"Ding! A new sign-in task has been issued!"
The moment the notification tone sounded, Shigure Segawa felt his heart skip a beat.
"Task with no time limit: Please head to the third level of Seireitei's underground prison, 'Black Corrosion Hell,' to complete the sign-in!"
Black Corrosion Hell?
Shigure was momentarily stunned. This was a term he had never heard of before.
If the system hadn't specified that it was the third level of the underground prison, he wouldn't have had any idea where it was.
In Seireitei, there were two prisons used to detain criminals.
One was the Senzaikyū (Palace of Penitence), located on a southern hill near the Gotei 13 barracks. The other was the underground prison deep beneath the surface.
Shigure was, of course, familiar with the Senzaikyū. In the manga, Rukia Kuchiki was held there before her execution.
However, the "Black Corrosion Hell" within the underground prison was something Shigure had no recollection of.
He did know about the eighth and lowest level of the underground prison, called Muken (Hell of No Return). After being sealed by Kisuke Urahara's Kido, Aizen was sentenced by the Central 46 to serve a 20,000-year term in Muken.
"This location… it's rather peculiar," Shigure muttered to himself as he led his team on patrol.
In the past, every sign-in task had been situated along his path of growth. Whether it was at the Shinō Academy, the Asauchi Forge, the Urahara Shop in the World of the Living, or the 5th Division barracks during his induction—all these locations were relevant to his journey.
But this time, the task was suddenly placed in a location he would almost never visit.
"Wait a minute…"
"Could it be… that the Central 46's judgment on me is somehow connected to this Black Corrosion Hell?"
The thought struck Shigure, and he found it increasingly plausible.
Although his transgressions weren't severe enough to warrant imprisonment, there might be some other method of dealing with him.
After pondering for a while, Shigure calmed his mind. He decided to wait for the Central 46's ruling. If it turned out to have nothing to do with Black Corrosion Hell, he'd have to figure out a way to get in there himself.
Meanwhile, Tōshirō Hitsugaya and Rangiku Matsumoto had returned to the 10th Division barracks.
Since the 10th Division was responsible for patrolling both the outskirts and the central areas of Seireitei, their assigned territory was relatively small, allowing Rangiku to finish her tasks quickly.
Suddenly, Hitsugaya spoke up, "Rangiku, are you hiding something from me… about Shigure Segawa?"
Hearing this, Rangiku was momentarily stunned before she broke into a smile. "So you've noticed, Captain."
"Spill it," Hitsugaya said, rolling his eyes. "It must have happened during that soul burial training mission you supervised, right?"
Rangiku nodded. "Actually, Shigure's Zanpakutō first revealed its true name during that mission in the World of the Living."
Hitsugaya's eyes flickered with interest.
"However, since he perfectly suppressed his spiritual pressure, it didn't have any adverse effects on the World of the Living," Rangiku added.
She paused for a moment, then lowered her voice. "Captain, what I'm about to tell you is something I believe Shigure wouldn't want others to know, so I hope you won't spread it around."
Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like the kind of person who gossips? That's more your department, isn't it?"
Rangiku chuckled at his expression, her earlier tension easing significantly.
"Alright, go on," Hitsugaya urged.
"Well," Rangiku began, "Captain, you remember Shigure's Shikai from yesterday, don't you?"
"How could I forget?" Hitsugaya replied immediately. "The sheer magnitude of its power was extraordinary. If he hadn't been suppressing his spiritual pressure, the entire 1st Division barracks might have been engulfed by that storm of lightning."
Half a month ago, when Hitsugaya had sensed that abnormal spiritual pressure in North Rukongai, he realized it was far beyond his own capabilities.
Subsequent investigations pointed to the new Shinō Academy student, Shigure Segawa, as the source of that spiritual pressure.
Because of this, when he witnessed Shigure's Zanpakutō release during the demonstration at the 1st Division barracks, he immediately noticed something unusual.
Shigure was deliberately suppressing his spiritual pressure.
Even so, the overwhelming presence of his Zanpakutō was terrifying.
This was why every captain present had been so astonished.
But to Hitsugaya's surprise, Rangiku shook her head lightly. "What I want to tell you is… he wasn't just suppressing his spiritual pressure. He was also holding back the true form of his Shikai."
Hitsugaya's pupils contracted sharply. "The true form of his Shikai? What do you mean by that?"
Rangiku shook her head again. "I don't know the specifics, but I'm certain that Shigure's Zanpakutō… its true power far exceeds what was shown during the demonstration."
Even now, the image of that thunder dragon piercing the heavens sent shivers down Rangiku's spine. The oppressive aura it exuded was suffocating, even from a distance.
Seeing Rangiku's serious expression, Hitsugaya knew she wasn't joking.
Letting out a slow breath, he still couldn't calm the storm in his heart.
Gazing out at the sky beyond the barracks, he murmured to himself:
"Shigure… just what kind of person are you?"
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