The domain dissipated...
The darkness and the water vanished.
Everything around seemed unchanged, yet it also felt as though much had shifted.
Tsunayashiro Tokinada stood in front of Haruki, not dead, but utterly motionless.
His eyes were vacant, devoid of any spark of consciousness, as if his mind had been completely stripped away.
Though his body bore no wounds, his consciousness would now endure eternal torment alongside Tsunayashiro Munemoto in the Lonely Hell.
"..."
Ginjirō Shirogane watched Tsunayashiro Tokinada, now reduced to a lifeless shell, and couldn't help but say, "No matter what, he's still a member of the Five Great Noble Families. Turning him into this... you should be careful. The Tsunayashiro family might not take kindly to this."
"What's there for them to be unhappy about?" Haruki shrugged indifferently. "A branch family member like Tsunayashiro Tokinada killed a high-ranking member of the main family. If the Tsunayashiro family stands behind someone like him, I'd say it won't be long before someone rebels against them."
If a branch family member killed someone from the main family, and the main family still shielded the perpetrator, where would their dignity lie?
This wasn't just some internal matter for the Tsunayashiro family to handle discreetly. The person who committed such an act deserved the most humiliating death possible!
The main family had to make it clear to the branch families that if anyone dared to harbor treacherous thoughts, even a commoner or a lowly peasant would have the right to kill them!
Not to mention, Haruki himself was a noble and a vice-captain. When Tsunayashiro Tokinada attacked him, Haruki had every right to retaliate.
So Haruki wasn't worried at all.
Even if the Tsunayashiro family wanted revenge...
Who cares?
If he felt like it, he'd call them a "great noble family." If not, he'd just bury them!
Haruki wasn't like the native Shinigami who feared and respected the noble families. To him, the Tsunayashiro family, despite being one of the Five Great Noble Families, was far inferior to the Kuchiki and Shihōin families.
At least the Kuchiki and Shihōin families had the military strength to back up their status.
But the Tsunayashiro family, with their lofty status but no real power, didn't deserve his respect.
Haruki was a man who didn't care for rules or authority. Otherwise, he wouldn't have so casually joined Aizen's little group.
To him, killing Tsunayashiro Tokinada was no big deal. Wiping out the entire Tsunayashiro family wouldn't faze him either.
It's just that dealing with the aftermath would be a bit troublesome.
"I've already found the culprit. I'd say I've done a great service here."
"You've got a point," Ginjirō said, not particularly afraid of the Tsunayashiro family either, since he had the backing of the Kuchiki family.
Though the Tsunayashiro family was the head of the Five Great Noble Families, the Kuchiki family wasn't far behind. Besides, Tsunayashiro Tokinada was just a low-ranking member of the branch family.
Technically, a noble of his rank shouldn't have warranted the attention of so many vice-captains. He was just riding on the coattails of Tsunayashiro Munemoto, a high-ranking member of the main family.
After a while, a large number of vice-captains and even captains arrived.
When they learned that Haruki had already solved the case, they were all quite surprised.
None of them had expected that the killer of Tsunayashiro Munemoto would be a member of the Tsunayashiro family itself.
Was this...
Internal strife?
Did Tsunayashiro Tokinada take advantage of the chaos caused by the "intruders" to kill a high-ranking member of the main family?
But no one had anticipated that Haruki had the ability to make the dead speak. Now, Tokinada was done for.
After understanding the full picture, Byakuya Kuchiki calmly said, "Since the matter has been resolved, there's no need to linger here."
"Ginjirō, take the bodies to the Tsunayashiro family and explain the situation to them."
Byakuya actually had some goodwill toward Haruki. Back when Haruki was in the Fourth Division, he had seen that Byakuya's favorability toward him was at 72, though Byakuya never showed it outwardly.
By sending Haruki away now, Byakuya was essentially having the Kuchiki family take responsibility for this matter.
Even if Haruki didn't care, his earlier actions might still provoke some displeasure from the Tsunayashiro family. After all, people's hearts were hard to read, and you could never be sure what someone was truly thinking.
Ginjirō nodded and had people carry Tsunayashiro Munemoto's corpse and Tsunayashiro Tokinada's lifeless body to the Tsunayashiro estate.
"Well done."
