SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG! JUST A FEW MORE CHAPTERS TO GO!

Chapter 35 - Wrath of The Forest


Shinobi Alliance

Mito ran as fast as she could, dodging falling debris as she nursed her pregnant belly. There had been an explosion, and then the allied shinobi Anbu had sounded an evacuation alarm.

She absentmindedly noted that even anbu were fleeing from the site of the explosion, and grit her teeth in frustration.

She was the Nine Tails' Jinchuriki. Even beyond that, she was a decorated Kunoichi of Konoha. If not for her child, she would be participating in the defense effort. How dare these cowards flee? Have they no shame?

She understood that whatever had attacked them must be very powerful, since she already felt Harribel and Nel's energy signatures flare and fade away. Yet, she could not imagine what could possibly call for an evacuation of the single most powerful military organization in the history of the Elemental Nations.

The only person with the power to order a total evacuation was Hashirama.

All the Kage were here right now, including her husband.

That meant even Hashirama did not trust himself to deal with this problem without immense collateral damage. She did not bother entertaining the thought that Hashirama couldn't neutralize the threat.

Racking her brain as she ran, Mito still couldn't make sense of what was going on.

Madara again? But he'd left with Aizen, and she couldn't sense his chakra anywhere.

She frowned, then. There was a shift in the air; like some kind of translucent miasma, and a weight began to tug on her chakra. She ignored it - she didn't have the time to entertain one of the Kyuubi's tantrums at a time like this.

And then the someone she was about to run past - a tiny, middle aged woman - tripped and fell. Mito instinctively stopped, reaching down to help her up, but the woman was limp. She wore no headband denoting her clan or village.

A civilian.

She was not breathing, and had absolutely no chakra within her.

One moment she was running; full of fear and the desire to survive, and the next she was dead. It was like her life - her very soul - had spontaneously deserted her.

Mito's heartrate began to climb as she looked around her. An eery sense of dread descended upon her, intensifying as more and more people seemed to randomly stumble and fall. From the screams of their loved ones as they stopped to help, all of them had died instantly.

"Lady Mito!"

It was Hiruzen. "Lady Mito! Please come with me. Aizen set us up. Lords Hashirama and Tobirama are fighting now. I must get you to-"

A bone chilling roar echoed in the distance, accompanied by a cloud of dust that was quickly kicked up by the rampaging of a huge, yellow-brown beast.

"T-the one tail…?!" Hiruzen breathed, bringing his forearm to his brow as he squinted through the dust. "Does that mean its Jinchuriki has died…?"

Mito nodded. She gently set the dead woman in her arms down. "I don't know what's going on, Hiruzen, but I'm not a civilian to be herded to safety. Come - I can subdue the tailed beast with my chakra chains. We can-" Her words choked in her mouth as she tried to stand, her legs suddenly unable to remain upright.

She caught herself on her hands before she fell completely, but the effort took almost all her strength. She gasped for air, panic rising as she saw Hiruzen in a similar state.

Her energy seemed like it was evaporating into the air, as if all her chakra points decided to burst open and leak away her life force.

She was lying on the ground, now, seeing bursts of Tobirama's water jutsu shooting at something in the sky. Sosuke Aizen? She then saw Hashirama take to the air atop a wood dragon.

His trajectory would take him right above her, but she did not have the strength to call out to him.

Just as she was about to lose consciousness, she felt the arrival of Madara's dark, hateful chakra signature.


Above the Clouds

Hashirama roared, jerking his head out of the way as Aizen's slash cut through one of his pauldrons, and into his shoulder below. His feet sank into the back of his wood from the pressure, but the jutsu held.

His brother was alive, but heavily injured and would not be rejoining the fight.

It was him against Aizen.

He fought for the Shinobi Alliance and the tens of thousands of subjects who trusted in his promise of peace and prosperity - he alone stood between Aizen and them.

Aizen and Mito.

Aizen and the childhood dream that he had sacrificed so much to finally realize.

He could not fail.

Gritting his teeth, he drew upon more nature energy than he had ever done before, commanding his body to channel its power.

As the sage markings on his face darkened in intensity, he quickly analyzed his situation.

The enemy before him was a Zanjutsu master. Despite Kyoka Suigetsu being embedded in his shoulder, Aizen had leveraged himself such that his Kusanagi's natural angles of retaliation were all checked by Kyoka Suigetsu's hilt.

Or so Aizen thought.

Hashirama sneered. A lesser opponent would have been forced to disengage and retreat, taking the unfavorable trade, but Hashirama was no novice. His style was not a conventional one, and he had never lost a duel in his entire life.

