Chapter 20 - Pandemonium
Land of Fire - Konoha Training Grounds
Hashirama turned a murderous glare toward the trio of shinigami, clasping his palms together. "Wood Style: Wood Dragon Jutsu!" He roared, and three sleek, serpentine wood dragons burst from the ground beneath them, spiraling around their bodies. Before his jutsu could constrict, however, the former captains scattered, reappearing out of harm's way.
"Ichigo!" Orihime cried, frantically tugging at his Bankai's cloak. "Did you know this was going to happen?!"
"Of course not!" Ichigo said, mind racing.
"Help him!" Orihime pleaded.
"I know, just let me think. Wait… I can use my substitute shinigami badge to force him out of the gigai!" He said as he fished out the badge from the folds of his cloak.
Before he could press it against Madara's gigai, Yoruichi appeared beside him. Ichigo barely registered her shunko-enhanced speed as she twisted his arm, forcing him to drop the badge, before kicking it away.
"Ichigo, don't interfere. This hollow must be dealt with," Yoruichi barked, swiftly somersaulting out of the way of a series of wooden spears that burst from the ground.
"You bastards!" Hashirama drew his Kusanagi, charging toward Yoruichi, who kicked off into the skies. She looked back to see Hashirama, still on the ground, waving his sword at her; "Why are you shinigami doing this?! Answer me!" The Hokage demanded.
Yoruichi ignored him, calling to Isshin and Urahara: "He can't fly!" No sooner had she uttered those words did a cloud of kunai blanket the skies before her. Thinking fast, the former stealth force commander left behind a series of afterimages as she picked a path throughout the swarm of throwing knives, expertly batting aside any that could not be avoided.
Urahara and Isshin joined her in the skies, then, and the former squad ten captain grimaced, eyes falling on the hundreds of leaf shinobi that had gathered to witness Tobirama's revival. "We don't want to fight here. There are too many civilians."
Yoruichi drew closer toward them, glancing back at the last of the kunai that sailed harmlessly through the air. "I don't know if I'd call these people civilians…"
But Urahara shook her head. "No, Isshin is right; the less collateral damage, the better. Madara's the only one we're after, here."
The trio had more pressing concerns, however, as Hashirama conjured a humongous wooden golem, alongside an even larger wooden dragon and rode atop its head to meet them. Urahara grit his teeth. "I guess he has his own methods of taking to the skies."
"Fall back, all of you! These are shinigami captains!" Hashirama ordered, projecting his voice toward the leaf shinobi who had taken it upon themselves to support their Hokage.
"Hashirama Senju, was it?" Urahara said. Basked in the midday sun, his hat cast a shadow across his features, obscuring his eyes and lending him a sinister look. "Please stand aside. If you have the best interests of your village at heart, you will not interfere with our mission. It's already over for Madara. We just need to retrieve Ichigo and Orihime, and then we will leave you in peace," he finished as he looked toward the three figures on the ground below them. His voice was calm, but serious.
Hashirama stood rigidly atop his wooden dragon, Kusanagi in hand. Following Urahara's gaze, his eyes were feral as they fell upon the two orange-haired outsiders beside Madara. "They were in on this, too?" He asked darkly, bringing his palms together.
Isshin took point, allowing himself to drift in front of Urahara and Yoruichi. "Leave them out of this, Hashirama. They know nothing. We hid the plan from those kids because they would never have agreed to take part in it."
Hashirama snarled, but nodded slightly and relaxed his arms. Orihime had healed him, after all, and though Ichigo was hot-headed, the boy had never once exuded even an ounce of malicious intent.
"There are powers at play here beyond us, Lord Hokage," Isshin continued respectfully. His son and potential daughter-in-law's lives were on the line, here. "I trust that you remember Captain Commander Yamamoto?"
Hashirama narrowed his eyes, and his lip curled in distaste. "What about him?"
