There were two ways to fight the Sinners.
The first was to overwhelm them with speed they couldn't react to and kill them instantly, just as Tsunayoshi had done.
The second was to drown them in wide-area attacks. The Hell Chains could only block part of an attack; they were by no means an absolute defense.
A flash of cold light appeared.
An enormous cross of ice instantly materialized in front of Rangiku. The Sinner was sealed in place by Tōshirō's overwhelming ice-type reiatsu.
Ryūsenka.
"You're a little late, Captain~"
Rangiku offered a small complaint.
A vast sea of pink petals surged forward like a crashing wave, instantly swallowing the Sinner in front of Rukia.
The sea of petals tore the enemy apart from every direction like a gigantic meat grinder.
It was Byakuya's Senbonzakura.
"Thank you for your assistance, Brother."
Rukia respectfully thanked him.
"You still need to improve your mastery of Bankai. Otherwise, you'll end up like this again—afraid of injuring your allies and therefore unable to unleash your full power."
Byakuya gave her a stern reminder.
"Yes!"
Rukia had only recently mastered Bankai, which was why Ukitake had considered handing the position of Captain over to her.
However, her mastery of Bankai was still immature, and she lacked sufficient experience handling Division affairs. For the time being, Ukitake could only put that idea aside.
As for Ichigo, after Tsunayoshi dealt with Black Blade, Ichigo immediately broke free and went to assist Renji.
The two of them respectively used Getsuga Tenshō and Hihiō Zabimaru's Hihiō to send the two Sinners back to Hell.
The area before the Gates of Hell soon became peaceful again.
With the Sinners' deaths, they were returned to Hell, and the Gates of Hell gradually began to close.
"Kidō Corps, listen up! Maintain the Gates of Hell!"
As Captain-Commander, Kyōraku issued the order.
A large group of masked members of the Kidō Corps simultaneously began casting Kidō. Complicated incantations and inscriptions formed one ring after another around the Gates of Hell, halting their closure.
"Leave things outside to me. Be careful once you enter. Your objective is to determine why Sinners are appearing from Hell. There is no requirement to complete the mission at all costs. If the situation becomes dangerous, withdraw immediately."
Kyōraku repeated the mission objectives to the four of them.
"No time to waste. Let's move. Captain Urahara, we'll leave the command to you."
Tsunayoshi spoke.
"Understood. Ichigo, lead the way. Our destination is the location where the Sinners resurrect."
Urahara issued the first order.
Having already entered Hell once, Ichigo took the lead and charged through the Gates of Hell.
Tsunayoshi and the other two followed close behind.
The moment they entered Hell, the first thing that appeared before their eyes was a world made entirely of cubes.
The cubes resembled the skyscrapers of the World of the Living, packed densely together. Between them stretched broad roads running in every direction.
Faintly, scattered figures could be seen standing atop the cubes, their eyes dull and their bodies seemingly devoid of vitality.
Ichigo stopped on top of one of the cubes and began explaining.
"This is the First Layer of Hell. I prefer to call it the Sinners' Hell. Those lifeless people are Sinners who have been continuously tormented by Hell's will until they've abandoned every last shred of hope."
Following Ichigo's gesture, the other three observed this so-called Hell.
A small camera was already mounted on Urahara's shoulder, recording everything they saw.
"Excellent. From now on, Ichigo, your role is our guide and tour guide. Stay on the side of the formation and explain the environment while leading us forward."
After entering Hell, Urahara formally assigned everyone's roles.
"I'll remain in the middle. I'll record everything we encounter in Hell and coordinate support for everyone in the group."
Urahara had already released his Zanpakutō and was carefully monitoring their surroundings.
"Captain Ukitake, we'll leave the rear to you."
"Leave it to me."
Like Urahara, Ukitake had also released his Zanpakutō, Sōgyo no Kotowari.
"Tsunayoshi, your position is at the very front. Eliminate any enemies we encounter as quickly as possible."
Urahara placed the group's strongest combatant at the front.
Yet Tsunayoshi didn't answer immediately.
"Tsunayoshi?"
Tsunayoshi finally came back to himself.
"Sorry, Captain. I spaced out for a moment. The strange thing is, the Hollow power that had been dormant inside me has started awakening."
The moment he entered Hell, Tsunayoshi had heard Byakuran calling out to him.
After shifting his attention slightly toward his Inner World, he realized that Byakuran—who had exhausted all of his power because of his battle with the Monk—had finally regained consciousness.
After communicating with the Tenth's guardians, Tsunayoshi learned that Hell's atmosphere could stimulate unstable powers within a person's body.
That was how Byakuran had awakened ahead of schedule.
It was actually a good thing.
Tsunayoshi now had even more confidence in this journey through Hell.
After answering Urahara, Tsunayoshi asked Ichigo,
"Ichigo, when you entered here last time, did you notice anything unusual happening to your body?"
"No. I felt exactly the same as I did in the World of the Living and Soul Society. Is something wrong with your body?"
"It's a good thing for me. This place awakened my dormant Hollow power. As long as you haven't been affected, that's fine."
Tsunayoshi guessed that the reason Ichigo's Hollow power had run wild in the movie was because that version of Ichigo had been afraid of his Hollow's power.
Now, however, Ichigo had accepted Zangetsu's existence and unified all of his powers within himself. Naturally, there was no longer any reason for his Hollow power to run wild.
"Ichigo, move slightly farther forward and stay behind Tsunayoshi. If anything happens, fight alongside him."
Urahara adjusted their tactical formation.
