The Valley of Screams. It is said there are practically many of them residing outside the Dangai Precipice World, ranging from the smallest of particles invisible to the eye, or in this case, a realm which is nearly as big as the entirety of the Soul Society. It is the place where the Dark Ones have used this as their base of operations for centuries, waiting, biding their time until it became the right time to strike. The difference between them is that the Reishi density is overwhelmingly higher than that of the Soul Society's or even Hueco Mundo's for that matter.
It can be said that all the torture of waiting has been finally worth for the results at Ganryu's grasp. Deep in the middle of the Valley of Screams, an unconscious Senna is seen being strapped to a large post, with several flying purple orbs surrounding her. Ganryu walks towards her, and as if on cue, Senna's body stirs as she begins to regain her consciousness. She opens her eyes, and begins to look around the unknown, empty wasteland as the natural rays of sunlight in this realm hit her face.
"Wh…" Senna mutters, as she becomes more and more aware of her surroundings, "Where am I? What is this place?" She starts asking questions, and looks down at Ganryu, who has an unquestionable posture, his Spiritual Pressure sending shivers down the young Shinenju's spine, "Why am I up here? I thought you wanted me to do something for you?"
"You don't need to do a thing," Ganryu speaks to her as though she's a small child, "All you need to do is just sit back and be the instrument I need in order to fulfill my dream," It's almost a shame that the others aren't here to witness this moment as they have been captured by the Soul Society. Well, not that it matters in the end. Everything is a means to an end.
"Dream…?" Senna is confused by this. Suddenly, memories of Ichigo being wounded in front of her stirs up, remembering what the man did, "What are you talking about!?" She demands to know.
"Heh," Ganryu smirks in amusement at the tone of disrespect given to him, "Did you know that I was once from a Noble family in the Soul Society? I was destined to be the rightful ruler, but that was long ago. It's amusing to see someone talk like that to me, even though I've long since abandoned such formalities," He tells her.
Senna doesn't say anything, rather she lets her actions speak for her as she glares at the leader of the Dark Ones, "Centuries have passed since the others and I were banished by the unjust laws of the Soul Society. They exiled my clan to forever wander in the Dangai Precipice World," He remembers the constant battle for survival within the Dangai that threatened to devour the clan. It makes it worse that the time within Dangai is far denser than the Soul Society's, nearly driving the clan to insanity, "We survived by avoiding the Restrictive Current, which devours everything that touches it."
Senna doesn't want to listen to this nonsense being thrown at her, but she doesn't have any other choice but to listen, "Eventually, we discovered lost souls that strayed from the Cycle of Transmigration and turned into mindless corpses," Ganryu chuckles at the irony of it, "We then learned to use use them as an energy source to fuel our own power. The number of souls is always constant, never-ending," Ganryu snaps his fingers, and at that moment, near invisible Blanks hurl towards Senna, and start spinning around her.
Ganryu continues his explanation, "And when these so called Blanks reach a certain number, they are naturally drawn together and generate a dimension known as the Valley of Screams," Senna begins to look frightened as she keeps turning her head, "In other words, this is a different space-time than that of the World of The Living and the Soul Society that was created by these Blanks," More and more of the Blanks keep popping, hurling themselves at Senna, generating a tornado of sorts, "And at the same time, all the memories of those lost souls merge into one object and return to the World of The Living. That being is called the Shinenju. Which is you," He finishes.
Senna grits her teeth, having already realized this, but she didn't want to accept this. Not now, and not ever.
"However, the Blanks do not completely lose their individuality," At the same time, during night, Mayuri gives his explanation at the Captains Meeting within the Seiretei, standing close to the Head Captain as he's the center of attention, with others mostly listening to his explanation, "Even though the Blanks are basically nothing but empty vessels, they instinctively search for their lost memories."
The mad Captain moves his long nailed middle finger, and seemingly activated a trigger of some sort as a holographic projection of the Valley of Screams, showing the valley and its sun for all the Captains to see, "This is where the problem begins," Mayuri continues, "If the Shinenju were to be placed at the center of the Valley of Screams, the proximity will intensify the Blanks' desire to retrieve their memories. This will drive them to rush towards the Shinenju, creating a vacuum," The holographic projection starts dissipating into dust, making everything around it disappear entirely, "The force will be strong enough to make the Dangai Precipice World collapse, causing the World of The Living and the Soul Society to be drawn together, and when in contact, will cause a simultaneous destruction of both our worlds."
"That's actually possible?!" Ukitake is shocked to hear this as the hologram disappears.
"What a mess, and just when we thought we could relax for a bit after the Aizen fiasco," Shunsui sighs as he tips his hat.
"Least messy of all is that it has already begun," Mayuri gives his statement, causing some of the Captains to grow worried.
"Screw all the details," Kenpachi bluntly says as he rubs his ear with his finger, "How much damage are we talking about?" It's as though he hasn't listened very much to the meeting to begin with.
"Given by approximation," Mayuri suppresses his annoyance at the large, rude behemoth, "When two worlds that aren't meant to touch, collide with one another, it results in a simultaneous, instant destruction of both our universes."
"But when?!" Ukitake wants to know right away, "How much time do we have?!"
"Given my limited data, I can't establish a precise time, but given what I have, I would guess in about an hour," Mayuri gives his estimation.
Soi Fon makes a step forward, letting her presence be known, "I will mobilize the Punishment Force to attack the Valley of Screams immediately!" She exclaims.
"It's useless," Mayuri tells her, making her look confused, "There is no Senkaimon that connects the Soul Society to the Valley of Screams. Therefore, we have no way to enter. There is nothing our troops can do to stop this."
Kenpachi sighs, as though he looks disappointed he can't enter.
"Sir…" Suddenly, a quiet earpiece on Mayuri's ear starts talking to him, making the Captain of Squad 12 look annoyed. It's Akon's voice speaking to him, "Forgive me, I'll accept any punishment you put on me later, but it's imperative you hear this…"
"Hm?" Mayuri hopes for Akon's sake that this better be good, otherwise he wouldn't contact him for no reason, and he knows better than anyone not to disturb him in a Captain's Meeting of all places. Akon then begins to tell him everything, and Mayuri widens his eyes upon hearing what Akon tells him, making him visibly sigh, "Unfortunately, things have gone from worse if not catastrophic. I do apologize for speaking out of line, but it appears that the Substitute Soul Reaper, Ichigo Kurosaki, has gone missing in the World of the Living," He informs his fellow Captains.
Nearly everyone widens their eyes in shock by this, "If you don't mind me asking, how is he missing exactly?" Shunsui asks.
