Actions by All Parties

As tender skin was sliced open by the blade, scalding blood sprayed from his neck.

Blood stained the plump, fair face with a few traces. Tsunayashiro Sosuke gently wiped it away with his sleeve, then, still smiling, called another guard in from outside and had him bring Tsunayashiro Kojiro over. At the same time, he ordered the butler to dispose of the headless corpse.

Watching the busy butler, the two sat in the seats of honor, leisurely drinking premium tea leaves picked from the Noble Courtyard. Yet anyone could sense the dull, oppressive atmosphere that seemed to freeze the very air around them solid.

As the butler carried the head with its eyes still wide open out of the room, he saw Tsunayashiro Kojiro, who had been hurriedly summoned. A trace of pity and arrogance flashed through his eyes.

Tsunayashiro Kojiro had been born into a remote Branch Family. His father had died early, while his mother suffered from a severe illness and desperately needed money.

It so happened that Kojiro had awakened an exceptionally rare Zanpakuto. It was that very Zanpakuto that gave his mother the means to recuperate properly in the hospital. But the price was that Kojiro had to retrieve something from the Great Spirit Book Gallery. Otherwise, the day Kojiro failed would be the day his mother died of illness and went down the Road to the Underworld!

Still, that had nothing to do with him. All he needed to do was clean up the corpse, then stand guard outside and quietly await the summons.

Seeing the look in the butler's eyes, a savage glint flashed through Tsunayashiro Kojiro's gaze. He gritted his teeth and took several deep breaths before entering the room, barely calming himself down.

Then he gently knocked on the door. From inside came the gentle voice of the family head, Tsunayashiro Sosuke:

"Is that Kojiro? Come in."

Pulling open the door, Kojiro stepped into the brightly lit room, yet could not feel even a trace of warmth within it.

Meanwhile, Asano Kiyoshi lay on his bed, reflecting on everything that had happened that day.

First of all, everything he had done today had been deliberate.

He had deliberately agreed to Ikkaku's challenge, and he had deliberately used Shikai.

On one hand, using Shikai in that battle had been a sign of respect for Ikkaku and for the fight itself. On the other, it had been to display his strength before the major figures of the Soul Society.

The reason for doing so was that Asano Kiyoshi wanted to accelerate his growth. It was now the year 2050 in the Soul Society, only fifty-nine years before the main storyline officially began in 2109. During that time, he needed to raise his strength to an utterly absurd level. Only then could he protect what he wished to protect during the two major arcs of the Thousand-Year Blood War and Aizen's defection.

His current strength had already met the graduation requirements of Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy. Remaining there would not bring much further improvement. Besides, after unlocking the Road to the Underworld, his ability to absorb ability fragments from those he killed already showed that his path of growth was destined to be filled with flesh and bones.

He needed to reveal some of his current strength to make the Tsunayashiro Family wary enough of him. He wanted them to speed up their plans as well, forcing Tsunayashiro Kojiro to graduate early.

Having read the original work, he had long known that the Twelfth Division had surveillance set up throughout the Seireitei. During his training with Head Captain Yamamoto, he had also learned the time of every Captain's Meeting. He had further guessed that Aizen and the others would most likely reveal his information to the Tsunayashiro Family. It could be said that all of this had been planned by Asano Kiyoshi.

And even if Aizen had not made that choice, the Tsunayashiro Family would most likely still have obtained the news. After all, the Great Spirit Book Gallery controlled by the Tsunayashiro Family was said to possess all data on the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the human world. How could they possibly be unable to access even his data?

Even taking the most unlikely possibility into account, even if the Tsunayashiro Family considered him too weak and failed to notice him—

This display of strength had also given the Captain-Commander sufficient leverage. At the very least, it would allow him to help Asano Kiyoshi more wholeheartedly in his future struggle against the nobles.

Furthermore, he had not revealed his trump cards during the battle—the boost from Kaido, the boost from Shikai, or the Reishi annihilation of the Gate of the Underworld. He had revealed none of them, leaving himself a way out. After all, if Tsunayashiro Kojiro suddenly had a breakthrough when the time came, he would be in serious trouble. He had to leave himself some room to retreat.

In short, no matter what, he would not lose out from what he had done tonight!

Letting out a soft breath, he lay on the bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The bright moonlight shone upon the Captain-Commander's beard, as though coating it in a layer of white frost.

Byakuya Kuchiki stood before the Captain-Commander. Looking at him, he spoke with some hesitation:

"Captain-Commander, forgive my bluntness, but merely relying on Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi's lockdown probably won't be enough to keep Asano Kiyoshi's battle records secure... After all—"

Byakuya Kuchiki did not continue, but he had already made his meaning clear.

The Captain-Commander looked at Byakuya and smiled faintly. The boy from the Kuchiki Clan had thought things through quite thoroughly, but compared to his Grandfather, he was still somewhat too inexperienced. If even he could see these things, how could the Captain-Commander fail to see them?

Still, in response to the goodwill Byakuya Kuchiki had shown, Head Captain Yamamoto smiled and explained:

"Captain Byakuya, naturally, this old man knows that. In fact, from the very beginning, I never expected to keep those records secure. Asano Kiyoshi concealed some of his strength in those records. As his teacher, I know him better than anyone, and I can tell you clearly that Asano Kiyoshi did this deliberately. He intentionally revealed his Shikai before all the captains. As for his purpose, he most likely trusts in his own strength and wishes to accelerate his growth, while taking the opportunity to force the Tsunayashiro Family to hasten their plans."

Hearing the Captain-Commander's words, a faint look of surprise appeared on Byakuya Kuchiki's face, but he quickly recovered. Then, looking at the old man before him, who resembled a lion, he slightly lowered his noble head and continued asking the Captain-Commander:

"Then Captain-Commander, why did you issue those orders to Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi in front of us?"

Seeing Byakuya's eagerness to learn, the Captain-Commander nodded. Good. This was how the head of the nobles should act—able to yield and adapt, humble and restrained. He was teachable.

"I told you about this because I wanted to send you a signal: I care deeply about this matter. And once something I care deeply about is botched, then I will have sufficient reason to cut certain things off. For example... the hands those nobles have secretly extended into the Thirteenth Division!"

By the end, the Captain-Commander exuded killing intent that was nearly tangible. Looking at the old man's bearing, Byakuya Kuchiki finally understood that this elder possessed not only the greatest power of the past thousand years, but also political skill to match it!