Your Excellency Is Strong, but My Art Style Is Above Yours!

Level:--

Quality:--

Reward: Art Style Value +2

...The former needed no explanation; it came from Iori's decisive battle with the Azure Dragon. But the latter was somewhat strange. Iori did not remember ever being called that before.

He thought it over carefully and, after serious consideration, guessed that the matter of "slaying a dragon" had become known to the islanders, who had bestowed this title upon him out of reverence.

It was not surprising. That battle had caused far too great a commotion, and afterward, torrential rain had poured down while the clouds lingered for a long time. The islanders, knowing something major had happened, would surely investigate. They might not find the Azure Dragon's corpse, but they only needed to observe the reactions of those large Dangerous Species to understand.

Come to think of it, with the Azure Dragon's threat gone, those Dangerous Species would surely unleash their long-suppressed natures. The island nation might even enter a chaotic era resembling the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons... That was something no one had anticipated.

Still, it had little to do with Iori. He was not responsible enough to blame himself for the harmful consequences of the chain reaction. After all, slaying the Azure Dragon had been what the islanders wanted in the first place... One could only say that every benefit came with a drawback.

What concerned him was his own harvest:

With the added Art Style Value and his own breakthrough, his Reiatsu Limit had now reached an astonishing "690"!

He had leaped from slightly below the Vice-Captain threshold to a fairly seasoned level in one go, and all it had taken was a single battle—not even ten days from Soul Society's perspective...

However, Iori's current Reiatsu was only a little over five hundred. One reason was that the Art Style Value had increased too quickly for him to catch up; the other was that he was still in a weakened state, so this was not his peak data.

Incidentally, when Iori returned to "Akame ga Kill!" over the past two days to check his Zanpakuto, he discovered something interesting. After activating Shikai, a "(Shikai)" status marker appeared after his Reiatsu value.

At first, Iori did not understand it. Later, after repeatedly reflecting on the changes after Shikai based on his own experience, he finally realized:

After calling out the true name of a Zanpakuto, the form of existence and the method of combination of the reishi composing a Bleach changed. It was like transforming scattered rabble into a regular army—more tightly organized and sturdier—thereby increasing the intensity of one's Reiatsu and greatly improving its efficiency, allowing several times the power of before Shikai to be unleashed!

This finally made Iori understand what the original work meant by Shikai and Bankai increasing Reiatsu—it was a reorganization and enhancement at the level of fundamental particles. Although the total amount also increased, it was not merely an expansion of quantity. Saying it "increased four or five times" was only for ease of understanding.

Thus, Iori stayed in Soul Society for a few more days. He specifically went to Soul Society to spend a long time with Granny, telling her that he would be heading to a town in the World of the Living to serve as an administrator. Granny was reluctant to let him go, but she merely gave him many reminders to be careful in everything he did.

Time passed in a blur, and at last, the day to depart for Hueco Mundo arrived. Iori, whose injuries had only recently healed, looked slightly pale, but his spirits were exceptionally high.

As he lined up to receive his number tag, an unexpected notification rang out in his mind:

~CG Updated~

Sword Saint Martial Venerable

Art Style Value: 2+1

--

Iori: Huh? What's going on?!

A CG that had already been drawn could actually update again and add Art Style Value... It was Iori's first time encountering such a thing. However, he soon realized this was a rare opportunity. He had to uncover the secret behind it; perhaps it could open up a new path.

Brother Is Just a Legend~

He followed the army through the Senkaimon, arriving from Soul Society in Hueco Mundo, which was shrouded in eternal night. Unlike the World of the Living and Soul Society, there were no large cities or orderly streets here—only barren ground like a white desert and dead trees made of a quartz-like material scattered everywhere. It was a complete wasteland.

However, compared with the World of the Living and Soul Society, this place had one advantage:

The reishi concentration in the atmosphere was extremely high. Bleach could recover their Reiatsu faster here, and even the power of the Kido they released would increase.

Of course, Hollows would grow stronger as well. And since this was their nest, their home-field advantage was even greater than that of the Bleach.

The Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Army was led by Saitō Fuyōfushi. After joining up with the personnel stationed there, it had a total of around one hundred and fifty Bleach under its command. More than twenty of them could use Shikai, making it a rather elite force.

