In this chapter, Nami and Renji are going to try to rescue Ichigo and Rukia...but it's not going to well. Fortunately, Yoruichi is going to help them out. Apparently they're not strong enough to be heroes for whatever reason. At least they still have time before the execution...or will they?

Meanwhile, Uryu is going to keep fighting Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

Chapter 21: The Science Of Evil

Fortunately for Nami, she knew where Ichigo and Rukia were being held at this point. How you ask? Renji had already told her that.

Apparently, they were being held close to the execution site. That made sense.

However, they got the feeling that the execution spot was going to be guarded. Several Shinigami was waiting for them.

Thankfully, they weren't lieutenants or captains, so Renji and Nami were able to make short work of them.

"Where are the lieutenants and captains?" questioned Renji.

"They're probably fighting my friends..." answered Nami. Hopefully they were doing alright.

Eventually, they managed to reach the shrine where Ichigo and Rukia were being held.

All that was standing between them was a sturdy door.

It was time to see just how sturdy it was.

She pulled out her sword and slashed through the door, causing it to collapse entirely.

Ichigo and Rukia gasped in surprise.

"Nami, are you here to rescue us?" asked Ichigo. He was surprised to see Nami in Soul Society of all places.

"You're rescuing me, Renji?" inquired Rukia. That was awfully sweet of him...even if he was technically breaking the law.

Of course, she shouldn't be too surprised. It seemed like they did everything together.

Renji nodded. He had made up his mind and he was not turning back.

"Let's get you out of here..." answered Nami.

"I don't think so..." said a familiar voice.

Renji gasped in surprise.

"Really, Renji? You would really betray your own captain like this?" inquired Byakuya.

"She's your sister! And my BFF!" exclaimed Renji. Why was Byakuya so content with this?

"She broke the law severely..she needs to be punished for it." answered the Soul Society captain.

Renji sighed. Why did Rukia have to end up in a kangaroo court like that? And why exactly did the Central 46 even make that trial like that?

"I won't let you execute them!" exclaimed Nami.

Unfortunately for Renji, it seemed Byakuya was too fast for him. He couldn't strike him at all.

Since this was a captain going up against his very own lieutenant, the outcome was very predictable.

Byakuya stabbed Renji in the gut.

"Oh no! Renji!" shouted the pirate girl.

Rukia gasped in shock. Was Renji going to die? If so, she was going to die along with him.

"I wish that I didn't have to stab my own lieutenant...but he apparently thinks Rukia is above the law..." noted Byakuya.

"Personally I think I'm above the law myself. I've got a huge bounty on my head and the marines have never caught me..." remarked Nami.

Byakuya sweat dropped.

"So let me get this straight, you were an outlaw even BEFORE you came to Soul Society?" asked Byakuya.

"Yeah...I think the government in my world is corrupt." answered the pirate.

"Considering Mayuri Kurotsuchi is part of the Gotei 13 of all people...I'm starting to think that Soul Society is corrupt myself. But I'm a man of the law, and I can't disrespect Yamamoto's wishes." answered Byakuya.

"I understand..." nodded Nami.

Hopefully her friends hadn't run into any more captains.

Meanwhile...

Currently, Orihime and Luffy were up against another one of Kenpachi's vengeful lieutenants, Yumichika. And despite the name, he was a dude.

"You beat both my fellow lieutenant and my captain! For that, you're going to pay!" exclaimed Yumichika.

"These lieutenants are so vengeful..." remarked Orihime.

Luffy nodded.

Fortunately, Ganju was able to help them.

"Ganju, is that you?" questioned the teenage girl.

"Where is Nami?" inquired Luffy. Hopefully she wasn't trying to rob the First National Soul Society Bank. Personally he would rather be at the Soul Society Food Court.

Wait, why they were putting Soul Society in front of everything, anyway?

"She went to go rescue Ichigo and Rukia...though to be honest I don't see why she's rescuing the latter...she killed my brother!" exclaimed Ganju.

"Why would she do that?" questioned Orihime.

"I don't know, but I'm not really interested in rescuing her anymore..." answered the Soul Society resident.

"Please help..." answered Luffy.

Ganju sighed. Did he really have to help rescue her?

