"Oh, Vice Captain Aizen, what are you saying? How could I possibly want to provoke a conflict between the 5th Division and the 11th Division?"

Gin Ichimaru sheathed his Zanpakutō and slowly walked towards Aizen.

It must be said, Gin Ichimaru was truly a genius. In just a few short years, he had completed the gestation of his Zanpakutō, reaching the first stage of its release.

In the seated officer challenges, he was undefeated, directly becoming the 5th Seat of the 11th Division.

The Vice Captain was Zaraki, the 3rd Seat was Yachiru Kusajishi, and the 4th Seat was Kiganjo.

In this round of seated officer challenges, Kiganjo had completed his Bankai training and confidently challenged Zaraki, but was severely injured by Zaraki’s single strike, firmly establishing Zaraki’s formidable reputation.

Since all the captains of the Gotei 13 had completed Bankai training, in everyone's view, possessing Bankai meant having captain-class strength.

Well, that view wasn't entirely wrong. If a Zanpakutō's ability was powerful, then achieving Bankai could be considered immense strength.

However, if a Zanpakutō's ability was average, a captain who achieved that level through Bankai alone could only be considered the lowest "captain" rank.

Unfortunately, Kiganjo’s Bankai, called War Dragon, was not particularly powerful. When released, his Zanpakutō became a giant hammer that greatly enhanced his strength and destructive power, but nothing more. Even with Bankai, Kiganjo’s spiritual pressure was still far below Zarak’s.

If it were the old Zaraki, he might have suppressed his spiritual pressure to enjoy a good fight with Kiganjo.

But now, Zaraki wanted to grow stronger to battle Ailin Kenpachi and defeat the woman who had bested him centuries ago. Enhancing his spiritual pressure was the priority - how could he suppress it?

Seeing that even Kiganjo’s Bankai was no match for Zaraki, the members of the 11th Division were tremendously excited.

The 11th Division was the strongest division in the Gotei 13. Look, apart from the 11th Division, which other division had three captain-class warriors?

Due to Zaraki formidable strength, when addressing him, they unconsciously omitted the "Vice" from his title.

After all, in their view, Zaraki possessed true captain-level ability.

Of course, this was also because the true 11th Division Captain, Ailin Kenpachi, had not appeared in the division for many years.

In fact, for the members who had joined the 11th Division in recent years, they had always thought Zaraki was the captain.

***

"So what does the 5th Seat Ichimaru mean by this?"

Walking up to Aizen, Gin narrowed his eyes and curved his lips upward. "Of course, as the 5th Seat of the 11th Division, I want to become the 5th Seat of the 5th Division."

After years of training, Gin felt his strength was sufficient to approach Aizen. If possible, Gin wanted to find someone to do his bidding, just like Captain Ailin, so he could openly indulge with his beloved Rangiku.

But no, that wouldn't work...

Rangiku had already come to the Seireitei to find him. Just this year, Gin had secretly escorted her from the Rukongai all the way to the West Gate, watching her pass the Shin'ō Academy's entrance exam to become a student.

Gin had to infiltrate Aizen's inner circle before Aizen discovered Rangiku's true identity and took back whatever he had stolen from her.

So recently, Gin had been secretly tracking the Shinigami under Aizen's command, trying to investigate their plans. Only by knowing their objectives could Gin have a valid reason to approach Aizen.

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"Oh?"

Sōsuke Aizen raised his right hand and adjusted his glasses.

"Why is that? I recall the 5th Seat Ichimaru is Captain Ailin’s disciple. What is the reason for leaving the 11th Division to join the 5th?"

"Of course, it's to gain greater strength," Gin opened his eyes slightly to look at Aizen. "Although Captain Ailin is my teacher, his guidance to me was no different from the instructors at the Academy. The strength I possess now is from my own diligent training."

Currently, my strength has hit a bottleneck. In the 11th Division, it may take me over twenty years to break through to the next level. But if I join the 5th Division under you, Vice Captain Aizen, I think I could complete my Bankai training within ten years, couldn't I?"

Yes, to quickly gain greater power - this was the excuse Gin had arrived at after tracking those Shinigami who had joined Aizen's forces.

Those who joined Aizen saw rapid increases in their strength at regular intervals. As far as Gin knew, many ordinary Shinigami had become elite, and some had even gestated their Zanpakutō and been promoted to seated officer positions.

"It seems the 5th Seat has impressive intelligence gathering abilities. I agree to your request. However, as Captain Ailin’s disciple, to transfer you from the 11th to the 5th Division, I still need to discuss it with the captain.