The cold sting of Aizen's blade in his flesh brought further clarity to his already razor-sharp focus. He leaned into Kyoka Suigetsu, ignoring the pain and placing full faith in his healing factor as he drove upwards.

He would trade further injury to close the distance between them.

Aizen was momentarily stunned by the unexpected move, and Hashirama took the chance to punch the man in the face with enough force to splinter his gauntlets.

He flexed his hand, grunting as his dislocated knuckles popped back into place.

Aizen reeled back, clutching his head with his free arm and blinking rapidly to clear his vision. He drew his Zanpakuto back, fishing for a chance to counter. He eyes locked onto Hashirama's extended arm, and he slashed.

Hashirama saw his second opportunity as the retaliatory strike cut through his bracer, lodging into his forearm. Again ignoring the pain, he yanked his arm to the side, opening up Aizen's guard as he drove the hilt of Kusanagi with an uppercut into the man's chin.

Teeth shattered, accompanied by a spray of blood, but Hashirama was not done. Grabbing a fistful of Aizen's hair, he slammed the Shinigami's face into the dirt with the full might of his sage-enhanced Seventh Gate.

"Wood Style: Wood Golem Jutsu!"

Aizen yanked his body to the side, dislodging his Zanpakuto from Hashirama's arm as he narrowly avoided the wood Golem's fist.

Throughout his life, Hashirama could not recall a single time where he had entered into battle with pure, unadulterated sadistic intent. He had never subscribed to his father and Tobirama's loathing for the Uchiha; even when he truly hated his enemy, like when the Shinigami tried to trap and kill Madara in the gigai, he could at least understand their reasoning.

"Hashirama!" Aizen shouted. His mouth continued to move, but Hashirama did not understand his garbled speech with all the missing teeth.

There was no reasoning that could justify Aizen's actions, anyway. As far as Hashirama was concerned, Aizen was exploiting the Elemental Nations for his own gain, without regard for how severely it would cripple the already battered realm.

He had cut down Harribel and Nel with no remorse, and had positively defecated on the trust that he and Tobirama had placed in him.

Thousands of Shinobi Alliance members had already died, their very souls forcibly ripped from their bodies for no reason at all other than to fulfill the megalomaniac's wish for godhood.

Hashirama wanted Aizen to suffer. That was his prevailing goal as he smashed past Aizen's guard again, batting aside Kyoka Suigetstu to deliver a nasty cut along the Shinigami's arm.

With his sage mode and the Gate of Wonder open, he was both stronger and faster than Aizen. Plus, he still had the hundred healings mark to use.

On the other hand, with each losing skirmish, Aizen's air of superiority seemed to deflate.

Hashirama nodded to himself. He had all the time he wanted to make Aizen curse his existence before finally snuffing it out.

Even after sensing Madara's arrival, Hashirama did not shift his focus from tormenting the white-robed villain before him. It was only when he sensed Madara chakra's beginning to reverse the flow of souls that clarity returned to his mind, and he decided that it was time to end things once and for all.

With a quick feint that baited Aizen to an overextended parry, he pivoted back with his superior speed, cutting through his foe's sword arm at the wrist. Before Aizen could respond to the wound, Hashirama dove toward him, driving an elbow into his side. Aizen staggered from the force of the blow, doubling forward into the Hokage's waiting arms.

The vengeful Senju caught him, throwing him over his shoulder and slamming him onto a bed of long, wooden spikes. In one, smooth motion, Hashirama disarmed Aizen, twisted Kyoka Suigetsu into a reverse grip, and drove it down through the treacherous bastard's neck. A swirling mass of roots snaked out of the ground, entrapping Aizen's entire body from the neck down.

He was not getting up this time.

Hashirama stared blankly at his beaten foe as blood welled out of the wound in his neck. Slowly, deliberately, he bent down, driving Aizen's own blade into his throat slowly until the crossguard touched his skin.

He maintained impassive eye contact the entire time, basking in his foe's fear and misery as his life neared its end.

Only when he was satisfied by despair in Aizen's eyes did Hashirama stand back up. He took a step back as his wood golem brought a gigantic foot down, leaving an enormous footprint in the earth as it crushed Aizen completely.

He briefly took in the scene of his victory. Aizen's cloak was in bloody tatters, and his features were unrecognizable following the parting blow. Hashirama carefully combed through his own chakra before he was satisfied that he was no longer in any kind of Genjutsu, and that Aizen's reiatsu was completely gone.