Of course, Kaien was his sister's brother too and yet Kukaku didn't seem to mind rescuing Rukia...why was that?

Immediately, Ganju began to fight Yumichika.

"You can't beat me! I'm an expert swordsman!" exclaimed Yumichika. Kenpachi said so himself. Of course, he was still a better swordsman than he was. He didn't even use his full power most of the time.

"Why don't you try clashing with my buddy Zoro then?" asked Luffy. He seemed about as vain as he was.

Suddenly, he noticed Orihime.

"Dang, you're really beautiful!" shouted the lieutenant.

"I know, right?" inquired Luffy.

Orihime blushed. Were Luffy and Yumichika going to fight over her?

Maybe not. It seemed that Yumichika was still fighting Ganju.

Wait...did he just use a smoke bomb?

"Where did he go?" asked Yumichika.

"Don't tell me he bailed on us!" exclaimed Luffy. Was Ganju a filthy coward?

"I guess I'll have to look for him..." noted Yoruichi.

"Another lovely lady! Too bad she isn't part of Soul Society anymore..." answered Yumichika.

Wait, didn't she like being naked? Perhaps he should consider his options carefully.

Suddenly, Yumichika found himself being bombarded by fireworks.

"What the heck? This isn't the Fourth Of July!" exclaimed Yumichika.

"Wow, those fireworks are pretty..." remarked Orihime.

"Not as pretty as you!" remarked the lieutenant.

Orihime blushed again.

"Why does he keep flirting with you? Isn't he trying to stop us from rescuing our friends?" asked Luffy.

Yoruichi noted that she could step in...but she figured that this was Ganju's fight.

Besides, watching Ganju fight Yumichika was rather entertaining.

Meanwhile in Mayuri Kurotsuchi's laboratory...

Wanting to avenge the Quincies that Mayuri Kurotsuchi had experimented on and by extension killed, Uryu fired several arrows at Mayuri.

However, he was able to block them with his sword.

"Considering you wish to avenge your fellow Quincies so badly, I was under the impression that you would try harder than that..." remarked Mayuri.

Uryu sighed. It was going to take more than a few arrows to take him down, clearly.

Suddenly, Mayuri Kurotsuchi stretched out his left arm and punched Uryu in the face.

"Oof!" exclaimed Uryu. Luckily, his glasses didn't break.

"Wait, you're striking someone that has glasses on?" asked Chad.

"I know...I'm not exactly known for being chival..." explained Mayuri.

Uryu tried attacking Mayuri's left arm, but it ended up exploding.

"Aargh!" exclaimed Uryu.

Mayuri chuckled.

"Isn't it a nasty surprise?" asked the scientist.

"Yes..." nodded the bespectacled Quincy.

"Wait, you blew up your own arm just to attack your opponent?" asked Chad.

"It's alright, I can regenerate..." answered Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

Sure enough, his arm was already starting to heal.

Currently, Chad was still trying to free himself.

"I'll have you know that I've done quite a few experiments on myself over the years..." noted the crazy scientist.

"I can see that you've lost the last of your sanity..." remarked Uryu.

"I think it was a worthy sacrifice for the name of science, personally." answered Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

Mayuri yanked on his ear...

...and pulled out a scythe.

"Your ear's a scythe too?" questioned Uryu.

"Sometimes I wish to use a weapon other than my blade..." answered Mayuri. It helped to be prepared for specific situations.

Immediately, he swung the scythe at Uryu's neck.

"I haven't experimented on a Quincy for years...I'm exciting at the very idea!" exclaimed the scientist.

"Remind me to burn his laboratory to the ground if I beat this guy..." said Uryu.

Chad nodded. Fortunately, it seemed that his restraints were rather rusty since they hadn't been used for a while.

Just a few more minutes and he would be able to free himself...and help his buddy Uryu.

We now return to the Going Merry crew...

"Do you get the feeling that the Baroque Works are hunting us down here?" questioned Zoro.

"It's probably nothing..." answered Sanji.

"I don't know...they seemed pretty determined to have the bounties on your heads..." noted Karin.

"I'll never have a bounty on my head! I'm a saint!" exclaimed Yuzu.

Suddenly, a bounty poster blown by the wind hit her on the face.