"For the sake of keeping the tethers of existence itself intact, Aizen's plan must not come to pass," he implored. "To that end, he has ordered the neutralization of Madara Uchiha, as the two are reported to have joined forces." Isshin's voice was thick with remorse, but to Hashirama, remorse was meaningless after the fact. Madara lay dying below him. The Uchiha had been brought low not in honorable combat, but by underhanded trickery. This shinigami, regardless of his words or feelings, still had a hand in this despicable plot.
Hashirama let out a humorless laugh. "You shinigami scum seem to have a habit of killing first and talking later. Do you really expect me to believe anything you have to say at this point?"
Isshin sheathed Engetsu, slowly floating forward toward Hashirama until he landed on the snout of Hashirama's wood dragon. He was within blade's reach of the Hokage. "Then take my life in return… Just please, spare my son. He has two beautiful little sisters back home who know nothing about any of this," he said, spreading his arms in acceptance.
His son…? Hashirama studied the man's features, and suddenly saw the resemblance in Ichigo. Hashirama scowled. How dare these shinigami have families… How dare this man demonstrate honor after all he and his kind have done?!"
In one swift motion, Hashirama raised Kusanagi high above his head with an anguished cry. Even as he saw Isshin closing his eyes in acceptance, his mind flashed back to his own choice of sacrificing himself instead of killing Tobirama.
His sword wavered as an internal battle raged within Hashirama's heart. Before his indecision could be settled, however, the two other shinigami made their move.
Yoruichi launched herself into Isshin, pushing him away with her, as Kisuke appeared behind Hashirama. The former Squad 12 Captain had a palm on the Hokage's back.
"Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro," Urahara chanted, dodging Hashirama's retaliatory strike with a short shunpo backward. Six thick rods of light slotted into the Hokage's waist in a circular motion, binding his arms to his sides.
"Bakudo #63: Sajo Sabaku!" He continued, and four golden chains of reiatsu erupted from his being, spiraling outward in different directions before wrapping around Hashirama. The Senju tried to jump out of the way, but the Rikujokoro rods delayed him long enough for Urahara's chains to snap into place. His ears rang with a series of metallic, bone crunching clinks.
Hashirama's senjutsu markings darkened as he flexed against the chains, and Urahara's eyes bulged in disbelief as the links began to warp. Only Kensei Muguruma's hollow form had ever broken the chains of Sajo Sabaku with strength alone." He watched a second longer, just to confirm that his kido was truly straining to hold Hashirama. It was. How could a mere human's physical strength be on the level of a hollowfied Kensei?
Now was not the time to be impressed by Hashirama's strength, however, as Urahara resumed his kido barrage; "Bakudo #79: Kuyo Shibari!" And eight black orbs of dense reishi materialized around Hashirama in each of the eight compass points. A ninth orb emerged over Hashirama's chest.
The Hokage eyed the mixture of sealing kido around him in alarm, but then Harribel appeared before him with a sonido. "Hunt. Tiburon!" She called out, releasing her resurreccion as she swung her zanpakuto toward Urahara. "Cero."
A cleaving wave of golden light erupted from Tiburon, washing over the former Squad 12 Captain. When there was no explosion, she opened her Pesquisa, scowling as she sensed that the shinigami was unharmed. He had gotten out of the way before her cero made contact.
"Hashirama, allow me to assist you. That shinigami in the hat and clogs is Kisuke Urahara. Next to Yamamoto, he is the adversary Lord Aizen is most wary of."
The Senju nodded in acknowledgement. As the light of Harribel's cero died down, the three shinigami were once more side by side, facing him. He drew a breath, standing tall despite the Bakudo enclosed around him. "Tell me how to save Madara, and I will spare your lives."
Isshin had a pained look on his face, and made to answer, but Yoruichi cut him off. "Enough, Isshin. You abandoned your post once for Masaki… And I know how much your children mean to you, but the peace and stability of all existence is at stake, here. Get your head in the game."
