Soul Society, Seireitei, the Shihōin Clan estate, meeting room.
“Clan Head, we can’t let this continue.
Yoruichi-sama hasn’t gone to the training grounds in days.” “Clan Head, ever since Shadow arrived, Yoruichi-sama hasn’t properly listened to a single lesson.” “Clan Head, Yoruichi-sama’s behavior has completely abandoned the etiquette expected of a noble.
If this continues, the other noble families will laugh at us.” “Clan Head…” “Clan Head…” “…” The enormous meeting room was currently as noisy as a crowded town hall.
Everyone present was either an elder of the Shihōin Clan or one of the instructors responsible for Yoruichi Shihōin’s education, including the elderly steward and her old tutor.
Naturally, the subject of their discussion was Shadow and Yoruichi.
Everyone knew that Yoruichi was mischievous and hated all the tedious rules and etiquette of noble society.
In the past, however, they had at least been capable of keeping her under control.
No matter how unwilling she was, she still had to attend her lessons.
Ever since Shadow arrived, however, their lives had become miserable.
With someone as powerful as Shadow backing her, Yoruichi had practically been granted complete freedom.
She stopped attending lessons, stopped going to the training grounds, and spent every day doing nothing but playing.
It drove the entire group of old men insane.
Some of them had tried confronting Shadow, demanding to know what he was trying to accomplish.
They hadn’t managed to say more than a few sentences before being thrown out.
How could any of them possibly resist Shadow’s strength?
If Yoruichi hadn’t explicitly ordered him not to hurt anyone, then given Shadow’s temperament, anyone who provoked him would have been lucky to escape with only permanent injuries.
Captain-class strength already represented the highest echelon of power in Soul Society, with only a handful of individuals ever reaching that level.
Within the Shihōin Clan, aside from Tansei Shihōin himself, Shadow was unquestionably the strongest.
In a world where the strong preyed upon the weak, the growth and stability of any great family depended upon powerful individuals.
Everyone understood that.
And how could the Shihōin Clan possibly bring itself to drive away someone as young and overwhelmingly powerful as Shadow?
True, Shadow had already made it clear that his loyalty belonged to Yoruichi Shihōin alone, not to the Shihōin Clan.
But as far as everyone else was concerned, wasn’t Yoruichi still a Shihōin?
She was the clan’s sole heir.
Whether Shadow liked it or not, as long as he remained at Yoruichi’s side, everyone would associate him with the Shihōin Clan.
That meant the problem involving Shadow and Yoruichi could only be solved through careful planning.
Trying to force the issue was impossible.
Not that any of them could defeat him even if they tried.
“Enough!” Listening to everyone argue beneath him, Tansei Shihōin finally lost his temper and slammed his palm against the table.
“If you want to argue, go outside and do it!
Stop giving me a headache!
And quit coming up with idiotic schemes.
If you actually manage to anger Shadow, then you can deal with him yourselves!” The meeting room instantly fell silent.
Everyone who had been shouting only moments earlier immediately closed their mouths, their expressions turning grim.
Shadow might be young, but he was extraordinarily cold.
Threats didn’t work on him.
Persuasion didn’t work either.
Aside from Yoruichi Shihōin, he listened to absolutely no one.
If they truly angered him, even Yoruichi’s presence might not guarantee their safety.
It was entirely possible that he would kill someone.
They had already learned that lesson.
On Shadow’s third day at the Shihōin estate, one of the clan’s members, a Soul Reaper with lieutenant-class strength, had deliberately provoked him while Yoruichi was away.
Shadow had nearly cut the man in half with a single strike.
At the time, Tansei Shihōin had been at the Second Division barracks and couldn’t possibly return in time.
The Shihōin Clan’s Soul Reapers had rushed Shadow together, intending to restrain him.
Instead, Shadow beat every last one of them until they were barely recognizable.
If Yoruichi hadn’t heard the commotion, rushed outside, and stopped him in time, none of them doubted that Shadow would have killed everyone involved.
From that day onward, the terrified members of the Shihōin Clan turned around and fled whenever they saw Shadow approaching.
That incident had become a nightmare none of them could forget.
It was also the day they truly understood just how powerful and merciless Shadow was.
Every time they remembered it, they still felt a lingering chill.
The Segador.
That was the nickname everyone in the Shihōin estate had secretly given Shadow.
“But Clan Head, we still can’t allow this to continue.
Yoruichi-sama is the sole future heir of the Shihōin Clan!” Eventually, one of the elders couldn’t hold himself back any longer.
Tansei rubbed his brow in frustration.
Of course he knew that.
Internally, he had cursed Shadow more times than he could count, but there was nothing he could do about it.
More had happened over the past few days than during the entire previous month, and merely thinking about it made Tansei’s temper flare.
Since no one else could handle Shadow, Tansei had personally gone to speak with him.
The result nearly made smoke come out of his ears.
Tansei had talked at length, explaining one thing after another.
Shadow calmly responded with a single sentence.
“As long as Yoruichi-sama is happy, nothing else matters to me.” That one statement left Tansei completely speechless.
So he changed his approach and went to speak with Yoruichi instead, patiently trying to reason with her and appeal to her feelings.
Yoruichi didn’t care.
Children naturally loved to play.
She had spent years being forced to learn things she hated, and now that she had finally been freed from all those restrictions, there was no chance a few words from Tansei would convince her to willingly return to them.
Eventually, the furious Tansei dragged Shadow into a training ground constructed from Sekkiseki (Spirit-Reducing Stone).
Boom!
Crash!
The two fought violently for quite some time.
When it was over, Tansei emerged first with an ashen expression.
Without saying a single word, he turned around and walked away.
What was he supposed to tell anyone?
That he’d nearly fought a child to a draw?
Shadow had been injured as well, but the battle had finally allowed him to understand where his current strength stood within Soul Society.
For him, that alone made the fight worthwhile.
What no one knew, however, was that Shadow hadn’t even used his greatest strength.
His kenjutsu.
That was the trump card he had kept hidden.
After the battle, Yoruichi finally restrained herself somewhat.
Unfortunately, “somewhat” was the important part.
Her training remained inconsistent at best, leaving everyone around her with constant headaches.
“Wait!” Just when everyone had run out of ideas, a middle-aged elder suddenly spoke.
“Isn’t enrollment for the Shin’ō Academy beginning in a few days?
We could send Yoruichi-sama there!” Tansei Shihōin’s eyes immediately lit up.
“That’s right!
Yoruichi loves playing, doesn’t she?
Then we’ll send her to the Shin’ō Academy.
With that competitive personality of hers, maybe being surrounded by other students will finally motivate her to take her training seriously.” “And after she graduates from the Shin’ō Academy, she can join the Keigun (Punishment Force) and continue her training there!” Tansei burst into laughter.
“Excellent idea!
That’s exactly what we’ll do!” Everyone in the room finally breathed a sigh of relief.
At that exact moment, however, the meeting room doors were violently thrown open.
A servant rushed inside in a panic, gasping for breath.
“Clan Head, something’s wrong!
Shadow-sama and Yoruichi-sama left the estate again!
No one knows where they’ve gone!” “…Forget it.” Tansei Shihōin sighed helplessly and waved his hand.
“Let her go wherever she wants.
Shadow is with her.
Nothing will happen.”