At the Sixth Division, Byakuya had been enjoying a rare quiet moment with Hisana when Iba appeared.
"Captain Kuchiki. The Captain-Commander requests your presence immediately."
Byakuya's relaxed expression vanished.
Rumors surrounding the Kuchiki Clan had been circulating throughout the Seireitei for days.
If Kazuma was summoning him now, it was almost certainly connected.
Hisana noticed the change in his expression and smiled gently.
"It sounds important. Go ahead. I'll leave you to your work."
She quietly excused herself.
...
By the time Byakuya arrived at the First Division, Kazuma was sitting behind his desk with his eyes closed.
They opened as Byakuya entered.
"You're here."
"Captain-Commander."
Byakuya bowed.
"What did you wish to discuss?"
He expected Kazuma to raise the rumors surrounding the Kuchiki Clan.
Instead, Kazuma asked, "Does the name Takaha Sabei mean anything to you?"
Byakuya paused.
That wasn't what he'd expected.
"Takaha Sabei. Nineteenth Seat of the Sixth Division. Current head of the Takaha family, a lower-ranking noble house."
He continued calmly.
"The family has been in decline for many years."
"A noble."
Kazuma smiled faintly.
"So I was right. This really does trace back to those people."
Byakuya understood immediately.
"You believe the Takaha family is behind the rumors?"
"Yes and no."
Kazuma leaned back.
"If they're just a declining minor house, they don't have enough influence to spread this throughout the Seireitei by themselves."
"So either several lesser noble families are working together…"
He stopped there.
There was no need to finish.
Byakuya knew what the other possibility was.
One — or more — of the remaining Great Noble Clans might be quietly helping the rumors spread.
Kazuma rubbed his temples.
"This is becoming a pain in the ass."
He looked at Byakuya.
"What do you think?"
If a group of lesser nobles really had coordinated this, then the number of people involved could be substantial.
Kazuma had barely taken office.
Was he seriously going to have to begin his tenure with a purge?
"I will defer to your judgment, Captain-Commander."
Byakuya bowed slightly.
Kazuma stared at him.
Then snorted.
"Oh, no you don't."
Byakuya remained expressionless.
Kazuma pointed at him.
"The Kuchiki Clan came out of this situation better than anyone. Your uncle got a captaincy, and your sister-in-law became a First Division lieutenant."
"Don't think you get to stand on the sidelines while I clean up the mess."
"You're contributing something."
Byakuya fell silent.
He knew Kazuma had a point.
The Kuchiki Clan had benefited enormously from the recent appointments. Pretending neutrality now would be shameless even by noble standards.
"Allow me some time to consider what assistance would be most appropriate."
Kazuma narrowed his eyes.
That was better.
Before Byakuya could come up with an answer, however, a member of Kōga's special forces hurried into the office and handed Kazuma a fresh report.
Kazuma read it.
Then smiled.
"Well, well."
His smile widened.
"This is interesting."
Very interesting.
Unfortunately, his face had gone completely dark.
Whatever was written in that report had put him in a truly awful mood.
Byakuya felt a chill run down his spine when Kazuma's familiar villainous chuckle started again.
"Hehehehe…"
Byakuya stared at him.
'Why does he somehow sound even more sinister now that he's Captain-Commander?'
It was broad daylight.
Yet somehow, the room suddenly felt haunted.
...
"Byakuya, aren't you curious what's in this report?"
Kazuma smiled as he idly waved the thick file in one hand, watching Byakuya's unreadable expression.
"My people went to quite a bit of trouble digging this up. There might be something interesting buried in here."
After a brief pause, Byakuya stepped forward.
"Then please stop teasing me and hand it over, Captain-Commander."
The moment he accepted the report, the Kuchiki Clan was officially involved.
Kazuma smiled in satisfaction and let go.
Byakuya opened the file and quickly scanned the first page.
The opening section covered Takaha Sabei and the Takaha family, none of which was new to him. But as he read further, his expression steadily hardened.
"Takaha Sabei, current head of the Takaha family…"
He skipped past the basic family history and continued.
What came next was far more interesting.
Ever since the Takaha family had entered the nobility, they'd served as retainers of the Tsunayashiro Clan.
That relationship lasted for generations.
Then, roughly three hundred years ago, the Takaha family publicly broke with the Tsunayashiro, claiming the great noble house had committed an unforgivable offense against them.
