Aizen knew Urahara Kisuke was in the World of the Living, but he didn't give any more details.
That was probably Aizen's limit.
Urahara wouldn't expose anything further.
Still, both of them understood that finding Urahara Kisuke wouldn't be hard.
It was just that the Aizen from before had no need to do it.
"So you actually know how to come back."
Inside Seireitei, at the Shiba clan—one of the Four Great Noble Houses—Shiba Kūukaku looked at the man in front of her and spoke.
The Shiba clan's situation was better than in the original course of events… but only to a limited extent.
After consecutively losing Shiba Kaien and Shiba Isshin—two pillars holding up the house—their already-limited voice in Seireitei hadn't improved much under the new order.
So it wasn't as difficult as Higashino Shuuichi had imagined to find a space where he could be alone with Shiba Kūukaku.
"I thought that after the Tsunayashiro clan got dealt with, your Shiba clan's situation would improve a lot," Higashino Shuuichi said.
He was here with a purpose, but he couldn't be too cold-blooded. He obviously couldn't just jump straight to the point the moment he arrived.
"Better than the Kabuma clan where Sayako-san is, at least. Does that count?" Shiba Kūukaku forced a small smile.
"It doesn't. Because of Kaien's death and Isshin's disappearance?" Higashino Shuuichi asked, feigning ignorance.
"You already know?" Shiba Kūukaku shot back.
Higashino Shuuichi shook his head.
"No. Just a guess.
Kuchiki Byakuya and Shihōin Yūshirō Sakimune—those two can both be considered moderate heads of house.
But precisely because of that, with their personalities, they can't be the kind of domineering clan head who suppresses everything internally.
When it comes to handling many matters, they'll still listen to voices within their clans—especially the ones called 'elders.'
And for those people, the Tsunayashiro clan's old way of doing things was what best served their interests.
It's just that in the past they were held down by the Tsunayashiro clan's even more forceful style, and never had a stage to show themselves."
Higashino Shuuichi could guess the core reason.
That was the rotten nature of these nobles.
A noble house like the Shiba clan was the true outlier.
Even the Kabuma clan, where Kabuma Sayako belonged—Higashino Shuuichi believed that if their original mission hadn't been guarding Hell, then the Kabuma clan's behavior wouldn't be much better than the Kuchiki clan's or the Shihōin clan's.
"Heh… so you can understand my situation now, right?"
Shiba Kūukaku gave a bitter smile, then continued—only to be cut off by Higashino Shuuichi.
"The situation in Seireitei right now is that the Kuchiki clan and the Shihōin clan are fighting over power.
On the surface, the Kuchiki clan has the advantage, since Kuchiki Byakuya is the current Sixth Division Taichō.
But…"
"But Shihōin Yūshirō Sakimune has astonishing potential. Even at his young age, he's already shown impressive promise.
And the Shihōin clan's previous head, Shihōin Yoruichi, isn't dead. She's even absent from Soul Society's wanted list for Urahara Kisuke and the other defecting Shinigami.
So many nobles still have expectations and hopes for the Shihōin clan, right?
After all, if Shihōin Yoruichi ever makes a strong return, then the Kuchiki clan—supported only by the young Kuchiki Byakuya—can't beat a Shihōin clan with an old, veteran Taichō like Shihōin Yoruichi holding the fort."
Nobles were realistic and opportunistic.
Especially after what happened to the Tsunayashiro clan, the remaining nobles became even more cautious about choosing sides.
They were terrified Soul Society might produce another "madman" like Higashino Shuuichi.
Shiba Kūukaku spread her hands, the little look on her face basically saying: Go on, keep talking.
Higashino Shuuichi smiled and shook his head, lifting a hand as if to ruffle Shiba Kūukaku's hair—only for the tried-and-true move to be slapped away immediately.
"That's all you see?" Shiba Kūukaku asked, her lips visibly puffing out. She was clearly in a mood.
"There's more?" Now Higashino Shuuichi was genuinely puzzled.
Wasn't Seireitei's situation exactly like this?
And wasn't it fully within his expectations?
"Of course!" Shiba Kūukaku snapped.
"Don't look at the surface situation in Seireitei and think that's everything. It's all built on one premise—that Sayako-san from your house has shown absolutely no intention of fighting the Kuchiki clan and Shihōin clan for power.
Shuuichi, you probably don't even know why so many nobles are staying 'neutral' right now. Even when they lean, they only lean a little.
