They surged forward in one breath, charging through the Senkaimon blazing with white light.
The dazzling radiance lasted only an instant before a bizarre world forced itself into view.
"This place…" Ichigo Kurosaki was already sweating. "Is this the Dangai?"
The sky looked like the inner wall of some colossal beast's entrails, crimson in color and slowly pulsing.
An uneven, dark-gray path stretched ahead, leading straight to a gate glowing with white light at the far end.
On both sides of the path flowed a purple-black substance, impossible to tell whether it was liquid or air. As if sensing their presence, it began to churn and roll toward them.
"Run!" Black Cat Yoruichi took the lead without hesitation. "The Kōryū will close in fast. Don't touch that purple Kōryū!"
Everyone bolted forward at once. Sharp cracking sounds rang out beneath their feet, with no time to tell whether they were stepping on dried branches or brittle bones.
Behind them, the path collapsed, swallowed whole by the purple-black torrent.
Within the surging walls on either side, massive skeletal remains could be seen emerging faintly.
One enormous bone snapped, and the purple-black Kōryū clinging to it fell away with it.
Muten Natsu swept Orihime Inoue up in his arms, keeping her clear of the Kōryū.
Uryū Ishida's cloak flared violently as Kōryū latched onto it, dragging him backward.
Yasutora Sado reacted instantly. One hand pressed down on Ishida's head while the other ripped the cloak free.
"Thanks—ah!" Ishida barely got the words out before Sado hoisted him onto his shoulder.
"Yasutora!" Dangling over Sado's shoulder like a chick, Ishida protested frantically. "P-put me down! I can walk on my own!"
This was beyond humiliating.
Yasutora Sado completely ignored him, striding forward in long, powerful steps.
"Put me down… wait, wait… it feels like…" Ishida twisted his head to look back at the collapsing Kōryū. "Something's coming…"
A brilliant yellow light pierced through the Kōryū. A massive, unknown object smashed through everything in its way, wrapped in blinding yellow radiance as it hurtled forward. It looked like a train entangled in Kōryū, plowing ahead with unstoppable force.
Ichigo Kurosaki glanced back. "Th-that thing… what is it?"
"It's the Kōtotsu!" Yoruichi clicked her tongue. "The cleaner that only shows up once every seven days, and it had to be now! Run! That thing is insanely fast!"
"The exit's right ahead!" Muten Natsu tightened his hold on Orihime Inoue and sped up. "Move!"
The glowing exit was right in front of them, but reaching it was anything but easy.
The Kōtotsu behind them was closing in at a terrifying speed. Up close, its massive form looked less like a train and more like a mountain bearing down on them.
Seeing the three behind him about to be overtaken, Muten Natsu made a split-second decision. He hurled Orihime Inoue toward the exit with all his strength, then turned back, reaching for Yasutora Sado and Ichigo Kurosaki.
"Hinagiku! Baigon! Lily!"
Orihime Inoue adjusted herself in midair, both hands reaching for her hairpin.
"Santen Kesshun—I reject!"
Golden light slammed into the yellow glow at the tip of the Kōtotsu, and a violent explosion blasted everyone away.
The exit had opened in midair. All of them plunged toward the ground at a nearly terrifying speed.
"Bound by convention—Myōki!"
Muten Natsu drew the fully restored Myōki and slashed downward.
"Bug Flash!"
His Reiatsu transformed into a writhing, worm-like form that landed ahead of them first. Under Muten Natsu's control, it gained excellent elasticity and caught everyone as they fell.
Uryū Ishida scrambled up awkwardly.
"It broke already?"
He then pulled out a new cloak from his chest and threw it over his shoulders.
"Everyone's okay…"
Orihime Inoue let out a relieved breath.
"That's such a relief."
"Kōtotsu is far more dangerous than Kōryū," Muten Natsu said as he put Myōki away.
"It's lucky only the shield part collided with it. If it had been Shun Shun Rikka itself, you'd be done for."
"Are you angry…?"
Orihime Inoue tilted her head.
"Looks like you finally understand how Rukia and I feel."
Muten Natsu's breathing faltered.
"I…"
"I'm sorry, Muten."
Orihime Inoue tugged gently at his sleeve.
"Please don't be angry, okay?"
Muten Natsu pulled her into his arms.
"The one who should apologize is me."
When he saw Orihime Inoue using Shun Shun Rikka, the fear and worry he felt were impossible to put into words, far stronger than anything he had ever felt when risking his own life. Once they were safe, that fear turned into lingering dread, which then gave rise to anger he couldn't suppress.
He had never felt this way when he himself was in danger. Only when he saw Orihime Inoue risking herself did he truly understand that crushing, heart-twisting anxiety that made it impossible to stay calm.
"I'm sorry…"
Muten Natsu took a deep breath.
"I shouldn't have snapped at you, especially when you've put up with me so many times."
"Hehehe~"
Orihime Inoue hugged him happily.
"So you're not mad anymore?"
"Mm."
"Really?"
"Well… I'm still a tiny bit mad."
"I knew it."
Orihime Inoue gently patted his head.
"There, there~"
Black Cat Yoruichi had been planning to scold Orihime Inoue, but seeing the two of them now, she just wanted to stay as far away as possible.
Ichigo Kurosaki felt too awkward to keep watching. He looked around instead and saw rows of thatched houses, with forests and mountains stretching into the distance.
"So this is Soul Society?"
"Yes," Black Cat Yoruichi explained.
"This is the outer district, also called Rukongai. Souls guided to Soul Society first live here. It surrounds Seireitei, where the Shinigami reside. It's the poorest, the freest… and also the most densely populated area in all of Soul Society."
Uryū Ishida noticed something odd.
"Why isn't there a single person around?"
Ichigo Kurosaki looked around and spotted familiar-looking streets: several two-story wooden buildings with framed windows, tall utility poles, and a clear divide between stone paving on one side and a dirt road on the other.
"There's a street over there!"
Ichigo Kurosaki ran toward it to get a closer look.
"I get it now. This must be where the Shinigami live, right?"
"You idiot!"
Black Cat Yoruichi, who had been sneaking glances at the hugging Muten Natsu and Orihime Inoue, turned just in time to see Ichigo Kurosaki running toward Seireitei. She immediately shouted,
"Danger! Don't go over there!"
"Huh?"
Ichigo Kurosaki stopped short, only to be yanked back by Yasutora Sado.
The next moment, a massive wooden gate crashed down from the sky. Long slabs of stone followed, slamming into the ground with a thunderous roar and forming a colossal wall with a gate at its center. It stretched endlessly to either side, its limits nowhere in sight.
"It's been a long time…"
A deep, heavy voice echoed from within the rolling dust.
"A brat trying to force his way through the Seireitei Gate without a Seireitei Pass."
A gigantic hand tore through the smoke. A ten-meter-tall giant crouched before the gate, gripping a massive axe as he looked down at them.