In this chapter, the Ryoka are going to visit the impoverished part of Soul Society so that they can save Ichigo and Rukia. Also, the Straw Hat Pirates are going to visit Whiskey Peak, who are going to welcome them with open arms. How about that?
But unfortunately things aren't always what they seem. Just look at Sosuke Aizen's bankai!
Chapter 16: Welcome To Whiskey Peak!
"Where were the slums again?" asked Luffy, scratching his head. He couldn't seem to remember.
"Meow!" exclaimed Yoruichi, pointing in the slum's direction.
"Thanks..." answered the pirate. Yoruichi was an awfully strange cat...but at least she was helpful. Where did Kisuke get a cat like her, anyway?
Immediately, Yoruichi directed them towards the slums.
As it turned out, they were not the best place to live in the world. The houses were covered in cobwebs, and they appeared to be rather rundown. Apparently, nobody had ever heard of the concept of picking up after themselves, because the floor was covered with garbage.
Also, the slums happened to smell...kind of funny.
"This is making me feel awfully depressed..." noted Chad.
"We can't all be rich..." acknowledged Uryu. Hopefully Soul Society would do something about this poverty epidemic...but maybe they were busy slaying Hollows so that things didn't get even worse for them.
"For some strange reason I can't help but shake the feeling that Rukia grew up here..." questioned Orihime.
"What makes you say that?" asked Nami.
"It does remind me a bit of her..." answered Chad.
"If she grew up in this town I'm surprised that she's not as greedy as I am..." acknowledged the teenage pirate girl.
"Yeah..." nodded Luffy.
Many of the citizens appeared to be lacking footwear as well. One of them ran up to Orihime.
Immediately, she decided to ask him a question.
"Would you like some sandals?" asked Orihime.
"No thanks! I love going barefoot!" exclaimed one citizen. Who needed shoes? Certainly not him!
"But your feet smell funny..." pointed out the Karakura citizen.
"I'll just soak them in this bucket of squalid water!" exclaimed the slum resident.
"I don't think that's such a good idea..." answered Orihime.
"Can you spare some change?" asked a hobo to Nami.
"Nooooooooooo!" screamed Nami at the top of her lungs.
Immediately, Yoruichi directed them towards a specific house. A house that belonged to a friend of hers. Though there was a welcome mat at the door, it appeared to be somewhat torn and ragged.
"Someone needs a new rug..." noted Uryu.
"I wonder whose inside?" questioned Nami. Whoever they were, they would apparently be able to help them get into Soul Society. Maybe they knew a secret entrance?
Luffy knocked on the door.
"Anyone home?" asked Luffy.
Sure enough, there was someone at home. Someone immediately answered the door.
In this case, it was Kukaku Shiba, who incidentally was about as sexy as Nami herself. Luffy wondered what Sanji would think of her.
"Can I help you?" inquired Kukaku. It wasn't every day that she got visitors in this part of town. People tended to visit the richer part of Soul Society more often. Perhaps it was time for her to get a real job.
"We're trying to break into Soul Society..." explained Uryu.
"It's easier said than done...we need help." noted Chad. It appeared that Soul Society really did not want to let in complete strangers.
"Ichigo and Rukia are in danger of being executed!" exclaimed Luffy. He REALLY wasn't interested in them getting the noose. They didn't deserve to die...though admittedly Rukia had kicked Ichigo in the groin once.
"I don't want them to die!" bellowed Orihime. Ichigo and Rukia meant everything to her!
"Alright, alright. I think I can help you...don't panic..." answered Kukaku. How many people wanted to use her cannon, anyway? Did they all want to see if they could fly?
"By the way, what happened to your arm?" asked the teenage resident of Karakura Town. Kukaku appeared to be using a prosthetic.
"I got on Chuck Norris's bad side, so he ripped it off..with his bare hands." explained the woman. Fortunately, her prosthetic arm was about seven times better.
Orihime's face turned pale. Chuck Norris was dangerous with a capital D. She dreaded the thought about running into him again. Who would have thought that he was a Soul Reaper?
"We met him...he roundhouse kicked us back to where we started..." stated Luffy. They weren't going to get into Soul Society while he was nearby.
"You're lucky to be alive...did you know that he's going to be Ichigo and Rukia's executioner?" noted Kukaku.
Orihime gasped in shock.
"I know...they must have really broken the law...you sure you want to save them?" asked the lady. For all the trouble they had gotten into they were probably terrorists.
"Yes! We do!" bellowed Nami.
"Alright, alright. Again, try not to panic..." stated the lady with a prosthetic arm.
