Again I would like to apologize for the long wait. It was my intention to update last month, but time hasn't been kind to me. Classes has picked up and a few life problems have hindered my progress and creativity from writing.

I want to make it clear I will not quit this story unless I specifically say so. I feel ashamed I said I would plan to update monthly but I couldn't even get a chapter out last month.

All I ask is please have patience.

I have dabbled into the plot of this story more, writing down long notes of ideas and other small things. I am by no means giving up.

The only thing I feel I lack is a good way of writing something interesting. Like having a line of writing that you can read over and over again and just be lost in how good the writing is. That's what I feel I lack, but I hope to change that soon.

This chapter is short but I wanted to finally update because it has been so long.

I have changed the name of all the chapters. I have been inspired remembering the names of the missions in the Halo series and tried to try my own hand at naming the chapters after maybe a joke or something more catchy. I hope you enjoy the changes.

This chapter is sort of filler. I was planning on making the chapter longer, for will move the more important parts of the story into the next chapter.

For now, please enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 10

Ichigo felt the warm embrace of the bed surrounding his body. He was sunken into the mattress not expecting the military issued bed to be so comfortable.

Glancing around the room he spotted the sleeping form of Koby and Helmeppo. If Koby was sleeping or not he couldn't tell, but he doubted it by how loud Helmeppo was snoring.

The room was barely lit as he laid on his bed in the corner of the room. He assumed since the ranks of the two were higher than the other marines was the reason they lodged separately.

Earlier after talking to Garp and Aokiji, he asked a passing marine where the mess hall was. The marine at first was confused by the obvious question, but had to do a double take recognizing the teen that had come aboard with the Admiral. A quick walk with the marine, a short thank you and he had been given a normal meal by the cafeteria staff. It was nothing luxurious as the pirate ships food, but he didn't really care. It satisfied his hunger enough not to complain.

Nothing could ever beat Yuzu's cooking anyway.

After eating his meal, getting obvious stares from the rest of the crew as he was used to, he had returned to Koby and Helmeppo's room.

Slowly opening the door he was surprised to find Helmeppo had somehow made his way back after his nap on the deck and ended up in a bed near Koby's.

Quietly he set his swords down placing them underneath the last free bed in the room. Removing his jacket and shoes he didn't really have any pajamas to sleep in, so he settled into bed wearing his plain white tee shirt and long pants.

Leading to where he was now, with his arms crossed behind his head, he directed his gaze out the window. It was pitch black outside, but he could hear the soft pattering of rain on the window.

"Psst, Ichigo you awake?" He heard Koby whisper. Turning his head he could barely make out the form of Koby sitting upright in his bed.

"Yeah, what's up?" Ichigo whispered back, hoping not to wake up the rooms blonde haired occupant.

"With nowhere else to sleep I'm sure Garp told you to stay in our room right?" Koby deduced trying to keep his voice down.

"Yeah he told me to stay here." Ichigo whispered back confirming Koby's question.

"I thought so. Don't worry about being too loud, Helmeppo could sleep through a storm and he wouldn't lose any sleep over it." Koby replied giggling slightly at how much quieter Ichigo was trying to be than himself.

"If you say so." Ichigo trailed off waiting for Koby to speak his mind.

Ichigo perked up slightly hearing the rain outside hit the window harder. Maybe they were going to hit a storm?

Koby waited a moment trying to collect his thoughts for a question that had been plaguing his mind since his fight with the orange haired teen.

"How did you get so strong?" Koby started. "You easily beat Helmeppo and I without even breaking a sweat." It didn't take a genius to hear the shame in his voice admitting he had been defeated in combat.

Koby was never competitive before he was taken under Garp's wing and given the training that changed his life for the better. He had only known Ichigo for a short amount of time, but his interactions with the fellow teen who had washed on board with the Admiral left a positive impact on himself. If that brought out his competitive side or not he had yet to confirm it.

