Chapter 52

Byakuya tilted his head and asked.

"Right."

"As Four Great Noble Clans, each of them will send representatives to accompany the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force."

Kuchiki Sōjun explained:

"Due to health reasons, I can only send Kōga in my place. Although it won't be for very long, it will indeed be a while before I see him."

"Your aunt is bored being home alone, so she wants to move back to our family home for a while... I agreed on behalf of my father."

"... Grandpa won't agree, will he?"

Although Kōga was married into the family, her aunt's plans were clearly not allowed in the Kuchiki Clan.

The die is cast.

"..."

After my father's condition improved, his personality also changed a lot.

"What's wrong, Byakuya?"

Kuchiki Sōjun's younger sister is clearly a very opinionated person... She was probably even more arrogant than Byakuya when she was young.

"Wouldn't it be better if I came back to stay? Maybe I could even give you some pointers on the Kidō again~"

"No need."

Byakuya retorted instinctively.

"Sigh~"

The tone of voice was drawn out.

"Having acquired Reiatsu at the Vice-Captain-level, you've really become quite something, haven't you? You even look down on your aunt now—"

"How about we go outside and have a little sparring match?"

"..."

Byakuya turned around and glanced at his mother.

The fact that he had advanced to the Fifth-Class Reii was not publicized, which suggests that his mother deliberately let it slip and boasted about it. Byakuya didn't even need to guess the identity of the "leaker"; if Kuchiki Sōjun were to reveal it, he would definitely consult Byakuya first.

No, no!

Byakuya quickly denied it.

Although he has toned down a lot after marriage, with his aunt's personality, if he gets entangled with her, he'll definitely have a Byakuya time.

His phobia of older women wasn't something he developed just from Yoruichi... in fact, the two were best friends.

Moreover, although the two are from different generations, the age difference is small in terms of the average lifespan in Soul Society —this aunt was only nineteen years old when she got married.

"Mainly..."

"There are suitable sparring partners at the Spiritual Arts Academy, so there's no need to trouble you, Aunt."

Byakuya didn't need to make it up; he did have a valid reason.

"Sparring partner?"

Kuchiki Sōjun picked up where his sister left off:

"The Byakuya is probably referring to Haruto, whom I just mentioned... He's a very good young man; in terms of talent in Kidō, he's even on par with you."

Byakuya's aunt's real name is Kuchiki Hine. Before their marriage, she was also a high- Seated Officer in the Gotei 13, possessing Seventh-Class Reii.

"No."

Byakuya shook his head.

"That's already above my aunt."

"?"

The others all looked on with curiosity.

"When I went to exercise today, I happened to see Haruto returning. There's no doubt that his Reii has advanced to the Sixth Class."

"Can it be determined without any equipment?"

Kuchiki Hine said somewhat indignantly.

"My senses aren't that sharp, it's mainly because—"

Byakuya first shook his head, then changed the subject:

He used the technique "Dankū".

――――

Volume 1: Chapter 34, Hyōga Seiran

"Huh? Dankū?"

Kuchiki Hine's mouth was agape.

—This is exactly the scene Byakuya wanted to see. He didn't mind letting his aunt, who had been constantly tormenting him since childhood, experience the same shock he had felt.

"The Shin'ō Academy actually teaches this kind of thing?"

Kuchiki Hine never studied at the Shin'ō Academy, and her encounter with Kōga was more of a romantic one.

"I don't recall any dean ever being strong enough to reach the Vice-Captain-level, right?"

Using and teaching are two different things.

In Kuchiki Hine's memory, high-level Hadō with a number of 75 or higher are very difficult to learn without instruction from Vice-Captain-level who specializes in Kidō... The prerequisite is that the student must have exceptionally good Kidō arts talent.

"Relying solely on self-study of secret techniques..."

Kuchiki Hine turned her gaze to Byakuya.

"I didn't pass on my family's secret technique of 'Dankū' to him."

"At this level of the Kidō, even Father wouldn't be able to use it without Grandpa's permission, right?"

Byakuya shook his head, denying Kuchiki Hine's guess.

"Haruto got his hands on a Kidō Orb that records the Dankū... I guess that's his salary from his holiday job."

Byakuya's words prompted questions from both Sōjun and Hine:

"Kidō Orb?"

"Does anyone know a place that pays over 80 for Kidō?! If there is, I'd love to try it out, okay?"

"... Brother, you go first."