"Apparently, he has fallen into a dimensional rift that connects to the Valley of Screams," Mayuri tells everyone, making nearly all of them widen their eyes in surprise, though Kenpachi seems more interested than anything, "How he did it, I do not know, but apparently he found where the Valley of Screams is located in the World of the Living. I'm being sent where his Spiritual Pressure was last located."
Yamamoto doesn't say anything, rather he thinks back to his and Ichigo's last encounter where they had a heated argument, resulting in a threeway battle between Ichigo, Byakuya and Kenpachi. Though his opinion of the Substitute is indifferent, as he had miraculously saved all of them from Aizen, something he didn't like. A child having that much power, despite losing it eventually, is not something that should be let loose without keeping constant tabs on it.
"Head Captain, what should we do?" Ukitake asks the oldest Captain of them all, now that they have information as to where the dimensional rift of the Valley of Screams is, the logical thing to do should be to head towards the source immediately.
Yamamoto thinks for a second. This is the matter for the Soul Society to handle still, regardless if Ichigo is involved in this mess, yet again. As much as he refuses to admit it, the Substitute is incredibly powerful, so powerful in fact that it wouldn't be exaggerated to say he's stronger than all the Captains standing before him. So frankly, the Captains aren't even needed.
Regardless, they can't sit back and do nothing, "All Squad Captains are to prepare for emergency procedures and are to remain in their Squad Barracks," Before Ukitake could say something, Yamamoto continues, "However, the situation is critical. Should the Substitute Soul Reaper require help, I will contact Squad 0 to aid him if need be."
Everyone except Kenpachi turns their head to look at the leader of the Soul Reapers, "Squad 0?" Shunsui is surprised to hear this, "Isn't that a bit excessive?"
"You want to help the Substitute Soul Reaper, do you not?" Yamamoto says, "The situation may even put the Soul King himself at risk when the universe is to be threatened. I will contact Squad 0 immediately and see what their response will be. All Squad Captains are to return to their positions!" He loudly puts his cane against the ground, "This meeting is over."
Rukia watches from afar on her brother's Squad barracks as she gazes at the stars for what may be the last time. She frowns as she watches from the sidelines, having received the news from Byakuya as to what will happen, given orders by the Head Captain himself.
She doesn't understand why the Head Captain would call Squad 0 for help, but not order the other Captains and Lieutenants to help Ichigo. Sure, Ichigo is incredibly strong, but a part of her doesn't want to just stay back while he's out risking his life again. Even if he doesn't need it, friends help each other out.
She hears Renji walking towards her until he's standing next to her. Rukia is clenching the pole with her hands, as each second that passes, it makes her want to help her friend more and more, regardless if this legendary Squad 0 is to help him. If they do, then she might stand down. But until then, she can't let Ichigo do everything on his own.
Rukia then makes her decision. The Captains may not be allowed to help, but the Head Captain didn't say the Squad Officers and Lieutenants couldn't, "I'm—" She gets cut off by Renji.
"I'm going too!" Renji says, something that surprises Rukia, "What? After that mess in Hueco Mundo, there's no way I'll stand around and let him have all the glory again. He has enough as it is, with him beating Aizen and all."
Rukia can't help but chuckle at this, which makes Renji somewhat confused, "Well, come on then," Rukia says, "No point standing around here."
In the Valley of Screams, there is another "ritual" taking place with Ganryu, the Blanks and Senna. First the Blanks that have been surrounding Senna as tornado, formed to an entirely different structure that she's pinned in, with Ganryu commanding them to his will, with later on clouds have gathered, as lightning storms hit Senna over and over, making her pass out from the overwhelming pain she's felt in her nervous system.
Then, the Blanks start coming from the ground and from the sky and start to "bond" with Senna, forming as thick strands all over, 'It appears that the Blanks are being drawn to the Shinenju, just as I predicted,' Ganryu thinks to himself as he smirks.
Suddenly, he senses a strong presence, one he's dealt with before. A blue, horizontal, energy beam slashes the Blanks, making them disappear. Ganryu leaps away, standing on a hill as he smiles in amusement, his cape flowing as he waves his arm, "Well now! It appears I have an unexpected guest!" Ganryu exclaims.
Not far from where the leader of the Dark Ones, Ichigo is revealed, holding Zangetsu as he's the one who released his Getsuga Tenshou to free Senna, "SENNA!" Ichigo screams her name, making the girl subconsciously wake up from hearing his voice. Though her vision is hazy, she could recognize the orange hair and large sword anywhere, "I'm coming for you!"
Ichigo leaps towards her, using the Reishi under his feet to propel himself in the air, heading straight towards Senna. It's then that Ganryu uses Flash Step to appear in front of Ichigo, and the two clash with their blades, "Well, well!" Ganryu smirks, "Have you returned for another beating?"
"Out of my way!" Ichigo pushes back Ganryu, sending him flying, something that surprises the commander as he crashes against the ground. Ichigo then flies towards Senna, who has a worried look on her face, "Hang on, I'll get you out of here," He frantically says as he grabs hold of her, but the second he does so, the Blanks immediately cover distance between them, "What the—?!" He instinctively backs away.
"Oh no…" Senna whispers in fear as the Blanks return to grab hold of her, smothering her, "Ichigo, please!" She pleads for the man, "Don't let them take me over!" The Blanks cover her faster than they did before, and even if Ichigo cut them right then and there, the Blanks would resurface like parasites, "Nnngh!" She can feel the weight of the Blanks smothering her, nearly covering her body instantly. The tight grip they have on her makes her feel that her body is about to be crushed. The revelation of being the Shinenju, the constant switch ups in her memories, the pressure from the Soul Society, and now this. She can't take it anymore, "Aaaaaaaaaaah!" She yells out her agony, releasing a blood curdling scream.
Ichigo grits his teeth, as he's stuck on what to do, "What's happening?! Senna!?" He yells in anxiety, as her screams make him feel tense. He's stuck on what to do.
"Hahahaha!" Ichigo hears Ganryu laughing. The young man turns around to look at the man, "Oh, don't be so surprised! The moment has finally arrived for her to awaken as the Shinenju! And it's because of you that she'll be forced to endure unimaginable pain and fear as a human being!"
Ichigo doesn't say anything, his face being impassive at first before he starts to quench his face in pure anger, "You're going to tell me how to get Senna out of this… now," He gives a death glare as he clenches his teeth, feeling his blood boiling as he's been blamed for all this.
Hundreds of Blanks start to surround Ganryu as they rise from the ground, "Hahaha!" Ganryu laughs at this, "You really are a fool! Don't you get it?! It's already too late! Once the process starts, it can never be reversed! You've lost, Substitute Soul Reaper!"
