Kuragawa Ryo was at his limit.
After living for a few hundred years, he felt so insulted.
As a part of the lower Noble Clan, he was always respected wherever he went.
But now, he was actually being trampled by someone else!
Even the Captains of the Gotei 13 wouldn't dare to do such a thing!
Soil filled his mouth, and even his teeth were black.
The pain on the top of his head reminded Kuragawa Ryo incessantly not to make any rash moves.
Otherwise, the arrogant guy in front of him would definitely stomp on his head.
Judging from that person's words, it was not difficult to deduce his personality.
This guy, who disregarded even the regulations of the Soul Society, was probably similar to people like Zaraki Kenpachi of the Eleventh Division.
Tokikaze didn't keep his foot on Kuragawa Ryo's head for too long.
After announcing the punishment, he kicked his head away.
Tokikaze's men immediately rushed in, using devices to restrain the Kuragawa Clan members and simultaneously sealed their spiritual power.
Those devices were developed by the Research and Development Institute during Kisuke Urahara's tenure. They looked like white bandages, filled with the incantations of Bakudo #9 Geki to emulate a small potion of its power. It only needed some Reiatsu to be activated. Due to its limitations, it could at most restrain a soul with Rank 5 Reiatsu. Stronger individuals might break free from the restraint.
Kuragawa Ryo spat out the soil from his mouth, shaking his dizzy and swollen head.
He tried hard to open his eyes, attempting to see and memorize the face of the person who had stomped on his head.
As Kuragawa Ryo was contemplating his malicious plan, he finally saw the person standing in front of him.
Kuragawa Ryo's pupils contracted, his mouth unconsciously opened wide as he stammered:
"Tsu… Tsuna, Tsunayashiro Clan..."
He noticed that Tokikaze had a peculiar hairpin that was known to all nobles. It was the hairpin that only Tsunayashiro Clan possessed.
He only felt his mind went blank, as if his memories had been deleted.
Even though it had been decades since he last saw Tokikaze, that scene remained deeply engraved in Kuragawa Ryo's mind.
At a noble assembly, Tokikaze, dressed in luxurious attire, walked through the streets surrounded by his subjects.
The lower nobles respectfully stood on both sides of the road, and the gap in their status made them seem like they were welcoming a deity.
Kuragawa Ryo's reaction was noticed by Tokikaze's men.
In addition to the shock, their admiration for Tokikaze rose to a new level.
They didn't fully understand the differences in status among the nobility, but Tokikaze effortlessly did what even Muguruma Kensei couldn't accomplish.
This alone was enough to make them offer their fervent loyalty to Tokikaze.
"Mind explaining yourself?"
Tokikaze questioned, "Regarding Kuragawa Clan's objective in monopolizing the water source in Inuzuri."
Staring at the person in front of him, Kuragawa Ryo still stammered several times and couldn't muster the courage to speak.
He was unsure of what punishment he and his clansmen would receive according to the regulations of the Soul Society.
But if they followed the rules set by the Noble Council.
When a lower noble laid a hand on the Five Great Noble Families, their status as noble would be revoked, and they would be confined in the Central Underground Great Prison.
"I don't know the details."
After a long silence, Kuragawa Ryo finally spoke. His voice was so hoarse, as if he had gravel on his mouth.
"Our Clan's head only ordered us to gather souls with spiritual power talent in Inuzuri."
"Usually, these souls would be taught Kido and recruited as the Clan's soldier..."
Nanao Ise skilfullly recorded his words.
She had already figured out the general workflow the day before joining the Ninth Division.
From the perspective of a secretary alone, Nanao Ise was much more useful than Rangiku Matsumoto.
Kuragawa Ryo felt completely hopeless from the moment he saw Tokikaze.
Monopolizing water resources in Inuzuri and collecting souls with spiritual power talent were trivial matters. However, attacking the heir of the Tsunayashiro Clan was undoubtedly a major crime.
Getting out of this alive at this point was more than a miracle.
In this situation, how could he have any reservation?
"Captain, everything has been recorded." Nanao Ise handed over the file to Tokikaze.
"You can keep it for yourself."
Tokikaze wasn't interested in looking through the files. "To determine their sentence, I need to go see the head of the Kuragawa Clan."
"If I remember correctly, that guy is called Kuragawa Zanosuke..."
After dealing with the Kuragawa Clan's residence in the Inuzuri, Tokikaze directly leveled the entire courtyard. The source of the mountain spring on it was restored to its original state, free for the souls in the Inuzuri to use.
In less than three days, he predicted that this area would be chaotic again and everything would be settled with brute force.
Tokikaze had no interest in managing this chaotic place.
Even if he left his men there, they wouldn't be able to maintain order.
If the power gap wasn't so significant, those thugs wouldn't hesitate to attack Soul Reaper.
The Kuragawa Clan had mobilized most of its manpower to gain complete control over the Fushimi mountain in the Inuzuri, securing the only water resource.
...
Noble District, lower noble territory.
Kuragawa Clan Mansion.
After settling the matter in the Inuzuri, Tokikaze led his men to Noble District.
Despite the luxuriously decorated noble mansion, he still used Raikoho to blast through the gate and walls again.
When the members of the Kuragawa Clan checked what happened in anger, they were surprised by the scene before them.
"Ryo!?"
Kuragawa Zanosuke's veins bulged on his forehead. "Who's the fool that..."
Before he could finish his words, he caught sight of Tokikaze, who remained calm among the Soul Reapers.
"You're truly something, Kuragawa Clan head."
Tokikaze said calmly, as if discussing an insignificant matter, "I won't need to go into detail about the crimes you committed."
"Regarding your scheme of gathering souls with spiritual power talent, I now seriously suspect that the Kuragawa Clan has been secretly building up military power to overthrow the existing system and replace the Five Great Noble Families."
Hearing this statement, Kuragawa Zanosuke's eyeballs almost popped out.
In just a few minutes, Kuragawa Clan suddenly became rebels trying to overthrow the Five Great Noble Families?