With the gates of the Shiba Clan residence close at hand, Jun took off his cloak.
But just then, a sudden premonition sent Jun flashing away with Shunpo. He drew his sword and slashed behind him. Two Zanpakuto collided in midair, and the tremendous force of the clash stirred his opponent's cloak, lifting it slightly.
"Hey, hey~ I'm already here, and you're still coming after me?" Jun joked helplessly after their blades parted. When he received no answer, he turned and knocked on the Shiba Clan's gate, then instantly unleashed Hadō #78: Zanka no Tachi.
The enormous slash cut the person behind Jun clean in half at the waist and terrified the Shiba Clan gatekeeper who had opened the side door.
"Is sneaking up on me fun? That cloak can't conceal movements that big, so your swordsmanship isn't good enough to ambush me. Rest in peace."
Jun had not noticed the enemy's sneak attack at all. He said that to mislead his enemies, then looked at the gatekeeper.
"May I come in? Or should I wait while you go pass word along?"
"Huh? Ah~ please come in~"
"Thank you."
A servant led Jun straight to the reception room. There were quite a few people in the Shiba Clan. Jun saw Isshin and his father, Shiba Kazato, as well as Kinjun Shiba, whom he had seen before. The old man seated at the head was Katsukoma Shiba, the current head of the Shiba Clan's main family.
"That was a narrow escape~ I'll leave the letter with you. Let me have some tea and rest first."
"Heroes truly do emerge from the young! Was that Shishō Saemon just now meant for you?"
"Yes. It took some doing to get the other side to choose to open it themselves. Otherwise, I couldn't have made it here."
"Haha, impressive!" Clan Head Katsukoma Shiba called out as he opened the letter. "Someone, bring our hero a meal! The best we have!"
"Thank you~"
Jun was genuinely exhausted. Leaving aside all the Kidō he had cast, there had been enormous mental pressure throughout the journey, for both his enemies and himself. Now that he had arrived, he could finally put his mind at ease.
So Jun relaxed considerably, sinking into his chair. Then he heard a thoroughly disdainful sound.
"Hmph~"
He looked toward the sound and saw a pair of disdainful eyes, a disdainful face, a disdainful person: Kinjun Shiba.
"Hello~"
Jun grinned. He had no time to play games with a child. If Kinjun wanted to look down on him, so be it. Getting angry when someone looked down on you was fine, but you had to vent that anger somehow. How could he vent it on this young master? Jun disliked pointless things. Just wait until he had a chance to be alone with him someday. If Kinjun still dared to act like this, Jun would change his name to Shimizu Ken if he didn't slap him until he called him grandpa.
"You—"
What did spoiled young masters fear most? Wasn't it being looked down on? Jun's response was not what this young master had expected, and it was practically the same as looking down on him. He was about to explode on the spot, but unfortunately for him, there were three other adults from the Shiba Clan present.
"Kinjun!"
With a shout from old Katsukoma, the spoiled young master fell silent. Jun now understood what this sort was like. Being in a position of power was wonderful. A fellow like this deserved to be used by others. Shiba Mitsuo, who had died, was probably much the same.
Jun waited for the food to arrive and immediately dug in. Katsukoma Shiba had finished reading the letter long before, but he remained deep in thought. Only after Jun had eaten and drunk his fill did the old man speak.
"I'm sorry our hospitality was lacking."
"No, no, it was excellent. I've rested enough too, so let's get down to business." Jun's demeanor changed, becoming much more serious. "I went to the Shihoin Family first. They wanted to return both sides' badges, so they sent me here. I'd like to ask what your side thinks."
"I agree to that as well. I already had a servant bring the badges here."
"These are your side's badges."
Jun and Katsukoma Shiba exchanged their respective badges, and Jun asked, "Then the task I received from the Shihoin Family is complete. Is there anything the Shiba Clan needs me to do now?"
"For such a noble act, Shimizu, I thank you on behalf of the Shiba Clan. In fact, our clan also wishes to reconcile. But the problem now is that even if the Shiba and Shihoin Clans intend to make peace, certain people will not allow it."
Jun's expression darkened. "Has it already become that serious?"
"Alas~~ It has indeed." Katsukoma Shiba's expression was grave as well. "Our enemies now are nearly all the retainers, including those of our clan, the Shihoin, Kuchiki, Teru and Tachikawa Clans, and those of many other high- and mid-ranking noble families. They have joined forces."
Jun thought of what he had seen at the Kyōraku Clan residence the day before yesterday. Many of the Kyōraku Clan's retainers had indeed been frantically stirring up the feud between the Kyōraku and Nanbu Clans, while dragging many other families into it. In short, they wanted chaos. Fortunately, Shunsui Kyōraku had kept his subordinates in check, but Jun did not know whether it had truly held up over the course of a day.
"Just how powerful are our enemies?"
"Something like Shishō Saemon is not something even we of the Five Great Noble Clans can normally produce."
Jun could not help feeling as though he could hardly breathe. So he and Aizen had brushed against death's door just now. But thinking back on it, Jun felt it had not been that difficult.
