After some time, the Northern Underworld universe finally settled into complete stillness.
Only then did Brook begin turning his attention toward the Southern Underworld, a region of Hell with no underworld deity standing guard.
He had been watching that place for a long time.
More importantly, the moment he became a god, his soul underwent an evolution unlike anything before.
Brook discovered that his transmigrator soul could now fully merge with his body and transform freely. Both his soul and flesh had reached complete transcendence, creating a divine body even more unique than the gods of the Underworld.
In other words, even the Underworld itself could no longer stop Brook.
In the past, he could only cross the Underworld with his soul. Now, he could cross it with his true body.
If his current aura were not so powerful that even Jin, the Western Underworld God, would be unable to ignore it, he would have gone back to the One Piece world for a look.
However, considering that he was still a newly born god and might not be able to defeat a veteran god like Jin, Brook decided to head to the Southern Underworld first and further develop his abilities.
Perhaps after that, he could make a triumphant return, defeat Jin of the Western Underworld, and even make the Eastern Underworld God covet him.
"I wonder if that Southern Underworld God has already been killed."
Brook stood before the Underworld Domain and chuckled.
"If the Soul King is still in that limbless sealed state, wouldn't he be easy for me to devour?"
If he had already been killed by Yhwach, then things would become more complicated.
Brook would need to slowly eliminate the Shinigami, Quincy, and Hollows, then absorb their power bit by bit.
As Brook crossed the boundary of the Underworld, the world around him began to shift, and the entire power system changed with it.
In a world within the Southern Underworld.
Inside the Soul King Palace, a naked man without hands or legs was sealed within crystal.
This completely immobile man slowly opened his eyes, as if he had witnessed something unbelievable.
The trajectory of fate had been overturned.
His omniscience and omnipotence were useless against this devourer.
The disturbance quickly drew the attention of Ichibe Hyosube, leader of the Zero Division. As the one responsible for guarding the lynchpin of the Three Realms, his mission was to protect the Soul King.
He could not allow even the slightest accident to befall the Soul King. Otherwise, the current Three Realms would collapse in a very short time.
"Death..."
The Soul King conveyed that thought to Ichibe in broken fragments, then closed his eyes once more.
Under his omniscient and omnipotent power, he had seen no hope of survival.
At the very least, the world itself would not be destroyed.
However, the Zero Division, the Five Great Noble Families, Central 46, the Gotei 13, the Sternritter Quincy, the Arrancar, the Visoreds, and Hueco Mundo would all face a terrible calamity.
No one could stop the devourer.
Even Ichibe Hyosube and Yhwach could only become food.
"Death? What does that mean?"
Ichibe's expression turned grave.
"With the Zero Division protecting this place, what kind of death threat could still exist?"
Thousands of years ago, an ancient Hollow defeated the young Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto and successfully broke into the Soul King Palace. But in the end, it had still been easily defeated and sealed inside his Zanpakuto, Mitsuji Mitsuji Tomoe.
Then, roughly a thousand years ago, Yhwach led the Quincy in an assault on Soul Society. That time, however, the Zero Division had not needed to intervene.
Yhwach had quickly been severely injured and sealed by the now matured Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto.
Ichibe searched through every possibility, but he could not think of anyone else who could threaten the Soul King while the Zero Division stood guard.
Could it be someone from the Five Great Noble Families?
Were they trying to remove another part of the Soul King?
The Soul King had already lost his hands, legs, and internal organs. Did they still want his eyes and body?
However, the Five Great Noble Families had long since declined into the Four Great Noble Families. Even now, the Four Great Noble Families had continued to weaken, and some families no longer had any worthy successors.
Ichibe wanted to ask the Soul King for more details.
But the Soul King had already shut his eyes and stopped conveying information.
Ichibe had no choice but to leave. He immediately ordered the four officers of the Zero Division to keep a close watch on everything in the coming days.
"Understood!" x4
Tenjiro Kirinji, the Eastern Divine General and First Officer of the Zero Division, the Hot Spring Demon who created healing hot springs.
Kirio Hikifune, the Southern Divine General and Second Officer of the Zero Division, the Ruler of the Valley, who created the technology of modified souls and soul infusion.
Oetsu Nimaiya, the Western Divine General and Third Officer of the Zero Division, the Sword God who created the Zanpakuto.
Senjumaru Shutara, the Northern Divine General and Fourth Officer of the Zero Division, the Great Weave Guard who created the divine armor.
Only Shinigami who had made great contributions to Soul Society were qualified to join the Zero Division.
