Author's note: This chapter was inspired by a song from The Who with the same name. There also exist other versions, including one by Limp Bizkit. This chapter will be exclusively focused on the Human World, and reveal something cool. I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Tite Kubo. The original characters belong to me.


Chapter 21: Behind Blue Eyes

1 day ago, in Karakura Town, Japan, Human World

While the Wandenreich commenced their second invasion of the Soul Society, the Human World remained unaffected by the events that were currently transpiring. People in Karakura Town were minding their own business as usual. In light of what had happened recently, there were fewer Hollows entering the Human World, considering that the Wandenreich had hunted them down and slain them. But today, the usually peaceful town would get an unlikely visitor from Hueco Mundo, or more specifically El Dorado.

The ancient and mighty Emperor of the Imperio de Hierro himself: Augustus Zod Allowin, had exited a Garganta and was now slowly descending down towards the town. None of the Humans below took notice of him, as they couldn't even see the white-bearded man, let alone hear him.

Allowin found himself standing in the middle of a street, watching as Humans passed by him, most of them busy with their usual stuff. He saw a bench that was empty and the old man decided to sit there by himself, watching as the crowds that came and went by. What was a powerful being like him doing in Kakakura Town, watching these Humans? So far, Allowin had not made any attempts to kill them, let alone devour them. He only sat and watched them from both sides.

"Humans….." the ancient Arrancar spoke up, his voice filled with dispassion in it. "In their world, they view themselves as the most intelligent species. But in the true world that really exists, they are nothing but defenseless chickens" he then commented.

However, despite having such opinions on Humans, Allowin did not as much as try to suck out their souls. He had to power to kill these Humans, let alone destroy the entire Karakura Town. Most of its defenders were busy fighting in a war in the Soul Society. But yet Allowin never made a move against any Human. He continued to watch the Humans walk by him, as if he was nothing but a ghost.

Suddenly, he could see a beautiful butterfly fly pass him. But the tiny creature was losing balance and fell down, only to land in the strong handpalms of Allowin. The ancient Arrancar leaned closer to get a look at the colors on the butterfly's wings. His old, weary eyes widened, as he was fascinated by the colors. It was both black and green, emerald green. Seeing those colors made the old man recall something so fondly.

"Green…..." he said while studying the colors. "Green…...like back when Hueco Mundo was an idyllic paradise" he said, recalling back to a time when Hueco Mundo was not a desolate place as most foreigners and strangers knew it. No, he was thinking about a time when Hueco Mundo was a lush world, filled with greenery, on both the ground and on the mountains. In addition to that, there were rivers and waterfalls flowing in that wonderful place.

Enveloping green light in his handpalms, the butterfly suddenly flew from them and continued on its journey. Allowin looked up to see the butterfly take off and fly to whatever its destination was. The ancient man also looked up to the sun, and he was also reminded about something when his weary eyes met the golden ball.

"A sun….it shines brightly" Allowin said and closed his eyes to think about something. "Just like the one Hueco Mundo had" he added to his thoughts, thinking about a time when there was actually day in the realm of the Hollows, not just the eternal night. He thought about the time when the sun came up, it exposed the paradise that was Hueco Mundo, including its greenery and waters. There was even Hollow-wildlife and it was more than a perfect for hunting.

Allowin opened his eyes and slowly floated into the skies and gazed down upon the Humans that were walking in the street. He then fixed his eyes on somewhere that caught his interest. It was a playground, where a soccer field stood right beside it.

Landing there, Allowin found himself a bench to sit on and watched as so many Humans were playing or doing other things at the playground. But he could see that there were many parents who were playing with their children.

Seeing how much fun the children had, as well as how much love they received from their parents immediately made Allowin think back to a time he actually used to be a parent. True, he had mated with an Arrancar-woman and together...they had only one child, which was a beautiful boy, despite being an Arrancar. Allowin was probably among the first Arrancars to ever become a father.

"Terra…my love" Allowin recalled a woman he loved, someone who was probably considered the most beautiful of all Arrancars in that age. And he himself was considered to be too weak and too ugly to be paired up with someone as attractive as Terra. But yet, despite all the stronger Arrancar-men vying for her hand in marriage, she chose Allowin…or Augustus as he was simply called at that time. Why she did that remained to be answered, but he had always heard that she always desired to bring love to those who deserved her blessing. Many had sometimes called her for the Earthmother, as wherever she went, the fauna sprouted. This was similar to how he himself became known as the Skyfather. "With you at my side, I became the perfect warrior that any of our kind craved to be" he went on thinking to the woman he was proud to call his wife, or lifemate, which was another term for being a couple.

Allowin also slowly began thinking about the son they conceived together. "I am always thinking about you, Terra. And you as well…Konstantin" he then thought about his son: Konstantin Zod Allowin. But how both he and Terra died…was something Allowin had wished he could never have witnessed. The very thought of it only brought so much suffering to the ancient man's heart.

While Allowin took his time to watch the children play with their parents, he could hear someone call out to him from behind. "Hey you, old geezer with the long white hair and muscular torso!" the Arrancar slowly turned around and could see a black-haired teenage girl dressed in soccer clothes. "Could you pass me that ball beneath you?" she went on asking him.

But Allowin was only left stunned, as he couldn't believe that a young Human was able to see him, as other Humans were not. "What is this?" he wondered in his thoughts, while he kept glancing at the young girl with nothing but astonishment.

But the black-haired teenager seemed very impatient and pointed her finger at where the ball was. "Stupid, old man! I asked if you could pass me the ball beneath you!" she snapped in annoyance.

