Pick Up a Sword, and I Can No Longer Hold You

She never imagined that she had such a tremendous influence on Iori. It was one thing before, but now, because of her, Iori had revealed a side of herself that she had never shown before!

"Iori ..."

She murmured softly, her eyes filled with a mixture of pride and worry.

The boy who once needed their protection is now powerful enough to fight two against one, suppressing the Reigai of Captain-General Yamamoto and Unohana at the same time.

Boom--!

In the center of the battlefield, Iori's offensive became increasingly ferocious.

He gathered Kido in his left hand and Zanpakuto in his right, the storm of spiritual pressure forcing Unohana and Yamamoto to retreat.

Bang!

Yamamoto was slammed into the ground by a heavy blow, creating a huge crater.

Unohana attempted to heal him using the Return Path, but Iori's Flash Step finish him off—

Bang!

Iori's blood-red eyes pierced through everything, locking onto her location. Looking into his blood-red eyes and the increasingly uncontrollable spiritual pressure, Unohana's Reigai felt an immense pressure that she could not resist.

"It's over," he said coldly, the tip of the knife pressed against her throat.

At this critical moment, Yuki finally unleashed her killing move—

Buzz!

Beams of light shot out from Iori's chest and limbs, fixing his body firmly in space like nails. Iori, however, seemed completely unprepared, revealing an expression of utter shock.

"This Kido is..."

"I didn't expect that even the Captain-General was no match for you. Without this, I really can't suppress you."

My foolish brother, still don't you realize who the real mastermind is?

The radiance is flowing—

That's not Shunpo or Resurrección, but the true speed of light, a transformation from the intangible to the tangible.

Aizen Souyuki appeared before Iori so brazenly, and with a swing of her sword, Kyoka Suigetsu, the overwhelming sword pressure shattered mountains and split seas, directly plunging Iori into a deep ravine.

Iori, bound by the special Bakudō, had no way to dodge and could only take the blow head-on, falling into darkness on the spot, her fate unknown.

"..."

Yuki walked to the edge, looking down at the situation below with a cold expression, seemingly completely indifferent to her brother's life or death.

Unohana's Reigai recovered at this moment, glanced at Yamamoto had regained his strength but remained in place, not daring to make any rash moves, and focused her attention on Yuki.

"Who was that just now?"

"His clothes, including his haori, were all made by my own hands."

Yuki said calmly, "But if you hadn't distracted and depleted his spiritual pressure, this Kido wouldn't have been so easy to unleash."

In that case, he had no choice but to accept his fate.

"That's very thoughtful." Unohana said admiringly, "But are you really that confident?"

"Um?"

"He's no ordinary Grim Reaper."

Buzz—!

As if echoing that statement, a soaring aura erupted from the ground, tearing open the clouds in the Seireitei sky and revealing a vast expanse of blue for thousands of meters. Yuki and Unohana were immediately impacted, and Retsu gust of wind blew their Shinigami uniform tightly against their bodies.

Yuki's eyes widened in astonishment. "There's actually such power..."

The next moment, surging Lightning Bolt tore through the darkness, devouring everything around it like a ferocious beast. The continuous explosions and bombardments forced the two female Grim Reapers to retreat.

"Yuki... her Reigai?"

Iori appeared amidst the Lightning Bolt, still pierced by light spikes, making her movements slightly stiff, but her aura was not to be underestimated.

His expression was complex and indescribable, his eyes looking at Yuki with a thousand unspoken words.

"You're not Reigai... Sister, is it you?"

"... There was a calculation error."

Yuki wasn't afraid. Even without considering her backup plan, her own strength had already surpassed the limits of a Shinigami, while Iori, though seemingly powerful, was clearly at her limit.

"You can unleash such power even under the Kido seal; it's truly unfathomable... What, shouldn't you be happy to see your sister 'come back to life'?"

"It really is you—" Iori closed her eyes, as if resigned to her fate.

