Kuchiki Kōga returned to the First Division barracks. Here, he had no friends—only loneliness and cold indifference.
It wasn't that he didn't want to go home.
It was just that he still had work to finish in the First Division today.
Passing by those "teammates" who watched him with indifferent, sidelong eyes, Kuchiki Kōga reached his desk.
His assignment today was to review several retired Shinigami and determine whether they'd committed any violations.
But the moment he opened the documents and saw their family names, Kōga already knew—
they absolutely had violations.
Because they were all nobles, and all from the Tsunayashiro faction.
Normally, to avoid conflicts of interest, reports like these wouldn't be handed to noble Shinigami to process.
But even if they were handed to him… so what?
Kōga casually flipped open one file and immediately saw a complaint from a commoner girl of Rukongai.
By regulations, he was supposed to go in person and verify whether the accusation was true.
But in reality, all he needed to do was exactly what he could do right now—flip to the last page and write: No issues found.
Only then could he keep staying in the First Division. Only then would those people begrudgingly allow an "odd one" like him to remain.
Otherwise, the Kuchiki clan would lose its foothold in the First Division again—one of the most important places there was.
Bang!
Kōga slammed his fist down onto the desk.
He couldn't understand it.
How could the Kuchiki clan—one of the Five Great Noble Houses—be forced to live this miserably?
In the past, those people hadn't been this brazen. With complaints where the evidence was obvious, he could still submit the truth.
But ever since Higashino Shuuichi returned and established the Katana-gari-shū, they had only grown more arrogant.
Even if Kōga submitted his honest conclusion, it would still be passed to the Katana-gari-shū—those who specialized in "noble affairs."
And once the Katana-gari-shū handled it, the result was always the same:
Make a big matter small.
Make a small matter vanish.
Powerlessness and fury churned in Kōga's chest.
But he still endured.
There were things he owed his father-in-law, Kuchiki Ginrei. And after his own impulsiveness nearly caused a catastrophe, he didn't want to make another mistake.
He finished today's work quickly. It wasn't difficult.
But just as Kuchiki Kōga was about to clock out and go home—to steady his emotions—
someone he never expected appeared at his doorway.
"Eizen Kyōichirō? What are you doing here?"
Kōga frowned at the middle-aged man in the robes of a lower noble.
"To see the review result for what I did, of course. Do you really need to ask?"
Eizen Kyōichirō narrowed his small eyes, his face carrying a greasy sort of smile.
"You mean the time you nearly raped that girl from Rukongai?
What—are you worried about something?"
Kōga answered with open displeasure.
He had always despised people like this. But Eizen Kyōichirō, despite being nothing more than a petty lower noble, was close with Tsunayashiro Kamihara's youngest son from the Tsunayashiro main house. And because of that, the entire Eizen family lived under Tsunayashiro protection.
"Oh, I'm not worried. It's just that I also accidentally killed the girl's two brothers when I lost my temper. Did she mention that? If she did, do me a favor and erase it~"
Eizen Kyōichirō spoke with a pleasant little grin, then casually strolled up to Kōga's seat and started flipping through the documents on Kōga's desk like they belonged to him.
"Put those files down!
Don't forget—you're just a retired Shinigami!"
The anger in Kōga's eyes was practically spilling out.
How could this man talk about killing two Rukongai commoners so lightly?!
And just now… Kōga really hadn't seen that part in the report, which meant Eizen Kyōichirō himself wasn't even sure whether the girl had witnessed him killing her two brothers.
A pitiful girl.
A hateful bastard.
But Eizen Kyōichirō acted as if he didn't notice Kōga's tightly clenched fists at all—or perhaps he noticed and simply ignored the bulging veins.
"What does that matter?
Don't forget, I retired from the First Division too. You think I don't know what kind of standing you have in the First Division?
Honestly, I don't even know what the Kuchiki clan's former ojou-sama saw in you. Your strength?
A Shinigami who's been muddling along for years and only barely scraped into a seated officer rank—talking about 'strength'… doesn't that hurt your feelings?
Oh, right—I almost forgot. Your Kuchiki clan is the 'special' one among the Five Great Noble Houses.
Seems like you lot have a family tradition of liking worthless Rukongai trash. Your wife liked you, and your current clan head even married a Rukongai commoner.