This time, Allowin looked down and saw the ball underneath his bench. He got up and picked it up as the girl requested of him. It was a football and the ancient Arrancar could see that there were other people waiting for him to give the ball back, although they could not see him, unlike the girl. This suddenly got him an idea and he decided to try out something and aimed at the goal which were standing on the other side.

"Hmmm…see if you can catch this" Allowin thought to himself and threw the football as powerful as he could. The football went so fast, that the girl was awed as it passed by her. But as the ball was on its way, the other teenagers suddenly stepped away from it, not wanting to get hit. The keeper at the goal made his stance, indenting on catching it, but he got the ball straight into his stomach and was sent against the net. That was painful for him to feel and the keeper fell onto the ground, his eyes pale and blood running from his mouth. All the kids watched in awe and shock at the same time, while Allowin simply shrugged his shoulders. "Heh, child's play" he noted and walked back to his seat on the bench.

As the ancient Arrancar refocused his eyes on the children and parents that played in the playground, he was once again called out by a voice, this time sounding more pleasant and kinder than the one he heard before. "I hope that my sister didn't say anything disrespectful to you" the old man looked to his right side and saw a light blonde-haired teenage girl with two pigtails running down from her hair. She was smiling gently when Allowin's weary eyes met hers. "She's got a big mouth, so she often tends to speak without thinkingl" she added to her explanation, yet Allowin was simply surprised that this girl could see him as well.

But Allowin snapped in surprise, as he could notice something about the girl. "That little girl's smile…...is she…Konstantin?" he wondered in his head. He could not believe it, but this girls' hair and kind-hearted expression reminded him of his deceased son. "No, my son is dead…...and I never had a daughter" he then thought, realizing that this was another person. But still, she reminded him of Konstantin.

"What are you talking about, Yuzu?" the black-haired girl suddenly appeared beside her sister and fixed admirable eyes upon the Arrancar. "You! How did you do that!? That throw of yours! Teach me how to do it!" she demanded while feeling so energetic.

But Allowin was still silent, not even saying a word, considering that he was stunned by how these two girls could see him, not to mention this Yuzu's close resemblance to his deceased son.

"Come on, girls! Give the old man some space. You're ganging up on him!" a male voice could be heard from behind. It came from a black-haired man, who approached the two teenage girls. He simply grinned as his eyes met Allowin's. "That throw you just did was awesome! Hell, even I was impressed!" the man remarked while giving him a thumbs up gesture.

This time, in seeing a man talk to him and see him, Allowin decided to respond. "All of you can see me?" he asked them lowly, his voice filled with surprise.

"Sure, we can! With a long hair and beard like yours, we could've mistaken you for the Santa Clause!" the man said, only to be punched on his chin by his black-haired daughter. "Ouch! Why did you do that, Karin?" he asked while rubbing his sore chin.

"Quit bringing up the Santa Clause, dad! We know he's not real!" the girl named Karin angrily berated her father, who kept rubbing where it hurt him.

He only shrugged it off and faced Allowin with a grin one more time. "Anyways, I'm Isshin Kurosaki, owner of this town's Kurosaki Clinic" he smiled while putting his hands on each of his daughters' shoulder. "And these two young ladies here are my twin daughters. The sweet and friendly one is Yuzu, while the rude and mouthy one is Karin OOOUUUUCCCCCCHHHHHH!" he yelled in pain, as Karin had elbowed his crotch. She did not like the way Isshin just described her in terms of personality. Isshin was once again sent to the ground, holding his hands by his crotch. "Really…...Karin? You attack your old man's nuts?" he asked while tears began streaming from his eyes.

"Because you made me look like a fool, dumbass!" Karin snapped, angrily twitching at the same time.

Despite the quarreling he saw happening between Isshin and Karin, Allowin remained silent, as he was surprised to see that this entire family could actually see him. He then rose up and was about to walk away, until Yuzu asked him something.

"Wait, do you have a name, mister?" she asked him and this made him stop on his tracks.

"And how come you're dressed like a man from the Dark Ages?" Karin suddenly spoke up, much to Yuzu's dismay. "What? I don't mean to be nitpicky or anything, but I'm just curious" she added while facing her twin sister.

Stopping, Allowin slowly turned around and faced both girls with his usual glance, which was neither that of anger nor happiness. Since these girls were a special case, the ancient Arrancar felt like they deserved to have an answer. "I am Augustus Zod Allowin. Emperor of the Imperio de Hierro and the true ruler of Hueco Mundo" the long-bearded man told them before walking away slowly. Eventually, the old man gradually began floating in the air and flew towards the skies.

Both Yuzu and Karin were both amazed in seeing this, as they could see him flying while others could not. Isshin had slowly gotten back on his feet and was smiling by what he was seeing. "Boy am I lucky to have been able to get a closer look at him. He is just as as he's depicted in the legends" he noted in his head while recalling something he had read. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but this man is definitely more amazing than Yamamoto and Aizen combined. They are nothing when compared to Augustus Zod Allowin" he added to his thoughts, unusual for a former Shinigami captain to think about such things.

As Allowin flew up in the air, he could only reflect on what he had seen when meeting those Humans. To him, they seemed very harmless, especially the two girls. Maybe not all Humans were as ignorant as they appeared to be.


Later, on the top of a construction project, Karakura Town

As the night was descending upon the town, Allowin sat on the top of a skyscraper that was under construction. He was facing the entire town, while the moon hung itself above the peaceful town, despite it being a vulnerable target for Hollows. Allowin had come to find Karakura Town pretty much different than what he had anticipated.

"So, even the Human World is known for its peaceful nights" he noted lowly while gazing up to the pale white ball in the air.

While he was sitting there, he could hear a Garganta open behind him, yet he didn't move a muscle. Out from the Garganta came three members of the Dechados: Durrann Lupinus, Annabelle Luisenbarn and Luddenwig Van Gogh. They were both curious about what their liege was doing so late in the Human World. They each took a seat beside their leader.

