Furofushi continued: "Those monsters are endowed with a core duty… degeneration."
"They constantly kill Togabito and Hollows, causing them to degenerate into their most primitive Reishi Form, ultimately becoming the yellow sand that constitutes the bottommost endless desert of this Hell."
Setsuna's heart stirred, a name emerging: "This ability, could it be the embodiment of the Soul King's left foot's authority?"
As far as he knew, Ukitake possessed the Soul King's right arm, [Mimihagi], within his body, which governed the power of 'stillness'.
Yhwach's Schutzstaffel member, Pernida Parnkgjas, was the incarnation of the Soul King's left arm, governing the power of 'progress'.
Another of Yhwach's Schutzstaffel, Gerard Valkyrie, was the incarnation of the Soul King's heart, possessing the ability symbolizing 'miracle'.
Furofushi was somewhat surprised after hearing this: "You even know this? It seems you are indeed different from Kuruyashiki. Yamamoto told you everything?"
Setsuna nodded slightly: "More or less. He originally wanted me to inherit the Captain-Commander's position, and for him to come to Hell. But I didn't want to be a shirking turtle, so I let him continue being the turtle."
"Shirking turtle?" Furofushi laughed again, laughing until tears came out.
"That guy Yamamoto used to be the most murderous among us, and now he's being regarded as a shirking turtle?"
"But that's right. To deal with those rotten nobles, you have to be tolerant enough."
Setsuna asked: "Who is manipulating all this behind the scenes? The ancestors of the Five Great Nobles?"
Furofushi sneered and shook her head: "Those five, even in Hell, are merely legends. Perhaps they exist, perhaps they have long perished. Who knows?"
"At least, on the surface, the one controlling most of Hell's regions and rules is the Ota Clan among the Five Great Nobles."
"If the [Will of Hell] are the 'jailers' responsible for the dirty and exhausting work, then the Shinigami of the Ota Clan are the 'jail administrators' who issue orders and manage the 'jailers'."
"What about you Shinigami who refuse to transform?" Setsuna asked. "What are your thoughts on the Ota Clan, on the rules of Hell?"
"Thoughts?" Furofushi grinned, revealing a ferocious smile full of bloodthirst, forming a terrifying contrast with her loli appearance.
"Does that even need asking? Of course, it's to kill those sons of bitches in the Ota Clan! They want to turn us into mindless puppets? Screw the Ota Clan!"
Setsuna chuckled inwardly, 'It was truly a pity that the Kuchiki Clan had not inherited the rough and cheerful nature of this first captain of the 6th Division.'
Furofushi stared at Setsuna, her tone mixing recognition and seriousness: "You are the Captain-Commander recognized by Yamamoto, and you are a 'Transcendent' standing on the same level as him."
"We, the lingering souls of the Gotei 13 eking out an existence in Hell, are willing to follow your commands. At least, until you prove yourself to be a fool or a bastard."
This pledge of loyalty came directly and pragmatically.
Setsuna nodded, not surprised: "Then, first take me to meet the seniors of the Gotei 13. I want to know how many 'cards' we have in our hand."
Furofushi wasted no words, turning to lead the way.
Her movement technique was bizarre, not simply fast, but more like being intimately familiar with every energy flow and spatial fold in Hell, always able to traverse in the most economical and concealed way.
The two crossed several perilous deserts, skirted several boiling magma lakes, finally arriving at a secret camp hidden deep within a massive fissure in the earth's crust, sheltered by some ancient barrier.
The camp was considerable in scale, composed of natural caves and artificially excavated stone chambers.
As Setsuna stepped into the core area of the barrier, Reiatsu gazes, some strong some weak, but all carrying rich Shinigami characteristics and an aura seasoned by the cruelty of war, simultaneously fell upon him.
Gathered here were strikingly all the Captain-level Shinigami who had died in battle over the past thousand years of the Gotei 13.