Kuchiki Hine simply made a sarcastic remark and immediately handed the conversation over to Kuchiki Sōjun.

"Right."

Byakuya nodded.

"Haruto got it from an exiled nobleman from Rukongai; their surname was 'Ichihara,' a name I'd never heard of before."

"Father, do you remember me?"

Haruto tacitly agreed to let Byakuya inquire about this matter, so Byakuya naturally asked his father, who was known as a human library.

"..."

"No."

Kuchiki Sōjun thought for a long time, and finally shook his head.

"I've never heard of this family before; it's possible they changed their surname after being expelled."

"Yes, that's what I told Haruto too."

Byakuya responded.

Of course, the reason he was so proactive was also because of his own ulterior motives—he had informed his father about the Kidō Orb in advance, so that if it appeared at some auction in the future, he could at least get a slightly "reduced sentence".

"But I really didn't expect that."

Kuchiki Sōjun sighed.

"Last time I was discussing with your grandfather whether to send a copy of the Sōren Sōkatsui's secret technique to your friend. I never imagined that in the blink of an eye, that person might already look down on a mere number seventy-three Hadō."

Kuchiki Sōjun's guess was very accurate.

The advanced Kidō secrets of high-ranking nobles are definitely more powerful than ordinary Sōren Sōkatsui, but if one does not come into contact with this Kidō, does the secret lose its meaning? As a high-ranking Hadō below number seventy-five, it is recorded in the Kidō book written by Master Ise, and Haruto just hasn't learned it yet.

"I'm afraid so."

Byakuya's smile was somewhat awkward.

He had put in a lot of effort to help Haruto become a punching bag that he could use his full strength to achieve his goal as soon as possible: the secret techniques of the Kuchiki Clan's Kidō were not to be taught lightly.

But who could have imagined that this guy's adventure would be even more outrageous than he had imagined—while Haruto was telling Byakuya about his vacation experiences, he also took the opportunity to show off his new Hadō.

"Not just Dankū."

"That Haruto guy, he's even learned the Seventy-Eighth Zanka no Tachi."

Byakuya's words were a bit sarcastic.

Although he believed his talent in Kidō was no less than Haruto's, he was too young and his time was limited. With his focus entirely on training his Zanpakuto, it was naturally difficult for him to spare the energy to master advanced Hadō.

In fact.

Let alone high-level Hadō of number 75 or above, Byakuya hasn't even started to touch Hakudo of number 60 or above.

"Zanka no Tachi?"

"... I remember now, he had a good relationship with the children of the Ise Clan. It seems that the old man passed on his family's special skills."

Kuchiki Sōjun knew all too well about Haruto's network of relationships.

"Even the most entrenched priestly families are so optimistic about his future?"

"That's true."

"Kuchiki Sōjun muttered to himself."

"Having been involved with Kidō for five years, he's already mastered Kidō number eighty. Even if his Reiatsu progress is a little slow, it can't overshadow his talent—"

"This is developing into the style of a great Kidō."

While Kuchiki Sōjun was still pondering, Byakuya suddenly leaned closer to him in an overly obedient manner:

"Father."

"Even the Ise Clan can produce the 78th level of the Hadō, and a fallen noble family possesses the 81st level of the Bakudō."

"Our family—"

Before Byakuya could finish speaking, a crisp sound of something hitting his forehead rang out.

"Bang!"

"Ouch! Mom, why did you hit me?!"

Since Haruto had so generously agreed to his plan, he was bound to reciprocate. Moreover, once Haruto had learned the new Kidō, he could immediately teach it to Byakuya —it wasn't that he wasn't interested in advanced Kidō, but rather that Old Master Ginrei had been watching him closely enough, and a single assessment of him as "ambitious" was enough to extinguish any further thoughts he might have.

But.

He had barely begun to express his thoughts when his mother interrupted him: Byakuya's mother pulled out an enormous folding fan, half his height, from somewhere and slammed it hard on Byakuya's forehead.

It's also evident from how he addresses her that he seems more afraid of his straightforward mother than of Sōjun, who makes decisions on major issues.

"You're just a kid, why are you always siding with outsiders?"

The folding fan closed even faster than it had appeared—if you looked closely, you'd easily discover that this special folding fan was actually the Shikai of Zanpakuto.

"If they continue to treat us so casually, even if our family isn't exiled one day, we'll still be demoted from our position as a great noble family."

"... Mom is right."

Faced with his mother's lecture, Byakuya could only obediently admit his mistake.

"No, not at all."