From that point onward, the two families supposedly became enemies.
According to Kōga's special forces, however, the entire feud had been staged.
The Tsunayashiro deliberately created the split so the Takaha family could integrate more naturally among the lesser nobles and quietly advance Tsunayashiro interests from within.
Byakuya slowly lowered the report.
"What do you intend to do, Captain-Commander?"
Internally, he was already regretting touching the damned thing.
He should have left it on Kazuma's desk.
Now that he knew what was inside, there was no pretending this had nothing to do with the Kuchiki Clan.
And the Tsunayashiro were no ordinary opponents.
Their lineage stretched all the way back to the creation of the Three Worlds.
As one of the Great Noble Clans, their wealth, influence, and accumulated power were immense.
As head of the Kuchiki Clan, Byakuya understood exactly how troublesome this could become.
Kazuma's expression turned colder.
Not long ago, the founders of the four Great Noble Clans had lured him into that chaotic space and nearly trapped him there.
He'd barely returned to the Three Worlds and hadn't yet found the time to settle that score.
Even then, Kazuma had intended to keep their descendants out of it.
Whatever crimes the founders had committed were theirs; there was no reason to punish generations born afterward.
Apparently, the Tsunayashiro descendants had other ideas.
If they insisted on walking straight into his line of fire, then so be it.
This time, Kazuma intended to tear out every piece of Tsunayashiro influence inside the Seireitei.
"Tetsuzaemon."
His voice turned sharp.
"Go bring Suì-Fēng here. Immediately."
"Yes, Captain-Commander."
Kazuma turned to Rukia.
"Rukia, head to the Shiba estate. Bring Shiba Kūkaku here."
"Understood."
Kazuma clasped his hands behind his back and began issuing orders one after another.
For once, he actually looked every inch the Captain-Commander.
If he was going after the Tsunayashiro Clan, he needed to do it properly.
As a Seventh Division captain, he could afford to think only about himself and the people directly around him.
That luxury was gone.
Now every decision had consequences for the entire Seireitei.
Destroying a Great Noble Clan was nothing like crushing a minor faction.
One careless move could destabilize Soul Society from the inside, so Kazuma needed to plan the operation carefully and contain the fallout before it began.
He sighed.
"God, this job is exhausting."
Kazuma rubbed his forehead.
"If I were still just Seventh Division captain, this would be easy. I'd walk into the Tsunayashiro estate with a sword and kill everyone who needed killing."
"No meetings. No planning. No worrying about political fallout."
Being Captain-Commander had ruined the simple life.
Unfortunately, he could no longer act however he pleased. Whether he liked it or not, the stability of the Seireitei was now his responsibility.
"Ruk—"
Kazuma stopped.
"Right. She already left."
He glanced toward the door.
"Genshirō! Notify every Shinigami currently in Soul Society ranked lieutenant or above. Have them assemble at the First Division immediately."
Former First Division Third Seat Genshirō Okikiba quickly acknowledged the order.
Kazuma leaned back in his chair.
'Maybe I should just appoint a third lieutenant.'
The thought lasted about three seconds.
No.
He'd already stretched convention by appointing two.
Creating important posts whenever he felt understaffed was probably not the best precedent for a new Captain-Commander.
Kazuma sighed again.
"I really miss Chōjirō."
He genuinely did.
When Kazuma first took over, he'd asked Sasakibe Chōjirō to remain as First Division lieutenant.
Chōjirō had refused without hesitation.
'I devoted my life to serving Lord Genryūsai. Now that he has retired, I can no longer remain as lieutenant of the First Division.'
Then he'd opened a Senkaimon and followed Yamamoto straight into retirement.
Good subordinates were hard to replace.
"At least I still have Tetsuzaemon."
Iba might not have been on Chōjirō's level in raw strength, but in every other respect he was exactly the kind of lieutenant Kazuma wanted.
Reliable.
Loyal.
No complaints.
No mistakes.
If Kazuma gave him an order, Iba carried it out.
Once this Tsunayashiro mess was dealt with, Kazuma decided it was time to help him grow stronger.
After all, Tetsuzaemon was now a lieutenant of the First Division.
If he remained too weak, it would reflect badly on the Captain-Commander.
And Kazuma had a reputation to maintain.