It had been over half an hour since Higashi Shuuichi entered the room, and still, from outside, Kuchiki Byakuya saw no signs of the conversation ending. Nor did it seem to be falling apart.
This puzzled him.
Wasn’t Higashi Shuuichi supposed to be one of the Kanimiyada clan’s retainers by now?
How was he still able to sit and chat amiably with Kyoraku Shunsui for this long?
Having only recently inherited the headship of the Kuchiki family from his father, Byakuya hadn’t yet seen through the intricate webs of Soul Society’s political landscape—past or present.
Just then, his wife, Kuchiki Hisana, brought over a pot of sake. Her frail fra made Byakuya’s expression soften with concern.
"Hisana, why are you doing this yourself? You should’ve let a servant handle it," he said, quickly taking the tray from her hands.
"How could anyone else approach this room?" she smiled gently. "Even you’re standing guard here. Clearly, the people talking inside must be of great importance. So I had to co personally~"
Byakuya sighed. "You... leave this to . Go rest. Please."
He gently brushed her cheek with his fingers. She nodded, turned, and left.
Byakuya watched her go, thinking:
If only I’d found her lost sister, Rukia, sooner... maybe having her close would lift Hisana’s spirits, help her body recover.
Then he turned to the room.
There was no mistaking it—one of the two people inside had no business being at the Kuchiki estate.
If the Kanimiyada family learned of this eting, it would trigger a political storm. But Byakuya wasn’t the kind to leak secrets.
That was why Kyoraku Shunsui had chosen the Kuchiki residence. Because none of the major surveillance Kido halls—spread across Soul Society, the Human World, and even Hueco Mundo—had any presence near the Great Noble houses.
Standing before the door, sake in hand, Byakuya took a deep breath. This wasn’t his first ti seeing the infamous Higashi Shuuichi.
Once, he had been a nothing—a diocre talent from Rukongai. Now he stood at the pinnacle of what any soul born in the streets could beco.
But sothing told Byakuya... the man he would see now was no longer the Shuuichi he’d known.
—
"So you’ve encountered this before? They created a version of the Captain-Commander too?"
The mont Byakuya opened the door, he heard Shunsui’s voice—his usual casual tone replaced by rare, grim severity.
"Technically," Shuuichi replied, "a younger version of Yamamoto. His spiritual pressure wasn’t overwhelming—manageable even for back then. He couldn’t use Bankai, or perhaps his body couldn’t withstand the backlash of the real Zanka no Tachi.
"But most importantly—he felt stiff. Like Sakaizō does now. Lifeless. Artificial."
He glanced at Byakuya, then back to Shunsui, who didn’t react to the intrusion—clearly this had been planned.
Byakuya was here to serve as a silent witness, a guarantee.
A ssage to Shuuichi: Don’t fear the consequences of turning your back on the Kanimiyada clan—because the Kuchiki family has your back now.
Among the Five Great Noble Houses, only the Kuchiki and Kanimiyada families still held real political and spiritual authority. The Shihōin family had been gutted by Yoruichi’s defection, the Shiba were disgraced, and the Tōma family was scattered.
"You also said earlier that Sakaizō wasn’t always in this current state—that he used to be more like a normal soul reaper?" Shunsui prompted.
Shuuichi noticed the doubt in Byakuya’s eyes. Clearly, this was Shunsui’s way of catching him up.
"More than that," Shuuichi nodded. "Inside the Dangai, his spiritual pressure never diminished. It was as if the dinsion’s crushing force ant nothing to him.
"The Dangai should suppress everyone, regardless of rank. But to him—it didn’t exist.
"I felt the sa thing from that copy of the young Yamamoto in Osaka. It’s... unnatural."
Even Aizen couldn’t explain it. Nor could Mayuri, who had now completely abandoned his soul-modification projects to focus all attention on dissecting Sakaizō.
"Infinite reiryoku supply?" Byakuya muttered. "It sounds terrifying but..."
"It’s not, at least not for most of us," Shuuichi interrupted. "Normally we draw on external reishi—especially in places like Soul Society or Hueco Mundo. Our own reserves are rarely depleted."
He anticipated Byakuya’s next question.
"That kind of ability sounds impressive on paper, but in real fights? Not so much. Unless the fight happens in the Dangai."
That’s where his concern lay.
From Mayuri’s notes, Shuuichi learned that research into the Dangai had begun nearly a millennium ago, when the Gotei 13 was first founded.
