Chapter 28 - Avenger
Hueco Mundo - Las Noches Throne Room
"What are you playing at, Aizen? Finally decided to try and get rid of me?" Barragan sneered as he stomped heavily into the throne room. Aizen had never asked for his audience personally before, and from the looks of things, no one else was present in the room.
The Lord of Hueco Mundo himself was not atop his throne. In fact, he stood at ground level, hands in his pockets as he inclined his head in acknowledgement of Barragan's arrival. "To the contrary, Barragan. I but seek to strengthen our alliance."
The former God-King scoffed, but crossed his arms and waited for Aizen to continue. He, among all the Espadas, was likely the only one aside from Starrk who held no fear for Aizen. Unlike Starrk, though, who nigh worshiped the man, Barragan had a deep-seated resentment toward him. Aizen had walked up to his throne with Gin and Tosen, slaughtered his army and corrupted his senses such that he was powerless to resist them.
That, coupled with the downright arbitrary ranking system of the Espada, in which he had somehow been placed below both a meathead and a chronic sluggard, meant that he had many reasons to dislike the conniving Shinigami.
Which is why, when Aizen gestured to the high backed, marble throne atop the platform before them, his next words stunned Barragan. "I would return Hueco Mundo to its rightful king."
As his shock wore off, Barragan immediately felt like he was being played, but Aizen seemed genuine enough. What is he planning here? The ancient Arrancar thought.
As if reading his mind, Aizen chuckled, before explaining; "The time has come, Barragan, for me to move on from this place. Hueco Mundo has served me well, but I would not leave the Hollow world without a ruler."
Barragan scoffed, shaking his head in amusement. "So you came and overthrew my empire, and now you're returning it, just like that?"
"I am."
"Where are you scurrying off to?"
"Nowhere that concerns you, Barragan. But know that next time we meet, you would be addressing me as the Soul King."
Barragan narrowed his eyes, before erupting in cackling laughter. "And what, pray tell, do you have to gain from returning Hueco Mundo to me?"
"You will serve as my decoy."
Barragan's mirth instantly evaporated, as he narrowed his eyes. "Come again?"
"Forgive me; poor choice of wording," Aizen placated. "You will hold down the fort here at Las Noches, when the Shinigami inevitably come knocking."
"You believe that they would dare launch an offensive into Hueco Mundo?" Barragan asked in disbelief.
Aizen smirked, recalling the garganta that had just opened into his throne room before fizzling away along with the reiatsu of the man who had opened it. "I believe that soon, they won't have a choice."
They won't have a choice? A myriad of unlikely scenarios played out in Barragan's head, until he began to put the pieces together, and understanding dawned on his features. "I see," he grumbled. "Then I shall prepare them a grand welcome."
Aizen nodded, his small smile ever present as he waved a hand through the air to open a garganta. "See that you do," he said, walking slowly into the portal. He did not look back.
Observing Aizen's rule, Barragan could not help but feel a sense of grudging respect and appreciation. Aizen had set things in motion in a few short decades that Barragan had deemed too bothersome to attempt, despite the millenia he had reigned over Hueco Mundo. He supposed that despite their long lifespan, Shinigami were still mortal, and thus their actions were spurred by the constant press of time.
Aizen had made existence interesting for him, again. And so Barragan had willingly kept his head down, content to observe how Aizen's rule would play out. He had been the eternal God-King of Hueco Mundo, from a time when even Yamamoto was young. He had seen countless generations of Shinigami age away into nothingness while he himself had endured the eons, and Aizen would be no different.
He grunted, pleased with himself that he had played his cards correctly. Raising his reiatsu to summon his retainers, Barragan Louisenbarn grinned as he ascended the throne of Hueco Mundo once more.
With Starrk
The twin blades of Katen Kyokotsu locked with Starrk's matching reishi swords, when both combatants mutually disengaged. They had both felt an eerie sensation, almost akin to a complete silence in what should be a bustling forest, or the sudden quelling of roaring seas. The strength of Madara Uchiha's reiatsu had been such that since their arrival, anyone in the Soul Society who had the slightest spiritual awareness could constantly feel the Arrancar's presence. Hence, its sudden absence left a gaping void in their senses that had turned the entire Soul Society's attention toward the Seireitei.
Shunsui Kyoraku whistled. "Well I'll be. The madman really did it," he drawled. "Looks like that's it for this invasion of yours, huh?"
Starrk bared his teeth in frustration; if he wasn't mistaken in the other reiatsu that had flared when Madara's disappeared, then they had bigger problems than Madara's death. "Your informant in Hueco Mundo…" He began slowly; "It couldn't possibly have been Gin Ichimaru, could it?"
The Captain of the 8th Division did not answer, but his smile told Starrk all he needed to know. "Lilynette!" He called, and at once, the outlines around the spiritual wolves around him grew blurry, and the wolves dissipated back into reishi that was absorbed into his body. Without a word, he took off south.
