It all started when Rei labeled the five noble youths deserters.
After that day, all five were punished by being sent to Rukongai to clear out Hollows. They worked there for six months straight, and during that time, Ragged Hollows forced them into several brushes with death.
When the mission ended and the five spoiled young nobles returned, the head of the Kasumioji family said nothing and confined their heir to the house.
Seeing an upper noble family act that way, the other three minor noble families didn't dare make much fuss and followed suit.
After all, Rei was a lieutenant, which made him an important figure in the Seireitei, with a status not much lower than that of an upper noble. Besides, Rei had only intimidated them with his Reiatsu, rather than severely injuring their children as he had Tsunayashiro Tokinada.
But the Tsunayashiro Clan, one of the great noble families, wouldn't stand for it. Tokinada Tsunayashiro, the one who had been beaten, was the son of the clan head, Hideaki Tsunayashiro. Tokinada Tsunayashiro might have been trash, but he still represented the face of a great noble family, so they couldn't possibly let the matter rest.
Thus, after discovering that Rei's base was in North District 10, the Tsunayashiro Clan began using economic suppression and assassination there. Several members of Rei's Guards were killed, and Kuzō was captured by the other side.
The Hot Pot Restaurant and Mahjong Parlor had long since closed. Whenever they opened, mysterious people would come and smash the places up...
"No wonder I haven't seen Kuzō! So that's what happened. Did they stop after they captured him?"
Only then did Rei notice that Kuzō, the strongest of his Guards, was absent. He had thought Kuzō had business at the Mahjong Parlor, but it turned out the Tsunayashiro Clan had abducted him.
"Big brother, I asked Kamikawa Shinji. According to the information they gathered, the Tsunayashiro Clan is waiting for you to return..."
The Kamikawa Shinji Maki spoke of was the minor noble who had helped settle the Eight Dragons Group incident. He was very close to their side.
Rei waved a hand, cutting Maki off, and said, "I understand. Send them a calling card for me. I'll visit the Tsunayashiro Clan tomorrow afternoon. I'm tired, so I'm going to bed."
With that, Rei rose and vanished with Shunpo. He wasn't going to sleep just yet, though; he first returned to the Seireitei...
When everyone heard that the family head intended to send a calling card, they didn't understand what he meant. Some even thought Rei was afraid and secretly felt aggrieved and indignant.
"Lord Maki, why is the family head visiting the Tsunayashiro Clan?"
"Is he afraid of the Tsunayashiro Clan? Why? We aren't afraid of death. The family head only has to send us to attack and kill them. Even if we're captured, we won't admit we have any connection to him..."
"We can also attack their shops in secret, and so on..."
They all looked to Maki for an explanation. The guards weren't afraid of the Tsunayashiro Clan at all. As soon as the family head, who had shown them kindness, gave the word, they would certainly follow him in rebellion.
The weak depended on the strong; that was an unchanging truth. And in this world, if the master they had sworn to serve died while they survived, they would be scorned and looked down upon.
Some of these formidable guards had once been stray dogs, and Rei had taken them in. They were indignant because if Rei went to negotiate, the other side would surely humiliate him, and that was something they didn't want to see.
One only had to look at that two-doggy captain Komamura in later years: after the Captain-Commander who had taken him in was killed, he sought revenge against the enemy even at the cost of his heart...
"You don't need to overthink it. Just wait for the family head's arrangements. He won't let us down!"
Maki instantly got a headache too. He had spent the longest time with these vassals. Big brother Nangong had merely given them a simple life with shelter from the elements and freedom from hunger and cold, yet they had already resolved to repay his kindness.
Maki calmed the restless men, then followed Rei's instructions and formally sent a calling card to the Tsunayashiro Clan, setting the time for noon the next day.
The sky was overcast, and it looked like rain, but none fell. The Expeditionary Force's return the day before had caused a slight ripple in the Seireitei, but things soon settled down again.
Rei still wore his classic long red robe. He disliked kimono with wide sleeves, feeling that the sleeves flapping about interfered with fighting, so he wore a long robe like a Daoist robe, with narrower sleeves.
