Chapter 222
Upon hearing this, Haruto also stood up, facing the head of the Kusaka Clan directly for the first time... He seemed a bit short.
However, in terms of imposing presence, he was in no way inferior to Haruto: there were quite a few stronger Gotei 13 than him, but if you add in their status... in En Kusaka's eyes, most of these people were just thugs kept by their nobles.
Even Captain-level would only warrant a second glance, let alone the guy in front of him who wasn't even a captain.
Where is the Scorching Water Mirror?
En Kusaka goes straight to the heart of the matter.
"It's here."
"???"
Seeing Haruto pull out the Scorching Water Mirror from his robes, En Kusaka's unconventional actions immediately caused her to lose her composure.
"..."
En Kusaka suppressed her anger.
Why weren't the Fourth Seat Haruto brought out sooner?
You're not trying to accuse me of embezzlement, are you?
"..."
The En Kusaka of the story was left unsaid, and Asuka almost couldn't catch her breath.
"Mr. Priest."
Haruto didn't even use his ancient and noble surname.
"The order issued by the Central 46 Chambers was to capture or kill the fugitive; as for what spoils were obtained in the process..."
Do I need to report to you?
"..."
Haruto's explanation couldn't be more reasonable.
Why do so many dangerous manhunt missions involve the Soul Reaper? Isn't it for the rewards beyond the monetary compensation?
Otherwise, who wouldn't enjoy lying on the rooftop reading erotic novels while receiving a fixed salary?
--Lisa, far away in the Eighth Division barracks, suddenly sneezed loudly for some reason.
Self-interest.
That's an unpleasant way to put it.
But without this self-interest, there's no point in talking about righteousness... The nobles of Soul Society know better than anyone what kind of people they are.
However.
The Central 46 Chambers must never openly discuss the matter of the Scorching Water Mirror during the mission, otherwise the reputations of the conspirators, including the Kusaka Clan, would be completely ruined—even if they knew what kind of person they were, they still had to maintain a glamorous facade on the surface.
This is the loophole...
They blatantly exploited loopholes.
There was no other choice.
En Kusaka could only turn to Shigekuni Yamamoto for help.
Although he considered himself intelligent, he was still somewhat bewildered by Haruto's bizarre combination of attacks.
"Haruto."
Shigekuni Yamamoto spoke up.
"The divine artifact of the priestly family is more of a hindrance than a benefit to you. Hand it over to the priest of Kusaka... I will compensate you along with the reward for this capture."
The fact that the name didn't include "Fourth Seat" already reveals Old Man Yamamoto's attitude towards Haruto, coupled with his mention of compensation—
"!!"
Haruto managed to suppress the joy on his face.
"Hi!"
Just like I just mentioned.
When you have someone protecting you, it's actually quite fun to shout and cheer.
"..."
Haruto glanced at En Kusaka, then reluctantly handed over the Scorching Water Mirror.
Then--
He witnessed the most spectacular display of "holding back" and "changing faces" in history:
Upon obtaining the Scorching Water Mirror, En Kusaka's face showed an uncontrollable surge of joy for a moment, which then instantly cooled down at an exaggerated speed visible to the naked eye, about Hanza seconds later.
"Is Fourth Seat Haruto playing a trick on me?"
En Kusaka shook the Scorching Water Mirror in her hand, no longer showing the precious look she had before.
What do you mean?
Haruto's expression was so fake that En Kusaka was so angry that she laughed back:
"This is fake."
Clang!
The Scorching Water Mirror was mercilessly smashed to the ground.
"So Seigen Kyōshiba had prepared a fake. Luckily, I didn't really want it, otherwise I would have killed him for nothing."
"You...!!"
Without giving En Kusaka a chance to get angry, Haruto bent down, picked up the Scorching Water Mirror from the ground, and solemnly wiped off the dust.
Are you sure you don't want it?
Haruto resumed the gesture of handing the Scorching Water Mirror to En Kusaka.
"I think this black mirror is quite unique. It might not be a good gift for a girl, but an antique dealer might like it."
"I...!!"
En Kusaka was about to refuse, he hesitated, wondering if it was a ruse.
Just as En Kusaka took the mirror.
"... Is Fourth Seat Haruto?"
Haruto didn't let go.
This further solidified En Kusaka's belief that the other party was deliberately creating a diversion.
