Chapter 84: Huangmu: I Love Dealing with Those Who Think Too Highly of Themselves

The highest judicial organ in the Pure Spirit Court of the Soul Society is the Central 46 Chamber.

That Huangmu has some nerve—just returning from the Hollow Realm to the Pure Spirit Court, he's stirred up so much trouble!

Good guy, he killed a captain this morning, and this afternoon he tore down the barracks of the Covert Operations and the Spirit Way Corps—is he trying to rebel?!

Heh, after all that, our Judge still wants to give him a reward—what kind of appeasement policy is this? I think we should just find a reason to condemn him!

The Sages belonging to the Central 46 Chamber walked into this solemn and dignified judicial organ, chatting as they went.

You gave him the money?!

Now the Sages and Judges are in place, looking at the retainer they sent to deliver a gift to Huangmu, they ask aloud.

The money was given, but……

The retainer's expression showed a hint of unease.

Speak!

Seeing this, the Judges first frowned, then issued a stern command.

He only said that another Great Hollow has run out of the Soul King Palace, and this Great Hollow bears the same hatred toward us Soul Reapers as the Ji Ji Si Ji Ba from over a century ago that caused chaos in the Soul Society. He also said……

At this point, the retainer's face looked grim; he tried several times but couldn't get the words stuck in his throat out.

Speak!

Upon this, the Judges furrowed their brows and spoke firmly.

He also said that the Sages and Judges of the Central 46 Chamber should be more careful, lest that Great Hollow set its sights on them and they follow in the dust of the Central 46 Chamber's ancient sages.

Unable to bear the pressure, the retainer relayed Huangmu's words exactly to the assembled Sages.

……

As the retainer's words fell, the entire Central 46 Chamber plunged into a deathly silence.

Rebellion! All-out rebellion! He's threatening us, he's threatening us!!

Since its founding, the Central 46 Chamber has never had anyone in the Pure Spirit Court dare to threaten us.

Even the Five Great Noble Families have to give us a bit of face, yet this Huangmu is merely a captain of the 13th Division—where does he get the nerve?!

He must be sentenced! This is a grave disrespect to our Sages; I propose a term of over a thousand years in Avici Hell, so he can properly reflect on his actions.

After a long moment of silence, the Sages of the Central 46 Chamber erupted in fury, their eyes blood‑red, their rage seeming to want to crush into dust anyone who dared utter such treasonous words.

Please, don't rush—first calm down; this Huangmu isn't so easy to deal with……

Don't forget, Huangmu is not only the captain of the 13th Division but also a Royal Special Agent attached to the Zero Division; no matter how angry we are, we have no authority to judge someone directly under the Royal Family's command……

Just as the Sages were clamoring to confront Huangmu, one of the six senior Judges calmly sipped his tea and then spoke softly to the Sages.

This……

As the Judge's words fell, the Sages instantly shut their mouths; though furious, they acknowledged—as the Judge said—that Huangmu, as a Royal Special Agent, is not bound by the laws of the Pure Spirit Court.

Are we just supposed to let him ride roughshod over us, acting high and mighty?!

A Sage, unwilling to accept this, asked the Judges.

Of course……impossible!

How could we possibly allow someone in the Pure Spirit Court to be exempt from the law?!

At that moment, the Judge flashed a sinister smile.

What do you mean, Judge?

The Sages looked at the smirking Judge and continued to ask.

Since Huangmu is a big shot in the Zero Division, let him return to where he belongs! Don't forget, the Zero Division has a rule against meddling in Soul Society affairs……

The Judge's face showed a few characters of smug satisfaction as he spoke.

Clearly the Judge had done his homework, wanting to scour every book at home, and from a tome passed down for hundreds of thousands of years he finally found information about the Zero Division!

The information inside was vague; after flipping through it several times, he managed to make out a few large characters from the stitching, which read that the Zero Division generally does not interfere in Soul Society matters.

But once it came out of the Judge's mouth, it became presented as a rule of the Zero Division……

Oh?!

Those who can be chosen as Sages by the Central 46 Chamber are all sharp‑witted; the instant the Judge's words landed, they suddenly looked enlightened.

Ah, I see……

The Sages considered the feasibility of what the Judge had said.

Let us, with all of Central 40, see—since the Soul Society currently has no need for Zero Division members, why not send Huangmu back to the Soul King Palace to serve the Soul King? ~

The Judge's eyes were full of confidence.

Hahaha……

As the Judge's words fell, the assembled Sages burst into laughter, seeming to feel victory already in their grasp.

