In the Name of Hanyū

The situation was somewhat awkward.

Has Brother Ganju suddenly fallen seriously ill yet again?

"Keep up."

Byakuya Kuchiki didn't say much, and didn't even look at Ganju. His eyelids twitched repeatedly, giving him away.

The Sixth District is the true noble district. Although it is located in the Seireitei, members of other divisions, except for the Sixth Division, are not allowed to enter or leave at will.

The "Tei" in the name of the Gotei 13 the Soul King Ichigo, and the people represented by the Five Great Noble Clans second.

A long street stretching as far as the eye can see, lined with all sorts of shops. Compared to the District 1 of Rukongai, the shops here are more luxurious, and there are many more shops catering to those seeking luxury.

For example, in the izakayas that are relatively rare in Rukongai, there is even a type of shop called an eyeglasses shop.

Dōsan had seen it from some of his noble classmates and from the Soul Reaper.

After walking for half an hour, the group pointed to a courtyard and said, "This is the mansion that the Shiba Clan promised. If there are no problems, this place will be renamed the Hanyū Clan."

Led by the Kuchiki, the group entered the room.

"Oh? It's been a long time since I've been here. Is our house really this big?"

Ganju rubbed his head. This place was more than ten times bigger than the house they were living in now. Even as the young master of the Shiba Clan, I had never experienced anything like it.

As expected, my elder sister betrayed the revolution.

Following the gaze of the Ganju, Kuchiki glanced at it and expressionlessly extended his finger.

"These are gifts from our Kuchiki Clan and the Shihoin Clan; that's your Shiba Clan's old residence over there."

Following the Kuchiki's finger, the Ganju was somewhat surprised; it did have some memory of this "small room."

Although this small room, taken alone, is equally simple and grand, exuding the heritage of a great noble family, it appears too shabby when surrounded by the other rooms.

"This was the only room your Shiba Clan provided; it was too small, so I converted it into a latrine."

Outhouse?

Does Soul Reaper need a latrine?

Ganju's temples creased into a deep frown. "Byakuya Kuchiki, you bastard! How dare you do such a thing to someone else's ancestral land!"

Dōsan lifted Ganju into the air from behind, making Ganju kick its legs in anger.

"Calm down, Ganju!"

Holding Ganju tightly, Dōsan looked helplessly at Byakuya Kuchiki. Although he seemed somewhat blinded by money, Dōsan ultimately chose to refuse, "I'm sorry, but I cannot accept such an expensive gift."

This house isn't cheap, it's even more expensive than I imagined. I even asked Kūkaku before.

But the house was secondary; this piece of land in the Sixth District represented the glory of a noble family's hereditary succession. When Kūkaku Kaku mentioned the price of the house, the Dōsan Hanyū were stunned.

As for this piece of land...

No matter what Kūkaku Kaku said nothing.

But she didn't know that long ago, Dōsan had inquired about the price of the land here with Kuchiki Ginrei.

With just this house belonging to the Shiba Clan, one could easily buy one of the most bustling main streets in Rukongai District 1.

This one house alone, along with the izakaya where Dōsan used to work, could easily be bought a hundred times over.

And this is not the Shiba Clan's actual main residence.

These are the nobles, the nobles of Soul Society.

... Aristocrats that countless people would kill for.

This is an identity that even those who have served in the Thirteenth Division for over a century cannot attain.

Dōsan Hanyū obtained it.

At this time, Dōsan still had a few months left before he had completed eight years in Soul Society.

"Please accept this. It's a token of goodwill from the Kuchiki Clan and Shihoin Clan, and it represents their stance."

"Manner?"

Seeing that Byakuya's expression was a little serious, Ganju stopped causing trouble and waited quietly.

"An alliance." Byakuya Kuchiki uttered the word heavily. "The Kuchiki Clan and Shihoin Clan are willing to be your supporters, and this also means we are willing to ally with the Shiba Clan to protect the interests of the Shiba Clan and the Five Great Noble Clans."

"Hanyū Clan Head, would you be willing to represent the Hanyū Clan and become our ally?"

"Ahem, so Dōsan Hanyū just accepted our and the Shiba Clan's gifts?" Kuchiki Ginrei lay weakly on the bed, but managed a weak smile as she looked at her proud grandson.

[By the way, the best app for reading aloud and listening to books right now is Yeguo Reading (yeguoyuedu). Please install the latest version.]

"That's right." In front of his grandfather, Byakuya Kuchiki always subconsciously showed his best side. "Dōsan Hanyū is very sentimental."

"Yes," Ginrei Kuchiki sighed, "The Shiba Clan almost got expelled from the ranks of the Five Great Noble Clans back then."

"I've heard that it's because the Shiba Clan has few members, and the former head of the Shiba Clan, Kaien Shiba's father, died unexpectedly, causing the Shiba Clan's prestige to plummet to an all-time low. Later, the Tsunayashiro Clan spearheaded a conference that is not recorded in history, attempting to expel the Shiba Clan from the Five Great Noble Clans, but I don't know why it failed."

Hearing her grandson say this, Kuchiki Ginrei revealed a cryptic smile. "You're wrong about one thing. Among the Five Great Noble Clans, the Tsunayashiro Clan is the only one that stands with the Shiba Clan."

"The one who truly proposed expelling the Shiba Clan from their seats was me!"

Byakuya Kuchiki and Tong Kong were struck by an earthquake.

When his kind grandfather said such a thing, Byakuya found it hard to accept for a moment, but he forced himself not to ask any questions.

There is no why in the world of the aristocracy.

The benefits of reducing the Five Great Noble Clans to Four Great Noble Clans are obvious, and there's nothing to question about that.

However, Byakuya Kuchiki found it quite difficult to accept at some point.

The usually kind-hearted Kuchiki Ginrei, unusually, did not try to comfort his grandson this time. Lying in his hospital bed, he could not hide his weakness, yet he couldn't stop talking.

"But the Shiba Clan was truly lucky; just when they were on the verge of extinction, Isshin Shiba emerged."

"Is Captain Isshin really strong?" Byakuya found it hard to associate that carefree, middle-aged man with the word "strong."

"At that time, Isshin Shiba to challenge all the representatives of the Five Great Noble Clans and defeated them all, including Yoruichi Shihōin, Jin'ya Tsunayashiro, and of course me."

"Yoruichi and Jin'ya..."

Byakuya and Yoruichi were close, but they were not from the same era. Yoruichi Shihōin became famous much earlier and could be considered Isshin's contemporary. As for Jin'ya Tsunayashiro, he was even known as a "noble Young Master."

Even they weren't a match for Isshin Shiba?

I can't be sure if they used their full strength.

At that time, Kuchiki Ginrei was far from her peak, so her defeat was understandable.

"First Isshin Shiba, and now there's Dōsan Hanyū. Is this the unique fortune of the Shiba Clan?"

Fortune.

That's really quite mystical.

"Byakuya, remember this: as long as Dōsan Hanyū lives, we will always be the Shiba Clan's most steadfast ally."

Byakuya Kuchiki should have understood these principles long ago, but it seems he only grasped some of them today.

The Law of Causality of Soul Reaper.