One Week Later [Kasha, Saionji]

He gave a sigh like he had dodged a bullet when the officer took the lead and ran with it. Taking the heat off this young unseated shinigami's back.

"I'll accompany you."

Kasha admittedly did not expect for them to find anything of note. Perhaps, but if it was so simple then he would've just asked Shishiyuki to do this for him. By following Saionji though it gave him a lot more doors that he could open, all he had to do was pique the man's interest on this particular pathway and if it was ruled out then they could move onto the next one.

"We should perhaps consider looking at trade groups rather than individuals. I doubt a bomb could easily be smuggled in on someone's person and the trade of goods would be easier to manipulate."

If he wanted to partake, it should be as simple as paying off a small group to give suspicious looking materials for a good price and so that's what he'd keep his eye out for while playing the part of a lovely and quiet accessory at the officer's side for the proceedings.

“I will be looking at everyone,” J said bluntly, continuing his way to the Seventh. “It was likely smuggled in pieces and put together in the Soul Society. It is possible the pieces were spread between different trade groups and individuals alike to prevent it from easily being tracked if the Sixth figured out this angle.”

Once again… Possible, yes. Probable? Well, yeah. No one thought a hospital would blow up with a Captain inside either, but it happened. A city fell into a hole in the world of the living, for fucks sake. J had to keep his mind open to all possibilities.

At the Seventh, J did everything he needed to. He requested the records after identifying himself and pushed the members to rush. He made it clear he was not here to mess around with any of their laziness or red tape. "Get it done." The process was repeated about an hour and a half later at the Second Division. J was sure they did not expect him to wait, but he did. When he finally had every record he needed, he had a member of the Kido Division helping him and Koizumi carry everything back. That person was dismissed upon arriving back and J's office.

"Are you up for reading the reports?" J said, doubting he would get a yes. He expected to do all this on his own, and he was fine with that. J sat down and opened up the first files, dating back the entire year and began taking notes.

This was going to take hours...

"It's not a long list."

Kasha commented to the officer as they left. It was a good argument but he had already gone over this with Shishiyuki. Not a lot of the living world was advanced enough to trade with the soul society, it was the living world that benefited the most from the Gotei United being willing to provide advancements in the changed world. What a cunning vixen the last Captain Commander was, he mused to himself about the loss of the nobility's economic chokehold.

They returned nonetheless though.

"Of course I am."

He assured Saionji when they returned but Kasha gave the seated officer all the reports on the Duvalier Group's imports while he took the miscellaneous ones from Japan, Russia, and Vastime. He played it off as splitting their workload but it was very intentional for subtle reasons. Kasha had already met with the representatives of that former group so he didn't need to be caught up. It was purely so he could direct his superior to what he wanted him to read.

"It's interesting that we're looking through Earth records. Do you think the culprit was in Soul Society or they're from Earth?"

Kasha asked while making small talk relevant to the topic.

The Head Saionji was not a talker. He delved into the records and read quickly, able to comprehend it without much effort. Glancing up from one of his reports, he took a moment to consider the question. “Soul Society.” J said, flipping to a new report… noticing it was another Duvalier one. “The amount of work it would take to figure out when and where Captain Hisakawa was after his incident at The Hole would have been way too difficult for someone from Earth, especially in that time frame.”

J went to grab another trades report and realized his whole pile was Duvalier. He glanced to Kasha and raised an eyebrow. “Why am I only reading about one group?” J asked. He wasn’t some brilliant man, but he could tell when something like this wasn’t a damn coincidence. He glanced to the piles of the other corporations and stood up, leaning over the desk to give an eye-based count. “Does the Gotei trade more with the Duvalier than any other? Their number is at least double.”

What a splendid point that Saionji raised, the Koizumi paused in reading like he was considering something new due to the situation that the value of that hospital had very little value if an external threat was considering taking out some key infrastructure. The hospital only had tactical value if one was looking at Hisakawa, and yet the timeframe would require information that would be very difficult unless you had a collaborator; or it was initiated by someone in the Seireitei.