"Huh?" asked the half-Quincy girl.

On the bounty hunter was a picture of her with a bounty of 1 million beris. She was wanted for unlawful cuteness.

"Oh c'mon!" shouted Yuzu.

"Is that really a crime?" questioned Karin.

"Well, the marines do seem to want Nami because of how attractive she is..." noted Zoro. He happened to have some fangirls himself.

"Hey, can you give me some beer?" inquired Dorry.

"Sure...I'm too young to drink it anyway." answered Yuzu.

Dorry immediately began to gulp down all of the Straw Hat Pirates' rum.

"Hey! Save some for us!" demanded Zoro.

Suddenly, the beer exploded in his face.

"Does this happen when we're underage?" asked Yuzu.

"I think someone tried to kill us by sabotaging our alcoholic beverages...remind me not to turn to alcoholism..." remarked Karin.

"Who could have done this?" asked Sanji. To think that there were people on this ship other than them made him shudder.

"I don't know but I'm starting to think that we should get ready to fight..." answered Zoro.

"You're always ready to fight. You've got those swords with you at all times!" exclaimed Usopp.

Zoro sweatdropped.

"Oh, right. How could I have forgotten about that?" asked Zoro, smiling, closing his eyes, and rubbing his hand behind his head.

"What should we do?" asked Yuzu.

"I think we can fight too...we still have our powers, remember?" inquired Karin.

"Yeah...but I'm still scared that there are people who want us for money..." noted the half-Quincy.

"We need to stay calm..." answered Yuzu's older sister.

"Since they already know that we're on the ship, maybe we should find a different hiding spot..." suggested Sanji.

"Problem is...I have no idea where to find one..." answered Zoro.

"That's because your sense of direction sucks." stated Usopp.

"Careful, there are velociraptors on this island..." warned the swordsman.

"Aah!" screamed the sniper.

"Did...Usopp just scream like a little girl?" inquired Karin.

"Yes, he did." nodded Sanji.

At that very moment, they heard the sounds of another giant approaching.

"Jesus! Not another one!" bellowed Usopp.

"You do realize they're not here to harm us, right?" asked Yuzu.

"O-of course!" exclaimed the sniper.

At it turned out, it was Dorry's rival, Brogy.

"What just happened to him?" asked Brogy.

"He drank some beer...and it turned out to be explosive..." stated Karin.

"It blew my mind! And his face!" exclaimed Yuzu.

"Damn it! How are we going to resume our rivalry?" inquired the giant.

"I don't know...you've clearly been at it for a long time though. This seemed like the only way to bury the hatchet if you ask me..." noted the Visored.

"Who did this?!" shouted Brogy.

"Probably the Baroque Works...they've wanted to collect the bounties on our heads lately." remarked Zoro.

"I have a bounty myself...I figured that I would be safe here on this island but nope! Somehow they managed to find me!" exclaimed the giant.

"You aren't exactly hard to spot..." answered Karin.

"I know...I wish I were small like you." stated Brogy.

"I may be small but I'm a good soccer player." stated the tomboyish girl.

"Uh-huh! She's won three soccer trophies!" exclaimed Yuzu.

"Do you...want to team up?" asked the giant.

"Sure...just don't expect me to be weaker than you just because you're huge...I'm ridiculously strong." answered Zoro.

"Really?" asked Brogy.

Brogy poked Zoro with his finger.

He didn't flinch at all.

"OK, I'm convinced. Do you need a place to hide?" asked Brogy.

"Yes...the Going Merry isn't safe anymore!" exclaimed Yuzu.

"Take us somewhere safe!" demanded Usopp.

"I wonder what kind of food giants eat..." questioned Sanji. He doubted that he could cook for them unless he was way taller. At least they probably wouldn't have as big of an appetite as Luffy or Orihime. They were truly insatiable.

A few minutes later..

"Huh. I didn't think that you would actually have a residence that would suit your size..." noted Karin. Unsurprisingly, this house was way bigger than the giant, which was really saying something.

"This is the perfect place to hide! And I think I'll like it here!" exclaimed Yuzu.

"Personally I think we should take the fight to Baroque Works..." noted Zoro.

"Shouldn't we hide the children?" asked Sanji.