Ichigo nodded to himself. He could understand why he asked such a question. He himself had wanted to get stronger in the past, when he always fighting stronger opponents as he struggled to match them in strength, but from the beginning it started when he was young, after his mother passed away.

"I've been fighting since I was a little kid. I used to take lessons in Karate, but as I got older idiots used to bully me for my hair color, so I fought back when they didn't leave me alone. Just one of the reasons I consider myself pretty good at fighting." Ichigo started to explain. He couldn't see the strange look Koby was giving him in the dark.

"People used to bully you because your hair is orange? That's a pretty common color though." Koby tried to understand what circumstances lead to being bullied for his hair color.

Ichigo sweatdropped trying to process that his hair color wasn't that uncommon in this new world.

"W-well where I came from it's pretty rare. I didn't fight just to protect myself, but to defend my sisters and my friends." Ichigo began reminiscing about his time back home.

"One thing led to another and I had to overcome a large obstacle when one of my friends was in trouble. I was trained for 10 days straight by my teacher at the time to get stronger." Ichigo tried explaining his first run in with Soul Society without giving too many details.

Delving into his explanation that he went to break into an ancient Government of the afterlife to save his friend from execution would lead to a lot more questions than answers. He also had no reason to explain the details of his life in greater detail than he needed to. He wasn't lying per say, just not giving Koby a reason to have him locked in the loony bin.

He wasn't trying to lie to Koby, he trusted the pink haired teen, but the circumstances of his arrival a few days ago and the craziness that was his life, he'd be lucky if he found one person who would believe his life story if he ever talked about it in detail.

"You were trained for only 10 days?" Koby tried to wrap his head around that logic. He had been training with Garp for months, while he had been making great strides in getting stronger, he couldn't understand just 10 days of training to get stronger.

Koby wanted to ask what circumstances lead to training for 10 days to save a friend but held his tongue.

Maybe Ichigo's friend was kidnapped by pirates and he had to save them?

"I've always learned better through fighting than training. The 10 days of fighting wasn't even much training. My idiot of a teacher just attacked me until I learned to fight better. As much as I wanted to give him a beating he'd never forget, I'll admit his 'training' helped me get stronger by a long shot. That's all there was to it." Ichigo settled back into his bed lifting the covers over him remembering that ridiculous sized training area underneath Urahara's shop.

He'd never admit it, but those were some of the most memorable days of his life. The small smile on his face helped confirm his own thoughts.

The skills he gained fighting that crazy bucket hat idiot helped cement his fighting skills he still used to this day.

He remembered somebody telling him in passing that he never had a real fighting technique. Every great member of Soul Society was trained for years even centuries in sword fighting techniques he couldn't even hope to fathom.

Yet he still overcame them, even Aizen with all his strength and powerful Kido he beat him in the end.

Now that he thought about it, the last time he saw the man was directly after he used the Final Gestuga Tenshou and lost his powers.

Was it fair for him to be so much stronger than Shinigami who trained for years and couldn't even come close to matching him in strength?

He mentally shook his head letting his self doubts fade away. He became strong to protect others, that's what made his strength different from Aizen's.

Still…

He had understood Aizen's loneliness when he fought him outside of the real Kakura Town in Soul Society.

Aizen who saw himself above others because of his strength, and Ichigo who strived for strength to protect those close to him.

Two sides of the same coin.

He wondered what happened to Aizen after Soul Society was invaded?

He knew as stupid as that sounded, was he really erased along with his universe?

He didn't know anything about the Hogyoku, but he knew it could 'make the wielders dream a reality'. He had seen the power up close and the beast-like appearance of Aizen was still fresh in his mind.

But led to the one thought that he hoped he would never have to confirm.

Was Aizen really erased from his universe?

…..

He didn't know.

He had no way of knowing.

He'd just have to keep his ear out if he ever heard a story from the marines matching his description.

Not that he expected anyone else from his universe to have survived.

That brought a frown to his face but it could become a serious matter if the possibility did arise.

If the possibility of Aizen or even Yhwach could have ended up in this universe he was in, the consequences would be incomprehensible.