Drawing Kyoka Suigestsu out of the mutilated body, he made his way toward where Tobirama had landed.


Fake Karakura Town

"What do you mean we aren't going after him?!" Ichigo demanded, grabbing his father by the shoulders as he shook the man in frustration. "You're just going to let Aizen get away after all he's done?!" He was forced to let go when Isshin gripped his arm tightly enough to cause pain. He glared daggers at the former Squad 10 Captain as he felt bruises forming where Isshin's fingers had been.

"Compose yourself, Ichigo. The unfortunate truth of the matter is that while Aizen is preoccupied with the Elemental Nations, we have time to regroup and lobby for the aid of the Royal Guard."

"But Yuzu, Karin…Karakura Town-"

"-They're safe, Ichigo!" Isshin snapped. "This Karakura Town is a replica, remember? And Aizen will have no reason to go after the real one if he manages to create the Oken in the Elemental Nations."

Ichigo shook his head, clenching his hands into fists as he understood the unspoken meaning behind his father's words. "You're just going to leave the Elemental Nations out to dry like that? Forget about Madara… You're just going to abandon Hashirama, Nel, and everything they've worked for?"

Isshin grabbed a fistful of his own hair as he released a pent up breath. "There are always wars going on… always tragedies that we cannot prevent. Sometimes sacrifices must be made for the greater good. We cannot save everybody, Ichigo."

"We can save them!"

Isshin massaged his brows. "Look, son, I can ask Captain Kyoraku for you. I want to go and fight just as much as you, but Aizen is not someone we can just charge in blindly against."

No sooner had he finished than a wave of malicious reiatsu wash over them. Isshin started as he recognized it. "...Captain Kyoraku?"

"You will heal the Head Captain, or be branded a traitor to the Gotei 13." Shunsui Kyoraku was still in his shikai, both swords raised and trained on Captain Unohana's throat.

The first Kenpachi stood still, her body the very picture of grace. She closed her eyes, shaking her head. "It is Yamamoto's wish."

"You lie," Kyoraku spat, the bladed edge of Katen Kyokotsu drawing closer to Unohana's throat.

"C-Captain Kyoraku!" Nanao stammered as she ran up to her captain. A surge of killing intent brought her to her knees, however.

"Stay out of this, Nanao," Kyoraku ordered, not taking his eyes off of Unohana.

Isane watched the proceedings with a pained expression.

The first Kenpachi's demeanor was eerily calm as she raised her hands gently to the blades of Katen Kyokotsu. "Before we arrived, Yamamoto came to me. He said that if he should fail in dispatching Aizen, he did not want to live with the dishonor. He has already fallen out of favor with the Royal Guard. He cannot stomach further shame."

"We can deal with that later! Save my sensei, damn you!" Kyoraku hissed into Unohana's face. The Squad 4 Captain did not move, eyes downcast in a forlorn expression as she looked down at her dying friend.

Her comrade for over a millennia lay bleeding out on the ground. She could still heal him with her Bankai, but she respected his final wish. Her vision began to blur, and she squeezed her eyes shut again, fighting against an unfamiliar sting.

"Isane!" Kyoraku swiveled around, pointing one of his scimitars toward Unohana's rattled Lieutenant. "I command you, with my authority as acting Head Captain, to heal Yamamoto!"

Isane hung her head, hugging herself tightly as her eyes glistened with tears. "I… I'm sorry. I do not have the skill."

"Kisuke!" The Squad 8 Captain roared, his voice cracking with the strain. "Tessai! Hachigen! Someone… anyone!"

Then he stopped, eyes glistening with emotion as he fell to his knees, beside his friend and mentor. His dual Zanpakuto clattered to the ground as he learned forward, placing a hand gently on the old Shinigami's chest.

It's immutable rise and fall, that endured over two thousand years, had stilled.

Quietly, unceremoniously, Genryuusai Shigekuni Yamamoto passed away.

"...Madara…" Kyoraku cursed under his breath. In a single, smooth motion, he picked up Katen Kyokotsu, slashing open a senkaimon to the Elemental Nations. Before he could fully step through the threshold, though, he felt a tug on his shihakusho.

"Shunsui." It was Captain Ukitake. His features was hard despite the grief he must also be feeling. "Where do you think you're going?"

Captain Kyoraku did not turn back. He pulled against Ukitake, but his childhood friend held firm. "Why are you stopping me, Jushiro?" His voice was impossibly low. "Do you not want to avenge our sensei?"

"You're not the only one grieving," Ukitake said, a slight quiver in his voice. "But there are more pressing matters right now."