With Bankai experts and many veterans holding the line, and with the camp protected by barriers, they could easily handle even an Adjuchas-class Gillian leading a Hollow group in an attack. As long as they did not provoke a Vastolorde, there would be no problem.

Vastolordes were extremely rare in Hueco Mundo. Even Saitō, after living so long, had only seen a few—but if one truly appeared, they would have to consider abandoning the camp and retreating to Soul Society.

In such a dangerous environment, Iori quickly passed through his weakened period with the help of the abundant reishi. As he adapted to life in the Expeditionary Army, he did not forget to explore the secret of that special CG. Time flew by amid his busy days...

"Akame ga Kill!," Far East Islands, Omi Province.

With a miserable howl, a silver-blue giant wolf nearly fifty meters long crashed to the ground. Its enormous body crushed tree after tree, and the blood flowing from it soaked into the earth.

As far as the eye could see, half the forest had been reduced to ruins. Trees severed by wind blades lay scattered in every direction, while cracks split the ground everywhere. One could only imagine how intense a battle had left behind such a scene.

As the silver wolf lost its last trace of life, excited cheers instantly erupted. Wounded and exhausted warriors supported one another, raised their jumonji spears and katanas high, and praised the name "Martial Venerable" in unison.

That kind of fervor was what every famous general who led troops into battle desired, because it meant the wholehearted devotion of his subordinates. It meant they would die for his orders!

Yet Iori, standing before the silver wolf's corpse and receiving the cheers, merely glanced back and offered an approachable yet distant smile.

—This only made the warriors even more excited.

They had not even qualified as warriors before. If they wanted to join an army and earn merit, they could only begin as lowly ashigaru. In their lifetimes, it was almost impossible for them to rise to the position of samurai general. For men born into the Warring States era and filled with ambition, that was undoubtedly a tragedy.

But this strongest swordsman, who looked like a youth, had changed their fates. How could they not admire him from the bottom of their hearts?!

Compared with these excited people, Iori was rather calm. He soon withdrew his smile and ordered them to collect materials. Before long, people brought out specialized Nether Treasures to cut away the silver wolf's fur, claws, and fangs.

He watched the wolf king that had been so imposing moments ago now resemble a dead insect, carved into chunks large and small by ants coming and going... At first, such scenes had stirred his emotions, but after seeing them so many times, he no longer felt much.

After the Izumo Seisoryu fell, the large Dangerous Species that had previously been forced into submission indeed became restless. They could not wait to stake out their own territories, but many of those places now contained human villages, so countless tragedies inevitably occurred.

Many small countries even abandoned the people living in these mountains and wildernesses out of fear of the monsters.

It was under such circumstances that Iori returned carrying the Dragon-Slaying Blade. He exterminated the Dangerous Species plaguing each region one by one and saved village after village. At some point, the title "Martial Venerable" began to spread and became everyone's shared recognition.

In the Warring States era, it was only natural for the weak to attach themselves to the strong, and shoguns and daimyo had always spared no expense in recruiting powerful people. Yet this Martial Venerable, who had seemingly appeared from nowhere, repeatedly refused opportunities to become the lord of a city or territory, leaving the outside world deeply puzzled.

No one had ever seen him pursue material pleasures, nor had anyone seen him display any ambition. He simply continued slaying harmful beasts. Sometimes, the reward he received from mountain villagers was only a rice ball, yet he never voiced a single complaint.

Gradually, he became a legend of this land. People came to believe that there truly were warriors as pure and flawless as moonlight in this world—and that he was undefeated in a hundred battles, invincible wherever he went!

From one day onward, people began voluntarily following behind him, braving danger to hunt Dangerous Species. Iori did not drive them away, merely allowing everything to develop naturally. Every time he slew a Dangerous Species, he also shared the materials with the followers who had participated in the battle and commissioned craftsmen to forge them into Nether Treasures.

More and more such people gathered, gradually forming a rather sizable force. Yet some also left the group, after Iori persuaded them to depart once they had acquired Nether Treasures and seek their own futures.

Some returned to their hometowns to protect the peace of their regions. Some joined the service of local rulers and became fierce generals. Some chose, like Iori, to wander the land and continue honing their martial arts... But regardless of which path they chose, the name "Martial Venerable Iori" spread even farther!