"No."
Haruto shook his head and let go.
"I'm just curious, how can you be so sure that this artifact you speak of is definitely fake?"
Could it be...?
"You also have the blood of the Kyōshiba Family flowing in your veins?"
"#!!"
"You bastard!"
Before En Kusaka erupted, Shigekuni Yamamoto's voice had already instantly silenced their conversation.
"This isn't a place for you to waste your breath. Once you've finished your business, get out of here!"
"... Hi!"
It's hard to say who Captain-Commander Yamamoto was cursing, but Asuen was definitely seething with anger En Kusaka.
This is only natural.
After all, Haruto had specifically visited two places before reporting to the First Division:
The Kuchiki Clan and the Seireitei Research Institute.
Haruto En Kusaka head-on because of the Asuyo family's stance: the Kusaka Clan outwardly doesn't take sides, but in reality, they side with whoever is stronger, so they have been natural allies of the Tsunayashiro Clan for the past few hundred years.
Even if such a fickle person were to turn around and fawn over others, the Kuchiki Clan wouldn't really want him, so Haruto spoke without any politeness—he wouldn't care even if the other party were to commit the act of "stealing the divine artifact" against him.
In any case, the Kusaka Clan's attention has already shifted away from Seigen Kyōshiba lives or dies.
For what happened just now, the Kuchiki Clan even provided Haruto with some top-secret information that was unknown to others: similar to Seirin Tsunayashiro's situation, En Kusaka also had the bloodline of the Kyōshiba Family flowing through her veins, obtained by bypassing the Golden Seal Noble Assembly.
It was this true blood that gave En Kusaka's ability to control the Scorching Water Mirror... but it also weakened his control over the Mirror-Sheltering Jewel: the purity of the true blood would affect the degree of control over the three divine artifacts.
Otherwise.
His position as head of the family will become even more unshakeable:
En Kusaka has a younger brother who is currently being sent out by the Kusaka Clan to carry out a mission in Hueco Mundo with an Expeditionary Force. Although his brother does not have the true blood of the Kyōshiba Family, the bloodline of the Kusaka Clan is activated even more purely than his own.
Otherwise.
En Kusaka wouldn't use such an urgent method to strengthen his status and strength—that's right, his strength is even inferior to his own younger brother: it's certainly something to be happy about that both brothers are Captain-level, but if they appear in a noble family, that's a different story altogether.
"Wait!"
The Captain-Commander has already said he's leaving, so Haruto isn't going to stay standing here any longer.
But just as he turned to leave...
"Does the priest have any further advice?"
"... Where Ika Kyōshiba?"
En Kusaka still discovered a blind spot.
"Dead."
Haruto replied casually.
Where is the body?
En Kusaka, unwilling to give up, pressed on with the question.
"She's not Captain-level Soul Reaper, and besides, would Quincy?"
Haruto's question left En Kusaka momentarily speechless.
Quincy?
"Where do you think I got all these injuries from?"
Haruto tugged at his sleeve.
His entire arm and half of his body were reduced to a gruesome state, as if slashed and roasted, and the Quincy's Reiatsu on them was undeniable.
"... Why did you encounter the Quincy?"
"Leaving aside how I would know the reason, this matter doesn't seem to fall within the priest's jurisdiction, does it?"
Haruto mocked mercilessly.
"Besides..."
"Do you think the captains are here just for a broken mirror? Your Kusaka Clan's little matter isn't worth so many people gathering here."
If you're going to act, you have to go all the way.
There's only one modified Reigai, but two people are wanted by the police. What should we do?
This is when the Quincy their long-awaited appearance and take the blame.
You need to know.
Haruto's side has three Captain-level, and neither Shinji Hirako nor Kaien Shiba pushovers. Why didn't they participate in the battle against Seigen Kyōshiba?
They were attacked by Quincy of the same rank!
Haruto can only "imitate" one type of Quincy Reiatsu, so for the other type, he naturally needs to ask his old friend Sōken Ishida for help. When Sōken brought Izumi and five-year-old Ryūken over, it startled Shinji Hirako.
If it weren't for the fact that the combination of his wife and child wasn't so intimidating, and that Kaien Shiba had some understanding of the Quincy, Shinji Hirako might not have been able to control himself from drawing his sword.