A Good Man (Please Subscribe)
Three days later.
"From today onwards, you two will be the new captains of the Sixth Division and Thirteenth Division Gotei 13. I hope you will continue to work hard to protect the Soul Society and the Seireitei!"
Holding a scepter, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai stood before Kōga Kuchiki and Kaien Shiba, his eyes slightly narrowed, and spoke softly.
"From this day forward, I will take pride in the identity of the Five Great Noble Clans Kuchiki Clan, and serve as a role model for all nobles, guiding them to strive for excellence and approach every mission with absolute rigor, so as not to betray the glory of our Five Great Noble Clans and the million-year-old splendor of the Kuchiki Clan!"
Kōga Kuchiki loudly swore an oath, his spirited appearance clearly showing that he had long hoped to one day become the captain of the Sixth Division, as being a captain of the Thirteenth Division would be an incredibly glorious thing.
That's true, at least for normal people...
I'll try my best.
Looking dejected, Kaien Shiba waved at the Old Man Yama. He didn't want to be the captain at all; he had been framed, tricked, and things were just too difficult for him...
"I understand your determination. You are worthy of the Five Great Noble Clans. I hope your work ethic will be as serious as you swore today."
After listening to their conversation Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai nodded slightly. He conveniently ignored the words of Kaien Shiba, who had been tricked by his good disciple Jūshirō Ukitake. His requirements for the two were exactly as Kōga Kuchiki had just said: he would treat Kōga Kuchiki, who came from the Kuchiki Clan, and Kaien Shiba, who came from the Shiba Clan, with the same standards he would apply to noble figures.
The team leader assessment quickly concluded with a conversation among the three. Isshin Shiba, one of the assessors, walked out of the room and approached Kaien Shiba.
Congratulations! Congratulations!
"From today onwards, you are the captain of the Thirteenth Division the Gotei 13. Suddenly, two entire divisions are under the control of our Shiba Clan, which is already showing the demeanor of the head of the Five Great Noble Clans."
Isshin Shiba gently patted Kaien Shiba's shoulder and smiled.
" Uncle Isshin, please stop teasing me. You should know better than I do what the Shiba Clan is really like!"
"What control or not control? Even the reason we two ended up in the captain's positions was out of necessity..."
"That despicable Jūshirō Ukitake dared to use such underhanded tactics against me at my wedding..."
"How dare he scheme against me in that situation? He practically forced me into the position of squad leader..."
Kaien Shiba yawned lazily, then faced Isshin Shiba and began to recount Jūshirō Ukitake's despicable and shameless evil deeds.
"Hahahaha..."
In short, calm down first.
"Besides, I don't think Jūshirō Ukitake is as bad as you say. Captain Ukitake chose you to succeed him firstly because of your strength, and secondly because of his absolute trust in you. It is precisely because he trusts you that he relies on you, and ultimately that he passed the position of captain of the Thirteenth Division to you."
After listening to Kaien Shiba's words, Isshin Shiba continued speaking without interruption.
I'd rather he... didn't trust me at all.
Kaien Shiba curled his lip, showing disdain for Isshin Shiba's words, but a hint of warmth flashed in his usually lazy eyes.
"Hmph, it seems you've figured it out."
Isshin Shiba gazed into Kaien Shiba's sparkling eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips. He knew that his outstanding junior had grasped Jūshirō Ukitake's good intentions...
"Want to go grab a drink?"
As Isshin Shiba spoke, he gestured a drinking gesture towards Kaien Shiba.
"Let's go, let's go..." Kaien Shiba nodded gently, "Whoever gets drunk first today pays the bill."
That definitely wasn't me.
Isshin Shiba extremely confident in his drinking capacity.
"What do you think I've been doing all these centuries of being single? Your uncle has drunk more alcohol than you've eaten food..."
Isshin Shiba patted Kaien Shiba's shoulder forcefully...
"Really? No wonder he's my dear uncle! He's actually drunk so much alcohol, truly remarkable! No wonder he's been a bachelor for hundreds of years, a true old aristocrat. I've learned so much..."
"However... I can't compare to you, Uncle. After all, I already have a beautiful wife at such a young age!"
Kaien Shiba spoke sarcastically, repeatedly emphasizing that Isshin Shiba not to get married.
