The domain dispersed…
Darkness and the watery sheen vanished.
Everything around seemed unchanged, yet also somehow very different.
Tsunayashiro Tokinada stood before Yoshio. He wasn't dead—he just stood there, blankly.
His eyes were dull and lifeless, as if his mind were gone.
Though his body was unharmed, his consciousness would be trapped in the Hell of Loneliness, eternally locked in mutual torment with Tsunayashiro Sōgen.
"…"
Looking at the stupefied Tokinada, Ginjirō Shirogane said, "No matter what, he's still a member of one of the Five Great Noble Houses. Turning him into this—be careful the Tsunayashiro don't take offense."
"What's there to be offended at?" Yoshio chuckled indifferently. "A branch-member, Tsunayashiro Tokinada, murdered a major figure of the main family. If the Tsunayashiro take this scum's side, I'd say someone among the Five Great Houses is going to rebel."
A branch member killing someone from the main family—if they still tried to cover that up, where would that leave the main house's dignity?
This wasn't a matter of handling it internally; someone who did such a thing deserved the vilest of deaths!
The main family had to make the branch know: if you harbor thoughts of usurpation, then even a commoner—a lowborn—has the right to kill you!
Let alone that Yoshio himself was a noble and a Lieutenant; when Tokinada attacked him, he had every right to strike back.
So Yoshio wasn't worried.
And if they really wanted revenge…
Who cares?
Give them face and call them great nobles; take that face away and put them in the ground.
Yoshio wasn't a local Shinigami with built-in fear and reverence for nobles. To him, the so-called great Tsunayashiro were far inferior to the Kuchiki and Shihōin.
At least the Kuchiki and Shihōin still had the martial might to back their status.
A house like the Tsunayashiro, with only status and no power, didn't deserve his respect.
Yoshio was a man with little regard for law and order; otherwise he wouldn't have casually joined Aizen's little circle.
To him, killing Tokinada—or even wiping out the Tsunayashiro—was no big deal.
It would only be troublesome to deal with the aftermath.
"I've identified the killer. That's a major merit for me."
"You've got a point," Ginjirō Shirogane said. He wasn't particularly afraid of the Tsunayashiro either—after all, he had the Kuchiki at his back.
The Tsunayashiro might be first among the Five Great Noble Houses, but the Kuchiki weren't far behind. Besides, Tokinada was only a bottom-rung branch member.
By rights, someone at his level wouldn't merit the attention of so many Lieutenants—he was only riding the coattails of the main-house bigwig, Tsunayashiro Sōgen.
A short while later, plenty of Lieutenants—and even Captains—arrived.
When they found out Yoshio had already cracked the case, they were surprised.
None of them had expected the murderer of Tsunayashiro Sōgen to be someone from the Tsunayashiro themselves.
So…
An internal feud?
Was Tokinada trying to take advantage of the "Kisuke Urahara" causing chaos to kill a major figure of the main family?
He just hadn't expected Yoshio to have the power to make the dead speak—now he was done for.
After understanding the full situation, Kuchiki Byakuya said calmly, "Since the matter is resolved, there's no need to stay."
"Shirogane, take the two bodies to the Tsunayashiro estate and inform them of what happened."
Byakuya had some goodwill toward Yoshio. Back in the Fourth Division, Yoshio had seen Byakuya's favorability to him at 72—though none of it showed on the surface.
This time, by having Yoshio leave, he intended for the Kuchiki to shoulder the fallout.
Even if Yoshio didn't care, his actions might provoke some displeasure from the Tsunayashiro—people's hearts are hard to read, after all.
Ginjirō Shirogane nodded. He had people take Tsunayashiro Sōgen's body and the dazed Tokinada to the Tsunayashiro estate.
"Nicely done."
Once the crowd dispersed, Rangiku elbowed Yoshio and teased, "How'd you know Tokinada was the one who killed Sōgen?"
Walking out with Rangiku, Yoshio smiled mysteriously. "That's a secret."
"Ugh, what a killjoy," Rangiku pouted. "I rushed over first thing in the morning and didn't get to see any good drama."
"My idiot captain is still missing, too! Such a big incident and he doesn't even show. It's infuriating!"
"The lack of fighting after the alarm sounded means it wasn't a big deal for the captains; no need for them to come," Yoshio said. "Besides, Captain Shiba and the Tsunayashiro don't get along. No point in him showing up."
The Shiba and Tsunayashiro were both among the Five Great Houses, but their relationship was poor—and the Shiba had declined badly in recent years. If not for Shiba Isshin holding the fort as captain, they might have been expelled from the Five Great Houses.
Rangiku nodded; Yoshio's explanation made sense.
The two parted at a fork—Yoshio heading to the 5th Division, Rangiku to the 10th.
But shortly after they separated, both returned to the fork with grave expressions.
Because they had just received Jigokuchō messages!
And this time, the message wasn't the same level as before.
It was—
All captains and lieutenants in the Seireitei, assemble at the Tsunayashiro estate!
"What happened now?"
Rangiku said, puzzled, "We just came back from there…"
Yoshio frowned and said in a low voice, "Earlier Captain Kuchiki told Lieutenant Shirogane to take one body and one living person over to the Tsunayashiro. Could it be something happened there?"
Shock flashed in Rangiku's eyes. "Th-that's impossible!"
The Tsunayashiro estate is in the Sixth District, normally guarded by the 6th Division; and at a time like this, the 2nd Division and Onmitsukidō would be guarding it as well…
Could someone have broken through two divisions' defense and wiped them out?
Well, actually, that might be possible.
Others didn't know, but Yoshio did.
He knew that this time the "Ryoka" were actually the captains' "imaginary bodies." If those imaginary bodies made use of their "captain" identities properly, wouldn't it be easy to slaughter at will?!
*Ryoka (旅禍, Traveling Evil(s)) is the term the Gotei 13 use to identify those who are not aligned with Soul Society, either allies, rebels, intruders, deserters, or invaders. It is said that no good can come from Ryoka.