After Kuchiki Kōga killed the Central 46 and Kenpachi, Kenma originally thought he would flee the Seireitei, escape to the Rukongai or the World of the Living, and wait for a chance to counterattack.
He never expected Kuchiki Kōga to be so brazen, actually playing guerrilla warfare inside the Seireitei against the Shinigami hunting him.
On the first day of the Seireitei lockdown, he cut down Kenpachi at the training grounds in front of more than two hundred squad members.
That night, he killed the 10th Division Captain inside the 10th Division barracks.
The second day, he killed the 9th Division Captain.
In the afternoon, he attempted to kill the 8th Division Captain, Kyōraku Shunsui, but failed and escaped. An hour later, he killed the 7th Division Captain.
The third day, after meeting with Kuchiki Ginrei, he immediately went after the 5th Division Captain, Hirako Shinji. He was ambushed by numerous captains, suffered heavy injuries, and fled.
The fourth day, the captains stood guard at the 4th Division barracks, but Kuchiki Kōga never showed. Perhaps he was recovering from his injuries, or perhaps he sensed the strength of the numerous captains. He had the entire Seireitei in a panic.
The fifth day, he killed the 3rd Division Captain in the 4th Division cafeteria at dawn. In the evening, the Grand Kidō Chief found his whereabouts, and he was sealed by the combined efforts of Captain-Commander Yamamoto and Kuchiki Ginrei.
For five straight days, he successively slaughtered the sages of the Central 46, numerous members of the Tsunayashiro, one of the Four Great Noble Families, and four captains.
Kuchiki Kōga's fierce battle record truly stunned the Shinigami!
Among them, the most shocked was Kenma himself.
Every time he heard of Kuchiki Kōga's latest achievement, he would take out that Muramasa to look at it, confirming it was still in his hands.
Then, he would feel even more shaken.
This meant that Kuchiki Kōga, without his Zanpakutō, had killed four Shinigami captains and broken out of an encirclement of numerous other captains.
And the captains in that encirclement were all powerhouse experts like Yamamoto Shigokuni, Kuchiki Ginrei, Kyōraku Shunsui, and Hirako Shinji.
'Damn it, is he even human?!'
'How did I not discover Kuchiki Kōga was this awesome before?'
Kenma even suspected someone was helping him in the shadows.
For example, a certain mysterious, glasses-wearing man who shall not be named, using Kyōka Suigetsu to help him, trying to stir even more chaos in Soul Society.
Of course, Kenma himself also took advantage of this opportunity, arranging for his men to secretly do some shady business.
Later, through the retellings from the perspectives of various Shinigami, Kenma noticed one thing.
When Kuchiki Kōga was fighting those captains, he had uttered his Zanpakutō's release command many times.
And during the battles, there were indeed multiple instances of Zanpakutō suddenly turning on their Shinigami.
The only one who could do this was Muramasa's ability.
But Muramasa was in Kenma's hands.
Logically, it should be impossible for a Shinigami to continue releasing their Zanpakutō's ability without the Zanpakutō.
'But... Kenma knew it wasn't impossible!'
As far as he knew, there were two ready-made examples.
The first was Aizen during the Thousand-Year Blood War. By that time, Aizen had already evolved to a higher dimension. His Zanpakutō had fused with him, and he could freely activate Kyōka Suigetsu's ability with just his will and spiritual pressure.
He even used it to affect Yhwach's perception of time.
The second example was Kenma himself!
Because of Kiritsugu's special ability, he just had to tug the connected thread to release his Zanpakutō from a great distance!
Of course, his method was a bit of a cheat.
'But how did Kuchiki Kōga do it?'
'Muramasa is in my hands, and still sealed.'
'Whether it's fusing with his Zanpakutō and evolving like Aizen, or using a Zanpakutō's special ability like him... it shouldn't be that easy.'
'Ugh, my head hurts!'
He couldn't figure it out at all.
"Lord Kenma seems quite troubled. Is there anything I can do? I will certainly do my utmost to accomplish it."
In the study, a gray-haired, middle-aged to elderly man sat below, looking somewhat reserved. Seeing his superior, Kenma, look so glum, he immediately expressed his loyalty.
