Assemble the Captains [Gotei Leadership]

This would do, despite the fact that one of these individuals were not among the rank that she asked for. The fact of the matter was that there were enough representatives of each part of the Gotei United, what was left of it, to proceed.

"Kuchiki. You may begin with the number of casualties, injured, deceased, and missing. Then Koizumi for the number of shinigami that were deployed to the living realm at the time of the attack."

How many shinigami were dead was a good place to start. She had divided the divisions based on preliminary estimates and statistics. She assumed the second division to have the most up-to-date metrics on these things. She did not care about the specifics of who had died, their numbers had taken a serious blow and others were cut off. Easier to get these two to fill in the picture before trying to figure out what came next.

These were numbers that Rukia had burned into her mind the moment they'd come to her desk, but she nevertheless had the reports on hand. She spoke plainly, getting to the point without wasting time on explaining much beyond the relevant data.

"We're currently facing slightly more than 70% casualties in terms of active Gotei personnel. 690 are confirmed dead. Another 730 are still missing in action, with over 1000 injured currently undergoing medical attention. Civilian casualties in the Seireitei are more substantial, but also haven't been formally corroborated yet. The same goes for the Rukongai. Total confirmed casualty reports are above 5000, and those will go up as we establish more stable communications."

It was easier to simply state everything as plainly as possible, avoid any possible misunderstandings. She hardly had all the information right now. Nobody did.

Shishiyuki's hand tightened at the mention of the civilian casualties, but she wouldn't speak on that matter. No, that was for later. Another time, when things didn't demand her attention so completely.

"650 of our division's shinigami were deployed to the World of the Living at the time of this attack. There were an additional 50 auxiliary members of the 8th division assigned to those patrols, on top of a small handful of shinigami from other divisions assigned on specific missions. All together, nearly 800 shinigami total remain on Earth."

It could have been less, she supposed. Despite the grave situation, she could only ever be thankful that most of her subordinates had avoided this catastrophe.

"I see. Increase the priority on reestablishing the infrastructure required to communicate between the living world and soul society. With limited manpower, ensuring balance of the worlds is now far more difficult than it already was and is the highest priority of the Gotei United."

This was quite a problem then, she wondered if the higher-ups would intervene at all but if they did intervene then it meant the Gotei, Murasaki's Gotei, had failed beyond recovery. It made her malice just a bit more tangible in the room as the blame fell onto everyone that was here and those that weren't.

"You may all give your reports otherwise."

She had received second and seventh divisions. The part that she cared about the most anyway. Now what did the others have to say.

Upon hearing the casualty numbers, Kanae mirrored her fellow captains with an apparently upset look. Did she care about the deaths of Shinigami, or even civilians for that matter? Not even slightly. But this new generation of Gotei obviously wanted to be upset, so Kanae would play along for now.

"There have been ninety-six credible sightings of remaining Hollows within the Rukongai. The true number of enemies is likely much lower due to proximity between reported sightings and given descriptions. The Fourth Division, despite significant losses from fighting on the front lines, has been split in half, one to investigate sightings and another to patrol the Seireitei, with each half further split into teams led by seated officers healthy enough to fight. Any remaining enemies will be systematically hunted down and slaughtered."

Though usually Kanae herself wouldn't have minded hunting down prey, those pathetic enough to be left behind by the main invading force weren't worth her time. If there was fun to be had, based on her experience a millennia ago it would come during the following weeks and months. In her mind, the slaughter was only beginning.

Yuuto's eye twitched at hearing the number of civilian casualties. It was a tragedy, that much was certain, but, he could not and would not let himself be mired by it. Those who still lived needed him, and, frankly, were more important in the immediacy. It was then that his gaze went to Kanae.

Repulsive.

That was the only thing he could think upon seeing Kanae with a smile on her face, only to see it fall, conveniently, upon hearing the number of casualties. That wasn't fake at all, oh, most definitely. He could still see that shine in her eyes. She was in a good mood, and he didn't like it. Yet, despite the chaos that had happened on the battlefield and in his own head, Yuuto's voice remained calm and level. A gentle, yet still firm cadence that would never have indicated something could be wrong.

"Many of the Fifth Division's forces were killed in the attack. Total numbers are uncertain at the moment. Closest estimation is half. The Stealth Force, those that are still alive, that is, are working on gathering any remnant information necessary, locations of any potential large threats remaining, and, of course, investigating for any further traitors that remain in the mist. Most of them will taken care of by my subordinates, though there are a small handful that I will see to personally."

Yet, there was an uncharacteristic amount of venom from his tongue at that final word. His eyes narrowed slightly as his gaze turned to Kanae. His instincts were rarely ever wrong, it was just like when the hospital had been bombed. Every time he looked at Kanae, his gut always told him that there was danger, that something was wrong, and even without the comment from his escaped opponent, the pressure he felt in the midst of that fight had confirmed the suspicions in his head.

The words she chose, the way she carried herself, the actions she took when she had been released, what he had been able to garner from his vigil of her under Murasaki's orders, the smaller details from the hospital incident, everything only seemed to confirm it.

"Should we find any missing Shinigami, new information, or further snakes, relevant parties will be notified immediately. Furthermore, our assistance will be granted in other areas, should it be needed, given the previously mentioned limitations."

"Hm..."

