Under the green sky and three suns of Namek, Goku and Vegeta faced their enemy, who revealed himself as Sosuke Aizen.

"Tell me, are you the reason Grimmjow is still alive?" Vegeta asked.

Aizen met his scowl with a calm gaze. "When Grimmjow went alone to conquer Kadassil, the inhabitants blew up the planet rather than have it ruled by Frieza. They destroyed his pod and left him to die, so I thought it would be a gracious gesture to save him. I suppose something in me still held on to my fellow race."

"Are you implying that you're a Saiyan?"

"Allow me to clarify. I'm only half Saiyan. My mother was a Tuffle."

Vegeta gasped. "That's preposterous! The Saiyans wiped the Tuffles out hundreds of years ago."

"That is correct, Vegeta. While they had killed my mother in the genocide, the Saiyans spared me because I passed as one of them. Eventually, I made my way through the ranks of the Saiyan Army and soon became the chief advisor to your great grandfather, King Vegeta Senior."

"If you claim to be centuries old, then explain how you've lived this long."

"I did not live long. By all accounts, I am dead."

Goku and Vegeta couldn't believe it. With no halo, how could he roam the living world?

"King Vegeta believed that the raw power of the Saiyans would trump any force that crossed their path. I disagreed, saying that we needed technological advancements and training to be dominant in this universe. To prove my point, I left Planet Vegeta to do reconnaissance and search for stronger and more advanced civilizations. However, a strong solar wind flung my ship into a portal known as the Garganta. The Garganta transported me to Universe Six, where I met my end at the hands of an asteroid."

"And what the hell is a Garganta?"

"It is a void that connects Universe Six and Universe Seven. Grimmjow used it to exit your fight. Once I died in Universe Six, I found myself in their afterlife, the Soul Society."

"So that's why you guys are carrying swords," Goku said. "You guys are Soul Reapers, right?"

"Yes, for simplicity's sake. Though, I plan to transcend this form in time."

"So what business do you have with this universe now?" Vegeta asked.

"At first I came out of curiosity and found that Planet Vegeta had been conquered, first by King Cold, and then by Frieza. When Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta, I presumed it would be interesting to see how the lives of the remaining Saiyans played out, so I kept a close watch on you."

Goku drew his head back. "What?! You mean you've been tracking us our entire lives?"

"Think of it as what Doctor Gero did, but vastly more extensive. I've been using an almost microscopic module to watch most of your movements. The only thing that I could not track is when you used Instant Transmission to go to distant planets."

Vegeta scoffed. "Hmph, you didn't come back to tell us you've been spying on us. What are you really after?"

"Something more than your minds can aspire toward. It would be a waste to explain my ideals to two unwavering fools."

A grin curled onto Vegeta's lips. "Thank you for sparing our ears of your ridiculous notions. It would have put us to sleep, anyway." He turned his attention to Aizen's henchmen, Yammy, who held an object that looked similar to what the wizard Babidi possessed. "I'm guessing your buffoon back there is holding all the energy you've stolen."

Yammy growled and lifted the device. "We didn't take their energy, fool! We took their souls."

Goku and Vegeta's eyes widened. They both knew that if the souls of those people had been destroyed, they would cease to exist.

"You're even more twisted inside than Frieza," Goku said with bared teeth. "How could you do this to these people!?"

"It may seem cruel," Aizen said. "But consider it a necessary sacrifice for the greater good."

Vegeta stepped back into his fighting stance. "Kakarot, we've done enough talking. Let's get this over with quickly."

Goku nodded and prepared to fight. They wasted no time as they both powered up into Super Saiyan Blue.

Aizen sighed, then wrapped his fingers around the guard of his weapon. "How humorous. You've already assumed that you'll beat me without your full power. Watch as I seal your fate with one move."

His unsheathed Zanpakuto left Vegeta and Goku frozen, eager to see his power. Pointing his blade downwards, Aizen chanted, "Shatter, Kyoka Suigetsu."

