Bleach: No cheat codes, he joined Aizen's side.

Chapter 224, Section 222: People's perspectives on joy and sorrow are not always the same.

In July, as the Northern Hemisphere enters the sweltering summer, the Soul Society's Seireitei also welcomes another summer.

The heatwave affected everyone in Soul Society, especially the Shinigami of the Kuchiki family.

"Byakuya, this time, it's definitely because the Tsunayo family has gone too far!"
I can't stand it!

Kuchiki Hibiki stood in the main hall and roared at Kuchiki Byakuya in front of him.

Just yesterday, the wife of the head of the Kuchiki family was almost kidnapped by a member of the Tsunayo family during the chaos. If it weren't for the fact that Aizen Sousuke, the captain of the Fifth Division, happened to come to the rescue because of the sudden Zanpakuto materialization incident near the Kuchiki family, Kuchiki Hisa would probably be in grave danger by now.

Unfortunately, the member of the Tsunayoshiro family chose to commit suicide when he saw that the matter had been exposed, leaving no evidence. Otherwise, for this one incident alone, Tsunayoshiro would have been responsible for it.

Instead of what it is now, where Tsunayoshiro could have used the excuse that this was purely the personal act of the deceased.

But anyone with eyes can see that this is the Kuchiki family trying to teach a lesson to the Tsunayo family, who want to expose Higashino Shuichi and cause them to lose a high-quality enforcer they can openly use.

"There's something fishy about this; we can't jump to conclusions so easily."

When Kuchiki Byakuya first heard the news yesterday, he was just as angry as Kuchiki Kyoga. However, after a night had passed and he had settled his wife Hisa in and confirmed that she was not in any danger, Kuchiki Byakuya calmed down.

He realized that there might be something unusual about this.

For example, has Tsunayoshiro Shinbara really become this arrogant?

The Kuchiki family simply hasn't wanted to confront the Tsunayo family directly; that doesn't mean they lack strength.

The connections that the Tsuna-Yashiro family built up over so many years through his position as captain of the 6th Division of the Gotei 13 are not something that can be erased overnight.

"How is there still something fishy going on?!"
Even if there might be some issues with Hishin's situation, what about Rukia? So many Shinigami witnessed Rukia being blown up!
Byakuya, have you forgotten what Mayuri Kurotsuchi, the captain of the 12th Division, said to the Captain-Commander yesterday?!

"This is a new weapon I've secretly developed, a human bomb. No information about it has been released to the public yet; only recently, after Higashino Shuichi was arrested, a batch of initial prototypes were stolen."

These are Mayuri Kurotsuchi's exact words!
Aside from the five noble families who have the authority to enter the Twelfth Division without permission and access those confidential documents, who else could manage to take those secret weapons from that place without alerting a captain or the numerous Shinigami guarding the Twelfth Division?

Kuchiki Kyoga was filled with extreme anger, and his anger also included something he didn't say: his Zanpakuto's ability to materialize had been misused!

Those creatures that appeared near the Kuchiki family's residence that day, which looked like materialized Zanpakuto, were actually not the Zanpakuto of the Shinigami at all. Kuchiki Kyoga had already confirmed this with his own Zanpakuto, Muramasa.

It is because other people have used different Zanpakuto abilities to impersonate his Zanpakuto abilities.

Although the blame was ultimately placed squarely on Higashino Shuichi, who had escaped from the maggot's nest and was now missing, Kuchiki Hibiki still felt offended.

He will definitely find out who dared to impersonate his Zanpakuto's abilities!

What you said is absolutely right.

After hearing what Kuchiki Kyoga said, Kuchiki Byakuya's face also showed a conflicted expression.

To be honest, since he had only known Rukia for a short time, he hadn't had a chance to develop any deep feelings for her. At the moment, he was simply following Rukia's lead and recognizing her as his adopted sister out of consideration for his wife Hisa's feelings.

Therefore, while Byakuya Kuchiki felt anger at Rukia's death, it was far less intense than the near-harming of his wife Hisana.

But how can he give Hisana an explanation now?

Tell her that her beloved younger sister, whom she had finally found, was blown up outside Rukongai because of her carelessness.

A sense of powerlessness instantly overwhelmed Byakuya Kuchiki.

Once upon a time, he firmly believed that the identity of the head of one of the five noble families was incredibly prestigious in Soul Society. But now he finds that he doesn't seem to be much better than the commoners of Rukongai when facing many situations.

He couldn't even protect his newly adopted sister.

"Counterattack! Byakuya, we must counterattack!"

Kyoga Kuchiki saw Byakuya Kuchiki's hesitation, just as he had seen when he looked at his father-in-law, Byakuya Kuchiki's grandfather, Ginryu Kuchiki.

Back then, when Kuchiki Hibiki was being relentlessly ostracized by other factions, especially the nobles of the Tsunayashiro family, in the Special Operations Squad of the First Division, he had once told Kuchiki Ginrin, feeling exhausted, that he should either fight back or be allowed to return to the Sixth Division.

