BANG!
As the assessment room's doors were pushed open, two tall figures appeared before everyone.
Looking at Rosse and Matsumoto Rangiku entering side by side, among the eight captains in the assessment room, Ichimaru Gin's expression was the most complicated.
He'd only realized last night that Aizen had set him up.
Dropping Rosse off in East District 78 yesterday was purposely done so Rosse would run into Matsumoto Rangiku there.
And Rangiku appearing in East District 78 definitely involved Aizen's deliberate arrangement.
As for why Aizen would do that, there were plenty of possible reasons.
Maybe Aizen knew about Gin's past with Rangiku, or maybe he simply wanted Rosse to integrate into the Tenth Division, or perhaps there were other motives.
But whatever the reason, when Rosse and Rangiku showed up together, Ichimaru Gin had to admit his heart was completely in turmoil.
"Captains, this is Rosse, who is participating in today's Tenth Division captain assessment," Matsumoto Rangiku stepped forward and introduced Rosse in front of the captains.
Hearing Rangiku make the introduction, the others all glanced at her in surprise.
As a lieutenant, speaking in this situation didn't just represent her personally, it represented the Tenth Division's stance.
Rangiku stepping forward already meant the Tenth Division had accepted Rosse.
No matter what methods Rosse used, to receive preliminary recognition in a single day already said something about his ability.
At least up to now, those externally appointed captains had rarely been pre-approved by the division they were joining; typically they forced the division to submit through strength alone.
Whether he would gain full recognition later depended on the captains' judgments.
"Let's start the assessment directly," Head Captain Yamamoto sat in the main seat, glanced at Rosse, and said casually.
"Rosse, I'm Kyoraku Shunsui, captain of the Eighth Division. I'll be your examiner today. Show captain-level strength and you'll pass," Kyoraku Shunsui stepped to the center of the hall and greeted Rosse with a smile.
Since Matsumoto Rangiku had already approved him, this assessment was basically a formality.
Regarding strength, although Rosse had only erupted briefly yesterday, that was enough to prove he was captain-class.
As long as someone reached captain level, whether they had Bankai wasn't that crucial.
After all, the current captain of the Eleventh Division hadn't mastered Bankai either, yet still had the power to fell captain-class opponents.
"Captain Kyoraku, please take care of this," Rosse smiled faintly and nodded to Kyoraku, then, under everyone's gaze, stood in the center of the arena.
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[Kyoraku Shunsui]
[Overall Strength: S+]
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In terms of raw ability, Kyoraku Shunsui was no weaker than Aizen at present.
And Head Captain Yamamoto's strength surprised Rosse even more.
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[Yamamoto-Genryuusai Shigekuni]
[Overall Strength: SS]
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Yamamoto's power was nearly the pinnacle in this world.
If a real fight broke out, his strength might even surpass that of the Imu.
"Rosse, be careful!", Kyoraku warned, then instantly drew his paired swords and flashed in front of Rosse.
He didn't intend to start with Shikai, captain assessments look at more than just that. By sparring with Rosse, he could get a feel for what kind of person Rosse was.
"Captain Kyoraku, don't underestimate me," Rosse smiled, drew Purifier, and met Kyoraku's twin blades.
Their figures flickered around the arena, the clashing of blade on blade ringing out again and again.
The other captains watched silently; only Matsumoto Rangiku looked worried.
The two inside the ring grew faster and faster, Rangiku's eyes could barely keep up.
"Lieutenant Matsumoto, don't worry. They're just warming up," First Division Lieutenant Sasakibe Chojiro stood beside Rangiku and, noticing her concern, offered a reminder.
Sasakibe had followed Head Captain Yamamoto for over a thousand years. Though a lieutenant, his strength wasn't inferior to a captain's, he could read the flow of battle.
At the moment, Rosse and Kyoraku both looked relaxed. They didn't seem to be fighting but rather fooling around.
That said, their swordsmanship and speed were far beyond what ordinary lieutenants could hope to match.
"Vice-captain Sasakibe, are all the captains really this exaggerated in strength?", Rangiku had always known there was a gulf between captains and them, but seeing these two move so fast she could barely make them out, and hearing Sasakibe call it a warm-up, 'Does that mean the gap between captain-level and me is beyond comprehension?'
"Not that exaggerated. Take the previous Kenpachi Kiganjo, if he faced either of these two without using Bankai, he'd probably already be down. If Kenpachi didn't use Bankai, Lieutenant Matsumoto could hold him even in a short fight," Sasakibe shook his head.
Don't be ridiculous, not every captain had the pair's level of power.
Rosse's current display already marked him as one of the stronger captains.
Even without Bankai, among the present captains fewer than five could truly suppress someone like him.
"I see...", Rangiku nodded. Sasakibe's words made sense.
In short: Rosse's strength was great, perhaps comparable to veteran captains.
Thinking that, Rangiku glanced triumphantly at Ichimaru Gin.
Seeing Gin not once look her way made her annoyed.
'Fine, don't look. Become a captain and forget your old friend.'
'Tsk, what an ungrateful person.'
Ichimaru Gin could sense Rangiku's gaze but from beginning to end didn't look at her.
He understood Rosse's strength better than most there.
What was shown now was probably only a fraction, maybe one percent of Rosse's actual power.
Someone who could easily suppress Aizen would at least need the Head Captain to step in to feel pressure.
Having such a monster suddenly placed next to Matsumoto Rangiku left him feeling overwhelmed.
The most important thing: he absolutely, absolutely couldn't let Rosse or Aizen detect that he still cared about Rangiku.
Many knew that he and Rangiku had once begged together in Rukongai, living a hard life until he went to the Shin'o Academy and Rangiku followed, improving their lives.
But most people, including Rangiku, believed he'd abandoned his past for life as a Shinigami, his old ties were severed.
No soft spot, no vulnerability to be threatened with.
Until he'd reclaimed what Rangiku had lost, he absolutely couldn't expose himself.
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