Bleach: The Strongest Shinigami-Chapter 296 ⥤ Breaking Through Hell

"In the Primordial World of a million years ago, all phenomena existed in harmony — without life or death, neither progress nor regression." frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓

The monk stroked his disheveled beard, speaking slowly as if lost in ancient memories.

"Even becoming a Hollow was part of the spiritual cycle. But for reasons unknown, Hollows suddenly began devouring humans, and the cycle broke. Had this continued, all souls would have merged into one massive Hollow, plunging the world into complete stasis. Then the Soul King appeared. With His omnipotent power, He rejected this fate and began destroying the Hollows. Thus ended the Primordial Era."

As one who had lived in the Soul King's era, Ichibē shared with Aizen his firsthand account of events from a million years past.

Though some subjective interpretation might color the tale, Aizen's knowledge allowed him to discern truth from embellishment.

"This aligns perfectly with what I found in the Daireishokairō."

The monk gave him a surprised look and smiled, "I wouldn't have expected Tsunayashiro to leave this intact. Perhaps from lingering remorse? Or as a warning to future generations against underestimating unknown powers in their ambitions?"

Aizen's expression shifted at the subtle change in the monk's tone.

Before he could inquire, Ichibē pressed on, "Yet even as we destroyed Hollows, we couldn't prevent the world's stagnation. The Soul King kept protecting this world that seemed destined for chaos. But some refused to accept such a world. Though none matched the Soul King's power, five exceptional individuals arose — the founders of the Five Noble Houses."

Aizen watched him intently, waiting.

"Each founder had their own motivation. Tsunayashiro feared the Soul King's power might one day turn against him. The Shijun, Hell's guardians, believed sealing Hell was paramount. The Kuchiki sought to establish a more stable world order. The Shihōin placed their hopes in a grander cycle to prevent chaos. And then there were the Shiba — different from the others, with their own unique vision."

{T/N: Shijun is that one family that no one knows about and never appeared in the canon.}

At this, even Ichibē's expression grew peculiar as he cast a meaningful glance at Akira, who stood haggling with Ōetsu nearby.

"The Shiba believed Hollows possessed hearts, leading them to seek purification methods rather than mere destruction. Though each clan's motivations differed, they shared an ultimate goal: to separate the Primordial World into distinct realms — a world of Reishi, a world of Kishi, and a desert paradise where Hollows from both realms would find peace.

Initially, the Shiba planned to persuade the Soul King, but Tsunayashiro seized this opportunity to launch a surprise attack, sealing the Soul King within a crystal. Though I didn't witness this personally, the Shiba related these events to me, and I trust their account.

Using the Soul King's omnipotent power as a linchpin, the five clans created the foundation for a new world — what we now know as Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo. Thus ended the Primordial Era, and the age of the Sangai began.

Yet Tsunayashiro and his allies weren't satisfied. They spent ages dismembering the Soul King — carving out His heart, severing His limbs, crushing His organs — and scattered His powers throughout the Sangai, all to create a 'King' that would serve their interests.

The Shiba, however, steadfastly opposed the continued imprisonment of the Soul King. They advocated for revealing these crimes to the public and accepting whatever punishment the people deemed fit. Furthermore, they sought to replace the Soul King as the Sangai's linchpin themselves — a quest that gave rise to the secret techniques still passed down in the Shiba family."

Hearing this, Aizen suddenly recalled, "The Saigo no Getsuga Tenshō, Mugetsu?"

The monk nodded with a smile.

After hearing this account, Aizen fell into deep thought.

If true, the Shiba's apparent manipulation made sense. Unlike the other four, the Shiba founder was virtually a saint, championing self-sacrifice, universal love, and equality for all beings. Such a person would naturally clash with someone like Tsunayashiro.

Yet perhaps due to Akira's frequent deceptions, Aizen instinctively felt matters weren't so straightforward. Caution demanded further investigation before taking action.

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"Ōetsu, have you considered using different materials for forging Zanpakutō?" Akira whispered mysteriously to Ōetsu, his voice enticing, "You know, Jigoku no Rinki possesses soul-like properties. Remember how we fooled Yhwach? Oh right, you were dead then...

Never mind that — what's important is that Sōsuke and I used our Reiatsu as a medium, combined it with Hell's phosphorescent particles, and injected it into Gemischt Quincy souls. That really caught Yhwach off guard. As the God of the Sword, you must grasp what this implies, right?"

Ōetsu fixed Akira with an intense gaze as the latter hung off his shoulder. He immediately grasped the implications.

The proposition was undeniably tempting. Using Hell's phosphorescent particles to forge an unprecedented Zanpakutō would not only mark a milestone in his blade-forging career but potentially alter the very structure of the Sangai.

How could he resist such an intriguing possibility?

Though Ōetsu had sworn never to speak another word to this blade-despising individual, the stark difference in their combat abilities — and Akira's notably thick skin — had rendered that oath meaningless.

"For the sake of the Sangai." He told himself.

"When do we start?" Ōetsu asked through gritted teeth.

Akira's grin widened, "No time like the present, naturally."

While Ichibē and Aizen continued their discussion, the two slipped away from the main road toward Ōetsu's exclusive Zero Division Residence — Galaxy Hōōden (Galaxy Fenghuang Palace)!

The place remained unchanged — a paradise bursting with vibrant colors, where materialized Zanpakutō welcomed visitors with laughter and joy, proudly displaying their beautiful scenery.

Despite Ōetsu's persistent urging, Akira remained rooted to the spot, transfixed.

After considerable delay, they finally made their way to the true Hōōden — a simple wooden cabin perched on a cliff.