The original 12th Division Captain—Zenjōji Yukari—had wanted to ta the Dangai itself.
But with Yhwach’s invasion, Yukari died—and her project vanished with her.
No one else could freely enter and study the Dangai.
Until Ōetsu Nimaiya appeared in the original tiline and eventually beca its master.
But if Sakaizō was telling the truth... and the First Generation captains could return... and if Yukari truly had laid groundwork back then...
Then the Dangai might already have a new master.
"Impossible..." Byakuya whispered. It shook his worldview.
But to a man like Shunsui, who’d lived through that era—it was plausible.
"Maybe," Shunsui said quietly, "Shuuichi, it’s ti to call back Kisaragi Shūsuke."
That na made Shuuichi flinch.
"What do you an by that?"
It wasn’t surprising Shunsui knew of Kisaragi—after all, Shūsuke, Matsumoto, and Saya had fled to the Human World with Shuuichi. That wasn’t a secret.
What surprised him was who Shunsui nad.
Not Urahara Kisuke—but Kisaragi.
That told Shuuichi one thing:
Shunsui knew he and Kisuke weren’t aligned.
"There’s sothing you don’t know," Shunsui said calmly. "After you vanished from Osaka, Tōma Sayako returned with several Fullbringers.
"I t her. She gave permission to visit the Human World. I had a long conversation with Kisaragi there."
That explained a lot.
Why had Shūsuke gone to Kisuke, whom he hated?
Why had Sayako stayed in the Human World when Shuuichi disappeared?
Why had Matsumoto not returned?
Now it all made sense.
Shunsui had used his signature charisma to win Kisaragi over—then sent him to investigate the lost Asauchi.
In exchange, Shunsui promised he’d help clear Shuuichi’s na.
Classic Kyoraku: turning sympathy into leverage, using goodwill as currency.
And Kisaragi had taken the bait.
How could he not? He thought he was helping Shuuichi.
Sayako likely followed out of curiosity. Matsumoto—because she had nowhere else to go.
But Shunsui hadn’t expected them to be gone for twenty years.
Still, he was certain: after that long, they had to have learned sothing.
"Even so," Shuuichi said, "I don’t have a way to contact them. If I did, I would’ve used it already."
"No need to worry," Shunsui smiled. "Miss Sayako already gave a way."
Shuuichi blinked. Sayako? Since when had she been that capable?
But once Shunsui explained the thod, Shuuichi gave a wry laugh.
He’d always known this trick. He’d just never connected the dots.
Now that he could reach them, their return was a matter of ti.
The question then beca: where would they belong?
Shunsui’s answer was simple:
The Sword Hunt Corps.
Kisaragi and Matsumoto—both perfect fits for Shuuichi’s squad.
"I thought you’d recomnd putting them back in the Gotei," Shuuichi chuckled. "Use that as another leash.
"But this... offering them to ? Should I take that as aiding the enemy?"
Shunsui laughed with him.
"Only if we’re enemies. But right now, I think we share the sa one. Don’t you?"
Shuuichi wasn’t sure who Shunsui ant. The forces behind Sakaizō? Kanimiyada Shitan?
Or both?
With Shunsui, it was impossible to tell.
"In that case," Shuuichi said, "I should return the favor.
"You’ve told a lot today. So here’s sothing in exchange.
"That Osaka incident... the mastermind behind it was exactly who you think."
Shunsui’s eyes narrowed.
"You haven’t visited the 12th Division much since Urahara stepped down, have you?"
"There’s a lab, deep inside. Guarded tightly.
"Inside is a creation that looks exactly like Ichimaru Gin—and Mayuri told the technology behind it wasn’t his.
"It was developed by a forr 12th Division Captain.
Miyazaki Sakai Masato."
Shunsui’s face went rigid.
Shuuichi smirked.
He had heard the na when he first returned from the false future. It had sounded aningless.
But now...
Now it was the na of a man who had shaken Soul Society to its core.
Even Byakuya—usually composed to a fault—could no longer hide his reaction.
Now he knew:
Higashi Shuuichi wasn’t just a rogue.
He was Kyoraku Shunsui’s handpicked infiltrator—planted deep inside the Kanimiyada family.
A true high-level mole.
Byakuya looked at Shunsui with rare admiration.
No wonder he was the Captain-Commander’s chosen heir.
Reviews
All reviews (0)