Uehara was really friendly to his subordinates.
This powerful leader seemed to never blame his subordinates for being incompetent, and he never disliked the strength of his subordinates, nor did he interfere with some of his subordinates' small actions.
Maybe it was because his strength was enough to end all troubles.
For Uehara...
It was enough if his subordinates were willing to offer their loyalty to him.
Even Madara had to admit that this characteristic of Uehara made them have to recognize this guy's unique charm.
Treating outsiders as cold and ruthless as winter and playing with them as if playing with marionettes; when treating one's own people, it was as warm as spring, and sometimes even feels a little pampered.
Uehara looked at Kabuto, who still looked a little reserved, and softly said, "Well, don't worry about Urahara Kisuke. Before leaving, let's see your hard work... I will arrange for other people to take over the orphanage."
"Yes."
Kabuto slowly lowered his head and whispered, "Then I'll leave everything to Naraku-sama. Many children in the orphanage can become shinigami..."
"Hey, hey, hey..."
Uehara's expression became more and more strange, "Kabuto, I'm not that guy, Danzo. I don't need them to replenish our combat power..."
"... Yes."
The corners of Kabuto's mouth curled up into a smile. He smiled and explained, "But to be able to serve Naraku-sama is the best choice for them."
Not everyone was born to stand on the side of the winner. Only they knew what it meant to stand beside Uehara.
However, Kabuto did not continue to say anything. Besides, he would only nurture Rukongai children, who had the qualifications to join Akatsuki.
The scale of the orphanage today was not small.
However, there were fewer and fewer children who could be outstanding, like Urahara Kisuke and Ichimaru Gin.
Even Abarai Renji, who grew up in the orphanage and has now entered the Spiritual Arts Academy and even become a classmate of Uehara, was still not qualified.
At least, in Kabuto's eyes, he was not qualified.
After all, compared to strength and talent, Kabuto valued intelligence more.
Abarai Renji was too reckless and did not know how to restrain his temper. This was not in line with Kabuto's expectations for his successor.
Moreover, Ichimaru Gin was in the front...
It was too difficult to find an even more outstanding person.
Today, the orphanage was a little lively.
When Kabuto arrived, a group of attendants stood at the entrance of the orphanage, forbidding anyone from entering. Their clothes had the family emblem of the Kuchiki clan.
These were the Five Noble Families in Soul Society...
No, it should be said to be the Kuchiki clan of the Four Noble Families.
Kuchiki clan was not enough to compare with the powerful clan Uehara clan, but they could hold their ground in places like Rukongai, and there will not be dead souls who would dare to despise the Kuchiki clan.
After all...
The head of the Kuchiki clan was the Gotei 13 6th Division Captain all year round.
Now the one who appeared in the orphanage was not Kuchiki Sojun, the current head of the Kuchiki clan, but his son Kuchiki Byakuya, the future head of the Kuchiki clan.
In the reception room of the orphanage.
A girl hurriedly brought a cup of tea and put it on the small table. There was so much tea in the teacup that it even overflowed.
Her name was Rukia.
She was currently the eldest child in the orphanage.
When Kabuto was not here, Rukia would take out the responsibility of the eldest sister, help adopt other children, and take care of the little guys in the yard. Fortunately, Ichimaru Gin and Matsumoto Rangiku occasionally come to help and send some money or living necessities.
And Rukia's little friend, Abarai Renji, also often comes to help.
Now that a Kuchiki came to visit the orphanage while Kabuto, Ichimaru Gin, and Matsumoto Rangiku were not here. In this group of little radishes, Rukia could only stand up by herself...
The arrival of Kuchiki Byakuya gave Rukia a lot of pressure.
In the face of the heir of such a great noble family like Kuchiki Byakuya, Rukia felt she was under a lot of pressure. However, she still had to forcibly assume the aura of the contemporary eldest sister of the orphanage.
Rukia clumsily put the overflowing cup of tea on the table and scalded her hand while serving it, which made her eyes widen instantly, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help twitching...
