I was so bored with nothing to do that I decided to try writing a diary in the dirt.
First off, I'm continuing my training.
I decided to tone down the whole 'sincere gratitude' vibe and just give thanks for whatever felt convenient as I found it.
For example, if I find a weirdly shaped stone while walking, I'll give thanks to the walk for allowing me to find that stone.
And from there, I can chain it together. While giving thanks for the walk, I naturally give thanks for my own willpower for deciding to take that walk in the first place.
By increasing my gratitude through these useless little things, it only took about five hours to complete 1,500 Gratitude Straight Punches.
Of course, I haven't hit 10,000 yet. How the hell am I supposed to find things to be grateful for when there's nothing here? Fuck.
…Sigh. What's the point of getting angry? Just endure it.
Gratitude for my incredible patience.
…Wait, did I use that one for the 30th punch already? I don't know.
I really have no idea how Chairman Netero managed this crap.
What a legendary old man.
Well, enough about training… Let's talk about Hell.
Massive meteors are still falling from the sky like trash.
The end.
Seriously, I have nothing else to say.
At most, I could mention that when active volcanoes full of sulfur fall, the whole place smells like rotten eggs?
I have no idea what those bastards up there are doing.
If I knew it would be like this, I would've stayed on the surface and just come to Hell later.
Sigh.
* * *
One month since I started living in Hell.
Nothing has changed. Well, maybe the fact that the active volcanoes keep erupting, forming lava lakes and making rivers of magma flow here and there?
Actually, wait. Isn't that a lot of change?
It feels like this place is finally becoming a proper Hell.
Ah, but one inconvenient thing has come up.
This fucking rotten egg smell is seriously pissing me o—
* * *
Two months since I started living in Hell.
I've gotten somewhat used to the sulfur smell.
Come to think of it, I used to eat a lot of sulfur-fed duck and things like that in the past.
Gratitude for being able to remember the past.
Speaking of sulfur duck, I really want some duck meat right now.
Not just a tiny nibble, but a whole handful of it dipped in plenty of mustard, stuffed into my mouth until it's full.
Since I haven't felt hunger since inhabiting this body, I'm finally having thoughts like these.
Gratitude for a body that doesn't starve. And gratitude for the fact that I can live until the day I finally find the food I want to eat.
Speaking of gratitude, I recently reached 2,000 Gratitude Straight Punches.
Since I kept giving thanks for the same things, it only took about an hour to fill 2,000.
As long as I can find a reason for gratitude, throwing a punch is easier than breathing.
Nothing special is happening, but that's exactly why I'm living each day in gratitude for this peaceful daily life.
Oh, I should use this too. Completed the 2,001st punch.
* * *
Ten years since I started living in Hell.
As the saying goes, even rivers and mountains change in ten years, and a lot truly has changed.
Hell has expanded so much that it takes an entire day to traverse even if I run at full speed. Rivers of lava and lakes filled with magma have formed.
Ah, that happened a while ago. Recently, a massive amount of water poured down, and thanks to that, clouds have formed in the sky.
Not only that, some areas where the water poured down the most have become boiling sulfur hot springs.
Ah, although you have to pick your spot carefully. Areas close to the volcanoes have become highly acidic because of the sulfur. If you jump in without knowing, you'll melt.
Not that it affects me at all, though.
Gratitude for being able to wash in warm water.
Of course, I have a perfect superhuman body that doesn't need to use the bathroom, doesn't sweat, and never loses hair, so I don't really *need* to wash, but it's about the mood, you know?
Come to think of it, I can just be grateful for this too.
I started training because I had nothing to do, but recently I've found joy in searching for things to be grateful for.
It's my only pleasure in this Hell where there's nothing to do.
Gratitude for being able to feel this kind of enjoyment.
Good, that makes 5,000 punches.
* * *
One hundred years since I started living in Hell.
To commemorate the passage of a hundred years, I threw a small party.
The participants were me and…
That's it.
Is it for real that for 100 years, the only things falling down here are active volcanoes, oceans, and continents? Fuck.
Shouldn't at least one person have died and fallen down here by the 100-year mark?
…Wait, I forgot this is the Bleach universe, so everyone has long lifespans.
No, before that, since those guys created the Three Worlds, even if they die, they'd go to the Soul Society.
Aw, hell. It's hopeless.
Now that I think about it, the only ones who fall here are the absolute worst criminals.
Damn it, hopeless.
Since I have nothing better to do, I might as well go ride the lava slides.
* * *
157 years since I started living in Hell.
