Your Excellency Is Strong, but My Art Style Surpasses Yours! Chapter 8

"Huh?"

Iori froze at once. He decisively stopped where he was, closed his eyes, and carefully savored the sensation from earlier, even throwing Saito's matter to the back of his mind.

A moment later, the boy slowly opened his eyes. They shone brightly without a trace of fatigue; despite his depleted spiritual pressure, he looked full of energy, with a faint smile on his face.

"So I finally understand. Shunpo isn't really any different from ordinary running. It's not that the harder you push, the faster you go."

Seeing that he had finished his realization, Saito commented, "Many people think the more spiritual pressure they pour in, the greater their explosive power. But that isn't actually the case. At its core, Shunpo is a technique for using spiritual pressure, just like Kido. The key lies in the word 'control.'

"Besides, even with running, a hundred-meter sprint differs from long-distance running. Charging around the battlefield with all-out Shunpo is simply courting death!

"How to seize those gaps of one or two meters—or even one or two inches—within a distance of several hundred meters is the true key to deciding victory or defeat... Hmm, it seems you've already grasped a little of the basics."

This was only the basics?

Just as Iori was about to ask something, he suddenly noticed what Saito was holding and fell silent.

Under the moonlight, Saito held a sake jar in one hand and a cup in the other. That in itself was nothing unusual, but beneath the moon's glow, the liquid in the cup shimmered and rippled—it was the cup of wine she had poured earlier, and she had been holding it all this time!

Even a slightly larger sway of the body would have spilled the wine, yet after such an intense Shunpo chase, scarcely any of it had been lost!

Iori took a deep breath, his gaze turning solemn. So it really was only the basics...

Just watching the anime made it easy to come away with the impression that the Captains were all pretty underwhelming, while becoming fascinated by all kinds of Zanpakuto.

But in reality, how could a group of old monsters who had lived for centuries be that simple?

In the story, almost none of the villains invaded the Seireitei under fair conditions. They always had to prepare some targeted cheats before acting, causing the Captains—who were disadvantaged in terms of intelligence—to perform poorly...

Thinking about it carefully, before Yhwach appeared, not a single Captain died in the main story. Instead, the villains who seemed so impressive died one batch after another!

He could not underestimate these people!

"Though this was merely a whim of mine, your performance truly exceeded my expectations... It seems I'll have to treat you to a drink."

Saito gestured at Iori with her chin. This time, she did not use Shunpo. Instead, she turned and leaped down from the rooftop, the white haori behind her billowing in the night wind.

Only at that moment did Iori clearly see the writing on the haori in the moonlight, and his eyes widened slightly.

Generally speaking, a Captain's Haori bore a number on its back, representing which Division its wearer led.

But Saitō Fuyōfushi's haori bore no number. There was only a single character: "Extermination."

That meant she did not belong to the Thirteenth Division, but rather another force:

"The Vasto Lorde Extermination Army!"

A Man Should Stand Between Heaven and Earth—Chapter 9 ### "Here~"

On a quiet hill in East District One of Soul Society, an ancient cherry tree stood alone. Beneath the bright moonlight, two figures sat on the ground. The night breeze carried a faint scent of alcohol, leaving one slightly dazed.

Saitō Fuyōfushi handed her cup to Iori, while she herself boldly took a huge swig directly from the mouth of the jar!

Iori noticed that Saito was not using the small bottles commonly used by Japanese people, but a proper jar-shaped drinking vessel. Her carefree wildness was something he had only ever seen in wuxia novels.

Incidentally, the boy had not touched alcohol since coming to this world. He hesitated briefly, but still raised the cup to his lips—

"Ugh!"

A wave of pungency clogged his nose, followed by scorching liquid sliding down his throat like gasoline and burning fiercely in his stomach!

"Cough!" The boy could not help pinching the bridge of his nose as he coughed lightly.

There was not the slightest hint of richness or sweetness; it was not even as good as ordinary sake. This was practically an instrument of torture!

How could anyone enjoy drinking this stuff? He truly could not understand...

"Your first time? I brewed this myself. It is indeed a bit intense for beginners."

"Cough... Captain, are you used to drinking something like this?"

"Just call me Captain Saito."

The twin-tailed girl shook the wine jar and pouted unhappily. "Can't be helped. There are no taverns in Hueco Mundo. After I finished the liquor I brought with me, I could only learn to brew it myself."

"Hueco Mundo..."

Just as he had thought!

Iori's expression shifted. He secretly examined Saito before asking hesitantly, "Captain Saito, you aren't part of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, are you?"

"Hm?"

Saito glanced at him and grinned. "Don't be so reserved. Ask whatever you want. You just want to know who I am, right? Can't blame you. After all, it's been a long time since I came back."

