Why Was There No Response?

That was also why Renji Abarai and the others had come looking for Tokoyo Misao and Rukia today.

Whenever Aizen came to teach, it was a chance for the friends to see one another.

"Of course not! It's a great honor to be taught by Captain Aizen!" Momo Hinamori immediately pressed her hands to her sides and answered loudly.

"Haha, there's no need to be so nervous, Momo Hinamori. Come along to class now." Sōsuke Aizen turned and headed toward the classroom, and everyone hurried after him.

In calligraphy class, Sōsuke Aizen wrote the character for "family" this time, then had the students begin practicing.

As he checked their work, he came to Tokoyo Misao's side, bent down, and asked quietly:

"Misao, there are only a few Great Noble Clans in Soul Society. They possess greater authority than the captains of the Gotei 13, or even the Central 46 Chambers.

But I've never heard of a Great Noble Clan called Tokoyo.

If you can't provide definite proof, the consequences will be very serious."

As he spoke, he crouched slightly, bringing his gaze level with Tokoyo Misao's, and continued with a smile:

"Of course, if what you said earlier was only a joke, you mustn't keep saying it. I won't tell anyone else, either."

Tokoyo Misao first thanked him. "Thank you, Captain Aizen."

Then he gave Aizen a gentle smile of his own and replied, "But I wasn't lying."

"Yet last time, Misao, you said you didn't know where your family's mansion was.

The difference between an ordinary noble and a great noble is as great as the difference between a squad member and a captain.

Misao, you need to think this through carefully." Sōsuke Aizen offered another well-meaning reminder.

"Although I believe some of Soul Society's institutions shouldn't exist, and that the harshest punishment certainly shouldn't be given for a minor mistake,

if you continue to insist that you're a great noble, even I might not be able to help you with the consequences."

Tokoyo Misao met Sōsuke Aizen's gaze, his eyes unwavering and utterly resolute.

"Captain Aizen, I really am a great noble, the head of the Tokoyo Clan."

"Then I must apologize for my rudeness." Sōsuke Aizen straightened up again.

"I expect it won't be long before the relevant people come to ask questions.

If you run into trouble, Misao, you're welcome to come to the Fifth Division and find me anytime.

Although great nobles have more authority than captains, they won't easily offend them either."

Tokoyo Misao nodded, gratitude appearing on his face. "Thank you, Captain Aizen."

Sōsuke Aizen smiled, tucked his hands back into his sleeves, and continued inspecting the students' calligraphy.

Tokoyo Misao, meanwhile, stared at the character for "family" on his desk.

He had two reasons for openly declaring himself a great noble this time.

First, he still had no leads.

His original plan had been to approach the Shiba Clan and the Kuchiki Clan after becoming a Soul Reaper and search for information about the Tokoyo Clan. It was a sound plan, but a little slow.

He had already heard about the student in the special training class who had been caught impersonating a noble a few days ago.

That incident had given him an idea instead—he might as well reveal it himself and let others help him look for leads.

Although Rukia had officially become a member of the Kuchiki Clan, and her brother-in-law cared for her a great deal,

Misao's own memories told him that the man was impossibly rigid at the moment. Rukia's life in the Kuchiki Clan might well be lonely and helpless.

She had decided to join the Kuchiki Clan for his sake.

Doing this now could take a lot of pressure off her.

Aizen would probably fan the flames of his claim to be a great noble, too.

Before long, it would reach the ears of all the captains and the great nobles.

Hopefully, I'll get some useful information.

Second, if it could draw out the Tokoyo Clan's enemies, that would be even better.

From the moment he entered the academy until now, he had always appeared utterly ordinary.

Everyone thought he was just a young fellow with a talent for Reishi Manipulation, but whose Rei'i Grade was still only level thirteen.

The enemy would surely want to eliminate him before he became a threat.

When the time came, he would give them a big surprise.

Chapter 23: Why Was There No Response?

In the academy cafeteria, Tokoyo Misao viciously stuffed chicken and pork meatballs from a large plate into his mouth.

He chewed a few times, then swallowed the mouthful.

This isn't right.

Why haven't those nobles reacted at all over the past month?

The so-called nobles' association had never shown up at all.

And Teacher Ōu seemed to treat him as though he didn't exist, still teaching every day and running off after assigning homework.

As for enemies, there wasn't a single one in sight.

Strangest of all, even Aizen hadn't appeared in the past month.

His classmates all seemed to have forgotten about him impersonating a great noble. None of them had said a word about it.

What on earth went wrong?

To be honest, this feeling of being left alone and ignored made Tokoyo Misao a little unhappy.

He had even considered going straight to the outskirts to absorb a batch of Reishi and raise his power to Fifth-Class Spiritual Pressure.

Then he could apply for graduation and provoke a reaction from them.

But if he did that, he would reveal his ability to raise his Rei'i at any time too quickly.