"Oh? He's pretty good at long distance flash steps," Kyoraku mused to himself as he gave chase.
With Ichigo and Hashirama
Ichigo and Hashirama arrived just in time to see a golden black blur rocket away from Captain Soi-Fon, moments before it impacted the Hollow her Lieutenant had been restraining.
"Summoning Jutsu - Triple Rashomon!" Hashirama bellowed, even as Ichigo jumped behind Soi-Fon to catch her. The recoil from Jakuho Raikoben was immense, and Ichigo strained in surprise at how much force the tiny Captain's body impacted him with.
The atomic flames surged toward the Rashomon gates, before being dispersed to the sides. Hashirama was not worried, having turned back toward the injured Soi-Fon immediately after using the defensive jutsu. They had held against the flames of Ryujin Jakka in Konoha forest, and they would hold here without issue.
"Hey, Hashirama. Can you give her a hand?" Ichigo said, gently setting Soi-Fon down on the ground. The Squad 2 Captain had fallen unconscious.
"Move aside, Ichigo," Hashirama ordered, and the boy did as commanded.
However, instead of healing the wounded Captain, he thrust his hands into her pockets, and when they came up empty, began patting the woman up and down.
"H-hey, what are you doing?!" Ichigo cried, surprised and embarrassed by the Hokage's disregard for Soi-Fon's personal space.
"I'm looking for the key to set you free. That Hollow's still alive, so unless you want to fight it as you are, now, we have to find that key and get out of here. Quickly."
"Why don't you heal her and let her tell us?!" Ichigo demanded, before suddenly registering what Hashirama had said. "He's still alive? After that?" He tried to extend his spiritual sense outward, but Ichigo had never been good at sensing reiatsu. He felt nothing.
He heard a rumbling sound, then, and felt some light debris falling on his hair. He looked up, seeing the form of Sajin Komomura's Bankai slowly finding its two feet again. A short distance away, near where Soi-Fon had been when she had fired her attack, the burly Captain himself had just struggled to his feet.
"Captain Komamura!" Ichigo hailed, getting a nod in response as the Squad 7 Captain sealed his zanpakuto and made his way toward him.
"Ichigo. I'm not going to question how you escaped the Tower of Repentance, but your presence is greatly appreciated here. Has Captain Soi-Fon…" He trailed off when he saw Hashirama rummaging through the Squad 2 Captain's clothing.
"Don't worry, Hashirama is with me," Ichigo said. "And no, she hasn't done anything because she fell unconscious the moment we got here."
"Yes, Captain Soi-Fon's Bankai is formidable, but so is the strain it puts on her small body," Komamura said. "But the key is not on her person. I believe Captain Kurotsuchi has it. He had petitioned the Head Captain to run some experiments on you."
Ichigo reeled back, and Hashirama, too, flinched, stopping his rummaging. It was not the news that Mayuri had the keys to his bindings, nor even the news that the eccentric Captain had intended to experiment on him that had caught his attention.
Captain Komamura, too, widened his eyes in surprise, before howling joyfully into the sky.
Hashirama clenched his fists. "Madara…" Could his old friend and rival really be… and then he felt the horrifying dimming of another reiatsu, and his eyes widened.
"Ichigo!" He roared, grabbing the boy brusquely by the arm and leaping as fast as he could toward the direction of Orihime's faltering reiatsu.
Komamura, however, was more preoccupied with something else. The Rashomon gates retracted into the earth as Hashirama left with Ichigo, and as the smoke from Jakuho Raikoben cleared, he swallowed nervously as the silhouette within became clear.
Ulquiorra was missing most of his wings, as well as half his right arm. His eyes had been reduced to burnt sockets, and most of his skin was charred from the heat of the explosion. As Komamura watched, however, the arms and wings began to regenerate, and the charring on the Arrancar's skin began to recede. He gripped his zanpakuto tightly, as Ulquiorra's injuries fully healed, his eyes being the last to regenerate.
"Not bad," the Cuatra Espada began. "I could kill you now, but there are more pressing matters I must attend to." And with that, he opened a garganta and left.
North Rukongai - District 78
Yamamoto sheathed Ryujin Jakka, a confused frown across his face. The Madara Uchiha he had been fighting had suddenly vanished, seemingly having teleported to the Seireitei only to die. Expanding his senses toward the other Hollow invaders, he could sense two of them nearby, both heading in the direction of the Seireitei. A third was already very close to it, near Soi-Fon and Komamura's reiatsu. And then he grew alarmed.
There was a fourth, powerful Hollow near the Seireitei. Impossible. Including Madara and Gin, only three others had arrived. Deciding that action was more important than speculation, Yamamoto, too, began to make his way back toward the Seireitei. He absentmindedly noted that of the Captains he had brought with him, Byakuya, Hitsugaya and Soi-Fon were heavily injured, whereas Kenpachi's reiatsu could not be felt at all. Allowing his rage to fuel his speed, he decided that could mourn their losses later. Today would not be known as the day that he, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamto, allowed the Seireitei to fall to a mere handful of overly ambitious Hollows.
