— — — — — —
After a quick discussion about the development of the Old and New Hells, Lynn and his group were ready to head back to the Hell in the Bleach world.
Since the development of their Hell was already moving forward, Enma Ai and her group decided to tag along to the Bleach world as well—bringing with them a squad of officially registered Inu-yokai.
As for Senhime?
She needed to make a quick trip back to the past to round up some extra hands.
(Leopard Cat members: ...)
---
A little while later—
Just as Lynn and the others were about to step through the dimensional gate, he noticed Furofushi Saito hesitating at the threshold.
Lynn raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"
Saito chuckled awkwardly and mumbled, "Uhm… so, I was wondering…"
"No," Lynn said flatly.
"Hey, I didn't even say anything yet!"
"You didn't have to. Whatever you're thinking, I already have no reason to say yes."
"…Well damn," Saito muttered. She hated to admit it, but he kind of had a point.
Still—
"Then let's just say it's payment for guiding you guys around!"
Lynn gave her a strange look. "I already paid you, remember?"
"…When?!"
Lynn said casually, "What made you think you were even allowed to follow us to this world in the first place?"
Saito's eyes went wide.
"Wait, seriously? That's how this works?"
No one asked for her opinion? Not that it would've made a difference—she definitely would've followed them anyway.
Saito bit her lip.
Well, now she was out of excuses. So what now?
Lynn just stood there, calmly watching her, though there was a faint glint in his eyes.
After a moment, Saito sighed, looking defeated. "If I just go back now, and Hell finds out… I'm screwed."
Dying? She wasn't scared of that.
Even torture or being dunked in lava? Whatever.
But prison?
Ugh, prison was the worst. Not being allowed to go anywhere or see anything? That was worse than death.
If it were in the past, she wouldn't have cared. There was nothing fun there anyway.
But now?
Now that she'd seen all this crazy, fun stuff happening, a new world and a new Hell— there was no way she was going to miss out!
"Damn it, Hell…"
Lynn understood her concern.
But wasn't he the one currently in charge of Hell in the Bleach world?
If he really wanted to intervene, it wouldn't be hard at all.
Still, he didn't say that. Instead, he nodded solemnly. "Yeah… Hell can be real heartless."
"Right?! Exactly!" Saito nodded eagerly. "So, how about I just stay here?"
"Nope."
"…Excuse me?"
"You don't get to call Hell heartless when you're just worse," Saito thought bitterly.
Lynn smiled faintly. "I'm under no obligation to help you."
Saito pouted, but Lynn added, "Of course, if you became mine, that'd be a different story."
"What?"
She looked at him like she just discovered his true colors. "So that's what you were after all along, huh? Just say it already!"
Suddenly energized, Saito drew her zanpakutō and smirked. "Alright! Let's fight! If you win, I'm yours to command!"
She'd seen enough to know Lynn was powerful—but that didn't mean she was just gonna submit without a fight.
So yeah, bring it on!
Without hesitation, she used shunpo and appeared right in front of Lynn, blade swinging down in a flash.
Lynn, still calm as ever, just raised a hand.
BOOM!
Saito felt a sharp pain in her face, and then—darkness. A moment later, her body slammed into the sea of red spider lilies.
"…"
What the hell just happened?
She was completely stunned.
But soon enough, she came to her senses and started struggling to get up.
BOOM!
A wave of Reiatsu exploded from her!
Her long dark pink hair flared out wildly, and the surrounding lilies fluttered like butterflies in a storm of power.
...
Yoruichi's eyes narrowed.
As expected of a legendary senior. That pressure alone… it was way beyond her.
And yet— even with all that power, Saito didn't budge an inch. She was being completely held down.
On the ground, Saito quickly realized something was wrong.
She had unleashed her power, and yet… the pressure increased instead of lessening?
A chill ran through her.
Lynn was crouched beside her, casually pressing her down with one hand. "Done yet?"
"Mmph—"
He raised an eyebrow. Whatever she was trying to say, it was completely muffled.
After all, Lynn's hand was on her face.
"Oh well. I'll just take that as a yes." He lifted his hand.
The moment the pressure lifted—especially from her head—Saito slowly looked up.
"…Phew."
She let out a shaky breath.
But damn it. She didn't even last a single breath of time.
She didn't even get to use her Bankai!
Then again… judging by the sheer power difference, even that probably wouldn't have helped.
Still sulking, Saito stood up, dusting herself off and brushing off the flower pollen.
Once she straightened her clothes, she pouted. "Alright, fine. I'm yours."
Ugh. This was so undignified.
Meanwhile—
Yoruichi's cat face twisted into a very human-like expression.
Seriously?
That was all it took? Just one hand?
But seeing such a renowned veteran fold after just one move… Yoruichi couldn't help but feel a bit better about her own situation.
Enma Ai and the others, on the other hand, just waited silently for Lynn to finish up. They didn't seem surprised at all.
Once Saito fulfilled her end of the deal, Lynn handed her a freshly printed member handbook.
"Huh?"
She stared at the booklet in confusion. "What's this?"
"Take a look. You'll get it."
Yoruichi's eyes flashed with recognition.
Ah, of course—it's that process.
Saito flipped the handbook open, and the moment she read what was inside… she froze like a statue.
It was like she'd never seen anything like it before.
Eyes wide, she pressed the booklet up close, as if worried she'd miss a single word.
After a long while, she muttered in a daze, "So…"
"This is what you meant by 'becoming yours'?"
Joining his Familia?
Saito clenched the handbook tightly.
Exploring other worlds!?
That was the real draw—not the whole 'become a Devil' or 'get a blessing' stuff.
The thing that really hooked her was the idea of conquering other worlds!
It sounded awesome.
Way too awesome.
Sure, the blessing system was nice too. And yeah, she wanted to get stronger.
But power wasn't the most important thing to her—as long as it was enough, that was fine.
Once she'd finished reading everything, she slapped the handbook shut and declared without hesitation—voice brimming with excitement: "I'm joining your Familia!"
"Other worlds! OTHER WORLDS!!"
Saito was screaming internally.
It wasn't just this world. His Familia had access to many other worlds.
And they weren't just visiting them.
They were invading them.
She'd read every single detail on that page.
Off to the side, Hone Onna (Bone Devil) watched Saito's reaction with a shrug and said, "Welp… I guess our trip to New Hell is gonna be delayed again."
.
.
.