The festivities started to settle down, the party-worn pirates finding anywhere and everywhere to take a quick nap. After such a rowdy breakfast, lunch was smaller and far more quiet, choosing to just enjoy a quiet day. A light fog settled around them, Nami reporting that they were approaching a Winter island and its weather made the fog. Nothing to worry about. No one wanted to think about the potential dangers waiting for them, as no one had forgotten how many dangerous people were coming after Toshiro.

Toshiro himself hadn't forgotten either, but for a few hours he could pretend he had. With things settling down, he set about trying to form a plan should the dreaded immortal Soul Reaper show up. Robin and Law were trying to help where they could, Robin being a better strategist than her own Captain, as otherwise it would have been a meeting between just Captains.

"I'm guessing there's more to Aizen than just immense power?" Law questioned, wanting to know their new opponent better since they had already learned what they could about Xehanort – or at the least his Nobody Xemnas – and Maleficent.

"Spiritual Pressure capable of vaporizing the average human, able to cast the highest level Kido spells to their max ability without the full chant, expert in all forms of combat." Toshiro listed off, his scowl deepening with each one. "The bastard is practically a god."

"How did you beat him before?" Robin wondered. Someone so strong was quite the mountain to conquer, and while her crew had conquered many, this was not a human with a Devil Fruit. This was an immortal spirit.

"With some tricky timing and back up plans on back up plans that involved every person possible, a Substitute Soul Reaper managed to gain enough power to overwhelm even the abilities the Hogyoku gave him."

"Substitute?" She looked curious.

"Kurosaki Ichigo is… well, he's actually still a living human."

"A human beat a god?" Law looked surprised.

"Kurosaki is… something else. Thanks to his vast wellspring of power and the fact he's not a Soul Reaper and so wasn't around to get sucked into Aizen's Complete Hypnosis when he set it up on the rest of us, he was the only one who could fight him on even ground. He lost all his Soul Reaper powers after the fight with Aizen for about two years until he got them back with some help. But even then it's not nearly enough to beat Aizen again..."

"Now we have the opposite problem; you're the only Soul Reaper here, but you're under his power." Law mused aloud with a frown, trying to figure out how a bunch of humans could get around the strength of such a strong spirit.

"At the least all of you are strong enough he can't destroy you just by standing near you." Toshiro explained. "The other problem is his intelligence. He had been planning the Winter War since before he even joined the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. We have some advantage since this is a completely different world with powers he doesn't know anything about, and he at least can't control water, so the Devil Fruit weakness can't be exploited short of tossing you in the ocean, but he adapts quickly. He's been less cautious since he got his immortality, so there's a small chance we can use his new arrogance against him, but unfortunately that arrogance was somewhat well earned. It won't be easy."

"And I suppose if he can't be killed, we need to find some way of immobilizing him."

"Yes, but unfortunately I don't know the Kido that was used to seal him the first time, and the one who created the Kido isn't in reach."

'Don't you still have your Soul Pager?' Hyorinmaru asked, lying next to his master.

The pirates looked confused when Toshiro's expression turned to one of shock, watching as he pulled something out of his pocket.

"I honestly forgot I had this…" Refraining from the urge to slap himself for his stupidity, Toshiro gave the phone a long hard look. He could call for help, tell them where he was and what was going on… but did he have time? There would be so many questions, and at this point he wasn't sure how the Soul Society would react to everything he had done here, all the rules he had violated. It may end up only worsening his situation.

"That lets you call home, doesn't it?" Law questioned, remembering his engineers mentioning something about it after Toshiro showed it to them on the mountain island.

"Yes."

"If there was ever a time for reinforcements, it would be now, wouldn't it?" Robin asked, wondering why the Nobody hesitated.

"I just… there's no telling how long it would take them to find this place, or if they would bother now…" His grip around the phone tightened a slight bit, anxious. Thinking like the Central Forty-Six, he wouldn't be surprised if they decided to find a way to close off this world with him and Aizen in it rather than bother dealing with the traitor again just to save one person. He certainly knew they wouldn't care what happened to this world and its people. Even before making friends with the pirates, Toshiro would not have been okay with that, even more so now. He couldn't let himself be trapped here, and he definitely couldn't let these people suffer for his mistakes.

