Chapter 21 - The Ram, the Mantis, and the Sage

Hueco Mundo - Above the sands

A baby hollow? Madara thought as he followed Orihime's gaze, but his vision had deteriorated significantly since exiting the gigai. He could sense a trio of reiatsu toward that direction, though they were so weak that he was not concerned about them at all. His eyes widened, however, as he sensed a fourth, enormous reiatsu approaching from the direction of Las Noches. It felt vaguely familiar. One of Aizen's Espada, he realized with a start.

"Get behind me, Orihime, an Espada is coming," Madara rasped, weaving a snake seal before placing his palms against the sand beneath him; "Earth Style: Hidden Mole Jutsu."

Orihime yelped as they sank into the parting sands. Before they could be fully swallowed up by the desert, Madara erected a small rocky dome around them. There were a few tiny peepholes for ventilation, which could also be used to see outside. To the unaware onlooker, however, Madara and Orihime's hiding spot appeared the same as any of the other many large stones littered across the barren sands of Hueco Mundo. Neither of them had much reiatsu as they were, and the spiritually rich atmosphere of Hueco Mundo masked what little they exuded.

The minutes passed in tense silence as the original three energy signatures slowed to a stop near their hideout. "Huh? Where did they go? Nel was sure she could sense it right here!" A scratchy, but young-sounding voice chirped inquisitively. Orihime spotted the speaker through one of the peepholes.

She was a very small Arrancar, dressed in a green ragged hoodie. Atop her tuft of messy, shoulder length blue hair rested a cracked mask. It was missing teeth down its left side, and an ugly scar ran from the crack of the mask halfway across the middle of her face. Underlining her eyes was a cherry red streak that followed the contour of her cheekbones. Orihime felt her heart warm at the incredibly vulnerable yet cute appearance of the Arrancar, but she remained silent. Regardless of how she looked, she was still an Arrancar, and there were two hollows behind her.

"Nel! You're supposed to run away from soul crushing levels of reiatsu, not towards them!" A nasally male voice chided. It came from the skinnier, purple hollow.

"B-but Pesche… It felt so familiar, Pesche. She felt so familiar," Nel replied dejectedly.

"What are you talking about-" Pesche suddenly cut himself off. "Nel! Dondochakka! We have to get out of here - I sens-"

Orihime's eyes widened and she cupped both hands over her mouth as a new, monstrously large reiatsu signature appeared, accompanied by the gruesome sound of a blade parting flesh. Pesche fell, and in his place stood one of the Espada Orihime recognized from her meeting with Aizen.

Nel screamed.

"Nel! Run, I'll-" Dondochakka began until he too was silenced with a squelching slash, followed by the clanking of chains. Orihime could not tell from her viewing angle what the Espada had used to attack them, but she grit her teeth as Nel fell to her backside, looking upward in fear.

"W-Who are you? Why did you attack Nel's brothers!"

"Well well well, I thought I smelled something fishy going on. Harribel suddenly shows up in resurreccion, before leaving a minute later?" The new arrival sneered. His voice was high-pitched but unmistakably male. "To think that she was in league with you, all these years." He slashed his weapon toward his side, stirring up a wave of sand and allowing Orihime to see what it was. In his hand was a huge, crescent halberd with a second blade mounted in perfect reflection to the original. At its end hung a long length of black chain.

"I knew it. She always denied it, but I knew she was up to no good. You bloody females can lie like it's your second nature. I can't believe Lord Aizen replaced you with another woman in his Espada."

"What are you talking about?!" Nel screamed, starting to cry. She squeezed her eyes shut and clutched the top of her broken hollow's mask. "Pesche… Dondochakka… Nel needs help…"

Orihime drew in a breath and made to move, but Madara's hand shot out, gripping her shoulder tightly. She turned to look into his eyes. They were hard as steel, but he shook his head slightly.

From beneath the sands, a huge, worm-like hollow emerged, barrelling toward the Espada. He scoffed, before batting it aside with the chains on his halberd.

"Cero Sincretico!"

A swirling mixture of yellow and purple reishi shot past Orihime and Madara's hiding spot in the form of a cero. It was not weak by any means, but Orihime could tell that it wasn't powerful enough to put down the Espada.

"Pesche! Dondochakka! Thank goodness you're alright!" Nel sobbed as she crawled toward them on all fours.

"Bawabawa! Take Nel and get out of here," Pesche ordered. "We'll hold Nnoitra off."

"Hold me off?" The Espada asked incredulously as he walked out of the smoke left by the hollows' cero sincretico. "You can't delay me for a second, you trash." Even as he spoke, he appeared behind Pesche with a sonido and sliced the purple hollow in half.

Nel did not even have time to process what had happened, as Nnoitra kicked the bifurcated Pesche toward Dondochakka. Wasting no time, he opened his mouth, and engulfed the two completely in a yellow cero orders of magnitude more powerful than the one they had just fired at him. As the light died down, nothing remained of Pesche and Dondochakka.