Isn't it because the pressure from your Sayako-san is too great?"
"Sayako is putting too much pressure on them?" Higashino Shuuichi almost laughed.
How was that possible?
He knew exactly what kind of person Kabuma Sayako was.
That girl, who had suffered torment from Hell's power since childhood, had one greatest wish—only that all of Soul Society could remain stable forever.
So that no one would have to bear pain again because of Hell's latent threat.
For that reason, no matter what Higashino Shuuichi did, Kabuma Sayako supported him unconditionally.
Because she knew Higashino Shuuichi had the ability—and would absolutely resolve the threat from Hell.
That was the promise he had made to her, and Shuuichi-kun never lied to her.
So compared to the kind of threat that could directly destroy Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living if Hell lost balance…
everything within Soul Society could only be considered small-time squabbling.
Kabuma Sayako wouldn't be interested in meddling in noble infighting within Seireitei.
Much less would she proactively pressure those ignorant nobles.
On that point, Higashino Shuuichi was absolutely certain.
"From your expression, it looks like you don't believe it," Shiba Kūukaku said, seeing right through him.
"It's not that I don't believe it. It's that I'm certain Sayako would never do that," Higashino Shuuichi replied.
That was trust.
Just like Kabuma Sayako's one-hundred-percent trust in Higashino Shuuichi, he had always answered sincerity with sincerity.
Hearing Higashino Shuuichi's unwavering response, Shiba Kūukaku's heart turned complicated.
What did it take… to be trusted by him like that?
She had always envied what Kabuma Sayako and Higashino Shuuichi had between them—now more than ever.
"Yes. She wouldn't do that."
Shiba Kūukaku's voice dropped, distant and quiet.
"But Shuuichi… have you ever thought about what you left behind for her?"
One sentence—waking a dreamer.
Higashino Shuuichi understood instantly.
Back when he'd planned to use Muken (Infinite Hell) to create a "fake death and disappear" effect—
he'd done it to prevent Aizen from going after his people after he left. So right before leaving, he had used an exchange with Azashiro Sōya within Muken (Infinite Hell) to cash in a demand—
that empty check Azashiro Sōya had once offered Higashino Shuuichi to preserve Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's life.
Higashino Shuuichi's condition was this:
During the five hundred years of his "sentence" in Muken (Infinite Hell), Azashiro Sōya would station himself in the Kabuma clan, sheltering Higashino Shuuichi's faction of Shinigami.
To be honest, in Higashino Shuuichi's eyes, trading Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's life for five hundred years of Azashiro Sōya's protection was an enormous loss for Azashiro.
Because Azashiro Sōya—who had already fused most of Seireitei and even part of Muken (Infinite Hell) into himself in just a bit over three hundred years—
give him a few more centuries, and who knew what he could grow into?
That was true "as long as heaven and earth."
But Azashiro Sōya was a Shinigami with the traditional temperament of a martial man.
He had no intention of reneging on a promise he'd made.
In fact, in Azashiro's mind, trading only five hundred years of his time for Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's continued life was a huge profit.
A Shinigami's lifespan was what it was—time was just a number to Azashiro.
But life wasn't.
Especially not Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni's life.
That man held extraordinary meaning for the entire Gotei 13—and even for all of Soul Society.
Azashiro didn't want him to die.
At the very least, he couldn't die in front of Azashiro.
And so, after Higashino Shuuichi left, Azashiro Sōya silently departed Muken (Infinite Hell), took up residence with the Kabuma clan, and became Kabuma Sayako's personal head steward.
Azashiro, once a noble himself, adapted quickly to the role of "butler."
But the older nobles who still remembered Azashiro…
couldn't adapt to his new identity at all.
Wasn't the Kabuma clan supposed to guard Hell?
So it wasn't just that Hell—there was Muken (Infinite Hell), too?!
Kabuma Sayako hadn't hired a steward.
She'd hired a god of slaughter.
A man who could kill Kuruyashiki Kenpachi.
A man who had once nearly destroyed all of Hueco Mundo by his own hand.
The only reason he failed wasn't because he couldn't do it—
it was because he chose to stop.
And yet, at the time, everyone in Soul Society believed he could have done it.
A near-legendary Shinigami like that—someone who should've been locked in Muken (Infinite Hell) until the end of the world—
was now openly serving as Kabuma Sayako's steward.
