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

If he were to reach an island nation in the East in the future, he could travel freely throughout the East China Sea, thanks to Shangri-La, and could even skip the process of taking a boat.

The only things that need to be done to find the island nation in the East are time and money, and Iori happens to have both.

With the means to travel between worlds, plus the Imperial Arms that can teleport long distances within this world—with these two preparations, what's there to be afraid of?

In other words, he didn't know the teleportation principle of Shangri-La and was afraid that the special environment of Soul Society would affect its teleportation function, so he wouldn't bring "Bleach" back for the time being. Once things in the Akame ga Kill! world are over, he definitely wants to bring this thing back to test whether it can still be used normally in Soul Society.

If it can be successfully activated in the spiritual realm, and even allowed to move freely between the three realms... then there is great potential!

In any case, after making thorough preparations, Iori took advantage of the favorable wind and set sail in a fishing boat less than ten feet long—only three days later, the mast was broken by a storm.

He then set sail twice more in the following two weeks, but both times he either ran aground or was caught in a natural disaster and failed to make it.

Until the fourth time, which was almost at the end of the monsoon season, and he would have to wait until next year if he missed it, he still set sail again with undiminished fighting spirit despite such pressure!

This time, the goddess of fate was finally moved by his persistence and turned her favor to Iori. Everything went smoothly, and he quickly surpassed the limits of his previous three explorations, successfully entering the unknown area.

Sailing with the wind on the vast ocean, the daytime view is an endless expanse of blue, with occasional schools of flying fish like silver threads gliding across the distance, while at night, countless stars and the bright moon reflect each other on the sea... It sounds like a very romantic thing, but in reality, it is lonely and terrifying.

The weather at sea is more unpredictable than a girl in love; sometimes it's a raging storm, sometimes it's cloudless, sometimes it's blazing sun, and sometimes it's bitterly cold.

What's even more terrifying is that there's no one to communicate with, and on the vast ocean, this lone boat is the only place to stand. A slight misstep could lead to utter destruction!

Iori is a spirit, so he wasn't greatly affected, but during his time away, he gained a deep understanding of the sailors' hardships. The old fisherman who taught him was truly sincere.

With the help of [Shangri-La], when Iori's spiritual pressure is low or he feels lonely and uncomfortable, he returns to Soul Society, finds a small shop in Rukongai, does not drink alcohol, but watches the customers come and go, and just listening to them talk brings him endless joy.

The problem is that he traveled back to a place that was basically "the same spot", while the ship was constantly moving forward. Even if the sails were lowered, the ship would still be pushed by the ocean currents.

Therefore, he cannot travel back to Soul Society at will. He can only precisely control the loss of spiritual pressure and return when there is a deserted island where he can dock. Otherwise, he would have to swim to the Far East by himself...

Gradually, he began to get used to loneliness. Sometimes he would fish on the deck all day, and sometimes he would stare blankly at the moon for most of the night.

From the initial excitement and exhilaration of conquering the sea, to the later loneliness and boredom, and now to a state of contentment, Iori has unknowingly discarded distracting thoughts and begun to appreciate the seascape with a pure heart, without any prejudice.

Perhaps it is a change in mindset that changes one's perspective. Even familiar scenery seems to sparkle, and the whole world becomes clearer.

He suddenly realized that this ship would probably never reach its destination, and would sail forever in the boundless blue... and that was pretty good too.

If he were to jump off the deck, he would probably be able to truly become one with the sky, the sea, and the wind...

How could I have had such a stupid thought?

Holding the boom, Iori gazed at the rippling water and said something self-deprecatingly.

You've probably lost your mind.

"……Um?"

Iori picked at her ear, subconsciously looked around, and suddenly a thought struck her, her gaze fixed on the sea.

On that undulating deep blue, the reflection was shattered by the wind and waves, like countless fragments of a mirror swaying and shifting...

Even so, it is clear that the figure does not match Iori.

"Is that you speaking?" The boy was surprisingly calm. "Either I'm crazy, or something is finally about to begin."

"You understand perfectly well—yes, you're the one who's gone mad."

"After all, normal people don't talk to their own shadows, like Narcissus in the legend (the man who fell in love with his own shadow)... Sigh, there's nothing we can do about it, that's the fate of handsome men!"

【…】

Iori, with one hand supporting her chin and the other holding a fishing rod, casually asked, "But then again, what are you, talking to a madman?"

[Me? I am you, and you are me!]

"But it looks like a mosaic, not quite what I imagined—it's such a shame it's not a beautiful girl."

By the way, what image do you have of me?

...At the very least, she wasn't as beautiful as Narcissus.

The reflection in the water spoke in a pleasant, neutral voice:

And he doesn't seem very bright.

"Then I'm really sorry."

Iori chuckled and said, "My name is Aizen Iori. What's yours?"

Forget about those little tricks. If you want to know my name—you'll have to say it yourself!

Chapter 39: The Super Dangerous Species - Dragon!

Iori was not surprised by the appearance of the "reflection".

