Bleach: The Espada Strike Back
Chapter 14 Senken's Motives Revealed; The War Begins
Karin and her comrades were on the brink of death at the hands of Senken's most powerful Espadas however just before the final blow was struck Captains and Lieutenants from the 13 Court Guard Squads appeared and joined the battle to save everyone. Ichigo Kurosaki who now held the position of Squad 5 Captain engaged in combat with Espada #7 Seductora Demonio while trying to secure the safety of his Lieutenant Momo Hinamori who had been gravely injured in her previous battle with the Espada Caza Fornicar. Ichigo had trouble in the beginning of the fight as he was trying to keep up with Seductora's amazing speed while keeping Momo safe from further harm however with the arrival of Hanataro Yamada, Ichigo was able to secure Momo's safety and fought back in full force by releasing his bankai Tensa Zangetsu, inevitably defeating the Espada. Meanwhile Squad 12 Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi engaged in combat with Espada #9 Brio Gloton and while it looked one sided in the beginning of the fight Mayuri revealed several counter strategies as the fight progressed such as a spirit replication drug to ensure his spirit energy would remain at a regulated level from Brio's absorbing capabilities and a cluster of Nano-sized spirit bugs designed to disrupt Brio's link with his vast amounts of spirit energy, causing his whole body to explode under the pressure eventually leaving Mayuri the victor of the fight. In the final battle Squad 11 Captain Kenpachi Zaraki engaged in a fierce and bloody duel with Espada #5 Gilvo La Fuerza with neither side letting up, however after using an old method of fighting he learned from Head Captain Yamamoto Kenpachi delivered a final blow, killing the Espada and leaving him the victor.
oOo
(Flashback Hueco Mundo; 5 Months Ago)
"No, no please don't do this I beg you Nooo!" yelled an arrancar in his final moments before getting bombarded by a barrage of electrified bala blasts.
"All weaklings" said a newly transformed Gilvo standing over the dead bodies of fellow arrancar.
"So Gilvo how do you like the new body I've given you?" asked Senken in a sly tone, approaching the 5th Espada.
"It's fucking fantastic I've never felt such an enormous rush of power!" said Gilvo in an ecstatic tone.
"Just remember Gilvo, I can take this power away from you as quickly as I've given it and all you have to do is continue to serve under me" said Senken in a maniacal tone as he started walking away.
"You are a bastard you know that" said Gilvo in rebuttal.
"Remember Gilvo" said Senken waving his hand in the air as he continued walking away.
"Tch" grunted Gilvo as he walked in the opposite direction.
"I didn't care much for Senken's attitude but he was right about one thing, he could take my arrancar powers at anytime he wanted so I continued staying in his good graces to keep my power and in return he gave me freedom to do anything I wanted around Hueco Mundo and New Las Noches, the only restrictions he gave me and the other Espada were to stay away from the others in his army unless he ordered something to be done about possible rogue elements, personally I didn't give a fuck about how he did things so long as I was still allowed to stretch my muscles" narrated Gilvo.
oOo
"Die!" yelled Gilvo firing his electric cero at a large group of Vasto Lordes, leaving nothing but charred corpses.
"Enjoyed yourself did you" said a voice from behind Gilvo.
"Caparazon, What the fuck are you doing here?" asked Gilvo seeing the 6th Espada walking up behind him.
"Lord Senken asked me to retrieve you, we can't go losing a valuable espada like yourself" said Caparazon smiling.
"I never asked for a fucking babysitter! Honestly I don't know what Lord Senken was thinking sending you!" said Gilvo in an angered tone.
"Well then I'll just leave" said Caparazon in a mocking tone, walking away.
"Hold on I'm fucking coming you jackass" said Gilvo following Caparazon.
"I thought so" thought Caparazon smirking as he continued walking with Gilvo following.
"I always despised weaklings because they never gave me a true challenge but I guess deep down I was also disappointed that they could never fucking kill me, Of course I only realized that I wanted peace in death after my continued failed attempts for recognition: I wanted to die! I wanted to die! I wanted to die!" narrated Gilvo.
(Flashback Ends)
oOo
(Present Day; Hueco Mundo Battlefield)
Kenpachi stands over Gilvo's bloody, dead body with a dumbfounded look on his face.
"Good fight Gilvo that was some serious fun" said Kenpachi sheathing his sword smiling as he turned and walked away from the espada, tearing off his haori and the top off his shihakusho which both ripped like paper.
"Kenpachi huh" said Karin looking up at the captain.
"Yaa!" said Kenpachi stepping on Orihime's Santen Kesshun, breaking it.
"Hey what the hell Kenpachi, hey, hey what are you doing!" demanded Karin in a comical anger as she soon found herself being held upside down by Kenpachi who was holding onto her leg.
"Get out of here" said Kenpachi tossing Karin into the sand.
"What the hell Kenpachi!" shouted Karin who was now visibly annoyed.
