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

"White Thunder!"

Concealed by the loose sleeves of her Shinigami uniform, a dazzling bolt of lightning suddenly shot out. Yuuki raised her left fingertip and pointed it into the air, and the lightning bolt pierced towards Iori, who was standing close by, like a sharp arrow.

call out!

Almost simultaneously, Iori raised her left hand to shield her head and face, and the white lightning struck her left hand, then vanished like dissipating smoke!

The cuff slipped down, revealing the steel cage-like hand on the forearm—

A burst of lightning exploded, engulfing everything in front of Iori.

boom!

Lightning and wind whipped up dust, and Iori suddenly sensed a subtle spiritual pressure fluctuation. She immediately used Instant Step to move away, teleporting twenty meters away.

The next moment, the long pole of spiritual energy, emitting a bright light, fell from the sky and plunged into the sand, sealing off Iori's original location like a cage.

As the smoke cleared, Yuuki was seen lowering her body in a near-side lunge position, her left hand pointing diagonally downwards. A layer of spiritual energy shield emitting a faint glow appeared on the back of her hand, which seemed to have blocked the attack just now.

"Did the steps of Kido (a type of Japanese magic) become more powerful by using tools?"

Yuki's eyes lit up: "You actually have the ability to develop something like this? I never realized it before."

"I was lucky enough to get a very good prototype, and I only made a few minor modifications," Iori said modestly.

"Most research is about building upon the work of predecessors to make breakthroughs. Being able to take things a step further is proof of talent, so it's best not to underestimate yourself."

Yuuki sized up her younger brother. Although it had only been a few exchanges, a true master could discern an opponent's strength simply through their eyes and aura. Thus, after these few simple exchanges, she became increasingly interested.

Putting aside her Zanpakuto abilities, Iori's Shunpo speed is lightning fast, her swordsmanship is already quite advanced, her physique seems to be even superior to hers, and she also possesses the knowledge and intelligence to develop Kido-type weapons... Her spiritual pressure has also reached the captain level.

"Looks like she's a Grim Reaper like me," Yuuki thought to herself.

She's still growing up, and while she's confident she can reach the pinnacle of death, currently, in terms of raw talent alone, she doesn't really have any advantage over her younger brother...

Does that mean we need to rely on "illusions" to outdo him?

Well, it's inexplicably frustrating...

"Would you like to compare the initial interpretations?"

Iori naturally knew that what had just happened was just a warm-up, and that Yuuki hadn't gone all out yet, otherwise what she released wouldn't have been just a mere "white lightning".

"...It's really amazing. Just a few years ago you were an ordinary soul, and before entering Hueco Mundo, your spiritual pressure was only around that of a mid-to-upper-rank official. Now you already have Bankai."

Yuuki squinted and smiled, "I thought my training speed was already very fast, but I didn't expect to lose to someone else... However, it's hard to say whether what you had was Bankai or not."

"Of course it's Bankai, what else?"

Iori said sincerely, "When have I ever lied to you, Onee-sama?"

"So that's how it is. It really wasn't Bankai after all."

Yuuki frowned slightly: "But your spiritual pressure... I'm just being narrow-minded. There are many strange beings in this world that I don't even know about."

It seems that I am limited by my own level of understanding, my vision is too narrow, and my knowledge is insufficient.

I really want to thank you for that—it's been so long since I've felt such strong motivation!

"what?"

Iori blinked. He hadn't done anything, yet Yuuki looked like she had suddenly had an epiphany, as if she had undergone some kind of spiritual sublimation... It's just a fight, why make such a big deal out of it!

"In that case, to reward my dear brother, I'll give you a little test."

Yuhime placed the asagi in front of her, the blade hanging down naturally, and revealed a gentle smile.

"Would you like to see my initial release?"

Iori instinctively gripped the Kusanagi sword in her hand, then relaxed and adjusted her mindset.

He smiled slightly: "No!"

"..."

Yuuki was momentarily lost in thought, then her expression turned displeased:

Look at the atmosphere!