He had only known defeat at the hands of a Hollow once in his life, and that was in the days of his youth, before he had even been partnered with Ryujin Jakka. If the Hollows desired it so much, then the Seireitei would be their grave instead. Madara was already gone, and if all went well, the Zero Division would descend to the celebrations of his crushing victory.
Squad 4 Barracks - Infirmary
"What have you done…?" Rangiku breathed.
"R-Rangiku…? You're alive…" Gin said, vision blurring slightly as his eyes involuntarily began to water. He blinked back the tears, but immediately wished he hadn't when he was met with Rangiku's fearful, accusatory stare.
"...Why?" Was all she said, pointing to Orihime.
"She had… meaning to Madara," was all Gin could say. He took a step toward Rangiku, but stopped when she stepped back in retreat.
Madara. Rangiku recalled her final moments, impaled upon that cross in a world of bloody red, every inch of every nerve screaming in agony as she felt as if she had burned for eternity. Even when she had tried to close her eyes, she could still see the smug visage of the red-eyed Arrancar staring back at her. Was it all just a dream?
"Was it a dream…or did I…" She began, collapsing to her knees at the horrific memory.
Gin dove toward her, catching her as she fell, and wrapped her in a tight embrace. "You did… But Orihime brought you back. I did not know it was you she was healing."
Rangiku had never heard Gin's voice sound so small, so defeated, before, and she hugged him back on instinct. She silently apologized to Orihime, promising that she would find the young girl in the Rukongai, no matter how long it took, and that she would reunite her with Ichigo again.
"It's okay, Gin," Rangiku said. She herself was still very rattled from her death in Madara's Tsukuyomi, but Gin needed her to be strong right now. "Orihime was a living, breathing human; one of the purest souls I've ever met. She's somewhere here in Rukongai, now. All we have to do is find her, and then we'll be able to set things right." She made sure to include herself with him. She had previously resigned herself to execution via Sokyoku; now, however, after having burned to death once already, she absolutely had no intentions of repeating the experience.
Gin perked up. "...Yeah, of course. She's a human, so she's not gone for good yet." He stood up, then, reaching inside his oversized robe for two thin, black drapes. "Here, Rangiku. Reiatsu concealing cloaks. I had thought to bring you into the world of the living, but going back into the Rukongai doesn't seem that bad, does it?"
Rangiku nodded. "Two birds with one stone. We can live like we used to, and look for Orihime at the same time."
Gin smiled, "That's why I love bein' with ya, Rangiku. You always know exactly what to say to cheer people up."
The tension had completely drained from the room, then. The two did their best not to look at Orihime's corpse as they donned the cloaks. Rangiku turned toward Gin, returning his smile…
Just in time to see the former Squad 3 Captain's back erupt in a fountain of blood.
"Dream, Luna Carmesi," Madara snarled, the force of his release blowing the entire building apart and flattening others in a several-block radius. Rangiku caught Gin as he was blown toward her, and the two tumbled to a stop several hundred feet away. Madara was before them again in an instant.
"Kamishini No Yari," Gin muttered weakly, hefting Shinso toward the Arrancar. Having seen the speed of the zanpakuto once already, Madara was prepared. He caught the blade on the flat of his Gunbai, digging his heels in as the force of Shinso's extension sent Gin and Rangiku skidding backward further. As the Shinigami duo skidded to a halt, Madara's spinning scythe buried its blade into Gin's chest with a sickening crunch. Rangiku screamed as Madara yanked his scythe back by its chain.
In a single, flawless motion, the Arrancar planted the hilt of his Gunbai into the ground and wrapped the chains around Gin's still extended zanpakuto, before snapping Shinso with a flick of his wrist. He appeared before the Shinigami with a thunderous sonido, then, yanking on his chain to call both weapons to his palms. He caught them behind him, eyes locked on the dying Gin the entire time, before deliberately brandishing both weapons as he approached the duo.
"It's a bit different when you're not stabbing me in the back, isn't it?" Madara sneered. "Tell me, Gin. How does it feel? To have your back taken, at the height of your victory?"
Gin opened his mouth, but instead of words, a bloody cough escaped his lips, staining his teeth red as the blood continued to seep down his chin and neck.
"You're right, that Orihime held meaning to me. She was instrumental in my plans," Madara continued, slowly looking from Gin to Rangiku. "Does this harlot hold meaning to you, as well, I wonder?" He raised his scythe until the tip of it was pressing lightly at Rangiku's chin.
"So tell me, Gin. In your final moments, how would you like to watch her die? Burning again? Strangulation, perhaps as you did to Orihime? Or should I gradually erode her soul with the force of my reiatsu until she fades away into nothing?"