"Yes." Barragan's gravelly voice boomed out as the skeletal Arrancar descended slowly from above. "Aizen has made fools enough of us all. I have no desire to continue fighting. Call off your Shinigami and I will order my Hollows to retreat."

Captain Kyoraku reached out with his senses. Some of the Lieutenants had already withdrawn at his earlier command, when Ennetsu Jigoku activated, but most of the Captains were still fighting.

"..." He did not respond, or move. One foot was still in the senkaimon.

"Shunsui," Ukitake pressed, raising his voice. "We gather our forces, and we regroup. If Aizen succeeds in the Elemental Nations, Reio is next. We have a duty to fulfill as the Gotei 13. We must protect Reio. It is what Yamamoto died for." He paused to cast another pained glance toward their sensei. "We must not squander his sacrifice with rash decisions."

Shunsui managed a light nod, opening up a second senkaimon back to the Seireitei. "All forces… Retreat and regroup in the Squad 1 Barracks. A Captain's meeting shall be held immediately. Vizards are also requested to join. Isshin, Ichi-"

Just as he called the boy's name, Ichigo barged by him, disappearing without a word into the Senkaimon headed toward the Elemental Nations.

"I'm sorry, Captain Kyoraku… He is my son. I cannot abandon him," Isshin paused to say as he, too, followed Ichigo through the portal.

Kisuke Urahara walked up toward him, too, his features uncharacteristically serious. "My deepest, sincerest condolences, Captain Kyoraku." He began, "Yamamoto's death is a grievous blow to us all. I'll help Yoruichi deal with that bat hollow, first, and then I'll be there."


Elemental Nations - Shinobi Alliance

"Madara, Tobirama!" Hashirama called, bounding over to his fallen brother and the Uchiha.

"Hashirama." Madara croaked out with as much dignity as he could muster in his drained state.

"Hang tight, Madara," he said as he knelt beside Tobirama, his hands bathed in the green glow of his healing ninjutsu. "I'll be with you as soon as I finish treating Tobir-"

Hashirama's words died away as an enormous blast of energy bowled him over, tumbling a few times before impacting against the arm of the Gedo Mazo. He righted himself in an instant, gathering his bearings. He searched for his brother, and hissed in frustration - Tobirama had been blown some distance away, ragdolled and unable to resist the force due to his injuries.

There was an explosion of bright purple reiatsu, and he could make out the silhouette of a man where he had left Aizen's body.

A flash of light seared his vision, and a thin beam tore a hole through his left shoulder before he could process its existence. So fast! Hashirama thought as his healing factor kicked in immediately. He clenched his fists - Tobirama would have to wait.

"I must thank you, Hashirama." Aizen's voice - and it was unmistakably Aizen's - now had an otherworldly quality to it, reverberating faintly despite being in an open field.

As the blinding torrent of reiatsu subsided, his new form was fully revealed. Set against the backdrop of the darkening sky, he was encased head to toe in a pure, white chrysalis. The only splashes of color present on his entire form were jet-black pupils and thin, purple rifts that expanded across his body from the Hogyoku in a cross formation.

Hashirama blinked, as Aizen suddenly appeared mere inches before his face. "As someone who has mastered every shinigami art… I must say that I'm surprised by your overwhelming strength," he continued, swiping his Kyoka Suigetsu back from Hashirama before the Hokage could react. "The Hogyoku refuses to see its master beaten, however, and has seen fit to bestow upon me this form."

Hashirama blinked again, muffling a groan as pain erupted from his left hand - Aizen had somehow broken his wrist when he wrenched Kyoka Suigetsu away. He slashed forward, but the sword of Kusanagi passed through nothing.

The white-clad being had teleported again, rematerializing beside Tobirama.

He chuckled as a barrage of water bullets splashed harmlessly against his face, slowly stretching his arms in open mockery of Tobirama's jutsu before kicking the injured Senju and halting his jutsu.

He turned his head deliberately toward Hashirama, though his features were still hidden beneath his chrysalis form. Lazily reaching his hand toward the younger senju's crippled body, Aizen flicked his index finger upward. "Hado #90. Kurohitsugi."

"No!" Hashirama exclaimed. This was the technique that Aizen had used on Madara at their first encounter. "Wood Style-" Before he could even bring his palms together, Tobirama's prone form was encased by the black coffin.

"-Deep forest bloom!" He willed the trees to protect his brother, sending a torrent of chakra into the ground below him, but Aizen's kido could not be stopped.

