You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

But now he is one of the thirteen captains, a high-ranking member of Seireitei, whose status is no less than that of a high-ranking noble. So it doesn't matter if he knows some secrets.

Unfortunately, neither Shunsui nor Yoruichi themselves knew the details. It wasn't that they weren't of high enough status, but rather that the initial point of conflict stemmed from a gathering of the heads of the five noble families, and only a few people knew the specifics of what was discussed.

The only certainty is that that conversation made [Shiba] an outcast among the major families—even though they hadn't gotten along before.

The root of the conflict between the two sides should lie in the "Spirit King". Based on limited intelligence, it is speculated that [Shiba] has been researching a forbidden secret technique related to the "Spirit King". Once exposed, it will violate the bottom line that the other major families cannot tolerate.

During the last great war in the human world, the Quincy leader, "The Holy Son," left behind a prophecy on his deathbed, namely the "Ode to the Holy Emperor," the contents of which secretly worried the five great families:

They possess far more intelligence than ordinary Grim Reapers, so they certainly don't think this is just a simple poem... In fact, they vaguely know what will happen, but they are unsure of the specific form and timing.

At this point, Zhibo felt he had encountered a good opportunity, so he used the "Ode to the Holy Emperor" as a starting point to express his views on the "Spirit King," hoping to gain the support of the other factions on certain matters...

Then the talks broke down!

There was no room for compromise. The other party's attitude was far more intense than the Shiba family had imagined, and they were almost about to say things like "Heaven will punish the traitors of the country!"

Shiba, true to his principles, refused to back down, adopting an attitude of "honoring the emperor and punishing the traitors," and rejected all compromise solutions.

Then there's not much more to say. Shiba stuck to his own opinion, and since he had no allies among the five noble families, he was naturally ostracized and even lost his noble title.

"...That's what they say, but the Shiba family probably doesn't care about the title of noble."

In the barracks of the Third Division, in Iori's room, a middle-aged man was playing chess with a handsome young man, each holding black and white pieces and fiercely battling it out on the crisscrossing chessboard.

Chunshui had barely finished speaking when he said, "Their family stopped mingling in aristocratic circles a long time ago, and they even specially set up a separate residence in Rukongai... Perhaps they were planning ahead and thought of this day."

"How many years have I lived? I've already witnessed the Vasto Lorde, who is said to appear only once every few hundred years, the descendants of the Quincy from eight hundred years ago, and the downfall of the five great noble families who ruled the three realms for tens or hundreds of thousands of years..."

Iori grinned, seemingly speaking from the heart rather than in self-deprecation: "I hope things will be just as wonderful in the future."

"Forget it then!"

Chunshui looked miserable: "Coming here too often will shorten my lifespan!"

"The meaning of life is not in its length. If we could have new and exciting experiences every day, then the Grim Reaper's long and almost boring life could be shortened a little."

"I'm actually afraid of living too short, since there are so many wonderful things in this world that we should cherish, like fine wine."

"There are still people."

Iori added, looking at Harumi with a slight smile: "What do you think?"

“…Yes.” Chunshui lowered her eyelids, then quickly smiled freely, “Since you became the captain, your sharpness of words has increased by more than one level.”

"There's nothing I can do. My colleagues and subordinates are all a bunch of people with distinct personalities. If I don't quickly establish my own unique image, I'll soon become just another random character in a novel!"

Even in erotic novels, minor characters have no human rights!

Iori rubbed her chin and said, "I'm tentatively developing in the direction of 'sharp tongue' for now."

"You've really worked hard~" Chunshui shook her head, both amused and exasperated.

There's really nothing wrong with what they said, because that's just how Squad 13 is. Every captain has their own unique side, and Iori is actually the least noticeable one among them—just as approachable as Ukitake, but Ukitake has the added attribute of being sickly.

Even Chunshui, whose character seems like a typical playboy and lecher at first glance, is actually a person who cherishes things deep down. He is loyal and righteous, and a great man who is responsible and dependable at crucial moments!

What Iori just pointed out is actually what this person is hiding beneath his flamboyant appearance.

"What just happened."

