Chapter 270
"Right."
"... Before or after confinement?"
"During the process."
"?"
"Kōga always acts impulsively. To prevent him from doing anything rash, I specifically asked Sōjun to visit Kōga in the confinement room."
"He attacked his own family?"
Haruto asked incredulously, "Kōga Kuchiki is indeed not very mature in his thinking, but he is absolutely very good to his own people. You can tell from the fact that he passed on the secrets of Hyōga Seiran to me without reservation."
"This may not be Kōga's wish."
Kuchiki Sōjun, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up.
His voice sounded quite weak, as if he had returned to the state of being after a long illness.
"Sōjun..."
I'm not trying to excuse Kōga.
Kuchiki Sōjun spoke to his father.
You mean Muramasa?
Ginrei Kuchiki immediately understood his son's meaning.
"No."
Kuchiki Sōjun shook his head.
"Kōga once called upon the Zanpakuto itself before us, Muramasa personally swore an oath to Kōga... that sword would not lie to its master."
"..."
Haruto listened quietly to the conversation between the father and son.
Muramasa an extremely powerful Zanpakuto, but also an extremely dangerous Zanpakuto... the danger lies with its wielder.
Muramasa doesn't lie.
However, he can use seductive methods to make his master believe his words—when this ability is used on other Zanpakuto, it manifests as controlling those Zanpakuto for his own use; when used on Soul Reaper... it only works on the wielder.
A slight mishap.
The roles of master and knife will then be reversed.
Given Kōga's personality and mindset, he could easily be controlled by Muramasa. Faced with this most difficult problem, although it is unknown what methods the Kuchiki Clan used, they did successfully control Muramasa's dangerousness.
"That?"
"Tsunayashiro Tokinada."
"!?"
Haruto seemed to have heard a dangerous name.
"It looks somewhat familiar."
Ginrei Kuchiki squinted as he spoke.
"The biggest scandal in the Tsunayashiro Clan recently, that madman who murdered his comrade and wife... Father, while you were away, I followed the decision of the Golden Seal Noble Assembly and expelled him from the Sixth Division. The Tsunayashiro Clan even voluntarily sent this member of the clan, who has tarnished the family's reputation, to be confined."
Kuchiki Sōjun explained.
"... Is he dangerous?"
He's very good at bewitching people.
"His line of succession shouldn't be high, how do you know that so well?"
"Ginrei Kuchiki asked."
"Captain Kyōraku of the Eighth Division specifically mentioned this person to me. They and Captain Ukitake were all students in the same class at the Shin'ō Academy."
"... I remember now, that guy who was expelled from the sect by Captain-Commander Yamamoto?"
I finally have an impression of the Ginrei Kuchiki.
"That's right."
"The detention center in Tsunayashiro Tokinada is right next to Kōga. Kōga's mental state was already very unstable after Hine's incident."
"Meeting Tsunayashiro Tokinada like this..."
Kuchiki Sōjun's expression was rather unpleasant, clearly indicating that his experience in the detention area had been quite terrible.
"Is he more dangerous than Muramasa?"
"I trust the Captain Kyōraku's judgment, and... that's the kind of guy who would only turn black on my 'Azure Rainbow'."
Shunsui Kyōraku and Kuchiki Sōjun are of the same generation.
As the head of a high-ranking noble family, Shunsui Kyōraku had previously served in the Sixth Division before becoming the captain of the Eighth Division.
The two actually had quite a few exchanges.
As for "Azure Rainbow" --
Kuchiki Sōjun's Zanpakuto possesses an extremely rare mental ability, capable of reflecting a person's inner thoughts through color...
The kind that is absolutely flawless.
Kuchiki Sōjun was able to see Muramasa's problem thanks to the power of his Zanpakuto.
"So."
Haruto interrupted the conversation between the Kuchiki father and son.
Where is Kōga now?
"..."
The two exchanged a glance and then spoke.
"The confinement chamber of the Golden Seal Noble Assembly is gone."
