"Stop making such pointless jokes."
"I've come to you this time because I need your help, but I didn't come here to make fun of us."
Ichigo Kurosaki glared angrily at Kaien Shiba, then strode forward.
Kurosaki-kun!
Orihime Inoue anxiously called out Ichigo Kurosaki's name. She wanted to chase after him, but with Kaien Shiba, the owner of the house, standing beside her, she hesitated, wondering if it would be impolite to do so. She feared it would be disrespectful to Kaien Shiba, an acquaintance of her mentor Mr. Yoruichi. So, she stood there awkwardly...
"Huh?"
"Did I do something counterproductive and upset Ichigo?"
Kaien Shiba watched Ichigo Kurosaki stride forward and gave a bitter smile.
It's no wonder Ichigo Kurosaki is angry. Anyone would be furious if they were told that, and changing one's surname... it's something that makes people very sensitive.
"Speaking of which, you're Ichigo Kurosaki's classmate, right?"
What is your name?
Kaien Shiba gently scratched his cheek with his fingers, then smiled slightly at Orihime Inoue, who was still standing in the same spot.
"Hello, Kaien Shiba. My name is Orihime Inoue, and I'm Ichigo Kurosaki's classmate."
Orihime Inoue bowed slightly to Kaien and greeted him.
"Oh!"
"Hello, hello... Actually, there's no need to be so polite. Our Shiba Clan is quite open-minded, unlike the Kuchiki Clan, who seem to follow the ancient rules of Soul Society like Kuchiki."
Seeing the impeccably Orihime Inoue, Kaien quickly responded and waved his hand to indicate that Orihime didn't need to bow to him. He wasn't the kind of person who was bound by etiquette. Not all nobles were like the Kuchiki Clan, still adhering to the oldest etiquette and laws of Soul Society Soul Society. Although the Kuchiki Clan had the title of a model of nobility, in Kaien's opinion, the Kuchiki Clan was far too rigid.
Um... that...
After hearing Kaien's words, Orihime Inoue looked somewhat troubled, unsure how to Kaien.
"Um... where did Mr. Yoruichi and the others go?"
Just as Inoue Orihime Inoue was wondering what to say, Ichigo Kurosaki, who had been striding forward, suddenly turned back. He awkwardly faced Kaien Shiba and asked... The Shiba Clan mansion was just too big. While he was chatting with Kaien, he couldn't find Yoruichi others anymore.
"Puff..."
"Hahaha..."
After hearing Ichigo Kurosaki's words, Orihime Inoue and Kaien Shiba were taken aback at first, then burst into laughter.
"Ha?"
What do you mean by this?
Was my question really that strange?
"Who gave the Shiba Clan such a large mansion?"
"It's not my fault at all..."
Ichigo Kurosaki crossed his arms over his chest, a hint of embarrassment on his face, and kept explaining.
" The Shiba Clan mansion is indeed too big. You two, come with me!"
Kaien Shiba forced himself to stop laughing. He gently wiped away a few tears that had spilled from the corners of his eyes from laughing, and then walked in front of Ichigo Kurosaki, leading the way for Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue.
"Cut..."
Ichigo Kurosaki felt a wave of disdain as he listened to Kaien Shiba, the head of the Shiba Clan, boast about how large his family was. However, he still obediently Ichigo Kaien Shiba toward the guest room.
" Ichigo -kun, I don't think Mr. Kaien meant any harm."
While Orihime Inoue was walking in front, Kaien Shiba quickly ran to Ichigo Kurosaki's side, tugged at Ichigo Kurosaki arm, and whispered something.
"Ah, I know!"
Ichigo Kurosaki scratched his messy hair and replied softly to Orihime Inoue.
"Huh, Kurosaki-kun, you noticed too?"
Orihime Inoue looked at Ichigo Kurosaki in surprise. She hadn't expected that Ichigo Kurosaki-kun had also discovered that Kaien Shiba, who had asked Ichigo Kurosaki to change his surname, hadn't actually meant any harm.
"It was precisely because I knew that I tried to deceive them..."
"My damn father is probably hiding something from me!"
Ichigo Kurosaki was never stupid; on the contrary... his mind was surprisingly sharp. Just from his face, etched with the same eye as Kaien Shiba Kaien Shiba, and from Kaien Shiba's overly familiar and enthusiastic attitude towards him despite never having met him, he had already roughly guessed what was going on...
"You bastard father! You wouldn't be cheating on my mother by coming here, would you?!"
