8 Shaolin Fon
What if he copied Sode no Shirayuki or Hyōrinmaru? Would there be any difficulty in producing a Noble Phantasm like Demonic Essence of Crimson Dreams?
If he copied Ichigo Kurosaki's Zangetsu and Kenpachi Zaraki's Nozarashi, would the resulting Kokutō - Yoru be able to cleave apart mountains?
After duplicating Benihime, forging Tenza Zangetsu, what effects would that yield?
Thinking to this point, Ailin's heart blazed with fervor. Moreover, for Ailin who had already produced Tessaiga, he no longer minded revealing his Zanpakutō's capabilities externally.
As long as identical Zanpakutō to those in Bleach didn't appear in his own hands, what issue was there even if everyone knew his power was "Blade Forging"?
Once he copied even more Zanpakutō and elevated his strength beyond the levels of Yamamoto and Hikifune, what harm would there be in exposing his ability to produce identical Zanpakutō then?
After exiting his inner world, Ailin enjoyed a nice long sleep.
The next day after getting up, Ailin tidied himself before heading towards the Second Division captain's office.
The Thirteen Court Guard Squads were essentially military forces built on might makes right.
What it abided by was the law of the jungle - the strong reign supreme while the weak are downtrodden. Even for the position of captain, as long as one could defeat the incumbent before over two hundred division members, the seat would belong to the victor.
The captain was the undisputed strongest of a squad. For Ailin to obtain freedom of movement, all he needed was to exhibit his power.
Challenging and defeating seated officers to become one himself was the most direct and effective method.
During this period, Ailin had already singled out his target - the Second Division vice-captain and head of the low ranking noble family Ōmaeda, Marenoshin Ōmaeda.
Marenoshin Ōmaeda's abilities were certainly deserving of his post. Just like contending for the captain's seat, any challenge towards seated officers also required sufficient witnesses present and the captain's acknowledgement for it to be valid.
While walking forwards, Ailin smoothly arrived outside the Second Division captain's quarters.
However, beyond Ailin's expectations, the only person inside the office was a short-haired young girl appearing to be eleven or twelve meticulously poring through documents. She would occasionally jot something down in those folders.
Despite this being their first encounter, Ailin was quite familiar with the girl's identity.
The next family head of the declining lower noble Fon Clan and Second Division captain after the defections of Yoruichi Shihōin and Kisuke Urahara - Soi Fon.
Naturally, before inheriting her family's leadership, this girl before Ailin wasn't called Soi Fon yet. Instead, she was known as Shaolin Fon!
"Leave any documents over here first. I'll check them after finishing up with these."
Hearing Ailin's footsteps, Shaolin Fon assumed someone had delivered some division reports. Thus, she casually spoke up while remaining focused on the documents before her.
Each squad had daily administrative duties for the captain to handle personally. Regrettably, Yoruichi Shihōin wasn't exactly inclined towards managing division affairs.
Prior Shaolin Fon's arrival, the Second Division's tasks were basically dealt with by Kisuke Urahara on Yoruichi's behalf.
It was only after Shaolin Fon entered Yoruichi's service that Kisuke Urahara finally managed to free himself of squad obligations.
Being helpful to Yoruichi-sama made Shaolin Fon extremely delighted. But whenever she thought about how her assistance allowed that timid, cowardly man more chances to keep Yoruichi-sama company, an inexplicable sense of gloom would well up instead.
She couldn't bear to remain angry at Yoruichi-sama and could only vent her frustrations on that man.
"Just you wait. Once I finish handling all the squad affairs, I'll immediately go investigate that man and definitely won't let Yoruichi-sama stay together with a guy like him."
"I have to quickly expose that man's true colors to Yoruichi-sama. Otherwise, he'll surely lead Yoruichi-sama astray." Upon thinking this, Shaolin Fon's actions grew even more rapid.
However, contrary to Shaolin Fon's expectations, why hadn't this Shinigami who delivered the documents left yet after so long? Could he be trying to waste her time spent on squad business instead?
The notion of her interactions with Yoruichi-sama today being shortened because of administrative duties instantly soured Shaolin Fon's mood.
Raising her head, Shaolin Fon spoke coldly, "Hey, what I just said earlier..."
"Huh?"
Before she even finished verbalizing her words, Shaolin Fon realized she had mistaken this man's identity.
The person before her clearly wasn't the regular one responsible for sending documents. Furthermore, though this man wore Second Division attire, Shaolin Fon's mind held no impression of him at all.
While feeling rather awkward inside, Shaolin Fon swiftly adjusted her emotions and sat up properly before inquiring, "May I ask who you are?"
"Greetings, I'm Ailin of Penal Force Designation #120358. I wish to issue a challenge against Vice-Captain Marenoshin Ōmaeda . May I know the procedures for logging my contention please?"
Indeed, Ailin had come to register his duel. After all, any contention towards seated officers, vice-captains, or the captain required a certain number of division members present as witnesses for the bout's results to be considered valid.
Generally speaking, after agreeing with both parties on a date, the squad captain would send out a division-wide notice regarding a seated officer challenge match. Interested members could then come spectate and serve as witnesses.
If the amount of observers on the day itself didn't meet requirements, the captain would also conscript some additional personnel to watch the fight.
However, under normal circumstances, no seated officer's challenge battle ever lacked a viewership.
This was also a rare form of entertainment for everyone while allowing division members to understand their squad's powerhouses, aiding them in making certain choices during future missions.
"What? You're that recently famous Ailin?"
Upon hearing Ailin introduce himself, astonishment flashed across Shaolin Fon's eyes as she sized him up once more.
One must understand that as the stealth corps, the Second Division's most outstanding traits were infiltration, assassination, and execution. Yet within such a squad emphasizing assassination, an anomaly like Ailin had appeared instead.
Mm... from the perspective of Second Division members, Ailin could certainly be considered an oddball. Because the notoriety Ailin possessed wasn't derived from his abilities at all. Rather, it stemmed from his exceptional mastery in "healing techniques".
During the incident one year ago when the Katsuragi Clan was ambushed, around fifty Penal Corps members were dispatched as reinforcements. In that battle, seven died while over forty more suffered varying degrees of injuries.
At the time, relying solely on his powerful healing spells, Ailin had single-handedly pulled over a dozen gravely-wounded people back from the brink of death.
Later on when sending these casualties to the Fourth Division, Captain Retsu Unohana of said division even commented that the healing capabilities of whoever saved these men wasn't the slightest bit inferior to her own Vice-Captain Seinosuke Yamada.