However, though they spoke so boldly, they actually had no authority to persuade the Zero Division members; it was less persuasion and more a request……

It was practically begging the monk: 'Please, we implore you—make Huangmu rein in his powers! This Pure Spirit Court can't take it anymore!'

Soul King Palace, in the side hall of the Eye Monk.

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

The monk glanced at the letter from the Central 46 Chamber requesting the Five Great Noble Families to contact them and send it over, then casually tossed it into a ball of waste paper.

It was hard enough for Huangmu to come down from the Soul King Palace; how could I possibly let him go back up so easily?

Following the principle 'may my Daoist friends die while I remain poor,' he would never, under any circumstances, allow Huangmu to return to the Soul King Palace.

Boom!

Just as the monk was destroying the letter to erase traces, a deafening roar rang out, drawing his attention; he headed toward the sound and saw, in Huangmu's side hall, members of the First Generation Guard Division 13 continually clashing with jade‑colored divine weapons—if the monk entered Huangmu's hall now, he would surely recognize those weapons as belonging to the Ji Ji Si Ji Ba.

Sigh……

The people of the Soul King Palace are growing ever more numerous, and I have no idea whether bringing Huangmu to the palace was a blessing or a curse!

The monk watched the detached hall making a thunderous din, sighed helplessly, then waved his hand—whereupon the hall automatically spawned countless walls, blocking sound and sight.

The monk, adhering to the attitude of "out of sight, out of mind," returned to his quarters to rest. As for the damned request of the Central 46? Who cares about them? They're merely a judicial organ of the Tranquil Spirit Court, actually taking themselves seriously! Dare to memorialize the Spirit King Palace? Simply unaware of life or death!

Meanwhile, the barracks of the First Division of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads...

"Captain-Commander Yamamoto, after returning to the Tranquil Spirit Court, Eleventh Division Captain Araki first, at eight in the morning, slew the previous captain of the Eleventh Division, then went straight to the Second Division and the Captain of the Fourth Division's Institute for secret talks, and upon leaving the Second Division, he took the next head of the Fourth Division's Institute, Night One! Afterwards, bringing Night One and Captain Unohana to the Fourth Division to block the Qilin Temple Captain, then after sparring with the Qilin Temple Captain, he alone went to the barracks of the Kido Corps and Covert Ops, sweeping the two organizations..."

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni stood in the captain's chamber, Soul-Cutting Sword in hand, listening to the soldier kneeling before him, who was reporting on Araki's situation.

"That's all... report complete!"

As he spoke, bean-sized beads of sweat kept pouring from his forehead; frankly, he had verified this intelligence no fewer than ten times, even specially running to the barracks of the Kido Corps and Covert Ops to inspect them, and in the end he used the two words "swept clean" to describe the dire state of those two organizations—in fact, a different word would be more fitting... the two organizations "no longer exist."

"Understood, you may go!"

Upon hearing this, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni showed neither joy nor sorrow, merely ordering the soldier before him to withdraw.

"Yes, sir!"

The soldier, hearing this, breathed a sigh of relief, retreated without another word, and before the Captain-Commander could lose his temper, he had best get out quickly.

"What do you think of this, Quebu?"

After Yamamoto pondered for a moment, he turned around, looked at the painting hanging on the wall behind him, and muttered.

"Reporting to General Yamamoto, I believe Araki's actions must have his own reasons."

As Yamamoto's words fell, a gray-haired youth suddenly stepped out from the shadows of the captain's chamber, approaching Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni and speaking respectfully.

The visitor was naturally the Vice Captain of the First Division, Quebu Changjiro.

"Just one day! Araki has thrown the Tranquil Spirit Court into this state; give him a little more time and he'll tear it apart!"

Yamamoto's words were full of helplessness.

"So, General Yamamoto, what do you mean?"

Quebu, upon hearing Yamamoto's words, looked thoughtful.

"We need to find something for Araki to do..."

Yamamoto said, turning to face Quebu seriously and speaking.

"But right now the Tranquil Spirit Court is peaceful, and all external enemies have been wiped out by you..."

"Even the Hollow Realm has just been swept clean by Araki; I really can't think of what else to give him to do!"

Quebu, hearing this, was at a loss; given Araki's strength, it's really hard to assign him work right now...

Araki is like an unbound Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni; give him a task and by tomorrow the organization will be gone—not to mention, the Central 46 will send people to accuse him, and Araki will give each accuser a big slap, then grab the judge's collar and say, "I'm the Zero Division—when is it your turn, Central 46, to boss me around? I'll do whatever I damn well please!"

