Although the training ground was a hundred meters underground, Yamabuki's perception of spiritual pressure was very strong, and he immediately sensed someone at his doorstep. He could only go greet the guest first.
As soon as he entered the room, he heard a knock on the door. Opening it, he found it was two Eleventh Division members.
"What's wrong? Why are you looking for me in the middle of the night?" Yamabuki frowned. Coming to him at this hour certainly wasn't good news.
The two squad members were about to speak when they noticed something was off.
Why was the Chief of Staff sweating so much? And his breathing was a bit heavy? Why was he so tired in the middle of the night?
Wait, I heard that the Chief of Staff and Captain Unohana lived together. Could it be...
Instantly, the two squad members' gazes towards Yamabuki became very ambiguous.
Yamabuki hadn't reacted yet: "What are you stammering about? Hurry up and speak? Is something wrong?"
"Yes, yes, yes. There's been a murder. A high-ranking noble was killed in his home. The Captain Commander has already rushed over and asked us to call you. It's best to bring the Captain... cough... that... if the Captain is inconvenienced, it's fine if she doesn't come." The two squad members' eyes darted around.
It's all understandable.
A lone man and woman, dry wood and fierce fire, it's normal for something to happen. Everyone is an adult.
"Why call her? She's not Sherlock Holmes. Let's go!" Yamabuki put on his clothes, took his Zanpakutō, and followed the two squad members out. As he reached the door, he shouted back into the room: "Something happened with the Squad. I'm going to check it out. Don't run around at home. Lock the door tightly. If a stranger knocks, absolutely do not open it. Just wait for me to come back obediently."
"Mm."
Unohana's voice came from deep within the room.
The two squad members winked at each other, leaned in, and whispered, "Chief of Staff, when are we going to drink?"
"Drink??? What drink? Didn't you say there was something important to handle? Why aren't you taking me there faster? All you think about is eating, drinking, and having fun! Can't you be a little more ambitious? Sigh, I'm really worried sick for this family!" Yamabuki sighed.
"Cough, cough!"
Both squad members used coughs to cover their embarrassment. Indeed, although the Chief of Staff's position was high, he was still a young man, and such matters were inevitably a bit awkward. It was better not to expose it, otherwise, with the personalities of these two madmen, it wouldn't be surprising if they were killed to silence them.
The three of them arrived at the Yamatake Clan.
At first, Yamabuki thought that high-ranking nobles lived very well, but as soon as he entered the courtyard, he found that there were weeds everywhere, and it had been a long time since anyone had taken care of it. Most of the furniture had been sold by Yamatake Chiaki for alcohol, and what couldn't be drunk was gambled away.
In short, life at home was very difficult.
He didn't expect a high-ranking noble to be so miserable.
But thinking about it, it was also true. The Shiba Clan would be removed from the ranks of the Five Great Clans in the future, so it was normal for an ordinary high-ranking noble to decline.
The Captain Commander and the other Captains had all arrived. Shihōin Chika was examining the body.
"The impact is extremely bad. Someone actually dared to do such a thing right under the Gotei 13's nose! The true culprit must be severely punished," the Captain Commander said coldly.
Only the Gotei 13 were allowed to kill in Seireitei. As for others killing... that was an illegal act.
"Yamabuki, what do you think?" Yamamoto instinctively looked at Yamabuki. This was a habit he had developed: whenever he had a problem he couldn't solve, he pushed it to Yamabuki. Isn't that what a Staff Officer is for?
Yamabuki carefully examined the body and found that there were three penetrating wounds: on the left calf, the throat, and the glabella. The enemy's hidden weapon was a 20-centimeter long steel spike.
"The killer must be a master," Yamabuki said, pointing to the wound on the deceased's throat. "Look at this wound. Although the neck was pierced, only the vocal cords were damaged, preventing the deceased from crying for help. This control over power is quite terrifying. Aside from Kinroku Izuhara and Unohana, the other Captains cannot achieve this."
Yamabuki did not mean that the killer's strength surpassed that of the Captains, but simply that everyone's training paths were different.
Batsu'unsai Katori, Uhin Zenjōji, and Saitō Furōfushi all followed destructive routes.
The killer, on the other hand, was clearly a master of technique.
Even Yamabuki himself would find it difficult to achieve this level of control over power.
"Are there any eyewitnesses? Is such a large family only comprised of one person?" Yamabuki asked.
"No, the deceased also has a younger sister. At that time, this young lady saw her brother being killed with her own eyes. And according to her description, the killer appeared behind her, and she even heard the killer's voice. Furthermore, the killer also said that he would come to take the young lady's life a few days later," Shihōin Chika said.
Yamabuki immediately called the young lady over.
According to the introduction, the young lady's name was Yamatake Chiyo, and she was now the last member of the Yamatake Clan.
Accompanied by a female squad member, Chiyo-chan walked over timidly.
Yamabuki rubbed the young lady's head, wanting to comfort her, but being good at observing expressions, he quickly noticed something was amiss.
"Chōjirō." Yamabuki suddenly called out, "Chōjirō, if one day, Hanako dies, will you be sad?"
Chōjirō Sasakibe didn't know why Yamabuki asked him this question, and nodded, saying, "Of course."
The two siblings had depended on each other since childhood, and their feelings were extremely deep.
But...
In Chiyo-chan's eyes, there was only fear, but no sorrow for losing a loved one, not even a trace. This was very unreasonable!
Logically speaking, a teenage girl who saw her brother, on whom she depended, die, could possibly make any unreasonable move.
But... this girl was too rational, abnormally calm.
"Chiyo-chan, right? Don't be afraid, I'll just ask a few simple questions. How is your relationship with your brother?" Yamabuki asked with a smile.
Chiyo-chan hesitated for a moment and replied softly, "Although my brother wasn't very good to me, he still took care of me."
In other words, the siblings didn't have a very good relationship?
Could it be that...
Yamabuki looked at Chiyo-chan with a suspicious gaze. Could this girl...
Suddenly, Yamabuki's vision went black, and two fingers poked hard into his eye sockets!
"Ah!!! My dog eyes! My titanium alloy dog eyes!"
Saitō Furōfushi snorted and retracted his fingers: "What kind of look are you giving Chiyo-chan! She's already pitiful enough losing her brother, alright? Are you a lolicon? How disgusting!"
"You're the lolicon! Your whole family are lolicons! As a Staff Officer, I must use my discerning eyes to distinguish right from wrong. How dare you harm my eyes? How is that any different from harming me!"
This sounded strange, but upon closer thought, there was nothing wrong with it.
....
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