"You have been here all day, Your Highness" Durann revealed to him. "Are you certain it is wise to stay so long in the Human World, knowing that the Wandenreich could potentially discover your appearance here?" he asked Allowin, wanting to make sure if his superior was okay with this.

The ancient man simply faced the paragon with the wolfhead as his Hollow-shell and only nodded his head. "I am confident that I will not get caught, Paragon Durann Lupinus" he said to him and began looking up to the skies that where lit with moonlight. "I only wanted to see how the sun here looked like. And it was beautiful…just like the one that we once had in Hueco Mundo. And just that. Even the greenery here is wonderful" he explained to both paragons.

"I understand your feelings, Your Highness" Luddenwig said and bowed his head. "Our realm never deserved to be reduced to a desolate and waterless world. The Soul Society should've received that punishment" he then expressed his own opinions on the matter.

Annabelle sighed deeply, as she knew they were all speaking off. The elderly woman recalled to what had happened in the past. "I may not have caused it, but had I known about Barragan's selfish schemes in order to destroy us all, I would have stopped him" she admitted to her fellow Dechados.

Both Durann and Luddenwig faced the elderly woman, and they could see how somewhat disheartened she was behaving, while at the same time also feeling a sense of guilt. They could not blame Annabelle for feeling like this. After all, the sole Arrancar who betrayed his kind by helping Yhwach defiling the Vida, was her younger brother: Barragan Luisenbarn, a stubborn and selfish man with noble blood, who had always desired to rule Hueco Mundo as it's ruler. But his lust for power led him to gain more than he bargained for.

Suddenly, the Arrancars could see a butterfly that flew before them, and Allowin reached out his finger, the butterfly immediately landing on it. "Ah, you are able to see me now, little one" Allowin remarked, as this was the same butterfly he had seen earlier. He was very attracted to the color on its wings and soon, Durann, Annabelle and Luddenwig began having similar feelings towards the butterfly. "Now, fly away and take good care on your journey" the ancient Arrancar said and the butterfly continued on its own journey in the air.

The three Dechados noticed that their emperor was fixing a slight smile, and they both wondered why. Could the butterfly perhaps have helped in lifting his bitterness of his past?

"Your Highness….." Durann said lowly, not getting what he was smiling for.

But the white-bearded man faced his subordinates, whom he had often considered his children, as they were important to him. Because of what had transpired 1000 years ago, Allowin saw protecting the free citizens of El Dorado as his duty. And that also included the Dechados, whom he held in high regard.

"It is time for us to look forward. While we have suffered many tragedies, our retribution over our enemies will come in time. Therefore, we will make them learn see what true despair looks like" the emperor said and began eyeing Annabellle. "I understand your sense of guilt, Annabelle. But being a leader is not always about making the right choices. I too have made some myself and they still come back to haunt me to this day. But even so, I will stop at nothing….to see Hueco Mundo returning to the paradise it once was. That I promise you" he told her, while eventually making sure that Durann and Luddenwig got this as well.

The three Dechados quickly formed a line and kneeled before him with open admiration and respect, knowing that as long as they were with Allowin, they had a great leader to follow.

Annabelle looked up and faced her superior with a smile. "Thank you, Your Highness" she said, feeling grateful over following a leader such as him.

"HEEEEWWWLP!" Allowin suddenly snapped and looked towards the direction the shout came from. The voice sounded very familiar, as it belonged to Yuzu Kurosaki, the girl he had seen earlier.

"What is it, Your Highness?" Luddenwig asked while seeing his superior gaze up floating in the air. But the white-haired man suddenly felt an incredible Spiritual Pressure, as did his fellow paragons. "Wait…this Spiritual Pressure…...it isn't that of a Shinigami or a Quincy!" he exclaimed in surprise.

Durann was sniffing in the air and suddenly gritting his teeth like a wolf. "You're right! This is something very different. And it isn't even an Arrancar!" he said while facing Allowin. "Shall we investigate?" he asked the emperor, who was already flying towards the destination, forcing Annabelle, Durann and Luddenwig to follow him without hesitation.

"What kind of creatures could be wandering around Karakura Town at a time like this?" Annabelle wondered, feeling awfully curious about this Spiritual Pressure.


50 minutes earlier, at the Kurosaki Clinic

Inside the home of the Kurosaki Family, Isshin was currently being visited by none other than the Director of Karakura Hopsital: Ryuken Ishida, who was also Uryu's father, despite Uryu never referring to him as such. Despite the two men having opposite personalities, they seemed to get along pretty well. Another reason for that was mainly because they both knew Masaki when each of them were younger.

"Now what's the rush here, Ryuken?" Isshin asked while puffing some smokes with his cigarette. "It's not every day that you and I get to have a good chat like two good pals" he remarked smugly while smiling at the four-eyed man, who seemed very stern in appearance.

Ryuken put out his cigarette and faced Isshin with a stern glance. "I just wanted to have this talk with regards to our sons" the white-haired man revealed to him seriously. "Now be honest with me. Have you told Ichigo the truth about Masaki?" he asked him and made sure that the black-haired man got everything he said.

Isshin fixed a similar glance and simply nodded his head. "Yeah, I have" he replied lowly. "And I also told him about Kanae, as well as Yhwach" he then added.

"I see" Ryuken noted while watching his cigarette disintegrate, before putting on another in his mouth. "That's all I wanted to hear. What your son wants to do now, is up to himself" he added to his explanation.

"But what about Uryu?" Isshin suddenly asked him and Ryuken stopped igniting his cigarette. "You do know that he's taking a risky gamble, right? I mean, he's willing to go that far, just to destroy Yhwach. What if he already knows what Uryu's up to?" he then asked while wanting some answers out of Ryuken.

