The day of the Hunting Tournament.
Seireitei, Hunting Grounds.
Ito Makoto stood at the end of this boundless wasteland, looking at the hunting grounds that the Soul Society nobles had specifically reserved for hunting.
Feeling the rich spiritual energy emanating from this vast 'wasteland,' Ito Makoto sighed deeply.
Although the spiritual energy concentration here was not as dense as in the territories of many noble families, it was definitely much denser than even the best district in Rukongai. Yet, such a high-concentration spiritual land was designated by these nobles as a hunting ground for their amusement.
Suddenly, a neatly arrayed honor guard, dressed in luxurious, uniform attire, slowly entered. Two burly men in special clothing at the front held up screens, clearing the way.
Ito Makoto was surprised to find that the spiritual pressure inadvertently emanating from these two men, while far from his own, was at the level of a low-ranking Seat Officer.
The words "Kasumioji" were written on two large screens.
"Is this the Kasumioji Family's honor guard?"
It had to be said that the Kasumioji Family truly lived up to its reputation as the foremost noble family below the Four Great Noble Families; their display was grand indeed, actually using Shinigami of Seat Officer rank as part of their honor guard.
"Thump-thump."
The hundreds of members of the honor guard moved with perfectly unified steps, causing the ground to tremble slightly, clearly a result of long-term practice.
Behind the honor guard was a high palanquin with a pearl curtain, carried by eight men. A figure sat within it. Due to the curtain, which was covered by a special Kido, Ito Makoto could not clearly see the exact appearance of the person inside, but based on their graceful posture, it appeared to be a young woman.
After the Kasumioji Family entered, other noble families also entered one after another. Some, like the Kasumioji Family, arrived in palanquins, a small portion walked, and the vast majority arrived in carriages.
Or perhaps they should be called Hollow-carriages!
Because what pulled the carriages were not horses, but beast-like Hollows.
These nobles used special Bakudo as chains, passing them through the Hollow holes, enslaving these Hollows as livestock.
Ito Makoto looked around and found that these Hollows were all powerful Hollows or Giant Hollows; none had reached the Menos Grande level of Gillian.
And these Hollows also had one commonality: a black chain mark was engraved on their masks!
Many nobles arrived one after another. In the crowd, Ito Makoto also saw that old man, Yano Masahiko, accompanied by a young maiden.
"Ito Fourth Seat, you're here so early!"
A Shinigami in a soul reaper uniform with short dark blue hair smiled and came up to greet Ito Makoto.
"Vice-Captain Yamada, were you also conscripted to participate in this Hunting Tournament?"
Hearing Ito Makoto's words, the purple-haired man in front of him shook his head.
"No, I voluntarily applied to participate!"
"I am the Vice-Captain of the Fourth Division, possessing the most superb Kidō in the entire Gotei 13, excluding Captain Unohana. Therefore, they were also very willing to let me be responsible for the security, medical, and aftermath work of the entire Hunting Tournament!"
The Shinigami communicating with Ito Makoto at this moment was none other than Yamada Seinosuke, the current Vice-Captain of the Fourth Division. He was also Yamada Hanatarō's elder brother in the original work. This person had met Ito Makoto a few times before and had a brief collaboration during a mission to Eliminate a group of Hollows, so they were quite familiar.
"I didn't expect Vice-Captain Yamada to be so concerned with noble affairs. Are you planning to marry into a noble family?"
Ito Makoto looked at Yamada Seinosuke and joked.
"That's your own thought, Ito Fourth Seat. I have always received funding from the Tsunayashiro Family, one of the Four Great Noble Families. A certain lord of the Tsunayashiro Family was quite interested in this Hunting Tournament, so he sent me to observe!"
Upon hearing Yamada Seinosuke's words, Ito Makoto suddenly realized that this event, named the Noble Hunting Tournament, did not seem to involve any members of the Four Great Noble Families. He immediately asked:
"Isn't this the Noble Hunting Tournament? Why aren't any of the Four Great Noble Families participating?"
