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

"what?"

Iori was startled and stopped abruptly, closing her eyes to savor the sensations she had just experienced, completely forgetting about Saito.

A moment later, the boy slowly opened his eyes, his divine light shining brightly without showing any signs of fatigue. Despite his empty spiritual pressure, he appeared full of energy, with a faint smile on his face.

"I finally understand. Instant step is no different from regular running. It's not that the harder you try, the faster you go."

Saito, seeing that he had finished his comprehension, commented: "Many people think that the more spiritual pressure you pour in, the stronger your explosive power will be, but that is not actually the case. Shunpo is ultimately a technique of using spiritual pressure, just like Kido. The key lies in the word 'control'."

Furthermore, even in running, a 100-meter sprint is different from a long-distance run. Using a full-power Instant Step to recklessly charge around on the battlefield is simply suicidal!

The real key to victory lies in how to seize that gap of one or two meters, or even one or two inches, within a distance of hundreds of meters… Hmm, it seems you've grasped the basics.”

Is this just the tip of the iceberg?

Just as Iori was about to ask something, she suddenly noticed what Saito was holding and fell silent.

Under the moonlight, Saito held a sake pot in one hand and a sake cup in the other. This would not have been unusual, but under the moonlight, the sake cup shimmered and rippled—it was the sake she had poured earlier, which she had been holding in her hand the whole time!

Even a slight swaying of the body would cause the alcohol to spill, but after such an intense instant-step chase, the amount of alcohol inside hadn't decreased much!

Iori took a deep breath, her eyes serious: It seems it really is just the tip of the iceberg...

Watching only the anime can easily leave the impression that the captains are all incompetent, while one might become quite interested in the various Zanpakuto.

But in reality, how could a group of ancient monsters who have lived for hundreds of years be so simple?

In the story, almost none of the villains invade Seireitei under fair conditions; they always have to prepare some kind of targeted cheat code before they start their operation, causing the captains, who are at a disadvantage in terms of intelligence, to have poor combat results...

Thinking about it carefully, before Yhwach appeared, not a single captain died in the main storyline, while seemingly powerful villains died one after another!

Don't underestimate this group!

"Although it was just a spur-of-the-moment thing, your performance was truly unexpected... It seems I'll have to treat you to a drink."

Saito gestured with his chin toward Iori, and this time he didn't use Shunpo. Instead, he turned around and jumped off the roof, his white haori billowing in the night wind.

It was at this moment that Iori finally saw the words on the haori by the moonlight and her eyes widened slightly.

Generally, the captain's haori has a number written on the back, indicating which squad the person is the leader of.

However, Saito's immortal haori had no numbers on it, only the character "滅 (灭)".

This means she doesn't belong to the 13th Division, but to a different division:

"It's the Hueco Mundo Expeditionary Force!"

Chapter 9: A real man lives between heaven and earth——

"Come~"

On a quiet hill in Rukongai, East 1 Ward, an ancient cherry tree stands alone. Under the bright moonlight, two figures sit on the ground, and the night breeze carries a hint of alcohol, making one feel somewhat dazed.

Saito, who was neither old nor dead, handed the wine glass to Iori, and then boldly gulped down a whole bottle of wine!

Iori noticed that Saito wasn't using the small bottles that Japanese people usually use, but rather proper jar-shaped sake vessels, and her unrestrained and wild manner was something that could only be found in martial arts novels.

Incidentally, the boy hadn't touched alcohol since arriving in this world. After a slight hesitation, he still brought the glass to his lips—

"Well!"

A pungent smell filled my nostrils, followed by a scalding liquid that slid down my throat like gasoline and burned in my stomach!

"Cough!" The boy couldn't help but pinch the bridge of his nose and cough a few times.

It has no richness or sweetness at all, and it's not even as good as ordinary sake. It's basically a torture device!

How could anyone like to drink this kind of stuff? I just can't understand it...

"Is this your first time? This is my own brew, so it's definitely a bit intense for a beginner."

"Cough... Captain, you can handle this kind of stuff?"

"Just call me Captain Saito."

The girl with twin ponytails shook the bottle and pouted in dissatisfaction: "There's nothing I can do. There are no taverns in Hueco Mundo. After I ran out of the sake I brought, I had no choice but to learn how to brew my own."

"Visible circle..."

Sure enough!

Iori's expression shifted, and she secretly sized up Saito before hesitatingly asking, "Captain Saito isn't in the Gotei 13, is he?"

"Ok?"

Saito glanced at him and chuckled, "Don't be so reserved. Just ask if you want to know who I am, right? It's not your fault, after all, I haven't been back for a long time."