Not the best thing to think about but it could still be a major problem.

Ichigo realized he was lost in his thoughts of his home dimension. A noticeable silence had stretched out for a while now in the small room.

He let out a loud sigh letting the weight that he felt slowly pushing on his shoulders fade away. There was no use worrying about it now.

He should focus more on his life now instead of holding on to the past.

He still had yet to find a purpose for himself here in this new world. Not that he wanted to be a marine even if they treated him fairly and were reasonable.

Garp as rough as he was had a certain friendly aura about him that made it almost impossible to not like him.

Kuzan was a mixed bag with strange past and his ideal justice.

Even then he trusted them both and would stick with them.

He felt he was just at the start of his journey and still had much to learn.

"I guess everyone's different." Koby replied breaking the silence. He had expected Ichigo to continue talking but even he could tell the orange haired teen was deep in thought.

Maybe he shouldn't ask such personal questions.

Ichigo could barely make out the small shrug in the dark room.

Koby's curiosity was practically bursting forward wanting to ask what kind of teacher could teach someone to fight with noticeable improvement in only 10 days, but he held himself back not wanting to intrude more of the orange haired teens privacy.

Seeing as the Ichigo had talked enough about himself, he should do the same.

"I used to be a wimp on a pirate ship before I had a run in with another pirate who saved my life." Koby started catching the orange haired teen of guard with the sudden monologue.

Ichigo blinked hearing the new information surrounding Koby's origin before he enlisted in the marines. The orange haired teen hadn't expected Koby to talk about himself.

"You used to be a pirate?" Ichigo asked not expecting Koby to be a turn coat.

Koby groaned as he remembered his time before the marines.

"I didn't want to be one. I was kidnapped by pirates and they made me clean their ship. They treated me terribly everyday and I was scared of fighting back. Until one day he came." Koby elaborated.

Ichigo was sure that a smile was spread across the pink haired teens face by his tone.

"A pirate named Luffy popped out of a barrel he was sleeping in. He accidentally ended up making his way on the pirate ship I was on. It was incredible how carefree he was about the whole thing." Koby began getting a widening of the eyes from Ichigo at the mention of Garp's grandson.

Luffy? The same one from the Foxy pirates stories and Garp's grandson?

It seemed everywhere he went he was hearing about the tales of this Luffy character.

"He single handedly beat everyone on the ship and saved me from the pirates. He even encouraged me to follow my dream of being a marine." Koby swayed side to side remembering how giddy with happiness he was when he was finally enlisted in the marines.

"This Luffy guy must be pretty famous." Ichigo trailed off.

"You bet. He just started off on his adventure and he already has a large bounty on his head. We got a report he had broken into Enies Lobby and is heading back to Water Seven. I can't wait to show him how much I've changed!" Koby could barely contain his excitement waiting to see Luffy again.

Koby couldn't wait to see the look on his face showing him how strong he was now.

Ichigo couldn't really relate, but felt happy for Koby. Hearing about Luffy from different people painted a strange picture of the 'Straw Hat' pirate.

He heard he was strong, an idiot, stupid, a pirate, a notable strong crew following him, and grandson of a famous marine.

And Ichigo thought his life was weird.

Well he would just have to wait and see until he met Luffy for himself. If he did get to meet him on Water Seven that is.

He had no idea what Water Seven even was, but he imagined it was an island of sorts.

Maybe he could figure out more about Robin as well. He knew nothing about her, but seeing as Kuzan had a keen interest about her meant she must be important to him.

Ichigo was about to speak up when the already loud rainfall against the window had gotten noticeably louder.

"Sounds like the storms getting worse." Koby stood up walking over to the window peeking out trying to deduce the strength of the storm. "I'm going to the deck to check up on our condition." Koby walked over to a dresser getting dressed quickly and was out the door making his way up on deck.

Ichigo stared at the door for a few seconds longer before rolling on his side closing his eyes.