Urahara nodded. "Even with that Arrancar at your side, you're in no position to threaten us here, Hashirama, and as I've told you… Madara's life is over." He glanced down, sensing Madara's gradually fading reiatsu. "Our job here is done, and we have no qualms with you. I do apologize for inconveniencing you with this mess, but if you value the lives of your remaining villagers, then let us bury the hatchet here. That Espada is going to have to die, Ichigo and Orihime will return with us, but then you can get on with your lives here."
Yoruichi and Isshin shared a worried look, and the latter spoke up. "God damn it, Kisuke; you need to let us do the talking," he hissed.
Hashirama closed his eyes, lowering his head and balling his hands into fists hard enough to draw blood. "Inconvenience, you say…?" He drew each syllable out slowly, as his mind flashed back to the words he had said to Madara at the Valley of The End. "I will not forgive anyone who threatens my village. Be they a friend, a sibling or even my child…" The bloody clefts left by his nails began to throb with each rapidly accelerating beat of his heart.
His eyes snapped open, burning bright with fury. "And especially not you filthy shinigami bastards!" He roared, charging toward Urahara atop his wooden dragon. "The Eight Gates: Second Gate - The Gate of Healing, Open!" He needed more strength, and the Gate of Healing provided it.
A guttural cry split the sky as Hashirama forced his way out of Urahara's triple layered Bakudo, and time seemed to slow as all three shinigami recoiled in shock.
Yoruichi was the first to recover. Moving to intercept him, she left a stream of afterimages in her wake as she swiftly shattered the head of his dragon with a powerful kick. Hashirama could still keep track of her movements, however, locating the real Yoruichi before leaping off the remains of his mount and falling upon her with Kusanagi.
The translucent auras from Yoruichi's shunko and Hashirama's Gate of Healing collided in an angry tempest as her gauntlets met with the sword of Kusanagi. For a few brief seconds, the two were engaged in a perfect deadlock. However, as they continued exchanging blows in a whirlwind of steam, Hashirama's offense began to fade, and Yoruichi gained the upper hand.
Hashirama inwardly cursed as he felt substantial chunks of chakra being siphoned away each time he made contact with Yoruichi's guard. These things absorb chakra! He thought, eyeing the large purple gauntlets she was wearing. He could feel himself slowing down as she sapped his energy, and she was getting faster, too.
Harribel had engaged Isshin by now, and Urahara, unoccupied, rocketed toward Madara with a shunpo. He gripped Benihime tightly as he approached the incapacitated hollow. Ichigo stood beside it, with his substitute shinigami badge in hand again.
Hashirama hissed in frustration, seeing Urahara's trajectory toward Madara's motionless form. Yoruichi took advantage of his momentary distraction to plant a vicious knee into his side. Before he could recover, she had driven another spinning elbow into his jaw, cracking it and sending the Hokage barreling toward the ground. Hashirama grimaced in pain, but it did not last for long as his natural regeneration took effect. He righted himself as he fell, landing on his feet, and sheathing the sword of Kusanagi.
Hashirama saw Urahara closing in on Madara, but as he made his way toward them, Yoruichi touched down in his path with a determined expression. As he analyzed her stance, Hashirama inwardly acknowledged that she was a master of taijutsu. He could not see a single opening to exploit.
He cracked his neck and knuckles, shifting his dislocated jaw back into place as he faced down the former stealth force captain. He had no time for this. He needed to dispatch this woman quickly, otherwise her strange armaments would just keep stealing his chakra. If I tear my own muscles to shreds again, then so be it. "The Eight Gates: Seventh Gate - The Gate of Wonder, Open!"
Ichigo had finally found where Yoruichi had kicked his badge, making his way back to Madara's withered gigai. His reiatsu was almost gone, and his eyes were closed. Bending over the rapidly fading hollow, Ichigo moved to place the badge against his chest, but instinctively turned, protectively batting away a stab from Urahara's Benihime.
