Bleach: The Strongest Shinigami-Chapter 222 ⥤ The Highest Level of Being Undercover

Lille Barro had been feeling down lately.

Once hailed as the strongest squadron in the Wandenreich, the Schutzstaffel now had him as its sole remaining commander.

Pernida had followed Gerard on a mission to prevent a serious situation from developing, never to return.

Gerard had challenged Hashirama Senju of his own accord and was beaten to death. The opponent even claimed that the Miracle's power was too strong.

How ridiculous was that?

Lille had contemplated revenge, perhaps just one fight with the opponent. But after hearing accounts of the battle, he quickly abandoned that dangerous notion.

In his mind, Gerard was already incredibly powerful. Yet he hadn't even gotten a chance to fight back.

Even with his Schrift activated and his Godly Size awakened, he had been utterly shattered.

Though Lille considered himself powerful, he knew he fell short compared to such a monster.

Perhaps when His Majesty awakens, he'll promote this promising newcomer with limitless potential to the Schutzstaffel. Given Yhwach's nature, direct promotion to Leader wouldn't be impossible.

The mere thought filled Lille with intense anxiety.

He was the first to receive a Schrift from His Majesty — His greatest creation and the man closest to divinity. To be stripped of his Leader position...

In the quiet room, Lille slowly closed his eyes, sinking into solitary darkness as countless thoughts swirled in his mind.

He couldn't continue wallowing like this...

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"What is Quincy Combat Art?"

Inside the spacious training grounds of the Ninth Tower, Akira stood with his hands behind his back, lecturing with the air of a master.

"What is Quincy Combat Art? It's something honed through talent and effort!"

He approached Bazz-B, signaling him to activate Blut Vene.

Bazz-B, confused, raised his right hand as circuit-like patterns appeared on his arm, activating his powerful defensive ability.

Then he saw Akira raise his hand and bring it down in a chop.

BOOM!

Bazz-B's pupils contracted, and with no time to dodge, he was struck into the ground below, creating a human-shaped depression in the smooth stone floor.

"This is what happens when you don't put in the effort. What good is a Schrift? What does it matter how strong your ability is?" Akira walked up to a massive stone pillar and casually threw a punch.

There was no earth-shattering boom, no blinding explosion.

The thick pillar simply became covered in countless dense cracks, with the sound of breaking stone echoing continuously.

As a breeze blew in through the window, the supposedly indestructible pillar crumbled to powder across the ground.

"Could any of you block a punch with two hundred years of effort behind it?"

The Quincy stared at this absurd scene in amazement before breaking into roof-shaking cheers.

"What incredible power!"

"Captain humiliated Bazz-B, Captain is invincible!"

"Captain, I want to learn that!"

"Just that alone is enough to get me fired up!"

After spending this time together, Akira found these Quincy even easier to get along with than the Shinigami.

Perhaps it was due to how the other Wandenreich higher-ups treated them, or perhaps it was the oppressive atmosphere. The Quincy could usually only follow the empire's regulations, mechanically carrying out orders from their superiors.

Their vast domain was like a dead pond, completely devoid of vitality. But everything changed after he joined.

It was like throwing a caffeine-charged giant squid into that stagnant pond. Dead water or living water — everything got thoroughly stirred into complete turbidity.

And since the Quincy finally received the respect for their humanity that they had always longed for, they returned even greater reverence to Akira.

Everyone had a scale in their hearts.

On one side was His Majesty Yhwach, who had slept for a thousand years without showing his face; on the other was Captain Hashirama Senju, who treated them as people, dealt with them sincerely, and often hosted grand feasts.

The weight of each was clear as day.

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After teaching everyone some Quincy Combat Art techniques he had comprehended, Akira went to a corner of the training grounds.

A small figure wrapped in a white cloak was silently watching him. When the figure drew near, an incomprehensible "gu" sound came from under the cloak.

"Why can I understand what you're saying? Perhaps it's due to my innate world-shaking wisdom." Akira stroked his chin thoughtfully, "Although I haven't been in the Wandenreich long, I've noticed that whether it's the rank-and-file soldiers or the Knights, they don't seem very bright. Their blind loyalty to Yhwach has destroyed their creativity and imagination."

He spoke seriously while making things up. But Pernida listened very attentively.

As the Left Arm of the Soul King, its personality was actually similar to the Right Arm's. However, due to differences in their abilities, they would take different paths in their later development.

The Left Arm of the Soul King symbolized "Progress". Its ability manifested as Evolution Governance upon contact, with the Schrift "Compulsory" being merely a branch ability under Evolution.

"Gu..."

"Friend? That word is too superficial, Little Lefty." Akira shook his head, "True friendship is a bond — an unbreakable, inseverable feeling. A mere friend is far from enough."

With eyes glowing like light bulbs, Pernida pondered thoughtfully.

Having only recently been separated from Yhwach, it was like a blank slate, only half-understanding many things about the world. And because others couldn't understand its speech, it had been learning personality traits from Lille Barro.

But now it no longer needed that man, because it had found someone who could better understand its thoughts.

Bonds, huh...

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As the memetic infection continued to deepen, Sōken noticed these rank-and-file Quincy becoming increasingly abnormal.

They no longer shouted about loyalty to His Majesty and the empire, replaced instead by praise for the Captain's strength and invincibility.

Many members of the Sternritter protested this, even repeatedly reporting to Jugram.

But Jugram, as the crown prince, paid no mind and even explicitly expressed his trust in Hashirama Senju.

If he could calmly accept someone like Bazz-B who was prone to rebellion, why not an excellent Knight whose mind was fully focused on the empire's future?