With a roar, Hashirama charged forward; he could no longer sense his brother. He sliced at Aizen with his Kusanagi, but again, the blade passed through thin air.

"Too slow." The voice came from behind him.

He tried to turn, but an impact on his back knocked the wind out of him, launching him face first into the dirt.

Hashirama scrambled to his feet, gasping for air as he swiveled back around. Aizen wasn't there.

The white-clad being was standing before Madara, now. Despite still being on his hands and knees, Madara lifted his chin in defiance.

"What a fascinating technique, Madara Uchiha." Aizen gestured toward the soul dragons still fighting against the Oken's pull. "To think that there was another way to manipulate souls that have been separated from their bodies…" Aizen shook his head in mock sorrow. "I suppose even I cannot expect to be omniscient… Not as a mere Shinigami, at least."

Aizen blinked away again as roots erupted where his feet had been.

"Poor Hashirama… It looks like my speed has certainly exceeded yours," Aizen taunted, lifting his hands in the air beside him. "Pause a moment. I want to test something out."

Hashirama glared daggers at the arrogant transcendent, feeling Aizen's spiritual pressure rise even further.

"Earth Style: Bedrock Coffin!" Hashirama roared as two massive hemispheres of solid stone burst from the earth beside Aizen, moving to crush him between them.

Two kido barriers flared up beside Aizen, catching the hemispheres and preventing them from closing any further.

There was no incantation.

"I said pause, Hashirama," the transcendent chided, an amused lilt in his tone. "Was I not clear enough?" He narrowed his eyes, and his reiatsu pulsed, resonating with that of the Oken.

"Ack!" Madara coughed out a globule of blood as he began gasping for air.

"Madara!" Hashirama knelt by his old friend, laying a palm on his back and channeling his medical ninjutsu. "Talk to me. What's happening?"

"The souls… He's pulling harder."

Spreading his senses outward, Hashirama could feel that the flow of souls had once again begun to accelerate toward the King's Key.

He gnashed his teeth in frustration.

"Hashirama! Fight! Don't lose heart!" A sharp, female voice rang out.

Adamantine chains burst forth, punching through Hashirama's Earth Style jutsu and circumventing Aizen's kido barrier. He did not resist as they wrapped around him, pulling his arms to his side and turning the flow of souls back in Madara's favor.

"Mito! What are you doing here?!" Hashirama demanded. "It's not safe! Our child-"

"Nowhere is safe." The Uzumaki retorted, "I am a kunoichi of the Shinobi Alliance. I will fight with you!"

"How touching," Aizen interrupted, raising his voice. "I would clap but…" He paused, looking at his bindings before shrugging and breaking out of Mito's adamantine chains. "Your weakness disgusts me."

Mito's eyes widened as Aizen appeared mere inches before her, the tip of Kyoka-Suigetsu trained at her swollen belly. "I'm beginning to get bored, and I have a Soul King to kill."

He thrust forward.

And vanished in a blistering trail of red vapor, accompanied by a pressure wave so large that even the Gedo Mazo was toppled by its force.


"Hashirama…"

"...the Gate of Death - open!" The echo of Hashirama's voice was their only indication of what had happened as Madara gasped for breath. Each desperate heave brought with it a series of hacking coughs as more dust entered his lungs than air.

And then he felt a sweet reprieve as a Wind-Style Jutsu cleared the air, and his watering eyes focussed on none other than Mito Uzumaki.

Why would Mito of all people help me…? Madara thought.

She wore an unreadable expression as she returned his gaze briefly, before jerking her head backwards toward a rampaging one-tails in the distance.

Its Jinchuriki must have died to Aizen's Oken. Understanding dawned on him. She needed his help to suppress the beast.


Aizen struggled, gagging and flailing in disbelief as his transcendent strength wrestled uselessly against Hashirama. He could mount no resistance as he was manhandled halfway across the elemental nations, the God of Shinobi's fingers clamped tightly around his neck.

His world exploded in red, stars filling his vision as they crashed deep into a cliff side, jagged stone tearing at his skin. Impact after impact thudded and sliced into him, pulverizing his carapace and his organs again and again even as the Hogyoku repaired the damage.

He could not defend himself as his body was suspended in a perpetual cycle of breaking and healing. He knew the Hogyoku was still in his possession, as its warmth and power pulsed through him, undoing the damage Hashirama inflicted.

The strength he felt from within himself was undeniably immense - godlike, even. He could barely believe the scope and density of his own ascended reiatsu.

