3 The Incident of the Mysterious Bakkōtō Blade  

"Huff!"

"Huff Huff!"

"Huff!"

In the training grounds of the Second Division, Ailin held his Zanpakutō and concentrated on practicing. If one observed closely, they would notice Ailin's current training was very similar to one particular person among the trainees. 

This was because the Zanpakutō Ailin was wielding wasn't his own, but one he had projected from his inner world.

By grasping this Zanpakutō, Ailin obtained all the experience of its original wielder. However, this experience only appeared in Ailin's mind when he held the projected Zanpakutō.

Ailin was confident he could stalemate the original owners of these copied Zanpakutō in a short amount of time. After all, their opponent wasn't someone else, but themselves. Yet Ailin wasn't satisfied with just stalemating others. He trained even harder to convert their experience into further progress for himself.

Hakuda, Zanjutsu, Shunpo, Kidō...

Every Shinigami of the Penal Force had mastered some killer moves or practical tricks in the four Shinigami combat forms that they had immersed in for decades or even centuries. 

One's weakness could very well be another's greatest strength. Every period of training, Ailin would sheathe his sword and secretly activate his Shikai to project the Zanpakutō of others, then practice and grasp their trump cards.

When these individuals' experiences were completely absorbed by Ailin alone, how much stronger would he become?

No one knew!

Even Ailin himself was somewhat unclear of his current standing. But what he could confirm was that Kuta, his former squad leader whom he once viewed as quite strong, now posed not even the slightest threat.

Moreover, Kuta was considered one of the stronger squad leaders of the Penal Force. According to Kuta's drunken ramblings one time, he had almost become the 20th seat of the Second Division.

Aside from the Captain and Vice-Captain, each division also had seventeen seated officers to assist in managing squad affairs, ranking from 3rd seat down to 20th. The 20th seat was the lowest ranked seat.

These seated members were generally assigned based on individual strength. After all, if one's abilities were inferior and they suffered a defeat in front of everyone, the victor would replace their seated position.

Although the Second Division had four sub-units, the Penal Force was undeniably the strongest. The other divisions weren't completely devoid of powerful members either, but at most they only had a few Vice Unit Leaders and Squad Leaders.

Ailin guessed that even accounting for Kuta's potential bragging, his strength could at least rank in the top fifty of the Second Division.

As someone even stronger than Kuta now, Ailin may have truly brushed shoulders with the seated officers.

Thump Thump Thump!

Just as Ailin and the others were engrossed in training, the Second Division's emergency assembly bugle sounded again. But this time, not everyone gathered at the training grounds.

Hundreds of Hell Butterflies had flown above the Second Division barracks, stopping nearby. Ailin extended his left hand and a Hell Butterfly perched on his forefinger.

After obtaining the information stored within through some method, Ailin didn't dare to delay and swiftly rushed towards the noble estates in Seireitei as instructed.

According to the intelligence from the Hell Butterfly, it seemed the upper noble Kasumiōji Clan had suffered an attack and urgently required Shinigami reinforcements.

"The Kasumiōji Clan?"

Following the Hell Butterfly's guidance, Ailin sped towards the Kasumiōji Clan while recalling in his mind whether this mobilization corresponded to any events from his memory.

"If I'm not mistaken, the Kasumiōji Clan should be the family that created the Bakkōtō Blades but ultimately lost to Ōetsu Nimaiya due to a slight misstep, failing to advance to the Royal Palace. Right?"

"Also..."

"The Bakkōtō Blades can directly grant the user tremendous power just by providing Reiryoku. Even someone who has achieved Shikai would not necessarily defeat a Bakkōtō Blade wielder."

Although lacking a Shikai or Bankai like Zanpakutō, every Bakkōtō Blade also possessed unique abilities. Anyone could use them as long as they offered Reiryoku. They could be considered iron Bakkōtō Blades wielded by ever-changing Shinigami.

The Kasumiōji Clan in possession of Bakkōtō Blades had steadily maintained the strength of over twenty seated officers.

For such a powerful family to actually suffer an invasion? And even require Gotei 13 reinforcements?

Preposterous!

However, despite his doubts, Ailin did not hesitate one bit.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

As Ailin progressed ahead, he could already sense the Reiatsu of those battling up front. There, dozens of individuals with intensely chaotic Reiatsu were fighting someone with a slightly more explosive Reiatsu.

From Ailin's perception, the group with greater numbers was actually at a disadvantage instead.

Additionally, there were four or five other battlefields with multiple chaotic Reiatsu fighters besieging those with pure Reiatsu. However, the chaotic Reiatsu side held the upper hand at those other fronts.

"Could those chaotic Reiatsu signals be the Kasumiōji Clan's Bakkōtō Blade warriors?"

One reason the Bakkōtō Blades were eliminated by Ōetsu Nimaiya's Zanpakutō was due to their lower strength ceiling compared to Zanpakutō. The second reason was the Bakkōtō Blades' lack of a Reiryoku safety valve while absorbing energy.

During battles, Bakkōtō Blade users could channel their own Reiryoku into the weapon to obtain even greater power. But when their Reiryoku grew insufficient, they would be completely devoured by the Bakkōtō Blade instead.

Utilizing these weapons demanded tremendous courage. Generally speaking, the "warriors" who used Kasumiōji Clan Bakkōtō Blades were all cultivated by the family itself. Their creed was "men may die, blades must not be lost." If any warriors perished in combat, their Bakkōtō Blades would be recovered by other warriors. The Kasumiōji Clan's Bakkōtō Blades had never been misplaced since first being forged.

"Whoosh Whoosh..."

Over a dozen Shinigami dressed like ninjas also followed behind Ailin. Soon though, these Shinigami split into small teams heading towards different battle zones. Those more confident in themselves rushed over to the most intense fighting arena.

As for Ailin, he went with three others towards one of the lesser battlegrounds. Based on the Reiatsu fluctuations there, even if his opponents were stronger than himself, it wouldn't be by much and was still within his capability to handle.

The fighters at the main battlefield were firmly at Vice-Captain class from what Ailin could sense right now.

But he suspected the encircled individual had yet to use full force. After all, anyone audacious enough to cause trouble for the Kasumiōji Clan surely possessed more than just this bit of power?

Ailin wouldn't even be surprised if that person activated Bankai later.