First layer.
Second layer.
All the way to the fourth layer.
On the way down, he and Yoruichi passed by increasingly bizarre damned souls.
The deeper they went, the more distinct and grotesque the souls became.
There were also massive skeletal jailers guarding Hell.
But every one of them knelt when they saw Lynn, as if welcoming their king's return.
Lynn knew better though.
This was all just a show put on by Hell's will.
He smirked. "You're that desperate to get me to work for you?"
Suddenly
BOOM!
A deafening explosion drew his attention.
Lynn halted, turning toward the source of the sound.
Soon after a black-clad figure came flying straight toward him!
The trajectory was headed right for Lynn.
With a wave of his hand, using [Gravity Devil]'s powers
The flying figure stopped midairthen dropped like a rock!
BAM!
Slammed straight into the white-tiled floor!
And right after, a petite figure in a Shihakush approached from afar.
"Oh?"
She spotted Lynn and looked surprised.
Then grinned widely and said:
"Ha! This boring-ass Hell actually got two interesting newcomers today!"
.
.
.
The 6th Division's First Captain
Lynn looked upand saw a small figure appear before him.
Dressed in the standard Shinigami uniform, with a sleeveless, red-lined captain's haori.
Her dark pink hair was tied into twin tails that reached her hips, which bounced slightly as she moved, and a black eyepatch covered her left eye.
A zanpakut rested casually on her shoulder, and her expression screamed cocky and dangerous.
But around her ankle hung a thick chainsimilar to those worn by the damnedhinting at her current situation.
The moment she came into view, Yoruichi's golden, vertically-slit pupils widened in shock.
"C-Captain Saito?!"
Yoruichi had recognized herFurfushi Sait, the very first captain of the 6th Division.
"Hm?"
At the mention of that name, Saito the Undying's eyes sharpened and turned toward Lynn.
"Well, well~ A little junior from the Seireitei"
Yoruichi hadn't expected to run into someone who once held a captain's rankespecially not down here in Hell.
But this captain didn't exactly have the best reputation back in the Seireitei.
Saito gave Yoruichi a quick glance, felt her Reiatsu then shifted her focus to Lynn.
She couldn't sense any reiatsu from Lynn. And yet there was something about him. Something dangerous.
Saito looked more carefully at both Lynn and Yoruichi.
No chains?
She narrowed her eyes, her tongue flicking out slightly in amusement.
"You two"
"You must've come to Hell willingly, huh?"
Lynn ignored her question, glancing around instead. "Are you the only Shinigami here in Hell?"
"Tch."
Not liking being ignored, Saito sheathed her blade and grumbled, "There's plenty of Shinigami down here. But"
"Ones as easy to talk to as me? Pretty rare~"
Lynn nodded slightly at that.
"Hey!"
Saito suddenly cut in, "I answered your question. Shouldn't you answer mine?"
Lynn shrugged. "You already figured it out, didn't you?"
Saito pouted a little.
She had guessed it when she noticed they weren't bound in chainsbut still wanted confirmation.
"Agh, dammit!"
Suddenly, a man who had been lying on the ground coughed and struggled to his feet.
He bent over, spitting up blood.
Lynn: ""
Dude's literally in a soul in Hell, and he's still coughing up blood?
Saito smirked and looked down at him. "Not bad. You can take a beating."
Hearing that, the guy coughed out another mouthful of blood. Glaring at her, he growled, "Saito, don't be ungrateful!"
"Lord Shuren personally invited you to join his grand planand you dare!"
Beat the crap out of me like this?!
His face flushed with humiliation at the thought.
{He was Gunjo, a member of Togabito (Sinners) led by Shuren.}
"A 'grand plan,' huh?"
Saito scoffed. "Isn't that just a fancy way of saying 'escape Hell'?"
These idiots They have no idea what they're dealing with.
If it were really that easy, why hasn't a single soul escaped from Hell in over a thousand years?
Blind fools, all of them.
Not that she wouldn't like to leave this boring place
But there was no way in Hellliterallythat she'd team up with someone like Shuren.
"Tell Shuren to give up. You lot think you can break the Gates of Hell with that level of power?"
Saito sneered.
"You bitch!"
Saito casually drew her blade and killed him on the spot.
But she sighed and shook her head. "Ugh. This damn Hell. Even killing people doesn't feel satisfying."
Thanks to the rules of Hell, souls here can revive infinitely.
