Chapter Fifteen

Aristocrat quarters,
Shino Seyakuin, director’s room

“Now what have we here? I never would have expected the Captain General of the Thirteen Court Guard Companies, Master Kyoraku, to pay a visit. Will falling prostrate to the ground before you just once suffice?” Seinosuke Yamada—the man who ran the pharmaceutical clinic for exclusive aristocratic use, which, though at first glance seemed extravagantly built, actually prioritized function in its design—spoke to his unexpected caller with sarcasm. The man he was talking to—Shunsui Kyoraku—had a cynical smile in his left eye as he said, “Always the same, aren’t you, Seinosuke?”

“Thank you for taking such great care of my younger brother. Nothing makes me happier than to hear that the Fourth Company is doing well even after my departure.”

After finishing the formal greeting, Seinosuke narrowed his eyes and said, “No, maybe I should say that I’m glad it’s doing well even after Unohana is no longer there.”

“Do you hold a grudge against me?” Kyoraku replied, without dodging the issue.

Seinosuke, who was the older brother of Hanataro Yamada from the Fourth Company, had formerly served for a long while as the assistant captain of the same company. Though he had occasionally rebelled against the captain Retsu Unohana, Kyoraku knew very well that they had a relationship of trust.

Unohana herself was currently nowhere in the Seireitei.

As part of Kyoraku’s plan, she had sacrificed herself in order to draw out Kenpachi Zaraki’s strength. Kyoraku himself understood it was likely an unforgivable act for those who adored Unohana. Regardless of that, he had prepared himself to accept all that resentment and made the decision in order to save not only the Soul Society, but all three realms, which included the world of the living and Hueco Mundo. Unohana herself had accepted that as well.

In response to Kyoraku, who acted as though he knew he would be blamed, Seinosuke quietly shook his head.

“That was just the type of person Unohana was. If she determined that allowing Kenpachi Zaraki to live would save a great number of lives, then it made sense for her, as someone who had dedicated her very being to crossing swords. Had I heard about it before, I likely would have opposed it, but, well, she likely would have carried through with it anyway. She was strong after all.”

“Is that so? Well, if you have any complaints, it would be helpful if you could direct them to me, rather than Zaraki. Regardless of how Unohana felt about it, I was the one who toyed around with making the plan.”

“A coward like me could not possibly complain to Kenpachi Zaraki. Why, of course, I cannot complain to you either, Captain General Kyoraku, my lord.”

As Kyoraku watched this man who shamelessly called himself a “coward” remaining imperturbable in front of the Captain General, he smiled wryly and asked again, “About Unohana and Zaraki—who did you hear about that from? I was certain we hadn’t released that information to the public yet.”

“It was Tokinada Tsunayashiro.”

At Seinosuke’s quick response, Kyoraku narrowed his single eye and went silent.

“It seems he was hoping I would show some sort of grief, but all he found was disappointment. He even said, ‘It is no fun teasing someone who lacks a heart.’”

“I see. He hasn’t changed, it seems. But that’s still a terrible thing to say.”

“It is the truth, however. It seems that I am lacking in kindness and many other such sentiments.”

“Not the humble type, are you? If you really didn’t have a heart, you wouldn’t have warned your brother, would you?”

On hearing those words, Seinosuke smiled a cynical smile and shook his head.

“I see. So that is the reason the Captain General himself has come. Hanataro, that gossip.”

“Maybe it was him. Or maybe it wasn’t Hanataro, but Hisagi or even others who could have told me? Regardless of who it was, weren’t you expecting word to get around to me?”

“I will leave that up to your imagination, sir. So then, did you not come here in order to ask something specific of me? You didn’t invite me to the barracks or to Central 46, but came on your own two feet right here to me, so you must be plotting something that cannot be public, correct?”

“I’m glad that this conversation will be quick, seeing how perceptive you are.” Then Kyoraku uttered the name of a specific person. “Hikone Ubuginu. That’s the name of a child who has been working around here lately, claiming to be a servant. Do you recognize the name? Surely, I don’t think you can claim that you don’t.”

“In that case, you didn’t have to ask, did you? You must have come here after discovering that the child was a patient here.”

At this point in the conversation, which was like the meeting between a badger and fox, Kyoraku went a step further and asked, “Will you tell me? Where could that child possibly have come from, and who are they?”

“Though I am imperfect, I am still a medical practitioner. Are you asking me to reveal information about a patient?”

“Yes, I believe that you will tell me. You’re the kind of Soul Reaper who respects life, after all is said and done, over a set of rules, or saving face, or your position. Please, if you know about the child’s circumstances, that patient of yours might come out of this alive.”

His face did not look all that different from his usual peaceful expression, but what Kyoraku said was still disturbing. Any Soul Reaper who had known him for an extended period of time would have known that this was not a joke or a threat, but something he genuinely believed. And Seinosuke and Kyoraku had been acquainted for quite some time while in the Thirteen Court Guard Companies.

“That you’re able to express so much with just a look proves you are suited to being Captain General, and that you are an heir to the Kyoraku family as nobles of the Seireitei.”

“You’re giving me too much credit. This is the only way I know how to be, as I’m such an awkward man.”

Seinosuke lightly shrugged and brought up a specific family. “How much do you know about the Ubuginu family?”

“I heard it was a family line that served the Tsunayashiro family, but that it died off a while ago. Officially, that Hikone Ubuginu child is said to be a distant relative, but there are no formal documents about that anywhere to be found—even in the Great Archive.”

