Bleach: Stirring Up a Storm

Tsunayashiro and Kamidera, as the remaining two Great Noble Families, were naturally not as incompetent as Kōe mockingly suggested.

The Four Great Noble Families indeed stood at the pinnacle of power in the Seireitei, but their focus was not solely on power. They might have ideological differences among themselves, but their original intention was always to maintain the balance of souls in this world.

Among them, the influence of the Kuchiki and Shihōin clans lay mostly within the Gotei 13, serving as the Seireitei’s external force. The remaining two families primarily focused internally, preventing division and meaningless power struggles among the Shinigami.

And right now, the handwritten letter presented before them—penned entirely by Kōe—seemed to herald the arrival of a power struggle.

"He is even more dangerous than he was centuries ago."

"Can we bypass Kōe Shihouin and contact Urahara Kisuke directly?"

Tsunayashiro Daisuke shook his head. Kamidera Miya’s idea was indeed good; if they could win over Urahara Kisuke, they could obtain more detailed intelligence on the Hōgyoku. Most importantly, Urahara’s inclusion would weaken the necessity of Kōe, turning the contents of this letter into a complete joke.

Kōe Shihouin and Urahara Kisuke—it wasn’t that both were strictly indispensable, but if they couldn’t win over at least one of them, it would be highly detrimental to the upcoming war.

"Then we have no choice but to compromise," Kamidera Miya sighed, lowering his head.

If possible, let alone that organization destined to bring conflict, he didn’t even want Kōe Shihouin to lay a finger on a Captain’s position.

However, whether it was the incredibly arrogant Aizen Sōsuke who had played them for fools for a century, or the external faction represented by Urahara Kisuke, both forced them to bow their heads. After all, having such a wavering force out there was truly unsettling.

He had also considered whether they should decisively eradicate this force first. But he vetoed that thought in less than a second.

Urahara Kisuke was still hiding in the World of the Living, so all they could do was gather their forces to eliminate Kōe first.

But setting aside the brat who defeated Byakuya and the Flash Goddess Yoruichi, Kōe alone possessed two Zanpakutō and was not inferior to Aizen in the slightest. This force was not to be underestimated, leaving them without absolute certainty that they could take those three down.

Even the simple act of gathering forces was nearly impossible. In everyone’s eyes, these people were the benefactors who saved the Seireitei. Biting the hand that feeds them was something most people simply couldn’t do.

"We can compromise for now, but the question is, how do we deal with him in the future?" Tsunayashiro Daisuke asked in a deep voice. "We must win this war, but once we do, his prestige within the Gotei 13 will likely be unmatched! Will we still be able to restrain him then?"

Arrange for Kōe Shihouin to voluntarily resign? The Maggot’s Nest probably couldn’t hold a figure like him.

A silent assassination? Was there even an existence in the Seireitei capable of assassinating him? The problem was that if they openly killed a post-war hero, who would ever view the identity of a Shinigami as an honor or treat justice as a creed again?

"Only then will we be able to see his true intentions." Kamidera Miya folded the letter in front of him. "Without an enemy, internal divisions will naturally emerge. This is especially true for what he is doing. While accommodating the external torrent, he must be prepared to be smashed to pieces!"

Tsunayashiro Daisuke nodded. They couldn’t deal with Kōe right now simply because he was currently riding the tide. Once the major threat of Aizen was eliminated, this wave would naturally subside. Would he still be willing to relinquish the power in his hands then?

Of course, even if he was riding the tide, they couldn’t just let Kōe run wild.

"I will not open the Great Spirit Book Gallery to him alone."

"There are too many secrets there. If he is smart enough, he should accept this point." After Kamidera Miya finished speaking, he laughed self-deprecatingly. "But I would rather open it to him alone than have him be that smart."

In that case, Yamamoto’s somewhat lenient heart might also firm up again, right?

Facts proved that Kōe was still very smart. Every point he proposed was beneficial to the Seireitei. If he fought too hard over the Great Spirit Book Gallery, the implication of seeking personal gain would be too heavy.

Therefore, although it hadn’t been officially announced yet, both the position of Captain of Squad 5 and the establishment of the new organization were set in stone. With this settled, Kōe could finally go handle some old affairs.

"Brother Chōzuka?"

"Hey, Rukia. Feels like it’s been a long time." Kōe smiled and waved at Rukia. In truth, it hadn’t been long at all; it had only been five days since he saved her at Sōkyoku Hill.

"How is Byakuya doing?"

"Captain Unohana said Brother is out of the woods now. He just needs to rest and recuperate."

She had grown quite distant. Kōe looked at Rukia, who felt inexplicably estranged from him. Some truths were indeed not easy to accept.

"Since Byakuya’s injuries have stabilized, do you want to go somewhere with me?"

"Huh?"

"Don’t worry, it’ll just take half a day. I just went up to check on him, and Byakuya is still sleeping soundly." Kōe winked playfully. Rukia seemed to realize where they were going and subconsciously shook her head, but then slowly nodded and said, "O-Okay."

West Rukongai. A preoccupied Rukia merely followed Kōe, not even noticing which district they had arrived in.

It wasn’t until Kōe slowed his pace and she looked at the familiar scenery around them that Rukia finally confirmed it: the place they were heading to was Lord Kaien’s home.

"I... I think I’d better not go..."

"Don’t you want to see Kaien?" Kōe asked aloud.

"But because of me, Lady Miyako... Lord Kaien probably doesn’t want to see me," Rukia stammered incoherently, though Kōe completely understood what she meant.

Aizen Sōsuke really ruined so many lives!

"Let’s walk over slowly." Kōe turned around, stepped up beside Rukia, and patted her shoulder. "On the way, there are some things I need to tell you."

The two walked side by side along the weed-grown path. As a gentle breeze brushed past, it carried a story from the past into Rukia’s ears.

"Urahara, Yoruichi, and I are friends who grew up together. As you’ve heard, Urahara is the former Captain of Squad 12 and the founder of the Department of Research and Development. Yoruichi is the former head of the Shihōin clan—or, when we were kids, the next in line to be head. As for me, I was taken from the Rukongai by Old Man Yama and kept by his side as his disciple."

"People like us are far too easy to be targeted. Urahara and I might have had it a bit better, but there has never been a shortage of people envious of the Great Noble Families. Because of that, ever since we were young, Yoruichi told us never to easily show that we care about others. There will always be someone looking to exploit the weaknesses of people like us."

"Byakuya’s icy demeanor might stem from similar reasons." Kōe sighed and continued, "But that doesn’t mean we are cold-hearted, nor does it mean that everyone else is just a pawn in our eyes."

"It’s not that we don’t care; it’s that the price of showing we care is simply too high."