Author's note: This chapter will continue Ichigo's journey in Hell, as well as reveal something dramatic and awe-inspiring. When writing this chapter, I was inspired by a song from Dream Theatre, in which I named this chapter after. This chapter will focus on how Ichigo is struggling to come to terms with the fact that he is powerless in Hell. But on the other hand, I do not wish to make him completely weak. Anyway, enjoy this chapter that will continue Ichigo's existence in Hell. For those of you who haven't read the previous chapter, I advise you to do that. I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. The original characters belong to me.


Chapter 52: A Better Life

In a valley, somewhere in the Diyu Empire, Hell

Having just awakened to realize where he was, Ichigo had been forced to come to terms with the fact that he was now stuck in Hell. Being in small village called Huina, Ichigo had learned about a certain town that housed a weaponsmith who could potentially give him a weapon. Now that Ichigo was without a Zanpakutou, the young man needed anything he could get his hands on. As such, he had left Huina and was now on his way towards the town called Huangfeng. To get there, Ichigo just needed to follow the lava river until he reached its end. It was there he would find whoever that weaponsmith was.

Before leaving the village, Ichigo had managed to meet three peculiar Togabitos, who seemed vastly different from the ones he had encountered in the past. They were members of an order of monks called the Fahai, who were considered to be the top soldiers in the Diyu Empire's army, also known as the Yíngpán. While he hadn't even expressed his gratitude towards them for treating him, Ichigo still felt like he couldn't trust anyone in this forgotten realm. From now on, he was all alone.

Wandering the road while feeling the winds blowing above him, Ichigo could not help but to think of the situation he found himself in. He thought about everything he had done up until now, specifically his fight against Yhwach. And now he had learned the fact that the Quincy Emperor had struck a deal with the ruler of the Diyu Empire: Wang Yanluo. The demonic Togabito now held his soul to this realm. He could not escape. Deep down inside, Ichigo felt his hope vanish into thin air.

"All hope is lost…I almost feel…nothing" Ichigo thought, continuing to walk as if he had to. But even though he felt lost, Ichigo still harbored one thing: hatred towards Yhwach. "Bastard…you took everything from me…..." he then recalled the many atrocities the Quincy had done to him.

Ichigo looked at the collar that hung around his neck. Seeing this made Ichigo feel like he was captured. He still had nightmares of when Wang Yanluo pulled him up from the boneyard and held him as if he was a powerless doll. Ichigo tried his best to forget it all, but it was no use. As long as he was in Hell, nightmares would become a reality.

"All these feelings…they mean nothing to me now…but what about those people I care about…...Dad…...Yuzu…Karin…..Orihime….Chad….Rukia….Renji…." Ichigo kept thinking about the people he deeply cared about. But his list of friends was longer than that. Ichigo knew that, but at the moment, those people were the ones he kept thinking about.

Ichigo could see that he was now entering what appeared to be a bamboo forest. Still, the lava river ran through out, so there was no way Ichigo could go back. He had to proceed, hoping reach his destination as quick as possible. But then again, Ichigo had himself no idea how long this trip to Huangfeng would take.

As he walked, Ichigo could feel how different this environment was from the open field he had previously been in. While there was surprisingly flora from the bamboo trees, the ground itself was unfertile. Still, Ichigo did his best not to let his guard down.

"Damn it…I have this feeling in my gut telling me that I'm not alone here, yet I still can't sense any Spiritual Pressure…..." Ichigo cursed, feeling slightly distressed with the situation he was in right now.

Still, he proceeded to follow the road, making sure that he still could see the river of lava, given how thick this bamboo forest surprisingly was. Ichigo never looked back, since he kept facing forward.

But it was in that moment the orange-haired man could hear laughs coming to him from all directions. This made him stop, as well as looking around his surroundings. But he couldn't spot a soul in the bamboo forest.

"Who's there? Show yourselves!" Ichigo demanded from whoever those people were.

"Well, what do you know, fellas! This kid's got balls to be actin' all tough an' shit!" a male voice could be heard to Ichigo's left.

"It's obvious, he's completely distressed by now. I mean, I can even hear him breathing from my location" a female voice could be heard, and it came with a giggle.

"But like, doesn't that mean we have to like, make things scarier for him?" another male voice came, except for the fact that it sounded quite metrosexual.

"Shut up, queer! You're ruinin' everything!" the angry male voice came back this time insulting the one with the metrosexual voice.

"Don't tell me to like, shut up! And for the record, this realm is like, the most pro-LGBT in the world, silly goof!" the funny voice came again.

A sigh coming from the female voice could be heard. "Really, guys? You're gonna argue right when there's a target in front of us!?" the female voice called out to whoever her comrades were.

Ichigo scowled in irritation with what he was hearing. "What the hell's all this about?" he wondered, feeling more than willing to simply run away. "Screw this! I'm outta here!" he said and started running, not caring about this argument that was taking place.

