The funeral of Seigen Shihoin, the elderly man who had led the Shihōin Clan—one of the Four Great Noble Clans—for centuries, was as grand and solemn as his status demanded. Almost all the active captains of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads were present, their ranks perfectly aligned. Their white captains haori formed a silent wave under the somewhat gloomy sky of the Seireitei. Representatives from the Four Great Noble Clans and various upper and Lower-ranking nobles crowded the spacious funeral hall like a silent flock of crows in their dark formal attire.
The air was as heavy as a block of solidified lead. Low, solemn funeral music flowed slowly through the air, every beat striking the hearts of everyone present.
The most central part of the funeral, the Soul Burial Ceremony, was performed personally by Yamamoto-Genryūsai Shigekuni—the Captain Commander of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, who stood at the pinnacle of the Soul Society. This elderly man, though gaunt in appearance, possessed terrifying power. Wearing his captains haori with the character for 'One' on the back, he walked steadily toward the coffin. His eyes were as calm as an ancient well, his deep gaze sweeping over Seigen's face, which looked as if he were merely asleep, as he softly chanted the Kido incantation for the soul's passage. His powerful spiritual pressure gently enveloped the deceased's soul, guiding it toward the distant unknown.
This honor was not only due to the status of the deceased, Seigen Shihoin, but also because he was the son of the Former Head of the Shihōin Clan—a dear friend who had once fought side-by-side with Captain Commander Yamamoto. To commemorate the son of an old friend, even an existence like Yamamoto, who had experienced a thousand years of vicissitudes and was accustomed to partings of life and death, had to pause for a moment at this time.
Once the ceremony was complete, Captain Commander Yamamoto slowly withdrew his finger, and the gentle spiritual pressure enveloping the area dissipated. A very faint sigh, like a single drop of water melting in the depths of a thousand-year-old glacier, flickered across his furrowed face before he returned to his eternal, well-like composure.
Another familiar figure had left the torrent of time forever. He turned around, ignoring the low sobs of the women of the Shihōin Clan and Yoruichi's stubborn profile as she pressed her lips together and fought back tears. His pace remained slow and heavy as he left the center of the funeral hall. His back looked exceptionally lonely and aloof amidst the silent ranks. He had long since grown accustomed to it; in the long river of time, too many figures had turned from clear to blurry, eventually fading into nothingness. And for him, the time to burn out was still far off.
Time flies like a white stallion leaping across a gap.
Ten years had quietly slipped away since the departure of the old man who had supported the Shihōin Clan for hundreds of years and only finally closed his eyes after pressing all power and expectations onto an outsider son-in-law.
In the Inner Palace of the Shihōin Clan head, the lights were dim, and an ambiguous atmosphere had not yet fully dissipated. Yoruichi lay lazily sunk into soft pillows, fine beads of sweat still remaining on her smooth, honey-colored skin, like a peach covered in dew under the sun. She had her eyes closed and was breathing steadily, clearly entering the prelude to a deep sleep after a bout of strenuous physical exercise.
Hiroki leaned to one side, also in a state of post-exhaustion relaxation, his fingertips unconsciously twirling a strand of black hair that had fallen onto his arm from Yoruichi's head.
Suddenly, he felt the soft flesh of his waist pinched neither too hard nor too soft by two cool fingers, followed by Yoruichi's hoarse, lazy, and unceremonious command:
"Hey, this won't do."
Hiroki was stunned for a moment and turned to look at her: "Hmm?" She hadn't even opened her eyes.
Yoruichi's voice became clearer, carrying an unquestionable tone and a well-hidden hint of mischief: "Today's Public Grain... you haven't delivered enough."
Hiroki nearly choked on his own saliva. He propped himself up slightly with an incredulous expression and looked at her beautifully contoured profile: "Still not enough? Just now..." He tried to recall the intensity of the battle, feeling that he had clearly worked quite hard.
"Mm-hmm," Yoruichi finally opened one eye, her golden pupils flashing with a cunning light under the lamp. She glanced at him and closed it again, saying righteously, "Isn't it because I'm not pregnant yet? Old Man Seigen up in the sky is probably huffing and puffing again."
Hiroki was speechless: "...It's not like you don't know." He couldn't help but roll his eyes. "The more powerful the spiritual pressure and the closer the essence of life is to a higher dimension, the harder it is to produce offspring. Look at your father; he lived for nearly a thousand years, didn't he? And he only managed to squeeze out two children, you and your brother Yushiro. What's the use of rushing me? No matter how much 'Public Grain' I 'deliver,' it still depends on whether the seeds can 'take root and sprout'!"
The 'ice-breaking' and adjustment over the ten years had allowed the two of them to still bicker, but the initial tension was gone. They interacted with more casualness, even able to make intimate jokes amidst the ambiguity.
