Inside Seireitei, in the main hall of the Tsunayashiro—one of the Five Great Noble Houses—a most unusual meeting was underway.
Higashino Shuuichi stood alone at the center. Encircling him were nobles in a spectrum of ceremonial robes. A quick sweep told him that almost every heavyweight noble in Seireitei had sent a representative.
On the innermost seat sat a single figure: the current head of the Tsunayashiro, Tsunayashiro Kamihara.
"Shinigami Higashino Shuuichi, you know why we've summoned you here, don't you?"
Even in need of him, Kamihara maintained that lofty air.
"I do. Because you, Kamihara-dono, had Central 46 sign a special pardon, so I no longer carry the stigma of Soul Society traitor. Naturally, I should come express my thanks to you."
He felt contempt, but kept the courtesies spotless.
"Good. As long as you recognize our efforts. Then there's something I need you to tell us truthfully."
Kamihara skipped pleasantries and went straight to the point—testament to his urgency.
"Please ask, Kamihara-sama. If I know it, I'll hold nothing back."
Higashino answered with proper deference.
"Do you know the true identity of the gray-eyed man you fought in Osaka ten years ago?"
"Yes, Kamihara-sama. His name is Akimi, a Fullbringer—"
Higashino hadn't finished when Kamihara cut him off: "You know only part of it. Akimi is no ordinary Fullbringer. Those eyes of his are the Soul King's shed eyes. As for the Soul King—since you've surely heard how former 12th Division Captain Hikifune Kirio ascended to the Royal Guard (Zero Division), you should understand, yes?"
"Yes, Kamihara-sama. I understand."
Higashino bowed his head.
He'd known Akimi's eyes weren't simple. Otherwise how could a mere Fullbringer wield such monstrous power?
To carry back, intact, all the gains from a fabricated future—"strong ability" didn't begin to cover it. In other worlds people called that "cheat codes."
But if it was the Soul King's power—part of the Soul King's body, and the crucial eyes—then it made sense.
A piece of the Soul King's body? You don't call that cheating.
You call it "proper use of granularity."
"Through those eyes, one can behold the true future and, using it as a template, construct a false future. Due to Akimi's body, however, he can activate it only once in his lifetime.
So what you saw and experienced there might not be the exact future, but it won't differ by much.
Now tell me—what did you see in that world?"
Kamihara asked the sole question that mattered.
Around him, Higashino could feel every noble's ears prick up. A few forgetful ones even slipped out pen and paper.
"I saw a Shinigami, in the near future, slaughter every member of Central 46.
I saw that same Shinigami personally kill the Captain-Commander, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
And I saw that Shinigami, by himself, nearly overturn all of Soul Society. After the war, of the nobility, scarcely one in ten remained; of Shinigami, scarcely one in a hundred."
As Higashino spun the future he'd carefully woven, he almost laughed.
The nobles nodding sagely, the ones scribbling furiously—so guileless it was almost cute.
Even if he weren't a transmigrator, why were they bold enough to take his word at face value?
Did they really think a single pardon wiped clean every "misunderstanding," every injustice they'd pinned on him?
Even though this was all by Higashino's own design.
If there had to be a culprit, he'd name Soul Society's strongest of the millennium: Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni.
Blame Yamamoto for sheltering these nobles so well that they never learned how the world really worked.
They had no idea that without Yamamoto's Gotei 13 as a deterrent, their arrogance would leave them with near-zero odds of survival.
When he finished blending deeds of Aizen Sōsuke, Yhwach, and touches of Tokinada into that "future," the reaction was as expected. Even if Akimi had altered parts of it, it was terrifying enough.
Especially for Shinigami like Kamihara and the nobles: time was never a problem. In other words, the future Higashino described was one they would likely live to see.
And what a future—where even Yamamoto would die at that Shinigami's hand, and Soul Society would wither…
Soon the hall filled with noisy debate. Then, a voice spoke up:
"If the Shinigami Akimi substituted really will appear in the true future—then even if Higashino just said he doesn't know that Shinigami's name or face, aren't we forgetting a fact?
Higashino Shuuichi defeated Akimi—who had perfectly substituted for that Shinigami—to return here!"
