Following the intense fluctuations of Reiatsu, several captains who were close to the Squad Six barracks rushed to the battlefield one after another.
What greeted their eyes was a barracks reduced nearly half to ruins, along with an ancient, imposing set of doors that was slowly closing.
"What powerful Reiatsu!"
"The Gates of Hell?!"
"The attacker came from Hell?"
Kyōraku Shunsui used Flash Step to dash into the collapsed building. He used Kaidō to treat the heavily injured Kuchiki Ginrei and obtained a crucial clue from him.
"It's Saitō Furōfushi, the first-generation Captain of Squad Six in the Gotei 13."
"She... has returned from Hell!"
Hearing this, Kyōraku Shunsui's eyes instantly widened, his face full of astonishment.
"How is that possible?!"
Beside him, Hirako Shinji couldn't help but lower his gaze, revealing a look of disbelief.
Although he hadn't served as a captain for as long as Kyōraku Shunsui, he had some understanding of the first-generation captains due to having executed certain special missions.
Setting their strength aside for a moment, just based on the deeds mentioned in those archives, every single one of them was a pure, unadulterated killer.
Even though the current captains were decisive and ruthless enough in their own right, compared to the first generation, they were practically harmless boys next door.
That group of people had always resorted to any means necessary to protect the Seireitei.
Furthermore, judging from the Reiatsu that had just erupted, her strength was absurdly high.
Few among the current captains would be a match for Saitō.
Why would such a terrifying monster escape from Hell? Could it be that the balance between the three realms and Hell had been broken?
Hirako Shinji subconsciously thought of the anomaly that had occurred during the Konso Festival earlier.
During the preliminary stage of the ritual, the lieutenants had gone to the World of the Living to capture Hollows for the ceremony. Just a single use of Hollow Bait had summoned a Menos Grande.
There were even bizarre creatures that completely exceeded the scope of their understanding.
Sasakibe Chōjirō and the others had returned to the Soul Society first to inform Yamamoto of the situation, causing the half-completed Konso Festival to be forcibly terminated.
Yamamoto had personally gone to the World of the Living to provide rescue.
Although nothing serious happened in the end, Hirako Shinji had taken the matter to heart.
And now, someone who should have been dead had returned from Hell and even wreaked havoc in the Seireitei.
If Naraku Sora hadn't arrived in time, they probably would have been collecting Kuchiki Ginrei's corpse.
The opponent's strength was far beyond imagination.
Could it be that the balance between Hell and the three realms had been broken since then?
Hirako Shinji took a deep breath, temporarily suppressing this thought in the bottom of his heart, preparing to explain it clearly to the other captains at the next captain's meeting.
For now, things should be coming to an end.
However, just as he was thinking this, the figure standing tall in the sky suddenly let out a disdainful cold snort.
"Hmph, trying to escape?"
A terrifying pillar of interwoven black and red Reiatsu shot straight into the sky. Like a doomsday hurricane, it howled and roared above the ruins, connecting heaven and earth.
The thin clouds in the sky were instantly swept away, revealing a momentary clarity, followed immediately by complete darkness as even the sunlight was obscured.
It was like a night right before a torrential storm.
Under countless shocked gazes, Naraku Sora drew his sword, stepped forward, and unleashed an unpretentious downward slash, striking the Gates of Hell in the sky dead center.
Countless sparks splattered, and an ear-piercing screech echoed over the ruins.
Ukitake, who had arrived late, looked on in astonishment. He stared blankly at the person and the gates in the sky, completely unable to understand what was happening.
"Wait, Junior Martial Brother couldn't be thinking of..."
In the sky, Naraku Sora was in high spirits. Crackling arcs of electricity lingered around his body, and flames of Reiatsu burst from the pitch-black blade, distorting the nearby air.
A terrifying high temperature permeated the area, wantonly evaporating the moisture.
The Gates of Hell didn't seem to be as sturdy as imagined. With just one strike, they had already begun to tremble violently. Another strike, and they were directly tottering on the verge of collapse.
On the other side, Saitō Furōfushi, who was bound by chains and forcibly dragged back to Hell, quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
She had originally thought this was a mission as simple as it could get.
She only needed to ask for Naraku Sora's specific location.
That brat had forcibly intercepted the third-class Reishi that belonged to Hell, which violated Hell's rules.
He had to be erased immediately.
She had assumed he would be a researcher skilled in the scientific field, and she would only need to find a captain in the Seireitei to ask about him.
But who would have thought that the guy named Naraku Sora seemed even more ferocious than the captains in her memory.
Without even drawing his sword, a single punch from him had nearly shattered her body.
Compared to this guy, that Kuchiki Ginrei she knew when she was alive seemed quite cute.
Although he was a bit old, at least he was easy to bully.
Saitō would rather face dozens of Kuchiki Ginreis than fight that monster again.
Fortunately, Hell had pulled her back in time.
As long as she reached this place, she wouldn't have to face...
Boom!
A deafening explosion sounded from behind her. Saitō's expression froze, and she turned her head stiffly, her neck making a sound like rusty gears turning.
"Eh..."
Boom!!
A second explosion followed closely behind with almost no interval. The Gates of Hell trembled violently, as if suffering from a violent tremor.