The white-haired man adjusted his glasses. "I have repeatedly warned him about the consequences. Sadly, my warnings have fallen on deaf ears" he said while taking the cigarette in his mouth. "Uryu may possess the intellect of mine, but he also possesses the optimism of Kanae" Ryuken remarked while thinking about his son.

Isshin could not help but to smile. "Heh, Ichigo's gonna get pissed when he finds out, just saying" the black-haired man noted and suddenly looked into his glass of water. "But I sometimes worry that after telling Ichigo this story, he will become a different person than what he has always been. His view of the world may change. And that may be just what Yhwach is looking for" Isshin noted to his friend.

Ryuken agreed with what Isshin said. "Yes. But still, I commend you for telling him the truth about his mother. Personally…..I don't think I could have done that" the four-eyed man admitted.

"Hey, no need to feel guilty. Ichigo's my son. And Masaki was my wife. Surely, he wouldn't mind knowing that his mother was once your ex-fiancé?" Isshin tried to speak up with humor in his voice. But Ryuken didn't appreciate it, forcing Isshin to backtrack. "You're right. It's not funny. I take it back" he then conceded.

"I have managed to analyze on how these Sternritters function" Ryuken revealed, much to Isshin's surprise. "Like all Quincies, they rely on Reishi to fight their opponents. However, there is a difference between the Sternritters that exists now and the Sternritters that existed 1000 years ago" the four-eyed man told the Shinigami, who was keen to know more.

"What are you saying?" Isshin asked curiously.

Ryuken put the cigarette out from his mouth. "From what I have seen based upon Urahara's research, the Sternritters possesses an enormous amount of power, similar to those of a captain-level Shinigami. And the reason for that….is because they have allowed Yhwach to engrave their soul, let alone giving them a Schrift" he explained to Isshin. "While all Quincies do share blood with Yhwach, not all of them has their souls engraved by him. That is the difference between the Sternritters of old and the Sternritters of today" he told him.

"An engraved soul" Isshin uttered out lowly before recalling something he learned. "Now about this form that these Sternritters are known to use. What is this Quincy: Vollständig?" the Shinigami asked the Quincy who listened closely.

"The Quincy: Vollständig is what the Quincies call their most sacred and ultimate form. It is considered the successor to the Quincy: Letz Stil, whom many Quincy considered to be outdated an inferior" Ryuken answered. "When the newest Sternritters had their souls engraved by Yhwach, it allowed them to achieve greater power, something that surpassed the limits of the Quincy: Letz Stil. The Quincy: Vollständig is the result of this achievement of power and to obtain it, one had to undergo serious training to master their control of Reishi" Ryuken explained how it became what it was. "The only Quincy to reject and protest this evolution, was my father: Soken Ishida. He believed that the Quincy: Vollständig, if used too much, would only cause the user to die. He was actually right" the four-eyed man admitted to Isshin.

"Woah….." Isshin noted while hearing all this. "But if Uryu were to allow Yhwach to engrave his soul…...wouldn't that make him bound to the emperor?" he suddenly asked.

"AAAAAARGHHHHHHHH!" both men suddenly snapped as they could hear a familiar voice coming from outside. Isshin got up and reached for his Shinigami outfit while Ryuken reached for Heilig Bogen.

"That wasn't just anyone!" the black-haired man said while gritting his teeth. "That voice came from Keigo Asano, one of Ichigo and Uryu's classmates!" he said.

Ryuken then held his bow tightly. "Then let us see who that is. But there can't possibly be Hollows around these parts, given how their numbers have dwindled" he noted and the two men were ready to exit.

In the street near the Kurosaki Clinic, four friends of Ichigo and Uryu: the stupid Keigo Asano, the gentle Mizuiro Kojima, the tomboyish Tatsuki Arisawa and the perverted Chizuru Honsho, where hanging around with each other during the evening and had just a good time, before they were being confronted by three terrible beings.

But these were not just any terrible beings, as they were adorned in black cloak, white buttons and masks. They each had a different physique, with one being big and muscular with strong arms, the other being normal sized, and the third being a curvy woman. Despite their different sizes, they all wore the same outfits.

The big and tall one laughed deeply by seeing the group of Humans tremble before them. "Look at those weaklings! I can't wait to smash them to bits!" he said and cracked his giant knuckles.

"Those boys look like they could need some punishment. I will gladly make them submit" the woman said while talking in a lustful manner.

But the one in the middle stepped forward and faced the group of Humans. "Since you Humans can see us, then I suppose that we will have to eliminate you. We don't want to leave any witnesses" he said and was about to make his move on the humans, before he could feel something happening above them. Looking up, the three could see a rain of Heilig Pfiels heading straight down to them. "TAKE COVER!" he then shouted and he and his buddies vanished from where the rain would hit them.

Using Shunpo and Hirenkiyaku respectively, Isshin and Ryuken appeared right before the group of friends, who were surprised by their arrival. Isshin looked over his shoulder and faced them with his casual smile.

"Yo, sorry about being late! We came as soon as we could!" he told them.

"Mr. Kurosaki and Mr. Ishida" Tatsuki said in surprise while watching the fathers of her classmates appear before them. "How did you know we were here?" she asked them.

This time, Ryuken was about to answer. "We heard someone shouting so loud like a woman. We could hear it, even from the Kurosaki Clinic" the white-haired man told her.

Hearing this caused Keigo to snap in outrage. "Hey! I don't shout like a woman!" he hit back.

Mizuiro mused about hearing this. "Heh, tell me about it" he noted with humor, although Keigo could not hear it.