Given his spiritual pressure level, he should have started nurturing his Zanpakuto and even developed his Shikai long ago, but he deliberately avoided this process, which is why it has been delayed until now.

But as his state of mind was gradually refined and perfected by loneliness, a spiritual transformation was about to occur. Even though he did not have a sword in hand, a certain power naturally appeared in his heart.

This was quite different from the usual process of a Shinigami's awakening, but for Iori, it felt like a natural progression. Although there was no clear path ahead, he had a strange premonition... As a result, the search for the sword blank became even more urgent.

Iori did not lose her composure because of this, and continued to sail at sea patiently. However, she added a daily meditation practice to explore her inner self, which made her slightly mentally tired.

After entering the depths of the ocean, they occasionally encounter dangerous aquatic creatures that resemble strange fish or giant snakes. However, thanks to the convenience of his spirit form, Iori is not afraid of water battles. He kills most of the less powerful dangerous creatures, while some of the stronger ones hide in the deep sea after realizing that there are hard nails on the ship and will not come to attack again.

So, aside from meditation and fighting dangerous species, life wasn't so boring.

...On the forty-seventh day at sea, the boy was practicing his zither on the deck when the weather suddenly turned gloomy, the air pressure gradually became heavy, and the already damp sea breeze carried an indescribable chill.

Having some experience, Iori sensed the approaching storm. If the ship were destroyed by a storm, all their previous efforts would be in vain. However, Iori did not panic. He simply followed the knowledge he had learned from the old sailors, lowered the mainsail, and carefully controlled the direction of the rudder.

Now he seems like a monk who has completed his ascetic practice, with an extremely peaceful state of mind, and no fear in the face of the impending natural disaster.

Not long after, the storm arrived as expected, but for some reason, a strange premonition flashed through Iori's mind.

He turned his head to look in a slightly northeast direction, but didn't see anything unusual. However, the rain clouds seemed unusually low compared to other places, almost touching the sea. Lightning flashed across the sky and sea from time to time, making it look even more dangerous and terrifying.

Suddenly, a particularly bright bolt of lightning ripped through the darkness, revealing some blurry black shadows scattered across the sea...

Is it... a living thing? No, is that on the sea... a ship?

We've finally found a clue!

Without much thought, Iori decisively turned the boat around to meet the crashing waves, battling the raging currents while using the momentum to get closer to the dangerous area.

When they were about 500 meters away, Iori finally saw clearly what the faint black shadows in the distance were with the help of the electric light—they were as many as twenty three-masted sailing ships!

Its tonnage was much larger than Iori's small fishing boat, but it was still unable to escape the currents in the storm and could only struggle.

Strangely, in such turbulent currents, the fleet was distributed far too densely, making collisions very likely... It was almost like a school of sardines huddled together in fear of something.

But... if that's the case, then where are the predators?

The thought had barely crossed Iori's mind when a strange tremor swept through his body, causing him to slowly and stiffly raise his head:

Is it a cloud? Is it a mountain?

No, it's a dragon!

A massive, winding body emerged from the dark clouds, seemingly moving endlessly. Thick bolts of lightning cleaved through the clouds, illuminating the bluish-black scales that gleamed with a metallic sheen, and the silvery mane.

Even though its entirety was never seen, just a glimpse was enough to immediately conjure up images of that legendary creature in everyone's mind—

dragon!

At this moment, a powerful being that only appears in mythology is churning and swirling in the clouds less than two hundred meters above Iori's head!

Rumble…

Whether it was an illusion or not, even the deafening thunder sounded to Iori as if it were mixed with the majestic roar of a dragon.

"A mythical beast... no, in this world it should be called a 'super dangerous species'!"

Iori watched this scene in shock, and only breathed a sigh of relief when the dragon's body disappeared completely into the clouds with a flick of its tail.

An unparalleled power!

Just by looking at it from afar, you can feel its amazing vitality, which even thunder cannot compare to. It is hard to imagine that this is a creation of nature!

It is said that the Imperial Arms are made from materials from Super Dangerous Species, which is why they possess various special abilities.

However, it is clear that there are differences in strength among the super dangerous species, and the performance differences of the Imperial Arms prove this point.

The inferior Imperial Arms are not much different from ordinary cold weapons, except that they are more durable or sharper. However, the excellent Imperial Arms can "control the dead" and "teleport in space". Some, like Queen Esdeath's "Demon Manifestation", can even control the weather and freeze time and space when developed to the extreme!

In the original work, Kurome once controlled a super dangerous corpse puppet, but Iori is certain that even if that puppet were still alive and at its peak, it would not be a match for this dragon!

What if we clash with something like this, a natural disaster...?

Iori actually did a simulation and found that she had absolutely no chance of winning!

If we disregard the consumption of spiritual pressure, his strongest attack is nothing more than the fully chanted Seventy-Eighth Hado, which is already quite extraordinary for a candidate Shinigami who is not even a third-year student, but it probably cannot pose a fatal threat to such a transcendent being...

