Starting as a pirate, he rose to become the strongest Shinigami in Soul Society.

Chapter 492 Your Shihōin family is truly abstract!

Seireitei, the barracks of the Ninth Division.

Inside the house in Bane's courtyard, Bane, still somewhat hungover, yawned and slowly opened his eyes as noon approached.

It has been almost half a month since Yamamoto Genryusai led his team back to Soul Society after ending the war in the human world.

Yesterday, Tenseiin Chika, the head of the Tenseiin family, one of the three noble families, held her wedding and married Shihōin Ryōya, the former head of the Shihōin family, who had specially married into the Tenseiin family. Well, now she can really be called Tenseiin Ryōya.

Despite Yoruichi Shihouin's strong opposition, Ryoya was truly stubborn, even to the point that the relationship between the father and daughter had reached a freezing point, he still wanted to pursue the love he had missed.

In short, although Bane found the whole thing a bit ridiculous, it was a wedding, and they had already sent out invitations, so how could he not go?

He knew he'd run into her all the time, so he went anyway.

It wasn't just him who went; basically all the big shots of the Gotei 13 went.

Then everyone got drunk, and Bane didn't even know how he got back last night; he had a bit of amnesia.

After washing up and getting ready, I put on my haori and went out of the house.

As soon as he arrived at the covered bridge, before even stepping into the courtyard, Bane heard a series of loud cracking sounds outside, as if someone was fighting.

"So early, so diligent?" Bane muttered, still a little dizzy. Then he looked at the sky and saw that it was midday and the sun was blazing. It was getting late.

When they followed the sound to the courtyard, they saw Yoruichi Shihouin and Byakuya Kuchiki darting around the yard as if they were teleporting. Occasionally, their figures would cross paths, and the two would attack each other, having a great time.

Bane?

He had just thought that Kensei Rokusha was sparring with Shinji Hirako or that guy Zaraki.

Why did our Ninth Division's barracks courtyard become the battleground between the Sixth and Second Divisions?

As if noticing Bane's arrival, Byakuya Kuchiki and Yoruichi Shihouin, who had been fiercely fighting each other, quickly stopped what they were doing and landed in front of Bane.

"Lord Spirit Master," Kuchiki Byakuya said respectfully to Bane with a noble air.

"You're awake now. You looked like you drank a lot last night." Yoruichi Shihouin didn't have that aristocratic air about her anymore and said casually.

"Why didn't you go last night? Of all the captains of the Gotei 13, you were the only one who didn't come," Bane teased, as if deliberately bringing up a sore spot.

Upon hearing this, Yoruichi immediately bristled, glaring at Bane through gritted teeth, "You want to fight too? Me? I'm not going? I've already made the biggest concession by not killing that old bastard!"

"A father's love is no longer up to his daughter, and neither are you. Don't be so rigid. As far as I remember, you are the most open-minded among the nobles. When your father was young, he couldn't have her because of various pressures, and in the end, he couldn't be with Miss Chika. Now that he has unloaded his burdens and raised excellent heirs like you and Yushiro, he no longer has any worldly pressures. So, let go of worldly concerns and pursue your true self. What's wrong with that that can't be understood?" Bane said earnestly, patting Yoruichi's shoulder.

Yoruichi?

After a brief moment of stunned silence, Yoruichi clenched her fists and said, "Don't think that just because you're stronger than me, I won't dare to hit you! You're making it sound like I'm the one who's wrong! He's ruined the reputation of my Heavenly Armored Squad, the Shihouin family, all for the sake of pursuing this bullshit 'true self.' Fine, I'm not someone who cares much about aristocratic honor, but can you really understand him abandoning his wife and children?"

"Ah, this..." Bane's face showed a hint of shame, then he asked, "How is your mother?"

I almost forgot, Yoruichi's mother is still here.

From this perspective, Liang Ye is simply a beast.

Bane thought about it carefully, and realized that in all the years he had been in Soul Society, he had never seen anyone more abstract than Yoruichi's father.

Sure enough, no matter how hard he tries, he can't compare to a player with such natural talent.

Bane was just asking casually to offer some comfort, but Yoruichi Shihouin's expression only became more unpleasant.

Seeing that she didn't speak, Bane looked at Byakuya with a puzzled expression. Byakuya paused for a moment, his expression slightly hesitant, but finally whispered, "Lady Shihouin is doing well. It seems she's been dating Aunt Chika's cousin these past few days."

Bane?

No, do all you nobles play such elaborate games?

For a moment, Bane truly couldn't understand the thoughts and ways of doing things of these top-tier members of Soul Society.

But then I thought, these are ancient families that have been passed down for millions of years. What storms and what scenes haven't they seen? It's not uncommon for them to be able to do this.

"Sigh, you've had a tough time." Bane patted Yoruichi on the shoulder, speaking with great concern for her.

"Tsk, whatever, I can't change anything anyway. Out of sight, out of mind." Yoruichi slapped away Bane's hand that was patting her shoulder and said, pretending to be strong.

"Where are Mako and Kensei? And what are you two doing fighting in my Ninth Division?" Bane asked, changing the subject.

