Chapter 182: Chapter 182: The Purpose of Hell’s Will
(T/N: Thanks for the support Everyone! This is the first Chapter out of 6 today!! Enjoy!)
Katori Nanatsuki surveyed the scene.
The original altar had been reduced to rubble. None of the spirits, priests, or officiants had survived the battlefield between Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Nobutsuna Shigyō.
The charred body of Shigyō lay on the ground, his skin cracked and blistered like burned coal.
Yamamoto had withdrawn the overwhelming power of Ryūjin Jakka, allowing the others to approach.
Once they got closer, they found that Shigyō still clung to life.
Katori glanced at his status interface:
[Nobutsuna Shigyō]
[Reputation Level: Friendly]
[Status: Near Death]
He noticed that the "Descent of Hell’s Will" status had vanished—and even the reputation level had returned to "Friendly."
"Cough, cough—Yamamoto..." Nobutsuna wheezed, opening his eyes.
His gaze had regained its clarity. No longer were his eyes pitch-black and hollow.
"You’ve come to," Yamamoto said calmly.
"Yeah... My body may have been controlled, but I still remember what happened... You’re as terrifying as ever... overwhelmingly strong... cough, cough..."
Nanatsuki immediately stepped forward and knelt down, using Kaido to begin treatment.
There was no way Kaido could save him at this point, but at least it might buy him time to speak.
"So it’s you, Katori-kun... We haven’t seen each other in years, and now you’ve become a captain-class powerhouse..."
Nobutsuna gave him a glance, then continued:
"You probably have a lot of questions..."
"I was poisoned and assassinated by Asada Tetsuya, and after death... I ended up in Hell."
Katori corrected, "Actually, the one who carried out the assassination was Asada Tetsuya’s artificial body, not the man himself."
"I see... That makes sense." Nobutsuna looked relieved. He had treated Asada Tetsuya well during his tenure and didn’t want to believe he was a traitor.
"My time is short. I’ll get to the point..."
"While I was in Hell, I had a degree of freedom. I even encountered some old friends..."
"And from them... I learned something..."
"Hell has a will of its own."
"The one who controlled my body and made me fight Yamamoto just now... was the Will of Hell."
"We don’t know much about it. None of us have seen a physical form..."
"But sometimes... our bodies would be hijacked by its will to perform certain actions..."
"For us spirits who have fallen into Hell... resistance is impossible."
"Just like what happened to me today..."
"Yamamoto... do you remember that guy, Saizou Sakahone?"
"He too was once controlled by the Will of Hell."
"When the Gate of Hell opened in the World of the Living, he tampered with the transfer of certain evil souls who should’ve been pulled into Hell—stopping them from entering."
"Today’s events... helped me understand why he did that..."
The information stunned everyone.
"Hell... has a will?!" Kyōraku Shunsui exclaimed in disbelief.
The Soul Society knew next to nothing about Hell.
Even as a captain with access to the Great Spirit Book Gallery in Seireitei, Kyōraku had never heard of this. This was his first time learning that Hell could possess consciousness.
"So... you’re saying the Will of Hell allowed evil souls into the Soul Society, then used those priests and officiants to open a Gate of Hell in the World of the Living?" Nanatsuki speculated.
Nobutsuna nodded faintly. "That’s what I believe as well..."
"As for the reason behind this..."
"I have a theory. The Will of Hell is trying to disrupt the balance between Hell and the Three Realms!Cough, cough..."
"It wants to break that balance?!" Katori frowned. "Does that mean it intends to plunder Reishi from the Soul Society by opening the Gate of Hell here...?"
He added, "Captain Shigyō, we have another question. Are Reishi shells active in the Soul Society connected to the Will of Hell?"
"I don’t know the full picture," Nobutsuna admitted. "But while being controlled by the Will, I frequently came in contact with Reishi shells. I suspect some of them may be under its influence..."
"That’s just my guess... I don’t know much more. You’ll have to uncover the truth yourselves..."
Cough, cough— His voice had grown faint, unable to hold on.
"One more thing... Reishi shells are active in the World of the Living as well..."
"I’m leaving now... In my current state, dying in the Soul Society just means returning to Hell..."
"For those of us who’ve fallen into Hell... escaping it is nearly impossible..."
"Captain Shigyō!" Ukitake Jūshirō shouted.
Nobutsuna’s body dissolved into Reishi, dispersing into the air.
Everyone could sense it—those particles didn’t return to the Soul Society.
"Will Captain Shigyō return to Hell...?" Katori’s face darkened. "Hell’s grip on spirits is terrifying..."
Yamamoto stood silently, his brows furrowed. He had just personally sent a comrade—one he had fought alongside—back into Hell. His mood was clearly sour.
Kyōraku spoke slowly, arms tucked in his sleeves: "Shinigami bodies are made of Reishi. When we die, we’re supposed to return to the earth."
"But captain-level Shinigami have Reiatsu so dense that their Reishi won’t disperse naturally. That’s why we have the Konso Reisai."
"That’s what they teach at the Spiritual Arts Academy."
"But there’s another theory—that the Konso Reisai doesn’t return those spirits to the Soul Society... but sends them to Hell."
"After seeing Captain Shigyō today... that theory may well be true."
Ukitake added, "Captain Shigyō disappeared back then. We never found his body. It seems they not only killed him—but also used the Konso Reisai to send him to Hell."
Nanatsuki rubbed his chin. "So they’re targeting powerful, isolated Shinigami... murdering them to strengthen Hell..."
From these revelations, they could infer that the Will of Hell was likely behind the artificial bodies’ movements—and possibly controlling them.
Nothing from Katori’s past-life memories had ever hinted at the Will of Hell. Everything Nobutsuna said was brand new.
’Could this be a butterfly effect caused by my transmigration...?’ he wondered.