"Ichigo, what are you doing?" Urahara said, raising Benihime again toward Madara, but Ichigo moved to stand in his way. "This is wrong, Urahara. This hollow… His heart is fuller than most humans I know."
Urahara shook his head; "No matter what you do, he is going to die, Ichigo. I know this isn't the most honorable way to go about things, but we saw an opportunity and had to take it… I can explain everything once we get back to Karakura town."
The substitute shinigami ignored him, resolutely turning toward Madara with his badge in hand. Urahara appeared beside him instantly with a shunpo, holding his arm in a vice-like grip. "Damn it, Ichigo, the balance of existence itself is at stake, here. Aizen wants to kill the Soul King! We cannot let a hollow as powerful as Madara join forces with him," Urahara hissed.
Orihime glanced back at him, from where she was still maintaining Soten Kissun's field of rejection around Madara. Her eyes were wild with panic as they darted between Madara, Urahara and Ichigo.
Ichigo had raised his reiatsu to its limits. His reserves felt more vast than he remembered, but he still couldn't free himself from Urahara's grasp. He growled in frustration. "If he's going to die no matter what I do, then why are you trying to stop me?"
"Because allowing you to free him from the gigai would be tantamount to betraying the Seireitei, Ichigo!" Urahara shouted in his face. "The balance between the spiritual and physical realms is teetering on the brink as it is with the emergence of these Arrancar! If Aizen becomes the new Soul King, then it's all over! Can't you see, Ichigo?!"
But it wasn't Ichigo who responded.
Orihime leaped up, beating weakly against Urahara's chest. "But why try to kill him like this?! Why wouldn't you try to understand what Madara was aiming for?! Why won't my Soten Kisshun heal him? Tell me!" Orihime screamed at Urahara.
The former squad 12 captain was becoming increasingly frustrated; more so than he could remember being in the last hundred years. "I suspected you would sympathize with Madara, so I put in a countermeasure against your Shun Shun Rikka into the gigai. I'm sorry Orihime." He pushed her back, but in the heat of the moment used more force than he had intended to, and sent the girl sprawling onto the ground, on top of Madara.
"Urahara!" Ichigo roared, breaking free from Urahara with a burst of strength. He tossed his badge to Orihime and lunged toward the former squad 12 captain. "Getsuga ...Tensho!" He cried, firing the black crescent wave directly at Urahara.
"First Orihime, and now you, Ichigo?" Urahara spat, his voice ripe with accusation as he redirected the Getsuga with Benihime. "What exactly are they offering here that is prompting you to betray the Seireitei?"
"What do you mean 'betray the Seireitei'? Kisuke, you absolute imbecile!" Ichigo stabbed a finger toward him, before donning his hollow's mask. The blood red markings on the mask were more numerous, and more ferocious than before. "Ethics aside, you have no idea how strong these people are! Making an enemy of Hashirama and the shinobi is going to doom us all!" Ichigo's voice became two-toned as he was engulfed in jet black reiatsu.
Urahara's eyes widened at the weight of Ichigo's hollowfied reiatsu, but before either of them could escalate any further, Yoruichi crashed down between them. Both gauntlets were cracked, and her reiatsu was dim, but she was still conscious as she shakily fumbled her way out of the small impact crater. Urahara blanched as he took in her condition; her hair was messy and her face was cut above her right eye. Both cheeks were swollen with dark purple bruising, with blood seeping from her broken nose. Her clothing was in tatters, and her body was covered in slash wounds.
"Yoruichi!" He cried, abandoning his standoff with Ichigo and running toward her. He barely made it three steps before Hashirama barreled into him from the side in a streak of blue vapor, cutting across his torso with Kusanagi. Urahara fell, blood spurting from the gash across his chest, his dirty blond hair billowing in the wind.
Hashirama was not done; he sheathed his blade, grabbed hold of Urahara's legs and spun him full circle before sending him crashing head-first into Yoruichi. The two crumpled into a heap at least fifty meters away. He observed them for a moment, and when neither moved, Hashirama knelt before Madara, pouring his remaining chakra into the gigai.