In addition, there were also some, like Koga and Kenpachi Zaraki, whose Reiatsu reached 3rd-class or above, but whose positions were only seated officers or Lieutenants.
There were dozens of them, most maintaining their lifelong attire.
Their spiritual bodies were solid, their eyes sharp, clearly their combat ability had not decreased but increased in the cruel environment of Hell.
Furofushi clapped her hands, drawing everyone's attention: "This is a newcomer who arrived in Hell today. Don't be fooled by him being a newcomer, his strength surpasses any one of us."
"Surpasses us all?" Izuhara Kinroku, the first Captain of the 3rd Division, raised an eyebrow. "I can't just let that statement slide."
Furofushi shrugged: "He has transcended 1st-class Reiryoku."
"Oh, then forget I said anything." Kinroku decisively conceded, so bluntly that several Shinigami nearby, who were preparing to enjoy the show, almost threw out their backs.
Kinroku was also helpless inside. A Shinigami's battle was a battle of Reiatsu.
Since the other had transcended first-class Reiryoku, what more was there to say?
"Are you Setsuna?" Kuruyashiki stared in disbelief, his eyes wide. "You've transcended 1st-class Reiatsu?"
Setsuna calmly nodded: "That's correct."
Kuruyashiki's expression instantly became extremely interesting, carrying a sense of daze as if being ruthlessly run over by the wheels of time.
Seeing Kuruyashiki's broken expression, Obana Danjiro, the first captain of the 5th Division, asked: "Kuruyashiki, you know him?"
Kuruyashiki with difficulty tore his gaze away from Setsuna and looked at Danjiro, his facial expression complicated beyond description:
"What if I said he entered Soul Society just two years ago? Would you believe me?"
"What?"
"Two years?"
"That's impossible!"
The camp immediately erupted with sounds of gasps and doubts.
Danjiro shook his head repeatedly: "Growing from a new soul to transcending 1st-class Reiatsu in two years? This joke is not funny."
"It's true." Kuruyashiki smiled bitterly. "When I died, he hadn't even become an official Shinigami yet."
"To be precise, I became an official Shinigami on the day you died, Captain Kuruyashiki." Setsuna corrected. "That same day, I defeated Azashiro and became the ninth Captain of the 11th Division."
"Eh? You inherited the captaincy of the 11th Division?" Kuruyashiki was first stunned, then grinned widely.
"Haha, I originally wanted to invite you to the 11th Division back then. By the way, what about Azashiro?"
Setsuna said: "I didn't kill him. I let him stay in the 11th Division."
Kuruyashiki admired: "You really are strong, able to hold back in your battle with him."
Their casual conversation, ignoring everyone else, left the other Shinigami stunned to the point of absent-mindedness.
It had to be mentioned that, from Kuruyashiki's death until now, at most, it had only been about half a year.
That meant this Shinigami named 'Setsuna' had only used half a year after graduating from the academy to surpass all of them, one could even say he had surpassed the history of Soul Society.
Even Furofushi widened her eyes, looking at Setsuna: "You've been dead for less than two years and you've already transcended 1st-class Reiatsu?"
Setsuna nodded again: "That's right."
"You really are a monster among monsters!" Furofushi's mouth twitched. "I finally understand why Yamamoto designated you to be the Captain-Commander."
The crowd of Shinigami was again shocked: "He's the Captain-Commander?"
Furofushi shrugged: "According to him, he didn't agree and voluntarily asked to come down to Hell to accompany us."
A wave of admiration arose among the Shinigami.
'Voluntarily giving up the high position of power in the Seireitei, choosing to step into this sunless, perilous Hell?'
'This junior Shinigami truly had great spirit. No wonder he could break conventions and achieve Transcendent.'
Furofushi, sensing the atmosphere was sufficiently prepared, clapped her hands again, pulling everyone's attention back:
"So that's the situation. He is the strongest, and he is the Captain-Commander designated by Yamamoto. I want him to lead us. What do you all think?"