“Yes, that is exactly right. The Ubuginu family’s stock is long gone. It is not as though I know the minute details of Tokinada Tsunayashiro’s plot; however, it wouldn’t be a stretch to interpret his request of me as treason against the Soul Society. For example, it might be considered a crime to research unspoken events and then make use of that research.” Speaking about the false charges that had been imposed on Kisuke Urahara in the past, he slowly stepped to Kyoraku’s side and mentioned something in a whispered voice. “A fragment of the Reio.”

“Huh?”

“You know what that means, don’t you? Especially as Ukitake’s closest friend.”

“Are you saying this child Hikone also has a fragment?”

Seinosuke contradicted Kyoraku’s guess with a thin smile. “That’s not quite accurate. They used all the ‘Frag-ments of the Reio’ that the Tsunayashiro house had collected thus far as a core…and then mixed it with Soul Reaper and human konpaku. That is what Hikone Ubuginu is.”

“Soul Reaper and human…?”

“Well, I was not the one who came up with the design. I do not even know for certain whose konpaku was used. It was not just one or two people. The konpaku of a Soul Reaper as well as a human from the living world, likely Quincy as well, and at least ten thousand other konpaku seem to be mixed in the child.”

“That’s ridiculous. The child isn’t a Menos Grande—and I doubt it would be possible to condense that many konpaku together while maintaining Soul Reaper and human nature.”

Though Kyoraku had denied it reflexively…Or…He began to consider the possibility…Or Kisuke Urahara, Mayuri Kurotsuchi, or Senjumaru Shutara from Squad Zero might have been capable of it. However, none of them would have worked with the Tsunayashiro family. Actually, given that it was them, they would have completed the project from start to finish themselves, and there never would have been a reason to ask for Seinosuke Yamada’s help.

As though he had perceived Kyoraku’s misgivings, Seinosuke spoke the truth indifferently. “Quite right. The Tsunayashiro family has no craftsman at the level of Urahara, Kurotsuchi, or Master Shutara. That is why when they first brought Hikone to me, the child was in horrendous shape.”

Recalling this time, Seinosuke sighed deeply. “The child had nothing from the neck up and was missing pieces all over their body; it seemed as though their Saketsu and Hakusui were barely circulating spiritual power.”

“…”

“And they told me to ‘make it live.’ I simply did what I could. Oh, and I won’t accept any discussion at this point that it would have been better off if I had left the child to die. Even you are thoroughly aware that that is the type of man I am, aren’t you?”

“Well, that’s the extent of my understanding though. I doubt you would be able to elevate what is basically a meat shell into an individual with volition. Considering that it contained several fragments of the Reio, I wouldn’t expect anyone with such substance at their core to so easily serve Tokinada.”

“Yes. And this is why Tokinada brought it…the final component.”

“What component?”

When Kyoraku scowled, Seinosuke started to delve into the crux of the issue. “Do you know of a Quincy named Gremmy Thoumeaux?”

“Yeah, I looked over the records collected at the Great Archive after the war. Wasn’t that the Quincy that Zaraki battled…”

At that point, Kyoraku stopped speaking momentarily. The wrinkles on his brow furrowed all the more deeply, and he asked Seinosuke, “It couldn’t possibly have been that?”

“Several thousands, or even tens of thousands of konpaku and many fragments of the Reio. A ‘Quincy brain’ that would be able to withstand the turbid waters of spiritual pressure surging like a vortex of chaotic consciousnesses. On top of that, the ability to instantaneously create outer space, with the previous owner of that brain’s konpaku long gone. That thing, which had turned into a husk without life, was the last piece of the equation that had, against all odds, been delivered to Tokinada. That is what happened.” Seinosuke grinned. “Don’t you think it’s ironic, Captain General Kyoraku? Kenpachi Zaraki was strengthened through your plan by sacrificing Unohana. Who would have thought the corpse of the Quincy he killed—or rather the brain—would have ended up right in the hands of your enemy, Tokinada Tsunayashiro?”

Instead of replying to the sarcastic remark, Kyoraku asked with a quiet expression, “Seinosuke, was that what you really wanted? Weren’t you in a position to sever that chain?”

“I followed my own convictions and let live what I could. I have no regrets about that, Kyoraku. I will ask you the same question in return—do you have regrets? Do you regret sacrificing Unohana for the sake of your conviction to protect the Soul Society?”

Kyoraku pulled his hat down low, and a lonely, self-deprecating smile played along his lips in the hat’s shadow as he responded, “You really are quite malicious, aren’t you? Maybe you really do hold a grudge—against me, that is.”

“Never!”

Seinosuke also smiled as though mocking himself, turning his face away from Kyoraku as he muttered, “I’m just sentimental.”

≡

The past,
Silbern

Silbern, the Vandenreich’s base of operations. As the final battle with the Soul Reapers was quickly progressing, there had been an area with remarkably apparent spiritual pressure. Though it was a cage that had been securely sealed with a barrier that only Yhwach could make, that seal was currently undone and the intended prisoner—Gremmy Thoumeaux—was standing in a corner of the passageway.

None approached the boy who had been freed, and as though they believed they would be killed if they simply met eyes with him, the general members did not even enter his field of vision. However, there was a single figure who had approached Gremmy without hesitation.

“Yo, looks like you’re doing fine, you monster.”

