"Hey, hey, isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?"
Cold sweat slid down Isshin Shiba's broad forehead. His expression, which should have been that of a tough guy, had turned sheepish, giving him a timid air.
"An exaggeration?" Su Feng sneered disdainfully. "Kaien probably hasn't explained it to you yet, has he?"
"Captain Isshin, merely the head of a Branch Family, doesn't seem to know much about the Gold Seal Council's rules. At the last several meetings, multiple people have already proposed stripping the Shiba Family of its status as one of the Five Great Noble Clans."
There was not a trace of falsehood in those words.
Long ago, because of their dwindling numbers and unwillingness to get involved in the struggle for noble interests, the Shiba Family had withdrawn from the Noble District and had even moved to Rukongai for a time.
Seeing this, those upper nobles had swarmed in like sharks smelling blood, trying to replace the Shiba Family.
Yet they were wary of Isshin Shiba and Shiba Kaien.
Thus, during the many Noble Council meetings that followed, several upper noble houses jointly submitted proposals to revoke the Shiba Family's noble seat.
The matter had also been brought up many times during Gold Seal Council meetings.
The Gokuzai Family, adhering to a tradition unchanged for a million years, offered no opinion on the matter.
The Tsunayashiro Family and the Kuchiki Family, meanwhile, were so close because of Su Feng that they might as well have worn the same pair of pants, so they abstained as well.
Because of Yoruichi Shihoin, the previous head of the family, the Shihoin Family had always taken good care of the Shiba Family and likewise abstained.
Thus, the proposal to revoke the Shiba Family's noble seat was vetoed by the Shiba Family's single