Today, those who are qualified to come to Kuchiki's house are not ordinary people.
Except for Gosuke Shigure and the captains of Gotei 13, the rest are nobles. And the person who can be sent to this banquet as a noble is either the head of the family or an extremely important member.
After all, the Kuchiki family is one of the four great noble houses and must be respected.
But after Shihouin Yoruichi called Gosuke Shigure teacher, these nobles realised they had to re-examine the Shihouin family.
The Shihouin are also one of the four great noble houses, commanding the Second Division and Onmitsukidō. Ms. Yoruichi, who has risen in recent years, has shown extremely strong aptitude and will surely become the next head. Her teacher, however, is the current Kenpachi – the Captain of the 11th Division.
You must know that the Shihouin family itself controls covert ops, while now it has a strong connection to the Eleventh Division, the most battle-oriented division among the Gotei 13.
It seems that after returning, these nobles must re-discuss their treatment of the Shihouin family.
All in all, in the eyes of these nobles, with the Shiba family having declined and been expelled, the Shihouin family shows signs of reasserting their power.
As for the rest:
The Tsunayashiro family remains mysterious, rarely appearing openly.
The Kuchiki family, however, if unable to deal with their current crisis, may decline despite their illustrious past.
Today, Kuchiki Ginrei held this banquet with the future of the Kuchiki family in mind. But if the person he chooses is not strong enough to uphold the family name, the Kuchiki clan may still fall.
Those present were not fools. Moreover, Kuchiki Ginrei's invitation letter clearly stated it was to recruit a husband for his daughter Hisana.
The purpose of this banquet was self-evident.
Gosuke Shigure did not care what these nobles thought.
After hearing Yoruichi's greeting, he looked at her. "Did the Shihouin family send you today?"
Yoruichi said helplessly, "Grandpa sent me, saying that since I will inherit the Shihouin family business sooner or later, I need to deal with the Kuchiki family. In my opinion, he just didn't want to attend this kind of occasion."
Gosuke Shigure could only smile at her complaints about Shihouin Yoruichi's grandfather, Shihouin Kōketsu, the current head.
He hadn't seen Yoruichi for a long time.
In the following time, master and apprentice stayed together and chatted for a while.
After graduating from Shin'ō Academy, officially becoming a Shinigami, and honing herself in the Second Division for many years, Yoruichi had grown up completely from the lively girl she once was. Except for the Shihouin family's signature dark skin, her figure was well-developed, her movements smooth and confident.
Of course, her tight combat outfit highlighted her build.
Tight-fitting clothes were necessary for Shunpo and Hakuda.
Until a young man with black-green hair entered the hall, the entire place quieted down, and the eyes of many nobles fell on him, their expressions slightly dignified.
"Who is he?" Gosuke Shigure's eyes flickered slightly.
"It's from the Tsunayashiro family," Yoruichi explained softly.
"He's called Tsunayashiro Tokinada, an outstanding member of this generation."
After explaining, Yoruichi said bluntly, "To be honest, I don't like the Tsunayashiro family. They never participate in Gotei 13 matters. They control the Great Spirit Book Corridor and remain hidden, like silent predators."
More importantly, as predators, you never know when they will strike.
As Yoruichi gradually took over family responsibilities, she learned much about Tsunayashiro's behind-the-scenes influence.
It was the Tsunayashiro family that led the sudden removal of the Shiba clan from noble ranks.
The Ise family's gradual decline was also partly linked to them.
Before the Kuchiki family became head among the four great houses, the Tsunayashiro were historically the leading noble clan.
They would naturally resent the Kuchiki for usurping their standing.
However, today was the Kuchiki family's husband-selection banquet. Though the Tsunayashiro family came, it was impossible for them to directly humiliate the Kuchiki on such an occasion. They politely exchanged words with Kuchiki Hisana and congratulated her.
After a while, Kuchiki Ginrei, the current head and Captain of the Sixth Division, entered. Behind him were two people. One was a woman with elegant makeup and gentle bearing – the madam of the Kuchiki family.
The other was a tall young man, not especially handsome, his short hair adorned with Kuchiki's star-shaped kenseikan and red wind-flower gauze.
"It's the son-in-law candidate chosen by Kuchiki Ginrei," Hirako Shinji suddenly spoke upon seeing the young man clearly.
Gosuke Shigure glanced sideways at Hirako Shinji. "Captain Hirako knows him?"
Hirako Shinji nodded. "Yeah. I occasionally teach at Shin'ō Academy, so I know him. His name is Kuchiki Sōjun. He was born a commoner but graduated from Shin'ō in record time. It's said he awakened his Zanpakutō soon after enrollment."
"Now that he has entered the Kuchiki family, we will call him Kuchiki Sōjun from now on."
"In that case, he's indeed impressive. It's just a pity that such a genius went directly to the Sixth Division." Gosuke Shigure sighed slightly after hearing Hirako Shinji's explanation.
Hirako Shinji agreed. "Yes, with that potential, he could have joined our Fifth Division. But how could Kuchiki Ginrei let him slip away?"
Of course, this was just Hirako Shinji's joke.
Sōjun joining the Sixth Division was inevitable, as it was led by the Kuchiki family.
The real reason was that he chose to become Ginrei's son-in-law.
If Hirako Shinji had a daughter, he might have recruited Sōjun as a son-in-law too, bringing him to the Fifth Division.
Unfortunately, he did not.
And what Gosuke Shigure was thinking of was a plot from the original anime filler arc, "Zanpakutō Rebellion," where a Zanpakutō spirit named Muramasa materialised and incited rebellion.
Muramasa's master was called Kuchiki Kōga, not Sōjun, but it reminded him that anime filler introduced characters beyond manga canon.
Seeing Kuchiki Sōjun standing there, Gosuke Shigure realised again that this was not the manga world, but the anime world, where filler events, original characters, and hidden plots intertwined with the Soul Society's history.
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