However, Kuchiki Ginrei both hoped to expand the Kuchiki family's influence by leveraging Kuchiki Kyouga's efforts in the First Division, so that the Kuchiki family's influence would no longer be limited to the Sixth Division, and did not want Kuchiki Kyouga to expose his true strength, thereby arousing the jealousy of other nobles, and always insisted on making Kuchiki Kyouga endure.

If Ginrin Kuchiki hadn't gone to Hueco Mundo to protect Kyoga Kuchiki and died in an accident, given Kyoga's personality, he might have exploded decades ago.

But now, Kuchiki Hibiki has truly had enough.

In Kuchiki Hibiki's view, the enemy was already ripping their asses off them. If they continued to swallow their pride, would they still deserve to be called the Five Great Noble Families?

I might as well just go and exile myself to Rukongai!
Just as Byakuya Kuchiki was about to respond, he heard another magnetic voice ring out in the hall.

"My advice is that it's best not to take any rash actions before you've figured out the truth of the matter."

Kuchiki Kyoga looked back and found that it was indeed that guy he disliked, Kyoraku Shunsui, the captain of the Eighth Division.

"This is a family matter of the Kuchiki family. What right do you, as the captain of the Eighth Division, have to comment here?"

Or are you saying that Kyoraku Shunsui can represent the Kyoraku family?

Normally, Kuchiki Kyouga would never dare to speak to a veteran captain, Kyoraku Shunsui, who was also the Captain-Commander's favorite student, like this. But now, Kuchiki Kyouga was in a fit of anger, and even if the Captain-Commander came, he would dare to go up and challenge him.

"Uncle Xianghe, Chunshui is someone I specially invited."

Unfortunately, Kyoraku Shunsui didn't need to explain himself; Kuchiki Byakuya quickly gave him a suitable identity.

"So you're planning to let an outsider like this decide our Kuchiki family's affairs? Is this how you act as the head of the family?!"

In his haste, Kuki-no-Kawa has begun a furious attack, his entire being radiating an irrepressible aura of hostility.

If we were to use some of the adjectives from Higashino Shuichi's previous life to describe Kuchiki Kyouga now, then Kuchiki Kyouga would definitely be a staunch advocate of war.

However, this cannot be blamed on Kuchiki Hibiki. Anyone who lived and worked for a hundred years in an environment where they were constantly ostracized by all their colleagues, had stronger talents but could never use them, and could only suffer setbacks would become so extreme.

The fact that Kuchiki Hibiki has been able to endure until now is because Kuchiki Ginrin in this timeline, which has been influenced by Higashino Shuichi, has exerted great effort.

In the original timeline, Kuchiki Kyoga would have already erupted long before Urahara Kisuke and the others defected to the human world due to the Hollowfication incident.

"That's not quite right. I'm just here to offer some insignificant suggestions. The final decision will depend on the opinion of the Kuchiki family head."

Facing the seemingly hopeless and volatile Xianghe, Kyoraku Shunsui maintained his nonchalant demeanor and said...
"But at least from my personal perspective, there's more to this than meets the eye, and I had already contacted Higashino Shuichi before I came here."

"What did he say?" Upon hearing the name Higashino Shuichi, Kuchiki Byakuya immediately perked up.

According to Higashino Shuichi, Tsunayoshiro Shinbara had not contacted him beforehand about what happened yesterday.

"So what? What does this prove?"
"Higashino Shuichi's current public identity is that of a traitor, so isn't it normal that Tsunayoshiro Kanbara isn't contacting him?"

Kuchiki Hibiki snorted coldly.

However, his statement was immediately met with disapproval from both Kyoraku Shunsui and Kuchiki Byakuya.
“You’re wrong, Higashino-kun. It’s precisely because Higashino Shuichi is a traitor, and one whom Tsunayoshiro Shinbara personally helped escape, that Tsunayoshiro Shinbara can use Higashino Shuichi without any psychological burden.”

"If I were Tsunayoshiro Kanbara, to complete yesterday's dangerous plan, I would definitely use Higashino Shuichi. Because no one, even though Higashino Shuichi is already a traitor to Soul Society, would have more motivation, more ability, or more certainty to complete this plan flawlessly than him."

"But Tsunayoshiro Kanbara never contacted Higashino Shuichi from beginning to end, which speaks volumes."

Kuchiki Byakuya added that he agreed with Kyoraku Shunsui's idea.

"Heh, in the end, all you Kyoraku Shunsui know is how serious the consequences would be if the Tsuna-Yashiro family really did this, and Byakuya, you don't care about Rukia's life or your wife Hisana's safety at all, right?"

You haven't even considered what kind of situation the other members of the Kuchiki family are facing in the Seireitei right now, apart from yourselves!
What you're saying is all based on normal logic, but what if I told you that the nobles of the Tsunayo family have become so arrogant that they no longer need to follow these basic logics?

