Soifon's report didn't surprise the other Captains; the matter had already crossed their desks, though no leads had been found yet.
As she finished speaking, Sōsuke Aizen, standing in the opposite row, lightly pushed up his glasses.
He took a half-step forward and spoke to Soifon with a humble, polite demeanor.
"That day, I happened to be on rotation for patrol duty in the Rukongai. While passing near the 78th District, I sensed an abnormal surge of Hollow spiritual pressure and rushed to the scene immediately."
"When I arrived, I saw 7th Seat Matsumoto being attacked by a uniquely-shaped Adjuchas. The situation was critical. I, along with the accompanying 3rd Seat Gin Ichimaru, stepped in and barely managed to repel it."
Aizen's voice was steady and clear, carrying a reflective tone. His choice of words was intriguing—he said 'repelled' rather than 'killed.'
It seemed he intended to use this Adjuchas as a temporary decoy to draw away suspicion.
"You couldn't even cut down a single Adjuchas, and you actually have the nerve to say it out loud?" A burly man standing to the right of Kuchiki Ginrei glared at Aizen with fury. "Is someone with that kind of strength even fit to be a Captain? Aizen!"
Soifon tilted her head slightly toward the source of the voice, looking at the current Kenpachi of the Eleventh Division—Kiganjō Kenpachi.
He wasn't much to look at, had no presence, and his 'coolness factor' was a flat zero.
With a single glance, Soifon mentally pronounced his death sentence. He was beyond saving.
Besides, Kiganjō Kenpachi was already on a path to destruction; even without Aizen, Kenpachi Zaraki would eventually replace him.
"Yes, my strength is indeed still lacking." Facing Kiganjō's provocation, Aizen offered a contrite smile. "I'll have to ask for everyone's patience in the future. I will work hard."
Seeing that his provocation hadn't stirred any anger, Kiganjō snorted in disdain. Out of respect for the Captain-Commander's power, he didn't dare cause a scene.
"Silence!"
Captain-Commander Yamamoto pondered for a moment, his majestic gaze sweeping across the room.
"This Adjuchas incident shall be merged with the 'Soul Disappearance Incident' for processing."
His gaze finally settled on Soifon.
"Captain Soifon, the Second Division excels in stealth and investigation. Furthermore, within the Seireitei, your Shunpo speed is the fastest..."
"The task of tracking the Adjuchas in the Rukongai is assigned to you. Be cautious. If you discover anything, report it immediately."
The fastest in the Seireitei?
As long as you add enough qualifiers, you can keep winning forever, right?
Soifon's lip twitched slightly, but she nodded with an immobile expression. "Understood, Captain-Commander."
"Meeting adjourned!"
Leaving the First Division meeting room, Soifon headed straight back to the Second Division barracks.
Before she even reached the main gate, she sensed many uneven Reiatsu signatures gathered inside. A double row of soldiers stood neatly on either side of the entrance.
The Reiatsu leading them was one Soifon found familiar—it was Marechiyo Ōmaeda.
With an unfazed expression, Soifon gave her snow-white Captain's Haori a sharp flick and vanished, appearing at the gate via Shunpo.
"Congratulations, Captain Soifon!!"
As expected, the synchronized cheers of the division members rang in Soifon's ears, sounding like they had been rehearsed countless times.
"Captain Soifon!" Marechiyo Ōmaeda stepped forward to claim credit. "I knew you could do it!"
"Be quiet, Marechiyo Ōmaeda." Soifon waved her hand to dismiss the soldiers. "Starting today, you are the Vice-Captain."
"Eh?!"
Marechiyo's mouth fell open, and for a moment, he didn't react. Then, a look of ecstatic surprise began to surface on his face.
"Division paperwork, daily patrol schedules, division training assessments, budget applications, resource allocation... all related tasks will be handled entirely by you for the time being."
"I need to focus on the investigation task personally assigned by the Captain-Commander. I have no time for the division's trivial matters."
Soifon's tone was steady, but the content caused Marechiyo's face to collapse instantly.
"C-Captain! This... this is too much! How could I possibly..."
Marechiyo tried to struggle.
"I know it's difficult, but it's an order." Soifon interrupted him, her voice leaves no room for argument. "It's also training for your abilities. I believe the son of former Vice-Captain Marenoshin Ōmaeda can handle it."
If nothing else, Soifon had mastered the leadership essence of 'dangling a carrot.'
Finishing her piece, she ignored Marechiyo's near-tearful expression and turned to walk into the long-sealed Captain's office.
Creak—
Inside the Second Division Captain's office, there was nothing but a desk and an empty filing cabinet.
After all, following 'that' incident, Yoruichi Shihōin's office had naturally not been spared. The Central 46 had packed and taken every document under the guise of an investigation.
Soifon took a deep breath and shook her head in disappointment. Sadly, there was no scent of Yoruichi Shihōin left.
Tap, tap, tap—
Soifon rested her head on her hand, her legs crossed as she sat in the chair. Her fingers lightly drummed against the wooden desk.
Her current strength was barely acceptable for this point in time, but once the main plot began, she would become just another face in the crowd.
However, this mysterious system didn't give any hints on how to trigger missions; she had to figure it all out on her own.
What she knew so far was that participating in major events or achieving certain milestones should refresh the mission list.
And once triggered, they were completed instantly.
"So, I still have to investigate that Adjuchas..."
Despite her deep thinking, Soifon couldn't find anyone else to trigger missions with right now, so she decided to work on the task set by the Captain-Commander.
If it was just an Aizen-modified Adjuchas, Soifon was confident she could take it down.
She only hoped that at this point in time, Aizen hadn't successfully created Arrancars yet.
Thinking of this, Soifon stood up and walked toward the door, happening to bump into Marechiyo Ōmaeda, who was approaching with a pile of documents.
"Marechiyo, what are you doing!" Soifon barked. "In the future, don't bring these documents to my office."
"Eh...?" Marechiyo's head peeked out from behind the stack of papers. "Then where should I take them?"
"To the Vice-Captain's office, obviously, Vice-Captain Marechiyo Ōmaeda."
Soifon stepped back onto the threshold so she barely had to look up to meet Marechiyo's eyes, watching him steadily carry the documents into the office next door before she was satisfied.
As expected of the 'God of Pre-timeskip,' despite his 'debu' physique, he could still move quite nimbly.
Right, sparring with Rangiku earlier also triggered a mission...
Even though the system mocked her for noob-stomping, the rewards were still good.
So, noob-stomping it is. So what?
Soifon rubbed her smooth chin, looking thoughtfully at Marechiyo's massive back.
"Hmm?"
Setting the documents down, Marechiyo's body suddenly shuddered. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead—he sensed danger in the air!
"Marechiyo!" Sure enough, Soifon's voice came from outside. "You're too slow! You're even sluggish just moving papers. Come to the training ground and spar with me!"
Without waiting for Marechiyo to refuse, Soifon used Shunpo and vanished from the courtyard.
_____
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