"H-Hashirama. Hey…" Orihime said; a part of her wanted to run, terrified of the savagery she'd just witnessed from Hashirama, but adrenaline was pumping through her veins right now, and she decided Madara was more important. "Let me try this," she said as she held up the substitute shinigami badge Ichigo had tossed her.
Hashirama cast a cautious glare toward the orange-haired girl, but there was no deceit in her eyes, only concern. As he felt his chakra continually being siphoned away by the gigai with no improvement in Madara's condition, he relented.
Orihime pressed the badge against Madara's chest. Nothing happened.
She held a hand over her mouth as her eyes glistened, shaking her head slowly as tears began to fall.
But then, a spark of electricity jumped beneath her hands, and Madara's gigai appeared to flicker, glimmering and glowing transparent before solidifying again, and the familiar reiatsu of Madara Uchiha began to emanate from it. The spiritual pressure was extremely weak, but undoubtedly Madara's. The gigai then began to dissolve, and Madara's ringed hollow mask manifested over his face again. There was no improvement in his physical appearance; it was as if his soul itself had aged almost to the point of its natural death.
The hollow opened his eyes slowly, trying to sit up, but failed. He tried again, bony arms trembling and straining against his own weight, until Hashirama helped him up. "Is that you, Hashirama…?" He croaked in a thin, wispy voice.
"I'm here, Madara," Hashirama said gently, shutting the Gate of Wonder. His body was screaming in pain, but he knew that his regeneration would take care of it within the hour, at most. "You're going to be alright now. Orihime found a way to free you from the gigai."
Madara brought a trembling, decrepit arm to rub his eyes. He cycled between his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and his Rinnegan, before just settling on his unenhanced eyes; "I can't see very clearly, Hashirama, and you sound like you're mumbling. What happened…?"
"Those bastards set up some kind of self-destruct trigger on your gigai… Maybe it reacted to your chakra when you cast the Rinne Tensei." Hashirama flashed a sympathetic smile that did not quite reach his eyes. "I think we got you out in time, but… You look like an old man now, Madara."
The Uchiha coughed. "I feel like an old man." He saw a ginger-haired female figure kneel down before him. "Is that Orihime? She wasn't part of this?"
Hashirama shook his head. "Orihime, can you heal him now?"
Orihime nodded, holding her palms out toward Madara. "Soten Kisshun, I reject!" The orange barrier flickered to life, but then dissipated, and she collapsed forward. "I-I'm so sorry…" She gasped between rapid breaths. "I've used up all of my reiatsu trying to heal you when you were in your gigai. I just need a few hours' rest. Then I should be recovered enough to try again."
Harribel grunted in exertion as she tried fruitlessly to break through Isshin's defense. He was significantly more skilled than his son, and as far as she could tell, his zanpakuto was still in Shikai. She was already pushing the limits of her Resurreccion, and his attention was not even solely focused on her. When Harribel noticed Isshin's eyes darting toward Madara's location again, she seized her opportunity; "La Gota!" She cried, firing a series of water blades toward the elder Kurosaki.
Isshin instantly reacted, flash-stepping out of the way before raising Engetsu to parry her follow up stab. Harribel twisted in a roundhouse kick, but her eyes widened in shock as Isshin caught her shin with a palm, burying the momentum with a grunt. She quickly slashed at him with Tiburon, forcing the former Squad 10 Captain to let go. He spared another worried glance down toward the others, before turning toward Harribel with an apologetic expression. "Sorry about this," he said as he raised his spare hand toward her; forming a ring with his middle finger and thumb, he flicked.
Harribel felt the briefest moment of confusion before an incredible kinetic force slammed into her, toppling her head over heels as she sailed uncontrollably through the air, and away from the battlefield.
His current opponent taken care of, Isshin took off toward where Urahara and Yoruichi lay.