Ichigo reaches his breaking point, "Kkgh…" He clenches the handle of his blade, as fury begins to take over him, "You bastaaard!" He swings his large sword above his head and swings it down, unleashing a Getsuga Tenshou, something that greatly surprises Ganryu at its sheer size and magnitude. He barely escapes in time using his own Flash Step. Once the Getsuga reaches the ground, the explosion is so great that it dwarfs over dozens of mountains, traveling onwards from the shockwave being released.
Back in the World of the Living, the humans, Kisuke, and Yoruichi, have gathered together on the Karakura Bridge at night, watching the giant portal that leads to the Valley of Screams as the wind blows past them.
"Mr. Urahara," Orihime says, looking at the shopkeeper, "Shouldn't we go after Ichigo in case he needs our help?" She asks.
"Yeah, I gotta agree here," Jean adds as she looks at Kisuke, "Isn't there anything you guys can do to help him? I was told you need to have spiritual bodies or whatever to even enter this place. I don't have the power to do that."
"Well, you're right about that," Kisuke answers, "The Valley of Screams is somewhat similar to the Soul Society. You need to have a spiritual body in order to enter a place such as this. Not only that, but it's likely I won't have time to manipulate the Garganta so we can all enter."
"Garganta?" Jean is confused by this term.
"However, that doesn't exactly stop us from entering, does it?" Yoruichi says, folding her arms as she looks at her oldest friend, "Our bodies have been modified so that we don't have to get to our spiritual bodies to enter places such as this, do we? After all, you made sure of that after we rescued Rukia."
Kisuke tips his hat, "I suppose that means you wanna rescue him, don't you?" He asks in amusement.
"Please," Yoruichi comically rolls her eyes, "We both know Ichigo isn't exactly good at rescue operations by himself," Yoruichi walks over to the edge of the bridge, putting her foot over as she bends lower, "It's likely he'll screw something up."
Kisuke smiles in amusement, "Fair enough," He also walks over to the edge, "You ready?"
At that moment, a Senkaimon opens up, and everyone turns around to see what it's about. Out of the said, invisible portal comes out Rukia and Renji, before the Senkaimon closes itself, "Rukia! Renji!" Orihime says their names out loud, "What are you doing here?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Renji says, "We're here to help Ichigo."
"I take it that since it's only just the two of you, that the Captains Meeting didn't go well?" Kisuke questions.
"Not at all," Rukia shakes her head, confirming Kisuke's suspicion, "They said they'll have Squad 0 to assist Ichigo, but so far that's going nowhere, and the Captains are forbidden to help as well. So it's only just the two of us."
"Wait, hold on," Uryu intervenes, being confused about this, "Squad 0? I thought there were only 13 Squads in the Soul Society?"
"That's plenty," Kisuke says, ignoring what Uryu is asking, "With you by our side, it should be more than enough to assist Ichigo in this battle. Though I speculate with the little time we have, we best get to work right away," He looks at the young Quincy, "I'll explain about Squad 0 later, but right now we simply don't have the time right now."
"Well, let's go then," Yoruichi says, getting ready to jump through the portal.
"Yoruichi…" Orihime says, making the older woman look at the younger one, "Just… please make sure Ichigo doesn't overdo it," She requests, hating that she has to sit by the sidelines and literally unable to do anything, and knowing that Ichigo is in a state he's losing his powers.
Yoruichi smiles at the young girl's request, "Sure thing, I was planning on doing that anyway," With that said, Yoruichi flips over the edge, and dives straight towards the portal. Kisuke and the other Soul Reapers soon follow suit, making loud splashes as they jump towards the portal.
Ichigo continues to swing his sword, pressing his large blade against Ganryu's weapon, overpowering him with each chance, though despite his anger, he makes sure to hold back enough to have the leader of the Dark Ones tell him how to stop this mess. Senna is practically buried alive under all those Blanks, and he needs to extract information, which he knows Ganryu is hiding.
So the best way to do that is to assert dominance. Ichigo swings his sword diagonally, making Ganryu stumble backwards from the sheer force of the blow as he blocks with his sword. This is different from having to suppress himself against Aizen. With his Spirit Energy running rampant, there's no telling what collateral damage he might cause if he's not being careful.
Ganryu backs away by leaping backwards and landing on a hill, "You're not getting away!" Ichigo calls out from above, something which greatly surprises Ganryu as he barely gets out of the way using his Flash Step, and with a mere slash the landscape changes completely as everything evaporates, destroying plenty of Blanks in doing so.
Ganryu barely manages to get out of the way without sustaining fatal damage, aside from a bleeding forehead, presumably from the damage that Ichigo has given him, "Going somewhere?" Ganryu feels his bones chilling as he feels Ichigo's sword pressing against his shoulder, "You have 5 seconds before this sword chops your head off. I'm going to ask you again, how do I stop this?"
Ganryu turns his head as he glares at the young man, "How…?" He wants to know, "How did you grow this strong?! You weren't anything like this before!"
Ichigo responds by kicking him in the back, making Ganryu gasp for air as his head collides against the ground, forming a crater in doing so, "Isn't it obvious? I'm the guy who took down Aizen, remember?" Ichigo gets Zangetsu over his shoulder before he walks towards Ganryu, "But that wasn't the answer I'm looking for. How do I stop this?" He gets in front of Ganryu, "And you better have a good answer this time…"
Ganryu begins to get up, using his sword and his arm as leverage, giving a glare to the teenager, "Didn't you hear what I said, boy? Once the process begins, you can't stop it!"
"That's bullshit and you know it!" Ichigo argues, "Now tell me how to stop it!" He prepares to thrust his sword, "Otherwise, I'll kill you where you stand!" he threatens.
"Hahahaha!" Ganryu begins to laugh, which further irritates Ichigo, "Go ahead! Do it!" He dares him, "It's not like you'll ever know how to shut down what's happening to the Shinenju!"
As soon as he finishes that, Ichigo quickly puts Zangetsu against the man's throat, taking him by surprise, "I dare you to call her that one more time…" He can feel the limit approaching, "Well? Come on, what are you waiting for…"
The Blanks silently emerge from the ground as they sneak up on Ichigo. Before they can so much as touch him, Ichigo quickly turns his body around and launches a Getsuga, instantly destroying hundreds of the Blanks and vaporizing the ground itself, "If you really thought an old trick like that would work on me, then you're—" Before Ichigo could finish his sentence, he senses that Ganryu is gone. Turning around, he sees the man is no longer, as though his presence has vanished entirely, "No…" Ichigo whispers, cursing himself from the distraction, "No, no, no, no!" He grips the handle of his sword tightly, "I'm gonna kill that bastard!"
"Now, now! Let's settle down, Mr. Kurosaki!" Ichigo widens his eyes as he looks up, seeing Kisuke and the others landing on the ground, the man for whatever reason tipping his hat in doing so, "You'll never get anywhere if you don't learn to cool down."