"Hmph, stop talking nonsense." Yoruichi wouldn't listen to his logic. Like a satisfied cat still clinging to a warm stove, she squeezed closer to Hiroki, found a more comfortable position, bumped him with her shoulder while keeping her eyes closed, and directly issued the ultimate command: "Hurry up, again."
Hiroki silently rolled a more standard eye in his heart and lay back down.
With a warm and fragrant beauty by his side, his heart found it difficult to truly be at peace. A strand of dark green shadow, like a stubborn thorn, was tangled in the corner of his thoughts—the Captain Hollowification Incident.
In the original story, that sudden conspiracy was exactly what pushed Yoruichi toward the abyss of defection and placed a bright green crown on the head of her innocent 'husband.'
Ten years had passed, and this plot point hung over his head like the Sword of Damocles, never truly far away.
Given Yoruichi's personality... Hiroki's gaze uncontrollably fell on the peaceful profile of the person sleeping beside him. She was Yoruichi, the Captain of the Second Division of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the 'Flash God,' and moreover, the person who viewed Urahara Kisuke as her closest friend.
If... if in the near future, that brilliant and crazy researcher Urahara Kisuke is truly framed just as the script says and forced to flee... with Yoruichi's personality of valuing loyalty and protecting her own, what would she do?
The answer was almost obvious. She would help him without hesitation, standing by his side regardless of the cost, even... abandoning her responsibilities to the Shihōin Clan and abandoning him, her 'husband,' to disappear with Urahara into the pursuit net of the Seireitei and vanish into some corner of the Human World.
By then, that huge, glaring 'green hat' would be fitted tightly and irrefutably onto his head—Hiroki Shihōin's head.
Heh... how troubling.
Hiroki let out a long, bitter sigh in his heart.
However, with his current power... Hiroki's mind quickly cooled down, like a battlefield commander reviewing his forces. The cards in his hand would be stunning if revealed, but weighing them against the opponent? They seemed a bit insufficient.
His most powerful reliance was none other than Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Shisui. Two Captain-level (Third-Class Spiritual Pressure) combatants, combined with the Mangekyo Sharingan and S-rank Shunpo and Kido, would be the core backbone of any division. But... who was their opponent?
Aizen Sōsuke, the master of Kyōka Suigetsu who sat above the clouds and toyed with all living beings in the palm of his hand! With just his own unfathomable spiritual pressure, which approached that of the Captain Commander, Fugaku and Shisui together would likely struggle to last a few rounds before him!
Look at the Doggy Captain; he was one-shot by an instantly cast 'Kurohitsugi.' If Fugaku and Shisui went up against Captain Aizen, it would likely end the same way.
To trade blows with Captain Aizen, he would probably need to be able to summon Uchiha Madara.
Even against the two 'pawns' under him—Tōsen Kaname and Ichimaru Gin... if Fugaku or Shisui faced either one alone, the odds might only be thirty-seventy, far from a guaranteed win.
As for exposing Aizen?
Don't even dream about it! Before he had even transmigrated to this world, Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu had basically completed the hypnosis of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads! Perhaps only his own Second Division, due to its high degree of secrecy and independence, would have fewer people hypnotized by Aizen?
Aizen had been deepening his layout in the Soul Society for decades! Everyone who had seen the release of Aizen's Zanpakuto was already a bird in his visual cage. Before finding a way to break it, any accusation of Aizen's betrayal would only be a laughable farce in the eyes of these hypnotized people, becoming the best excuse for Aizen to turn around and cleanse his dissenters.
And in terms of strategy... it wasn't that he was being humble, but Aizen's schemes were like an abyss, bottomless; his ability to insightfully read hearts and control the overall situation had long since reached the pinnacle. From utilizing the ignorance of the Central 46 Chambers to inducing Urahara Kisuke to research the Hōgyoku, to the self-directed and self-acted Hollowification Incident... every step was precisely despairing.
The bit of petty cleverness he had honed from noble infighting was probably just a tiny bit short in front of Aizen.
As for his Uchiha Clan, they didn't have anyone in charge of the brains either, otherwise they wouldn't have been played into extinction.
What a splitting headache... could it be that the only path left is to run away with Yoruichi?
Once this thought arose, it inexplicably brought a unique sense of liberation.
However, Hiroki's mind instantly flashed to the massive family business he had spent ten years of blood and sweat building on the foundation of Seigen's legacy and the Shihōin Clan's financial power—shops, spiritual land, workshops, and resource channels! Once he fled, these things would basically be gone forever! That would be like carving out his very lifeblood!
And—what about the Uchiha Clan, which was already deeply bound to the Onmitsukidō?!
