BLEACH: Blade of Purification

Among the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the number of nobles who personally wielded a sword and went to the front lines was not as many as one might think, but it was by no means small. At least among the thirteen captains, a quick count revealed four. Excluding the Shihōin family of the 2nd Division and the Kuchiki family of the 6th Division, who were among the Five Great Noble Clans, the 8th Division's Captain Kyōraku Shunsui was also from a high-ranking noble family, while the 13th Division's Ukitake Jūshirō was from a lower-ranking one.

Therefore, although due to their positions or various other reasons, the two captains chatting here were not involved in the recent noble infighting in the Seireitei, it wasn't entirely correct to say it had nothing to do with them. Even if they themselves, or the families behind them, were not involved, it was still necessary to understand the situation and its progress.

However, between the two friends, it was mainly Kyōraku Shunsui who paid attention to the development of events. When he judged that it wouldn't involve him, he would just watch from the sidelines, pretending to be indifferent while secretly pondering things no one knew. And when he judged that it would involve himself or Ukitake, he would immediately come and discuss it with him.

The fact that he had only come to talk about it now meant that they had, at least in this noble turmoil, managed to keep themselves safe and were not implicated at all. From this perspective, Kyōraku was quite satisfied that the members of the 13th Division had not told Ukitake about the matter.

Because Ukitake was different from him. Kyōraku could watch these things from the sidelines without any burden, even enjoying the show. But the kind-hearted Ukitake, even knowing it had nothing to do with him, would try to find ways to lessen the conflict between the parties, attempting to do something.

As expected, hearing Kyōraku say this, Ukitake knew what he meant by coming to find him at this time. He looked at his friend with a rather helpless expression and let out a sigh.

"...Shunsui, you should have told me earlier."

"Well, well, wasn't the matter resolved even without telling you? Don't think about it so much. This wasn't something you could casually get involved in." Kyōraku replied in a carefree tone.

"Besides, although there was no news, with Captain Shihōin being so proactive, I guess old man Yama's intentions were behind it too. After all, this time the Central 46 was surprisingly not hiding their heads, but showed a positive attitude and cooperated with Captain Shihōin to solve the problem."

"Even the Central 46?"

Kyōraku's words truly shocked Ukitake. Even he knew that when faced with events related to the nobles, the Central 46 mostly adopted an attitude of 'don't know, haven't heard, don't ask me'. Even in situations where measures had to be taken, they would be handled with a light touch.

For the Central 46 to be tough when faced with a major event related to the nobles, and noble infighting at that, it was truly as if the sun had risen from the west.

"After all, although they are said to be fully responsible for noble affairs, the Golden Seal Noble Council is still controlled by the nobles. In such a situation, it loses its function. And a large-scale infighting among the nobles is also a drain on the power within the Seireitei. The Central 46 had reached a point where they had to act."

The nobles were more than a cut above the commoner Soul Reapers, even possessing innate privileges. The reason for this was probably known to very few. But the ways in which the nobles were stronger than the commoners were well known by many, for example, the bloodlines they passed down. Nobles had bloodlines that made it easier to awaken powerful abilities. The fact that four of the thirteen captains were of noble birth could also serve as a side verification of this. Compared to the commoners who needed to win by numbers, the nobles could pass down bloodlines skilled in martial arts.

"And the result? You look to be in a pretty good mood."

"The result... is quite good. At least that place, the execution grounds, has been abolished."

"Even the execution grounds?!" Ukitake's eyes widened in surprise. "This can't be described as just 'quite good'!"

For such a major event to end with just the abolishment of an execution ground, without any specific punishment for certain families or individuals, might sound a bit anticlimactic at first. But in reality, only the noble Soul Reapers could realize what a huge change this was.

The existence of the execution grounds could be said to be one of the physical manifestations of the dark side of the nobility. Weak or declining noble families would be framed with despicable means, and to prevent them from making a comeback, they would be sent to the execution grounds, a simple and direct way to cut the weeds and eliminate the roots. This was a method the nobles had used for who knows how many years, and also one of the root causes of noble infighting, because there was no need to fear future retaliation.

