At this moment, inside the central conference room of the Seireitei, the atmosphere was oppressive.
Facing Shigekuni Yamamoto's hardline attitude, the nobles of Central 46 fell into a state of awkwardness, anger, and fear.
Their awkwardness and anger stemmed from the Captain-Commander's utter lack of politeness toward them. Their fear, however, came from the sudden realization that their foundation of power was actually built upon a force completely beyond their control—it was simply that over the past years, they had never tested Shigekuni Yamamoto's bottom line, and thus were barely able to maintain their so-called nobility.
No one voiced any objection to stop Shunsui Kyoraku. When the Captain of the 8th Division walked out of the Seireitei, his steps did not pause for a moment as he immediately headed toward the Tsunayashiro family estate.
Whenever there was a conspiracy within the Seireitei, he would immediately go to apprehend Tokinada Tsunayashiro. Only after confirming the man's alibi would Shunsui Kyoraku begin conducting a traditional investigation.
"Lord Kyoraku."
"Where is Tokinada Tsunayashiro? Tell him to come out and see me."
"Lord Tokinada..."
"All right, all right, I'm waiting for you right here, Shunsui."
A frivolous and familiar voice drifted out from the gatekeeper's small lodge. Shunsui Kyoraku's expression darkened. If he had come to arrest this man based purely on instinct before, now he could be certain that this matter was definitely related to the Tsunayashiro family, and to Tokinada Tsunayashiro.
"Come over and have a couple of drinks with me?"
"If you come out now, I can take you to the 8th Division's confinement room first. But if I have to go in there, it will be a direct trip to the Nest of Maggots."
The man's cold voice caused a trace of gloom to flash through the depths of Tokinada Tsunayashiro's eyes. However, this leaked anger was not seen by anyone. He simply shook his head, stood up, and walked in front of Shunsui Kyoraku.
"My, my, you are as crisp and decisive as ever—I certainly don't want to go into the Nest of Maggots again. We have a deal, right? If I cooperate earnestly, I'll only be locked in the confinement room?"
"That depends on confirming that you have nothing to do with this matter."
Shunsui Kyoraku personally escorted Tokinada Tsunayashiro back to the 8th Division confinement room, where the two sat facing each other.
"Tokinada, are you all so angry about Suzuki Makoto and the Yellow Turbans? Even though the Captain-Commander has already recruited him and stated he would protect him, you still want to dispose of him quickly?"
Shunsui Kyoraku's question made the green-haired man feel a wave of boredom. This fellow had stayed in the Gotei 13 for too long. Under the protection of that old man, this guy had completely begun to regard himself as a spy chief rather than the heir to a noble family.
"Shunsui, if you can't figure it out, then think about it more. If I have to remind you of even something like this, wouldn't life lose a lot of things worth pondering?"
Tokinada Tsunayashiro's face was full of indifference.
The plan this time was actually very simple. If they could persuade Shigekuni Yamamoto to issue a wanted order, or even just maintain neutrality, then the power gathered by the nobles would immediately set out to lay an inescapable dragnet throughout the entire Seireitei to capture Suzuki Makoto.
But if Shigekuni Yamamoto did not accept the nobles' conditions at all...
His following Shunsui Kyoraku here was nothing more than going through the motions. Once the matter concluded, the other party would have no choice but to release him.
The man's fearless demeanor caused Shunsui Kyoraku to furrow his brows tightly. He knew that Tokinada Tsunayashiro had always possessed this personality and appearance, so he could not glean any further information from this alone.
Suddenly, both men turned their heads simultaneously to look out the window.
That sudden fluctuation of Reishi vanished. The entire Seireitei still appeared quiet, as if the incident just now had merely caused a moment of panic within the Gotei 13, while the nobles remained completely indifferent to it all.
"Alright, Captain Kyoraku, this should prove now that this matter has absolutely nothing to do with me, right? Can you let me leave? After all, I count as one of the faces of the Tsunayashiro family. Even if you want to investigate, you wouldn't go so far as to detain me here at the Gotei 13 indefinitely, would you?"
The man spread his hands, the smile on his face indistinguishable between mockery and provocation.
Beside them, Nanao Ise stepped forward with an angry expression, but was held back by Shunsui Kyoraku. He looked at Tokinada Tsunayashiro and simply spoke a single sentence lightly.
"You may go."
"Many thanks—oh, right. It's better for little girls not to be so impulsive. After all, regarding some matters, Shunsui isn't the only one who knows the truth, you know?"
"Tokinada Tsunayashiro!"
"Okay, okay, I won't say it, I won't say it."
Seeing the intense killing intent erupting on the older man's face, Tokinada Tsunayashiro shrugged his shoulders, pushed open the door, and left.
"Captain Kyoraku?"
"Catching him is useless. In all of his plans, he himself is the least important part. You cannot interrupt his plans by capturing him."
The man, his face worn with the vicissitudes of life, sighed and diverted the topic away from Tokinada Tsunayashiro.
Nanao Ise pursed her lips, but in the end, she did not ask anything more.
As the orphan of the Ise family, combined with what she had seen and heard in the 8th Division over these years, she was well aware that there were many things she could not be allowed to know so simply.
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
"The 4th Division."
When the two arrived at the 4th Division, they found only Retsu Unohana there.
"Senior Retsu, where did Makoto go?"
"He and Miss Jeanne are over at the 11th Division."
Retsu Unohana, who was presiding over the squad barracks hospital, revealed a hint of a smile upon seeing Shunsui Kyoraku.
She understood that Shunsui Kyoraku's appearance meant the Captain-Commander had made up his mind, and it was impossible for anything to happen to Suzuki Makoto now.
"Alright, I hope things didn't get too violent over there."
Sighing, Kyoraku spoke words he himself didn't believe, and activated Shunpo once again.
When they arrived at the 11th Division, the pungent smell of blood made the young girl involuntarily wrinkle her nose.
"Captain Kyoraku?"
"It's me, Makoto—it looks like things are settled here?"
"Yes, it's actually quite strange. Although many people came, there were no figures of any real weight. Moreover, these people don't look like nobles; instead, they look more like people from the Rukongai."
Suzuki Makoto had no impression of these people, and he didn't know where the nobles had gotten so much cannon fodder.
Shunsui Kyoraku scanned the area and saw a few heads that looked somewhat familiar.
"They... seem to be subordinates of the fellows who caused a big commotion in the early districts before. These people were all driven out from the edge districts by the Yellow Turbans, so their combat power is quite decent, and they had conquered quite a bit of territory."
"That explains it."
Obviously, these people all held a grudge against the Yellow Turbans, but they had only heard of and never directly faced Suzuki Makoto. Therefore, as long as the nobles were willing to pay and indicated that they would also take action, inciting these people to seek revenge against Suzuki Makoto was indeed a fairly simple method.
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