Countless wisps of phosphorus gas dissipated.
Saitō instinctively retreated a few steps, wanting to quickly leave this dangerous place.
But before she could make her next move, a terrifying wave of heat swept over her. A suffocating Reiatsu poured down, enveloping all of Hell within her line of sight.
Crack!
A fissure appeared on the sturdy Gates of Hell. As if acting as some sort of signal, the cracks began to spread, covering a large area in an instant.
A scalp-numbing shattering sound rang out, and that nightmare-like face appeared in her line of sight, flashing a ferocious smile at Saitō.
"Here's Johnny!!"
"?!"
Saitō's hairs instantly stood on end. Her facial features twisted in horror, and she subconsciously stumbled backward.
Under her despairing gaze, Naraku Sora forcefully hacked the Gates of Hell into a half-ruined state, forcibly breaking in from the Soul Society into this domain where only the dead could set foot.
As soon as he entered, he felt a trace of discomfort.
A heavy, twisted, and maddening coercion, tinged with a hint of destruction, fell upon his body. Faintly, it contained an extremely intense rejection.
It was like transitioning from air into water; every movement felt sluggish.
However, the impact wasn't significant.
"You think you can just beat someone up and run away? It's not that easy."
Naraku Sora flipped his wrist, and his Zanpakutō dragged across the barren earth beside him. The ground instantly collapsed, emitting an endless rumbling sound.
"This is called a hit-and-run. That's an extra charge."
"If you get caught, you'll be reduced to a slave!"
Saitō Furōfushi: "?"
*What kind of vulgar language was this?!*
"Before you deal with me, you'd better figure out how to leave Hell first."
Saitō took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing the anger in her heart, and pointed at the shattered Gates of Hell.
"Although that thing is an inanimate object, it will heal after being shattered."
"Once it completely closes, you can forget about leaving Hell for the rest of your life. So, the one who will become a slave is you!"
Naraku Sora looked back. In the time it took for the two of them to speak, the Gates of Hell, which had just been in a complete mess, had already fully healed and were attempting to close again.
How could he let it have its way?
Almost as a subconscious reaction, he threw his Zanpakutō backhanded, wedging it directly between the two doors.
The Gates of Hell operated with determination, but they couldn't advance even a bit, only able to emit a continuous creaking sound.
The speed at which the phosphorus gas dissipated from them instantly multiplied.
It seemed as if a bug had appeared in its operating program, and it was initiating a backup plan.
Having accomplished all this, Naraku Sora once again cast a dangerous gaze toward the dumbfounded Saitō.
"Now you only have two choices."
"One is to obediently come with me, and the other is to be beaten up by me before coming with me."
Without any hesitation, acting purely on instinct, Saitō erupted with an unprecedented Flash Step speed, turning around and dashing several kilometers away.
Although her reaction was fast enough, Naraku Sora, who had a unique understanding of Flash Step and Sonído, was even faster.
In an instant, a figure as sturdy as a city wall appeared right in Saitō's inevitable path.
With absolutely no time to dodge, she crashed headfirst right into him.
Bang!
The muffled sound of the collision left Saitō dizzy and disoriented, causing her to subconsciously let out a muffled groan of pain.
Raising her head, a face that made her heart stop suddenly appeared in her line of sight.
"Ah..."
Saitō gritted her teeth, letting out a despairing whimper.
*Was this guy really still human?*
Just as she was about to give up resisting, several tyrannical Reiatsu signatures suddenly erupted at the end of the barren land, whipping up a Reishi storm that swept toward them.
"Reinforcements arrived this quickly?"
Naraku Sora took a look and marveled. Then, without any room for argument, he reached out his large hand and grabbed forward.
Saitō still tried to put up a final resistance.
But having just been completely crushed by Naraku Sora, she couldn't muster even the slightest bit of fighting spirit. Her movements only slowed for a fraction of a second before a hand chop struck the back of her neck.
Shadows fell over her, and Saitō Furōfushi's vision went black as she instantly lost consciousness.
Naraku Sora skillfully hoisted her onto his shoulder, activated Sonído, and dashed right up to the Gates of Hell.
He took the opportunity to observe them carefully.
Because they were unable to close, the Gates of Hell were slowly disappearing, as if being peeled off a layer.
For this kind of ability that involved rules, Naraku Sora temporarily had no means to stop it.
He could only backhandedly sheathe his Zanpakutō before they completely disappeared, taking a step out through the open Gates of Hell.
Seireitei.
Yamamoto looked with displeasure at the Gates of Hell in the sky, which had tried to close several times, burning with anger.
He hadn't kept an eye on him for just a few days, and this brat had already caused such a massive disaster.
If he were left unchecked for a while longer, he'd probably dare to attack the Soul King Palace!
Once that bastard of a rebellious disciple returned, he definitely had to teach him a severe lesson.
Ordinary methods no longer worked on Naraku Sora; he had to find a tailored approach.
Just as Yamamoto was calculating how to punish his rebellious disciple, a wild, villain-like laughter rang out from the Gates of Hell, and the Zanpakutō wedged between the doors vanished.
A tall and straight figure stepped out from within, instantly attracting everyone's gaze.
"Everyone, were you waiting for me?"