He focused more on the sound of the rain ignoring Helmeppo's snoring. He ignored the odd swaying of the ship hoping it would pass and he could finally fall asleep.

His mind relaxed as a blissful sleep took a hold of him.

Ichigo's peaceful sleep didn't last long as he felt himself thrown from his bed as the ship tilted greatly. He barely had any time to prepare himself before he felt his back crash into the wooden wall of the room, his blanket sprawled across his face.

Holding down the curse that almost passed his lips, he pulled the blanket off his head looking up from his odd position on the floor, he caught sight of Helmeppo clutching his head as a small welt could be seen sprouting between his fingers.

"Ow my freaking head! What's going on!?" Helmeppo spoke up to no one in particular. Reaching around he grabbed the light by his desk flipping the switch lighting up the room with a dull orange glow.

The blonde man's eyes scanned the room catching sight of Ichigo on the floor with him across the room.

"Ichigo? What are you doing in here?" Helmeppo asked not understanding what the teen was doing in the same room as him. The blonde haired man was disoriented and confused about what was happening.

Ichigo was about to respond when a loud ear splitting ringing of a bell and loud shouts could be heard above deck.

"TYPHOON! MAN YOUR STATIONS!"

Ichigo could clearly make out the shouting of the Vice-Admiral from above them, his loud voice probably waking up any remaining sleeping marines on the ship who weren't violently woken up.

Helmeppo scrambled off the floor practically flying out the door leaving it open behind him. More marines could be seen running through the hallways making their way on deck.

The lone occupant of the room blinked for a moment turning his head to the window. Bright flashes of lightning illuminated the barely lit room as the ship creaked and swayed making all sorts of sounds he was unfamiliar with.

Casting a glance at his Zanpakuto's, he stood up walking over to the door stumbling slightly as the ship swayed wildly again. He poked his head out the hallway watching the Marines sprint by his room.

He didn't know what to do in this situation.

Did they need his help up on deck? If he did help what could he do? He didn't even know the basics about how to deal with a storm on a ship.

Looking back at his Zanpakuto's one last time, he walked into the hallway closing the door behind him as he sprinted to the main deck.

He'd help anyway he could, and bringing Zangestu with him wasn't going to help in this situation.

A few more tumbles and loud bangs of thunder he was out on the deck in a flash.

The second he opened the door he was instantly drenched in sea water as a large wave of water splashed across the deck dragging along some unlucky marines standing around him. Some were lucky enough to grab onto anything they could on the deck, securing themselves from the unforgiving waves.

It was pouring rain, lightning flashed across the deck illuminating the ship every few seconds.

Ichigo grimaced hearing the loud thunderclaps. They were practically above the ship meaning they were in the heart of the storm. He may not know about ships, but he did pay attention in class when he learned about storms.

Walking out onto the deck keeping his hands pressed against the wall for support, he tried to find anyone he was familiar with to ask for instructions in how he could help.

"RAISE THE BACK SAILS. QUICKLY!" He heard the shout of Garp from the front of the ship. Turning his head he caught sight of the tall man whenever the deck was illuminated by the short but rapid flashes of lightning.

The Vice-Admiral was standing alone against the waves taking them head on. Every time a wave crashed across the deck he took the full brunt of the wave not moving an inch.

Not wanting to waste a moment he jumped into the air a few meters above the deck gliding across over to the Vice-Admiral, saving himself from struggling to walk across the deck in the chaos of the storm.

A few marines heads followed the teen practically flying in the air above them, some of the newer marines jaws were dropped seeing the blatant defiance of gravity. They turned their attention back to trying to keep the ship afloat manning the sails when the ship shook violently again.

Landing behind the Vice-Admiral, it seemed his entrance didn't go unnoticed as Garp turned his head looking at the orange haired teen.

He noticed the Vice-Admiral was standing at a large wooden steering wheel much larger than any he had seen before.

Just another thing to accommodate the larger size of the Vice-Admiral.

Garp's usual long trench coat was missing as he had on the same clothes from when he fought Ichigo in his match earlier. He was drenched, his usual short white spiky hair was now hugging his head.

