You're Strong, Sir, but My Art Style Is Above Yours!

It wasn't that Iori had an overactive imagination. There were simply too many examples!

From the Land of Iron in Naruto, to Caguna Island in Strike the Blood, which was set in Japan, to Academy City in A Certain Magical Index, and even Orb in Gundam...

Even in all kinds of Western fantasy light novels, there were always samurai and ninja from the East!

Japanese creators in the twenty-first century really loved putting a place corresponding to real-world Japan into their works, along with settings like "a seemingly remote, independent little place that possesses military strength or technology beyond the outside world."

Take Type-Moon, for example. Three of the Five Great Magics actually had legacies to be found in Japan, that "magical wasteland"!

How should he put it? It was a little narcissistic, but understandable. After all, there had once been a time when martial arts and ancient martial arts were essential elements of web novels...

Nadjeta had merely guessed that the Eastern Island Nation possessed Orichalcum forging techniques, but Iori was already almost certain.

There was no other reason. He had seen this sort of thing too often!

Just look at the technological prowess of neighboring Wano Country. Wasn't that obvious enough?

Thinking carefully, many of the Imperial Arms in Akame ga Kill! also bore traces of Japanese or Chinese culture, such as Hachifusa, Murasame, Susanoo, and that spatial Imperial Arm with the Eight Trigrams Taijitu as its formation diagram.

Going by One Piece, even if it were eventually confirmed that the manufacturing techniques for Imperial Arms had spread from the Eastern Island Nation, Iori would not be surprised in the slightest!

Fine, then. He would make a trip to the East Sea. Though he had heard it could be troublesome, what Bleach had no shortage of was time.

If things went smoothly, perhaps Iori could personally forge a suitable blade blank for himself...

Before that, he needed to return to Soul Society to "recharge"!

"As agreed, you have priority in choosing one Imperial Arm."

Chelsea approached with the Dimensional Square Array · Shangri-La. "But honestly, this Imperial Arm is more useful to the Revolutionary Army. If you're willing to give it up, you can have any of the other Imperial Arms.

"If you're worried about the restriction that prevents one person from using multiple Imperial Arms at once, the Revolutionary Army can also let you choose one from our current collection.

"For an individual, we have Imperial Arms in our collection that are more valuable and stronger in actual combat, you know~"

"Thank you for the offer."

Iori took it without the slightest hesitation. "But an agreement is an agreement."

"...Just like the report said, you're hard to get along with." Chelsea was somewhat disappointed, but Iori was still a friendly force to the Revolutionary Army, and the higher-ups were still trying to win him over. Thus, the girl did not act hostile. Instead, she merely gave a snort that sounded almost coquettish.

"Then according to the agreement, we'll be taking all the remaining spoils."

Akame suddenly spoke up. "This Gouetsu isn't an Imperial Arm. Iori and I killed its owner, so I believe I have the right to take this sword."

The young assassin rarely made requests on her own initiative. Nadjeta, who knew her personality well, was somewhat surprised, but she nodded without giving it much thought.

The famous sword Gouetsu was indeed good, but compared to an Imperial Arm, it still fell short. The higher-ups probably would not care even if Akame took it.

Iori was equally casual. "Then take—"

"It's for you."

Unexpectedly, Akame immediately gave it to Iori. "Murasame is enough for me."

"Heh~" Nadjeta raised an eyebrow and chuckled mischievously.

Iori was slightly stunned. "For me?"

"I get the feeling you're very interested in it."

The perceptive Akame seemed to have noticed something. "Or perhaps you're interested in its origins... Either way, take it with you. It might be able to help you."

"...Thank you."

It might not be of much help, but it still warmed Iori's heart.

Sure enough... he hadn't spoiled this foodie girl for nothing!

Yuki Aizen Wants to Punish ### "Help me request some leave."

"Insolence! What do you take the 12th Division for? We're in wartime now, when manpower is already scarce, and you still want to slack off?!"

Inside the division barracks, Kurotsuchi Mayuri glared viciously at the utterly composed Iori. The way he gritted his teeth made him look genuinely loyal to the Seireitei.

"You'll have to pay me more!"

"You should've said so earlier~"

"Hmm... You've been fairly diligent in your usual work. Since the war hasn't officially begun yet, I'll assign you to organize archives in the Great Library."

"You seem to be in quite a good mood?"

Mayuri was unusually agreeable today. Iori had thought he would need to bargain with him, but his goal had been achieved so easily that he could not help giving him a surprised look.

"Heh, of course. Once the war begins, my 'research materials' will become an endless supply." Mayuri wore an utterly blissful expression. "I'm really looking forward to it~"

"...Then congratulations to you." Iori's smile faded as he replied indifferently.

