Help! I am bound to Aizen!-Chapter 323

Chapter 323

2-in-1 chapter:

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Yamamoto’s eyebrows rose. Indeed, at a time like this, the Sarunomiya family wouldn’t stand idly by. They had been overseeing the Gates of Hell for a million years. They had long ago relinquished most of their political resources in the Seireitei, existing in near-invisibility. Even recently, when the Tsunayashiro family was almost wiped out, the Sarunomiya clan made no move at all.

They only showed themselves with urgency when something went wrong at the Gates of Hell, ready to intervene.

Before long, two young men stepped in. Kaelith recognized them both: Sarunomiya Kōsei and Sarunomiya Jin. These were the two who had once asked Kaelith to sign that contract—sharing part of his power to keep the Gates of Hell suppressed. They saluted everyone in the room, then respectfully turned to Kaelith, asking for details about everything that had taken place.

After hearing his account, the two exchanged surprised glances.

“I see… No wonder Hell reacted this way,” Sarunomiya Kōsei said under everyone’s watchful gaze. “Captain Kaelith, I suspect Captain Katori didn’t actually ‘escape’ from Hell. Based on the questions she asked you and her overall behavior, it looks like she’s become what we call the ‘Will of Hell.’”

“Will of Hell?” Kaelith repeated.

“Yes. As the name implies, the Will of Hell acts as Hell’s agent.

Hell imprisons countless sinners. To manage them—and to heighten their suffering—Hell grants a portion of them power, making them its wardens, or ‘Will of Hell.’ From our Sarunomiya family’s observations, most of these wardens were once…”

He paused instinctively, recalling that the information “Captains who die are cast into Hell” had always been forbidden knowledge in the Seireitei. As watchers of Hell, they, too, upheld that secrecy. However, since Kaelith had already exposed it, he went on:

“…were once Captain-level powerhouses sent into Hell. Compared to those forcibly dragged in as common sinners, Captains sent by the Soul Society usually bear lighter sins and don’t require rigorous judgment or torture. Meanwhile, Hell needs strong individuals to enact its will—and those Captains conveniently fulfill that role.”

At this point, Kensei Muguruma couldn’t help speaking up. “Wait a second… Isn’t Hell just another ‘world,’ like the Soul Society or the World of the Living? How can it have a ‘will’ of its own?!”

Sarunomiya Kōsei looked over at him.

“Captain Muguruma, Hell is a different kind of existence. The Soul Society, the World of the Living, and Hueco Mundo were created by the Soul King, who maintains their functions.

Hell, on the other hand, existed before the Soul King shaped those three realms. Its very nature and the rules by which it operates are beyond our full comprehension. The Sarunomiya family has spent hundreds of thousands of years observing it, and we concluded long ago that Hell does indeed possess a will of its own. Until a more compelling theory arises, we treat this as the truth.”

Kensei scratched his head. He couldn’t fully grasp it, but if their family’s ancient research indicated Hell had a “mind,” that was disturbing enough.

Kaelith clicked his tongue. “If a Captain sent to Hell ends up enjoying some kind of warden privileges, then all that effort to purify heavy reishi doesn’t really matter, does it?”

Sarunomiya Kōsei shook his head, taking a scroll from within his robes and unrolling it for Kaelith. “Captain Kaelith, this is what a Hell Warden looks like.”

Kaelith took a closer look. The illustration depicted a grotesque creature: its head was a massive skull, and below that skull lay a frame of bare bones—cervical vertebrae, ribs, spine—yet its arms bulged with muscle. It was… bizarre.

“After someone becomes a warden of Hell, they’re stuck in that form for the rest of their existence,” Kōsei continued. “According to our records, a warden can’t maintain a sense of self-awareness. They wander Hell in a hazy trance, fulfilling its assigned mission. If I had a choice in the matter, I wouldn’t wish that fate on anyone.”

Around them, the Captains nodded. Nobody found such a destiny appealing.

Kōsei went on, “Returning to our earlier point, Captain Kaelith, I believe Hell’s will itself dispatched Captain Katori. Your heavy reishi purification technique, if widely used in the Soul Society, would mean Hell no longer receives new wardens. Meanwhile, sinners would continue to flood into Hell. Over time, that would destroy Hell’s balance—and in the worst-case scenario, it might collapse entirely. To avoid that outcome, Hell would do everything in its power to erase the purification technique.

In other words… it wants to erase you.”

Isshin Shiba ventured, “Big bro… er, Captain Kaelith, didn’t you already share your heavy reishi purification method with the Captain-Commander and Captain Kyōraku? If lots of people know it now, Hell can’t do much, can it? Hell might be powerful, but can it really take on all the Captains in the Soul Society?”

Kaelith shook his head. “It’s not that simple. My ability is necessary for the technique to work. If I die, it’s as good as never having existed at all.”

Kōsei also shook his head. “Even without that limitation, Captain Shiba’s proposal wouldn’t help. The power gathered in Hell is truly beyond imagination. The Gotei 13 has only existed for a thousand years; before that, the Soul Society still produced mighty Shinigami for tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands of years—though they didn’t hold the title of ‘Captain.’ Even if we spread this technique openly so every Captain knows it, Hell would simply expand its kill list to everyone rather than give up.”

