Chapter Sixteen: Hell / Chapter Seventeen: Kuroto's Despair

Kuroto looked at Unohana and sighed slightly. It was such a pity that such a beautiful woman was wasted. He stared at the boiling fish soup in the pot, a smug smile flashing in his eyes.

The two decided to go to the island to take a look, but before they had gone far, Unohana saw a thinly dressed girl standing in the snow and ice, looking at her in fear.

Unohana's brow twitched slightly.

The girl was only fifteen or sixteen years old. She was wearing an orange-red plaid Kimono, with her hair in a single ponytail. She was barefoot and had bare arms, which looked quite out of place in the snowy landscape. She looked at Unohana timidly.

The moment Unohana saw this girl, she knew that the girl was not a living person, but a human soul.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" Unohana asked.

The girl's expression turned terrified. She looked at the fishing boats on the shore, then turned and ran.

Unohana followed behind at a leisurely pace.

The girl stopped abruptly when she arrived at a dilapidated village.

Based on previous knowledge of this island, people lived here decades ago, but later left to escape war.

The girl suddenly turned to look at Unohana. Although the fear in her expression had not diminished, there was now a resolute look in her eyes.

Randomly, more and more souls are appearing here.

One, two, three, and eventually there were dozens of people.

These people included people of all ages and genders, and they wore different clothes for all seasons.

At this moment, the girl who started first cautiously approached and asked, "Excuse me, are you Lord Death?"

Unohana nodded slightly. "Little sister, what brings you here?"

The girl, overcome with fear, pleaded, "Could you... take us away from here?"

Chapter Sixteen: Hell

Yamabuki Chidori sat on the boat, gazing at the scenery before her. A biting wind blew, dark clouds rolled in, and a moment later, light snow began to fall.

Kuroto, with an honest-looking expression, handed over a bowl of fish soup. "Sir, is it alright for you to let Madam go to the island alone? There are many wild animals on the island!"

"Don't mind her, she's not young anymore and she's still so playful! Let's eat first," said Yamabuki Chidori.

A glint of light flashed in Kuroto's eyes. Heaven is on my side!

"Your wife seems to be a little older than you! When did you get married?" Kuroto asked seemingly casually.

"Yes, she is indeed a little older than me, but not by much, only a little over two hundred years old," Yamabuki Chidori said truthfully.

"Huh???" Kuroto didn't understand.

Over two hundred years older? Do you think I'm kidding?

In this era, living to fifty or sixty was considered a long life. Frequent wars, coupled with plagues and natural disasters, meant that most people could only live to their thirties or forties.

"You're quite the joker," Kuroto chuckled dryly. "How did you and Madam meet? Looks like you two come from wealthy families, right?"

"No, we are both orphans. The first time we met was because she injured some of my friends with a knife. In a fit of anger, I fought her with a knife, and after I won, I took her as my wife!" Yamabuki Chidori spoke the truth in every word.

Kuroto felt that this kid was making a joke on him!

"But you two both look quite wealthy! Your clothes and accessories don't look like something orphans would have!" Kuroto said.

"That's because we both found good jobs later," Yamabuki Chidori said with a smile.

"If there's such a good job, could you introduce me to it? Oh, by the way, the fish soup is getting cold, eat it while it's hot!" Kuroto said.

Yamabuki Chidori took a couple of sips of the steaming soup and sighed, "We both really enjoy killing, but she's killed more than me. She's probably killed thousands, or even tens of thousands!"

Yamabuki Chidori recalled a time when she was on patrol with her team and passed through the Gomukui District. As a result, everyone in the entire block was killed. Later, she learned that the killer was Unohana.

Kuroto smiled awkwardly, recalling the swordsmanship the other party had displayed the previous night. Although the young man in front of him might be bragging, these two were definitely not people he could afford to offend.

But if I can't beat you head-on, won't I resort to underhanded tactics?

You've already drunk the poison I made; it won't be long before you start making a lot of noise. Such a beautiful woman will become a widow; how pitiful!

A wicked smile crept across Kuroto's face.