“I wouldn’t have expected you to be the one to treat me like I’m the monster, Liltotto.”

As Gremmy spoke, a cold smile broke out on his face. Liltotto responded without a care, “Was that beyond your imagination? If you don’t like monster, then I guess I could call you scum. More importantly, I ran out of sweets and I just can’t stop feeling hungry. Could you whip something up for me?”

“You’re pretty much the only person who would insult me and ask for stuff at the same time.”

“Isn’t his majesty always saying to help each other out? Stop being stingy.”

“Don’t call me stingy when you’re trying to sponge candy off me.”

Despite what he said, in the next moment Gremmy envisioned a mountain of donut packages. Then, at some point, a giant bag of donuts appeared in Liltotto’s arms. Her eyes widened slightly as she ate one of the donuts from the bag.

“Chomp…gulp… Not bad, but a little too sweet.”

“I don’t know what your preferences are. Seems like it’d be faster for me to imagine that you’re a sweet tooth.”

“After we kill all those Soul Reapers and we’re free, make sure you try all kinds of stuff. Then you’ll be able to expand your imagination a bit.”

“I’ll think about it.”

As Gremmy gave her a strained smile, Liltotto ate her donuts, smiling faintly and thanking him. “Well, you were a lifesaver. Thanks.”

Then, as she was about to leave, Gremmy asked her casually, “Getting a thank-you is nice, but aren’t you going to pay me back or something?”

“What is with you? You can imagine anything into being, but you still want something in return?”

“It’s a matter of respect. You wouldn’t feel great about being in my debt either, right?”

Liltotto muttered, “I guess you’re right,” in response to Gremmy and then thought for a while before saying, “Right. When we start our thing with the Soul Reapers, if I see somebody you haven’t been able to kill, I’ll try hitting them while they’re down.”

“If I can’t kill someone, then I doubt you’d be able to.”

“Then when the time comes, I’ll pester them in the most effective way and then run away. It’s not like I’d risk my life for a bag of donuts, right? Don’t expect me to be sweet to you.”

Catching sight of Liltotto’s grin, Gremmy wore his usual faint smile as he shook his head.

“Seriously, this whole knight’s order is filled with egotists, his majesty included.”

“That’s a surprising thing for someone to say who’s just been thrown in jail for acting like an egomaniac. So what’re you gonna do after the war ends and you’re actually free?”

“Right. I’ve never imagined that.” After thinking for a while, Gremmy played it off as a joke and shrugged. “Maybe I’ll try cooking? If I just try random stuff, then I might come up with something I couldn’t have imagined—that seems like it’d be entertaining.”

Liltotto couldn’t tell whether Gremmy’s words were serious, and she also answered in a way that made it difficult to tell if she was joking. “Make sure it’s something that you wouldn’t be able to imagine the taste of based on how it looks. If you so much as think that something looks spicy, even strawberry jam would end up like habanero sauce.”

“I’ll take that into account. Next time I make food, maybe I’ll imagine a super high-calorie cookie that’ll fatten you up with a single bite.”

Liltotto pulled a new donut out of the bag and said with a sarcastic smile, “Well, I’ll at least try a taste of it. I’m expecting great things, scum.”

After that absurd conversation, the two of them went their separate ways. Liltotto joined up with Bambietta and the others while Gremmy took along the Quincy he had created from his imagination, Guenael Lee, and they headed into their war with the Soul Reapers.

They didn’t realize that conversation would be the last words they would say to each other.

≡

Present day, the Rukongai

“You said he was an ingredient?”

Hikone nodded eagerly from on top of Ikomikidomoe.

“Yes! The brains in my head mostly come from Mr. Gremmy! That’s what Lord Tokinada told me!”

Liltotto thought for a bit, and though only a few seconds actually passed, she wiped away the emotion in her expression as though she had come to a breakthrough. Wearing her usual somewhat sober expression, the girl hardened reishi and created a Heilig Bogen and pulled a Heilig Pfeil from the pouch on her back.

“So that’s how it is. Basically, you’re a completely different person who just has the same spiritual pressure as him.”

“Uh?”

“Of course that’s it. There’s no way that scummy dude would still be alive.” Though her words sounded critical, Liltotto’s muttering tone was desolate. Hikone tilted their head, and Liltotto let the Heilig Pfeil pointing at the child’s chest fly. “In that case, I can go right ahead and crush you then, can’t I?”

“Uh!”

A roar and a shock wave was generated, and the surrounding spiritual pressure went into violent turbulence. “Tsk…What is that thing?”

Liltotto clucked her tongue as she looked at what was directly in her field of vision. The scene was comprised of Hikone using the palm of their hand to stop the arrow, and Blut Vene, the defensive ability particular to Quincies, spreading before her. But that wasn’t all.

Though it was known only to those who had fought Arrancars and some portion of high-level Hollows, they would have seen not only the Blut Vene pattern on Hikone’s hand, but also the response of Hierro, which was particular to Hollows.

The one who noticed that abnormality was Hirako, who had fought against both Arrancars and Quincies.

“Wait a sec, that can’t be right.”

He understood that the child had Quincy spiritual pressure intermingling within them. And because of that, Hikone’s using Blut Vene wasn’t surprising. However, it was something different altogether that it was accompanied by Hierro, a Hollow-specific characteristic.

Hollows and Quincies are supposed to be the least compatible! That’s the whole reason why we could pump Hollow reishi through ourselves to get back our bankai!

