Chapter 405

2-in-1 chapter:  

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A large number of hardliners among the traditional noble families were accused of being modified souls in disguise and then disappeared without a trace.

Along with them, the ronin and hired thugs they had cultivated also vanished.

At this point, Kaelith finally dropped the act and bared his fangs—yet they couldn’t mount even the slightest real resistance.

Realizing this, the nobles, filled with despair, returned to their clan estates under Kaelith’s orders and shut their gates.

Those who tried to secretly conspire or gather in the night to plan a countermeasure would disappear without a sound by the next morning.

After several such incidents, the nobles completely gave up on resisting.

Initially, they had hoped that with the sudden dissolution of the Central 46, Kaelith’s people would be unable to manage the massive workload of governmental affairs.

Eventually, they figured, some of them would be invited back as “consultants” to retake power.

But reality crushed that hope.

With Aizen as the lead and Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Shinji Hirako, Jūshirō Ukitake, and Kisuke Urahara assisting, the administrative "task force" not only handled the workload faster than the nobles ever had—they did it better.

Under their management, Seireitei’s efficiency didn’t just hold—it improved significantly.

Just when everyone thought Kaelith had purged the Central 46 to install his own people and form a new political structure, an even more shocking development occurred.

The Transitional Committee deployed a large number of Shinigami to Rukongai.

Their task was simple: select regional representatives.

North, South, East, and West—eighty districts in each direction, totaling three hundred twenty.

Each district would elect two to five representatives based on population, forming the Seireitei Grand Assembly.

The selected representatives had to be genuine community figures who could truly contribute to their regions.

If any bullies or thugs tried to coerce their way into being elected, the consequences would be severe.

As for how to evaluate candidates—

Kaelith had already begun preparing for that with Aizen the moment they took over the Central 46.

Using elite Kidō Corps members as the foundation, Kaelith formed a special task force:

The Mental Strike Unit.

Their mission was simple: master several types of Kidō jointly developed by Aizen and Kisuke Urahara.

These Kidō techniques were designed to probe the mind and spirit.

Though not effective against high-level individuals with deep spiritual pressure, they were more than sufficient for souls living in Rukongai.

The leader of this unit was Kaname Tōsen.

Among the Kaelith faction, he understood the suffering of the common people best. He knew all too well the despair and tragedy that social stratification could cause—he was the only fitting choice.

Under Tōsen’s efforts, representatives were steadily selected for each district.

But a new problem arose.

The Soul Society was simply too vast—from north to south, east to west—160 districts total.

If meetings were to be held regularly, the first thirty districts could manage, but anything beyond that was far too burdensome.

After Tōsen reported this issue, Aizen fell into thought.

If they forced distant representatives to reside within the first thirty districts, the entire point of equal regional selection would be nullified.

But constructing roads wasn’t a short-term solution either.

It seemed this would need to be taken on as a long-term project—mobilizing labor to build a connecting road within three years.

As for what to do during those three years…

While Aizen was still thinking, Kaelith let out a smug little chuckle.

“Leave this to me!”

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Western Rukongai, District 67.

Two middle-aged men stood under the broken eaves of a rundown shack, surrounded by over ten others.

The crowd wore mixed expressions—some excited, some nervous.

But one thing they shared: their clothes were worn and simple, and their feet were bare on the dusty ground.

“Ichirō, don’t hesitate—this is a good thing!”

“Seireitei set up that... assembly so we poor folk would finally have a voice!”

“If you go, you’ll be a real figure—bring some benefits back to District 67!”

Another chimed in, nodding:

“Exactly, Ichirō. I think Seireitei’s serious this time.”

“That bastard Arashirō tried to force people to vote for him just because he’s strong. But the Shinigami saw through him instantly and arrested him!”

An older soul added with emotion:

“Kid, that’s not even the main point… what shocked me wasn’t that they caught Arashirō—it’s what they did after.”

“They didn’t just throw him away. They did follow-up investigations, verified his reputation and conduct, and only after confirming he didn’t meet the qualifications did they officially strip him of eligibility…”

“If this were the nobles of the past? They’d just kill anyone who rubbed them wrong. Who cared about evidence or process?”

