Bleach: Evolution Prologue

Bleach:  Evolution

Act 1-Shinigami Hollow War Act

Saga 1-Shinigami-Hollow War Saga

Arc 1-Shinigami-Hollow War Saga

Chapter 0-Prologue

The sky was dark and foreboding. The moon was hovering in the sky, but was entirely eclipsed smoke that kept rising higher and higher. On the ground were fires spreading at rapid speeds, and charging through them warriors, more specifically Shinigami and Hollow, doing battle with enormous fury. The ground was soaked crimson with the blood of the combatants. Armies of bodies charged forward with the intent to kill, hollering war cries which were so abundant that none of them could be made out clearly. Swords clashed, fists flew, and magic spells soared through the air. The moment a fighter on either side was taken out, another would take its place. It’s like their forces were never ending, like they were able to keep manufacturing soldiers to continuously do battle. While most of the soldiers were clearly fodder, one stood out from the crowd. A tall, shirtless man with as sick pack abs, long, brown, unkempt hair, and a sword in each hand. He plowed his way through every enemy that confronted him. It didn’t matter if they were Hollow or normal Hollow, they stood no chance. And if any of his allies got in his way, then they met a similar fate. His sword slashes were faster than the naked eye could perceive. He sliced right through the hierro of the Hollow like butter. His footwork was skillful also, no matter how much speed he picked up, or how many enemies ran into him, he would never loose balance.

He jumped, slid, spun around, flipped, and cleaved his way to victory. Even when he turned his back, which is usually a sure sign of death, they were unable to touch him, probably due to his exceptional senses. Even on the rare occasion that a Hollow was able to find his blind spot, he would quickly notice it and use a punch or a kick to knock it away long and far enough to strike it with one of his swords. One Hollow that stood several stories high charged up and fired a red blast of energy at him, but he effortlessly blocked it with both of his blades at once. Before long most of the enemies in this area were taken care of. The few that weren’t were easily dispatched by the overwhelming Shinigami forces. With the battle won the Shinigami forces split into groups and began putting out the massive fire and rescuing all of the citizens that were caught up in the attack. Without wasting any time, the shirtless Shinigami that came to their rescue used Shunpo disappeared, moving at rapid speed across the battlefield, confident that his comrades could handle the post-battle clean up. Two of his comrades, both draped in black cloaks and their swords sheathed, came up behind him, running side by side with him, one on the right of him and the other on the left of him. As they traveled through Soul Society they eventually left the area of the fire, entered a forest with trees so tall that the tops of them couldn’t be seen, and then arrived at a small village with broken down houses and a bunch of people trembling in fear. The one on the right of him, who had brown hair, then began talking.

“Captain Burikka.”  His voice was low and thoughtful. “What’s the status on the east side battalion?”

“Everything’s secure.”  Burikka responded, giving off a confident demeanour. “I’m meeting with the rest of the Captains tonight to discuss future battle plans. With any luck we’ll be able to invade Hueco Mundo within the coming weeks and seal it off so the Hollows can never again enter Soul Society.”

“What about the leader?”  The same guy replied. “Any clue on his identity?”

“Sadly no.”  Burikka lamented. No longer feeling threatened, he finally sheathed both of his swords. “He’s a crafty bastard. All we know for sure is that he has to be a Vasto-Lorde. That wold be the only person with the intelligence to carry out a raid on Soul Society or the power to control this many Hollows.”

The other comrade, the one with blue hair, cut in. “The frightening part is that there’s probably multiple other Vasto-Lorde at his command. I really don’t want to fight one of them.”

“Good, don’t, Lieutenant.”  Burikka demanded. “If you encounter a Vasto-Lorde, you run. That’s all there is to it.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice.”  The guy agreed.

