, and no one would find that strange if they knew the situation.

Ye nodded, acknowledging Zheng Jing's assessment.

"In fact, if Captain Mole City really intends to start from scratch and cultivate a group of loyal and trusted men to replace the disloyal veteran members, then it makes perfect sense that he goes to Rukongai so frequently to find and select talents with clean backgrounds and high potential."

She crossed her arms and shook her head.

"This can even be described as a radical approach of breaking down the old to build the new, which is very bold."

"But I don't know why."

Yoruichi's tone turned somber again.

She looked at Zheng Jing, Aizen, and Kisuke.

"After connecting all of this—his proposed plan, its swift rejection, his unusually increased trips to Rukongai, his isolation within the group, and his unexplained style of doing things... the more I read, the more uneasy I felt!"

She pursed her lips, her gaze fixed on Zheng Jing, her tone serious.

“Gorilla Sutra, I’m serious, you’d better be careful with Captain Mole City. He’s not someone to be underestimated.”

"You should know that his Zanpakuto ability... To this day, no one in the Imperial Court knows anything about it."

Chapter Twenty-Seven: You're not going to act anymore, are you?

Zheng Jing naturally kept Yoruichi's concerns in mind.

Even if this was just a concern arising from her intuition, it was still the same.

Of course, as the captain of the second division and the head of the criminal investigation team, Yoruichi would not hesitate to send more people to investigate Kenpachi Azajo further since she already had suspicions.

However, since Azajo is the current captain of the 11th Division and the contemporary Kenpachi, even if Yoruichi is in charge of the Execution Army, it is not appropriate for her to directly send someone to monitor Azajo Kenpachi.

It's fine if she's not discovered, but if she's exposed before we get solid evidence, and Kenpachi goes to the Captain-Commander to complain, Yoruichi will definitely get a scolding.

Or should we directly report our concerns and the information we have gathered to the captain?

However, based on this information alone, lacking decisive evidence, Yoruichi felt that the Captain-Commander probably wouldn't allow her to treat Azashiro, who was Kenpachi, directly as a suspect.

While Yoruichi was still pondering countermeasures, she never expected that Kenpachi Azajo would make a new move the very next day.

This move was an incredibly big one!

He submitted his plan to the 46th Chamber to modify the souls of the Rukongai residents once again.

Moreover, this time, in his proposal, he promised to present convincing success stories.

-

The Central 46 Chambers, the hall that symbolizes the highest power in Soul Society in the eyes of the nobles, remains as sinister as ever.

The spacious and empty hall was dimly lit, with the only light source being the few ever-burning lamps embedded in the high walls.

They barely illuminated the forty-six shadows that sat atop the layers of steps.

This place looks exactly the same as when Zheng Jing was tried back then.

However, the one standing below now is not Zheng Jing.

Kenpachi Momoshiro stood there alone, tall and expressionless.

Diao seemed to have become accustomed to this scene of being interrogated.

"Captain Mole City".

The leading sage spoke, his aged yet dignified voice echoing in the empty hall.

"You claim in your plan that you can present successful case studies. What exactly are you referring to? We need to see concrete proof."

Kenpachi Momoshiro nodded slightly.

"Seeing is believing. Please, wise men, provide information on a notorious criminal from Rukongai."

The wise men exchanged their opinions in hushed tones and quickly reached a consensus.

"......All right."

Shortly after the order was given, the heavy sound of shackles being dragged came from afar.

A serious criminal was brought in.

This prisoner comes from the Zaraki Ward of Rukongai. He has committed numerous crimes, including murdering many innocent residents and breaking into Seireitei, where he killed two ordinary members of the Gotei 13 and a student who had not yet graduated from the Spirit Arts Academy. He is truly a notorious villain.

Because he remained agitated and restless in prison, constantly spewing profanities and roaring, his mouth was tightly sewn shut with specially made spiritual needles and threads, and he could only utter a suppressed and hateful whimper from his throat.

Secured to the center of the hall by heavy iron shackles, the convict was unable to stand and could only kneel on the ground in a humiliating posture.

Even so, he still struggled fiercely, raised his head, and stared intently at Kenpachi Momoshiro in front of him with bloodshot eyes. His gaze was filled with violence, madness, and a kind of bestial hatred.

It was as if he would pounce on the person in front of him without hesitation and tear them to pieces if he could break free of his restraints.

Kenpachi Momoshiro looked down at the serious criminal, ignoring the criminal's malicious whimpers.

Under the watchful eyes of forty-six sages, he slowly raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and pointed it lightly at the serious criminal.

The movement was so light and casual, as if it were merely brushing away a speck of dust from the air.

However, this seemingly random point led to an astonishing change.

The convict, who had been struggling and making strange noises, suddenly stiffened.

All struggling movements stopped instantly, and the unpleasant whimpering sound from its throat also ceased abruptly.

Immediately afterwards, a series of dense crackling sounds rang out from inside his body!

The sound wasn't loud, but it was enough to send chills down the spine of anyone who heard it.

With a crackling sound, blood blossoms burst from the prisoner's body, and his snow-white prison uniform was instantly stained with a translucent scarlet.

He had become a blood-soaked figure, with almost no intact skin on his body.

The strong smell of blood immediately overpowered the stale, musty stench that permeated Room 46 year-round.

Even more terrifying is that, despite enduring such horrifying injuries, the repeat offender did not utter a single groan of pain.

He was neither unconscious nor dead.

It was just too quiet.

The silence was so profound, as if all emotions had been suddenly lost, and no pain could be felt.

His body made no struggle, only trembled slightly, like the body of a fish whose head had been suddenly chopped off.

It seemed that this body of flesh and blood no longer belonged to this serious criminal.

No, to be more precise, at this moment, he is no longer a person with an independent will.

It's more like...

A tool.

"stand up."

Kenpachi Azajo's voice rang out.

The moment the order was given, the blood-soaked criminal stood up abruptly without any hesitation.

"Clatter-clatter!"

The heavy iron shackles binding him were specially made instruments of torture, powerful enough to suppress even a death god of the highest rank. Yet, under the sudden burst of power he unleashed, they were torn apart and shattered like fragile, withered wood!

The chains and fragments lay scattered on the ground, making a jarring metallic clanging sound.

This means that, after that seemingly casual touch from Mole City, the villain who was originally only strong enough to bully ordinary team members has undergone a tremendous transformation in his physical abilities, reaching an astonishing level!