Here's what I'll do. I'll discuss it with my captain first and get her approval. Once I have Captain Shinji Hirako’s permission, I'll request Captain Ailin to transfer you to the 5th Division."

"Thank you, Captain Aizen."

"Gin, I'm still a vice captain for now..."

***

"Oh? Captain Hirako is looking for me?"

In the Kuchiki Family estate, Ailin was lying in the courtyard playing chess with Haruko when a servant came to inform him that Captain Shinji Hirako of the 5th Division had come to visit.

"Why is Shinji Hirako looking for me?"

Rising from Haruko's lap, Ailin was puzzled but smiled at her. "Haruko, let me go see what Captain Hirako wants. We'll call this game a draw for now."

As he spoke, in Haruko's disapproving gaze, Ailin "accidentally" messed up the chess pieces into disarray.

"Heheh..."

Over the years with Haruko, Ailin’s other qualities aside, his ability to endure scolding had increased several times compared to before. At the very least, he was now impervious to Haruko's trademark "death glares."

Who could have imagined that the talentless Haruko would turn out to be a chess master? No matter what game Ailin taught her - chess, Go, Five-in-a-row, even simple checkers - within three days, Haruko would defeat Ailin repeatedly, reversing their roles from tormentor to tormentee.

What's more, Haruko was utterly obsessed with these games, insisting on playing Ailin every day.

After losing so many times, the stakes for Ailin shifted from winning or losing to whether he could find excuses or reasons to avoid an outright loss before the game ended.

Having a guest arrive was a perfectly reasonable excuse today.

As Ailin followed the servant to meet Shinji Hirako, he still could not fathom what matters the two of them might have in common.

In Soul Society, the stronger one's spiritual pressure, the longer their lifespan.

Shinigami, even newly recruited members of the Gotei 13, lived for two hundred years, long enough to be considered "long-lived."

So in general, the pace of life in Seireitei was quite slow, with little change over hundreds or thousands of years being normal.

Apart from the nobles' residences, the Gotei 13 divisions were spread across Seireitei, each responsible for their respective duties. Unless their duties overlapped, the divisions largely operated independently.

The 11th Division focused on combat missions, commonly interacting with the 8th Division's Intelligence Corps, the 2nd Division's Stealth Force, and the 12th Division's surveillance Unit.

When these latter three divisions detected Hollow appearances, they would inform the 11th Division of the locations, and the 11th Division would then dispatch team members to exterminate the Hollows.

Meanwhile, the 5th Division was a relief unit, regularly coordinating with the 13th Division's Reversal Counter-Force.

The role of the 13th Division was to guide newly deceased souls from the Human World to Soul Society and eliminate any Hollows that managed to cross over.

Often, their members would encounter Hollows beyond their capabilities to handle, in which case they would send requests to the 12th Division. The 12th Division would then relay those requests to the 5th Division, which would travel through the Senkaimon to provide support in the Human World.

The 11th Division, as the most powerful combat unit, rarely requested such assistance, with its members preferring to call for backup from within their own division rather than the 5th Division's relief forces.

So for Captain Hirako to suddenly seek him out was quite puzzling. With this thought, Ailin arrived at the Kuchiki Family's main hall and greeted Shinji Hirako.

"Captain Hirako, you're an unexpected visitor," Ailin said. As he had minimal private interaction with Hirako beyond captains' meetings, he went straight to the point. "What brings you to see me today?"

After sitting, Hirako asked directly, "I wonder how much you know about your disciple Gin Ichimaru?

"Gin?" Ailin was momentarily confused as to why Shinji Hirako would ask about Gin, thinking perhaps Gin had offended him in some way. "If it's because Gin has committed some transgression, then on his behalf, please allow me to apologize."

"No, no," Shinji Hirako shook his head, realizing Ailin had misunderstood. "Captain Ailin, Gin Ichimaru hasn't offended me at all. It's just..."

Shinji Hirako frowned slightly, seemingly considering how to explain the situation. "My Vice Captain, Sōsuke Aizen, recommended Gin Ichimaru to me yesterday. He hopes I can speak with you about transferring Gin to the 5th Division.

However, Captain Ailin, I don't fully trust my Vice Captain Aizen. I've always felt there was something off about him, though I could never pinpoint what exactly."

"Oh?" Ailin raised an eyebrow.

He was aware that Shinji Hirako distrusted Aizen.