Even if she chopped this guy to pieces a hundred times, he'd just reappear again eventuallygood as new.
With that nuisance dealt with, Saito turned her attention back to Lynn, clearly intrigued.
A man who willingly entered Hell?
What was he after?
And ever since she saw him she'd felt something strange. Almost like Hell itself was trying to warn her.
But with her overwhelming Reiatsu, she could mostly ignore that.
Still, there was something about this manlike he shared a connection with Hell itself.
That only made her more curious.
After so long in this hellhole, maybe something fun was finally about to happen?
Saito was visibly excited, her tongue flicking out playfully and a twisted smile creeping across her face.
Yoruichi: ""
Yeah. That reputation? Deserved.
"Hey!"
Saito hoisted her zanpakut onto her shoulder and asked, "What's your name?"
"Lynn," he answered calmly.
"...Lynn."
She repeated it. Then smiled. "This your first time in Hell?"
Lynn didn't bother confirming or denying.
"In that case"
"Why don't I be your guide through Hell?"
Yoruichi: "?"
Why did that line sound so damn familiar?
Lynn gave her a strange look, then turned back to Saito and nodded. "Sure. I was planning to head to the fifth level anyway."
Yeah, Saito had obviously been in Hell for a while, and frankly, she seemed way more reliable than Yoruichi in this setting.
Besides, Lynn's eyes flicked toward the glowing [Devil's Piece] in his interface.
This woman could be a real asset. No way he was letting her slip away.
Saito grinned, clearly pleased with the answer. She disappeared in a Shunpo (flash step), quickly widening the distance between them.
"I'm fasttry to keep up, okay~?"
She also took the chance to test his strength.
"Oh?"
Suddenly, Lynn's voice rang in her ear.
Saito froze mid-steponly to realize Lynn was already standing in front of her, casually smiling.
Looking at that calm face of his, Saito clenched her teeth.
Refusing to back down, she used Shunpo againtrying to put some distance between them.
But Same result.
No matter how fast or early she moved, Lynn was always ahead of her.
Saito bit her lip.
Her instincts had been right.
This guy was strong. Really strong.
And that just made things even more interesting.
Sure, she was a bit shaken by his speedand yeah, she could tell she wasn't quite on his level.
But giving up? Not her style.
She stubbornly Shunpoed again, determined to win at least one round.
Meanwhile, on the fifth level of Hell.
A field of molten lava bubbled and churned.
Blub blub
Suddenly, bubbles rose in one section of magmathen Gunjo's head burst out.
He climbed up, battered and miserable.
"Gunjo, you were killed again?"
Gunjo looked up to see a pudgy man with a smug grin.
"Taikon?"
Taikon didn't respond. He just said, "Come on. Lord Shuren has been waiting."
...
Seeing Taikon bring him back, Shuren didn't look surprised.
He just sighed inwardly.
Another failure.
Why had Saito rejected him again?
He really didn't get it.
Wasn't escaping Hell a good thing for all of them?
Sensing his master's frustration, Gunjo suddenly spoke up. "Lord Shuren, we have failed to recruit Saito, and"
He remembered that man.
"There might be a new player in Hell."
Shuren's eyes sharpened slightly.
"Go on," he said.
"Yes, sir."
Gunjo lowered his head and began describing Lynn's features.
At first, Shuren didn't think much of it.
But
When he heard that Lynn bore no chains of Hell A sharp gleam lit up in his eyes.
"No chains!"
.
.
.
Reiatsu Burst
With Saito guiding the way, it didn't take long for Lynn to reach the fifth layer of Hell.
The scenery was clearly different from the upper levels. Streams of lava flowed everywhere, casting a hellish glow on the landscape.
The colors were much more vivid now.
Saito crossed one arm and used the other to pinch her nose in annoyance. "I seriously don't get why you even want to come here."
The miasma in the fifth layer was so dense that even she could barely handle it.
Which was exactly why she hated being in this godforsaken place.
She then glanced over at Lynn, clearly frustrated.
She still hadn't won a single speed contest against him, and it was eating her up inside.
But at the same timeshe had to admit: Lynn was terrifyingly strong.
...
Lynn ignored Saito's complaints and quietly examined the fifth layer's environment.
The thick, toxic air didn't seem to bother him in the slightest.
Still, he frowned slightly.
This kind of environment was terrible for any kind of long-term development.