Yet, Hashirama was stronger. His speed was imperceptible to Aizen. His strength unimaginably overwhelming, and his grief and rage struck deep into Aizen's core, triggering an emotion he had not felt since before his days as Shinji's Lieutenant.

Fear.

He was utterly alone and at the mercy of the blood-red monster that was Hashirama. He could not even call upon Kyoka Sugietsu's illusions, as Hashirama had wrenched the Zanpakutou from his grasp.

His current form was the most powerful state he had ever been in. Yet, despite the Hogyoku's amplification, any kido barrier he willed into existence may as well have been a thin sheet of glass in the face of Hashirama's wrath. In the brief moments when his eyes could focus, all he could see was a blur of red.

"Die!" Hashirama screamed into his face. "You bastard! Why won't you die?!"

The God of Shinobi did not take long before realizing that simple physical damage was not going to be enough.

The rocky cliff side they had crashed into had been reduced to rubble by the shockwaves of his blows, yet still Aizen endured.

Aizen's regeneration was undoubtedly superior to his own, as he could not feel the man's spiritual pressure decreasing by any meaningful amount no matter how severe his injuries.

Hashirama stepped back, clutching his burning chest as his heart pounded in overtime. From the corner of his eye, he could see veins of yellow fire burning brightly under his skin. However, where his gauntlets had frayed from the force of his blows, his skin was already beginning to turn a deathly shade of gray.

He needed to change tactics, and fast. He hissed in frustration as Aizen struggled to his feet, chrysalis cracking as his spiritual pressure began to increase again.

If I can't kill him, I'll have to seal him. His sage markings glowed as he clapped his hands together. "Wood Style - Deep Forest Emergence!"

It was the Jutsu Hashirama created Konoha with, and it was only fitting that he used it now to secure his wife and child's tomorrow.

The earth shook as a sea of roots wormed out of the rubble, entangling and consuming Aizen within its writhing masses. Each measuring at least two feet thick, they wore an angry red tint, courtesy of the Gate of Death's chaka.

From within the roots, thousands of giant stumps twisted out into the sky, spiraling to hundreds of feet before sprouting canopies of red leaves.

Hashirama channeled his chakra further. "Wood Style - Deep Forest Bloom!" He didn't know if the new asphyxiating pollen he had developed would affect Aizen at all, since he was a spiritual entity, but Hashirama was pulling out all the stops.

He commanded his trees to converge upon Aizen as the entire area became swamped with deadly pollen.

Slowly, as if an organic whirlpool had formed with Aizen at its nexus, Hashirama's forest began to collapse down and break upon Aizen's body.

The giant forest moved like water as it flowed onto the white-clad man, seemingly disappearing upon contact.

Aizen himself looked around, confused. Visibility was poor, courtesy of Hashirama's deep forest bloom.

He moved to lift his newly-regenerated arms, but found that he could not. His jaw dropped as he realized Hashirama's plan and what was happening to him.

"Hashirama, you short-sighted bastard!" He roared, tearing against the hardening carbon even as it encased further up his body. "I'm trying to set you all free from that thing! Do you not understa-"

Aizen's voice was smothered out as a thick glob of liquified wood flung into his mouth, and layer upon layer of tree and root bore down upon him. The wood slowly turned from green to brown, darkening and hardening as it compressed until the shinigami was submerged in pitch-black, liquid coal.

Even then, the flow of tree and pollen did not abate; continuing to crash against him; adding to his entrapment and compressing further until it began to lighten in color, slowly revealing Aizen's motionless body suspended inside. It absorbed the forest voraciously for a few more seconds until the man was completely encased in a translucent, fractal gem.

As the ocean of wood stilled; Hashirama allowed himself but a second to observe the prison of solid diamond before him. Aizen was trapped; frozen in place with his mouth agape and eyes wide in the center of the now-dead forest.

Hashirama panted heavily as he felt his strength beginning to wane. He had encased Aizen in multiple feet of the hardest substance in existence - even filled his stomach with it through the wood in his mouth, but the tenacious shinigami was still, somehow, very much alive.

The hogyoku shone brilliantly still, its light refracting across the night sky from within its diamond prison.

Hashirama coughed, spitting the blood from his mouth as he focussed on the accursed gem.

There was one more Jutsu he could use before the 8th gate expired; a sure way to take Aizen with him.

Closing his eyes, he willed his body to endure as he focused on his chakra, activating his hundred-healings seal to buy himself more time.

As empowered chakra tore through his brittle, burnt veins, he sifted through the agony that flooded his mind for the correct hand seals.

Hashirama blitzed through a series of hand seals as his life flashed before his eyes.