Ten years ago, the improvement in their relationship was just the start. For the sake of the family's interests and to fulfill his promise to the Uchiha, Hiroki had already waved his hand and pushed this force into the field where the Shihōin Clan had the strongest control—the Onmitsukidō!
Relying on the insight of the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, a combat quality far exceeding those from the Rukongai, and the powerful presence of Fugaku and Shisui, the Uchihas had experienced a meteoric rise within the Onmitsukidō, firmly occupying many key middle and high-level positions! They were already an important part of the Shihōin Clan's secret power, the claws of Hiroki's own power extension!
This power was hard-won. Once he ran away with Yoruichi, the Onmitsukidō system would instantly detect the abnormality, and the Uchihas would immediately fall into an awkward status or even the danger of being purged!
Most importantly! Using the authority of the Shihōin Clan, he had not only upgraded the Uchiha Clan to Lower-ranking nobles but also allocated a piece of land for the Uchiha Clan within the Seireitei!
Never mind that the Seireitei would be breached by Yhwach in the future; that was more than 100 years away. Training in the Seireitei was more than a hundred times better than in the Rukongai.
Uchiha Izumi, who had the best talent, had been living in the Seireitei and was now about to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan! Among the other Uchiha Clan Members, six more Three-Tomoe Sharingan had appeared over the past few years.
This was enough to prove how important it was to place the core strength of the Uchiha within the high-concentration reishi environment of the Seireitei for their recovery and improvement! This geographical advantage was the fundamental guarantee for resisting all risks in the future and could not be easily abandoned!
So, making the worst-case plan... if Yoruichi still chooses to 'defect' to help Urahara Kisuke, then he... a sharp light suddenly flashed in Hiroki's eyes.
He would stay! Stay within this Shihōin Clan manor, as the 'sole entrustee' of his father-in-law Seigen and the husband of the nominal head, to support the swaying Shihōin Clan?
Firstly, the Shihōin Clan basically handled internal suppression work, so there weren't many places where they would cross paths with Aizen. It could also be seen from the original story that the Shihōin Clan lived on just fine, so Aizen wasn't much of a threat to him. Aizen's energy was mostly focused on the Thirteen Court Guard Squads; after all, there was an Old Man Yama there who required constant vigilance.
Secondly! Hiroki's breathing became a bit hurried: he wouldn't have to deliver Public Grain anymore!
Sigh, what kind of life had he been living since transmigrating?
During the first 10 years after transmigrating, with Seigen watching him, how could a little son-in-law like him dare to act out? He could only endure in silence.
In the following 10 years, he had been delivering Public Grain to Yoruichi every day, to the point where he was starting to lose interest even in fair-skinned and beautiful young ladies.
No longer having to work hard at 'farming' to fulfill the old man's last wish would be a massive liberation! If Yoruichi has 'eloped,' who else could come to press him for the Public Grain?!
Even... Hiroki's thoughts were like a runaway horse, galloping toward a freer prairie.
With Yoruichi not in the Seireitei, he would be the nominal person in charge of the Shihōin Clan! Weren't Tamaki Chizuru and Uchiha Izumi, those two fair-skinned and beautiful (important!), gentle and lovely (Izumi was a bit cold, but she counted), and highly capable ladies right there beside him?! Those beauties he could only admire before because of his 'persona' and family relationships... couldn't he now consider the possibility of deep communication?! This was simply a leap from hard labor to heaven!
Oh, right, and that little brat Suì-Fēng; let's see if you still dare to glare at me.
At the thought of this wonderful prospect, and the thought that Yoruichi's honey-colored skin—which had given him aesthetic fatigue over ten years—could temporarily stay away from the center of his vision (though he stubbornly refused to admit he disliked it, it was, after all, what he saw most), the corners of Hiroki's mouth uncontrollably curled upward, finally settling into an extremely satisfied, even somewhat silly smile, his eyes sparkling with the light of longing for a future of freedom with beauties by his side.
His sudden silly smile, immersed in his own world, startled Yoruichi, who was napping nearby.
She opened her eyes, her golden pupils carrying a bit of laziness and suspicion from being disturbed, staring straight at that eerie smile on Hiroki's face that could absolutely not be called a 'steady and noble Shihōin son-in-law.' After a long while, she finally furrowed her brows in disgust and unceremoniously complained:
"Hey, what are you thinking about now? Your smile is so disgusting." She even felt like his drool was about to drip down.
"Cough, cough, cough..." Hiroki snapped out of it, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on. He quickly pulled back his expression and coughed a few times to cover it up. "It's nothing," he waved his hand, trying to put on a serious but clearly failing expression, his tone carrying a perfunctoriness that couldn't even fool himself, "I just... thought of something happy."