"Get out of here your usefulness here is at it's end, now it's time to let the professionals take over" said Kenpachi.
"Huh" said Karin raising an eyebrow.
"Don't make me repeat myself, you're a substitute soul reaper and your job is to protect Karakura Town so get out of here and onto the battlefield already" said Kenpachi.
"Battlefield?" said Karin asking herself what Kenpachi was talking about.
"Woman!" demanded Kenpachi addressing Orihime.
"What is it Captain?" asked Orihime in a calm manner.
"Come and heal my wounds, I have to continue fighting here but I've been rather bruised by this fight so heal me now!" demanded Kenpachi.
"Yes sir, Sōten Kisshun I reject" said Orihime as she began healing Kenpachi's many wounds.
oOo
(New Las Noches Main Throne Room)
"Is the Garganta ready?" asked Senken to a special squadron of arrancars.
"Yes it is sir" answered one of the arrancars as a Garganta opened up in front of Senken.
"Then it's time to address my public" said Senken sending streams of spirit energy from his fingers up to the ceiling, activating a series of circuits throughout New Las Noches catching everyone's attention as they could feel Senken's presence entering their minds.
"Connection established sir" said another arrancar.
"Hello, my most infamous intruders" greeted Senken using the circuits to talk to everyone in his fortress.
oOo
(Other side of Hueco Mundo)
"That cold, callous voice" said Momo in a slight fear.
oOo
(Hueco Mundo Battlefield)
"Senken Fujin" said Karin in a slight rage.
"What does he want?" asked Orihime healing Kenpachi's wounds.
oOo
(Other side of Hueco Mundo)
"Senken must be using those circuits to communicate with us" said Isane.
"Indeed and I think we all know what's coming next" said Ichigo turning to Unohana who nodded her head in agreement with a stern look on her face.
oOo
(Tenkai Kecchu; Replica Karakura Town)
Senken's Voice: "I commend every single one of you for defeating the forces of my espada, you all are much bigger pests than I made you out to be and therefore as a reward for your most valiant efforts I will tell you this much, I am proceeding with the destruction of Karakura Town to create the Ōken" said Senken.
oOo
(Hueco Mundo Battlefield)
"Damn that bastard" said Karin.
oOo
(Espada #9 Palace Rubble)
"Let me guess Mayuri you guys are prepared for this right?" asked Uryu.
"Indeed" said Mayuri.
oOo
(Other side of Hueco Mundo)
"So we're replacing the town again!" said Momo in a slight shock.
"Yep, to be honest I never thought we'd actually need the Tenkai Kecchu but I guess as usual I was wrong" said Ichigo.
oOo
(New Las Noches Main Throne Room)
"I'm well aware you soul reapers were prepared for me but it's pointless as the only thing you've done is make things easier for me" said Senken still transmitting his speech as he approached his personal garganta.
oOo
(Other side of Hueco Mundo)
"Hm" said Chad in a solemn tone.
oOo
(Espada #9 Palace Rubble)
"Tell us what exactly is your motive! It obviously involves the spirit king but what the hell do you intend to do!" demanded Renji.
oOo
(New Las Noches Main Throne Room)
Patience I was getting to that, as I was saying I whole heartedly expected Genryūsai Yamamoto to dispatch you all here, I even knew far ahead of time that the Soul Society would take measure to prevent me from carrying out my plans but ultimately I still kept everyone guessing as to what my true motives were, you've all just assumed I intended to repeat Aizen's plan and kill the spirit king and yet just by knowing that possibility was a weapon against you as everyone mobilized for fear of the worst case scenario" explained Senken.
oOo
(Other side of Hueco Mundo)
"He's thought up everything" said Momo.
"Ya and we willingly played into it" said Ichigo.
Senken's Voice: "So let's look at the score shall we I have the Substitute Soul Reaper and her friends trapped here along with several Captains, Lieutenants and seated officers and while that still leaves a considerable force to deal with it's still nothing compared to what I have in store for you all, in essence I believe we've reached checkmate, oh which reminds me" said Senken as the four garganta used by the Captains closed.
oOo
(Other side of Hueco Mundo)
"Oh no the four garganta we used have all been sealed!" said Isane in a panic.
"Senken you never told us what your planning so spit it out already?" asked Ichigo.
oOo
(New Las Noches Main Throne Room)
"Ah yes forgive me I guess I got wrapped up in my speech, as I was saying you were all quite correct in assuming my goal was to create Ōken but after that it was just mere conjecture for I do not intend to kill the spirit king, rather I intend to merge the spirit king's power with my own and using such a combination I will destroy both plains of existence" said Senken stopping just in front of his garganta.
*The revelation of Senken's motives visibly shook everyone present*
oOo
(Espada #9 Palace Rubble)
"Mayuri talk to me dammit tell me you can open up those damn garganta so we can get out of here!" demanded Uryu.
