(T/N: Like Radiance_Preacher has said in his comment on chapter 70, The Chijo clan should be the Azashiro clan. I didn't know they existed at all.
I thought the author made an OC clan, but it turns out, they exist and that little Soya, Kana's little brother, is the next kenpachi in the original story.
Sorry about that!! I fixed all previous chapters and I will fix the ones in the patreon soon.
Thanks Radiance_Preacher for mentioning this, I really appreciate it!!)
Kasumioji Estate —
Katori Nanatsuki and Kyōraku Shunsui stood atop the roof of a tall building, their silhouettes swallowed by the darkness of night.
"Your Zanpakutō has quite the stealth ability, Katori-kun. We made it here without anyone noticing us," Kyōraku Shunsui praised once more.
Their journey felt like a walk through an unguarded garden.
But in reality, Kyōraku had spotted numerous guards along the way, even a few concealed sentries.
And yet, none of them detected a trace of their presence.
"It only works this well at night. The shadows help cover us. If it were daytime, it'd still be pretty conspicuous," Nanatsuki replied modestly.
"Still impressive. No wonder you're so good at intel gathering." Kyōraku had always wondered how Nanatsuki managed to collect so much information. Now, he understood.
"That's the building. The Kasumioji Clan's records are kept on the second and third floors of that one," Nanatsuki pointed to a structure to their right. "But the area is protected by Kidō seals. If we want to get to the scrolls, we'll have to break those first. Otherwise, we'll definitely be detected."
"That's a hassle… Damn it, I can't believe I agreed to this. Old Man Yama's gonna have me locked up again when I get back," Kyōraku sighed, already imagining the fallout. "Katori-kun, once we're done with this, you owe me a drink!"
"Of course," Nanatsuki said, eyes tracking the patrol routes as he mentally mapped out their path forward.
With the route confirmed, Nanatsuki led Kyōraku Shunsui toward the archive room.
The second-floor archive held rows upon rows of shelves crammed with scrolls and books—finding the one they wanted wouldn't be easy.
Thankfully, Nanatsuki had scoped out the place in advance and knew where to look.
Stopping in front of a shelf deep in the back, Nanatsuki said, "It's this row. But we need to disable the Kidō barrier first."
Moments passed, but neither of them moved. They looked at each other in silence.
"Katori-kun, don't tell me you expect me to disable the Kidō seal?" Kyōraku leaned back slightly. "I'm not exactly good at that kind of thing..."
He had already taken a look—the Kidō seal here was intricate. He wasn't confident he could disable it without triggering an alert.
"...You're a captain and you still can't break a Kidō seal?!" Nanatsuki's expression darkened. His own Kidō skill was mediocre; he couldn't make heads or tails of this seal either.
"I'm Captain of Squad 8, not the Grand Kidō Chief," Kyōraku rolled his eyes. "This one's pretty advanced. Not many captains could crack it without setting off an alarm."
"This seal's more about detection. Looks like we'll have to break it by force."
"No helping it then..." Nanatsuki drew his Zanpakutō, bent into a lunge, and thrust forward in one smooth motion.
Katori-ryu: Shun Strike!
At the mastery level, Shun Strike had reached a level of perfection—its charge-up time shortened to the blink of an eye.
—Thud!!!
A muffled impact rang out in the archive.
A translucent barrier in front of the scroll shelf cracked open, instantly collapsing.
The next second, the Kidō seal let out a sharp, irritating screech.
Bzzzzt—!
"That was loud!" Kyōraku drew his Zanpakutō. "We'll have company soon."
Nanatsuki didn't waste a word—he rushed to the shelf and began flipping through the scrolls.
Only a few seconds passed before guards from the first floor charged up.
They froze when they saw the unmistakable pink haori.
There was only one person in the entire Gotei 13 who dressed like that.
They didn't need to see his face beneath the straw hat to know: it was Kyōraku Shunsui.
The guards stiffened, ready for battle—but none dared to step forward.
Charging in would be suicide. As long as Kyōraku didn't try to escape, they'd wait for reinforcements instead.
They blocked the entrance, holding the line.
There were far too many scrolls, and even though Nanatsuki knew the general area, it still took him several dozen seconds to find the right one.
As soon as he opened it, he was met with dense, eye-opening records:
December 6th to March 8th —
20 Asauchi were distributed to the Rustface District, resulting in one Bakkōtō.
Its ability: generates blades from the user's body, allowing them to release blade attacks.
May 30th to September 6th —
11 Asauchi placed in Witherflower District, one Bakkōtō forged.
Ability: manipulates terrain, reshaping the ground.
October 12th to December 30th —
6 Asauchi planted in Kusajishi District, one Bakkōtō formed.
Ability: controls fire.
Tests show that forging Asauchi using souls with spiritual talent greatly increases the success rate of creating Bakkōtō.
...
The records were packed and horrifying. The success rate of crafting Bakkōtō was shockingly low.
At first, they used dozens to hundreds of ordinary souls to make each Asauchi.
Later, they began using spiritually gifted souls, which boosted success significantly.
Their next step was to use even more talented souls.
"Captain Kyōraku, I found it!" Nanatsuki tossed the scroll to Kyōraku Shunsui.
He needed to see it personally, or it wouldn't count.
Kyōraku caught the scroll and skimmed it. His expression darkened.
Just as Nanatsuki had said—the Bakkōtō were indeed forged by the Kasumioji Clan!
"Unbelievable… This has to go straight to Old Man Yama," Kyōraku slipped the scroll into his sleeve, glancing at the growing crowd of guards. "But getting out won't be easy."
"Then let's not leave. Let someone else get us out," Nanatsuki raised his hand and began chanting.
"…Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō!!!"
—BOOM!!!
A roaring beam of blue energy pierced through the ceiling and roof, then split the night sky in two.