Bleach: From the moment I was invited by Squad Zero.

Just when he was so bored that he was about to let his men continue killing each other for his own amusement.

boom!

A loud bang was heard, and the gate of Hueco Mundo was smashed by a powerful force!

The several Hollows guarding the gate didn't even have time to scream before they were cleaved in two by a sharp blade of light, their black blood splattering all over the ground.

Barragán sat bolt upright on his throne, a flash of anger crossing his skeletal face.

He looked towards the doorway and saw three figures slowly walking in, their steps unhurried, as if they were strolling in their own backyard.

The man at the head of the group was wearing glasses and had a gentle smile on his face; it was none other than Aizen Sousuke.

His steps were steady, and his demeanor was refined, like a visiting scholar rather than an intruder into Hueco Mundo.

To his left was a white-haired man with narrowed eyes and a fox-like smile, Gin Ichimaru; to his right was a dark-skinned man with closed eyes and an expressionless face, Kaname Tosen.

Three reapers.

Memories from fifteen years ago flooded Barragan's mind like a tidal wave: that powerful Grim Reaper, that battle that made him lose face, and that humiliation that he has yet to wash away.

And now, three more Death Gods have dared to break into his palace and kill his men right before his eyes!

This time, he will not hold back.

"Go! Tear them to pieces!" Barragan swung his arm violently, his voice echoing like thunder throughout the Void Palace.

Dozens of Hollows and Adjuchas-level Hollows that had been lurking around suddenly appeared, letting out deafening roars as they pounced on Aizen and his companions!

In an instant, Hueco Mundo was filled with violent spiritual pressure and bloodthirsty killing intent.

However, Aizen simply smiled in the face of the surging Hollows.

He spoke slowly, his voice gentle and magnetic, as if he were having a casual chat: "King of Hueco Mundo, are you satisfied with yourself as you are now?"

Barragán paused slightly: "What did you say?"

Aizen continued, his tone carrying a calmness akin to guiding a lost soul:

Do you feel that the world today is different from what it should be? Don't you want to elevate yourself to a higher level?

I can help you by submitting to me, and I will grant you even greater power.

Upon hearing this, Barragán paused for a moment, then burst into deafening laughter:

"Hahahaha—! You mere Grim Reaper, don't get too cocky! Who do you think you are? How dare you utter such arrogant words to me!"

His laughter abruptly stopped, and a chilling killing intent erupted from his cloudy eyes:

"I need no one's help! I will take your life myself, and then use your head to adorn my throne!"

Aizen's smile remained unchanged, but a meaningful glint flashed in his eyes:

"Don't you find it ironic? Hueco Mundo King, you are clearly just a Hollow, but your appearance is exactly like that of a real Grim Reaper."

These words thoroughly enraged Barragan. He roared and leaped from his throne, conjuring a massive black battle axe in his hand. With a force powerful enough to cleave the earth, he slashed down at Aizen and the other two!

"Shatter, you Mirror Flower, Water Moon." Aizen said softly, raising his Zanpakuto.

Then Barragan's battle axe came crashing down, cleaving Aizen, Gin Ichimaru, and Kaname Tosen in two!

However, the expected scene of blood splattering did not appear; the severed figure vanished like bubbles.

Barragan's pupils suddenly contracted: "What?!"

Just then, an invisible slash appeared out of nowhere and precisely severed the golden crown on Barragan's head!

The crown snapped in two and fell to the ground with a clatter, its clear sound echoing through the empty Hueco Mundo.

Barragan turned his head stiffly, only to see Aizen and the other two still standing in the same spot, composed and smiling.

When he broke free from the hypnotic effect of the illusion, he was horrified to discover that all his subordinates were lying on the ground, defeated and without exception!

Throughout the entire process, he didn't even notice anything unusual.

Cold sweat beaded on Barragán's forehead, and genuine fear was evident on his face.

Looking at the smiling Grim Reaper before him, he felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness. He hadn't expected that so many powerful figures would appear one after another among the Grim Reapers.

The Grim Reaper who used the power of vibration fifteen years ago was like that, and the man before me is even more so.

He slowly lowered the battle axe in his hand and bowed his once proud head.

"...I surrender."

Faced with Barragán's swift and decisive surrender, Gin Ichimaru's fox-like smile revealed a hint of boredom.

He tilted his head, his tone tinged with disappointment and mockery: "This is so boring. I thought we were going to fight for a while longer. I was really looking forward to seeing the King of Hueco Mundo go all out, but it ended just like that?"

Upon hearing this, Barragán's face showed a hint of suppressed anger, but he quickly suppressed it and did not refute it.

As the king of Hueco Mundo, he had ruled this desolate world for countless years and was naturally unwilling to be subordinate to others, much less to a Grim Reaper.

But reality is what it is: facing an opponent you cannot defeat, surrendering at least saves your life.

As long as you're alive, you still have a chance; once you're dead, you have nothing left.

He secretly plotted in his heart: for now, he would feign compliance and submit to this Shinigami named Aizen.

When the right opportunity comes in the future, he will find a way to reclaim his throne. The position of King of Hueco Mundo will eventually return to his hands.

