In this chapter, Ichigo is going to fight Hollows once again. Unfortunately, Sosuke Aizen's betrayal has caused an increase in the amount of the Hollows surrounding Karakura Town.
But of course, Ichigo is getting stronger as well. You were probably expecting that, right?
Chapter 25: Hollow's Eve
From within his residence in Soul Society, Renji sighed.
There had been an increase in the amount of Hollow attacks ever since Sosuke Aizen had betrayed Soul Society and had ran off to Hueco Mundo. The people of the world of the living were becoming increasingly on edge. Apparently, they had noticed the number of unexplained disappearances.
Perhaps they would have to send the captains in order to fight the Hollows, not just the lieutenants.
Ichigo's friends themselves were safe, relatively. They were strong enough to kill Hollows. Even Orihime who was a pacifist.
He knew how to spread fear, which was what made Hollows stronger.
Now that Sosuke Aizen had defected, the world was gradually becoming a worse place. This was in part due to the fact that Soul Society questioned who they could trust after the incident.
Additionally, it was probably only a matter of time before the Hollows decided to pay Soul Society a visit.
Chances are there would be lots of screaming. He could only imagine the sight of Gillians prancing around like Godzilla.
It's likely that they would target the slums area if that happened. Didn't Rukia use to live there?
Speaking of Rukia, he hoped she was doing alright. Apparently, she had gone to a world that was filled with pirates. Admittedly, it was probably safer than living in a world filled with creatures that wanted to eat your soul...but it still sounded risky.
At least she was able to swim. Apparently, when you ate something known as a Devil Fruit, you sink like a stone in seawater.
And to make matters worse, he already knew that Sosuke Aizen was planning to become Soul King. The stronger he got, the harder it was going to be to prevent the Hollows from overrunning Soul Society.
On the lighter side of things, this had given Ichigo an opportunity to get stronger as well.
He was fighting Hollows, though he wondered why the Hollows were increasing in number when nobody was using Hollow bait.
Uryu had already learned the dangers of using Hollow bait.
He did wonder how his friends on the other side were doing, but considering there weren't Hollows in their world, chances are they would be fine.
Meanwhile, Luffy was busy killing Hollows.
However, he was starting to feel worn out.
"Why do more and more Hollow keep appearing?" asked Luffy.
"I'm not sure..." answered Orihime. It was starting to worry her.
Perhaps it would be best if she helped him out. She knew karate.
Although...perhaps he could use some healing every now and then.
Even someone as durable as Luffy had his limits.
Fortunately, the Hollows eventually retreated...but they were probably coming back for more Hollows.
Suddenly, Luffy had an idea.
He wanted to ask Kisuke about something.
Meanwhile...
"So let me get this straight, this guy can absorb the properties of whatever he eats?" asked Nami.
Chopper nodded.
"Drum Island is mine. Don't try to take it from me!" exclaimed Wapoi.
Wapol ate a boulder and became rock-hard.
"I guess I won't be fighting him with swords..." noted Nami.
Although, knowing her expertise in deceit, maybe she could trick him.
Her teammates were fighting against Wapol's minions.
Those minions were Chess and Kuromarimo.
Chess was shooting at the team with his arrows.
Luckily for Chopper, he was a small target, so he was hard to hit.
One of those arrows nicked his hat, however.
"Hey!" exclaimed Chopper.
Not so coincidentally, he was fighting Usopp.
"Got him!" exclaimed Chess, piercing him with an arrow.
However, he was mistaken.
Usopp had only FAKED being hit.
Sure enough, he attacked Chess moments later.
"I must be losing my marbles." remarked Chess.
In contrast, Kuromarimo was fighting with a pair of boxing gloves.
Seemed that they had a differing taste in weaponry.
He was fighting Sanji.
Fortunately, his long legs gave him an advantage.
Kuromarimo wondered if he should have become a grappler instead of a boxer.
Well, there was nothing he could do about it now.
Sanji knocked down Kuromarimo down his legs.
He sure hoped that this didn't end in a TKO.
At Las Noches...
"Lord Aizen, I have information that might interest you." said Szayelaporro Granz.
Prior to his betrayal, Sosuke Aizen had taken over Hueco Mundo, home of the Hollows...and Arrancar.
When they weren't preying on humans on Earth, this was where they resided. Hollows still had to worry about being eaten by larger Hollows, but at least they were safe from the Soul Reapers.
He had organized the Arrancar into an army, and his strongest Arrancar were known as the Espada.
"Yes?" asked Sosuke Aizen.
"The boy with the straw hat...he's not from the world of the living. Neither is the tall girl with the orange hair." explained Szayelaporro Granz.
Sosuke Aizen found this to be peculiar.
"I've determined that they're from a world that is filled with seawater..." stated the pink-haired scientist.
Aizen realized that they could use this knowledge to this advantage.
If they could bring the Hollows to that particular world, the residents wouldn't know what had hit them.
After all, only Soul Reapers could see Hollows.
Ichigo himself was a curious exception.
Although, his father WAS a Soul Reaper...who had made the curious decision to marry a Quincy.
Anyways...it was likely that the Hollows could eat souls without interference from the Soul Reapers in that world.
"Wait...if Luffy's not from our world, why has he avoided having his soul eaten?" asked Gin Ichimaru. From what he could tell, Luffy was a total idiot who could never tell when he was in danger.
Was it his dumb luck?
"He appears to have a rubbery body." noted Tosen.
Apparently, Hollows didn't like the taste of rubber.
Sakura put her hand on her chin.
Well, soon the Arrancar would be ready to pay Karakura Town a visit. Then they would be able to make a key that would allow Sosuke Aizen to enter the home of the Soul King.
Once he had slain him, his plans would be complete.
However, they would need to kill a hundred thousand humans to forge the key.
This would get the attention of the Gotei 13, so they would want to act quickly before the captains arrived.
Fortunately for them, Sosuke Aizen was making a group known as the Espada to deal with the Gotei 13. They were the strongest Arrancar there were. If they couldn't deal with the Gotei 13, none of them could.
All of them were Adjucha.
Well, not Baraggan, Coyote Starrk, Tier Harribel, and Aaroniero. Aaroniero was a Gillian and Baraggan, Tier Harribel, Coyote Starrk were Vasto Lordes.
Every one else was though.
Ironically, Baraggan used to be in charge before Sosuke Aizen came. Now he had the role of the 2ND Espada. And he was very surprised to find out that there was a Hollow stronger than he was. Coyote Starrk was too lazy to challenge him, so perhaps that was why he had never heard of him.
Currently, Szayelaporro Granz was performing an experiment to see if he could turn Hollows into Arrancar.
He succeeded, somewhat.
For whatever reason they did not shed their masks.
It still made them stronger than before, however.
He decided to experiment on Grand Fisher. He had quite a reputation as a Hollow, and he figured he would be the perfect test subject. Though for whatever reason, he had not shed his mask.
His experiments had resulted in him becoming stronger than before.
Perhaps he would send him out.
Meanwhile...
As Ichigo continued to kill Hollow, he was suddenly approached by Shinji Hirako.
Though he could detect reiatsu coming from him, he got the suspicion that he wasn't a Soul Reaper.
But at the same time, he got the feeling that he wasn't part of Sosuke Aizen's army, either. Otherwise, he would probably be more...Hollow-like.
"Can I help you?" asked Ichigo.
"I was wondering if you would like to join the Visored...we've noticed that you have an Inner Hollow living inside of you." asked Shinji.
"I'm already part of the Shinigami." explained the teenage boy. Granted, they had tried to execute him...but they were keeping the world of the living safe.
Shinji nodded.
"Are you sure? You would do well as part of the Visored." noted Shinji. Maybe he could even take over his position as leader.
"Tempting, but I think I'll stick with Soul Society. Even if they did try to have me executed..." said Ichigo. Fortunately, he had been saved by his friends at the lost possible second.
Why did people always get rescued at the last possible second? It was weird. Couldn't they show up sooner?
He would have appreciated that.
While he did not accept the offer, Ichigo figured that he might come back later if his Hollow did spiral out of control, however. It was a possibility given all the Hollows that he fought.
Shinji decided to respect Ichigo's judgment on the matter.
He decided to look for others who had potential as a Visored.
He found who he was looking for with Karin.
She was kicking a soccer ball...which given her enhanced strength she was able to kick pretty far.
Shinji approached her.
"Can I help you? Just for the record, I'm already part of a soccer team." noted Karin. Though sometimes her teammates got on her nerves.
"How would you like to join the Visored?" asked Shinji.
"The Visored? My dad told me about them." answered Karin. Seemed that Shinigami frowned upon them, much like they frowned upon the Quincy, who banished souls instead of purifying them.
"You have a lot of potential." pointed out the man.
"Well...I am the sister of Ichigo Kurosaki." stated the girl. It'd be a bit surprising if she didn't have potential.
Shinji stretched out his hand.
"Alright, but don't ask my sister. She's a Quincy. Basically she's the opposite of a Hollow." noted Karin.
He shrugged. She did have a point. Being with Visored would probably scare her...even if they lacked the malicious intent that people would associate Hollows with.
Shinji introduced Karin to several other Visored.
"I tried to warn people about Sosuke Aizen, but since I was a Visored people didn't listen to me. Now look at what has happened." noted Shinji.
"Sosuke Aizen has gone traitor?" asked Karin. It always seemed to be the one person that you least expected.
"He's become a power-hungry despot. He wants to become the Soul King...one can only imagine what he could do with that kind of power." explained the man.
"Oh dear..." said the black-haired girl. No doubt he would burn Soul Society to the ground if that ever happened.
Surely, it wouldn't...right?
Hiyori shook Karin's hand.
"Pleased to meet you, I guess." answered Hiyori.
For some strange reason, Hiyori reminded her of herself. Maybe she could try hanging out with her...if she would allow that.
Now that she thought of it, something told her that Yuzu would get along with Mashiro Kuna.
Maybe she should introduce her to her.
Then again, Yuzu happened to have the powers of a Quincy, which was Hollow kryptonite.
"Now that I think of it, doesn't my brother have a Hollow living inside of him?" asked Karin. Personally she was worried that he would come out and try to munch on her soul. It was like her brother was Dr. Jekyll.
She had also absorbed some of the essence of a Hollow now that she had thought of it.
"We figured it would be a good idea if we had someone to keep an eye on him. If controlled, his Hollow could become a powerful ally. But if it takes control of him, we could have a dangerous enemy on our hands." acknowledged Hachi.
"That's good to know. I guess I'm as good of a person as any." noted Karin.
Shinji gave Karin an injection needle.
"What's this?" asked Karin.
"We use this in case someone's inner Hollow gets out of control. You have a remarkable control over yours so it probably won't be necessary in your case...but if you see Ichigo losing control of himself, inject him with this." explained Shinji.
Karin nodded.
Meanwhile, Luffy decided to ask Kisuke a question.
"How may I help you?" asked Kisuke.
"If you can create a portal to Soul Society, could you do the same to my world?" asked Luffy. He would appreciate that, that was for sure.
"As a matter of fact, I can. Your world is actually closer connected to our world than it is to Soul Society." noted Urahara.
"What does that mean?" asked Orihime.
"It means that we can open a portal much faster." explained Kisuke.
"That's convenient." noted Luffy. He didn't want to have to wait forever to get back home.
"But we shouldn't leave the portal open for too long." warned Tessai.
"He has a point. If we do, Hollows could leak through." acknowledged Urahara.
"That does sound worrying." noted Orihime.
"Isn't Nami on the other side? I bet she could wipe the floor with them." answered Luffy.
He seemed to recall Ichigo transferring his soul powers to her. That had unfortunately had its repercussions later...but it sure Nami powerful.
"That's a possibility, but it's better not to take unnecessary risks. Would you like to leave now or you would like to stay here a while longer?" asked Kisuke.
"I can't help but shake the feeling that my friends need me." remarked the pirate.
"In that case, why don't you join them then?" asked Tessei.
Luffy nodded.
As Urahara opened up the portal, Orihime saw him off.
"Bye!" exclaimed Orihime.
Luffy entered the portal.
"I wonder what I'm going to do without him..." noted Orihime.
She could visit him in his world, but she seemed to recall Kisuke being worried about Hollows leaking through.
While she did enjoy her temporary stay in his world, she did note that he had a point.
She wouldn't want innocent people to become food for the ravenous Hollows.
Maybe she could hang out with Ichigo.
Or Chad...or Tatsuki...or Uryu.
There were a lot of distinct possibilities.
Speaking of Uryu, he was also fighting Hollows.
In his case, he was banishing them back to Hueco Mundo.
It wasn't as effective as sending them to Soul Society...but it was still effective.
Chad was fighting the Hollows as well. Wouldn't want them eating anyone's souls.
Eventually, the Hollows decided to retreat.
However, Uryu had the lingering suspicion that they would come back.
Meanwhile, Nami was surprised to see Luffy again.
"Luffy? Is that you?" asked Nami.
Luffy nodded.
He had chosen a good time to come back.
To be honest, Nami wasn't sure she could hold Wapoi off.
Personally she wondered what she would taste like. Probably oranges.
Nearby, Kuromarimo had an idea.
Why not use one of his electric afros to zap Sanji?
He decided to give it a test run.
It actually worked.
"Aargh!" exclaimed Sanji as he was electrocuted.
For a moment, his skeleton was visible. Ironically, it happened to look like Brook the musician...who Sanji hadn't met yet.
"Oh no!" shouted Luffy.
Immediately, he came to Sanji's aid.
Fortunately, his heart was still beating.
It seemed that he would be alright.
Luffy decided to take over the fight.
Kuromarimo threw another electric afro at Luffy...
...but it didn't work.
Not only that, but his punches seemed to bounce off of him.
He began to gasp for breath.
"Is he made of steel or something?" asked Kuromarimo.
"Rubber, actually." answered Nami.
Nearby, Chess continued to fire arrows at Usopp.
However, due to the fact that he had a habit of running away at the first sign of trouble, he was rather quick on his feet.
He just couldn't hit him.
Chess decided he would try firing a flaming arrow at Usopp. Normal arrows didn't seem to do the job...but perhaps this one would.
Realizing that there was a smoldering hot arrow heading straight towards him, Usopp panicked and began to run around like a headless chicken.
"I don't wanna die!" exclaimed Usopp.
Speaking of which, people had called him a chicken.
It wasn't very productive...but unfortunately, fear had overtaken his heart.
Fortunately, Rukia intervened in the nick of time.
She parried the arrow with her blade.
"What?!" exclaimed Chess.
It seemed that she had pretty fast reflexes.
"Thanks...you saved my bacon." stated Usopp.
"Sometimes, panicking can be the worst thing you can do." pointed out Rukia.
Usopp sighed. She did have a point.
Chess fired more flaming arrows, but Rukia parried them all.
It seemed that he was fighting an uphill battle.
And from the looks of things, so was Kuromarimo.
What were they going to do?
Suddenly, Wapoi swallowed them whole.
Luffy was surprised at the occurrence.
"You resorted to cannibalism? I've never done that in my lifetime and I'm a glutton..." pointed out Luffy.
Suddenly, he spat them both out...
...but for some strange reason, they had merged together.
Fighting them was about to become more complicated.
"What is this world coming to?" inquired Nami.
Meanwhile, Sosuke Aizen had an idea.
Perhaps he would send Ulquiorra and Yammy to judge Luffy's strength?
It seemed as good of an idea as any.
And of course, Yammy couldn't just pummel Luffy with his fists. He was made of rubber. Yammy thought he could solve all his problems with his fist, but it wasn't true.
Ulquiorra's blade might be capable of hurting him though.
He decided to send for them.
"Yes, Master Aizen?" asked Ulquiorra.
"I'm sensing a lot of potential in the pirate known as Luffy. I need you to go to the world of pirates and investigate his power." explained Sosuke Aizen.
Personally, Gin Ichimaru did not see Luffy as a threat. He thought of him as an idiot.
Ulquiorra nodded.
"A simple scouting mission? I was hoping to smash things..." complained Yammy. He was hoping that Sosuke Aizen would send him out to fight Soul Reapers.
Maybe if he were lucky he would get to smash the Going Merry.
"You can't solve all your problems with violence." pointed out Ulquiorra.
Yammy sighed. If only that were true.
Perhaps he should also investigate Ichigo. He seemed to be growing stronger in power as well. And he happened to have a Hollow living inside of him. Maybe if they could extract that Hollow from him they could use it as a weapon again their mortal enemies, Soul Society.
But for now, they would investigate the leader of the Straw Hat Pirates.
It's only a matter of time before the Arrancar show up. Hopefully our heroes can cross that bridge when they come to it. Because trust me, they will!
And yeah, I figured it would be a good idea if Kisuke could make a portal between the world of pirates and the world of souls. It'd be bad if Sosuke Aizen were to get his hands on it though.