Nel's eyes were wide with fear as Bawabawa tried to make its way toward her. Seeing its movement, Nnoitra threw his dual-bladed crescend halberd toward the worm, skewering it into the sand. It struggled briefly, before the Espada appeared atop the worm with a sonido, gripped the handle of his halberd and cleaved backwards, across the length of its body. Bawabawa dissolved in a scatter of reishi.

"And then there was one," he drawled, voice ripe with condescension. "How many years has it been, Nel, yet those fraccion of yours are still as useless as they've always been."

Nel's teeth were chattering, with tears streaming down her cheeks. "You killed them… You killed Nel's brothers," she mumbled as she backpedaled furiously.

"Your brothers? Yes, I killed them," he stated, matter of factly. "What did you possibly expect, coming back here? You can drop the act, Nelliel. I assume you've taken on that form of yours so you can sneak up on me and settle things between us?"

Nel said nothing, petrified in place as she continued to cry.

Nnoitra raised an eyebrow as he stalked toward her. His dual-bladed halberd was dragging across the sand, leaving a thin furrow in its wake. "What rank were they again? Arrancar in the 40s, if I recall correctly," he said. "I ripped their masks from their faces with my bare hands."

He cracked a jagged smile as he beheld the diminished state of his former rival and tormentor. "So many years have passed. While I've been training, all of you have only gotten weaker. Those two wouldn't even be strong enough to hold a place among the Numeros anymore. I did them a favor, Nelliel. Pathetic trash like that only serves to taint the title of Arrancar."

"H-how do you know Nel's name? Nel doesn't know who you are..." Nel stammered out. She had fallen over, and was covering her head with her small palms as Nnoitra loomed before her.

Nnoitra paused for a moment, frowning in contemplation. "You really do not remember me? Nnoitra Gilga? I was the Octava Espada in the first generation with you. You used to take great pleasure in tormenting me when you were the Tres, Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck."

But Nel kept shaking her head. "Nel can't remember… Nel has always just played eternal tag with Nel's brothers… And you killed them!"

Nnoitra frowned a moment longer, before just shrugging. "So you've lost your memory, have you? Very well, then. Any conversation worth having with you has already been had a lifetime ago. I have far surpassed you, now, anyway. Goodbye, Nelliel," he said as he raised his weapon.

"Koten Zanshun!" Orihime cried as she burst from her cover, Tsubaki darting from her hairpins toward Nnoitra's chest. The Arrancar looked at her quizzically, but otherwise did not react as Tsubaki impacted against his bare chest, and his slicing shield shattered.

"Tsubaki!" Orihime cried, quickly recalling the spirit before he could be further injured by the Arrancar. She placed herself defensively before Nel, drawing in a hiss of breath as she saw Nnoitra completely uninjured by her attack.

"Orihime Inoue?" He raised his eyebrows in recognition. "What are you doing here?"

"Harribel brought me here to safety before she left again to help our friends in the Land of Fire," Orihime declared. "This hollow has nothing to do with any of that. I swear it. You can confirm with Harribel once she's back if you don't believe me."

"Is that so…?"

"Yes! I swear it. You're one of Aizen's Espada, right? I recognize you from when I healed Grimmjow's arm. Please. We need your help. Harribel is fighting for her life along with another friend of ours against some shinigami-"

She was speaking fast, until Nnoitra appeared beside her, silencing her with a backhand that sent her sprawling into the sand beside Nel.

"Be quiet, woman. As if I care whether that harlot lives or dies. If she's killed, it just means she was too weak to be the Tres Espada!" He shouted.

"B-but Aizen-" Orihime began.

"-Was out of his mind, placing not just one, but two females into the Espada!" Nnoitra snarled, bending over and hoisting Orihime by the front of her shirt. He brought his face close to hers, sneering in disgust. "And to think… He places such stock in your powers, too. A mere human girl."

She coughed, choking as she gripped his arm tightly, trying in vain to free herself. He spat in her face. "What a pathetic, frail body you humans have."

"That's enough." Madara also emerged from hiding, as the situation escalated. "Nnoitra, was it? Aizen introduced you as being among his top six Espada. Seeing as I know who the 6th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd are, that makes you either the 5th or the 1st. So which one is it, Arrancar?"

"Madara Uchiha? I should have expected you would be around once Orihime showed herself," Nnoitra said with a scoff, looking Madara up and down. "You've certainly seen better days. You've got a foot in the grave, and your reiatsu feels stale. It doesn't matter which Espada I am; you're no match for me in your current state."

Madara smirked. "So you're the 5th, then."

Nnoitra's visible eye narrowed, and Madara continued; "Listening to you talk grates on my ears. As obsessed with strength as you are, you would have jumped at the chance to introduce yourself if you were indeed the primera. Unhand Orihime, Nnoitra."

The Quinta Espada's eye narrowed further, and he tilted his head threateningly. "Or what? You're going to attack me?"

Madara's vision was blurry, and he knew his reserves were low in his current state. He had no choice but to bluff. He crossed his arms, activating his rinnegan and calling forth a blue, flaming skeletal ribcage around him. "I had Ulquiorra on the run in his resurreccion. Do you really wish to test me?"

