Chapter 93: The Secret Meeting
"Huh? The Captain-Commander gave you this?"
Looking at the note filled with addresses, Yoruichi showed a surprised expression.
Satoru sat in a chair, arms crossed, one leg propped up, nodding smugly.
"Correct. After thorough discussions between me and the old... between me and the Captain-Commander, we finalized this plan."
"All we need to do is raid each of these locations one by one, and we'll definitely find evidence of the Tsunayashiro family colluding with the rebels!"
"By then, even if he has influence in the Central 46, even if he's one of the Five Great Noble Families, he'll have no choice but to suffer the consequences!"
Hearing this, Suì-Fēng, who had been standing by attentively, suddenly brightened.
"Does this mean we'll finally find out who attacked Lady Yoruichi?"
Ever since Yoruichi was injured, she had been determined to track down the bastard who ordered the attack and make him regret ever being born!
In her excitement, she turned to Satoru.
Right after Lady Yoruichi was injured, this guy had gone straight to the Captain-Commander to set this plan in motion. He really does care deeply about Lady Yoruichi's affairs.
Yoruichi narrowed her eyes as she studied the note in her hand.
From a purely vengeful standpoint, attacking one of the Tsunayashiro family's subordinate clans was indeed an excellent strategy.
But... would this really help uncover evidence of the Tsunayashiro family's collusion with the rebels?
If handled poorly, it might even backfire.
The Tsunayashiro family weren't fools.
During such a critical period, if one of their subordinate clans were attacked, it wouldn't take a genius to connect it to the war.
Given that old fox's temperament, he'd probably hide any evidence even more thoroughly than before, wouldn't he?
With this thought, she raised her gaze to meet Satoru's.
The note had come from the Captain-Commander, and that old man wasn't the type to spoil his disciple at the expense of the bigger picture.
Which meant... there must be deeper reasoning behind having Satoru carry out this operation!
Though she couldn't fathom what the old man was thinking, someone who'd lived over two thousand years surely had his reasons... It couldn't hurt to try.
Smack!
Yoruichi slapped her thigh decisively: "Alright then!"
"Satoru, Suì-Fēng! Tonight, the three of us will pick one from these and beat them to a pulp!"
Satoru nodded. "Excellent."
Suì-Fēng blinked.
She wasn't sure if it was just her imagination.
But it felt like these two were treating this more like a game than a mission.
She hoped it was just her imagination...
...
...
That night, in the noble district of Seireitei, a certain mansion.
Amidst the clamor of battle cries, three figures darted out of the residence.
Under the cover of darkness, the trio swiftly maneuvered through the streets and soon vanished into the distance.
A dozen Shinigami chased after them from the courtyard, stomping their feet in frustration as they watched the figures disappear.
Upon hearing that thieves had struck, the lavishly dressed head of the household hurriedly ordered an inventory of their losses.
Soon, the steward delivered the results—
None of the valuables were missing. However, all the correspondence with other noble families, hidden in the study's secret compartment, had been taken.
At this news, the household head's face turned deathly pale.
The next day, another grand mansion in the noble district was attacked by three highly skilled thieves.
Just like the previous night, the only things stolen were letters exchanged with other noble houses—nothing else was touched.
Two consecutive thefts of confidential letters put the entire noble district on high alert.
Nearly every noble had the same thought:
These intruders meant trouble!
In an instant, every family frantically bolstered their defenses and increased their guards.
Meanwhile, any letters exchanged with other families were burned if possible. Those too valuable to destroy were hidden in new locations.
Just as the nobles braced themselves for the thieves' next move, the trio failed to appear.
It wasn't until the following morning that they learned what had happened.
The night before, the estate of the high-ranking noble family, the Tado, in the second district of South Rukongai, had been raided.
Fearing the theft of their important letters, the head of the Tado family, Tado Kōji, had secretly left Seireitei at dusk, taking all their correspondence to seek refuge at their Rukongai estate.
Yet, shockingly, the thieves had somehow tracked him all the way to Rukongai and made off with every last letter.
Now, the nobles were truly panicked.
Lesser nobles sent envoys to the great houses, pleading for aid.
The great houses, in turn, sought help from the Five Great Noble Clans they served.
The once peaceful and orderly noble district was suddenly thrown into chaos.
Messenger Shinigami darted back and forth between districts, their figures flickering in and out of sight with Shunpo, appearing all over the noble streets.
Finally, on the fourth night, the terrifying "raids" were interrupted.
Under the cover of darkness, the three thieves infiltrated another noble mansion, rummaging for letters.
Suddenly, a guard wearing a straw hat leaped out from the corner of the room.
After a brief clash, the three intruders swiftly retreated.
Hearing this news, the nobles of the district finally breathed a small sigh of relief.
...
...
Seireitei, noble district.
A sprawling mansion, vast enough to rival a small town within the city, stood quietly in place.
Deep within the estate, inside a towering building, several figures gathered.
Each wore a straw hat, its white cloth draping down to conceal their faces.
Had Satoru been present, he might have exclaimed in surprise—what was this, an Akatsuki meeting?
The moment everyone arrived, one of them angrily declared:
"Satoru! It has to be Satoru!"
"Although we only exchanged a few moves, I'm absolutely certain—it was definitely him!"
These words caused a stir of surprise among the gathered crowd.
"Kamikawa, what evidence do you have? Did he use his Zanpakutō's ability?"
Kamikawa shook his head. "No, but I'd recognize his fighting style even with my eyes closed!"
He then snorted coldly. "As for the other two, one was Yoruichi Shihōin, and the other I didn't recognize, but they were definitely from the Onmitsukidō."
Hearing this, the group exchanged glances, their expressions hidden beneath white cloths turning peculiar.
"Satoru attacking nobles... that wouldn't benefit him at all, would it?"
"Indeed, this doesn't seem like something he'd orchestrate himself."
"Could it be... Captain-Commander Yamamoto...?"
At this point, an involuntary chill ran down everyone's spines.
After a brief discussion, all eyes turned toward the figure seated at the head of the room.
Like them, this person wore a wide-brimmed hat. His body was draped in the voluminous robes of nobility.
Breaking the heavy silence, he spoke slowly:
"Satoru, is it?"
"A mere brat from Rukongai, no matter how prodigious his talents, wouldn't dare do something like this alone."
"It seems Yamamoto has indeed grown restless."
Kamikawa reacted with shock and anger. "How could this be? Wasn't Yamamoto ordered by the Central 46 not to interfere? Why would he act now?"
Under his gaze, the figure at the head slowly raised a hand and removed his hat.
A face—aged yet sharp—was revealed to the assembly!