"I don't understand. What are you doing? Trying to kill me here? Or imprison me?"
Surrounded on three sides, Jun was tense all over, but he still held his wine cup and looked over the three of them.
Yagishiro, the Sixth Division's Twelfth Seat, smiled. "As expected of the number one genius. Even in a situation like this, you're still so calm."
On the other side, Fourteenth Seat Be snorted. "Hmph. You don't need to pretend to be calm. What happens to you depends entirely on your choice. Shimizu, are you going to cooperate or not?"
Jun's gaze swept over the three before finally settling on his old colleague, Sasebo Masataka.
"Do you know what you're doing? Drawing your swords on a fellow Soul Reaper for no reason! And from what you're saying, you're going after Captain Shiba and Lieutenant Shiba too!? You—"
Seventh Seat Sasebo cut Jun off. "Should I call you naive or young? Since we've decided to make our move, do you think we're only targeting those two? Make your choice! We don't have time to chat!"
"I see! Someone's behind you, then. You're not targeting the Tenth Division, but the entire Shiba Clan." Even in this situation, Jun drank a cup of wine. "How terrifying. You're targeting one of the Five Great Noble Clans, so I imagine the opposition is on the same level. I can't get away from a fight between gods like this fast enough, but you insist on getting involved."
"Shut up! What do you know!?" Seventh Seat Sasebo's face flushed red, apparently provoked by Jun's words.
"Of course I don't. After all, I'm a genius. I don't need to concern myself with your petty scheming, and I don't need to be someone's dog to get ahead."
"You bastard!!"
Twelfth Seat Yagishiro was completely enraged by Jun. He charged first, slashing at Jun's head. But at that instant, Jun's Reiatsu suddenly erupted, slowing his slash, and then—
"Ahhh~~ my eyes!"
"Calm down! It's Eye's Prohibition!"
"After him! Kakushitsuijaku!"
Jun was already a hundred meters away, resetting his stance. As for running away, heh, forget it. If Shunpo could outrun Kidō, what level would it have to be? Jun certainly couldn't manage it now. Maybe Flash Goddess Yoruichi could.
Jun was now certain he'd been dragged into a historical event involving the Shiba Clan. He didn't know what he was going to face, but he knew whom to follow, because the original story had already revealed what happened afterward.
Isshin Shiba, Ichigo's dad, would still be captain of the Tenth Division after the incident. Kaien Shiba would also remain in the Gotei 13, later becoming lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division. No matter how much the Shiba Clan lost, sticking close to Isshin Shiba in the end was definitely the right move.
What was more, Jun had read a lot of ancient history. He knew that in conflicts between nobles, unless absolutely necessary, not many nobles would lose their lives. But there was no telling how many followers and people caught up in it would die.
Applying that to the Shiba Clan's situation, the main and branch families seemed not to have lost many members. But how many retainers, people like Jun who'd been caught up in the incident, and innocent residents of the Rukongai district where Jun and the others were now would die? There was no way to tell.
This was the thirty-sixth district of Rukongai, and it was about to be caught up in a battle between two single-digit seated officers and two seated officers above ten. Even if the innocent residents realized something was wrong and started running right now, probably only half would survive. Of course, Jun wouldn't use large-scale attacks, but his opponents and the other battlefields...
"You bastard! Don't even think about escaping!"
Jun had naturally thought all this through quickly, but his pursuers weren't slow either. Jun couldn't estimate how long Eye's Prohibition would trap an opponent, since he'd never used it on anyone before. But now he could see that of the three pursuing him, Seventh Seat Sasebo hadn't been hit.
There was no explaining his way out of this. Certain people had already classified Jun as one of Isshin Shiba's trusted aides, and judging by the forces they'd sent today, they thought highly enough of him.
In that case, Jun wasn't some whiny child. If they'd decided to fight, then—
Strike first!
Bang!
Seventh Seat Sasebo blocked Jun's opening slash. What a pity. Since he hadn't been hit by Eye's Prohibition, he wouldn't be at a disadvantage in close combat like the other two. And Jun knew that, in swordsmanship alone, all three could beat him.
"Six Rods Prison of Light."
Jun naturally intended to fight using his strengths, but Seventh Seat Sasebo, his old teammate, knew him well. He actually dodged the Six Rods Prison of Light.
"Are you two done yet!?"
"Almost! I can already—"
"Dodge!"
Seventh Seat Sasebo shouted, but the other two couldn't react in time. In Soul Society's battles, techniques traveled far faster than sound. The other two did try to dodge because they sensed Jun release Kidō, but they couldn't get out of the way. They were hit with another Eye's Prohibition and remained blind.
"Damn it!!" ×3
With things as they were, Seventh Seat Sasebo had no choice but to press the attack alone. Fortunately for him, his swordsmanship really was much better than Jun's, and for a time they fought evenly. But then Jun used another Six Rods Prison of Light, and Seventh Seat Sasebo immediately dodged. That was why, despite being better at Zanjutsu, he couldn't gain the upper hand against Jun: he had to be on guard against Kidō attacks at all times.
This time, however, Jun didn't stop at Six Rods Prison of Light. He immediately followed it with Hyapporankan. Seventh Seat Sasebo had no choice but to keep dodging, but Hyapporankan was an area attack. The other two tried to retreat, but each suddenly stumbled and was struck to the ground by Hyapporankan.
"You two!!" Seventh Seat Sasebo was furious. What a pair of pig teammates.
"What happened!?"
"Shimizu, you bastard! What did you do to us!?"