"Sorry but again that's a problem as I've tried but failed many times to harness the garganta, dammit Kisuke you really need to teach me how to operate these stupid things" said Mayuri.
oOo
(New Las Noches Main Throne Room)
"The strength of the 13 Court Guard Squads is quite a rudimentary system really and with four of their Captains, five of their Lieutenants and two of their seated officers now imprisoned in my domain their military strength has been cut by a quarter and despite everything that's happened my plans haven't changed the least, I will destroy Karakura Town, create the Ōken, merge my spirit with that wretch called the spirit king and destroy both worlds which by then I'll come back and destroy you at my leisure" said Senken as his figure appeared in the garganta carved into the sky above the replica Karakura Town.
oOo
(Hueco Mundo Battlefield)
"Karakura Town, The Soul Society dammit" said Karin taking off.
"Hold on Ichigo where are you going?" asked Kenpachi who was fully healed.
"I'm taking your damn advice and going to Karakura Town to stop that bastard from destroying everything!" yelled Karin.
"Were you deaf when you heard Senken say we took measures to prepare for this" said Kenpachi.
"Huh" said Karin in shock.
"The fact is there was one order Kisuke forgot to tell you about and yet it was the most important one" said Orihime.
"So what was this order?" asked Karin.
"Kisuke constructed a device called Tenkai Kecchu, essentially they're four pillars that were placed at the four key points within Karakura Town and once those pillars were placed parallel to each other a giant Senkaimon was activated and the town itself was instantly replaced with a portion of the Rukon District effectively crafting a replica of the entire town making it possible to fight there" explained Orihime.
"What of the residents?" asked Karin in shock.
"They were put to sleep and brought to the Soul Society, the only condition Kisuke had for that part of the plan was to evacuate Keigo, Mizuiro and Tatsuki from the town before these steps were put into place" explained Orihime.
"Why those three?" asked Karin.
"Have you completely forgotten what those four have been working on these past five moths!" asked Kenpachi.
"Uh that's right, the formula that will destroy the hogyoku" though Karin.
"That's right all these steps have been put in place so we're prepared for battle" said Kenpachi.
oOo
(Tenkai Kecchu; Replica Karakura Town)
Just as Kenpachi spoke those words Head Captain Yamamoto along with the eight remaining Captains and six other Lieutenants appeared in the replica Karakura Town
oOo
(Espada #9 Palace Rubble)
"So they've arrived huh" said Uryu.
"Yes if I'm right they should be there already" said Mayuri
oOo
(Other side of Hueco Mundo)
"Well it looks like we're here again right Ichigo" said Chad as the Squad 5 Captain just turned to him with a smirk.
"Momo get ready we'll be finishing up our business here" said Ichigo.
"Yes Captain" said Momo
oOo
(Hueco Mundo Battlefield)
"Okay so this whole Tenkai Kecchu thing has been activated what happens next? They just fight there and try and kill Senken because I find it hard to believe this plan doesn't have any flaws" said Karin visibly worried.
"There is one major flaw with this technique" said Orihime.
"What is it?" asked Karin.
"If all four of these pillars are destroyed then Karakura Town will return to its original place, I know it's hard Karin but as long as the Court Guard Squads exist nothing will happen" said Orihime.
"Alright" said Karin giving in.
oOo
(Tenkai Kecchu; Replica Karakura Town)
"Hm" said Yamamoto gripping onto the top of his staff as Senken walked out of the garganta.
"It seems I was expected" thought Senken smiling.
"Excellent we arrived right on time to stop you" said Yamamoto.
"Arrived on time you say? That is hardly the case, don't forget I share a portion of my former master's memories and as such I am well aware what lies beneath us is not in fact Karakura Town but that is hardly a problem as I'll deal with you all first, Ochocientos, Siglo, Arpía, come here!" said Senken calling on his top three espada.
Upon Senken's command, three seperate garganta opened up beneath his own revealing Espada #1 Ochocientos Colmillo, Espada #2 Siglo Deterioro with his eight Fracciónes and Arpía Jamás with her three Fracciónes.
"Listen to me well if you've replaced the real Karakura Town with a fake then I'll simply create the Ōken within the Soul Society, you've done nothing but allowed me to destroy both worlds at one time upon my ascension to greatness, until such time I'll leave New Las Noches….in your capable hands Oscuridad" said Senken smiling.
oOo
(New Las Noches Main Throne Room)
"Yes Lord Senken" said Oscuridad as he appeared through a dimensional rift.
oOo
(Hueco Mundo Battlefield)
"Oscuridad" said Karin taking off.
"Where are you going now?" asked Kenpachi.
"To face that bastard Oscuridad, if what you say is true Orihime then for now I don't have to worry about returning to he battlefield and even if I did want to trust me when I say he'd block my path with a mere whim so all I can do right now is face Oscuridad and return later" said Karin taking off.
oOo
(New Las Noches Main Throne Room)
"I know your coming, Karin Kurosaki" said Oscuridad sensing Karin's approach.