After I said that, wouldn't most people just agree?

"call……"

Yuuki quickly regained her composure and keenly noticed something: "You refused without hesitation, as if you knew what my Shikai was like and were deliberately avoiding it... Could I be overthinking it?"

"Of course you're overthinking it."

Iori looked at her strangely: "You demonstrated your Shikai during the festival, and half of Seireitei has seen it. What's so strange about me knowing this?"

Isn't it just the illusionary ability of the Water Flow system, creating phantoms to confuse the enemy's perception, making them unable to distinguish friend from foe, and even causing them to kill each other?

The reason I refused is because it's just the two of us here, and this kind of illusion that confuses friend and foe is useless. I'm specifically reminding you not to waste your spiritual pressure.

Is there something wrong with this?

Iori asked innocently, causing Yuuki to squint her eyes.

"This statement was impeccable, as if it had been prepared in advance."

"..." Iori paused for a moment, then chuckled self-deprecatingly, but looked at Yuuki with a calm expression.

It's not that there were no secrets, but rather that they were honest about the fact that they had "concealed something."

He was indeed playing mind games with Yuuki, just as Yuuki was always hiding herself—that's how subtle the relationship between the two siblings was.

Perhaps it was for this reason that Yuuki came to understand Iori, and showed a gentle smile of relief and satisfaction, without pursuing the matter further.

Meanwhile, Iori was thinking about something else:

【Mirror Flower Water Moon】Once you are hit, the effect of "complete hypnosis" is permanent, just like the mark of Flying Thunder God. Even if the spell is not activated, the mark still exists, and you can be controlled whenever you want.

Even if Iori has the [Mirror of Still Water] to see through illusions, that's only when he's holding a knife... You can only be a thief for a thousand days, not a thief for a thousand days. He can't keep holding a knife forever.

Of course, that refers to the situation after one has been infected.

The prerequisite for being able to control the five senses of others is that one must make them witness the initial process of its interpretation.

Iori is currently unsure whether the ritual would be valid if she held the Mirror of Still Water during the release of the Mirror of Light and witnessed the process without being hypnotized, and whether it would still be able to influence her in the future...

There's no way around it; even meticulously designed RPG games sometimes have bugs. Reality is a mixture of chance and inevitability. Zanpakuto don't have instruction manuals or formulas for calculating elemental advantages. Without actually experiencing it, who knows what the final result will be!

It's a shame he never watched Yu-Gi-Oh! and never learned that skill of making up stories on the spot. Sigh!

It's best to be cautious. Fortunately, with the information already available, guarding against [Mirror Flower Water Moon] isn't too difficult; all you need to do is avoid looking directly at the Shikai.

Of course, if the action is too direct, it's basically equivalent to telling Yuuki that her Shikai ability has been seen through.

"Fine, if you don't want to, then let's stop here."

Yuuki waved her hand dismissively: "I have no interest in your so-called 'Bankai' either; it's just a matter of piling up power."

"When power reaches a certain level, does the Bankai ability still matter?"

"...That's true."

Yuuki also agrees with this point. She has always believed that spiritual pressure (power) is the foundation of everything, and the ability of a Zanpakuto is just icing on the cake. If one can raise spiritual pressure to the point where a casual strike can tear the world apart, then Shikai, Bankai, or even whether or not one has a Zanpakuto are irrelevant.

In fact, she was not very satisfied with her own [Mirror Flower Water Moon]. Although the ability was "useful", it was not "powerful" and did not conform to her combat aesthetics.

"We've been out for a long time, let's go back to camp."

"Um……"

Huh?

Yuuki and Iori looked up at the same time, and a familiar voice rang in their ears, with a very cold tone.

The following are the highest priority captain commands:

All members of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, whether they are those remaining at the camp or scouts on the perimeter, must immediately abandon their current missions and proceed to the left side of the camp to await the opening of the portal.

To reiterate, abandon all missions, gather at the interdimensional gate, and return to Soul Society!

