"So this… is the explanation you're giving me?"
Inside the 1st Division captain's lounge, Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni glared at the downcast Soi Fon, the apologetic Kuchiki Byakuya, and Kyōraku Shunsui—who looked like nothing was wrong at all—so irritated he felt smoke about to come out of his ears.
"Originally, my Bankai was already about to finish off Kuchiki Kōga… but who would've thought he could still recall that dying Zanpakutō, Muramasa, and then directly use Muramasa's power—binding my attack in midair with a shadow restraint…"
Even now, remembering Kuchiki Kōga's unbelievable fighting style from earlier that day, Soi Fon still felt a chill.
Because the way Kuchiki Kōga fought—wild, unrestrained, almost absurdly inventive—was far too similar to that man.
And on top of that, he was originally a commoner from Rukongai… could it be that Rukongai commoners all had talent like this?
"After that, Kuchiki Kōga used the heavily injured Komamura-taichō as a human shield. Even when reinforcements arrived, we didn't dare act rashly—we could only watch him leave."
The 9th Division captain, Tōsen Kaname, spoke right after.
As the fifth captain to reach the battlefield, he'd intended to properly support Soi Fon and the others and help eliminate Kuchiki Kōga—but with Kuchiki Kōga holding the dying Komamura Sajin as a shield, there was nothing to be done.
Killing one Kuchiki Kōga—only to personally kill a captain in the process—was a price no one dared to pay.
"At the time, I didn't know what was going on over there with Kuchiki Kōga. I had to remain at the Tsunayashiro estate to guard against Muramasa's sneak attacks, so I couldn't possibly rush over to support you."
When Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's gaze shifted to him, Kyōraku Shunsui simply spread both hands.
He did have the ability to stop Kuchiki Kōga. Once Kuchiki Byakuya—the Kuchiki clan head—had confirmed that Kuchiki Kōga could die, Kyōraku Shunsui had no need to hold back anymore.
But unfortunately, after Higashino Shuuichi and his Blade-Hunting Corps were no longer stationed at the Tsunayashiro estate, and because the Tsunayashiro had lost the protection of the Gotei 13, Kyōraku Shunsui became the main fighting force defending the Tsunayashiro at that moment.
Otherwise, facing a manifested Zanpakutō with strength clearly beyond ordinary captain-class—Kuchiki Kōga's Muramasa—the entire Tsunayashiro estate had only one person with the ability to resist: Tsunayashiro Kamihara.
But unlike the "combat faction" among the Five Great Noble Houses—families like the Kuchiki, Shiba, and Shihōin, who tended to step into the spotlight—Tsunayashiro Kamihara's captain-class strength was more like something forcibly stacked up, brittle enough to shatter at a touch.
Letting Tsunayashiro Kamihara face Muramasa alone was little different from sending him to his death.
In truth, Kyōraku Shunsui could vaguely guess that there was another man inside the Tsunayashiro estate whose strength was no joke, but that man…
He probably wanted the Tsunayashiro main house to lose a few more people, didn't he?
"So, in other words—this time five captains showed up, and not only did we fail to catch Kuchiki Kōga, we let him—after killing so many Shinigami and nobles—heavily injure one of our captains and then swagger off. That's what happened, correct?"
The 3rd Division captain, Ichimaru Gin, narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly.
But the faint upward curve at the corner of his mouth made it hard to believe he felt sorrow for the dead Shinigami and nobles of Soul Society.
If anything, it felt like he was enjoying the show.
"Hey, doesn't this feel kinda familiar? Back then, didn't that guy Higashino Shuuichi do the same thing?"
Ichimaru Gin's words immediately dug up some unpleasant memories for the 11th Division captain, Zaraki Kenpachi.
If he remembered right, when Higashino Shuuichi ran, he'd also flattened a pile of captains—among them Soi Fon, who at the time was still vice-captain of the 2nd Division, and she'd nearly been stabbed to death by Higashino Shuuichi with a single strike.
Calling it déjà vu was an understatement—this was practically the exact same scene.
The only difference was that the "protagonist" of the two stories had changed, and the captains involved were mostly different.
It seemed like only Soi Fon had lived through both?
In that instant, Soi Fon felt a lot of eyes turn toward her—clearly, Zaraki Kenpachi wasn't the only one who'd thought of it.
"Why are you all staring at me? I didn't hold back!"
Soi Fon felt truly wronged. She'd genuinely tried her best to kill Kuchiki Kōga. Aside from Shunkō—which she'd inherited from Shihōin Yoruichi and refused to use unless it was absolutely critical—she really had gone all-out!
She'd even used her own Bankai, Jakuhō Raikōben—something she usually hated using—didn't she?!