"Ichigo! Just the muscle I needed! How much do you know about sailing in storms?" Garp shouted at the teen standing next to him.

"Not a thing!'" Ichigo replied raising his voice to match the Vice-Admiral's, trying to keep himself upright as the ship tilted again as he had to grab onto Garp's shirt stopping him from sliding across the deck.

"Ha ha ha! Don't have your sea legs yet do you? Don't worry too much! Mind giving a hand?" Garp shouted as another large wave rolled over the side of the ship.

Garp's hands spun across the large wheel as the ship turned violently directly into the oncoming wave.

The ship lurched up as Ichigo felt his stomach move uncomfortably upwards before the ship lurched down as his stomach followed.

"Grand Line storms are something else!" Garp couldn't help but grin turning his head around the deck making sure none of his crew had gone overboard.

"What can I do to help?" Ichigo shouted gaining Garp's attention, ignoring the disgusting taste he felt raising up in his throat.

Garp's gaze turned away from the teen as Ichigo looked behind him following the Vice-Admiral's stare.

"See those ropes over there? They control the sails! I need you to pull them and raise the front sails. Koby and Helmeppo are tending to the back sails and can't make it up to the front. Think you can handle it?" Garp's eyes while explainging their situation, his mind was focused elsewhere scanning across the front of the ship trying to make out the waves as they came.

Ichigo turned back around and could easily make out the grin on Garp's face whenever the deck was illuminated during the bright flashes of lightning.

He saw the ropes Garp was talking about. All he needed to do was pull them to raise the sail? That shouldn't be too hard for him.

"Leave it to me!" Ichigo didn't even spare Garp another glance before he dashed off towards the edge of the deck where the ropes were located.

Ichigo caught sight of a dozen marines pulling on another rope across the deck trying to raise the sail at the center of the ship. He'd give them a hand after he dealt with the front sail.

Seeing no marines near the front of the ship was odd, but they were most likely swept away further towards the back of the ship leaving no one near the front.

He just hoped no one was sent overboard.

Grabbing the rope that was dragging across the ground, he gripped it as hard as he could. He grip almost faltered as his hands slid down the wet rope.

Gritting his teeth feeling the uncomfortable warm burning sensation on his palms he pulled the rope as hard as he could. The once wildly swaying sail being beaten down by the strong winds and rain raised slowly as Ichigo realized he would need to walk backwards to pull the sail higher.

In his mind it was an easy task, but when he tried to take a step backwards he had to stop himself as he felt his feet uncomfortably slide across the wet wooden deck as he almost fell over.

Looking down he realized that in his rush he hadn't put on any shoes beforehand.

"Damnit." He let a small curse pass his lips.

With a grimace he realized he would need to improvise.

Another wave crashed across the deck before he could think further about his small predicament.

He held on to the rope tightly as he was practically holding onto it like a lifeline.

The wave hit.

Hard.

He felt his feet leave the ground as he was pulled upwards by the wave, holding his breath as squinting his eyes. It didn't help much because he could feel the salt water burning his eyes.

The ship tilted upwards catching him before he could be swept off the deck.

Even if he was washed overboard he was more than confident he could easily make his way back on board.

The next second the ship dipped greatly as Ichigo was pulled forward towards the front of the ship before the ship balanced out again.

How the hell the other marines could deal with this he had no idea. Even with all his strength he felt he was being thrown around against his will.

A quick glance showed some marines had ropes tied around their waist. That seemed incredibly dangerous but if it could save them from going overboard he couldn't deny the results.

So he pulled, he could only get so far before he felt his feet uncomfortably sliding underneath him.

Another curse passed his lips mentally pounding his head trying to think of another way to solve this problem.

Ichigo blinked remembering something that he had heard for Yoruichi in passing that might help in this situation.

He didn't get all the details at the time, but he remembered her mentioning how she was able to sneak around without making any noise.