No doubt, that man was one of Tokinada Tsunayashiro's plants.
Higashino saw that the speaker wasn't even a noble—just a Shinigami tasked with maintaining order. It didn't matter. What mattered was that he'd spoken a fact—an unassailable fact within Higashino's self-spun narrative.
Higashino had considered outing Yhwach and Aizen. With the nobles' backing and the other captains' cooperation, they might crush Aizen before he fully fused the Hōgyoku. Then, while Yhwach remained dormant, use the shadow-walking technique he'd learned from that fabricated future to counter-invade the Invisible Empire—kill Yhwach before awakening.
But after confirming with Kamihara that Akimi's eyes were the Soul King's eyes, he hesitated.
What he'd inherited from that false future wasn't only a Quincy power gained by devouring Yhwach's heart-blood, but also those Soul King eyes—currently transplanted into the fabricated human, Kabuno Takuya.
A hard fact stared him down: he now possessed two Soul King body parts—one being those crucial eyes. Add that to the Shinigami, Hollow, Quincy, and Hell-derived powers already on him; with just Fullbring missing, he could "proudly" declare himself a reinforced Kurosaki Ichigo—a grown-up Kurosaki Ichika's older-brother version.
In such a state, if the Royal Guard monk didn't mark him down as Soul King candidate, it would be strange.
Ah, fate's little jokes.
Once, Higashino had been a small-timer who only wanted to outlive the arcs where Aizen and Yhwach made their moves. Now, through tireless effort, a chance sat before him to preemptively bury both bosses before they fully formed—yet he dared not take it.
Who knew—when the original Soul King's body shattered in the future—whether the monk of the Royal Guard (Hyōsube Ichibē) would carve him down into the new "Soul King stake"?
Until he had the strength to take on the entire Royal Guard, he wouldn't gamble. He couldn't.
So he settled for second-best—and fabricated a nameless Shinigami.
Luckily, even that wholly concocted future drew no skepticism from these cute, trusting nobles.
"Right, didn't Higashino defeat that Shinigami?"
"But wasn't that in a fabricated future?"
"Are you stupid? He beat that Shinigami without knowing anything about him. Now that we know the man's powers and style—even if we can't catch him early—once they clash, Higashino wins easily!"
"But Higashino is still a Shinigami who underwent Hollowfication…"
"Come on—weren't the Kasumiooji clan's Bakkōtō cohort also—"
"And he did flee to the World of the Living as a condemned traitor…"
"Er…"
They buzzed in low voices, but in a small chamber, a Shinigami of Higashino's level could hear them all if he wished.
He stayed calm. Their chatter meant nothing. The decision lay with the man on the dais—Tsunayashiro Kamihara.
From Kamihara's perspective, the conclusion would differ sharply from the nobles' babble.
Aizen had seen the same thing in him that day—and said as much.
For the nobles, led by the Tsunayashiro, Higashino was both the only choice and the optimal one.
Even without Akimi's "fabricated future," Higashino believed the Tsunayashiro would have come knocking eventually.
As expected—after long deliberations (and a mid-session trip by Kamihara to the Great Spirit Book Corridor), he announced the result.
Two mornings later, the current 2nd Division Captain, Soi Fon, had just woken, buckled on her gear, and was about to begin Hakuda (hand-to-hand) training when a message came from the Captain-Commander: an emergency Captains' Meeting.
Strange. She remembered no recent upheavals. Why a sudden meeting?
She didn't overthink it. Passing Division matters to her lieutenant, Ōmaeda Marechiyo, she went straight to the 1st Division barracks.
She wasn't the only one puzzled; most captains were wrong-footed by the sudden summons.
Especially upon seeing the 13th Division's Ukitake Jūshirō and the 12th Division's Kurotsuchi Mayuri—two captains who almost never attended—arrive as well. Confusion spread.
"What happened, Captain Kyōraku? Do you know?"
"Not a clue, little Soi Fon~" Kyōraku Shunsui drawled with a blade of foxtail grass in his mouth. "But I heard one of the Five Great Houses, the Tsunayashiro, have formed a new division. Supposedly the old man already approved it. Central 46 as well~"
"A new division?"