"O-Orihime is in the Soul Society, somewhere. She-" Rangiku began, teeth chattering.
"And what am I meant to do with that information? How long would it take to find her?" Madara demanded, leaning forward toward her as lightning began to crackle around his body.
Gin was sure he had vaporized Madara's remains with his Soren Sokatsui, but there was no use denying what was right in front of him. "Wait," he gurgled, through the blood. He could feel himself slipping away. "Aizen's… weakness… for her life." It was then that Gin noticed that Madara's left eye looked pale and dull, as if it had lost its light.
Madara stood upright again; the lightning enveloping him did not subside, but nor did it discharge. "Speak, vermin, and I shall consider it."
Gin grit his teeth, propping himself up on his elbows in a bid for gravity to clear his airways. Madara's second blow had severed his spine; he could not feel his legs. "The complete hypnosis of Kyoka Suigetsu… Has one drawback. You are immune to its effects so long as you are touching… The blade," he croaked out, before descending into another bloody coughing fit. His elbows slipped, and he collapsed back into Rangiku's lap.
Madara waited for him to continue, but when Gin only looked at him with pleading eyes, he laughed. "That's it? It's unfortunate that you've forgotten, but Aizen's illusions have no hold over me. I can dispel his petty tricks with nary a thought."
He made his way toward Orihime's body, donning one of the reiatsu concealing cloaks Gin had brought with him. He concealed the other within his armor, before hoisting Orihime over his shoulder. Gin was drawing his final breaths, and Orihime had prioritized saving that woman over herself. The traitor was already dealt with, so he would honor his fraccion's final deed and allow the woman to live.
"I just wanted to make things better for you, so you never needed to cry… And I could see your smile… again and again," he heard Gin say. Madara took a deep breath as he squeezed his eyes shut. This is why he preferred killing his enemies quickly, so he didn't have to listen to them ramble.
"Gin!" Rangiku cried as her tears fell onto her childhood sweetheart's cheeks. "Hang on, I can heal you." She focussed her reiatsu into the palm supporting Gin's back, and began channeling her Kaido. "We can hide in the Rukongai like you said. We can still make it!"
But Rangiku only knew the most rudimentary of healing Kido, and Gin's reiatsu was still growing fainter by the second.
"I'm… sorry," Gin whispered, closing his eyes.
"...Don't die…! Please don't leave me." Rangiku had given up on her Kaido, now, instead just burying her face in the chest of the dying Gin. "I'll smile every day for you from now on… Just please; please don't go where I can't follow!"
Madara turned his back to them with a sigh, before dashing out of earshot with a sonido. He hated this. He didn't want to witness any more meaningless deaths. He knew, better than anyone else, that his actions against Gin and Rangiku were only perpetuating the cycle of hatred, but it was that, or let the attempts on his life slide. Gin's little stunt had cost him an eye. He had of course prepared an Izanagi in the case of his death in the Seireitei, but Gin was not the person he had been worried about dying to.
He clenched his fists. What had happened, had happened. He had to move forward. He had to try the Rinne Tensei again - on Orihime, this time - but he needed to get to safety first. He briefly considered opening a garganta immediately and retreating, but paused. He had sensed Hashirama's chakra appear with Nel not long ago, and also sensed Harribel's reiatsu approaching from the north. In fact, now that he had his attention focused on his sensory perception, he noticed that Yamamoto was also heading toward the Seireitei, just as he had hoped.
They all appeared to be moving toward him. He made his way toward the Sokyoku hill, laying Orihime's body on the Sokyoku altar. From that vantage point, he surveyed the surroundings with his remaining rinnegan. "Wood Clone Jutsu!" He brought his hands together, forming a tiger, dog and snake seal in quick succession, as eight wood clones leaped out from his form. They scattered in each of the compass points, while he himself sat atop the hill, and waited.
Seireitei - Sokyoku Hill
Hashirama was silent as he directed his wooden dragon to set them down atop the rocky cliff. "Orihime!" Ichigo cried, as he hobbled toward the motionless girl. As he drew closer, he only needed a single glance at her pale face to realize that she was not breathing.
"Madara!" He demanded as he turned toward the Arrancar. "What the hell happened to Orihime?!"
The Arrancar was sitting cross legged, eyes shut in concentration, but he heard the boy. "She's dead, Ichigo. Gin killed her."
Ichigo was dumbstruck as he cradled Orihime's head in his arms. Hashirama and Madara were talking, but their words were blurred in his head. Orihime is… dead. His head began to throb.
"I have nothing to say to a mere clone," Madara responded. "Dispel, and tell Hashirama that everything is in control here."
"The Allied Shinobi village is working, Madara. I thought you should know that. We have over twenty thousand members already, and thousands more flow in by the day," Hashirama's clone continued.
"And I have already told you that it will fail," Madara spat. "Now dispel, or get out of my sight. I don't want to see your face right now."