Seconds passed, and no attack came from their enemy. Goku and Vegeta shared a bewildered stare until Yammy charged forward. The hulking man threw a punch at Vegeta, who ducked under and landed a straight fist on his abdomen. Yammy bent over in agony, but Vegeta front kicked him in his jaw and chased him into the air.

Goku teleported behind Aizen and threw a sidekick. Aizen turned and blocked. Goku withdrew his leg and twisted his body in midair to kick with his other leg. Aizen's heels slid back into the dirt, prompting Goku to pursue him.

As they continued to battle, two questions came to Goku's mind. If Aizen was a half Saiyan, how did he fight at such a high level without transforming? What was his sword's ability? Had it affected him already? It mattered little at that moment, as Goku held the advantage by a wide margin. Sosuke Aizen landed no hit on him, and his ally found himself in a worse situation.

With battering fists and swift kicks, Vegeta bounced Yammy around the battlefield with minimal effort. He then closed the distance between them and used an energy sword to cut off the arm that held the device containing the Namekian souls. Yammy writhed in agony as blood spilled out from his wound.

Vegeta chuckled with his hands around his hips. "What a joke. How could you let me cut you? Aren't you the one with the sword?"

A roar boomed out of Yammy's mouth. "You damn ant! I'll squash you!" He pulled his remaining arm back and launched a fist. Vegeta sidestepped the punch and extended his arm.

"Big Bang Attack!" n energy ball exploded onto him. The smoke cleared to reveal that nothing remained of the man, save for his arm and the soul absorption device.

As Aizen looked on in the air, Goku teleported behind him and side kicked him to the ground. Goku landed next to Vegeta and faced Aizen, who took his time to stand.

"It's over now," Goku said. "Just give up and you can walk away from all of this."

Aizen patted the dust off of his shoulder. "I can't do that, Goku. I can't walk away from my destiny."

A giant wave of water appeared behind Goku and Vegeta. Before they dodged it, the wave consumed them. While they tossed in the water, Aizen held the soul absorption device in the air. He touched two fingers to his forehead and vanished. Vegeta grabbed Goku by his shirt and pulled him to the sky. Both of them coughed out water that filled their lungs.

"How the hell did he do that?" Vegeta asked. "That thing was right next to me. There's no way he could have taken it without me seeing."

"I don't know," Goku said. "But he can use Instant Transmission, too. I can't even sense him anymore."

"Dammit! This guy is more dangerous than I expected."

"We should probably head to the Supreme Kai and tell him what's going on."

Goku and Vegeta teleported to the Sacred Planet of the Kais. Once there, they found the Supreme Kai sitting and peering into his crystal ball.

He stood to address them. "I've watched your encounter and spoke with Universe Six's Supreme Kai. We've confirmed that we are both facing the same threat."

"What was that ability he used on us?" Vegeta asked. "He can control water with his thoughts?"

"No, it is far more dangerous than that. His Zanpakuto's ability is perfect hypnosis. It is not only subtle, but it can also control all five of your senses."

"So he didn't hit us with that tidal wave?" Goku asked.

"It was only a part of his illusion. It activated once you saw his sword and his release command. You say a tidal wave hit you, but your clothes aren't even wet." Goku and Vegeta looked down and inspected their clothing. They had no water on them, not even a droplet. "Now you've both become victims, and unfortunately, so have Gohan and Piccolo."

The Saiyans' jaws dropped. "He went there right after he fooled us, didn't he?" Vegeta asked.

The Supreme Kai nodded. "They were training, and he got to them before I could intervene. I'm sorry."

Vegeta clenched his fists. "Damn trickster! He dares to make a mockery of us?"

"Supreme Kai, why is he taking souls?" Goku asked.

"Two years ago, Sosuke Aizen sought to create a device called the Oken, which would grant him access to the Soul Society's Soul Palace. He wanted to kill their king and take his place. To do that, he needed one hundred thousand souls and a spirit-enriched area. He tried and failed to do this in the town that Trunks currently resides in. However, he's opted to take a different route this time."

"What's that?"

"Without a spirit-enriched area, it takes one hundred billion souls and a six-month waiting period to create a copy of the Oken."