All three of them observed the wreckage with their eyes, scanning back and fourth. The village stretched as far as the eye could see. It was the worst possible sight they could imagine. West Rukongai District 80. Not only is it the crappiest district in West Rukongai, but it’s the crappiest of all the district 80’s. Burikka wasn’t that surprised because he has to make routine inspections through here being a Captain and all, but as for his two Lieutenants, they’d never been this deep into Rukongai. It looked like the devil himself rampaged through here. There was hardly a person in sight, and the few that came into view were either bickering, fighting, or running around aimlessly. They also wore very little clothing. Nothing on their feet, some of them were missing hair, and their clothes were ripped up. Hell, some of them were even completely naked, and the ominous part is that they didn’t seem to view that as strange or uncomfortable, even when three strangers began walking by. Peering inside the broken down houses they could see people starving or dead. Souls would fight over the tiniest morsel of food, and those encounters could get immensely violent. Burikka confidently did his part to break up fights and any kind of quarrel that he saw, weather it be over food, a lover’s quarrel, whatever. If he say a group struggling to eat the meager amount of food that they had, he would teach them how to split it as evenly and fairly as possible. And most of the citizens, despite their hard times, accepted his aid, albeit some begrudgingly. As for the ones who didn’t, one single stare from his intimidating glare got them to cooperate. His Lieutenants, also sympathetic to these people’s plight, copied their Captain, although they were more nervous than him. They spent an hour helping this small village. The Lieutenants didn’t know what to feel. They were happy that they prevented the Hollows from reaching this mostly peaceful place, but sad that these people had to live like this.

It was all frustrating, but through the entire thing they had to keep smiling, never once showing signs of their trauma, so as to hopefully inspire hope in them, although they were unsure if it would even work. When they were done they looked over to Burikka, amazed by his tenacity and willpower. They supposed that’s one of the things that makes him worthy to be a Captain in the Shinigami Order, behind his combat power and skill of course. Before too long they left the village. The two Lieutenants were disgusted by the harsh lives some people have to live, but were satisfied that they were so kind despite that and accepted the help. The three used Shunpo to exit the village as quickly as possible and make their way through the districts. As they did, the appearances of them got better and better, from the structure and stability of the housing, to the design and plentifulness of people’s clothing, to the people’s overall spirit and morale. There were also different kinds of villages that existed. There was a huge forest, trees taller than the eye could see, with people’s houses build inside of the trees themselves due to how thick they were. This was where the fire previously broke out, and lots of damage was visible, but it seemed like it could still be repaired with hard work, which they were happy about. This was District 40. By the time they arrived at District 1 Junrinan they saw larger than average houses, cheerful stores and restaurants, and so much joy that it hurt to look behind them. When they finally exited Rukongai one of the Lieutenants finally couldn’t take it anymore.

“Captain.”  The one with blue hair exclaimed. His voice was calm, but still sounded urgent. “What was that just now?”

“What do you mean, Juddeth?”  Burikka inquired, feigning ignorance.

“You know damn well what I mean!”  Juddeth responded, a bit irritated. “All of the poverty in the higher districts! How do you justify something like that!?”

“I don’t.”  Burikka replied matter-of-fact. “But I also know that there’s nothing we can do about it. All we can do is come by here every once in awhile and attempt to ease their pain. That’s our job after all, at least in regards to Rukongai.”

“But why is it like that?”  The other Lieutenant asked, his voice sympathetic and concerned.

“It has to do with Seireitei.”  Burikka sighed and explained. “To no fault of our own, the energy from Seireitei, given off by the powerful Shinigami and Kami that reside in it, gives it its prosperity. Naturally that prosperity is also allotted to Rukongai, but the future you get away from Seireitei, the more it lessens. That’s why the 80th Districts, all four of them, are in such bad shape. And we can do nothing but accept that cruel reality.”

Before he could continue someone appeared behind them. It took awhile for the Lieutenants to catch on, but Burikka noticed right away, turning his head the second before this person appeared. He was a tall man with pale skin, sharp blue eyes, mid length messy black hair with his bangs hanging below his eyes. He has a tall well-built frame. He’s adorned in a sleeveless blue overcoat seamed with bluish black hemlines over a royal blue robe with black collar and sash. He ties black ribbons in a crisscross pattern over the lower half of his sleeves. The underneath of his robe can also be partially seen. He wears black pants and a pair of dark brown boots overlaid with more crisscross patterned ribbons. He’s carrying a Chinese glaive like weapon called a Hsu Ouandao, its blade currently draped in a white cloth held by a black strap. As he walked the end of his staff also touched the ground in the same pattern as his feet. He had a blank expression on his face as he walked to the side of Burikka, Burikka’s Lieutenants falling behind as a sign of respect.

“You’re late for the meeting again.”  The man said. His voice was low and matter-of-fact.