"Anyways, you fellas better scram and let us adults handle this!" Isshin said to them and motioned for them to run away. He and Ryuken then focused their eyes on their opponents, who had showed themselves before them once again. Both their eyes widened by what they were seeing. "No way…you guys are…." the black-haired Shinigami was at loss of words.

"Togabitos…...from Hell" Ryuken noted grimly before aiming his Heilig Bogen at the trio. "What are you fiends doing outside the gates of Hell? Sinners like you does not deserve to be wandering the Human World freely!" he demanded an answer from them.

The one in the middle only scoffed by hearing this. "That's funny, coming from a Quincy who relies upon Reishi to battle his foes!" he taunted him and then readied his fighting stance. "You guys can call me Zhong and have been tasked with finding the location of the Substitute Shinigami: Ichigo Kurosaki! So tell me about his location, Isshin Shiba!" he suddenly demanded from the Shinigami.

Isshin firmly held onto his Zanpakutou and faced the trio of Togabitos with nothing but anger. "BURN…ENGETSU!" he shouted and his blade began enveloping in flames before swinging his blade angrily. "YOU THINK I'LL HELP YOU KIDNAPPING MY SON!? OVER MY DEAD BODY!" he shouted and performed a technique which was similar to that of his son. "GETSUGA TENSHOU!" he yelled and swung a crescent of fire that managed to actually hit Zhong's two partners, but Zhong himself had disappeared and he now stood right from the two men's location.

"Klavier!" Ryuken shouted and fired some multiple arrows only for Zhong to vanish, yet Ryuken chased him with his Hirenkiyaku and they both fought in the air. While in the air the four-eyed man formed a smirk with his mouth. "You said that I was reliant on Reishi, you say. Apparently, you seem to have forgotten something" he taunted him and suddenly appeared behind the Togabito by using Hirenkiyaku once again.

"Damn it! He's fast!" Zhong cursed and noticed that Ryuken was firing another set of arrows. This forced him to reflect quickly. "Lichang!" he said and suddenly formed a forcefield around himself by using his aura, therefore deflecting the arrows. The Togabito laughed by what he was seeing as the forcefield disappeared. "Hah! Try again, Quincy! I'll just bounce off those puny arrows of yours!" he taunted Ryuken, only to feel that someone was appearing behind him.

"Better not take your eyes off me, buddy!" Isshin taunted and swung his blade, only for Zhong to vanish again. Isshin only grinned when seeing this. "Oh no you don't!" he said and used his Shunpo to appear behind Zhong, who was ready to attack Ryuken.

"What!?" the Togabito said as he was struck by Isshin's slash.

The Togabito was forced to the road, and both Isshin and Ryuken landed before the man in black garbs. Zhong was panting as he got up on his feet, even though his mask covered his face. Both men readied their stances, with Ryuken loading another Heilig Pfiel.

"Damn you…...Shinigami pig and Quincy rat!" Zhong cursed at them and readied his stance.

Ryuken formed a smug smile while aiming his arrow at the Togabito. "You seem to have quite interesting techniques for being a dweller of Hell" the Quincy noted but then fixed a frown. "But then again, I see that you're only a low-rank Togabito, aren't you?" he asked him.

"A lower-rank!?" Zhong asked in anger.

"Precisely. To my understanding, the power of the Togabitos varies. For example, I see that you do not possess the ability called Gāng, which is a Togabito's answer to an Arrancar's Hierro" Ryuken pointed out and suddenly fired a small arrow, fooling Zhong into vanishing, only for Ryuken to take notice of it and fire at him with Klavier. These arrows landed some damage on the Togabito. Ryuken mused to what he was seeing. "I see that you fell for my trap. You expected me to fire multiple arrows at you, yet you insisted on moving away. Therefore, you used what you call a Zouguò, which is literally the Togabito's answer to a Shinigami's Shunpo, a Quincy's Hirenkiyaku and an Arrancar's Sonido" he went on explaining.

Isshin was only amazed by the knowledge his friend possessed. "How the hell do you know so much about them?" he asked the four-eyed man.

"The Quincies possess more knowledge about Hell and its inhabitants than you Shinigamis do. And that's partly because they have sometimes relied on Hell in the past" Ryuken told his friend. "Another cruel punishment Yhwach did to his subjects, was to banish them to Hell, where they would be trapped there for all eternity" he added to his explanation.

Isshin simply shrugged his shoulders before brandishing Engetsu. "Whatever. It's time to send you back to where you came from, Mr. Offender" the black-haired man said cockily.

Zhong was suddenly chuckling lightly and it caught both men by surprise. "You're saying that I'm going back to Hell? Fine! I'll gladly do that, taking your daughters with me!" he said and all of a sudden, his two associates appeared before Isshin and Ryuken, holding each of the Kurosaki-twins in their grasp.

"YUZU! KARIN!" Isshin yelled and aimed the tip of his Zanpakutou at Zhong! "YOU COWARDLY SON OF A BITCH! LEAVE MY DAUGHTERS OUT OF THIS!" he angrily demanded, only for the three Togabitos to almost removing their masks.

"Uh, uh, uh, I wouldn't be so reckless if I were you!" the leader said as he held onto his mask. "You do know what happens when we Togabitos remove the masks that conceals our identities, right?" he asked him, forcing both Ryuken and Isshin to back down. "When we take off our masks, the Gates of Hell appears and we will be dragged back into it! And of course, your precious girls will be having a nice vacation in Hell!" he said before laughing out loud.

Ryuken narrowed his eyes at seeing this. "You are a despicable coward!" he spat at Zhong, who only laughed again in return.

"Say whatever you want, it won't change my mind! Now let's move on to negotiations" the Togabito said and faced Isshin. "Quit screwing with me! Tell us the whereabouts of your inbred son, or else I'll have your daughters the wonderful opportunity of going to summer camp in Hell!" he angrily threatened the Shinigami.

But while Isshin was bidding his time, he could suddenly see that both Zhong's partners screamed in agony, resulting in them letting go of Yuzu and Karin. The leader noticed this and he was outraged.

"Motherfucker! What the hell's going on!?" he angrily demanded, but suddenly could see three Arrancars standing behind the two lying Togabitos. It was Durann, Annabelle and Luddenwig. "Arrancars!? What are you doing here!?" he angrily demanded.

But Isshin, Ryuken and the two girls were stunned and surprised by who was just appearing above them. Descending on the road was Augustus Zod Allowin, the mighty ruler of the Imperio de Hierro. The ancient yet muscular Arrancar landed on the ground, with it sending winds on all sides. The imposing figure he exposed, struck fear into the Togabito.

"What the…" he uttered out words in shock.

Ryuken widened in his glasses, not believing what he was seeing just now. "An Arrancar…yet his Spiritual Pressure is…...enormous!" the white-haired man noted by what he was seeing.

"That's not just any ordinary Arrancar, Ryuken" Isshin said, his eyes never taking off the muscular man. He was practically amazed. "This is Augustus Zod Allowin, the true ruler of Hueco Mundo" he added with a short explanation.

The old man heard this and fixed his eyes upon Isshin. His weary eyes widened in surprise, considering that he had seen the man earlier. "You are that man from today" he noted lowly while glancing at him, but then saw his outfit. "And that outfit of yours…so you're a Shinigami? That explains why you were able to see me" he then noted warily.

But Isshin simply shrugged his shoulders at him. "Alright, you caught me. But I'm no longer with the Sereitei, you see" the black-haired man told him while giving him a thumb gesture. "These days, I work at a clinic with my two lovable daughters and son" he said while flashing him a smile.

Allowin did not give any response to Isshin's behavior and focused his attention on Zhong. "Dweller of Hell, what are you doing in the Human World?" he asked him strictly. "And why do you commit something as disgraceful as to take innocent children hostage?" he then went on asking.

"He knows about honor? Intriguing" Ryuken noted, as he was starting to get slightly amazed by the way Allowin spoke.

"ISN'T HE JUST COOOOL!?" Isshin asked his friend, his eyes beaming with pride over seeing Allowin confront the Togabito.

Yuzu and Karin were unsure about what to do, as they saw Allowin getting ready to fight the Togabito. But the two girls suddenly saw Durann, Annabelle and Luddenwig walk in front of them and made sure that they were protected. In fact, Durann looked over his shoulder and smiled at them warmly.

"This is no place for you, children. It would be best if you went home along with your father" the black-bearded man with the woflhead said to them in a surprisingly gentle way.

Annabelle did the same thing. "My fellow paragon speaks the truth" the elderly lady told them. "I would stay far away if I were either one of you. Things are about to get ugly, now that our leader has found out about what is lurking in Karakura Town" she advised them in a grandmotherly fashion.

"His Highness will not hold back on this one, especially since that man is a Togabito" Luddenwig remarked to his comrade when seeing how distressed Zhong was behaving.

Zhong suddenly concentrated his Spiritual Pressure and aimed his hands at the giant Arrancar. "You will come no further, monster! Yìngbī!" he exclaimed and suddenly tried to use his hands to force the Arrancar away with wind. But Allowin did nothing to evade it, as he simply stood there crossing his arms in dispassion.

"Is this the best you have to offer?" Allowin simply asked and all of a sudden, released his Spiritual Pressure while unleashing a shockwave that blew Zhong away. After the shockwave, a red aura was enveloping over Allowin's muscular body. "RABIA!" Allowin exclaimed.

Both Ryuken and Isshin were stunned in seeing this. "Such incredible power!" the four-eyed man remarked by what he was seeing.

"You think this is over!?" Zhong yelled and made his move against Allowin by jumping into the air. "I will not be bested by a demented Hollow!" he angrily exclaimed and was about to move his hands to attack him.

But while seeing the Togabito in the air, Allowin took a deep breath before breathing at the creature in black garb, thereby freezing him. Allowin managed to actually freeze the creature into the air by simply breathing at him, and his breath was cold. "Hielo!" the ancient man said and while the frozen Togabito was on the verge of falling down, Allowin grabbed him and flew up towards the black skies, much to everyone's awe, expect for the Dechados, of course.

"What is he doing up there?" Isshin asked while gazing upwards.

As Durann was narrowing his blue eyes, they soon snapped and warned those around him. "Everyone, clear out! His Highness is attempting to perform the Aterrizaje on that Togabito! It will shake the ground!" he warned them all and everyone got away as far as they could.

When they were far away, they could see Zhong falling onto the ground while being frozen, yet he did not shatter into many pieces. Only the ice on him broke and disintegrated. The Togabito was lying on his back. But before everyone knew it, Allowin suddenly landed right on Zhong's stomach. It was painful for the Togabito to feel as the landing was like a hammer hitting a spiker. The landing was so intense that it created a pit in the middle of the road. This resulted in chunks of dust coming out.

Once the dust settled, Allowin emerged victorious out of the pit, but the battle was not over just yet, as Zhong's two partners had awakened and were on bent on fighting the ancient man.

"DAMN YOU, ARRANCAR-BASTARD!" the woman yelled in anger.

Despite being two, Allowin had np reason to fear them as they were technically weaker than Zhong. All of a sudden, his eyes glowed red and he fired something out of his own eyes. They almost seemed like heat vision, but at the same time, it also looked like a Cero. "CERO OMEGA!" he exclaimed, as the man angrily fired red long Cero from his own eyes. Despite being small, it was incredibly powerful and none of the Togabitos managed to withstand it. In fact, once he was finished, each of his opponents had a large hole in the middle of their bodies, eventually making them fall into the ground.

Allowin's eyes returned to normal and he was still narrowing, mostly at the fallen Togabitos. "You all should have stayed in Hell. Challenging me only leads to your demise" he told them before heading over to his Dechados, who knelt before him in respect.

"Your Highness! Congratulations on your victory" Annabelle said, as she faced the two Togabitos. "These monsters are more resilient than we first thought. They managed to survive getting stabbed" she noted warily.

"But then again, these Togabitos were not the strongest" Durann remarked and suddenly faced his superior. "How in the world did they manage to escape from their captivity in Hell? And what reason could they have for being in Karakura Town?" he then asked both his comrades and his superior.

"Maybe we can answer that" the voice came from Isshin, as he, Ryuken and the two teenage girls approached the group of Arrancars. When seeing the fact that there was a Shinigami and a Quincy approaching them, the Arrancar's pulled out their weapons, thus snapping the black-haired man. "Woah, easy there, paragons. I told your boss that I'm no longer with the Sereitei!" he said as he forgot something. "Oh, and this guy beside me is not with the Wandenreich either, just to fill you in" he then added, much to Ryuken's own annoyance.

But Luddenwig was not convinced. "Spare us your nonsense, Shinigami" the white-haired man said before he noticed Ryuken staring at him in a cunning way. This made Luddenwig narrow his eyes in return. "Is there something you have to say, Quincy?" he asked the four-eyed man.

"No. However, I find it astounding to see one of the Quincies condemned to Hell standing there. There exist stories about a certain Quincy, who tried to usurp Yhwach, only to be sent to Hell as a punishment" Ryuken told, causing Luddenwig to have his yellow eyes widened. The four-eyed man simply nodded his head in return. "That's right. I know who you really are, one of the original members of the first generation's Sternritters: Luddenwig Van Gogh" he told him smugly.

But before Ryuken knew it, he had a blade being pointed right before his face. While surprised at first, he did not seem to back down and only stared at the angered Luddenwig unfazed. The white-haired man before him was angered over hearing his statement.

"DON'T REFER TO ME AS THAT!" Luddenwig angrily said, his teeth gritting in anger. However, he began chuckling lightly, thereby calming himself. "I left being a Quincy when that bastard Yhwach betrayed me and sent me to Hell. There, I languished for a great injustice" he said while removing his cape and removed a plate of his silver armor. It showed his stomach, where there was a hole at the bottom. Ryuken's eyes widened when seeing this.

"But how? When a Quincy comes into contact with Hollow-blood, it dies!" the four-eyed man pointed out.

Luddenwig only laughed at that statement. "Hollow-blood? Fool. I had this hole when chains were bound to me in Hell! But all those memories are dead now" the white-haired man said and walked towards Allowin and kneeled with respect. "There exists only one god and emperor. And that is Augustus Zod Allowin. He is the only true pillar of justice in this world" Luddenwig said in open admiration of his leader.

But everyone's attention suddenly turned to the pit that Allowin had created, where above it, the Gates of Hall appeared, where two giant skeletons could be seen hanging at the door.

"The Gates of Hell…..." Allowin said lowly, as the gate opened, revealing itself the destructive environment which was inside. But as the gates were opened, chains began sprouting out from it. "Fall back, paragons!" the emperor told his subordinates and they backed away from what was happening.

The chains were held around the three Togabitos, who were already dead. In fact, the outfits disappeared, revealing their pale-skinned bodies and gores of weapons. It was just as Ryuken thought, these were only lower-rank Togabitos. Now that these creatures were exposed, their bodies began disintegrating into nothing but skeletons.

"Their skins are…...vanishing!" Isshin remarked in shock.

Once the bodies were turned into bones, they were drawn back into the gates, yet it was still open. In fact, as the group stared into the opening, they could see somebody's silhouette in the red clouds. Allowin and his Dechados stood ready, wary about whether there were more Togabitos to come or not. But everyone was surprised by seeing fiery eyes emerge from the opening gates.

"THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING!" a brutish male voice could be heard from the gates. "A NEW ERA DAWNS FOR HELL AND WE WILL TAKE THE FUTURE INTO OUR OWN HANDS! BEWARE…..BECAUSE HELL IS ON THE MARCH ONCE AGAIN!" it then said, before the gates closed and vanished from their sights.

After the Gates of Hell had disappeared, there was nothing but silence among the group. However, Allowin was at least thinking about what he had just witnessed and heard.

"Something is not right" Allowin noted in his head while reflecting over this. "What happened to Hell's cycle? Has a new form of leadership emerged in that accursed realm?" he wondered, suggesting that maybe someone was ruling Hell.

Durann stepped forward. "Whatever the circumstances, it is obvious that the Quincies are not the only ones that desires conquest. Something new has transpired in that place over the years" the Arrancar added, with his fellow Dechados agreeing to what he said.

"Then we better tread carefully from now on" Annabelle noted. "From the way I see it, these Togabitos didn't seem to be escaping from their captivity" she said before turning her eyes on Isshin and Ryuken. "They said they were looking for your son. Now tell me, has he ever been to Hell before?" she then asked Isshin specifically.

Taking a deep breath, Isshin nodded his head in return. "Yes. It was during a time when certain Togabitos sought to make an escape from Hell, and their leader exploited my son's Inner Hollow to free him. However, this leader was defeated with the help of Hell, that is" he told them.

Allowin got slightly intrigued by this. "Tell me, Shinigami. Who is your son?" he asked the black-haired man.

"He's the Substitute Shinigami: Ichigo Kurosaki" he revealed.

When hearing his name, the Arrancars became surprised. They had heard that name before but from where. In fact, they did not learn about Ichigo's identity from their newest recruits from the Dechados or the Legionarios. No, this was something else.

"I see now" Allowin spoke up and faced Isshin, who only smiled smugly in return. "So, he is your son" the emperor noted.

"Heh, damn straight" Isshin exclaimed with pride. "I knew that you guys would know his name. He's a celebrity, even in Hueco Mundo!" he added with nonsense, much to the distaste of both Ryuken and Karin.

Annabelle only mused by hearing this. "We know who he is and what he has done for some Arrancars. But he is clearly not a celebrity in Hueco Mundo, Isshin Shiba" she said cunningly, forcing Isshin to snap.

"Hey dad, what's she talking about?" Karin asked while wanting to know the answer. The black-haired man was sweating and knew that he had to come up with something to hide, so he whistled. Karin only twitched by seeing this. "Quit being so damn childish, you wacko!" the teenage girl yelled and slapped her father's face.

Realizing that they had done what they came for, Allowin faced his subordinates clearly. "We have done a good job here this evening, my children. Let us return to El Dorado. I have much to ponder, especially with Hell's recent reemergence" the white-bearded man told the paragons who saluted at him in return.

Durann used Descorrer to open a Garganta and the group waited until it was strong enough for them all to enter. But before the group walk into the Garganta, they stopped by hearing a young voice calling to them.

"Hey, you! Mr. Allowin!" the ancient, but muscular man turned around and could see Yuzu standing there, with Karin right beside her. To his surprise, the twins bowed their heads before them, intending to show their gratitude for helping them. "Thank you for saving us, and helping dad and Mr. Ishida in defeating those bullies. Since our brother is away, you and your men came and saved Karakura Town. We are grateful for that!" the girl with the pigtails said, before facing the old man with her sweet smile, as did Karin. "Will you ever come back to visit Karakura Town someday?" Yuzu then asked Allowin.

The emperor was stunned to hear this, seeing that a young Human was asking about whether he would ever come back to visit this town. As Allowin was only reminded about his deceased son when looking at Yuzu's curious expression, the man with the long hair and beard only nodded his head as a yes in return.

"Yes, I will come back, someday" he told her and both Yuzu and Karin seemed happy to know that. Seeing their reaction, Allowin formed a weak smile underneath his beard, as he was happy to see those young Humans smile. "Next time, I will bring the entire Dechados and the Legionarios for you to see. Perhaps we can learn something new about you Humans. Some of them are intriguing. But until then…...farewell, young ones" he told them and he and his subordinates entered the Garganta, with the portal shutting itself in the process.

"Hey Yuzu" the young girl looked to see her twin sister. "I don't mean to sound rude or anything. But why have you been acting so friendly towards that guy?" Karin asked her.

When being asked that, Yuzu started pondering in confusion. "Hmmm….I really don't know" she admitted, only to smile at Karin. "But when I looked at Mr. Allowin, I saw something more than just a tall and scary old man. I also saw a man that was hiding something so deep…..but I can't quite grasp what that is" Yuzu spoke up.

Karin smiled at her in return. "You're always the compassionate between the two of us. I like that" she told him, forcing Yuzu to giggle in return.

Both Karin and Yuzu had seen both scary, but at the same time, fantastic things as well. They learned that there existed many more amazing people in the world, regardless of which age or race they were. While they missed Ichigo, the girls knew that he would come back someday. But that remained to be seen, as Ichigo was in a different place now, as well as a different phase of his life.

To be continued…..


Author's note: A great chapter! I had always desired for the Arrancars to be given a new perspective of Humans, and I thought that Ichigo's family would serve as a perfect representation. While doing that, I aslo wanted to Togabitos to appear in the story, as they will also play an important role in the Thousand Year Blood War. The next chapter will take us back to the Soul Society, including to where Ichigo is right now.

And here are some of the terms we have learned in this chapter. Tite Kubo is known for using languages as motifs on each race (like Japanese with Shinigamis, German with Quincies and Spanish with Arrancars). So far, Kubo has not done that to the Togabitos. Therefore, I have taken to honor to give the Togabitos a Chinese motif. I gave the Interminables a French motif already. Therefore, see some techniques that the Togabitos use, as well as what Allowin performed in this chapter.

Lichang – Chinese for "Force Field": With this unique ability, Zhong is able to produce a forcefield within himself. It is strong enough to deflect a Heilig Pfiel.

Yìngbī – Chinese for "To Force": This ability revolves around using winds in order to force its target away.

Zouguò – Chinese for "To Walk Past": This is a Togabito's answer to a Shinigami's Shunpo, a Quincy's Hirenkiyaku and an Arrancar's Sonido. Whether it is better than them remains to be seen.

Fāxiàn – Chinese for "To Find/To Discover": This is an ability that Togabitos use to locate and measure a Spiritual Pressure. It is their own version of an Arrancar's Pesquisa.

Gāng – Chinese for "Steel": A Togabito's outer skin with high spiritual hardness that serves as armor. It's their answer to an Arrancar's Hierro.

Rabia – Spanish for "Rage": This is an ability that Allowin uses to empower himself physically. It can also dispel any attacks directed towards Allowin.

Hielo – Spanish for "Ice": When Allowin breathes, it becomes so cold that it can freeze whoever stands within his reach.

Aterizzaje – Spanish for "Landing": Allowin uses his feet when diving down towards his opponent, thereby landing on whatever his target is. The attack is powerful and can create tremors.

Cero Omega – Spanish for "Omega Cero": Allowin fires Cero from his eyes, which is very powerful and long at the same time. It can be seen as a more powerful version of the Cero Còrnea.