"Obviously we're not the kind of friends who would entrust our lives to each other. We've met no more than ten times in total… yet you not only saved me once some days ago, now you also… during this period of time, have you been following me the whole time, secretly protecting me?"
"Yes." Iori answered immediately.
Akame didn't expect him to be so straightforward. She froze for a moment, then felt even more uneasy.
Given the environment she grew up in and the education she received, she naturally didn't believe that there was such a thing as kindness without reason in this world.
Yet Iori had clearly treated her as a special case, from sparing her life when they first met, to helping her in every possible way now… there had to be a reason for this.
"Then you're doing this because..."
"The main reason is that you're a beautiful girl," Iori said without hesitation. "And I like cold, iceberg-type beauties with long black hair."
"..."
Akame's pupils shook violently. She was startled by Iori's words. "L-like… like as in?"
She had no real concept of that. In the past, teammates had expressed their feelings to her, but feeling nothing at all, Akame had simply handed out a friendship card. Yet now, for some reason, her state of mind fluctuated violently, shaken like never before.
"Of course, I also like short-haired tomboys, big-b*obed older sisters, cool female teachers, blonde noble ladies, tsundere twin-tails, scheming glasses girls… and, forever in first place, silver hair with red eyes!"
"..."
Iori declared openly, "If two complete strangers fell into the water, I would decide which one to save based on my own preferences, this is my answer!"
"..."
Being this frank, to this extent, actually made it feel refreshing.
After she came back to her senses, Akame felt inexplicably angry. "So it's just because of my looks that you… that you've been taking such special care of me?"
"Your looks are also a part of you, aren't they? Do you expect me to see the beauty of your soul at first glance when we meet?"
The corner of Iori's mouth curved upward. "That said, seriously speaking, a beautiful appearance alone can't save your life. I'm definitely not the kind of person who goes easy just because someone is beautiful, after all, the more beautiful a woman is, the more dangerous she tends to be."
"And if it were only her looks that were worth praising, I might pay a bit more attention, but I wouldn't put in this much effort."
"As for why I treat you… hmm, there really is a special reason."
"That is… ngh!" Akame held her breath. "What exactly is it?"
'Of course it's to farm bond points and affection, naturally get close to the main cast later, collect more CGs, and then take down the Empire and split the resources~'
'Besides, putting in effort on beautiful girls is way more comfortable than trying to rope in men, right?!'
Of course, Iori was someone who wrote (18+) books. No matter how you look at it, he was still a literary worker, so he definitely couldn't say that outright. He had to polish it a bit, "Probably… I want to know you a little more, and get a little closer to you."
Akame looked like she'd taken a mental hit. Avoiding his gaze, she muttered, "It's a promise, we'll meet again in ten days," then hurriedly picked up the mentally dazed Kurome and left in a rush, like a rabbit fleeing from a starving wolf.
'Ah… did she misunderstand something?'
Iori sighed and shook his head slightly… then couldn't help curling his lips into a crooked smile.
'I did it on purpose!'
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[CG Collected]
[1. Wandering Rogue]
[Category: Art-Style CG]
[Level: —]
[Quality: —]
[Reward List]
[Art-Style Value +2]
[Note, Current total Art-Style Value "35," Spiritual Pressure cap increased to "460"]
[Current Spiritual Pressure: 421]
———
[2. The Funeral Bearer's Throbbing Heart]
[Category: Bond CG]
[Level: B]
[Quality: Rare]
[Reward List]
[Mobility: Slight increase]
[Accuracy: Minor increase]
[Evasion: Moderate increase]
———
[Talent]
[Precision: Meticulous, cautious, thorough, attentive to detail, yet decisive and unwavering when it matters, these are essential qualities for an assassin. Some acquire them through training, while others are born with them.]
[I. Improves bodily coordination, fine control over muscle movements, and the overall flow of force.
[II. Improves neural reflexes, allowing faster and more decisive responses to sudden situations.]
[III. Precisely grasps the "distance from danger," able to remain composed while walking on a blade's edge. Even when spending day and night with a demon blade that kills with a single cut, one can still ensure they won't be devoured in return.]
———
[Skill]
[Assassination Swordsmanship]
[I. Attack over defense, an extremely aggressive sword style that preserves oneself by killing the enemy.]
[II. Increases the strike speed of "iai" and "draw cuts."]
[III. While using this swordsmanship poses a great threat to enemies, it also places the user in danger.]
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:One talent plus one skill, and two points of art-style value? Leaving everything else aside, that's a lot of stat points… it's been a long time since such a big haul. As expected, sticking close to the protagonist really does mean good food~'
Good thing he was wearing a mask. Otherwise, passersby would probably see someone desperately trying to hold back a grin, with the corners of his mouth twitching now and then in a ridiculous way.
Seeing his spiritual pressure cap inch closer and closer to the vice-captain standard, it was only natural for Iori to feel excited.
That said, the so-called vice-captains and captains are just job titles. They aren't actual spiritual pressure tiers. In the end, it depends on the specific situation.
Take the First Division's vice-captain, Chojiro Sasakibe, for example. He was a veteran who'd been around since the founding of the Gotei Thirteen, and he'd mastered Bankai very early on. Strictly speaking, he absolutely qualified to be a captain.
Generally speaking, the hard requirement for promotion to "captain" is mastering Bankai and obtaining recommendations or approval from multiple captains.
The requirements for "vice-captain" are much vaguer. After all, many seated officers or elite Shinigami can master Shikai, and from that perspective there doesn't seem to be any essential difference between them.
However, in Iori's judgment, there is still an invisible threshold.
Being able to withstand captain-level spiritual pressure head-on without losing the ability to act.
After all, it's a role meant to assist the captain. If you can't even handle the pressure, wouldn't you just drag them down in battle?
Those who can intervene in captain-level battles and influence the final outcome can be considered top-tier vice-captains, people like Sasakibe, or later figures such as Renji Abarai and Shuhei Hisagi.
If you quantify that standard with numbers, the threshold is probably around five hundred. As for the upper limit… that's hard to judge. After all, some vice-captains have mastered Bankai yet still lag far behind true captains, which shows that each small stage after Bankai brings a huge increase.
Iori's spiritual pressure cap was already close to the vice-captain threshold, and his actual spiritual pressure had reached around the level of a Fourth or Third Seat. Within the Gotei Thirteen, he could no longer be considered a nobody. In an anime storyline, he might even get a decent amount of screen time.
Of course, being satisfied with that would be far too unambitious… in Bleach, seated officers and foot soldiers die in droves.
Calming the excitement from his gains, Iori quickly returned to his usual state. He didn't immediately return to Soul Society. Instead, he traveled day and night to a certain hilly area under the Empire's eastern provinces.
Wandering around and following his own unique markings, he found a small lake that looked utterly ordinary.
This place was quite desolate. The nearest village was over 2.5 KM away, far from any main roads. Aside from wild animals occasionally coming to drink, there were almost no traces of human activity. Yet it was precisely this remote place that was the target of Iori's trip.
"Good. The reishi markers haven't been triggered."
When Iori reached the water's edge, he startled a few deer and rabbits. Then he took off items like his hat, leaving only the Shinigami candidate's uniform. He rolled up and tied his sleeves, looking like he was about to enter a sumo match, and in the next moment he plunged straight into the icy lake…
Splash~ Splash~ Splash~
After quite a while, just as the surface of the water was about to calm, a black silhouette broke the silence and returned to shore from the lake, it was Iori.
This time, however, he had an extra length of rope in his hands. The other end was tied to a rectangular object as tall as a person. Its surface was smooth and glossy, but on closer inspection it was wrapped in thick layers of oil paper.
With great patience, Iori untied the rope and peeled away the layers of oil paper. Inside was a tightly sealed iron box. When he opened it, a pile of miscellaneous items came into view.
There was gold used as hard currency, beautiful gemstones that looked extremely rare, items resembling noble crests, and two sets of spare clothing.
Among the many items, a few stood out in particular, three weapons.
One was a pitch-black longbow strung with silver wire. One was a golden thin sword only two fingers wide. And one was a pair of massive axes, clearly heavy just from their appearance.
The first two were Imperial Arms that Iori had collected. The seemingly unremarkable large axes were one of the Empire's forty-eight Imperial Arms.
These three were Iori's greatest gains since coming to Akame ga Kill. In addition, there was another Imperial Arms stored elsewhere.
Of course, now two more had to be added.
After placing the silver sniper rifle and the newly acquired "Yatsufusa" into the box as well, he glanced once more at the cursed blade before closing the lid, his gaze carrying a meaningful look.
"For now, this will do."
After taking out a few gold ingots and repacking everything, Iori dove back into the water with the box.
He didn't trust this world's banks or inns, nor did he have anyone suitable to safeguard his belongings. Besides, these items would be an enormous temptation to anyone. He might as well hide them directly in the wilderness.
Even then, he wasn't at ease. Making full use of his spirit-body advantages, he dove into deep water and dug out an absolutely secure treasure spot.
If even this got picked up by someone… then it could only be called fate.
"Imperial Arms Yatsufusa… the power to control the dead, huh? It's pretty interesting.
"But historically, this kind of ability has always been used to draw aggro, pad the plot, cash in on nostalgia, and help the protagonist's team level up. Its sense of 'coolness' is a bit lacking~"
Iori smacked his lips. "I'll treat it as a backup option for now… I just don't know when I'll find the perfect 'blade blank.'"
He was preparing to forge his own Zanpakuto.
A Zanpakuto is the "manifestation of a Shinigami's soul and will." By pouring one's spiritual pressure into a blank white katana known as an Asauchi, one eventually cultivates a personal, exclusive weapon.
Students of the Shin'o Academy are Shinigami candidates. After the first two years of basic training and screening eliminations, they generally receive an asauchi in their third year and begin cultivating their Zanpakuto.
Those with outstanding talent can even apply for an asauchi as soon as they enroll. In short, Soul Society is a very realistic society, strong people have privileges and need no explanations.
Logically speaking, Iori should have long since found an asauchi, aimed to learn Shikai as early as possible, instead of foolishly waiting to be assigned one.
But he had his own concerns.
Because Bleach has a hidden setting.
Without exception, every asauchi, the base vessel of a Zanpakuto, is forged by one of the Zero Division (the Soul King's guards), the "Sword God, Oetsu Nimaiya."
Working together with another member of the Zero Division, a certain monk who claims to know everything in the world, they can know the true names of all Zanpakuto.
They can even know the release commands for Shikai and Bankai earlier than the Zanpakuto's owner.
In the Bleach worldview, a true name is an extremely important thing. That monk also possesses the ability to "strip names," which means the Zero Division has the power to suppress any Zanpakuto. Even old man Yamamoto wouldn't be able to get past that monk.
This is why Soul Society has existed for so long, with powerful figures emerging one after another, yet no one ever said, "The Soul King should rotate, next year it's my turn."
On the surface, it looks like Yamamoto is keeping things in check. In reality, all strong individuals who come from the Shinigami system are firmly countered by the Zero Division.
In the original story, it would probably be one or two hundred years later before the original Aizen would utter the line, "Is the Soul King really destined by birth?"
And then get thrown into a dark cell.
He didn't even make it to the Soul King Palace…
Iori was precisely wary of the legendary Zero Division. That's why, after all these years, he still hadn't gone to find an asauchi to start training his Shikai.
In theory, as long as one doesn't pose a threat to the "Soul King," the Zero Division won't take action. And Iori had no intention of usurping the throne, so logically he didn't need to worry that much.
But he knew that in this worldview, becoming a top-tier powerhouse inevitably meant getting entangled with the Soul King, because in essence, whether Shinigami or Quincy, the source of their power is the Soul King.
If in the future Iori became a "Transcendent," accidentally mastering multiple power systems, and then one day the monk took a look at him and, hey!, thought this kid's style is unique, his aptitude is good, he's a fine candidate for a backup Soul King…
That would be a tragedy.
The Soul King may be called the co-ruler of the three realms, but in reality he's a lamb placed on the altar, turned into a human stump by a pack of ingrates… even as a candidate, Iori would politely decline.
Don't think that just because the Zero Division belongs to the "righteous camp" they wouldn't do something like that.
In the original work, the monk had even thought that if things got out of control, they would have no choice but to turn Kurosaki Ichigo into a living pillar to replace the Soul King and support the three realms.