“Sorry ‘bout that Joel, I just got finished in West Rukongai.”  Burikka responded without hesitating.

“Captain Goldsmith.”  Juddeth cut in. Joel turned to him, but all both the Lieutenants did was bow, they had nothing to say. Joel shook his head, and then returned his attention back to Burikka.

They continued on their way for awhile, using Shunpo to cover ground more quickly. Burikka and Joel, clearly more skilled, were first far ahead of the Lieutenants, and had to slow down so that they could keep up. They eventually arrived in a wide open field; the area they were in before was fairly spacious, but had more trees than here. When they did they entered through some sort of barrier. For both Joel and Burikka it was nothing, but for the Lieutenants they were almost knocked over, and Juddeth commented that he doesn’t think he’ll ever get used to that. Before they entered the force field they saw nobody else, but afterwards the grassy plane was littered with other Shinigami of both genders and of all ages and sizes. The four of them were greeted by pleased smiles. Out of the crowd of comrades thirteen in particular approached them. Burikka gave a subtle nod to his Lieutenants, and they responded by joining the rest of the crowd, leaving the Captains to themselves. The first to approach them was the tallest of all fifteen, a pale-skinned man with long black hair, black eyes, and a large scar or burn on the left side of his face and neck. He’s adorned in a large navy blue cloak with numerous crescent shaped buttons and a black cape, along with a formal black top and trousers complete with a white sash tied around his waist and a white napkin stuffed in his collar, and on his feet he wears black armored boots. The second to approach was a slender woman only a tiny bit shorter than the previous. She has long, blond hair, with some strands dangling along either side of her head and body, and a large ponytail tied behind herself. She wears long, white, baggy pants and a thin, black T-shirt, covered in a long cloak that’s white with a few gold trimmings along the edges of it, and long black boots on her feet. Her breasts are relatively large and cleavage can be seen popping out of the top of her shirt.

The next was a tall and very muscular man. He has black hair on the sides of his head and is bald on top. He has a tuft of hair sticking up at the back of his head in a topknot. He has thick black eyebrows and a long, thick black mustache. He has a single large scar on his forehead. He has prominent wrinkles on his forehead and beneath his eyes, and shallow cheeks. He wears the typical black outfit of the Kimono and Hakama of the Shinigami. The next was a woman of average height. She has long, flowing, black hair, pale skin, black eyes, and a white Kimono and Hakama with black trimmings along the edges of it. She holds a black, emotionless expression on her face. The next was a short man, the shortest of all fifteen of them. He is a large and severely overweight individual with a bald head, red eyes, pushy eyebrows, and a long black beard. He wears the standard Shinigami uniform beneath a white, long-sleeved haori. The top of his uniform is open enough to expose his hairy chest. He also wears a set of red prayer beads around his neck and a pair of single-toothed tengu getas. The next one is a man only slightly taller than the previous. He’s a dark-skinned man with thick, black hair that is shaven and dyed green on the sides of his head. He wears a variation of the Shinigami Shihakusho, featuring instead a green undergarment and a shortened hakama that exposes his lower legs. Worn over this is a white, sleeveless puffer jacket. His attire is completed by gold-framed sunglasses with blue lenses and a pair of greens lippers that are trimmed and have a shoe-like appearance. The next was a woman who was slender and very youthful with fair skin and long, black hair that is adorned at the back by a large golden ornament in the shape of a crescent moon with numerous small lines radiating outwards. She wears the standard Shinigami uniform beneath a white long-sleeved haori, over which she dons a further white robe fastened at the front near the center of her chest.