"Compared to that, I'm more concerned about Komamura-taichō's condition. How is he now~?"
At that moment, the 5th Division captain, Aizen Sōsuke, turned with a worried look toward the 4th Division captain, Unohana Retsu, and asked.
That concerned gaze was warm enough to soothe anyone who saw it.
This was Captain Aizen—his strength might not stand out among the captains, but he truly cared about other Shinigami!
Unfortunately, Aizen Sōsuke's expression got no meaningful "feedback" from Unohana Retsu—rather, her perfectly standard smile was no less polished than his.
"Please rest assured, Aizen-taichō. That Kuchiki Kōga's swordsmanship is exceptionally refined. That strike came very close to taking Komamura-taichō's life—but it fell short by just a little.
So Komamura-taichō is not in danger. It shouldn't take long before he can return to duty."
"Is that so? Then that's truly wonderful. If Soul Society were to lose a captain because of this… it would be unbearably sad."
Aizen Sōsuke's face brightened, as though he were sincerely happy from the bottom of his heart that Komamura Sajin was safe.
"So—has the 12th Division found anything?"
Without stopping the captains' mutual concern, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni waited until Aizen Sōsuke finished speaking before turning to the masked 12th Division captain, Kurotsuchi Mayuri, with his question.
Kurotsuchi Mayuri only shook his head.
"None of the monitoring stations detected any signs of a passage to the World of the Living being opened. Unless that Kuchiki Kōga enters the Dangai alone without using Senkaimon, he should still be in Soul Society."
At this point, the Research and Development Institute had existed for too short a time—and because of Higashino Shuuichi, Kurotsuchi Mayuri had poured a great deal of energy into research on soul modification in the past—so many of his technologies were still incomplete. His surveillance and control over Soul Society was obviously far behind the level it would reach in the future.
However, after giving his report, Kurotsuchi Mayuri abruptly changed his tone.
"I've heard that in Soul Society, there exists a place called the Eizō Hall. It can monitor most locations across Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo. By regulation, it's supposedly managed in rotation by the Five Great Noble Houses.
If you could use the Eizō Hall, then finding Kuchiki Kōga's location shouldn't be that difficult, should it?"
The moment those words left his mouth, not only did Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni fall silent for a rare beat—even Kyōraku Shunsui and Kuchiki Byakuya both frowned slightly.
Did Kurotsuchi Mayuri truly not understand… or was he pretending not to?
Both the Eizō Hall and the Great Spirit Book Corridor were, in principle, jointly owned by the Five Great Noble Houses. When they were first established, both were designed to be managed in rotation by those five houses. But later, due to the request of the Tsunayashiro clan's progenitor and the distribution of benefits among the five families, the Great Spirit Book Corridor was handed to the Tsunayashiro alone.
The Eizō Hall, however, kept its original arrangement.
That was the official story.
In practice, the Eizō Hall had long been held by the Tsunayashiro as a constant—used as compensation for the fact that they didn't participate in Gotei 13 work.
This was something every member of the Five Great Noble Houses understood without needing to say it aloud.
No matter where Kurotsuchi Mayuri had learned about the Eizō Hall, would he really not know this?
And at such a sensitive time, bringing up this potentially contentious issue in front of all captains—what kind of intent did he have?
"Your mind is really hard to read, Kurotsuchi…"
Kyōraku Shunsui thought quietly to himself.
But no matter what, Kurotsuchi Mayuri's suggestion did sound like a good one.
Unfortunately, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's answer was disappointing.
"The Eizō Hall's current administrator is the Tsunayashiro clan. And the Tsunayashiro clan head had people check the Eizō Hall immediately after the incident—Kuchiki Kōga avoided its surveillance.
For Kuchiki Kōga, that isn't difficult."
As he spoke, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's gaze settled on Kuchiki Byakuya.
The implication was obvious.
Kuchiki Kōga—being the Kuchiki family's son-in-law, and the uncle by marriage of the current Kuchiki clan head, Kuchiki Byakuya—of course had the ability and authority to know such secrets.
But Kuchiki Byakuya knew clearly: he had never granted Kuchiki Kōga any such privileges, nor told him anything related to this. The only thing he'd ever allowed was for Kuchiki Kōga to enter the Great Spirit Book Corridor once to verify matters concerning Higashino Shuuichi.
Yet Kuchiki Byakuya also understood that, from his position, he couldn't explain that directly—doing so would only make it look worse.
"Captain-Commander, I swear to you: I will personally capture Kuchiki Kōga and hand him over to Central 46 for judgment!
And if I cannot capture him, I will execute him on the spot. I will not allow him to become the shame of the Kuchiki clan."