Hashirama growled; "I may be a clone, but I am still Hashirama! How are you so set in your own ways, Madara? You don't believe anybody else could be right because you hate having someone standing behind you. But I'm standing here before you, or beside you - whatever you want."
Madara stood up, uncrossing his arms as he glowered at Hashirama. "Straighten your tongue, clone. What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying that your single-minded pursuit of your goals, whether it be the Infinite Tsukuyomi or the Soul King, or revenge, makes you predictable to Aizen," Hashirama explained. "That's how he's using you to fight his battle. Ichigo and Isshin have told me a lot about that man since you left; think about it. Has he himself even raised a finger this entire time?"
Madara held his glare at Hashirama's clone, who glared back. "Look at the people dying around you, Madara. Even Orihime? For what? What have you accomplished here, and what are you actually trying to accomplish?"
"I…" Madara frowned as an immediate answer did not occur to him. "I'm…" He tried again, but again he could not retrieve the answer from his mind. He was in the Soul Society, as part of Aizen's strike force by merit of his strength, and his desire to obtain answers from Yamamoto regarding the Soul King. He had discovered that the Oken is Yamamoto himself, so why was he still here? For what purpose was he planting the wood clones?
Hashirama shook his head sadly. "Nel and Orihime had a theory, Madara. You've lost everything you have ever cared for enough to protect. The Infinite Tsukuyomi is just your way of enacting your vengeance against a world that's shown you too little kindness, isn't it?"
Madara recoiled. "No."
But Hashirama pressed forward. "And you're just here to tie up unfinished business with the Shinigami, right?"
"I'm going to the Soul Palace. I discovered the Oken."
"Alone?" Hashirama's eyebrows almost darted off his forehead. "What do you, who still run from Yamamoto, intend to do against five people stronger than him? This whole gambit of yours is looking more and more like a sad, drawn-out suicide tantrum. Come to your senses, Madara!"
Madara recoiled again.
"...Oi," A familiar, two-toned, voice called out. Madara turned toward Ichigo, and readied his weapons as a thick, black and white liquid began to drip down the substitute Shinigami's forehead. "What did Orihime die for? Why did Gin kill her?"
Madara's breathing quickened. "He used her body to conceal his strike against me."
"So you were the one;" Ichigo's voice was becoming more and more raspy, as his reiatsu began to feel increasingly Hollow-like; "Who put her into a position where Gin could kill her?!"
"No!" Madara was practically shouting now, to be heard over the gale of Ichigo's reiatsu. "Calm yourself."
"Madara," Hashirama said, pointing toward the middle of Ichigo's chest. At first it took on a distorted appearance, until a circular area roughly the size of a small melon began to melt away.
"I avenged her, Ichigo," Madara said, trying to calm the boy down while justifying himself. "I killed Gin. The score is settled."
"The life of that snake could never balance Orihime's!" Ichigo roared. In his hand, he held out Zangetsu, which was beginning to glow a deep crimson.
"No, Ichigo. Listen to me-" Madara began, before another voice called out to the boy.
"Ichigo!" Isshin cried as he approached with Nel in tow. Any further words he was about to say died in his throat as he drew close enough to see the form his son's body had taken.
The coloring was different, but the domed, skull-like mask was something he could never forget. His eyes fell on the two angular, forward facing horns, and the large hollow hole that had melted out from the middle of his son's torso.
Isshin drew Engetsu as he set himself down in front of his son. Before his sword had even cleared its sheath, Nel touched down beside him, Gamuza already in hand. "Get out of here, Nel. You've done your part here."
"What?!" The former Tres Espada said. "What is that Hollow and what has he done with Ichigo?"
"It's a very long story, but I think I know what's going on. I've seen this Hollow before-" Isshin didn't finish his sentence. The Hollow before his eyes vanished, and an instant later, he grunted as Tensa Zangetsu was buried to its hilt in his gut. His eyes bulged at the mind bending speed of the Hollow. He barely had time to register that his vision had been filled with red, and realized that the Hollow was charging a cero between its horns directly in front of his face.
And then the cero was replaced by Nel's lithe form as she planted a flying knee, mid sonido, into the Hollow's head. "Ichigo!" She screamed. "That's your dad! What are you doing?"
The Hollow recovered immediately; her blow had barely managed to stagger it. It roared, trying to make a retaliatory swipe at Nel, but was thwarted by the Sekkiseki bindings still around its wrists.
Seeing the danger they were in, Hashirama summoned two large wooden hands to grab Nel and Isshin, pulling them away from the bestial Hollow.
"Stay still, Isshin. I'll heal you." The Hokage's clone said, pulling Tensa Zangetsu from the elder Kurosaki's gut and tossing it aside.
The three of them watched in disgusted fascination as the hollowfied Ichigo tilted its head, observing the bindings around its wrists. Then, it tilted its head back, and screeched into the skies. Its entire body became wreathed in deep, crimson reiatsu as it howled, and the Sekkiseki began to crack. There was a moment of pregnant silence as the Hollow drew another breath, and with one final yell, shattered the bindings that had stubbed even Madara's best efforts.
The Uchiha had not moved from his perch, grimacing as he took note of the Hollow's strength. His grimace deepened as he analyzed Ichigo's reiatsu with his remaining rinnegan. Once tranquil, sky blue streams of spiritual energy appeared to him now as a chaotic, crimson torrent that ravaged the boy's body as it coursed through his veins. Ichigo's short orange hair billowed about at waist length, and tufts of bright red fur had sprouted from his collar and wrist.
Madara frowned as he recognized the pattern of the reiatsu flowing through the hollowfied Ichigo. With a start, he looked at where Tensa Zangetsu lay next to Hashirama and Isshin. Could it be?
"Declare, Gamuza!" Nel cried, holding her zanpakuto horizontally before her. This accursed place had taken Orihime; she wouldn't let it claim her Ichigo, too.
"I've learned about this, from Aizen, actually," Nel began, raising her voice so everyone could hear. "He's gone berserk. When a Shinigami and Hollow hybrid goes berserk and manifests a full Hollow mask, they will return to normal if the mask is shattered."
She raised her lance, her eyes honed in on the hollow before her. "Hashirama, can you encase my lance in wood?"
Hashirama obliged without a word, immediately understanding Nel's plan. If she could run the blunt, wooden tip of the lance into Ichigo's head, then she could hopefully damage the mask enough without actually killing the boy.
Nel would never get the chance.
She knew that her sonido in her Resurreccion was atrocious. She was always more of a straight up bruiser in battle. So she knew, from centuries of experience, how to deal with a faster opponent. She had never, however, come across a Hollow with predator instincts as sharp as the one that had manifested from Ichigo.
The white, horned Hollow nigh teleported beside her, and she only felt the sonic boom from his sonido after he had kicked in her two front legs. Nel tried to bring her lance to bear on the Hollow, but he caught it with his hand, before tearing it out of her grip. Nel's centaur body came crashing down as her hind legs buckled from the momentum at which her lance was ripped from her fingers.
She gasped in pain, before lifting her head and coming face to face with the hollowfied Ichigo. "I-I-Ichigo…?" She whimpered, as the Hollow leaned its face close to hers, but the glowing, yellow slits in the Hollow's sunken skull showed no sign of recognition. In one fell motion, it reached out toward the wounded Isshin, recalling Tensa Zangetsu, and raising the blade for a killing strike.
Nel flinched, raising an arm to shield her head on instinct as Tensa Zangetsu was brought down toward her. She was besieged by a shower of sparks and a horrible grating sound as the blade of Tensa Zangetsu met with Madara's scythe. For the briefest of moments, it looked like Madara may be overpowered, but with a mighty grunt, he slashed outward, pushing back the berserk Ichigo.
"Enough, Ichigo." Madara ordered, cladding himself in a skeletal susanoo. "Or should I say, Zangetsu?"
He was certain that the form Ichigo's body had taken was some evolution of the Hollow he had met in Karakura town. He remembered that Hollow had ultimately introduced himself as 'White' but had the name 'Zangetsu' at the tip of its tongue before it caught itself.
"Can you understand me, Zangetsu? Ichigo?" Madara asked. "I know your soul aches. I understand the grief you must be feeling, but you must grow beyond this pain."
Zangetsu grabbed its head, breathing erratically. Each breath loosed a puff of smoke as the Hollow's internal temperature began to rise. Swinging Tensa Zangetsu behind him, Madara's eyes widened as half the Sokyoku Hill was demolished by the blade's shockwave alone.
And then Zangetsu was upon him. Unleashing another animalistic, two-toned howl, the Hollow threw himself against Madara with a berserk fury. Whether the blade of it's sleek Zanpakuto, its thrashing horns or its deadly claws, it bore into Madara with all it had.
Perhaps, if it had been more in control of its mental faculties, it may have been more of a threat, but as it was, Madara goaded the creature, maneuvering himself until he found an opportunity to snare its torso in his chains. Somersaulting atop Zangetsu, Madara tossed one more loop of his chain around the Hollow's neck before landing expertly on its shoulders and pulling hard, forcing the Hollow's head up and exposing its neck. Its glowing, yellow eyes narrowed as it gnashed its jaws uselessly at Madara.
"Nel!" Madara roared.
The green haired centaur was being treated by Hashirama, but her front legs had been healed enough to stand on all fours again. She steeled her gaze, trotting toward her Gamuza where Zangetsu had tossed it. Retrieving her lance, she reared up on her hind legs and measured the distance between herself and the restrained Zangetsu.
And then she charged, galloping toward the horned Hollow at full speed as she raised her weapon, reinforcing it with her reiatsu.
"Lanzador Verde!" The outline of her lance shone with a bright, pink glow as Nel brought its tip to bear against Zangetsu's mask. She had angled it in a way such that its momentum would carry upward, smashing the mask but without causing unnecessary damage to Ichigo's head underneath. But the difference in their reiatsu was too great.
The sound of crunching metal and ripping flesh filled the air as Nel stumbled and fell with an agonizing cry. Her right shoulder wrenched out of its socket, and the tendons in her arm tore from her bones as the released Gamuza crumpled against Zangetsu's hierro.
Isshin, upon seeing Nel's condition, immediately bolted into action. As he raced toward his hollowfied son, however, he began to notice the glimmer of red particles converging into a cero between the Hollow's horns. His mind went into overdrive. Could he truly aim a Getsuga at his own son? What about Madara? Would the cero release anyway? Could his Getsuga even crack the mask?
But all of those questions died away in his head as he saw Nel struggling to her legs again, clutching her right arm as she tried to limp away. He knew one thing for certain, and that was that he could at least move Nel away from the blast radius. He barrelled into her, hefting her entire Resurreccion form over his shoulder and retreating with a shunpo. He felt a rumbling behind him, and even though had squeezed his eyes shut, the brightness of Zangetsu's crimson cero still shone through his eyelids.
He didn't like that he was turning his back on Madara, but between him and Nel, he knew that Madara had far better odds of surviving the cero. That, and he could not bring himself to raise Engetsu against his own son.
As he arrived beside Hashirama again, however, the Hokage's clone wore an odd mixture of admiration and amusement on his face. "That Madara…" He said, keeping his voice down. "He certainly hasn't been slacking."
Setting Nel down, Isshin turned back, squinting at the brightness of the Cero. Madara had wrapped the chains around his left arm, keeping pressure on the Hollow's neck as it channeled. Instead of spreading outward in a cone like Isshin would expect, however, the cero had taken the shape of a beam that seemed to be disappearing into Madara's extended right palm. As the flashing red energy died down, Madara was panting, but aside from a wisp of smoke rising from his palm, he appeared uninjured.
"...Too much power," he muttered, before his eyes widened as Zangetsu howled and charged up a second Cero. He untangled his chains immediately, kicking himself off the Hollow as its Cero enveloped the sky in a canvas of red energy.
Madara glared at Zangetsu. He didn't have the time to play with this beast. He needed to prepare for Yamamoto. Reaching outward with his senses for the Head Captain, Madara's eyes widened as he dashed back with a defensive sonido. The old man's reiatsu was right on top of them.
The scarred, shirtless figure of Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto descended upon Sokyoku hill. Madara had noticed him, so he focused on his secondary target. The Vasto Lorde that had announced its position with a beacon-like Cero saw him, and narrowed its eyes as it, too, noticed the Head Captain's arrival.
Yamamoto landed before the hollow, reaching for its horns. Using them as handles, he threw the hollow over his shoulder, slamming it down and further fracturing the sacred stone beneath their feet. Zangetsu kicked wildly in a bid to free itself, but its clawed feet found no purchase against the grizzled hands holding him down.
As Yamamoto dragged the dazed hollow upright again, it noticed that his torso was wide open. Letting loose a grating, two-toned shriek, it thrust Tensa Zangetsu through the Captain Commander's gut, adding yet another to his many scars. Yamamoto did not even flinch. His face betrayed no pain; all he did was tense his sinewed abs in response, squeezing them hard around the blade buried within him.
Zangetsu's yellow eyes widened when it realized it couldn't dislodge its weapon from Yamamoto's formidable abdomen. Abandoning its Zanpakutou, the hollow howled, baring its fangs at the Head Captain and began charging a third Cero.
Yamamoto wasted no time. It had been almost two millennia since he had been defeated by the Hollow that would later become sealed into Ikomikidomoe, and close to a millennia since he had effectively fought to a draw with the then God-King of Hueco Mundo. He had had his fair share of battles with Vasto Lordes since then, but based on its spiritual pressure alone, he knew that this Hollow before him could not be underestimated.
Tightening his grip around Zangetsu's horns enough to crack them, he leveraged his entire weight down as he smashed its face into his knee once, twice, three times. The Hollow thrashed in his grip, leaving bloody furrows in his chest with his claws, but Yamamoto stood firm, unmovable and statuesque.
The Captain Commander flexed his ancient muscles and planted one final, flying knee into the Hollow's chin. Its howling stopped, and the cero between its horns dissipated. Yamamoto roared a battle cry as he allowed the limp Zangetsu to drop to its knees, before snapping the horns from its head with a nasty crunch that sounded out across Sokyoku hill.
The sacred execution grounds fell silent, but for the dull thud of Zangetsu's unconscious body impacting the ground as Yamamoto released him. As its waist-length, orange hair retracted, the black markings of its pale skin morphed back to the tanned beige of Ichigo's. His reiatsu, too, settled down to the faint, but unmistakable signature of Ichigo Kurosaki. Yamamoto stepped over the substitute Shinigami's prone form.
"Former Captain Isshin Kurosaki. Are you still on our side?"
Isshin jumped, gulping as Yamamoto addressed him. He met the Head Captain's gaze briefly, before dashing over to Ichigo, then Orihime with his shunpo, picking them up one per arm. No doubt Yamamoto had seen him hurriedly ushering both Nel and Hashirama away during his utter annihilation of Zangetsu.
"I don't want to see the Seireitei fall, and I stand against Aizen."
Yamamoto grunted in acknowledgement at Isshin's words. "Then take your son to Captain Unohana. We will discuss his…affliction…upon my return."
Isshin nodded. He made a deliberate effort not to look at Madara, but just as he was about to take off toward Unohana's signature, his will failed him. The Uchiha did not appear fearful, despite what he had just witnessed Yamamoto do to Zangetsu. Thick, black, sage markings had appeared around his eyes and forehead, he had planted both his weapons into the ground beside him, slowly forming a chain of hand seals as his single, glowing purple eye bore into his foe.
Yamamoto himself took a few steps, before looking down and pulling Tensa Zangetsu out of his gut. He tossed the blade toward Isshin before drawing Ryujin Jakka.
"Do you know, Madara Uchiha, how many enemies of the Soul Society have been executed upon this sacred ground?" Yamamoto began.
Igniting Ryujin Jakka in an explosion of flames, he pressed the flat of its blade against his wound, searing it shut, before letting the tip of his Zanpakuto fall to his side. The moisture in the air began to evaporate, and the cool breeze gave way to an arid heat.
"Countless. Burned to ashes atop Sokyoku hill." Yamamoto continued, raising Ryujin Jakka. "And when the sun sets today, you, too, will join those forgotten ashes."
Madara narrowed his gaze, blinking as his eyes became irritated from the dryness in the atmosphere. He clenched his fists, feeling the skin on his knuckles crack and bleed, moments before the flames around Yamamoto receded into his Zanpakuto, and the grizzled Shinigami spoke the words that sent adrenaline coursing through Madara's body.
"Bankai; Zanka no Tachi."
AN: No jebait - Madara vs Yamamoto for real next chapter. All the other fights have wrapped up now, and it's time for the big boys. Also going to change this fic rating from T to M for all the fights
Also...damn I didn't think last chapter would be as polarizing as it was. That's why I'm getting this one out as fast as I am. Hopefully it can appease a few more readers. I must have lost 10 favs and follows, but also gained a little bit more so it kinda balanced out. I guess I have to commit to the major story beats I have in mind, no matter what :(
Another thing; I'm adding a little bit of headcanon lore re; Barragan and Yamamoto. I feel like it was an absolute robbery of an epic storyline that Kubo never had those two interact in canon.
And one last thing! Ichigo's showing here might not be enough for some viewers, but he's with Isshin now, after a crushing defeat, and you guys all know where that led in canon *wink wink*
Responding to reviews:
MadaraLimboClone: I know Madara at this point in this story should realistically be MUCH stronger than Gin (as showcased in this chapter) but Gin's Kamishini no Yari in canon also caught Butterfly Aizen (2 evolutions beyond base Aizen who soloed all the captains & vizards in like 10 seconds) despite Aizen knowing Gin was planning something. Next chapter will wrap up the whole Seireitei arc. Stay tuned!
KievVrael245: Glad you appreciated :P
MaxTrueOmnipotent1: Very very very soon, now :P Thanks for keeping up with this since the beginning, too!
IzeroOne: I'm definitely not adding Naruto/Sasuke into this fic, now. I have a particular scene in mind next chapter which will make it impossible for them to exist. Also, I don't have anything planned regarding Uzumaki's shinigami masks, but I do have something planned regarding their sealing jutsu.
Witcher: Zero division is coming soon. Urahara and Yoruichi had already gone to petition their help...it's just a matter of time. And I didn't really think about the mental trauma part, but yeah, lets just say all damage was rejected, but the memory remained. Regarding Ichigo x Rukia, Ichigo's pairing will be revealed in the epilogue. That's something I've had firmly planned for a while, as well :P stay tuned!
Guest: I've made it a point to write Orihime as the most innocent, naive and kindhearted character in this fic. Don't be turned off by her death, though, I promise there will be a happy ending.
SpedyAlarm: Shhhhhhhhh! :P
Ghettokingkai: Hopefully Ichigo's vasto lorde form showing up and wrecking a few of the protagonists does enough to satisfy you for now, but he will be getting a permanent, BIG power up soon.
Dbhamra: I didn't want to write a part about Madara meeting the sage, but I definitely have plans to bring the Sage's spirit into the story in the final arc.
Anyway, until next time!