However, Brook was already drunk on the thrill of advancement.
After devouring those powerful Hell Wardens, the Hōgyoku acted like an ignition device, driving his evolution forward. Instead of paying attention to sinners like Shuren and Kokuto, Brook rushed straight into the depths of Hell.
The five enormous divine figures followed behind him.
Only after those terrifying figures vanished into the distance did Shuren and the others swallow hard and collapse to the ground.
For a moment, they did not even know where they could run.
After all, that god had just charged into the deepest part of their lair, the bottom of Hell itself. If they fled there now, they would only be serving themselves to him on a platter.
The Gates of Hell were extremely sturdy. Even if there was a crack in them, it would not be enough for them to escape immediately.
Worse still, the chains of Hell bound to their bodies could not be broken by ordinary means. Even if they relied on special masks and cloaks to hide and suppress their spiritual pressure, escaping to the mortal world would only let them stay there for a short time.
If the will of Hell discovered them, they would be shattered in an instant and dragged back into the depths of Hell, where they would need an extremely long time to slowly revive.
"Boss, where do we run now?"
Gunjo trembled as he spoke to Shuren.
He felt that if that god returned, none of them would be able to escape.
At that moment, Kokuto walked toward Shuren and his four subordinates, carrying his strange black broadsword.
"Let's team up."
Kokuto's expression was grim.
"The Hell Wardens are gone. We go to the Gates of Hell together, widen the crack, and escape."
Kokuto had originally planned to use Shuren and the others as tools to escape back to the mortal world. Even if he could not break the chains of Hell, he still wanted to get out and take his revenge.
"I wonder if that god needs subordinates."
Murakumo's eyes carried a trace of longing.
"If he makes a move, he should be able to cut off our chains."
This middle-aged man with dark circles under his eyes held a black broadsword with three blades. Among Shuren's subordinates, he was one of the sharper ones.
Hearing Murakumo's words, both Shuren and Kokuto froze.
They had been so eager to escape, so obsessed with their own ambitions and goals, that they had not even considered this possibility.
"That god doesn't even care about Hell's guardians and jailers. Why would he care about sinners like us?"
Kokuto's voice was cold.
"Escape. At least we can go on one final killing spree before we die."
Kokuto's hatred for the mortal world still burned deep in his bones.
His sister had been brutally murdered. In a fit of rage, he had beaten the murderer to death, but because of that sin, he had fallen straight into Hell and never got to see his sister again in Soul Society.
His resentment had never faded.
He had fought like a madman in Hell, swearing to escape and kill his enemies, kill those indifferent bystanders, and perhaps even kill everyone else.
If he could truly break the chains of Hell and leave for good, he would not mind spending more time planning. But now, with that devouring god's arrival, death might come for them at any moment.
All Kokuto wanted was to escape and kill.
"And if you don't want to escape, hand over every cloak and mask you have that can hide and suppress spiritual pressure."
Kokuto's tone turned even colder.
The terrifying aura coming from the depths of Hell was growing more and more horrifying.
He did not want to waste any more time. He wanted to flee back to the real world through the crack in the Gates of Hell and take his revenge, even if it meant dying in the end.
"You're threatening us?"
Shuren's killing intent surged.
"A lone wolf like you dares provoke the strongest team in Hell?"
"If you want to lure that god back here to devour us, then start the fight."
Kokuto's eyes were crazed.
That expression, as though he was ready to drag everyone down with him, actually made Shuren hesitate.
He truly did not want to die.
"Let's go. We leave this place first."
Shuren temporarily abandoned the idea of breaking the chains of Hell. For now, he decided to flee to the mortal world and avoid that god's wrath.
Even if their masks were shattered by the Shinigami outside and the will of Hell blasted them to death, they would still resurrect in the depths of Hell.
By then, that deity should have already left.
Following Shuren's decision, he brought his four subordinates and Kokuto toward the crack in the Gates of Hell. They needed to break the binding seals left by the Hell Wardens and widen the crack before that god returned.
Deep within Hell, Brook, who now possessed three white Rinnegan with three tomoe, was frantically devouring the souls of Hell's sinners.
There, he also discovered the primordial consciousness of Hell.
This Hell consciousness could directly erase any sinner bound by the chains of Hell. Even powerful sinners like Shuren and Kokuto could not withstand a single blow from it.
"What a terrifying instinctual consciousness. So this is the root of chaos in the Southern Underworld."
Brook looked even more disdainful of the Soul King.