Setting down the sake bottle, Saito looked up at the moon, smacked his lips as if calculating something: "About fifty or sixty... no, about eighty years? When was the last time I returned to Seireitei?"

"Whatever, it's all the same anyway."

She turned around and showed Iori the large "Extinction" character behind her, and said frankly, "I used to be in the 13th Squad, but I was later sent to Hueco Mundo for rotation. If I hadn't been so desperate to find drinking buddies, why would I have been interested in a greenhorn like you... hiccup!"

“On duty… As expected of an expedition team.” Iori raised his empty glass, half-sincerely to show his respect. “Thank you for your hard work, Captain Saito.”

Saito absolutely deserves the title of "hard-working," because Hueco Mundo is no good place. The Expeditionary Force, or rather the expeditionary force, is a large-scale suicide squad with a survival rate comparable to the drop rate in a mobile game!

The so-called "emptiness" refers to the soul after it has fallen into depravity.

Unlike those who successfully reincarnate into Soul Society, their minds have long been twisted, turning them into monsters that enjoy devouring souls. Their common features are the white bone mask on their heads and the large hole in their chests.

Hueco Mundo, naturally, is the world inhabited by Hollows. It is similar in nature to Soul Society, but is basically dominated by chaos and desolation.

The Shinigami's duty is to maintain the balance of the three realms—the human world, the Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo—and ensure that souls can reincarnate normally among these three realms. Therefore, Hollows are monsters that need to be eliminated.

However, the void itself is also a part of the balance, and it will continue to appear, making it impossible to completely eradicate.

Shinigami patrol the Soul Society and the human world, eliminating Hollows that occasionally appear in these two worlds.

Every so often, when the number of Hollows in Hueco Mundo exceeds a certain amount and begins to threaten the balance of the three worlds, Soul Society will launch a large-scale punitive expedition.

To this end, an elite force was specially drawn from the Gotei 13 to carry out missions in Hueco Mundo for a long time, shouldering the responsibility of reconnaissance and outposting.

However, possibly due to some technical issues, the "Gateway" leading to Hueco Mundo is not always open, but opens periodically to deliver supplies and rotate personnel, so Soul Society cannot communicate with it in real time.

It's no surprise that this type of unit has an extremely high casualty rate. Apart from hot-blooded young people, most of the people sent there are those who are not well-liked in the Thirteenth Team.

But how could Saito, as the first captain, be sent to the expedition team?

Iori tactfully voiced her doubts: "Then why did the captain participate in the Hueco Mundo expedition? Wouldn't it be better for a strong person like you to stay in the Thirteenth Division and guard it?"

"Because someone has to go, and... I'm probably quite annoying."

Saito took another swig, wiped the wine stains from his lips, and seemed to be in high spirits, speaking without any restraint.

"The old men of Chamber 46 just want us all to disappear, so they can have a legitimate reason to send me to Hueco Mundo. Of course, they'd love to have that!"

After she finished speaking, she didn't explain anything in detail, probably because she felt that there was no point in discussing deeper things with a minor character like Iori.

However, Iori was clearly not as naive as she thought, because based on just this short sentence and her experiences from her previous life, she actually managed to piece together the general truth.

This is probably a story of "the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked"!

The original Gotei 13 was established in an emergency to fight against external enemies. Its members came from all walks of life, and the captains were all "highly skilled" and were known as the most vicious assassin group in history!

Such a force would naturally be useful during wartime, but once the situation stabilizes, it would inevitably stand out, and the ruling "Forty-Sixth Bureau" would certainly be wary of it.

In order to better manage Soul Society, these troublemakers with merits and prestige must be eliminated one by one.

Using various means to exclude or wear down the opponent in repeated battles is already a relatively mild approach; at least it hasn't escalated to the point of public execution...

In the original story, by the time the protagonist Ichigo appeared, only Yamamoto and Unohana remained as the first captains of Soul Society.

Yamamoto, needless to say, is the maintainer of "order" and poses no threat to the 46th Chamber. Unohana, on the other hand, is in a "sheathed sword" state and is no longer the murderer she once was.

Apart from these two, all the original captains disappeared without a trace, and it's unknown how many perished in the war or how many died for other reasons...

Of course, judging from Saito's tone and demeanor, the original captains, including her, probably didn't care about being ostracized.

Most of them were warlike and bloodthirsty outlaws who did not change their nature even after being "officially" appointed. Dying in battle was considered a fulfillment of their wishes.

Having figured all this out, Iori resolved a mystery, then shook her head:

Ultimately, what does this have to do with him?