"I'm trying not to panic!" exclaimed Orihime, sweat coming down her face.
"Right, of course you aren't..." answered Kukaku. "But it takes some time to get the cannon ready...why don't you stay here until then?" It always nice to have guests...even if most of them were homeless people. Someone really needed to give those poor people some houses.
"Alright...but we've only got three weeks before Ichigo and Rukia's execution..." pointed out Nami. They didn't want to spend their time slacking off while their friends were in danger. They desperately needed their help.
"You should still have some time, I promise!" exclaimed the lady.
Orihime and Nami sighed in relief. They really did not want Ichigo and Rukia to die...even if Soul Society didn't see things their way.
Hopefully the slums would be a good hiding spot for them...if Soul Society found them, they might not be the only ones on the chopping block.
But it appeared that Soul Society never bothered visiting the slums.
Well, it worked out for them, they supposed.
Meanwhile...
Renji unlocked the door to Ichigo and Rukia's cell, causing them to raise an eyebrow.
"What's going on, Renji?" asked Rukia. Was he coming to rescue them? Granted, that seemed rather unlikely...if they did happen to be childhood friends.
"We're transferring you to a shrine until your execution...you've got about three weeks left..." stated Renji.
"I know...we've been keeping track on our calendar..." answered Ichigo.
Sure enough, Ichigo was keeping a calendar so that they knew their execution date...which oddly enough was on Friday the 13th. What a coincidence.
"Rukia wanted to use a bunny rabbit to mark the execution date...but I thought that a skull and crossbones would be better..." stated Ichigo.
"Yeah...it was..." nodded Rukia. Why exactly was she so obsessed with bunny rabbits, anyway? Maybe it had started when she was young.
"By the way, there's been a rumor that there are five invaders in Soul Society...know anything about that?" asked Renji.
"No, we don't..." answered Ichigo. Soul Society had intruders?
Rukia shook her head. This was real news to her. Since when did Soul Society ever get invaded? Well, aside from the Hollows of course. But that hadn't happened in over fifty years.
"Well, rumor has it that they're being led by an orange-haired girl that's sexy beyond all reason..." stated the man.
Ichigo and Rukia gasped in shock. Was it Nami? That did seem to match her description. At least, that was what Ichigo thought about her.
"In other news, Sosuke Aizen has mysteriously perished...apparently it was the work of some sort of hitman..." said Rukia's childhood friend.
"What? Sosuke Aizen is dead? That's impossible!" bellowed Rukia.
"Who's Sosuke Aizen?" asked Ichigo. He had never heard of him.
"He's only the best Soul Reapers in the history of ever...they say that he can take out hundreds of Menos Grande without breaking a sweat..." stated the former member of Squad 13. Sosuke Aizen made her seem as weak as a kitten.
"That's awfully impressive..." noted the substitute Shinigami. He and Uryu had struggled to take down even one...though admittedly that might no longer be the case now that he had gotten stronger.
'They seem to think that the Ryoka are responsible...personally I doubt it since they only seemed to arrive in Soul Society just now...but apparently the Gotei 13 have strange minds like that..." stated Renji.
"That does seem rather odd..." acknowledged Ichigo.
"Now where was I? Off to the shrine you go. Maybe in the next life you'll learn to behave yourselves better..." remarked Renji.
"I just wanted to save Ichigo..." stated Rukia. Ichigo was too awesome to die.
"I just wanted to save Nami..." remarked Ichigo. She was too sexy to die.
"Well, when you put it that way..." answered the red-haired teen.
"Hey! Don't sympathize with the prisoners on death row!" ordered Byakuya. He hated it whenever Renji did that, to say the very least.
"Sorry, Captain Byakuya..." apologized Renji.
Once again, Ichigo and Rukia found themselves going to prison. This time, they were off to a shrine.
As before, they found the door being locked on them.
"At least they let us keep the calendar..." stated Ichigo.
"You think the rumors are true? Is Nami in Soul Society?" asked Rukia.
"If that's the case, she might be coming to rescue us..." answered the Shinigami. The only thing that could make Nami more heroic if she wore a superheroine costume. Would she like to cosplay as Wonder Woman? If so he would be thrilled.
"I have no idea how she managed to get into Soul Society if the rumors are true...but I suppose she's a clever girl..." acknowledged the former member of Squad 13.
"You think she can pull it off?" inquired Ichigo.
"I don't know...there are going to be a lot of Shinigami attending the execution..." pointed out Rukia. They weren't going to be happy if Nami tried to prevent it from happening...especially Mayuri Kurotsuchi.
