The Five Great Noble Families

Inside the main hall of Huaixiang Pavilion, the servants and girls lay sprawled across the floor in disarray. The only one remaining conscious was the scarred man from earlier; he was currently leaning against a pillar, boredly tossing fruit into his mouth one by one.

The candlelight flickered and dimmed. The man's movements quickened, and by the time the hall regained its light, he had just finished the last piece of fruit. Brushing the peel debris from his hands, he wiped his right hand across his face, and the scar vanished into thin air, replaced by the familiar face of Diezuka Hiroe.

"Teacher, you look as spirited as ever. And to the rest of the heads, it has been one hundred and fifty years, yet you all remain as robust as before."

Six figures had appeared at the head of the hall at some point, standing in an arc facing Diezuka Hiroe. Five of them appeared to be in their twilight years, while the sixth was a middle-aged man with messy hair and a slovenly appearance.

"Why choose a place like this?"

"Who would have thought that a fugitive wanted for over a hundred years would appear in a pleasure house less than a mile from the Seireitei?"

Diezuka Hiroe shrugged and smiled, making no attempt to hide his identity, even though none of the six people before him were simple figures.

The bald old man leading them in the center needed no introduction; he was his teacher, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni. The remaining five held status no lower than Yamamoto's, as they were the current heads of the Five Great Noble Families of the Seireitei.

From left to right, they were the head of the Tsunayashiro family—Tsunayashiro Daisuke; the head of the Shinji-no-Miya family—Shinji-no-Miya; the heads of the Kuchiki and Shihoin families—Kuchiki Ginrei and Shihoin Dozo; and the youngest among them, hailing from a branch family and currently acting as the head of the Shiba family—Shiba Isshin.

The power these five families wielded in the Seireitei was beyond what an ordinary person could imagine. The Kuchiki, Shihoin, and Shiba families held command over the 6th Division, 2nd Division, and 10th Division respectively, which went without saying. The other two families, who rarely appeared in public, possessed no private divisions but were the leaders of the priestly lineages.

The priestly lineages were a special class of nobles in the Seireitei; they did not involve themselves in the military forces of the Seireitei, instead overseeing all sacrificial matters.

The Tsunayashiro and Shinji-no-Miya families at the helm were said to be able to communicate directly with the Soul King. When Urahara and Yoruichi went to the Royal Palace for an audience, it was Tsunayashiro Daisuke who had made the announcement. Of course, these were not positions of real power; to Diezuka Hiroe, the tangible power of these two families was manifested in the Central 46.

The Central 46 consisted of forty-six anonymous sages who managed the internal affairs of the Seireitei and the Soul Society. The Gotei 13 either executed their orders unconditionally or had to have more than two-thirds of the captains sign a joint petition to challenge them for further discussion. Most of these sages came from the priestly lineages and were jointly appointed by the heads of the Tsunayashiro and Shinji-no-Miya families.

"Since we have all arrived here, you should understand what it represents." A child's voice devoid of emotion spoke up; it was Tsunayashiro Daisuke on the far left. It was hard to imagine such a voice coming from an old man.

Diezuka Hiroe nodded. The presence of these six people, to a certain extent, represented the entire Seireitei. As long as they nodded in agreement, it would become reality within the Seireitei.

"Teacher should have already told you all about the plan, so I will first..." He was interrupted halfway through by Shinji-no-Miya. Even without seeing him move his mouth, that ethereal voice seemed to drift in from across a valley: "First, prove your own innocence."

Very well. This cold, extreme rationality was indeed the style of the Central 46; the word "trust" did not exist in their dictionary. Whether it was a plan or a conspiracy disguised as a plan, they would judge it themselves.

Diezuka Hiroe did not resist. He dragged over a large sack from the corner and dumped its "contents" out in one go. Seven corpses lay in a pile, but the eyes of the six people above were sharp; these seven were still alive, merely having their hearts temporarily sealed by Kido.

"I think this is enough." Diezuka Hiroe pointed to the pile of people. These seven were the Tsukikage and his cohorts who were rumored to have been killed by him. "If there are any other details, you can ask them directly, but that is a matter for later."

"Speak!" The voice was full of vigor. Diezuka Hiroe was quite familiar with Shihoin Dozo, an old man who was stern and humorless all day long, sporting a shaved pate. However, according to Yoruichi, he was a bit of an old rascal in private. This often made Diezuka Hiroe want to ask, "Aren't you tired of acting so stiff?"

"Then I will continue. I believe you all already know the teacher's plan, which is the reason I stirred up trouble—to scout out the situation outside." Diezuka Hiroe told this lie without blushing or skipping a beat. The plan was real, but being punished and leaving the Seireitei was entirely his own doing!

According to the original plan, on the surface, Diezuka Hiroe would be ordered to seclude himself for a hundred years in the Seireitei due to a stagnation in his cultivation. Privately, however, he would use another identity to leave the Seireitei to conduct an investigation, and the target of that investigation was the Quincy.

Nearly a thousand years ago, the Quincy had once fought a war against the Soul Reaper. After this battle, the Soul Reaper emerged victorious, and the Soul Society remained under the rule of the Seireitei. The Quincy never regained the glory of their ancestors' era and were severely crippled.

Later, the Quincy kept to themselves, and the two sides had lived in peace until now. Moreover, both sides shared the goal of protecting souls from the harm of the Hollow, so one could say they were different paths to the same destination.

But that was not the case. First of all, the very identity of the Quincy made them and the Soul Reaper parallel lines that would never intersect. Although both destroyed Hollows, the Soul Reaper's destruction merely turned the Hollow into fundamental soul fragments, which would then be reorganized into new souls in the cycle of reincarnation.

However, the Quincy's destruction of a Hollow was annihilation. Those they destroyed did not enter the cycle of reincarnation; their traces could only remain in the past. Since Hollows were transformed from human souls, if the Quincy were allowed to continue like this, the number of souls in the world would become severely imbalanced, until eventually, no living beings remained.

From this, it was clear that the Soul Reaper and the Quincy were fundamentally opposed, and this level of opposition was even slightly higher than that against the Hollow. Therefore, it was no surprise that Old Man Yama proposed this plan to completely eradicate the Quincy; in his eyes, this was a move that had to be made.

But was the total eradication of the Quincy the only way to solve the problem? That was not necessarily true. Shiba Isshin, on the far right, voiced his own opinion: "Can we incorporate the Quincy into the Seireitei's management? Or have them abandon their Quincy powers and become Soul Reapers? War is not the only option."

"Impossible! Although I don't want to admit it, this time..." Diezuka Hiroe shook his head, his tone very firm. "War is the only option!"

"Reason!" The abrupt child's voice came from Tsunayashiro Daisuke again, his drooping eyes fixed intently on Diezuka Hiroe. The Soul Reaper did not fear war, but if this war were to break out, there would be no winners on either side! Any reason mixed with subjective factors could not convince him.

"They harbor malicious intent!" Diezuka Hiroe did not flinch, his gaze sharp as he met Tsunayashiro Daisuke's eyes directly. "The Quincy have never thought of peace. War is their only choice, and therefore, it is our only choice!"

"Evidence!"

Clack—clack—, the night watchman outside struck his wooden clappers, the melodious sound carrying far into the distance. "The first watch of the hour of the Rat, all is peaceful!"

Outside, the world was serene, but inside, the atmosphere was tense. The five pairs of eyes fixed upon him made Diezuka Hiroe realize that he had completely run out of room to retreat. What the future would look like depended entirely on his performance from here on out.