Nnoitra tossed Orihime aside, and laughed. "You're going to regret provoking me, Madara Uchiha. Once I consume your rickety old corpse, I'll go and knock that Ulquiorra down a few pegs - maybe Harribel, too. Pray… Santa Teresa!" He declared as he released his resurreccion, stirring up a cloud of sand as his yellow reiatsu flared.

Madara clenched his teeth as he felt Nnoitra's released reiatsu wash over him. It was stronger than Grimmjow's, and though not quite as potent as Ulquiorra's, it reeked of killing intent. This was a warrior's spiritual pressure, through and through.

As the dust settled, he saw that Nnoitra's physical form had grown slightly larger, standing at about eight and a half feet tall. Two curved, ivory horns crested atop his head, the left twice as long as the right.

An extra pair of carapaced arms had sprouted from his torso, and his dual, crescent halberd was nowhere to be seen. In its place, each of his four armored hands held a sleek, thin black handle, atop which sat a ferocious, twin-bladed scythe.

Nnoitra pointed all four scythes toward Madara with an expert flourish, sinking into a battle stance.

Madara focussed his chakra, dialing it in and shrinking the skeletal susanoo to only a ribcage around his body. It was at the cost of its overall capabilities, but the ribcage provided him some much-needed armor, absent an Arrancar's hierro. Despite his decrepit body, using the susanoo's chakra amplification allowed him to move at a reasonable speed.

Madara drew Gamuza, and Nnoitra's eyes widened, before he threw his head back in laughter. "I almost forgot! Lord Aizen wanted to give you Nelliel's zanpakuto! Today must be my lucky day; let's see what you've got, Madara Uchiha!" He roared as he charged toward Madara.

Nnoitra was slow. At least, compared to Ulquiorra and Harribel. In fact, even compared to Grimmjow's resurrection, Madara could tell that the Quinta Espada was not a particularly agile combatant. He squinted, willing his eyes to focus as Nnoitra approached.

Raising Gamuza, Madara blocked the first downward strike from one scythe, and manifested two skeletal arms to defend against a horizontal cross-slash. The fourth scythe, however, broke through his guard unimpeded. The ribcage shattered, and Madara was sent staggering backwards by the left over inertia.

He fell to his knees, gasping for breath. I've been weakened to the point that I can't even manifest more than two of the susanoo's arms?! He struggled back to his feet again, stabbing Gamuza into the sand and bracing against it for support. As he put his weight upon the hilt, however, the blade sank further down, and Madara stumbled, collapsing forward again.

Nnoitra appeared before him, planting his scythes into the sand and placing a foot on top of his head. "Madara Uchiha… There were whispers among the Espada that you could have overtaken Starrk as the primera. Looks like whatever happened to you in the world of the living has put that promotion on a permanent hiatus." He twisted his foot, and Madara sputtered as coarse sand flowed freely into his mouth and nose.

He struggled against Nnoitra's weight, but was powerless to free himself and his hands felt no solid purchase in the sand. Madara calmed himself, focusing his energies and drawing in the ambient reiatsu around Hueco Mundo. "What a pity. I was hoping for a decent fight."

"Koten Zanshun!" Orihime cried from beside Nel, as she sent Tsubaki toward Nnoitra again.

"You pests need to learn your place!" Nnoitra shouted as he knocked Tsubaki away with a flick of his wrist. His eye fell upon the hilt of Gamuza, and he pulled it from the sand. "Die," he said, throwing the sword toward Orihime.

"Santen Kesshun!" Orihime thrust out her arms, straining her already critical reserves to call upon the defensive barrier. It was weak, and shattered upon contact with Gamuza's blade, but it did enough to redirect the zanpakuto into the sand at Orihime's feet.

Orihime collapsed, her head spinning from reiatsu overexertion. As she panted into the sand on her hands and knees, a pair of thin black leatherette shoes appeared in her vision. Orihime winced as she was hoisted up roughly by the back of her hair, but she was too exhausted to scream or cry. All she could do was weakly grasp at Nnoitra's arm as the Quinta Espada brought her close to his eyepatched face.

"You've got some decent instincts, girl," Nnoitra mused. "A pity they're wasted on such a frail, human body. Perhaps I could make you my slave." He licked his lips, and Orihime felt a shiver run down her spine as she saw the large "5" tattooed atop his tongue. "Or maybe I'll just kill you right now."

A soft clang drew their attention downward. Nel was holding Gamuza awkwardly, and had struck Nnoitra on his shin with the still-sheathed blade. The zanpakuto bounced harmlessly off of Nnoitra's hierro and the little Arrancar fell on her backside again, dropping the weapon with a cry of surprise.

Nnoitra tossed Orihime aside and doubled over in laughter. "You want to fight me, Nelliel?" He jeered, squatting down and casting a looming shadow over her. "Here, let me help you," he mocked as he unsheathed Gamuza for her and pressed the handle into Nel's small right palm. Her fingers were too small to close around the entire hilt, so she used her left hand for added support.

The tiny Arrancar was barely tall enough to reach Nnoitra's shin, and the blade of Gamuza was longer than she was, but she gripped the zanpakuto tightly. Determinedly, she held it before her in a two-handed stance, even as snot and tears dribbled down her face.

