EPIC: Path of Demons and Dragons-Chapter 247: Presentation

Though he had acquiesced to Venelana's strategy of having him make a grand entrance to get ahead of any attempts at concealing or obfuscating his existence by the Seireitei's nobility, Vahn felt it would be a bit much to address Yamamoto and the members of the Gotei in his Dragon form. The size disparity alone made things awkward, so after descending to within a hundred meters of the parade grounds, Vahn's figure rapidly compressed into his partially scale-covered hybrid Zoan form before he touched down next to Grayfia—his thick, golden-flame-cloud-ridged tail snaking behind him as Laev-tan came to settle behind his back.

"Get a load of this guy..." hummed Kenpachi, sporting a broad, toothy grin as he pondered how durable Vahn's iridescent white and gold scales were and whether he could cut through them.

"That was quite the entrance, Vahn-sama," expressed Ukitake, adopting his most welcoming smile even as his palms felt clammy due to the auras of Aileen, her parents, and Grandfather—looming overhead as if prepared to erase the Seireitei from existence.

"I'm glad you think so," responded Vahn, cupping his hands and smiling as he casually remarked, "I feel it was a bit much, but I trust the judgment of my wives and retainers. This can be considered a reasonably monumental occasion, so it was determined we should put on a bit of a show."

Surprising even Vahn, though it wasn't reflected in his expression, Grayfia and virtually everyone within the procession bowed their heads in concert when he cupped his hands. They were presently in a formal setting, so his casual deference toward Yamamoto and the Gotei evidently mandated an expression of respect from the entire procession.

'Just how much did they prepare for this...?' Vahn wondered to himself, his smile curling slightly at the edges due to the stunned expressions of most of the Captains. Only Yamamoto didn't react—the elderly Shinigami's gaze focused exclusively on him before he cast a sharp gaze at his own line-up and barked, "You brats! Show our guests the respect they deserve!"

"Come on, old man...you can't be serious..." remarked Kenpachi, his raspy voice and grimace dripping with displeasure. Fortunately for him and the other Captains, it was Vahn who answered, slipping his right hand behind his back and raising his left haltingly as he stated, "We're the ones visiting your home today, so it's only natural we exhibit a bit of deference. Rather than making this a competition to see who can out-manner the other, let's proceed with the gifting ceremony and introductions."

"Hmmm...very well..." conceded Yamamoto, but not before casting a glare in Kenpachi's direction, causing the much taller, wild-looking man to click his tongue and avert his eye with an annoyed look.

"Uh-oh, Ken-chan got in trouble~" hummed an inordinately petite, child-like girl with short pink hair, dark pink eyes, perpetual blush marks on her cheeks, and a cross-boned hairpin, laughing impishly and standing among the Lieutenants with a placard armband denoting her as Lieutenant of the 11th Division.

"Hey, quiet down, would ya? I'm already going to receive an earful once this is over and done with..." groaned Kenpachi, causing the girl, Kusajishi Yachiru, to hold her right hand over her mouth, her tiny fingers spread as she snickered unrepentantly.

Though his expression, as usual, didn't change, the vein of Yamamoto's left temple protruded faintly as he closed his eyes and tightened his grip on his club-like cane, forcibly suppressing his urge to lambast the duo for making a scene. Fortunately, after Vahn's previous words, eight ornate black and gold chests were manually brought up to the elevated parade grounds, drawing most of the spectators' attention as they were placed around him in a semi-circle.

With Venelana advising him through telepathy, Vahn functionally made it impossible for the Gotei to refuse the carefully prepared gifts and for the Nobles of the Seireitei to requisition them by opening the chests himself and personally presenting each.

Seeing Vahn step before him with a much smaller but similarly styled box, Yamamoto's thick, sagging brows rose ever so slightly as the former held it out with both hands and explained, "Within this box are three vials of an S-Rank medicine called the Fresh Marrow Elixir. Consuming them reduces latent potential, but they purge the body and spirit of impurities, restoring youth and vigor. It's too soon for you to retire, old man..."

"Old man..." repeated Yamamoto, a rare trace of a smile adorning his lips, concealed by his beard as he passed off his cane to Unohana, freeing his hands to accept and inspect the contents of the box. There were very few people he let refer to him as Jiji(Grandpa/Old Man) without consequence, but he allowed Vahn the right, interpreting it as an expression of goodwill.

'What a tremendous medicinal aura...' noted Yamamoto, gazing down at the contents of the box, three small white jade vials sealed with crimson, gold-hued wax. He had seen and ingested many elixirs throughout his long life, but few compared to the medicine Vahn was casually gifting him.

Believing he knew what was on Yamamoto's mind, Vahn remarked, "They are yours to do with as you please. That includes handing them to others to study and attempt to replicate, but I insist you imbibe at least one after confirming their efficacy."

"So it shall be..." affirmed Yamamoto, offering a curt nod before peering over his shoulder at his Lieutenant, a white-haired man with red-brown skin, sharp amber eyes, and a thick handlebar mustache, ordering, "Take this and secure it immediately..."

In response to Yamamoto's command, the mustachioed man, Sasakiba Chojiro, used Shunpo to close the distance, reappearing on one knee with his head bowed and hands raised, allowing the former to place the box on top of them before he solemnly responded, "I will see to it without fail..." before hastily departing.

"You've got yourself a loyal subordinate..." remarked Vahn, smiling as he appended, "He's a little serious, but there's nothing inherently wrong with that."