For example, Oetsu Nimaiya, creator of the Zanpakuto, had been the first Shinigami selected for the Zero Division.
As for Ichibe Hyosube, he was the leader and head of the Zero Division. He had the power to name all things in Soul Society, including every Zanpakuto.
The terms Zanpakuto, Shikai, and Bankai had also been named by him.
Ichibe also sent a warning to Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto of the Gotei 13, reminding him to pay attention to any major events in the near future.
However, unless something threatened the safety of the Soul King, the Zero Division would not interfere with the affairs of Soul Society.
...
Soul Society, Rukongai, East District 80, Zaraki.
Brook frowned the moment he stepped into this Southern Hell.
The land was barren. Famine was everywhere. Souls slaughtered one another just to fight for the faintest chance of survival.
"They actually turned the Southern Underworld into this?"
Brook was startled.
The Southern Underworld, a territory that should have belonged to the gods of the Underworld, had now been divided into Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the true Hell.
Worse, Hell in this world no longer had a proper cycle of reincarnation.
Once Hell obtained souls, it expanded without control until it threatened to swallow reality and destroy everything.
The existence of Soul Society allowed these Shinigami to take over the work that should have belonged to Hell. They prevented Hell from receiving souls from the human world as it had in the past, thereby halting its expansion.
At some unknown point, however, Soul Society became the arbiter of Hell.
They controlled how many souls entered Hell. They also controlled every soul that came from the human world.
Sinful souls were sealed into Hell, while good souls were sent to "heaven." In other words, they returned to the human world and entered reincarnation, maintaining the balance of order.
After that, the ruling class of Soul Society selected outstanding souls from among them, trained them as Shinigami, and had them work for Soul Society.
To strengthen itself, Hell created a place called Hueco Mundo, which constantly hunted new souls so Hell could continue its instinctive expansion.
The new souls who entered Soul Society were essentially living another life. They built new families and new livelihoods here, until they eventually died and disappeared again.
Apart from the Seireitei at the center, Soul Society divided the surrounding Rukongai into four directions: east, west, south, and north. Each direction had eighty districts, and the higher the number, the harsher the environment.
Brook's current location, East District 80, was one of the worst and most chaotic places in Rukongai. The living conditions were unbearably poor.
In truth, Soul Society had no way to manage so many souls.
But it did not want those souls to fall into Hell either.
So it could only raise them like poisonous insects in a jar, letting the talented few crawl out of their lowly fate by becoming Shinigami.
As for ordinary souls, most of them would never leave the district they lived in until the day they truly died and faded away.
------------
Brook sensed the ghostly energy in the air.
Or rather, the underworld energy this world called spirit particles.
However, there were almost no spirit particles in this area. That alone showed just how miserable the living environment of these wandering souls was.
The human souls who entered Soul Society should have been able to sustain themselves by absorbing spirit particles from the air. They could have continued living until their lifespan ended, then returned to the human world for reincarnation.
But in this chaotic district, there were not even enough spirit particles to maintain a soul's existence.
They could only live in hunger and suffering. They could fall ill. They could be killed. They could vanish in some filthy corner without anyone caring.
If they were judged early by the Shinigami and returned to the human world as kind souls, they would not need to live at the bottom of Rukongai.
Unfortunately, such things were rare.
The Shinigami had no time to care about weak souls living at the very bottom of society.
The higher the district number in Rukongai, the harder it was to encounter a Shinigami.
Human souls could only rely on their innate talent to absorb spirit particles and train, strengthening themselves little by little.
Only then could they move toward safer districts, such as District 1, where they would not only have a chance to be judged and reincarnated sooner, but might even enter the ranks of the Shinigami.
Of course, most souls who gained power would not choose to return to the human world for reincarnation.
They would rather continue living in a smaller numbered district.
They became the powerful souls of Rukongai, second only to the Shinigami, forming yet another strict hierarchy.
The lower numbered districts enjoyed richer spirit particles and more resources, while weaker souls could only remain in the higher numbered districts, with almost no chance to change their fate.
Because a soul's innate spiritual power was something one was born with.
If you had it, you had it.
If you did not, then you could only struggle at the bottom of Rukongai.
...
"This world is filthier than the Northern Underworld Hell. Is the Soul King out of his mind?"
Brook chuckled softly.
Not only had the Soul King allowed himself to be sealed without resistance, he had also allowed his subordinates to run wild in this world.
Was this descendant of some divine bloodline suffering from a serious case of sainthood?
How could someone like that be worthy of being called a god of the Underworld?