Nnoitra smiled savagely. "Oh I see, Nelliel. One final match, for old time's sake?" He rose, spreading his four arms out in a beckoning manner. He cast a glance at where his scythes were still planted into the sand near Madara. "I'll even go easy on you, see?" He wiggled his fingers mockingly at her. "Just like you used to do to me… Except this time I'll rip you apart with my bare hands."

And then the smile dropped as Nnoitra did a double take toward his scythes; there were only three.

In a flash, Madara appeared before the girls. Sage markings had emerged around his eyes, and his reiatsu felt much more substantial, now. He had one of Nnoitra's scythes in his hands.

Before Nnoitra could react, Madara had cleaved a clean, two-handed slash onto Nnoitra's neck with his own scythe. A screeching sound of metal against metal filled the air, and was accompanied by a shower of sparks as Nnoitra stumbled back, eye wide in surprise.

The Quinta Espada looked back at the wooden log that had taken Madara's place, before massaging his uninjured neck and sniggering. "Neat trick," he said, using a sonido to move to his remaining scythes, before pulling them out of the sand. "But my hierro is the hardest among all the Espada. You will never be able to cut me."

Madara grimaced. A direct blow to the neck, and he shrugged it off without a scratch?! He thought as he placed himself between Nnoitra and the girls. Shifting the scythe into his left hand, he extended his right toward Nel.

The little Arrancar was clutching Gamuza protectively against her body, now. Still sniffling, she turned a fearful look toward him and leaned away.

"Quickly, girl," Madara ordered, beckoning with his fingers. "I don't care if you used to be the third Espada. Whatever has happened since then, and whatever history you two may share, you're clearly no match for him anymore."

Nel shook her head; "Nel is not an Espada! Nel's just Nel…" She sobbed, gingerly proffering her zanpakuto to Madara.

Nnoitra spat into the sand. "You females are only relevant when hiding behind your own weakness! Look how Madara exerts himself for your sake, when you yourselves are powerless to do anything at all." He stalked menacingly toward the trio.

"Orihime," Madara whispered urgently. "Heal me. Now!"

"I Can't! I-I've just completely exhausted what little reiatsu I had!" Orihime cried, and Madara snarled in frustration.

She glanced down at the helpless Nel beside her, and a fire ignited within her.

She had pushed herself to her limits and beyond, training with Yoruichi so that she could protect Ichigo and her friends. Yet every time when it truly mattered, she had come up short. She needed to dig deeper. "Soten Kisshun…I reject!" Orihime felt her fingers going numb as she poured her will into Shun Shun Rikka. Every fiber of her being screamed at her to stop, but she pressed on, and a faint, orange glow began to enveloped Madara.

And then she collapsed again; "I'm sorry… I can't," she managed, before falling onto her side.

Madara nodded. She had restored a small fraction of his reiatsu, but he knew that even with his sage mode, his current strength was not enough to beat Nnoitra. It was then that Aizen's words echoed in his mind: 'I believe her release command was…'

"Declare, Gamuza," he whispered, holding the zanpakuto before him as he had seen Grimmjow and Ulquiorra do before entering their own resurreccion.

"Declare… Gamuza…?" He heard the little Arrancar echo after him.

The blade glowed pink, and a storm of violet energy erupted around him. Madara's spirits lifted as he felt power emanating from his zanpakuto, and Nnoitra's eyes widened in fear and recognition.

Madara reiatsu flared as his sage mode absorbed the increasingly dense reiatsu around. He began to smile savagely as he felt strength returning to his muscles. He raised Gamuza, ready to charge.

And then his zanpakuto disappeared. With a start, he looked around him, following the glowing violet reiatsu that had now stabilized. Only then did he realize that he was not the one at its center.

"...Nel?" Orihime gasped out, eyes half lidded, and Madara turned his head back toward the two.

His face was met with a swath of fur, and he jumped back in surprise. Orihime was exactly where she had been before, but instead of the blue haired baby Arrancar, in Nel's place stood an imposing female centaur.

Her broken mask was still there, with the same teeth missing on its left side, but two thick horns now spiraled backward on either side of her mask. Her equine body was covered in beige fur, but for a black tail, and the green hoodie she wore had stretched, tattering into rags that draped over her human torso. Thick plates of bony armor adorned her slender arms, and in her right hand held a thick, double-sided jousting lance.

Her face was heart shaped, framed by long, sky blue hair that flowed seamlessly to her waist, and she wore a resolute expression. As a light draft breathed across the sands, her hair parted to reveal the number "3" tattooed in the center of her back.

"Thank you for protecting me, Madara, Orihime." Nelliel spoke softly, turning a gentle smile toward them. Her voice was tender, and she was the very vision of serenity, but the reiatsu milling about her could not be mistaken as anything except that of a veteran fighter. "It's my turn, now."

She faced back toward the Quinta Espada again. "Nnoitra Gilga. You are truly an irredeemable monster." There was a slight tremor in her voice as she sensed that the comforting presence of her fraccion was truly gone. She twirled her lance before bringing it to bear against Nnoitra. "I should have done this long ago… Any last words before I end your miserable existence?"