—In the name of Saito the Immortal, Commander-in-Chief of the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force, all Shinigami operating in Hueco Mundo are ordered to take immediate action!

It is the Seventy-Seventh Bound Path Heavenly Void!

Saito, who is immortal, is issuing orders to the Death Squad through the Binding Spell!

"..."

The siblings exchanged a glance, both showing a hint of astonishment. Even Yuki couldn't remain calm—after all, she wasn't the cunning boss from later generations.

"What's going on? Why is everyone being ordered to return to Soul Society? Could it be that Seireitei...?"

"Who knows? But since we've been given orders, we can't hesitate. If we're late and the portal closes, leaving us stranded in Hueco Mundo, that would be a real problem."

Without delay, Iori and Yuuki used their movement techniques to head towards the camp. Although they were filled with doubt and uncertainty, they were also secretly competing with each other in the "long-distance instant step" technique. In the blink of an eye, they soon saw the outline of the camp.

"wrong!"

Yuuki's expression changed slightly, and Iori's eyes also sharpened.

"This spiritual pressure is..."

boom! ! !

A crimson pillar of energy rose from one side of the camp, shooting into the eternal night sky of Hueco Mundo, eclipsing even the moon.

“It’s a Cero, and this power…” Iori’s expression darkened, “It’s definitely not an ordinary Adjuchas!”

-

Outside the camp, a group of Death Gods gritted their teeth and held their line, while their opponents were a vast number of various miscellaneous Voids, as well as monsters that were much larger and had animal-like shapes.

Adjuchas!

And there are a total of five of them!

While the absence of the Kylian was a good thing, these five Adjuchas alone were already beyond their capabilities.

Moreover, this is not even the most threatening target...

At the forefront of the Grim Reapers, the immortal Saito, wearing an eyepatch and carrying a katana, looked down at the Hollow Tide with a slightly raised head and a disdainful air. At her feet was the skeleton of a massive Adjuchas.

Instant kill!

The five Adjuchas felt a chill run down their spines. Although they had tried to overestimate the enemy, they never expected to lose a comrade right away... and right before their eyes.

That bastard's information was wrong; this is nowhere near "slightly superior to Adjuchas"!

If we act alone, everyone's safety cannot be guaranteed!

"What, not going to continue?"

Saito glanced around with his eyes half-closed, then gestured with his lips to the back of his mouth.

"You guys stop idling and continue with your tasks. Leave these small fry to me!"

"Lord Saito!?"

The leader of the Grim Reapers was taken aback, and then immediately became anxious.

On a mission?

The original missions have all been suspended. The current mission is to open the [Gateway] to return to Soul Society... But if Saito stays here to resist the Hollow Tide, won't she be unable to return?

"That's an order, get going now!"

Before the people below could speak, Saito coldly rebuked them, causing them to instinctively step back.

"I'll take care of these illusions and then I'll be over. But if you still can't open the door before then... see how I deal with you!"

"Yes, Your Excellency Saito!"

As a veteran captain, his immortality and prestige are extremely high, and although the team members are worried, they have no choice but to carry out the mission.

At the same time, they believed that with Saito's strength, even if he couldn't defeat these monsters, he could still escape successfully, and that their staying here might only be a hindrance...

As these people disappeared into the night and under the cover of buildings, Saito Immortal suddenly had veins bulging on her forehead and involuntarily knelt down. Her captain's haori fluttered, revealing her side waist, where a hideous wound could be seen!

Strange, the wound is clearly very deep, but no blood is flowing out... What's even more terrifying is that an ominous black aura surrounds the wound, and it seems to be spreading around, causing the skin on the waist to gradually turn pale.

"Damn it...it can't be cured..."

Saito frowned. She had decisively cut off the flesh around the wound, but she hadn't expected that even the faint trace of the remaining energy could have such a terrible effect.

The Adjuchas were surprisingly quiet, not launching a sneak attack on Saito, as if they were waiting for something.