Oh, Kuja knew all too well that Kadaj was too old to remain in his shadow now. Even so, it felt like it had come too soon. He'd seen it coming, but not quite to this extent. He smiled, not openly addressing the subject. Kadaj was ready to take a leading role in his own life. He could deal with that. He knew what he wanted and Kuja was going to simply give it to him. It was for the best, in the long run. Kuja would lose an underling -- that hadn't really happened even after Kadaj had been elevated to full Member status -- but he would hopefully retain an ally.

A replacement for Orochimaru.

On the subject of Tayuya and the others, Kuja gave him a serious look.

"The Sound Five were willed to me," he said, forcing his voice almost back to normal. "Providing he didn't alter his will without informing me, that should remain the same."

Tayuya was probably Kadaj's best friend, barring that loud-mouthed Arrancar he liked so much. If he allowed her to die, Kadaj's faith in him would dwindle sharply. If he kept her and left the rest to the mercy of the Clan's rules, she would never trust him. He would, despite what he now knew about Orochimaru, honour what he had agreed to back then.

"I am perfectly sure they will be unreasonably irritated to discover that fact," he allowed amusement to seep into his tone. "Still, their displeasure is something they will have to live with. An uncomfortable period of adjustment is considerably better than the alternative -- even they would have to admit that ... however grudgingly."