Leaving Bleach aside for the moment, the Quincy clan consisted of living people residing in the World of the Living. After being killed, their souls would naturally be guided to Soul Society. Unlike ordinary souls, however, the Seireitei would certainly use some method to capture them.

If Iori remembered correctly, in the original story Kurotsuchi Mayuri had vivisected countless Quincy alive. He did not even spare the corpses of Bleach. Eventually, even Central 46 could no longer tolerate him and decisively imprisoned him in the Maggot's Nest.

Though that had not happened yet, it reminded Iori once again:

No matter how pleasantly he worked with Kurotsuchi Mayuri, he must never forget that man's true nature!

They could be partners in an exchange of interests, but friendship was out of the question!

"Oh, right. The handover documents from the Spirit Art Academy say that you should have been specially permitted to claim an Asauchi before graduating, but the logistics staff said you never came for it. Don't tell me you still haven't begun nurturing a Zanpakuto?"

"I haven't made up my mind yet." Iori answered directly without hiding anything. "I have reservations about Asauchi—or rather, about Zanpakuto."

"Is that so? I understand." Mayuri casually fabricated a reason in the documents and did not press the matter further.

Iori's reasoning was utterly inconceivable to any Bleach. To them, a Zanpakuto was part of themselves, their closest combat partner, and an Asauchi was an indispensable tool for nurturing a Zanpakuto—convenient and practical.

Asking them to question Asauchi and Zanpakuto was no different from asking a Sword Cultivator to question their life-bound flying sword.

But Kurotsuchi Mayuri was different. In a Soul Society where nearly everyone was a "Sword Cultivator," he was an unconventional practitioner of the "Demonic Path."

This guy lived every day as though he were undergoing a Heavenly Demon Tribulation. He trusted no external object and even questioned the authenticity of the "self." He had modified his Zanpakuto, flesh, and brain alike, preventing them from suddenly going wrong one day.

For someone who could install a self-destruct bomb in his Bankai and create memory backups for his brain, even if you told him the entire world was merely the dream of some great existence, he would seriously consider it...

Wasn't it just questioning whether there was something wrong with an "Asauchi"? Perfectly ordinary~

In fact, Mayuri himself had vaguely sensed some issues, which was why he always left himself contingencies no matter what he did. Now that he heard Iori say something so alarming, he felt an unusual sense of resonance instead~

"The Spirit Art Academy actually specifically asked about this matter..."

Iori pondered for a moment. "It seems I need to make some preparations as well... Vice-Captain, our 12th Division does not usually handle combat. We assist the other divisions by providing technical support, correct?"

"Why ask that all of a sudden? Don't you want to slack off? Are you interested in being on duty with another division?"

"Not the Thirteen Court Guard Squads." Iori looked directly into Mayuri's eyes. "The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Army. I want to know when the next batch of supplies is departing. If possible, I would like to go along as an external dispatch from the 12th Division."

"..."

Even someone with thought processes as abnormal as Kurotsuchi Mayuri was momentarily stunned by Iori's leap in logic.

"The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Army? Why would you go to a desolate place like Hueco Mundo... Besides, that force is not part of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads' establishment. If its commander does not agree, even I can't force someone in there just because I'm a Vice-Captain."

"No problem. You only need to prepare a transfer order. The Expeditionary Army's commander should give me that much face." Iori smiled confidently. "She seems rather fond of me."

"...Saitō Fuyōfushi? You actually know that old woman..."

Mayuri could not help regarding Iori more highly. It was one thing for him to have connections with Kyōraku Shunsui, but Saito of the Expeditionary Army was not someone easy to deal with. As a temporary Bleach without even an Asauchi, Iori already had connections to two Captain-level figures... He truly was no simple person.

"A transfer order is easy enough, but the Expeditionary Army's terms are very long. Even if you are assigned under the name of a temporary loan, you must stay for at least one year before you can apply to return. Whether that request will be approved is another matter altogether."

"Isn't that what you're here for, Vice-Captain?" Iori laughed brightly. "If I don't return, who will secure research funding for you?"

"...I don't understand. That place has nothing but sand and Menos."

"Because 'death' is the best excuse."

Iori said something that Mayuri only half understood. "If there isn't a good enough reason to raise a character's combat power, then just let him 'die' once."

What was the common flaw of hot-blooded battle manga?

Fatalism? Bloodline supremacy? Escalating power levels?

All of those existed, but none of them were the answer.

In fact, as long as the plot was exciting enough, the characters well-developed enough, and the logic did not have glaring flaws, then even some problems with the power system often would not become a reason for criticism.

When it came to escalating power levels, nothing was more absurd than Son Goku's combat power skyrocketing from several hundred thousand to over a hundred million during the Namek Saga. Yet when he knocked the King to the ground, no one felt it was unreasonable.

