Chapter 1: The Shinigami in the Night

Narrator PoV

Manhattan, New York City.

New York City, the metropolis often hailed as the center of the world, wasn't just about glittering streets and dazzling neon lights, but it also hid its fair share of shadowy corners.

In the heart of Manhattan lay Hell's Kitchen, a notorious neighborhood concealed under the brightness of daylight. It was a blend of the desperate and the dangerous, a haven for gangs and criminals, and a no-go zone even for the government and the police.

However, in recent days, something strange had been unsettling even the most hardened souls in this lawless zone.

"Hey, Jack, you dumbass! Where is Ron?" a man said as he sat down beside another man.

"Who the fuck are you calling a dumbass? dumbass! And Ron went to take a shit," Jack replied with a shrug.

"You heard the rumors? There's been a killer targeting gangsters lately," the man said as he nudged his companion while they huddled together in an alley.

"Of course, I heard about it even before you, Bob," Jack replied as he glanced around nervously and then lowered his voice. "My uncle saw it himself, and over a hundred bodies from The Hell's Kitchen Gang were slaughtered!"

Bob sucked in a sharp breath and instinctively wrapped his coat tighter. "Seriously? You're not pulling my leg, are you? Your uncle actually saw that?"

"I swear on my life!" Jack thumped his chest for emphasis. "My uncle worked with The Hell's Kitchen Gang. He said several of them witnessed it. Man, he's been having nightmares for days!"

Bob's curiosity was piqued. "So, what did your uncle see? Spill the details!"

Jack hesitated and rubbed the back of his neck. "He told me not to talk about it. If he finds out, he'll break my legs!"

"C'mon, buddy," Bob coaxed as he slung an arm around Jack. "I won't tell a soul. How about I buy you drinks tonight?"

The thought of free booze and women quickly erased Jack's reservations. He leaned in and whispered, "My uncle said it wasn't a person who took out the gang members. It was... a monster!"

Bob froze as his face twisted with skepticism. "A monster? Seriously? You think I'm dumb enough to believe that? Your uncle's been doing too much crack, hasn't he?"

"I'm not lying!" Jack insisted. "There's really a monster!"

"Yeah, right." Bob snorted as he shoved Jack away. "You're just trying to con me into buying you drinks. You're full of it, fucker!"

"I swear on God's holy ass, it's true!" Jack shouted as he raised three fingers in a solemn oath.

Bob rolled his eyes. "Grow up, Jack. Monsters are bedtime stories for kids. Tell your uncle to lay off the powder."

"Damn it, motherfucker!" Jack cursed. "I'm telling the truth!"

"Fine," Bob challenged as he folded his arms. "If a monster's real, let it come for me. You see these fists? I'll have it begging for mercy in no time!"

Before Bob could revel in his bravado, he noticed Jack's expression. The man stood frozen, his face pale with terror.

"Jack? What's wrong?" Bob asked with annoyance.

"B-Bob... behind you..." Jack stammered as his body trembled like he was witnessing a nightmare come to life.

Turning slowly, Bob's smug expression melted into sheer horror.

Before him stood a towering figure clad in a ghastly white mask resembling a wild beast, its hollow, lifeless eyes darker than the void. The creature, at least five or six stories tall, had an eerie circular hole in its chest and grotesquely muscular arms. It resembled some kind of mutated gorilla.

Bob's breath caught as he inhaled the coppery stench of blood mixed with the monster's exhalations.

"Motherfucker... Jack... You weren't lying..." Bob's mind spiraled as his knees buckled beneath him.

Before he could react further, the monster's gaping maw opened wide, revealing jagged fangs.

Blood sprayed everywhere as the beast bit down, devouring Bob in a grotesque display of raw savagery. His defiant words had barely left his lips before karma struck.

"Bob!" Jack screamed as he collapsed in terror. He stared helplessly while the beast turned its gaze toward him, its crimson eyes gleaming with hunger.

"Help! Somebody, help me!" Jack scrambled to his feet as adrenaline propelled him into a desperate run.

The monster let out a deafening roar and swiped its massive hand. The gust it generated hurled Jack like a ragdoll, slamming him against a wall.

Jack coughed up blood as his vision blurred and pain wracked his body. He could barely move, let alone escape.

The monster loomed closer, each step reverberating through the alley. Its shadow engulfed Jack as it prepared to strike.

Just when Jack thought it was over, a figure appeared before him.