Finally, a tree fell down here.
It wasn't just a tree; a whole forest fell.
I was so distracted lately with a new leisure sport I invented called Magma Diving that I didn't notice, but I found it while taking a stroll on a lap around Hell.
But they're all just dead, withered trees.
Still, it's not bad.
In a land that had nothing but sulfur springs, lava, and deserts, seeing some greenery makes the place feel alive.
Even if they are just dead trees.
* * *
200 years since I started living in Hell.
The Hell Trees (the ones found 43 years ago) have evolved.
How should I put it? It's like they've become filled with toxicity.
I don't mean 'toxic' like a person becoming spiteful or malicious; I mean they literally contain deadly poison.
The foliage has turned lush in a way that's different from trees in the living world.
Some trees have even turned purple because of the poison.
…Well, they're colorful and pretty, so I guess it's fine.
Gratitude for the new interior design.
* * *
"One thousand years since I started living in Hell…"
Scritch, scratch. I stopped my hand as I was using a branch to write in the dirt about how I held a party to celebrate the thousand-year mark.
A presence. The first one I've felt in a thousand years.
"It's not… an illusion."
I've spent so much time wandering Hell that this place has become my backyard.
For me to be mistaken? Ha. What a joke.
It couldn't possibly be a mistake.
My sensory perception covers the entirety of Hell.
"Might as well go take a look at their face."
I was curious just how much of a villain someone had to be to fall into Hell.
It's been a thousand years. Not a hundred, but a thousand. A human—a sinner—has fallen for the first time in a literal millennium.
As their senior, I should at least go and introduce myself.
"Heave-ho…"
I brushed the lava off my body and broke into a light jog.
When I arrived at the source of the presence, I saw a pale-looking man clutching his hair in distress.
'Aw… What, it's a guy…'
I let out a deep sigh and sat on a nearby stone pillar, watching the confused newcomer.
Since he wasn't a woman, there was no need for me to be particularly kind.
The rookie seemed to be looking around, trying to figure out where he was.
No matter how much he looked, all he'd see were lava, mountains, sulfur, and Hell Trees.
"Urgh… This can't be happening…! This is impossible…!!"
Wait, looking at him now, he's not surveying the area; he's in total denial.
Well, since he died and fell into Hell, that kind of reaction isn't strange.
But I wonder what he did to end up here.
Murder? Arson? I am curious.
"Why am I…! Why am I here…!!"
"What do you mean 'why'? You're here because you committed a crime."
"Wha—!?"
The rookie spun toward me. With a confused expression, he scanned me from head to toe, then scowled deeply and pointed a finger at me.
"You bastard…"
Let's see what he has to say.
"…Why are you totally naked!! You pervert!!"
…Seriously, why is it that every single person who pops up around me is completely out of their mind?
The rookie's words sent me spiraling into a pit of serious contemplation.
"Of all things to ask, why is *that* the first thing you ask? I mean, you have so many other questions, don't you? Like, where is this place, or why am I here, or even, who are you?"
What a clueless guy.
As I shook my head with a sigh, the rookie grimaced and shouted.
"As if anyone *couldn't* ask!! Get that hideous thing away from me or cover it up!!"
"I don't have clothes, what am I supposed to do?"
Most importantly, there are no materials here to make clothes out of.
The wood from Hell Trees is scratchy, and they snap easily, making them uncomfortable to wear.
"You can just make them with Spiritual Power!!"
"I don't have Spiritual Power, what am I supposed to do?"
"What…? You don't have… Spiritual Power…?"
Right. I have no Spiritual Power. It's not just 'so low people think I don't have any'—I literally have zero.
That's why I can't even do something as simple as making clothes with power.
Back on the surface, I used the surrounding Reishi to make a makeshift set of clothes, but there's no Reishi in Hell.
I don't know the reason why.
"In that case… you are weaker than me, who actually has Spiritual Power…?"
"Huh?"
"I'll use you to vent my frustration! Die!!"
Suddenly telling me to die. Just how does his brain work?
They say the way criminals think is fundamentally different from normal people, and I guess it's true.
"But that's actually annoying."
Who is this brat telling to die?
I blinked as I watched the rookie rush toward me with a speed that made me want to yawn, then leisurely approached him and gave him a flick on the crown of his head.
*CRACK!*
"Ah."
Watching the rookie become a literal Dullahan—his head forced straight down into his neck—I scratched my own head.
"I messed up the strength control."
I haven't had to control my strength lately, so I made a mistake.
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