Third Division

The **Third Division** are one of the Divisions of the Gotei 13 and their job is Law Enforcement, because of this they have a reputation among the Souls in the lowest district as the worst Division of the Gotei 13.

## ***Duties***

The duties of the Third Division, as its position in the hierarchy would indicate, revolve around the use of violence, namely against pluses, for the purpose of upholding the law. The Third's Division job is in essence Law Enforcement, members of this division are given the legal authority to capture and engage in combat with any Soul in Soul Society which they believe have broken the law of Soul Society.

The Third Division also has a secondary duty which they inherited from the disbanded **Onmitsukidō**, the duty of maintaining an eye on the prisoners of Soul Society, namely those trapped in the High Security infinite Prison the **Black Box** which also serves as their Headquarters.

Lower ranking members of the Third Division are sent to the Human world to oversee and protect the Circuit of **San'indō** (*山陰道, Mountain's Shady Side Circuit*) which occupies the russia-facing regions of northern-eastern japan's main island Honsu.

## ***History***

The Third Division is one of the first divisions to have been created, while it has suffered alterations over the years it has been in its current iteration for at least 200 years.

## ***Structure***

The Third Division is divided into 2 smaller organizations contained within itself namely: The Shinsengumi which act as the police force and the **Kangoku** which act as the jail system.

### **Shinsengumi**

The **Shinsengumi** are the police force which patrol and keep order in the Seireitei and which regularly make excursions into the Rukongai when they receive Intel recovered from the Second Division. Ushi himself patrols the Rukongai by his lonesome everyday choosing a random district each day. They are officially known as **Kuro** (*黒, Lit: Black*) while on the field but the Souls of the Rukongai prefer the term **Kuso** (*糞, Lit: Shit*).

The Commander of the Shinsengumi is Ushi Atama and he has absolute authority over every other member. Nearly all the seated members of the Third Division are part of the Shinsengumi and answer to Ushi as his bodies on the field, following the same traditional structure of the Divisions, and none can patrol by their lonesome in the Rukongai except for Ushi.

Unknown to many, the Shinsengumi also file a lot of paperwork to present to the Fourth Division often requesting help from the Ninth Division when the volume is particularly high.

### **Kangoku**

**Kangoku**, (*監獄, Lit: Jail*) is the second and smallest of the organizations under the umbrella of the Third Division, it is technically led by Lieutenant Tengen who acts as acting Warden of the Black Box Prison. Very few members actually belong in Kangoku but the captain **Ushi** also functions as Vice-Warden, his job is only to thwart any escape attempt.

## ***Member List***

* Ushi Atama - **Captain**; Shinsengumi *Commander*; Kangoku *Vice-Warden*.
* Tengen - **Lieutenant**; Kangoku *Warden*.
* Ame Sawada - **3rd Seat**.
* Akane & Aoi - **4th Seat**.
* Naruto Sato - **5th Seat**.

## ***Headquarters: Black Box***

The Headquarters of the Third Division is known most commonly as the **Black Box** due to its particular shape but it is officially known as Central Great Underground Prison (*(真央地下大監獄, Shin'ōchikadaikangoku)*. The uppermost levels serve as the public and private spaces for the members of the division while its underground portions act as the prisons of Soul Society.

### **Leadership Level**

The uppermost level of the Black Box, it contains the quarters and personal spaces of the seated officers and high ranking members.

### **Members Floor**

The ground floor, it is in this level that the unseated members quarters and the actual facilities of the headquarters are located.

### **First Underground Level**

The First Underground Level is the smallest section of the **Black Box** and it is mostly composed of empty cells which are meant to act as **Holding Cells** for those souls who have been caught by the Third Division and haven't been yet trialed by the **Fourth Division**. This section of the prison doesn't have any special measures to contain criminals other than the fact its so close to where the members of the Division work.

### **Second-Seventh Underground Level**

There are various levels to the prison and each level contains prisoners for a variety of different crimes, being divided into "families" of crime. Each level has a specific hazard and magical system to keep prisoners from escaping to upper levels.

Sitting in a glass shaft between all these six levels is a Kushana which Ushi uses as a means of intimidation and as a source of power to access his **Devil Clad Form**. Using this Kushanada and its power Ushi has prevented every breakout from the Black Box since he became Captain.

### **Lowest Level: Muken**

**Muken** (*無間, Avici*), is he lowermost level reserved only for the lowest of the low and most heinous criminals. It is impossible to access without the knowledge of specific kido and by use of a special combination mechanism which to even begin to use the Kido required to access the space.

It is a void separated from the rest of reality and it is reserved for immortals and other such beings which cannot be put down by Soul Society.

## ***Trivia***

* The Headquarters is pictured by Bowser Kingdom in Super Mario Odyssey.