Mentioning this, Byakuya Kuchiki said with a resentful look, "Lord Spirit Lord, I was leaving home to go to the Sixth Division for my duty when this little thief snatched my Star-Connecting Foil. That's the symbol of our Kuchiki family; how could I let her take it so easily? So I chased after her."

"Here you go, here you go. You're so stingy, not cute at all." Yoruichi Shihouin casually tossed Byakuya Kuchiki's Star-Piercing Foil to him, grumbling on and on.

Kuchiki Byakuya caught the Star-Piercing Foil like a precious jewel, then carefully put it back into his hair. Only then did he seem to breathe a sigh of relief and say, "If there's a next time, I'll never forgive you!"

After saying that, he glanced at the sky, then whispered to Bane, "Lord Spirit Lord, I'll head back to the Sixth Division now and won't bother you any longer."

"Okay, go ahead," Bane waved his hand.

After Byakuya left, Yoruichi Shihouin said, "When we arrived, we didn't see Shinji and Kensei; they were probably all busy."

Bane didn't think much of it when he heard this. Kensei Muguruma was a serious guy, and judging from the time, he was probably patrolling the Great Prison. As for Shinji Hirako, maybe the other squads needed his help with something, so the vice-captain went to do it.

"Have you eaten?" Bane asked, changing the subject.

"No, I'm so angry I'm full. I haven't eaten much these past few days," Yoruichi shook her head.

The two walked and chatted for a while, and soon arrived at the Ninth Division's main dining room.

Bane rarely ate in the squad's main dining hall. Usually, he, the vice-captain, the steward, and others would eat in the courtyard, where a squad member in charge of miscellaneous tasks would deliver their meals.

The latest novel is first published here!

It was just a whim today.

Of course, lunchtime had passed, and there weren't many people in the restaurant. Bane and Night casually ordered some food and then sat down to continue their conversation.

"Kisuke, I've gone to the 12th Division to look for him several times since he returned to Soul Society, but I haven't been able to find him. I heard he's incredibly busy, but I don't know what he's busy with," Yoruichi complained casually.

As soon as she finished speaking, Bane seemed to realize what she meant, and stroked his chin, saying, "Now that you mention it, it seems so. Orochimaru, apart from that one time I met him when you returned from the mortal world, I haven't seen him since."

Perhaps because I was used to them being in the mortal world while I was in Seireitei, I didn't think there was any problem.

Now, whenever Yoruichi brought it up, Bane felt something was wrong. In the past, no matter what, Orochimaru would always come to see him every few days. But this time, even though he had already said that Sasuke, Zoro, and the others were already in the Pure Land, Orochimaru hadn't even mentioned going to the Pure Land to take a look.

It's weird!

This suggests that Orochimaru is conducting a very important study, and it seems that this study has even involved Kisuke Urahara, so Mayuri Kurotsuchi must be involved as well.

The thought of the three of them together is terrifying!

No, no, no, that's not right!

Aizen hasn't come to visit me lately, has he?

While eating steamed fish, Yami saw Bane's expression suddenly change, turning pale and then red, and he remained silent. Curious, Yami asked, "What's wrong? What are you thinking about?"

After gathering his thoughts, Bane remained silent for a moment, then smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's nothing."

Thinking about it carefully, it's not really that hard to accept. At first, Bane felt something was wrong, but after thinking about it in silence, he felt that he might be making a mountain out of a molehill.

"You've heard that Captain Sujiba Seigen of the Fifth Division is going to take a break in a few days, right?" Yoruichi casually brought up a topic.

"Ah, I have heard about it. He mentioned it when we were drinking yesterday, and now everyone should know," Bane replied.

Bane wasn't very close to this guy. Although they had worked together for many years, that was about it. In his memory, this guy was a tragic figure.

In the original story, because his older sister or younger sister was killed (Bane forgot the specific reason), this guy started to hold a grudge against the Seireitei. It was probably related to the Gotei 13 and other aspects. It might have been a conspiracy or tragedy in which his family became victims.

Then, this guy endured for many years in order to get revenge. Later, he wanted to gain more power and was seduced by Aizen, so he underwent Hollowfication. He can be considered one of Aizen's first experimental subjects.

The final result, of course, was that it flopped.

But now, it seems that many things have changed. Although Bane doesn't have much contact with him, he must have affected his and his family's life trajectory in some ways. In short, he landed safely, his family was fine, he didn't turn to the dark side, and he didn't hold a grudge against Soul Society or Seireitei.

Yesterday, I was happy to announce to everyone that the captain had approved his leave of absence application, and that I would officially announce it to everyone at the next routine meeting.

After he finishes, he will step down as captain of the Fifth Division and return to a peaceful life.

Seeing his happy and slightly tipsy appearance, Bane was actually quite pleased for him.

It's good that the tragedy doesn't happen again, isn't it?

"The position in the Fifth Division is about to become available. Do you have any recommendations?" Yoruichi asked casually.

"If you said that, anyone who didn't know better would think you were the Captain-Commander. Mind your own business," Bane retorted, then his expression turned hesitant and reluctant. But in the end, he just shrugged and said, "If I really had to recommend someone, I'd recommend Mako. Even though I'd really miss him."

(End of this chapter)