She also wears a pair of extremely thick-soled okobo. The next one was a tall man with short, orange hair. Instead of the normal black Shinigami uniform his was purple, and he had a white, flowing cape on his back. After that came a lean-built and very tall man with black hair arranged into an outlandishly large pompadour hairstyle with tapered sideburns. He was chewing on a small stick. Instead of a standard Shinigami uniform, he was adorned ina  waist-length white jacket that leaves most of his chest exposed. His chest was hairy, but not as much as the short guy. His attire is completed by a black hakama, a large yellow sash around his waist, and a pair of small brown sandals. After that came a tall man with short, frizzy, black hair, black eyes, and pale skin. He was adorned in the standard Shinigami uniform that looked normal except for red trim across all of the edges, with a white belt strapped around his waist several times over, with a black cape draped across his back. The next one was a man who was short but still taller than the shortest one. He looked rather elderly with wrinkles all over his visible flesh and his head was entirely void of hair and he had dark blue eyes. He had to use a brown wooden cane to walk. He wardrobe mostly looked like the standard Shinigami uniform except it was red with black trim across all of the edges. The next one was a tall man with a tiny black mustache and a tiny black beard, black eyes, and long, black hair with several thin strands dangling on either sides of his head and the rest tied in a thin ponytail behind himself. He wore the standard Shinigami uniform except it was brown. And the last one was a tall man with long, flowing, silver hair, black eyes, and a smile on his face. He was adorned in a gray robe and haori that went all the way down to the ground and covered his feet. His hands were stuffed in the sleeves opposite of it.

Without saying a word all fifteen of them made their way tot he center of the field. All of the other Shinigami that were present moved out of the way, making room for the leaders. They showed numerous signs of respect, from bowing, to saluting, to kneeling, to simply walking away silently. After that they formed a large circle side by side each other. Once they were all in position Joel took four steps forward, stabbed the bottom end of his staff into the ground, which was positioned on his right side, knelt his left knee to the ground, slapped the open palm of his left hand to the ground, and began to murmur and indistinguishable chant. After that, the grass and dirt on the ground disappeared, replaced by a large, circular, shinny, colorful map, made entirely out of reiatsu. Joel took a deep breath when he began using the technique, signifying the releasing of his reiatsu. Afterwards he stood up and stepped back into the circle again, and everyone, including him, bent down onto both knees to observe the map more closely. Joel set his staff behind himself on the ground. The silver haired man was the first to point and speak, his voice calm and soothing yet also stern and commanding.

“It’s been awhile that we’ve all gathered together.”  He said matter-of-fact. “Now that we have, it’s time that we plotted an invasion of Hueco Mundo.”

“Have you located any weak points Shoyo?”  Joel questioned.

“A few.”  He replied. “But it will require all of our might to penetrate. Once we’re in, we have to locate and destroy their leader.”

“Are you sure the rest of the Hollows will surrender?”  The bald guy with the long black beard inquired. “There’s still a lot about Hollows that we don’t know, and we can’t underestimate their resolve.”

“Perhaps, Ichibei.”  Shoyo lamented. “But we do know that his existence is providing unbelievable strength to the Hollows, so with him gone we should be able to annihilate the rest of them in Soul Society and seal the path forever.”

“What about the rest of the Vasto-Lorde?”  The woman with the crescent moon protruding from her back asked. “They’re few in number, but each one is stronger than most of us.”

“Shutara, we’ll just have to deal with that as it comes.”  Shoyo exclaimed.

Shoyo opened up both his hands wide and placed his ten fingers on the map. When he did, three areas lit up across the map, emitting a bright red glow, everyone focuses their attention on those specific areas.

“I’ll be splitting us up into three groups of five.”  Shoyo explained confidently. He removed his fingers from the map, and the red glows remained. “Group 1 is Shikyo Fushiawase, Higumi Morimoto, Shutara Senjumaru, Ichibei Hyosube, and Roku Kage will open up a portal in Seireitei.”

Shikyo Fushiawase, the tallest of them, Higumi Morimoto, the blond haired woman, Roku Kage, the guy wearing a black uniform with red trimmings, Shutara Senjumaru, and Ichibei Hyosube all stood up, moving a little ways away from the circle.

“Group 2 will be Joel Goldsmith, Burikka Hakumei Akegata, Kaibutsu Shihoin, Onoki Higurashi, and Nemaiya Oetsu. You’ll open up a portal in the designated area in South Rukongai”  Shoyo continued.

Kaibutsu Shihoin, the orange haired man, Onoki Higurashi, the oldest looking one, Nemiaya Oetsu, the one with sunglasses, Joel Goldsmith, and Burikka Hakumei Akegata, all stood up next, moving to another separate location.

“And group 3 will be Tenjiro Kirinji, Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto, Yachiru Unohana, Zentaitoshitenkushimi, and myself. We’ll open up a portal on the hill where the Sokyoku Blade resides.”  Shoyo finished.

