There are no Arrancar in Hell.
Higashino Shuuichi learned this after asking alongside Kuruyashiki several times.
Kuruyashiki had never seen an Arrancar.
Back when he charged into Hueco Mundo, he was sniped by Baraggan. But at that time, Baraggan had only just recovered from the injuries he'd suffered centuries ago and had not achieved that special, life-level ascension called Arrancarification.
If even Baraggan was in that state, the other ancient Hollows went without saying.
Someone like Starrk was an outlier among outliers.
And without Arrancar, there is naturally no Resurrección.
That's why Shuuichi looked down on these roaming ancient Hollows in Hell.
After all, he hadn't worked so hard to come to Hell just to sincerely solve the Kabuma clan's problems.
Shuuichi wanted to do what Maki Kurando had done—borrow the power of these Sinners in Hell to strengthen himself.
If possible, he didn't even mind scouting the path in advance for the future Kurosaki Ichigo, doing some unpaid labor for Hell itself, and thereby obtaining the right to officially wield Hell's power—
—instead of relying on the Kabuma clan's artifact like now.
So Shuuichi naturally set his sights on those Sinners who'd originally been the villains of Rukongai.
But he couldn't say this out loud. Otherwise, with Kuruyashiki's temperament, he might press him on why he was scheming so hard to gain such dangerous power.
From Kuruyashiki's point of view, with Shuuichi's current strength—maybe not strutting across Seireitei and Hueco Mundo—but at least at a point where few would dare to bully him. There was no need to gamble on something so risky.
And Shuuichi couldn't exactly turn around and tell him: in the future, a man named Aizen Sōsuke will try to stand above all worlds, feet on the Seireitei, hand toward the Soul King Palace; another named Yhwach, on his very first visit to the Seireitei, will slaughter most of the Soul Reapers; and later a restless Tokinada Tsunayashiro will cobble together a pocket "substitute Soul King," bringing another wave of disaster to the Human World, Hueco Mundo, and the Seireitei alike.
Against people like that, forget Shuuichi's current level—even Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, hailed as the most powerful Soul Reaper in history, would suffer defeat.
Without some cheat and a little luck, your average captain class is just delivery food.
So Shuuichi put on his honest, guileless face for Kuruyashiki again.
He apologetically recounted parts of what had happened with Maki Kurando.
A noble purpose: avenging a respected Captain.
Kuruyashiki had no reason to refuse such a request.
But he had his own condition: Shuuichi could seek revenge—but he had to do it himself, not borrow Kuruyashiki's hand.
Otherwise, in Kuruyashiki's view, that revenge was cowardly and meaningless.
Shuuichi agreed wholeheartedly—because it fit him perfectly.
In Hell, direction doesn't exist. Everywhere is a grayish black. Occasionally you run into terrain like caverns or gorges, but they're useless as references.
No one knows whether, after a while, they'll still be there in the same shape.
The power to reshape terrain isn't worth a mention in this little world.
So forward or back, left or right—everything depends on one's own sense.
Shuuichi had no idea how Kuruyashiki kept his bearings. He just followed as Kuruyashiki led him winding for a time, until they came upon a small "forest" formed by a cluster of ancient Hollows.
In that forest, sporting a Mohawk, draped in the same tattered black robe he'd worn back in the Seireitei, and barefoot—Ikeda Kōsuke—was reveling in the joy of battle.
Ceros streaked at him from all directions, giant fists crashed down, stomps thundered in, and whole "buildings" toppled onto him like avalanches.
Every moment aimed to take Ikeda Kōsuke's life.
Most of the time he blocked those attacks and countered in turn.
Sometimes, they succeeded.
But within seconds, Ikeda Kōsuke would reappear, laughing.
This was a battle that would never end.
Both sides were undying. Neither could truly kill the other.
Perhaps Unohana Retsu would love it here?
Seeing this, Shuuichi suddenly thought of that yamato nadeshiko—gentle on the surface, wild at heart.
If it were her, she'd be even crazier than Ikeda Kōsuke.
It's just that Unohana probably doesn't know this is what Hell looks like. Otherwise, Shuuichi figured Kyoraku Shunsui wouldn't even need to coax her—she'd rush here to die with a smile.
For Unohana, this isn't Hell at all. It's paradise.
"Shuuichi, you can still choose to back out. As your trial match, I won't step in to save you like before."
At Shuuichi's side, Kuruyashiki stood with arms folded across his chest.
Kuruyashiki knew Shuuichi hadn't entered Hell through the normal process, so he bore no Hell-brand.
That meant Shuuichi naturally lacked one crucial guarantee of undying that Ikeda Kōsuke possessed.
The limitless regeneration granted by that man's body fragment inside Shuuichi only narrowed their external gap a little.
"Please rest easy, Captain Kuruyashiki. I won't disappoint you."
Shuuichi was fully aware of his disadvantages.
But from the moment he chose to pursue Hell's power, he'd made his resolve.
He abandoned a steady, step-by-step promotion path for one purpose: to raise his strength as fast as possible by any means.
If he couldn't even get past Ikeda Kōsuke, then he could only say he deserved whatever came. If there's a next life, he'd pray for a system "dad" to cling to.
"Bingfa Suyuan… Bankai (Final Release)!"
He didn't stand on ceremony—he released his Zanpakutō straight into Bankai.
Truth be told, in Hell his Shikai (Initial Release) has only one stratagem he can use.
The other two abilities—Yuren (Commanding Men) has no effect on Sinners here, and Tōgen (Peach Vale) is outright sealed.
"Defiant Dragons, filthy ground; rage that cannot be stayed; the primal dread from which dreams awake—gales, flames, frost, thunder, earth—break through karma and return unhindered; all is destroyed, all returns to the origin…"
"Hadō 99: Goryū Tenmetsu (Five Dragons of Destruction)!"
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