Returning to the present, the silver wolf that had just fallen was the final overlord-class harmful beast infamous throughout the world, and it too had been defeated by Iori.

At this point, dozens of warriors who had come from under his tutelage had opened martial arts schools and dojo across the land, honoring him as their master. About the same number had joined the armies of various nations, while countless ronin warriors chased after his footsteps.

It could be said that Iori had spread his name throughout the entire Far East, becoming the "model of the realm" here!

With such influence, if he wanted to raise an army and contend for supremacy, he could surely sweep across the land. Unfortunately, Iori had no such aspirations—conquering was not difficult, but ruling consumed too much energy.

And during this process, Iori confirmed his theory:

Art Style CGs could indeed be updated!

However, it was related to sustained influence. Iori's slaying of the Azure Dragon had left behind the legend of the Dragon-Slaying Sword Saint in the Far East. As more and more people learned of it, the incident's influence gradually fermented until it underwent a qualitative change, providing additional Art Style Value.

To obtain similar CGs, several conditions had to be met. For example, the scope of influence had to be large enough. It could not merely affect a few people or a group, but had to span a city, a nation, or even an entire world—on a scale capable of forming a "legend" or "myth"!

As proof, when Iori began eliminating harmful beasts in various regions, his reputation expanded further. More people witnessed him in person and gained a sense of his reality, causing his Art Style Value to rise slowly as well... Only after his image became fixed in the middle and later stages did it gradually cease updating.

Now, he was revered by the warrior class as the "Martial Venerable," while among the common people, he was the strongest exorcist. Some had even begun writing tales of gods and monsters based on him, calling Dangerous Species "the Hundred Demons," while claiming he was the reincarnation of a Myōō or Thunder God, sent to subdue demons and vanquish evil.

That Sword Saint Martial Venerable CG had now completely transformed into something else:

Aizen Myōō · Martial Venerable Iori

Category: Art Style (Legend)

Level:~

Quality:~

Reward:

Art Style Value +11!

Reiatsu Limit: 780

Current Reiatsu: 741

--

He had spent nearly eight months in the "Akame ga Kill!" world, but only two short weeks had passed in Hueco Mundo, more than half of which had been spent returning to "recharge." Yet Iori's Reiatsu had soared from barely five hundred to seven hundred and forty... Comparing the two truly made one sigh at the convenience of accelerated time.

Wasn't this basically having his own Hyperbolic Time Chamber?

The Dangai, where time flowed two thousand times faster, really was a wonderful thing!

"Mm..."

After returning to his tent, Iori stretched lazily. This time, he had stayed in the Far East for an entire month before returning to recharge. His Reiatsu was nearly depleted, and Hueco Mundo's special environment felt like timely rain after a long drought, making him unable to help but feel delighted.

In a good mood, he lifted the tent flap and stepped onto the barren ground covered in white sand. Before him lay an eternally dark sky with only a crescent moon hanging above, as well as vast black shadows faintly surrounding the barrier outside—the Gillians that had gathered once more.

Thus, Iori, having just returned from the Far East battlefield, sincerely said:

"Ah, praise the Soul King. Another harmonious and beautiful day!"

The Four Heavenly Kings Are Never at Full Strength

Hueco Mundo truly was a wonderful place full of talent and natural beauty. Not only was it rich in reishi, but huge black-and-white wild animals came every day looking to be petted. When he went back, he really had to recommend this place to his friends and relatives as a travel destination~

Ignoring the dozen or so giant Hollows as tall as skyscrapers wandering outside the barrier, Iori leisurely headed toward his workstation.

In theory, he was auxiliary personnel sent by the 12th Division. More specifically, he was responsible for checking whether communications and positioning equipment were functioning normally, making scheduled contact with Soul Society at regular intervals, and recording and filing information whenever he saw Hollows with unusual forms... In short, he handled miscellaneous chores.

"Roooar~~~ Roo—"

"Tch!"

The Gillians outside were once again making meaningless noises. Iori irritably covered his ears, and his good mood for the day was ruined just like that.

