Soifon closed her eyes and adjusted her breathing. The spiritual pressure within her began to surge and climb rapidly.
This time, she felt the changes occurring within her spirit body much more clearly. The mobilization of her Reiatsu was smoother and more powerful than any instance in her memory.
"Bankai!"
"Jashaku Raikōben!"
Boom—!
A torrent of golden spirit particles tore through the darkness of the Dangai. Wherever it passed, even the chaotic Kōryū currents were forcibly pushed aside for a moment. Even from a considerable distance, the sight caused the expressions of the watching Captains to shift slightly.
The sheer display of power from Soifon's Bankai was indeed far superior to Sōsuke Aizen's just now.
The Bankai reverted into an Asauchi and returned to Soifon's hand. She steadied her slightly quickened breathing and turned to face the Captain-Commander and the three examiners.
Compared to her previous performance, where she had been drained of Reiatsu and left lying there as if dead, Soifon appeared much more composed this time. Her spiritual pressure was somewhat turbulent, but it was nothing a moment of meditative breathing couldn't resolve.
"Captains, the demonstration of my Bankai is complete."
After stabilizing her breath, Soifon spoke.
The moment the Captain-Commander's gaze swept toward them, all the Captains raised their right hands. It was a unanimous vote.
"Unanimous approval," Yamamoto's voice echoed through the vast Dangai. "Second Division Vice-Captain Soifon has passed the exam. Upon returning to the barracks, she shall immediately assume the position of Captain of the Second Division."
Soifon bowed slightly. "My deepest thanks to the Captain-Commander and to all the Captains."
"Congratulations, Captain Soifon."
Unohana Retsu, also a female Captain, was the first to offer her congratulations with a gentle smile.
"Hahaha! Another capable Captain has joined our ranks. This is a good thing!"
Shunsui Kyōraku instinctively reached out to pat Soifon on the shoulder, but seeing her expressionless face, he could only leave his hand hanging awkwardly in the air before pulling it back to adjust the straw hat on his head.
"Cough... cough cough..." Jūshirō Ukitake was still coughing. "Captain Soifon's strength is truly reassuring..."
The group lingered no longer. Unohana Retsu opened the Senkaimon once more, and they returned one by one.
As they left the Dangai, Sōsuke Aizen deliberately slowed his pace, naturally falling into step beside Soifon at the rear of the group.
The moment Aizen approached, Soifon's muscles tensed for a split second—an instinctive warning from her body when faced with an extremely dangerous existence.
However, she immediately forced herself to relax. She maintained a calm expression and even tilted her head slightly to avoid prolonged eye contact with him.
Aizen's voice remained as warm as ever, carrying a perfect note of admiration:
"Congratulations, Captain Soifon."
"The power of your Bankai just now was truly astonishing. That pure destructive force..."
"It is truly something my own half-baked Bankai cannot compare to."
He pushed his glasses up, the gaze behind the lenses seemingly filled with sincere sentiment.
'Of course your Bankai is half-baked... because it's a Shikai disguised as a Bankai,' Soifon thought.
"Captain... Aizen, you flatter me. Different abilities serve different purposes," Soifon said, quickening her pace to step through the Senkaimon. "All Bankai are useful; there are no bad ones."
Step, step.
Sōsuke Aizen came to a halt, watching Soifon's figure disappear into the Senkaimon without a word.
Why? Why was it that for a brief moment when he approached her, she appeared so defensive and aggressive?
As someone with meticulously keen observation, he did not doubt his judgment. What reason could Soifon have for treating him this way?
Aizen began to reflect. Had something gone wrong with his 'nice guy' persona lately? Or had some clues regarding the soul experiments been discovered?
[It seems I should lay low for a while.]
After thinking it over, Aizen decided to suspend the experiments for a time and turn his attention toward observing Soifon.
By the time the group returned to the First Division training grounds, the horizon was already pale with the first light of dawn.
Two First Division soldiers had long been waiting respectfully to the side, each holding a brand-new, pristine white Captain's Haori.
Upon seeing Soifon and Aizen appear, the soldiers immediately stepped forward and presented the Haoris to them.
The fabric of the Haori felt smooth and delicate. On the back was printed the character for 'Two' [二], symbolizing the Second Division's number.
Soifon spread her arms and donned the Haori, covering her black Shihakushō.
The moment she put on the Captain's Haori, as expected, it triggered another system mission.
[Mission Triggered: Promotion to Captain]
[Mission Completed]
[Mission Reward: Spirit Body Strengthening]
Blue spiritual energy once again merged into Soifon's body. The feeling of emptiness within her spirit body following the Bankai was gradually filled by the spiritual power.
If her Reiatsu could be viewed as numerical data, the upper limit of Soifon's Reiatsu bar had just grown by a significant margin. She had become even stronger within the Third-grade Reii level, though she had not yet reached the Second-grade.
Based on a rough estimate, her endurance had increased significantly; she could now use Jashaku Raikōben three times a day and still have energy left over.
An extra shot's worth of spiritual pressure was no small gain.
'A pity it didn't reward me with a Second-grade Reii rank.'
Soifon felt a trace of regret, but she soon let it go. After all, the higher the Reii, the harder it was to improve.
*
A few hours later, in the First Division meeting room.
"Captain Soifon, Captain Aizen, please enter."
Captain-Commander Yamamoto sat in a chair between two rows of Captains, tapping his wooden staff lightly against the floor.
Chōjirō Sasakibe, who was standing ready to the side, pushed the doors open. Sōsuke Aizen and Soifon, both draped in their Captain's Haoris, stepped into the room.
Scanning the empty standing positions beside the two rows of Captains, Soifon saw Unohana Retsu give a slight nod. Following the cue, Soifon walked to the vacant spot on the right side below the Captain-Commander and took her place.
"Very well, the Captains' meeting shall now commence."
Thump—
Once the two new Captains were in position, the Captain-Commander struck the floor with his staff again.
"First, Soifon and Sōsuke Aizen have passed the Captain's Proficiency Test and are promoted to Captain of the Second Division and Fifth Division, respectively."
"Second, although the criminals of the 'Hollowfication Incident' have fled to the World of the Living, soul disappearance incidents in Rukongai continue to occur from time to time. We suspect that accomplices of the criminals have yet to be found."
"Captains, do you have any clues?"
Following tradition, Captain-Commander Yamamoto read the agenda for the meeting and then looked at the Captains standing on either side with a piercing gaze.
Normally, if no Captain stepped forward to say anything, the next line would be: 'If there is business, speak; if not, you are dismissed.'
Soifon looked down at her toes for a few seconds without hindrance, then raised her hand after a brief moment of hesitation.
Swish— swish— swish—
The gazes of every Captain present converged on her.
"Captain Soifon, please speak," the Captain-Commander said with a slight nod.
"Reporting to the Captain-Commander: Last week, Tenth Division 7th Seat Rangiku Matsumoto was ambushed by an Adjuchas while performing a mission in the 78th District of Rukongai (Inuzuri District)."
"Logically speaking, Menos of that level are rare even in Hueco Mundo. It should be impossible for one to appear in Rukongai."
Soifon didn't have any grand objective; she simply wanted to annoy Aizen. She didn't actually expect to find proof that he was the mastermind.
_____
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