Before Naraku Sora could react, a wild, brutal spiritual pressure exploded inside him.
A crushing weight surged out in all directions, and a searing heat flared up from the depths of his soul,
as if his whole being were about to turn into a miniature sun.
There wasn't much Hollow Power, but it roared and surged, smashing through the Reiatsu blocking its path like rotted wood, and then, in a completely savage, unreasonable way—
Fused!
The invisible pressure rampaged without restraint, sweeping across almost half of the Reviving Hell.
A shockwave visible to the naked eye burst from Naraku's body, blasting Nishikawa beside him clean off his feet.
The aftershock slammed into the nearby walls and cell doors, setting off a chorus of clanging crashes.
Countless startled gazes poked out from within the cells, all locking onto the boy whose face was twisted in pain.
Nishikawa staggered back to his feet, bracing himself against the wall, staring at Naraku in shock.
He didn't know what had just happened, but compared to a moment ago, the kid's Reiatsu seemed to have jumped an entire tier.
Was this… what people called a "genius"?
But—
Didn't that Reiatsu feel a little off?
It seemed… more chaotic than that of a normal Shinigami.
At the same time, in the Warden's office—
A Kidō-crafted projection floated over the desk, and Shutara Senjumaru watched with great interest.
Savage. Turbulent. Crimson.
In the image, Naraku stood where he was, letting that almost tangible Reiatsu spiral freely around him, even to the point of pressing down the Hollows' Reiatsu inside their cells.
"Now what has I gone and found here?"
Senjumaru's slender brows lifted, surprise filling her dark eyes.
"Did he take in Hollow Reiatsu while handling the Adjuchas, or is he some sort of special individual by nature?"
"As far as I'm aware, there shouldn't be anyone in Soul Society yet who can fuse two completely opposing powers."
"Before anyone else notices, I might as well stake my claim."
"First come, first served, little one. You belong to me now…"
...
The commotion in Reviving Hell drew quite a few prison guards over, but Nishikawa was very good at handling situations like this.
With just a few lines, he neatly shifted everyone's attention onto the idea of a "Hollow rampage."
And when they heard that the freshly graduated Naraku Sora had already managed to escort two Adjuchas to their cells all by himself, the nearby Shinigami couldn't help straightening up in respect.
No wonder he'd been allowed into the Central Great Underground Prison as a special exception—he really was a genius among academy students.
There were plenty of elite Shinigami here drawn from the various divisions, but compared to someone this young who already had seated-officer-level power, they still fell a bit short.
Not to mention, this was only the beginning.
Judging from the potential the boy had just shown, it was only a matter of time before he became a major figure in the Central Prison—or even all of Soul Society.
He had "future captain" written all over him.
Under the respectful gazes of the other Shinigami, Naraku gritted his teeth and forced the last trace of rampaging Reiatsu to settle down, making himself look much more normal.
First time suppressing a criminal and he'd already made such a huge scene.
Nobody had told him he'd be drawing Hollow Power out of an Adjuchas!
If it hadn't been for the fact that he'd only handled the escort and his contribution rate was too low—if he'd gotten even a bit more Hollow Power—Naraku would've hollowfied on the spot and blown his cover completely.
Then it would've been "Newly appointed Shinigami Naraku Sora commits taboo," followed immediately by "Warden slaps him into paste," with no chance of putting the pieces back together.
…Hopefully that ruckus just now didn't catch Shutara Senjumaru's attention, right?
At that thought, Naraku suddenly felt a bit guilty.
From what he knew, Senjumaru had earned her place in the Royal Guard by inventing the Shinigami uniform.
With someone that high-level in research, if she'd seen what happened just now, there was no way she wouldn't be able to pick out the trace of Hollow Reiatsu.
If that happened, no amount of explanation would save him—even a hundred excuses wouldn't be enough.
Just as Naraku was inwardly counting his blessings, Nishikawa hurried over in big strides, his expression tinged with excitement.
"Naraku, just now you—"
Before he could finish, Naraku cut him off. "I got lucky. Under the pressure of the Adjuchas, I dug out more of my potential and broke through in Reiatsu."
Hearing that, Nishikawa immediately showed an "I knew it" expression.
It was a little far-fetched, sure, but overall it was still plausible—about what he'd guessed anyway.
As expected, geniuses really were something else.
They escort two Adjuchas and somehow walk away with a breakthrough. This kid's future was bright.
Thinking that, Nishikawa said, "Naraku, there's something you need to be careful about from here on."
"Careful about what?"
"The Central 46."
At that, Nishikawa's smile faded, and his face grew more serious.
"Your teachers at the academy should've told you that the Central 46 is the highest judicial body in Soul Society."
"Any crime committed by a Shinigami—whether in Soul Society or the World of the Living—is judged by them."
"But what I'm about to tell you now is something your teachers would never mention."
"On the surface, the Central 46 is made up of forty wise men and six judges. In reality, behind them stand forty-six ancient noble families of Soul Society."
Naraku raised a brow, genuinely surprised.
Nishikawa paused, then lowered his voice and went on, "And those forty-six families are far from united. There's plenty of infighting among them."
"As you know, the Central Prison is directly under the Central 46. As their subordinates, if we're not careful, we can easily get dragged into the power struggles of those big shots."
"When that happens—whether you're ground into dust or soar straight to the top all comes down to sheer luck."
"After all…"
Nishikawa shook his head and stopped.
In Soul Society, dabbling in politics lightly was not something you could brush off over tea.
One wrong move and you could be sentenced to decades or even centuries in prison. In more serious cases, immediate execution wasn't off the table either.
Naraku nodded, calmly accepting this kind warning from his senior.
But rather than worry about crises that might or might not happen in the future, it was better to focus on suppressing criminals for now.
Just a 5% contribution to subduing a criminal Hollow had already given him massive gains.
If he were involved start to finish… the rewards would be unimaginable.
As the Hollow Power finished fully merging, Naraku carefully felt out the changes in his body. A rich, surging strength flowed through his limbs and bones.
Fierce. Overbearing. Strong.
His Reiatsu might not have skyrocketed, but his spiritual body had clearly been enhanced.
Or rather, under the catalysis of Hollow Power, he'd gained a faint hint of Hollow traits.
Like Hierro—steel skin.
He'd never had such a beautiful start in any life.
Now that he'd become a jailer, he absolutely had to make full use of his position.
With that in mind, a spark of excitement flashed in Naraku's eyes. He turned to Nishikawa, face full of impatience.
"Senpai, are there any other criminals or Hollows in the Central Prison that still haven't been locked up yet?"