'So Hot!'
Rukia bit her teeth and still carefully served the hot teacup, then sat quietly in her seat. Looking at Kuchiki Byakuya on the opposite side, she pretended to be calm and said, "Cough cough cough... Your Excellency, please drink tea."
"..."
Byakuya fell silent.
He was not interested in the tea of the orphanage.
In comparison, Byakuya paid more attention to Rukia, the clumsy girl, and everything just now was in his eyes.
Byakuya looked at Rukia's delicate face, and a touch of nostalgia slowly flashed through his eyes. He closed his eyes and restrained his emotions.
This girl...
Was she his wife Kuchiki Hisana's real sister?
To be honest, except for their looks, Rukia was much worse than Hisana in any other place.
At least in Byakuya's opinion...
Whether it was etiquette or temperament, Rukia was a little careless, unlike her gentle sister.
Not long ago, Hisana passed away.
Before she died, Hisana left her only wish, hoping Byakuya could take care of her younger sister Rukia.
In fact, Hisana knew that Rukia was in Kabuto's orphanage because she had no choice but to abandon her sister to live, so she put her younger sister Rukia at the orphanage's door.
It was just that when Hisana married into the Kuchiki clan, she wanted to be with her sister again, but she did not dare to get close, or perhaps due to guilt, she was somewhat ashamed to see her.
However, Hisana would almost quietly come to the orphanage every day and secretly observe Rukia's every move. She would even secretly donate money or daily necessities to the orphanage, but she never dared to appear in front of her younger sister.
Until she was about to die...
Hisana finally dared to face this matter.
Taking care of Rukia was the only last wish left by Byakuya's deceased wife. He would not refuse, or he will never refuse anything from his wife.
"..."
Byakuya slowly put away his emotions and opened his eyes again to look at the girl sitting opposite him. His voice became unprecedentedly indifferent, "Miss Rukia, are you willing to join the Kuchiki clan?"
"Huh? What?"
Rukia's big eyes could not help but blink. She scratched her head and asked curiously, "Lord Kuchiki, are you kidding me?"
"No."
Byakuya shook his head calmly.
Byakuya did not say why he invited Rukia to join the Kuchiki clan. He just mentioned that the Kuchiki clan was optimistic about her talent to become shinigami and her talent for spiritual training. He proposed to adopt Rukia as his sister and let her bear the surname of the Kuchiki clan.
Unfortunately...
Byakuya got a rejection.
To tell the truth, Rukia was not interested in joining the Kuchiki clan.
This orphanage was the place where she grew up, and her current life was actually not particularly bitter. Kabuto would probably send her to the Spiritual Arts Academy in the future.
Rukia did not think she needed other brothers because she already had a dean who cared for them as a father and a brother.
Compared with Kuchiki Byakuya, who was relatively indifferent...
The kind Kabuto was indeed easier to get along with.
Even if Rukia knew in her heart that joining the Kuchiki clan meant having better living conditions and resources, this was not enough to change her mind.
This orphanage...
It was her real home.
Rukia almost did not think much and directly refused Byakuya, even waving her hand, "Hahahaha... Forgive me for refusing, but I am not interested..."
"This orphanage will soon be dissolved."
Byakuya's words directly made Rukia's expression change. However, his expression was still calm and even cold, "I know that the dean of this orphanage is Kabuto, but he will go to other places soon and will no longer have the energy to care about this orphanage."
Kabuto joining Zero Division was not a secret for the four noble families.
In particular, Central 46 hoped that Kabuto would fulfill the agreement as soon as possible and not stimulate the nerves of the Uehara clan in Soul Society and let Kabuto stay in Soul King Palace for a long time and not go out.
These things...
Byakuya, who was about to succeed as the head of the Kuchiki clan, was very clear.
Byakuya did not care about Rukia's face and continued calmly, "As a child who grew up here, you should be very clear about who Kabuto offended..."
That was the Uehara Clan...
Even their Kuchiki Clan was inferior by a lot!
