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Soul Society – Hell.
Lynn was the first to step through the dimensional gate, entering the new Hell.
Enma Ai and the others followed close behind, surveying the unfamiliar realm.
Once everyone—including even the Inu-yokai tribe—had crossed over... Saito peeked her head out cautiously, clearly hesitant. After a moment's pause, she gritted her teeth and stepped through.
She took a deep breath, blinking a few times… and realized something.
There was no ominous pressure. No sensation of Hell targeting her.
So, Lynn was telling the truth?
This Hell is under his control?
Then what the hell did it mean when she "sold herself" to him earlier?
Saito felt scammed. She shot a resentful look in Lynn's direction.
Not that anyone noticed—or cared.
"Ugh, this air is disgusting." Hone Onna pinched her nose, clearly displeased.
"It's the miasma," Yoruichi explained, sounding rather used to it. "That's just how the air in Hell works."
After getting a feel for the place, Enma Ai and her team quickly got to work on drafting a development plan.
With the main world's Hell as a blueprint, the process was a breeze.
Soon enough, Enma Ai handed a finalized version to Lynn for review.
As he read it, she stood by and explained in her signature monotone—like a student giving a dull presentation in class.
Lynn listened and nodded, clearly pleased with how comprehensive the plan was.
But then, Enma Ai paused and added, "For Hell to develop, we need souls."
In other words, they couldn't rely on the old passive system of waiting for evil souls or whatever Soul Society decided to dump down here.
If they really wanted to grow Hell into something proper, they had to be proactive.
A constant, massive influx of souls—that's what made a functional, thriving Hell.
So basically… it was time to start recruiting souls.
The problem was that it meant running into a direct conflict with the local powers.
Shinigami, Soul Society.
Their whole job was to guide souls to the afterlife—theirs, not Hell's.
If Lynn's group started pulling souls to Hell instead, then yeah… a confrontation was inevitable.
"..."
"Just follow the plan," Lynn said calmly.
Soul Society?
Lynn didn't care. With his current strength, they weren't even worth worrying about.
Even Yamamoto, hailed as the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years—Lynn didn't see him as a threat anymore.
With his approval, Enma Ai felt free to move forward confidently.
Then Lynn sent a simplified version of the proposal to Hell's consciousness itself.
Not long after, Hell's consciousness got a little too excited.
It was like a sheltered girl being shown the world for the first time—completely dazzled and swept up by Lynn's ideas.
Before he knew it, it had handed over full authority to him without hesitation.
Total trust, full support.
Lynn couldn't help but chuckle.
He'd never seen a consciousness this naive.
Then again, this was his first time dealing with one, wasn't it?
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Something told him this wouldn't be the last time he'd run into a "world" or "system" with a will of its own.
If Hell had a consciousness, then surely entire worlds could too.
And if they were all this easy to persuade… that'd be great.
Of course, it's not like Lynn had lied. He didplan to develop Hell, after all.
While the Inu-yokai began tearing into renovations with enthusiasm, a group of uninvited guests suddenly arrived.
"Well, well~" a tall figure floated in the sky, arms crossed as he looked down, amused. "Since when did Hell get so lively?"
Saito looked up and frowned. "Shuren. What do you want this time?"
His arrival didn't shock anyone.
After all, they had sensed his Reiatsu long before he showed up.
Shuren blinked when he saw her. That was unexpected.
So the monstrous Reiatsu from earlier—the one that made waves—was tied to her?
Now that he thought about it, it made sense.
Hell had been quiet for ages. If someone this powerful was hiding here, there's no way he wouldn't have noticed… unless they were really good at staying off the radar.
"Relax, I'm not here for you," Shuren said dismissively. "I've lost interest."
"Tch."
Saito clicked her tongue. Everyone in Hell knew what Shuren was like.
But she quickly pieced it together.
This idiot must've sensed Lynn's Reiatsu earlier and thought some kind of opportunity had come knocking.
Well, if only he knew the guy he was looking for was already running Hell.
Saito's lips curled into a smirk.
Actually, this might be a good chance to test her new powers.
Grinning, she hoisted her zanpakutō and growled, "Don't care why you're here."
"But you did send people after me for ages..."
"Time to settle that score!"
Saito vanished.
Her Shunpo, combined with her new class skill—Godspeed—catapulted her speed into a whole new realm!
Shuren's eyes widened. He barely had time to react before—BOOM!
He was slammed out of the sky and sent crashing into the ground.
"Sh-Shuren-sama!!"
His followers, including Taikon, were stunned. Even Gunjo's heart skipped a beat.
Wait… had this woman been holding back the whole time?
Actually—yes.
Saito hadn't even bothered to release her zanpakutō when fighting someone like Gunjo.
Still, the fact that Shuren couldn't even react said a lot about her power boost.
Without Godspeed, that level of movement wouldn't be possible.
From the crater, Shuren sprang to his feet, ignoring the dust on him. His eyes locked on Saito, his brow furrowed deeply.
When had she gotten this strong?
That speed?
He exhaled sharply, trying to calm himself.
He didn't come here to fight.
He came to negotiate.
He opened his mouth to say something—but Saito vanished again.
"!!!"
His body tensed.
"This crazy woman!"
Shuren didn't hesitate this time. He unleashed his Reiatsu at full force.
Whoosh—
Flames erupted around him like living serpents, each one radiating searing heat.
As he felt her movement through the air, the fire snakes lunged toward her instinctively.
He smirked. "Saito, don't forget—I've been in Hell way longer than you."
BOOM!
The fire slammed straight into her!
But— To his shock, she didn't dodge.
She charged into it, grinning like a lunatic!
The heat instantly charred her skin black, but she was still smiling?
Shuren felt a chill.
Sure, you couldn't die in Hell, but pain? Pain was very real.
What kind of psycho is she?!
Smack!
Suddenly, a charred hand burst from the flames and slapped itself onto Shuren's shoulder.
"Fate Transference~"
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