"Don't just stand there like an idiot, come and eat!" Yamabuki Chidori said.

Kuroto hurriedly said, "I'm not hungry yet, you eat first, I'll go call Madam back for dinner!"

As he spoke, he stepped off the deck, a wicked glint in his eyes.

"So that's how it is. You were all killed by that Mr. Kuroto, and your bodies were buried here after you died, right?" Unohana learned the whole story through these souls.

This person died more than seven years ago.

At the beginning, Kuroto was just an ordinary fisherman, but he was very dissatisfied with his life.

Seeing those rich people spending money like water while he could only fish miserably at sea, he gradually felt unbalanced and began to think of ways to climb higher.

At first, he tried to curry favor with the rich, but he found that no matter how much he tried, those powerful people had already seen it all, and many even treated him as a joke.

But Kuroto didn't dare point his butcher's knife at the noble lords protected by warriors, so he came up with a plan.

Using his knowledge of this area from his years of fishing, he set a trap.

There are many small islands nearby, some of which have villages. Some people who want to go to the villages have to find a fishing boat to take them there. Kuroto takes advantage of this opportunity to poison the food of these regular customers, kill them, and rob them of their belongings.

In those days, communication was very inconvenient. Sometimes, people would die and no one would come looking for them for years. Moreover, there were many pirates like him on this sea. He had killed so many people but no one had investigated. Kuroto grew bolder and bolder. Finally, he mustered up the courage to stab a nobleman in the body.

He didn't even spare the nobleman's children.

The nobleman's son was only three years old. Kuroto originally wanted to sell the child, but the child kept crying in bed. In a fit of rage, Kuroto chopped the child into mincemeat.

The number of dead he killed kept increasing until yesterday when he encountered Yamabuki Chidori and Unohana.

"Madam, so this is you! I've been looking everywhere for you!" Kuroto approached, a dagger in hand, his face contorted with malice. "Your dead husband is dead, poisoned by me. Hand over all your valuables, and I might spare your life! Otherwise..."

Unohana looked at the Kuroto before her with a smile.

At least in her opinion, this tactic was far too naive.

How can you call yourself a villain if you haven't taken ten thousand lives?

"Darling, he said you were poisoned to death? Is it true?" Unohana asked with a smile.

Kuroto felt a chill run down his spine. Who was this woman talking to?

"Smack!"

Suddenly, a hand slapped hard on the back of his head. Kuroto was so startled that he almost jumped up, only to see that Yamabuki Chidori had appeared behind him at some point.

"You... you ingested deadly poison, didn't you? You should be dead by now, how can you still be moving?" Kuroto said in terror.

"What a pity! I'm already dead, so this poison has no effect on me! I underestimated you; I didn't expect you to have killed so many people." Yamabuki Chidori looked at the souls before her.

"What... what nonsense are you spouting...?"

"Oh right, I forgot, your spiritual power is very low, so you can't see anything at all." Yamabuki Chidori finger lightly, and Kuroto found that his eyes lit up, and many people appeared in the open space in front of him.

When Kuroto saw these people, he screamed in terror.

Those he had killed were now glaring at him with vicious intent.

That's the nobleman he stabbed in the back!

And that noble lady who was first violated by him and then killed!

The elderly couple who took a boat to visit their daughter!

After defeating the samurai who was preparing to return home!

There were also two children who were only seven or eight years old!

They were all people he had personally killed.

"Who... who are you people?!" Kuroto screamed in terror.

"We are Shinigami, in charge of the afterlife. Now, the Shinigami have come to collect people!" Yamabuki Chidori raised his hand, a flash of light, and the Kuroto man's head exploded. Just as Yamabuki Chidori was about to send his soul to Soul Society, suddenly, a black light flashed in mid-air.

In an instant, the situation changed drastically!

A huge black gate, inlaid with a giant skull, appeared out of nowhere!

"Holy crap, the Hell Gate!"

Chapter Seventeen: The Kuroto of Despair

What's the most mysterious thing in the Bleach universe?

The answer is Hell.