Yoruichi’s eyes widened. “So you’re saying… from the Soul Society’s beginning until now—hundreds of thousands, maybe even a million years worth of Captain-class fighters—are all in Hell, serving as wardens?”

If that were the case, the Soul Society didn’t stand a chance against them. Even thirteen Yamamoto-level powerhouses would be doomed.

Kōsei shook his head. “While creatures in Hell are theoretically immortal, that’s conditional. To maintain a physical form, one needs a sense of self. The sinners there suffer unending torment, combined with Hell’s harsh environment, so the majority eventually lose themselves in a short time and turn into mere dust deep within Hell. Wardens fare better since they aren’t tormented, and their minds remain half-asleep, protecting them from despair. Even so, after enough centuries, their spirits wither away, and they too crumble into dust, returning to Hell as nourishment.”

The Captains all looked uneasy. Simply imagining that outcome was suffocating.

“In other words,” Kōsei concluded, “Hell’s power isn’t truly infinite. Considering it still needs wardens to run, it can’t just throw them all at the Soul Society at once.”

Shunsui Kyōraku stroked his chin. Indeed, as Kōsei said, those wardens had a job to do. They couldn’t all leave Hell simultaneously. Otherwise, the sinners inside would run wild before the Soul Society even had a chance to fight back.

Even so, Kaelith shook his head. “You’re missing one point. Hell may have an enormous army of enforcers. They might not be able to deploy all of them at once, but they could keep sending them in waves, wearing the Seireitei down until we break. Worse still, if Hell truly possesses keen strategy, it could wait until the critical moment in a war, then send a large force to the battlefield.

Sacrificing short-term security inside Hell might be worth it if they can destroy the Gotei 13 in one fell swoop.”

The crowd grew grim. Kaelith’s scenario was indeed plausible.

Yoruichi gave a half-helpless laugh. Going by Kaelith’s analysis, the Soul Society was hopelessly outmatched against Hell.

She cast a sidelong glance at him. This guy was making the entire situation sound so grim. What if everyone decided not to fight and just handed him over to Hell? In the midst of her thoughts, Kaelith glanced at the others.

“It seems we’re at a disadvantage,” he said. “But let me be clear: I won’t abandon the heavy reishi purification technique. Even if that choice draws Hell’s wrath and endangers the Seireitei and the entire Soul Society, I won’t give it up. If anyone wants to talk me out of it, don’t bother. And if anyone wants to surrender or turn me over to Hell, I’ll fight to the end.

I’m not going to lie down and die.”

He lifted his head, wearing a resolute smile. It was, by any standard, a selfish stance. Yet Kaelith felt no guilt at all. Seeing him stand there so defiantly, Kyōraku couldn’t help but smile inwardly. This kid…

Unohana took a step forward, but Yoruichi moved even faster, using Shunpo to appear at Kaelith’s side.

“Anyone who wants to hand Kaelith over has to go through me—Shihōin Yoruichi!”

Unohana likewise moved beside Kaelith, resting a hand on the hilt at her waist.

“I’m with you,” Kensei Muguruma said. “And that’s not about personal feelings. I just can’t stand the thought of Captains fighting for the Soul Society all their lives, only to end up in Hell as those monstrous wardens. That’s just wrong, no matter how you spin it.”

Ukitake frowned deeply. As a Captain himself, he certainly didn’t want such a fate. But if, as Kōsei claimed, Hell would be doomed without new wardens, that spelled potential disaster for the entire world. He wrestled with the dilemma of personal salvation versus global stability.

Kyōraku adjusted his straw hat, saying nothing. Like Ukitake, he couldn’t simply proclaim that personal fate outweighed the survival of everything else.

Mayuri stayed silent, quietly moving his hand between his legs.

If things turned ugly, he would release his Bankai on the spot to help Kaelith escape. What happened to the Soul Society or Hell didn’t matter to him—Kaelith had assisted him with his “Nemuri Plan,” and he needed Kaelith’s ongoing help to take it further. In the face of such ambitions, the fate of the world was irrelevant.

Isshin Shiba took a deep breath. He refused to watch Hell collapse, but he also couldn’t see Kaelith offered up as a scapegoat. If the worst came, he would back Kaelith. Hell’s collapse was a remote threat; Kaelith’s safety was urgent.

Seated at the head of the room, Yamamoto remained silent. The atmosphere grew stifling, as though time itself had paused.

Just then, the doors to the meeting room burst open. Everyone reflexively looked over and saw the Shinigami guarding the entrance collapsed on the floor. A lone figure stepped inside. Kaelith blinked in surprise; Shinji Hirako’s eyes widened.

It was the Fifth Division Lieutenant—Aizen Sōsuke.

Aizen walked in calmly, stopping beside Kaelith. Yamamoto’s gaze sharpened to ice.

“Lieutenant Aizen, you assaulted the guard, and forced your way into a Captain’s meeting without authorization… are you aware of the seriousness of those crimes?”

Under everyone’s intense scrutiny, Aizen adjusted his glasses.

“None of that matters. I came here to deliver a declaration: Fight however you want. Don’t be afraid. I’ll deal with Hell’s functioning. I’ll stop its one-sided, free access to the Soul Society.”

In that moment, the entire room fell silent. Many turned to Shinji Hirako, silently asking if his Lieutenant had lost his mind.

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