You Come Yourselves

Actually, the hint provided by Shinji-no-Miya was quite obvious. If the question is "who," then naturally, there can only be one person who acted as the false accuser.

Yet, even Diezuka Hiroe, who had experienced assassination attempts and more, could not confirm this. How could Shinji, who never stepped foot outside the Seireitei, be so certain that there was only one accuser? Aside from the excuse of "the Soul King above," the only explanation was that the Five Great Noble Families had also investigated this matter and reached a point where they could dig no further.

After reading the name on the scroll, Hiroe's face twitched violently. It was exactly as he had thought. He felt like a fool for asking such a question when he had already realized they had investigated it!

"Actually, I encountered an assassination attempt in the Fujiang District. Surely none of you present here have the leisure to toy with me, right?"

"It seems you've hit the nail on the head," Yamamoto replied with a smile.

The list in Hiroe's hand contained forty-four minor noble families and fifteen intermediate noble families—a list of families involved in the false accusation, compiled jointly by Yamamoto and the Five Great Noble Families.

For the sake of this list, the Seireitei had ostensibly investigated the families of those involved in passing the information, but that was merely for show. Yamamoto and the others never expected to untangle such a mess.

Therefore, the list was produced based on three simple words: "dividing the cake."

No matter how many methods one uses to hide their tracks or where they hide, when it comes time to divide the cake, everyone will risk their lives to get a piece.

Furthermore, this list was not filtered. Adhering to the principle of "better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go," every family that had even tasted the cream was included. Consequently, this list didn't take much effort to compile, but the cost was by no means small.

Even so, the list still missed the most critical part: the family of the false accuser. Not one of the families belonging to the seven suspects was on it!

There were two explanations for this situation. One was that some unlucky soul had done the deed and taken the fall, only to gain nothing in the end. However, this possibility was extremely low. First, no noble head of a house had died in the Seireitei in recent years. Second, no one would want to take such a burden upon themselves, nor would they trust it to anyone else.

Thus, the second explanation was the most likely, which was what Hiroe's seemingly ridiculous question intended to convey: the list was missing the ringleader! The false accuser most likely hailed from this leading family!

In the Seireitei, the only entities capable of making multiple intermediate noble families stop infighting and join forces to execute such a bold plan, aside from the Five Great Noble Families, were the high-ranking noble families.

Hiroe finally understood completely. Helping him collect some interest was just a side benefit; the real reason was that these people hadn't found the mastermind! As expected, one cannot trust these people. Very well, this is very Shinji-no-Miya, very Central 46! These old fogies are all wicked to the core!

"Think carefully. This false accusation was actually the beginning of all the chaos. To ensure the correct information was blocked as much as possible, the false accuser had to seize the timing and decide on their own whether to transmit false information, and then the person in charge within the Seireitei would choose whether to adopt it! The fire was indeed in the hands of the person in charge, but the fuse had to be provided by this false accuser!"

"And so?" Yamamoto asked, looking at Hiroe.

"This person must be decisive enough, not timid. More importantly, it's about status—specifically, whether the status of this person in charge is solid enough to make others willing to entrust such a task to them!" Hiroe took a deep breath, his eyes sweeping over everyone opposite him. "Therefore, this false accuser must be an absolute confidant of the person in charge. Other participants wouldn't have that kind of persuasive power, and their background must be that of a high-ranking noble."

"Not bad, not bad!" Shinji-no-Miya still didn't speak, but the protrusion in his throat moved visibly twice. His voice was extremely hoarse, a complete extreme compared to the child-like voice of Tsunayashiro. "It's a pity that there are three people here who belong to high-ranking noble families. You still need to find out who the false accuser is; it won't be easy."

"Actually, it's not difficult. It just requires a little cooperation from everyone."

"How should we cooperate?" Tsunayashiro became interested all of a sudden.

Hiroe didn't beat around the bush and explained his thoughts in detail. After a brief discussion, the six of them made a decision on the spot: let's do it!

Among the seven, three were from high-ranking noble families: Kotetsu Isane of the 4th Division, Azashiro Kozo of the 5th Division, and Tsukikage Shunyi, the 5th Seat of the 5th Division.

After clearing the unconscious servants and girls from the hall, the first to be released from the Kido and revived was Kotetsu Isane, the woman with pale purple hair who had been carried away by Yamagata during their escape.

The first thing she saw upon waking was Hiroe's face, which terrified her. Although it was a bit blurry, the last image in her memory was Hiroe's fist!