"What about Sora?" Robin asked, remembering the young Keyblade Wielder Hyorinmaru had mentioned before. Law looked confused, not recognizing the name.

"He would definitely help… but he doesn't have a Soul Pager, at least that I know of."

"Hm, that is unfortunate."

"Sora?" Law asked for clarification.

"He's part of the group I travelled with when I was taken from my world, one of the people I left behind when I became a Nobody. Hyorinmaru told me he and Riku, a friend of Sora's, made it out of the world of darkness, but I have no idea where they are or how to get in touch with them."

"Is there no one among the Soul Reapers who would be on your side? Any who would go with Sora?" Robin was hopeful.

"A few… but whether or not they will be allowed is another thing. The only Soul Reaper not restricted by rules is Kurosaki, and that's just because he chooses not to be, especially if the safety of his friends is at stake."

"Oh, he sounds like Luffy." The archeologist smiled.

"That's pretty much where the similarity ends, though… honestly he's more like Zoro out of anyone here."

"Are you able to contact this Substitute then?" Law tried a different idea.

"Not directly. Since he's not an official Soul Reaper he doesn't have a Soul Pager either, but I should be able to get in touch with someone who can then contact him without the Soul Society getting in the way." Idea in mind, Toshiro finally turned the small device back on.

"Worst case it will just be us, so we still need a plan." Law sighed. "Knowing you Straw Hats, stealth is not very practical, especially since the Soul Reapers can sense Spirit Energy."

"I agree, there won't be much point to silence if he will know where we are regardless." Robin said with a nod. "Starting at a distance might be advantageous, with Usopp's Pop Greens, Nami's storms and Zeus, as well as Franky's robot, we might be able to distract his attention and do some damage."

While the pair discussed their two crew's strengths and weakness against the mysterious power of Aizen, Toshiro looked for a certain number within his contacts. He was surprised to see one person had made multiple attempts to get in contact with him. Scrolling through them, he realized with some guilt that Sora had borrowed Yoruichi's Soul Pager and had tried to call every day in the hopes he would pick up, leaving short text messages after those didn't work about what he was doing and where in case Toshiro couldn't answer. No matter what, Sora never gave up on him, doing his best to send hope that they would find their friend. With Sora holding a Soul Pager, things became much easier, and Toshiro quickly went to reply, keeping his report short as well to avoid a delay in sending the message.

He had just finished typing up a brief description of his location, an apology for not responding, and was about to add in a warning about Aizen and Xehanort when his attention was pulled away by Dextra letting out a gasp. The trio looked over to her, Law standing immediately with a worried look. Her hands had gone up over her mouth, her eyes wide. She was sensing something. Concerned, Law and Robin hurried over to her side, trying to ask what was wrong but not getting anything from her. Toshiro would have followed after quickly hitting send on the message if he hadn't caught on to what she had, only able to when he stretched his senses out.

The feeling of overwhelming pressure, the sharp, silent, ruthless feeling of one who didn't care for those around him. There was only one person it could belong to, and he recognized it instantly. This was no fluke this time, no illusion cast by Xemnas. This was the real deal.

"Aizen." His voice shook as he said the name out loud.

The others looked to him, still confused, frowning as they noticed how pale he had gone.

"THAT'S him!?" Dextra's voice had gone high-pitched as she looked to Toshiro in horror. "THIS is Aizen!?"

She was sensing more than Toshiro was. Mixed in with the ruthless power of a being considered a god by Soul Reapers were the screams and agony of thousands upon thousands of souls, a cry echoing over them demanding more, more, MORE. It was this intense crowd of tortured minds that sent her to her knees, shaking.

There was a brief, intense energy that flowed over the two ships. Those not as sensitive as Dextra and Toshiro got a taste of what it was they had noticed. Everyone was on edge in seconds, several looking spooked, a brief image of a tall, brown-haired man with a sinister smile appearing in their thoughts.