But clearly, Kuchiki Kyoga didn't listen to what Kyoraku Shunsui and Kuchiki Byakuya had to say.

For Kuchiki Kyouga, Kuchiki Byakuya and Kyoraku Shunsui, one being the head of the Kuchiki family and the other the captain of the 8th Division, simply couldn't comprehend the appalling environment that a low-ranking Shinigami like himself faced every day.

He deliberately avoided eating with him, didn't invite him to events, and even deliberately withheld complete information from him when scheduling shifts or going on missions. Many times, if Kuchiki Hibiki hadn't possessed strength far exceeding what he was pretending to have, he would have gloriously sacrificed himself in a mission, just like Kuchiki Ginrin before him.

Those noble Shinigami who were not from the Kuchiki family line openly ostracized him, so that he could not exert the Kuchiki family's influence in places like the First Division.

Rokumu Xianghe is never assigned to any safe missions, but he is always the first to be chosen for any dangerous and hateful missions.

This explains why Kuchiki Hibiki hated Higashino Shuichi, the chief swordsman who was so biased towards the Tsuna-Yashiro family and greatly increased their influence.

She even went so far as to break the promise she had made to Kuchiki Ginrei.

Unfortunately, no matter how resounding Kuchiki Kyouga's speech was, neither Kuchiki Byakuya nor Kyoraku Shunsui could empathize with him, even though they probably knew that what Kuchiki Kyouga was saying was reality.

Because from Byakuya Kuchiki's position, the issues he needs to consider and the things he needs to think about are far more complex than those of Hibiki Kuchiki.

His consideration of the overall situation has outweighed his personal feelings.

Just like in the original story, the future Byakuya Kuchiki, no matter how unwilling he was, still chose to follow the orders of the Central 46 and personally sent Rukia, who had violated the rules, to the execution platform at Sōkyō Hill.

As for Kyoraku Shunsui, he firmly believed that there must be more to this incident than met the eye, and that it was not nearly as serious as it seemed, because he could not explain it to Kuchiki Byakuya and Kuchiki Hibiki.

The reason was that, through his subsequent questioning of the two Shinigami Madarame Ikkaku and Ayasegawa Yumichika of the 11th Division, as well as Iba Tetsuzaemon, who followed in his mother's footsteps and entered the 3rd Division, Kyoraku Shunsui had already made some personal guesses about the identity of the Shinigami who saved Rukia yesterday.

If we're talking about who in the Soul Society today is still familiar with Yoruichi Shihōin, the former captain of the Second Division and head of the Shihōin family, Kyōraku Shunsui believes that it would be none other than himself and Ukitake Jushōrō, two of Yoruichi's former friends.

Both Jushiro Ukitake and Shunsui Kyoraku believed that the Shinigami who saved Rukia was Yoruichi Shihouin, who had been missing in the human world for a long time. Only this identity could explain why no trace of Rukia's or the Shinigami's death could be found at the scene after the battle.

For Yoruichi Shihouin, it would have been an easy task to escape with Rukia in that critical moment.

If this conjecture is correct, then as long as Yoruichi Shihouin is found, or until Yoruichi Shihouin takes the initiative to send Rukia back, yesterday's events will not be so serious.

Although this statement is absurd, in a practical sense, as long as there are no casualties among important figures, the whole matter can indeed be resolved through subsequent negotiations and consultations, turning a major issue into a minor one, and a minor one into nothing.

At least for Kyoraku Shunsui, the deaths of some ordinary Shinigami who were accidentally caught up in the conflict were insignificant compared to the direct conflict between the Tsunayo and Kuchiki families.

However, Kyoraku Shunsui has no way of telling anyone other than Ukitake Jushiro about the fact that the Grim Reaper is probably Yoruichi Shihouin, not even Kuchiki Byakuya.

Because Kuchiki Sojun died too quickly, and Kuchiki Byakuya was too young, Kyoraku Shunsui had not yet fully grasped Kuchiki Byakuya's personality and thoughts.

If Byakuya Kuchiki does not agree with what Kisuke Urahara did back then, or with Yoruichi Shihouin, then if he rashly reveals this judgment, it might cause unnecessary trouble for some of Yoruichi Shihouin's actions.

Yes, there was one thing that Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro both agreed on after discussing it: Yoruichi Shihouin's sudden return must be for some reason. Because of Higashino Shuichi, they believed that there must be more to the story than met the eye, so their support for Yoruichi Shihouin's actions naturally had a certain basis and rationale.

Therefore, under such circumstances, Kuchiki Hibiki's wishes and demands could not be met.

Seeing that Kyoraku Shunsui and Kuchiki Byakuya quickly steered the conversation toward finding out the truth, Kuchiki Kyoga left the Kuchiki family home in a huff, thinking to himself, "Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together."

After Kuchiki Hibiki left, the air outside the Kuchiki family's house suddenly trembled, and a figure walked out and followed Kuchiki Hibiki as if no one else was there.

(End of this chapter)