She immediately opened her eyes, her gaze now incredibly resolute. "Was all of this your doing, sister? Why would you do such a thing? There's no reason at all!"

"Naive... You and I are the same kind of people, destined to stand in the heavens, not to live a mediocre life on the ground!"

But the difference is that you only possess the power of a transcendent being, but lack the heart to ascend to godhood, while I—"

Yuki stretched out her slender white fingers and pulled down her clothes, revealing her fair and smooth collarbone, the bulging mounds, and the blue gem embedded in the center of her collarbone, which seemed to conceal the entire universe.

"I have everything I need now!"

"... What exactly do you want to do? Is it just to rule the Three Worlds? That kind of thing... is meaningless."

Iori cried out in anguish, "Even if we live on Earth, as long as everyone is happy, isn't that enough?!"

To me, you and my mother-in-law are both family. As long as we're all together, I feel incredibly at ease... I don't need to pursue anything else to prove myself!

"Iori ..." Yuki's eyes softened a little.

"Oh right, there's also Hiyori, Akame, Saito, Ciel... and Nemu."

Iori clutched her chest, her voice filled with genuine emotion. "A family should be together, isn't it good to live with us, sister!"

"..."

There seems to be a name I've never heard of before...

Boom!

Yuki unleashed an astonishing Reiatsu fluctuation, her jet-black hair swaying gently as if floating in water.

His body transformed into a stream of light, appearing directly in front of Iori, where his slender and elegant Zanpakuto and Mirror Water clashed together.

As expected, her strength has now increased to a dimensional level, allowing her to steadily suppress Iori and even causing the weakened boy to sway and nearly kneel down.

"Yuki?" Iori gritted her teeth and insisted, "Stop!"

"Get serious, this fight... I won't hold back even against you!"

"I can't lay a hand on my sister! Because we're family!"

"You idiot..."

"Akame and the others must think the same way!"

"..."

Bang!

The ground, hundreds of meters high, exploded!

Her eyes were icy as she looked at Iori with disdain. "You... you really don't understand anything!"

Chapter 586: I Cannot Embrace You If I Pick Up the Sword

"Boom--!"

Two completely different spiritual pressures collided violently in the sky above Seireitei, unleashing a deafening roar.

Iori's "Mirror Water" and Yuki's "Kyoka Suigetsu" clashed in the air, and amidst the flashing swords, the ruins of the entire First Division Barracks were crushed into dust by the aftershocks.

"Hadō #90: Black Coffin!" Iori stretched out one hand, and a pitch-black cube instantly enveloped Yuki.

Yuki casually raised her hand and unleashed a backhand "Hadō #88: Hiryū Gekizoku Shinten Raihō," golden Lightning Bolt tearing through the sky and shattering the Black Coffin from the inside.

Iori's Flash Step, Lightning Bolt grazing his haori and blasting a crater a hundred meters in diameter behind him. He used the momentum to lunge forward, his blade aimed straight for Yuki's throat—

"Clang!"

The two swords clashed, sparks flying. Their faces were inches apart, their similar pupils reflecting each other's images.

"My sister's swordsmanship... has improved again," Iori said through gritted teeth.

"You were distracted." Yuki sneered, then suddenly changed her move, delivering a heavy elbow strike to Iori's chest.

"After all this, you still want to maintain some decorum—do you really think you can look down on me like this?"

"Cough!" Iori staggered backward, and before he could regain his footing, Yuki's kick was already aimed at his face. He hurriedly raised his arm to block, but was still sent flying hundreds of meters by the force.

Hidden within that seemingly slender body was physical strength no less than, and perhaps even greater than, that of Yamamoto Shigekuni!

Amidst the smoke and dust, Iori slowly rose, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. He gazed at Yuki, who landed gracefully in the distance, her Shinigami uniform fluttering in the wind like a hellish Hell Butterfly about to take flight.

"Why did it have to come to this..." Iori's voice was hoarse, "We could have..."