"Kisuke?" Ichigo is confused as to why he's here, what's more is how Rukia and Renji are involved in this, "Rukia? Renji? What are you guys—"
"I'm afraid there's no time to explain things, Ichigo," Rukia says, "Simply put, we have to rescue that girl before this realm collapses. And we have to do it fast, we only have about 30 minutes before that happens."
"Wait…?" Ichigo blinks his eyes in confusion, "This place is gonna blow up? Is that what you're saying?"
"Pretty much," Renji shrugs his shoulders, "So, what's the situation?"
Ichigo, still confused, ignores it as he focuses, "I tried getting the leader to talk about how to shut down whatever he did to Senna, but so far, no luck. I lost him, and I don't know where he is," He informs them.
"Hmm…" Kisuke hums, and Yoruichi analyzes the surrounding environment, "I'd say judging by those giant branches over there," He points his finger at the center of where Senna is taken, "Is where this Senna was taken. And since you seemed to have injured him, it's likely he retreated to his base of operations… well if you wanna be technical that is."
"But how did he get away so fast? I should have seen it coming," Ichigo is confused, "Could those Blanks have taken him?"
"Maybe, you're the one who's been here longer now, so you oughta know," Kisuke shrugs, "Either way, it doesn't matter. What matters now is getting to the core of all this and get Senna out of there," He makes sure to be careful of his words, not wanting to refer to her as the Shinenju in front of Ichigo.
"Well what are we waiting for?" Renji makes a step forward, "Let's go already!"
"We might have to split up," Kisuke replies, confusing the others before he points his finger, "Because of them," Suddenly, more and more Blanks start emerging from the ground, making everyone get in their fighting stance, "I suspect only one of us can go with Ichigo," He calmly says despite the overwhelming numbers, "I believe I should go, since I'm the only one that might figure out how to free Senna, and provide as backup in case things become dire."
Yoruichi narrowly looks at Kisuke, who seemingly doesn't notice her stare, "Does it really matter?" Ichigo says before he and the others leap away on another cliff, away from the Blanks, "I'll save Senna myself if I have to! Let's just go!"
"Great idea," Rukia sarcastically replies, "But how are you gonna do that? That place is too far for you to reach," She looks at the massive branches.
"If I use my Bankai, I should be able to make it in less than a minute," Ichigo speculates.
"Don't be an idiot," Renji says, making Ichigo look at the Lieutenant with confusion, "You're losing your powers, aren't you? Don't waste your Bankai for something as small as traveling. I'll help you get there," He tells the Substitute Soul Reaper.
"But how are you gonna do that?" Ichigo asks.
Renji smirks upon being asked, "Watch and learn," As the Blanks get closer, Renji unsheathes his Zanpakuto, putting his hand against the steel sword, "Ban… Kai!" A torrent of power explodes from Renji's sword, causing a massive tornado to form, which makes the Blanks disappear from the mere shockwave being released, and bits of red lightning coming out a 100 meters wide that could level several city blocks, "Hihio… Zabimaru!" Renji announces the name of his Bankai.
The others backed off as Ichigo caught dust in his mouth as he coughed, "Are you—?!" He coughs again, "Crazy?! Next time warn us to—"
"Grab on!" Renji swings his baboon snake, something Ichigo begrudgingly uses Flash Step to grab the head of the snake, to which it roars before Renji hurls it forward, leading it quite far for the Substitute.
"My, my," Kisuke says in a sing-song voice, nearly startling Ichigo, "He really hasn't changed, has he? Reckless like you are."
"Don't compare me to him!" Ichigo exclaims with a tick mark on his head, "And where the hell did you come from?!"
"Oh dear," Kisuke magically flips his fan to cover his mouth, widening his one visible eye, "Didn't I say that I would join you as well? I could have sworn I said that."
"That's not what I meant and you know it!" Ichigo argues.
The Bankai snake leads the two away from the rest by an impressive length, to which Rukia and Yoruichi turn back to face the army of Blanks, "Just remember," Yoruichi prepares a fighting stance, "These things are fragile, so don't use your full strength against these small fry when you want to save it against the true enemy," She advises.
"Got it," Rukia nods her head as she has her blade ready.
As Ichigo and Kisuke make it almost halfway, Renji's Bankai snake is stretched to its utmost limits before it stops, to which Ichigo and Kisuke hop off and head towards where Senna has been taken. Renji deactivates his Bankai, reverting it back to his Shikai as he turns around and starts to slash the Blanks left and right, "Now Roar, Zabimaru!" His long blade extends itself far further, swinging it to his right as he cuts dozens of Blanks, and then does the same when the blade twists to the left.
It takes them a bit, with Kisuke advising Ichigo not to use Bankai, in order to conserve his powers, but can only do it when the time is right. Ichigo doesn't understand the cryptic meaning behind the last few words, but he shrugs it off, figuring it's just Kisuke using fancy wording not to use his Bankai unless it's necessary.
But he disagrees, as this time, he isn't gonna let fear stop him, so he'll have plenty of energy even if the battle were to be prolonged. He may not have the powers of a transcendent being anymore, but he's still stronger than any Soul Reaper that's come before him. He has plenty of strength on his own to take down the leader of the Dark Ones.
Ichigo and Kisuke land on the farthest reaches of the branch, to which both men can feel the presence of the Blanks beneath their feet, "Ichigo," Kisuke says, gathering the young man's attention, "I'll go look for Senna, if that's alright with you. Between the two of us, I believe I have more than enough expertise in searching for her. Do you think you can take down the last of the Dark Ones without using Bankai?"
"Yeah," Ichigo nods his head before looking back, "Sounds good to me. I wanted payback against that bastard anyway, and I doubt we'll be let in that easily."
"I'm serious when I say not to use your Bankai, at least not for too long," Kisuke tells him, "Otherwise, you'll lose your Spirit Energy faster than you might realize it. It takes an immense amount of energy out of you. Don't waste it so recklessly."
"Yeah, I know," Ichigo tells him, "So, we gonna do this or not?"
"Good luck to you, Ichigo," Kisuke says before he uses Flash Step, disappearing from sight.
Ichigo takes a breath as he prepares himself for the last battle before the Kido Cannon is launched, "SENNAAAAAAA!" He screams her name, announcing his presence, "Where are you?!"
"You still foolishly believe you can save the Shinenju?" Ganryu's voice echoes throughout, making Ichigo tilt his head left and right, trying to sense where he's at, but for some reason he's not having any luck in finding him.
"That's a lot of talk for someone who just got their ass kicked!" Ichigo argues, "Now where's Senna!?" He demands to know.