Well, wait. To begin with, how can all of this Soul Reaper, Hollow, and Quincy spiritual pressure be all blended together?

Though blending Hollow with Soul Reaper was fairly uncommon, from Ichigo Kurosaki to the Visoreds including Hirako, it wasn’t as though there were no precedents. However, without the help of a power from something like the Hogyoku, or the course of events surrounding Ichigo’s birth, the reishi wouldn’t have been able to retain the shape of a Soul Reaper. It should have crumbled—and this was even more the case if, in addition, Quincy, which had the worst affinity for the Hollow factor, were also mixed into the child.

Because of that, Hirako grew suspicious that the existence in front of his eyes was somehow related to the Hogyoku. But Hikone looked troubled and asked Hirako, “Umm, what is making her so angry?”

Hikone didn’t seem curious so much as anxious about being in trouble for reasons they didn’t understand and continued to stop the rapid-fire Heilig Pfeils with their bare hands.

“Did I make some sort of mistake?”

“I haven’t got a clue. Well, you might’ve just stepped on some sort of land mine.”

Despite Hirako’s response, he could more or less guess the issue.

I thought they were just working together because they had to, as fellow henchmen…Now that I see them coming to rescue those Mayuri took on as his pawns, it looks like some of them did consider each other friends.

“That’s its own kind of trouble. Seriously.”

Even as Hikone and Liltotto were having their exchange, the battle continued between Ikomikidomoe’s large form and the Arrancars alongside the Quincies. The winged monsters that were ceaselessly being birthed assaulted Grimmjow and the others, as they in turn took them down with Ceros and Balas and zanpaku-to, while continuing to attack the main body.

“Hey! Grimmjow! What is going on here?! Explain!”

“Hunh?! You can tell just by lookin’! I’m killin’ this mammoth that dared to look down on me!”

Grimmjow tsked at Nelliel’s words as he replied. Meanwhile, Luppi, who had been attacking from another angle, cocked his head to the side when he saw a horde of the small monsters being mowed down by a muddy stream.

“Huuuh? You’re here, Halibel? So you’re still alive?”

“That’s what I should be asking you. What are you doing here?”

“Obviously, I’m here to kill Grimmjow. Well, before I can do that, this huge thing is in the way, so I was just thinking of crushing it.”

Luppi, who spoke casually, swung his tentacles around as he let loose a Cero and mowed down the monsters surrounding him. Halibel immediately surveyed the state of her surroundings; she noticed the blond Soul Reaper floating in the air and muttered, “Is that the masked Soul Reaper from Karakura Town?”

However, when she saw that the Soul Reaper was neither fighting nor helping the zanpaku-to that had transformed into a gigantic monster, it looked to her as though he also couldn’t grasp what Hikone Ubuginu was.

“What in the world is happening in the Soul Society?”

As Bambietta’s fire illuminated their surroundings, Liltotto kept shooting Heilig Pfeil one after another. Hikone narrowly evaded those while bowing quickly in between intervals.

“Uh, um, I’m sorry if I did anything wrong. I’m so sorry!”

Though the gestures only made it look like Hikone was making a fool out of Liltotto, the child was extremely serious. Liltotto seemed to know that, and with sober eyes, she simply replied indifferently, “Nah, you haven’t done anything wrong.”

Then she said the words that resulted in Hikone becoming her opponent.

“But your boss, Tokinada Tsunayashiro, is going down. That’s all.”

“Huh?” Hikone was neither angry nor surprised—just inquisitive. “Killing Lord Tokinada is impossible.”

At first glance Hikone appeared expressionless as they said that. However, beneath the bland surface was a shade of doubt accompanied by innocent cruelty, like a child who had been told not to stomp on ants. Those eyes were at the threshold of purity and ignorance—the eyes of someone who genuinely could not fathom the feelings or meaning of what another person was saying or why they were saying it—eyes that did not even attempt to understand.

Realizing that the shade in the child’s depths was hollowness, Liltotto understood that for what it truly meant. She understood that the Quincy monster she knew no longer existed within that spiritual pressure.

A chill buzzed up Liltotto’s spine, and an interval of split seconds passed as she blinked. In the next moment, Hikone had snuck up to her chest.

“Huh?”

The child had traveled through an intricate mix of shunpo, sonido, and hirenkyaku. Though they had been facing each other head on, the child had appeared close to her with implausible speed that caught her completely unaware.

The moment Hikone’s karate chop had broken her Heilig Bogen, Liltotto saw it. The hand of the child who had seemed like a Soul Reaper transformed for just a breath into a warped shape almost exactly like that of a Hollow’s arm. Before Liltotto could even understand what that meant, she was blown away.

“Guh…”

It wasn’t just the zanpaku-to that changed. This kid’s gotten stronger too!

“Are you all right?”

Hearing this calm voice, Liltotto realized that Meninas had at some point caught her when she was blown away.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to be a burden.”

Immediately standing, Liltotto glared at Hikone. Hikone looked down on the girl while also not looking down upon her and wore a simple, plain, pure smile and spoke as though stating a fact. “I’ll stop anyone who tries to kill Lord Tokinada, and—”

The boy—or perhaps the girl—did not notice that their truth meant despair to others.

“Besides, Lord Tokinada is much, much stronger than me!”

≡

A certain place in the Seireitei,
passageway in hidden quarters

“I’m beat. I’m terrible at fighting.”