"I hope she can pull it off...I want to live a little longer..." remarked the teenage boy. Wouldn't it be awesome if Nami was able to rescue them, as unlikely as that was.
"So do I, actually..." acknowledged the teenage girl. This was worse than the time Renji crashed into her while she was getting out of the shower. How could he have been so clumsy? She could have died from embarrassment right then and there...and then they wouldn't be even having the execution.
"You know, I always thought that I was going to die being eaten by a Hollow...and yet there don't seem to be any Hollows here in Soul Society..." noted Ichigo.
"Yeah...there hasn't been a security breach like that in years..." acknowledged Rukia. It was good that there weren't any Hollows on the loose...they didn't want to end up being lunch.
"If Nami's one of the five intruders, then who do you think the other four are?" questioned Ichigo. Apparently Nami had been smart and had decided not to come alone.
"I have a pretty good idea..." remarked the teenage girl.
Meanwhile...
"Is this Whiskey Peak?" asked Karin.
"I said I don't want to get drunk!" bellowed Yuzu. She had never had a sip of alcohol in her life...except for when her father had gotten careless.
"If you don't want to get drunk, you can just drink the fruit punch..." answered Sanji.
"Yay! I love fruit punch!" cheered Ichigo's younger sister.
"Has your sister always been this energetic?" asked Zoro. Something told him that living with Yuzu might be a pain...even if she had only been on the Going Merry for a few days.
"Yes, she has." nodded Karin. It was probably best if she kept her away from sugar...or sweets...or soda.
Sure enough, the citizens of Whiskey Peak seemed rather happy to see visitors.
"Yes! We have customers!" cheered one of them.
"It looks like they don't mind having guests..." remarked Sanji. They were surprisingly welcoming considering that they were outlaws.
"I'll say!" exclaimed Usopp.
It looked like they were going to have fun in this town, to say the very least. Usopp in particular was happily eating a lot of food...while Sanji was flirting with every attractive female that he could find. Oddly enough, they seemed to be enjoying it.
Likewise, Yuzu appeared to be having fun as well.
"This is fun!" bellowed Yuzu.
"I bet it is..." answered Karin.
"Why aren't you celebrating?" asked Karin's younger sister.
"For some strange reason this seems too good to be true..." answered Yuzu's older sister. For some strange reason something seemed off about Whiskey Peak. She was expecting at least some form of hostility since they were pirates...at least, that was the case for Sanji, Zoro, and Usopp.
Curious, Karin noticed that Zoro didn't appear to be celebrating either.
"You're not celebrating either, huh?" asked Karin.
"There's something about this place that creeps me out...why are the locals so friendly?" inquired Zoro. It was as if they were all being lured into a trap.
"Right back at ya..." nodded Ichigo's more tomboyish sister.
Personally she wondered what was going to happen when the sun went down and everyone went to bed. Perhaps it would be best if she decided to stay awake for the time being. Oddly enough she didn't sleep as much as her sister did.
It would probably be best if she decided to serve as a lookout in case anything happened. For all they knew this place was secretly built by the marines to lure in pirates so that they could arrest them.
Of course, it appeared that Zoro had the exact same idea in mind.
Hopefully she and Zoro were just being paranoid.
Meanwhile...
"When do we get to use the cannon again?" asked Luffy. He was looking forward to the experience.
"In order to use the cannon, you have to focus your spiritual energies first..." answered Kukaku.
"How do we do that?" inquired Orihime. This was a new thing for her.
"I could help teach you how..." stated the lady with a prosthetic arm.
"That's good...that will probably come in handy for when we actually get to invading Soul Society..." remarked Nami.
"How long is this going to take?" inquired Uryu.
"It depends on how fast a learner you all are..." answered Kukaku.
"I always do well in school..." remarked Orihime. She got all As on her report card once.
"Aren't you a nerd..." retorted the cannoneer.
"Hey! Don't insult Orihime!" bellowed Luffy, pressing his hands on his hips.
"I know! Why don't you spar with my brother Ganji? I bet he could help you focus your spiritual energy..." stated Kukaku.
"You have a brother?" asked Nami.
"As a matter of fact, I do. Ganji!" exclaimed the lady.
"I wish my brother was still alive...wait, maybe he's in Soul Society now..." noted Orihime. It was an awfully small world, wasn't it?
Sure enough, Kukaku's brother came in.
"Yes?" asked Ganji.
"Why don't you help these kids learn how to control their spiritual energy?" inquired Kukaku.
"Fine..." answered Kukaku's brother.