On the other hand, Luffy's Devil Fruit awakening and the ancestral power-up given to Naruto and Sasuke merely pierced through a thin layer of window paper, yet they always somehow made people want to complain.

But regardless, there was a rule in the worldviews of hot-blooded battle manga:

After experiencing a life-or-death battle or "coming back from the dead," it was perfectly normal for combat power to surge dramatically.

And Iori currently had two problems:

First, his spiritual pressure was gradually approaching Vice-Captain level. Sooner or later, he would have to reveal his strength before others, but his growth curve was a little too abrupt.

Second, if he did not want to become a chopping maniac like Zaraki Kenpachi, it was time for him to get himself a Zanpakuto.

These two problems could actually be solved together:

If he mastered Shikai, then according to the setting of Zanpakuto, no one would doubt his sudden leap in strength. Therefore, he had to put nurturing a Zanpakuto on the agenda now.

However, he neither wanted to use a mass-produced Asauchi nor awaken in Soul Society, under the Great Monk's watchful eye, lest some accident occur.

He could complete the whole process in another world, but then he would have to explain when he had acquired an unregistered Zanpakuto.

What? He picked it up in Soul Society? Then why did he not use the brand-new Asauchi issued by the Spirit Art Academy?

Could it be that he, too, had lost a dear friend?

Thus, Iori's choice was simple—join the army fighting the Quincy or the army fighting in Hueco Mundo!

On a complicated battlefield, both the issue of the Asauchi and that of his spiritual pressure could be perfectly resolved.

Back then, Luffy had learned Haki coating and achieved awakening in a single battle. Now, if Iori spent a year on an expedition to Hueco Mundo, becoming a Vice-Captain from an academy student would be no problem!

The more Iori thought about it, the more right it seemed. After all, he knew Saito as well. With Mayuri secretly helping him, transferring to the Expeditionary Army should be perfectly natural. He could spend some time in Hueco Mundo, experience a few brutal battles, then return and say that he had awakened Shikai amid life-and-death struggles. Who could say anything was wrong with that?

Genius!

"Hueco Mundo? That won't do. I've already decided to transfer you to the Thirteenth Division."

—Who would have thought that before Iori could celebrate for long, someone would deal him a crushing blow.

"Right now, a large number of elites have been transferred to the World of the Living to organize the campaign against the Quincy. All the original work has been piled onto those left behind. Captain Ukitake was already in poor health, and he collapsed from exhaustion a few days ago. As a result, the burden suddenly fell on the Vice-Captain and me.

"That day, the Vice-Captain suddenly told me that he was already very old, and that he would need me to help Captain Ukitake hold up the sky in the future. The higher-ups have now decided that I'll be the Third Seat."

Inside Suzaku Pavilion, a high-end restaurant in the Seireitei, Yuki Aizen, wearing the armband of a seated officer, let out a sigh.

"I'm not being modest, but tell me, how did an academy student like me suddenly become the Third Seat of the Thirteenth Division?"

Iori: "..."

"I'm desperately short on helpers right now. I originally wanted to transfer you to my side, but I never expected you to be so ambitious that you wanted to go to Hueco Mundo and earn merits... Don't tell me you heard about this in advance and came up with this method to avoid me?

"Do you dislike being my attendant that much, dear Iori~ Hehe!"

For some reason, although Yuki was clearly smiling, Iori could not feel even the slightest trace of amusement... Perhaps the reflection on her Plain Glasses was simply too cold.

"I thought you were the only one in this world who would always support me unconditionally... You've really made your big sister sad~"

"...By heaven and earth, it's a misunderstanding!"

Iori was on the verge of tears. "I really wasn't trying to avoid you. I only just learned that you were promoted... I swear on the Soul King!

"If I've concealed even the slightest thing from you, Big Sis, then I'll—"

Suddenly, a strange sensation swept across Iori's entire body. It felt as though he had fallen into icy water, making him shudder all over. He abruptly stopped speaking, instinctively unwilling to say another word.

"Hmm... Huh? What's wrong with you?" Yuki gave Iori a strange look.

She was half teasing and half messing with him. In truth, she did not think Iori had deliberately been avoiding her, knowing it was most likely just a coincidence. She was simply rather puzzled by his decision to join the Expeditionary Army.

But judging by Iori's reaction... Had she really scared him?

Heh, it seemed "big sister's dignity" was still plenty intimidating!

Unlike Yuki, whose mood had improved, Iori's thoughts churned endlessly, all kinds of ideas tumbling through his mind.

He subtly glanced toward the ceiling, his eyes filled with wariness and awe—not for the exquisite patterns and decorations, of course, but for somewhere far up in the distant sky.