As Yoriichi arrived at the Spiritual Arts Academy, he looked up and saw the Hell Gate hanging high in the sky.
Inside the gate, several skeletal hands abruptly stretched out, like the claws of a demon, grasping fiercely towards the buildings of the Spiritual Arts Academy.
A group of Shinigami were located beneath the large hands, desperately using Zanjutsu and Kido.
Sword light flickered, and energy interwoven, attempting to sever and completely annihilate the large hands.
However, their attacks only stirred up a cloud of dust, then vanished like phantoms without a trace.
The target of the large hands was obvious; combined with what Kuna Mashiro had just said, this was probably the "monster" she referred to.
Hell's Intent… While Kuna Mashiro's description was somewhat exaggerated, Yoriichi could understand.
After all, if one didn't understand Hell, anyone seeing these large hands would perceive them as terrifying monsters.
But in reality, these were merely parts of Hell's Intent's limbs.
They could not escape Hell; to capture Sinners, they could only do so in this manner.
Besides this, there was also the method of impalement by blades, but that was only used when Sinners were entangled by chains.
Yoriichi pondered for a moment, having roughly assessed the current situation.
He looked at Kuna Mashiro, who had rushed over right behind him, and asked, "What are the casualties? Where are those First Generation Captains?"
Kuna Mashiro panted slightly, her gaze rising slightly as she explained, "The casualties aren't too severe; their target isn't us."
"But even so, they collapsed several buildings in the Spiritual Arts Academy, though fortunately, there were very few students inside."
"These monsters are after those Captains; they just moved their position and attracted the monsters' attention, otherwise, it wouldn't have been our turn to attack."
"Captain, do you recognize them? What exactly is going on?"
Yoriichi hadn't been present just now, so he wasn't aware of the situation. Kuna Mashiro, however, had witnessed the entire event.
Suddenly attacked, even the Vice-Captain level sword pressure could only scratch their surface, and they would recover in an instant.
Even if they occasionally performed exceptionally well and severed them, they would regenerate again.
That's why Kuna Mashiro lamented that they couldn't be killed no matter how much they were attacked.
Hell, she knew of it, but Hell's Intent... was a completely unfamiliar existence.
Upon hearing this, Yoriichi did not explain further, but simply drew his Zanpakuto and gazed at the sky.
While condensing his sword pressure, he casually said, "It's nothing, just some nobles trying to maintain their dignity."
After he finished speaking, with a loud rumble!
The crimson sword pressure instantly flew into the sky, like a hot knife through butter, and the seemingly indestructible large hands were instantly severed into two halves.
The wrists made of white bone fell down, turning into dust and disappearing in the air.
The roar of Hell's Intent could vaguely be heard, but Yoriichi paid no mind to it.
This scene was noticed by the Shinigami beneath the Hell Gate.
Some people were instantly stunned, as if under a paralysis spell, their faces filled with disbelief.
Some others turned to see Yoriichi, their faces showing expressions of surprise, a look mixed with shock and awe.
However, remembering certain things, their expressions then turned to sorrow.
Seeing this, Kuna Mashiro urgently said, "Captain, be careful, those large hands will regenerate!"
No sooner had she spoken than her gaze suddenly froze.
Because she saw that the hitherto arrogant skeletal hands of Hell's Intent showed no signs of regeneration.
It was as if Yoriichi's single strike had severed their regenerative ability.
"Huh?" Kuna Mashiro asked in astonishment, "What happened?"
She couldn't understand, weren't they all sword pressure?
Previously, they would regenerate immediately after being severed, acting completely desperate.
Now, however, three or four seconds had passed, and not only was there no sign of regeneration, but there were even faint signs of retreat, as if they wanted to withdraw back into the Hell Gate.
Do these monsters also bully the weak and fear the strong?
Yoriichi gently shook his head.
Considering the complex situation within Hell, he did not explain in detail.
He simply said calmly, "It's simple, they recognized me."
Because they recognized him, they retreated; this was a very simple truth.
Yoriichi had dealt with them extensively when he previously entered Hell.
As the guardians of Hell, they had little self-awareness and would obliterate every living creature that entered Hell.
