"Kuchiki Byakuya! Shiba Kukaku!"
Shihoin Yoruichi's voice was no longer as bright and calm as it used to be, but a low growl pressed down like a wounded beast.
Her trembling hand gently touched the coffin beside her that had not yet been sealed with nails.
Even though she did not have the courage to lift the heavy lid, just looking at the brand new wooden tablet standing in front of the coffin, with the words "Shihoin Yushiro" written on it in black ink, she could already guess what kind of cold, broken body lay inside that narrow, dark space.
That was the little brother she loved the most, the child who always followed behind her calling out, "Nee-san!"
Yoruichi suddenly lifted her head. Her golden eyes were bloodshot, staring fixedly at the two people in front of her, her gaze burning with hatred that would not fade and disbelief that would not settle.
"This morning, I specifically reminded you, didn't I, Yoruichi?"
Compared to Yoruichi's hysteria, Shiba Kukaku appeared unusually calm.
She folded her arms, and there was even the faintest curve at the corner of her mouth.
Looking at her former close friend, who had always acted without caring about others, now wearing such a pained, desperate, hate-filled expression, Kukaku only felt an indescribable sense of pleasure rising in her chest.
'That's right, this expression—This is how it should be!'
'Why is it that I'm the only one struggling in hell, while you keep dragging others down and still manage to stay out of it?'
'So what exactly were you pretending to be before, acting all noble and innocent?'
'Shihoin Yoruichi!'
"It was you? You guided all of this on purpose just to get back at me, didn't you, Kukaku?"
Shihoin Yoruichi clenched her teeth. The spiritual pressure around her grew chaotic and violent under her extreme anger, as if it could set the air itself on fire.
"I don't understand! If one person does something, that person should take the blame! I was the one who took the prisoner from your hands. Why did you go after the Shihoin family? Why did you lay a hand on Yushiro and the others?"
"What are you thinking? One person takes the blame? Ha?"
As if she had just heard the biggest joke in the world, Shiba Kukaku let out a mocking laugh. She lowered her arms, coldness that chilled to the bone showing in her eyes as she stepped closer to Yoruichi.
"Yoruichi, you're too arrogant. You're still the same as back then, never caring whether the people around you live or die, doing whatever you want based only on your own will. Have you ever thought about how many people you'd drag down with you?"
"THEY'RE INNOCENT!"
Shihoin Yoruichi roared in hatred, her voice almost torn apart.
Because of Kukaku's vague warning that morning, she had indeed made a special trip back to the Shihoin household and casually mentioned that she might run into some trouble.
But that was only just in case. From beginning to end, the Shihoin family had done nothing except know about it. They had not taken part in any action at all.
'Why?'
'Why would the Gotei 13 issue such a mad order to wipe out an entire clan?'
'This does not fit the Soul Society's usual rules at all!'
'This is the Shihoin family!'
"Yes, of course they were innocent."
Shiba Kukaku stopped walking. Her gaze swept over the coffins scattered across the ground. Her tone was light, but every word cut straight to the heart.
"They weren't the decision-makers of Central 46, and they weren't named Shihoin Yoruichi. But unfortunately, they carried the name 'Shihoin.' When the rules stop us from catching the person involved, or when we can't find the real culprit, then according to the oldest and most effective logic of Soul Society, we naturally go after the ones who share blood with the culprit."
She looked coldly at Yoruichi, who was on the edge of collapse, and said word by word, "You used to be the Commander-in-Chief of the Onmitsukido and the Captain of the Second Division. You wouldn't not understand this principle, would you? Cut the grass and pull out the roots. Purge by association. Those were the methods you were best at back then."
"The Shihoin family used to be powerful and wealthy enough to cover for your recklessness again and again. But after so many years, you've overdrafted that credit far too much. So much that…"
Shiba Kukaku pointed at Yushiro's coffin and smiled cruelly.
"So much that this time, even the Shihoin family couldn't bear it anymore."
"And the corpses all over this ground are the explanation you wanted!"
"SHUT UP! SHIBA KUKAKU!"
The string called reason snapped completely at that moment.
A terrifying white current of energy burst out around Shihoin Yoruichi, and the ground beneath her feet shattered instantly.
Like a furious beast, she clenched her fist, destructive power wrapped around it, and with a speed so fast it blurred, she struck straight toward Shiba Kukaku's face.
However, at the very instant Shihoin Yoruichi's thunderous punch was about to reach Kukaku's face, a white afterimage flashed in with Shunpo, like an insurmountable chasm, cutting between the two of them.
BANG!
A dull, heavy collision exploded like thunder.
Kuchiki Byakuya's expression remained calm. He did not even frown. With just one hand extended, he steadily caught Shihoin Yoruichi's anger-filled strike.
Two terrifying captain-level spiritual pressures clashed and crushed against each other in midair. The shockwave that burst out swept across the scene like a hurricane.
Several of the Shihoin coffins closest to them were overturned by the violent wind, crashing to the ground with harsh sounds, as if the dead were wailing from beneath the earth.
"Shihoin Yoruichi."
Byakuya's voice was cold, carrying a sense of judgment from above.
"You are a disgrace to the nobility."
This was not just an accusation. It was more like a final verdict.
Facing this woman who had once been both teacher and friend, Byakuya had originally thought his heart might waver.
But after witnessing her loss of control and her attempt to shift the blame with his own eyes, the last trace of nostalgia in his heart vanished in an instant, replaced by nothing but pure contempt and disdain.
Until her entire clan was buried with her, until every last member was dead, this foolish woman still did not understand what had happened, nor did she understand where she had gone wrong.
'Such a childish, reckless person with no sense of responsibility was once the head of the Shihoin family?'
'Heh! The Shihoin family's destruction today is nothing more than reaping what they sowed.'
"Byakuya! What gives you the right to say that about me?"
Shihoin Yoruichi's eyes were blood red as she roared back, as if her sorest wound had been stabbed.
"I stopped being some damn noble a long time ago! Acting all high and mighty like the Kuchiki family, standing above everyone and looking down on life, is that what you call 'good'?"
With her roar, her fists rained down like a storm, each blow carrying enough force to shatter stone.
But anger had never been a boost to a Shinigami's power. It was deadly poison instead.
At this moment, Yoruichi's moves were messy, without form or structure. She was simply venting on instinct, like a wild beast.
This allowed Byakuya, whose spiritual pressure was originally slightly inferior, to deal with her attacks calmly one by one.
In truth, Byakuya's current spiritual pressure was only at third class, while Yoruichi, a veteran powerhouse, had long stepped into the realm of second-spirit spiritual pressure. There had originally been a full tier of hard power difference between them.
But Yoruichi's mentality had already collapsed. She could not even bring out seventy percent of her full strength.
Rather than fighting, she was simply venting, trying to use meaningless violence to cover up the collapse inside her.
Because with every punch she threw, that cruel truth bit into her heart like a venomous snake.
She knew very clearly that Byakuya was right.
It was she who had personally caused the death of the entire Shihoin clan.
No matter how furious she acted now, no matter whether she could defeat Kuchiki Byakuya or not, those clan members who had died, that shy and adorable little brother, would never come back.
Everything was already beyond saving.
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