In the end, this was the only guarantee Kuchiki Byakuya could give Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
As for what he truly thought in his heart…
Only he would know.
And in stark contrast to the heavy atmosphere within the Gotei 13—
was the Tsunayashiro estate at this very moment.
Tsunayashiro Kamihara sat in his seat as clan head, looking down at the representatives—now reduced by half—and then at the blood-soaked casualty list of Tsunayashiro clan members laid out on the table before him.
That he could still suppress his rage at all was already proof of a clan head's composure.
"Without question, Kamihara-sama—this was the Kuchiki clan's retaliation against us Tsunayashiro!"
A minor noble with an injured arm spoke through clenched teeth.
His injury wasn't even that serious—any seated officer from the 4th Division could heal it with a bit of Kaidō (Healing Arts).
But when he went to the 4th Division seeking treatment, the answer he got was that he had to wait in line!!!
Worse—he had to wait behind commoner Shinigami!
How could he tolerate that?!
If not for the fact that even their own noble hospital—the Shin'ō Pharmaceutical Institute—had been "specially attended to" by Kuchiki Kōga, suffering catastrophic losses, leaving the entire institute practically paralyzed aside from the newly appointed director Yamada Seinosuke barely still alive…
He never would've lowered himself to go to the 4th Division in the first place.
And yet the 4th Division didn't even know gratitude—actually putting commoner Shinigami ahead of him for treatment?!
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got!
If Higashino Shuuichi and his Blade-Hunting Corps were still here, how would the Tsunayashiro-aligned nobles have ended up like this?!
"Exactly, exactly! We're nobles! Why do those 4th Division Shinigami get to make us line up behind those filthy commoners?!
My poor finger—this skin tear hurts so much I can't even sleep at night!
This has to be something the Kuchiki clan ordered!"
Another noble clutched a tiny torn patch on his right index finger and cursed with a face full of pain.
Clearly, another "victim" who'd been shut out by the 4th Division.
"And there's more, Kamihara-sama—you don't even know! Today I wanted to go back to my home to retrieve some things, and the Shinigami there just told me to leave, saying it wasn't safe?!
Bullshit! They just want to seize my family's property while they can!
This is only because Higashino Shuuichi-sama is gone—if Higashino Shuuichi-sama were still here, would these Gotei 13 Shinigami dare speak to us like that?!
They see we've lost our powerful captain-class force, so they're starting to climb all over us!"
Yet another noble poured out his grievances at Tsunayashiro Kamihara.
There were many more, each with different complaints—but the core was always the same:
The Kuchiki clan had gone too far.
They begged Kamihara-sama to quickly summon Higashino Shuuichi-sama back, and the surviving nobles were willing to unite and guarantee Higashino Shuuichi-sama's return!
These days, without a strong Shinigami bodyguard, things were truly dangerous.
But how could Tsunayashiro Kamihara not want Higashino Shuuichi back?
The problem was—could Higashino Shuuichi even return now?
To begin with, Higashino Shuuichi was already disliked by Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni. It had taken Tsunayashiro Kamihara gathering a massive coalition of nobles and forcing the issue to barely "whitewash" Higashino Shuuichi.
But now—look at what Kuchiki Kōga had done.
The Tsunayashiro-aligned nobles were dead, injured, broken—how many still had any voice left?
In this situation, would the Shihōin-aligned nobles—who had originally planned to stand with Tsunayashiro Kamihara—still keep standing with them?
Most likely not.
And perhaps the Kuchiki clan had seen exactly that—so they dared to make such a move, using a single Kuchiki Kōga as the price to do something this huge.
"A fine move…"
Before Tsunayashiro Kamihara's eyes, it was as if Kuchiki Byakuya's youthful face appeared.
Who would've thought the young Kuchiki clan head would possess such boldness—and such foresight?
But this matter couldn't simply end here.
"You want to be the one calling the shots in Soul Society? You, Kuchiki Byakuya… think you're worthy?"
As the cries of the minor nobles battered his ears, the brutality and viciousness Tsunayashiro Kamihara had kept buried—along with the hereditary madness etched into the Tsunayashiro bones—was finally, completely awakened.
Flip the table?
Like only you can?
Who doesn't know how?!
If you, Kuchiki Byakuya, dare—
do you think I, Tsunayashiro Kamihara, don't?!
That night, Higashino Shuuichi stood on the balcony, Kabuma Sayako in a nightgown at his side.
"Still not sleeping—what are you thinking about out here?"
A breeze drifted by as Kabuma Sayako gently looped her arm around Higashino Shuuichi's right arm.
"What I'm thinking about… it's here~"
Higashino Shuuichi watched a Jigokuchō (Hell Butterfly) fly toward him. He extended his left hand, and it settled neatly into his palm.
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