7th Division (Snakes)

"We guard the guards."

- Yolotli Tenoch

The Seventh Division (七番隊,, Nanabantai) is a division in the Gotei 10 that is a mostly Seireitei-based unit, working as both the military police and Rukon police force for Soul Society. The Security Force and MP departments are the only deployable units in this division. Because the 7th is involved with internal security, it suffered many casualties in the Shadow Invasion. The 7th works closely with the L Division in surveillance and intelligence missions. The current captains are Yolotli Tenoch and Song Li.

Organization
The 7th Division's organization follows the typical Gotei 10 organization, with two captains and lieutenants. There is an obvious difference in the 7th from other divisions, which involves its MP purpose - members of the 7th have authority outside of the Gotei's normal rank structure, and in police matters answer only to the judiciary department. The 7th's departments have their own rank structure as well, that consists of differing duties, from preventative units to detectives. Currently six seats are open and waiting for an appointment to fill them. The 7th Division works closely with the L Division for investigative purposes.

Special Duties
The 7th Division's main mission is police work and security for all of Soul Society that falls under Gotei jurisdiction, including upholding the law, protection of property, surveillance, investigation, and their authority falls outside of the Gotei rank structure. The 7th also houses the Gotei journalists, who are non-combatant Shinigami trained with the investigative unit. The non-deployable departments are the journalists and the Rukon Police Force.

Departments

 * Normal Operations: This department holds all new members of the 5th, as well as those that choose not to go into a combat specialty. The Normal Ops Department handles normal Shinigami duties, such as routine deployments to purify Hollows and deployments to perform Konso. Normal Ops Shinigami do not have any special uniform items. Agustín Jimenez is the ultimate head of the Normal Ops department, and the department heads are the 9th and 10th seats.
 * Gotei Military Police: The Gotei Military Police are responsible for upholding Gotei law and order, conducting military intelligence operations, and area security in deployment situations. Gotei MPs generally follow the Gotei's rank structure, however in situations where a ranking officer is under suspicion the MPs have authority to detain and command individuals that outrank them. MPs are required to attend two extra years of schooling at the Gotei Police Academy after the academy, and the attrition rate is very high. MPs wear black high collared, tighter fitting tops with tan piping and round patches depicting a tan star on a blue background somewhere on their uniforms. Scott Kings is the head of the MPs.
 * Security Force: This department holds senior MPs or Rukon police, and is a specialized department designed to handle high-priority and high-risk security operations. They also handle surveillance missions not given to the 2nd Division, and hold the investigative branch of the 7th that works closely with the L Division. Security Force Shinigami are hand-picked out of 7th Division Shinigami, who all attend a six week training program with a high attrition rate. Security Force Shinigami wear black high collared, tighter fitting tops with red piping and round patches depicting a red star on a blue background somewhere on their uniforms. Yolotli Tenoch is the head of the Security Force.
 * Rukon Police Force: The Rukon Police Force is a non-deployable department of Shinigami whose mission is to uphold law and order in the Rukon and parts of Soul Society that fall under Gotei jurisdiction. Police Shinigami have Gotei authority to use force to detain suspected criminals, and can apprehend and search Pluses and Rukon establishments under suspicion with no warrent. Police Shinigami start out as preventative police (that have duties similar to modern unformed cops), and detectives, both uniformed and plainclothes. Special members that excel in Kido are used as dispatchers and communications specialists. Police Shinigami wear high-collared blue vests over their black high collared, tighter fitting tops with dark blue piping and round patches depicting a white star on a blue background somewhere on their uniforms. Song Li is the head of this department.
 * Gotei Journalists: The journalists are the news team of the Gotei. They are a non-combat Division compromised of Shinigami that undergo a year of specialized schooling meant to teach them writing, investigative, and journalistic techniques. The journalist's mission is to provide photographic, print, radio, or television command information for military internal audiences. The journalists are a part of the Public Relations branch of the Gotei, which also includes the 2nd's couriers, the 3rd's recruiters, and the 5th's Hueco Mundo detachment.

Equipment
Along with their Zanpakuto, all police and Security Force Shinigami have access to special equipment used for non-lethal force. The equipment has proven to save time and money, as it circumvents the need to train all police in Kido, and gets rid of the need for Kido experts in the division. Originally, police equipment had more poetic names, like most of the equipment in Soul Society. However, the current captain decided for efficiency's sake to rename all police equipment to more simple terms.


 * Jitte  (十手, Ten hands): These weapons are used in place of a Zanpakuto, and are useful for hooking enemies, parrying blades, and for a skilled user, breaking blades. Many 7th Division police officers wear these as a symbol of their position, as they aren't exactly useful against strong opponents. However, these weapons have practical purpose when dealing with weaker Shinigami or armed pluses. Jittes see a lot of use in the Rukon. They are specially made with components of sekkiseki, which helps police conceal their reiatsu as well as help offset any spiritual power their opponent has.


 * Jūden Bō (充電棒, Charge rod): Much like human tasers, charge rods are small, handheld rods that resemble kubotan. They are infused with reloadable electric kido spells that activate upon proper contact with an opponent; the charge is enough to stun an incapacitate most low-lever Shinigami for short periods of time. Charge rods are good for ten uses before needing to be re-charged.


 * Sairui Gasu (催涙ガス, Teargas): Police Shinigami also carry several small canisters of teargas, designed to cause temporary blindness and extreme pain, effective on most Soul beings. Each canister comes with a small, one-time-use teargas inhibitor for the Shinigami using the canister, which prevents the gas from affecting the user.


 * Tejō (手錠, Handcuffs): Shinigami handcuffs are similar to human ones, except that they, like the jitte, are infused with sekkiseki components to disrupt a captive's natural spiritual pressure.

Grounds
The 7th Division's grounds are located right along the southwest wall of the central courtyard, placing it behind the Shino Academy. The 7th's grounds are large, containing the normal division buildings, barracks, quarters and offices for officers and enlisted, and a chow hall, with the offices located on the west end of the grounds and everything else located in the southernmost point. The back of the 7th, near the wall, contains the Gotei Police Academy, which includes the school and student training grounds. To the west of the school, on the border of the grounds, is the Gotei News Station, which is rumored to have secret entrances for 2nd Division couriers. Finally, the 7th has various training grounds and obstacle courses throughout its grounds, some even underground that are mostly used by the Security Force.

The 7th also operates several police stations in the Gotei and throughout the Rukon. The inner stations are located inside the central courtyard, one just south of the main East Road, one to the west of the main North Road and one in between the 4th and the Kido Corps grounds, by the South Road.

Recruitment
Shinigami in the 7th are recruited by 7th Division officers, hand-picked out of the Academy. Transfers to the division must be approved, and transferred Shinigami must serve in the Normal Ops Department for at least a year while attending the Police Academy. Security Force Shinigami are hand-picked by Yolotli.

Trivia

 * Many Shinigami are wary of the power and jurisdiction 7th Divisioners have.
 * For some reason, the 7th Division has the highest amount of Shinigami connected to the Aspect.