Soi Fon frowned. Why hadn't she heard?
Did the Tsunayashiro completely bypass the Shihōin?
As a member of the lower noble Bee House serving the Shihōin, even if she loathed Shihōin Yoruichi for defecting, she still maintained decent ties with Yoruichi's younger brother, Shihōin Yūshirō (with his extended style-name).
If she didn't know, it meant the Tsunayashiro had gone around the Shihōin.
Not the first time since Yoruichi had fled.
Since that mass defection over a decade ago, the Five Great Houses stood thus: Tsunayashiro dominant; Kuchiki tending their own garden.
The Shihōin, with Yūshirō not yet bearing the load, saw their former allies drift toward the Tsunayashiro;
The Shiba—always poor at noble politics—had almost no voice and few vassals;
And the Kabuma clan? They never took part in Soul Society affairs; its only current head had even run off to the World of the Living to find her old flame, Higashino Shuuichi.
Few ordinary Shinigami knew that last bit, but captains like Soi Fon had heard.
She remembered the buzzing in her skull when she learned it.
For a moment, she'd wanted to run to the World of the Living, too—her two "most treasured" people had gone there (one had nearly killed her; the other hadn't even told her he was leaving).
In the end, she held fast.
Soon, all division captains gathered in the 1st Division's chamber.
On the dais, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni wasted no words: "There is but one purpose for today's Captains' Meeting. By decision of Central 46, Seireitei will add a new noble division directly under the Tsunayashiro—one of the Five Great Houses. Its name: Katana-gari-shū."
"But don't we already have a noble division?"
Ukitake Jūshirō looked toward the current 6th Division Captain, Kuchiki Sōjun.
The newly minted Kuchiki head—fresh from inheriting after his father, Kuchiki Ginrei, fell—looked a touch wan.
"It's different, Jūshirō. We of the 6th usually obey the Head-Captain's orders and deployments. But this new Katana-gari-shū will not be under the Head-Captain's command. It will answer only to the Tsunayashiro and Central 46."
Sōjun shook his head, helpless.
As head of the Kuchiki, he clearly knew some inside details.
"So? Just to notify us that some 'Katana-gari-shū' is being founded—you didn't need to drag every captain here for that, old man."
The 11th's Captain, Zaraki Kenpachi, spoke most directly, baring his impatience at Yamamoto.
Long used to Zaraki's rudeness, Yamamoto merely swept his eyes around the room and said evenly, "If it were only to announce the formation, indeed we needn't gather. But since it is to be a division, we must respect tradition in selecting its captain.
First, I do not recognize him. Second, he has no recommendation from any captain present. Thus, if this Shinigami wishes to become captain of the Katana-gari-shū, only one path remains—"
"Ho~ Accept examination under the witness of three captains, eh?"
Zaraki didn't wait for him to finish. He cracked his knuckles, eager.
He'd worn the 11th's haori long enough to know a few things.
Across the room, silent waves ran through the captains' hearts.
To be someone the Head-Captain openly refused to recognize—how outrageous was this man?
Each captain conjured a few names—then crossed them out.
Before long, most were staring at one another. Only a few had guessed right.
Soi Fon's little head wasn't built for guessing games, but she didn't need to. The chamber doors swung open, and a man she'd never have dared imagine—one who shouldn't even be here—appeared before all the captains.
The instant she saw him, Soi Fon clenched her fists, bit her lip, and her eyes went bright with tears;
Zaraki's eyes blazed as he threw back his head and laughed—he knew the man would return;
Standing by the Head-Captain's side, Unohana Retsu's smile rose a subtle notch;
Aizen Sōsuke, ever gently smiling, played along and showed the same mild surprise as most of the room;
Kyōraku Shunsui's grin said he'd expected this all along;
Behind his mask, Kurotsuchi Mayuri kept a flat face, but in his mind he was already planning to scrounge materials from this man after the meeting—the samples from ten years ago were long gone.
Reactions differed. The man stood with his back to the sunlight, head high, one hand in his pocket. He looked over the captains and flashed a brilliant smile.
"Captains—it's been a while."
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810