Tenjiro Kirinji, the guy who was chewing on a small stick, Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto, the guy whose mostly bald except for the sides of his head, Yachiru Unohana, the woman with long black hair and an emotionless expression on her face, Zentaitoshitenkushimi, he guy with a long black ponytail, and Shoyo Tabinin rose to their feet last, grouping themselves together as well. Right after that, a woman walked up to Higumai and a guy approached Burikka. The woman looked almost identical to Higumai, wardrobe and all, except she’s missing the white cloak that Higumai wears. The guy who approached Burikka had short black hair and light gray eyes. He wore a red karuta sashinuki style cote with red lacquered steel han kote style forearm guards along with red lacquered steel suneate and haidate. Under the armor he wore a black shitagi, yugake, and hakama tied with a white himo where he ties his swords. He also wore a pair of cotten waraji over white tabi. They began talking. Higumai told this other girl, who was her younger sister, Higamoppi Morimoto, that she’s in charge of the entire Shinigami Order in their absence; similarly, Burikka told this guy, who was his younger brother, Asahi Hakumei Akegata, that he’s second in command. The two obeyed their respective siblings, bowing respectfully, and then walked away, informing the rest of the Shinigami in the area of the current situation. With that, all three groups of five left, using their most skillful Shunpo’s to reach their destinations as quickly as possible. Ichibei, Joel, and Shoyo clapped their hands together and began summoning black mana around their hands. Each of them simultaneously gave the following incantation. The spirit that connects two opposite worlds, those who trespasses and dances with the damned, Bakudo #99:  Keikaigi. After that three Garganta opened up, ripping a hole in space and time.

Before them was a black void of eternal darkness, which seemed to stretch for eternity. The opening looked like a gigantic mouth with its shape. Everyone floated up in the air, entered their respective Gargantas, and they sealed shut behind them. They used their reiatsu to form long white sidewalks that they could run across, after which their feet connected with the sidewalks and then they started bolting across the eternal void of nothingness. Meanwhile in Hueco Mundo, a bunch of hollows were going nuts. They screeched loud and intense enough to cause shock waves through the air and ground, and a few of them even attacked each other for seemingly no discernible reason, while much smaller, much weaker hollows cowered in fear at the immense amount of chaos. This continued for several minutes until they were all halted by a massive amount of spiritual power. It caused large portions of the ground to rise into the air, and every hollow in the vicinity were forced to the ground. Even the strong and uncontrollable ones were consumed with an insurmountable fear. All of them looked in the same direction. In that direction was the source of the spiritual power, a Vasto-Lorde. He had the appearance of a large skeleton completely void of flesh. He wore an elaborate, jet-black academic gown adorned with golden and violet edges. His ribs are completely exposed. He has a dark red orb floating under his ribs that emanate a feeling of dread. He has a tiny dark red glow radiating from inside his empty eye sockets. Additionally, he has two large, long, and wide bones which protrude out of either side of his head. The hollows that were close to him were quickly vaporized by the overwhelming might of his spiritual power. Once he was sure he got their attention he completely dissipated his spiritual power. For a moment after that there was nothing but silence, and then he finally spoke. His voice was loud, booming, and commanded absolute obedience and respect. It was able to strike fear without sounding intentionally angry, and had an ominous presence to it.

“That’s enough of this foolishness.”  The Vasto-Lorde demanded in his gravely tone. “The Shinigami Order is approaching Hueco Mundo. Not only that, but it’s all fifteen of the Captains. This is our chance to crush them and eliminate their forces forever!”

“Agreed Honoka.”  A female voice sounded, using a speed maneuver similar to the Shinigami’s Shunpo to appear in front Honoka.

She was a tall, slender, well-endowed woman with blond, messy, unkempt, slightly long hair, and she had hollow bones covering her entire body kind of like a suit of armor. It covered every single inch of her except for her eyes, the top of her head, and her hair. The bones on her right hand form a long and thick cylinder shaped blade when it reaches the end, and on her left hand it forms a gigantic claw. The armor is mostly white, with a few patches of light blue. Out of her back protruded three long, sharp, white spikes. One of them pointed directly up, one pointed to the right, and one pointed to the left. Now the lower level hollow’s attention were drawn to both of them.

“Harribel.”  Honoka exclaimed. “I want you to take an army of Hollow, as many as you think you need, and a couple more Vasto-Lorde, and attack the ones entering through the Seireitei portal. I will be attacking the group that entered through the portal on Sokyoku Blade hill.”

