Chapter 112: Huangmu: Sorry, my rules are my rules

Ha, hahaha……

As Huangmu's voice fell, the atmosphere in the tea house became extremely eerie, and the faces of the captains of the 8th Division, 9th Division, and 13th Division were extraordinarily awkward.

After a moment, these three captains suddenly burst into laughter.

"Captain Huangmu, you really like to joke with us……"

The captain of the 8th Division gazed at Huangmu, speaking with a grim countenance.

Although the captain of the 8th Division's anger was surging in his heart at this moment, when facing Huangmu he still maintained basic restraint, trying to smile at Huangmu……

After all, Huangmu's identity stands here: publicly, Huangmu is a member of the Royal Special Duty and the 0th Division; privately, Huangmu is a disciple of the Guardian Court Founding Ancestor, Shanben Yuanliuzhai, and also has close ties with the Four Maple Institute and the Zhibo clan among the Five Great Noble Families! No matter which of Huangmu's identities, none is something he can afford to offend.

"So it was just a joke……"

Upon hearing this, the captain of the 9th Division silently gave a thumbs-up to the captain of the 8th Division, then continued speaking following the 8th Division captain's words. At this moment, the captain of the 9th Division hoped Huangmu would be sensible, take the step they offered, and leave it at that, without causing any further trouble……

"Hahaha……"

"To be honest, Captain Huangmu's joke is really frightening! I was almost scared by it! It made me think that the rumors outside about Captain Huangmu were all true! But I've always said, Captain Huangmu is not that kind of person."

The captain of the 13th Division also immediately started to smooth things over, constantly praising Huangmu.

Actually, the captain of the 13th Division said this intending to use Huangmu's psychological factors; based on this captain's experience dealing with the various great noble families, anyone he praises like this, even if truly as unreasonable as the rumors suggest, will restrain themselves a bit, fearing to confirm the rumors.

"Hahaha……" In response, Huangmu looked at the three captains, each harboring ulterior motives, gave a light smile, then said to the three captains before him: "Do you see me like this, as if I'm joking with you?!"

"Er……"

As Huangmu's voice fell, the captains' faces suddenly changed.

"You are the captain of the 13th Division, right?! It seems you've heard many rumors about me outside. To be honest, I'm quite curious about my own image out there; why don't you tell me about it here?"

"Oh, by the way, you just said you think I'm not that kind of person. What exactly is that 'that' you think I am? I'm also curious about this; why don't you tell me?"

Immediately afterward, Huangmu turned his gaze solely to the captain of the 13th Division; seeing Huangmu's face bearing a faint smile, he looked at the other and asked softly.

"I……"

After listening to Huangmu's words, the captain of the 13th Division's expression changed abruptly; his lips slightly opened, as if he wanted to say something, but under the immense pressure from Huangmu's icy amber eyes, he ultimately closed his mouth.

"Sigh……"

The captain of the 13th Division pondered for a long time, finally just lowering his head and letting out a long sigh of turbid air—who let him lack both strong power and a hard background?! At times like this, it's better to temporarily show weakness.

However, after the captain of the 13th Division endured, the captains of the 8th Division and 9th Division, who were already angry and were outstanding captains among the senior noble forces, were not so easy to appease.

"Captain Huangmu, although you are a disciple of General Commander Yamamoto and also a prominent figure of the 0th Division, you should know this is not the Soul King Palace but the Pure Spirit Court!"

"In the Guardian Court Thirteen Divisions, you are merely a lowly captain of the 11th Division; at best you are our equal, and you have no authority to order us to 'suspend duty'……"

"If you have any dissatisfaction with us serving as captains of the Guardian Court Thirteen Divisions, you can go directly to General Commander Yamamoto to discuss it; however, even General Commander Yamamoto does not have the right to directly suspend all three of us captains without any reason."