Snake, boar, ram-

Each movement of his fingers; every breath and heave of his chest brought fresh pain searing through his nerves, but his mind summoned forth memories of Tobirama.

What happened to a soul that died twice? He should have asked Isshin when he had the chance.

Rabbit, dog, rat-

He thought of Mito; of the child he would never see, whose name he would never know. He pressed his mouth into a hard line. At least they would be safe.

Bird, horse snake-

As he completed the hand seals, his mind turned toward the Shinobi Alliance and Madara. Could this have gone any other way? If he had opened the 8th gate the first time he clashed with the Shinigami, perhaps he could have killed them all at the Konoha forest.

"Sealing Jutsu!"

He clapped his hands together as he struck his regrets from his mind. He focussed instead on the future that he had won for his family, and the legacy he would leave behind as Hashirama Senju. First Hokage… God of Shinobi… progenitor of the Shinobi Alliance.

He'd had a good life. Short, but certainly not lacking in excitement or achievement.

He smiled.

"Reaper Death Seal!"

Wordlessly, as the reaper materialized behind him, Hashirama sent its ethereal arms forward, reaching through the diamond prison before him and clasping onto Aizen's very soul.

He closed his eyes, and began to pull.


Madara wasted no time sealing the one-tails into the Gedo Mazo. Spent as he was, he stepped onto one of the demonic statue's hands, beckoning for Mito to join.

She stepped toward him, but hesitated. She didn't know exactly what had happened, but she felt wisps of Madara's chakra as she regained consciousness. That, at the physical state Madara was in, meant that she and countless others likely owed him their lives.

"Hashirama has opened the Gate of Death-" Madara began, before pausing. His gaze darkened as tremors wracked the earth, accompanied by the unmistakable weight of Hashirama's chakra signature. "Regardless of his victory or defeat, he will die soon. Do you not want to see your husband one last time?"

Mito frowned, but nodded, stepping onto the Gedo Mazo's hand as the Ten Tails' husk bounded toward the site of Hashirama and Aizen's battle.

Zetsu was clamoring frantically within his mind as they moved. Take the Nine Tails', Madara! Take it, and the plan will be complete!

He knew, of course - and so did Mito. But could he really dishonor his best friend's sacrifice by killing his wife now? He had to at least wait until Hashirama died, first.

Madara shook his head, almost disgusted by himself. What am I thinking…

He zoned out for a moment, before a jolt of inertia brought him back to his wits. The Gedo Mazo had stopped before an enormous wall of leafless trees. Even the shortest of them rose taller than the demonic statue itself.

Hashirama… Madara thought as the familiar hum of man's chakra signature radiated from within the wood style.

"Hold on tight. We're jumping," he warned, checking to make sure Mito was secure before commanding the demonic statue to leap over the blockade.

As they sailed over the initial treeline, the trees began to angle inward, flattening into the ground in what looked like streams of wood all flowing toward a shiny object in the middle of a large clearing.

Next to it, a charred, smoldering figure lay with its limbs splayed out. Streaks of fiery red snaked across his body, shining through what remained of his tattered battle armor.

"Hashirama!" Mito cried as she jumped off the demonic statue.

Madara felt his own breathing quicken as he saw his old friend's dying form. His rinnegan could still detect the faint rise and fall of Hashirama's chest, but the chakra in his heart was spent and failing. Hashirama did not have much time left.

Madara shuddered as he realized that the streaks of red marked where Hashirama's own blood had seared an outline of his very veins to his skin.

He stepped off the Gedo Mazo, cautiously studying Aizen's crystallized form as he approached.

Even the Hogyoku, permanently shining in the center of Aizen's chest, had lost its glow. Hashirama had truly outdone himself.

"You used the Reaper Death Seal, too?!" Mito's outburst caught Madara's attention, and he made his way to Hashirama's side.

"Yes…" Hashirama replied weakly. "My life… for the future of us all. I had to be sure." He tried to smile, but the result was ghastly, given the burnt condition of his skin. As he spoke, he slowly reached toward her.

Mito clasped her hands around her husband's, leaning in to place her lips upon the burnt skin without a care for his appearance. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she leaned over Hashirama's body and wept.

"It's okay, Mito. We all knew such a day would come." Hashirama used his remaining strength to pull his wife in for a tight, one-armed hug.

They released their embrace as they heard the sound of clinking metal, accompanied by slow, uneven footsteps dragging across the wood style that had replaced the rocky terrain.