"How dense are you? I told you, it's too late for her!" Suddenly, a murky, thick branch hurles itself at Ichigo, to which he avoids out of the way, making it connect to another branch, "She's already begun merging with the Valley of Screams! No-one, not even Kisuke Urahara, can save her!" Ganryu states.
"You really love listening to yourself talk, dontcha," Ichigo rolls his eyes over this, but something is bothering him, 'Where is he? I can't sense his Spiritual Pressure,' He thinks to himself as he keeps turning around, 'I know he's here, he has to be,' By now he has his back turned completely, but still keeps his guard up before turning around, with his instincts telling him the enemy is near.
That's when Ichigo gains an idea. It's a little risky, but he can't think of much to find him. He puts one of his hands in front where his palm can be seen. The teen begins to focus, thinking back to when he combined his Cero with the black lightning, 'If I can find a way to expand the range…' As he thinks of that, crackles of red lightning form on his palm, 'Don't use Cero, I just need the lightning, nothing more,' Using his Spiritual Pressure, he releases more of it until it stops at his field of vision, 'Alright, think I got it,' As the lightning begins to dangerously crackle under his fingertips, that's when Ichigo releases it.
Red bolts of lightning strike everywhere in his field of vision and back as well, which in turn strikes the Blanks who have been ready to attack him. As the red lightning strikes them, they disappear as well, and due to being in range, Ganryu is striked by the red lightning bolts, making him grunt in pain as his cloak of invisibility dispels, revealing himself.
"You little shit!" Ganryu angrily exclaims.
"Well, well…" Ichigo smirks as he rests Zangetsu on his shoulder, "Look who finally decided to show himself. I didn't think that little trick would work on my first try."
"What was that?! Was that Kido you used just now?!" Ganryu demands to know as he horizontally holds his sword.
"Who knows," Ichigo shrugs his shoulders before he points his large Zanpakuto at Ganryu, "But now the only thing left for me to do is to crush you, right here and now!"
Ganryu narrows his eyes at the determined young man, "Very well then! Show me what you got!" The leader of the Dark Ones prepares a fighting stance.
Ichigo makes his own stance, and the two opponents stare each other down, sizing each other up for what may be their last showdown. Ichigo releases his Spiritual Pressure and goes on to offense, and so does Ganryu as both use their Flash Step, clashing with their swords, which in turn causes an explosion with the friction of the energy being released, causing tons of smoke to come out. The two move through the smoke, and can only be seen auras, with Ichigo being blue, and Ganryu being green.
The two auras move around one another and clash several times as they fly in the air. They clash again, but this time their figures can be seen as they diagonally clash their blades before they immediately move away using their Flash Step. Ichigo lands on one of the branches, something he shouldn't have done as the Blanks emerge from it, using themselves to wrap around Ichigo's legs, "What the—!?" Ichigo is briefly stunned by this.
Ganryu lands in the air filled Reishu before he launches a wave of Blanks, as though they're thick forms of liquid hurling at Ichigo at high speeds. The Substitute Soul Reaper raises his sword horizontally above his head, blocking the surprise attack. The liquid intensifies as it oozes all over Ichigo's body, practically petrifying him as the liquid hardens, "Hraaaaah!" Ichigo fires a Getsuga Tensho, completely destroying the Blanks entirely, and the shockwave being produced is enough to rid of the ones that wrapped his legs.
Ganryu doesn't give Ichigo time to recover as he Flash Steps from behind, horizontally swinging his sword downwards at Ichigo's legs, to which Ichigo reacts by using acrobatics to get out of the way. Ganryu swings his sword at Ichigo's body whilst he's still in mid air, but Ichigo blocks it with his larger sword, before leaping towards one of the chunks of pieces that he cut off and uses Flash Step to get away. Matching Ichigo's speed, Ganryu uses his Flash Step to immediately catch up with Ichigo, to which the two clash with their weapons yet again as they spin around, trying to overpower one another.
Ganryu lets go as he lands on a branch next to him and jumps towards Ichigo, forcing him back with his strong blow. The leader of the Dark Ones leaps towards him again, to which Ichigo leaps out of the way. Ganryu flicks his cloak, and out of thin air, several weapons float next to him before he fires them towards Ichigo. The young Substitute lands on a branch above him, and immediately moves downwards as the energy blades follow him.
Ichigo looks over, and sees the swords are following him, "Hraaaarh!" Ichigo fires a Cero from his hand, destroying one of the energy projectiles. As he falls downwards, Ichigo swings his massive cleaver several times to destroy the last of the projectiles before landing on a branch, with Ganryu landing above where he's at. The two combatants stare at each other as they're filled with tension.
"Are you mocking me…?" Ganryu silently asks as Ichigo looks at him impassively, "You're supposed to be nothing but a shell of your former self! We've heard how you're losing your powers! So how?! How are you this strong?! Even in your Bankai state, you were nothing to me!"
"That's because I was afraid," Ichigo answers him, and now it's Ganryu's turn to look confused, "The last time we fought, my Spirit Energy was draining me faster than I thought it would. I was afraid of losing my powers, that's why I didn't go all in. If I had, Senna wouldn't be placed in this situation to begin with. I thought dominating you would force you to give information on how to free her. But now? Now I have nothing to be afraid of, and at the level where I'm at now? It goes to show you don't stand a chance in beating me."
Ganryu seethes with anger, "You arrogant little punk… you think just because you beat Aizen you can now beat anyone!? I will not let my life's journey, the living hell I had to endure all those centuries in the Dangai Precipice World, be all for nothing!" He waves his arm, which makes his cloak float.
"Let me ask you this… you really don't know how to get Senna out, do you?" Ichigo asks, ignoring the man completely.
"Let me make this clear to you, it cannot be stopped!" As he says this, the entirety of the Valley of Screams starts shaking uncontrollably, making the realm become unstable, something which Ichigo and the others notice immediately, "And even if I knew how to, I would never tell the likes of you! Not when my ultimate goal is so close to completing!"
"So you really don't know then…" Ichigo sighs, "Can't believe I wasted all that time for nothing."
"Tell me, why are you so desperate to save this girl?" Ganryu asks, "The Shinenju is nothing but a mass collection of memories, nothing more! She's nothing but a useless remnant of what used to be alive!" Ganryu manifests more of his projectiles and fires them towards Ichigo, who has his head facing down.
To Ganryu's shock, Ichigo catches one of the weapons with his bare hand, and the other projectiles stop dead in their tracks as they seem to struggle to pierce through Ichigo, "Take that back," He silently says, before slowly rising his head to meet Ganryu, giving a death glare, "Stop talking about her like she's a weapon! She's a living being, just like you and I!" Blue energy starts to form around Ichigo, "You have any idea what's going through her head at this moment! She's confused and afraid! Do you know how it's like to have memories that aren't even yours!? No! Instead, you give no shit about it, and just wanna destroy her for your own petty goal?!"
