You are very strong, but my painting style is better than yours!

Although his expression didn't change much, I couldn't see his usual gentleness and kindness... I couldn't even sense any malice or murderous intent; all I felt was a coldness as vast as outer space.

"Really? I see... Thank you."

Iori curled the corners of her lips into a half-smile and tilted her head back: "This is troublesome~ I... have always wanted to be a good person."

This man… Muramasa clenched his fist.

Xianghe! You really should see this side of the man you value so much!

Indeed, I shouldn't have entrusted you to anyone else. In this world, I'm the only one you can trust!

Chapter 420 I'm on Akame's side!

When exactly did it happen?

Iori remained calm, placing her Zanpakuto on her lap and thoughtfully considering the cause and effect.

The reason he suddenly had the idea to have Muramasa watch his Bankai was because he sensed something was wrong. He should have met the conditions for release long ago, but there had been no movement for a long time, and the sword spirit had also communicated with him very little.

Interestingly, Iori had never paid attention to this matter before, but since returning from "Campione!", it has come to mind from time to time, becoming a recurring thought in her mind.

"Industry"!

This is probably the effect of the "Sword of Judgment and Karma".

Although the great monk's ability is conceptual rather than causal, he has the ability to manipulate and plan, which is tantamount to trying to guide Iori to a certain ending that he is satisfied with. This is undoubtedly a kind of "karma", and one of the karmas has even become entangled with Iori!

He simply hadn't realized the problem before, which is why he only had a vague premonition.

Now he could easily wield his longsword and cut off the karmic consequences... but he did not rush to act, instead he fell into deep thought.

Disrupting the monk's plans is easy, but removing the "black" from the Zanpakuto and reclaiming its other half's true name will be much more troublesome.

Hyosube Ichibei is not human, but a special life form that existed before the birth of the Three Realms. He is an ancient being from the same era as the Spirit King.

They possess the ability to "control everything in the world [dark]", which means they have the authority to grant, erase, modify, and even strip others of their real names.

In Bleach, a name signifies power, and it's no exaggeration to say that Hyosube, who wields this power, is "invincible," second only to the omniscient and omnipotent Soul King and the fully-formed Yhwach.

Being targeted by someone like this, Iori wasn't exactly panicked or afraid. These days, very few things could make him lose his composure; on the contrary, he even felt a little amused...

The great monk's abilities are terrifying, but for Iori, they are not insurmountable obstacles.

The reason he is invincible in the current worldview is that he named most things in Soul Society. It's like the Soul King designed the system, and he defined the data types.

With the Soul King asleep and Yhwach incomplete, he is the administrator of this system. All kinds of data in it are under his control. Even someone as strong as Yamamoto or Kenpachi is as powerless as an infant in front of him!

However, no matter how high his authority is, he cannot enforce the law across systems.

The third law, power, divine artifact, and pay-to-win item on Iori's body are not products of the Three Realms. The Warlord Department has not named them, so it is impossible to manipulate the "true name".

If he wants to seal Iori's abilities, he must use his "Black" to fight Iori face to face. At this time, "Black" is just a rather troublesome conceptual ability, rather than an insurmountable administrator privilege.

Iori has many similar shameless abilities; they just rely on their own skills to make a move.

If it turns into a "mechanism vs. mechanism" showdown, then Iori, who knows the information about Hyosuke's abilities in advance, will undoubtedly be the one with the advantage!

The only thing the monk has caught Iori by now is the half of her true name that has been erased from her [Mirror of Still Water]... There's nothing we can do. Although we've tried to be as careful as possible, it seems we can't guard against it now.

The problem might lie in terms like "Zanpakuto" or "Bankai". Even if Iori didn't use Asauchi, he was undoubtedly training according to the traditional Shinigami system, and the things in this system have basically been named by the Great Monk, so there's no way to escape it!

There's no point in dwelling on it now. What he cares about is—when exactly did the Hyōju-bu target him?

He forged this Zanpakuto in the other world "Akame ga Kill!" The great monk could not possibly have directly "seen" the forging process, so it must have been discovered by Hyosube Ichibei at some point after Iori returned to Soul Society.

Was it because he was too conspicuous during that period that the Zero Division noticed him? But as for the specific timeframe...

"!"

A flash of wisdom crossed Iori's mind, and a familiar figure appeared, making him realize something.