"Urahara! Oi!" Isshin called out, slapping his old friend across the cheeks. The former Squad 12 Captain grimaced, groaning. Isshin sucked in a quick breath as he saw that Urahara had almost been bisected across his midsection. The wound was grave, and he had almost missed it due to the thick cloud of dust that he had kicked up with his shunpo.
Yoruichi coughed, then, and he dispersed the dust around them with a quick wave of Engetsu. "Yoruichi, you still with us?" He grimaced as he saw that she was in an even worse condition than Urahara.
"Y-yeah. Be careful, Isshin. Hashirama had some technique that increased his strength and speed dramatically," she forced out. "…Caught me off guard."
"Damn, we need to get you two to the Seireitei. Captain Unohana will fix you up," Isshin said with no small amount of alarm. He quickly looked toward where Hashirama, Orihime and Ichigo were all knelt beside Madara. To his dismay, the hollow was sitting upright. Ichigo's substitute shinigami badge had freed his soul from the gigai.
What a complete disaster, Isshin thought, opening a senkaimon. Stay safe, Ichigo… Orihime. He hoisted Yoruichi over his left shoulder, and picked up Urahara carefully under his arm. It felt awkward, but he'd always been proud of his broad shoulders. He didn't want to risk sheathing Engetsu with Hashirama and Harribel still around.
Before he could step into the senkaimon, the ground rumbled beneath him. Reacting on instinct, he dashed back with a shunpo, taking extra care not to jolt his passengers. He scowled as a series of tangling roots emerged, creating a barrier between him and the senkaimon. He looked back toward Hashirama, and saw the Hokage had his palms to the ground.
"...Bankai: Kannonbiraki Benihime Aratame," he heard Urahara mutter, before a large shadow appeared over him. Isshin smirked as he offloaded Urahara and Yoruichi into the gentle caress of the fully-released crimson princess. He felt their reiatsu rapidly recovering as Benihime Aratame stitched their wounds, before setting them on their feet again. "Kisuke… I almost forgot you still had that Bankai of yours. Will that keep you guys together until we make it to the 4th Division?"
Urahara gingerly rubbed his stomach. "Yeah, but I have to keep my Bankai active." He looked warily at Hashirama, who returned his gaze with a glare. "The old man's reports were guilty of no exaggeration… Skilled enough to cross swords with Retsu Unohana, indeed," he muttered. "Come on, let's get out of here." He glanced toward the wall of trees blocking the Senkaimon, and Benihime Aratame tore an entrance through it.
"You're not going anywhere!" Hashirama shouted, running toward the trio of shinigami despite the searing pain coursing through his body. He inwardly berated himself for not making sure the shinigami were dead before he closed the 7th gate. Looking closely at their wounds, however, it appeared that the large humanoid woman that had somehow appeared had merely done a patchwork job with stitches. His sage mode should be more than enough.
He drew Kusanagi as he closed in on the shinigami, and then his world erupted in agony as his legs split open from hip to knee. He leaned on his sword for support before he could fall, but then his fingers tore from their sockets, and he collapsed face first onto the ground. What?! Hashirama hissed in pain. It was as if an invisible knife had just slashed through him.
Urahara slowly approached Hashima, but stopped well out of blade's reach. "I didn't particularly want to kill you, Hashirama, but I see now that leaving you alive is only going to cause trouble for us in the future."
"Kisuke!" Ichigo roared, flash stepping between his old mentor and Hashirama. He still had his hollow mask on, and to his surprise, barely felt any strain. "Leave now, and tell the old man I'll be having words with him," he said in his hollowfied, two-toned voice. He raised Tensa Zangetsu threateningly, and the waves of malicious reiatsu radiating from him lent his words a gravitas that caught Urahara by surprise.
The former Squad 12 Captain shook his head, however; "This goes beyond you or me right now, Ichigo. How many times do I have to tell you that it's the peace and stability of existence itself that's at stake?!" Urahara raised Benihime toward Ichigo, and Isshin tensed.