Setting down the wine jar, Saito raised her head to look at the moon, smacking her lips as though calculating something. "About fifty or sixty... no, around eighty years? When was the last time I returned to the Seireitei?

"Forget it. It's all the same anyway."

She turned around to show Iori the huge "Extermination" character on her back and spoke openly. "I used to be part of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, but later I was sent to take shifts in Hueco Mundo. If I hadn't been unable to find a drinking buddy this time, why would I have taken an interest in a brat like you... hic!"

"Taking shifts... So it really is an expedition force." Iori sincerely raised his empty cup in respect. "You've worked hard, Captain Saito."

Saito absolutely deserved those words, because Hueco Mundo was no pleasant place. The extermination army—or rather, the expedition force—was a massive suicide squad whose survival rate was comparable to the pull rate of mobile gacha games!

So-called Hollows were fallen souls.

Unlike those who successfully reincarnated into Soul Society, their minds had long since twisted, turning them into monsters that enjoyed devouring souls. Their common features were the white bone masks on their heads and the holes in their chests.

Hueco Mundo was naturally the world inhabited by Hollows. It was similar in nature to Soul Society, but was fundamentally ruled by chaos and desolation.

The duty of the Bleach was to maintain the balance among the three realms—the World of the Living, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo—and ensure that souls could reincarnate normally between them. Naturally, monsters like Hollows had to be eliminated.

However, Hollows themselves were also part of the balance, and they appeared endlessly. They could not be completely eradicated.

Bleach patrolled Soul Society and the World of the Living, eliminating the occasional Hollows that appeared in those two realms.

Whenever the number of Hollows accumulated in Hueco Mundo beyond a certain threshold and began threatening the balance of the three realms, Soul Society would launch a large-scale extermination campaign.

For this purpose, an elite force had specifically been drawn from the Thirteen Court Guard Squads to carry out long-term missions in Hueco Mundo, bearing the responsibilities of scouting enemy movements and maintaining outposts.

However, perhaps due to certain technical issues, the Senkaimon leading to Hueco Mundo was not constantly open. It opened only once every so often to deliver supplies and rotate personnel, so Soul Society could not remain in real-time contact with them.

Any force of that nature was bound to have an extremely high casualty rate. Aside from hot-blooded youths, most of those sent there were people unwelcome in the Thirteen Court Guard Squads.

But why would Saito, a First Generation Captain, be sent to the expedition force?

Iori tactfully voiced his doubts. "Then why did you join the Hueco Mundo expedition, Captain? Wouldn't it have been better for someone as strong as you to remain and guard the Thirteen Court Guard Squads?"

"Because someone had to go. And besides... I'm probably rather disliked."

Saito took another gulp, wiped the wine from the corner of her mouth, and seemed quite interested in the topic, speaking without restraint.

"Those old men of Central 46 hope people like us all disappear. Of course they were more than happy to find an aboveboard reason to send me to Hueco Mundo~"

She did not explain further, likely believing there was no point discussing anything deeper with a small fry like Iori.

But Iori was clearly not as naive as she thought. From that single brief statement, combined with what he had seen in his past life, he pieced together the rough truth.

This was probably a story of killing the hounds once the rabbits were gone!

The First Gotei 13 had been urgently established to resist foreign enemies. Its members came from all sorts of backgrounds, and the Captains were each extraordinarily capable, known as the most vicious group of killers in history!

Such a force was naturally useful during wartime, but once the situation stabilized, it would inevitably become an eyesore. At the very least, Central 46, as the governing body, must have been deeply wary of them.

To better control Soul Society, they had to remove these troublesome figures one by one—those with military achievements and prestige.

Using various methods to isolate them or wear them down through repeated battles was already relatively gentle. At least it had not reached the point of public execution...

In the original story, by the time the protagonist Ichigo appeared, only Yamamoto and Unohana remained among the First Generation Captains in Soul Society.

There was no need to say much about Yamamoto. He himself was the guardian of "order" and posed no threat to Central 46. Unohana, meanwhile, had already sheathed her blade and was no longer the murderous demon she had once been.

Other than those two, all the First Generation Captains had vanished. Who knew how many had fallen in war, and how many had disappeared for other reasons...

Of course, judging from Saito's tone and demeanor, the First Generation Captains, including her, probably did not care about being pushed aside.

Most of them were battle-hungry desperadoes with a thirst for killing. Even after gaining official positions, they had not changed their nature. Being able to die in battle would instead count as having their wish fulfilled.

Having figured this out, Iori resolved one of his doubts, then shook his head.

In the end, what did any of this have to do with him?

No matter how those higher-ups fought among themselves, and no matter what schemes Central 46 had, as long as he continued accumulating strength and reached the level of Aizen or Yamamoto from the original work, he would naturally be able to ignore those decayed nobles and their petty machinations.