The people around nodded in agreement.

For those living in the outer districts, especially beyond 60, nobles and rich folk had never left a good impression.

But… this time, it really seemed like Seireitei was different.

Surrounded by the crowd, the man called Ichirō raised a hand and motioned for calm.

“Everyone, I understand what you’re saying.”

“The issue is… our District 67 is so far from Seireitei—it takes at least a month just to make one trip.”

“At that speed, forget attending meetings—we can’t even guarantee we’ll survive the road. So what’s the point of the Assembly?”

“If you ask me, joining is fine, but don’t expect it to change much…”

At those words, the crowd’s mood grew heavy.

Not far away, the three Shinigami tasked with confirming the district’s representative exchanged glances.

To be honest, they thought it was a big problem too.

When they first set out from Seireitei, it didn’t seem that bad.

But after traveling all the way to District 67, their feet were ready to fall off.

And that was with access to Shunpo.

For normal souls who could only walk… reaching Seireitei was almost laughably impossible.

Similar concerns were being raised across districts beyond the thirtieth.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the crowd:

“Don’t worry—I’ve got a solution.”

The villagers all froze and turned toward the source.

And there, as if appearing from nowhere, stood a man in a Shihakushō, wearing a haori—right in their midst.

“A Sh-Shinigami?!”

The crowd quickly stepped back in surprise.

With everyone staring, Kaelith crossed his arms and grinned:

“I’ve heard your concerns loud and clear!”

Kaelith?

The villagers looked puzzled by the name.

But the three waiting Shinigami instantly widened their eyes in shock.

They used Shunpo to appear before him.

“Acting Captain-Commander!”

All three dropped to one knee in salute.

Upon hearing their words, the villagers were visibly stunned.

Captain-Commander?!

To them, a Shinigami was already a lofty figure—rarely seen unless a Hollow appeared.

A seated officer was already someone they'd likely never meet in a lifetime.

Vice-captains and captains? Entirely out of reach.

And now they'd skipped all those ranks—standing before the Captain-Commander himself!

Even if he was only “acting,” to them it made no difference.

The villagers began to kneel.

But before they could go all the way down, Kaelith reached out and grabbed one of them:

“Stand up. No kneeling.”

“The Captain-Commander is gone—no one’s worth kneeling to anymore.”

“Not even me.”

“I came to Rukongai for three things.”

“The Assembly. Progress. Transportation.”

“The first two are already handled. So I’ll take care of the last one myself!”

With that, he looked around.

Soon, he found an open space that wouldn’t get in the way.

Walking to the clearing, Kaelith spread his arms.

As he moved, a dense black shadow began to spin open slowly.

Very soon, the vortex widened to about 1.5 meters in diameter.

Standing before the swirling gateway, Kaelith nodded in satisfaction:

“Pass through this vortex, and you’ll arrive directly at the Seireitei’s White Path Gate.”

“It’ll automatically absorb reishi from the air to maintain power.”

“Just have someone watch over it to prevent unauthorized use. When it’s time for Assembly, just walk right in.”

Upon hearing this, the villagers all widened their eyes in disbelief.

Though they didn’t know what the “White Path Gate” was… just walking through that thing would take them straight to Seireitei?

Such a miraculous power actually existed in the world?

So this was the Captain-Commander—too strong!

The three Shinigami tasked with confirming the district representative were initially shocked as well.

Then, they couldn’t help but want to complain.

The Captain-Commander is still very much alive, sir… was that “the Captain-Commander is gone” line really necessary...?

Suddenly, one of the Shinigami seemed to realize something and blurted out instinctively:

“C-Captain Kaelith! The spirit particle density in District 67 is very thin—if the gate absorbs spirit particles from the air, wouldn’t that affect the residents here…”

Halfway through speaking, he began to regret it.

The leader had just proudly rolled out a project, and he’d basically slapped him in the face in public.

Would there be any consequences for that?

The two teammates beside him also looked uncomfortable.

Meanwhile, the villager’s expressions turned to fear.

District 67 was a very resource-poor area.

Here, souls relied on absorbing spiritual particles from the air just to barely survive.

If something started competing with them for spirit particles, it could seriously impact their lives.

