“Ha…ha ha ha! I suppose when one lives for an extended period of time, things like this occasionally happen.”
Tokinada was in the deserted inner parlor of the Tsunayashiro family residence. He had used a small Tenkaiketchu with coordinates set to this room rather than Karakura Town in order to escape from the Kyogoku to the Soul Society.
Still, he had suffered severe wounds, and he left a trail of blood behind him as he slowly headed deeper into the residence.
“Well, that was a good experience. I suppose even a group of cornered rats can kill a tiger. I still have many cards to play, but until I heal these wounds, I should hide for a while…”
As he muttered to himself, Tokinada opened the door to the chamber of the head of family. At that point, he was bothered by the faintest sense of anxiety. The air in the room was slightly different than usual. Though he had been severely wounded, an unrelated chill ran through his body.
“…Huh?”
Someone was in the room. Whether it was a servant or a guest, or a confident assassin, it was not easy to sneak into this place. It was protected by several barriers so that anyone without Tsunayashiro blood would have a difficult time stepping foot in it.
However, it might have been possible for a Soul Reaper with the rank of captain to pass through those barriers.
“Are you the ninth successor of the Fon family…? Or Byakuya Kuchiki…?”
He remembered the face of the Secret Remote Squad head that he had met half a day earlier, as well as that of the other member of the Four Great Noble Clans he had been disdainful toward some time earlier. With his zanpaku-to stolen and his blood loss severe, the likelihood of his surviving a captain was low.
Regardless, Tokinada smiled boldly.
How entertaining. It seems that I cannot survive this much entertainment and won’t be making a comeback.
In a test of himself, Tokinada neither ran nor hid, but simply stepped in.
“Who are you? Don’t you think it’s somewhat impolite for you to step foot into the Tsunayashiro residence?”
From the back of the room, a shadow near the seat of the head of family answered.
“Oh yes, how rude of me.”
“You…”
“I couldn’t find anyone around, so I thought it was abandoned—my mistake.”
“Mayuri…Kurotsuchi.”
Tokinada smiled cynically at the man. “You’re the one who delivered Kyoraku and the others into the Kyogoku, aren’t you? I thought you were thoroughly occupied with that.”
“I’ve left that with a remote-controlled double. The person here with you now may also be a double, but it makes no difference.”
“I doubt you came here under Kyoraku’s instructions. Did you come to capture me? Or did you perhaps come to see if you could get one of the Four Great Noble Clans in your debt?”
“I don’t see much use in making you indebted to me in your current situation. Then again, I wouldn’t have much interest in you even if you were in perfect condition.” Mayuri’s tone was matter-of-fact. “But I was interested that the Tsunayashiro family that heads the Four Great Noble Clans went to some lengths to conduct an experiment to create a Soul King. Though the data from the surveillance bugs I attached to the Corpse Unit is coming back at the same time the barrier around the Kyogoku is breaking…”
Though not much time had passed since Tokinada’s flight, Mayuri sighed dramatically and shook his head as though he comprehended everything that had happened.
“Considering all this along with the data you left behind here, it seems that you really are an amateur with only superficial knowledge, Tokinada Tsunayashiro. Had you entrusted the plan to me from the start, I would at least have been able to rapidly perfect the Soul King’s vessel.”
“Heh heh…but you didn’t come here to say you’d help me make my dream into reality.”
“The biggest obstacle in the way of increasing the perfection of the Soul King’s vessel is the being Tokinada Tsunayashiro himself. Had you entrusted the matter with me, I would have immediately eliminated you, of course. Even if you were to boast about leaving it all to me for the sake of a greater cause, it would be troublesome if you were to meddle according to your whims and indulgences.”
Mayuri spoke as though the matter were so obvious he could not possibly understand why Tokinada had even asked the question, and Tokinada let a strained smile form on his face as he endured the pain of his wounds.
“Heh heh…that was very harsh of you. However, there is no way I would have created Hikone for the sake of a greater cause.”
Tokinada narrowed his eyes and ridiculed the “greater cause” Mayuri had just mentioned.
“There was no reason behind creating a Soul King other than for my own indulgence. If you’ve seen the Corpse Unit’s data, you understand the depth of the Soul Society’s crime that I spoke of, do you not? This world was formed as a result of treachery and spite. There doesn’t need to be any great cause in a world where the descendants of criminals fight for their wretched profits! The world should revolve and rot around our amusements and desires, should it not?!”
“It seems we do not see eye to eye. To use the crimes of the past as a reason to block change in the world now is just laziness.”
“Heh…it’s always that way for Kisuke Urahara and the rest of you scientists. You talk extravagantly about making the world turn or creating something new…but no matter how you spin it, you are drowning in your own selfish thirst for knowledge, and you only amount to a servant to the world’s profit!”
The moment the name Kisuke Urahara had come out of Tokinada’s mouth and he had equated the two of them, Mayuri’s eyes narrowed and he shook his head with pity.
“Good grief, it would mean trouble for me if you were to speak so trivially of science. You’re almost like a child throwing a fit.”
“Yes! I won’t deny that! Tearing apart a bug crawling along the ground in front of my eyes and laughing at it is the same as using my influence in the world to achieve my gratification! There is no difference between you and me! We both dance atop the ants and occasionally find one that is powerful—that is all! Aren’t you the same, Mayuri Kurotsuchi?”
Regardless of the fact that he himself was half dead, Tokinada grinned and shouted, spewing blood.
“Now what will you do? Will you join me? Shall we kill each other? Or will you take me like the mob of others you dominate, bottling me up in order to make me suffer forever as an experimental subject? No matter which route you take, remember this…the man you see before your eyes is the very karma of the Soul Society!”
Without his position as a noble and without Enra Kyoten, would Tokinada have held sway over Mayuri Kurotsuchi? It was doubtful that the influence of nobility meant anything when it came to Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
Regardless of that, the man prioritized his own amusement.
Instead of answering Tokinada, Mayuri remarked indifferently, “I don’t know what you’re so angry about, but I only came here to observe your research. Well…regardless, I will apologize for entering this room without permission.”
At that point, Mayuri turned his eyes away and continued as though the matter were becoming tedious to him. “And if I were to apologize for other things as well, it would be for not relocking the door.”
“Huh?”
Tokinada scowled when he didn’t understand Mayuri’s words.
In the next moment, Tokinada felt an impact on his back.
“What…?”
He had no time to feel the pain. He realized that something cold was entering his body.
“What…just…”