Tokinada Tsunayashiro seemed to purposefully shake his head as he witnessed the scene in front of his eyes. What appeared before him was the entrance to the special storage area of the Visual Department—or at least the mountain of rubble that remained of it. The earlier combat continued on without change until an abrupt burst of spiritual pressure wind blew by with a golden shimmer. An echoing roar swallowed up the passageway’s floor and wall, and the entrance had been reduced to powder.

“You wouldn’t happen to be able to share the reason for the sudden wolfish violence, Lady Shihoin?”

Yoruichi, who stood atop the rubble, had grown winglike spiritual pressure from the tops of her shoulders all the way down her back. She looked down on Tokinada, who stood in front of the rubble, and smiled boldly.

“Calling it wolfish is so nasty of you. I’d rather you compare me to a cat than a wolf.”

“So will you tell me why you stopped pretending to be a cat then, Lady Shihoin?”

“I doubt you’ll correct yourself, but don’t you think that was a bit forced? Well, whatever. I don’t like a long slog, so in order to beat up those assassins all at once, I just exerted my true power a bit. But I wasn’t expecting the walls and floor to collapse just from that. You may send the repair bill to the Shihoin family.” Yoruichi paused at that point and showed off something in her hand as she continued. “Although, that’s if you have the time to bill me.”

“Wha…” Soi Fon, who had kicked away an assassin in front of her face, let slip her surprise after seeing what was in Yoruichi’s hand. Yoruichi had what looked like a human fetus contained in a small cylindrical glass case, and something like a piece of a Hollow was fused to the specimen.

“I found these things together. Don’t you think this is a slight deviation from the Visual Department’s usual subject matter?”

“I don’t recall ever seeing that. Maybe you brought it in just now?”

“I hope your hearsay works on the Central 46. It seems you already laid the groundwork, but Kyoraku has also been building up his pawn for quite a while. More importantly, those cunning aristocrats would likely prefer to set up a much easier puppet, such as a child who is a distant relative, as head of family, rather than you and your maliciousness.”

Listening to Yoruichi, Tokinada did not seem flustered and simply let a nasty grin form on his face as he replied, “As far as your last opinion is concerned, I entirely agree. However…if you would go this far, may I assume that you will be rejecting my proposal concerning the Soul King and the Shiba family?”

Tokinada was referring to their three-way conversation with Byakuya Kuchiki from just days earlier, and Yoruichi replied indifferently, “Oh, that. I haven’t got a clue about that kid Byakuya, but either way I don’t care if the world ends up changing in the way you said it would.”

“Oh…?”

“Huh?”

Tokinada narrowed his eyes in interest as Soi Fon cocked her head to the side in genuine confusion—she did not know the contents of that three-way discussion. With the other two in front of her, Yoruichi spoke openly about her philosophy of life: “Regardless of whether the ruling structure of the world of the living, Hueco Mundo, or the Soul Society changes, and regardless of what happens to the Shiba family’s standing, I am still me. It might be a pain in the ass, but, well, if the Shiba family is restored Kukaku could probably fulfill the duties as needed.”

When Soi Fon heard the words “Shiba family is restored,” her eyes widened, and Yoruichi watched that with some amusement before folding her arms and grandly going off on Tokinada. “However, that is an entirely separate issue from whether I can forgive you for your evildoing. I never wanted that guy Aizen to stand in heaven, so what makes you think I’d approve of someone even scummier, like you? You’re saying you’re going to attempt to create a world with an entirely different group of people… Well, let’s just see what you’ve got.”

“I see, I see. I must say, what an honor it is to be treated as an even worse villain than Aizen.”

“Did you not hear what I just said? I didn’t say you were a villain—I called you ‘scummy.’”

Tokinada burst out laughing.

“Ha ha ha ha ha! I see! That is indeed quite a difference! However, do you have any right to speak as a descendant of the Shihoin family? Can you say that to me—a member of the Tsunayashiro family—when you yourself are part of the same Four Great Noble Clans?!”

“Yeah, and I’ll say it as many times as I need to. Regardless of who my ancestors were, I am still me. And you are still you. The Tsunayashiros’ pedigree and past deeds have no relation to this—you’re spitting on the world of your own volition, aren’t you, Tokinada?”

“Yes, that’s right—that’s exactly it! I respect Byakuya Kuchiki for his ability to stifle his own emotions for the sake of his clan. I am not envious of him at all! However, do not forget that once you strip away the rings of the tree, even an unyielding, monolithic tree like the Kuchiki family is just as rotten inside as I am.”

“Regardless of that, the Kuchiki family has become a pillar that supports the world. It’s arrogant of you to compare your family to theirs when it was your family’s shoot, not to mention its very trunk, that is rotten.”

What…?

What is Ms. Yoruichi talking about?

Soi Fon, who had finished defeating the last of the assassins, became bewildered listening to the pair’s conversation.

Obviously the Tsunayashiro family is rotten. The dark rumors about them were constant even before Tokinada became head of the family.

But why would the Shihoin and Kuchiki families also be rotten?

Ms. Yoruichi’s…and the Four Great Noble Clans’ ancestors—what exactly did they do?

While Soi Fon was curious about how the conversation would continue, she felt troubled that as a lesser-ranking aristocrat Soul Reaper, she should not perhaps have been privy to this conversation. Eventually, she disciplined herself with, “Eavesdropping on the details of Ms. Yoruichi’s familial circumstances out of my own interest is the lowliest of acts.” Then she devoted herself to working to erase that interest.