Therefore, weaker Sinners would lose all will and become walking corpses, remaining on the First Level shortly after entering Hell.
The First Level was extremely vast.
Initially, there were about twenty Hell's Intent surrounding him, densely occupying all the surrounding space.
After Yoriichi dealt with them one by one, the number became forty, then eighty, until it reached two hundred, at which point Hell's Intent showed signs of retreating.
The reason they were immortal and indestructible was because they constantly absorbed the power of Hell.
While the simultaneous death of two hundred Hell's Intent might not have a significant impact, if it happened too many times, even if Hell was a space that had existed since ancient times, it could not withstand such drastic consumption.
It should be known that in the past thousand years, fewer than twenty Hell's Intent had been killed, because they were completely immune to Sinners's damage.
Only experts above the Vice-Captain level in the Three Realms could injure them, and to kill them, one had to be a Captain-level individual.
Yoriichi Tsugikuni, however... with one strike, directly offset Hell's ten thousand years of loss.
If he struck a few more times, it might force Hell back to its ancient period.
Lack of intelligence doesn't mean lack of brains; when the number of deaths reached four hundred, they became afraid.
Their instinctive consciousness to protect Hell told them not to act again.
Therefore, from that moment on, the gates of Hell were always open to Yoriichi Tsugikuni.
No matter when he entered or how many people he brought, Hell's Intent dared not show themselves again, lest they be completely wiped out.
The reason they appeared now was due to the complaints of those Shinigami; they had found the escaped Sinners.
As the guardians of Hell, it was fine if they didn't know the news before, but once they knew, they naturally couldn't ignore it.
But why didn't anyone tell them that the Shinigami from back then was also here? Damn it!
The moment their palms were severed, they sensed the source of the Reiatsu.
Their rage was instantly suppressed, and regardless of where those Sinners were, they immediately prepared to retreat.
This scene was once again captured by the Shinigami below the Hell Gate, and the astonishment in their eyes was indescribable.
At this moment, they happened to hear the conversation between Yoriichi Tsugikuni and Kuna Mashiro, and an unspeakable emotion arose in their hearts.
No... because they recognized you, they retreated?
Has Captain Yoriichi's name become so powerful that even Hell has to give him face?
Why don't they receive such treatment... No, to be precise, Yoriichi Tsugikuni's strength was what they yearned for.
They had been cutting for a long time without even scratching the surface, yet Yoriichi's casual sword strike completely broke through their defenses and sent them scattering.
It was like a Shinigami facing a Menos Grande, merely stating their name, and the Menos Grande would be scared out of its wits... it was too bizarre.
As expected... the strongest in a millennium.
...
A chorus of sighs rose from the Shinigami.
Once the danger was confirmed to be eliminated, some sheathed their Zanpakuto and instantly Shunpoed to Yoriichi Tsugikuni's side, bowing respectfully:
"Greetings, Captain Tsugikuni, thank you for your assistance."
Yoriichi Tsugikuni nodded slightly.
His gaze slowly swept over the Shinigami, then looked up at the Hell Gate hanging high in the sky.
At this moment, although Hell's Intent had retreated back into the gate, the Hell Gate itself had not disappeared.
Its bright presence seemed to silently declare: "If those few Sinners are not sent back, I will never leave."
This time, Hell had suffered a great loss.
Not only did it fail to capture the people, but its subordinate jailers were also scared out of their wits.
Such an experience was unprecedented in the past million years.
Hell desperately wanted to contact Yoriichi Tsugikuni, simply because a part of its power was contained within Yoriichi's Zanpakuto.
But alas, Yoriichi had not released his Zanpakuto, and the Zanpakuto spirit had no connection to Hell, so Hell could not contact him no matter what.
It was truly frustrating!
The Hell Gate was faintly trembling, and Yoriichi's peripheral vision glanced at his Zanpakuto.
He expressionlessly sheathed his sword at his waist and walked steadily forward, while calling out to Kuna Mashiro and the Shinigami from before:
"Tell me, what's the specific situation, and where did those Captains go?"
"Hell's Intent has been dealt with; you don't need to worry about them appearing again."
