— — — — — —
Bleach - The Human World.
Deep beneath the Urahara Shop—on the fourth underground level—a massive black gate wrapped in purple miasma stood silently.
Every so often, strange figures would walk through it—some with dog heads, others with exposed tails, and some covered in thick fur.
Urahara's eye twitched uncontrollably.
He let out a sigh.
What the hell!
Are they using his shop as… what, a Hell outpost now?
Seriously?
Of course, Urahara still let it happen.
After all, Yoruichi had already dropped by and explained everything that had happened in Hell—in detail.
He tugged his hat down a little, eyes flickering with thought.
This Lynn's power… it was beyond anything he'd imagined.
Before, Urahara had been wondering why Lynn had gone to that place—Hell. It's not exactly a vacation destination. Every Soul Reaper avoids it like the plague.
Hell was where the worst of the worst were imprisoned.
But Urahara knew the truth.
He'd studied the history of Soul Society. He understood exactly what kind of place Hell was.
A realm even Soul Society had no authority over. Not even the legendary Captain Yamamoto, the strongest Shinigami in a thousand years, could influence it.
And now? Lynn had taken control of that place.
And not just that—he was transforming it. Turning Hell into… what? A parallel Soul Society?
Honestly, ever since Yoruichi told him, Urahara hadn't recovered from the shock. A part of him was still uneasy.
"…Sigh…"
He let out another breath and glanced at the man next to him—Tessai Tsukabishi.
"Hey Tessai…" Urahara murmured, "Why is it that powerful people always wanna mess around with dangerous stuff?"
Whether it was Lynn or Aizen, they were all the same. Always keeping people on edge.
Though with Aizen, Urahara had at least felt like he could stop him.
But Lynn? He honestly didn't even know what his powers were.
And now? Even Yoruichi had joined Lynn's side.
Urahara rubbed his temples, visibly troubled.
"Don't worry. I'll find a way to balance Lynn's presence with this world,"
That's what Yoruichi had told him.
But still… Urahara couldn't help but worry.
Beside him, Tessai paused, his usually stern face pensive. After a moment, he muttered, "Maybe… it's because they want to see a higher place. A broader view."
Urahara went quiet.
He thought back to what Yoruichi had revealed—A man who controls multiple worlds.
Someone who could pull that off… Might even surpass the legendary Soul King, the one said to have created the Three Realms.
Because truth be told… the Soul King only changed this world.
He never controlled other worlds. He probably couldn't even cross between them.
Urahara shook his head and finally gave up trying to wrap his head around it.
Whatever the world turns into—he's done caring.
After all, he's just a small-time shopkeeper.
Saving the world? That's way above his pay grade.
Once he accepted that, he felt oddly relaxed.
"Huh… I wonder if I'll ever get the chance to travel to another world for a vacation," he mused, eyes twinkling.
A part of him figured—well, technically, wasn't he already doing work for Lynn? Then he could ask for a crossover chance.
— — —
Elsewhere—
Shuren stepped into the human world and took a deep breath.
"Ahh~ Freedom."
His face lit up with excitement—he couldn't wait to wander around this new world!
The others—like Taikon—were just as hyped.
But Shuren quickly snapped back to reality.
He gave the chain on his body a little shake. It rattled crisply.
From the way this chain felt, he could tell—it had an incredibly tight connection to Hell. Even tighter than when he was in Hell.
He was sure of one thing: If he dared step out of line, something very bad would happen to him.
His gaze shifted toward the Inu-yokai who didn't have chains.
His eyes gleamed as he clenched his fists.
Someday, he'd break free of his chains too.
"Let's move! Back to work!"
Shuren pointed decisively toward the souls lingering in the living world.
Urahara adjusted his hat again, giving Shuren a once-over.
This guy… definitely had some power.
And there was no mistaking the Reiatsu on him.
Hell had been around longer than anyone could remember. Since the advent of Soul Reapers, those with immense spiritual power—and the worst criminals—had often been sent there after death.
So naturally, there were plenty of strong individuals in Hell.
Still, seeing the way Shuren practically radiated loyalty and passion made Urahara's face twitch.
Completely tamed.
Not that it was his problem.
But he was still curious—How exactly did Hell plan to transport souls?
...
Not long after, Shuren led his team and began the soul transfer process.
Once Taikon and the others rounded up a few souls, Shuren held up his wooden insignia.
Hum—
A projection of a barren, ancient river shimmered into view.
[The Sanzu River]
Yep.
Enma Ai had fully replicated the core mechanisms of Hell from the main world.
To remember her skills: (from ch 157)
[Enma Ai]
→Unique Skills: [Hell Link], [Sanzu River] & [Hell Devil]
—[Hell Link]—
•Can use spirit power to build a website and establish a link between Hell and the mortal world.
—[Sanzu River]—
•Summons a ghostly boat and ferryman to guide souls.
—[Hell Devil]—
•Hell Projection:
Ai can turn a 100-meter radius into a "Hell Projection," overriding reality.
Within this domain, the terrain becomes blood rivers from the Sanzu River, fields of red spider lilies, and mountains of bones.
All beings inside are suppressed by the laws of Hell.
•Yomi Army: Tears open space to summon creatures from Hell.
•Devilization: Enma Palace, Throne of Endless Suffering.
— — —
This was Shuren's first time using the insignia to open the Sanzu River, and he found it kind of thrilling.
Once the souls were loaded onto the wooden boats, they began drifting forward on their own—toward the depths of Hell.
Moments later, Shuren's insignia glowed.
A fresh contribution score appeared before his eyes.
He tightened his grip slightly—his motivation just went through the roof.
"Keep it up!"
"Yes, sir!"
The others were also buzzing. Their contribution points had just updated.
Life was finally starting to look hopeful.
A while later—
Gunjo asked, "Shuren-sama, what about Hollows?"
"Hollows?"
"They're souls too, right?"
"Send them to Hell too!"
Shuren didn't hesitate.
Hollows were basically walking contribution points!
"Yes, sir!"
Gunjo promptly shoved a Hollow into the Sanzu River as well.
To be fair, he was smart enough not to put it on the same boat as regular souls.
Otherwise, he'd basically be serving them up as dinner.
As Shuren's crew worked tirelessly to ferry souls—A few days passed.
Then a group of Soul Reapers arrived in the Human World to perform Soul Burials… only to find barely any souls left.
"…Huh?"
Where'd all the souls in Karakura Town go?
Were they eaten by Hollows?
Wait, no…Even the Hollows were gone!
— — —
Back in Soul Society.
DONG—DONG—DONG—
For the first time in several days, the summons bell for the Captains rang once again.
...
Division 8 Barracks.
Kyoraku Shunsui scratched his head lazily.
"…Aren't these Captain meetings getting a little too frequent lately?"
.
.
.