Chapter 10
Ginrei and Sojun were enraged as they led all of the elites of the 6th Division toward the gates of the 2nd Division. Mixed among them were several shinigami that had come over from various areas after hearing the call of Ginrei for them to gather as these were either branch members or vassals of the Kuchiki Clan. Even Sojun's son, Byakuya, who had just entered the academy was following behind them, fire burning in his eyes.
Every soul that saw them fled for safety while the shinigami decided to either mind their business or run to inform an officer to interfere.
But any shinigami that looked like they were trying to inform an officer was intercepted by ninjas wearing purple uniforms. These were the elite guards of the Kuchiki Clan that would typically guard the Clan Compound against intruders. But Ginrei had even called them away from the clan as he wanted to gather as much power as he could to battle against the 2nd Division.
He knew they held many secrets and may have another Captain-Level powerhouse among their officers, so to raise his chances, he decided to involve his division and his clan.
Killing Koga was not only a slight against the 6th Division as he was their officer but it was also going against the Kuchiki Clan. So Ginrei did not mind using all his strength to make them regret it.
As they neared the bottom of the stairway leading them up to the 2nd Division barracks, a black knife landed before Ginrei's feet. The older shinigami looked up to see Yoruichi and all of her officers standing at the top of the staircase or on some of the higher stairs. They looked down at the invaders with killing intent radiating off of them.
Yami was standing among them. He no longer wore his usual shinigami uniform or the black assassin outfit he wore to kill Ginrei but instead wore his uniform as the commander of the Executive Militia, the Keisen Shōzoku. There were several bandages covering him as he hadn't recovered from the damage he did to himself during the assassination. He had his zanpakuto strapped across his lower back and was holding two ordinary knives in his hands as he was not allowed to use his zanpakuto while wearing the Keisen Shōzoku.
"Are you coming with all these shinigami and shinobi to go against my people as the Captain of the 6th Division or as the 27th Head of the Kuchiki Clan?"
Yoruichi had a smile on her face when she asked this but anyone could tell that she was pissed.
"You had one of your people assassinate Koga in the middle of the day before all of the members of the 6th Division! You killed my son-in-law! You tell me, girl! Which title should I come to kill your assassin and all those that protect them under?"
Ginrei began to emit his reiatsu and killing intent. Seeing his father do it, Sojun soon followed. And then the elites and members of the Kuchiki Clan did the same.
Once they emitted their reiatsu, it alerted all of Soul Society. After all, a single captain's spiritual pressure could be felt from a distance. Two at the same time was even more terrifying.
Seeing that they had unleashed their reiatsu, the officers of the 2nd Division and Onmitsukido did the same.
Now, Soul Society was scared. 5 Captain-Level shinigami were about to be engaged in battle as well as at least 5 lieutenants and many officers. The captains and lieutenants that had just returned to their barracks were all rushing over to see what was going on. Something like this had never happened before.
Genrei felt cold sweat trickling down his forehead. He knew that the Onmitsukido was housing monsters but didn't know it was to such an extent.
Yoruichi and Kisuke had power that surpassed his own while Kukaku was able to rival his. She also has her lieutenant whose power made him comparable to a high-grade lieutenant and two young shinigami who definitely had the potential to be captains in the future as their reiatsu could already match Marenoshin's.
Just as Ginrei was about to say something else, he felt 3 other lieutenant-level reiatsu being released from behind him as well as several more officers. He turned to see members of the Shihoin and Shiba Clans had gathered and were also ready to be involved in the fight.
"I don't know, Ginrei. Should I defend my people as the Captain of the 2nd Division, the Commander-In-Chief of the Onmitsukido, or as the 22nd Head of the Shihoin Clan?"
Yoruichi had thrown away all forms of cordiality, no longer addressing Ginrei with honorifics or his titles, instead calling him by his given name.
"I also want to ask how I should handle this, Ginrei. As a lady of the Shiba Clan, 5th Seat of the 2nd Division, or Corps Commander of the Demolition Division?"
Kukaku may have looked ill-mannered and may have had a terrible temper but she was still a princess of one of the 5 Great Clans, only she was not the head.
This had turned into not just a confrontation between the 2nd Division and Onmitsukido against the Kuchiki Clan and 6th Division but had now involved another 2 of the 5 Great Clans making this a 3-way clusterfuck. If anyone made the wrong move, it could cause a full-on civil war in Soul Society.
Ginrei looked around him and shook his head. He knew that this was a battle he would lose no matter what. But what he lost depended on the next words he said.
