Your Excellency Is Strong, but My Art Style Is Superior!

That shout fused fighting spirit, pain, and resolve into one, even indirectly stirring his reiatsu and making it more active.

Every muscle in his body was stimulated and tensed to the limit, veins bulging beneath his skin. His entire body seemed to become a fully drawn bow, releasing all its power in an instant—

Pfft!

Iori casually thrust his wooden sword forward, precisely striking Shojiba's exposed armpit just before his slash could fall.

"You're full of openings, Senior."

He even gave him a calm reminder.

Crack—

As expected, with a dull sound, Shojiba's arm dislocated. Like a snapped bowstring, the power he had gathered instead became a blade that injured himself.

His Sword Momentum, in which spirit, energy, and will had been united, was shattered as well. A crippling pain swept over him, and every muscle in his body lost control. His strength drained away like running water, and the wooden sword slipped from his hand.

Smack!

Then Iori's downward strike brutally hit his calf, making him grit his teeth and groan as he toppled sideways to the ground.

The world spun. By the time Shojiba regained his senses, a cool breeze brushed his throat, and the tip of a wooden sword had stopped three inches from his neck.

"..."

"Withdraw your sword. The winner—"

The senior acting as referee raised his hand and shouted, "The victor is Iori Aizen!"

Hot-Blooded Men Are So Easy to Fool!

The dojo fell silent. The next moment, the spectators, who had collectively breathed a sigh of relief, broke into applause. The noisy clapping drowned out the calls for medical assistance.

Several students who considered themselves skilled in Kido hesitated over whether to enter the ring and treat the injured man. At that moment, however, the victorious boy raised a hand and swept an unhappy gaze around the room—

The applause immediately grew sparse.

Many students present had more seniority than the two fighters, but the dojo's rules demanded respect for the strong. With swordsmanship as sharp as Iori's, he had earned everyone's respect.

Once things had quieted somewhat, Iori crouched down, pressed a hand to his opponent's shoulder to signal him not to move, then felt around a few times and understood the situation.

"Bear with it."

After that serious yet gentle warning, the boy suddenly exerted force. With a crack, the injured man's face instantly flushed the color of liver, but his dislocated shoulder was restored to normal.

This only made Shojiba feel even more astonished—and despondent.

The fact that he had not suffered a more serious injury meant Iori had been able to precisely control his strength. In this battle, Iori had remained far calmer than Shojiba himself, who had already thrown everything aside.

Is this the composure of a genius?

Bzzzt—

As a faint green glow spread from Iori's hand, the tall man's expression gradually relaxed again.

"Cough! Thank... ngh!" He looked up at Iori, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.

"It's Kido!"

"Isn't he only a second-year? His swordsmanship is already so outstanding, so why would he distract himself by studying Kido, a healing-type art?"

"It should only be low-level Kido... but that's still impressive."

The many upperclassmen outside the ring had complicated feelings as they watched Iori carefully treat his opponent.

Being accepted into this academy already made them Candidate Shinigami. Compared to ordinary civilians, their destinies had become entirely different.

But clearly, even among Bleach, there were enormous gaps in talent...

"Thank you... and not just for treating my injuries." Shojiba said shamefully, "Thank you for accepting such a rude challenge."

With an indescribable look of shame and guilt on his face, Shojiba looked at Iori beneath the soft green light, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Iori studied Shojiba's expression and smiled to himself.

He knew why this burly man, rough as Lu Zhishen, was acting so awkwardly. Although Shojiba had not said it outright, Iori had already used his connections to gather information before accepting the challenge.

The answer was jealousy.

But it was not Shojiba who envied him. Rather, some students from so-called "prestigious families" were jealous that the Aizen siblings had been drawing too much attention. Perhaps they felt that the two, who came from humble backgrounds, shone too brightly, so they joined forces to exclude them in every possible way.

Iori and Yuki knew about this, but neither of them cared much.

Were they supposed to deliberately hide their talents and act mediocre just because a bunch of petty idiots had objections?

May I ask, are any of you named Yamamoto or Unohana? What makes you worthy?

In truth, those people had failed to cause the siblings any real trouble. Instead, they had repeatedly suffered setbacks. Iori's reputation as a kendo genius had gradually spread through his "friendly exchanges" with them.

They were not fools either. Once they realized they were no match for him, they changed tactics and incited stronger people to challenge Iori. The person they used was Shojiba.

Tetsuzaemon Shojiba: a passionate man of loyalty and righteousness, a future Vice-Captain, and later, after the Thirteenth Division suffered heavy losses, someone who naturally became Captain of the First Division. He was also a character with a certain amount of presence in the original story.

Though still young at this point, he already had the air of a middle-aged man, along with a fierce face that would make people mistake him for Yakuza if they saw him walking down the street.

Yet he was not cut from the same cloth as those spoiled heirs. Though he too came from a prestigious family, he was grounded and hardworking, more diligent than anyone else in the dojo. He only wanted to avoid disgracing his family—his mother was the Vice-Captain of some division.

The reason he had been egged on was not that he had any problem with Iori, but that he was too straightforward and trusting. Friends he was close to had come to him, claiming that Iori was arrogant and had repeatedly humiliated them for no reason, asking Shojiba to teach the brat a lesson.

Since Iori did indeed have a reputation for being combative, Shojiba believed them. That was how this match, where an older student bullied a younger one, came to be.