Not that he was going to use the technique he heard in passing to make less noise, but the advantage of how it was used could help with his current problem.

The technique was so simple he wanted to hit himself for not thinking about it earlier.

Wait...

He did think about it earlier didn't he? When he jumped across the deck to avoid walking across the slippery wood. He had basically used her technique without the sneaking portion.

He would palm his face right now if his hands weren't tied up as they were right now.

The technique was to create a Reiatsu platform beneath your feet and walk just a few centimeters above the ground. He didn't know the details but apparently it was 'the ultimate sneaking technique' coined by the purple haired goddess herself.

Ichigo snorted hearing her boast about it when she had drank a little more than her fair share of sake.

She even tried to use more of her 'adult' techniques on him at the time. He shivered slightly remembering just how far he had to run to escape her at the time. That certainly helped his own sneaking abilities hiding from someone who practically invented the art.

Letting that sweet memory fade he would need to improve her technique, no matter how stupid and simple as it was.

Jumping into the air a meter off the ground he created a platform of Reiatsu to stand on. He couldn't just be a few centimeters off the deck with how the boat was swaying in every direction.

Taking an experimental step back pulling the rope with him was a very strange feeling. Something just felt off about pulling a rope this way.

Well if it worked, it worked.

Pulling the rope further back he watched as the sail started to raise further and further up. He uncharacteristically grunted as he kept pulling the rope back before he felt the rope couldn't be pulled any further back.

Glancing around he noticed Garp had turned his head towards him with his usual grin.

"Good job! Now tie it to post near you!" Garp shouted with his usual gusto.

Ichigo nodded landing on his feet next to the post on the deck. Looking at the rope and at the post he took a moment trying to figure out how to actually tie a large rope like this.

Another moment passed as Ichigo realized he had no idea what he was doing.

Taking another glance at Garp the Vice-Admiral seemed to understand his predicament with a glance. The man could only shake his head letting out a small laugh.

"Jenkins! Mind giving our 'new recruit' a hand would you?" Garp shouted to another marine on the deck.

Ichigo's head turned to a plain looking marine who tried to snap a salute at the Vice-Admiral, but was thrown violently across the deck as another large wave crashed against them.

Jenkins quickly regained his bearings and made his way across the deck slowly before arriving at the post Ichigo was waiting for him at.

"Need help tying this?" Jenkins asked the orange haired teen.

Ichigo felt a small blush dusting his cheeks as he nodded his head, not trusting his own voice at the moment. He was probably the only person on the ship who didn't know simple knowledge like this.

It wasn't his fault though, he never needed to learn skills like these before now. Even back in his home dimension he couldn't imagine a situation like this where he would need to know how to sail a ship in a storm.

Jenkins grabbed the rope and tied it in a flash. Ichigo couldn't follow his movements with his little light there was on the deck. It didn't matter at the moment, he'd probably ask Koby or Garp himself later how to tie a rope like this later.

Jenkins seeing his easy task was done went back to another part of the deck to help his other marines.

Ichigo let out a sigh jumping over to the Vice-Admiral steering the ship waiting for his next orders.

"Anything else I can help with?" Ichigo could help but feel a bit of sarcasm seep into his tone.

It didn't go unnoticed by the Vice-Admiral as his usual grin spread across his face.

"We have a long night ahead of us Ichigo! For now just stay here and give this 'old man' some company will you? The sails are all raised and all we have to do now is hold on tight." Garp grinned turning his head to his shorter friend.

The teen himself could only stare at the older man with a blank expression. How a man like him could smile during every conversation the two had was beyond him. Was he naturally this friendly with everyone or was it something about himself that brought out the best in the Vice-Admiral?

Now that Ichigo was paying attention to Garp's facial expression he could see his grin was a little more strained than usual. Was he struggling to stand up against every wave even with his insane strength and stature? Or was something on his mind?

Ichigo shook his head from those thoughts and chuckled softly to himself.

"If it will keep you from dozing off I'll stick around." Ichigo took a jab at Garp's age. The older of the two couldn't help but bark out a laugh.