A blue energy shield forms around Ichigo in the shape of a circle, as though it were a barrier. He crushes the weapon in his hand, and the rest shatter like fragile glass from his Spiritual Pressure, "I made a promise that I'd protect her with my life! I swore it on my soul! Raaaaaaaaarh!" Ichigo makes a fierce yell like a predator lion as he increases his Spiritual Pressure, spreading it everywhere all at once.
Unbeknownst to Ichigo and the others, his Spiritual Pressure has an interesting colliding effect with the countless Blanks that have formed as branches, spreading everywhere until it finally reaches towards the core, that being Senna. Spiritual Pressure is linked to minds and memories, so Ichigo unknowingly shares his power with Senna, somewhat similar to how he first did it to Chad and Orihime.
As Ichigo's energy comes in contact with Senna, she wakes up from unconsciousness, and for the first time since she remembers being alive, she gains memories. Not those of others she was confused with, no, rather she experiences everything that's happened to her and her only.
This causes something to be awakened within Senna. For the first time since finding out she's the Shinenju, she doesn't feel afraid anymore. She feels calm, at peace. In her mind, she enters in another place lost in time itself, a different dimension in a sense, as she sees all the Blanks that have ever gathered.
"That's it… I think I finally understand now," Senna says, "You're all just…"
She doesn't get to finish her sentence, as Ichigo's Spiritual Pressure continues to skyrocket exponentially, to the point it starts making Ganryu buckle under his knees from the overwhelming force he's feeling, one that's beginning to drive him to despair. It's then that Ichigo stops screaming, calming his Spiritual Pressure as he focused his glare at Ganryu.
Back in the Soul Society, a worried Soul Reaper reports to the Head Captain that there's very little time until the Valley of Screams reaches a critical point beyond repair. Without an entryway to the Valley of Screams, they can do nothing but wait until Ichigo Kurosaki stops the madman's plans of destroying both worlds at once.
What's more maddening is that Yamamoto had received a rejection from Squad 0, meaning they won't step in for whatever mad reason when it very well concerns the Soul King at stake. It tells him that they'll let a living human take care of this problem, something the old Captain does not at all agree with.
The problems for Soul Reapers should be just that, it's their problem. It's not something that should be involved in the hands of humans. The war with Aizen was an exception for that, as everybody was involved with it to some degree. But this isn't something humans should get involved with every single time, it goes against the whole purpose of Soul Reapers protecting humans. It's not something that should be the other way around. They've been doing this for over a thousand years.
Yet, ever since Ichigo Kurosaki was involved, it's as though everything they ever learned had gone to waste, as he had saved them from the Bounts and even stopped Aizen when he himself had failed at that. Now he might save them from this catastrophe as well.
He still remembers the heated argument he and the boy had. To him, Ichigo is young, brash, reckless, cocky if not arrogant. He had the energy and insolence of youth, and doesn't even respect the Captains most of the time, aside from Unohana and Jushiro as he heard. Though, he supposes it can't be helped.
Yet at the same time, he's saved them and asked for nothing in return. Originally, he thought he might pose a threat later down the line, just like another Substitute Soul Reaper before him. Perhaps it was his cynicism that got in the way of his opinion for Ichigo, but one who's lived a life such as his and the responsibilities on his shoulders isn't something to be judged so quickly. To him, Ichigo is an enigma.
It's almost a fascinating experience, really.
Back in the Valley of Screams, Ichigo and Ganryu stand where they've previously been. Ichigo has thought about using Flash Step to find Senna, having sensed her when he spread his Spiritual Pressure through the branches. But despite his speed, there's no way Ganryu would let him do as he pleases. So there's only one way to truly end this.
"I…" Ganryu prepares himself as he makes a stance, "Will never, ever, let you take the Shinenju! Not when I'm this close to completing my goal!"
Ichigo sighs before he surrounds himself in an aura of blue Spiritual Pressure, his sword encased by his spiritual power as he compresses his Getsuga. He doesn't have a choice. Not only is the man not useful anymore, but he's clearly too deranged to be left alive, "Time for you to die!" Ichigo exclaims, unleashing his bloodlust.
Ganryu does the same as he encases himself with golden Spiritual Pressure in contrast to Ichigo's, "Come!" Ganryu leaps towards Ichigo, and the young man comes at him as well, "Hraaaaarh!" They yell at the top of their lungs before they clash with their swords. The amount of energy they release from their clash is powerful enough it could decimate anybody that was within the area. A massive explosion occurs, spreading everywhere at once that it even escapes past the branches.
As it dies down, Ganryu is left hovering in mid air, his eyes widening in shock as he feels a part of him missing. He'd be correct, as half his lower body is missing from Ichigo's lethal attack, with Ichigo standing behind Ganryu without a scratch on him.
"Damn… you…" Ganryu cusses out his last words before he starts falling down.
Ichigo looks at his fallen foe for a brief moment before he turns his attention back to his main goal, the reason why he came here in the first place. Ichigo leaps towards the branch he's standing on and flies where Senna is located.
It takes him less than a minute to get to where he last sensed Senna was at. No Blanks have attacked him during his travels, which means that with Ganryu dead, there isn't anyone to command them. And judging by the horde of branches surrounding where he sensed Senna, with the patterns being different, this must be where she's at.
"Senna!" Ichigo calls out her name.
"Mr. Kurosaki!" Ichigo turns around to see Kisuke standing above him, holding Senna over his shoulder, "Glad to see you're alright," Ichigo grins in amusement at seeing Kisuke holding a peace sign with his fingers, "Don't worry about this little one, she's a little weak, but other than that, she's fine."
Ichigo slowly goes over to them, and Senna stirs on Kisuke's shoulder, her bright eyes meeting Ichigo's, "You're awfully quiet for once," Ichigo playfully mocks her, "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"
Senna blinks her eyes for a moment before she makes a playful smile, "Shut your big, fat, stupid mouth," She says.
Back in the World of the Living, at Karakura Bridge, the team is still awaiting for the others' return, having waited for nearly an hour by now.
"I hope they come out alright…" Orihime says in worry.
"Wait…" Jean widens her eyes somewhat, as she can faintly sense what's about to emerge from the large portal, "You might not have to wait anymore, I think they're about to come back!"
Just as Jean said that, her premonition proves to be true as several figures emerge from the river, their Spiritual Pressures protecting them from getting wet as they stand proudly in the air, their smirks indicating that the mission was a success. Last but not least is Ichigo coming out, holding Senna with one hand while holding Zangetsu with his other, a proud smirk plastered over his face.