“Ms. Yoruichi, I have finished dealing with the attackers. I would like to return to guarding Lord Tokinada.”

“Hm? Aren’t you full of integrity, Soi Fon. I think we could just go ahead and arrest him though. Well, formally we’re doing it as his convoy.”

At that point, Yoruichi turned her eyes to Tokinada and threw some provocative words at him. “So? Where is this ‘new Reio’ that you were going on about? Whatever happens with you, I’d like to get a look at them with my own eyes. They’re supposedly your trump card and will do anything you say, isn’t that right?”

Tokinada let out a small sigh and stared up at Yoruichi where she stood on the rubble. “Right,” he said. “I suppose it’s time to use my trump card.”

His mouth contorted into a grin, and he pulled something that looked like a talisman from his chest pocket.

“Huh? What is that thing?”

“You can tell based on what you see, can’t you? It is a trump card, just as I said.”

In response to Yoruichi’s doubt, Tokinada started to funnel spiritual pressure into the talisman. But in the next moment, Yoruichi, who had just been on top of the mountain of rubble, was instantaneously at his back.

“It’s not as though I’d just wait idly by.”

She tried to grab and twist the arm that held the talisman, but—“Too slow.” As he said that, Tokinada’s form and even his spiritual pressure vanished like smoke.

“Huh?!”

“Wha…? Was that an invisibility technique?!”

Shocked, Soi Fon turned her spiritual senses around to her surroundings, but Yoruichi shook her head in disappointment.

“No. It doesn’t look like he used a Secret Remote Squad technique or a spiritual pressure interception cloak. It’s likely that might have been a Soul Ticket.”

A Soul Ticket—in the past, Kyoraku had given those to Ichigo’s friends in the living world. They were special tickets that allowed one to travel freely between the Soul Society and the world of the living.

“We should check whether it was something like that and whether he escaped straight to Dangai. Though if Kisuke is around, he would go after him right away.”

“But I thought that other than those given to Ichigo Kurosaki’s acquaintances, they were strictly regulated by the First Company?”

“He likely stole the technique and made his own.”

Yoruichi sighed deeply and let escape her cynicism about the man who was head of the Four Great Noble Clans. “Really—he’s top notch at stealing the fruits of other people’s labors. He likely stole that Kuten Kyokoku from his household.”

Then, looking into the empty space in exasperation, she added in a small mutter that Soi Fon may or may not have heard, “You don’t have to go that far in following in our ancestor’s footsteps.”

≡

Shino-Seyakuin

Just after he had received several documents relating to Hikone Ubuginu from Seinosuke, Kyoraku finally took a step forward and sighed.

“Well, all you did was keep an injured person alive when the Four Great Noble Clans told you to. Though the methods by which it was done are likely problematic, the ones who brought you the child were the Tsunayashiro family of the Four Great Noble Clans. From that perspective, they would be hard to refuse, and I think it would be difficult to claim that you should be charged with a crime.”

“Oh my, isn’t that quite lenient of you?”

“I’d rather not say it, but if I were to charge you with a crime instead and imprison you, the aristocrat big shots would likely object. Plus, thanks to you it seems there are many older folks whose lives have been extended despite only having a few years left to live.”

Kyoraku put his hat back on and then thought about what would be coming in the time ahead. He let out a sigh that had a different significance than his earlier sigh.

“Who would have thought that Shunsui Kyoraku would have to govern? Being a Captain General sure is troublesome. Perhaps you should try forcing it on someone else as soon as you can?”

“I’ve got a mountain of stuff I’d like to do that with. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but there are the Court Guards that Old Man Yama left and then there's the new Court Guards. I need to find a neat point of compromise between those two.”

At that point, the Thirteen Court Guard Companies’ Captain General wiped the smile off his face and spoke his next words with conviction. “In order for that to happen, I need to stop Tokinada now.”

“Don’t you think you’re a bit late for that, Captain General Kyoraku?”

“Huh? What does that mean?”

“Don’t you think it’s odd that you’re able to meet with me like this? Why wouldn’t that strategy-monger Tokinada Tsunayashiro have come up with a countermeasure to keep me quiet?”

“Huh!”

When Kyoraku realized the significance of what Seinosuke was saying, Seinosuke threw out an underhanded final blow. “If my guess is correct, Tokinada Tsunayashiro has already finished his preparations. That is exactly why he has overlooked what you are doing and is not intervening in any way.”

“I see. That might be the case.” Kyoraku seemed to brood over this for a while but answered without showing any despair. “Yes, I certainly am making the second move. But you know what, there’s something I’d like to try specifically because this is the second move.”

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“I just got a report from the Secret Remote Squad. Apparently there’s a small commotion in the Rukongai right now. I believe it’s likely related to the events that are unfolding.”

Kyoraku then quickly relayed the details of that turmoil and his plan. As though showing his acknowledgement, a cheerful smile came over Seinosuke’s face, and he said, “Are you sure about that? Don’t you think that plan could cause problems later?”

“This is exactly the time to do it. There’s a precedent for it from the Quincy war, and it’s one of the better options we’ve got.”

Kyoraku smiled quietly and spoke cynical and self-deprecating words. “It’s far preferable to opening the doors to hell.”