"One hundred billion?!" Goku and Vegeta shouted in unison.

"Yes, and his forces have already stolen souls in Universe Six as well. The Oken is the only thing that can bypass the barrier to our realm. If he pairs that with Instant Transmission, he could teleport himself here and take my life, as well as the life of the other Supreme Kai. With Beerus and Champa asleep, this is the most opportune time for him. He'll reign unopposed in Universe Six and Seven."

Goku raised his fist. "Not if we stop him first."

"Kakarot, think about what we're dealing with," Vegeta said. "How do we stop someone with forces that can spread across Universe Six and Seven? You're the only one that knows Instant Transmission, and by the time we hear about an attack in Universe Six, it would probably be too late. He's most likely going to use hit-and-run tactics to make us chase him."

"Damn," Goku said with his eyes lowered. "There's gotta be some way we can fight this guy. Maybe we can use the Namek Dragon Balls to track him or something."

"That's another matter that I need to address," the Supreme Kai said. "Because the soul of the grand elder, Moori, has left the planet, the Namekian Dragon Balls are now inert. Even more concerning, the Supreme Kai of Universe Six brought to my attention that they've destroyed one of the Super Dragon Balls in his universe. It seems they've thought of every way to keep us at a disadvantage."

"This is ridiculous," Vegeta fumed. "Everything gets worse by the second." Vegeta then turned to Goku. "We're heading to Earth before we go back to Whis. Goten and Trunks need to know what's going on here. This is war now."

Trunks, Ichigo, and Goten all exited the gravity chamber and stepped out into the training grounds, where Urahara and Rukia stood waiting for them.

"Whew," Ichigo said. He raised his arms overhead and stretched. "Gravity really works you out, but damn, I feel as light as a feather now."

"I'm still surprised you made it up to fifty Gs on your first day," Trunks said.

"Well, I kinda cheated. I had to use my spiritual pressure just to keep up with you guys."

"Excellent," Urahara said to the group. "I hope it worked as you envisioned. Is there anything that needs to be adjusted at all?"

The trio shook their heads until a hoard of stomach grumbling interrupted them.

"At least it's not just me this time," Goten said.

"So, where do you wanna go to eat?" Ichigo asked.

"You're asking me like I know the area."

"Right, so what do you wanna eat?"

"I'm really not that picky. Trunks, you choose."

Trunks placed his hands on his hips. "I don't really have a taste for anything."

Ichigo sighed. "Well, how about you choose, Rukia?"

Rukia pondered for a moment. "How about ramen?"

Ichigo nodded. "Sounds good to me."

"Hey Kisuke, would you mind if I get an advance?" Trunks asked/

"Don't worry about it," Ichigo said. "I got you guys covered."

Before they continued any further, a voice rang out from the entrance of the training grounds. "The moocher's getting a call!"

They all looked up and spotted Jinta. He wound up his arm and threw an object toward Trunks.

Trunks lifted his hand and caught his walkie-talkie. "Thanks!"

"Yeah, whatever!"

"Kids got a killer arm," Trunks said.

Urahara smiled. "Yep, he's gonna be our little money maker in a few years."

Trunks brought the walkie-talkie to his mouth and pushed a button on the side to talk. "Hello?"

After a few seconds of static, an all-too-familiar voice answered. "Trunks, can you hear me?"

"Dad? Yeah, I can hear you. What's up?"

"Is Goten with you?"

"Yeah, he's right next to me."

"Good, then you won't have to relay this information to him later. We've made contact with Sosuke Aizen."

Air left all of their mouths; Ichigo's hands trembled.

"Wait, but how?" asked Trunks. "Don't you need an Angel to travel through universes?"

"I'll explain everything. I hope you didn't have plans today."

The group listened as Vegeta explained the encounter with Aizen, as well as his origin and supposed motive. When they had first come to Universe Six, Trunks and Goten thought they could handle this threat with ease, even if they needed to resort to fusion. If Aizen kept up with Goku in his Super Saiyan Blue form, they needed to increase the intensity of their training. Trunks bid his father farewell, but stress mounted on Ichigo's face.