"If that's really the case, I absolutely, positively will not let you off the hook!"
Ichigo Kurosaki bit his lip and clenched his fist.
Yes, Ichigo Kurosaki, with his brilliant mind, came up with a possibility that was very close to the truth: he... very likely was the brother of the head of the Shiba Clan, a man named Kaien Shiba.
With Kaien Shiba's striking resemblance to him and his jet-black hair identical to his father's, it's crystal clear whose child Kaien Shiba is...
" Kurosaki-kun, are you alright?"
Orihime Inoue looked at Ichigo Kurosaki, who was clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, and couldn't help but ask.
"It's alright... don't worry about me."
Ichigo Kurosaki tried to calm himself down and started walking, following Kaien Shiba's retreating figure.
"It seems things are complicated!"
With her wildly imaginative mind, Orihime Inoue Ichigo Kurosaki had envisioned. She sighed softly—a sigh for Ichigo Kurosaki...
"You guys are so slow..."
Because of the many things that happened along the way, when Kaien Shiba brought Ichigo Kurosaki and Orihime Inoue to the guest room, Yoruichi, Yasutora Sado, and Uryū Ishida were already drinking tea inside.
"Because various things have happened," Kaien said, gently sitting down in the main seat and bowing slightly to everyone. "Anyway... welcome."
"No, no, no, we've been the ones who bothered you."
Uryū Ishida and the others bowed repeatedly in response.
"Boy Kaien, we've come to rescue the girl from the Kuchiki Clan."
How much can you help with this?
Yoruichi lay on the futon, showing no politeness whatsoever, and spoke frankly.
"A girl from the Kuchiki Clan?"
"Ah! It's Rukia Kuchiki, right?"
Kaien Shiba touched his chin, looking somewhat troubled.
"Is it... very troublesome?"
Yoruichi noticed Kaien Shiba's troubled expression and asked.
"Um!"
Yoruichi's words made Ichigo Kurosaki and the others tense, worried that something else might happen on their way to save Rukia Kuchiki.
"It's not about whether it's troublesome or not. Just sit down and let me explain everything to you one by one."
Kaien Shiba waved his hand at the people in front of him, signaling them to be patient, as this matter was quite complicated and he needed to explain it in detail.
"Oh..."
After hearing Kaien Shiba's words, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"That girl from the Kuchiki Clan, Rukia Kuchiki, has been sentenced to death by the Central 46 Chambers and will be publicly executed in front of the captain of the Thirteenth Division."
Kaien Shiba immediately unleashed his trump card upon entering the room.
"What?"
Ichigo Kurosaki stood up excitedly, looking flustered.
"Fortunately, the public execution will take place in Sōkyoku in five days, so you still have time."
Kaien Shiba waved to Ichigo Kurosaki, gesturing for Ichigo Kurosaki to sit down and listen to him finish.
"Call..."
Ichigo Kurosaki sat down again, his expression no longer tense, and he slowly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, there were still five days left, otherwise he wouldn't know what to do.
"However, don't relax too much. If I'm not mistaken Rukia should be imprisoned in the Second Division's barracks right now. The Second Division is no different from the other divisions; it's like a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, extremely dangerous. Going there by yourself would be tantamount to suicide."
Kaien Shiba crossed his arms over his chest and spoke solemnly.
" The Second Division... is that the division that Kisuke Urahara mentioned, the one known as the most dangerous captain in Soul Society, the one guarded by Sōgo Shihoin?"
Uryū Ishida gently pushed up his glasses perched on his nose. If he remembered correctly, the Second Division should be the division that Urahara the swindler had repeatedly emphasized to them—the division where the invincible Sōgo Shihoin belonged.
"Oh? You know Sōgo Shihoin?"
"Since you've heard what Sōgo Shihoin said, that makes things easier. I don't need to repeat the dangers of Sōgo Shihoin to you."
Now that you know that Rukia Kuchiki is being guarded by that man, do you still have the courage to go?
Kaien Shiba looked at the group of people in front of him with a serious expression.
"Isn't that obvious?"
"No matter who stands in our way! No matter how strong our opponent is!"
I will defeat them all!
"Because... if we don't do this, we won't be able to rescue Rukia Kuchiki, right?"
Ichigo Kurosaki clenched his fists. He had been fully prepared. No matter how strong his opponent was, or how terrifying their reputation was, he was not afraid. He... was determined to rescue Rukia Kuchiki from Soul Society; it was his vow!