Everyone comes back down to the bridge, and Ichigo lets go of Senna, letting her stand on her own, "Thank goodness you're alright!" Orihime exclaims, feeling relieved that Ichigo and the others are alright.
"I think this might have been our fastest rescue mission as of yet," Ichigo jokingly adds.
"That's only because you had others to help you," Uryu snarkily pushes the tip between his glasses with his finger, "If we were to let you do this on your own, you'd never know which way is right."
"Man, you never have anything nice to say, do you?" Ichigo replies with annoyance.
"I actually believe you would have made it on your own," Chad says, giving a thumbs up.
"Thank you, Chad," Ichigo says, "At least you're always there for me as well," He then turns his attention back to Rukia and Renji, "Thanks for coming to help me. I appreciate it."
"Hey, it's not like we did it for you," Renji folds his arms, "No way would we let you have all the — ow!" The Lieutenant feels his sides being elbowed by Rukia.
"What he means to say…" Rukia ignores Renji's glare, "Is that of course we did. Regardless of how strong you've gotten, we're still friends at the end of the day," She puts her hand on her hip, "Besides, I figured I still owe you for saving me from my execution. You would have done the same thing if we were in your position."
"Right…" Ichigo smiles before he turns back to Senna, and seeing her hair flowing without her ribbon reminds him what he also came to do, "Hey, Senna, I almost forgot. I still have your ribbon," He picks up from where he hid in his Shihakusho and demonstrates it.
But he sees that Senna is frowning as she seems to be more distant from the others. Ichigo notices this, and it worries him, but he doesn't understand what could be bothering her, "Senna?" He questions her.
Senna turns her head to look at Ichigo, her frown telling him that something is severely wrong.
Back in the Soul Society, the others have received word that Ichigo and the others have completed their mission, which in turn causes many of the Soul Reapers to celebrate upon hearing this news from many divisions they're in. Now that the catastrophe has passed away, they can now truly enjoy their lives in peace and never have to worry about anything ever again.
Or so they think.
In the Research and Development division, the alarms are still going off, despite the fact that if the mission were truly successful, they would have shut down already. But they're not, which means the danger is still present.
"What's going on!?" Mayuri asks, as unlike the others, he's still aware of the danger happening, "Why is the alarm continuing to sound!?"
This causes the rest of the Squad members to become silent for a second, before Mayuri's words hit them like a truck as they realize they're still in danger. With that said, they begin to work again, typing frantically. On the large screen present before everyone, the two realms that demonstrate the Soul Society and the Living World, they're still closing in on each other.
"Oh no!" One of the scientists yells, "The dimension passed beyond the critical zone! The intense gravity is pulling the Soul Society and the World of the Living together on a collision course.
As this is said, tornadoes form out of thin air as they begin to unravel everything in its path, pushing the Squad Officers away in the air. Realizing the danger they're still in, Yamamoto opens his eyes in shock, as for the first time since he could remember, he feels great fear forbidding within him, for as great as his power is, even he is helpless to do anything but to sit back and watch as everything he holds dear is about to be evaporated from existence.
"What's happening?!" Rukia gets on her knees as the intense gravity from the two realms is pushing her down. The others are struggling to keep their balance straight.
"Wait… it's not stopping!?" Renji exclaims in shock, "But I don't understand! We saved her in time, didn't we!?"
"What's going to happen?!" Orihime asks in worry.
Senna responds by jumping into the air, "Senna!?" Ichigo follows her immediately, as the two Soul Reapers are standing above the portal that's still spiraling out of control, "I don't get it!? We did everything right, didn't we!?"
Senna watches as the others start to get dizzy, as space and time start spiraling out of control as she can feel the two realms pulling each other closer and closer, as the Dangai Precipice World is holding this by a strand before it too gets destroyed.
"I don't have a choice…" Ichigo points his large sword at the portal, ready to go back and unleash his Bankai so he could stop this somehow.
"Ichigo…" Senna says, as she holds onto Ichigo's Shihakusho, making him look at her, "I'm scared."
Ichigo frowns upon this, "It's okay, I'm scared too. But don't worry, I'll go back and—"
"That's not what I mean," Senna replies, making Ichigo confused, "I can't do it, I just won't allow it," She makes a small smile, "I can't allow this beautiful world to be destroyed, not with so many beautiful people living in it, and especially not in a world you live in, Ichigo," She remembers back all the times she's spent with Ichigo, from their first meeting to when he saved her mere moments ago, "I can't let that happen!"
"What are you talking about?" Ichigo mutters, with a gesture of fear at what Senna is saying. On the inside, a part of him does know what she's talking about.
"It's okay…" Senna puts her hand on her chest, "The Blanks are still near me and I'm not afraid of them now. If I return their memories to them, then they'll be at peace. And the barrier between the two worlds will be strong again."
Ichigo widens his eyes as he feels as though his body is being pulled into another dimension, with only him and Senna being there as everything is an empty yellow, with Senna somehow returning to her school uniform.
"But, Senna…" Ichigo mutters.
"If the world were to be destroyed, then there would be no Ichigo," The teenager widens her eyes in shock upon hearing this. Senna then turns around, putting her arms behind her as she makes a gentle smile, "I can't imagine a world without you."
Senna then begins to glow, closing her eyes as she feels at peace. Ichigo begins to feel dread creep up on him, "No! You can't do this! Stop it!" Ichigo exclaims as he waves his arm.
Senna looks up, and Ichigo feels his heart shatter in two as he sees Senna beginning to cry, "No, Ichigo! I can never allow you to die instead of me!" Suddenly, a tornado starts swirling around her.
"No, don't…" Ichigo starts walking towards her, putting his arm in front in an attempt to stop her. The tornado grows stronger and stronger, even capable of pushing Ichigo back, "Gah!" He feels his body getting overpowered by the strong gust of wind, "Senna…?" The last thing he sees of her is her smile, "SENNA!" Ichigo screams as he reaches his arm for her.
The tornado tries to push him back into his own dimension, but somehow, Ichigo is able to resist through sheer force of will. He starts cutting the wind apart with his sword, "Hyah!" He wildly swings Zangetsu as he does everything in his power to get to Senna, and he fears he doesn't have any time left.
"Ban... Kai!" Ichigo doesn't care about the loss of his powers anymore. The only thing that's on his mind, his one obsession at the moment, is to stop Senna from sacrificing herself. A torrent of black and red Spiritual Pressure envelopes Ichigo, "Hraaaaaarh!" He swings Tensa Zangetsu too fast for it to be seen as he starts pushing through the tornado with ease.
He does so until he sees Senna, who looks shocked to see him, "Ichigo! What are you—?!" She gets silenced as Ichigo hugs her, taking her by surprise.
"It's okay…" Ichigo gently says, "Everything is gonna be alright now."