Had that fellow never even completed his lessons on the Six Paths of Reincarnation?
He was like some naive, saintly noblewoman who had skipped every step and jumped straight into becoming the god of the Southern Underworld, an illiterate who knew absolutely nothing.
Brook unleashed his full power and focused on finding this instinctive Hell consciousness.
Once he controlled it, this territory of Hell would become Brook's domain.
The instinctive consciousness of Hell was disgusted by Brook devouring its energy. It wanted to attack him, expel him, and stop his plunder, but it soon discovered that the intruder's strength had already surpassed its limits.
It was just like when the Soul King had forcibly suppressed its growth long ago.
"Come. I'll grant you higher wisdom."
Brook tried showing goodwill to the consciousness.
"Don't stay as a beast driven only by instinct."
But this consciousness had been violent for far too long. It completely ignored Brook and only wanted to drive him away so it could continue developing without interference.
"If you refuse the toast, then drink the punishment wine."
Brook's face turned cold.
"You asked for this."
He charged straight into the deepest part of Hell and began plundering Hell's soul power.
However, after Hell had been forcibly divided into the Three Realms and lost most of its soul sources, it had instinctively created Hueco Mundo to compensate, wasting a massive amount of its power in the process.
Brook's pair of three-tomoe white Rinnegan faintly showed signs of evolving into six-tomoe white Rinnegan, but Hell's reserves were already too depleted.
There was not enough energy for Brook to keep evolving.
"Damn it. This consciousness exists throughout all of Hell. There's no way to capture it unless I devour the entire space."
Brook had no choice but to give up on finding the instinctive consciousness of Hell for now.
No wonder even the Soul King had failed to deal with it properly.
Brook had underestimated this consciousness after all.
He decided to return directly to the Gates of Hell. If he could cut off Hell's source of souls and directly seize every sinful soul that entered Hell, he could slowly starve this place into an empty ghost city.
He would set up his own Gate of Hell here.
He would devour every sinful soul that entered and turn this Hell into a dead, hollow shell.
When Brook returned to the Gates of Hell, he saw Shuren and Kokuto struggling to break the binding seals around the crack.
The fissure in the Gates of Hell was slowly growing wider.
---------
As if sensing Brook's return, Shuren and Kokuto stiffly turned around and looked at the terrifying divine figure.
"My lord god, please accept me as your servant!"
Murakumo, the middle-aged man with dark circles under his eyes, dropped to his knees in front of Brook without the slightest hesitation.
"I will go through fire and water for my master. No order is too dangerous!"
As for Shuren?
Forget it.
At a time like this, he could barely protect his own life. What meaning was there in calling someone "boss" anymore?
Besides, even Shuren, the so-called leader, was nothing more than a slightly larger ant before a god.
If this deity accepted him, Murakumo's status might even surpass Shuren's.
The four-meter-tall giant named Taikon quickly knelt after Murakumo. Although he looked simple-minded and possessed monstrous brute strength, anyone who could survive at the bottom of Hell for so many years could not truly be stupid.
The fat man, Garogai, also understood the situation and became the third to kneel.
Gunjo, Shuren's most trusted subordinate, first glanced at Shuren, then quickly knelt as well.
Even the boss meant nothing before death.
Shuren and Kokuto swallowed hard.
This god's aura was too terrifying. Had he already devoured all the sinners in the depths of Hell so quickly?
That speed was horrifying.
Smack!
Kokuto immediately dropped to his knees.
The question now was no longer whether they wanted to submit. It was whether this god would casually devour them.
He did not dare resist, and he did not dare run.
Either choice would only hasten his death.
Kneeling and acknowledging this god was their only hope of survival.
Even so, that hope was pitifully slim.
After all, this was a god who devoured souls.
He was truly unwilling.
"Please accept us, Master!"
Seeing that everyone else had knelt, Shuren also lowered himself on one knee, preserving the last shred of his pride.
So be it.
This was no longer something he could decide.
"Be good, then."
Brook casually released six [Five Gods Slave Seals] and planted them on the six sinners of Hell. Then, with a casual slash, he severed the chains of Hell binding them.
Even a fully Hollowfied Ichigo could cut through those chains. For Brook, they were nothing but scraps.
"Thank you, Master!"
All six of them kowtowed wildly.
They were finally free.
More than that, they had found a terrifying backer. From now on, they could walk with their heads held high.
"Go out. Head to the mortal world, find the Arrancar, and follow them to complete my mission."
