So, Haruki completely ignored him. Given his current identity, a low-ranking member of a branch family wasn't even worthy of his attention.
When Tsunayashiro Tokinada saw Haruki's haughty demeanor, his expression darkened, but he suppressed his anger and spoke in a calm tone, "Lord Munemoto, the task you previously assigned has been completed. It's now stored in the third treasury."
Haruki glanced at him, nodded slightly, but said nothing.
As for where the third treasury was, he had no idea.
So, just as Tsunayashiro Tokinada was about to leave, Haruki spoke up again, "Let's go take a look together. If you've done a good job, I might consider reassigning you to a better position."
Tsunayashiro Tokinada had made a mistake in the past.
Once, there was a commoner Shinigami who possessed a fragment of the Soul King within her body. The Tsunayashiro family wanted to observe the behavior of this Soul King fragment, so they had Tsunayashiro Tokinada marry her.
However, not long after the marriage, Tsunayashiro Tokinada grew tired of his wife and killed her.
While killing someone wasn't a big deal for one of the Five Great Noble Families, especially since he pinned the blame on other Shinigami, the Tsunayashiro family still punished him.
They assigned him to oversee the Image Department, an institution under the Tsunayashiro family responsible for monitoring the Seireitei and recording its history. However, the Tsunayashiro family only handled the recordings—actual surveillance was left to the lower classes.
Having Tsunayashiro Tokinada work on recordings was essentially a demotion.
But Tsunayashiro Tokinada was actually quite satisfied with this arrangement. He found the Image Department to be a quiet place where he could observe many interesting things, which was far better than dealing with the stubborn old men in the family every day.
For other members of the Tsunayashiro family, Haruki's words would have been seen as a "favor," but for Tsunayashiro Tokinada, it was nothing but a nuisance. However, he couldn't show his displeasure.
Because, technically, it was a "favor."
Haruki had deliberately said this to annoy Tokinada.
Tsunayashiro Tokinada, who had been about to leave, stopped in his tracks and led Haruki to the so-called third treasury.
The third treasury was located deep within the Tsunayashiro estate. Although it was essentially a storage facility, it was adorned with lavish decorations, a testament to the wealth and extravagance of the great noble family.
Haruki clasped his hands behind his back, surveyed the third treasury, and nodded. "Hmm, you've done a decent job."
He stepped forward, and the guards stationed at the treasury bowed respectfully.
"Open the door," Haruki said slowly.
"Yes, sir," the guard quickly complied and opened the gate. Haruki walked in and found the treasury filled with gold, silver, jewels, and some strange items he didn't quite understand.
However, none of these things were what he was looking for. He was searching for the Soul King fragments that the Tsunayashiro family had collected over the past million years.
He had never seen a Soul King fragment before, but he had split his own "super pill" twice.
The super pill and the Soul King fragments shared similar properties. Although the super pill didn't possess the same immense spiritual power, the energy waves they emitted were quite alike.
Haruki indeed sensed the presence of the Soul King fragments. They seemed to be stored in an ornate box.
Haruki glanced at the box but didn't touch it. He simply nodded.
Then, he turned and left.
Tsunayashiro Tokinada watched as the old man left without a word, his eyes growing colder.
But Haruki didn't care about any of that. He had already left the Tsunayashiro estate.
As for the real Tsunayashiro Munemoto, he'd have the Imaginary Bodies try to take care of him later.
After leaving the Tsunayashiro estate, Haruki found a secluded spot to revert to his original form and then instantly appeared beside Aizen.
He had activated the "Captain's Assistant" ability, which allowed him to teleport directly to his captain's side.
His body disintegrated and then reassembled beside Aizen, much like how Dark Rukia's instantaneous movement worked.
Aizen was currently working in his office and was slightly surprised to sense Haruki's sudden appearance.
However, the surprise lasted only a moment before he said, "After this incident, would you be interested in becoming a captain?"
Haruki was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head. "No thanks, Captain Aizen. Please don't put me on the spot like that. I have no interest in becoming a captain."
Was Aizen implying that there would likely be captain casualties during this incident?
But Haruki didn't think so. Although this incident was orchestrated by him and Aizen to target Urahara Kisuke, Urahara wasn't a fool. He would undoubtedly have made preparations.
Even though Urahara Kisuke was in the human world, Haruki didn't believe he was completely unaware of what was happening in the Soul Society.
After all, Yoruichi Shihōin used to be the commander of the Onmitsukidō. What was the Onmitsukidō? To draw a comparison, it was like the CIA, and Yoruichi was the CIA director!
How many secrets would a former CIA director know? How many covert intelligence channels would she have?
So, the changes in the Soul Society shouldn't have escaped Urahara Kisuke's notice.
Most importantly, this wasn't something that happened overnight. The Soul Society had been planning to deal with Urahara Kisuke for three years. In three years, even a pig would have reacted.
Let alone someone like Urahara Kisuke.
Even if the appearance of the Imaginary Bodies was unexpected, Urahara should have already prepared for how to deal with the Gotei 13.
Urahara Kisuke wouldn't allow the rift between himself and the Seireitei to widen. Therefore, he certainly wouldn't harm any captains or allow any losses among them. Doing so would make it much harder for him to clear his name in the future.
This was essentially a long-distance battle of wits between Urahara Kisuke and Aizen. Honestly, it was better for Haruki not to get involved. He would just quietly coast along and use the conflict between these two to achieve his own goals.
"By the way, what's the Onmitsukidō's mission?" Since Haruki planned to take action against the Tsunayashiro family, he was particularly interested in the two divisions remaining in the Seireitei.
The First Division, led by Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, was naturally the last line of defense for the Seireitei. But what about the Second Division, with Soifon staying behind? What was her mission?
"Well…"
Aizen took a gentle sip of the black tea on his desk and said softly, "As a unit directly under the Central 46, the Onmitsukidō's orders are naturally to protect the nobles."
"What a waste," Haruki couldn't help but scoff. "A unit like the Onmitsukidō is perfectly suited for tracking people down, yet they're being used to protect those noble lords."
"Heh…" Aizen chuckled but said nothing more.
However, this was a good thing.
The more foolish those noble lords were, the easier it would be for Haruki to carry out his plans…