Both their bodies begin to glow brightly as light escapes them, enveloping the dimension and others beyond that they're in.
A massive torrent of energy escapes as a massive pillar can be seen from Valley of Screams through the World of the Living. The Soul Society, and the Dangai are all affected by this.
As of this day, the Research and Development center will confirm countless spiritual explosions happening in the Dangai Precipice World. The Soul Society and the World of the Living are both moving towards their previous, stable positions. Others will not be sure as to how they all went from going to extinction to being saved.
The collision has been averted.
"Ichigo… I have a favor to ask."
That's what she asked him to do. Asked, as in past tense. That was an hour ago, and Ichigo has been walking slowly, taking his time to take the girl to her requested destination. And that is to go back to the graveyard where the Dark Ones first appeared to take Senna away.
Ichigo thinks back to what happened after he and Senna merged their powers together and prevented the Valley of Screams from destroying everything they hold dear. But that didn't come without a cost.
Kisuke explained to him that he theorized that his powers have perfectly merged with Senna's, not only preventing the destruction of both their universes, but it allowed Senna to live, who is now free of all her tormented, contradictory memories. The only memories she now has are what she was when she first came to the Living World and onwards, but that's about it. As for Ichigo, he shared so much of his remaining power that he's now an empty shell of what he once was.
So much of his power was depleted, in fact, that he no longer has access to his Hollowfication. And using his Bankai doesn't come as easily as it did before, but that too will disappear very soon. Kisuke also told him he suspects that his powers will disappear in about a month, if he's lucky he can hold on for that long.
His spider powers have somewhat weakened as well, as they are still somewhat spiritual, but nothing that would really bother Ichigo all that much from continuing his duties. He'll worry about that later, right now he has other priorities in mind.
Ichigo gets to the graveyard, as he carries Senna on his back, "Are we there?" Senna weakly asks, "If we are… I guess you already know why I asked you to come here, right?" Ichigo doesn't say anything, "I want you to take me to my family's grave. Remember yesterday, when I told you it was here? Somewhere... I know I was alive once, with all those memories being mixed up, I can't remember which one I was anymore. But I know I used to live in this town."
"Yeah... I know," Ichigo says.
"I don't remember everything, but I did have a family, I'm certain of it," She still remembers the different families from the different memories she's had, whether it be from ancient or modern times. "I was born in this world, and I was alive. So… there has to be a name on this grave, I'm certain of it…"
Ichigo isn't sure what to say. He only hopes that Senna's instincts are right. If she was from ancient times, then he doubts that the gravesite would remember people from way back then. Either way, he wouldn't give up, and neither would she, "It was right around here, wasn't it?" Ichigo asks.
"Yes…" Despite her absolute exhaustion, Senna is certain that this is where her family graveyard is, "It's just down this road. Turn to your left, there should be my name on the bottom."
Ichigo does as she asks, turning to his left as that's the only grave that's there on the bottom. He leans down, letting his enhanced vision do all the work. What he sees there makes him frown deeply. The only names there go by Kazuo and Manabo Sato.
"Is it there…?" Senna asks, her voice shaking as she desperately wants to know.
Ichigo wants to lie, to tell her that it's there, but he knew she'd be hurt when she recovers and finds out about it on her own. He has no choice. He shakes his head in response, "No... I'm sorry, Senna, but it's not there."
"Oh…" Ichigo can feel Senna's heart shattering in two from her response, "Well… that's too bad then. I was sure that it was there," Despite her smile, there are tears coming out of her eyes, "I guess it was just a memory that wasn't there."
"Maybe…" Ichigo stands up straight, "But that doesn't take away what you are. You used to live in this town, and you had a family," He reassures her, "No matter where you were from, even if it's not in Japan, that doesn't take away anything you had," He makes a smile.
A stream of tears fell down on the young girl's face, but not out of sadness, but rather, out of joy, "Really? You're certain of that?"
"I know it," Ichigo tells her before he turns around and starts to walk away from the graveyard.
"Hey, Ichigo… where are we going now?" Senna asks, "I feel so sleepy…"
"Isn't it obvious?" Ichigo replies, "We're going home."
So if you don't remember, in the movie, Ganryu says it's been a thousand years since he and his lesser Noble Clan family were banished, but this doesn't really make a ton of sense as a 1000 years ago it was during the Quincy war against Yhwach and laws from the Soul Society were not a thing back then. Maybe Kubo didn't really think of putting Memories of Nobody as Canon back then before TYBW was a thing, so it kinda leads into a bit of a mess, continuity wise. Unless MAYBE the TYBW Anime extrapolates on this as Cour 3 is coming out next week at the time of this writing, which if they somehow do then yeah that'll be my mistake.
Now, I didn't really do the Kido Cannon scene of them firing it or anything like that, because the Kido Cannon, lore wise, is rather confusing. Like what the hell is that anyway? Why do they even have something that can nuke a whole ass realm and potentially other ones like the Soul Society and the Living World where it's supposed to cause a lot of casualties, this just sounds like something it would backfire easily on them.
Another thing when I was rewatching the movie is… why would they actually fire that? It's said in the movie they don't really have any way to have access to the Senkaimon, and the only portal they had when they fired the Cannon was towards the Living World as we see through visuals… but somehow it makes it to the Valley of Screams? I don't really understand what was the plan here. That's why I didn't really do the Kido Cannon scene, but instead my Co-Author's idea was to at least mention Squad 0 to help out, but they didn't for obvious reasons as not only would it be too soon for them to appear, but thanks to Ichibei being capable of sensing everything in all realms, and same with the Soul King, they just let Ichigo do all the work.
I do hope I demonstrated enough of a reason of Ichigo not going Bankai when his Shikai alone was enough to beat up Ganryu as he wanted information out of him, but to also hold back as not to waste too much of his Spirit Energy. It's not gonna be like how it was in the Anime Reigai arc where Ichigo is consistently portrayed as fodder without some amp, but still pretty strong to hopefully leave reasonable tension.
But yeah, Senna is alive in this. I probably wouldn't have done this arc much if she was killed off like she was in Canon, plus it kinda vaguely implies that she seems to have reincarnated post credit scene of the movie. The only conditions that are left is that not only does she have contradictory memories anymore, but she still has her powers.
But yeah, sorry if this took a while to upload, I did the best I could when writing this chapter. The next chapter will have "loose ends" on the Spider-Man arc that's happening in the rewrite currently. For those who don't know, I recently uploaded rewrite portions of Chapter 8 to 15, so please read those to get a better understanding of what's about to happen next. I can't lie, I'm pretty excited about what's about to happen in the next chapter of this. After the last Spider-Man stuff happens, it's then we'll head to the Fullbring arc, probably.
Until then, I'll see you all next time.