"Ok?"

"The Shiba family's matter... is it really resolved like this?" Iori asked with some doubt. "One of the five great noble families, just expelled like that, is it really that simple?"

“After all, the Shiba family didn’t put up much resistance; perhaps they had already given up.” Kyoraku Shunsui frowned.

Although the Kyoraku family is not on the same level as the five great noble families, they are still upper-class noble families. Moreover, Shunsui himself has served as captain for hundreds of years, and his seniority is second only to the first generation. With these two factors combined, Shunsui's status is quite high.

Based on the information he had, the Shiba family was not without the ability to resist, but they chose to accept their fate. Rather than being ostracized, it was more accurate to say they exiled themselves...

Throughout this incident, the Shiba family's behavior was permeated with a sense of eeriness, almost like a religious act of atonement or sacrifice.

"As far as I know, the five noble families have a captain-level successor in almost every generation, right?" Iori continued to ask.

Chunshui nodded: "Although there are exceptions, that's generally the case."

The so-called "Five Great Noble Families" include one family that doesn't actually live in Soul Society and doesn't care about Seireitei at all. They are solely focused on guarding Hell. In many cases, it's just a name, and it wouldn't make much difference if they removed the fact that they are called the "Four Great Noble Families".

Then, even if the remaining four families experience occasional breaks in their lineage, they can quickly produce Bankai-level masters to inherit their businesses, making them incredibly stable.

Specifically, these four companies also have different characteristics:

【Kuchiki】is hailed as "the model of all death gods" because of his exemplary words and deeds, and is revered by all nobles. He has a great influence among the nobles and is outwardly the most prestigious of the five noble families.

The Sixth Division is almost entirely composed of noble children, and is known as the "Noble Division". The captain has been a member of the Kuchiki family for generations (except for the first captain), which shows the status of this family.

However, it's worth noting that influence doesn't equate to strength. Although Kuchiki holds a high position, his family's strength is inferior to the other two families.

【Shihouin】and 【Tsuna Yayo!】

These two entities, one possessing the methods for crafting numerous magical artifacts and the other supposedly knowing all the secrets of the Soul Society since ancient times, are both deeply entrenched in resources.

Compared to the Sixth Division, the Second Division is more like Shihouin's private army. Strictly speaking, since the first generation, the Second Division has simply been an official branch of the Shihouin family's power!

The reason why Tsunayoshi can be compared with Shihouin, or even surpass him, is because they control the "True Central Great Spirit Book Corridor", which stores the oldest and most secret inheritance in the three realms.

In addition, the Tsunayoshi family is large and has many branches. Coupled with their superb skills, they have a great deal of influence in the "Central 46 Chambers" - simply put, they are a family that is very good at political maneuvering.

Compared to the three companies mentioned above, [Zhibo] is actually quite weak.

The most obvious point is that the Shiba family has very few members and little interest in having more children; they simply marry naturally and start their own families.

Secondly, compared to the great nobles... or even ordinary nobles, this family's economic situation was average. Although they were not in dire financial straits, they certainly could not be described as living a life of luxury.

Even so, no one dared to underestimate this family.

"A naturally high spiritual pressure?"

"Yes."

Kyoraku Shunsui said seriously, "The Shiba family is not large, but there has been almost no shortage of captain-level powerhouses. Their family is very likely to produce children with strong spiritual pressure from birth. In terms of quality, they are the highest among all noble families. This is probably the reason why they have the confidence to withdraw from the noble circle."

“I see…” Iori nodded thoughtfully.

Seireitei is, after all, a society where the strong rule. Even if they are no longer nobles, as long as a Bankai master appears, Shiba will definitely be able to secure a place in Seireitei. No wonder they seem indifferent.

After all, judging from the original work, if Shiba Kaien had grown up normally, he would almost certainly have reached the captain level, while Shiba Isshin, who is not very old, has strength comparable to a captain who has been around for hundreds of years, and is also a standard genius.

Shiba Kukaku seems like a character who keeps his true abilities hidden.

Aside from the comical Shiba Ganju, this family is indeed quite extraordinary.

