"I've been away from Seireitei long enough. I'll return to the Shihōin estate and come back in a few days," Yanmo said. "I'll bring study texts and practice weapons. Your task is to identify those with the best aptitude and begin training them."
"Shisui, teach them the reiatsu–refinement method I showed you."
He turned to leave, then paused and spoke without looking back. "For now, Fugaku remains your clan head."
"As you command," the four leaders replied. It was the only stable choice. In a new and alien world, survival required continuity. The elders led opposing factions and would never accept the other. Shisui had strength but not the seniority to rule; the younger generation lacked weight.
Fugaku called after him, respectful. "My lord, shall we assign a guard to accompany you? The Uchiha will defend you with our lives."
Yanmo didn't slow. He only lifted a hand. "Unnecessary. You are no longer shinobi. What protection could you offer me?"
Realization flickered across their faces, followed by wry smiles. Habit had fooled them. As souls, they had no bodies to forge chakra; they were, for now, no stronger than ordinary people. And this lord needed no escort.
They watched Yanmo vanish into the night. Fugaku turned to the others. "Shisui. Elder Setsuna. Elder Huohe. We should speak."
"We are dead," he said evenly. "Old factions and positions no longer fit. This world is unknown to us. Our first problem is how the Uchiha will live here. Set aside grievances and agree on a baseline for the future."
"You speak well," Elder Setsuna muttered, then stopped himself and nodded. For the clan's survival—even with a Death God's help—he would accept the proposal. Shisui and Elder Huohe agreed.
"The first question," Fugaku continued. "Our new lord—what kind of man is he, and what does he intend for the Uchiha? Shisui, you met him first."
"Yes," Shisui said. "In my judgment, my lord is…"
While they planned, Yanmo crossed Rukongai at night in a blur of Shunpo, heading for Seireitei's western gate.
Three or four days in the shinobi world… how many passed here? Two realms might not share the same flow of time.
He presented the Shihōin clan's noble credential to the gate guard. "Jidanbō. Open the gate."
"Oh—Lord Yanmo. One moment," rumbled the giant. Even at one meter ninety, Yanmo felt short before him. After the routine check, Jidanbō hoisted the sekki-seki gate.
"How long was I gone?" Yanmo asked.
"Not sure," Jidanbō scratched his head. "Four, five days at most."
"Thank you."
Close enough, Yanmo thought. The flows were roughly aligned.
Patrol officers moved along the walls, but a noble pass cleared every path. He slipped through Seireitei's streets and into the Shihōin estate.
The Soul Society was feudal at its core. Nobles and commoners lived worlds apart—nowhere more so than in central Seireitei. The Shihōin stood at the summit as one of the four great houses. Even as a betrothed son-in-law, Yanmo had crossed several strata in a single step and gained privileges that opened doors others could not see.
The estate guards bowed and swung the gate wide. Their captain said, "Lord Yanmo, the family head left orders: report to her when you return."
"The former head?" Yanmo asked.
"No, to Lady Yoruichi."
"I understand."
He crossed the courtyard. The previous head—Yoruichi's predecessor and Yanmo's prospective father-in-law—had allowed him to live here before the ceremony, to learn noble life and handle minor household affairs.
As Yanmo turned down a lamplit corridor, a bright, teasing voice cut through the quiet behind him.
"Well, well. If it isn't the Shihōin family's famed son-in-law. You vanished for days. Confess—what were you up to?"
Yanmo stopped, composed as ever, and turned. By candlelight he saw her clearly: lithe and straight-backed, a shade shorter than his shoulder, with cropped violet hair and striking, clean features. Gold eyes glittered with interest beneath bold brows. Her skin was a deep, warm brown that only sharpened her beauty. Over a tailored Shinigami uniform she wore a fresh captain's haori, one shoulder set against the corridor pillar, arms folded.
"Yoruichi," he said. "Your Shunpo has improved."
A glint flashed in his eyes, his voice low and steady.
Standing there was the current head of the Shihōin clan—and Yanmo's fiancée—Shihōin Yoruichi.