He might end up on a list made by certain people working in the shadows.

He would go from someone they paid a little attention to into a target that needed to be eliminated.

It was true that he could quickly raise his Rei'i Grade to the peak of First Class.

But that wasn't much use.

A Soul Reaper couldn't win through Rei'i alone.

Even someone as powerful as Captain-Commander Yamamoto had been schemed against twice in succession and died a frustrated death in the end.

Misao didn't want to end up like that. He had always kept his actions within certain limits.

For example, although he had shown that his Reishi Manipulation was extremely powerful, he had deliberately kept his Rei'i Grade low.

Forget comparing him with the genius Gin Ichimaru; even among the students of his own year,

those so-called special training class students all appeared to have far more potential than he did.

So in many people's eyes, he was merely "not bad."

Tokoyo Misao's thoughts had wandered a little. He shook his head and set the matter of the great nobles aside for now.

It didn't matter if they made no move. In a few days, he would visit the Kuchiki Clan's mansion and ask Rukia whether she had found any leads.

He looked down at the long sword at his waist and couldn't help sighing softly.

There was another reason he had kept a low profile all this time.

He wanted to steadily cultivate his Zanpakuto.

It had been over a month since he received his Asauchi, but every time he practiced Jinzen, he failed to form a meaningful connection with his Zanpakuto.

Let alone achieve Shikai or Bankai.

So the most important thing now was to find a way to cultivate his Zanpakuto. That was his top priority.

He tossed down his chopsticks, headed for the river on the outskirts, and continued practicing Jinzen.

A month ago, after Tokoyo Misao publicly declared that he belonged to a Great Noble Clan, the news quickly spread throughout the Seireitei, just as he had expected.

The main point was that he had openly declared himself a great noble. That was a different matter altogether.

The great nobles possessed the highest authority and status in all the Seireitei.

Just as others had said, even ordinary captains couldn't compare to them.

Shunsui Kyōraku, captain of the Eighth Division, which oversaw Soul Society's intelligence forces, received the news immediately.

After reading Tokoyo Misao's file, he was puzzled as well.

Judging by the information his subordinates had gathered, Tokoyo Misao was a talented, gentle, and excellent student who was also quite intelligent.

With the noble impersonation incident in the special training class having already occurred, someone as clever as Tokoyo Misao would never call himself a great noble for no reason.

Because of the matter, Shunsui Kyōraku even made a special trip to the First Division.

But when he arrived, he did not see Captain-Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto.

"Vice-Captain Sasakibe, I really don't recall ever hearing of a great noble called Tokoyo. Has the old man said anything about it?"

Shunsui Kyōraku spoke with Vice-Captain Chōjirō Sasakibe in the First Division's square.

A single piece of news concerning a great noble had brought Shunsui Kyōraku, the captain of the Eighth Division, out in person. Such was the importance of nobles in Soul Society.

As a noble himself, he was highly sensitive to Tokoyo Misao, who had suddenly appeared claiming to be a great noble.

A great noble represented far too much.

If the claim was genuine, the balance of power in Soul Society could change drastically.

Chōjirō Sasakibe spoke to Shunsui Kyōraku with a solemn expression.

"Lord Genryūsai noticed Tokoyo Misao's existence a long time ago.

He once said himself that one of the Five Great Noble Clans in Soul Society was indeed called Tokoyo.

He also instructed me to watch the young man's actions, but told me not to interfere."

Shunsui Kyōraku's eyes widened. "It's actually true? That makes things troublesome."

After a brief pause, Chōjirō Sasakibe replied:

"In fact, even now, Lord Genryūsai has not determined whether he really belongs to the great noble Tokoyo Clan."

"Lord Genryūsai said that he had only heard the clan's name when he was young and had never met any of its members, so he has no way to determine whether the claim is genuine."

Shunsui Kyōraku nodded in understanding.

"In other words, the Tokoyo Clan really is one of the Five Great Noble Clans, but this Tokoyo Misao who suddenly appeared is somewhat suspicious."

He frowned and rubbed his chin, suddenly recalling something that had happened among the nobles some time ago.

Of course, for someone several hundred years old like him, "some time ago" meant several decades.

Back then, something had happened in the Tsunayashiro Clan, one of the Great Noble Clans, and he had been the one to handle it.

He knew that the great noble Tsunayashiro Clan had become somewhat mad.

If that great noble clan found someone to impersonate a member of the Tokoyo Clan, it could gain considerable power and benefits.

It might even allow the declining clan to rise again.

Impersonation and using another's resources for one's own gain were both good strategies.

In an instant, many thoughts ran through Shunsui Kyōraku's mind.

He spoke to Chōjirō Sasakibe again. "What did the old man say?"

Chōjirō Sasakibe replied calmly, "Watch and wait."

Shunsui Kyōraku nodded and left the First Division.

After returning, he sent the file directly to the Sixth Division and the Second Division.