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

While everyone was in chaos, Litzerbarrow knelt down on one knee and said devoutly like a pilgrim worshipping a god, "We have been waiting for this day... Finally, we can return to your merciful embrace."

Some Quincy looked bewildered, some looked horrified, but most knelt down like Rijebaro.

Young Yhwach leaned back lazily in his seat, his right hand resting on the armrest, supporting his chin, and calmly looked down at the crowd.

The Quincy were all chilled by his gaze, overwhelmed by the familiar sense of oppression, and no longer hesitated.

At that moment, they were astonished to find that their souls were experiencing a very familiar fluctuation, a resonance with some great being, and proof of their worship and longing...

The soul-stirring sensations that had not reappeared for over eight hundred years suddenly resurfaced within them!

And the direction of this stirring... is towards the person on the throne!

hiss!

That's it! Although his appearance is youthful, his spiritual pressure and soul fluctuations don't lie. It's definitely the great Emperor Yhwach!

"His Majesty!"

"Yes, thank you all for protecting me all these years."

Yhwach smiled slightly, his handsome face radiating an unusual charm.

It was indeed His Majesty—hearing that familiar voice, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but then tensed up again, not daring to breathe.

After sleeping for so many years, what will the Quincy King do when he awakens? This is something that makes everyone uneasy... If Yhwach has that thought, the life and death of the entire Quincy race will be in his hands.

Of course, almost everyone present was a pureblood, with a few being members of the Knights Order who possessed holy script, and all had relatively close ties with Yhwach. They were Yhwach's "core base," so generally there was nothing to worry about.

"Your Majesty, please continue to guide us forward, and once again bring this world into our hands!"

"Do not be impatient, my children."

Yhwach said calmly, “Human growth is about constantly overcoming the past. Although I have returned to my youthful state, my strength has actually decreased. The high wall that I could not cross eight hundred years ago is now even more insurmountable.”

"Well, this..."

"But there is no need to be afraid. Just obey my orders. Everything in this world is destined to come to me. Regaining our former power will be a piece of cake. All you have to do is wait."

Yhwach looked out of the hall, as if gazing at some extremely distant point.

"Not even a hundred years will be needed; this long-corrupted Three Realms will be purified by my flames!"

……

"It won't even take a hundred years; Hollowfication will become commonplace in Soul Society."

Iori spoke eloquently: "Those with rigid thinking might object, but faced with the increasingly powerful Hueco Mundo, Seireitei must also find a corresponding power."

"Can Las Noches really put that much pressure on Seireitei?"

"The affairs of Hueco Mundo are handled by the Expeditionary Force... Whether the pressure is great or not, isn't that up to us, the Tadakatsu?"

Iori smiled calmly and said, "There will be twists and turns in the process, but the result will definitely be as I wish."

"That's really... congratulations."

Aizen Sōyūhime's eye twitched slightly, but it was hidden by her glasses, so it wasn't noticeable. She spoke in a tone of genuine joy for Iori: "Iori, you're getting more and more amazing~"

"Ok?"

Iori glanced at her older sister and said, "That smile looks a bit forced... What's wrong? Is it the expression of someone who has had their paper published first, but still has to congratulate them?"

"..."

Ka!

For no apparent reason, a crack appeared on the white-tinted lens.

"It's nothing... I'm just proud and honored to have such a good younger brother like you!"

Chapter 436 Deep within the Amazon Rainforest…

This was indeed a significant blow to Yuuki, especially after discovering that Iori's progress in Hollowfication research far surpassed her own. However, if Iori were to give her an evaluation, he would still give Yuuki a very high score.

Because the information and resources the two people enjoy are completely unequal!

Iori knew about the two paths of "Hollowfication" and "Shinigami Transformation" from the beginning, and she also brought the entire Hueco Mundo under her control. Whether it was conducting experiments or collecting data, it was much more convenient for her than for Yuuki.

He can even travel to other worlds and use knowledge from other systems to fill in some details that were originally insurmountable. Complex and tedious calculations can be solved with quantum computers, and even the simulation process can directly produce results, saving a lot of time and costs.

It would be strange if they couldn't even get ahead of Aizen and Urahara like this!

And then there's his subordinate Szayelaporro, who, although not quite as good as Urahara or Mayuri Kurotsuchi, is still quite good as an "executor" as long as Iori provides ideas and solutions.

It's like a race car; Yuuki is driving an AE86, while Iori has brought out a Freedom Gundam—they're not even on the same track!

However, although he was able to view things objectively, Yuki, being caught up in the situation, could not remain calm, and her mood was probably not very good.

Iori has fully understood her older sister's troubles and worries—she will continue to try her best to get her to show more of these rare expressions!

……

With the war over, the cleanup work is proceeding smoothly. The captains have begun to return to Soul Society one after another, while Saito, who is immortal, still wears an eyepatch and lives a secluded life, constantly troubled by certain matters.

Iori didn't launch a very aggressive offensive. The two of them had barely seen each other these past few days. Even when they bumped into each other on some occasions, they would turn their heads away and not dare to speak, making everyone guess what had happened between them.

However, personal matters are none of anyone else's business. Saito's seniority surpasses that of most Shinigami, and no one dares to provoke this "senior." So, apart from Unohana having a heart-to-heart talk with her, everyone else just watched the events unfold from afar with an "interesting but none of my business" attitude.