He couldn't make out what happened next, but the monster let out an agonized wail. A blade gleamed in the dim light as the creature was sliced clean in half. Blood rained down like a red rain.

Standing there was a man clad in a long black coat with a white sash tied around his waist. His pants were loose, and his feet were covered in black shoes.

The man's Asian features stood out—short silver hair catching the dim-light, deep sunken small eyes, sharp facial lines. To an American like jack, He looked weird.

"W-Who are you?" Jack stammered, his voice trembling.

The man smiled faintly, and his tone was calm yet commanding. "You can call me... Shinigami."

After a while, during a moment of awkward silence, he added, "Or Soul Reaper, if you prefer."

"...Soul Reaper?"

Jack's eyes went wide with fear as he backed into the corner of the wall trembling. "You... you're a Soul Reaper? Are you here to take my soul?"

In American culture, Soul Reapers were often depicted as terrifying beings cloaked in black, wielding enormous scythes, collecting the souls of the dying, and dragging them to hell for punishment.

But Lod was completely different.

His short silver hair catching the dim-light, deep sunken small eyes, sharp facial lines and the warm smile always on his face made him look nothing like the grim figure Jack imagined. If anything, he looked more like a neighbour from China Town.

Lod chuckled and shook his head, saying, "Relax, I'm not the kind of Soul Reaper you're thinking of, and I'm not here to take your soul."

For some reason, Jack found Lod's smile strangely calming, and at least someone was here to save him. His fear slowly started to fade, and he began to feel a little more at ease.

"Thank you for saving me," Jack said gratefully. If this mysterious man hadn't intervened, he'd probably already be like Bob—dead and devoured by that monster.

The thought of almost being eaten made Jack's knees weak, and the dampness in his pants was impossible to ignore.

"No need to thank me," Lod said with his smile unchanging. "Can you still move? If so, you should leave this place as soon as possible."

"L-leave?" Jack asked, confused. He still had so many questions he wanted to ask. But before he could say anything else, a terrifying howl echoed through the air.

The sound was filled with pure malice, like countless souls wailing in pain. Jack froze in terror, then screamed and curled up, his fear causing him to lose control again.

Suddenly, shadows covered the dim-light. Jack looked up and saw several monstrous creatures with white masks descending from the sky.

The ground shook as they landed. Their enormous bodies were about as big as a three- or four-story building, just like the ape-like monster from before, though their masks and appearances varied widely.

"One, two, three... Six Hollows," Lod said calmly, his expression unchanging. "I figured a place like Hell's Kitchen would be perfect for creating creatures like this."

In this world, when spirits clung to the living realm out of regret or anger, or when other forces sped up their transformation, they became Hollows. And Hell's Kitchen, filled with tormented souls who died violently, had everything necessary for their creation.

"Six... six monsters?" Jack's heart nearly stopped. His face went pale as he stared at the growing puddle at his feet.

"Six, huh?" Lod said, still smiling. He showed no fear as he began walking toward the Hollows. "Saves me the trouble of hunting you down. Let's settle this all at once."

He slowly drew a blade from the scabbard at his waist, and Jack's eyes widened in disbelief when he saw it.

It looked like... a katana?

No, not exactly. It was too short for that. But it was also too long to be a dagger. It resembled a weapon somewhere between the two, and Jack, despite having seen katanas on TV, he had never seen anything like this.

Jack couldn't imagine how Lod planned to fight against those gigantic monsters with a blade like that. He found it ridiculous to even consider.

One against six.

And Lod only had that short blade. Jack was sure there was no way this man could win.

But something about the man was weird.

Even though he was at a clear disadvantage, Lod moved forward confidently like he already knew he'd won. And then something strange happened.

The six enormous monsters, which had been full of malice just moments before, hesitated and took a step back as Lod approached.

They were afraid.

"You've got to be kidding me," Lod said, his smile still warm as he walked forward at the same steady pace. "You outnumber me six to one, yet you're afraid?"

The Hollows, despite their overwhelming numbers, felt an immense pressure. Death itself seemed to be looming closer, and it was coming from the man they had outnumbered so easily.

Step by step, Lod moved closer, and the Reiryoku around him grew heavier and heavier, though it was invisible to the naked eye. To the Hollows, Lod no longer looked small. He loomed over them like an unshakable mountain, and the weight of his presence made it hard for them to even stand.

"Aren't you going to attack?" Lod asked as he stopped right in front of them. "If you don't, you won't get another chance."

