Yoruichi's Plan

The Shiba Clan had always opposed all of this.

But with the Shiba Clan's strength, they simply could not stop the actions of the other four families.

From then on, the Shiba Clan had consistently advocated the idea that "the sins we committed should be made public and left for the people of this world to judge us for," yet the other three families, together with even more nobles, secretly targeted them, causing them to gradually decline...

When she first learned this secret, Shihoin Yoruichi had not known how to face herself if not for Urahara Kisuke's comfort and guidance.

The noble status she had always considered incomparably exalted was actually the greatest "rebellion" in this world?

It was also from that time onward that Shihoin Yoruichi became the least noble-like noble among all nobles.

If the Five Noble Clans that founded Soul Society were the greatest rebels, then what were these Quincy being hunted down by Soul Society?

Shihoin Yoruichi did not understand.

If the Captain-Commander had not personally issued the order for this Quincy extermination operation, Shihoin Yoruichi would not have wanted to carry it out.

Even so, Shihoin Yoruichi was deeply troubled.

If she had been alone, she could have decided whether to carry out the mission after meeting the Quincy.

But this time, the one accompanying her was Yamamoto's disciple, Jūshirō Ukitake.

Shihoin Yoruichi did not dare pull any tricks under Jūshirō Ukitake's watchful eyes.

Under ordinary circumstances, even if she personally defected from Soul Society, the Shihoin Family would be unharmed.

But when it came to an issue involving Soul Society's very stance, even if the Captain-Commander spared the Shihoin Family, the other nobles might target them just as they had targeted the Shiba Clan, reducing the Shihoin Family to the same situation as the Shiba Clan.

The Five Noble Clans were the five great families that had jointly ambushed the Spirit King, stolen the Soul King's power to create the Three Realms, occupied Soul Society, and established the Seireitei.

Yet beneath them was a Noble Alliance composed of twelve high-ranking noble houses and thirty-nine lower noble houses, jointly controlling the highest authority of the Seireitei.

The Shiba Clan had already fallen, and the Tsunayashiro Clan had also been wiped out more than a decade ago...

The filth among the nobility was far darker than Shihoin Yoruichi could have imagined.

But she knew that the Shihoin Family alone could not hold out.

So Shihoin Yoruichi thought of the Kuchiki Clan.

If Ailin accompanied her, Yoruichi would have much more room to maneuver.

Thus, Yoruichi did not hide her thoughts from Ailin.

"Captain Ailin, this mission is to encircle and annihilate the remaining Quincy discovered in the Human World."

"However, before exterminating them, I want to secretly investigate what kind of beings the Quincy truly are without Captain Ukitake finding out."

"When the time comes, I need you to cover for me and keep Captain Ukitake from learning where I have gone."

"What do you say?"

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Ailin nodded. "All right, Captain Yoruichi. I'll first explain a few things to my wife and Father-in-law, then set out with you."

"Fine. I'll wait for you in the Second Division."

"Cough, cough..."

After parting with Yoruichi, Ailin headed toward his room.

While he was still some distance from it, Ailin heard several coughs.

His figure flickered several times, and in an instant, he arrived at the door. Opening it, he saw Haruko Kuchiki coughing as she prepared a boxed meal for him.

"Haruko, didn't I tell you? Your health is poor. You should stay in bed and rest as much as possible..."

Seeing this, Ailin hurried forward, took over the work in Haruko Kuchiki's hands, and helped her to a chair.

"But, Ailin, if I don't get up and do something for you, wouldn't that make me seem far too useless as a wife?"

After sitting down, Haruko Kuchiki took several deep breaths and recovered somewhat before smiling at Ailin.

Haruko Kuchiki had always been in good health.

But beginning three years ago, her condition had visibly worsened.

Even Retsu Unohana, Captain of the Fourth Division, had no solution for this.

However, she gave Ailin one suggestion.

—If he wanted Haruko Kuchiki to live longer, then the time Ailin spent with Haruko Kuchiki had to be reduced, or they might even have to stop seeing each other entirely.

Even now, Ailin still remembered the look Captain Unohana gave him after saying those words—a gaze that, for a moment, had been as piercingly cold as ice.

It was also because of Captain Unohana's words that both Ailin and Ginrei Kuchiki understood what Haruko Kuchiki's condition truly meant.

In Soul Society, Shinigami generally lived in the Seireitei and rarely ventured into the Rukon District.

This was because ordinary people generally possessed no spiritual pressure. If they frequently remained near those with powerful spiritual pressure, their souls would be continuously oppressed by it, gradually weakening until they died.

Haruko Kuchiki was Ginrei Kuchiki's daughter, so she naturally possessed spiritual pressure.

However, her talent was not particularly good, and she had no interest in becoming a Shinigami, so she had not trained.

But with Haruko Kuchiki's own spiritual pressure, even remaining beside Captain-level figures for extended periods would not have affected her.

There was only one reason Haruko Kuchiki could have weakened to her current state—

Living for a long time with someone whose spiritual pressure exceeded Captain-level had placed immense oppression upon her soul, which manifested physically as a gradual decline in her health.

Neither Ailin nor Ginrei Kuchiki had ever anticipated such a situation.

After fully crafting those replicated Zanpakuto, Ailin's spiritual pressure had broken through, reaching the level of a Hundred-Year Captain.

Ailin had not expected that even after suppressing his spiritual pressure to the limit, his spiritual pressure would still place immense pressure on Haruko Kuchiki's soul.

Ginrei Kuchiki had not expected Ailin's strength to have reached such a level.

A Hundred-Year Captain did not mean someone could be called a "Hundred-Year Captain" merely because they had held the position of captain for one hundred years.

For instance, more than two hundred years later, when Shunsui Kyōraku fought Stark, the First Espada, he called Toshiro Hitsugaya a genius captain and said that Toshiro Hitsugaya might surpass him in a hundred years. That was an acknowledgment that Toshiro Hitsugaya at that time possessed the strength of a Hundred-Year Captain.

The most direct display of the difference in strength between an ordinary captain and a Hundred-Year Captain was that a Hundred-Year Captain's Shikai possessed the power of an ordinary captain's Bankai.

In other words, if you could defeat a Captain-level powerhouse using Bankai with Shikai alone, it meant you possessed the strength of a Hundred-Year Captain.

Even at his peak, Ginrei Kuchiki had never reached such a realm.

Therefore, after learning of the Fourth Division captain's advice to Ailin, Ginrei Kuchiki did not know what attitude he should take toward Ailin.

On one hand, he had found the Kuchiki Clan a true genius. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the Kuchiki Clan would have no worries for at least a thousand years.

After all, a Hundred-Year Captain had a lifespan of as much as a thousand years—twice that of ordinary captains' five hundred years.