"Madara… Is that you?" Hashirama's voice was scratchy. His eyes had lost their light, and the final embers of chakra in his heart began to flicker dangerously.

"Mmhm." Madara grunted, not trusting himself to speak as he knelt beside his old friend. Mito sat back, giving them some space.

"Did you… fight the Shinigami?"

"Mmhm. I killed the old bastard."

Hashirama coughed, before nodding approvingly. "I'm glad… you made it out, Madara. And thank you, for saving the Shinobi Alliance."

Madara pursed his lips, fishing within his armor until his fingers brushed against the amber amulet tucked within.

"Hashirama… When I had first returned to Konoha as a Hollow and tried to summon the Kyuubi, you said I was like a brother to you…"

"…And you said you were my enemy," Hashirama replied after a moment of silence.

Madara smirked, despite the situation. He remembered.

"Do you…" Hashirama trailed off.

Something broke within Madara, then, as he fell to his knees, wincing as the movement aggravated the chakra rods in his back. He bowed his head deeply, scooping up Hashirama's hands.

He pressed the leaf amulet into his friend's palm. "No. I don't believe that anymore. I was wrong, Hashirama." His voice trembled as he spoke; "You were the closest thing to a brother I had after Izuna died, and I will forever hold you as such - be it in this life, or the next. I will protect your legacy… Know that the Shinobi Alliance is safe with me."

Hashirama smiled, drawing in a breath before releasing it with a relaxed sigh. The flame in his heart had finally died.

Madara felt numb; he did not react as Mito pushed him aside, sobbing into her late husband's chestplate as she tenderly massaged his hand.

Madara didn't react, either, when he sensed Ichigo and Isshin energy signatures arriving through a senkaimon.

He turned his gaze toward them, looking but not truly seeing as they took in the aftermath of Aizen's machinations.

"Madara…?" Isshin managed, cautiously eyeing the motionless Gedo Mazo as he approached the Arrancar.

He looked significantly aged; similar to when Urahara tried to kill him with the Gigai. A mass of sinister, metallic black rods jutted out from his back.

Isshin's head was spinning. Madara looked terrible, Hashirama was clearly dead, and he couldn't feel any reiatsu from Aizen. It had been half an hour at most since Madara left Fake Karakura Town.

He shook his head slowly, tapping on Aizen's prison of diamond. "What… what the hell happened here?"


AN - Damn, this chapter was quite hard to write. I thought it would come out a lot sooner, but I was never quite happy with how things turned out. I wanted Hashirama's send off to be as epic and conclusive as possible, and I hope I've pulled it off.

Also, I know there are espada battles that haven't been resolved, as well as Ichigo and Madara haven't quite had their proper showing. It will happen next chapter.

Responding to reviews:

Bakevich: thanks for sticking around! Hope you enjoy the final climax of this fic

GHETTOKINGKAI: Yes, I know Ichigo hasn't really had any impressive showings yet, but I will try to amend that next chapter. He isn't the focus for this fic, but as the Bleach MC he will definitely get his share of the glory. Some of the other side characters...I don't know; I'll try to think of something but I feel the supporting character arcs are pretty much wrapped up at this point, for better or for worse, unfortunately.

Rubenrawdriguez: So long story short, Aizen had used Kyoka Suigestsu to take on the form of Szayelapporo, and made everybody see Tosen as Aizen. Aizen never left the Elemental Nations, instead tricking people that the 'radio towers' were actually soul absorbing pillars for him to create the Oken with. The Fake Karakura town squad was never meant to win. It was always meant to be a distraction while Aizen used the Shinobi Alliance to create the Oken.

Witcher: Thanks! Re; the fights being too brief, I do agree upon retrospect. I went and added some meat to them. Appreciate the valuable feedback you always have to offer! There will be more focus on the Fake Karakura Town part next chapter. I felt this chapter needed to maintain focus on Hashirama & Aizen more than the supporting cast.

Marvelesque1der: Unfortunately the quincies aren't going to play a part in this fic. I might do a second fic covering TYBW stuff once the anime's done, though.

Jabootypower: Yeah I gotta go back and comb through the opening chapters to make it more of a hook...thanks for sticking past it, though!

MaxTrueOmnipotent1: Next chapter. 100% :P

MadaraLimboClone: Nagato got crippled dealing with a small squad with the soul dragons...I didn't do a great job of conveying the scale, but the idea is Madara is playing soul tug-of-war against Aizen's Oken with tens of thousands of souls, so he needed to use every ounce of power available. This chapter doesn't focus on him much but the next will, for sure.

Anyway! Until next time!