Kaelith, however, let out a snort and a laugh:

“You think I, Kaelith, didn’t anticipate something like that?”

“Relax. I’ve already set up numerous spirit particle replenishment nodes in Districts 78 through 80.”

“Very soon, what were once the most impoverished nine districts will begin pumping spirit particles outward in reverse.”

“By then, these districts will become as prosperous as those in the first ten.”

The villagers were stunned.

Spirit particle replenishment nodes… in Districts 78 to 80?

What kind of replenishment?

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Rukongai, North District 79.

Starrk stood on a stretch of wasteland, stretching lazily.

Beside him, a massive Garganta hovered silently in the air.

A vast flow of spirit particles surged from the Garganta into Soul Society.

Not far away, Kyōraku Shunsui adjusted his straw hat.

Though Kaelith had already informed him ahead of time that Hueco Mundo was now an “ally,” and had explained the plan to import spirit particles from Hueco Mundo into Soul Society—

Seeing it with his own eyes still felt surreal.

“Um… Mr. Starrk, was it?”

“Hmm?”

Starrk turned toward Kyōraku.

“Mmm. Starrk, that’s right.”

Looking at this guy who seemed half-asleep, Kyōraku felt a little conflicted.

He cleared his throat:

“This Garganta… it’s semi-permanent, right? What arrangements has Las Noches made to ensure that wandering Hollows from Hueco Mundo won’t slip into Soul Society through here?”

At those words, Starrk chuckled:

“Captain-san, Hollows are way simpler than you Shinigami.”

“Though, as an Arrancar, maybe I shouldn’t say that… but their behavior is honestly more like beasts.”

“As long as we Arrancar from Las Noches leave our spiritual presence in the vicinity, wandering Hollows will absolutely avoid the area.”

“Also… Lord Aizen has already made arrangements. Each of these semi-permanent Garganta has dedicated personnel stationed nearby from Las Noches. Even if something unexpected happens, it can be dealt with immediately.”

Kyōraku nodded with a complicated expression.

Indeed, by Starrk’s explanation, Las Noches had already considered all the potential variables and set up proper countermeasures.

Everything that could be done had been done—flawlessly.

Under normal circumstances, it was all very convincing.

Still… the fact that he was cooperating with Hollows made it hard to feel at ease…

One after another, semi-permanent Garganta opened on the outskirts of Rukongai.

Massive volumes of spirit particles flooded into Soul Society.

Not just the civilians—even the Shinigami found themselves in unprecedentedly optimal condition due to the spiritual influx.

The density of spirit particles in Hueco Mundo far exceeded that of Soul Society.

Shinigami in Seireitei still needed food and drink to maintain their strength.

In Hueco Mundo, just breathing was enough.

The Shinigami assigned to manage the Garganta looked at the endless spirit particles pouring from the black void, and all had the same thought.

The future of Soul Society was about to change!

But at the same time, there were others even more shocked than they were.

“Yūto, did you hear? Yesterday afternoon, Captain Kaelith showed up in East District 70, where we’re stationed. He just waved his hand, and a gate linking directly to Seireitei’s East Gate appeared!”

“What? East District 70? Captain Kaelith was clearly in South District 55 yesterday afternoon!”

“Huh? You’re all mistaken. Captain Kaelith was in West District 67 all afternoon yesterday—he even answered our questions!”

As Shinigami responsible for coordinating representatives returned to Seireitei, they all had similar conversations.

After pooling all the information, everyone was collectively stunned—

Captain Kaelith had appeared in all four cardinal directions of Rukongai’s outer sectors yesterday afternoon, spanning 240 districts!

Two hundred and forty districts.

Two hundred and forty Kaeliths.

Two hundred and forty teleportation gates.

Once confirmed, the Shinigami couldn’t help but feel like they’d just been Komamura’d.

Impossible… How could this even be done?

As unbelievable as it was, after personally visiting other districts and verifying the completed gates, everyone had no choice but to accept the reality—eyes wide open.

In no time at all, the tale of Kaelith appearing in 240 places simultaneously and opening the entire Soul Society’s path to Seireitei had spread like wildfire across all corners of the realm.

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