Since Akira became the Wandenreich's Combat Instructor General, the Quincy's training enthusiasm had risen by more than just one level. If this continued, the empire's rise would soon be at hand.

As Yhwach's other half, possessing the same abilities, Jugram clearly understood one thing: All Quincy power came from Yhwach.

He had once heard Yhwach tell a story.

Countless years ago, a baby was born into the world, but it could not see, hear, or speak. Nevertheless, this naturally deficient infant still survived.

The fundamental reason lay in an ability called "Soul Distribution".

When others touched him, the baby would distribute a portion of his soul, filling the gaps in the toucher's soul, healing their original psychological or physiological defects.

After receiving these soul fragments, the healed person's knowledge, abilities, talents, and even life were imprinted within the soul fragment.

Although those who touched the infant would die shortly after, countless people still came forward one after another.

As each person died, their soul fragments returned to the infant's body. Through this process, the infant's deficiencies were healed — gaining hearing, vision, and other abilities.

It was then that the infant discovered he had become worshipped as a god by those he had healed, and they named him—

Yhwach!

This story revealed one fundamental truth to Jugram.

No Quincy could disobey Yhwach's orders, for their power came directly from His Majesty.

Therefore, when the Quincy grew stronger, Yhwach's power increased as well.

Compared to the other Knights who spent their time fighting among themselves, Hashirama was like a model student. Rather than persecute him, they were eager to promote him.

After careful deliberation, Jugram made his decision to promote Hashirama. If anyone had objections, they could take it up with that monster themselves.

And so, a calm voice echoed in the empty room:

"Relay my orders..."

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Akira stared at the Quincy Cross medal — symbol of the Sternritter Vice-Captain position — and fell into deep existential doubt.

Wait, wasn't I supposed to be here causing trouble for the Wandenreich? How did I end up getting promoted higher and higher?

Sōken's expression had completely numbed as he watched the head-scratching Akira and let out a deep sigh.

"Captain, why don't you just accept it?"

Akira's eyes bulged in anger, "What kind of talk is that? I am the Captain of the 11th Division of Soul Society and future Captain-Commander, how could I betray my allegiance for such small favors? Yama-jii is my beloved mentor, and Sōsuke is my brother-in-arms! You think such petty benefits could make me betray them? Sōken, you're still too young."

Sōken: "..."

Could you at least take off the Quincy Cross medal on your chest while saying that?

Akira removed the medal from his clothes, breathed on it, and wiped it vigorously until it gleamed and reflected someone's ugly face.

After fiddling with it, he put it back on.

"Sōken, how about now?" Akira straightened his chest, "Do I have something of a leader's presence?"

Sōken let out a heavy sigh.

At this rate, by the time Yhwach awakens from his slumber, he might be the only one left in command.

Once Auswhälen is activated, it would be another indescribable bloodbath. As an Echt Quincy, Sōken hoped someone could prevent the coming catastrophe.

No matter the cost.

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The unruly disciple had disappeared.

Genryūsai stood in the 11th Division's research lab, his expression grim.

The Seireitei had been peaceful lately, and he had been contentedly enjoying this hard-won tranquility.

But as time passed, he noticed something was amiss.

Though his unruly disciple would typically lay low for periods, this silence seemed far too long. Genryūsai clearly remembered their last encounter — when Akira had outmaneuvered him.

Who would have thought that with his intellect, that kid could devise using external pressure to break through that Reiatsu bottleneck?

This had forced Genryūsai to unleash his Bankai in their subsequent battle to maintain his dignity as a teacher. With a feint and a sneak attack using Zanpakutō, he had achieved final victory.

In doing so, he also taught Akira a lesson: all is fair in war.

However, since then, he had heard nothing of his unruly disciple causing trouble in Seireitei or Rukongai.

At first, he thought nothing serious had happened. But after several visits to the 11th Division searching for him, Genryūsai finally grasped the gravity of the situation.

Neither Kenpachi Zaraki nor Sajin Komamura had seen Akira during this period.

Even when Genryūsai brought in Vice-Captain Kisuke Urahara, he received the same clueless answer.

"Could he have gone to Hell again? Or perhaps Hueco Mundo?" He gripped his cane tightly, emanating an unapproachable aura.

He had never doubted his unruly disciple's ability to cause trouble.

However, just as he was deep in thought, a round head poked out from the shadows in the corner, making incomprehensible sounds.

"Kisuke, Kisuke!"

Though the temperature around him rose, cold sweat broke out on Kisuke's face.

Why would that guy return at this moment?

If he had known earlier, he wouldn't have set the return point in his lab — what was the difference between doing this under the Captain-Commander's nose and seeking death?

Kisuke desperately tried to distance himself from that doomed man. This was all the Captain's doing; he had nothing to do with it.

Akira looked around and, finding no one in sight with the room completely quiet, leaped straight out of the shadows.

"Hmph, Yamamoto lacks wisdom, Haschwalth lacks intelligence." Akira crossed his arms, "First the Captain of the 11th Division, then Vice-Captain of the Sternritter. In the future, this Soul Society shall be my domain! Once I inherit the position of Captain-Commander, I shall first—"

Before he could finish speaking, he heard tense coughing from behind, like someone with lung disease desperately trying to expel their lungs.

In an instant, his Danger Instinct let out a piercing screech like a boiling kettle.

Akira's expression froze, and he turned around like rusty machinery moving one click at a time, producing teeth-grinding creaks.

"Continue speaking!" Genryūsai glared darkly at the unruly disciple before him, that Quincy military uniform hurting his eyes, "This old man is very curious what grand achievements you'll accomplish after inheriting the Captain-Commander position..."

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