The Hollows roared, their rage and fear boiling over. Their bloodlust filled the air as they charged together.

One of them, a Hollow with a mask resembling a shark's skull, lunged first. Its arms extended into razor-sharp fins that cut through the air like deadly blades aimed at Lod's waist.

The attack was swift and brutal, but Lod remained calm, and only tapped the ground lightly with his foot, launching himself upward in a smooth motion.

The shark Hollow's attack missed completely, tearing into the ground with enough force to rip the concrete apart, sending debris flying everywhere.

"Ahhhh!" Jack screamed in pain as shards of debris tore through his leg and shoulder.

Another Hollow, one resembling a centipede, charged at Lod without hesitation, its spinning jaws filled with countless teeth snapping as it lunged.

Lod dodged the attack with a light step, barely moving out of the way.

The other four Hollows didn't wait. They roared with rage and joined the attack, all rushing toward Lod at once.

But under the night sky, Lod moved between them effortlessly. His movements were precise and smooth. Despite being surrounded, he dodged every attack with grace.

Jack watched from below while his heart pounded, and he could only groan in pain. If he hadn't been in too much pain to think, he would've nervously muttered, "This is insane. If he makes even the smallest mistake, he's done for."

"Is this all you've got?" Lod said as he dodged yet another attack. "You're just low-level Hollows, after all."

He leaped gracefully into the air and landed lightly on top of a street lamp, his black robes billowing around him. With his back to the clear night sky, his eyes glinted coldly as he said, "1,2,3,4,5,6... Perfect. You've lined up nicely for me."

The Hollows, in their blind rage, had unknowingly formed a straight line. Lod raised his blade, pointing it toward them. His smile widened as he said softly:

"Ikorose... Shinso."

Pierce!

The short blade in Lod's hand, shaped like a wakizashi, suddenly burst into dazzling light.

A flash of light tore through the air, carrying a sharp and menacing aura. It moved so fast that it was impossible to track with the naked eye, crossing hundreds of meters in an instant.

Zing!

Where the blade's light passed, the cement pavement of the entire street and the shopfronts on both sides were split cleanly in half.

The six Hollow creatures lined up in a row didn't even have time to react before that incredibly fast and razor-sharp slash cut them in two at the waist.

Splatter!

Blood gushed out like a fountain, spraying high into the air before falling like heavy rain and painting the entire street red.

"Tsk," Lod sheathed his blade and looked at the destruction he caused. He said indifferently, "Sorry about that, I might've overdone it a bit."

Gulp!

Jack struggled to swallow as a cold chill spread through his heart from the blood loss.

Everything that had happened tonight had completely shattered his understanding of the world.

'So... Reapers really existed.'

When Jack came back to his senses for a second, the mysterious man was already gone, vanishing just as silently as he had appeared.

"It's over," Jack slumped to the ground and stared blankly at the crimson-stained street, dead.

---

Queens, New York

In front of an unremarkable general store, Lod suddenly appeared. He pushed open the shabby wooden door and stepped inside.

The store wasn't large, and it didn't get many visitors, but its hidden location made it the only safe place for him to stay in this unfamiliar world.

Behind the counter, on a long bench, lay a body that looked almost identical to him.

It was a Gigai.

In his Soul Reaper state, Lod couldn't be seen by ordinary humans, nor could he interact with society normally. The Gigai, as a vessel for his soul, allowed him to blend in as a human and operate in the living world. It was an essential tool.

"Finally," he merged with the Gigai, stretched lazily, and lay down on the bench.

Even though it had been over a year since he'd been transported to the Marvel universe and became a Shinigami, he still preferred the days when he had a physical body.

In his soul state, he couldn't enjoy food or any material pleasures, especially since this wasn't the Soul Society with its advanced tech department.

This particular Gigai wasn't something Lod had created himself; it came from his cheat, the Soul King Development System.

To explain, this system seemed to have originated from a Bleach mobile game Lod had played in his past life. It was a game of the Merge games genre, and he saw it in an ad with... ahem questionable stuff from the Bleach anime. Being a weeb, he definitely pressed on it and played the game. It was a game where you merged characters to get another character or, at the end of the game, merged everything to become the soul king.

For some reason, it had become an actual system after he ended up in the Marvel universe. The Merge feature vanished, though, and only three main features remained: Lottery, Shop, and Quests.