"He noticed us." Toshiro explained as he saw their alert stances and wide eyes. "Or rather, he noticed me."

"W-W-What was that?" Usopp shuddered, taking a few steps back, though nothing was in sight to back away from.

"He's a nightmare, that's for sure." Zoro said with a scowl, returning his blade to his sheath after having armed himself on instinct.

"There's something ahead!" Jimbei called out, pointing.

Following his gaze into the fog, there was a shape silhouetted in the distance. The Sunny was forced to stop short as they reached land faster than they were expecting, the submarine following suit quickly. Just touching the end of the bank where the island dropped off into deep ocean, they could see that the shape was a ship. Two ships, in fact, that had wrecked onto the snowy shore.

Two Marine ships.

"Oh no, did Coby come this way?" Brook gasped, shocked.

Whether it was Coby and his crew or not, Toshiro wasted no time, Hyorinmaru merging into his shadow before he Flash Stepped over to the shore to see if anyone was left. There was no doubt Aizen had done this, he could sense traces of the other's Spirit Energy, though his reason for doing so was unclear. Did he realize Coby had come into contact with him? Was he just trying to get information? He had not warned the Marines about Aizen, thinking they wouldn't need to concern themselves with the Soul Reaper if Aizen was after him specifically.

There was a glow within the fog. Toshiro followed it quickly, noticing the Spirit Energy of a group of humans surrounding it, as well as the energy of an active Devil Fruit. It was Tebliel for sure. What was she having to use her fruit for? Once he got close enough it didn't take long to figure it out. The angel had healing powers, a pale yellow glow over her body and seeping over the ground. The surviving Marines, including their Captain Coby and the Lieutenant Commander Helmeppo, were huddled in this circle of light and being slowly healed. They all looked completely exhausted and spooked, and their injuries seemed to be from the destruction of their ships. Despite their losses, they were lucky. If Aizen had fought with them, they would all be dead. Coby in particular was shaking just as badly as Dextra had, eyes wide as if he had witnessed something horrible. Tebliel was trying her best to comfort him while maintaining her power, Helmeppo looking concerned.

"It's you!" She called out upon noticing him. "You should run, there's this horrible man, he took out their ships with some kind of magic!"

"I know who it is." Toshiro responded to her, causing her expression to switch to one of surprise. "You're lucky that's all he did. Where did he go?"

"Back into the fog…you're not going up against something like that on your own, are you? He feels… wrong."

"Normally I would, but not this time, not until I find out what he's after." In truth he had a pretty good guess what the other Reaper was after, but he couldn't be sure with someone like Aizen. "You should all stay here."

"No problems there, that guy was a monster." A Marine stated with a shudder.

"No way we can go against something like that." Helmeppo said with a shaky voice.

Toshiro turned to look at Coby. The pink-haired man had yet to even register that Toshiro was there. If the Nobody had to guess he would assume this Marine had the same level of perception to those around him as Dextra, and could therefore notice just how immense Aizen's power was. Not just that, but the cries of many souls trapped in a hell they couldn't comprehend. It was not an easy feeling to ignore.

There was a shout behind him and he turned to see the Straw Hats and Heart Pirates hurrying to catch up with him from the fog, the ships safely anchored.

"Coby! You okay!? Chopper shouted as they joined Toshiro by the Marine group.

"When we got close to the island he froze up; he couldn't seem to hear us after that." A Marine explained when Coby didn't respond. Due to the circumstance that all these crews were here, the soldiers were setting aside their hatred for pirates in favor of paying their enemy back for attacking them.

"Dextra did the same thing, and they both have very perceptive Observation Haki." Law mused, stepping over to check on the Captain with Chopper. The Marines still looked tense at their close proximity, keeping an eye on the two doctors, but did not stop them.