And if he reached Yhwach's realm, even making the Four Great Noble Clans lick his shoes would be no difficult task.

This was a supernatural world. No matter how intricate or subtle political schemes were, they were utterly vulnerable before absolute power. Strength would always come first!

With that, it felt as though a layer of dust had been brushed from Iori's heart, and he relaxed considerably. He no longer stood on ceremony and began trading drinks with Saito.

The older twin-tailed girl was also straightforward and bold. While in high spirits, she told Ivan many interesting tales of Hueco Mundo and Soul Society, greatly broadening Iori's horizons.

But who was Iori? Having been baptized by the information explosion of his previous life, he had never been inferior to anyone when it came to chatting. Though Saito had nearly a thousand years more life experience than him, Iori still shared countless strange tales she had never heard before, leaving this First Generation Captain thoroughly delighted!

Saito, an old-school powerhouse with tremendous seniority, possessed none of the airs of someone in a high position. She got along splendidly with Iori, and eventually the two developed the feeling that they had met too late!

It seemed she truly regarded Iori as nothing more than a pure drinking companion.

The moon passed its zenith, and the night grew later. Even after the last jar of wine had been emptied, their conversation did not stop. They teased and mocked one another, then began ridiculing certain unspeakable things within the Seireitei.

Only when the horizon faintly turned blue and a pale white mist appeared did the two drunkards finally come to a stop—they had somehow talked for most of the night over a single jar of wine!

"Hic... It's been so long since I've had this much fun... Everyone, Old Man Yama, Yachiru, they've all changed from before... I don't know the younger generation either. Ordinary squad members don't even dare speak when they see me... It always feels like I've been left all alone in the past~ hic!"

Saito's clothes were disheveled. Through her open collar, Iori could see her flat chest bound layer upon layer in bandages. Blushing, she wrapped an arm around him, her finger repeatedly drawing circles on the boy's burning cheek.

"A fellow as fierce and interesting as you, and with guts to boot... Hehe, you're just my type. If you'd been around a thousand years ago, perhaps you could have accomplished something great too!"

"What, I can't do that now?"

Iori was not completely drunk, but the power of alcohol had stripped away some of his usual caution, allowing his true thoughts to slip out without restraint.

"A man born to stand between heaven and earth—how can he remain long beneath another's shadow!"

"...Chinese?"

Saito froze for a moment. She did not understand Iori's native tongue, but drunkards were creatures that required no logic, so she simply ignored it.

"By the way, I find you rather pleasing to the eye. How about coming to drink with me more often while I'm on rotation leave? I won't treat you poorly. You have quite a talent for Shunpo. With my guidance, you'll surely improve quickly!"

"Really?" Iori immediately agreed.

"If you do not disdain me, then I, Bu—ah, damn it, I am willing to take you as my master!"

"That's going too far. Do you think becoming my disciple is so easy? Do you know that little girl from the Shihoin Clan?

"If I didn't owe her elders a favor, I wouldn't teach that little girl at all!

"That girl is both mischievous and arrogant..."

"Arrogant?" Iori thought about it. "How so?"

"Her chest! Those huge boobs!"

Saito gestured at her own chest, tracing a full curve that enclosed the wall of despair before her.

"She started developing at twelve, and by sixteen she was looking down on everyone. She has absolutely no consideration for other people's feelings. She's just too arrogant!"

"Oh..." Iori scratched his head and glanced at Saito's utterly flat chest, not knowing how to respond.

Should he offer his condolences?

Still, don't get angry just yet. In the future, there would be another woman in the Seireitei who was even more "arrogant"~

"Come to think of it, the wine's all gone, and I still don't know your name."

"Iori. Iori Aizen."

"I~o~ri~ That sounds nice... Aizen? Why does that name sound familiar... Huh?"

Saito blinked, seeming to remember something. "What is Yuki Aizen to you?"

"..."

Iori sobered up more than halfway at once. Frowning, he asked seriously, "Captain Saito, do you know my sister?"

"So she's your older sister. Both siblings have such talent—it's truly rare... Wait, I understand why those idiots were foolish enough to choose to ambush you at the Spirit Art Academy!"

Saito grinned broadly, clearly having found something amusing. "So that's how it is... Kid, looks like you got dragged into this by your sister!"

My Sister Has the Bearing of the Soul King! Chapter 10 ### The Thirteen Court Guard Squads were the violent organization responsible for maintaining order in the Seireitei. Yet while serving as a military deterrent, they also managed many other functions. For example, the Fourth Division was responsible for medical care, while the Fifth Division handled emergency rescue.

Among the many divisions, however, one was particularly special: