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[Admiration Is the Emotion Farthest from Understanding]
[Category: Bond & Art Style]
[Rank: EX (difficult to measure accurately)]
[Quality: EX (difficult to measure accurately)]
———
[Reward Overview]
[Stamina: Slight increase]
[Endurance: Slight increase]
[Spirit: Slight increase]
[Mobility: Slight increase]
[Accuracy: Slight increase]
[Evasion: Slight increase]
———
[Talent]
[Single-Minded Admiration: Reverse]
[1. After becoming an object of admiration to others, it will support others in the form of belief, accelerating their growth. The stronger the feelings, the faster the growth.]
[2. This belief will in turn push you forward as well. The more people following behind you, the more obvious the effect.]
[3. With this talent in effect, when drawing bond CGs in the future, there is also an extremely small chance of obtaining Art Style value.]
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'What kind of CG is this? It has both art style and bond?'
This was the first time Iori had triggered such a special CG. He had never seen an example of two categories overlapping before. If that was the case, then could other categories overlap as well?
But what exactly were the conditions for triggering this kind of CG? It didn't feel like that bit of bluffing toward Tosen Kaname was anything special…
After thinking it over, Iori could only sigh, "Yeah, still can't figure it out," and give up.
Questions like this are just like the drop rates of limited characters. No matter how much you study them, you'll never get an exact pattern.
Sometimes, if you relax and let things happen naturally, the results are actually better.
That said, the stat bonuses brought by this special CG were quite good, and the description of that talent was also a pleasant surprise.
Among the several talents Iori possessed, [Elegant as Poetry] and [Scheming Glasses] had no effect on improving combat strength, [Precision] leaned toward an assassin-type combat talent, and only [Perfect Shinigami] could comprehensively enhance Iori, being very useful both in battle and cultivation.
Now this [Single-Minded Admiration: Reverse] easily made one think of a certain little white rabbit who always gets beaten up in dungeons, but its effect was quite good, especially suitable for Iori's way of doing things.
Not to mention it could also grant extra Art Style value.
The words "extremely small chance" were a bit eye-catching, but Iori, as a mobile game player who had been screwed over by countless toxic pools yet still persisted, didn't think low probability was a problem at all~
———
Tosen was released after only a couple of days. The charge pinned on him was "attacking nobles," but in reality, he had run into several nobles on the road that day. They took the initiative to block Tosen and tried to force him to say something. When Tosen Kaname refused, the conflict broke out.
There were many passersby who could testify to this. Tosen Kaname was passive the entire time. No matter how you looked at it, he shouldn't have been imprisoned. It was only because the nobles exerted pressure on the supervisory authorities that Tosen ended up in jail.
But shady dealings like this, once dragged into the sunlight, are bound to be exposed. The only difficulty lies in how to make those who lie through their teeth shut up.
For a powerless nobody like Tosen Kaname, this was undoubtedly impossible. But Iori had Kyoraku Shunsui as a channel. When the Eighth Division captain, who came from a high-ranking noble family, personally got involved, the matter was destined to be put on the table for everyone to see. No one could pretend not to notice it.
And the reason Iori went to Kyoraku Shunsui wasn't just because the two of them had a relationship. More importantly, Shunsui absolutely hated the mastermind behind this incident.
Tsunayashiro Tokinada.
———
On a desolate stretch of land outside a certain district of Rukongai, atop an extremely remote hill, there stood a crude, solitary grave.
There was no tombstone, only a wooden plaque stuck in front, bearing nothing but a name, Kakyo.
On the second day after Tosen's release from prison, he came here to sweep the grave. He brought a bundle of blue-purple wild bellflowers, bent down gently to place them before the grave, and stood in silence for a long time.
Iori watched this scene quietly from a bit farther away. The handsome face that usually carried a playful, carefree air looked slightly solemn at this moment.
He had long known where the softest part of Tosen Kaname's heart lay, but it was only after personally talking with Tosen that he truly understood how important this was to him.
Kakyo, a female Shinigami from Rukongai who looked entirely unremarkable.
In the anime, she existed merely as "Tosen Kaname's white moonlight," but in this real Soul Society, she was a living, breathing person. Gentle to everyone, believing in justice and fairness, earnestly living in this world.
She was Tosen Kaname's close friend. Once, in his dark life, she illuminated a pure land within his heart. Her gentleness also made Tosen begin to cherish and love this world.
It could be said that deep down, Tosen liked her, or even fell in love with her, but for various reasons he always strictly kept to the boundaries of "friendship."
Because the two of them, as a Shinigami and a civilian, were not a good match, at least, that was how Tosen saw it.
Not to mention that he himself was blind.
So later, when Kakyo was noticed by a great noble and was to be married into a noble family, Tosen was genuinely happy for her from the bottom of his heart.
But what happened afterward was something he never could have imagined…
Kakyo died, killed by her own husband.
No explanation, no reason, no investigation. Everything was hidden behind the scenes, a darkness far deeper than Tosen Kaname's field of vision.
When he "saw" Kakyo once again, that woman who was always smiling gently, full of kindness and love for all things in the world, had already become a cold corpse.
Tosen Kaname once tried to seek justice, but what kind of result could a blind civilian expect… that much was easy to imagine.
It was also from that moment on that Tosen took up the Zanpakuto Kakyo left behind, entered the Shin'o Spiritual Arts Academy, and swore to become a Shinigami, inherit her beliefs, and ultimately avenge her.
This emotion was so intense that it could almost be said to have changed the very way his soul existed. So much so that even wielding someone else's Zanpakuto, he was able to cultivate all the way to the level of Bankai.
"Tsunayashiro Tokinada."
After a long silence, Tosen spoke hoarsely. "He's a branch family member of the Tsunayashiro clan, one of the Five Great Noble Houses. Even if there were conclusive evidence that he killed Kakyo, no one could interrogate him. To this day, I don't even know what really happened, or why Kakyo died…"
"I've heard of this person."
Iori stepped forward a couple of steps, also offering a bouquet before Kakyo's grave, then said calmly, "He was a classmate of Kyoraku Shunsui and Ukitake Jushiro at the Academy, and all of them were disciples of the Captain-Commander."
"Captain Kyoraku once told me in private that Tokinada looked like a quiet young man during his student days, but was actually quite twisted inside. He clearly despised his noble status, yet in reality relied on that very status to commit evil everywhere."
"The fact that you were released this time was also thanks to Captain Kyoraku's efforts. You should thank him properly later."
"I understand." After saying that, Tosen fell silent again, and Iori didn't say anything more.
Tosen's path of revenge had now merged into Iori's ambitions.
There was no need for extra promises. A man's pact isn't spoken aloud, it's firmly etched in the heart.
"Do you know why Kakyo was targeted by the Tsunayashiro family?"
Iori suddenly said, "Tokinada wouldn't just decide to marry a civilian woman for no reason."
"Hm?" Tosen frowned deeply. He had thought about this question before, but had no clues.
"This time, when the noble youths sent by Tokinada came to provoke you, why did they suddenly bring up this old matter? For you, it's certainly heartbreaking, but they wouldn't necessarily care…"
Iori asked seriously, "Maybe we can find the cause of Kakyo's death from their motives."
"This…"
Tosen was momentarily at a loss, but his mind worked quickly, and he soon guessed something.
"They came to me to demand that Kakyo's grave be relocated, forcing me to tell them where she was laid to rest… Even though they hadn't cared before, and were even unwilling to bury her in the family grave, letting me take her away instead… Could it be that their goal was Kakyo's body…"
"So that's it."
Iori nodded. "I understand now… It seems there was a special power inside Kakyo that the Tsunayashiro family discovered. That's why they married her into the family. Otherwise, there'd be no reason for such a choice."
"But now it looks like something went wrong with their plan. Otherwise, they wouldn't be asking for her body only now… They're probably planning to use her as an experimental subject and squeeze out the last bit of value."
"Ugh!"
Tosen clenched his fists. His anger caused his spiritual pressure to surge violently, and Iori then realized that this deeply hidden man had already reached the level of Shikai.
'Those who can become captains are all extraordinarily talented. Strong spiritual pressure isn't strange. But Tosen hadn't even graduated from the Academy yet, and was wielding a mismatched Zanpakuto, yet had grown at this speed… Could it be that the power within Kakyo…'
"Just what… exactly was it that Kakyo was coveted for?"
"That touches on the greatest secret of Soul Society."
Iori steadied himself, gave Tosen a meaningful look, and said lightly, "Do you know about 'fragments of the Soul King'?"
"The Soul King? You mean that legendary being… Isn't that just a myth?" Tosen Kaname was quite shocked.