≡

“Oh…”

The fight against Ikomikidomoe’s main body, which straddled the sky and earth, was ongoing. Before they knew it, the number of foot-soldier monsters being birthed had increased, and the fight was transitioning to a battlefield, but…Hikone suddenly stopped moving and pulled from their chest pocket something that looked like a talisman. The talisman was faintly glowing red, and Hikone shouted, seemingly in a fluster, “Ikomikidomoe! It looks like Lord Tokinada is calling us from over there! Let’s go, quickly!”

Ikomikidomoe, who had continued the fight in silence for the most part, rumbled with a low voice that came from the center of his gigantic form, “I have no interest in his welfare…but for now, I will obey.”

At the same time, the white mist cleared, and the monsters scattered around Ikomikidomoe gathered at his mouth and disappeared into it as though being devoured of their own volition.

“Hunh? What the hell? You thinkin’ of just running away again?!” As Grimmjow yelled, the mountainous giant in front of him shrank in an instant and, after transforming back into the form of a white sword, was sheathed in Hikone's scabbard.

“Yes, we’re running away!” Hikone replied and, after glancing around, yelled, “Uhh, oh, right! Is there a Mr. Kugo Ginjo around?!”

“Hunh?” Upon abruptly hearing his name, Ginjo had forgotten even to make himself scarce before he cried out. Though he hesitated for a moment about whether he ought to reply further, Ginjo held his breath as he came forward. “How do you know my name?”

“Oh! So you’re Mr. Ginjo! Lord Tokinada told me your name! He wanted me to try comparing my strength to yours, but I think I will have to ask you to do that when we meet next time! Yes!”

“Why me? Who is this Tokinada guy anyway?”

“Lord Tokinada is my master! I heard that you are also a candidate for being the Soul King, Mr. Ginjo, but I’m going to be the one who becomes king! I won’t lose to you, so I look forward to when we meet again!”

“What’d you say?”

Hikone bobbed down into a bow and turned around as Ginjo became even more confused. Hikone simply opened a small garganta and leapt in while bowing to the Arrancars and Quincies.

“I’m so sorry to do this after you went out of your way to fight all-out with me! I need to head over to Lord Tokinada’s sanctuary, so if there are any of you who still do not accept me as king, then I will gladly fight with you until you do accept it!”

“Hunh? What’s that kid saying? It’s not like I’d let you get away.”

Luppi released Ceros from his eight feelers, and the Quincies’ Heilig Pfeil also aimed all at once for the void and fired, but—

“And so, if you’ll excuse me.”

A blue-white glitter was released from Hikone’s hand as the child smiled innocently, their eyes not revealing any emotion. The glitter wasn’t a Gran Ray Cero so much as a gigantic Cero that had been created by releasing dense spiritual pressure at full strength. It swallowed up all the attacks of those who had attempted to pursue the child and made them disappear. Then, after that had been unable to stop the force, it sprang at them. The Cero hadn’t required any skill; it was a feat of strength that had been achieved by Hikone’s simply pushing out all the spiritual pressure they had.

It became a muddy stream that made the Arrancars and Quincies sense certain death as it hurtled toward them, and while those facing it didn’t have much time to react, two predators jumped out in front of the beam.

Nelliel and Liltotto had come to stand side by side by coincidence, and each of them opened their mouths wide as they devoured the Cero. Feasting on it using the Cero Double and The Glutton, the two women had turned the high-density Cero into their dinner.

Nelliel used the Cero she had taken in to add to a Cero of her own that she launched, but when that flash subsided the garganta’s maw was no longer open.

“Looks like you’ve got a similar skill,” Nelliel said to the Quincy girl next to her while looking at the resulting cloud of dust.

“I can’t shoot it back though. Vomiting out something you’ve eaten is a waste anyway.”

“I agree with that.”

Perhaps because she had shot out such a strong Cero, a small stream of blood trickled from the corner of Nelliel’s mouth.

And possibly because Liltotto had eaten the reishi of a Hollow, which did not agree with her, her breathing was rough and she looked as though she had terrible heartburn.

“So? What do we do now? You wanna continue from where we were earlier?”

Liltotto and the others had just been facing the Arrancars in Hueco Mundo the other day. Though it was possible this could end up snowballing right into combat, Liltotto figured there was a fifty-fifty chance of either side surviving if it did.

“It depends on you women. As long as you do not meddle in Hueco Mundo any more than you have, we have no reason to be hostile toward you,” Nelliel replied, trying to end the battle, but another voice shouted an objection.

“How can you be so soft, Nelliel?! We already accepted the fight they started. Do you think I’ll just let it end like that?” Grimmjow said. A shade standing behind him agreed for a different reason…

“You’re right, a fight has already been started—though I’m referring to one from several years ago.”

As usual, Luppi glared at Grimmjow with eyes full of hostility.

“Hunh? You’re still alive? I thought that gigantic thing crushed you already.”

Smiling wickedly and provoking each other, Grimmjow and Luppi’s spiritual pressures started to gnash.

Hirako, who had been watching their situation from afar, sighed in annoyance.

“What? Are these two going to fight each other again?”

I’d like to stop them, but it’ll likely just complicate things if I say anything. Maybe I should use Sakanade to make it so neither of them can fight?

No, there’s that bomb girl. If things end up like they did before, that’d be the worst.

He continued to deliberate as he turned his eyes to the man who had answered Hikone’s call earlier.