"Dammit," he said. "This is what I was talking about. Now he's back and stronger than ever. What the hell do we do now?"

Goten slapped his hand on Ichigo's shoulder. "We keep training, that's what. That's the only thing we can do, and if it's still not enough, there's always fusion. You're in skilled hands. Trunks will make you a better fighter, just like he's made me a better fighter. Even in our worst case, we still have at least six months to prepare."

Trunks chimed in. "We'll all make it out of this. I can promise you that. We're not going anywhere till we stop him."

A faint smile crossed Ichigo's face. The two Saiyans and Rukia to return one as well.

"I should leave you guys to your training," she said. "The Soul Society needs to hear about this news."

"I'll go with you," Goten said. "As much as I wanna eat right now, Toshiro needs to know about this."

Goten gave his goodbyes to the others before departing with Rukia.

"Hey Kisuke," Trunks asked. "Was any of this inside of your realm of possibilities?"

"Some of it, yes," Kisuke said. "I thought it possible that he escaped into the other universe, but I wasn't prepared for him to be of another species, nor did I expect him to collect a hundred billion souls for the Oken. Even for someone like Aizen, I thought it would be too lofty of a goal."

Ichigo perked up and offered a suggestion. "Maybe we should try to catch him here in this universe."

Trunks shook his head. "Even if we knew a technique like Instant Transmission, we'd be leaving Karakura Town wide open. It's better if we stay here and focus on training, while Goku and my dad track him down."

"Alright, we better get to it-" Ichigo's grumbling stomach interrupted, causing Trunks and him to share a laugh. "Maybe we should eat first before we get started. We can go to my house. I'm sure Yuzu's probably made something already."

Inside of his captain's quarters, Toshiro shot forward in his chair. "We need to resume our training immediately."

"Of course," Goten said. "But do you mind if we eat first?"

Toshiro slammed his palms onto the table and stood. "This is serious! We can't waste any more time."

"Hey, calm down and let me finish, okay?"

Hitsugaya took a few seconds to regain his composure before he sat back down. "I'm sorry."

"Look, I get that you're anxious right now, but we've still got plenty of time to prepare. Rushing every second will only stress you out more. Plus, I didn't even tell you that Trunks and Kisuke Urahara built a gravity chamber."

"A gravity chamber?"

"Yeah, it can simulate up to five hundred times Earth's normal gravity. We should train there for half of the week-" A loud voice called from outside and echoed throughout the barracks.

"Attention! All captains and lieutenants, please report to the assembly hall for an emergency captain's meeting. I repeat, all captains and lieutenants, please report to the assembly hall for an emergency meeting."

"For such a big place, word sure gets around here fast," Goten said.

Hitsugaya stood from his chair once more. "We'd better get going."

"Huh? But I'm not a captain or a lieutenant."

"That's true, but the Head Captain might call you in to assess the situation. Until then, you'll be with Rangiku and the other lieutenants."

"So I'll finally get to meet your friend, Momo?"

Hitsugaya crossed his arms and averted his gaze. "Why are you so concerned about her, anyway? Shouldn't you be happy that you're spending alone time with Rangiku?"

Goten chuckled. "Hey, she's got nice features, but I'm not into her."

"Oh, and what made you realize that?"

"Well, she's an… older woman, ditzy, and an alcoholic. I'd prefer to just be platonic."

Toshiro uncrossed his arms and walked to the door. "I guess that's something we can both agree on. Let's get going, or the Head Captain will chew us out."

Toshiro and Goten met up with Rangiku and walked over to the captain's hall. Once there, Toshiro split with them to attend the meeting, while Rangiku and Goten continued to the waiting room for the lieutenants. When they arrived, Goten looked around the room to see that they had been the last ones to arrive.

"So, these are the lieutenants," he said as he scanned the room. "Where's Rukia?"

After a few moments of searching, he found her in the back of the room, speaking with another lieutenant with red hair and a matching bandana. Goten waved to her and approached the two. Rukia smiled and waved back, but the other lieutenant looked to his side.