"So they're called Hell's Intent?" Kuna Mashiro learned their name and fell into contemplation.
As the name implies, the will of Hell. Captain Yoriichi could suppress the will of Hell back into Hell just by his name... What kind of astonishing power was this?
She gasped slightly, then came back to her senses and added, "Report, Captain, since the Captains' attacks were ineffective against Hell's Intent, they temporarily retreated. They should be in the sealed stone right now."
"After all, the sealed stone is constructed from sealed stone..."
As she was speaking, the three Captains appeared in unison, evidently showing themselves because they saw Hell's Intent retreat.
At the same time, Yamamoto Genryusai rushed over after learning of the situation.
But by the time he arrived, it was already too late.
The Hell Gate hung in the sky, its open yet extremely calm appearance filled with a sense of incongruity.
Next, he saw Yoriichi Tsugikuni and the three Captains.
After learning the general situation, Yamamoto Genryusai's face became extremely grim, as if he had swallowed a fly.
He slammed his fist on the ground.
Boom!
The floor instantly shattered.
"Nonsense!"
It was simply unreasonable to create such chaos.
Although Yoriichi could bring the three Captains back after they were taken by Hell, doing something that affected Shinigami unity to maintain one's dignity was truly lacking in overall perspective.
Those who didn't know would even think they were good students who reported to the teacher.
The anger in Yamamoto Genryusai's eyes almost solidified.
How could such a rare opportunity to improve the strength of all Shinigami be ruined by these insects?
He immediately called for them to be found.
Unexpectedly, those nobles were already on site.
The expressions on their faces were as grim as Yamamoto Genryusai's.
Yamamoto Genryusai hadn't anticipated the current situation, and neither had they?
Mad, it was too absurd.
The dignified Hell was actually intimidated by a Shinigami.
Hell's Intent, which was extremely arrogant in front of them, was as docile as a puppy in front of Yoriichi Tsugikuni... Where did its ruthless, unblinking nature go?
And the Hell Gate was the same.
What do you want by lingering? Just make a move! Release the Sinners!
It's one thing for Hell's Intent to run away, but it doesn't even dare to release the Sinners. It deserves not being able to capture those three Captains.
Their clan had controlled the Hell Gate for a million years, and this was the first time they had encountered such a situation.
Hell was completely suppressed by a Shinigami, unable to make any move, only passively waiting for the Shinigami to send the Sinners in.
It looked exactly like a child lying motionless on the floor of a mall, waiting for his mother to buy candy... How disgraceful!
They cursed inwardly, quietly hiding behind the crowd, wanting to get away from this place to avoid being held accountable by Yamamoto Genryusai.
They decided that after they returned, they would immediately close the Hell Gate.
Without the Hell Gate, there would be no evidence, and no one could prove that they had done this.
Perhaps those First Generation Captains accidentally used their Reiatsu and were detected by Hell.
However, what was unexpected was that as soon as they turned around, Yoriichi Tsugikuni keenly spotted them among the many Shinigami.
Seeing this, Yoriichi instantly vanished from his original spot, lightly patted their shoulders, and his calm voice suddenly rang in their ears:
"Where do you want to go?"
...
...
"I've been wronged, Lord Yamamoto Genryusai!"
Soon after, a man cried out that he had been wronged.
"We absolutely didn't want to destroy the Spiritual Arts Academy; we just wanted to let those deceased return to their original world. Is that wrong?"
Yamamoto Genryusai snorted coldly, "Whether it's wrong or not is not for me to say."
"Be fortunate that there were no student casualties this time, otherwise, even I would find it difficult to protect you."
"Now I'm giving you a chance: immediately remove the Hell Gate, or don't blame me for being impolite."
"Regardless of whether you were wronged, your act of using the Hell Gate to arbitrarily disrupt the order of the Soul Society is already set in stone."
"If you weren't nobles, I would have killed you long ago."
It was true that nobles had immunity, but if their crimes seriously affected the safety of the Soul Society, even top-tier high-ranking nobles could be executed.
Ultimately, their status and will must never be above the safety of the entire world.