But Ichigo did not relent. "Everybody's spouting this and that about peace and whatnot, but Hashirama and Madara are actually trying to unite their world while you're here trying to kill them. So you'll excuse me if I don't see the 'peace' in that!"
"I taught you better than this, Ichigo. How can you be so shortsighted?!" Urahara swung Benihime through the air in frustration.
Harribel had made her way back by now, touching down near Ichigo. Ichigo's hollowfied reiatsu was stronger than she expected, but it was still a good chunk below that of her Resurreccion. Extending her Pesquisa, she weighed their odds of coming out on top against the three former shinigami captains, and grimaced. "Ichigo," Harribel said softly. "We can't beat them. Your father alone is stronger than me, and he has not even used his Bankai. If we fight here…" Harribel trailed off as she saw a look of terror spread across Urahara's face, his gaze falling on something behind her.
Orihime was by Hashirama's side, her mouth slightly ajar as the Hokage rose. First, Harribel thought that Orihime had healed the Senju again, but her reiatsu reserves felt empty.
"I really didn't want to use this, because it's going to shorten my lifespan," Hashirama said as the wounds on his legs closed. The sage markings across his face had extended into dark lines that flowed down his neck, disappearing under his armor. A faint shimmer the shape of a diamond glowed in the centre of his forehead.
Even as he spoke, his body armor split in two and a gash opened across his chest, before instantly closing again with a wisp of steam.
Harribel's eyebrows darted up. "High speed regeneration…?" She thought out loud.
"Mitotic Regeneration; it is the ultimate expression of medical ninjutsu. I recently developed this technique to use my life force itself in exchange for accelerating the recovery of my chakra gates. It would have been a last resort if Orihime hadn't shown up," he explained. "Go, Harribel. Take Madara and Orihime and go back to Aizen. Bring reinforcements if you can. I don't know if I can win against these shinigami, but I can stop them from pursuing you, at the very least."
Harribel nodded appreciatively. "I will return as soon as I am able." She dashed to Madara with a Sonido, opened a garganta and dove inside it. Orihime made to follow, but hesitated as Ichigo called her name.
"Orihime… Stay safe. I'll be coming for you. I swear it." The initial fear she had felt upon seeing Ichigo's hollowfied state had mostly subsided, now, and she nodded. "I'll be waiting," she said with a smile as she, too, stepped inside the garganta.
Seeing their target still alive and fleeing with Orihime in tow, Urahara growled in frustration. He dared not pursue, however; they were facing down Ichigo and a Hashirama that suddenly possessed the fastest high speed regeneration he had ever seen. He could sense Isshin's senkaimon behind him still open, but he also did not want to risk showing his back to the enemy.
"Isshin," he whispered. "Go to the Seireitei and find reinforcements."
"You still want to stay and fight?" The former Squad 10 captain rounded on him. "Are you insane, Kisuke? If you're worried, I will stay and hold them off while you and Yoru-"
"No Isshin, it just occurred to me that Benihime Aratame won't fit inside the senkaimon. If I dismiss my Bankai, all the wounds she's stitched up are just going to reopen. Neither Yoruichi nor I can move without Benihime's stitches," he said through gritted teeth, watching in disbelief as Hashirama continued to instantly regenerate any damage Benihime inflicted on him. "You are a Shiba, Isshin; they will listen to you, and you can bring help to us. Go."
"Now!" Urahara barked, when Isshin did not move.
Isshin hung his head. He had come here with Urahara and Yoruichi for one reason alone - to ensure the safety of Ichigo and Orihime. But Orihime had just left for Hueco Mundo of her own volition, and now his son had Zangetsu raised against him.
Seeing Hashirama charging toward him, sword in hand, Isshin Kurosaki was left with no choice. "Kisuke. If anything happens to Ichigo, then I swear upon Masaki's grave, I will have your head," he threatened.