Brook threw the six of them out of Hell, then began building his own Gate of Hell in front of the original Gates of Hell, intercepting every sinful soul that came through.
The instinctive will within Hell could only rage helplessly. It could not stop Brook's plundering.
From now on, Hell would no longer develop, nor would it have the energy to create another Hueco Mundo.
"If you refuse to submit, then enjoy starving here!"
Brook shouted at Hell's instinctive consciousness, then laughed and left Hell, returning to Hueco Mundo.
By now, the Arrancar and Hollows had already mobilized on a massive scale. Only a handful of minor figures remained, including little Nelliel.
The human world had fallen into chaos.
The Espada and Menos Grande had attacked the mortal realm, forcing the Gotei 13 to mobilize in full. Only Captain-Commander Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni remained in Seireitei.
Meanwhile, the Visoreds hidden in the mortal world had quietly joined the battle against the Hollows to protect humanity. At the same time, they also had to evade pursuit from the Gotei 13, leaving them in an extremely troublesome position.
Under the persuasion of Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihōin, Shinji Hirako and the Visoreds could only contribute in silence, however unwilling they might be.
At the same time, under Urahara's special training, Ichigo Kurosaki reawakened his Shinigami powers and threw himself into the battle against the Hollows.
"Rukia and Aizen were both captured by Jushiro Ukitake?"
Kisuke Urahara listened to the latest news from Yoruichi Shihōin with disbelief written all over his face.
What in the world was going on?
Could Aizen have controlled Jushiro Ukitake and used him to escape?
Did that mean Aizen had already obtained the Hōgyoku hidden inside Rukia's soul?
Every inference, every speculation, and every possible conclusion made Urahara feel uneasy.
He had never expected Rukia to be taken so quickly, without even going through the formal trial process of the Central 46.
Given Jushiro Ukitake's personality, he would definitely protect Rukia. With Byakuya Kuchiki nearby as well, Aizen should not have dared to act rashly.
But now everything had gone far beyond Urahara's expectations.
"This is bad! Six more sinners from Hell just appeared, and their spiritual pressure is even stronger!"
Lisa Yadōmaru, one of the Visoreds, stormed into Urahara's secret meeting room while cursing.
Everyone's expression changed.
How could sinners from Hell escape into the mortal world?
Their hellish aura was completely different from Soul Society's spiritual pressure. Anyone could tell the difference at a glance.
The power of Hell's sinners came from Hell's miasma.
Every time those sinners resurrected, they fused with a bit more of that miasma, gaining strange physical changes and unique powers. Each sinner's ability was different.
The power Shuren obtained was a powerful flame that could freely change form.
"I'm finally back!"
Kokuto covered his face and laughed like a madman, his body releasing dense black Hell miasma.
His aura was stronger than that of most Shinigami captains.
"Boss Shuren, as Master ordered, we should first find the Arrancar and follow them to complete Master's mission."
Murakumo glanced at the crazed Kokuto, then shamelessly addressed Shuren, the strongest among them.
"What a rare freedom. Still, Master's orders come first."
Shuren savored the air of the present world.
He had finally escaped that dark Hell filled with slaughter and bloodshed.
Then Shuren led his four subordinates away to search for the Arrancar, leaving behind Kokuto, who was still laughing madly.
If Kokuto failed to complete the mission and was killed by their master, that had nothing to do with them.
They cherished this freedom.
They cherished the feeling of clinging to a powerful figure.
They had no interest in going insane alongside Kokuto.
"What terrifying spiritual pressure."
Shinji Hirako, leader of the Visoreds, sensed Kokuto's aura and his expression turned grave.
That sinner from Hell had already surpassed him, the former captain of the Fifth Division. Even if Shinji used Hollowfication, he might not be able to defeat him.
After venting his madness, Kokuto glanced in Shinji's direction, then quickly flew toward his hometown.
He wanted to kill everyone there.
His enemies, the police, indifferent passersby, judges, the media, anyone he saw.
All of them had to die.
"What murderous intent. He's going to kill people. That thing really crawled out of Hell."
Kisuke Urahara stared in the direction Kokuto had disappeared, hoping that one of the Gotei 13 captains could stop that murderous lunatic.
Meanwhile, Brook had already brought little Nelliel from Hueco Mundo into the human world.
If he could find a few Fullbringers, he would take the opportunity to reclaim the power that belonged to the Soul King's fragments.
.....
[If you don't want to wait for the next update, read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.]
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