Bleach: The Strongest Shinigami-Chapter 220 ⥤ Confidence Overflowing

Inside the training grounds of the Sixth Tower.

"You fool, do you know who I am? Out of my way — I need to teach this arrogant fellow a lesson!"

Fierce flames surrounded Bazz-B, their terrifying heat distorting the air into twisted, grotesque patterns.

He pointed at Sōken, his voice filled with fury.

"I am the invincible Bazz-B! Just a mere newcomer..."

Sōken's mouth twitched as he let out a helpless sigh. If not for his kind heart and sympathy, he wouldn't have bothered blocking this path.

These past days had shown him that despite his reckless temperament, Bazz-B wasn't truly evil. He had even voiced dissatisfaction with Yhwach.

It would be wasteful to let such a potential turncoat die at Akira's hands.

Bazz-B executed Hirenkyaku (Pure Flying Step), bypassing Sōken's blockade to appear before Akira.

{T/N: Hirenkyaku is the Quincy movement technique, equivalent to Shunpo or Sonído.}

"Hashirama, let's have a great battle!"

Challenging strong opponents was one of his few pleasures, especially when he knew they wouldn't deliver a killing blow.

Though often brutally beaten, Bazz-B seemed to relish these fights. Most importantly, each battle with Akira made him noticeably stronger.

While each improvement was small, they accumulated into significant growth.

By his calculations, after a few more decades of beatings, he might become the second strongest Knight in the Sternritter, surpassed only by Hashirama.

Indeed, his pick for strongest Knight had shifted from Jugram to Hashirama.

In his thousand years, he had seen countless powerful Quincy, but none as monstrous as Akira.

Even Jugram wouldn't dare face his Burning Full Fingers directly, yet Akira not only met them head-on but emerged unscathed. This defensive prowess alone ranked him among the top three Sternritter.

But his attacks were even more terrifying. A simple, unembellished punch could displace internal organs, causing instant blackout.

This was Bazz-B's firsthand experience from their many battles.

Sometimes he wondered if Akira was even the same species as him.

Under countless eager eyes, their battle was about to begin. Scorching flames swept across the grounds as waves of burning heat surged downward.

"Want to place bets?"

"I bet Sir Bazz-B can last three moves."

"Three moves? You're underestimating Captain Hashirama—it'll be instant death!"

"I second instant death!"

While the two built up their momentum, the vanguard Soldats (soldiers equivalent to Soul Society's Officers) watching from the sidelines had already started placing bets.

Caught up in the excitement, Sōken joined in, wagering his family's Heilig Bogen (Bow). Trusting in Akira, he chose the lowest-odds option: instant death.

Others might not have known, but Sōken understood clearly — that man who laughed like a demon was the Captain of Soul Society's strongest combat Division.

While the crowd was still frantically placing bets, Bazz-B had already crashed to the ground. This time, he hadn't even withstood a single punch.

Akira reluctantly condensed Reishi into a Heilig Bogen and nocked an arrow.

⤫ Himmelspfeil ⥤ Heaven's Arrow! ⤬

The battle was over.

In a terrifying explosion, Bazz-B fell with a frustrated expression, unable to rise.

Seeing this, the Quincy erupted in cheers.

"As expected of Captain Hashirama!"

"What an incomparable technique!"

"The Captain even used a Heilig Bogen, how exciting!"

"Wow! We want to see more techniques!"

Akira raised his right hand, and instantly, the training grounds fell silent.

Such was the eternal truth — strength commanded respect. Though they had initially looked down on this new Captain, after witnessing his power, they were completely convinced.

Most importantly, he treated them as people.

The Sternritter Knights were typically arrogant and aloof. In their eyes, not only were ordinary Quincy worthless, but even the elite Soldat (Holy Soldiers) were mere disposable pawns. Only fellow Sternritter could speak to them as equals.

But Captain Hashirama was different. He treated everyone equally.

As he often said, "I don't care if you can fight or not — none of you can fight better than me anyway."

"Move this troublesome 'corpse' aside." Akira commanded, "Let's begin today's special training. As you know, we Quincy fight by absorbing Reishi from the air — it's our innate ability. But what if we're trapped somewhere without Reishi? The weakness of this fighting style becomes obvious. How do we overcome this? The answer: fight with our physical bodies!"

He extended his right hand and clenched his fingers. Power erupted, creating a deafening sonic boom and a circle of white smoke from his palm.

It was extreme to the point of exaggeration.

"How can mere Reishi absorption compare to a body tempered through countless battles? Those who rely on external power are nothing but weak worms. A true warrior obliterates enemies with a single punch!"

The Quincy's eyes shone brightly as they stared at the muscular figure in the center, their excited expressions growing increasingly fanatical.

This was the life they wanted!

Being respected, speaking as equals, having their own identities...

Under his leadership, the Quincy's style began to transform.

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Such training continued almost daily.

Some Sternritter members couldn't tolerate this, but with private duels forbidden, they reported directly to Jugram.

As the dutiful acting emperor, Jugram summoned the newly appointed Captain to question him about these activities.

Akira openly shared everything, explaining both his training methods and reasoning.

Though unusual, Jugram found no grounds for objection. Most importantly, under Akira's guidance, the First Vanguard's strength had grown remarkably.

After careful consideration, Jugram expanded Akira's authority by appointing him as Combat Instructor — a position formerly held by Quilge Opie.

Furious at this news, Quilge stormed the Sixth Tower that night, determined to settle matters of life and death with Akira.

Three punches and two kicks later, he lay unconscious.

Upon waking in the medical ward, Quilge fell into deep contemplation. The battle had forced him to question everything.

Could this be the true path of Quincy combat?

In Akira, he glimpsed a new future.