So this is the released form of Nelliel tu Odelschwanck, the former Tres Espada, Madara thought appreciatively as he analyzed her reiatsu. And then he frowned. It was immense, but seemed to be leaking out from her body through the crack in her mask. She felt stronger than Nnoitra, but she was on a timer, here. Madara concentrated, trying his best to absorb every ounce of reiatsu leaking from the former Tres Espada. He couldn't rely on her to finish the fight. He needed to be strong enough to make a difference at a crucial moment and catch Nnoitra off-guard, if it came to that.

"Nelliel," Nnoitra growled as he backed away a few steps and raised his three remaining scythes defensively.

"What, Nnoitra? Suddenly got cold feet now that you're facing an Espada on equal footing? You claim to have grown strong, but you still prefer tormenting those weaker than you. You haven't changed a bit." Her tone was still soft, but the almost patronizing way she spoke added to the condescension of her words.

Nnoitra schooled his features, before scoffing; "You talk mighty big for someone who hasn't been around for years, Nelliel. The Espada power rankings have changed since your absence. That number "3" tattooed on your back is as meaningless as your life will soon be."

Nelliel narrowed her gaze, raising her spiritual pressure, but Nnoitra matched it with his own, causing her to suck in a quick breath of surprise. "You always used to call me a wild beast, Nelliel. I wonder how you'll feel as you're slain by this beast that you've always mocked!"

With that, the Quinta Espada charged forward with a sonido.

Land of Fire - Konoha Training Grounds

Hashirama and Harribel were not making any headway against the shinigami. It had been mere minutes since Isshin had left in his senkaimon, and they had spent the majority of that time on the defensive. Ichigo had been relegated to a spectator, as even with his hollow mask, his eyes darted about uselessly, unable to keep track of the combatants' movements. Since Urahara and Yoruichi had been enhanced by Benehime Aratame's stiches, the pace of the four way melee had far exceeded his ability to influence.

Hashirama saw the crude stitches that appeared along Yoruichi's arms and legs, as if they had been restructured to produce even greater force than before. Urahara, too, had those thread markings all over his body, and the invisible knife coming from the large humanoid mannequin was quickly becoming more than they could handle. Harribel grunted beside him as the tendons in her sword arm were severed, and Hashirama swiftly directed a wood clone to tend to her wound.

The Hokage took stock of his predicament; the 7th Gate was not something he could open more than once in quick succession. As such, he was limited to the 4th gate. Even then, the aptly named Gate of Pain was excruciating to maintain. With each movement, another muscle tore, and though his mitotic regeneration repaired it simultaneously, Hashirama knew that he was pushing his body closer and closer to its limits. He grimaced as he wiped away a trickle of blood from his nose.

With the Gate of Pain open, he was stronger and faster than both Urahara and Yoruichi, individually. However, Harribel was not able to support him in the same way that the two former shinigami captains complimented each other. Their techniques flowed seamlessly within and around one another. Urahara and Yoruichi's combat synergy was the truest expression of a whole surpassing the sum of its parts. Whereas he and Harribel had to verbally communicate, and even then there was a slight delay in their reactions, the two shinigami fought as if possessed of a single mind. It was doubly frustrating to Hashirama that any wounds inflicted on them were instantly repaired by Urahara's summon.

Hashirama scowled as he felt his fatigue growing by the minute. Though Harribel was strong, she was a sitting duck for Benehime's attacks, and was quickly becoming a liability that he needed to babysit. He could also tell by the heaving of her chest and the way her shoulders drooped that the Espada was at her limit. He briefly considered opening the 8th gate, but then struck the thought from his mind. Even if he could somehow kill the two shinigami here, he would have long since expired from the Gate of Death by the time Isshin returned with reinforcements. He could not afford to die now and leave Konoha undefended.

Hashirama had still been holding back his most devastating jutsu due to their proximity to the village, but judging by how the fight was progressing, they were barrelling down a sure path to defeat. He needed to do something drastic while he still had the chance, or he would be out of chakra soon.

"Harribel, look at their movements. The shinigami only want to fight within a certain radius of the summon, fall back and catch your breath. Be on guard in case I'm wrong, but if I'm not, then you're safe from them," Hashirama ordered.

The Tres Espada shot him an offended look; "I'm fine, I can-" but she cut herself off as Hashirama's gaze darkened. "Fall back, Harribel, and use your long ranged abilities to support me. You're not fast enough to keep up with me and you're holding me back right now."

"...Alright," she acquiesced, using a sonido to move some distance away, but still within sight of the battle.

Okay, I need to either disable the summon or force the shinigami out of its effective range, Hashirama thought. It's not quite the size of a tailed beast, but…"Sage Art: Gracious Deity Gates!" He declared, forming a ram seal with his hands.

Urahara and Yoruichi immediately sensed the approaching danger and flash stepped out of the way, but Benehime Aratame was less mobile. Its mannequin-like arms barely had time to twitch before four enormous red Torii descended from the heavens, pinning each of her limbs in place. A fifth one crashed down upon her neck, and then five more along the length of her body. The crimson princess had been immobilized, but Hashirama did not want to take any risks underestimating his opponents.

Gathering all of his remaining chakra, he pressed his palms together, roaring; "Sage Art: Veritable Thousand Armed Kan'on!"

In the distance, Harribel shook her head slowly, releasing a bark of laughter almost against her own will. She could barely believe just how impossibly huge Hashirama's Kan'on was.

When she first beheld Madara's perfect susanoo rising from her Cascada in Hueco Mundo, her first thought was to attack it. Despite its sheer, mountainous size, she did not doubt, for one moment, that it was outside the realm of possibility to cut down.

That mountain sized perfect susanoo could have fit neatly in any one of the Kan'on's thousand palms.

Harribel released her resurreccion, feeling a mixture of awe and shame at how meaningless her own power was compared to the behemoth that was Hashirama Senju. The first time she witnessed this technique, she had been incapacitated, lying in a pool of her own blood upon the ashen Konoha forest floor. It had also been destroyed by Yamamoto's Bankai before she could get a good look at it. This time, she could truly absorb its magnificence, and she knew beyond any shadow of doubt that her contribution to the fight was over. She shivered as she was reminded of the head-captain's strength. To have reduced a monstrosity like that to dust in a single strike…

Her thoughts were drawn back to the immediate battle, however, as the wooden arms that had formed a fan around the Kan'on sprouted outward, before curving back and descending upon the trapped Benehime Aratame.

As the Crimson Princess was pulverized, Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin's wounds reopened, and they fell from the skies, landing unceremoniously onto the ground.

And then a Senkaimon appeared right where the shinigami lay, and Harribel's heart fell. Isshin had returned, along with three more captains of the Gotei 13.

"Captain Kyoraku… Captain Ukitake… and Captain Unohana," Urahara wheezed, gurgling as blood seeped into his lungs. "You really brought the big guns, didn't you, Isshin."

"Save your strength, Kisuke," Unohana said gently as she knelt down before him, enveloping his stomach in a warm green glow as she put her kaido to work.

"N-no… Yoruichi first, she's…"

"-in better condition than you, Kisuke. Now be quiet," the Squad 4 Captain ordered, and this time, Urahara obliged.

Yoruichi staggered toward them then, clutching her left arm, and Captain Kyoraku took in her condition; she looked like hell, but if she could walk, then most of her injuries were likely superficial and non fatal.

"Kisuke Urahara and Yoruichi Shihoin," Kyoraku began, looking disapprovingly at the destruction around him. "I believe your orders were to covertly eliminate the hollow known as Madara Uchiha and retrieve Orihime Inoue."

Yoruichi fixed a blank stare at him, before reluctantly looking away and nodding.

"So can you tell me why, as former head of the Detention Unit, and former leader of the Stealth Force, you two have decided to engage in open battle in the world of the living, with both your targets nowhere in sight?"

Captain Ukitake clicked his tongue; "Shunsui, you can at least wait until they are healed."

Before the Squad 8 captain could reply, Ichigo touched down beside them. "Dad, please… No more." He pointed toward the mossy mountain nearby. "If you keep fighting here, innocents are going to die."

The Captains balked as the mountain moved, and they followed Ichigo's gaze to the tiny figure of Hashirama standing atop a Buddha's head, hundreds of meters tall. "Move, Ichigo. Or do you want to die with them?" Hashirama threatened.

"Please stop fighting, Lord Hokage!" Isshin pleaded, gesturing at the ruined battlefield around them. "There's been too much senseless destruction, already."

Hashirama did not respond, but he did not attack, either. Isshin took this chance to turn toward the three fresh captains beside him.

"Take Kisuke and Yoruichi, and go back to the Seireitei…" Isshin said softly. "Ichigo and I will try to do some damage control. If worse comes to worst, don't send reinforcements. Forget this place, and never come back."

As he spoke, Harribel touched down before the captains, Tiburon raised before her. She was breathing easier now, and her muscles no longer burned from exertion.

Shunsui Kyoraku whistled. "Hey there," he said with a wink and a lazy smile, dragging his gaze purposefully across her body. "You've only gotten more beautiful since the last time I saw you, Tier Harribel."

The Espada recoiled, before raising her reiatsu with a glare.

Captain Kyoraku waved her down. "Unfortunately, we don't have time to talk here. Would you like to accompany me back to Seireitei?" He gestured to the Senkaimon behind him.

"No," she replied, bluntly.

"Pity. Well, I'm sure I'll be seeing you again, my dear," Kyoraku said as he stepped through the Senkaimon, and the rest of his group followed, save Isshin.

Immediately after the senkaimon closed, Hashirama's Kan'on dispelled in a monumental cloud of smoke, and the Hokage plummeted toward the ground. The angry green aura he had surrounded himself with subsided as Harribel deftly caught him, swooping him up in her arms as she broke his fall.

She frowned in concern as she saw Hashirama's quick, shallow breaths as he released his mitotic regeneration as well as his sage mode. Blood flowed freely from his nose, and he groaned in pain as she set him on the ground.

Harribel cautiously looked toward Ichigo and Isshin. They had sheathed their zanpakuto, and both wore looks of regret as Mito and a team of medical shinobi rushed to their Hokage.

"I suppose I have a lot of explaining to do." Isshin sighed, rubbing the back of his head.

Harribel warily looked at him, and then at Ichigo, before nodding; "I'm going to trust you for now, because I know you were not fighting me at your full strength before, but Madara and Orihime should be here for this. Let me go get them."

Isshin grunted approval d as Harribel opened a garganta.

"Wait," Ichigo called out as Harribel made her way inside. "I'm coming, too.

"It'll only be a few minutes, Ichigo." Harribel raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I haven't been to Hueco Mundo before… And I just need to make sure Orihime's alright."

"...Very well." Harribel shrugged, and Isshin cracked a ghost of a smiled as the two entered the garganta.

Hueco Mundo - Above the Sands

"Lanzador Verde!" Nel cried as she threw her lance at Nnoitra. The Quinta Espada had sprouted another pair of arms, bringing his total up to six. Five dual-bladed scythes whirled in a deadly flourish around him, leaving Nel no opening. It was clear to her that she was losing; none of her attacks had been able to pierce the Quinta Espada's hierro, and her reiatsu was leaking away by the second. This was her last-ditch effort.

The released Gamuza spiraled toward Nnoitra, and the Quinta Espada caught it between two scythes. The blades of the scythes chipped, and Gamuza broke through, but the lance's momentum had been slowed enough that Nel's ultimate attack failed to even draw blood. Her Lanzador Verde clattered against the handle of Nnoitra's scythes as it fell, half-buried in the sand.

Orihime lay sprawled on her side in the sand, having completely exhausted every ounce of reiatsu she had. Madara too, lay beside her, his back having been split open by one of Nnoitra's scythes. He had tried to get the jump on the Quinta Espada, but was once again unable to damage him.

As his lifeblood seeped away into the desert, his eyes fell upon the full moon in the sky. In life, he had seen victory after victory. His very name was power, and his mere presence upon the battlefield often sent his enemies to their knees in surrender, begging for mercy. Only one shinobi had ever challenged him in power.

Since becoming a hollow, however, he couldn't recall ever winning a decisive victory. From the auburn haired woman, Rangiku, who had initially forced him to escape the Land of Fire, to his first encounter with Harribel and Barragan, he had been on the run. Then, during the battle with the shinigami captains in Konoha forest, despite initially faring well against Captain Komomura, he was utterly humiliated, defeated and captured.

Then he was on the run again, in Soul Society, hiding like a dog from the Gotei 13 while waiting for an opportunity to escape. When he finally found that opportunity, and recruited Orihime to his cause, he'd only had a brief reprieve before he was once again fighting for his life. And now, he had fallen prey to the trickery of the shinigami, and could barely pick himself up off the ground.

His vision was blurred, his hearing was dull and his mind was slow. Even with his Rinnegan active, Nelliel and Nnoitra were but a blur in the distance. He could hear his own heartbeat thumping in his chest, but couldn't make out what was being said on the battlefield beyond mumbles, and his once keen mind that could have navigated any situation now felt laden with wool.

There was a scream, followed by a puff of pink smoke. Nel had lost, and he was going to die here, to some sadistic nobody. His teeth cracked with the force at which he clenched them. If he was at even half his regular strength, he could reduce the Quinta Espada to atoms with his perfect Susanoo.

No. In that instant, Madara was overtaken by a single, overwhelming instinct.

No. That instinct screamed at him that his mask was dulling his senses.

"No…!" He growled as he dug his fingers under its bony ridge beneath his chin, and pulled.

He roared in pain.

"Madara…? Calm down, Madara! What are you doing?" Orihime's worried voice sounded out beside him. But he didn't have time for her right then.

The pain was reminiscent of when he had first tugged on the chain on his chest, immediately after his death. This time, however, he did not shy away from it. He embraced it, relishing in the agony as it seared away the weakness that had taken root in his very soul. With all his other senses dulled, this pain was the only thing that felt real. His arm trembled in exertion as he pried at his hollow mask. Small cracks began to snake up from where he gripped it. He pulled harder, feeling clarity returning to his mind.

"Madara!" Orihime cried again, grasping weakly at his hands, trying in vain to stop him.

"Susanoo!" He roared, and a pair of skeletal hands erupted from his chakra, clasping around his mask. Orihime was blown back. With one last echoing shriek that echoed across the sands of Hueco Mundo, Madara tore off the mask that had hidden his face since his death. His body glowed as a beacon of blood red reiatsu lit up the skies. A howling gale erupted around him, and the moon itself shimmered as the vast white desert of Hueco Mundo was blanketed in a crimson hue, deepening with each pulse of his reiatsu.

"Dream… Luna Carmesi," he breathed. The words came to him naturally, as if a part of his very soul itself was vying for release. His vision was crisper than it had ever been, and he directed his predatory gaze upon a shell-shocked Nnoitra.