Needless to say, Quebu's understanding of Araki is truly deep to the marrow.

"Let him go teach!"

After Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni pondered for a moment, he spoke to Quebu.

"Teach?!"

Quebu froze; frankly, this was a direction he had never imagined, and he could hardly picture Araki seriously teaching children! Oh, he could easily imagine Araki leading the truancy.

"General Yamamoto, isn't it a bit improper to have Araki teach?"

Quebu immediately questioned Yamamoto, and in his view, letting Araki teach would not be tireless instruction but tireless destruction!

"Coincidentally, doesn't the True Center Spiritual Arts Institute have a class full of troublemakers? Just let Araki take charge of them..."

Regarding this, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni made a decision.

"I understand!"

When Quebu understood Yamamoto's plan, he smiled; indeed, those troublemakers are just the thing to temper Araki's temper.

Thus, the next day, the barracks of the Fourth Division...

Quebu came to the Fourth Division's captain's chamber, which Araki had seized, looking for Araki.

"In short, that's how it is!"

Quebu conveyed Yamamoto's orders to Araki.

"In other words, Old Man Yamamoto means I should go teach at the True Center Spiritual Arts Institute he founded, right?"

Araki sat in a chair, flipping through a novel while asking Quebu.

"Exactly so!"

Quebu, hearing this, gave a slight nod.

"I refuse!"

"Go tell Old Man Yamamoto, the thing I like doing most in my life is saying no to those self-important jerks!"

Araki put down the novel in his hand and sternly told Quebu.

Thus, Quebu returned to the First Division's barracks, relayed Araki's message to Old Man Yamamoto.

"Damn Araki!!"

When Old Man Yamamoto had finished hearing all that Quebu had conveyed from Araki, he could no longer contain his inner fury; for a moment, the entire First Division barracks swayed amidst his violent spiritual pressure.

Then Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni personally drew his sword and went to the Fourth Division barracks to find Araki.

"You want me to go teach at your school? Don't daydream, you old geezer!"

Araki looked at Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni coming at him with a drawn sword and roared.

"You insolent little punk! Today I'll tell you why I'm the Captain-Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads!"

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni roared, his Soul-Cutting Sword releasing scorching light.

And so...

One month later, Araki, his head wrapped in bandages, entered the classroom of the True Center Spiritual Arts Institute with a handbag.

Araki glanced at the classrooms ahead, one of which was ajar, and without further thought reached out to push it...

"Creak~"

It was exactly when Aramaki opened the classroom door he was responsible for that a bucket suddenly fell from above his head, accompanied by a 'gush' sound, and the water in the iron bucket instantly flooded Aramaki's figure.

"Hahaha! Idiot! So stupid! The teachers of Shin'ou Spiritual Arts Academy are really so stupid!"

It was exactly at that moment the bucket fell that a young man suddenly rose from his seat, pointing at the door and laughing loudly.

"Jing Le, what have you been up to?! This year you might have to repeat a grade!"

The surrounding classmates, seeing Jing Le laughing hysterically, all shouted back in anger.

"But look! This teacher is truly a total idiot! How could such an idiot possibly teach us well?!"

The young man named Jing Le heard the voices of those around him, showing no sign of remorse, and remained indifferent.

Then...

"You little brat, do you want to die?!"

Accompanied by a hoarse voice, a large hand landed on Jing Le's head and lifted him up in place.

First Division barracks.

"I wonder how Aramaki's teaching is going."

Shan Ben worried greatly about Aramaki's teaching ability; in fact, the class Shan Ben assigned Aramaki to teach was the class Shan Ben left for Aramaki, filled with extraordinarily talented students, and without a doubt the future captain of the Guardian Thirteen Divisions would come from that class.

"Pfft..."

In the shadows, Que Bu looked at Shan Ben, who had lost half of his moustache, couldn't help but chuckle; the Shan Ben General below was just too comical.

"Que Bu, what are you laughing at over there?"

Then Que Bu heard Shan Ben's sinister inquiry.

"Well, I just thought of something funny!"

Upon hearing that, Que Bu instinctively shuddered, knowing that if he misspoke even slightly, he would likely be 'eliminated' on the spot by the General.

"Really? How about we share it together? Come to think of it, we haven't trained in ages; Que Bu, let me see how much your strength has improved over the years!"

Without waiting for Que Bu's objection, Yuan Liu Zhai pulled Que Bu out of the shadows and headed toward the training hall.

Que Bu: "..."

(End of chapter)