And besides, Hell in the Soul Society universe did have a consciousness and some basic rules.
But it was still too crude. Too primitive.
There was no future in this place as it stood now.
What Hell really needed was a full-on overhaul.
And for Lynn, that wasn't a problem at all.
After all, back in his main world, he already had control over the entire Hell domain in the Japan region.
All he had to do was bring that same template over.
But before that
He needed to figure out how to gain dominion over this world's Hell.
Otherwise, that power would just end up in Hell's own hands.
"Hmm..."
Lynn scanned the area and didn't see anything that seemed particularly tied to the core of Hell.
So how exactly was he supposed to claim sovereignty here?
He rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
Suddenly
His crimson eyes lit up.
While he hadn't found anything physically tied to Hell's core.
The deeper he went, the more he could feel somethingA vague but growing presence.
Was that Hell's own consciousness?
Lynn closed his eyes and tried to establish communication with it.
After a while
He could sense the consciousness clearly enough, but actually connecting with it was proving difficult.
Oh wait...
This was the Bleach world.
So naturally, he should be using Reiatsuspiritual pressureto reach it.
Yep, Reiatsu!
The answer clicked into place.
Ever since taking Yoruichi as a follower, Lynn had gained access to this world's unique energy system: Reiatsu.
But because of his unique nature, Reiatsu wasn't usually his default power system.
Which explained why Saito had never sensed it from him before.
As a Devil, magic was still his primary energy type. Reiatsu was just one of many forms he could convert it into.
So now, Lynn focused, channeling his energy and converting it into pure Reiatsu.
BOOM.
A terrifying wave of Reiatsu exploded from within Hell itself!
A blinding pillar of light shot into the skyTearing through the thick clouds of miasma!
The entire realm of Hell shook violently in response!!
Yoruichi, who had been curled up comfortably in Lynn's arms, instantly fluffed up like a startled cat.
That ReiatsuIt was even scarier than the old man's!
Saito froze in place too.
The powerful surge of spiritual pressure sent gusts of wind swirling around her, whipping her long purple hair into chaos.
Her oversized shihakush flapped wildly in the storm.
At this point, she wasn't even concerned about why she hadn't felt any Reiatsu from him before.
Because this pressure even Yamamoto, that grumpy old geezer, probably couldn't match it.
She'd already ranked Lynn absurdly high in her mind after those speed duels.
But still, she hadn't expected him to be this ridiculous. Stronger than Yamamoto!?
Had she been stuck in Hell so long that the world had completely left her behind?
When did such monsters start popping up in the living world!?
Lynn's Reiatsu burst didn't just shock Yoruichi and Saito.
Elsewhere in Hell
A certain man suddenly looked up, his body trembling.
"T-That"
"That Reiatsu...!"
His eyes widened in disbelief as he clenched both fists tightly.
—
In the Togabito base
Shuren shot up from his seat, staring in the direction of the explosion, stunned.
"What insane Reiatsu!"
It was shaking the foundations of Hell itself.
After who knows how many years trapped in Hell, this was the first time he'd experienced anything like it.
"...Hahh!"
He was practically gasping for breath.
Someone this powerfulThey could probably smash open the gates of Hell without breaking a sweat, right?
Shuren was stunned for just a few seconds before his mind snapped back to his goal: Escape.
That had always been his mission.
And in his view, the only way to do that was to break the gates of Hell.
But with just their current members, it was impossible.
That was why he'd always tried to recruit Furofushi Saito.
Even then, he still wasn't confident it would be enough.
But now?
Now there was finally someone who gave him hope.
Shuren waved his hand dramatically. "Let's go. We need to meet this Lord!"
As he strode forward, the othersGunjo and the restglanced at each other, hesitating.
That Reiatsu really was insane but would someone like that really help them destroy the gates of Hell?
They had their doubts.
Eventually, Taikon broke the silence.
"Lord Shuren"
He hesitated, then forced the words out: "Would someone that powerful really want to help us?"
"Pfft."
Shuren chuckled confidently. "Relax."
"Just leave it to me. When have I ever failed?"
Gunjo twitched at his words.
When have you ever failed? Really?
Then why had Furofushi Saito never agreed to join them?
Of course, they didn't dare say it aloud.
With resigned sighs, they followed their leader.
BOOM!
And the terrifying wave of Reiatsu still didn't stop.
Soul Society At the gate connecting to Hell