"The Quincy's Holy Son...is it from that war?"

In truth, that was the battle that truly cemented Iori's fame, making his name known throughout the entire Seireitei. Hyosube, of course, wouldn't care about the Seireitei's reputation, but he certainly had reason to pay attention to that Holy Son who bore such a striking resemblance to Yhwach!

In other words, everyone who is related to the Spirit King, or who has the potential to become the Spirit King's successor, is within the Great Monk's purview.

Having roughly sorted out the cause and effect, Iori's brows relaxed, and she felt much more at ease.

The most terrifying thing in the world is when your enemy knows you, but you know nothing about him. Fortunately, Iori never revealed all his cards in Soul Society. Instead, he knew about the monk's plan in advance.

Although the motives behind Hyosubu's actions are still unknown, judging from some plot points in the original work, the only thing that could concern him was the search for the "Spirit King Candidate".

Now that Iori knows this, she has nothing to worry about!

Hyosube may have thought that by holding Iori's Bankai, he would have a trump card to play in the game, but for Iori now, the Zanpakuto is no longer an indispensable power.

I might as well give up on that idea altogether, stop using my Zanpakuto, and instead pursue more power and divine artifacts, leaving the great monk dumbfounded—that would be just as good.

No wonder!

Iori is indeed an easy person to talk to, but Hyosube is courting death!

If Iori were to tolerate this, what would be the point of being a demon king or god? He might as well go back to his hometown and sell floral fabrics!

"Well, there's no rush... now is not the best time."

Having already made up her mind, Iori did not act rashly.

Hyosube Ichibei is an old fox who has lived for millions of years or even longer. Even Yhwach is very wary of him. This is not only because his abilities are troublesome, but also because this guy is cunning and shrewd. He is listed as one of the "Five Great Special Forces of Wisdom", and this is definitely not an empty title.

Iori was very confident in his abilities. Even in extreme circumstances, such as facing the entire Zero Division simultaneously, he didn't think he would lose. However, if he challenged someone out of sheer enthusiasm, there would inevitably be oversights. It would be a great pity if he left any hidden dangers or fell into some kind of trap.

A mature general should not step into a battlefield pre-planned by the enemy; otherwise, even with greater strength, he can easily become passive.

We should not be influenced by external factors and easily disrupt our own rhythm!

Fortunately, Hyosube Ichibei is a bound spirit of the Spirit King Palace, which is equivalent to a monster in the BOSS room. There is no need to worry about not being able to find him. He can come to the door to start a group whenever he wants.

"It seems the conquest of Hueco Mundo needs to be accelerated."

Iori frowned.

"As for how to deal with the great monk... should we lure out the [Invisible Empire] beforehand?"

Without Yhwach's presence, the Quincy cannot be as powerful as they were during the "Thousand-Year Blood War," and even if their strength remains unchanged, they pose no threat to Iori. Suppressing them should not be difficult.

If we could get our hands on Yhwach's body and research the power of annihilation and future vision, we would be more confident in dealing with Hyosubi, since Yhwach and Soul King have a close relationship, and Soul King is someone that the Eye Monk can never see through.

...But this seems to follow the path of Kurosaki Ichigo in the original work, merging various powers into one, and naturally becoming the most perfect candidate for Soul King...Could this be the result that Hyosube wants to see?

"Heh~"

Iori smiled nonchalantly and shook her head indifferently.

No matter what unpredictable strategies the monk might have, he only needed to follow his own plan. When the difference in strength reached a certain point, he didn't need to think about anything else.

To Iori, the so-called "black" was nothing more than a tiny, insignificant stain on her body.

……

"Let me wash it."

Inside the Aizen clothing store, Akame carried her family's change of clothes to the well. Nemuru, who was already up to her chest, ran over and snatched the clothes from her.

Akame was about to argue when the little girl winked at her mischievously: "Brother rarely comes back, and I heard he's going to war again soon... Before that, doesn't Akame want to spend more time with him?"

"Ugh! Ahh, this..."

The girl with long, straight black hair blushed instantly and became visibly flustered.

"Hehe, don't hide it from me, something must have happened between you two, right?"