But those who were watching Ichigo caught wind of him escaping. "You guys! He's getting away!" she called out to her partners.

"Hah! Not on our watch! Let's get him!" the male voice came back urging his comrades to go after Ichigo.

While Ichigo was running through the bamboo forest, he could see that there were few people following him from each side and behind him. From what the young man could tell, they were trying to corner him. Ichigo became frustrated.

"Bastards…what do you want from me!?" he asked loudly, wanting to know why these people were so bent on chasing after him.

"Why? Son, you can't expect us to let someone of high status such as you walk away from us!" the male voice came back to haunt Ichigo. "And right now, you're in our territory! Which means you ain't leavin' until we get everything we ask for!" the voice added.

Ichigo wanted to ask what that meant, but he was stopped once the three people suddenly appeared right before him, thus blocking the way. He stopped, gritting his teeth while watching what appeared to be three Togabitos. These ones however were dressed similar to Kokuto, Shuren and other Togabitos he had fought in the past. The one in the middle was a tall and muscular tan-skinned man with long, blonde mane and moustache. He was dressed in a white bodysuit, yet he wore a black cloak around it. The other was a man, except that he was smaller and scrawnier. He wore a white bodysuit, yet was also known to have chains wrapped around his entire body, almost like a v-string swimsuit. While the sides of his head were shaved, his top had some tints of black hair. He also wore silver earrings. The female member of the trio was a brown-skinned woman with her curly hair tied into hair rings. She was wearing a white bodysuit like some Togabitos were, except that her stomach and navel were exposed.

"Who the hell are you!?" Ichigo demanded an answer from them once again.

The leader in the middle grinned. "Oh, you know who we are. We're from the Zhù Triads. And you're in OUR home, as a matter of fact. The name's Banzai!" he introduced himself.

But his female comrade simply watched him with a raised eyebrow. "The "Zhù Triads", you say? Since when did we ever become a triad?" she asked him, feeling doubtful of what her leader did.

Banzai angrily glared at the young girl. "Shut yer trap, Fukuryu! I'm tryin' to tell this fool here that we mean business!" he berated the girl while addressing her by her name.

But their scrawny partner only groaned in irritation. "Dude, this is like, so out of our league!" he expressed his opinion with what he was seeing.

"And you Kagema, you also need to quit jabberin'! It's startin' to make my ears bleed!" Banzai told him and quickly looked back to Ichigo, grinning beneath his moustache as he did that. "Where were we? Oh right! The part where we ask while you comply! Now, hand over your valuables!" the blonde-haired Togabito demanded.

Ichigo narrowed his eyes at them in return. "And what if I refuse?" he lowly responded.

The trio of Togabitos all laughed at how tough Ichigo was trying to act before them. They didn't know how someone like him could have the audacity to do this. Hoping to make him change his mind, they each drew out what appeared to be their weapons. Banzai carried what appeared to be a Chinese dao, Fukuryu had a bow and a quiver of arrows, and Kagemo had what appeared to be a chain whip.

"Trust me, pal. You really don't wanna know the answer to that" Banzai spoke up smugly, this time trying to really get under the skin of Ichigo. "So I'm gonna say this just one more time. Cough up your valuables, or else you…" the muscular man was interrupted by an angry Ichigo.

"I don't have any valuables!" Ichigo roared, thus shutting Banzai up. "Look, I don't know who you guys are or what you're after, but I have no beef with you! So do me a favor and leave me the hell alone!" the orange-haired man unleashed his rage towards the trio.

The Togabitos were slightly surprised by how tough Ichigo was acting. "Oh my gosh, this man really is a stubborn one" Kagema remarked as he moved his chain whip a little. "Like, what's your name, dude?" he then asked Ichigo.

"It's none of your damn business! Now move!" Ichigo said and he proceeded to launch himself upon the trio, resorting to only use his fists. Roaring, he charged towards them.

But before he could land an attack on either of them, the three Togabitos vanished before him. This forced Ichigo to stop, seeing that they had vanished several feet away from him. For some reason, this reminded Ichigo about the Shunpo the Shinigamis used and the Hirekiyaku used by Quincies. Was this a similar technique used by Togabitos? Most likely.

"They vanished so quickly…shit!" Ichigo cursed with what he saw.

But on the other hand, Banzai smirked as he watched Ichigo's reaction. "What's wrong? Never seen someone perform a Zouguò before? Heh, I bet you're not from around here!" he spoke up while brandishing his dao.

Fukuryu aimed her bow and arrow at Ichigo. "Isn't it the time we get serious now? Come on, it's obvious he won't be handing over his valuables so easily" the girl told her partners.

"Oh, you betcha! Now let's get this party started!" Banzai said and he proceeded to charge towards Ichigo, who was too slow to react. "Prepare to bleed, upper class scumbag!" he yelled as he swung his dao.

