Your Excellency Is Strong, but My Style Is Above Yours! Chapter 2

That grandmother was a very gentle person. Not only did she take Iori into her home and teach him how to survive in Soul Society, she also had her other "child" take good care of him.

And so Iori gained a new surname—

Aizen

Well, calling it a surname was a bit of a stretch. Ordinary Japanese people of this era did not have much in the way of proper surnames, and the old woman ran a clothing shop. One of her specialties was a fabric-dyeing technique called "indigo dyeing"—that was where the surname came from. Incidentally, Aizen sounded similar to the Buddhist Aizen Myōō, which made it sound rather grand.

There was nothing wrong with the surname itself, but in the world of Bleach, it was extremely conspicuous...

And sure enough, Iori encountered a black-haired, straight-haired girl named "Souyuki."

She had lived in a rather low-ranked district of Soul Society as a child before being adopted by the old woman and renamed "Aizen Souyuki." Normally, though, everyone affectionately called her "Yuki."

Could he determine that she was that scheming final boss based solely on that surname and a similar name...? Iori felt he could not jump to conclusions.

After all, this was not a Type-Moon crossover. His dick was not constantly at risk of getting wiped out.

More importantly, Iori himself was now an Aizen. For all he knew, it was not Yuki who had replaced that scheming glasses-wearer, but him...

Based on Iori's observations over the years, Yuki's talent was indeed terrifying, and she was somewhat scheming by nature. But overall, her mental state and way of doing things fell within the normal range. There was no sign of her turning evil, either.

Then he compared her to himself and thought about how, in order to improve his "style," he had become the Heart Arsonist of so many people over the years, making so many people feel that distant emotion known as "admiration"...

No matter how Iori thought about it, he felt it was far more likely that he was the one who had taken Aizen's place!

Of course, he was certain that he had not possessed anyone else, nor had anyone else possessed him. So regardless of who had taken Aizen's place... he would take it in stride. It did not matter.

Come to think of it, Iori did not feel much about having transmigrated into the family of a final boss—or perhaps having become the final boss himself.

Was Aizen a villain? Yes.

But this was Bleach, was it not? This godforsaken place was crawling with conspirators and villains.

Even the Thirteen Court Guard Squads—the Bleach themselves—were not some "righteous" organization. They were a "necessary evil."

Their Zanpakuto had always existed to protect "order." Right and wrong, good and evil, were secondary.

When all was said and done, why was Aizen regarded as a great villain?

The lesser reasons were that he assassinated colleagues and created the Hogyoku. The main reason was that he purged those undead fossils in Central 46!

And that he had attempted to overturn the order and become the master of the throne!

To put it bluntly, they could tolerate mad scientists—Kurotsuchi Mayuri being the representative example—and countless rotten nobles, but they could not tolerate an ambitious man.

The Thirteen Court Guard Squads were not a clean place. The darkness within ran far too deep...

Iori would not see the protagonist of the original story defy every villain and then devote himself to "upholding justice," only to get brutalized by every boss along the way and look back to find that the nobles were still the ones benefiting. Even Ichigo, the original protagonist and a conventional hot-blooded youth, did not fight for some grand narrative. He simply fought for friendship.

Of course, Iori would not evolve into a scheming supervillain and embark on a road of no return simply because he had become "Aizen"—there was no reason for him to turn evil now.

Iori would not make others the center of his life. He would always put himself first and judge gains and losses solely from his own perspective!

Besides, staying in some faction and quietly lying low was not going to work.

What a joke. Even if he wanted to keep a low profile, he would have to ask whether the final boss, Yhwach, agreed!

Pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger?

What if he spent his whole life pretending to be a pig and became a real pig? When the King of the Quincy returned from the Wandenreich and began purging and slaughtering all of Soul Society, he would not even know how to escape!

Iori was a very decisive person:

Only he himself could decide his fate!

However, gaining the power to control his own destiny would not be easy.

Then he would start with a small goal:

His personal strength had to surpass Yhwach and the Great Monk, while the forces under his command had to at least measure up to Las Noches, the Thirteenth Division, and the Sternritter, right?

