Bleach: From the moment I was invited by Squad Zero

If the Seireitei is likened to a great tree rooted in the Soul Society, then the ground beneath the First Division's compound is the deepest root system of that tree.

Passing through layers of strict barriers and guards, crossing through the chilling layers of prisons, until finally reaching the absolute forbidden zone known as the "Eighth Underground Prison".

"The Avici Hell".

The massive portal, so heavy it seemed capable of crushing a soul, forged from killing stones and a special alloy, slowly opened inward amidst the ear-piercing sounds of gears turning and chains rubbing together.

Behind the door was not the narrow prison cell one might have imagined, but rather... an endless, suffocating darkness.

There was no light, no sound, no sense of the passage of time, only an absolute nothingness and deathly silence that seemed to freeze consciousness.

The concentration of spiritual particles here is extremely high, but it is chaotic and viscous, carrying a smell of decay and despair, and cannot be absorbed and utilized normally at all.

This is the ultimate prison specifically for holding the most vicious criminals in Soul Society.

Two elite guards from the First Division, dressed in special protective suits and wearing isolation masks, pushed the executioner Scarface into the edge of this darkness as if escorting a dangerous item.

Scarface still wore the murderous stone shackles on his hands and feet, and his spiritual power was suppressed to the limit.

The moment he was pushed in, he felt a sudden heaviness all over his body, as if an invisible weight was pressing down on his soul, making even breathing extremely difficult.

The surrounding darkness was as thick as ink. With his senses, he could barely see three feet in front of him, and beyond that was a void that swallowed everything.

"Go in, Executioner 'Scarface'," a guard said coldly, his voice muffled and distorted behind his mask.

"Originally, with your crimes, you wouldn't even be qualified to enter this 'Avici Hell,' but this time you've gotten involved in something big enough."

To ensure absolute safety, I've granted special permission to imprison you here. Your sentence... hehe, you can count it yourself, if you can still keep up the count.

Another guard added, his tone tinged with mockery:

"Time flows differently here than outside, so you'll feel... a lot of time. And you're not the only 'celebrity' locked up here."

After saying this, the two guards said no more and settled the scarred face.

The enormous door, seemingly separating two worlds, slowly closed.

"Wait..." Scarface said instinctively.

As the last ray of light from the outside world was completely swallowed up, absolute darkness and deathly silence enveloped him.

He, a villain who originally deserved only a regular prison, was thrown into this infernal hell simply because he was involved in a shocking conspiracy targeting the Zero Division.

Ironically, he is still alive, while the mastermind, Tsunayoshi, has been completely destroyed.

But Scarface would rather die under the double poles, because his intuition told him that "living" in this "infernal hell" was probably a thousand times more terrifying than any form of death.

He felt an unprecedented chill that came from the depths of his soul.

However, at this very moment, in the deepest part of this dark "infernal hell," there exists a being completely different from the terror and despair of Scarface, the newcomer.

It sits quietly in a void, with an air of detachment.

He was a man who appeared quite refined, even somewhat scholarly.

He had long black hair, tied into a neat ponytail at the back of his head, with two signature long, center-parted bangs hanging down in front of his forehead, swaying slightly with the flow of invisible spiritual energy around him.

He was wearing a slightly worn white robe, which was now tattered.

Moreover, he was pierced, entangled, and fixed by countless chains made of spiritual particles, tightly connecting him to the "base" of this space.

He closed his eyes, his face calm, as if he were only dozing. He was none other than Mochishiro Souya.

Once upon a time, he was also a member of the 11th Division of the Gotei 13, a man who, with absolute strength, defeated the 7th Kenpachi, Kenpachi Kuruyashiki, who had been invited by the Zero Division.

Thus, he inherited the title of the eighth "Kenpachi" and became one of the strongest figures at the pinnacle of the Shinigami.

However, due to the extreme nature of his beliefs and actions, he was eventually imprisoned here, becoming one of the most famous and dangerous "residents" of this infernal hell.

Even in this deepest prison, bound by countless restrictions and chains, Souya Mochishiro's spirit did not seem to be completely isolated from the outside world.

He slowly opened his eyes.

Profound and serene, yet carrying a detached indifference that comes from seeing through the vanities of the world.

His gaze was not focused on any physical object, but rather seemed to penetrate the thick layers of rock and countless barriers, "looking" at the vast world of Seireitei.

"Tsunayoshiro and... Zero Squad... Yanagawa..."

A voice, tinged with a hint of interest, slowly escaped his lips.

His Zanpakuto, "Rain Dew Pomegranate," has long ceased to be a physical sword.

Since its first Bankai, due to some special rule anomaly and Azajo's own will, it has maintained a Bankai state that cannot be sealed by conventional means.

Its ability is to fuse the spiritual particles of Mole City itself with the spiritual particles of "inorganic matter" within its reach.

Once integrated, he can manipulate those substances as freely as he would his own limbs, using them to attack, bind, and perceive.

Furthermore, once he completes a deep spiritual fusion with a specific, sufficiently vast "space".

Then, he can monitor, listen to, and perceive everything that happens in that space through the omnipresent spiritual medium.

Over the years, Souichi Shiro has already integrated his spiritual essence into the Seireitei.

Therefore, the recent earth-shattering events in Seireitei—the return of Squad Zero member Yanagawa, the foolish ambush and trial of Tsunayoshiro, the extreme execution at Sokyoku Hill…

He knew it all perfectly well.

"Yanagi Chuan..." Souya Shiro murmured the name again, a glint of "interest" flashing in his deep, calm eyes.

An anomaly from the Zero Division that forced the 46th Chamber to use the Bipolar Extermination to purge its own members...

Such people are extremely rare in the long and tedious history of Soul Society.

His very existence is a powerful disturbance to the existing order, a variable full of unpredictability.

"The Seireitei of the future seems set to become quite interesting," he thought to himself, a barely perceptible, yet dangerous, smile playing on his lips.

"Yanagawa...we will meet again sooner or later."

It is not a prophecy, but an affirmation based on the development of the situation.

As long as Yanagawa continues to operate in the Seireitei, and as long as he continues to walk in this world composed of countless spirit particles, he will inevitably encounter Souya Azajo sooner or later.

At that time, whether they become enemies or friends will depend on the paths and choices they make.

Subsequently, the Avici Hell returned to its deathly silence.