[Two Days Later, At the Feng Family]
BANG!
The elder hall's main door was forced open, and Sui Feng's figure, face dark as iron, appeared in front of several elders.
"Presumptuous, Sui Feng. Even though you are the head of the Feng family, you still have to follow the Feng family's rules," An elder shouted.
"You are the ones being presumptuous!"
Sui Feng's face was filled with anger. She punched the nearby wall, easily leaving a large dent.
"What exactly are you doing? The Shiba Kaien couple just had an accident, and you used my na to mobilize the Punishnt Squad(Onmitsukido) to secretly assassinate mbers of the Shiba family. Do you even understand what you are doing?"
If it were just about competing for the seats of Central 46 before this, Sui Feng would have pretended not to see it.
After all, power struggles between noble families were common, and she had no way to interfere.
If she tried to interfere, that would an standing against her own family.
Even though the ninth generation only had her left, the eighth and even seventh generation still had many mbers alive.
Even if she died, the Feng family could still find soone from the branch families to inherit and continue the line.
So she knew very well that she couldn't control family matters, and no one would listen to her anyway.
But the Second Division was different. This ti the Feng family had privately mobilized the Punishnt Squad of the Second Division, and even used her na. This had already crossed her bottom line.
"Of course we know what we are doing. Do you think just using your na would let us mobilize the Punishnt Squad to assassinate people from the Shiba family? Use your brain. Whose people do you think the Punishnt Squad really is?", One elder spoke with mocking tone. That look of contempt made Sui Feng grit her teeth.
Of course she knew whose people the Punishnt Squad really were.
Even though she was the captain of the Second Division, she was basically just a temporary stand-in.
There were only two people who could truly mobilize the Punishnt Squad.
One was Captain Commander Yamamoto, the other was the Shihouin clan.
The elder's words already made it very clear. In this assassination of the Shiba family, the Shihouin clan had taken action. No matter how much she argued, it would be useless.
After all, in na, the Feng family was only a subordinate house of the Shihouin.
And a portion of the Punishnt Squad had always belonged to the Shihouin clan. Even she could not mobilize them, because her last na was not Shihouin.
"Do as you wish. Best not to dig your own graves," Sui Feng spoke through clenched teeth, then left helplessly.
Although she had co to hold them accountable, from the mont she entered the hall, she was the only one who believed she was here to question them.
In the eyes of the elders and another hidden observer, it was a very different scene.
The final words she left behind were no longer a warning. Instead, they heard a cheerful praise, "You did well this ti, but next ti be more discreet. Don't let the Gotei 13 notice."
After she said this, the elders all showed expressions like enlightened juniors.
At the sa ti, Kyoraku Shunsui, who had been hiding in the shadows of the room, had his face sink instantly.
Even though he hadn't found evidence of Sui Feng betraying the Soul Society, the fact that her heart was no longer with the Gotei 13 was already a settled matter.
But nobles secretly plotting to kill other nobles could not be used as evidence to execute Sui Feng.
After all, with Shiba Kaien and his wife dead, the Shiba main family had only a pair of young sisters left. With the fall of the Tsunayashiro clan as a prior example, countless people were waiting to bite the Shiba clan as soon as they weakened.
In just two days, all of the Shiba elders had died. This definitely wasn't only the Feng family's doing.
Except for the Kuchiki clan, nearly all the other noble families had left traces of involvent.
Even the Kyoraku clan, his own family, had elders who participated.
This was sothing he could never expose. So he needed more evidence, direct evidence that Sui Feng had dumped a Hollow into the 13th Division and caused the death of the Shiba couple.
In another corner of the room, Rosse gently rubbed the Enrakyoten in his hand, a playful smile on his lips as he quietly enjoyed the scene before him.
It had to be said, Aizen's Kyoka Suigetsu was truly useful.
In the past, he could only sit and wait for interesting scenes. Now, he could be the director, letting everything follow the script he wanted.
The only thing left now was for the Feng family to be completely wiped out, forcing Sui Feng into a dead end, then he would appear like a savior and rescue her.
He wasn't worried about being exposed.
In his heart, people could never be treated equally.
For soone like Unohana or Matsumoto Rangiku, he would never deceive them. He always laid things out clearly and let them choose.
But soone like Sui Feng who always jumped in his face, using her and then discarding her completely would be the best revenge.
———
[Several Days Later]
Today was the burial day of Shiba Kaien and Shiba Miyako. The once bustling Shiba family estate, once filled with crowds and noble carriages, now looked desolate and empty.
The sky was gloomy, leaden clouds hanging low.
The new head of the family, Shiba Kukaku, wore plain white mourning clothes. She knelt quietly in front of her brother and sister-in-law's coffins, her beautiful face showing neither sorrow nor joy, like an ice sculpture.
Beside her, her younger brother Ganju, still just a boy, had long cried his eyes red and swollen. He sobbed uncontrollably, only mumbling curses at the Shinigami.
He was still kept in the dark, unaware of the real cause of their deaths.
But in Ganju's simple understanding, his brother and sister-in-law had died in Seireitei, and besides the Shinigami, there could be no other culprit.
Kukaku understood part of the truth, yet she could only stay silent.
When Ukitake Jushiro ca to pay respects earlier, he had quietly explained that her brother and sister-in-law had died to a suddenly appearing Hollow. She didn't believe a single word of it, yet she had no choice but to believe.
The Shiba clan was already in a storm. Even their ancestral land, passed down for generations, was at risk. Let alone having the ability to investigate the truth of the deaths.
The entire Seireitei, at this mont, filled Kukaku with a coldness that seeped into her bones.
A hundred years ago, before her close friend Shihouin Yoruichi left, she had warned her. Every word still echoed in her ears.
At that ti, she felt that with her big brother protecting her, she didn't need to take her friend's warning seriously.
But now, it was clear that Seireitei was not a place one could stay long.
Over a decade ago, the head of the branch family, Shiba Isshin, once the captain of the Tenth Division, suddenly disappeared with no explanation to this day.
Her talented brother had beco acting captain of the 13th Division within a hundred years, yet he still died under so random excuse.
And at the end, he didn't even leave a corpse. Not a trace of her brother or sister-in-law remained. How could she accept that?
But even if she couldn't accept it, what could she do?
Within just a few days, only she and her brother were left. The Shiba clan couldn't endure any more blows.
Once she sent her brother and sister-in-law on their final journey, she would take her younger brother and leave Seireitei.
She would rather live in the chaotic and lawless Rukongai than remain in this beautiful cage that devoured her family.
And at this mont, the servant Koganehiko's voice ca from outside:
"Captain Rosse, thank you for coming all the way here despite your busy schedule."
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