"Hahaha... As expected of someone from the Shiba Clan, you have ambition."
After hearing Ichigo Kurosaki's words, Kaien Shiba burst into laughter.
" Shiba Clan?"
Uryū Ishida caught the details in Kaien Shiba's words, his eyes lit up, and he looked at Ichigo Kurosaki.
"..."
Ichigo Kurosaki's expression remained unchanged, without the slightest alteration.
Kaien, you talk too much.
Yoruichi the black cat gently licked her furry paws and spoke to Kaien Shiba in her hoarse voice.
"Hahaha... I'm getting a little excited."
Kaien gently stroked the back of his head and smiled awkwardly, knowing he had inadvertently given himself away.
"Although I understand your fearless spirit, Kurosaki, Ichigo Sōgo Shihoin an egg against a rock..."
Kaien Shiba kept shaking his head. In fact, he had half a sentence left unsaid, which was... Throughout the entire Soul Society, anyone who faced Sōgo Shihoin would be like throwing an egg against a rock. It's just that the size of the egg might be different, but Sōgo, this diamond, would not change.
No amount of eggs could break Sōgo's diamond.
"Let's assume that Sōgo Shihoin is invincible... So how can we overcome this invincible obstacle and rescue Rukia Kuchiki?"
Uryū Ishida gently adjusted his glasses and asked Kaien Shiba how he would defeat Sōgo.
"A solution?"
Kaien Shiba looked at the black Yoruichi lying on the futon.
"Leave Sōgo to me."
Yoruichi the Black Yoruichi revealed a human-like smile, indicating that Sōgo Shihoin was not a problem at all.
"It seems Miss Yoruichi has a plan~"
"However, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Yoruichi. You probably won't run into Sōgo Shihoin on your way to the Second Division barracks this time."
"Because Sōgo got into some minor trouble, he's currently under house arrest at the Shihoin family home."
Kaien Shiba smiled slightly and recounted the news he had just received.
"A problem that could send Sōgo to be confined to the Shihoin family home?!"
"Could Sōgo have killed the sage of the Central 46 Chambers?"
Yoruichi knows her younger brother too well, or rather, she knows too well about Sōgo's privileges. Sōgo has the privilege of daring to raise Vasto Lorde- level Menos Grande in the Second Division, and no one dares to mess with him. Punishing Sōgo by forbidding him from leaving the Shihoin ancestral home would probably be more than enough to sentence any other Soul Reaper to a hundred death sentences.
"Of course not..."
Kaien Shiba smiled slightly and rejected Yoruichi's idea.
"Phew, that puts my mind at ease."
Yoruichi the Black Cat slowly let out a sigh of relief and relaxed.
"It wasn't just one sage who was killed, it was a full forty sages, plus... five judges."
Just as Yoruichi relaxed, Kaien Shiba's voice continued to ring in her ears, stimulating her nerves.
"..."
Yoruichi froze on the spot after hearing Shiba Kaien's words.
Good heavens, he really didn't kill a single sage. Sōgo wiped out the Central 46 Chambers... But Yoruichi doesn't understand, since he'd already done it, why didn't he kill the last inquisitor too? Was he just keeping him around to judge him?
Thinking this, Yoruichi frowned; she realized something was wrong.
"Are you kidding me?"
" Sōgo isn't that kind of person who doesn't know his limits."
Yoruichi knows her brother too well. Since he promised her he wouldn't kill the Central 46 Chambers, he definitely wouldn't... Besides, leaving loose ends is so unlike Sōgo's style.
"That's what I think too."
"But now all fingers are pointing at Sōgo."
"Anyway, the Soul Society has been in an uproar lately because of Sōgo's situation."
"But that's not important. What's important is that without Sōgo, your attempt to storm the Second Division this time might be even more dangerous."
Kaien Shiba picked up the tea on the table and sipped it gently.
"..."
"Indeed, without Sōgo, the Second Division would truly be a den of dragons and tigers."
Yoruichi had a bit of a headache, and she covered her little head with her furry paws.
Originally, when Sōgo was around, the Second Division was like home to Yoruichi and the others, and they could come and go as they pleased. But now that Sōgo is gone, Yoruichi Yoruichi is not even sure if she can still talk to anyone in the Second Division.
Yoruichi felt a chill run down her spine whenever a conflict arose with Sōgo's men... If things weren't handled properly, things could really escalate.
(End of this chapter)