P.S. The new book is underway~ New and old readers alike, please show your support~ 1

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Style Decides Everything!

If others knew about Iori's "grand blueprint" and his actual circumstances, they might laugh their teeth out.

Because in Bleach, a world where spiritual pressure determined everything, Iori had a decisive flaw that ordinary souls did not:

There was simply no way to measure anything called "spiritual pressure" from his body!

Spiritual pressure, like Chakra, Haki, Stands, and Cosmo, was an energy system exclusive to a particular world setting.

In Bleach, spiritual pressure was like magical power in cultivation novels. It was the decisive factor in determining one's strength and realm. While the setting of the Zanpakuto, a kind of bonded spiritual artifact, was more eye-catching, without spiritual pressure, everything was merely a castle in the air.

In theory, all matter in Soul Society was made of spirit particles, the fundamental particles, and so were the souls living there. More or less, they all possessed a certain amount of spiritual pressure.

It was just that most people's spiritual pressure was so low it could be ignored. Only a small number met the necessary standard to become Bleach.

Iori's situation was comparatively better:

Perhaps because transmigrators came with a soul buff, his spiritual pressure was relatively high among souls.

But compared to the cheats in the original story... heh!

With his talent, if he wanted to learn Bankai through nothing but personal training, the time required would have to be measured in centuries... This had been verified by a certain scammy system that wished to remain anonymous.

As a result, Iori did not expect to become stronger through conventional training alone, and thus embarked on the road of no return of constantly improving his "style"...

"It's getting late. Let's head back."

"We'll come see you next time~"

After helping close up the shop, saying goodbye to Grandma, and changing into their casual clothes, the sister and brother left the store.

It was already dusk, but the streets remained lively. Pedestrians came and went, and the cries of vendors rose and fell one after another. It did not look like an afterlife at all. Instead, it was full of vigor and vitality.

However, Iori knew this was only one corner of Soul Society.

After saving up some money, the Aizen family had moved to the current Seireitei district. It was one of the highest-ranked districts in Soul Society, very close to the Seireitei and with excellent public safety. Since nobles and Bleach often came here to spend money, it was exceptionally prosperous.

But if one continued outward, Soul Society would grow increasingly desolate and chaotic until it became a lawless zone.

And at the center, guarded by the many districts of Soul Society—the Seireitei—though it appeared lofty, cold, and magnificent, was not as peaceful as it seemed. Countless darknesses and dangers still lurked beneath the surface.

As a transmigrator, Iori understood this better than anyone. So even after being reborn here, he had not let himself run wild.

After all, unlike his previous life, this time he had real "family" and attachments...

"What are you spacing out for?"

Yuki glanced at him. "Also, what are you hiding in that shoulder bag?"

"Huh?" Iori raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"What is there to be surprised about? Since earlier, your left thumb has unconsciously rubbed against the bag thirteen times in three minutes. Whenever someone passed on your left, you also turned aside to avoid them roughly thirteen percent more than usual."

How terrifying!

What is wrong with this girl!

Sure enough, even if she was a parallel-world version, Aizen was still Aizen. Could even feminization and the big-boobs-no-brains double debuff not restrain her?

"Uh..."

Using her height advantage, Yuki looked down at Iori and leaned forward threateningly. The boy had no choice but to take half a step back to avoid being attacked by that familiar softness.

"Especially when I just mentioned the shoulder bag. Your gaze obviously wavered, and you could not help sneaking a look at it—just like you are doing now."

Iori froze for a moment. "You really observe me closely..."

"Huh?"

Yuki also blanked out, but quickly recovered and did not dwell on that point.

"All right, what exactly are you hiding that you do not want me to know about?"

"N-no, nothing~" Iori's gaze drifted. "It's just something boys might use. You would not forcibly search my personal belongings, would you, Sis?"

"Of course not. You are grown up now, after all. It is perfectly normal for you to hide things like erotic pictures."

"Normal my ass!" Iori immediately lost it. "Do not slander me!"

"Isn't that the sort of thing boys your age would 'use'?"

