In this chapter, Nami is going to try to rescue Ichigo and Rukia...but Byakuya stands in her path. Hopefully she can defeat him...but as it is, he's out of her league right now. Maybe Yoruichi can give her a hand.
Elsewhere, the Straw Hat Pirates (along with Yuzu and Karin) are going to continue their fight with the Baroque Works. Another member is going to enter the fray. As if one wasn't enough.
Chapter 22: Failed Rescue
Nami clashed with Byakuya, hoping that she would be able to defeat him. If she could beat him, chances are she could rescue Ichigo and Rukia. It wouldn't be long before their execution.
However, she quickly noticed that he was rather quick.
"I've heard a lot of stories about you...but do you really think that you can defeat a Soul Society captain?" asked Byakuya. Personally he doubted that she could beat Yamamoto. She'd be burnt to a crisp.
Ichigo and Rukia wondered that question themselves.
"I can only hope..." answered Nami. To be fair, she was able to take on a lieutenant (Byakuya's lieutenant in fact), so perhaps she stood a chance.
But on the other hand, she was pretty sure that captains were stronger than lieutenants.
"Well then, I think I'll need to demonstrate the power gap between us..." stated the Soul Society captain.
Byakuya released his spiritual pressure.
Nami's eyes widened as she was knocked backwards a few feet.
His spiritual pressure was really remarkable.
It was greater than Renji's, that was for certain. She might be in over her head.
"Your brother is really strong..." noted Ichigo. Apparently, he was a Soul Society captain for a reason. He probably wouldn't stand a chance against him even if Soul Society DIDN'T compensate his sword.
"I'll say..." answered Rukia. Apparently, Byakuya was capable of using kido that was up to level 81. Did Nami really stand a chance? She was starting to wonder if Nami would have to face Yamamoto himself if she wanted to rescue them. Then again, maybe he wouldn't get involved. He was a busy man.
Hopefully she would receive support. She couldn't take him on alone.
Byakuya decided to fire a lightning bolt at Nami.
Nami frantically ducked underneath it. It was a good thing that she wasn't in contact with metal other than her sword. Otherwise she was in for a nasty shock.
Fortunately, she knew that she could use lightning herself, so maybe she could give him a taste of his own medicine.
Byakuya then followed by using Sho to fire kido blasts from his index finger at Nami.
"Who do you think you are? Cuphead?" asked Nami.
"I haven't played that game..." answered Byakuya.
Since Byakuya was fighting Cuphead-style, Nami decided to scald Byakuya with boiling water.
However, Byakuya only seemed to take superficial injuries from that attack.
"That's no good..." thought Nami.
She decided to give Byakuya taste of his own medicine.
However, though it did hit him, it didn't seem to phase him too much.
"I see that you can also use kido..." noted Byakuya.
And yet, something seemed off about the lightning. Was she really using kido? Or was it something else?
Byakuya's sword then burst into fragments, which flew straight towards Nami.
"This can't be good..." said the pirate.
Nami found herself being cut several times.
"Agh!" exclaimed Nami.
"Nami!" shouted Ichigo.
Nami collapsed on the ground, bleeding from several places. On the lighter side of things, she was still alive.
Still, she could use some medical attention.
"Ugh..." murmured Nami.
"Don't say I didn't warn you." answered Byakuya.
At that very moment, Luffy and Orihime showed up on the scene.
Luffy's eyes widened in shock as he noticed what had happened to his fellow pirate.
"Oh no! Not Nami! She's my navigator!" exclaimed Luffy. Without her he was going to be up a creek without a paddle, which would be especially bad for him since he couldn't swim.
"It seems that there's more of the Ryoka that I've been hearing about..." noted Byakuya.
Orihime quickly healed Nami. She had gotten her butt handed to her.
Suddenly, Byakuya's eyes widened in surprise.
Apparently, Yoruichi was with them.
"The sexiest Shinigami alive is part of the Ryoka?" inquired Byakuya.
"Yes..." nodded Yoruichi.
Byakuya sighed. It looked like he was going to have to kill a sexy lady. At least Rangiku wasn't one of the Ryoka. Then again, it seemed like her love interest was her own captain.
However, instead of fighting, she grabbed onto Nami, who was unconscious.
"I'm going to take Nami away from her for some combat training...in three days, she'll be ready to fight you..." answered Yoruichi.
"Isn't that the day of the execution?" inquired Byakuya.
"I know...we should be able to stop it by then." stated the shapeshifting Shinigami.
Yoruichi promptly left.
"Hey! Wait for us!" exclaimed Luffy.
"But what about Ichigo and Rukia?" asked Orihime. They couldn't just leave them to their fate. That would be the cowardly thing to do.