The Soul King clearly had the power to rebuild the cycle of reincarnation. His subordinates had also suggested dividing the world into separate realms managed by humans and Hollows, with those managers placed in an independent space to form the Three Realms.
Yet the Soul King had remained noncommittal and continued to maintain the world's operation by constantly eliminating Hollows.
Later, his subordinates could no longer tolerate it. They rebelled, sealed the Soul King, and forcibly used his power to divide the world into the current Three Realms.
The Human World.
Soul Society.
Hell.
As for Hueco Mundo, it was a special space later created by Hell between the Human World and Soul Society.
The most ridiculous part was that these subordinates had originally been insignificant in the Soul King's eyes. Yet because he seemed able to see the future through his omniscient and omnipotent divine authority, he simply gave up resisting and allowed himself to be sealed and dismembered.
Brook thought there were only two possibilities.
Either the Soul King was truly a saintly fool, or he knew he would not die.
Perhaps when his term ended and the higher gods descended, he would regain his power, leave unharmed, and return to report.
These past few years, he had probably just been too lazy to think about such trivial matters.
But now, because of Brook's arrival, his entire future had changed.
Brook wondered whether the Soul King, who had already lost his fighting power, could still remain so calm.
Would the future path of this world, guided by his own will, really be the fate he wanted?
Brook ignored these lowly, weak souls and flew straight toward the Seireitei at the center of Soul Society.
That was the area where the Shinigami, nobles, and ruling class lived.
"I wonder what era this is. Have those two bosses, Sosuke Aizen and Yhwach, shown themselves yet?"
Brook flew from Zaraki, East District 80, toward East District 1.
Before long, he saw the bustling Seireitei. But the moment he attempted to enter without authorization, he triggered the Seireitei's defenses.
Countless Sekkiseki stones, capable of isolating spiritual power, appeared. The energy fluctuations that broke spiritual power back into spirit particles formed a spherical protective barrier.
The sudden appearance of the massive Seireitei Wall instantly alarmed the Shinigami inside the Seireitei and the souls across every district in the east, west, north, and south.
Kaiwan, gatekeeper of the Blue Stream Gate in the eastern district, immediately rushed out and glared furiously at Brook, the criminal attempting to invade the Seireitei.
Although Kaiwan was not a true Shinigami, he was still a famous warrior of Soul Society.
"You actually dare to fly in the sky? Who are you?"
Kaiwan, guardian of the Blue Stream Gate, could not sense any spiritual pressure from Brook.
However, this flying man had an extraordinary aura. No matter how he looked at it, he was not an ordinary soul.
Still, with the entire Seireitei behind him, Kaiwan had no fear. Whether this person was a Quincy or a Hollow, Soul Society held absolute authority here.
"So this special energy breaks spiritual power down into spirit particles, achieving an anti-magic effect. Most souls with spiritual power can't pass through it."
Brook immediately understood the purpose of the spirit barrier.
But he ignored Kaiwan's warning and the protective shield, then flew straight through.
Kaiwan was so frightened that he immediately rushed back through the gate to report this strange intruder to the Shinigami.
"The Soul King's right hand should be inside Jushiro Ukitake, captain of the Thirteenth Division."
"Then you'll be my first target."
Brook landed on the streets of the Seireitei and instantly transformed the power of the Five Gods into spiritual energy, completely changing his aura.
In the blink of an eye, he became a master overflowing with spiritual pressure.
After all, he had obtained the Soul King's two legs. The power of those two legs alone already surpassed the spiritual power of most captains.
Chaos erupted throughout the Seireitei.
An intruder had entered, and every Shinigami had to move at once to eliminate him and preserve the absolute authority and stability of the Seireitei.
Brook casually conjured a Shinigami uniform, with a Zanpakuto hanging at his waist.
As a cross-dimensional devourer, even with god-tier equipment, he still preferred playing the sneak attacker.
At a street corner, Brook grabbed a Shinigami who was rushing past.
"Brother, I need urgent help. Do you know where the captain of the Thirteenth Division is?"
Brook spoke gently.
The noble aura and powerful spiritual pressure radiating from him made the Shinigami freeze for a moment.
"The captains should all be gathering at the Blue Stream Gate, but Captain Ukitake should be recuperating at Ugendō."
The Shinigami quickly returned to his duties.
Everyone knew that Jushiro Ukitake was often ill due to his weak body, so he usually left most matters to his subordinates while recuperating at Ugendō.
"Thanks, brother. Keep up the good work and catch that intruder."
Brook smiled and let the straightforward Shinigami go.
Then, following the direction he had pointed out, Brook headed toward Ugendō.
.....
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