Yagishiro and Be were even more bewildered as they lay on the ground. They'd clearly sensed the incoming Kidō and tried to dodge, but their minds had suddenly gone blank, and then the Kidō had struck them.
Seventh Seat Sasebo had also realized what was wrong. The two of them weren't at the level of single-digit seated officers, but they were veteran Soul Reapers. Normally, they shouldn't have been this clumsy. So there was only one answer: Jun's strength and some unknown technique.
"I didn't think I was still underestimating you!"
"You can't be blamed for that. I'm Soul Society's number one genius. My genius is so formidable that a mere mortal like you can't imagine it. So no matter how highly you regard me, you can only see as far as my waist."
Jun's words made Sasebo's anger explode. In fact, Jun had noticed from their earlier conversation that the Seventh Seat seemed to harbor a great deal of resentment toward his talent, so he'd deliberately provoked him. It worked exceptionally well.
"Ahhh!!!!! I'll kill you!!!" Seventh Seat Sasebo's Reiatsu suddenly surged, and his Zanpakuto gave a soft hum.
"Despised infamy! Chant! Evil Words!"
Shikai? Evil Words? What does it do? Hm? Jun had been thinking this and had inevitably intended to make a few more smart remarks, but he found that he couldn't speak.
Seeing the troubled look on Jun's face, Seventh Seat Sasebo burst out laughing. "Hahaha~ Shimizu, you can't speak, can you! That's the power of my Evil Words! The ability to destroy language!"
Jun gave him a thumbs-up. The gesture truly drove Seventh Seat Sasebo mad with rage. He used Shunpo to reach Jun's side, only to be greeted by a black coffin.
"Hadō #90, Kurohitsugi."
More than twenty years ago, Jun had already been able to use number eighty-three with Incantation Abandonment. At his graduation exam, what he'd shown, half truth and half deception, had been shocking enough. And today, twenty years later, he could finally bring out number ninety.
Jun walked straight past the Kurohitsugi, which hadn't yet shattered. Its attack power needed no explanation. Then Jun discovered that his ability to speak had returned.
"What use is destroying language? Incantation Abandonment means I don't need to chant. My abilities don't rely on language anyway. What a pity."
"You, you, you..." Twelfth Seat Yagishiro was too frightened to speak. He could sense the Kurohitsugi Jun had released. He couldn't even use Hadō number ninety.
Fourteenth Seat Be was doing a little better, but he was still badly shaken. "You actually dared to kill Sasebo!?"
"Is there a problem?" Jun came to stand in front of him.
"You..."
"Any last words? I can pass them on for you."
"D-don't kill me!" Twelfth Seat Yagishiro completely broke down.
"Heh." Be was doing much better. "I was outmatched. You truly deserve to be called the number one genius. I have no parents, wife, or children. I have nothing to say. Do it."
"Straightforward."
It was Jun's first time killing someone, but he didn't really feel anything. How could he put it? It didn't feel real, because when Soul Reapers died, they turned into points of light—Reishi. They didn't even leave a corpse.
There was no blood, no corpse. What difference was there between this and playing a game? The only difference was that he'd never see Sasebo Masataka again. They'd been drinking together just moments ago, and they'd been teammates for over twenty years.
"Heh. No wonder Kyōraku was so dispirited and cynical in the original story. I suppose after going through enough of this, you learn to take it in stride. Soul Society is sometimes like a game. You can't take it seriously."
"Kakushitsuijaku!" Jun released the detection Bakudō. Sure enough, battles were breaking out everywhere. Fighting was taking place throughout the Rukongai districts west of Seireitei, and now that Jun thought about it, the whole of Soul Society was probably already in chaos.
"Should I say this is what you'd expect from something as major as removing one of the Five Great Noble Clans? How many people are going to die?" To be honest, Jun didn't care that much about the deaths. They had nothing to do with him, after all. But what about his friends and family?
"There shouldn't be any trouble in the Twelfth Division. Lingling should be quite safe. Jing... will the Ise Clan and Kyōraku Clan be affected this time? Her safety is uncertain. Nana's in the World of the Living right now, so even if something happened, I couldn't help. Cross her off. Cross Aizen off. Shiba Clan, you're on your own. Isshin, you won't die anyway."
"Looks like I should find Lingling first." With that, Jun used Shunpo to hurry back to Seireitei. The Gotei 13 was located in eastern Seireitei, near the center, while the Kyōraku Clan and Ise Clan were in the north. Jun was outside Seireitei, southwest of it, so the Twelfth Division was closest.
Along the way, Jun saw quite a few familiar faces fighting one another. He couldn't do anything about it, because he had no idea which side they were on. If he helped someone only to find out they were on opposing sides, would he then have to kill them? Better to just not look.
But after entering Seireitei, Jun realized things had gotten serious. Kyōraku's Reiatsu had spread throughout Seireitei, and his opponent was none other than Fifth Division Captain Nambu Nobuyasu.
Then, faintly, Jun also sensed Yoruichi Shihōin's Reiatsu. Her opponent was Captain of the Ninth Division Yukinoshita Hanato.
"Four captains are fighting!? Fuck!" Jun was utterly dumbfounded, but that didn't distract him from his goal. "Aside from the captains, there's fighting everywhere. Why did things suddenly turn out like this? Isn't it too abrupt? Or was I never in touch with the key to this incident at all? Looks like I'm still young. My reach isn't broad enough."
As Jun reflected on his own shortcomings, he sped up instead. No matter what, the safety of his friends and family came first.