"Indeed. I'm lucky to have him..." responded Yamamoto, offering another slow, curt nod before accepting his cane from the gently smiling Unohana, who, for a brief moment, met Vahn's gaze with slightly narrowed eyes.

'I guess even people who have sadistically slaughtered tens of thousands can look forward to receiving gifts...' noted Vahn, reciprocating Unohana's glimpse with a smile before returning to the chests and retrieving the gift prepared for Sui-Feng.

Though she wanted nothing more than to tell Vahn he could take his gift and shove it where the sun didn't shine, Sui-Feng settled on clenching her teeth and glowering defiantly as he presented her what appeared to be a pair of Tabi socks and a sealed envelope.

'So feisty...' mused Vahn, outwardly smiling as he presented the two items and explained, "It might sound difficult to believe, but these Tabi increase the wearer's speed and allow them to hone it further over time. As for the envelope...you're perceptive enough to grasp its origin..."

'Look at this guy...trying to act all charismatic and cryptic...what a freak...' thought Sui-Feng, accepting the two gifts and forcing herself to say, "You honor me..." in a curt, cold tone.

"Is that so...?" responded Vahn, raising his right brow and allowing a hint of amusement to mix with his smile. It was clear to him that Sui-Feng was suppressing the urge to inspect the items he had given her. Had she, she would have quickly realized that the envelope carried Yoruichi's scent and personal seal—two things she was intimately familiar with as the cat-like woman's personal guard, protege, and plaything.

Leaving Sui-Feng to eventually realize things for herself, Vahn returned to the chests to retrieve Unohana's gift. Her appearance aside, he wasn't all that fond of the former Kenpachi. However, as she was one of the Gotei's central pillars and had saved many lives since assuming her current mask, she warranted the Dragon's Pavilion's consideration.

"Oh, my...you're giving this to me...?" remarked Unohana, her expression, eyes, and tone exceedingly gentle as she eyed the swirling, heart-shaped item in Vahn's hand. At a glance, it resembled a strawberry, but its surface was waxy, and its size larger than an apple.

"This is a rare treasure known as a Devil Fruit..." stated Vahn, passing the heart-shaped fruit to Unohana as he explained, "More specifically, it is a Devil Fruit called the Ope Ope no Mi. To explain its abilities simply, it aids with medical procedures, granting its consumer the capacity to become a peerless Surgeon. You will naturally learn its capabilities upon consuming it. Fair warning—"

Before Vahn could warn her about the taste, Unohana surprised everyone but Yamamoto by taking a small bite. The taste was akin to concentrated bile and putrid fish, but Unohana's expression didn't sour in the slightest. Instead, she took a second bite, looked up to meet Vahn's gaze, and very calmly remarked, "It has a rather unique flavor, doesn't it...?"

"Doesn't it...?" responded Vahn, unable to conceal his bewilderment as he observed Unohana relaxedly take several additional bites of the famously foul-tasting fruit.

"Oh...?"

With a tremendous amount of information abruptly flowing into her mind, Unohana's brows rose, her gaze looking past or, more accurately, through Vahn as she came to understand what the Ope Ope no Mi was capable of. When Vahn presented the heart-shaped fruit to her, she supposed he was attempting to flirt with her. Now, she was half-tempted to reciprocate, her blue eyes narrowing and her usually poised, gentle expression giving way to a sadistic grin that flashed only for a split second before she restrained herself and repeated, "A rare treasure, indeed~" in a sing-song tone.

"I'm glad you like it..." responded Vahn, resisting the urge to issue a faint, nervous chuckle after being subjected to the most predatory look he had received since Kuroka got him alone. Fortunately, he had a perfect excuse to disengage with the woman as he returned to the chests to retrieve the gift for Byakuya, a softball-sized crystal orb that emitted a faint, rainbow-hued glow.

Accepting the crystal sphere with his left hand, Byakuya waited stoically and silently as Vahn softened his voice and cryptically explained, "For the man who outwardly appears to have everything, here's something to help you find what's truly important within..."

Hearing a faint ding sound in his ears, Byakuya stared at Vahn for several seconds before opening his Chat interface to read the message he had received. As he did, his carefully crafted mask of stoicism faintly cracked, his eyes widening a millimeter and his lips parting as if he intended to say something but couldn't find the words.

Sparing Byakuya the need to respond, Vahn surprised nearly everyone present on the side of the Soul Society by extending his left hand to clasp the raven-haired Kuchiki's shoulder before leaving the man to retrieve the next gift. As for Byakuya, it was an S-Rank item known as a Recollection Sphere, allowing the user to explore, store, and relive their memories as if they were experiencing them for the first time...

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While Vahn continued handing out gifts, several figures observing from afar, including a tall, slender man with green eyes, medium-length, dark-green hair, snake-like features, and a long braid that parted the left side of his head, carefully recorded the exchange as a part of their family's all-important record-keeping duties.

'So this is what a Dragon God is like...how utterly pathetic...' thought the man with snake-like features, one of the lowest-ranking members of one of the highest-ranking Clans in the Soul Society, the Tsunayashiro. From his perspective, a God was something that regarded everything beneath them as cattle, so while he approved of Vahn's grand entrance, he found it absurd that the supposed God was cozying up to a group of people that would happily stab him in the back, mutilate, and divvy his parts amongst themselves if given the opportunity.

'Well, no matter...' thought the man, taking careful note of each item Vahn handed out while thinking of the numerous ways he could manipulate the Dragon's Pavilion to further his ambitions...

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