"It's possible they're sensing the Hogyoku as well." Toshiro spoke up. When he got confused stares – more so from the Marines – he continued. "From what I remember being told about it, the Hogyoku was made by sacrificing several thousand souls with high Spirit Energy. To make an item that makes someone immortal and with the powers of a god, it needs a lot of sacrifices."

"He's immortal?" Helmeppo gaped, his fellow Marines paling as they learned this information for the first time, a dread settling in their gut that they had an enemy on their home world they could not kill. "First Kaido now this guy?"

Toshiro looked to the pirates for an explanation about the new name.

"One of the Pirate Emperors, Kaido, is also said to be incapable of dying." Robin helped him out. "How he got that way we still aren't sure, but it's not the same as Aizen."

"If it's an item, there might be a way to take it away from Aizen." Law stood, letting Chopper look over Coby as the surgeon turned back to the others.

"Really?" Toshiro couldn't help a small look of hope in his eyes. After the Hogyoku had fused with Aizen it had been deemed impossible to separate them, even after he lost the majority of its powers in his fight with Ichigo. That's why they had to seal him away. But with Law's ability… there might be the slightest possibility it could work. His unique way of dissecting a body may just be what they were missing to remove Aizen's hold on immortality. If they could do that… it would still be extremely difficult considering the immense power Aizen had just on his own, but they could kill him.

"The hard part will just be getting close enough." Law responded with a nod.

"And keeping you away from his powers." Jimbei put a reassuring hand on the Nobody's shoulder.

"Unfortunately that part will be nearly impossible, he can create an illusion around me no matter where I am, as long as I'm in range, and as you noticed his range stretched out into the ocean." Toshiro warned them.

"But then what do we do if you get trapped in an illusion?" Dextra asked, worried for her friend.

"It's probably best to stay away from me at that point, because all I can really do is fight the best I can. If I second guess every little detail I'll just get in the way." Toshiro turned away, already uncertain. "Hopefully I can avoid it, but I'm going to have to depend on all of you to deal with him if I lose my way."

"Leave it to us, we'll do a Super job fighting him off!" Franky did his signature pose and grin as he responded.

"The best option is to figure out how to distract him enough I can get close enough to use my ability, then someone needs to grab this Hogyoku before he gets it back." Law spoke to his allies.

"I can at least break line of sight by using this fog." Nami suggested, climatact ready in her hands, Zeus inside ready to go.

"Let's just get him already!" Not one to sit around planning, much to the irritation of his crew and allies, Luffy was stomping off angrily into the fog to find Aizen. "HEY! JERKFACE!"

"…really?" Toshiro deadpanned. No one in Soul Society would have the blind courage to call out Aizen with such a childish insult. Aizen was unlikely to respond to it as well, likely thinking someone shouting as such was beneath his attention.

"Luffy! Don't run off and get killed!" Zoro grumbled, following after his Captain. His crew were immediately concerned he would get lost in the fog, knowing how terrible his sense of direction was.

"Ah, jeez, we're really doing this, aren't we?" Usopp's entire body was shaking as he and the others made their way into the fog, leaving the Marines with the Human-Mink on the shore.

"We must press on, my friends, and deal with our foe with our souls bared!" Brook's short speech was somewhat uplifting as the skeleton who would normally cower with Usopp and Chopper charged forward without fear.

"I'd rather keep my soul safe thank you!" Usopp argued back, though followed his comrades regardless.

Snow crunched under their feet as they moved inland together, Heart Pirates and Straw Hat Pirates in one group to tackle this menace, a choice few remaining behind with the ships on the slight chance the Marines might try something. The air felt heavy around them, the chill that should have been there muffled by a pure energy that challenged them. Toshiro looked ahead with no small amount of fear; this was not a Shichibukai or Pirate Emperor, no Marine Admiral. This world had its own mighty powers, but they were powers that could still fall. Aizen had a far smaller chance of defeat, a combination of deadly skills at his command that would put him on par with menaces like Shanks and Fujitora, perhaps higher if he still had any power with the Hogyoku. He felt as if he had sent these people, these pirates he had befriended and come to trust, to their deaths.

He could only hope that this time he was wrong.