Rio pondered her response. Since this position was placed on her lap on short notice, she didn't have any notable information to convey that wasn't already explained. The civilian casualties had already been addressed by the current captains and Shishiyuki, who was acting in Elyss's place. She recalled that arrancar's words that day, but she highly doubted the words of the enemy held any sway here.

Recalling those harrow events was already an exercise in difficulty in and of itself, but she was a captain now - albeit temporarily - and she had a duty to uphold. Of course, since she didn't intend to provide a half-assed report, she elected to remain silent. She needed conclusive information. To provide anything less would be a dishonor to those who had already provided pertinent information in the room.

"My apologies. Since I've been promoted just recently, I don't know the entire situation, and any information I provide now would feel inadequate and inconclusive. Should I find anything of note, I'll report my findings immediately. All I recall is being kidnapped momentarily and taken toward Hakuyou's deceased body."

Very well. She had to address the most pressing matter regardless, it was a very sensitive matter but she would approach it as bluntly as she did anything else. There could be no hesitation, or faltering, even if she had to stain her friend's dream in the process.

Every single person was accountable for it needing to be done though, herself included. That was their own failings.

"With an understanding of our situation and in light of the casualties, Hisakawa, I'm assigning you the role of stabilising the situation. With the death toll so high, the balance of souls needs to be corrected. As many died in the Soul Society, a purge of an equal amount is required from the living world. The humans and Vandenreich cannot know, therefore I assign this to you."

She said it with the same icy conviction that she dealt with anything in her capacity as Murasaki's right hand. Even though her words sentenced hundreds to thousands of people to die for things outside of their control, it was part of the shinigami's responsibility. If she did not do it, she imagined it would be done by the higher ups or the death knells of the worlds would ring louder.

If she were more charismatic, perhaps she could've tried to alleviate the actions by putting accountability on the arrancar, but that was not the person she was. She would hold their loss in greater contempt than who caused it.

"The arrancar named Hisana will take you there, without the Senkaimon, she is our only reliable means to access the living world."

Despite the rather sudden assignment, Yuuto's expression remained calm and indifferent. This was an expected reaction to such a disaster, no matter how he felt about it. They were, ultimately, balancers of the uncaring cycle. And, given that Erika now mentioned that humans and the Vandenreich were to be kept in the dark, it became even less surprising that he had been tasked with it. So, taking in a deep breath and closing his eyes, before slowly exhaling, Yuuto nodded as his gaze finally turned from Kanae to Erika.

"Understood. I'd like to discuss specifics after this meeting, given that this will likely take some time even for me, especially with the desire for subterfuge."

He knew of the Arrancar that they would be utilizing to access the Living World. There were few things he didn't keep tabs on in the Soul Society, after all. However, after he finished, his eyes went back to Kanae for a moment, before settling on Rio. The information that she had been taken to Captain Shiba's corpse was valuable, and, depending on her answers, could further confirm his suspicions. Despite the man he was, there was nothing he wanted more than for his instincts to be right.

"Forgive my asking, but, Acting Captain, could you elaborate on the details, both prior to your brief abduction, and your discovery of the late Captain Shiba's body? Energy and pressure you felt, wounds you noticed, anything significant you might remember. I feel very certain in saying that everyone present felt the clashing energies, even through the chaos. I, for one, have several questions."

Questions he would assuredly have answers for by the time this room was empty.

When Yuuto directed his attention toward her, Rio seemed to discern his intention immediately. Since he would be conducting investigations of his own moving forward, any clue, however small or noteworthy, would, most likely, be of great value to him.

Considering her duty now, it was entirely likely that they might end up working together soon. Of course, though she possessed zero intent in withholding information, she could not help but bitterly acknowledge her defeat and how she let her guard down when it mattered most. Even so, he required information, and it was that which she would provide, pride notwithstanding.

"Understood, Captain Hisakawa. Of course, what I'm sharing with you now should be taken with a grain of salt. To begin, I approached one of the enemy forces' strongest Arrancar situated in the Rukongai - specifically, fake Karakura town. Naturally, I engaged her in battle. This persisted until... a tremendous beam of light barreled through the area, temporarily interrupting our fight."

To allow the information to be deciphered properly, she would take an intermittent pause before explaining her experience further. It was necessary to understand the whole picture, even if might hold little weight in theory.

"Based on spiritual pressure alone, I discerned that such an attack emanated from Hakuyou. Such an attack could only be the product of Bankai. Had neither of us evaded in time, I've no doubt I'd be dead right now. Now, here is where I feel my next words should be taken with a grain of salt... since they came from the mouth of an enemy whose next actions I can only describe as bizarre and confusing."

Sighing softly, she continued.

"At any rate, she claimed two of our own were fighting against each other. With so much spiritual energy being released at once, I couldn't confirm that on my own. I know another spiritual pressure exploded in the distance, but I couldn't discern who or what that belonged to. Hakuyou's spiritual pressure erupted in a flash and plummeted soon after. Shamefully, this was enough to distract me and allow the Arrancar to execute two staggering blows in succession. Even after landing two decisive blows, she didn't kill me...."

Now, the bitter conclusion of her report.

"Instead of taking my life, after deducing that I was worried about Hakuyou... she kidnapped me after incapacitating me, delivering me to his bisected corpse. Since my consciousness was fading in and out at the time, the result of suffering critical wounds, I couldn't deduce anything else notable about his wounds or the state his body was in."