"I don't want to fight...I want to run away!" exclaimed Usopp.

"Do you have any place to run? Those marines are probably hunting us down as we speak..." answered the pirate. The bounties on their heads would make people rich. He was actually a bit tempted to turn himself in.

Usopp cried.

"There there...we'll get through this somehow." stated Karin.

Suddenly, they heard knocking at the door.

"Oh no! It must be them!" exclaimed Yuzu.

"What should we do?" asked Usopp.

"I know! I'll put on a disguise!" shouted the girl.

Immediately, she put on some joke glasses, complete with a mustache and nose.

"There!" shouted Ichigo's younger sister.

"They're never going to fall for that..." stated Karin.

Yuzu went to answer the door.

"Hello?" asked Yuzu.

"We're looking for the Straw Hat Pirates. Have you seen them?" asked Miss Goldenweek.

"Nope. Not at all." answered the girl.

"You look familiar..." noted the lady.

"Probably a coincidence." stated Yuzu.

"Alright. Let me know if you see anything." answered the Baroque Works employee.

Yuzu nodded.

Miss Goldenweek left.

"Phew." said Yuzu, shutting the door.

Immediately, she took off her glasses.

"Are they gone?" asked Usopp.

"Yes, they are. For a moment I was worried." answered Yuzu.

"Ah-ha!" exclaimed Mr. 5.

"Dang it! I jinxed it!" shouted the girl.

Mr. 5 loaded his gun.

"I'm going to shoot you now!" exclaimed Mr. 5.

"I wish I had a bulletproof vest..." said Usopp.

Mr. 5 burst in through the window.

"Aah!" screamed Yuzu.

"We've got no choice. We need to take him on..." answered Karin.

"Relax. We have a giant on our side...what's the worst that he can do?" asked Sanji.

Mr. 5 tossed a bomb at Brogy.

It exploded in his face.

"My face! My beautiful face!" screamed Brogy.

"OK, now we're in trouble..." remarked the cook.

"You'll regret the day that you ever decided to become pirates!" exclaimed Mr. 5.

Usopp loaded his slingshot.

He launched a pebble at Mr. 5's head.

"Ow! You little!" exclaimed Mr. 5.

In retaliation, he fired bullets at Usopp.

Fortunately, Zoro blocked the bullets with his sword.

"I didn't know that you could deflect bullets with your blade..." remarked Yuzu.

"I'm awesome like that..." said Zoro.

Unfortunately for Zoro, Mr. 5 fired an explosive round at him.

It gave him a concussion.

"Ow...my head..." said Zoro.

"Oh no! Zoro!" exclaimed Yuzu.

"This is too easy r-'

Suddenly, Mr. 5 received a kick to the leg.

"Ow!" exclaimed Mr. 5.

This was followed by a punch to the face.

"Ouch!" shouted the gunner.

"Don't expect us to go easy on you just because you're children." remarked Karin.

"You little brat!" shouted the gunman.

In retaliation, he opened fire at Karin...but she was fast enough to evade the fire.

"My new powers are coming in handy..." noted Karin.

Immediately, she put on a Hollow mask. She was really getting a hang of it.

Mr. 5 tried shooting Karin in the face, but it seemed that the mask was bulletproof. This was frustrating.

"Yeah! You can do this!" exclaimed Yuzu.

"Why is this little girl so tough?" questioned Mr. 5. He might actually need help from the rest of the Baroque Works for this one.

What kind of Devil Fruit did she eat anyway? It was a rather unusual one.

Suddenly, Yuzu started shooting at him with a crossbow.

One of them pierced him in the leg.

"Aaugh!" exclaimed Mr. 5.

"Bullseye!" shouted Yuzu.

Yuzu noted that she and Karin made a good team.

However, she got the feeling that the fight had just begun.

Would they be able to survive the wrath of Baroque Works?

Who was their leader, anyway?

It was going to be a long battle, that was for sure.

In the next chapter, we're going to see how the rescue goes.

Also, I decided to make Usopp fearful like he is in the anime...I figure I would stay true to his character that way. Of course, I also brought up Zoro's bad sense of direction, since I figure why not?

In the next chapter...we'll pick up where we left off.