As the winds subsided and the reiatsu stabilized around Madara, Hueco Mundo's moon shone an angry red. His mask was almost completely gone, but for a remnant that resembled a headband across his forehead. The rest of him resembled his Gigai form, dressed in bright red battle armor, with thick black hair flowing down to his waist.

In his left hand, he held a single-bladed scythe, and in his right was a large gunbai. The war fan had the Uchiha crest emblazoned in its center, and the ends of both weapons were connected by a length of fine chain, resting in the sand behind him.

Harribel arrived in Hueco Mundo just in time to witness Nnoitra eviscerated by a blur of motion faster than she could process. Her heart leaped to her throat as she saw Madara, in his natural evolution to an Arrancar, summon a mighty sandstorm with a wave of his gunbai. And just like that, the Quinta Espada was no more; sliced into a thousand pieces and scattered into the wind for a sandy burial.

Ichigo stumbled as he almost choked on the spiritual pressure radiating from Madara, but he caught himself before he fell. Spotting Orihime lying motionless nearby, he made his way to her side, shielding her from the sandstorm with his body.

Elsewhere, Gin Ichimaru was warily observing the battle, hidden strategically out of sight behind a pillar of stone. He had decided to wear his reiatsu concealing cloak when he, too, came to investigate Harribel's brief appearance in this area. He pinched the bridge of his nose, cursing under his breath, before opening a Senkaimon and quickly stepping through.

Seireitei - Squad 4 Barracks

Rangiku Matsumoto paced along the walkway separating the 3rd and 4th division Barracks, eagerly awaiting the return of her former Captain Kurosaki. Upon learning that he was still alive - and Ichigo's father, no less - she had been ecstatic; there was so much to catch up on over the last twenty years.

Their reunion was belayed, however, by Isshin's pressing need to find reinforcements for Urahara and Yoruichi. And then Captains Unohana, Kyoraku and Ukitake had returned with the gravely wounded duo in tow, and Isshin was nowhere to be seen.

None of them paid her much heed as they rushed past her into the infirmary, and the Senkaimon closed behind them. Rangiku hung her head. Was fate truly so cruel that she would find her old captain alive just to lose him again moments later? She felt a spark of hope reignite, however, when she sensed another Senkaimon opening close by, near the Squad 3 barracks.

She made her way toward it, and saw a very familiar silhouette. She froze. Gin? She made toward the man with a shunpo, and could barely believe her eyes when she saw that it was indeed her childhood friend exiting the Senkaimon. His eyes were open, and his expression was serious.

"Rangiku… Thank goodness you're the one to find me; that should make this a lot easier," he said, eyes narrowing back into slits. "I have intelligence about Aizen, Madara and the Espada, but I can't stay long right now. Come and meet me at our old house in the Rukongai, alone. At this exact time, three days from now."

He stepped back into the Senkaimon, but Rangiku lunged forward, grabbing his arm tightly. "Wait, Gin! You can't just show up and say something like that out of the blue. You're a traitor to the Seireitei now… I have orders to kill you on sight."

Gin smiled. "Then why haven't you drawn Heineko?" He made no move to draw his own zanpakuto, either.

Rangiku's features softened, before stepping close to him; "What's going on, Gin? You're betraying Aizen now? Just like that?"

The former Squad 3 Captain shrugged. "A snake must shed its skin, or it dies. Betraying those close to me is in my nature. Come now, Rangiku, you know me better than anybody else. Don't you trust me?" He purred into her ear.

Rangiku did not move away. Instead, she released her grip on his hand, shaking her head with a small scoff. "How can I trust you, when you say things like that, and always run off on your own without a word…?"

"That's not my question. I'm not asking you how you can trust me, or if you even should. I'm asking if you do." He opened his eyes again, sapphire irises locking onto Rangiku's.

The Squad 10 Vice Captain sighed, relenting. "I'll see you there, Gin."

He nodded, before turning his back and stepping through his Senkaimon.

"Gin."

He stopped, looking back at her over his shoulder.

"Are you going to betray me, too?"

His brow twitched, and he sucked in a quick breath, but hesitated before answering. And then he laughed; "Nah. I've known you too long. See ya in three days, Rangiku."

He turned back and left before she could reply, opening his eyes fully as he stared ahead into the darkness of the Dangai. Not you, Rangiku… Never you. No matter the lies I must tell, no matter who I must betray, my heart will forever beat for you, alone.

AN: Luna Carmesi = Crimson Moon in english.

I brainstormed back and forth for like 2 days trying to think up something interesting for Madara's release phrase...hopefully it's good enough :S.

Also hopefully there are no Pesche/Dondochakka fans that I've offended killing those two off (do they even exist?). Nnoitra is one of my favorite espada. He's just so damn vicious in canon. One of the only espada I actually felt exuded any sense of threat.

so this is the new longest chapter of this fic, and I've passed the 100k word milestone! Hooray!

A lot of things are happening in this chapter...next couple chapters are going to be some more story development and then big dramatic plot resolutions etc and twists until the end. this chapter marks probably about the halfway point with the story now.