The concept of Hell was mentioned in the very first few chapters of the manga, but then the author seemed to have forgotten about it until the manga ended, when a new volume titled "Hell Arc" was suddenly released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the serialization.

It tells the story of how the dead Captain were forcibly suppressed in Hell because their souls could not return to nature.

In the original timeline, the Thousand-Year Blood War resulted in heavy casualties on both sides of the Shinigami and Quincy. Captain Commander Yamamoto, Unohana, Yhwach, Jūshirō Ukitake all perished, Aizen was sealed away, causing an imbalance between Hell and Soul Society, and the souls of Hell began to riot.

But that's all the information we have about the Hell Arc; besides that, there's only one theatrical side story about Hell.

The story revolves around Kurosaki Ichigo sister being captured and taken to Hell by a villain known as the Kuroto...

Wait, Kuroto?

Yamabuki Chidori suddenly turned around and looked at the Kuroto!

Kuroto stared blankly at his own soul, thinking, "How could I die like this? I haven't even had a chance to enjoy the good life yet!"

"So you were sent to Hell by my own hands, kid!" Yamabuki Chidori muttered to herself.

After seeing the Hell Gate, Unohana's expression turned serious. She immediately left the Giglio and entered her soul state.

There have always been legends about Hell in the Three Realms, but even to the God of Death, these legends are too fantastical.

"Yamabuki, what exactly happened?" Unohana gripped the knife tightly in her hand.

Yamabuki Chidori said calmly, "Hell absorbs the souls of those who commit heinous crimes. It seems this kid is in luck and will be sent to Hell. But daring to snatch a soul from my hands, does he have a death wish?"

Hell is a unique world separate from the Three Realms.

Hell existed before the Three Realms were formed, and it continuously absorbed souls.

In the world of Bleach, souls are everything. Souls sustain the continuous operation of the Three Realms. If Hollows keep devouring souls or Quincy keep destroying Hollows, the number of souls will decrease, and one day the entire world will collapse!

The Soul King divided the world into Three Realms and created Hueco Mundo to prevent the world from collapsing, allowing the Hollows to live Hueco Mundo.

But this did not stop the Void from consuming souls.

Therefore, Shinigami (Death Gods) were created specifically to hunt Hollows.

"I... I did nothing wrong, I just wanted to live a good life! Why do those high and mighty nobles have endless money without doing anything, while I put in so much effort and only get so little money! Why is this world so unfair! I did nothing wrong! I did nothing wrong! And you Grim Reapers, what right do you have to decide other people's life and death! You are all trash, you are useless!" Kuroto howled in anguish.

At that moment, the gates of Hell slowly opened, and a gigantic blade emerged from Hell Gate, its tip instantly piercing the soul of the Kuroto.

"I don't want to Hell! I don't want to Hell!!! Help! Help!!!" Kuroto roared in terror.

Yamabuki Chidori was intrigued by the Hell Gate. Everything that needed explaining in the main Bleach series had already been explained, but this Hell remained shrouded in mystery.

"I'll go take a look! You wait for me here!" Yamabuki Chidori was like a cat full of curiosity. After entering her spirit form, she Flash Step teleported to the Hell Gate.

"Save me! Aren't you the Grim Reaper?! Save me now!" Kuroto roared with heart-wrenching despair.

However, Yamabuki Chidori was interested in was not him at all, but the Hell in front of him. He rushed directly into the Hell Gate, and at the same time, the giant hand slowly withdrew.

The Hell Gate slowly closed before Unohana.

"Um... Sister, aren't you worried about your husband?" The little girl's question echoed in her mind.

Unohana gave a helpless smile, "Just trust him. If he wants to leave, even Hell can't hold him. By the way, I'll take you into the Soul Society. Once you're Soul Society, you can be reincarnated. I believe you'll have a wonderful life in the future!"

Unohana sends each of these people's souls into the Soul Society, then stands there waiting for her husband to return.

Hell.

The most mysterious place in the entire world.

After entering Hell, Yamabuki Chidori felt the aura of Hell constantly eroding her body.

In an instant, Reiatsu erupted, and the feeling of being eroded was instantly dispelled.