Captain's Meeting

"Oh? There's such a thing?"

Ginrei Kuchiki's words startled all ten Captains present, including the Captain-Commander.

However, they quickly came to their senses.

If an ability capable of controlling Zanpakuto had appeared, then the emergence of someone immune to that ability was not too hard to accept.

The only thing that felt somewhat odd to everyone was the timing of these two individuals' appearances.

Shihoin Yoruichi, the Captain of the Second Division, rolled her eyes and quickly guessed who this person was.

Sure enough, the next moment, Yoruichi heard that familiar name from Ginrei Kuchiki.

"Yes, it's true."

Facing the Captains' questions, Ginrei Kuchiki nodded. "Hibiki Hoshino launched his rebellion because he used Bankai in a battle against this person."

"And that person is Ailin, the current Vice-Captain of the Second Division."

"So it was him."

At that moment, everyone understood.

To force Hibiki Hoshino to use Bankai in battle, this man's strength was surely not much weaker than Hoshino's.

At that instant, a thought suddenly crossed the Captains' minds—

There seemed to be quite a few hidden monsters in the Seireitei.

First, two successive Third Seats of the First Division possessed Captain-level strength.

And now, the Vice-Captain of the Second Division apparently was no slouch either.

They wondered whether other divisions were hiding more Captain-level powerhouses as well.

At that moment, Hirako suddenly recalled his own Vice-Captain's ridiculously fake smile and frowned.

Could that guy be one too?

"Captain-Commander, Vice-Captain Ailin is currently waiting in the side hall. Shall we have him come participate in this Captain's Meeting?"

"Yes. Given the special circumstances, Chōjirō, go bring Vice-Captain Ailin here."

As the name implied, the Captain's Meeting was a gathering only the Captains of the Gotei 13 could attend.

The only Vice-Captain allowed to attend was Chōjirō Sasakibe, who stood inconspicuously behind Captain-Commander Yamamoto.

However, anyone who knew Chōjirō Sasakibe's true capabilities would have no objection to this.

After all, he was the man who could turn the lone stroke on old man Yamamoto's head into a cross.

Ordinarily, only candidates for Division Captain could be invited to participate in a Captain's Meeting.

After receiving everyone's recognition, they would become the new Captain.

But now, with every Captain of the Gotei 13 still in office, Ailin was the first person besides Chōjirō Sasakibe who was neither a Captain nor a Captain candidate to attend a Captain's Meeting.

In the side hall of the First Division, Ailin sensed someone approaching, stopped forging swords, and opened his eyes.

"Vice-Captain Chōjirō."

Ailin rose to his feet upon seeing the newcomer.

"Vice-Captain Ailin, the Captain-Commander has instructed me to bring you to the Captain's Meeting. This way, please."

"Yes, thank you for the trouble, Vice-Captain Sasakibe."

Although immensely powerful, Chōjirō Sasakibe possessed none of the bearing of a strong man. Instead, he acted like a butler and was exceedingly polite to everyone.

Ordinary people might mistake Chōjirō Sasakibe's attitude for weakness and think him easy to bully.

But in truth, Chōjirō Sasakibe was Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's diehard fan. As the Vice-Captain of the First Division, he would not permit himself to do anything that could tarnish Captain-Commander Yamamoto's name.

Led by Chōjirō Sasakibe, Ailin stepped into the Seireitei's strongest military institution for the first time.

"Boom..."

The moment Chōjirō Sasakibe opened the meeting room doors, five powerful spiritual pressures surged toward Ailin like a tidal wave.

Within those spiritual pressures, Ailin sensed many familiar auras.

"Oh? A show of force?"

Though these Captains knew Ailin had been invited to the Captain's Meeting because he could counter Hibiki Hoshino, who had launched the rebellion,

they also wanted Ailin to understand that not just anyone could attend a Captain's Meeting.

If he could not even withstand this level of test, then sending him to face Hibiki Hoshino would merely mean one more corpse.

Had it been five days earlier, when Ailin possessed only Vice-Captain-level spiritual pressure, facing the spiritual pressure of seven or eight Captains would certainly have made him look bad.

But while in the Ninth Division's Prison, he had forged several Captain-level Zanpakuto. His spiritual pressure had now steadily risen to Captain-level.

Thus, in the face of those spiritual pressures, Ailin unleashed his own.

Boom!

If the Captains' spiritual pressure was a violent tsunami, then Ailin's was a towering mountain range.

No matter how fiercely the waves surged, they could not shake those mountains in the slightest.

Of course, that was also because the Hundred-Year Captains had not made a move.

"Oh?"

Sensing Ailin's spiritual pressure, the Captains were somewhat surprised. After giving slight nods, they withdrew their own spiritual pressure.

Possessing Captain-level spiritual pressure meant that Ailin could at least materialize his Zanpakuto. He had the potential to train in Bankai and was qualified to stand alongside them.

"Captain-level spiritual pressure?"

Ginrei Kuchiki narrowed his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, when Ailin had fought Hibiki Hoshino that night, Vice-Captain Ailin's spiritual pressure had been at the Vice-Captain level.

Only after releasing his Zanpakuto had his spiritual pressure surged to Captain-level.

Had he been hiding his strength back then, or had he grown again over these past few days?

The question circled Ginrei Kuchiki's mind before he finally dismissed it.

Breaking through the barrier between Vice-Captain and Captain-level in just a few days—how could that be possible?

When the Captains withdrew their spiritual pressure, Ailin also reined in his own.

"Ailin, Vice-Captain of the Second Division, greets the Captain-Commander, Captain Yoruichi, Captain Kuchiki, and all the Captains."

After entering the meeting room and greeting each Captain, Ailin stood quietly at the very end with his hands at his sides, waiting for their questions.

"Vice-Captain Ailin, Captain Kuchiki tells me that your Zanpakuto can resist the control of Hibiki Hoshino's Zanpakuto. Can you tell this old man what your Zanpakuto's ability is?"

Captain-Commander Yamamoto did not waste words and directly asked Ailin about his Zanpakuto's ability.

After the incident involving Hibiki Hoshino, Captain-Commander Yamamoto felt that any Zanpakuto ability with extreme potential danger had to be closely monitored in the future, lest it cause further unrest.

"My Zanpakuto is called 'Unlimited Blade Works.' Its ability is to forge swords."

Ailin patted the Zanpakuto at his waist. He did not conceal his Zanpakuto's ability, only the fact that he could forge even other Captains' Zanpakuto.

"In fact, it was not that my Zanpakuto was immune to Hibiki Hoshino's Zanpakuto's control. After I sensed that my Zanpakuto had gone out of control, I forged a sword that could not be controlled by it."

"Oh?"

Hearing Ailin's answer, the other Captains nodded slightly.

An ability to forge swords?

It could even forge swords tailored to counter an opponent's abilities. It sounded rather powerful.

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