"Goten," Rukia said. "I didn't know you would come here."

"Me neither," he said. "But Toshi- I mean Captain Hitsugaya said I should in case I get called in there for questioning."

"I see." Rukia turned to the lieutenant standing next to her. "Renji, this is Goten. And Goten, this is Renji. He's the lieutenant of my brother's squad."

Goten smiled and extended his hand. Renji shook his hand firmly, but did not return the smile. His widow's peak reminded him of Vegeta's. It might've even put his to shame.

"I'm guessing you're the one that let out that massive of spiritual pressure a couple of days ago," Renji said.

"I think so," Goten said. "I was sparring with Captain Hitsugaya, so I had to power up a bit."

"Compared to your friend, the one that Rukia said beat Ichigo in a fight, how do you stack up against him?"

Goten scratched his head. "How do I stack up against Trunks? Um, I guess we're more or less even."

Renji took a step closer and lowered his voice. "If it's true that Aizen's back, do you guys think you can stand a chance against him?"

"I think we can when we finish our training. I wouldn't worry about it too much."

"You're not worried?! Do you even know what he's capable of?!"

"I've been told a lot, and he seems pretty scary, but stressing about it won't do any good. All we can do is prepare, right?" He turned his head toward the other lieutenants. "By the way, do you guys know which lieutenant is Momo?"

"Hm?" they both leaned in and shared a perplexed gaze. Renji pointed to the corner of the room behind Goten. "She's over there talking to Rangiku."

"Thanks, I'm gonna go meet her. It was nice talking to you guys."

"Wait!" Rukia grabbed Goten's arm. Confused, he turned around to listen to listen to her whisper. "Please don't mention anything about Aizen around her. She used to be his lieutenant, and they were very close."

"Really? Thanks for the heads up, then. That could've been awkward if I said something."

Goten waved goodbye, then walked over to Rangiku and Momo. "Hi. Would you be Lieutenant Hinamori?"

"Oh, yes, and you're Goten, right?" she said. "Rangiku was just telling me you're training with Toshiro."

"Yup, and he's told me so much about you, too."

"What, really?"

"Yeah, he's told me how much he misses hanging out with you." Rangiku raised her eyebrow at Goten, who gave her a subtle wink. "In fact, we're all about to go out to eat after the meeting. It'd be great if you came so you guys could catch up."

Momo hesitated. "Are you sure? I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Of course you're not intruding. He would love it if you joined us."

"Well… I'm sure Captain Hirako would be okay if I left for a little while."

Goten continued to chat with the women until the meeting ended. Once the captains walked in, Toshiro found himself surprised when he saw the trio conversing.

"Hey," Goten called out. "That was pretty quick."

"There were only a few matters to discuss." Toshiro turned to the Squad Five lieutenant. "Hello, Momo."

"Hi, Toshiro," she said. "It was so nice of you to invite me out to eat with you guys."

"It's Captain Hitsuga- what did you just say?"

"We're all going out to eat," Goten said. "It would be nice if you guys caught up, wouldn't it?"

"What are you-" Before Hitsugaya finished, he Goten gave him several overt winks. He grunted. "Fine. Momo, is your captain going to be okay with you leaving after the meeting?"

"Of course it'll be okay," a voice said from behind him. "She's been cooped up in the barracks for way too long." Toshiro turned to Captain Hirako behind him. "As long as you give her the rundown on the meeting, it's not a problem."

Toshiro nodded, but his heart skipped a beat. Damn you, Hirako. Don't put this all on me.

With a wave goodbye, Captain Hirako walked out of the room. Before they departed, Goten stopped the group. "Hang on. Would any of you be able to tell me who Captain Soi Fon is?"

Rangiku leaned forward and raised another eyebrow. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason. She's the only captain I haven't met yet, so I just wanted to see what she looks like."

Rangiku tilted her head towards a corner of the room, where Soi Fon berated her lieutenant. Oh, wow. She seems… threatening. Threatening and not approachable. Now I know why he doesn't want a wingman.

Goten slowly turned his head away and muttered. "I guess I should leave that to Trunks."

