Enma Ai replied calmly, "Hell's short on strong hands right now. Send him to the human world to collect souls."
"???"
Shuren stared at them, his confusion growing by the second.
What were these people talking about?
Send him to the human world?
That wordhuman worldcaught his attention. He shut his mouth and quietly observed.
Hone Onna hesitated. "This guy"
"He's probably not gonna behave, huh?"
"It's fine," Ai said coolly. "New Hell doesn't have much, but we do have the Chains of Sin. As long as he's bound, he won't be able to break free from our control."
"Ohh, that makes sense."
Hone Onna nodded and looked at Shuren with a smirk. "You heard her, didn't you?"
Shuren stayed quiet for a moment, then asked, "So you guys are like, Hell's administrators or something?"
He sounded genuinely confused.
After all the years he'd spent in Hell, he'd never seen any of them before.
"Technically speaking," Hone Onna said, "we were just hiredpaid quite handsomely, in factto manage Hell."
Hired? Paid handsomely?
Shuren's expression turned strange.
But as he tested the constraints on his body, his eyes narrowed.
There was no doubtthis wasn't how resurrection usually worked.
Also, he glanced around.
Were those people building in Hell? Waitwere some of them dogs?
Whatever. Point wasthey were really trying to rebuild Hell?
So they were actually serious about being Hell's management?
Hold upHell has management now?!
Shuren looked genuinely shocked.
Why hadn't they come to him?
He'd been busting his ass in Hell for years for real.
His expression turned complicated.
Hone Onna didn't bother explaining. Instead, she handed him a packet labeled 'Hell Rules & Employment Manual.'
"Read this. If you agree, start working."
""
Shuren opened his mouth, but in the end, just bowed his head and started reading.
And soon, he was stunned.
Wait a secondthis whole plan was clearly modeled after the Soul Society!
They're going to ferry souls from the human world?! There's no way this doesn't lead to a war with the Shinigami!
Gulp.
He swallowed hard.
He used to think he was bold for trying to escape Hell.
But these guys? These maniacs were on another level!
And then he remembered that man from the Soul Society
Genrysai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
Were these people not afraid of him at all?!
Shuren clutched the manual tighter, hands trembling. "What happens if I refuse?"
He could still act tough with Saito, but Yamamoto? He wouldn't last five seconds.
He used to think he was strong, but Saito crushed him like it was nothing. And Yamamoto? He stood at the very top of the Soul Society.
Thinking of that, his pride in his strength completely crumbled.
Yeah, he was scared now.
"If you refuse?" Hone Onna said flatly. "Then you'll be sealed away in Hell, permanently."
She tapped her chin. "Given your crimes... yeah, I'd say eternal suppression with no shot at reincarnation sounds fair."
""
Shuren stared.
Honestly, that didn't sound all that different from his current situation.
Still, Reincarnation?
What did that even mean?
He flipped through the rulebook and found the explanation.
"Reincarnation?!"
He clutched the book, eyes wide. "Wait, that's real?!"
Hone Onna nodded casually. "Of course. Reincarnation is one of Hell's core systems. There's also a higher tier Reincarnation called the Devil's Reincarnationif you do well enough, you can join our familia."
His breathing grew heavier.
If it really came down to it, maybe reincarnation wouldn't be so bad.
He was sick of this place anyway.
But, he'd lose all memories of his past life in normal reincarnation.
And if he lost his memories, was he still him?
Shuren sank into thoughtthen gave up thinking.
Either way, at least now he had a way out of Hell.
With that in mind, he dove into the handbook.
He quickly realized just how small his worldview had been.
These people actually had a full-on management system for Hell.
A complete job-ranking system, it was shockingly well put together.
Even betterOnce you reached a certain rank, you'd get permission to enter and leave Hell freely.
Shuren looked up, eyes sharp. "I'm in."
No hesitation. He was gonna give this a shot.
After all, it's not like he could destroy the Gates of Hell anyway.
Might as well try the official route first.
If that didn't work, then he'd start planning to blow it all up again.
Hone Onna nodded, satisfied with his answer.
After some time
Shuren and Saito locked eyes.
Just minutes ago, they were trying to kill each other. Now? Coworkers.
Shuren wasn't sure how to feel.
He never imagined that Saito was already part of this insane new Hell administration.
Even crazier?
The terrifying Reiatsu he'd felt earlier? That belonged to the new ruler of Hell.
Lynn Valifer.