But you really should feel proud—because you're still a bit better than that 'Kuchiki Hisana.' At least you could become a Shinigami!
Hahahaha!"
He laughed wildly as he spoke—shamelessly, arrogantly, like he was dancing on someone's grave.
And for someone like Kuchiki Kōga—already pushed and pushed again—
it was the perfect trigger.
A blur flashed.
Eizen Kyōichirō was slammed into the wall behind him, pinned there by Kōga's grip.
"Say one more word.
Don't actually think that just because you've got the Tsunayashiro clan behind you, I won't do anything to you!"
"Kh—cough, cough…"
The impact nearly stole Eizen Kyōichirō's breath.
But even then, he wasn't afraid. He grew even more arrogant.
"So what can you do?
Everyone knows what the Kuchiki clan is like. Forget the distant past—this time, I heard that huge commotion in Rukongai ended with a Rukongai commoner girl getting killed, right?
Wasn't she supposed to be taken in as a member of your Kuchiki main house?
And wasn't she the younger sister of your clan head's wife?
If it were my sister, even if I didn't get revenge, I'd at least go out and hunt down the killer for show.
But your Kuchiki clan hasn't done anything at all so far, huh~
So you think you're qualified to talk to me about guts…? Cough—"
Eizen Kyōichirō kept running his mouth while the strength in Kōga's hand began to increase uncontrollably, tightening to the point where Eizen Kyōichirō was close to suffocating.
Yet Eizen Kyōichirō remained absurdly confident, certain his read on Kōga was perfect.
"Go on. Keep squeezing harder!
I bet you don't dare do anything to me for real!!"
That grin reflected in Kōga's eyes—
like a roaring fire, finally igniting the fuse Kōga had wrapped in layer after layer of restraint.
"I bet you'll die here today."
Those were the last words Kuchiki Kōga spoke with a twisted expression—
and the last words Eizen Kyōichirō would ever hear.
Eizen Kyōichirō's eyes went wide.
He couldn't even see the massive wound in his chest, punched through by an abnormally powerful reiatsu (spiritual pressure). His mind couldn't even form the thought of why a "useless" Kuchiki Kōga could erupt with such overwhelming reiatsu.
Only one thought flickered through his head like a dying spark:
He actually dared…
"Shk—slurp!"
At the same time, a figure surfaced behind Kōga—visible only to Kōga.
Like Urozakuro, Azashiro Kenpachi's Zanpakuto spirit, Muramasa—Kōga's manifested Zanpakuto—licked his slightly blood-stained lips in excitement.
"Kōga, if you do this… there's no turning back!"
"I know. I don't need you to tell me!"
Kōga pulled his right hand out of Eizen Kyōichirō's chest and let the corpse slump down the wall, sliding to the floor like wet cloth.
Standing over the freely spreading pool of blood, Kōga felt none of the regret or fear he had imagined so many times.
All he felt was complete release.
He had finally taken that step.
Yes—he was sorry to his father-in-law, Kuchiki Ginrei.
But he felt he had done right by many people—at the very least, he had done right by that Rukongai girl who lost her two brothers… and nearly got raped herself.
He didn't need her thanks.
He didn't need anyone to remember him.
From this moment on, he would be his true self.
Even if the ending was destined to be failure.
Because before he reached that final failure—
he would first make sure some people lost the "privilege" of ever witnessing it.
"I'll ask you only one thing, Muramasa… are you ready?"
In this moment, there was no confusion left in Kuchiki Kōga's eyes—no grievance, no compromise.
Never had his gaze been as unwavering as it was now.
"Hehehe… my master, you shouldn't even ask me that. From the day I was born, I've been ready~"
Muramasa's lips curled into a wicked smile. Since ancient times, anything that bore the name Muramasa was never something "upright"—and the last time he disobeyed orders and acted alone had already revealed plenty.
"Then, Muramasa… before I'm killed, let's cleanse this Soul Society thoroughly!"
Kōga's voice was firm—and tragic.
He saw his ending, and he accepted it.
He simply wanted a glorious path on the way there.
"As you wish~ my master!"
Behind him, Muramasa seemed to care even less what his own ending would be.
For him, being able to raise hell with his master—his blade-life was complete.
The moment Kuchiki Kōga stepped out of his room—
the entire Soul Society began to tremble.
