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Odd in Xamthos's mind that one should be so distant from one's comrades. Then again, he was from another time and another place. But one thing did seem pertinent. This man, from the way he spoke of his Zanpakutō, was not fond of its inability to distinguish friend from foe. Also, it seemed that there was some mutual resentment that Xamthos assumed had a lot to do with that fact. He knew he would feel the same way around someone who was just as likely to kill his allies as hks enemies. But that brought Xamthos's ever-whirling mind to amother point; possibly the most important one. Yet if it was known how Captain Hiabara felt about his Zanpakutō, logic would dictate that resentment would be a non issue.

"Why not try and do something about that? I'm not blind; I can see the way the others look at you with a mixture of fear and resentment. Yet you confess to me that you cannot control who is affected by your Bankai. By deduction, I can only assume that they don't know that detail, and I'm sure you choosing to be a hermit most of the time doesn't do much to assuage their feelings. Food for thought, Captain." Xamthos was aware that he may have stepped a tiny bit too far, but he was not the sort to stand silent when maybe he could do a little good. The other Katena thought him naive. Xamthos simply thought himself fair.

"By the by, Captain, what other tests will there be and how long will they take? I'm starved."

Xamthos considered telling the Captain that the rest of Soul Society need not know about how the Lieutenant came to be. But it wasn't his place to suggest illegal activities. The idea of simply maki g a sort of gas mask for the ranking officers as a way to not need vaccines did occur to Xamthos. But if Xamthos had thought of it, chances were so had this Captain. And because two and two made four, clearly it had more or less failed to be effective.

"Thanks," he said as he hopped down feom the table and placed an order for various candies, meats, breads, and other assorted edibles. How someone as scrawny as Xamthos could eat enough for five people had always been a mystery. And yet, when it came, that is exactly what he did, washing it down with close to a whole liter of sake in total. And then he was back up, dishes and whatnot oddly missing.

"I suppose I've stalled enough. If you have any questions, I ask that you hold them since more than likely, they'll answer themselves as I go. First and foremost, us Katena are almost identical to Shinigami in every conceivable way. If you can do it, chances are we can too and might have even done it first. You already know wha5 we look like, and you have our names. You know that I have a Zanpakutō named En'ō and that he is a constant-release melee-type Zanpakutō. I'll start therefore, with myself." Xamthos took a steadying breath before he began in earnest.

"En'ō, unlike most Zanpakutō, has no blade in neither Shikai nor Bankai, and in Bankai he is called Ruijin'en no Zen'nō no Kami. In both states, it should go without saying that you'd be hard pressed to find my equal in a close quarters fight, especially hand-to-hand," he began, flexing his "toes" as he mentioned hand-to-hand fighting. "Needless to say, my Zanpakutō won't cause much in the way of injury. It quite simply can't. However, if I were to hit you with it, you would experience agony beyond your scope of imagination. In Bankai, it would be significantly worse. Also in both forms, my Zanpakutō can deflect just about any low level Kidō. Finally, in Shikai, getting hit by En'ō will cause whatever gets hit to become temporarily unresponsive. In Bankai, that changes. Imagine trying to move your left hand but instead your right knee bends. Try to bend your right knee and you instead end up shrugging your left shoulder. If I hit you again, that mixture would...shuffle itself, including the new place you just got hit. But again, no real actual physical damage done and it's all temporary. And that is essentially everything there is to know about my Zanpakutō, which I'd gladly demonstrate, if need be." Xamthos took another breath and looked up at Captain Hiabara expectantly, waiting for a moment, in case the man had any questions about En'ō. If there were none, he would move on to explain his Kōchaku form...as much as the idea made his skin crawl with anxiety.

Xamthos shrugged at Captain Hiabara's explanation. He personally had never needed to know how it worked, he just knew what it did to people.

"Now...pay close attention to this next part because it is the most important. Normally we are able to easily go toe to toe with essentially any Captain, meaning you'd probably need no less than two per Katena. But we each have what is known as our Kōchaku form. It is our most powerful ability, and is us in our truest form. I understand you've seen no less than two already, so you know full well how obscenely strong they can be, even if unprepared, which they won't be the next time," he said, his body trembling ever so slightly. This was considered akin to full blown sacrilege, revealing the innermost secrets of the Kōchaku. If the others even thought he was doing this, they would kill him without a second thought. After this, there would be no turning back.

"My Kōchaku form is called Onizaru, and when in it, I transform into a massive blue gorrila, capable of throwing your largest structures like a man would throw a small rock. I can move at speds up to Mach 2, and all of my skin and fur become like armor. The combined might of tjree entire divisikns, Lieutenants and Captains included would likely be needed to bring me down effectively without what I am about to tell you. My armpits, my upper inner thighs, and the inside of my mouth and nose are my only weak points in my Kōchaku form. And so vulnerable, in fact, that any of your Lieutenants could bring me down with just a few well-placed hits. One last thing: while in Kōchaku, we lose our Zanpakutō and any ability to use Kidō, in exchange for the incredible powers we gain."

Now, obviously Xamthos had left out that his abilities with his Zanpakutō had limits and that they drained its stamina. He'd also failed to mention that despite higher attack, speed, and defense, his agility whilst in Kōchaku was immensely diminished. Not to withhold information, he just didn't believe it was relevant. Besides, if he ever had to demonstrate any of his abilities, these facts would make themselves known instantly.

