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"Senior Brother…"
"It's not my fault; Teacher asked me to borrow it from the Shihouin Family."
"But I trusted you so much, and you actually…"
"You really can't blame me. Blame Teacher for being so cunning."
Kyōraku Shunsui whistled contentedly, letting out a long sigh.
He had finally gotten his revenge for last time.
"Teacher, you heard it all, didn't you?"
Aozaki Reiji suddenly snatched the disc and said loudly,
"Senior Brother Kyōraku said you're cunning! I don't know how Senior Brother could say such rebellious words to a Teacher as good as you. It's too much!"
"This Old Man isn't deaf yet, Kyōraku Shunsui. Next month, you and Aozaki Reiji come together. I want to understand the investigation in detail!"
Kyōraku Shunsui: …
"Teacher, I might not be feeling well next month… Let Shiba Captain and Lisa go in my place to report."
He snatched back the disc, extended his finger, and pressed the gem on the disc. The gem immediately lost its luster and turned dull.
Then,
"Sizzle—"
No sound came from the gem disc communication anymore.
Shiba Isshin: …
He was dumbfounded for a few seconds.
Kyōraku Shunsui blinked, coughed lightly, and casually put away the disc, looking at Lisa Yadōmaru, who had been silent.
His expression suddenly became extremely serious, and he said in a deep voice:
"Lisa, you must keep your true self. Some guys, although handsome, are actually bad men who will only hurt a Senior Brother's heart!"
"You don't need to meddle, you rotten Old Man!" Lisa Yadōmaru gritted her teeth.
"Rotten Old Man!?" Kyōraku Shunsui instantly lost color, his eyes gradually becoming hollow: "But I'm not even a thousand years old yet…"
Aozaki Reiji patted Kyōraku Shunsui on the shoulder, comforting him:
"Senior Brother, you can't blame your Junior Brother for this. Those who do evil will eventually perish! Don't be too sad."
"It's not your turn to say that!!" Kyōraku Shunsui said, feeling dejected.
Seeing the topic gradually straying, Shiba Isshin decided to pull it back, clearing his throat and saying,
"Reiji, do you have any other information?"
Reiji rubbed his temples, pretending to be deep in thought and said,
"No, we really don't. Our Soul Reaping targets were three very cute children. Does that count as useful information?"
Shiba Isshin frowned and said, "I see. If this is all the information you have, I'm afraid it won't be easy to close the case!"
The reception room became very quiet. Everyone looked at each other, and finally, it was Kyōraku Shunsui who broke the silence.
He said with a smile:
"Actually, the situation is quite clear, isn't it? If it wasn't a Hollow, who else could it be?"
"Although the possibility of graduates encountering a Hollow during their Soul Burial Internship is not high."
"Such incidents have occurred in the history of the Shin'o Academy."
Shiba Isshin pondered for a moment. This was indeed the only conclusion that could be drawn at the moment.
However, recalling the scene, he felt that something was off.
He decided to consult his quick-witted old acquaintance.
"Reiji, what's your take?"
Aozaki Reiji rolled his eyes, annoyed, and said,
"My take? What can my take be?"
"If the clues you have are only this much, of course I agree with Senior Brother's view."
"You don't even let me see what you've investigated, so what other opinions could I have?"
Shiba Isshin opened his mouth, then fell silent.
He knew the other party was very smart, but those confidential documents really couldn't be shown to a graduate who had just completed his Soul Burial Internship.
"Then, Captain Kyōraku, I'll draft the report according to your instructions. That should be fine, right?" Lisa Yadōmaru suddenly spoke.
Her hands were clutching a book, preventing anyone from seeing her expression.
Kyōraku Shunsui looked at Shiba Isshin and asked lazily, "What do you think of this result, Shiba Captain?"
Shiba Isshin pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Let it be. This is the only conclusion we can get for now."
He always felt something was not quite right, but he couldn't pinpoint it.
After all, everyone's testimonies directly or indirectly supported this conclusion… This couldn't be faked!
...
Squad One Barracks.
"Attacked by a Hollow…"
"Is this your investigation result, Captain Shiba Isshin?"
Yamamoto, wearing a white haori, sat opposite Shiba Isshin, speaking in a gentle tone, drinking tea like a kind Old Man looking at him.
"A Hollow that can conceal its spiritual pressure, though rare, is not nonexistent."
It was Shiba Isshin's first time seeing Yamamoto in such an amiable manner, and he felt a bit uncomfortable, clearing his throat and saying,
"Yes, this is the final conclusion we reached after surveying the scene and understanding the situation from Teacher and the Shin'o Academy students."
Yamamoto pondered for a moment, then suddenly said,
"What about Aozaki Reiji's testimony? Let me see it."
"Captain, are you suspecting him…?" Shiba Isshin suddenly tensed up, quickly explaining, "This matter has absolutely nothing to do with him."
As if to add credibility, he paused and added,
"That kid is someone who bullies the weak and fears the strong. He would never dare to provoke the Tsunayashiro Family."
"It's really hard to say what that kid will do." Yamamoto narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "But in this Old Man's opinion, Captain Shiba seems to have a very close relationship with that kid."
Shiba Isshin handed over the testimony and waved his hand, saying,
"To tell you the truth, if that kid hadn't tricked me into joining the Gotei 13 back then, I'd still be messing around in Rukongai!"
This kid has such an ability, to trick people into joining the Gotei 13?
Yamamoto immediately became interested and said faintly,
"How did he get you to join the Gotei 13?"
"He said that if I joined the Gotei 13 and became a Captain, I would have high status and authority, and I could live a life of doing whatever I wanted."
Shiba Isshin pouted,
"Don't think I don't know, that kid actually just wants to lighten the burden on that girl Kukaku by making me a Captain!"
"That kid Kaien is the same, all he does is train all day. His position as Main family head is just like mine as branch family head."
Upon hearing this, an inexplicable surge of anger welled up in Yamamoto's heart, and he flipped through the testimony faster and faster.
He shouldn't have had any expectations for this kid!
After reading Reiji's testimony, his anger subsided, and he nodded with satisfaction.
He really cleared his name… Yamamoto felt greatly relieved.
He secretly compared everyone's testimonies. Except for some completely useless testimonies, the others could corroborate each other.
There were some minor conflicts in these testimonies.
However, human memory is inherently unreliable, so slight conflicts in testimonies are normal and harmless.
In fact, such flawed testimonies are even more convincing.
He said calmly and in a deep voice:
"You did very well. This Old Man is very satisfied with the investigation results. This matter ends here. Thank you for your hard work!"
"It's what we should do!" Shiba Isshin bowed respectfully.
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