Bleach World, Hell.
As Setsuna's figure once again stepped into this purgatory of the dead, he immediately felt a discomfort.
This was Hell's rejection.
His physical body was too powerful. For Hell, composed purely of Reishi, such a strong body with blazing life force was like a blade stabbing into Hell's body.
"Hmm?" Setsuna frowned slightly, suppressing the life energy field his body naturally emitted, and quickly adjusted his own energy frequency, trying to simulate a state closer to a 'spiritual body' to alleviate this conflict.
But the nature of this physical body was too strong. Like a torch in the dark night, no matter how hard it tried to hide, it couldn't fully merge into the darkness.
Meanwhile, at another battlefield in Hell.
The Captains of the original Gotei 13 were locked in fierce combat with a figure radiating an evil aura.
That figure was the Ancestor of the Tsunayashiro Clan.
With his strength, he could have easily annihilated this Hell expeditionary force.
But to force Setsuna out, he had only been chasing, not killing.
Getting sent flying once again, Saito Furofushi jumped up angrily: "Damn it! This old woman will fight him to the death!"
"Calm down!" Shihoin Chika soothed. "We have to trust Setsuna. He will definitely return. We need to buy him time."
The others fell silent. If not for the Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor's behavior of trying to force Setsuna out, they would have thought Setsuna had long since sacrificed himself.
Now, the Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor had placed his hope on them.
And in their view, if they could delay the Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor, they would also be buying time for Setsuna.
Just as the Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor was toying with them like a cat with mice, he suddenly let out a miserable scream.
"Gyaaaaah! Chiaki Setsuna! You bastard again!"
He was the incarnation of Hell. The damage Setsuna inflicted on Hell was naturally synchronized onto him.
The original Captains were bewildered, 'Why had this guy suddenly gone mad?'
"What is he saying? Setsuna?"
"Could it be a trap?"
Before they could discuss the outcome, the Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor abandoned them and flew furiously towards the direction he sensed.
The original Captains exchanged glances and followed without hesitation.
After all, given the Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor's strength, he could have killed them long ago. There was no need for trickery.
…
When the Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor, carrying overwhelming rage, descended before Setsuna, his fury instantly turned into ecstasy.
"It is you, Chiaki Setsuna! You won't escape this time!" The Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor sneered. "I will completely crush you, melt you into Hell, and make you a part of me!"
Seeing the Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor's look of certain victory, Setsuna laughed. "Last time? You mean when I was just a shattered soul state? That 'game' was indeed a bit troublesome."
Setsuna gently loosened his wrist, feeling the subtle sting from the conflict between his body and Hell. "But this time is different. Now I have a body."
"A body?" The Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor was disdainful. "Foolish! The soul is the foundation, the eternal existence transcending the flesh."
"Mere material shells are nothing but burdens and weaknesses in the face of the soul's power, just like you now, even Hell itself rejects this skin that shouldn't exist!"
He wasted no more words and directly launched his attack.
Countless dark red chains, condensed from Hell's Dark Reishi, stabbed towards Setsuna from all directions like venomous dragons.
These chains contained the rule-based power of Hell that erodes the soul. If an ordinary Shinigami so much as touched them, their soul would be severely damaged instantly.
However, these dark red chains struck Setsuna's body, but were utterly unable to penetrate his body's defense.
Setsuna's body was like the strongest fortress. A slight tremor pulverized those chains.
"What?" The Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor's pupils contracted sharply, his eyes full of disbelief.
Over three hundred years ago, the other party's full-power attack couldn't even shake his soul.
Now, things had completely reversed. His full-power attack had no effect.
"I don't believe it!" The Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor gritted his teeth and frantically attacked Setsuna.
When the original Captains arrived late, they were greeted by the sight of the Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor attacking Setsuna with all his might, unable to even tear his clothes.
"Th-this is?" Chika's eyes widened. Although he believed Setsuna would return, he never imagined Setsuna could become this powerful.
After all, that was the mastermind who had imprisoned the Soul King!
"Haha, Setsuna, kill him, kill him!" Furofushi waved her small fists, her tone filled with excitement.
"Alright, as you wish." Setsuna accepted the suggestion readily, while also thinking to himself that even though he hadn't let Saiyan heritage dominate his nature, he still ended up 'playing around' with his food from time to time.
Fortunately, the targets of his 'playing' were all weaklings.
Setsuna lightly tapped his finger, and a grey ray pierced the Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor's chest.
"Gyah..." The Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor's movements abruptly stopped. He looked down at the hole rapidly expanding in his chest, and in an instant, he turned to ashes.
The assembled Shinigami Captains were filled with emotion.
'Could the ruler of Hell also die?'
'This should be the end of death, right? Surely there isn't a Purgatory beneath Hell?'
Just then, the space of Hell suddenly erupted.
The earth trembled, space tore, as if the entire world was going berserk.
Dark clouds churned, black fog permeated, and a gigantic face, nearly covering the sky, slowly emerged.
That face let out a triumphant laugh: "Hahahaha! Foolish! Did you think you could kill me like this?"
"I am Hell! Hell is me! As long as Hell is not destroyed, I am immortal!"
"Even that fool, the Soul King, couldn't completely destroy Hell back then. You think you can kill me? Dream on!"
Faced with this seemingly insurmountable dilemma, Setsuna instead laughed happily.
"Destroy Hell? No, no." Setsuna shook his head. "How could I destroy a world so delicious?"
The Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor was stunned, 'Delicious? He meant wonderful, right?'
Setsuna looked up at the sky and licked his lips. "Of course, I'll eat it!"
Setsuna opened his mouth wide and, using the [Food Honor] he had learned from White Demon, began to devour the world.
Crack! Crack!
The space of Hell shattered like broken cookies, devoured by an invisible giant mouth.
Hell's Reishi surged wildly towards Setsuna like a bursting dam.
All of Hell, this kingdom of the dead that had existed for countless tens of thousands of years, had now become a gigantic cake being gnawed upon by a gluttonous behemoth.
"Stop... no, stop eating!" The Tsunayashiro Clan's Ancestor completely panicked. He never imagined that the other's 'delicious' was meant literally.
The assembled Shinigami Captains watched dumbfounded, 'The Hollow of destruction from myths and legends that was supposed to devour everything... was now itself being devoured!'
'This was simply too brutal. Who, exactly, is the demon here?'