He did not wait for a response. "Getsuga Tensho!" He cried as he fired a full powered getsuga directly into the air, forcing even the hollowfied Ichigo and Yoruichi to shield their eyes from its brightness. The enormous, blindingly blue sword beam lingered but for a moment…
And then Hashirama plowed through it with a battlecry, ignoring the burns he received as a result. He slashed across thin air. Isshin was already gone, and the senkaimon closed.
"Where did you take us, Harribel?" Orihime asked. There were white dunes of sand as far as the eye could see.
Harribel looked around, too, seeing the faint shadow of Las Noches in the far distance. "I opened a garganta to Hueco Mundo, but didn't have the time to direct it anywhere specific. We are a few days' walk from the palace."
Madara shook his head; "A few days?! We don't even have a few hours. I don't know what new jutsu Hashirama has concocted recently, but he's spent the majority of his chakra trying to heal me already, and those three shinigami back there were all stronger than regular captains!"
"Ichigo's with him, too…" Orihime added hopefully.
Madara shook his head. "Ichigo could switch sides at the drop of a hat. That was his father back there, wasn't it?"
Orihime pursed her lips, but reluctantly nodded; "Yeah…"
Harribel ground her teeth. She was still in her Resurreccion; if she made toward Las Noches at full speed on her own, she could be there in minutes, but there was no way for her to carry both Orihime and Madara at the same time. That wasn't even counting the time it would take to organize reinforcements for Hashirama.
She recalled her first time fighting beside the Hokage in Konoha forest, when she had been cut down by Kenpachi, lying in a pool of her own blood. Hashirama had come to her aid, then. She was Tier Harribel, the Tres Espada and the aspect of sacrifice. Her debts must be paid.
"Madara, Orihime," she said, softly, opening another garganta. "I will return to Konoha to assist Hashirama. Will you two wait here for us?"
Orihime swallowed nervously. "But you said you couldn't win."
Harribel shook her head; "I made that assessment without accounting for Hashirama. Our odds are much better with him back in the fray. Wait here for us; we will return."
Madara gave her an encouraging nod. "Go then, and claim victory."
No sooner had Harribel left did Orihime spot a cloud of dust approaching from the distance. Two hollows were chasing after a small speck of dirty green. She squinted. "Is that… a baby hollow?" Orihime blurted out in surprise.
AN: Thanks for all the responses re; Tobirama! I have an idea for him now ;) Not quite going to come back to life but not quite staying dead either, but there is one more thing his presence could add to this story.
Re; Mitotic Regeneration for Hashirama - he has been stated in Canon to have had medical ninjutsu that was far stronger than Tsunade's, so I figured if Tsunade can develop it, then so can Hashirama. Plus, it works as such a great counter to Urahara's Bankai. Poor Urahara :'(
Reponding to a few reviews:
First of all a huge thank you for everybody's support - last chapter was the most reviewed chapter for this fic to date, and the chapter got more than 1k views in a day :O
Luv Boy: The Royal Guard and Zero Squad will play a part, but not for some time, still.
Obamna: Madara is still clinging onto his shinobi roots; he has yet to accept his 'death' and 'hollow' state, but that will change very soon. I've purposefully avoided him using ceros since his instinctive cero in the beginning etc.
Scaunders: Yeah, when reading it back again it does feel a little contrived. Although my thinking was, Orihime just healed Hashirama from the worst injury of his life, and Ichigo has worn his heart on his sleeve the entire time. They don't have any particular reason to doubt those two. Still, I get what you mean, and you're right in that it was necessary for the plot
Witcher: The Shinigami have definitely been positioned as the 'villains' so far, but I will be trying to write this fic so that each faction gets a fair amount of development - so that from their own point of view, they are doing the right thing. Hopefully when it's all finished it'll across that way.
amerikhan786: There's quite a ways to go before Kaguya will need to be revived (8 tailed beasts are still available heh). I do have a part for her planned for this fic later, though, and hopefully it does the character justice, both lore-wise and in terms of power.
Anyway, until next time!