Kenma returned to his senses, temporarily suppressing his confusion. Before he could speak, Yoruichi, at his side, said, "Don't mind this 'Mr. Serious.' Who knows what dark thoughts he's having."
The middle-aged man hurriedly bowed his head, not daring to say more.
The flirtatious bickering between the master and mistress of the main house was clearly not something a subordinate noble of the Shihoin family could interfere in.
Seeing Yoruichi mock him like that, Kenma shot her a glare before looking back at the man below.
"No need to be so reserved. Neither I nor Yoruichi are unreasonable people."
"Yes... yes."
The man agreed repeatedly but didn't dare lift his head.
Kenma didn't dwell on this. "Did you take note of the few things I just mentioned?"
"Yes, I've noted them all. I guarantee there will be no omissions."
"Good. This matter concerns the future of the Shihoin family. You must act with caution."
Kenma nodded, then continued, "Next time we meet, it should be you sitting in the high seat, and me below... the new Chief Justice of the Central 46."
"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare!" the man said humbly. "My clan has been a vassal of the Shihoin family for generations. We were in the past, we are now, and we will be in the future. I would never dare show the slightest disrespect to the main house."
"Neither the Central 46 nor the esteemed name of Chief Justice can change that."
"Besides, I have only been nominated. The vote has not yet been cast. I would never dare presume to take that title."
Kenma smiled to himself and said in a heavy voice, "What vote? Nearly half of the Central 46 are Shihoin family members. There are already four adjutants."
"If you can still be overturned like this, then wouldn't the people Kuchiki Kōga killed have died in vain?"
"Lord Kenma is right."
The man below kept his posture low, forcing himself to ignore the killing intent in Kenma's words, and just nodded and bowed in agreement.
With the Central 46 massacred, the first thing Yamamoto Shigokuni did after sealing Kuchiki Kōga was re-establish a new Central 46.
And this... gave the Shihoin family its chance.
Of the current five great noble families of Soul Society, one only stared at Hell, never interfering in the Seireitei.
Of the remaining four, the Shiba family was in decline and disliked this sort of thing, so their influence in the Central 46 was almost nil and could be ignored.
The Tsunayashiro family was massacred, leaving only some low-ranking branch family members, who barely managed to hold onto one adjutant seat and five or six sage seats.
The Kuchiki family, because of the Kōga incident, was keeping a low profile and had given up nearly half of their seats.
Apart from the sages selected from other factions or the populace, the vast majority of the remaining seats... all went to the Shihoin family.
Kenma arranged for those vassals of the Shihoin family to be appointed, one by one.
It even got to the point where, due to a shortage of personnel, a retired, lame old man from the Hō family was dragged out by Kenma and stuffed into the Central 46, becoming a sage managing Soul Society.
And the man before him now, due to his family's generations of loyalty and his own seniority, was arranged by Kenma into the position of Chief Justice.
Thus, by riding the chaos Kuchiki Kōga caused, the Shihoin family had muddled its way into becoming the biggest beneficiary.
Kenma looked at the man below and asked, "So, Mr. Chief Justice, after you take charge of the Seireitei's affairs, what will be the first thing you do?"
The man immediately replied, "Yes... it is to sentence Kuchiki Kōga and lock him in the Muken."
"Good." Kenma nodded. "There are a few other things. You remember them?"
"Yes. The second thing is to assign blame..."
The man hadn't finished speaking before Kenma cut him off. "It's good that you remember. Just do it. Don't say more."
"I understand."
"Good. You may leave."
After Kenma waved his hand, the man cautiously walked out of the study.
Yoruichi retracted her gaze and looked bluntly at her husband.
"My, my, when did the live-in son-in-law of my little Shihoin family become so impressive? That's the seventh sage you've seen today, right? Even the future Chief Justice of the Central 46 comes when you call and leaves when you dismiss him."
Yoruichi's words were dripping with sarcasm and a deep-seated annoyance.
Kenma looked speechless at his wife.
"Yoruichi... are you still mad at me?"
"Mad that I informed Father and had you confined?"
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