Had sending Higashino Shuuichi into Muken (Infinite Hell) been a trade to exchange him for Azashiro Sōya?
Once the news spread, that terrifying thought took root in nearly every noble who knew.
And so, in their minds, Kabuma Sayako became an image:
A shrewd, calculating clan head—so poisonous she could even use "feelings" to deceive a Shinigami as strong as Higashino Shuuichi, making him willingly "die" for her.
After that image formed, whenever they met Kabuma Sayako again, they were so afraid they didn't even dare meet her eyes.
Even if Kabuma Sayako smiled as gently as always, in their eyes it was still the devil whispering.
But if it were only that, the younger nobles wouldn't necessarily have been terrified.
They hadn't lived through Kuruyashiki Kenpachi's era.
They couldn't possibly understand what level Azashiro Sōya—who could kill Kuruyashiki Kenpachi—represented.
Besides, Soul Society still had a complete Gotei 13.
What truly made even the younger nobles feel dread was—
"It's Kisaragi Shūsuke, Matsumoto Rangiku, Yushima Ōko, Kensei Muguruma, and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi… isn't it?"
Higashino Shuuichi slowly spoke the string of names.
Shiba Kūukaku nodded, full agreement—bullseye.
"In the fifth year after you left, Rangiku-san also successfully mastered her Zanpakutō's Bankai.
So that's five captain-class Shinigami.
And if you add that former Kenpachi serving as Sayako-san's steward—Azashiro Sōya—then that's six.
Shuuichi, looking over Soul Society's entire history, which of the Five Great Noble Houses has ever managed to gain the loyalty of even more than two captain-class Shinigami at once?
And now, at Sayako-san's side…"
Shiba Kūukaku didn't even want to repeat it.
The word "envy" had already been worn out in her heart.
And there was one thing she didn't say out loud.
That was all of this… without even counting Higashino Shuuichi himself.
If the Shinigami who had lived through the Tsunayashiro clan's extermination knew that Higashino Shuuichi could now move freely within Soul Society—
then Kabuma Sayako wouldn't even need to say anything.
Those nobles would immediately raise their hands and surrender, declaring:
"Boss, spare us! We're the Kabuma clan's most loyal diehards!
We swear to uphold Kabuma Sayako-sama as Soul Society's new ruler!"
"Uh… yeah. That does kind of look like it," Higashino Shuuichi admitted.
He wanted to say that Kensei Muguruma and Rōjūrō Ōtoribashi shouldn't really count as "his people."
Right now, they were only gathered under Kabuma Sayako because, as Hollowfied Shinigami, they still weren't recognized by Soul Society—and because Urahara Kisuke had abandoned them by name.
The two pitiful souls simply had no choice but to cling to Kabuma Sayako's banner.
And Higashino Shuuichi felt that in his lifetime, unless Soul Society underwent an earth-shaking upheaval, those two probably wouldn't return to the normal ranks of the Gotei 13.
Even if Kyōraku Shunsui became Captain-Commander and cleared their names.
Because with a living example like Higashino Shuuichi in front of them, asking the nobles to trust Hollowfied Shinigami like Kensei and Rōjūrō?
That would likely only become possible on the day Kabuma Sayako truly became Soul Society's ruler.
For that reason, Higashino Shuuichi didn't think there was any need to distance himself from Kensei and Rōjūrō.
Those two kids really had no other options.
"So," Shiba Kūukaku abruptly changed the subject, as if she'd realized something, "from your tone… after coming back, you still haven't gone to see Sayako?"
"Mm… not yet. I came to see you first," Higashino Shuuichi answered reflexively.
He was still lost in shock at the realization that he'd amassed such a huge "family foundation" without even noticing.
Then—
soft warmth slammed into his chest.
A solid, real weight pressed into his arms.
"Long time no see… I missed you, Shuuichi."
Emotions could change in an instant.
As Shiba Kūukaku suddenly held him tight, Higashino Shuuichi understood a great deal.
Under such a complicated situation and crushing pressure, as the Shiba clan's current head, as a woman…
how much had Shiba Kūukaku endured alone over these years?
It was far beyond what she would've needed to bear in the original course of events—when she'd already been expelled from the ranks of the Five Great Noble Houses.
"Yeah… long time no see~"
Higashino Shuuichi wrapped his arms around Shiba Kūukaku.
His eyes were filled with nothing but gentleness.
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