What can I do?
"Bring him back before he fully Bankai his Muramasa, Muramasa... or kill him."
"Father?"
"Grandfather!"
Byakuya's and Sōjun's wife's voices rang out simultaneously.
"..."
Ginrei Kuchiki remained silent.
As everyone knows, capturing Kōga is practically impossible; even defeating Kōga is extremely difficult.
Not to mention that Zanpakuto can also be used to attack its master.
In the entire Soul Society, only a handful of people can threaten Kōga: the Shihoin Clan, the chief and deputy Kidō masters...
And Haruto.
Other Soul Reapers?
Whether he can defeat his own Zanpakuto is another matter.
By the way...
The Kuchiki Clan actually knew how to counter Muramasa's Bankai: as long as they completely closed off their hearts, Muramasa would be unable to materialize the Soul Reaper's Zanpakuto.
The problem is...
Completely closing yourself off is tantamount to being at the mercy of others.
Even if you prepare a defensive barrier in advance, you can only take the hits without fighting back, and you will eventually be killed.
This is where Muramasa.
"Can't we persuade Kōga to turn back?"
Haruto couldn't help but ask another question.
Without Kōga Kuchiki, a force of "nuclear deterrence," the Kuchiki Clan will likely find it difficult to maintain its current position; of course, the Tsunayashiro Clan has also suffered considerable losses, and they don't really have much of a chance to regain their status...
It seems only the Shihoin Clan benefits?
Do you know where the detention center is?
Byakuya interjected with a question.
"I haven't had a chance to get in touch with them either."
Haruto shook his head.
"It has the same structure as the underground the Jail beneath Central 46 Chambers; the solitary confinement area is directly below the Golden Seal Noble Assembly."
In other words...
Haruto probably already knows the answer in her heart.
"The Kōga froze the confinement area, along with the Golden Seal Noble Assembly, into an ice sculpture."
"..."
Okay!
Although the exact number of deaths is unknown, this incident in Kōga has certainly caused a major upheaval.
Under the Soul Society's system, even the Central 46 Chambers are subordinate to the Golden Seal Noble Assembly; Kōga's actions have essentially severed him from Soul Society. Unless the Kuchiki Clan wants to overthrow the old system, Kōga has no chance of survival... This is not something that can be solved simply by sealing him away, as depicted in the anime.
"I haven't received any news."
Haruto is the vice commander of the Stealth Force.
In principle, he should be the first to know about this.
"This happened half an hour ago, and the Central 46 Chambers has blocked information about it, fearing it would cause chaos in the Seireitei."
Chaos in Seireitei?
Haruto knew that Kōga's sword was very strong, but he didn't have specific data on just how strong it was.
How far does the Muramasa's influence extend?
"In its Shikai form, the diameter is approximately one spirit mile."
One Spirit?
This is no longer close—the Grim Soul Reaper was hit probably didn't even see Muramasa's face before his own Zanpakuto slit his throat.
"Bankai?"
Kuchiki Sōjun only mentioned Shikai, which made Haruto feel uneasy: Ginrei Kuchiki had just said that he would bring him back before Kōga 'Bankai.
"The entire Seireitei."
"... Used from the First Division Barracks?"
The First Division Barracks are located near the center, allowing orders from the Captain-Commander to radiate to the entire Gotei 13 as quickly as possible.
"It doesn't matter where you use it, it's the same."
"..."
Muramasa.
The most powerful aspect of this Zanpakuto actually lies in its range of influence: the Seireitei.
The land area, when proportionally converted to the World of the Living, is roughly the same size as Japan; such an exaggerated distance is merely Muramasa's "radius" of influence.
"A rule system with such a vast scope..."
Will the Captain-Commander's Ryūjin Jakka also be affected?
Even Haruto can still find something to cling to.
He genuinely didn't want to face Kōga unless absolutely necessary... not because he was particularly difficult to deal with, but because of Kōga's personal favor.