Don't forget, although Ichigo is a natural-born bug, "Mugetsu" is a secret technique passed down in the Shiba family... In terms of pure combat power, he is indeed not afraid of anyone.

"How will things eventually turn out?" Iori frowned slightly as she looked at the increasingly unfavorable white pieces on the chessboard.

Shunsui looked relaxed: "Nothing serious will happen. Shiba said he gave up his noble status, but his essence as one of the five great nobles will not change... Moreover, with a teacher in charge, there will be no trouble in Seireitei."

“That makes sense.” Iori placed another piece, shaking his head and sighing, ready to concede defeat.

Just then, Amagai Shusuke's voice came from outside the door: "Captain, Kyoraku-sama, there's some official communication. May I be so sorry to bother you?"

"It's alright, come in." Iori readily agreed. "It seems my little break from work is coming to an end... Let's just call it a draw."

Chunshui glanced at Yizhi.

Amagami walked in, sat down respectfully, and handed the official document to Iori.

Iori opened it with some curiosity and took a look. Her expression changed slightly, and after reading it from beginning to end, she relaxed and put on a playful expression.

“Interesting… Chunshui, it seems you’ve lost.”

"what?"

Kyoraku Shunsui took the document with a puzzled look. When he saw the key information, his eyes widened involuntarily, and then he gave a dejected, bitter smile.

"I admit I lost... How come someone actually dares to jump out at this time?"

The document read:

The upper-class noble family "Sumari" hopes to inherit the Shiba family's position, recommended by several noble families including the Tsunayoshi branch family and Kasumioji family.

In order to have enough merit to live up to the title of "Five Great Noble Families," they specially offered up their family's treasured secret techniques—

【Mo Yao Knife】!

Chapter 234: Sumari's Counterattack (4K)

The Sumari family is quite rare among the upper-class nobles. It does not belong to the five major noble families, but rather is a family that rose to this level by accumulating merits from its members who were retainers of the Tsunayoshi family.

Becoming a higher-ranking noble family nominally severed ties with Tsunayashiro and established them as an independent lineage, but in reality, they remained subordinate to the Tsunayashiro family. This attempt to rise to the ranks of the "Five Great Noble Families" was orchestrated behind the scenes by Tsunayashiro, though she didn't intervene personally but instead used the pretext of a branch family.

It is worth mentioning that the branch family of Tsunayoshi is also very powerful, and Tsunayoshi Tokinada, who has a feud with Tosen Kaname, is a nobleman from the branch family.

In fact, one can see Tsunayo's style of doing things to some extent from Tokina. After all, if the crimes he committed had been committed by the Kuchiki family, Ginrei would definitely have personally taken action to clean up the house. The same would not have happened to the Shiba or Shihouin families. Although these families have great differences in their stance on "righteousness", they are not corrupt and degenerate families.

Shi Tan was able to continue committing evil deeds under the protection of Gang Midai. If Chunshui hadn't been able to stand it and forcibly convicted him, he probably would have gotten away with it (in reality, the so-called punishment was just staying at home to reflect on his mistakes).

Although it was Tokina's personal behavior, no one would believe that the Tsunayo family was known for its integrity and uprightness.

When Tsunayo pushed Sumari to the forefront, almost everyone who knew the inside story, like Shunsui, thought it was a simple power struggle. They believed that Tsunayo wanted to use this to test something or seize more power, rather than to really support a new "Five Great Noble Families".

Ultimately, the term "Five Great Noble Families" stems from the fact that these five families possess Bankai combat power and profound heritage. It is their strength that allows them to stand at the pinnacle, rather than just having an empty title.

Even if Shiba leaves Seireitei, they can still train captain-level powerhouses who can still hold high positions in the Gotei 13.

Without such a foundation, even if Sumari were to obtain the title of one of the five great noble families, he would not have the same status as Shiba.

—This is obvious.

Perhaps taking this into consideration, Sumari took out a peculiar weapon called "Bakuya-tō" in order to increase his standing in the eyes of the nobility and the 46 Chambers.