He couldn't simply ignore a potential problem because Tsunayoshi claimed he was fine. The safety of the entire team came first.
Tsunayoshi understood Urahara's reasoning and said nothing more.
He merely turned to Ichigo.
"Lead the way, Ichigo."
"Follow the central road until you reach the end, then dive straight down. But we have to be careful of Hell's will. It may regard us as enemies."
Ichigo explained.
"Understood. Move out!"
Flames of the Sky erupted from Tsunayoshi's feet as he took the lead and shot forward.
Along the way, Ichigo continued telling Urahara about what he had learned from Black Blade.
Urahara faithfully recorded everything around them, including the condition of the Reishi within Hell.
"Watch out! Hell's will!"
Ichigo's eyes suddenly widened.
A giant blocked their path.
Its body was covered in muscles, but its spine was exposed as a massive skeletal structure. A bone mask resembling that of a Hollow covered its face.
It crouched in the middle of the road, waiting for Tsunayoshi and the others to approach.
This was one of the manifestations of Hell's will, the beings Hell used to manage and torment the Sinners.
Ichigo had repeatedly warned them not to let these creatures injure them.
With Ichigo's warning, Tsunayoshi easily flew over the creature's head and continued forward.
The movements of Hell's will weren't particularly fast. There was no way it could intercept them.
"We need to be careful. The next stretch of road is an area where Hell's will appears frequently."
Ichigo explained based on his previous experience.
Before he had even finished speaking, several giant figures resembling Hell's will emerged from the surrounding cubes.
Their movements were remarkably similar.
They extended their enormous hands toward the advancing group, apparently intending to seize them.
But the same principle applied.
Given the creatures' speed, there was no way they could catch Tsunayoshi and the others.
All four possessed extensive combat experience, and within moments they had slipped through the tight encirclement of Hell's will.
"This is it! Tsunayoshi, jump!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Tsunayoshi flew into the gloomy purple clouds beneath their feet.
After traveling through the darkness for some time, the four discovered that they had emerged above an endless ocean.
Scattered across the surface were countless enormous islands shaped like lotus flowers.
Tsunayoshi led the way toward one of them and descended.
"What is this? Hell's will?"
Ukitake looked at the enormous skull in the center of the island.
Even without a trace of flesh remaining, the skeleton alone was enough to identify it as one of the creatures that had pursued them earlier.
But what shocked Ukitake wasn't simply the skeletal remains of Hell's will.
A gigantic sword had pierced the creature straight through the top of its skull, as though someone had killed it here.
"This is the Second Layer. I call it the Graveyard of Hell's Will. Every island in this sea contains the skeleton of one of these creatures."
Ichigo continued performing his duties as their guide.
"Tsunayoshi, what's wrong? You haven't said a word since we arrived."
Urahara noticed Tsunayoshi staring blankly at the skeletal remains of Hell's will.
It was completely unlike him.
"I feel like something's strange."
Tsunayoshi frowned.
"Do you really think those creatures above were trying to capture us and devour us?"
"That goes without saying."
Ichigo answered confidently.
"Last time I was here, I saw them capture Sinners and turn them directly into food for Hell's will."
"And because the Sinners can't truly die, they're subjected to the torment of Hell's will forever, until they've lost every last bit of hope."
Ichigo did his best to explain.
"If we get caught and experience death ourselves, there's a good chance the Hell Chains will lock us here permanently."
"I wasn't questioning what you said, Ichigo. But I have a strange feeling that those manifestations of Hell's will don't actually harbor any hostility toward me."
Tsunayoshi struggled to put the sensation into words.
"Rather than saying they're trying to capture me, it feels more like... they're here to pay their respects."
Even Tsunayoshi himself found the idea unbelievable.
Wasn't Hell supposed to be attempting to erode the Soul King's influence?
Why would it have any goodwill toward someone with the constitution of a Soul King candidate?
"That's certainly a wild theory. But you said it's a feeling, correct?"
Urahara asked seriously.
He had long since placed Tsunayoshi's instincts among the factors that absolutely had to be taken into consideration.
"If that's what you think, Tsunayoshi, then perhaps those creatures only look frightening."
Ichigo spoke up.
"Last time I came here, they never attacked me either. They only went after the Sinners."
Urahara was willing to take Tsunayoshi's instincts seriously.
Ichigo had grown up alongside Tsunayoshi since childhood, so his trust in Tsunayoshi's judgment was even more instinctive.
"No."
Ukitake's words completely solidified Tsunayoshi's suspicion.
"It's not only you. I have the same feeling."
"As the one guarding the rear, I could clearly sense that those manifestations of Hell's will had no intention of pursuing us. After we escaped, they merely turned their heads and watched us in silence, as though they were deliberately allowing us to leave."
"Furthermore, I could sense a faint, vaguely familiar fluctuation coming from them through my back. It was strange. I couldn't identify it with certainty."
"But I can't sense that fluctuation at all here in this graveyard of Hell's will."
After hearing Ukitake's analysis, Tsunayoshi and Urahara exchanged a glance.
They had reached the same conclusion.
The back of Ukitake's body was connected to the 神卦 imprinted by Mimihagi-sama, the manifestation of the Soul King's Right Arm.
Tsunayoshi, Ichigo, and Ukitake all had intricate connections to the Soul King.
And all three of them had sensed something wrong with Hell's will.
So what exactly was the relationship between Hell's will and the Soul King?
What means had the Soul King, who had remained motionless above the Seireitei for thousands of years, been using to influence the power of Hell?
They had found no answers.
Instead, they only had more questions.
The only thing they could do was descend deeper into Hell.
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