"Where is Shisheng? Has he not returned yet?"
In the Tsunayashiro estate, within the patriarch's chamber, Tsunayashiro Patriarch sat with several elders, still discussing matters regarding Tsunayashiro Tokinada.
At the same time, they were awaiting Tokinada's arrival.
Logically, after sending Tsunayashiro Tokio to summon him, it shouldn't have taken this long to bring Tokinada back.
They had full confidence in Tsunayashiro Tokio's abilities to handle affairs swiftly.
"No," an elder replied.
Patriarch Tsunayashiro's brows furrowed slightly. "Strange. Shisheng should not be delayed like this. Could something have happened?"
Although the possibility was slim, they had already made plans to sacrifice Tsunayashiro Tokinada if necessary.
Regardless, they needed to send another to locate him. "Four Six Three," he ordered coldly.
Immediately, another subordinate was dispatched to find Tsunayashiro Tokinada.
Before long, that subordinate returned, pale-faced.
"Patriarch, terrible news. Master Tokio has been killed, and Tsunayashiro Tokinada's whereabouts are unknown."
"What?!"
The patriarch's body shook with shock, and the elders beside him stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they had heard.
"Shisheng's strength was not weak. How could he have been killed so easily?"
It was unthinkable.
Tsunayashiro Tokio was among the most outstanding of Tsunayashiro's younger generation. His aptitude was near peerless, and he had been the strongest candidate for future patriarch.
Yet he had been killed.
"It was Tsunayashiro Tokinada," Patriarch Tsunayashiro said darkly. Unlike the elders, he regained his composure swiftly. "Though he is merely the last surviving member of the branch family, his records at Shin'ō Academy were exceptional. Back then, his grades stood equal to those of Kyōraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jūshirō. He also trained under a Gotei 13 captain. His strength is likely far greater than we imagined."
The patriarch's gaze grew icy as he continued, "We must locate Tokinada immediately and execute him in secret.
"If word spreads that he killed Shisheng, our Tsunayashiro family will become the laughingstock of noble society."
It was no joke.
A mere branch family member, one who had already killed his Shinigami wife, had now slain Tsunayashiro's prodigy.
They had intended to deal with Tokinada's crimes quietly, upholding the Tsunayashiro family's honour by punishing transgressors themselves. But to have their appointed summoner murdered instead…
If this got out, their family would be ridiculed by nobles and commoners alike.
They had to prevent the news from leaking at any cost.
The only choice was to swiftly capture Tokinada and execute him without fanfare.
Just as Patriarch Tsunayashiro finished giving orders, sudden screams erupted from outside the chamber.
His expression darkened, as did the elders'.
Another violent impact rattled the room.
The door burst open. A young man in formal dark robes stepped through slowly, Zanpakutō in hand, his face cold and unfeeling.
"Looking for me?" he asked calmly.
"Tsunayashiro Tokinada! You dare appear before us of your own accord?" roared the chief elder, fury blazing in his eyes.
Tokinada sneered. "Why wouldn't I come?"
"Just because I killed a worthless woman, you think I should be put to death? I reject such a fate. I am here to settle things with you all."
"You…!" the elder's anger only deepened at his insolent words.
However, the patriarch remained composed, his gaze locked on the blade in Tokinada's hand. "So this is the source of your confidence," he said darkly.
"Recently, your Zanpakutō was confiscated. I never imagined you would unearth that sword."
Tokinada did not deny it. "Indeed. It is this blade that gave me the courage to stand before you today.
"The Tsunayashiro family has always been a clan with sin coursing through its veins. The owner of this blade was murdered by you self-proclaimed righteous nobles, when in truth you were nothing but treacherous cowards.
"I wonder… if he knew I would wield his sword to massacre his murderers, would he feel gratitude towards me?"
Raising his Zanpakutō, a scarlet mist seeped out, filling the room with an oppressive, suffocating aura. The chief elder trembled as grotesque figures emerged within the mist, the countless tormented souls imprisoned within the blade.
"You will not succeed!" roared Patriarch Tsunayashiro. Without hesitation, he drew a Zanpakutō from within his robes.
This was not his personal Zanpakutō.
It was the ancestral blade passed down by Tsunayashiro patriarchs across generations.
"Drink from all corners of the world, stand entrenched at the ends of the heavens, overwrite and sever all within sight… Intoxicating Mirror!"
This Zanpakutō had been left behind by the Tsunayashiro clan's first ancestor. Even if a patriarch lacked personal spiritual might, by sacrificing their life force, they could unleash the sword's overwhelming power.
Patriarch Tsunayashiro was no formidable Shinigami. In the past, he had avoided using this sword due to its heavy toll. But facing Tokinada, wielding the cursed sealed blade, he knew only this ancestral weapon could contend with it.
Suddenly – bang bang bang bang!
A rhythmic series of percussion boomed across Seireitei.
This was the unique alarm bell used to summon Gotei 13 captains to an emergency meeting.
Unlike normal captain meetings that also required vice-captains to attend, this time, through a special Hell Butterfly summons, only captains were ordered to appear.
That alone indicated the gravity of this incident – it was a matter unfit for vice-captains' ears.
In the past few years, such captain-exclusive meetings had been held only once: during the hidden Kenpachi selection incident in Mole City, when the truth was kept from all vice-captains and unseated officers.
As the bell reverberated, vice-captains throughout Seireitei exchanged curious, uneasy glances.
In the Fifth Division, with Captain Hirako Shinji away, Vice-Captain Aizen Sōsuke pushed his glasses up slightly, a thoughtful smile playing on his lips. "What could this be about?"
"Whatever it is, it will be… interesting," he murmured to himself, rubbing his chin in quiet calculation.
In First Division's assembly room, the captains of the Gotei 13 gathered one by one.
Finally, Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai stood, his eyes grave as he addressed them.
"The Tsunayashiro family… has committed a grave crime."