“What about the last?”  Harribel inquired.

Before he could respond, another Vasto-Lorde arrived. He was rather slim in terms of build. On the top of his head, protruding out of both sides, are a double sided hammer. He has fin like protrusions over his hands and feet. He has a strange slash on his head. He also has gills on his neck, and all of his teeth are contained within one row on his head with a normal mouth void of teeth below them. Almost all of his body is dull purple with a white neck. When he arrived he bent his knee to Honoka respectfully, folding his closed fist and arm over his chest and lowering his head.

“Master, allow me to lead the third group.”  He requested. His voice was deep and stern, but still gave off the tone of a respectful, loyal minion.

“I was about to. You are my third in command after all, Hammerhead.”  Honoka confirmed, pointing at the guy with his bony, decrepit finger.

After that, three more Vasto-Lorde arrived. They also bent their knees in respect. One was a woman with long, flowing, red hair and orange eyes. Her hollow bone armor covered all of her body except for her face. Her breasts were rather large, and were quite prominent bulging out from her chest, forcing her bone armor to stretch. Her build was about average, not too fat but not all that slender either. The second was an elderly, overweight man, with a huge white mustache and white unkempt hair on his head. His face is lined by large scars on the left side of his chin and across his right eye. Despite his aged appearance, he is quite stocky and muscular, and when he was standing, before he bent the knee, albeit with the slouch of an elderly person, he is of a fair size. He wears a regal white leather coat with black fur lining, short sleeves, and three black fur stripes running along the bottom. He wears a golden wristband on both wrists and a belt consisting of three thick chains attached to a large metal disk with a sun emblem. He has dark skin and he also has wrinkles all over his body. And the third and final one was the tallest of them all, probably clocking at 8 feet. His hollow bone armor, which is mostly white with a few black patches here and there, cover his entire body. The armor on his face has thousands of tiny teeth which can be seen even when his mouth is closed. He has two long, sharp, curved horns protruding out of either side of his head, the bottom half of a black cloak covering his groin, legs, and feet, and is completely bald on the top of his head. His teeth and mouth are holding a menacing grin, but it’s unclear if this is intentional or if it’s a permanent fixture.

Honoka flicked his finger upward, and in response all of the Vasto-Lorde who were kneeling down stood up straight. “Angelique you join Harriebl, Baraggan you join Hammerhead, and Alejandro you join me.”  Honoka exclaimed, in order of their appearance.

Honoka raised his arm and swung it, giving his underlings the signal to make their move. Without question, hesitation, or a single word, they did so. The first to leave were Harribel and Angelique, with a speed technique that caused a small bang to sound, taking legions of hollows with them. The second to leave was Hammerhead and Baraggan, taking their own army of hollows with them. The lower ranked hollows followed pretty far behind the Vasto-Lorde as they weren’t nearly as fast, but still seemed to know exactly where they were going. Unlike the previous two groups Alejandro and Honoka simply remained where they were, gathering a group of hollows behind them. A moment later Honoka gazed up into the dark abyss that was the sky of Hueco Mundo and a Garganta opened up, through it flying Shoyo Tabinin, Tenjiri Kirinji, Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto, Yachiru Unohana, and Zentaitoshitenkushimi. The Garganta immediately shut behind them, disappearing, and then they bolted for the ground, using Shunpo to land in literally one second. While they were facing away from Honoka and Alejandro when they exited the Garganta, when their feet reached the ground they were automatically facing them. Their legs were bent and they were clutching their Zanpakuto, ready for battle. Honoka merely cockily chuckled and raised his spiritual power tremendously. All of the nearby hollows quivered in fear and Shoyo and his allies, while still being able to stand, were visibly affected by it. They began to sweat, and Shoyo’s face began to look worried. The only one who wasn’t affected by it at all was Alejandro, who just held a wicked smile on her face.

“That’s him.”  Shoyo stated matter-of-fact.

“How can you be sure?”  Zentaitoshitenkushimi questioned.

Before Shoyo could answer, Yamamoto cut in. “Because he’s met the great Vasto-Lorde Honoka before. This is my first time, but this presence isn’t something that could be released by a just any Vasto-Lorde.”

“Indeed.”  Shoyo said.