However, after the battle ended, he understood. If Iori had truly been an arrogant and domineering person, how could he have held back during the fight, much less treated Shojiba afterward?

After all, Iori had been the challenged party and held the moral high ground. Even if he had broken Shojiba's arms and legs before humiliating him viciously, there would have been nothing wrong with it under the rules.

This was a place that trained Bleach. The strong ruling over the weak was the greatest principle!

Shojiba glanced in a certain direction and saw several students gathered there avoiding his gaze, looking restless and uneasy. At once, he understood everything.

"Actually, I..."

Out of shame, Shojiba wanted to apologize, but Iori unexpectedly interrupted him.

"That was a fine match. It's been a long time since my blood last ran so hot. Senior Shojiba truly has remarkable skills—I broke out in a cold sweat."

Iori also glanced at those petty people, the smile on his face unchanged. Then he turned back to Shojiba. "Senior, there's no need to say anything. I understand everything, both their instigation and your unease... But I'm not angry because of it. Do you know why?"

"This..."

Feeling the stabbing pain from his injuries as Iori treated them, Shojiba frowned in confusion. "Why?"

"Because thanks to them, I got to meet a good opponent!"

Iori finished the treatment, and the green glow around his hand slowly faded.

"You don't need to explain yourself to me. I already know what kind of person you are, Senior."

"...But we aren't that familiar with each other."

"Are we not? I think the opposite is true, because I experienced everything about you in that battle just now.

"For swordsmen—or rather, for men—the best way to deepen understanding is through the direct clash of fists, feet, and blades. As long as both sides go all out, they will surely understand one another.

"Your swordsmanship is simple yet steady, an uncut jade polished through countless days and nights... That is why I know that a swordsman like you must be an upright man, Senior. You could never be an accomplice of those petty people.

"And what kind of person I am—you should understand that clearly as well, shouldn't you?"

Iori smiled and rose to his feet. Before all the students, amid their astonished gazes, he extended a hand to Shojiba on the ground. "I'm truly happy. From today onward, I have a friend worth knowing deeply."

"...Now this really is... a complete and utter defeat."

Shojiba shook his head, but he grinned as well. He firmly clasped Iori's hand, their palms meeting with a loud smack.

"Please guide me from now on... Of course, we'll speak with blades. My fated rival—my closest friend!"

The two swordsmen, one large and one small, looked at each other. After a brief pause, Shojiba could not help bursting into laughter, and Iori shook his head with a laugh of his own.

Those who witnessed the two settle their grievances with a smile were deeply moved by the atmosphere of mutual appreciation. Some of the more emotional female students even covered their mouths, looking as if they were about to cry.

Ding!

CG Recorded

Written as Fated Rival, Read as Closest Friend

Category: Bond CG

Rank: B (Higher item drop rate)

Quality: Elite (Increased chance of mid-tier rewards)

Drawing...

Calculating...

Reward List~

Attributes:

Stamina · Slight Increase

Endurance · Minor Increase

Spiritual Power · Slight Increase

Mobility · Slight Increase

Evasion · Minor Increase

Talents & Skills: (None)

--

That's a lot of attribute points!

Iori was secretly startled. Not drawing a skill was somewhat regrettable, but that was normal. He could not expect every Background Character to contribute a skill. Still, getting so many attribute points was truly rare... The CG rank itself was not bad either, which meant the Bond Value between Shojiba and him was quite high...

What the hell? All we did was fight once.

Was Bond Value really this easy to farm? Hot-blooded men truly were something else!

Just as Iori was thinking he had struck it rich, another notification suddenly sounded in his mind, making his heart tighten before joy spread across his face.

A limited one finally appeared!

CG Recorded

Carefree Man!

Category: Art Style CG

Rank: --

Quality: --

Reward List:

Art Style Value +3

Note: Current accumulated Art Style Value: "31"

Conversion based on the current world setting~

Current Reiatsu Limit: "110 + 31*10 = 420"!

Current Reiatsu: 381

(The average Vice-Captain-level reiatsu is around 500–600, not including certain individuals who have hidden their Bankai.)

A Human-Shaped Target Delivered Right to My Door

It was still the Thirteenth Division Dojo. Three days had passed since that battle, which had left onlookers deeply moved and made Iori and Shojiba famous.

It was now dusk, and the students had all returned to their dormitories. Yet within the dojo, which should have been quiet and empty, short, crisp sounds of empty swings rang out.

The handsome boy wore a serious expression, beads of sweat sliding down his forehead, but his movements were decisive and swift. The range of every swing, the distance of every step, were as precise as the hands of a clock.

A bamboo sword specially made from bitter bamboo and steel wire, three times heavier than a real blade, tore through the air again and again. This exercise, known as Suburi, was the most fundamental of all kendo basics. Its main purpose was to train the strength of both arms and the correct posture for swinging a sword.

It was so simple that it could barely even be called a technique.

The Kendo Master had once said that fundamentals were the most important thing. Though swinging a sword hundreds or thousands of times each day was tedious, it would surely repay you when the time came.

Yet the students studying here often disagreed. Most Bleach valued reiatsu and Zanpakuto more, believing those two factors were decisive in determining victory or defeat.

Though the four techniques—slash, meaning kendo; white, meaning hand-to-hand combat; step, meaning Flash Step; and demon, meaning Kido—were also important, they were merely methods used to train the body and temper reiatsu.