As if observing something interesting, Nemuru chuckled mischievously, "My eyesight is excellent, you know. I can see everything that happens in the shop clearly. Akame-neechan, you immediately look away whenever you make eye contact with my brother, like you're doing something wrong~ Hehe~"

"cough!"

Akame tightened her skin, trying not to appear timid, and reached out to pinch Nemuro's slightly chubby, soft cheeks, kneading them without any politeness.

"Waaaaah~ Waaaaah~ Waaaaah~ Please have mercy~"

"You!"

Seeing that Xiaoyinmeng was unable to resist because she was holding the clothes, Akame was both embarrassed and amused. After enjoying the bouncy feel of the clothes, she gave her a serious warning.

"Don't copy everything your brother does... This kind of deliberate teasing is not cute at all! Do you understand?"

"Yes~ Akame-chan~"

Yinmeng's face was rosy, and despite being ravaged, the mischievous glint in her eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

—Perhaps due to the relaxed family atmosphere and the influence of Aizen and his siblings, Nemu is completely different from the shy little girl who lacked emotion at the beginning.

She's grown up too fast, both in height and in her mischievousness... But since she's such a cute girl, it's perfectly fine!

Even if Iori were to discipline her, he would only raise Nemuru to be an even more scheming and troublesome girl.

"...How did you find out?"

Since confessing her feelings to Iori and realizing their true love, they are now officially a couple, but they haven't told anyone else yet... Now that Nemuru has pointed it out, she can't remain as calm as before.

Yinmeng blinked: "Such an obvious thing...you don't think others can't see it, do you?"

"Shouldn't I just do the same thing as usual?"

Akame said, sounding rather unsure.

"Akame-nee... is this what they mean when they say girls in love have lower IQs?"

While showing off the knowledge she had learned from who-knows-where, Yinmeng talked eloquently: "People who are usually very close suddenly become estranged, which would make people suspicious, right?"

Besides, you only superficially avoided your brother, but the look in your eyes... it was practically an admission of guilt!

"Eye?"

Akame was startled at first, then asked in bewilderment, "I have received professional training. I will never reveal my killing intent before starting an operation. Even if I make eye contact with the target, I will never expose myself."

"Although I don't know what you're talking about, sister, it's definitely not the same thing I'm talking about."

Yinmeng sighed: "I mean, your eyes are too gentle. If you lose focus even slightly, you'll have a silly, completely surrendering expression that says, 'I'm all his now!'"

Here's my serious advice: girls should be a little more assertive!

Never let a man do as he pleases; you must take the initiative to make your lover value you more. Don't become his possession; instead, make him unable to live without you.

—That's what the famous novel "The Rose-Colored Path" says.

"oh oh!"

Akame didn't quite understand, but she felt it made a lot of sense, and she only regretted not being able to write it down on the spot.

"You're so smart, Nemukchan!"

"Hmph~"

Yinmeng smiled smugly, "Although we're family, I won't protect my brother. He's the typical cunning and handsome guy. Akame-nee, if you only think about being obedient to your lover, you'll definitely get taken advantage of!"

"Completely devoured..."

"Don't get horny at a time like this!"

"Ahem! What are you saying, child... I was just daydreaming."

"Ah, young girls in love... especially inexperienced ones, their naivety is so obvious."

"Otomu-chan... You're barely up to my shoulder, but you sound so mature."

Akame realized what was happening and gently tapped Nemuru on the forehead: "You need to learn to respect adults and not joke around with your older brothers and sisters!"

"Ouch... um..."

Yinmeng hugged her clothes with one hand, rubbed her forehead, and pouted in dissatisfaction: "I'm doing this for your own good. If you step into the battlefield between men and women so naively without any mental preparation, you will definitely be devoured by wild beasts until there is nothing left."

"Beast?"

"Esdeath, who used to stay at the shop, and my perfect superhero, Yuuki!"

Nemuru said solemnly, "The way Esdeath looks at my brother is completely different from how you look at him. It's like a wild beast eyeing its prey... If we leave them alone, my brother will be in great danger!"

You don't need to worry about that. What was going to happen has already happened—Akame thought with a hint of bitterness.

"But don't worry, I'm on your side, Akame-neechan. Let's work together to snatch our brother back from that bad woman!"

"Oh... um, Otome-chan... I have a feeling you have some ulterior motive."

Akame looked down at the little girl. "You're not hiding anything from me, are you?"