Is that guy over there really Kugo Ginjo? He really does look like the corpse that Ichigo took back to the living world, but…

“Seriously…why’s this situation so complicated?”

Now that the common enemies Hikone and Ikomikidomoe had disappeared, the tension in the air started to accumulate again, and the situation was becoming explosive, but another voice jumped in and became the focus of attention.

“Please wait!”

It was the dignified entreaty of a young woman that echoed throughout the area. The one who had yelled as though she were leaping into the eye of a tornado was a bespectacled Soul Reaper.

“Huh?! Nanao, is that you?! Why’re you here?!” Hirako shouted in surprise.

Though he had certainly anticipated some backup after reporting to Kyoraku, he expected the Secret Remote Squad would come, not that the First Company assistant captain Nanao herself would rush directly over. He also would have understood if Kyoraku himself came for battle, but Nanao wasn’t suited for fighting.

She excelled at kido, but that was an ability more suited for defense or support when it came to Arrancar-class fights. Grimmjow, prominently powerful even among the Arrancars, glared dubiously at the Soul Reaper that had abruptly appeared and said, “What, woman? What’re you doing suddenly crashing the place?”

He had the glinting eyes of a beast that did not hide its hostility and was ready to go beyond the hunt, simply interested in pursuing violence toward her. It wouldn’t have been odd for a normal Soul Reaper to have fainted just from his stare. Endur-ing that pressure from him, Nanao firmly persisted in fulfilling her role.

They were Arrancars under Aizen.

They were Quincies who had started the war alongside Yhwach.

And then they were Fullbringers who had been hunting Soul Reapers.

In the middle of a gathering of those who had formerly been hostile toward the Thirteen Court Guard Companies, Nanao Ise pushed down the resentment—or even the fear—that bubbled up from within her to the back of her chest and lowered her head to do her job as the assistant captain of the First Company.

She got on her knee and took on an air of formal decorum, as though they were her guests and, excluding Hirako, made a proposal of life or death. “Under the name of the Thirteen Court Guard Companies, I shall take everyone here under the custody of the First Company.”

“Hunh? Like I said, why’re you coming in here like you own the place…”

“Wait, Grimmjow.”

Though Grimmjow tried to take a step forward, Halibel stopped him with her hand.

“What’s the deal, Halibel?”

“Your goal is to get that strange Soul Reaper and zanpaku-to, isn’t it? You should consider this discussion relevant to that.”

Halibel also put Luppi in check with a stare as he tried to attack Grimmjow while the Arrancar was unaware, then simply turned to Nanao and nodded at her to urge her to continue.

Nanao was grateful to Halibel as she informed them with a humbled expression, “The Thirteen Court Guard Companies Captain General Shunsui Kyoraku has something he would like to discuss with you.”

≡

A certain place in the Rukongai

“Good grief, it seems they’ve put a damper on things. You’ve gone too far now, really.”

Mayuri Kurotsuchi, who had continued to observe from afar, confirmed that the combative atmosphere in the place had chilled and shook his head as though disappointed.

“It seems I should check on whether Tsunayashiro outwitted Captain General Kyoraku. Though things would have been settled so much faster had he just consulted me from the start.”

Then a voice addressed him from behind. “Just how much had you already guessed from the start?”

“I’d hidden surveillance bacteria in the zombie girl. I was already observing when she fought that thing in Hueco Mundo. I tried to have the Quincies and Fullbringers fight in order to attract the Tsunayashiro family’s attention, but as I said earlier, it was outside of my calculations that they would get involved directly at this stage. I should thank those Arrancars who interrupted us.”

“You really are a frightening man. Were you using those Fullbringers and us as bait?”

“I am sure I have already said that obtaining Fullbringer specimens was part of the goal. More importantly, have you finished the analysis?”

In response to Mayuri, the Corpse Unit Quincy NaNaNa Najahkoop who had just returned confidently replied, “Yeah. It was difficult because that giant thing was growing while it fought, but I generally understand its spiritual pressure’s pattern. The problem is that even though it’s not on your level, its spiritual pressure pattern changes constantly. I think I could paralyze that, but I don’t think it would last long.”

After hearing this Mayuri did not specifically praise or disparage him, but coolly expressed his own judgment. “Why do you seem so proud of yourself? Of what use is it to be so proud of observation equipment producing the results of an observation? It makes me hesitate to include you in the deal I made with that gluttonous girl.”

Najahkoop’s lip twitched, and he recalled those who had betrayed him along with Yhwach.

“It’s not the issues I’ve got with Bazz-B, but it’s not like I haven’t got a bone to pick with those guys after they just silently watched when…Actually, are you seriously letting Candice go? In that case, give me a reward for what I di…ow ow ow ow ow!”

An electric shock ran through him, and Najahkoop’s whole body was pins and needles.

“You demand a reward before you have repaid your debt to me for elongating your life? All of you Quincies really are heartless brutes. Really, I bet you believe one can live off of sentimentality instead of money.”

“Guh…That’s no reason to shock somebody!”

Mayuri ignored Najahkoop’s protestations as he muttered to himself and turned his eyes to the data he had analyzed himself. “You should know that I have collected all the data I needed on you as an experimental subject. As far as the lightning girl and the muscle girl are concerned, the outward appearance of releasing them should be enough…but since I have the opportunity, I’ve got another piece of work I’d like them to do. In the short amount of time remaining we will determine the power dynamic between the Court Guards and the aristocracy.”