Though Akira had visited several times before, he couldn't mask his disappointment at the humble setting. It seemed far too modest for one bearing the title "God of the Sword".

They entered the cabin and traversed a dark tunnel, emerging into a cave.

Ōetsu removed his sunglasses, adjusted his hair, and commenced the blade-forging work, with Mera and the others lending their abilities to the process.

His forging technique was a sight to behold — truly elegant and artistic. The forge fire danced like an extension of his body, responding to his will, while each hammer strike produced brilliant sparks. Under his masterful manipulation, the liquid Hell phosphorus gradually took on a blade-like form.

As seawater cascaded in, white steam engulfed the cave, obscuring everything from view.

Akira darted forward.

Ōetsu stood holding the sharp blade in both hands, his brow furrowed in concentration.

"It failed. This blade hasn't developed any consciousness."

Without hesitation, he threw it into the burning forge nearby, destroying the blade. As the God of the Sword, having a single "failure" in his sheathed collection was blemish enough.

Watching the troubled Ōetsu, Akira stroked his chin. Though he lacked experience in blade forging, he was well-versed in communicating with Zanpakutō.

His intuition suggested that Ōetsu's forging method was too forceful.

"Why not try incorporating the phosphorus into an existing Zanpakutō first?"

Ōetsu: "...? How could that be possible? Zanpakutō are made from the souls of Shinigami... Wait!"

His eyes suddenly widened mid-sentence as a brilliant idea struck him.

Asauchi were Zanpakutō forged from Hollow souls, while regular Zanpakutō came from Shinigami souls. Though they embodied different powers, fusion wasn't impossible. The existence of Arrancar and Hollowfied Shinigami proved they shared common ground — so why couldn't Zanpakutō be merged as well?

What if Hell phosphorus became part of this combination?

With this revelation, Ōetsu launched into his second round of forging, his expression now fervent.

After watching for a while, Akira lost interest and departed.

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When he found Aizen again, the latter had already learned the million-year-old history in full. With his help, even details Ichibē had overlooked came to light.

Seeing Akira approach, Aizen looked up with a smile.

"I understand the situation now. After falling into Hell, the Five Noble Clan ancestors somehow seized partial control over Hell's will, becoming entities similar to Yhwach in the Sangai. Shiba refused to be corrupted like the others, so the remaining four turned against him, making him their victim."

Akira pondered thoughtfully, "What should we do next?"

The corner of Aizen's mouth lifted as he gave an answer that shocked even the husky.

"Simple. We'll break through Hell."

Akira: "?"

He wondered if his wayward son's mind had been tainted by Hell's phosphorus, reducing his near-equal intelligence to a mere fraction.

How could the great Aizen utter such crude words?

Under Akira's gaze, he explained that according to Ichibē's intelligence, though the Five Noble Clan ancestors were strong, their power remained limited — still bound by rules. Even with Hell's enhancement, they couldn't transcend these limitations.

But Akira was different — having defeated Yhwach, he had transcended the rules. Beyond the Five Noble Clan ancestors, even a revived Soul King might not be able to defeat this monster.

In a sense, Akira was this world's true master, while the Soul King and others were mere visitors. If both sides truly went to war, the world would surely stand with his favorite son.

They'd cleared the Sangai, so there was no reason they couldn't clear Hell.

As for Hell consuming the Sangai, they could research that after dealing with the Five Noble Clan ancestors.

Akira grinned: "That's right!"

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Leaving the Soul King Palace, Aizen directly tore open a passage between worlds, leading Akira back into Hell.

Unlike last time, they had no intention of exploring. They were heading straight for their goal of cutting through Hell. They were all already dead anyway, so dying again wouldn't matter.

That's how Aizen saw it, and even more so for Akira. He didn't care about people who had nothing to do with him. The people he cared about were all living well in the Sangai. As for the original Gotei 13 Captains, they could properly pay respects at their graves once this was over.

Terrifying Reiatsu once again descended upon Hell. In an instant, countless Togabito looked up at the dark sky, where two figures gazed down at the earth like gods.

Without warning, they frantically launched attacks at Akira and Aizen.

As far as the eye could see, surging Reiatsu and rampant phosphorus created not just a murky atmosphere but also an indescribable suffocating feeling.

Facing this scene, Aizen showed no emotional fluctuation. His eyes flickered with blue-purple light as his calm voice rang out amid the chaos:

⤫ Hadō #90: Kurohitsugi ⥤ Black Coffin! ⤬

A deep black canopy replaced Hell's sky as vast Reiatsu cascaded down into the chaos. Space creaked under the unbearable strain, continuously shattering. Deep rifts appeared, swallowing the Togabito's figures.

Black walls materialized instantly as twisted dark lines covered the battlefield, encompassing over ninety percent of the Togabito.

When the Black Coffin dispersed, the dense swarm of Togabito vanished completely, leaving vast empty spaces across the battlefield as if wiped clean.

After eliminating this group, Aizen locked onto their destination and unleashed his Reiatsu, blasting through this level of Hell.

The two plunged deeper into Hell's depths. Ordinary Togabito posed no threat to them — their descent remained unimpeded.

Until they reached Hell's Lowermost Level (Saiōbu).

Before them, five figures emanating powerful Reiatsu hovered beneath the dark heavens, unsurprised by their arrival.

"We were wondering how to deal with you." The leader's gaze was cold, his features strikingly similar to Ansai Tsunayashiro's. He gripped an unremarkable blade that gleamed with an icy light, "Who would have thought you'd dare enter this place. Since you're here, you're not leaving."

He raised his blade as black flames ignited along its length, his voice echoing through Hell:

⤫ Bankai: Muga Kyōkai ⥤ Final Release: Selfless Realm! ⤬

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