"What do you mean, 'can't'?" Yuki interrupted him, her fingertips lightly tracing the Hogyoku on her chest. "Can we continue playing the role of loving siblings? In your heart, am I destined to always be the weakling you need to protect?"

No, I have already surpassed you—as soon as Yuki finished speaking, the Hogyoku suddenly burst into a blinding blue light.

Reishi surged forth like a tide, condensing into a cocoon around Yuki. Pure white Reishi threads wrapped around her, gradually covering her Shinigami uniform and transforming into a magnificent robe resembling a white Muku. As the robe fluttered, the indigo light and shadow flowing within could be faintly seen.

"Look, Iori." Yuki spread her arms, the light of the Hogyoku making her look like a god. "This is the real me—transcending the boundaries of Shinigami and Hollows, and above the laws of the Three Worlds!"

Iori's pupils contracted sharply. He could sense a qualitative change in Yuki's spiritual pressure; the familiar fluctuations were gradually being tinged with an unfamiliar aura. Even more terrifying, tiny black Lightning Bolt began to appear around her—a distortion of reality caused by the overflow of power!

"We can't delay any longer!" Iori a deep breath and Zanpakuto horizontally in front of his chest. "This is the first time I've shown it to anyone, so let me show you my true Bankai..."

"Ha!" Yuki narrowed her eyes and smiled expectantly.

"Accept death... [Mirror Water - Heavenly Cloud Sword]!"

Clear water gushed from the blade, instantly covering the entire battlefield. Every drop of water reflected the faces of Yuki and Iori, as if the two sides of Taijitu and yang were intertwined.

The next moment, each drop of water was stretched infinitely, transforming into delicate, silk-like ripples that swept across space, filling an area within a radius of a thousand meters with countless billions of these "threads"—

Clang!

A tiny ripple dissipated like a cloud, and the space it occupied was sliced by an invisible blade, leaving a bloodstain on Yuki's cheek.

"Um?"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of tearing sounds rang out, Yuki had nowhere to dodge. It was as if she was immersed in a sea of "slashes," with her body being slashed repeatedly. Her cocoon, which was stronger than Hierro, was powerless to resist and burst open, revealing her snow-white skin and bright red bloodstains. In no time, she was turned into a blood-soaked figure covered in wounds.

"This is..."

"Don't move!"

Iori gripped the hilt of the Mirror Water, Meikyo Shisui, as if the ends of countless threads were faintly converging there, and her expression was stern.

"Even the slightest movement will touch my 'sword,' and I don't even need to attack, because all the strikes have already been completed in advance. I will always be one step ahead of you... Once this domain is established, the outcome is no longer in doubt."

"It's a domain-type attack, just like the Shikai, but this doesn't seem to be a physical slash?"

Despite being surrounded, Yuki remained calm and even asked with a light laugh, "What is this defense that can be ignored?"

"If my Shikai is a one-time attack that ignores defense, then each of these threads is equivalent to a Shikai- level slash. No matter how hard the substance or how deep the spiritual pressure, it is meaningless in the realm of my Bankai."

"Amazing... I'm so envious!"

Yuki's smile held a hint of melancholy, "So simple and straightforward, pure power... It's a pity that not everyone's talent is suited for combat. If I could, I would also like to become like you, able to defeat all enemies using only Zanpakuto... That's why I need the Hogyoku!"

"Do not move!"

Iori's eyes gleamed. "Didn't you hear me!"

"So what do you plan to do?" Yuki laughed. "Kill me?"

"... I don't want to kill you."

"Don't talk like you can do it anytime!"

She gently raised her hand, and the blue light of the Hogyoku surged. "In the face of absolute power, any technique is futile."

"Hadō #90: The Black Coffin!"

The towering, pitch-black cube completely engulfed the space where Yuki was, and waves of abnormal spatial fluctuations erupted from it as if the Black Coffin had been turned inside out!