Iori had heard of this name in her previous life, but she only remembered it as a special kind of Zanpakuto. Only after seeing the real thing with her own eyes did she realize that it was a completely different thing.

-

The generational change among the "Five Great Noble Families" was an internal conflict among the nobles and should not have involved the Gotei 13. However, the "Baku-yō-tō" that Sumari offered was said to directly enhance the Shinigami's combat power, which has drawn this largest armed group into the fray.

To avoid escalating the situation, the team leader did not pass the news on to internal staff; only people within the circle, such as Chunshui, knew about it.

Shunsui told Iori that the 46th Chamber needed to test the weapon's performance and reliability before considering Sumari's request. If the weapon was just a showpiece, then there was nothing more to say. But if it could truly significantly improve the combat effectiveness of the Gotei 13...

It's just an empty title. Shiba doesn't have any real benefits for anyone to inherit, so it doesn't matter if it's given to Sumari.

Time passed quietly, and about a month later, when Iori had managed the Third Division very well, gradually turning Ootori, Amagai, and Tosen into her tools and secretaries, the test results for the "Baku Blade" came out, and Sumari's request—

It was completely rejected!

There was absolutely no possibility left; their delusions were completely shattered!

It is said that this kind of sword has huge side effects. Although it can rapidly increase strength, it will bring irreversible negative effects to the wielder and is judged as a "forbidden technology".

The 46th Chamber not only rejected Sumari's desire to rise to power, but also forcefully ordered him to seal away the technology. Under the supervision of the 13th Gotei 13, all data and finished products were destroyed, leaving only a backup in the basement of the 46th Chamber (the central tower).

The Sumeru were naturally very dissatisfied, but they had no choice but to accept the order because the situation was beyond their control.

However, the Sumari family was, after all, a high-ranking noble family, and even the Grim Reaper could not arbitrarily enter their residence to search. The 46th Chamber gave them the dignity befitting their status, only having the 13th Squad supervise them, while they themselves collected and destroyed the items.

About a week later, on the appointed day, Sumari should have made all the necessary preparations, and Yamamoto sent a squad led by Senko Kyoga to the mansion for inspection.

Everything went smoothly. Sumori cooperated fully and did not cause Xianghe any trouble. He decisively burned the clan's hundreds of years of hard work to ashes...

The technology of the "Bakuya-tō" was not Sumari's original creation, but since it was handed over to them, each generation has worked hard to improve and enhance the performance of the Bakuya-tō. Today, it has reached a considerable level of strength, and in their eyes, it is even better than a real Zanpakutō!

Therefore, it's no wonder they had the confidence to compete for this title... and their decisive abandonment of it now fully demonstrates their courage.

And so, a major event that could have impacted the entire power structure of the Seireitei was aborted due to a mere "failed prenatal checkup," and life returned to normal once more.

If only that could be true.

A month and a half after Shiba was removed from the roster, Captain Kiryu Hikifune of the 12th Division reported to Yamamoto that the number of souls in Rukongai was fluctuating abnormally, with the rate of decline far exceeding the average. In a week of detailed observation, an additional 1,500 souls had been lost.

This is a fairly large number, and before the Twelfth Division noticed the anomaly, there may have been even more souls that had "disappeared." Since most of these incidents occurred in the lower-ranked Rukongai, namely the slums and lawless areas, it is difficult to keep a detailed count.

This has already affected the balance of the souls. Both of Hikifune Kiryu's suggestions were adopted by the Captain-Commander:

One method is to send members from each team to the mortal world to guide wandering souls to the Soul Society.

Secondly, we must investigate this incident of the spirit disappearing and resolve the source of the chaos as soon as possible!

Needless to say, the former required all the squads that received the order to send additional personnel to the human world, while the latter was a technical task that was investigated by the Second, Tenth, and Twelfth Squads together.

At first, no one took this matter too seriously. After all, this was Soul Society, not Hueco Mundo or the Human World. The Gotei 13's dominance in Soul Society was overwhelming, and no one could stop the three divisions from investigating together.

Even if the culprit is a Vasto Lorde-level Hollow, they can forget about making any waves in the Shinigami's stronghold!