"Kotetsu Isane, turn your head!" Isane looked toward the voice and saw Captain-Commander Yamamoto, with the heads of the Five Great Noble Families sitting beside him. She immediately knelt, bowing her head with her body trembling slightly.

"Half a month ago, what happened to you all in the Zaraki District that led to the deaths of two Squad 11 members?!"

"W-we encountered a Gillian, and they... they couldn't escape."

"Then how did you escape?!"

"Diezuka Hiroe appeared in time and killed the Gillian. There were also Quincy; they killed them together."

"Then why did the message sent to the Seireitei say that Diezuka Hiroe caused their deaths!" Yamamoto slammed his wooden cane down and shouted sternly, "To tell such a lie, who instigated you? What was your motive!"

Isane was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted. She quickly raised her head, waving her hands in explanation, "No, it wasn't me! I didn't send any message back at all! Besides, in the Plain of Slaughter, unless there is a special event, reports are only sent collectively after establishing a temporary base. So we didn't send any report at that time! Really, everything I'm saying is true! Please believe me!!"

"Then who sent the message!"

"I don't know. At the time, no one mentioned sending a report back. Although he scolded us, he saved our lives after all. How could we harm him like that!"

The answers from Azashiro Kozo and Tsukikage Shunyi, who were awakened next, were largely similar in content, save for a few details. No one pointed fingers at anyone else, and naturally, no one admitted to being the false accuser.

The investigation fell into a deadlock for a time, but this was within the expectations of Hiroe and the others. Expecting an eyewitness or the false accuser to step forward and confess was truly wishful thinking.

"One of you likes to smear my name. In the past, it didn't matter; it was just petty squabbling." Hiroe, who had been watching the show for a long time, walked back and forth in front of the three with his hands behind his back. "But this time it went too far. You hate me so much that you want me dead!"

"Why only suspect us!" Tsukikage retorted.

"Because of the look in your eyes when you looked at me!" Hiroe pointed at his own eyes and continued, "Everyone else had an expression of extreme disgust, but only the three of you were different. You had looks of surprise, though that's understandable—to you, seeing me still alive is indeed quite annoying."

"Fabricating facts, jealous of the talented—a bunch of bastards!" Shihoin Dozo suddenly roared, smashing the armrest of his chair with a single slap. "Neither you nor your families deserve to continue existing!"

"Do it yourselves!" Hiroe said, kicking the Zanpakuto of the three nearby toward them. "After all, nothing happened to me. If you take the blame, I won't pursue your families any further. How about that?"

"Hiroe's meaning is my meaning!" Yamamoto added in a deep voice, "The Seireitei will never allow the same mistake to happen again. If you insist on persisting, I don't mind killing the chicken to warn the monkeys!"

"Take this chance before the tragedy is fully realized to pay the price for your stupidity. We do not wish to see the destruction of three families, but that does not mean we cannot see it." Shinji-no-Miya finally spoke, his tone devoid of any emotion.

It seemed they had no choice but to do as these people said. Better to kill the innocent than let the guilty go—this had been the code of conduct in the Seireitei since its founding.

Tsukikage trembled as he picked up his Zanpakuto with both hands. It seemed he had made a decision in his heart. His right hand slowly moved to the hilt, and he gripped it tightly, but to be honest, he was so unwilling.

While Tsukikage hesitated, Azashiro Kozo on the left had already moved. He raised his Zanpakuto high with both hands, the blade pointing downward, and shouted, "I can die, but I have a clear conscience! The Azashiro house is innocent!" Then he stabbed fiercely toward his own heart.

However, the moment the blade was about to pierce his body, Hiroe suddenly moved, kicking Kozo's hand so that the blade barely grazed his heart, passing through his body at an angle.

Kozo gritted his teeth, his forehead pressed against the ground, his hands gripping the hilt, kneeling motionless. He looked like a boiled shrimp, but the short, rapid breathing coming from his nostrils proved he was still alive.

Could this just be a test? Just as Tsukikage was thinking this, Hiroe's voice appeared again.

"Your name is Tsukikage, right? Your performance is as disappointing as ever." Hiroe crouched down in front of the three and patted Tsukikage's left shoulder with his left hand. He then extended his right hand to rest on Isane's right shoulder and turned his head to say, "As for you, I hope you weren't so scared out of your wits this time that you couldn't even pick up your sword."

"But now, congratulations! You are all safe~"