Others shared Quilge's initial resistance. Many Knights challenged this newcomer's methods, but each was swiftly defeated. Soon, Hashirama's reputation spread throughout the Wandenreich.

His renown even eclipsed Jugram's at one point.

Regarding this, he didn't take it to heart. As long as Akira was still a Quincy, there was no need to worry.

His Majesty Yhwach's control over the Quincy was absolute — all Quincy power in the world flowed from him.

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As long as His Majesty remained, the Wandenreich would never be overthrown.

{T/N: Ha, you just wait.}

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Teaching the Quincy wasn't just a passing whim — it was premeditated.

Based on Sōken's description and his own observations, Akira discovered that the Quincy weren't inherently evil. While they were violent, this stemmed mostly from the incompetence of those in power.

The Sternritter and Schutzstaffel, those high-and-mighty rulers, never treated the rank-and-file Quincy as living beings. In their eyes, these people were mere renewable resources.

The fault lay not with the Quincy, but with the world itself.

Even compared to Soul Society's rigid hierarchy, the Wandenreich's class system was far more suffocating.

Sternritter members could arbitrarily kill lower-ranked soldiers and Soldats simply because they were in a bad mood.

Yhwach, the Quincy King, was the most tyrannical of all.

He would perform Auswählen at will, reclaiming granted powers like a loan shark — taking back both the Quincy's powers and their lives.

If Akira could save them, it wouldn't be such a bad thing. Besides, this was something he could do effortlessly.

Without Aizen by his side, Akira employed his astounding wisdom to carefully analyze the correct usage of his latest Trait, Soul Immortality.

〈 Soul Immortality: Those who chant my true name shall find eternal life in reincarnation! Soul becomes resilient, cannot be erased by any form of attack, and can share others' soul damage! 〉

As everyone knew, one of Yhwach's most important abilities related to souls.

Whether through soul distribution, power bestowal, or Auswählen, the Quincy served as his backup energy source. Whenever he fell into decline, he could recover by collecting these debts.

This raised a question: since Akira had received a Schrift, could Yhwach perform Auswählen on him?

Of course, Akira wasn't worried about this at all. Since he possessed an immortal soul, Auswählen would naturally be ineffective.

The key lay in the latter half of the description: He could share others' soul damage.

Analyzing the literal meaning, it meant he could bear any soul-related damage for others, but exactly how to bear it still needed research.

Akira had some guesses but couldn't be certain. He planned to ask the all-knowing Aizen after returning to Soul Society.

Moreover, he also needed to ask about the Schrift { W }.

The display of Blut techniques before Jugram was merely a partial manifestation of The World.

In private, he had tried several more times. Activating the Schrift's power could not only enhance Quincy Techniques but also strengthen the Shinigami's powers — Reiatsu, Spiritual Body, Hakuda, Zanjutsu, even Zanpakutō manifestation.

Schrift { W } was more like an all-around enhancement buff.

But instinctively, Akira felt it wasn't that simple. However, now wasn't the time to research the Schrift — the objective of infiltrating the Wandenreich hadn't been achieved yet.

After these days of casual inquiry, he had learned some information about the Schutzstaffel from a Quincy.

Now he just needed the right opportunity.

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In the deepest palace of the First Tower.

A fully armed Quincy nervously pushed a food cart along the dark corridor, arriving at a black metal door. The sound of the cart's wheels echoed jarringly in the quiet environment.

As the Quincy Cross medal released its light, the metal door opened in response.

"Great Lord Gerard." The Quincy looked at the towering figure that suddenly appeared before him, genuine fear flashing in his eyes as he greeted with a trembling voice.

"I heard there's a newcomer in the Sternritter?" A deep voice resonated in the dark corridor as curiosity appeared on the towering man's face.

"You... you mean Lord Hashirama?" The Quincy forced an awkward smile.

Although Gerard Valkyrie wasn't releasing any Reiatsu, his naturally imposing presence still inspired fear.

Even more frightening was his mercurial temperament and tendency to kill subordinates on a whim.

"Is he strong?" Gerard stroked his chin, "I've been hearing this name quite often lately."

"Strong, very strong." The Quincy maintained his composure and related all the intelligence he knew.

After listening to the full report, Gerard nodded with satisfaction.

"Is that so? I understand. You may leave."

The Quincy, greatly relieved, hurriedly left with the cart, not daring to linger.

Gerard watched his retreating figure, thought briefly, then walked out.

"Pernida, it's up to you." A deep voice came from within the palace, "Don't let Gerard lose control."

In the darkness, a small figure completely shrouded in a cloak slowly emerged, making strange, quiet sounds, as if in acknowledgment.

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Akira looked at the towering man who suddenly appeared before him, quickly comparing him to people he knew, finally reaching a conclusion:

Don't know him, never met him, next.

"So you're Hashirama." The man let out a hearty laugh, "I am Gerard Valkyrie of the Schutzstaffel. Being renowned throughout the empire is praiseworthy, so... Let true glory light your path forward!"

Out of curiosity, Gerard had come to see Akira, wanting to know what kind of newcomer could rise so rapidly within the empire.

His build was massive, rivaling even Sajin. An overwhelming confidence emanated from him, giving the impression that this person would absolutely never lose.

However, Akira had no interest in this guy.

Just another cheater with resurrection powers — no matter how strong, he had his limits.

Rather, the small figure following behind Gerard caught his attention. If he wasn't mistaken, this should be his target.

The Left Arm of the Soul King, Pernida Parnkgjas.

As he observed them, Gerard's eyes gleamed with battle-lust behind his mask, his cape billowing as brilliant golden Reiatsu soared skyward.

"Hashirama, let's have a great battle!"

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