Who, at that moment, wasn't even paying attention to Shuren.
Lynn sat comfortably at his makeshift office desk, deep in thought.
In the world of Bleach, both the Soul Society and Hell were made of Reishi (spirit particles).
If they wanted to reform Hell properly, they'd need a steady flow of souls.
Which meant they needed to start ferrying souls from the human world ASAP.
But that wasn't his problem anymore.
That was Enma Ai and the others' job.
Lynn had already decidedhe was going full hands-off boss mode. He decided to just chill.
Then he casually pulled up the screen to check in on Miko, Kikyo, and the others.
"Hmm?"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Something interesting seemed to be happening.
Meanwhile, on the First Level of Hell
Soifon and her squad were still pushing forward with difficulty.
The Sinners (damned souls) were like rabid dogs, charging them non-stop.
"Ugh!" Soifon clicked her tongue. "At this rate, we'll never reach the bottom!"
.
.
.
Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck
Sinners were everywhere.
There was no doubt about itthey were completely surrounded.
"Captain, what should we do?"
Marechiyo Omaeda cowered behind Soifon, his throat bobbing nervously. He was clearly rattled by the sheer number of enemies.
Soifon shot him a look of disdain."Pathetic," she muttered.
How did she end up with this guy as her lieutenant?
"YAAAAAH!!"
Before she could scold him further, a sinner let out a piercing shriek and lunged straight at her!
Standing on a white platform, Soifon's lips parted as if to say somethingbut she held her words back. In a blink, she vanished with a Shunpo, dodging the attack effortlessly.
Reappearing in a new spot, she raised her gaze and scanned the battlefield.
The sinners filled her vision like an unending tide.
"Tch."
Even for the 2nd Division, known for its speed and agility, charging through this kind of crowd was going to be impossiblenot without heavy losses.
Forget investigating anything.
Well maybe she could make it through alone. Her Shunpo was fast enough to outmaneuver them all.
But her team? No chance.
And she wasn't the type to abandon her squad just to complete the mission.
She inhaled deeply. There was only one option leftBreak through by force.
Soifon drew her Zanpakut. In an instant, her captain-level Reiatsu surged out like a wave.
"Sting all Enemies to Death Suzumebachi!"
Without hesitation, she released her Shikai.
Buzz
Her sword twisted and reshaped itself into a small, golden finger-mounted stinger.
The weapon was delicate and deadly, with gold-plated segments on her first two fingers, black stripes near the end like a bee's abdomen, and a thin chain connecting it to her glove.
This was her ZanpakutSuzumebachi.
UnfortunatelyIt wasn't exactly ideal for crowd control.
But even if it wasn't made for AOE attacks, she'd make it work. She'd just move fast enough to turn it into one.
Soifon vanished again, leaving behind only a fading afterimage.
A second later, she reappeared behind the sinners.
Shlick!
The golden stinger pierced into the first sinner.
A butterfly-shaped black mark bloomed instantly. Without missing a beat, Soifon landed a second strikefaster than most could follow.
The marks overlapped, forming a distinct honeycomb pattern.
The sinner let out a scream and collapsed, lifeless.
She wasn't done.
Without stopping for even a breath, she flash-stepped again, closing in on her next target.
Within moments, her afterimages spread like shadows across the battlefield, dancing behind sinner after sinner.
Seeing this, her team quickly followed up with supportive Kid spells to cover her assault.
—
Elsewhere, deeper in Hell
Shihoin Yoruichi suddenly raised her cat head. Her golden eyes flickered with a strange light.
"That Reiatsu is that Soifon?"
She tilted her head, a bit surprised.
What the hell was that girl doing here of all places?
"Lord Lynn, I'm heading out for a bit."
"Hmm"
She hesitated briefly, then added, half-joking, "Maybe I'll bring back a recruit for the Familia?"
Soifon!
She'd probably qualify, right?
Wait, hold onWhy was she already thinking like a full-fledged member of the Familia? Recruiting people already?
Yoruichi blinked, a little stunned at herself.
But still, being new here, in unfamiliar territory, it might be nice to have someone she already knew around.
Yeah, that didn't sound too bad.
She'd already asked Lynn before but he wasn't open to accepting men into his familia yet.
So yeah, pulling Kisuke Urahara in was off the table.
But Soifon is ok.
Lynn fully supported Yoruichi's enthusiasm in growing the Familia.
Once she left, Lynn narrowed his eyes slightly.