"That pains me Ichigo, I'm not that old. I was only getting a little tired. Ha ha ha!" Garp's laugh could be heard clear across the deck.

The marines listening couldn't stop their moods from being lifted up hearing their Vice-Admiral laugh with so much vigor. They pushed themselves harder to man the ship during the storm.

The moment passed as Garp calmed himself focusing more on the waves crashing against his ship.

Ichigo blinked forgetting something very important during the events of the last 20 minutes or so.

Looking around the deck his frown deepened not spotting the person on his mind.

Turning to the Vice-Admiral, the taller man was looking at him in the corner of his eye.

Ichigo asked the question on his mind.

"Where's Kuzan?"

Author's Note

Not really a cliffhanger but I wanted to wrap up this chapter and have the more important events of the story happen next chapter.

Honestly I want to thank everyone for the amazing reviews and the words of encouragement. While some reviews do come as more criticism than praise I welcome it all evenly.

I don't want to bash people who just want to have something enjoyable to read. I understand entirely, getting upset about things is understandable and I hope to get this story rolling again next chapter.

I hate short chapters. I would much rather have a more even 9,000-10,000 word chapter than half that, but I had half the chapter written a month ago and I think this is a good stopping point for now. More story driven elements will come next chapter.

I will try to upload next month, but with all that is happening I will probably aim more for September. I will try to make the next chapter much longer.

I have what I think are some great story ideas and will implement them into the story in the future. For now thank you for reading and know I have no plans on quitting this story.

Sorry for the long AN.

If I made any mistakes with grammar or anything else, let me know.

Until next time.

Update 2020/08/23

I really tried hard to continue writing this story, but One Piece is a very hard series to stay consistently interested in and I can't bring myself to continue writing this story.

Writing a One Piece FanFiction itself feels like a death sentence. Writing a FanFiction based off an anime that's longer than any other anime in history, the pressure is pretty heavy to think of a long term plot.

My plan in this story was to integrate Ichigo with the Marines and have the story from the perspective of the Marines instead of the Straw Hat pirates. What I had planned was to have Ichigo meet the Straw Hats, have one on one conversations with each of them, with Ichigo learning pirates are not as bad as he had been told about, and have the completely different arc happen before the events of MarineFord Arc and have Ichigo be told off that he had lost his reason for protecting and he had no right to call himself a swordsman.

Or something like that. Its been a long time and I haven't looked at my notes even longer. I hope you can all forgive me.

I have learned a lot in my time writing, and there is a major difference in loving to read stories, and writing. Writing stories just isn't for me. I'm not very good at it and I feel like I get worse at writing every time I try to put my mind to something. I would love to improve, and one day I might write something I am proud of. Thank you all for your support up to this point.

Update 2020/10/21

I plan on updating this story soon. The updates wont be as frequent as when I first started, but I may be able to pump out a chapter at least once every 2 months or so. Or more depending on my free time. There has been some harsh criticism of this story with guest reviews telling me to end my life and such but that's just how anonymous reviews are. I've since deleted those guest reviews since they are just straight up nasty. I really appreciate the support and hope to continue writing soon.

Update 2022/09/01

Its been, what 3 years now? It's hard to put into words just how much my life has been flipped upside down since those simple summer days when I first started writing this story. I'm not even going to go back and try to read this because I know I would probably die from cringe overload.

My writing style was atrocious, lack finesse, and had no direction whatsoever. I can barely imagine a conversation in real life let alone between two people talking in a story. I have so many shortcomings yet I stubbornly tried to stand out and write something I desperately wanted people to see.

This story is done and will never be updated again. I can't even think of anything original anymore. I feel like my creative soul has been sucked dry since 2019. I will keep this story up and will not delete it. Deleting it would make all my hard work 3 years ago moot. I don't even follow One Piece anymore, let alone Bleach since that story ended (I am excited about the new anime though for it). Please forgive me for giving up, and I hope everyone who followed this story a happy life.