Of course, different people will react differently:

Tenbei, Tosen, and Hibiki, among others, knew or could see the relationship between Iori and Esdeath, and were worried about Iori, who was trying to have her cake and eat it too.

Halibel, who serves as the liaison officer for the Shinigami, knows more, including the relationship between Akame and Iori. Although he still respects Iori, he despises this playboy deep down.

Esdeath was even more direct. These days, she avoided Iori. Although she was a carnivore, she insisted on keeping herself pure and did not "cooperate" with Iori even once in private.

But the most troublesome one is Akame...

This is where Iori's fault lies. Although it was Saito's bold move that started the conflict, prompting him to follow suit, he had only recently confirmed his relationship with Akame, yet he had already gotten involved with someone else so quickly.

Although Akame knew that Saito and Iori had known each other for a long time, and that she herself had even served under Saito for a period of time and benefited greatly from it, she still couldn't help but feel a little depressed.

Therefore, she resolved to learn from Esdeath and ignore Iori for a while, determined not to let this womanizer get away with it, and to make him realize the seriousness of the situation—

"Akame, could you come with me? I can't handle this on my own, so I have to ask you for help."

"Ok!"

I'm way too easy to please!

—Akame thought despondently.

At that moment, she had no idea that what Iori meant by "going out" was actually jumping and traveling between different worlds.

……

"Is this the 'Godslayer' you were talking about?"

“That’s right. Speaking of which, apart from the special case of Chaldea, you haven’t really lived in the 21st century.”

Iori and Akame walked side by side under the neon lights of the night, going against the flow of people in the bustling city.

"Compared to Soul Society and the Empire, the technology here is more advanced and the material life is more abundant. Even ordinary people can communicate with people all over the world through the internet and experience the cultures of different countries and ethnic groups."

"is it?"

Akame looked at the tall buildings on both sides, but wasn't particularly surprised.

She wasn't some primitive person who had never seen technology before, and she had experienced even more bizarre and spectacular sights. Apart from a little surprise at first, she quickly lost interest.

"Of course, the ingredients are also extremely abundant. Even professional gourmets would find it difficult to taste all the delicious dishes in the world."

"Oh?"

Akame perked up immediately, "I'm very confident in my appetite."

"Hmm... I believe you'll like it here, at least you don't have to worry about the food."

Iori smiled and said, "I'll be staying for quite a while this time. Just have your people prepare whatever you'd like to eat."

Do you also have influence in this world?

"Just a little bit of power."

Iori nodded reservedly.

"...Then why did you make me come along?"

Akame pointed at herself in surprise: "What is it that you need my help with?"

"Does that mean you can't stay with me without a reason?"

"...Not really."

Akame seemed to be deep in thought, realizing that she might have stepped into a hunter's trap.

"You...you wouldn't be plotting against me, would you?"

"Who do you think I am?"

Iori frowned, and said righteously, "Am I the kind of person who does everything with ulterior motives and only acts for personal gain?"

"Forehead!"

Akame blinked: "Isn't that right?"

"..."

"Don't treat me like a clueless little girl. No matter how naive I am... like you said, 'easy to fool,' I've known you for so long, so I understand you pretty well."

Akame smirked, "Those kinds of tricks don't work anymore, huh?"

"I really underestimated you."

Iori smiled too.

People change. Only the characters in Detective Conan remain the same for decades. Akame is inherently intelligent, but her somewhat naive demeanor stems from her upbringing. As the saying goes, "like attracts like," spending time with Iori will inevitably make even the slow-witted person mature.

"This is troublesome... I'll have to be more careful with my words from now on, otherwise I might accidentally reveal my true nature and it will be impossible to lure you into a trap again."

"You are this person..."

Akame sighed helplessly, looking at Iori with a serious expression: "Do you really think you tricked me into coming to your side through trickery?"

Let me make this clear first: I might not be very smart, but I'm not so stupid as to be fooled by sweet talk from bad people.

"...You're suddenly being so serious, it makes me a little embarrassed~"

"Haha~"

Akame revealed a sly smile that was quite out of character for her: "You must think you're very clever and amazing for manipulating so many girls, right?"

However, Iori, you must remember, women aren't easily fooled by lies, but rather they're willing to be deceived by certain people.

The reason I'm with you isn't because I'm moved by your words, but because I know what kind of person 'Aizen Iori' is.

"Well!"

Iori was deeply shocked: "Akame, how could you say such a thing..."

"Hmph~ Now you know how powerful I am~"

The girl with long, straight black hair proudly puffed out her chest.

"That's really impressive... but these words sound familiar, like I've seen them in a romance novel before."

"!!!"

The girl's expression suddenly froze.

Meanwhile, Iori was still racking her brains: "Let me think... what's it called... um, 'The Wild Wolf of Youth Never Meets the Rabbit'—"

"Yami!"

With a flash of light, the demon sword Murasame was already at Iori's neck. The girl released an unprecedented killing intent. Although the surrounding citizens did not notice this because they were familiar with magic, they subconsciously felt a chill run down their spines and couldn't help but leave quickly.

Forget everything that just happened!

If you keep talking... only one of us can live!

"Calm down~"

Iori raised his hand and looked tenderly at Akame. To be honest, he was very touched and felt even more pity for the girl.

But this is really frustrating.