Currently XML module has strict dependency to JAXB annotations module, to allow for using JAXBAnnotationIntrospector for some XML-specific setup not exposed via standard AnnotationIntrospector. This is unfortunate as it brings in JAXB api dependency which has become a regular cluster-fudge with Javax/Jakarta fiasco.
Even if we solve the problem wrt JAXB (JAKB?) introspector, this likely just doubles the problem as there are now 2 alternative possibilities.
So let's figure out a way to remove this particular problem by adding a small shim ("XML annotation add-ons" or something) in databind, and let JAXB annotations module and XML format module interact via that mini API, avoiding direct dependency in either direction.