Kisaragi Taiho

Bleach had been an immensely popular anime in Ailin's previous life.

Together with two other anime, it was known as one of the "Big Three Shonen Manga."

Based on the strength displayed by its characters, Shinigami could generally be divided into several ranks: ordinary Division Shinigami, elite Shinigami, Seat Officers, Vice-Captains, Captains, Hundred-Year Captains, the Captain-Commander, and the Spirit King.

Division Shinigami were those who had just graduated with outstanding grades from the True Zero Spirit Arts Academy and been recruited into the Gotei 13.

Elite Shinigami were those who had served as Shinigami for over ten years and possessed signature techniques in Zanpakuto, Shunpo, Kidō, Hakuda.

Seat Officers were the elite forces within each Division.

To become a Seat Officer, one had to at least reach Fifth Rank Reiatsu and successfully achieve their Zanpakuto's Shikai.

Vice-Captains had to reach the third rank of Reiatsu and be the strongest members of their Division aside from the Captain.

Captains were already considered "important figures" throughout the entire Seireitei.

Hundred-Year Captain did not mean someone who had held the position of Captain for over a hundred years. Rather, their Shikai was powerful enough to rival the Bankai of ordinary Captains. As for their Bankai, there was no need to say more—ordinary Captains were no different from miscellaneous fodder before them.

The Captain-Commander referred to Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. This rank could only be described with two words—invincible!

Above that was the Spirit King, who could no longer be described in terms of strength, but rather as the "foundation of the world."

Each step up in rank brought an exponentially greater gap in strength.

Take Captain-level and Vice-Captain-level, for example. They appeared to differ by only one rank, but if a Captain-level powerhouse fully unleashed their Reiatsu, a Vice-Captain-level fighter would find even breathing extremely difficult.

Just like Ailin at this moment, facing the man before him.

Surging Reiatsu swallowed Ailin like a tidal wave.

Focusing his mind, Ailin silently recited a Kidō incantation. A few seconds later, diamond-shaped light lit up between his hands.

"Kidō #63: Sakan de Kekkai!"

The next instant, the light transformed into a transparent barrier that shielded Ailin and the others within it.

Sakan de Kekkai was a high-level barrier capable of reflecting external attacks. With its protection, the Reiatsu pressure bearing down on Ailin and the others immediately vanished without a trace.

"Roar, roar, roar, roar..."

Blazing flames erupted from the grooves of the man's Zanpakuto. His violent Reiatsu battered the barrier Ailin had erected, making it creak and groan, as though it would be crushed by the man's Reiatsu the very next second.

Ailin could only sigh helplessly.

This barrier was already the strongest defensive measure he currently possessed.

Yet before a true Captain-level opponent, it really was not enough.

That guy had just wiped out all the Death Warriors besieging the Young Shinigami with a single slash. If he gave Ailin and the others another slash, their fate would likely not be much better.

Fortunately, the man merely glanced at Ailin and the others. After giving the Young Shinigami a few instructions, he swiftly rushed toward the next battlefield.

And after the Young Shinigami departed, the heavily injured Shinigami also quickly left this battlefield.

"Whew..."

Watching the two leave, Ailin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

They had gotten their lives back!

And he had even been fortunate enough to encounter two powerful Zanpakuto, one of which had even reached the level of Bankai.

Once this mission was over, he would forge both Zanpakuto within Unlimited Blade Works.

For the time that followed, Ailin used Healing Art to treat the three severely wounded people around him and did not head to any other battlefields.

With that monster around, Ailin would have to be insane to go throw his life away.

Besides, judging from today's emergency summons, there was clearly something shady going on.

When an ordinary noble clan came under attack, even if a Captain did not come to assist, at least a Vice-Captain should have led the response, right?

Yet this time, Ailin and the others had received the mission through a Hell Butterfly.

More than half an hour had passed since the battle began, but Ailin had not seen a single Captain, Vice-Captain, or even a Seat Officer from the Second Division.

Clearly, the reinforcements notified by the Hell Butterfly were only bottom-ranking Division Shinigami like them.

A Captain-level Reiatsu Burst had occurred. Ailin refused to believe that the important figures of the Gotei 13 had failed to sense it, so why had none of them appeared?

Obviously, this had to involve a struggle among the upper echelon's important figures. They were merely a group of "cannon fodder" thrown out there.

Perhaps it was also meant to put on a show for those nobles—

Look, it was not as if we, the Gotei 13, had failed to send reinforcements. To aid your Kasumiōji Clan, we sacrificed so many of our members.

The battle lasted for nearly an hour.

In the end, after wreaking havoc through the Kasumiōji Clan, the man who had attacked them suddenly experienced another sharp surge in Reiatsu and charged directly toward the First Division's barracks in the Seireitei.

Then, for the first time, Ailin experienced a glimpse of the strength of the Strongest Shinigami.

The flames that shot into the heavens, the overwhelming Reiatsu that covered the entire Seireitei—compared to it, the Captain-level Reiatsu Ailin had experienced before was simply not worth mentioning.

Only in the following days did Ailin learn through certain channels how Central 46 had handled the matter.

The Shinigami who had attacked the Kasumiōji Clan that day was led by one named Kisaragi Taiho.

Having learned through some unknown channel that the Kasumiōji Clan possessed a weapon capable of increasing one's strength, Kisaragi Taiho led several trusted subordinates into the heart of the Kasumiōji estate and seized one of the clan's powerful Moyao Blades, greatly increasing his strength.

Afterward, Kisaragi Taiho, his strength vastly increased, directly assaulted the First Division and launched an attack on Captain-Commander Yamamoto. In the end, Kisaragi Taiho was easily defeated by Captain-Commander Yamamoto. Although he successfully escaped from the Captain-Commander, members of the First Division soon found Kisaragi Taiho's corpse somewhere in the Rukon District.

Thus, the incident involving the attack on the Kasumiōji Clan came to an end.

However, unlike the others, Ailin had his own thoughts on the matter.

Others might not have known Kisaragi Taiho, but Ailin did.

He was Captain-Commander Yamamoto's disciple. His intrusion into the Kasumiōji Clan had not been out of a desire for the Moyao Blade's power, but because the Kasumiōji Clan had secretly captured many souls from the Rukon District to test the Moyao Blade's capabilities.

Because the Kasumiōji Clan was a high-ranking noble house, the Gotei 13, as the military force responsible for protecting the Seireitei, had no authority to enforce the law against nobles.

But Kisaragi Taiho, who had been born in the Rukon District, could not stand by and watch the Kasumiōji Clan kill so many souls. So, together with several companions who had also been born in the Rukon District, he infiltrated the Kasumiōji Clan in hopes of finding evidence of the clan wantonly killing souls, so that Central 46 would issue an order to investigate the Kasumiōji Clan.