If we were to convert this to the Hollows from Bleach, it would definitely be at the Adjuchas level... As for Vasto Lorde... it's hard to estimate given Iori's strength.

Damn, how did the first emperor a thousand years ago conquer such a thing? The humans in Akame ga Kill! don't seem that fierce!

Is it going to be like a Souls-like game, where you keep sacrificing lives to get your feet rolled around in the ground and punished...?

Forget it, there's no point in dwelling on this. Creating Imperial Arms only requires materials; you don't necessarily have to kill them. Maybe you just picked up some remains or something.

Today has truly been an eye-opening experience—just as Iori was thinking this, the thick clouds were parted by a strong wind, and an invisible shockwave blasted towards the distant fleet!

Bang!

The sturdy hull that could withstand the storm became as fragile as rotten wood. The powerful impact broke the keel instantly, splitting the entire ship in two. Then, a towering column of water surged up, sweeping the "little black dots" into the chaotic and raging current.

Next, Iori was surprised to see streaks of fire shooting out from the other large ships, as if they had been equipped with siege crossbows. The arrows that were fired were thick and long like lances, shooting towards the gaps in the clouds.

Immediately afterwards, a long, drawn-out dragon roar resounded, and flaming spears rained down from the sky. However, this fleet was clearly well-trained, and their firing was relentless, like a torrential downpour.

"Roar!!!"

The angry roar stirred the clouds, and the majestic figure reappeared. Invisible wind blades swept past, cleaving through nearly a hundred meters of sea surface and two large ships in one breath.

However, this also brought it closer to the sea, and streaks of light suddenly appeared on the ship. Like shooting stars, flying stones were thrown into the sky and then exploded like fireworks, with eerie purple flames instantly staining half the sky.

Roar~~!

This time, the roar seemed to contain not only anger but also a hint of pain.

"Are these people... hunting this dragon?" Iori was shocked, not by their courage, but by why they would do such a thing.

To collect materials for Imperial Arms? If your skills are good enough to slay dragons, why would you need Imperial Arms?

The next moment, the dragon fully emerged from the clouds, its true form majestic and awe-inspiring, its flowing mane and long beard adding a touch of holiness.

It is estimated to be at least three or four hundred meters long, and part of its winding body is difficult to discern in the clouds.

The only minor flaw is that its body is covered with crisscrossing, hideous scars, and in many places, even scales cannot grow back, making its otherwise beautiful body appear eerie and sinister.

However, Iori keenly noticed that those scars were not left from the battle just now. Many of them were obviously old wounds from many years ago, and may even have been damaged and healed repeatedly, resulting in irregular wounds...

It's hard to imagine how many battles such a powerful creature must have gone through to have so many scars.

To Iori's astonishment, the dragon with its bluish-black scales and silvery-white mane lowered its altitude and submerged itself in the water, easily destroying a warship with its physical strength.

"Why give up your advantages?" Iori frowned.

He didn't believe the arrow rain and slingshots could actually bring the dragon down. This wasn't a game where you could forcibly drag flying units to the ground and have them nerfed...

After the dragon entered the water, small boats descended from the warships, surrounding it from all sides. Then, as black dots leaped into the air and climbed onto the dragon's body, Iori realized that the humans were about to engage in close combat!

The battle was quite intense... or rather, intense on one side only.

Even from a great distance, Iori could tell that those who dared to challenge the dragon in small boats were all skilled warriors who specifically targeted the scars, avoiding the hard dragon scales, and successfully inflicting one bloody wound after another on this super dangerous creature.

What's baffling is that the dragon, which clearly possesses ranged abilities, seems to have lost its mind at this moment, fighting like a pure beast, constantly using its claws and tail to destroy the warship. Although it is still highly efficient, it inevitably becomes the target of concentrated fire and suffers a lot of unnecessary attacks.

What's even stranger is that it doesn't seem to actively "eliminate" the human swordsmen on its body; it only kills quite a few while writhing, yet some always manage to stay on it and continue causing destruction...

And so, humanity's courageous battle continued until the very end, until finally—

Not a single warship was left.

Even though they were well-equipped and had prepared many targeted tactics, and the dragon seemed to have lost its mind and played to its weaknesses, the gap in hard power was still difficult to bridge.

The end result was that the dragon was badly wounded, its majestic body covered in blood, but it still stood firmly on the sea, while the human side lost all its warships, leaving only a few small boats.

"……roar!"

Glancing at the ravaged sea, a look of sorrow appeared in the dragon's eyes. It roared once more and soared into the sky, causing thousands of tons of blood-red seawater to fall, like a waterfall of blood.

The storm had stopped, but dark clouds still lingered in the sky. Iori watched the dragon disappear into the clouds as its roar faded into the distance. He exhaled a long breath and felt a sudden sense of relief.

After thinking for a moment, he steered the small boat toward the battlefield. With so many people, there should be some survivors. If he could rescue one or two, he might be able to find out the exact location of the Eastern island nation.