The captain of the 8th Division furrowed his brows, but his attitude toward Huangmu was still courteous; for someone like Huangmu, it's better not to offend if possible. In the view of the 8th Division captain, wanting to secure sufficient benefits for the noble forces behind him, naturally the fewer enemies the better.

"Captain Huangmu, don't cause trouble here without reason! Our decision to serve as chiefs of the Guardian Court Thirteen Divisions is not only General Commander Yamamoto's decision, but also that of Central 46; although as a member of the 0th Division you are exempt from Soul Society law, this personnel adjustment of the Thirteen Divisions must still follow the rules of the Thirteen Divisions, right?!"

The captain of the 9th Division continued speaking, following the words of the captain of the 8th Division.

Obviously, although the captains of the 9th Division and 8th Division belong to different noble interest groups, at this moment the captain of the 9th Division decided to fully support the captain of the 8th Division, because they currently share a common enemy: Huangmu.

"You are the captain of the 9th Division?!"

Huangmu looked at the captain of the 9th Division before him and inquired.

"Exactly."

Upon hearing this, the captain of the 9th Division nodded.

"Since you two want me to follow the rules of the Soul Society and the Thirteen Divisions! Fine, then I'll follow the rules of the Thirteen Divisions and have a chat with you two……" Huangmu gave a light smile to the two, then turned to the captain of the 9th Division and said, "Let's start with your 9th Division affairs."

"Please go ahead~"

After hearing Huangmu's words, the captain of the 9th Division assumed a posture of attentive listening.

"Last month, the heir of a senior noble caused a disturbance in Wandering Souls Street; according to the law of the Thirteen Divisions, that noble's heir should have been apprehended on the spot. Why didn't you act? Didn't you see it? That shouldn't be the case—after all, even our 11th Division knows about this incident……"

Huangmu looked at the captain of the 9th Division before him and spoke lightly.

"This……"

Upon hearing this, the captain of the 9th Division's face changed drastically.

"Moreover, the vassals of Chamber 46 beating students of the True Central Spiritual Arts Institute, and the Judge of Chamber 46 insulting ordinary Soul Reapers of the Guardian Court Thirteen Divisions—why, as the Prison Division, does your 9th Division turn a blind eye to all of this?!"

Huangmu questioned the captain of the 9th Division before him.

"That's the nobles' affair; it's not under the Prison Division's jurisdiction!"

Upon hearing this, the captain of the 9th Division loudly retorted.

"You don't handle this, you don't handle that! When you talk about 'rules,' you tell me it's the nobles' business and you dare not intervene! If you dare not manage anything, what's the point of you being the captain of the 9th Division's Prison Division? Go somewhere cool and stay there!"

Huangmu said, having already drawn the Soul-Cutting Sword at his waist, and slashed down at the captain of the 9th Division before him.

"Boom!"

A pitch-black crescent-shaped slash erupted instantly inside the tea house, directly blasting the continually arguing captain of the 9th Division out, while also shearing half of the tea building into the sky; as for that captain of the 9th Division, when he fell from the sky, his eyes had rolled back and he had completely lost consciousness.

"You said Old Man Mountain had no reason to not let you suspend duty, right? Rest assured, I've already thought up a reason for your suspension: using injury or illness as grounds for suspension. What do you think?!"

Huangmu looked at the captain of the 9th Division he had blasted away, and at the dumbfounded captain of the 8th Division before him, and inquired.

"You've made a move? You really made a move?!"

"You're really a lunatic! A lunatic!!"

"I'm going to sue you in Central 46, I'm going to have General Commander Yamamoto judge you! I……"

After Huangmu made his move, the captain of the 8th Division completely lost his morale, looking at Huangmu and speaking in continual shock.

"Look at you, your memory has severely deteriorated; you've forgotten everything you said before, haven't you?!"

"You say I'm a member of the 0th Division, not bound by the Pure Spirit Court's laws; what good would suing me in Chamber 46 do? Do you think they'd dare to have the Soul King's Majesty judge me?"

