A Wedding with a Full House

As one of the Five Great Noble Families, it was not unexpected that Byakuya Kuchiki would attend.

It was just that he seemed to have arrived a bit too early; Isshin Shiba had not even shown up yet!

Could he be here to supervise whether Rukia was behaving herself?

"Kuchiki-kun!" Ukitake, acting as the "in-law," greeted Byakuya Kuchiki very cordially and invited him to sit beside him.

Although Byakuya Kuchiki's manners and etiquette were perfectly in line with noble standards, he still clearly radiated a chill that kept others at a distance.

Anyone who didn't know better would surely think his Zanpakuto was the ice-type one.

Starting with Byakuya Kuchiki, the captain-level Shinigami began to arrive one after another.

Isshin Shiba brought Rangiku Matsumoto and Toshiro with him... Since the 10th Division's patrol duties could not be halted, if the captain wasn't at headquarters, the vice-captain had to hold the fort.

Bringing Rangiku Matsumoto, the 3rd Seat, was normal, but bringing Toshiro, the 8th Seat...

It seemed Toshiro was doing quite well in the 10th Division.

Once Captain Unohana arrived, Aoto even began helping with the reception.

In any case, Zaraki Kenpachi wouldn't be coming, so Aoto wasn't worried about any trouble.

However, when the Fifth Division captain, Aizen, arrived with a group of his subordinates, Aoto took a deep breath and went up to meet them with Ganjuro.

At this moment, Aizen was incredibly approachable; one could say the Fifth Division was the most harmonious and friendly division within the Seireitei!

The atmosphere was even better than that of the 13th Division.

Throughout the Seireitei, every Shinigami had a very positive impression of Aizen; he could almost be considered a saint!

But if he had any shortcomings... it was that his strength was not particularly high, and his Zanpakuto was merely Kyōka Suigetsu, which relied on refracting light to mislead one's vision.

Among the captains, he appeared somewhat mediocre!

Even so, the number of Shinigami captivated by Aizen's charisma who wanted to join the Fifth Division was countless.

Many graduates of the Shino Academy joined the Fifth Division first, only to be distributed to other divisions later based on their individual development.

"Welcome, Captain Aizen!" Aoto smiled very sincerely. "On behalf of that guy Kaien, I thank you."

Aizen smiled and waved his hand. "It is I who am intruding! Bringing so many subordinates, I feel quite ashamed!"

"The more the merrier, it makes things lively. A wedding should be lively." Aoto laughed heartily. "Anyway, that guy Kaien probably never thought about getting married a second time, so of course, we should make it as lively as possible!"

Aizen agreed completely, responding with a smile, "Right! It should be as lively as possible!"

Then, under Aoto's guidance, the very pleased Captain Aizen and his subordinates sat down at a long table.

This had been quickly set up by the 13th Division members while Aoto was speaking with Aizen.

Aoto had essentially been stalling for time just now.

No more captains arrived after that.

Those who could not attend had long since sent people to deliver gifts.

But even if the other captains didn't come, those who arrived later were of no small status.

Every one of them was of noble birth.

Finally, the other three of the Five Great Noble Families appeared in succession.

The heads of the main houses had come; let alone Aoto, even Jushiro Ukitake could not claim to be their equal in status.

Only Isshin Shiba could receive them without it being considered a breach of etiquette. It also showed that the Shiba House, both main and branch families, were of one mind.

However, as Aoto looked at the head of the Shihoin Clan, Yushiro Shihoin, Yoruichi's younger brother, he couldn't help but feel that Yoruichi was being quite irresponsible for dumping such a massive mess onto this young child.

Although Yushiro was likely two hundred years old.

But two hundred years old was still just a child!

The subsequent wedding proceeded quite smoothly.

When Miss Miyako appeared in traditional white bridal attire, she looked quite beautiful despite the thick layer of powder.

She was also a Shinigami, and certainly no mere ornament.

Miss Miyako was the current 3rd Seat of the 13th Division, a genuine elite female Shinigami who had risen through the ranks from commoner origins.

Female, commoner, Shinigami, 3rd Seat...

Every word in that description was a hurdle; achieving all of them was quite difficult.

Aoto admired her greatly.

Indeed, only such a woman was worthy of Kaien. Even if their social standings didn't match, no one would dare say anything to her face.

Look at that Byakuya Kuchiki over there; he married a commoner who wasn't even a Shinigami! Does anyone dare say anything about him now?

As for Kaien, seeing Miyako, who was about to officially become his wife, he was completely stunned, no matter how bold his nature usually was.

Because she was truly too beautiful right now.

If Aoto hadn't been egging him on from the side to bring Kaien back to his senses, he could have stood there frozen for over ten seconds.

If that were to happen, it would be a real embarrassment!

Even so, Kaien's stunned expression made everyone who noticed it burst into laughter.

Miss Miyako, who was about to be renamed Miyako Shiba, also smiled shyly.

No bride would feel displeased to see her groom staring at her in a daze!

Although the two had been together long enough to be considered an old married couple, they both felt incredibly bashful at this moment.

Such behavior from the bride and groom naturally made everyone else feel the taste of "happiness."

What an enviable couple!

However, the teasing that started because of this only grew more intense.

Even Ukitake Jushiro couldn't help himself, let alone the others!

But no matter how much they teased, Shiba Kaien wore a face full of blissful smiles.

How wonderful!

After the wedding ceremony concluded, the crowd, exhausted from all the teasing, immediately began to eat and drink.

It was at this moment that the food provided by Seikyo was finally recognized as extraordinary.

In particular, the food prepared specifically for the captains was of Fifth-Grade Spiritual Power, and they could taste the difference the moment they tried it.

However, except for Aizen, no one realized that this was processed Hollow meat.

After tasting it, Aizen naturally found it quite interesting.

Aizen had not expected Hyakume-ki Seikyo to bring out such rule-breaking fare at an occasion like this... he truly had the courage to match his skills.

But even for captains, unless they were like Aizen, who dissected and skinned Hollows for research, the average person would never imagine this was the meat of a Menos.

The captains present might have killed countless Hollows, but they had never eaten one!

They simply felt that the techniques Hyakume-ki Seikyo inherited from Kirio Hikifune were truly impressive to be able to create food with Fifth-Grade Spiritual Power.

Unohana Retsu merely teased Seikyo for holding back, noting that the food provided to the 4th Division was not of such a high grade.

Yet, this actually gave Aizen a certain inspiration.

Indeed, it seemed that it was not just Hollows that could eat Soul Reapers; Soul Reapers could also eat Hollows!

If one had no psychological burden, a Soul Reaper could indeed eat a Hollow raw to restore their spiritual pressure.

It was just that the Hollow energy entering the body this way would be broken down too quickly, lacking the nutritional value of this processed meat.

What a talent indeed! Hyakume-ki Seikyo...

It almost makes me not want to use you in that way!