As soon as Ito Makoto finished speaking, Yamada Seinosuke looked up at Ito Makoto, a hint of surprise in his eyes.
"You don't know?"
Ito Makoto was a bit confused.
"Should I know?"
Then Yamada Seinosuke's expression changed as he realized. Although Ito Makoto was already the Eleventh Division's Fourth Seat, he had actually been in the division for less than four years, had not experienced the previous Noble Hunting Tournament, and it was perfectly normal for him not to know the specific details.
"The so-called Noble Hunting Tournament is a social event organized by the Kasumioji Family, the foremost noble family below the Four Great Noble Families, to win over those declining lower-ranking nobles, in their bid to replace the fallen Shiba Family as one of the Four Great Noble Families. Truly powerful nobles would not participate in this Hunting Tournament."
"The Kasumioji Family has also repeatedly proposed to Central 46 to strip the Shiba Family of their title as one of the Four Great Noble Families and replace them, but these proposals have been rejected by the other Four Great Noble Families!"
"Therefore, it's even more impossible for the Four Great Noble Families to send people to participate in this Hunting Tournament!"
Yamada Seinosuke explained to Ito Makoto in detail.
"So that's how it is!"
"There are so many twists and turns between these troublesome nobles!"
"No wonder Yhwach's Sternritter could so easily break through the Soul Society; it turns out this group of people put all their energy into internal strife!"
Just as Ito Makoto was making ill-intentioned conjectures, a White-haired Old Man with a monocle walked up to Ito Makoto:
"Ito Fourth Seat, I am Un'ei, a retainer of the Kasumioji Family. Our Kasumioji Family head requests your presence!"
Upon hearing this, Ito Makoto looked up at the palanquin deep within the honor guard ahead. At the same time, the graceful figure behind the pearl curtain also cast her gaze towards Ito Makoto's direction.
"Oh, it seems Ito Fourth Seat is going to marry into a noble family before me. I'll congratulate you now!"
Yamada Seinosuke's teasing words came from behind.
"Ito Fourth Seat, please!"
Un'ei bowed and gestured for Ito Makoto to proceed.
"The head of the Kasumioji Family wants to see me?"
Ito Makoto immediately felt some suspicion. Originally, his participation in this Noble Hunting Tournament was a directive issued by the Kasumioji Family through Central 46. Now, the head of the Kasumioji Family was seeking him out again.
"Why is this Kasumioji Family constantly eyeing me, the Eleventh Division's Fourth Seat, who came from Rukongai?"
"Forget it, if it's a blessing, it's not a curse; if it's a curse, I can't avoid it!"
Ito Makoto simply stopped overthinking and followed Un'ei to the magnificent palanquin behind the honor guard.
"Ito Fourth Seat, please come up for a discussion!"
An ethereal voice, coming from the magnificent palanquin, rang out.
"Whoosh."
The next instant, Ito Makoto used Shunpo to flash onto the carriage. Pushing aside the pearl curtain, what met his eyes was a stunningly beautiful woman dressed in luxurious clothes, with cherry blossom hair ornaments.
This woman had a cascade of silver hair, skin as fair as snow, and a pair of light purple eyes that seemed to hold flowing colorful clouds. She resembled a goddess from a snowy mountain, giving off an untouchable aura.
Every gesture she made exuded grace and nobility!
In that instant, even Ito Makoto, who had seen countless films in his previous life, was momentarily stunned.
"Am I beautiful, Concubine?"
The woman in the palanquin looked at Ito Makoto and spoke softly, her voice melodious and ethereal.
"Not bad, I guess!"
Ito Makoto sat down casually in the carriage, immediately crossing his legs.
Seeing this, the old man Un'ei below immediately said:
"Ito Fourth Seat, please do not act presumptuously!"
"It's fine…"
The silver-haired woman spoke softly.
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