"I see you, you're an old fool! Since you're already this old, why not step down from the position of captain of the 8th Division? Give the youngsters some opportunities—wouldn't that be good?!"

Araki looked at the captain of the 'Eight Squad' before him and, with incomparable patience, urged him.

You want me to step down from the position of captain of the 8th Division? I tell you that's absolutely impossible! You don't have this 'right', and it doesn't conform to the rules of the 13th Division! Even if the Central 46 lacks the authority to judge you, you have no right to interfere in the selection of those above the captain of the 13th Division...

The captain of the 8th Division, at this moment, appeared stern outside but weak inside; he was clearly terrified, yet he still acted tough, shouting at Aramaki repeatedly.

Rules? My rules are the rules...

Aramaki saw no point in wasting words with the captain of the 8th Division ahead, and directly drew his sword and slashed forward.

Boom!

Another crescent moon flashed, and the captain of the 8th Division immediately, like the previous captain of the 9th Division, rolled his eyes back and collapsed to the ground.

So strong? Unmatched strength—is this the power of the present-day Sword Eight? Against other captains, it's like chopping vegetables; with a swing of the blade, each captain falls one after another.

At this moment, the captain of the 13th Division was dumbfounded; he never expected Aramaki to be this strong, his strength somewhat absurd, even defying common sense. As fellow captains of the Court Guard Thirteen Squads, the gap between him and Aramaki is simply immeasurable.

The captains of the 8th and 9th Divisions—I've advised them to quit the team because since taking office they've hardly done anything; as captains of the Court Guard Thirteen Squads, they should be doing their duties, but instead they just rely on their captain status to continually create benefits for the noble forces behind them.

Before the captain of the 13th Division could think further, Aramaki's voice gradually sounded in his ear.

As for why I advise you to quit the team~

Actually the reason is simple: although your performance as captain of the 13th Division these past days has been passable, and you've done your duties quite well! But your strength is a fatal flaw; in my view you're simply too weak, not matching the strength I envision for a captain-level Soul Reaper of the Court Guard Thirteen Squads, so I hope you step down and make way for the worthy.

Aramaki said while putting away the Soul-Cutting Sword he had drawn.

As long as you don't cut me, say whatever you like……

The captain of the 13th Division watched Aramaki's motion of sheathing his sword, and gradually relaxed.

To be honest, he really feared that Aramaki might suddenly get excited and strike him too; the captains of the 8th and 9th Divisions aside, these two 'noble lords' usually live in comfort, surely having consumed many nourishing supplements for their spiritual bodies, making their physiques much tougher than his, unlike his old arms and legs—if struck by Aramaki's attack, he'd likely be directly incapacitated……

Of course, you've seen that too! Even when facing those two 'high-ranking nobles' trash, I'm willing to first advise with peace; naturally I'm also willing to give you a chance to continue serving as captain of the 13th Division~

Before the captain of the 13th Division could say more, Aramaki continued speaking.

Oh, so you call that earlier fault-finding remark 'peaceful advice'? That's quite an eye-opener!" After hearing Aramaki's words, the captain of the 13th Division twitched his eyelids slightly and silently thought.

Next, this captain who had been invited by Aramaki for tea and was the only one standing, asked him: 'What kind of opportunity do you intend to give me?!'

Just as I said before, I actually have three disciples……

The strength of my three disciples is all 'so-so', barely meeting my requirements for a 13th Division captain's strength! But right now the 13th Division only has two captain vacancies, and these three can't be separated~" Aramaki said, glancing at the two corpses on the ground, "So as long as you can defeat any one of my three disciples, you can continue serving as captain of the 13th Division……

Of course, this isn't some war of attrition; I naturally wouldn't stoop to first send my strongest disciple to wound you, then have my other disciples continually beat you—I'm not that kind of person! So as long as you are defeated, I will heal your injuries, letting you face my other disciples in perfect condition……

Doesn't that sound fair?!

Aramaki looked at the captain of the 13th Division ahead and inquired.