The lottery was straightforward. Like any Merge game with an anime theme, it had gacha in it, which was going to make him into a soul king but was also what was stopping him from becoming one, since it had questionable drop rates. In the Game You used Souls to spin for items, In here it requires souls as well. By purifying deceased spirits or slaying Hollows like today, Lod could collect souls. The quality of the souls, divided into low, medium, and high, determined their value.

And since it was an anime-themed gacha game, the drop rate of getting what he wanted with souls was questionable.

The shop opened once a month, offering rare items like weapons, tools, and even characters from the Bleach anime.

Quests were issued irregularly, and completing them offered generous rewards. For example, his Shinso Zanpakutō had been a reward for completing the "Awakening as Shinigami" quest shortly after he arrived.

In short, the system was simple but realistic. If Lod wanted to grow stronger, he had to collect souls. Morality didn't matter; only the quality of the soul did.

To the system, souls were just currency.

Rubbing his temples, Lod muttered, "Finally scraped together 1,000 low-quality souls. Time for a ten-pull to test my luck."

It had taken him a whole month of hunting Hollows and purifying souls to save up this much.

[Confirmed. Detected 1,000 low-quality souls in possession.]

[Would you like to begin the shop lottery?]

"Yes."

A familiar interface appeared as Urahara Kisuke's sly grin materialized on the screen.

That's right—Urahara Kisuke.

The lottery pool for low-quality souls had Kisuke as its mascot. Lod suspected the game developers had added him as a joke; otherwise, why not pick a cute girl? Wouldn't that have been better?

Jokes aside, Lod was excited. It had been months since his last pull, and saving up 1,000 souls had been no easy task.

"Come on, give me something good!" Lod clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and prayed to all the Gacha Gods.

A golden glow illuminated the screen, and ten translucent cards appeared before him.

[—

- White: 5x Low-Grade Crystalized Reiatsu

- Blue: Hakuda Manual

- Blue: Zanjutsu Manual

- Purple: Shunpo Skill—Utsusemi

- Purple: Zanjutsu Skill—Sword Pressure

- White: Shinigami Women's Association—Summer Swimwear Magazine Issue 125

- Purple: Hakuda Skill—Ikotsu

- Gold: Hogyoku Fragmented Piece 5/10,000

- Gold: Urahara Kisuke's Playground {Please select a location to deploy, Also includes a healing hot spring}

- Gold: Zanpakutō Senbonzakura—Shikai

—]

"Three golds and three purples."

Lod's breathing quickened as his eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't believe he'd just pulled this haul.

Senbonzakura didn't need any explanation; it was Byakuya Kuchiki's Zanpakutō, known for its elegance and deadly beauty.

But what thrilled him even more was Urahara Kisuke's Playground.

In the original story, the secret training ground built by Kisuke and Yoruichi was hidden, expansive, and even included a hot spring for healing, exactly what Lod needed right now.

As for the Hogyoku fragment, Lod didn't care. While rare, collecting 10,000 fragments was a monumental task that seemed impossible anytime soon.

The skill books were also valuable, filling in gaps in his abilities, though the Spirit Beads were nearly useless at his level.

What about the swimwear magazine?

Lod felt really embarrassed admitting it, but he thought the magazine was worth it. It had pictures of all the female Shinigami in swimwear, and that was definitely a win in his book.

This ten-pull was a massive success. He was so happy that he thought he might have to change his standing regarding the Gacha feature on the system.

"System, show my stats."

---

-Host: Lod Carl

-Race: Shinigami

-Gender: Male

-Reiatsu - LV.6: Fifth-Seat Level (5,000/50,000)

-Zanpakutō

--Shikai: Shinso, Senbonzakura

--Bankai: Locked

-Zanjutsu - LV.4:

--Skills: Sword Pressure (1,000/5,000)

-Hakuda - LV.4:

--Ikotsu (1,000/5,000)

-Shunpo - LV.4:

--Skills: Utsusemi (1,000/5,000)

-Kido - LV.4: Proficient up to Level 40; Bakudo #61 Rikujokoro

-Hollowfication: Locked

-Fullbring: Locked

-Quincy Schrift: Locked

Items: Gigai, Shinigami Badge, Jigokuchō, Kiokuchikan, Hogyoku Fragment (5/10,000), Shinigami Women's Magazine (1), Urahara Kisuke's Playground.

TN: New Translation, tell me what you guys think? And I hope you enjoyed it.

(End of Chapter)