But now, once the execution grounds were abolished, the simple operation of cutting the weeds and eliminating the roots was no longer possible. Whatever one wanted to do, they had to consider the retaliation afterward. After all, for Soul Reapers, a few hundred years was not a long time at all. Especially for the nobles with bloodlines, they could live for even longer.

"Was it Captain Shihōin who did it... then Captain Shihōin is really... amazing."

Although he didn't know what had happened in detail, just hearing the conclusion was enough to make Ukitake feel emotional.

"Well, well, well. Compared to these things, I'm actually more concerned about another point." Compared to Ukitake's感慨, Kyōraku was less interested in things like struggles and balance of power. He had not been a person who liked these things since he was young. In contrast, other things were more likely to arouse his interest. This was also one of the reasons he had taken the initiative to come and chat with Ukitake this time.

"Guess what excuse Captain Shihōin used to intervene in this matter?"

"Hm?" Ukitake looked at him carefully. From Kyōraku's face, he saw a bit of playfulness and also grew a bit curious.

"You'll never imagine it if I don't tell you. That Captain Shihōin, he actually brought a child back from the Rukongai and adopted him as his foster son!"

"Ah, ah this!" Now, even Ukitake was speechless.

If an ordinary noble did this, it wouldn't be strange. After all, there were always some overflowing geniuses or people with special talents that even the nobles wanted to have in their pocket. Some would be given the status of a foster child, others would use the method of marriage. But no matter what, even if one entered a noble family in this way, their status would not be higher than the lowest rank of a branch family.

But if the person doing this was the head of one of the Five Great Noble Clans, the meaning was different. Even without possessing the blood of the Five Great Noble Clans, their status would be higher than most Soul Reapers, even most nobles!

For someone with the status of a Great Noble Clan head, it was very difficult to be forced into such a decision by power or similar things. If they wanted to do something similar, they could just order others in their family to act on their behalf. In other words, if they made such a move, it meant they truly saw potential in someone, and were unwilling to let others have them even in name.

In the long history of the Soul Society, for the head of one of the Five Great Noble Clans to adopt a commoner from the Rukongai as a foster child, such a thing had never happened even once!

Compared to being amazed, the first thought that flashed through Ukitake's mind was actually—Is he insane?!

"I originally thought that was just a sacrifice to be used as an excuse to intervene in the event. But after a little investigation, I found that something was not quite right." Kyōraku's smile became even more playful. "When most of the nobles began to panic that the Five Great Noble Clans were officially intervening, I was surprised to notice that the person who was the excuse did not appear. After a little investigation, I noticed that the person had been directly dispatched to carry out a mission. By the way, the person was not even a Soul Reaper from the Seireitei before being assigned to the mission team. That mission was a secret mission that even I didn't know about. On the other hand, Captain Shihōin was also actively acting in the dark, trying to persuade those stubborn old men in his family."

"So... Captain Shihōin is serious?" Hearing Kyōraku say this, Ukitake also breathed a slight sigh of relief. When he first heard it, after the initial surprise, the first thing he thought of was whether an innocent person had become a victim of the nobles' infighting. If so, even if his reputation was damaged and he had to go against the Shihōin family, he would find a way to protect that child.

But now he was relieved. For Captain Shihōin to be serious to this extent meant he was not joking, but had really made a world-shattering decision. He had just combined two things, killing two birds with one stone. No wonder Kyōraku would exclaim that Captain Shihōin was a terrifying person.

"So, I'm really a little curious. What was it about that child that moved Captain Shihōin? What do you think, Ukitake? Should we find an excuse to run over and have a look?" Although he was speaking in a questioning tone, Kyōraku's voice was already eager.

"To be valued so much by Captain Shihōin, if we were to make contact rashly, we would definitely be seen as having ulterior motives." Ukitake's words seemed to hold a hint of resistance. But Kyōraku's smile did not change. They had been best friends for how many years; who didn't know who.

As expected, Ukitake's next sentence followed right after.

"But it has indeed been a while since we've communicated with Captain Shihōin. How about we pay a formal visit to the 2nd Division?"

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