Once the crowd dispersed, Rangiku elbowed Haruki and teased, "How did you know that Tsunayashiro Tokinada was the one who killed Tsunayashiro Munemoto?"
Haruki and Rangiku walked together, and Haruki smiled mysteriously. "That's a secret."
"Ugh, stop being so cryptic. It's no fun," Rangiku said, annoyed. "I rushed over here first thing in the morning, only to miss all the action."
"And my idiot captain is still nowhere to be found! Something this big happens, and he doesn't even show up. It's so frustrating!"
"If there wasn't any fighting after the alarm, it means it wasn't a big deal for the captains. They didn't need to come," Haruki said. "Besides, Captain Shiba and the Tsunayashiro family don't get along. There was no point in him coming."
The Shiba family and the Tsunayashiro family were both part of the Five Great Noble Families, but their relationship was terrible. The Shiba family had been in decline in recent years, and if it weren't for Captain Shiba Isshin holding things together, they might have been kicked out of the Five Great Noble Families altogether.
Rangiku nodded, agreeing with Haruki's reasoning.
The two parted ways at a fork in the road, with Haruki heading to the Fifth Division and Rangiku to the Tenth Division.
However, shortly after they separated, they both returned to the fork with grim expressions.
Because at that moment, they had both received another message from a Hell Butterfly!
And this time, the message wasn't just an ordinary alarm.
It was...
An order for all captains and vice-captains of the Seireitei to assemble at the Tsunayashiro estate!
"What's going on now?" Rangiku said, puzzled. "We just came from there..."
Haruki frowned and said gravely, "Earlier, Captain Kuchiki told Vice-Captain Ginjirō to take the bodies to the Tsunayashiro estate. Could something have happened to the Tsunayashiro family?"
Rangiku's eyes widened in shock. "No... that can't be!"
The Tsunayashiro estate was in the Sixth Division district, usually protected by the Sixth Division. And during this special period, the Second Division and the Onmitsukidō were also on guard...
Could someone really have broken through the defenses of two divisions and wiped them all out?
Actually, it was possible.
Others might not know, but Haruki did.
After all, Haruki knew that the so-called "intruders" were actually the "Imaginary Bodies" of the captains. If these Imaginary Bodies made full use of their "captain" status, they could easily cause chaos!
Corpses…
Corpses and blood everywhere.
The once resplendent Tsunayashiro estate had turned into a living hell.
The bodies of the Tsunayashiro family members were hung in various areas, their blood staining the ground, trees, and walls like a horrifying painting.
The eyes of the Tsunayashiro clan members were filled with deep fear and a strong sense of shock, as if they had witnessed something terrifying before their deaths.
When Haruki and Rangiku arrived at the Tsunayashiro estate, this was the scene that greeted them.
Haruki had been here just yesterday, but today, the place had transformed into something entirely different.
"..."
Seeing this, both captains and vice-captains fell into a heavy silence.
The Tsunayashiro family…
Had been wiped out!
Amid the silence, Captain-Commander Yamamoto suppressed his rage and said, "Captain Soifon! What is the meaning of this?"
Soifon's expression was grim as she replied, "I apologize, but the Onmitsukidō was unaware of this. Last night, I was assigned a task by the Tsunayashiro family, so I wasn't present at the scene."
Unohana Retsu then said, "Judging from the state of the bodies, the Tsunayashiro family was annihilated early this morning."
"The audacity of the perpetrator…" Aizen said gravely. "To kill one of the Five Great Noble Families within the Sixth Division's district…"
"What task were you assigned?" Yamamoto asked Soifon.
Soifon replied, "To guard the Seventh Treasury located in West District 32."
Haruki noted this location, his mind racing. Good, now he knew the location of another Tsunayashiro treasury.
The Seventh Treasury wasn't in the main estate? What was stored there? Were there any Soul King fragments?
In truth, Haruki could tell at a glance that this Soifon was fake!
Because this Soifon had no soul ability, while the real Soifon possessed the soul ability "Love and Worship."
In other words, this Soifon was actually an "Imaginary Body."
Was it possible that the one who annihilated the Tsunayashiro family was "Soifon"?
Haruki frowned. It didn't seem right.
After all, "Soifon" had no personal grudge against the Tsunayashiro family…
If anything, Soifon's brother had been killed while protecting the Tsunayashiro family, but Soifon wasn't the type to seek revenge for her brother.