"Would they dare defy all accepted norms and actually assassinate the heads of the Shihoin and Shiba Clans?"
It was a serious question, but Katsukoma Shiba did not avoid it. "If we would have said no before, now we can't be certain."
Jun's face twisted slightly. "I hate to say it, but don't the Five Great Noble Clans have any loyal retainers at all?"
"Alas~~" Katsukoma Shiba's expression was hard to put into words. "We can no longer contact any of the retainers. As for the loyal ones, I'm afraid..."
"So the first day was a purge of the loyal retainers?"
Jun now understood why the first day had been so chaotic. Normally, unrest on that scale could not have erupted immediately, but if one group had been purging another, it made perfect sense.
At the same time, Jun learned more. During the period covered by the original story, retainers were barely seen at all, aside from the Second Division, which remained as it was. But Jun now knew that many families still had many retainers.
So after this incident, basically no families retained their retainer families, except for a few whose loyalty they could truly be certain of, such as the relationship between the Kyōraku Clan and Ise Clan. But the original story had not said they were retainers either. Once bitten by a snake, one fears the well rope for ten years.
The reason the Second Division could retain its arrangement of being made up entirely of Shihoin retainers was that they had already succeeded in overthrowing Yoruichi Shihōin and making themselves the masters. Thus, they remained united, jointly controlling the Second Division and the punishment corps within the First Division.
Yoruichi's attitude toward Soi Fon in the original story made sense too. As for Soi Fon, perhaps she was simply a little sapphic. Women were always blinded by love. How ridiculous.
So the Shihoin retainers' faction was the only one that benefited in the end. But although Jun knew what came afterward, he had no way to tell anyone. That was the difficulty of being caught up in events.
"I don't know how to put this, Clan Head Shiba. I think we should cut through this mess decisively."
"What do you mean?"
"Because as things stand, they already have nearly unchecked power in Soul Society. If we just hunker down and let them carry on, I think they'll grow even more arrogant and do even crazier things, like directly assassinating members of the great noble families."
"This..."
"Bullshit! They wouldn't dare if they had ten times the guts!" Kinjun Shiba suddenly exploded, cursing at Jun. "You despicable wretch, being allowed through the Shiba Clan's gates is already an honor enough for you. Watch what you say! Those retainers? I'd like to see them dare touch a hair on my head!"
Jun had truly had enough. Kinjun was attacking him so openly that it was hard not to talk back. So without another word, Jun cast Rikujōkōrō, then bound him with Hainawa.
"Y-you, what are you doing!?"
"Letting you test your claim, young master. I'll throw you out of the Shiba residence right now, and you can see whether anyone touches a hair on your head."
"You—"
"Kinjun!" the Shiba Clan head shouted, then pleaded with Jun, "Shimizu, I'm terribly sorry~ Could you..."
"Haha, a misunderstanding." Jun released the Bakudō and smiled. "But sooner or later, it'll happen. I won't need to dirty my own hands."
The four Shibas all looked somewhat displeased, but Jun gave them no face. "People in Soul Society now dare to kill openly. I don't know what will happen afterward, but how long can your clan protect someone like him, who'll get himself killed by his own mouth sooner or later?"
"Kinjun! Get out of here!" Kinjun Shiba had just opened his mouth to speak when the clan head shouted him down, then apologized again. "Sorry you had to see that, Shimizu."
"I wouldn't laugh at something like this. It's nothing." Jun gave him no face at all, and Katsukoma Shiba's old face grew increasingly grim.
But Jun did not care. He had now realized that the greatest problem with both the Shiba and Shihoin Family truly lay with their clan heads. Compared with Yoruichi, this man was somewhat like Yuan Shao: when undertaking great things, he spared himself; when he saw small gains, he forgot righteousness.
It was not that great families could not shield their own, but families that did so were usually doomed sooner or later. How could one see a rainbow without weathering the storm? Being spoiled was not the problem; being both spoiled and incompetent was a major one. This branch of the main family was truly weak.
And the Shiba Clan head's solution did not escape the assessment Jun had made of him. He coughed and said, "Kazato, I'll leave this matter to you. Go with Shimizu."
"Dad!" Isshin was stunned on the spot.
But old Kazato was quite decisive. "I won't fail in this mission!"
"I'm coming too!" Seeing there was no way around it, Isshin hurriedly called out.
Shiba Kazato looked bitterly disappointed in him, yet on the other side, Katsukoma Shiba actually agreed. Jun finally understood why Isshin Shiba later had nothing to do with Kaien Shiba's branch of the family. This grudge had been set.
"Then let's leave now. The enemy has just launched an attack on me. Their alliance seems enormous, but it's actually quite scattered. There are bound to be major delays and disagreements when orders are issued. We'll turn invisible and use Shunpo to leave now, then come out of the Shihoin residence once everything is settled."
"Then it'll be time for the final battle!"
Shiba Kazato and his son Isshin looked resolute and agreed to the plan. The three put on their cloaks together, and after Kyokkō was activated, three sounds of movement through the air rang out. The success or failure of the whole affair rested on this!