"Useless!"
The god's majestic voice boomed through the chaotic space like a thunderclap, so powerful that the entire realm seemed to tremble beneath it.
The four founders kneeling below immediately fell silent.
Their bodies began shaking uncontrollably, trembling like leaves caught in a storm.
Faced with the god's furious rebuke, none of them dared offer even the slightest excuse or protest.
Instead, they desperately kowtowed.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Their foreheads slammed against the ground again and again as they begged forgiveness, terrified that a single wrong move might cost them their lives.
The towering divine figure ignored their groveling for the moment.
His gaze remained fixed on the spatial fissure Kazuma had torn open during his escape.
It was as though he could peer through the lingering fracture and glimpse secrets buried far beyond the chaotic space itself.
His eyes narrowed.
Focusing completely, he carefully examined the faint traces of power remaining around the rift, searching for anything that might reveal more about the mysterious existence standing behind Kazuma.
After a brief silence, he finally turned toward the four founders.
"I will give you one opportunity to redeem your failure."
"Return to the Three Worlds immediately."
His voice carried an authority that allowed no refusal.
"Use whatever means necessary to restrict Kazuma's movements and prepare everything for my descent."
The four founders instantly went pale.
Return to the Three Worlds?
And restrain Kazuma?
That sounded dangerously close to being ordered to commit suicide.
They'd just witnessed the god behind Kazuma shatter their combined prison with a single blow, nearly annihilating all four of them in the process.
And now they were expected to go back and provoke him again?
The founders exchanged terrified looks.
"Do not worry."
The god looked down at them with cold indifference.
"The existence behind that man will not recklessly interfere again."
"And while all four of you deserve death for your incompetence, I have no interest in wasting useful pieces for no reason."
His gaze contained no warmth whatsoever.
To him, the four ancient founders who'd once manipulated the Three Worlds were little more than insignificant insects.
If those insects didn't still possess some limited value, he would have erased them without a second thought.
"We obey our god's command!"
The four founders responded in unison.
Their heads remained lowered, their battered bodies trembling with fear and reverence.
They had no choice but to obey.
Kazuma was frighteningly powerful, yes.
But Kazuma was already back in the Three Worlds.
The being standing directly before them was the one who could erase them from existence with a thought.
Defying him now would mean dying immediately.
"Go."
The god casually waved one hand.
Brilliant light flashed through the chaos.
A massive spatial fissure opened, revealing roaring flames and countless twisted, grotesque faces beyond it.
The Fifth Layer of Hell.
The four founders looked at one another.
Fear and helplessness were written clearly in each of their eyes.
Still, none dared hesitate.
They shot toward the opening one after another and disappeared through it in the blink of an eye.
Once they were gone, the god remained standing alone within the chaotic space.
"Hmph."
His expression darkened.
"If this damned World Will were not constantly resisting the intrusion of gods from beyond its boundaries, why would I ever need to rely on such pathetic insects?"
His voice was icy and filled with restrained irritation.
The four founders had returned to the Three Worlds, yet the god showed no intention of leaving.
Instead, he stood motionless, brows drawn together as he contemplated a far more troubling question.
Who exactly was the mysterious god behind Kazuma?
And more importantly—
how had that being managed to enter this world while seemingly ignoring the resistance of the World Will altogether?
The god had carefully examined the power left behind on the spatial passage Kazuma created when escaping.
What he discovered only deepened his confusion.
The residual energy was not particularly overwhelming.
In fact, considering the terrifying display from moments earlier, it seemed unexpectedly weak.
'So the other party's raw power isn't actually that great?'
The god sank deeper into thought.
'Then perhaps he possesses some unusual ability that allows him to bypass the World Will?'
The myriad worlds contained countless strange beings and abilities.
Being a god didn't make him omniscient.
Unfortunately for him, he'd made one critical mistake.
He'd already concluded that Kazuma must have an immensely powerful divine being supporting him.
That conclusion was technically correct.
But he'd overlooked the most important detail.
Kazuma had opened the spatial passage entirely with his own power.
Hokushin Raitei hadn't done it.
In fact, from beginning to end, Hokushin Raitei had never personally exerted his own power at all.
Even when he shattered the four founders' prison, he'd simply extracted the immortal power accumulated inside Kazuma and used that as the fuel for the imperial seal.
The outside god believed he'd just witnessed a portion of Hokushin Raitei's strength.
In reality, he'd witnessed nothing of the sort.
If he ever learned that the being residing within Kazuma was actually Hokushin Raitei, whose authority shook the myriad worlds, there was a very good chance he would flee in terror without ever looking back.
He certainly wouldn't continue entertaining ambitions toward this world unless he'd developed a sudden desire to die.
There were countless gods scattered throughout the myriad worlds.
This particular one considered himself reasonably powerful among them.
But Hokushin Raitei?
That was an entirely different concept.
Hokushin Raitei stood at the very summit of divinity, a supreme existence whose name alone carried weight across countless worlds.
A minor god like this had no qualification to provoke him, much less compete with him.
In truth, the moment this outside god turned his attention toward the Bleach world, he'd already made the greatest mistake of his existence.
And worse—there was no taking it back.
That was precisely why Hokushin Raitei had deliberately refused to reveal himself.
If he used his true power, there was a very real chance the outside god would recognize him and immediately flee.
And if the fool ran away, where was the Emperor supposed to find another god reckless enough to serve as Kazuma's training partner?
This was a trial prepared specifically for Kazuma.
Everyone hated scheming bastards.
And yet, given the opportunity, everyone became one.
If Kazuma ever discovered that the entire situation had been arranged by Hokushin Raitei, what would his reaction be?
Cry?
Throw a tantrum?
Threaten to hang himself?
Many things that appeared to be coincidence were, in fact, pieces quietly moved by Hokushin Raitei.
The myriad worlds were incomprehensibly vast.
So why had Kazuma just happened to transmigrate into the Bleach world?
Why had an outside god just happened to discover this seemingly ownerless world?
Was all of that truly coincidence?
Of course not.
To Hokushin Raitei, the myriad worlds themselves were merely a vast chessboard.
And as one of the players seated above it, he'd simply decided, on a whim, to play a game to relieve his boredom.
Until one became a god—one remained nothing more than a piece on the board.
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