"It would seem so, sir. I had meant to try to divide our workload up equally but the Duvalier do appear to go beyond borders. I mean, it is to be expected as they were a global business conglomerate but many of the others appear to be limited to their individual countries."

"Then again, given that many of the living world countries were assisted by the Gotei United with exports. It makes sense that the amount that could reciprocate with imports would be limited."

Initially, J thought to grab a few folders from the other pile, but decided against it. He glanced to Koizumi, a small drop of accusation behind the brief look. Sitting back down, he continued reading through the files provided. “Other things to consider is that if it were a terrorist attack, taking out one building of one hospital would do little to slow us down. The room that received the delivery was also recorded as empty and was right next to Captain Hisakawa’s room.”

J stopped reading and looked off to a corner of the room while something gathered in his mind. “I have a friend who attended the Duvalier Gala and was witness to the incident there. There was a similarity in that the reiatsu of a hollow was utilized… It is… possible they’re connected.” J clearly was not sure, and the wrong bit of evidence could even incriminate the unnamed. That could cause problems.

This was frustrating. There was some piece of the puzzle that J was missing.

"Yes, Claudia Duvalier was killed in such a manner. Wasn't she. Curious how a hollow could get into such an area. Apparently Italy and the business group was well equipped for spiritual threats - more than most - and there were figures such as the Captain Commander and Grandmaster of the Vandenreich there as well. It doubt a hollow would be able to navigate such a treacherous environment."

Kasha monologued his internal thoughts like he was pondering the information. Perhaps they should continue to entertain this thought. Even if Kasha was just amusing himself by continuing it.

"So assuming both explosions come from the same source. We have a cross-realm exchange and collaboration. Making such a technical device would require means, influence, or both. Let alone transporting it."

The Koizumi mused, if there was any group on Earth he believed to be capable of making this device. It would be the Duvalier, their imports and goods that they peddled said as much to him, but there was one thing in his mind about if that was the source. Who was at the other end to receive it?

J’s stern expression hardened even more. He eyed the piles of files scattered across his desk. “To succeed at something like this, there must be a middleman working within the range of the Senkaimon, once again bringing us back to the Second and the Seventh… Someone is letting shipments through without checking, or passing along questionable material. It is, of course, possible that it was all smuggled in over time, in pieces, and then assembled in the Soul Society. Pieces would be seen as harmless and get through… and the increased number of deliveries from the Duvalier could be more evidence they were involved.”

J pinched the bridge of his nose as his frustration grew. It was clear that there was a traitor among the Gotei, and he hated the idea. Was this going to be another Aizen situation? Where a trusted high ranking member has been hiding their true intentions? There was still the possibility that someone lower ranked, with a decent amount of money or influence, could be the culprit behind it all, but J doubted it.

"So it would seem, I suppose, sir. I guess we could try to find the culprit but with restrictions in place it would certainly limit our ability to catch them in the act. We might be best to review the files of who was stationed in this role. If it had to come through in multiple pieces, then they would need to have a consistent or an increased frequency for the posting leading up to the bombing- Ah, unless there was a group of them. That would make it much more difficult."

He explained thoughtfully. Another idea crossed his mind but he doubted it could be accomplished in the confines of the Sixth Division, it fell more into espionage and covert operations that he was familiar with during his time in the Fifth Division.

"Then again, if we continue with the train of thought that it was from the Duvalier, and that the same device was used in Italy, and that it was created in Italy. We could look for shinigami that were stationed or travelled to Italy prior to the bombing in the Seventh Division records. Using communications, cross-realm or not, would be very risky, and in-person contact is one of the few secure means to prevent any loose ends."

"This is idiotic,” J said as his anger suddenly began getting to him. He stood up, tightly gripping a file in his hand. “You would think most of this would have been made digital. Why are we looking through files like this? This,” J slapped the file down on the table out of frustration. “… is why too much bullshit slips through the cracks.” He completely agreed with looking through those who visited Italy, or even neighboring countries, since travel from country to country had become much easier over the last century. If this plan had been going on for long enough, those kinds of measures could have been taken. "There must be an easier way."