Well, it's hard to say…
After all, the thoughts extracted by the Negación threads would serve as the primary basis for the Imaginary Body's actions. If Rōka had extracted a lot of Soifon's thoughts related to her brother, then it was indeed possible for the Imaginary Body to act this way.
But aside from that, another possible motive could be…
Yoruichi?
If there was anything that truly concerned Soifon, it would definitely be Yoruichi. Could it be that the Tsunayashiro family posed a risk of forming an alliance with Yoruichi, which made Soifon wary of them?
Was the Imaginary Body driven by this wariness to annihilate the Tsunayashiro family?
Honestly, this possibility made more sense than seeking revenge for her brother.
In front of Yoruichi, what did a few brothers matter?
Of course, there was also the possibility that the one who carried out this massacre wasn't "Soifon" at all, but another Imaginary Body.
"Soifon" might simply have been cooperating with that Imaginary Body.
Regardless, their actions meant that Haruki would have to adjust his plans.
These guys wiping out the Tsunayashiro family might make it easier for Haruki to carry out his own plans, but it could also lead to the Gotei 13 increasing their protection of the Tsunayashiro family.
After all, only the main family had been wiped out. The branch families were still intact.
This meant that the Tsunayashiro branch families would now become the main family.
And now, Haruki's act of trapping Tsunayashiro Tokinada in the Lonely Hell would be seen as a "crime."
Well, to absolve himself of guilt, he might as well mercifully send the Tsunayashiro branch families to reunite with their main family.
Haruki had decided the fate of the Tsunayashiro branch families, but they were ultimately insignificant. The most important thing was to seize the Soul King fragments in their possession.
Oh, and the Tsunayashiro family also had a divine artifact, the Enrakyōten. It would be best to get his hands on that as well.
In a way, wiping out the Tsunayashiro main family while leaving the branch families intact was a good thing.
If the entire Tsunayashiro family were wiped out, their assets might be divided among the other Four Great Noble Families, or taken by the Central 46 or the Gotei 13.
In that case, it would be much harder for Haruki to gather those resources quickly.
So, Haruki listened with inner satisfaction as Old Man Yamamoto vented his fury at the Tsunayashiro estate.
For the Captain-Commander, such an incident within the Seireitei was a slap in the face—a series of slaps, in fact, that were about to bruise his old face!
The Central 46, upon seeing the state of the Tsunayashiro family, would undoubtedly pressure the Captain-Commander, as this incident proved that the Gotei 13 was utterly incapable of protecting the noble families.
"Regardless, even without Captain Soifon and the Onmitsukidō, the Tsunayashiro family's defenses were formidable," Shiba Isshin said.
He hadn't come for the first alarm, but this time, the Hell Butterfly had summoned all captains and vice-captains, so of course he had to show up.
"The fact that the enemy was able to annihilate the family without a sound shows that their strength is immense."
"Like that wasn't obvious," Zaraki Kenpachi said with a savage grin. "Didn't we already say that these 'intruders' are incredibly strong?"
When they returned from Hueco Mundo, Shiba Isshin had agreed to fight Kenpachi.
Unsurprisingly, Shiba Isshin lost.
Of course, everyone knew the real reason behind that loss.
If Shiba Isshin had won, Kenpachi would have been relentless, constantly seeking him out for more fights.
So Shiba Isshin had to lose!
However, Kenpachi seemed to sense that Shiba Isshin hadn't been fully focused during their fight, which left him dissatisfied. He had been itching for a rematch ever since.
But Shiba Isshin wasn't a battle maniac. His fight with Kenpachi had only been a promise to keep him from causing trouble in Hueco Mundo.
So, in response to Kenpachi's provocations, Shiba Isshin simply avoided him.
Yamamoto roared, "In any case, no matter how strong the enemy is, we cannot allow such an incident to happen again!"
"Yes, sir!" The other captains could only agree. There wasn't much else to say.
They would do their best to protect the nobles, but if more were killed, there was little they could do.
"Captain-Commander Yamamoto, I request access to all of Urahara Kisuke's research recorded in the Great Spirit Library. Perhaps we can find some clues related to this incident."
The Great Spirit Library was a unique institution within the Soul Society that compulsively recorded everything about the Soul Society.
Even the method to create the Ōken was recorded there!