Chapter 248: Introductions
Following Byakuya's Memory Orb, Vahn gifted S-Rank 10,000-Year Ash Wood Gauntlets to Komamura, granting him the ability to tank damage from designated allies, a Monkey's Gourd to Kyoraku, able to convert up to 100L of water into spirit-enhancing wine per day, a True Fire Essence Pill to Hitsugaya, drastically increasing his resistance to cold, ice, and yin energy, and a pair of War God Restraints to Kenpachi, special manacles that could be attached to the wrists and ankles to increase the wearer's personal gravitational field by upwards of three hundred times, severely restricting their freedom of movement.
"Huh...you people at the Dragon's Pavilion ain't half bad..." remarked Kenpachi, immediately trying on the manacles and cranking them up to their max setting. He didn't collapse to the ground, but his movements were notably slower as he flexed his fingers and twisted his neck from side to side to get a feel for his nearly 60,000kg frame.
"Just try not to drop down on any of my allies..." joked Vahn, causing the naturally vicious smile on Kenpachi's face to broaden into a toothy grin as he retorted, "I won't have to if you come out to face me directly. I want to see if that big-ass Dragon form of yours is just for show."
"You'll find out soon," responded Vahn, adopting a notably cheeky smile of his own but as he meaningfully appended, "Assuming you can endure until the rest of my team is defeated..."
Unable to suppress his amusement, Kenpachi reared his head back and laughed without restraint. There was nothing he loved more than a good fight, and Vahn's apparent willingness to oblige made his brain and spine tingle with anticipation.
"Hurry it up, will you?" hissed the black-and-white-faced Mayuri, his face fixed into a grimace as he groused, "I have better things to do than stand here peacocking."
With only eight chests prepared for their ten Captains, Mayuri knew he wouldn't be receiving Vahn's or the Dragon's Pavilion's grace. As such, he had long since lost interest in the proceedings, his silent fury growing by the minute as it wouldn't go unnoticed by those spectating that he hadn't received anything.
"I'm not overly fond of taking back gifts once they've been given, but I'm prepared to make an exception if you insist on trying my patience, Mayuri-taichou..." forewarned Vahn, his expression and tone flat as he shifted his piercing green eyes but didn't turn his head toward Mayuri. The latter was the type of person he despised the most, so the fact he was still alive and able to stand before him was a gift the mad scientist could cherish for the rest of his life...
Understanding what Vahn was implying, Mayuri's expression darkened even further, his fury nearly reaching a breaking point before he forced a release of chemicals within his brain to calm himself. The power exhibited by the Dragon's Pavilion wasn't to be made light of, but he was confident that, given enough time, he would reverse-engineer everything that made them special before someday winding up with Vahn himself secured to an operating table—fully conscious as he took his time harvesting his blood, organs, and bone marrow for analysis and study...