Unlike the outside world—where everyone was feverishly discussing nobles being thrown into the Central Prison—inside the Central Prison, under someone's management, the atmosphere was almost warm and peaceful.
The jailers worked diligently, the prisoners behaved themselves, and everything looked bright and thriving.
In short: booming.
Worth mentioning: after Naraku Sora stuffed all the nobles arrested at the Yokota estate into the Central Prison, Shutara Senjumaru promoted him to Third Seat.
Nominally, the "third-in-command." In actual authority? The real number one.
Warden Shutara Senjumaru only exercised her warden powers when processing essential paperwork.
The rest of the time, she was either holed up in her lab like a shut-in, or "checking" whether Naraku was developing normally.
Occasionally, if she lacked a material, she'd go out to Rukongai.
As for Mayuri, he was about the same.
Except Naraku had noticed that lately, the way Mayuri looked at him was getting weirder and weirder—like he was examining a priceless specimen.
It was enough to give anyone chills.
With both bosses refusing to manage day-to-day affairs, building the Central Prison naturally fell to Naraku.
Fortunately, he enjoyed it.
Like right now: Naraku walked through Reviving Hell. Countless hostile stares immediately shot at him—until the inmates realized who he was, at which point they all lowered their heads in unison.
Not worth the trouble.
The First Layer, Reviving Hell, held the most inmates.
Most nobles hadn't yet been formally sentenced by the Central 46, but the Intake Room couldn't hold that many prisoners, so they were temporarily dumped into the First Layer.
And thanks to Naraku's "Hope Therapy," the inmates on this level were unusually well-behaved.
Even when new jailers arrived, they mostly just stared with hatred.
They rarely caused trouble.
Of course, there were exceptions.
For example—right now.
Two enormous figures, bound tight in black chains, stared murderously at the boy standing outside their cell as if they had a blood feud.
"I remember you, brat."
"You're the one who threw us into this sunless hellhole."
"When I get out, I'm going to eat you."
"…"
Watching the two Adjuchas keep spitting threats, Naraku slowly raised his clenched fist, anticipation showing in his eyes.
"It's fine. I'll give you the chance."
"But are you really ready?"
In that instant, the Adjuchas froze. Their surprise caught the smile curling at Naraku's mouth.
A blood-red presence rose behind the boy like a sky-covering tide, swallowing everything in an instant. Brutality beyond even Menos filled the entire cell block.
Everything they were—completely submerged in shadow.
Pressure like the deep sea crushed down, carrying an icy terror that made Hollows tremble.
What happened to this Shinigami?!
Or had they been locked up too long—had the outside world changed so dramatically that even the brat who once escorted them now counted as a monster among Shinigami?
Otherwise, what was this suffocating oppression?
Creaaak—
Without a sound, the cell door opened. The black chains binding the Adjuchas slipped off, and even the Kidō seals beneath the chains were undone.
Yet once they were free, the Adjuchas didn't immediately step out.
It stared at Naraku with deep caution, suspecting some dirty trick.
Just like that woman before—always cutting flesh and drawing blood from them whenever she felt like it.
They stared each other down, as if competing in patience.
But in the end, the instinctive craving for freedom outweighed fear. The freed Adjuchas finally moved, violent Reiatsu flooding the enormous cell block.
The jailers' faces went pale. Cold sweat poured, bodies trembling.
The absolute difference in Reiatsu meant they had no confidence facing a Menos directly.
If Naraku hadn't been standing there shouldering most of the pressure, someone would've collapsed to the floor already.
Just as it lunged out of the cell, Naraku's voice reached its ear again:
"Do you know what hope is?"
"Get lost!"
The enraged roar echoed through the block. The Adjuchas' face twisted viciously, blood-red eyes full of rage, as it swung a massive palm down without hesitation.
And hit—nothing.
Confusion flickered across its savage face.
Then its eyes went wide.
A numb, sluggish sensation spread across its waist.
An instant later, tearing, exploding pain burst from its midsection and flooded its whole body.
It looked down in shock—
And found that hateful face right up close.
Naraku's fist, wrapped in Reiatsu, slammed into its unguarded waist.
The next moment—
The massive body bent under the impact, then flew over the heads of the onlookers like a meteor and crashed into the prison wall hard enough to nearly snap it in half.
The Adjuchas clawed its way out of the cracked wall, hunched body spilling Reiatsu like a breached dam.
The air itself—and the space—shook and boomed as if the entire block were about to collapse under the pressure.
With savage fury blazing in its red eyes, the Adjuchas finally understood why Naraku had "freed" it.
He wanted to use it as a whetstone to test his growth.
What a vile idea.
No. You won't get what you want. Using me as your grindstone is the biggest mistake of your life.
The Adjuchas' momentum surged. It ignored the flash of fanatic excitement in Naraku's eyes and ignored the terror it had felt earlier.
It lunged at the boy standing at the end of the corridor.
Naraku raised his right hand.
His fingers closed. Tendons and bone shifted with a heavy grind, like iron blocks scraping together.
Heat flared.
Standing still, Naraku twisted his waist and drove a fist forward like hammered steel.
Ikkotsu.
A deafening boom exploded.
A suffocating, terrifying force poured into the Menos' massive body.
It was like being hit head-on by a high-speed train. Cracking sounds spread out from its chest, rippling through its entire frame in an instant.
The Adjuchas slammed to the floor.
When it looked at Naraku again, its eyes were full of pure terror.
Is this kid even a Shinigami?!
After putting one down, Naraku turned his gaze back to the cell, locking onto the remaining Adjuchas with an eager smile.
"Now it's your turn…"
Inside the cell, the remaining Adjuchas trembled, curling its huge body into a ball.
There was no longing for freedom left in its eyes—only a desperate attachment to life.
Freedom is precious, but life is more precious.
Its fellow inmate—roughly the same level—had been flattened with a single punch. What chance did it have?
The example was right there. Thinking about escaping now would be impolite.
Seeing it refuse to cooperate, Naraku sighed and "lowered himself," stepping into the cell to kindly explain what "hope" really meant.
As that demon-like figure walked closer and closer, a hysterical scream echoed through the prison:
"Don't come any closer!"