Before Ichigo even knew it, he could feel his left hip getting slashed and it was quite critical. He was bleeding and it affected his new clothes. "AARGHHH!" the orange-haired man held onto his injured hip, while being forced to his knees. "Damn it! Why does this injury cause so much pain inside me!?" he wondered.

Banzai turned around, grinning sadistically as he held the bleeding dao in his hand. "One slash and you're down to your knees already? Man, you're weak as hell!" he insulted Ichigo.

As Ichigo was trying to figure out how to get away, he failed to take notice of an incoming arrow to his right. It pierced straight into his right arm, causing the young man to experience more agony. He looked to that direction and realized that it was Fukuryu who had fired that arrow. She smiled at him mischievously.

"Oops, that arrow was meant for your head, but it hit your arm instead. I need to work on my archery skills" the Togabito girl remarked and she reached for another arrow on her quiver. "But this time, I won't miss!" Fukuryu added.

But the Human was in for another shocking experience of pain. Ichigo suddenly found his entire face tied by the chain whip belonging to Kagema. The chains tightened around him and Ichigo felt his entire face getting pierced. Blood was even running from his face.

Although he was doing something horrendous to Ichigo, Kagema simply watched him nonchalantly as if it didn't bother him at all. He even sighed as if he was bored. "You guys are like, so wasting your time! I'll just put this guy out of his misery myself!" he told them, having no remorse for his actions.

Ichigo yelled in pain as the chain whip began tightening itself around his head. He could feel the blood cover his eyes. But although he was in pain, Ichigo still had some thoughts within him. They were filled with so much anger and resentment. These thoughts kept begging Ichigo to unleash his anger and thus revealing his true power. He knew what he had to do now. In Hell, there was no other way than to survive…..or not.

"No…..I can't die…I won't die…I must not die…I DON'T WANNA DIE!" Ichigo yelled and something happened with his face. It was his Hollow mask manifesting itself, much to the surprise of not just the trio of Togabitos, but to Ichigo himself. "No…..NO…..HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE!?" he screamed, but it was already too late.

A burst of powerful red energy suddenly appeared in the bamboo forest and Banzai and his partners were sent a few meters away. They all eyed at this transformation in awe, given that they may have not seen the likes of this before. Soon, the bright crimson light disappeared and the Togabitos were shocked with what they were seeing.

"What in tarnation…..." Banzai wondered as he watched what had become of Ichigo.

Indeed, Ichigo had succumbed to his Inner Hollow, also known as Zangetsu. This form was the same he had been when he had battled Ulquirra Cifer in Hueco Mundo, as well as Kokuto in Hell. Even though two years had passed, Ichigo still looked the same in that form. Hs long, orange hair, his Hollow hole on his chest, as well as the two white horns hanging on his transformed skull.

Both Fukuryu and Kagema were trembling with fear in what they were seeing. "Umm, boss? I think we've made a mistake in provoking this fellow" Fukuryu expressed her worries.

"Yeah, I like, so agree with her!" Kagema said in agreement.

Banzai couldn't understand why his partners were so afraid. "Why are you getting your panties in a twist!? Its nothin' but a goddamn Hollow!" he berated them both.

Kagema was feeling really angered by Banzai's attitude. "Don't you get it!? This was the same thing that almost tore Kokuto to shreds! And the guy who's underneath it…Ichigo Kurosaki or whatever…he's a dangerous creature!" he exclaimed while hiding behind Banzai.

"Tch! You are both full of bullshit! No way this thing right here is some guy named Ichigo Kurosaki!" Banzai snapped and proceeded to charge towards Ichigo's Hollowfied form. "And I'm gonna prove it by stabbing this motherfucker!" he roared, preparing to attack.

Ichigo stood still, not moving a muscle as he did that. But before Banzai could even slash his target, Ichigo vanished. This stopped the Togabito and he wondered where he could have gone. Before he could figure it out, he felt himself getting pierced by Ichigo. All that he used was his right hand. The view was shocking for Fukuryu and Kagema to see.

"BOSS!" Fukuryu screamed and she decided the best thing to do was running away. "LET'S GET OUTTA HERE!" she then said while having tears in her eyes.

But Ichigo caught wind of her move. Tossing Banzai like he was a dead prey, the Hollowfied man sprinted towards the young Togabito and actually gored her with one of his horns like a bull. This only forced Fukuryu to freeze, seeing how she could feel the horn pierce through her body. She couldn't move.

Kagema was horrified by what he witnessed. "FUKURYUUUU!" he screamed and decided to use his chain whip in hopes of getting Fukuryu off Ichigo. "You let her go, you cold-hearted monster!" he exclaimed while swinging his weapon out of desperation.

The chain whip did in fact strike Ichigo, yet it did not injure him. Pulling himself out of Fukuryu's body, the Hollowfied man turned his attention towards the Togabito that had dared attacking him. When Kagema tried to swing his chain whip once again, Ichigo grabbed it and drew so that he was sent flying to him. With a powerful kick to Kagema's head, he was sent crashing through the bamboo trees.

Standing still, Ichigo let out a powerful howl that sent a shockwave throughout the bamboo forest, even bringing down some of the trees. Banzai and his partners were all devastated by how powerful Ichigo had become. The long-haired man had blood running from his lips, yet still possessed the ability to speak.

"Damn! I'd never imagined that this would ever happen! It looks like we really made ourselves to be the prey this time!" Banzai said, yet he and his fellow Togabitos soon noticed Ichigo preparing something with the help of his horns. It was something red and powerful. "You're shitting me! Is that a Cero he's preparin'!?" he loudly asked while being joined by both Fukuryu and Kagema.

"Who cares about what that is!? We must like, get outta here before he releases that thing upon us!" Kagema told his boss.

"Yeah! Screw searching for any valuables! If we stick here longer, we'll be dead!" Fukuryu joined in.

Knowing better than to let Ichigo be the death of them, the Zhù Triads immediately fled from Ichigo as quickly as they could. But could they escape him? He was now preparing to fire a powerful Cero that would reduce the entire bamboo forest into a barren wasteland. Ichigo was willing to do that…or was he?

Before the Hollowfied man could even fire his destructive beam upon the fleeing Togabitos, something surprisingly happened with his skull. It cracked! And there was not just a crack. More cracks appeared throughout the mask and body. One by one, pieces of the Hollowfication fell onto the ground, thus paving way for the unordinary. Ichigo was managing to break free of this level without getting assistance. He did that all by himself. Soon, the Cero that Ichigo had previously made disintegrated. Ichigo soon found himself return back to normal.

Once every sign of Hollowfication was gone, Ichigo fell onto his knees, breathing deeply as his entire body trembled with exhaustion. He faced the ground as he dug his fingers into it.

"What happened to me? I don't understand! Back in the Royal Realm…Yhwach completely sucked out my powers, including Zangetsu! Yet I still managed to Hollowfy unwillingly! What has gone wrong!?" Ichigo was thinking as he tried his best to recall what had just happened with him. As he got the picture, everything started to get more confusing to the young man. But at the same time, he came to realize something that had happened. "Could it be that…...Yhwach only took back my manifested Quincy powers? If not, why else would my Hollow power remain intact!?" Ichigo began realizing something related to his powers.

Slowly getting up to his feet, Ichigo tried to change focus. He wanted to continue the journey, yet the young man looked around to see where the Togabitos he had encountered had gone. They were completely out of his sights.

"Looks like I'm all alone now. Those Togabitos I encountered seem to have disappeared. But I couldn't have possibly killed them" he noted, only to realize that the wounds he had sustained was completely healed. "My hip, as well as my face and my right arm…...they're healed!" Ichigo was in disbelief with what he was seeing.

Realizing that there was nothing left for him to do in the bamboo forest, Ichigo continued on his way by following the nearby river of lava. Hopefully, he would reach wherever Huangfeng lied in this unknown realm. But as he wandered, a part of him felt worried about how his Inner Hollow was slowly starting to get into his head once again.

"I know how Hell itself can affect my Inner Hollow. But is it really trying to take control over me once again? No, I refuse to believe that. It sounds absurd" Ichigo thought as he kept walking, soon exiting the bamboo forest.

While Ichigo had left the bamboo forest, the Zhù Triads were still inside and licking their wounds. Banzai, Fukuryu and Kagema each tried to recover themselves from critical injuries they received from the Hollowfied Ichigo. Breathing deeply, they took their time to assess the episode they had gotten themselves into.

"Holy smokes, we were THIS close to being exterminated by a rogue Hollow!" Banzai said, although he kept coughing up some blood as he opened his mouth.

Fukuryu angrily glared at her boss in return. "And whose fault do you think that is, boss!? I'll give you a hint: he's got a big moustache, big size and a big ego!" the girl told him.

Hearing this made Banzai gasp slightly. "You're sayin' it's my fault!? Not a chance, Fukuryu!" the long-haired Togabito hit back.

"Wow, you're like, SO mature right now, Banzai! I mean, would it kill to show some humility at once!?" the metrosexual man complained about his leader's antics.

Resisting the agony, Banzai got up on his feet, barley taking steps as he tried to get a move on. His partners were completely dumbfounded by how their supposed "leader" had the strength to even do such.

"Well, best get back to Cháoxué to recuperate! First round is on me!" he told them.

Hearing this made both Fukuryu and Kagema happy and they followed their leader joyfully. "You really have no idea how I've been waiting for you to say that, right?" Hon spoke up, trying to act cool with Banzai, much to the annoyance of Kagema. But Banzai never responded, something which Fukuryu was completely cool with. "No response, huh? Perfect. I could use a break from listening to you yapping all day and night" the brown-skinned girl thought.

And so, the Zhù Triad retrteated deeper into the bamboo forest, although they were heading towards this mysterious place called Cháoxué. Where that place could be found, only they knew.


Outside a monastery, a town high on a mountain

There were many towns and villages in the Diyu Empire, but there was one town in particular that was unique with regards to infrastructure. This town was called Shanheng, and it was built in a mountain. This mountain was perhaps not the highest, yet it was still tall enough to admire. But the reason why this town was famous was due to the location of the Fahai Monastery. It was a sight to behold, as the monastery closely resembled the real-life Tiger's Nest in Paro, Bhutan.

That only confirmed the fact that the town was the main hub of activity for the Fahai. In the monastery, they would often have summits whenever it was to discuss important matters related to the affairs of the Diyu Empire. Otherwise, they mostly spent their time in the capital city of Youdu.

In Shanheng, people were busy with whatever business they did. Shopkeepers were trying to lure customers to them, hoping that they would earn much for what was being sold. The majority of the people in this town were noblemen, which explained why they had enough money to buy from the shops.

However, two members of the Fahai were now observing the busy marketplace from the rooftop of a tower. The first one was a spikey grey-haired man with bright eyes dressed in a black and white traditional Chinese outfit. In some ways, this Togabito's characteristics resembled that of a big cat, specifically a tiger. The one sitting beside him was a young woman with long, brown hair and yellow eyes. She wore a black Chinese dress with white markings and wore white earrings. From the looks of it, it would seem the two Togabitos were having some kind of competition.

"Looks like I win this time, Ying" the man told his fellow member of the Fahai with a mischievous grin.

The woman named Ying only slumped her face in return. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Jiang! We both know that I made it to this stinking tower before you did" she hit back at her comrade, who seemed to take fun in this.

Rolling his eyes, the man named Jiang decided to let her win. "Alright. Then I take back what I said just now. You win this race" he conceded, although he did that out of playfulness.

"Glad to hear it" Ying responded gleefully.

The two Togabitos decided to sit down, so that they could be given the view of the vale beneath them. It was terrific…..by Togabito's standards, of course. As a matter of fact, they considered the crimson red sky with thunder as beauty. That was what they defined it.

"So, any news from the capital, so far? I mean, things have been quiet since all this Hell getting linked to the Soul Society occurred" Ying questioned as she looked out at the view.

Jiang looked at her in surprise, yet he decided he had to answer her, given how close they were as comrades. "Well, from what our scouts stationed on Màncháng says, everything is fine. No sign of enemies, Quincies or Arrancars. Still, this doesen't mean that the threat is far from over. You heard what happened with the Seretei, right?" he answered what he knew while reminding Ying about the important events had members of the Fahai had been informed of.

"Sure, I do. But I heard that there were some survivors that managed to make it out alive. Even so, the 13 Court Guard Squad's power and political influence has greatly diminished. From now on, the Wandenreich are the ones to control the Soul Society" Ying said, recalling what she had heard about the takeover of the Soul Society by the Quincies.

"Yes. And that means every denizens of the Soul Society are now worshipping and accepting Yhwach as their Soul King. Only a few rebels do exist. But they are completely leaderless" Jiang spoke up, aggreging with his fellow member of the Fahai. "Oh, that reminds me. What do you know about this Human the Eternal Emperor is so interested in?" the spikey-haired man then asked Ying.

Ying responded by shaking her head slightly. "Search me. But I do know that he himself came and looked for that Human in a boneyard. But where he could be now, I'm not so sure" she said while relaxing.

Jiang, who also felt the need to relax, laid beside Ying. The two friends were so close that some Togabitos often mistook them for a couple. However, neither Jiang nor Ying considered them as such. They preferred to be called good friends instead.

Now as they were relaxing, the loud sound coming from a drum could be heard in a nearby tower. Soon, they also heard what appeared to be a gong. The two friends knew what those instruments signalized.

Jiang stood up and looked down at the marketplace. "I don't believe it! It's been a while since Shanheng has been visited by one of the Liántōng! I wonder who it could be!" he exclaimed, feeling very excited to see who it was.

Ying, however, seemed less than enthusiastic about this. "Tch, great! And just when I thought we would get some relaxation for a while!" the brown-haired woman groaned as she stood up. "Whoever it is, this visit best not take long! I'm not in the mood for any discussion or whatever" she added to her opposition.

Her partner simply brushed off her complaints. "No need to fret, Ying. We'll find out as soon as we're there. Now let's head back to the Fahai Monestary and see who it is" Jiang told her and the two Togabitos vanished with the help of Zouguò.

The two friends found themselves standing in the monastery's entrance, waiting for their visitors to arrive. They could hear all the cheers and praises happening out in the town. But soon, they came closer to the monastery. Both members of the Fahai were stunned to see that there were actually two members of the Liántōng that had arrived on riding dark horses with crimson flames, which was reminiscent of nightmares. Behind them came soldiers of the Imperial Army, also known as the Yíngpán. The two hellish creatures stopped and their riders got off.

The first Togabito was a man with thick, black beard and dressed in red armor, as if he was a Chinese general. His skin was brown and he seemed quite tall. His weapon of choice was that of a halberd. The other one was a young man dressed in golden armor and having his black hair tied into a topknot. These people were indeed powerful, as their Spiritual Pressures were humongous.

Jiang and Ying were both kneeling before them, yet they did look up to greet them formally. "Hail, Guan Gong: the Eternal Emperor's Left Hand" Jiang spoke up.

"And hail to you, Cheng Nezha: the Eternal Emperor's Left Eye" Ying said, making sure that both Togabitos were greeted with the dignity they so deserved.

So far, neither Gong nor Nezha were smiling. Each of them wore deep frowns as if they were unsatisfied for some reason, which neither of the monks could grasp what it was.

"What is the meaning of this!? Why are you two the only ones to come forth and greet us? Explain yourselves, Jiang the Lightning Tiger and Ying the Wind Eagle" Gong asked them, although he was demanding an answer at the same time.

Only Jiang seemed to have the guts to answer. "I do not quite follow you, my lord. Could you perhaps be more…" Jiang was interrupted when Nezha stepped forward to talk.

"You know very well what he's asking. Whenever we come to visit this monastery, all members of the Fahai are obligated to be present and receive us. But it would seem to me that all of you have scattered around to do your own things as usual" Nezha explained sternly, his voice not filled with any pleasantries.

While Jiang remained calm in face of this, Ying had enough guts to speak her mind. "Well, excuse us for not being able to organize meetings given that the Eternal Emperor favors you above anything else!" she expressed her views of the group of Wang Yanluo's most trusted advisors.

Nezha stared at her with dispassion, yet Gong was filled with resentment in what he heard the young woman say. He even brandished his halberd, ready to attack her at any minute.

"Hold your tongue, woman. Otherwise, I will chop off your head!" the thick-bearded man warned the monk, having no remorse with the kind of language he was using when addressing his "subordinate".

Ying's eyes narrowed, and she even found herself gritting her teeth. Deep down inside, she knew that she had no chance against someone as powerful as Guan Gong. As brutish and impulsive as he could be, he was among the strongest in the Liántōng. But who the strongest among them was….Ying wasn't certain. But at the very least, the young woman knew Yanluo was more powerful. Hoping to not escalate the situation, Ying lowered her head once again.

"Forgive me, my lord. I humbly withdraw what I just said" Ying told the brutish man.

Despite hearing the apology, Gong was not satisfied. As a matter of fact, it only increased the aggressiveness and impatience that lived within him. "A mere apology is not enough! I demand more compensation!" Gong said, only to be blocked by the left hand of Nezha.

The young man with the golden armor shook his head at him, encouraging his accomplice not to make a scene, especially since their leader was potentially watching them. After all, there existed rumors that Yanluo was using all members of the Liántōng as his extra eyes and ears! Everything they did, he would know of. Therefore, it was safe to say that they were bound to the Eternal Emperor.

Reluctantly, Gong calmed himself. Nezha then returned his attention to the two monks before him. "Now then. Since not everyone of the Fahai are present, it would seem to me that your summit will have to wait" he told them, much to the curiosity of the two Togabitos.

"A summit? What do you mean, Lord Nezha?" Jiang asked him politely.

"By imperial edict, the Fahai are to have its own summit in the monastery. The Eternal Emperor has decided that the time to elect a leader of this order has come. He wants the Fahai to have a leader for the upcoming invasion. That is the message me and Gong came here to deliver" Nezha informed the two monks, who were stunned by this announcement.

"A leader?" Ying herself couldn't grasp what she was hearing.

"I….I didn't realize…." Jiang spoke up, his mind already filled with so many questions.

Gong grunted in response. "Well, now you folks know it. And that's why we want all members of the Fahai to gather and begin electing their leader. But instead, I now see that you're all running off doing nothing but being lazy! Now, I can really understand why the Eternal Emperor himself want a leader in your group. It's so disorganized!" the bearded man complained while feeling tired of explaining things.

As much as Ying and Jiang wanted to protest, they refrained from doing so. Yes, they knew better than to make someone like Guan Gong angry.

"Then me and Ying best head out and search for the remaining….." Jiang was stopped by Nezha.

"No need for you to waste time wandering off. We happen to have the perfect messengers" he told him and started whistling loudly while facing the reddened skies above them.

Above the entrance, a group of flying creatures that resembled gargoyles could be seen in the crimson skies. They had the same skulls as those of Kushanadas. The reason was because of the fact that these creatures were often called Flying Kushanadas. Like their humongous and flightless counterparts, the Flying Kushanadas used to punish Tohabitos and keep them in Hell for eternity. Yet along with many other creatures inhabiting this unforgiving realm, they pledged themselves to the Diyu Empire and its tyrannical ruler. Now, they served as scouts, messengers and aerial assault in the service of Yanluo.

"Find and locate every member of the Fahai in the Diyu Empire. Deliver them this message! Such is the will of the Eternal Emperor!" Nezha commanded the flying creatures and they immediately flew into different directions, hoping to find the missing monks.

Gong, who felt like there was nothing left for him and Nezha to do, went back to his horse and mounted it. His younger accomplice did the same thing. "Come, Nezha! There's nothing left for us to do in this blasted town. We best return back to Shēnyuān and inform the Eternal Emperor about everything" he told the young man, who didn't seem to give him much thought.

"He is probably already aware of it, that I am sure of" Nezha assured Gong, yet he took one last glance at the two monks before them. "You know what must be done. Make sure you have chosen a leader before the summit in Shēnyuān. We will let you know when the time is right. And when we come back here next time, all of the Fahai MUST be present. That is an order" the man in the golden armor said before he began the first move by riding his hellish horse into the town. Gong followed him suit, and they were followed by the soldiers.

Now that, they were both alone by themselves, Jiang and Ying decided to have their own talk with how they would proceed next with this summit in the Fahai Monastery. But first, Ying couldn't help but to openly express her distaste of the two men that had just visited them.

"Argh! Those two are nothing but a huge pain in my ass! If only I was powerful enough to beat some respect into them! And I still don't get how Xiaodan can have feelings for an arrogant jerk such as Cheng Nezha!" the female Togabito didn't hold back her ranting.

In response, Jiang couldn't help but to laugh. "Don't worry, you're the only one who feels this way. I mean, just look at Xuannü, Khuan and Kai. They also think of them as nothing but nuisances. And I bet even Yanluo himself does it too!" the spikey-haired man tried to reassure his friend.

Ying had to giggle in hearing this. "Perhaps you're right. Thanks for saying that, Jiang. I don't know what I would've done without you" she told him.

"Maybe you would've ended up being such a sourpuss throughout the ages" Jiang jokingly said, only to be met with a death glare by Ying. "Relax, I was only being sarcastic. I think you're fine just the way you are" he then complimented her, much to Ying's satisfaction.


Somewhere in the desolated areas of the Diyu Empire

After experiencing a brief yet unfortunate episode in a bamboo forest, Ichigo had continued his journey to the town of Huangfeng. He was following the river of lava, just like he had been told back in Huina. But even though he was under no threat so far, Ichigo was still haunted by the recent episode in the bamboo forest. His Inner Hollow had taken over his body and almost succeeded in decimating the three Togabitos he had come into conflict with.

Due to the immense pressure in his head, Ichigo decided to sit for a while. He found what appeared to be a pillar standing alongside the road. Leaning against it, Ichigo soon let himself fall onto the ground. He was not tired or hungry, yet he felt the need to relax, given this traumatic moment he currently found himself in. Ichigo looked up to the skies. It remained unchanged. This only made him slightly loose hope in finding Huangfeng. He felt as if he had been walking around in circle.

"I don't know which way I'm going. But what can I do? In Hell…..I'm all by myself!" Ichigo lamented and faced his lap with despairing eyes. In fact, he felt himself growing tired and closed his eyes as a result. "I can't believe I'm saying this…..but I wish I could just close my eyes and open them…..so that everything would go away!" he silently pleaded, tears slowly starting to fall from his closed eyes.

"What's the matter, Ichigo? Why are you crying like some pussy?" this familiar voice made Ichigo open his eyes and he looked around to see who it was that had called out to him. To his surprise, he saw none. That could only mean one thing. This was the work of his Inner Hollow.

"Zangetsu…what are you…..." Ichigo asked, yet he was immediately given a response. And it came in the form of a chuckle.

"Now this is a surprise. It's probably the first time you refer to me as Zangetsu. How very quaint of you to say, Ichigo" his Inner Hollow spoke once again, as a means of being impressed by Ichigo.

"But I don't understand….back in the Royal Realm….when I remade my Zanpakutou…..I merged both you and Old Man Zangetsu into one entity. And during my fight against Yhwach…..he supposedly took my powers away from me…." Ichigo spoke up, the young man still unable to come to terms with this.

"You stupid, little punk. Didn't that old bastard ever tell you? He just wanted to get back your so-called powers, more specifically your Quincy-powers. Yhwach was never interested in acquiring me. As you may know, Hollows are nothing but poison to Quincy" the voice invaded Ichigo's thoughts once again, this time revealing something very interesting.

While he was listening to what was being said, Ichigo still felt a little lost. Even so, this was still his Zanpakutou spirit, so Ichigo could trust him…to an extent.

"So that means now that we're in Hell…...only you are what's left in me?" Ichigo noted, yet he still realized something terrible. "But wait a second! If you're still inside me, why isn't my Zanpakutou with me!?" the orange-haired man demanded an answer.

Once again, the laughter appeared before Ichigo. But something else did too. Looking up, he could see something approach him. It was Zangetsu, his Zanpakutou spirit. He looked virtually identical to Ichigo, yet he was having this smug and psychotic grin that never faded away. Ichigo froze, unable to even move a muscle. Something was not right here.

"Zangetsu…no…...I'm tired of this! Who are you really!?" Ichigo demanded an answer out of his Inner Hollow and he stopped, standing before Ichigo and facing him down. "You may be my Zanpakutou spirit…..but you still are of Hollow-roots. So just tell me, who exactly are you!? ANSWER ME!" the young man was filled with distress and confusion at the same time.

Zangetsu still grinned, yet he began moving his hand to his face slowly. "You wanna know? Well, I guess now that the cat's out of the bag….it wouldn't hurt to let you in on a secret. So tell me, Ichigo. Do you recall the story that your father told you? About this Hollow called White?" he asked Ichigo, yet the young man was now starting to realizing something terrible. Was it just his imagination or was his Inner Hollow's voice beginning to change? Either way, it filled Ichigo with nothing but chills down his spine. "You, your, and even that fool Otetsu Nimaiya all assumed that I was just a mere Hollow created by Sosuke Aizen based upon a Shinigami's soul….but that's nothing but blatant lies and deceits. My very existence predates to Aizen even being born!" he spoke, once again his voice changing.

Slowly, Zangetsu began to actually remove his face, as if it was nothing but paper. And it wasn't just this face. Even his white shihakusho was torn off, thus revealing something horrific. Out from the torn off face emerged what appeared to be a face of a young man with long light-colored hair that reached down to the middle of his back. While his face still had black eyes, he had two black markings running down his face. And not only that, his entire body was extremely similar to the form of the Hollow called White. He had two long, forward-pointing horns protruding from the sides of his head, and his Hollow-hole located in his upper chest. The only thing he missed was the white Hollow mask and two blades in place of his forearms. Needless to say, this resembled closely to an Arrancar in his Resurrección.

Ichigo was filled with disbelief, having never seen this creature in his life. Was this really it? Was this the true form of his Inner Hollow? The young man had fear planted in his eyes.

"I am not Zangetsu, nor am I White for that matter! My true and only name will always be the one I carried in my previous lifetime!" he spoke up, his voice having completely changed so that it didn't resemble Ichigo's at all.

"I don't understand…...WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE!?" Ichigo asked loudly, still confused at all this.

In response, this Igoochi simply chuckled at Ichigo's distress. "Why, I am simply telling you the truth, Ichigo. You thought that I was just nothing but a reflection of you? Foolish boy! I have always been my own entity!" he berated the young man, yet he felt the need to reveal more details. "And now, I will make everything become clearer to you of who I really am! No more Zangetsu! No more White! From now on, it's…..…..Igoochi Koregaonkar…..one of the founders of the golden city of El Dorado…as we as one of its original paragons" he revealed himself, much to the shock of Ichigo.

To be continued…


Author's note: That's it for now! When writing about Ichigos' struggle, I was inspired by Samurai Jack. That's what I thought would be a perfect setting with Ichigo in Hell. And given that I have done much to write about Hollows and Arrancars, I thought that Ichigo's Inner Hollow needed to have a true form. In some ways, this may be similar to how Allen Walker from D. Gray-man was the reincarnation of Nea D. Campbell. Even so, I will explain more about Igoochi soon. Not how that his first name is only a slight anagram of "Ichigo". When I wrote about the Zhù Triads, I was inspired by the three hyenas from the Lion King: Shenzi, Banzai and Ed. That's why one of them is named Banzai. I wanted them to represent the lowest of the Togabitos, including how miserable they are. Banzai is a stereotypical redneck, Kagema is a stereotypical metrosexual while Fukuryu is the most normal of all the three. Hopefully we will see more of them. Note that the word "Zhù" is Bamboo in Chinese. Anyway, in the next chapter, I may be thinking about writing about the Sonneritters, as well as the Wandenreich. That chapter might be similar to a scene from Star Wars or something. Even so, I will take my time to decide what I will write.

Here are some of the new terms we learned in this chapter. And note: this type of Chinese is mostly Mandarin, so there won't be any confusions. So let's see what we have here.

Cháoxué – Chinese for "Lair" and "Hideout": This place is supposedly where

Here are the voice actors of Banzai, Hon and Kagema, as well as Igoochi. Since the Togabitos are funny ones. I haven't come up with their seiyuus, so I just have to stick with the English ones. Anyway, here they are.

Banzai – John DiMaggio

Fukuryu – Jessica DiCicco

Kagema – Chris Edgerly

Igoochi Koregaonkar – Justin Gross