In the end, these things howled all day as if they had been possessed. Iori's Reiatsu had nearly fully recovered, yet they still would not stop!

But getting angry was useless. These black beasts had no brains and only knew how to hunt and fight based on instinct.

This type of Gillian was called a Gillian. It was born from the fusion of hundreds of low-level Hollows. Most had the same appearance, resembling a faceless man with a pointed nose, then enlarged until it was as tall as an office building.

They possessed no self-awareness and no combat skills. Only the scale of their Reiatsu was quite impressive. Usually, several seated officers or experts at the Vice-Captain level were needed to deal with one safely.

If such a thing appeared in the Soul Society districts of Soul Society, any one of them could cause a horrific massacre. Yet in Hueco Mundo, they could only be considered "large wild monsters," the lowest of the three types of Gillian.

With Iori's current strength, common Hollows and Gillians were no match for him. He could even try mowing them down in an unstoppable spree.

If he encountered a mid-level Gillian, an Adjuchas, he would have to take it seriously. But with his Shikai ability, an ordinary Adjuchas did not pose much of a threat.

As for the highest-level Gillian, a Vastolorde... Well, it was better not to run into one.

These things were rarer in Hueco Mundo than giant pandas, and every one of them possessed terrifying strength. Even the arrogant Aizen thought highly of Vastolordes in the original work!

Still, Vastolordes generally possessed intelligence. Unlike their lower-level kin, they did not only know slaughter, and they usually had little interest in Bleach or Soul Society. Many Captains of the Thirteenth Division went their entire lives without seeing a Vastolorde.

Even the textbooks at the Soul Reaper Academy only introduced Vastolordes to students as a legendary type of Arrancar.

"Rooar..."

Damn it! Are they not done yet?!

In a foul mood, Iori estimated his Reiatsu and confirmed that it had recovered to around seventy or eighty percent. He then stood up and headed toward the "gate," only to run into Tenkai Shūsuke, who was passing by with a small squad of Bleach.

"Yo, Senior Tenkai~"

"That's too flippant. I am still your superior, you know. Watch your wording, Iori."

"It's Hueco Mundo. Saying 'good morning' just feels weird." Iori looked up at the crescent moon forever hanging in the sky and pursed his lips.

Tenkai was speechless for a moment. On second thought, Iori's jab was indeed particularly accurate...

Iori was a newcomer, and treating an officer so casually would be highly improper in any army. Yet neither Tenkai nor the members of his squad showed any displeasure. Instead, they all seemed to regard it as perfectly natural.

The reason they trusted him so much was naturally because Iori had displayed strength worthy of respect. The moment he arrived in Hueco Mundo, he had done something extremely eye-catching:

When his squad was accidentally separated and attacked by a Hollow group, Iori cast three Hado spells above number fifty in succession without chanting, turning the situation around in one stroke!

Even then, Iori still had strength to spare. He led the subsequent breakout battle from start to finish, using every technique of Zanpakuto, Hakuda, Kido with effortless ease. Each of them was even more skillful and professional than the academy instructors!

In the end, he had preserved the squad through impeccable raw strength, achieving the feat of no casualties and successfully joining up with the reinforcements!

After that, Iori also achieved the record of killing a Gillian alone in a battle. Though he was a newcomer, great expectations had been placed on him.

It was said that those Lieutenant Captains believed that even without Shikai, Iori possessed strength equivalent to the third or fourth seat, or even a Vice-Captain. He would soon become one of Saitō's Four Heavenly Kings!

Well, these "Four Heavenly Kings" referred to the Lieutenant Captains under Saitō. They all basically possessed strength equal or close to that of Vice-Captains, and Tenkai Shūsuke was among them.

Before Iori arrived, however, there had only been three Lieutenant Captains. It was merely because "Four Heavenly Kings" sounded better that they had...

"What are you going to do?" Seeing Tenkai and the others fully armed, Iori guessed, "Don't tell me you're going to drive away the Gillians?"

After saying that, Iori felt eager to try. He had already established his basic image. All he lacked was an opportunity for ultimate elevation—one that would completely conquer these veterans while conveniently revealing his Shikai.

Tenkai was rendered speechless by Iori's attitude.

Could this kid have come to Hueco Mundo because he's a born battle maniac?