Once more, Xamthos was forced to admit that he had not given it so much thought. Things were much simpler in his day. As he watched the serum do kts work, Xamthos was struck by a notion that perhaps this guy thought he could use Xamthos as a template for all of the Katena. Not at all a good idea if he valued his life.

"I suppose it's entirely possible. However, it's not me that you're supposed to use this knowledge on; that hardly constitutes protection. Just don't make the mistake of thinking that our Kōchaku forms are so alike that one strategy will fit all." For a few brief seconds, Xamthos took the effort to arrange his thoughts into how best to explain the abilities of the rest of the Katena. He wanted to keep it brief and concise, yet fully comprehensive.

"Raven Makara, the Dragon Katena, she and the others see her as a sort of leader despite the fact that we are perfectly capable of operating without one. She is a warrior, always ready for a fight, even if she is a little temperamental. She absolutely hates being controlled. It's the one biggest flaw in her personality. " He figured he may as well start with Raven, the head of the snake, so to speak. "Her Zanpakutō's name is Chikyū no senshi, an earth-type that, in Shikai is a giant hammer. In Banaki, she gains armor. This should be no new info...however, the only ability I've seen her use is one that's just an over glorified smash that's more powerful than one might expect. Her Kōchaku form, as you saw, is a huge Chinese dragon. In that form she breathes fire and is insanely fast and agile. In Kōchaku, she is second to none when it comes to fighting while airborne. Force her to change and keep her on the ground and you'll have an easier time of beating her." It was subtle, but as he spoke, there was a faint hint of resentment and anger. After all, it was she who'd been the one to tell him to leave. Next on his mental list was Kiyoshi, but first, he'd once more turn his eyes on Captain Hiabara just in case he had anything to ask.

It was at this point that Xamthos was forced to admit to himself that with proper preparation, the Shinigami would present a nigh insurmountable challenge. And he was the one giving them said preparation. It was an odd mix of irony and respect that he was feeling.

"Now. Kiyoshi Itō, i.e. the Dog Katena. His sense of smell is by far his biggest strength. With it, illusions and the like become useless, as does removing him of his other senses. With his nose, he doesn't need his eyes or ears. But you can make it his biggest weakness. Overload it entirely, and he'll be left more vulnerable than you think. His Zanpakutō is a water-type named Umi no ikari, and it gives him the ability to control water. His Bankai, named Mugen no umi no ikari, increases the power of that control. His Kōchaku is ludicrously easy to combat. He can open portals with his claws to attack from a distance, and can summon wolves with his howl. Now, your first instinct will tell you to m a ke it so he can't summon them. In fact, the opposite is true. Kill the wolves. Make them suffer as they die. It'll send him over the edge, as will hurting any of the other Katena. Use that rage against him. Although, me personally I would prefer if you first try to reason with him to make him surrender. Of all the others, he is the only one I would never wish harm upon."

Xamthos gave his other explanations of Kiyoshi quickly. There wasn't much to say on him, since he was much like a normal dog and therefore not too complex of a person to deal with. Someone else might spend an hour explaining every last detail about these guys, but not Xamthos. He knew what he promised, but it was plain and simple impractical to tell everything. So he was giving everything that mattered, along with how he'd recommend defeating them.

"On an unrelated note, do you think you could find for me some new pants? These are old and raggedy, and I rather found your uniform pants quite comfortable. Just don't expect me to wear those ridiculous sandals." In the back of Xamthos's mind, he was aware of the fact that the much breezier hakama bottoms would allow for a much wider range of motion with his legs, which were every bit as vital as his arms.

((From here on in, I'm gonna link each Katena in Xamthos's explanation. Simce it'd take forever to try and post every last important detail that Xamthos knows, you can look over the profiles and assume that, by means of time-skip, Xamthos told Voldo their names, heights, weights, Zanpakutō name and element for both Shikai and Bankai, and MAYBE one ability from one or the other. Furthermore, the entire personality and Kōchaku sections are free game, but that's all. Just trying to make sure it's all good. Or would you prefer I just copy and paste?))

"By the way, I forgot to mention. Raven's weakest point is under her belly in Kōchaku form. Anyways," as Xamthos went on to explain to Voldo that Faun was a mute and that she, of all of them, would be least effected by his Zanpakutō, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. Here he was, ratting out his family. Then again, Raven had told him to leave. As he finished with the fact that fire was Faun's biggest weakness, and that a second option would be to ehgabe her from long range or with Kidō, he did add one last thing...right after the part about how, physically, Faun would be the easiest to take down in Kōchaku form, due to her having almost nothing in the way of actual abilities outside her Bankai, but that metal and megnetism were her two strongest traits.

"I know what I promised Captain Hiabara, so let me first say that you'll still get your dirt. All of it that you'd need to subdue and kill us all, even myself if you decided to. All I ask is that, when the time comes and you stand across from them, offer them a chance to peacefully surrender. See if terms can be made. Be aware that every time we have dealt with your kind, I have asked them to do the same. They refused and now you are witnessing the consequences. Food for thought, Captain. I did not come here to see my brothers and sisters slaughtered like so many....." and then Xamthos remembered something. Something that he should have remembered sooner.

"How much does Lewis, the Shinigami, know about the Gotei 13? Tall, top hat, pocket watch, few screws loose? He was alive and well when I left...." Xamthos couldn't bring himself to finish that thought aloud. He didn't want to suggest that he might not the only one handing out secrets to the opposition.