"This is a confrontation between the 2nd Division/Onmitsukido and the 6th Division as they were the ones who killed my officer. I believe we should keep our clans out of it."
The members of the Kuchiki Clan and their vassals shared a look before backing away. Two of them even had to drag the hot-headed Byakuya back up the street. The members of the Shihoin and Shiba Clans let them pass by before standing in the middle of the street once again, ensuring that they could no longer interfere and preventing that the members of the 6th could not just escape if they wanted.
Yoruichi and Kisuke shared a sinister smile when they heard the words. Both looked at Yami who nodded before sheathing both knives into the sheathes on his thighs before grabbing the handle of his zanpakuto with his right hand.
"You should have chosen to be a Clan Leader. At least you would have lived that way."
Yoruichi gave her sincere opinion to Ginrei. He had thought he choose the best method but it was actually the one that ended up with him and the 6th Division being wiped out.
Yami slowly unsheathed his zanpakuto but when he got it halfway out, he felt a hand on his elbow, preventing him from pulling out his sword any further. Yami turned to see who had stopped and was greeted by the smiling face of a young man with pure white hair. He had on a shinigami uniform and a white captain's haori. But the thing that stood out the most was that he had two zanpakuto attached to each side of his waist.
"Now, now Yami-kun. We both know what happens if you draw your sword. Let's save that for another time."
The man who had stopped him was the current captain of the 13th Division, Jūshirō Ukitake. Standing next to him was Yami's friend/rival and Kukaku's younger brother, Kaien Shiba, the lieutenant of the 13th Division.
But they were not the only ones who appeared. Every other captain and their lieutenant was standing on the stairs between the two sides. All of them had their hands on their zanpakuto, ready to unsheath them in case anything popped off.
In the middle of the group, Yamamoto had his eyes closed but the anger and heat radiating from his body was able to make Yami sweat, even from a distance.
"Two captains of the Gotei 13 were about to lead the officers of their Division in a fight to the death. 3 of the 5 Great Noble Families were also about to become involved in this matter. Am I correct in what I am guessing?"
Yami could feel that even his Commander-In-Chief was nervous but she played it off with a smile on her face. Something that the other members of the 2nd Division were not able to do, although they did not look scared like the officers of the 6th Division.
"What are you talking about, Old Yama? We were just about to have a little training exercise between our officers. I guess we got a little heated with the trash talk 'cause we all started unleashing our Reiatsu."
Yamamoto opened his left eye to stare at Yoruichi who had the guts to lie to his face.
"Oh. And why are members of the 3 Clans here? Unleashing their reiatsu as well."
"To pay condolences," Yoruichi continued lying so naturally. "They heard that Koga Kuchiki had been assassinated so they wanted to offer their sincere wishes to Captain Kuchiki and Lieutenant Kuchiki. They were unleashing their reiatsu because that is a custom among the 5 Great Noble Houses to bless the spirit of the recently deceased."
Yamamoto knew that Yoruichi was lying (everyone did), but he also knew it was better to believe the lie as it would allow the matter to end there. They didn't need a civil war with a battle against the Quincies nearing.
"I see. Allow me to express my condolences as well. But you have both just gotten out of a long meeting. We should probably save such training exercises for another day and make it a giant group activity between all of the Divisions."
"Of course. Captain-Commander is correct. My men of the 6th Division and the members of the Kuchiki Clan shall head back now."
Ginrei smiled and nodded while Yoruichi's reply was to simply give the Captain-Commander a lazy smile.
The 6th Division soon left, looking like dogs with their tails between their legs as they rushed away. It was not until after they left that the members of the Shiba and Shihoin Clan also took off.
Once all of the people that should not have been there left, the various captains and lieutenants took off. Not before giving curious and scanning looks to the Onmitsukido that had just shown their true power for the first time.
Captain Ukitake and Kaien were the last to leave. Both of them smiled at the others before taking off back to the 13th Division.
Yoruichi's smile finally faded from her face and was replaced with a frown when everyone had left.
"Tsk. That old bastard got lucky. If he dares to come after my people again, I don't mind having Kisuke or Kukaku replace him as captain of the 6th Division and turn the 5 Great Nobles Houses into the 4."
Yoruichi turned around and started walking into the barracks, the rest of the officers following her close behind.
'Just another day in the Onmitsukido,' Yami thought to himself before changing into his standard shinigami uniform and heading to the 4th Division to get his injuries treated.