When he arrived at the Tsunayashiro Clan's gate, neither the imposing entrance nor the guards, who looked quite skilled, made Rei so much as glance sideways.
"Nangong Ling has come to visit. Please announce me!"
"Lord Tsunayashiro gave orders that Vice-Captain Nangong Ling need not be announced when he arrives! Please follow me!"
The gate guard was exceedingly respectful to Rei. He actually knew about the Tsunayashiro Clan's suppression of Rei's forces, but his training in great noble etiquette made him maintain these empty courtesies.
Rei followed the guard through numerous twists and turns and along corridors of wooden floorboards before finally arriving at the reception hall.
Hideaki Tsunayashiro sat upright, having already prepared tea as he waited for Rei's visit. Four old men from the clan's Elder Council were also present, each with gray-white hair and one foot in the grave.
This was Rei's first time meeting the Captain of the Ninth Division, the biological father of that trash, trash Tokinada Tsunayashiro—Hideaki Tsunayashiro...
Rei didn't know yet that Tokinada Tsunayashiro had the potential to grow into a big boss...
Hideaki Tsunayashiro, seated in the place of honor, had gray hair at his temples. He looked quite old, but was still energetic, with a sharp gaze.
Rei had obtained some basic information about Hideaki Tsunayashiro. He had been a captain for over two hundred years, and the previous captain of the Ninth Division had also been from the Tsunayashiro Clan.
According to Maki, Hideaki Tsunayashiro was very strong, but in Rei's opinion, the man had the weakest Reiatsu of any Captain-level fighter he had met.
His Reiatsu lacked the unfathomable depth of Kyōraku's and the hard protective quality of Kuruyashiki's. Even the Reiatsu old man Kuchiki Ginrei released unconsciously was much stronger than his... Rei estimated that even if he released his Reiatsu at full power, it would still be considerably weaker than Rei's!
I wonder what the other captains are like. Are they all like this guy? Rei wondered to himself.
The captains he had met so far were the captain of the First Division, the Sixth Division Captain, the Captain of the Eighth Division, the Captain of the Ninth Division, and his superior, Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.
Rei hadn't met the other captains, and he knew very few lieutenants either. That was mainly because, unless a major event occurred, the captains and lieutenants didn't assemble together; after all, they all had their own business to attend to.
"This is our first meeting, and I failed to welcome you at the gate. That was a little discourteous of me, Vice-Captain Nangong Ling. Please, sit!"
A faint smile rested on Hideaki Tsunayashiro's lips. He had long expected Rei to come on account of his subordinate.
"Not at all, Captain Tsunayashiro. It's already an honor that you would see me. Rather, I'm the one imposing on the Tsunayashiro Clan."
Rei adopted a slightly humble tone. He wanted to know what these men intended to do after using Kuzō to draw him here.
Rei sat in the first seat on the right. Across from him were four old men who kept sizing him up, as though they were looking at some object.
"It's no easy matter inviting you here, Vice-Captain Nangong Ling! Last year, our vassals sent quite a few gifts, yet we still couldn't invite you over for a chat. May I ask what brings you here this time, Vice-Captain Nangong Ling?"
After only a couple of polite remarks, Hideaki Tsunayashiro went straight to the point. The four old men across from Rei also began looking at him with hostility.
"Don't you know perfectly well why I'm here? If my dog bit any of you, then I apologize... But for you to go and catch my dog just to bite him back, that's beneath your status any way you look at it, isn't it?"
A contemptuous smile hung on Rei's lips. His mild retort left the people in charge of the Tsunayashiro Clan completely baffled. What was all this about dogs?
A few seconds later, Hideaki Tsunayashiro understood, and his face immediately darkened. What was he saying? That they were dogs who had gone to bite the dog he kept?
"Brat, how dare you speak so disrespectfully?"
"Where do you think you are? How dare you show such contempt for our Tsunayashiro Clan?"
"Insulting a great noble family is a grave crime! Guards, seize him!"
The old men caught on too and flew into a rage. Unfortunately, their good upbringing kept them from using foul language, and their rigid thinking meant they didn't really know how to insult someone indirectly, so they could only call for someone to arrest the madman.