"I'm so sorry I haven't gotten married in centuries~"
Isshin Shiba glared at Kaien Shiba, this ultimate winner in life, through gritted teeth. Sometimes, that's just how humans are; they start to feel envious as they talk. He felt apologetic for being the head of a branch family of the Shiba Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Clans, and still single for centuries. A disqualified Soul Reaper...
Afterwards, the two went to an izakaya and got very drunk. When Kaien Shiba sobered up and returned to the Thirteenth Division, he was punished by Shiba Miyako by being made to kneel on a washboard.
As for Isshin Shiba, his situation was slightly better. He was tied up with rope by Rangiku Matsumoto. For the next month, Isshin Shiba did not leave the squad leader's room. He was constantly dealing with the pile of documents in the squad.
Several months have passed...
The appointed day for the gathering of the heads of the Five Great Noble Clans families finally arrived.
The Five Great Noble Clans that have stood in this world since before the birth of the three realms ( Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living ) Kaien Shiba, head of the Shiba Clan; Sōjun Kuchiki, head of the Kuchiki Clan Tsunayashiro Clan; Tsukiki Tsunayashiro, head of the Shihoin Family; Sōgo Shihoin, acting head of the Shihōin clan; and the head of that other family...
Five people who stand at the pinnacle of the Soul Society's nobility gathered in the barracks of the Second Division. At the same time... according to the laws of the Soul Society, when the heads of the Five Great Noble Clans gather together, the place where they meet is second only to the Soul King Palace in importance to the Soul Society.
The Gotei 13, located in Soul Society, will guard this place with the highest level of security.
Regarding this ironclad rule, Shigekuni Yamamoto-Genryūsai, the captain of the First Division and concurrently the Captain-Commander of the Gotei 13, entrusted the protection of the Second Division's barracks to the Second Division, Sixth Division, Tenth Division, and Thirteenth Division.
The Old Man Yama's meaning was clear: the Five Great Noble Clans should deal with the problems they created themselves and not cause trouble for the rest of Soul Society.
" Sōgo-kun, why did you rush us here? Is there something important you need to discuss?"
The heads of the Five Great Noble Clans sat around the round table that symbolized the equality of the Five Great Noble Clans. Sōjun Kuchiki sat near Sōgo and asked a question.
"Actually, it's nothing serious, just invited everyone over for a drink."
Sōgo Shihoin an eyebrow and spoke softly.
"Want to have a drink?!"
Sōjun Kuchiki hadn't expected Sōgo to be so anxious about them just for something like this, and his eyelids twitched slightly.
"Yeah, I just invited you guys over for a drink, it's nothing serious... Or... can't I invite you guys over for a drink?"
Sōgo stared intently at Sōjun Kuchiki, seemingly completely oblivious to the immense impact his gathering of the Five Great Noble Clans heads would have on Soul Society!
"No, that's not what I meant, but if it was just about inviting us for drinks, there was absolutely no need to make such a big fuss that the entire Soul Society knows about it."
"Now that the world knows we're gathered here, it wouldn't be right if we didn't do something, would it?"
Sōjun Kuchiki gently shook his head at Sōgo. It wasn't that Sōgo's gathering them for drinks was bad, but bringing them all here just to drink was a waste of the opportunity. Since they were here, wouldn't it be a loss if they didn't do something to shock the Soul Society? That was what he really meant.
"Are you Shin'uchi to do something?"
Upon hearing this, Sōgo finally understood. So the other party really was planning to cause trouble! His purpose in gathering everyone, besides eating and drinking, was simply to... deliberately disgust the Central 46 Chambers, who hadn't yet had his sister's arrest warrant revoked.
Anyway, let's raise our glasses happily and cheers!
Sōgo clapped his hands, and one by one, Stealth Force dressed in tight-fitting suits came up, carrying bottles of fine wine.
"Are you... really going to drink it?"
Kaien Shiba stared at the bottles of fine wine before him, sweating profusely! Every time he saw the wine, he would think of his lovely wife and how she punished him by making him kneel on a washboard, looking as terrifying as Vasto Lorde Menos Grande. Even now, the memory sent a chill down his spine.
"It's alright, listen to me, I organized this party, you all have to listen to me."
