Nanatsuki and Aizen moved swiftly through the courtyard.
They encountered a few people along the way.
Aside from servants, everyone wearing the Tsunayashiro family crest was slain one by one by Nanatsuki and Aizen.
Their movements were sharp and efficient.
There was much to do and little time.
This mission wasn't just about killing — there were several objectives to accomplish.
"Sensei, this is where Enrakyōden is stored," said Aizen , leading his teacher to a grand tower-like building.
This was the most heavily guarded place in the Tsunayashiro estate.
Yet the guards inside, unaware of the chaos outside, remained stationed inside the building, guarding the treasure.
In addition to the killings and planting signs of infernal energy, Nanatsuki also intended to retrieve a particularly valuable item: a fragment of the Soul King.
The Tsunayashiro clan's ancestors had participated in dividing the Soul King's body, and retained some of the fragments.
"Upstairs is the library and rarer treasures. The Soul King fragments are in the basement."
Aizen had visited this place before and had already scouted out the layout. He knew exactly where the fragments were kept.
"Take it all!" Nanatsuki declared. "Bankai — Shosō Eijin!"
Nanatsuki's mastery over shadow-based abilities had improved drastically.
Originally, his Bankai could only summon a shadow clone with about 10–50% of his strength.
If it was his own shadow, the clone retained up to half his power.
If it was someone else's, the power depended on the strength of the copied target — the stronger the target, the weaker the resulting shadow.
Now, however, he could summon two such shadows at once.
Not only that, but each shadow clone could divide further.
These splits reduced the power of each clone, but multiplied their number.
Nanatsuki summoned dozens of his own shadows.
He handed each one a prepared Reishi Pocket and sent them into the building to pack everything up.
Meanwhile, he and Aizen went to handle the dozen guards stationed in the upper floors.
These guards were members of the Tsunayashiro branch families — and since they had decided to act, they had no intention of leaving any survivors.
Just like their clan head, by the time the guards noticed something was wrong, it was already too late.
The Soul King fragment was kept behind a Reishi Barrier, so Nanatsuki had to retrieve it personally.
He and Aizen descended into the basement.
Surprisingly, there were no guards stationed here — the Tsunayashiro seemed confident in their Reishi Barrier.
The pair moved down a narrow corridor and arrived at a sealed chamber.
"The Soul King fragment is inside. Enrakyōden was kept in the room on the right."
Aizen gestured to a nearby chamber, where only an empty sword rack remained — the blade was already gone.
There were two adjacent side chambers. The Soul King fragments were stored in the left one.
Nanatsuki extended his Shadow Space, piercing through the Reishi Barrier in an instant.
Inside were over a dozen containers filled with green fluid.
The fragments were submerged in this alchemical solution — it suppressed their activity and prevented them from developing consciousness.
Among the containers, only two held sizable pieces. The rest were fragments under one centimeter long.
One contained a bone, and the other a piece of flesh.
"This one looks like the Soul King's kneecap… and that's… lower leg muscle."
Nanatsuki, familiar with human anatomy, immediately identified the body parts.
They were both from the leg.
"So they really did dissect the Soul King..."
Aizen's eyes flickered. Though he had obtained a Soul King fragment before for research, it had only been a sliver of bone. It hadn't told him much about the Soul King's current state.
But seeing these full body tissues deepened his understanding significantly.
There was no time to analyze anything now — Nanatsuki decided to take it all and study later.
Soon after, the shadows returned with all the building's books and treasures.
"Now comes the final step, Sosuke!"
"I'm ready, sensei."
The two flew into the air above the estate.
Nanatsuki drew the box containing the Hell Bead.
He infused it with Reiatsu and tossed it toward the ground.
Moments later, the Hell Bead exploded inside the Tsunayashiro residence.
Black-red infernal energy spread rapidly, visible to the naked eye.
In the blink of an eye, the entire compound was soaked in a dense aura of Hell.
Every trace of Reishi left behind by Nanatsuki and Aizen was now tainted and converted into Hell Reishi.
Even the surrounding atmosphere's Reishi was corrupted.
The infernal particles were so thick they appeared as red-black mist.
The entire manor was soon blanketed in it.
Under Aizen's illusion, people nearby began to see a Gate of Hell slowly materializing over the estate.
Meanwhile, Ōmaeda Kishinosuke and Obana Jirō had already retreated to a nearby tower.
"Vice-Captain, I spotted Tsunayashiro Tokinada at the estate!"
Kishinosuke was using his Denreishinki to contact Shihoin Yoruichi.
"What nonsense are you spouting? My sensei already killed Tokinada!"
Yoruichi's voice crackled through the device.
"It's true! He came back from Hell — and he killed the clan head!" Kishinosuke insisted.
"Hey, hey—what's that?!"
Obana Jirō tugged on Kishinosuke's sleeve.
"I'm reporting in, don't interrupt—wait… The Gate of Hell?!"
Kishinosuke turned around and froze.
There, before his eyes, a Gate of Hell had appeared above the courtyard.
The gate cracked open slightly, black mist pouring from within.
Holding Enrakyōden, Tsunayashiro Tokinada stood before it.
His body dissolved into black-red mist and entered through the narrow opening.
Moments later, the Gate of Hell slowly vanished.
"Hello? Hello? Why did you go quiet… What did you just say? What's going on with this Gate of Hell?"
Yoruichi's voice from the Denreishinki pulled the stunned Kishinosuke back to reality.
"Vice-Captain! I've got urgent intel! The Gate of Hell opened at the Tsunayashiro estate!"