"Stop. Stand down."
Hideaki Tsunayashiro ordered back the dozen or so guards who had appeared using Shunpo. The guards appeared in an instant and vanished just as quickly, showing that they too were highly skilled.
But Rei could see through their skills completely. From the guards' appearance alone, he already knew the Tsunayashiro Clan must have some kind of trap prepared.
"Vice-Captain Nangong Ling, I think there's been a slight misunderstanding between us. A small misunderstanding like this can easily be resolved..."
Having calmed down, Hideaki Tsunayashiro began to carry out the plan he had long prepared.
The old men had some ability too. They had briefly lost their composure in anger, but now they suppressed their fury and said no more. In any case, if Rei refused... they could simply retaliate against him on the spot...
"Go on, then. How do we resolve it?"
Rei gestured for Hideaki to speak plainly. He guessed that the Tsunayashiro Clan might want to make one last attempt to recruit him, then deal with him if they failed.
"I hear you haven't taken a wife yet, Vice-Captain Nangong Ling. I have an unmarried daughter. If you're willing to join our Tsunayashiro Clan, we'll be one family, and this little misunderstanding can be settled among ourselves. Wouldn't you agree?"
Hideaki Tsunayashiro spoke very seriously, nearly making Rei blurt out, "What the fuck?" So they wanted him to marry into their family, just like that Kōga Kuchiki.
The Tsunayashiro Clan had its own unspoken difficulties, which had driven them to this last resort. In the past century, no exceptionally talented young people had appeared in either the branch families or the main family.
As members of the older generation either died in battle or grew old and infirm, the Tsunayashiro Clan found itself with no one to carry on after them. There were several playboys like Tokinada Tsunayashiro in the clan, all of them lacking any ambition to improve.
Their most outstanding young man at present was only a Fifth Seat in the First Division and had yet to learn Bankai. It would be very, very difficult for someone capable of succeeding to the position of Captain of the Ninth Division to emerge within a hundred years.
That was why they had considered bringing Rei, who had damaged the Tsunayashiro Clan's face, into the family. That way, a major affair would become a family matter, and they would gain a powerhouse as well. How wonderful...
"Don't be in such a hurry to refuse. If you agree, once you learn Bankai, Hideaki will step down and yield the position of Captain of the Ninth Division to you. With your talent, I'm sure it won't take long for you to become Captain of the Ninth Division."
"That's right, and there's also the status of a great noble. You'd be one of the most exalted people in the Soul Society."
"This is a shortcut to becoming a captain. You people from Rukongai work so hard to climb the ladder—isn't it all to become members of high society?"
Seeing Rei remain silent, the old men chimed in one after another, hoping to tie him to the Tsunayashiro Clan's chariot so they could contend with the other great noble families.
They had long experienced Nangong Ling's arrogance and unruliness firsthand, and the playboy Tokinada Tsunayashiro's experience was a good illustration. But they were confident they could wield this double-edged sword.
That was because Nangong Ling was somewhat fond of pleasure. He had actually eaten more than a dozen of those expensive watermelons all by himself; his shit was probably red by now.
And that wasn't all. He feasted and drank with his subordinates every day. In the eyes of the Tsunayashiro Clan's upper ranks, this was typical nouveau riche behavior, the mark of someone who had never seen the world.
Thus, they had decided to first strike at Rei's family businesses, then draw him to the Tsunayashiro Clan or arrange to meet them elsewhere, and propose this solution.
If Rei refused, they would suppress him by force and try to recruit him again after making him understand the gap between them... That way, their chances of success could reach ninety percent.
If that still didn't work, they could only find a way to kill Rei, so he wouldn't join another family's camp...
What kind of deal is this? If I marry into their family, my son won't have my surname. Wouldn't that be the end of my Nangong Family? And... even if I become a captain, won't these old men still be sitting over my head, shitting on me?
Rei swept his gaze over the old men, a faint smile on his face. It was a "nuclear-friendly" smile, and he rejected the marriage proposal in his heart.
Seeing Rei smile, the old men smiled too. They thought he might be unable to resist the temptation and was going to agree.