Because this time, it didn't matter whether you were strong or weak, whether you were even a Shinigami—
as long as you had enough reiatsu, as long as your reiatsu reached the threshold where power could be made manifest…
Even if you were just a vicious criminal from the farthest slums of Rukongai with no Zanpakuto, the hidden, undeveloped power inside you would stand forth, appear at your side, and attack you.
And this time…
people would truly die.
"Who would've thought I'd meet you in Soul Society like this, Shuuichi-kun~"
Back in the room Kuchiki Kōga had left behind, beside Eizen Kyōichirō's corpse, a tall man appeared out of thin air—dressed like a refined scholar, holding a feather fan, smiling warmly.
And then the "corpse" of "Eizen Kyōichirō" slowly sat up, the wound in his chest rapidly healing.
"Yeah… come to think of it, I've never manifested you like this before. Every time we met in the past, it was inside that little thatched hut you constructed."
"Eizen Kyōichirō"—Higashino Shuuichi—smiled back at his manifested Zanpakuto spirit.
"Speaking of which, Shuuichi-kun, you haven't visited my little hut in quite a long time~"
"If you're willing to tell me your true name, maybe I'll become a regular visitor?"
"Then you'll have to work hard, Shuuichi-kun. You're not far off now, are you?"
"Yeah. Soon."
The rapid back-and-forth between Higashino Shuuichi and his Zanpakuto continued—until it finally irritated the one eavesdropping nearby into revealing herself.
"How about you two say something I can actually understand? Talking like this is so boring!
Like—shouldn't you just attack Higashino Shuuichi? Why can you stand here talking so calmly?!"
Urozakuro had been imagining Higashino Shuuichi and his Zanpakuto fighting eight hundred rounds. She even had her sunflower seeds and little stool ready.
But what she got was peaceful harmony.
That was not scientific!
"That's simple," Higashino Shuuichi's Zanpakuto spirit replied with a smile. "Because I know Kuchiki Kōga's Zanpakuto ability completely—what it does, what it can achieve. And given my own ability, his ability is naturally ineffective against me."
"But how could you know it that well? Kuchiki Kōga never fully told anyone else—and I didn't let anything slip either!"
Urozakuro still couldn't accept it. In Soul Society, besides Kuchiki Kōga and her, there shouldn't have been a third person who completely understood Muramasa's ability.
So hearing this made her miserable.
"Well… maybe you can ask my master, Shuuichi-kun. Though I suspect he won't give you the answer."
The Zanpakuto spirit smiled and looked toward Higashino Shuuichi.
Urozakuro also turned to Higashino Shuuichi for help—but how could Higashino Shuuichi possibly tell her the truth, that he was a transmigrator?
If his Zanpakuto weren't essentially a part of his own soul—sharing memories with him—his Zanpakuto wouldn't know either.
"Don't look at me. I'm not telling. And right now, isn't the most important thing for you, Urozakuro, to hurry up and bring the real Eizen Kyōichirō over here?"
Higashino Shuuichi shrugged, perfectly calm.
"Right, right~"
Only then did Urozakuro react. If Higashino Shuuichi hadn't reminded her, she would've forgotten the real Eizen Kyōichirō—whom she had knocked out in advance.
"After you bring him here, what do you plan to do? You let 'Eizen Kyōichirō' 'die' right in front of Kuchiki Kōga. If you want him to come back to life, you'll need a believable reason."
"Come back to life? Why would he come back to life? People like that are better off dead~"
Higashino Shuuichi smiled.
"You don't seriously think I didn't kill Eizen Kyōichirō earlier because I wanted to spare him, do you?
Urozakuro, I'm pretty sure you only started paying attention to me recently. Otherwise, you wouldn't ask something like that~"
As he spoke, Higashino Shuuichi used the same level of reiatsu and punched a hole of the exact same size straight through the chest of the real Eizen Kyōichirō—whom Urozakuro had just brought over with her space ability.
Poor Eizen Kyōichirō.
This time, he truly died.
At least… he died peacefully.
Higashino Shuuichi wasn't depraved enough to torture him first.
While Higashino Shuuichi was doing all this, his Zanpakuto spirit continued "educating" Urozakuro, who now looked like she'd discovered a whole new continent.
"If you have time, you might want to look into the 'accidental deaths' among nobles in Soul Society over the past few decades… and all the 'suicides' among them as well.
You might find some even more interesting patterns in there~"
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