"After all, it's something from the very distant past. And people in the Seireitei have no chance at all to see the Soul King. All related records are strictly controlled. It's normal for people to treat it as a myth."
Iori mentioned the "Soul King," but had no intention of telling Tosen anything too secret, just like what the ring-dwelling old grandpa in fantasy novels says: 'Knowing too much too early does you no good!'
The past involving the Five Great Noble Houses (especially the Tsunayashiro family) and the Soul King, as well as the connections between the Soul King, Yhwach, Squad Zero, and Ukitake Jushiro… In the entire Soul Society, only a handful of people knew the details. Leaking even a little could stir up enormous waves.
In any case, before he had the power to protect himself, Iori had no intention of revealing too much.
So he used a very vague explanation: "Legend says that after the heavens and earth were formed, fragments of the Soul King's power accidentally flowed into the three realms, and after countless years of evolution, many of them merged into living beings."
"Strictly speaking, there aren't few people who possess the Soul King's power. Many Shinigami do, but the amount is extremely tiny, so small that it has no noticeable effect."
"It might take the combined souls of hundreds or thousands of Shinigami to refine just a tiny bit of the Soul King's power."
Iori pinched his fingers together to indicate something minuscule.
"However, some people are exceptionally lucky… or perhaps unlucky. They're born with a relatively larger tiny fragment."
"They might not even notice it themselves, but they truly have a connection to that legendary 'Creator God.'"
"These fragments often bring certain blessings, such as extraordinary spiritual pressure, outstanding talent, or even the possibility of awakening a one-of-a-kind ability in this world!"
"This isn't really a secret among the upper echelons of the Seireitei, especially among the Five Great Noble Houses that have existed since creation. These five have always stood aloof."
"But Tsunayashiro being so obsessed with Kakyo, even willing to cause a scandal, when have you ever heard of them losing their composure like this?"
Tosen strongly agreed. Hearing Iori explain it this way felt like a sudden enlightenment.
Even Tosen himself had found it strange. His original talent couldn't really be called outstanding, but ever since he resolved to inherit Kakyo's will, it was as if something had clicked. His rate of improvement became completely different from before.
If Kakyo truly possessed a fragment of the Soul King and thus special power, then Tosen's performance after inheriting her Zanpakuto could be explained.
Thinking that even in death, Kakyo was still helping him in another way, Tosen's heart was filled with complicated emotions…
"This matter can't really be called some earth-shattering secret, but it is information sealed off by the nobles. Even captains with shallow seniority might not know it. So what I told you today must be kept secret, understand?"
"Don't worry. When necessary, I can go from being blind to being mute."
Tosen agreed seriously, then asked, "What should our next move be?"
"Of course, to accumulate strength. Before our wings are fully grown, anything we say is empty. Only by standing at a sufficient height do we gain the right to follow our hearts and change the world."
Iori patted his shoulder, meaning, 'I have high hopes for you.'
"Have a bit more confidence in yourself. First, set a small goal. Unlock a Bankai just for fun~"
Tosen Kaname: "..."
———
Having taken in a future captain as a subordinate, most people would probably be ecstatic. But Iori continued attending school obediently, polishing and honing his cultivation every day without pause.
What's a captain, anyway?
The Shinigami power system looks like it ends at Bankai, so everything above Bankai is captain level. But Iori knew very well that captain was just the entry ticket to the high-end game. Bankai and Bankai are not the same thing.
Someone like Hitsugaya Toshiro, Abarai Renji, or Madarame Ikkaku, who had only preliminarily mastered Bankai, was on a completely different level from veteran captains like Kuchiki Byakuya.
And Byakuya was still a tier below Kyoraku Shunsui and Unohana. Above them all, there was that old mountain man.
Even more so, the old mountain man from a thousand years ago and the current Captain-Commander didn't even have the same kind of Bankai.
'Of course, whether he got stronger or weaker is hard to say…'
They're all captains, but if they really fought, the old mountain man alone could wipe out the entire Gotei Thirteen with ease.
And the difference here, on the surface, looks like the quality of the Zanpakuto. In reality, it still comes back to spiritual pressure.
Look at Hyorinmaru and Ryujin Jakka. In theory, they're Zanpakuto of the same tier, so why is the performance so vastly different?
Isn't it just because the wielder is different?
You can see the same principle by looking at Senju Hashirama and Captain Yamato next door.
Of course, when strong spiritual pressure is paired with an excellent Zanpakuto ability, it can produce an effect where one plus one is greater than two.