"What was that?" Toshiro asked.

Goten snapped back and giggled. "Oh, I said, 'I guess we should leave'. I'm starving!"

Toshiro led the group to a small shop, where they sat down and ordered their food.

"Only one bowl from you today?" asked Toshiro. "Didn't you say you were starving before?"

"I thought it wouldn't be nice of me to run up your bill," Goten said. "But if you have deep pockets, I can call that server back."

"No amount of money can satisfy that hunger of yours. I've never had to do so much grocery shopping in my life."

"You really eat that much?" Momo asked.

Rangiku nodded. "He could build a stairway to Sokyoku Hill with his empty bowls. The Soul Society would go bankrupt in a week feeding him."

"Multiply it by three and you'll know what my mom went through," Goten said.

"Um, Toshiro?" Momo asked.

Toshiro turned his attention to her. "Is something wrong?"

"No, not at all. I was just wondering what the captain's meeting was about."

The smiles erased off of Rangiku, Goten, and Toshiro's faces. Toshiro and Rangiku looked down at the table.

"Momo…" Toshiro struggled to get his words out. "This is… this is difficult for me to tell you."

"Hmm? What's the matter?"

Goten wrestled with the thought of speaking up and telling her, but he figured it would be best to keep quiet for the moment.

Toshiro shut his eyes tight and whispered, "He's back. Aizen's back, Momo."

Goten watched Momo's face lose its color. Her smile dissipated; she trembled as Rangiku hugged her.

"It's going to be okay," Rangiku said to her.

Momo's voice wavered. "He's back… no. Please, I can't…"

Goten still did not know what had transpired between Aizen and Momo, but he had learned enough through the dejected faces before him. He hadn't a clue what Aizen looked like, but the thought of the man that caused these three this much pain angered him. Still, he calmed himself and figured that he needed to speak.

"Hey, Momo," he said. She raised her eyes to him. "I came here to make sure that we stop Aizen, and we'll train every single day to make sure we can beat him. I'd rather die than see him lay a finger on any of you."

Goten saw life return in Momo's eyes. He smiled at her and then looked at Toshiro. "And I know Toshiro feels the same way, right?"

"Right," Toshiro nodded.

"We'll give you our word." Goten then extended his arm to Momo across from him and stuck his pinky finger out. "How about we pinky swear on it? You too, Toshiro. Get that pinky out." Toshiro followed along, and the two of them locked pinky fingers with Momo. "We're gonna get stronger and take him out. We'll stake our lives on it."

"I'll never let him hurt you again, Momo," Toshiro said. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you before."

A cheerful smile lit Momo's face."You don't have to be sorry, Toshiro. You did your best, and that's all I could ever ask for."

Toshiro smiled, but Goten realized he forgot something. "Oh, Rangiku, did you wanna get in on this?"

Rangiku crossed her arms and frowned. "How about you both promise not to throw me off a cliff again?"

Goten and Toshiro exploded into laughter, leaving Momo confused. "You… threw her off a cliff?"

"Wait, let me tell you the whole story, Momo," Goten said. "So Toshiro and I are sparring…"

The four of them ate and traded tales that almost made them fall out of their chairs. It had been the most enjoyable night that the Soul Reapers had experienced in a long time, and Goten felt glad just to be a part of it.

Long after they finished eating, they continued to converse while they walked Momo back to her barracks. They said their goodbyes, and Goten, Rangiku, and Toshiro walked back to their own headquarters.

"Your hand at playing matchmaker didn't work this time," Toshiro said.

"Huh?" Goten stopped with his hands on his hips. "You thought I was trying to set you guys up?"

"Isn't that why you wanted to meet her so badly?"

"I wanted to meet her because you needed to get out of that funk you were in, but if I set you guys up in the process, make sure I get to be your best man."

"You better quit it before I fit you into a shihakusho!"

"What!? No way, you can't do that!"

"What's wrong with a shihakusho?" Rangiku asked.

"Uh, nothing! Orange is just my favorite color!"

Though they found themselves on the brink of war, it still felt nice to share a few laughs.