"Kabuto has offended the Uehara clan. After Kabuto leaves, I don't think I need to say much about what kind of fate the orphanage he created will face..."
When Byakuya said this, he continued calmly, "And as far as I know, the people of the Uehara clan have always been narrow-minded. Anyone who offends them will not have a good ending..."
This matter was not without reason.
For thousands of years, the Uehara clan has treated the enemy ruthlessly as if the autumn wind swept away fallen leaves. So, many people did not dare to offend the Uehara clan easily.
Even the four noble families would not easily shake the tiger's whiskers!
Byakuya looked at the look on Rukia's face and continued, "After Kabuto left, they did not even need them to take action personally to take care of this orphanage. Some shinigami who wanted to please the Uehara clan could easily destroy this place..."
Even Ichimaru Gin and Matsumoto Rangiku could not protect this orphanage; they even needed to rely on their identity as Gotei 13 members to protect themselves.
The suppression of a rich and powerful clan was definitely not so simple!
Listening to Byakuya's words, Rukia was silent for a while. She suddenly lowered her head slowly and whispered, "Sorry, in this case, I can't leave even more... If I leave, how will the other little guys here live?"
First of all, regardless of whether Byakuya was telling the truth or not, abandoning the children in the orphanage who called her Big Sister...
It was definitely not something she should do!
"..."
Byakuya looked at Rukia.
Just as Byakuya was slightly surprised by Rukia's loyalty and even praised this girl, Rukia once again ruined her image...
"But..."
The girl rubbed her palm, and a flattering smile flashed on her face, "That... I heard Kuchiki Clan is one of the Soul Society's Four Noble Families. If Dean Kabuto really leaves here, if I join Kuchiki Clan, will I be able to protect this place?"
"..."
Byakuya's eyes could not help but tremble. His face darkened subconsciously, but he forced himself to maintain his calm expression and slowly shook his head.
This little girl...
Her skin seemed a little thick!
She was really not as good as her elder sister in the slightest, except for her looks!
"No."
Byakuya refused Rukia's proposal and continued with a cold face, "When you bear the Kuchiki's surname, you must consider the Kuchiki clan's interest..."
Byakuya's refusal was not unreasonable.
Because Byakuya just wanted to adopt Rukia according to his wife's last wish instead of offending the Uehara clan by sheltering a group of children in this orphanage!
Rukia only knew that the Uehara clan was very powerful...
However, Byakuya was very clear about how powerful the Uehara clan was. It was Soul Society's wealthiest clan, so wealthy that even the Central 46 and even Zero Division dared not treat it lightly!
Even if it were just a little trouble, it would become a big thing in the eyes of the Uehara clan.
Who knows if they would think that the Kuchiki clan's reason for protecting Kabuto's orphanage was because they wanted to replace their status as the wealthiest clan?
"Alas, then forget it."
Rukia's face was hard to hide the disappointment.
"..."
Kuchiki felt a strange feeling in his heart.
This was too obvious!
At least she had to hide her thoughts a little! Such an obvious action did she not know that this kind of thing would be very rude in front of him?
However, when Byakuya saw that Rukia had a sad look on her face, his heart remembered his deceased wife and could not help but say, "It is not impossible to protect this orphanage. If you can work hard in your training and become a powerful shinigami that even the Uehara clan can not ignore..."
The hope of this matter was actually slim.
So far, in the whole Gotei 13, except for Head-Captain Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, no one else would be in the eyes of the Uehara clan.
"Is that so?"
Rukia was suddenly lost in thought.
The girl's face was suddenly full of tangled.
Even if she didn't know how strong it was to make the Uehara clan dare not ignore her wishes, there was no doubt that even Kuchiki Byakuya dared not easily offend the Uehara clan...
She...
Can you really do it?
Just as Rukia was still frowning and thinking, Kabuto's voice came out of their ears, "Go and do what you want! Rukia, I have arranged everything.
Don't worry about the Uehara clan's revenge, Lord Naraku, in fact, is more generous than the Young Lord of the Kuchiki clan imagined."