Immediately, he gave them an orb.
"Why don't you try focusing your spiritual energy into it?" asked Ganji.
"You ripped this idea off of Naruto!" bellowed Nami. Did Ganji want to get sued?
"Why would you think tha-oh, very funny!" exclaimed the man.
Shrugging, she decided to do just that.
Likewise, Orihime, Luffy, Chad, and Uryu decided to do that as well.
Fortunately for Orihime, she was doing surprisingly well.
Unfortunately for Luffy, he wasn't doing well at all. The orb exploded in his face. His face that he needed for all his precious fangirls.
"My face! My beautiful face!" exclaimed Luffy.
"Oh my gosh! Luffy, are you alright?" asked Orihime.
"I think so..." answered the pirate captain. His mother always told him not to play with explosives...even if he thought that was fun.
Immediately, he washed off the ashes off his face with a rag.
"Darn it! You're going to blow up my house!" bellowed Kukaku. Of course, it was a rather small house, but still.
"Sorry, Kukaku..." apologized Luffy.
"Meow!" exclaimed Yoruichi.
"You've got to be more careful..." stated Uryu.
"Seconded." nodded Chad.
Hopefully Luffy would do better in the near future...otherwise they would probably all be doomed. Even with his elasticity they would be in danger if one of the Gotei 13 captains spotted them...especially Byakuya.
It would probably be best if they avoided them if they could. Things would get rather messy otherwise.
Luffy tried again, and this time he did better...slightly.
"Good. Maybe that way I won't have to pull out my house insurance policy..." remarked Kukaku.
"You almost blew my glasses off!" bellowed Uryu. He needed those for reading books.
"I always wondered what you looked like without your glasses on..." stated Orihime.
"I just might be getting the hang of this..." said Nami.
Luffy tried again...and this time, he blew off his hat.
"My hat! No!" bellowed Luffy, clutching his head.
"I got it!" exclaimed Orihime, grabbing onto Luffy's straw hat.
"Thanks..." stated the pirate captain. He didn't know what he would do without his precious hat.
"Try not to make too many explosions, will you? The Gotei 13 are going to get suspicious..." warned Kukaku.
Sure enough, there appeared to be voices outside.
"We might want to postpone this for tomorrow..." acknowledged Nami. If they got caught, they would be in a TON of trouble.
Kukaku nodded. Soul Society didn't take it too well when someone got caught assisting criminals.
Meanwhile at Whiskey Peak...
After partying for what felt like hours, Yuzu was feeling awfully exhausted. Today had felt just like her birthday. Now if only there was cake and presents.
"I am so tired..." remarked Yuzu, who was starting to yawn.
"My head hurts..." stated Usopp, clutching his head.
"I've got about a million girlfriends..." said Sanji.
"Lucky you." retorted Zoro. What was with Sanji and women, anyway? Every time he saw an attractive female he went wild.
"What party animals you turned out to be..." remarked Karin.
"Is Karin your daughter or something?" Sanji asked to Zoro.
"What? No! My father is a Soul Reaper!" exclaimed the soccer player.
"Alright..." answered the chef.
"I'm going to bed..." said Yuzu. She hoped that she could come visit Whiskey Peak later...even if she didn't want to drink any alcoholic beverages.
"Good night, Karin..." stated Karin.
As soon as Sanji, Usopp, and her sister went to bad, Karin and Zoro went outside to look for anything suspicious.
Things were rather quiet, to say the very least.
"It's awfully quiet..." remarked Karin.
"Too quiet..." nodded Zoro.
Suddenly, they began to hear voices.
"What's going on? Is this some sort of evil conspiracy?" asked the girl.
"Could be. Let's check it out..." answered Zoro.
As it turned out, there appeared to be bounty hunters in the area.
"This is too easy..." remarked one of the bounty hunters.
"With all the beri we're going to make off of them we'll be rich for sure!" exclaimed another bounty hunter.
Karin's eyes widened in shock. This WAS a trap!
"We must tell Yuzu and others immediately!" exclaimed Karin.
"What was that?" asked one of the bounty hunters.
"We must learn to keep our voices down..." remarked the teenage girl. She wondered until now why Yuzu was banned from the local library.
Immediately, Zoro and Karin raced to go tell the rest of the Straw Hat Pirates information that they REALLY wanted to know.
Some things in life are too good to be true, aren't they? It was a good thing that Zoro and Karin got suspicious.
Unfortunately, it appears that Luffy has his work cut out for him if he wants to use that cannon. You'd think that since he was a pirate he'd be good at using cannons...ah well.