In North Rukongai District 43, the old-fashioned streets bustled with people. The street vendors on either side eagerly called out to passersby. This was the busiest commercial district in District 43.
At that moment, two men sat in a second-floor room, chatting and laughing as they swirled the wine in their glasses. Bright red liquid spun around the sides of the glasses. They were Nodt Futz and Diezuka Hiroe, who had demanded compensation. The so-called compensation was the red wine in their glasses.
"Stop swirling it. You've made bubbles..."
"Sorry. I haven't really had this stuff before."
Futz watched Hiroe down his wine in one gulp, and his heart ached. It was bad enough having to bring out his private collection, but watching such fine wine go to waste was even worse. It was a truly awful feeling.
Hiroe, however, had no such qualms. He smacked his lips with great seriousness, looking thoroughly pleased, then said wistfully, "As expected of Lafite. The taste just lingers~"
"I'm glad you say that," Futz said, taking an elegant sip. "But honestly, Soul Society's red wine isn't very good, even when it's Lafite."
"You know how it is. They have to grow the grapes first." Futz shrugged, his smile completely unrestrained. It was quite amusing to watch a country bumpkin try to act refined.
"So this is actually cheap stuff?"
"Look on the bright side, Hiroe!" Futz picked up the bottle and topped off Hiroe's glass, then said leisurely, "It may not be as good as the wine from the World of the Living, but this is still one of the best wines in Soul Society. It cost a pretty penny."
The moment Hiroe heard that it had been expensive, his displeasure vanished. He smiled and clinked glasses with Futz, then leaned against the windowsill and looked down at the lively crowd. After spending so long on the Plain of Slaughter, a scene like this seemed especially beautiful.
"What are you planning to do next?" Futz copied him and leaned by the window, though his gaze was fixed on Hiroe beside him.
"I'll rest for a while, then go have some fun on the Plain of Slaughter. If I get bored, I'll come back here for another vacation. A hundred and fifty years—who knows how long that is!"
"You know that's not what I'm asking."
"Looks like you've got deep pockets, Futz!" Hiroe turned to him with a sly look. "Keep talking. I want to try some caviar, too."
Futz raised both hands to show he was surrendering. He had wanted Hiroe to reintegrate into the Soul Reaper community, but the man had no interest in it at all. If that was the case, why make his own wallet suffer?
Still, he could understand Hiroe's attitude. He and Hiroe had met in North Rukongai District 60, though at the time they had barely been more than passing acquaintances.
Later, when they were fighting in Zaraki District, Hiroe happened to pass by and help them. That was when the two of them really got to know each other. For the next two months, Hiroe stayed with them, and the two had fought through many battles together, forging a deep friendship.
During those two months, Futz had seen Soul Reapers turn a blind eye to them more than once. Even after getting injured, Hiroe had returned to Rukongai and found someone to treat him himself. In short, the current state of mutual disregard was by no means Hiroe's fault alone.
"Futz, I've always wanted to ask you something. Soul Reapers go to the Plain of Slaughter to protect Soul Society. What about you? Why leave a good life behind and go wandering around out there?"
Futz paused, then looked at Hiroe, whose eyes had grown a little unfocused. It seemed he was getting drunk.
"To spread their smiles to every corner of Soul Society." Futz pointed at the crowd below and put an arm around Hiroe's shoulder. "Don't you look forward to a world without Hollows?"
"I do. Who wouldn't look forward to a carefree life..."
By then, Hiroe had fallen asleep by the window, enjoying a brief moment of peace. He didn't know that the storm that had risen in Seireitei earlier would soon spread to him as well.
Two days earlier, in Seireitei, five men whose faces were obscured sat in a row in a dimly lit room, its only light coming from the candles. They were discussing something with a slender figure seated across from them at the head of the room.
"The Central 46's order has arrived. The old man has fallen, and that little brat won't be able to keep jumping around for much longer!"
"It's a shame the Central 46 ordered him captured alive. There's still room for things to change."
The next day, another message about Hiroe arrived in Seireitei. If Hiroe himself had been there, he would probably have been so shocked his jaw would have dropped.
A Gillian had appeared on the Plain of Slaughter. To escape, Diezuka Hiroe had deliberately harmed two Squad 11 members, causing both of them to die on the spot!
That message set the already unsettled Seireitei ablaze! The two Squad 11 members came from two lesser noble families. Led by those families, nobles crowded around Yamamoto's residence day after day, demanding that Yamamoto show himself and punish Diezuka Hiroe severely!
In the past, Hiroe had merely been disrespectful in word and improper in thought. But now he had abandoned his comrades in battle and harmed them. He had unequivocally violated Soul Reaper law. Surely Yamamoto couldn't keep protecting him this time.
But contrary to everyone's expectations, Yamamoto did just that! No matter how much of a commotion they made outside his residence, he refused to step outside, making his favoritism plain for all to see.
Before, the nobles had made a lot of noise without doing much. But this time, they wouldn't let it go. The Head Captain might be powerful, but they weren't pushovers either. After discussing it among themselves, they took the matter straight to the Central 46 and jointly impeached Yamamoto.
It had to be said that, judging from the reports alone, Hiroe and Yamamoto were clearly in the wrong. The Central 46 quickly issued its verdict.
Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni was temporarily stripped of his position as Head Captain. Kuruyashiki Kenpachi, captain of Squad 11, was ordered to bring Diezuka Hiroe back to Seireitei for questioning. Until the investigation was over, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni was forbidden to leave his residence, and Squad 1 would be temporarily managed by the Central 46.
After a thousand years of holding Seireitei in check, Yamamoto had fallen just like that—so easily that it hardly seemed real. Though the matter had yet to be settled, anyone with eyes could see that Hiroe was the one who would decide Yamamoto's fate, and Hiroe's transgression was an undeniable fact. This was a dead end!
Was it really a dead end? Of course not! But the six people plotting in the room were doing their best to make it one.
"Everyone!" The man at the head of the room interrupted the argument among the other five. "We've taken the first step, an important one. Congratulations!"
"At the same time, there's no turning back." His voice was so soft it seemed a breeze could scatter it. "We must tread more carefully from here on."
"Please give us your instructions, sir!" a gruff voice said respectfully.
"First, there's Diezuka Hiroe. I don't want to see his face—not a face that can move."
"He's already left Zaraki District. His destination should be Fujiang District. We've sent people there."
The man nodded slightly, then turned toward the burly figure on the far left. "And those others. I hope you haven't forgotten they exist."
"Of course not. But I was wondering if those people could be made more useful."
The dim room fell silent for a moment. The burly man stared at the slender fingers tapping the armrest across from him. A sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead, and his heart clenched again and again, as if those fingers were tapping not the armrest but his heart.
"How so? More useful?" The voice, soft as a breeze, came again.
The burly man breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly replied, "If they're going to die anyway, why not have them die at Diezuka Hiroe's hands? Then all you'd have to do is tell their families, and that little brat would die for nothing."
"No need."
"But if we leave things at that, both sides of this matter could easily raise suspicions!"
"Don't do anything unnecessary!" the man at the head of the room rebuked him. "Diezuka Hiroe will kill people, but not a few nobodies! I have other plans for his death!"
"What about those people, then? Are we going to pin it on Hollows?"
"A sudden Quincy attack. Six dead, one survivor."
The five men below all gaped. The man slowly rose to his feet, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. "When you make a deal with a tiger, shouldn't we, as the tiger, take a few bites of flesh and have a taste?"
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