Hanatarō Yamada looked completely bewildered. "Huh? Why...?"
"It's nothing. My work simply brings all sorts of rumors to my ears." Seinosuke Yamada made no effort to hide his delight at others' misfortune, his laughter brimming with pleasure. "The longer something has lived, the less willing it is to die. Whether it is a person or an organization made up of people, the longer it has existed, the less willing it is to disappear. The more it possesses, the less willing it is to lose. And the closer it comes to its end, the more frantic it becomes. That ugly sight of something struggling desperately against death is always a pleasure to behold."
"Could Nii-san be talking about..." Hanatarō Yamada recalled Seinosuke Yamada's position as chief representative of the Shin'ō Medicine Institute in the Noble District. "You don't mean the nobles, do you? Talking about them like this could get you..."
"Executed for disrespect, yes. Are you planning to report me, Hanatarō? If my adorable little brother wants me dead, then I suppose I'll have no choice but to..."
"N-No! That's not it! Of course I wouldn't... But..." Hanatarō Yamada paused, then suddenly realized what he meant. "Is Nii-san saying that those people have been planning to do something crazy lately?"
"Planning to?" Seinosuke Yamada chuckled. "If you understood them a little better, you would know that by the time you realize what they intend to do, they have already done something. Even you must have sensed the commotion on Sōkyoku Hill."
"Wasn't that caused by the Research and Development Institute? How could..."
"My, you really are adorable when you look this clueless." Seinosuke Yamada studied his younger brother's vacant expression with amusement. "Perhaps you shouldn't take leave from the Division after all. I'm rather looking forward to seeing you panic helplessly once you're dragged into it."
Hanatarō Yamada grew even more confused, making him look slightly more foolish. "Nii-san...?"
Seinosuke Yamada rubbed his chin and looked his younger brother up and down as though considering something.
Hanatarō Yamada shuddered, every hair on his body standing on end.
That was unmistakably the look Nii-san wore before performing surgery.
His brother was clearly considering what he could cut out of Hanatarō while keeping him alive, all so he would have no choice but to leave the 4th Division.
Or rather, leave the Gotei 13 entirely.
"I... I won't leave the 4th Division!" Hanatarō Yamada raised his normally timid voice slightly. "I'm the Seventh Seat. I... I'll continue carrying out my duties!"
"Seventh Seat... Hah." A complicated look passed through Seinosuke Yamada's eyes. "The Captain has already left. What is there for a mere Seventh Seat like you to keep holding on to?"
"Captain Unohana?" Hanatarō Yamada understood the reason for his brother's complicated expression to some extent.
Seinosuke Yamada was the sort of person who prepared countless methods to achieve his objective and would not rest until he was satisfied.
In his work, that meant preparing every possible means at his disposal to save the patient before him.
It sounded like the ideal attitude for a physician, but when combined with his deeply warped sense of ethics, it became rather frightening.
After all, he cared only about saving the patient in front of him. The methods used during treatment, the resources required, and the patient's condition afterward were entirely outside his concern.
Because of this, he had frequently clashed with Captain Unohana during his time as Lieutenant.
Yet he also respected Captain Unohana immensely. That was precisely why Seinosuke Yamada had quickly left the 4th Division after Muten Natsu appeared.
With that in mind, Hanatarō Yamada carefully watched his brother's expression as he spoke. "Captain Unohana only went to the World of the Living..."
"To celebrate Muten Natsu's birthday." Seinosuke Yamada frowned, then smiled again. "His birthday has already passed, and despite such a major incident occurring in Soul Society, she shows no intention of returning... I expect Muten Natsu will be leaving soon as well."
"Huh?" Hanatarō Yamada still looked completely lost.
"Before Captain Unohana joined the Gotei 13, she was known as the most unprecedented and unparalleled villain in Soul Society's history." A strange yearning entered Seinosuke Yamada's voice. "Do you know what that means?"
Hanatarō Yamada had yet to fully process his brother's shocking statement and merely echoed, "What does it mean?"
"It means she has killed more people than you have ever seen."
"Whaaaaaat?!" Hanatarō Yamada cried out. "But... how could something like that...?"
When he pictured Captain Unohana's gentle and compassionate demeanor, Hanatarō Yamada could not bring himself to believe it.
But although Nii-san had a terrible personality, he was not in the habit of lying.
Especially where Captain Unohana, whom he respected so deeply, was concerned. Seinosuke Yamada would never make up something like this.
Seinosuke Yamada saw the doubt on his younger brother's face. "Shinigami are known as Balancers. Their duty is to maintain the balance in the number of souls between Soul Society and the World of the Living, preventing the two worlds from falling out of equilibrium and ultimately collapsing. You haven't forgotten that basic textbook knowledge, have you?"
Hanatarō Yamada shook his head.
"Quincy destroy Hollows completely, disrupting the balance in the number of souls. So how is that imbalance corrected?" Without waiting for his brother to answer, Seinosuke Yamada supplied it himself. "By eliminating souls in Rukongai to restore the balance."
Hanatarō Yamada no longer knew how to react.
Seinosuke Yamada continued, "As the district numbers increase, public order throughout Rukongai steadily deteriorates. With the Seireitei's power, maintaining order there would hardly be difficult, yet they continue to leave it alone. Have you never wondered why?"
"So that..." Hanatarō Yamada struggled to breathe. "So that when the need arises, they won't have to waste time deciding who to target?"
"Exactly. From a Shinigami's perspective, killing the souls of Rukongai is not only free of sin, but part of their duty." Seinosuke Yamada posed another question. "Then why was she still called the most unprecedented and unparalleled villain in Soul Society's history?"
Hanatarō Yamada could not work out the answer, but Seinosuke Yamada's next question gave it to him.
A mocking smile curled across Seinosuke Yamada's lips. "Why, despite her Kaidō being the finest in the Seireitei, have the Four Noble Families never sought treatment from her, choosing instead to establish their own medical institute?"
Because they were afraid.
Hanatarō Yamada's eyes widened.
Killing souls in Rukongai was not considered a crime by Shinigami. Only by killing nobles, and a great many of them, could someone become known as the most unprecedented and unparalleled villain in Soul Society's history.