The words from Kurotsuchi Mayuri made everyone except Shiraha frown, doubt flickering through their eyes.
Mayuri claimed to have evidence that Shiraha colluded with Aizen?
Where could he have found such proof?
As expected, Shiraha thought calmly. The Technology Development Bureau detected the anomaly.
That they discovered the brief opening of a black cavity in the dojo was no surprise. Shiraha had anticipated it. The reason he had deliberately released his Zanpakutō moments earlier, feigning the awakening of a newly learned Shikai, was precisely to conceal the trace left behind by that black cavity.
"Captain Kurotsuchi, you can't make such accusations carelessly," Ukitake Jūshirō said, his tone sharp with restrained anger.
After Mayuri's previous incident, Ukitake's trust in the man had already eroded.
"Hmph, I'm not talking nonsense," Mayuri retorted coldly.
Just moments ago, Ajin—the deputy director of the Technology Development Bureau—had reported something astonishing. And that report pointed directly to the captain now standing before them.
Mayuri was seventy to eighty percent certain that this would finally allow him to bring down Kuchiki Shiraha.
Byakuya Kuchiki, however, stood silent, his cold gaze fixed on Mayuri. Whether others doubted or not was irrelevant. As Shiraha's elder brother, he trusted him completely.
"Well, Captain Kurotsuchi," Kyōraku Shunsui said with a faint smile, pushing down the brim of his hat, "it seems you've got quite a grudge against our Captain Shiraha."
From the last captains' meeting onward, Mayuri's hostility toward Shiraha had been obvious.
"Just a boring clown," Shiraha said softly, his tone almost indifferent though his eyes carried a glint of coldness.
"Captain Shiraha isn't really involved with Aizen, is he?" Rangiku Matsumoto asked cautiously, tension in her voice.
"Matsumoto, don't be stupid!" Hitsugaya Tōshirō snapped. "Nothing's been proven. Don't go believing Nirvana's words without evidence."
Until Mayuri produced tangible proof, everything he said remained speculation.
"Captain Komamura," Hisagi Shūhei asked quietly, "what do you think?"
Komamura Sajin's voice rumbled with conviction. "I trust Captain Shiraha. This is nothing but another of Kurotsuchi Mayuri's schemes."
His loyalty was unwavering.
"Captain, will Captain Shiraha be alright? If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have clashed with Captain Kurotsuchi," Isane Kotetsu said softly, guilt in her eyes.
Unohana Retsu gave her a gentle smile. "Don't blame yourself, Isane. Shiraha will be fine."
"Ha! Nirvana, you're playing that same foolish game again," Zaraki Kenpachi scoffed, a grin splitting his face.
Nothing disgusted him more than Mayuri's underhanded tricks.
"Zaraki! You damned brute!" Mayuri spat, his voice rising with venom.
He hated above all being looked down upon, and Zaraki had just done exactly that.
"What? Want to fight?" Kenpachi tore off his captain's haori, baring his chest. "Come on, right here!"
But before Mayuri could respond, Yamamoto Genryūsai's Reiatsu surged outward, silencing the field. His gaze was like a blade as he fixed it on Mayuri.
"Captain Kurotsuchi," he said in a low, commanding voice, "what evidence do you have that Captain Shiraha colluded with the traitor Aizen?"
Deep down, Yamamoto did not wish to believe it. Mayuri had once framed Shiraha before; it was not impossible this was another attempt. Yet, for Mayuri to speak so boldly meant he might hold something real.
"Captain-Commander," Mayuri began with a twisted smile, "our Technology Development Bureau has just detected a black cavity that appeared in the Seventh Division barracks—right in this dojo. According to the readings, this cavity is a direct passage from Hueco Mundo."
His grin widened, sickly and delighted. "I have reason to believe this is proof of Shiraha's collaboration with Aizen—and that he tried to conceal it with his Zanpakutō's Shikai."
All eyes turned to Shiraha.
"Captain Shiraha," Yamamoto said heavily, "what do you have to say?"
The outer perimeter of the Soul Society was protected by the Sōkyoku Hill's soul-shielding membrane. A Garganta could not normally open here.
Shiraha's expression remained calm. "Captain-Commander, everyone, this is a misunderstanding. When I perfected my Shikai, I did notice the appearance of a black cavity. But as it opened, a Hollow slipped through—and I destroyed it instantly. The cavity closed soon after. It was a coincidence, nothing more."
Mayuri's eyes gleamed. "Destroyed it, you say? Then allow me to verify that claim."
He pulled a compact, radar-like device from his sleeve, the instrument glinting with silver filaments. "This was my own invention—capable of detecting residual Hollow Reiatsu. If you truly killed one, the sensor will glow red."
Yamamoto nodded slightly. "Proceed."
"However," Shiraha said with a faint smile, "if I'm innocent, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, you'll owe me dearly."
"Humph!" Mayuri snorted, stepping forward. He activated the scanner and moved toward the indicated point, the instrument humming with faint light.
Suddenly, it flashed crimson.
"Hahaha! Kuchiki Shiraha! What else do you have to say now?" Mayuri's laughter echoed manically through the dojo.
Renji, Isane, and Nanao tensed, glancing toward Shiraha with visible worry.
"Captain Shiraha," Yamamoto's voice rumbled again, "how do you explain this?"
The old captain knew Mayuri's devices never lied.
Shiraha met his gaze steadily. "Captain-Commander, I haven't revealed the full nature of my Zanpakutō to anyone. Mayuri, the reason your instrument detects false data is simple—my Shikai interferes with the flow of Reiatsu itself."
Mayuri's golden eyes widened. "Your Zanpakutō manipulates gravity. Even if you killed a Hollow, residual energy would remain. Don't insult my intellect. Admit it—you're working with Aizen!"
Shiraha exhaled softly. "It seems words won't reach you. Then I'll let you see for yourself."
His hand moved to the hilt of his Zanpakutō.
"Kuchiki Shiraha! What are you doing?" Yamamoto's voice thundered, his cane splintering under the force of his spiritual pressure as his own Zanpakutō came free. The air grew suffocating.
If Shiraha made even the slightest move, Yamamoto would strike first.
"Captain," Shiraha said quietly, his lips curving into a faint smile, "you can't stop me."
Time froze.
The air itself stilled, the world locked in a frozen instant. Every flicker of light, every drifting speck of dust halted midair. Only Shiraha could move.
He appeared before Mayuri in the same breath, his movement blurring with the soundless speed of Shunko Cang. The white Zanpakutō descended.
A flash of silver.
Blood splattered across the dojo floor as Mayuri's body was split apart, his limbs and torso torn nearly in half. Only his head, an arm, and a leg remained intact.
Shiraha's blade pulsed faintly, its Shikai power reversing time itself.
The wounds did not kill Mayuri but rewound his body's existence by a hundred years, stripping away the strength he had accumulated over decades. His Reiatsu drained rapidly, crumbling until it matched that of a vice-captain.
Mayuri stared up at Shiraha in disbelief, golden pupils trembling as the blood beneath him pooled.
The entire world around them still lay frozen—silent, suspended between seconds.
And within that stillness, Shiraha's calm voice fell like a whisper.
"You should never have challenged the truth."
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