"You seem to have some misunderstandings about boys. I am not thick-skinned enough to carry erotic pictures around everywhere, understand?"

Iori fumed inwardly. She really looks down on me. How could something as outdated as erotic pictures compare to Young Madam Shiroine, which I just finished?

Mine has both text and illustrations, and I personally drew full-color pictures for it. It is not even in the same league as this era's godawful art style!

With a sigh, Iori saw the teasing look in Yuki's eyes and naturally understood that she was merely messing with him. Still, there was nothing shameful about it, so he reached into his bag and took out—

Naturally, not his "new work," but a Yellow Wood Box with a delicate grain.

"I was planning to give this to you on New Year's Day."

He raised it to show her. It was actually a gift for Yuki!

The black-haired girl's eyes widened in surprise. The corners of her lips could not help curling upward, but she struggled to keep herself from smiling. Pretending not to care, she took the box from him.

"I thought it was something impressive. I did not expect you to think of giving me a gift... What is inside, a hairpin or a comb?"

As she spoke, she opened the box. Yet inside was not an ordinary object, but an accessory consisting of two transparent lenses set in a black wooden frame.

"Glasses?" Yuki blinked, looking puzzled.

"Why are you giving me this?"

By the calendar of the World of the Living, it was now around the eighteenth century. Things like glasses were rare even in Japan, but not so rare that people would fail to recognize them—much less in Soul Society, whose technological development was wildly skewed.

Yuki only knew that they could correct eyesight. Her own eyes were bright and sharp, so she had no use for them at all.

Iori explained, "They are not prescription glasses. They are Plain Glasses. Wearing them will not have any effect at all; they are only for decoration."

"Decoration?" Yuki picked up the glasses and looked them over from side to side, unable to stop herself from laughing. "If you want to win a girl's favor, you would be better off choosing a hairpin. What is this supposed to be?"

"Because you need them very much, Sis." Iori looked disdainful. "Didn't you say there are quite a few chauvinistic guys at the academy? They cannot surpass you in height, spiritual pressure, or Kido, so they often come looking for trouble, right?"

"That is true." Yuki was quite calm about it. At this point, she had already developed a scheming personality, but she did not particularly want attention. Thus, she had deliberately kept a low profile in the assessments, merely remaining in the top three in every subject and giving up first place.

Otherwise, she could have graduated early with overwhelming strength that left no room for dispute!

Yet even so, Yuki still stood out among the students. Some self-righteous noble children could not stand the sight of her and excluded her at every turn.

Of course, this was nothing to Yuki:

Would the moon hide behind dark clouds simply because stray dogs howled at it?

They were merely embroidered pillows. Yuki instead had to carefully control her strength to ensure she could crush them without killing them.

Iori continued, "If you wear these glasses, you will have much less trouble of that sort."

"Really?" Yuki was skeptical.

"Your gaze is too sharp. Even if you deliberately keep a low profile, you cannot conceal it. But glasses can hide that very well, and they can also blur the impression others have of you."

Iori spoke seriously. "Glasses can reduce a person's presence. I once knew someone called Shinpachi-kun who had even trained himself to the point where people noticed only his glasses and ignored him entirely."

"...That sounds very suspicious."

Yuki gave the black-rimmed frame a disdainful glance, then looked at Iori again. Pouting, she ultimately decided to accept it.

"But you rarely give me anything... Come on, help me put them on."

"Okay!"

Iori's spirits rose. He carefully placed the glasses on the high bridge of Yuki's nose as she lowered her head and closed her eyes.

"Hmm, it feels strange... but unexpectedly good." Yuki opened her eyes, pushed the frame with a finger, and adjusted its position. To her surprise, she rather liked them.

"They suit you very well, Aizen."

Iori quietly watched Yuki wearing the glasses, a smile appearing on his face that seemed both nostalgic and like a scheme had succeeded.

"Or rather, they give off the feeling that this is Aizen."

"You called me 'Aizen' instead of 'Yuki' or 'Sis'... Whenever you call me by my surname directly, the atmosphere becomes somewhat gloomy and heavy.

Just as I thought—you are hiding something from me, aren't you?"

"..."