Of course, he'd sensed that burst of Reiatsu too. He flicked a finger, using his authority over Hell to locate the source.
Soon enough, a petite woman with short black hair appeared in his view.
"Ooh~ Soifon."
No wonder.
He watched her performance for a moment, confirmed her potential, then turned his attention back to Kikyo, Miko, and the others.
Hueco Mundo
After some trial and error, the team had figured out the power levels of the various Hollows they'd encountered.
Miko even used her Soul Devour skill to condense an Adjuchas-level Hollow into an experience orband casually popped it in her mouth like candy.
"Whew"
She exhaled softly, her golden eyes glowing with satisfaction.
"With these Hollows around, I might reach Ultimate-Class Devil rank real soon."
Here, Hollows were pretty commonplentiful and powerful spirit bodies like these weren't rare.
Coming to the Bleach world? Absolutely the right call.
"Alright then!" Miko clapped her hands. "Let's keep moving!"
With a confident swing of her arm, she led the group deeper into the vast white sands of Hueco Mundo.
They planned to explore the entire realm.
Oh, and while they were at it Might as well find Las Noches too.
Strangely though, they hadn't come across a single humanoid Hollow yet.
Scanning the desert, Miko frowned slightly.
"Oof!"
A soft, high-pitched voice suddenly came from not far ahead.
"Huh?" Miko paused, turning toward the sound.
She spotted a half-buried Hollow mask wiggling through the white sand.
With a puzzled expression, she walked over and picked it up
And found herself staring at a tiny girl with green hair, bright gold-green eyes, and a crimson line that runs across her face.
The little thing squirmed in her grip, eyes shut tight, muttering muffled sounds.
Kikyo and the others quickly gathered around, their eyes lighting up.
"She's adorable!"
Yotsuya Miko poked the girl's cheek with her finger and muttered, "Wait this placeHueco Mundohas cute creatures like this?"
The group blinked, then exchanged confused looks.
"This might be one of those humanoid Hollows," Kikyo said, a bit unsure.
But honestly She didn't seem dangerous at all.
In factShe was kinda precious?
Miko's eyes turned serious for a moment.
"I can sense a really powerful energy coming from inside her," she said quietly. "This little one's not as simple as she looks"
The voices around her finally roused Nel from her daze.
"Huh?"
She blinked, looking up at the group crowding around her with a blank expression.
Then her eyes widened.
Panicking, she started flailing.
"D-Don't take me back!!"
.
.
.
To Las Noches
Deep within Hell
"Nel"
After spotting Nel on the virtual screen, Lynn instantly recognized who she was.
After all, there weren't many in Hueco Mundo who had the potential to become part of his Familia.
But Nel Tu was definitely one of them.
He'd been thinking about visiting Hueco Mundo sometime soon anyway, maybe to pick up a cute little loli if he was lucky.
And now? One had just walked right into his path.
Lucky him.
But, Lynn narrowed his eyes.
If he remembered correctly, Nel usually stayed near Las Noches, right?
So her showing up now Did that mean Las Noches was somewhere near Kikyo and the others?
Meanwhile, in Hueco Mundo
Midoriko gently tried to calm the squirming Nel, who looked like she was ready to bolt. "Relax, we're not here to catch you or anything."
She glanced at the scar on Nel's face, and a flicker of pity flashed in her eyes.
Who the hell hurt this adorable little thing?
Seriouslyhow could anyone lay a hand on a child?!
Of course, it was mostly because Nel looked like a kid that Midoriko was getting so worked up.
Still, the energy Nel was hiding deep inside her body was no joke.
Midoriko kept her guard up, just in case.
"Huh?"
Hearing Midoriko's words, Nel stopped struggling. She blinked and asked suspiciously, "Really?"
Midoriko nodded seriously. "Really."
In an instant, Nel's eyes sparkled. "Yay! Big sis, you're a good person!"
"...???"
Was she really that quick to trust people?
Midoriko's expression became a little complicated.
Nel, on the other hand, was completely unconcerned. She tugged on the sleeve of Midoriko's shrine maiden outfit and asked curiously, "Big sis, did you come from far away?"
Midoriko snapped out of it and asked gently, like she was talking to a child, "Why do you think that?"
Nel tapped her lip and said as if it were obvious, "Because Nel has never seen big sis before!"
Midoriko: ""
Nel's face suddenly turned serious as she warned, "Big sis, don't go any further. There are bad guys ahead!"