Chapter 264 Cruel Punishments of Hell

The moment Liuchuan stepped into hell, the will of hell itself seemed to sense the arrival of this uninvited guest.

As if acknowledging the arrival of the "strongest Grim Reaper" and the members of the Zero Division, a powerful crimson hellish force began to gather in the void in front of Yanagawa.

The power surged like a living thing, forming a small vortex. After a moment, the scarlet light gradually subsided, and a palm-sized token floated in front of Liu Chuan.

The token was a deep, dark red color. On the front of the token was a powerful and vigorous character “狱” (prison), with a faint dark red light flowing between the strokes, as if the character itself contained some kind of power of rules.

The back is engraved with some intricate patterns, like the map of hell.

Liu Chuan reached out and took the token. The moment he held it, he could clearly feel a peculiar power contained within it.

He glanced at it a few times. Although he didn't know the specific purpose of the token yet, since it was a gift from the will of Hell, it wouldn't be wrong to keep it for now.

He put the token into his pocket and continued to survey his surroundings.

The air was thick with miasma, which was a deadly poison to ordinary people.

If one stays in hell for too long, the miasma will erode the soul, leaving one forever on this dark red land, becoming a new sinner.

For a Shinigami like Yanagawa, whose spiritual pressure is so strong, the miasma, though not fatal, still made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

The feeling was like walking in the dead of winter wearing damp clothes; you wouldn't freeze to death, but there was always a lingering chill.

The sky was a sickly dark red, like a clot of congealed blood lying upside down on the firmament. There was no sun or stars, only endless, oppressive red clouds hanging low, as if they might collapse at any moment.

Beneath this blood-red sky stood countless enormous cubic buildings, arranged neatly like giant dice carelessly discarded on this desolate land.

Their surfaces are grayish-white, covered with traces of time and weathered cracks.

Yanagawa observed the buildings at a leisurely pace. Through the narrow windows and open doors, he could see that a large number of inhabitants of hell, also known as vengeful people, lived inside.

Some huddled in corners, some paced aimlessly back and forth, and some sat blankly on the ground staring into the void, their eyes vacant and their expressions numb, as if they had lost all hope and the ability to think.

Based on the information he had previously obtained from Hyosube Ichibei, Yanagawa knew that these jinxes were not born this way.

The reason why Hell allows souls who have committed grave sins to retain their powers from their previous lives is not out of mercy, but to give them the courage to rebel against their guards.

Then, let the guards crush them with absolute force.

This is a meticulously designed punishment: give hope, then crush it; give power, then render it meaningless.

Of course, no wicked person can defeat the guards, whose existence is solely for the purpose of destroying the bodies of wicked people time and time again.

Shatter their hopes, trap them in an endless cycle of suffering, until they finally give up resistance, give up thinking, and become the zombie-like beings they are today.

Just as Liu Chuan was deep in thought, a series of heavy footsteps came from afar. Each footstep was like a giant hammer striking the ground, and even the gray-white dust underfoot trembled.

Liu Chuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw a huge figure slowly walking out from behind a cluster of cubic buildings not far away. It was a guardian of hell.

His size was enormous, like a moving mountain, and his appearance seemed to resemble some undead creatures.

Its immense size gives it an absolute visual deterrent effect on the guilty, symbolizing the inviolable majesty of hell.

These guards' daily work involves constantly patrolling hell, then seizing those who have committed sins, and either eating them or torturing them to death.

Even if a wicked person is killed in hell, they will be resurrected repeatedly, which is the cruelest punishment in hell.

For those who experience death and rebirth every day, nothing matters.

Hope, fear, pain, despair... all emotions are worn away in an endless cycle, leaving only an empty shell in the end.

The guard walked up to a wicked person huddled in a corner, stretched out his huge hand, and grabbed the person's body as if he were an ant.

The culprit let out a weak wail, but made no move to resist. He had given up resisting, given up thinking, and was just numbly waiting for death once again.

The guard threw the culprit into his mouth, chewed him a few times, making a cracking sound as if his bones were breaking, and then swallowed him. The whole process was as uneventful as eating a peanut.

Then, the guard turned his head and looked in the direction of Liuchuan.

Liu Chuan narrowed his eyes slightly, ready to make a move at any moment.

However, to his surprise, the guard did not attack him.

Instead, its massive body lowered slightly, and its head nodded downwards, as if paying homage to Liuchuan.

The movements were clumsy and stiff, yet they carried an obvious respect, as if reporting one's diligent work to a superior.

Liu Chuan was slightly taken aback, but then he understood. He reached out and touched the token in his pocket that was engraved with the character "prison," and suddenly realized what was going on.

The purpose of this token is very likely that the will of hell has arranged a position for him in hell.

Judging from the guard's reaction, the position seems to have considerable authority.

Looking at the massive, mountain-like hellish guard before him, Liu Chuan quickly made a mental calculation.

Since this token grants him a certain level of authority, let's test the scope of that authority first.

He then tested several different commands, moving a huge white stone pillar and clearing a path leading into the distance.

Although the guards would hesitate briefly before carrying out each order, as if wondering "why is this boss asking me to do these strange things", they ultimately carried out the orders faithfully.

"It seems that the authority of this token is indeed quite high." Liu Chuan looked down at the dark red token in his arms and muttered to himself.