Sōgo waved to Kaien Shiba and began to speak.
"No, absolutely not! You have no idea how terrifying Shiba Miyako can be when he gets angry!"
Kaien Shiba waved his hand at Sōgo, his attitude unusually resolute.
"Fine, since you're not drinking, then let's have some!"
Sōgo Kaien Shiba's resolute attitude, Sougo sighed helplessly, then gently unscrewed the bottle cap, letting the fragrance of the fine wine be released.
"Gurgle~"
Kaien Shiba smelled the rich aroma of sake in the air, he couldn't help but swallow.
"What a pity!"
"Such fine wine, yet you Kaien Shiba, had no chance to enjoy it."
Sōgo poured the drink from the bottle, sniffed it lightly, and gave Kaien Shiba a wicked smile.
"I'll just have one drink..."
Smelling the intoxicating aroma of sake in the air, Kaien Shiba Kaien Shiba finally gave in, but he was a man of strong self-control; he... only drank one cup.
Then Kaien Shiba drank one glass after another... until he finally got completely drunk again.
After the family gathering ended, Kaien Shiba returned home and went to kneel on the washboard again.
After the meeting of the heads of the Five Great Noble Clans families concluded, the first to go into a frenzy was none other than the Central 46 Chambers...
Inside the Central 46 Chambers Conference Hall.
"Have our spies found out the purpose of that brat's family head meeting?"
The judge, who had been looking down on everyone from his high position, was now fidgeting nervously in his seat, as if the chair he was sitting on was burning his bottom.
"Forehead..."
"Our spies say that the heads of the Five Great Noble Clans have done nothing but drink."
After hearing the judge's words, the sages were silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice, their voices slightly lacking in confidence.
"You mean the heads of the Five Great Noble Clans didn't talk about anything except drinking?"
Upon hearing the sage's words, the judge's expression changed drastically, and he asked with a somewhat gloomy look.
"That's what our spies reported to me."
The sage clearly sensed the judge's anger. After thinking for a while, he shifted all the blame onto the spy.
"So do you think this news is reliable?"
The judge, with a cold expression, asked...
"Perhaps... I mean, there's only a possibility."
The wise man pondered for a while and concluded that while the possibility was slim, it wasn't impossible.
"Enough! Stop insulting my intelligence. The heads of the Five Great Noble Clans aren't fools like you. They must have some ulterior motive for holding this banquet."
The judge gently touched his forehead, thoroughly exasperated by the sage. He couldn't believe such a fool could become a sage; it seemed only idle people in Soul Society could hold that position.
"Investigate!"
"You absolutely must investigate this!"
"Find out exactly what they talked about that day! You must find out!"
The judge of the Central 46 Chambers shouted impatiently. As the person with the highest real power in Soul Society, he needed to know what the heads of the Five Great Noble Clans had talked about that day, otherwise he would not be able to sleep soundly at all.
"Good."
The sages nodded in agreement. They and the judges were in the same boat, all trying to protect their own positions. It was understandable that some of them were a little anxious and spoke harshly.
On the other side, Aizen, sitting in the Fifth Division's captain's room, narrowed his eyes, deep in thought.
Ever since Sōgo set up a huge barrier in the Second Division barracks, Aizen could no longer get information about Sōgo from a first-person perspective as he used to. Now, Aizen was getting information from others through Kyōka Suigetsu.
"You invited the heads of the Five Great Noble Clans to a drinking party? That's really your style, Sōgo!"
After learning what Sōgo had done, Sōsuke Aizen smiled slightly. Although he immediately tried to verify the authenticity of the news, based on his understanding of Sōgo, he knew that this was indeed something Sōgo would do.
"However, while you, Sōgo, are leisurely drinking with your friends, the chariot of time is already ticking away, and I am sitting on that chariot of time! I will keep driving forward, and one day I will catch up with you who have stopped moving forward. Then our game will truly begin."
Sōsuke Aizen curled slightly upwards, and the lenses of his glasses, perched on his nose, reflected a sharp glint.
The daily routine is almost over; the next chapter will continue pushing the plot forward.
By the way, I created a QQ group (group number 746542929). Feel free to join if you're interested in chatting, although I rarely use QQ myself...
(End of this chapter)