"We'll be able to save them...I promise." answered Yoruichi.
"If you say so..." said Orihime.. She didn't want to leave her friends to die. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she abandoned them to their fate. Besides, Ichigo was a real hunk...though maybe not as much of a hunk as Luffy.
Ichigo and Rukia sighed. They thought for a moment that they were going to be rescued.
But apparently they weren't going to be rescued today.
On the lighter side, they were apparently going to be rescued the day of their execution. That was something to look forward to.
"Alright, back into the shrine you go." stated Byakuya.
Ichigo and Rukia reluctantly went back inside the shrine.
Byakuya then resealed the door so that they couldn't leave.
"I didn't think that they would make it this far..." noted Byakuya.
Perhaps he had underestimated the Ryoka. Still, it wasn't normal for non-Soul Society residents to have this amount of spiritual pressure.
Personally Byakuya wondered how in Soul Society Yoruichi was going to train Nami so quickly. He had to work hard in order to get to where he was today. Of course, he had many years in order to get that strong considering how long Soul Society residents could live.
Well, to be honest, he was kind of hoping for a challenge.
He wondered where the rest of the Ryoka were. Weren't there more of them somewhere?
If so, he wondered if they were also facing a Soul Society Captain.
Elsewhere...
The more Mr. 5 fought against the Straw Hat Pirates, the more it became apparent that he was outmatched.
It looked like he was going to need some help.
Fortunately, he remembered that he had a partner.
It seemed as good of an idea as any to request her assistance.
He pulled out a phone and contacted Miss Valentine.
"Yes? What is it?" inquired Miss Valentine. She was munching on some chocolate. It was a rather tasty snack.
"Miss Valentine! I could really use your help here!" exclaimed Mr. 5.
Karin punched Mr. 5 in the face.
"Ow!" exclaimed Mr. 5.
Usopp gave them the thumbs up.
Suddenly, a large shadow appeared above him.
"Huh?" asked Usopp.
Shortly afterward, Usopp found himself being crushed underneath Miss Valentine, who was strangely morbidly obese despite the fact that she had been fairly skinny earlier.
Miss Valentine then returned to her normal weight.
"Ow..." said Usopp.
"Please keep the fat jokes to yourself." remarked Miss Valentine.
Mr. 5 sighed in relief. He was fighting an uphill battle against the Straw Hat Pirates alone.
Now that he had Miss Valentine with him maybe they could turn things around.
"You'd think a lady like her will be self conscious about her weight." questioned Yuzu.
"I ate a Devil Fruit! I don't have to worry about my weight!" exclaimed Miss Valentine.
"Whatever you say." answered Karin.
"You're really pretty..." said Sanji.
"Thanks, but I have my heart set on another." answered the lady.
Unfortunately for them, Sanji was against the idea of harming women. It didn't occur to him that it was self-defense, at least in this case.
"How many Devil Fruits are there?" questioned Zoro. Something told him that he wouldn't be able to count them all on one hand. He wouldn't eat one of course, he would rather get stronger through working out.
"I don't know..." answered Usopp. He'd eat one but he was afraid that he would end up drowning since he wouldn't be able to swim anymore...not in saltwater anyway. Freshwater pools were still fair game.
Meanwhile in Sosuke Aizen's secret lair...
At Sosuke Aizen's hideout, Sosuke Aizen and his followers were having a meeting.
"We have a problem...the Ryoka are trying to rescue Rukia from her execution...they're also trying to rescue her friend as well, but he isn't of our concern." explained Tosen.
"They almost succeeded in rescuing them too!" exclaimed Sakura. If it weren't for Byakuya their plan would have failed right then and there.
"That was close...too close. I think you two may have a point." noted Sosuke Aizen.
"No worries! I have a plan!" exclaimed Gin Ichimaru.
"What plan?" inquired Tosen.
"I'm going to be paying Ichigo and Rukia a visit..." explained the Shinigami who for some strange reason always had his eyes shut.
"So you can taunt them?" asked Sakura.
"Not exactly..." answered Gin.
"Remember, if Yamamoto finds out about our plans, we'll be the ones heading towards the execution grounds." warned Sosuke Aizen. He wasn't looking forward to being incinerated by a fiery Phoenix.
"Relax...nobody has to find out until after we get what we want." stated the white-haired Shinigami.
"You better know what you're doing." said Tosen.
Gin Ichimaru nodded. Nobody had to know that Aizen was still alive...at least not yet.
He went to where Ichigo and Rukia were being held, careful not to be spotted.
"Psst! Ichigo! Rukia! I'm here to rescue you!" exclaimed Gin Ichimaru.
"Huh?" asked Ichigo.
"I thought you wanted us to be executed." answered Rukia. He was the prosecutor at their trial after all.
"I reconsidered." stated Gin Ichimaru.
Rukia sighed in relief. She wasn't sure why Gin Ichimaru changed his mind so suddenly.
However, if he was going to get her and Ichigo out of this mess, she wasn't going to ask too many questions.
But as she would discover, she should have asked Gin questions.
Immediately, Gin Ichimaru went with Ichigo and Rukia as they began to leave Soul Society.
However, they were quickly noticed by a Shinigami.
"Hey! What are you doing with the prisoners?" asked the Shinigami.
Gin Ichimaru pulled out his sword.
"Wha-" said the Shinigami.
Gin Ichimaru stabbed him with his blade.
Blood spurted out of his chest, and he fell to the ground lifeless.
Ichigo and Rukia gasped in horror.
"What was there?" asked Rukia.
"I can't let people notice that you have escaped." answered Gin Ichimaru.
"Alright, but did you really have to kill him?" inquired Ichigo.
"Did you want him to warn everyone else?" questioned the smiling Shinigami.
Things continued like this for a while, with Gin Ichimaru stabbing more Shinigami. Ichigo and Rukia were repulsed by the sight.
Still, Gin Ichimaru said he was going to help them, so it was worth trusting him, right?
As it turned out, it wasn't.
Eventually, Gin Ichimaru decided to camp with Ichigo and Rukia outside Soul Society.
It seemed that they were in the clear for the moment.
Ichigo and Rukia yawned and fell asleep.
Gin Ichimaru smirked. He picked up the sleeping Ichigo and Rukia and placed them in a bag.
He then went back to Soul Society and informed Yamamoto what happened.
"Yamamoto! I have terrible news! The two shinigami that were put on death row...they broke out, and killed half a dozen Shinigami!" exclaimed Gin Ichimaru.
"What?!" shouted Yamamoto.
Rukia woke up.
"Huh?" asked Rukia.
She wondered what was going on.
"You're telling me that these two managed to kill half a dozen Shinigami by themselves?" asked Yamamoto.
Rukia screeched. Gin Ichimaru had tricked them!
Ichigo woke up as well.
"What's happening?" asked Ichigo.
"We've been duped..." answered Rukia.
"I think we should speed up their executions for this." recommended Gin Ichimaru.
Yamamoto wasn't fully convinced of Gin's story.
However, he decided to grant them his request. The execution would be in two days instead of three.
"Oh no..." thought Rukia.
If she somehow survived the execution, she was going to kill Gin Ichimaru for this.
But for now it looked like she was going to meet her maker sooner than expected.
Ichigo and Rukia were dragged back to their cell.
Elsewhere...
Feeling bad for Ichigo and Rukia (since they had gone to kangaroo court), Momo Hinamori decided to go to the Central 46 to see if they could have a retrial...one that was fairer.
Of course, if they had been found innocent, they wouldn't be able to do so due to double jeopardy, regardless of whether it was a kangaroo court or not. It would be very unfortunate if the guilty went free.
However, when she went to visit the Central 46, she found quite the disturbing sight.
The Central 46 had been brutally slaughtered!
"What happened? Why is everyone dead?" asked Momo Hinamori.
She then noticed that there was a note on the ground.
Momo Hinamori read the note.
"Nice try, but there's not going to be a retrial for Ichigo and Rukia.."
"This looks like Gin Ichimaru's handwriting..." noted Momo Hinamori.
She must tell Yamamoto what happened.
However, at that very moment, Sosuke Aizen entered the room. He was checking to see if anyone had discovered what had happened to Central 46.
"Captain Aizen? You're alive!" exclaimed Momo.
"Yes, I'm alive. Are you going to ask me how?" asked Sosuke.
"Does it matter? I'm so glad you're not dead!" shouted Sosuke's lieutenant.
Sosuke smirked. It looks like Momo wasn't seeing through his lies.
Momo quickly embraced Sosuke in a hug.
He then took the opportunity to stab Momo in the chest.
"It looks like someone is blind to the truth..." stated Sosuke.
"She's more blind than I am..." answered Tosen, who had also entered the room. How ironic.
Momo fell to the ground, shocked that her own captain would betray her like this.
Well, it looked like their work here was done. There wasn't going to be any retrial, and the Ryoka wouldn't be able to rescue Ichigo and Rukia in time.
Now they could go to their hideout and relax.
It looks like Rukia and Ichigo's execution is going to be coming sooner than expected...will Nami still be able to defeat Byakuya regardless? Hopefully her training will come in handy.
In other news, poor Momo...