Regardless of the power struggles at the top or the schemes of the 46 Chambers, as long as we continue to accumulate strength and reach the level of Aizen or Yamamoto in the original work, we can naturally ignore those corrupt and despicable nobles.

If one reaches Yhwach's level, then it wouldn't be difficult to get the four noble families to lick one's shoes.

This is an extraordinary world. No matter how complex or ingenious the schemes are, they are no match for absolute power. Strength is ultimately the most important thing!

Just like that, Iori felt as if a layer of dust had been brushed away from her heart, and she felt much lighter. She then started drinking with Saito without any hesitation.

The older twin-tailed girl was also very outgoing. In high spirits, she told Ivan many interesting stories about Hueco Mundo and Soul Society, which broadened Iori's horizons considerably.

But who is Iori? Having experienced the information explosion in his previous life, he has never been inferior to others in his ability to talk big. Even though Saito has nearly a thousand years more experience than him, Iori still told many strange stories that she had never heard of before, which made the first captain exclaim with great satisfaction!

Saito, a highly experienced and old-school powerhouse, had no airs of a high-ranking person and got along very well with Iori. Later, the two even felt like they had known each other for a long time!

It seems she truly considers Iori a pure drinking buddy.

As the moon shone high in the sky and the night grew later, the two continued their conversation even after the last pot of wine was finished. They joked and teased each other, and began to satirize some of the unsavory things within the Seireitei.

It wasn't until the sky began to turn a faint blue and a wisp of white mist appeared on the horizon that the two drunkards finally stopped—they had been chatting for most of the night, accompanied by a pot of wine!

"Hiccup... I haven't been this happy in a long time... Everyone, whether it's Old Man Yama or Yachiru, they're all different from before... I'm not familiar with the younger generation, and the ordinary members don't even dare to speak to me... I always feel like I've been abandoned all alone in the past~ Hiccup!"

Saito's clothes were disheveled, and her flat chest, bound by layers of bandages, could be seen through her open collar. She blushed and hugged Iori, her fingers drawing circles on the boy's burning cheeks.

"A guy as fierce and interesting as you, and most importantly, so daring... hehe, you're just my type. If you were a thousand years ago, you might have accomplished something great!"

"What, is it not possible now?"

Iori wasn't completely drunk, but the alcohol made him less cautious than usual, and he spoke his mind without restraint.

"A true man lives between heaven and earth; how can he remain subservient to others for long!"

"……Chinese?"

Saito paused for a moment, not understanding Iori's native language, but drunkards are creatures that don't need logic, so he simply ignored it.

"By the way, I think you're quite pleasing to the eye. How about you come drink with me more often while I'm on my break? It won't be unfair to you. You have a good talent for Instant Step, and with my guidance, you'll definitely improve very quickly!"

"Really?" Iori agreed without hesitation.

"If you do not despise me, I, Bu Yuan, ah, I, am willing to become your disciple!"

"That's too much. It's not that easy to become my disciple. Do you know the little girl from the Shihōin family?"

If I didn't owe her family a favor, I wouldn't have taught that little girl!

That guy was both mischievous and arrogant…

"Arrogant?" Iori thought for a moment. "Where?"

"Her breasts! Those big, voluptuous breasts!"

Saito gestured with his hand across his chest, using the raised outline to cover his wall of sighs.

"She started developing at twelve, and by sixteen she was already standing out from the crowd, completely disregarding other people's feelings. She's so arrogant!"

“Oh…” Iori scratched his head, glanced at Saito’s cliff, and didn’t know how to respond.

Should we comfort her and tell her to take it easy?

But don't be angry yet, there will be an even more "arrogant" woman in the Seireitei in the future~

"Speaking of which, we've finished all the wine, and I still don't know your name."

"Iori, the blue-dyed Iori."

"I~ori~ sounds really nice... Aizen? I feel like I've heard that name before... Huh?"

Saito blinked, as if remembering something: "Who is Aizen Yuuki to you?"

"..."

Iori sobered up considerably immediately, frowned, and asked seriously, "Does Captain Saito know my older sister?"

"So it was your sister. It's amazing that both siblings are so talented... Wait, I understand why those idiots were so foolish as to ambush you in the Spirit Arts Academy!"

Saito grinned, clearly pleased with himself: "So that's how it is... Kid, you've really gotten yourself dragged down by your sister!"

Chapter 10: My sister has the potential to become a Spirit King!

The Gotei 13 are a violent organization that maintains order in the Seireitei. However, while serving as a deterrent force, they also have many other functions. For example, the Fourth Division is responsible for medical care, and the Fifth Division is responsible for emergency rescue.

Among the many teams, there is one that is quite special: