Meanwhile, the scene shifts to the Human World—on the outskirts of Karakura Town.
Located in Honchō District 6, Bowl Blue No. 1 Street, the Tiernes Rose Manor was the Karakura residence of Naruki City's richest family—the Saitō family, owners of Itatsu Real Estate.
After the death of the tycoon Saitō Momoto and his two daughters, Tsukuyomi and Hana, the real estate empire fell into the hands of the family's sole remaining heir, Saitō Nawaki.
It was the evening of the last day of June. The final crimson glow of the setting sun painted the distant horizon, turning the white clouds into brilliant streaks of rainbow light. The twilight radiance filled the sky above Karakura Town.
Tap, tap... tap, tap!
Within the quiet and elegant Tiernes Rose Manor, a crisp set of footsteps suddenly echoed.
Soon after, a middle-aged gentleman with slicked-back brown hair and a small mustache entered the first-floor sitting room and spoke calmly:
"Lord Kariya, Mr. Saitō requests an audience."
"…Very well. Let him in."
The man seated on the far-left leather sofa by the fireplace responded casually.
He wore a brown short robe, had short silver-white hair, and a small scar on his chin. He was none other than the leader of the Soul Hunters—the Bount—Jin Kariya.
"Hmph. What does that guy want at this hour?" Yoshi, with long green hair, dressed in a purple robe and beige trousers, muttered irritably.
"Yoshi," said Koga, a bronze-skinned older man wearing a blue earpiece around his neck,
"He is a comrade who shares our ambitions, after all. You should speak less like that in the future."
"Tch… a comrade?" Mabashi, with orange-yellow hair and a tongue piercing, sneered.
"At best, he's just a stray dog cast out of Soul Society. What right does he have to be called a Bount comrade?"
"Everyone—"The only one dressed in dark slacks and a white shirt, Ugaki adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and said quietly, "Enough. He's here."
"Hmph…" Sawatari, gray-haired and appearing elderly, snorted coldly and looked toward the door. A well-dressed, elegant young man entered the sitting room.
"To come here so late—what brings you here, Mr. Saitō…?" Kariya asked indifferently, not even glancing at the young man.
"Lord Kariya, please call me by my real name—Maki Ichinose."
The young man who called himself Maki Ichinose surveyed the room before asking,
"Where are Lady Sōma and the brothers Hō and Ban?"
The "Lady Sōma" he referred to was Sōma Yoshino, whose beauty closely resembled that of the Bount creator Ran'tō. She was the only Bount among them who possessed a maternal nature.
As for the brothers Hō and Ban, they were the only two children among the Bount—a pair of identical twins.
The reason Ichinose was addressed as "Mr. Saitō" by the Bount was because he had once been a Shinigami of the Eleventh Division in Soul Society. However, the gigai he currently inhabited bore the appearance of Nawaki, the sole heir of the Saitō family.
In truth, Maki Ichinose had deeply trusted and admired the former Eleventh Division Captain, Kenpachi Kiganjō. After Kiganjō was defeated and killed by Kenpachi Zaraki, Ichinose developed an intense hatred for Zaraki.
Thus, he fled to the Human World and joined the Bount, intending one day to counterattack Soul Society.
To realize this grand ambition, Ichinose used the illusionary ability of his Shikai, Nijigasumi, to repeatedly sneak into the Great Archive and secretly read confidential information about the noble Kazama clan.
When he learned that Tsunade Kazama—the fifth in line of succession from a branch family of the royal clan—had gone into hiding in the Human World, he spent nearly a century searching for her whereabouts.
More than sixty years ago, Ichinose finally discovered that over thirty years prior, Tsunade Kazama had changed her name to Fūjin Sakura and married into Naruki City's most prestigious household—the Saitō family—bearing a son, Saitō Hidemitsu, to the then head, Saitō Jūshirō.
However, on a moonlit night three months after giving birth, Tsunade was murdered by an unknown assailant…
Her son, Hidemitsu, was also killed thirty years later on another full-moon night.
Not long afterward, her grandson Momoto met the same fate thirty years later, also under a full moon.
His eldest daughter Tsukuyomi and second daughter Hana were subsequently killed as well—leaving only the final surviving member of the Saitō family…
Nawaki.
Coincidentally, the very day Maki Ichinose found Saitō Nawaki and brought him to Jin Kariya to have his soul devoured was exactly the thirtieth year after Momoto's death.
In the end, Nawaki's corpse was turned into a gigai by Ichinose, becoming a tool for him to evade pursuit from Soul Society.
Using the identity of "Saitō Nawaki," the Saitō family's Itatsu Real Estate and the Tiernes Rose Manor in Naruki City also became a refuge for the Bount in the Human World.
…
Returning to the present—
After Ichinose inquired about the whereabouts of Sōma Yoshino and the others, Kariya gave a cold snort and replied:
"Forget about them for now! You… instead of staying in Naruki City to manage the company, what are you doing here?"
"Lord Kariya, there's new information from Soul Society—"
Ichinose knelt respectfully on one knee and answered in a low voice:
"It concerns the Seireitei."
"What?"
"Three captains of the Gotei 13… have betrayed Soul Society. They are Captain Ichimaru of the Third Division—"
"That's not important."
Kariya cut him off forcefully, then leaned back, nearly sinking into the leather sofa as though resting with his eyes closed.
"And… the newly appointed captain of the Ninth Division, Fūjin Taichi, is suspected to be connected to the royal branch clan, the Fūma—"
"I said it's not important."
Kariya suddenly opened his eyes. His crimson pupils fixed coldly on Ichinose.
"Any news about Ran'tō… or the Jōkaishō?"
"My apologies. Not yet… but I am investigating—"
Before Ichinose could finish, Kariya barked, "Useless!"
Ichinose's expression stiffened instantly, and a flash of hatred flickered across his eyes.
"Ran'tō—the culprit behind the tragedy of our Bount race—I… will kill her with my own hands!"
Kariya stared grimly at the blazing fire in the fireplace for a moment before slightly turning his head toward Ichinose.
"Use your ability to locate the Jōkaishō as soon as possible.
Then… it will be time for the Bount to counterattack Soul Society. And you—will have the chance to kill that Shinigami… hm? What was his name again?"
"Kenpachi… Kenpachi Zaraki."
Ichinose's burning gaze radiated deep killing intent. His left hand gripped tightly around the hilt of his Zanpakutō, Nijigasumi, as he declared word by word:
"I… will kill him with my own hands!!"
...
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