No Cheat in Bleach ? Watch me help Aizen then.-Chapter 70: A Pair of Fools

As for the surviving members of his clan, they were stripped of their noble status without exception. Whether they would be exiled to Rukongai or locked away in some secret noble prison to become a punching bag for other clans—that was no longer Higashi Shuuichi's concern.

He cared only about one thing: that in the final verdict, the investigation into the aftermath of the Hollowfication incident was not handed to Kyoraku Shunsui of the Eighth Division, but to Shihoin Yoruichi of the Second.

Whether this was her maneuvering from the shadows or a mere coincidence, the result was clear—as far as Shuuichi was concerned, handing it to her meant handing it to the man behind her.

And that was bad.

Too many of his movements from back then wouldn't survive close scrutiny.

Like how he was supposed to be checking on the 80th District of North Rukongai—Kenpachi District—yet somehow ended up in East Rukongai's 62nd District, organizing locals to help him sort medicinal herbs.

"Just doing my job responsibly" wasn't going to cut it.

By Shuuichi's logic, a case this massive—by both protocol and common sense—should've fallen to the Intelligence Division. Which meant it should've gone to Kyoraku Shunsui.

And if it had gone to him, well—blame-shifting would've been easy.

Shunsui and Kaname Daisaitan had an ancient grudge that couldn't be untied. Any dirty water could just be dumped on Daisaitan's head. That man wouldn't care in the slightest how much filth people threw at him, or who threw it.

Shuuichi was certain that if Shunsui confronted him, Daisaitan would not only admit to it all, but also throw in a few jabs just to twist the knife.

"But why the hell did it have to be Shihoin Yoruichi..."

Shuuichi's mood was foul.

Elsewhere, Shunsui walked out of Central 46, for once not wearing his usual lazy smirk. He looked up at the overcast sky, reached for his straw hat, and tugged it tighter over his eyes.

Then, he headed in a direction he rarely ever went.

"Well now, if it isn't Captain of the Eighth. What brings such a busy man to my doorstep today?"

Sitting in the restricted quarters of the Kaname Clan's branch family, Daisaitan regarded him with a mocking grin.

"Do you know what happened last night?"

Shunsui went straight to the point.

"Heh. The Kasawagi Clan's little rebellion, almost turning Seireitei upside down? Even my remote corner got caught in the splash. How could I not know?"

Daisaitan leaned in closer, smile still fixed on his lips.

"I know what you came here for. But really, Shunsui, don't act so high and mighty. Even if I was involved, what can you do? I've already received the harshest punishment, haven't I? Five hundred years of house arrest—so terrifying, right?"

He laughed loudly, unbothered. If anything, he looked like he was enjoying himself.

"There'll be harsher ones."

Shunsui turned and left.

The entire exchange lasted less than three minutes.

He didn't need to come—but he came anyway.

Seeing that disgusting smirk again only made Shunsui's resolve firmer.

After he left, Daisaitan's grin vanished, replaced by something more thoughtful.

Truth was—he didn't know the full details of what happened last night.

But in Soul Society's long history, noble houses doing stupid, destructive things was nothing new. And having worked inside the Grand Archives, Daisaitan knew better than anyone: at least 80% of these disasters were the result of nobles backstabbing other nobles.

All under the guise of maintaining balance or order. In reality? Just dirty politics.

Whether it was the royal house, the Makikura, the Chijō—countless names lost to history—he'd long stopped caring.

But this time? This time had caught Shunsui's attention.

Which did make it interesting.

Could it be there was more to the Kasawagi rebellion than met the eye?

No matter how much he disliked Shunsui, Daisaitan had to admit—Shunsui was sharp when it mattered.

"Well, then... might as well treat this as some entertainment."

Following behind, Daisaitan stepped out of the branch estate.

His "house arrest" merely barred him from leaving Kaname lands. But within Seireitei, the Kaname Clan owned plenty of territory.

House arrest, in other words, was mostly symbolic.

And where was he going?

To the Soul Society Archive Projection Hall—a facility officially managed by all Five Great Noble Clans, but in truth owned by the Kaname Family.

If the Grand Archives recorded all Soul Society's events in text, the Projection Hall recorded them in moving image—of Soul Society, the World of the Living, and even parts of Hueco Mundo.

The Archives' strength lay in thoroughness—every detail, no matter how small, was logged.

But its weakness was the same: too much, too messy, and all in text. Meaning key visuals were often omitted.

The Projection Hall had the edge in clarity—visual footage from ancient monitoring points planted across dimensions. But like all cameras, they had blind spots. Limited fields of vision.

Still, for something like the Kasawagi affair, the Projection Hall's footage would be more than enough.

Yes, it'd take time.

But time?

Time was the one thing Daisaitan had in abundance.

And this was something Higashi Shuuichi didn't know: that he was now under Daisaitan's scrutiny.

Not that it would've made much difference.

Even if Shuuichi did know, there wasn't much he could do. Killing Daisaitan would cause a storm. He'd gain nothing but a political nightmare—and a permanent debuff called "Kyoraku Shunsui's Undivided Attention."

Not to mention, even reaching Daisaitan in the Kaname Estate without being noticed? A massive risk.

And defeating him before anyone noticed?

A bigger gamble still.