In their view, summoning the Hell Gate might have been a minor issue, because Hell's capture, no Sinners could resist.
As long as they could be captured with lightning speed, they could then pretend nothing had happened and gloss over the matter.
But they hadn't expected Yoriichi Tsugikuni to suddenly appear. The situation they thought was completely under control began to uncontrollably slide, causing the Hell Gate to remain in the sky above the Soul Society, refusing to leave...
Whose fault was this?
Was it Yoriichi's? No, he was only protecting the safety of those Shinigami.
Clearly, whoever summoned the Hell Gate was to blame.
Noticing the undisguised killing intent in Yamamoto Genryusai's words, the noble man swallowed hard and immediately stated that they were already taking action.
However, several minutes passed, and the Hell Gate still hadn't disappeared.
This abnormal phenomenon made the man's expression change.
Immediately after, he received a message:
The Hell Gate was out of control; their clan simply couldn't close the Hell Gate.
...
Can't close it? Out of control?
It seems that Hell was truly completely enraged this time.
Or perhaps, this was a different kind of stubbornness.
Yoriichi listened quietly to the successive messages, nodding slightly.
Although Hell's Intent was named after the will of Hell, it was not the true will of Hell itself.
It was merely an embodiment of Hell's Intent, just like the relationship between Squad Zero and the Soul King.
Perhaps his actions this time deeply stimulated it, after all, it damaged its dignity... If a younger brother is humiliated, how can an older brother sit idly by?
However, if the older brother is also not an opponent, he can only helplessly stand outside the enemy's door, quietly waiting for the enemy to voluntarily hand over the target.
To humans, this was undoubtedly an extremely shameful act, but to Hell, it was not so.
After a moment of thought, Yoriichi said in a deep voice, "I'll do it. Since it doesn't want to close, then I'll force it to close."
"Staying in the Soul Society is ultimately not a good thing."
As soon as he finished speaking, the noble man hurriedly tried to dissuade him, "Absolutely not!"
"This matter is of great importance and must not be acted upon rashly. That's Hell!"
In the past, there had been similar experiences, though only similar, such as Hell getting angry due to certain accidents, making it difficult for their clan to control the Hell Gate.
But they only needed to wait for the storm to pass and appease it slightly.
This time was no exception.
However, since the Hell Gate was staying in the Soul Society for those three First Generation Captains, Yoriichi didn't think this was a good plan.
He calmly spoke, "What about Hell?"
"We can't just wait for it to retreat on its own, can we?"
"Or are we going to send those three First Generation Captains back?"
Sending them back was absolutely impossible. Hell was clearly staying because it was powerless, and if Shinigami compromised, what kind of system would that be?
There had never been such a precedent; there was no reason for the strong to fear the weak, and moreover, Hell was not weak.
The noble man said decisively, "Hell is the grave of all strong individuals; there are countless experts above Third Level Reiatsu inside."
"I know Captain Tsugikuni, you are very strong, but no matter how strong you are, can you really deal with hundreds or thousands of Captains at once?"
"If Hell is provoked, it will definitely do that. Its retreat this time is only due to the cowardice of those Hell's Intent."
"Although I don't know how you did it, Sinners and Hell's Intent are different."
"This matter must not be rash!"
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Yoriichi asked in return.
Caution was the norm for nobles; they held the mentality that as long as they didn't act, they wouldn't make mistakes, and this was especially true when facing Hell.
But this was not a reason for Yoriichi to knowingly ignore the danger.
He continued to ask, "Are there any other solutions?"
Apparently not; if there were, it would only be waiting... The noble man was speechless.
Yamamoto Genryusai at this moment heavily knocked on the ground, full of majesty, "Say no more. If you are incompetent, don't assume others are as incompetent as you."
"Since there's no good solution... Yoriichi Tsugikuni, are you confident you can make it close?"
This thing absolutely cannot remain in the Soul Society, especially hovering above the Spiritual Arts Academy.
Even if it's just a projection.
Students being affected is a small matter; disrupting teaching is a big one.
Yoriichi pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "I need to interact with it first before I can make a judgment."
"However, Hell's Intent bullies the weak and fears the strong, and Hell is probably similar."