Shoyo responded by raising his own spiritual power to match Honoka’s, but this act didn’t seem to worry Honoka at all. His arrogant grin remained on his face, and even seemed to get a bit wider now. By the command of Alejandro a gigantic swarm of hollows charged straight for the Shinigami Captains. Shoyo stepped forward, drew his Zanpakuto, slashed through the air, and just like that they were all gone. Several dozen of them slain in an instant, their reishi particles spreading all over the world and eventually dissipating. Their last breaths were spent screeching with great fury. Shoyo’s Zanpakuto was very unique in appearance. The blade was double the length of a normal Zanpakuto. The hilt guard was diamond shaped, and the hilt itself was stripped silver and gold. It also had a peculiar tiny blade on the end of the handle. Following that Shoyo scrapped his fingernail down the length of his Zanpakuto blade, which caused it to glow a bright light. After that, he did several slashes downward, which caused many blades made out of reishi to leave the sword and head towards Honoka. They were so fast that they caused ripples to appear in the air, and Shoyo’s hair blew wildly. Faster than the eye could see Alejandro appeared in front of her master and blocked all of them with swipes from her clawed hands. Without skipping a beat she then appeared behind Shoyo and attempted to punch him in the back of the head. Shoyo was saved however by Yamamoto, who used Shunpo to cut off Alejandro and then drew his Zanpakuto, slashing her down the middle with it. His Zanpakuto took the form of a standard katana, with a dark purple hilt with a few diamonds on each side and a circular hilt guard. Alejandro, taking the brunt of the attack, flew back. She stuck the landing, but she slid on her feet for awhile. She she stopped she was hunched over. However, her wound quickly began to heal.

Smoke radiated off of it, the blood evaporated, and the would closed entirely, without any hint that she was ever attacked whatsoever. Shoyo explained that this was the healing ability possessed by Vasto-Lorde, and also said that the speed technique they keep using is known as Sonido, and that it’s faster than a Shinigami’s Shunpo as it’s able to break the sound barrier. After would had completely closed Alejandro stood up straight. She summoned fourth some reishi from Heuco Mundo’s atmosphere, which gathered around her right arm. Within moments her arm transformed from a normal arm and hand to a double edged jagged blade. It wasn’t long before her other arm looked the same. She then proceeded to charge forward and clash swords with Yamamoto. Her strength was so great that Yamamoto was pushed way back, far from Shoyo and Honoka and he was powerless to stop it. After awhile she pushed hard, which caused him to leave the ground and go back further. After regaining control of his body he did a backflip, landed on the ground, and charged after Alejandro. The two clashed swords for awhile. Their swords would meet five times and then they would use Shunpo and Sonido respectively to reach a different location. Five strikes, Shunpo and Sonido. This repeated for several minutes. Eventually Alejandro got the upper hand by sliding by sliding to the side of him. Yamamoto isn’t able to react quickly enough to prevent her from pointing her left blade arm at his stomach and began building up a mass of scarlet energy.

After thirty seconds she shouted “CERO” and launched it. Her voice sounded sweet and gentle, while also giving off an ominous fear.

Her Cero pierced through his chest sending him flying far back and tumbling down on his back. Gallons of blood flew in every direction, and a hole about the size of a baseball could be seen in his body right below where his heart would be. Without wasting any time Alejandro leaped up in the air and then bolted downwards, attempting to strike him with her blades, her left blade leaned forward towards him. He reacted quick, however, lifting his Zanpakuto up, which he had a tight grip on. The two blades slid across each other and he used the opportunity to throw her to the side. He did a backflip to his feet from a motionless position.

Yamamoto quickly sheathed his Zanpakuto and said “Hitotsume:  Nadegiri.”  After that a bright flash of light occurred, followed by Yamamoto suddenly appearing behind Alejandro. For a moment there was silence, but then Alejandro’s left arm fell off, even though Yamamodo’s blade was still sheathed, blood spraying everywhere.

Alejandro didn’t realize what had happened until five seconds after it had already taken place. She screamed in great agony, but didn’t have time to react as Yamamoto spun around and did a swift jab with his sword, stabbing her through the heart. She managed to jump away just as he did, but afterwords she fell down to both knees. Blood was pouring out of both of her wounds, and she even coughed up some blood. After using her forearm to wipe the blood off of her mouth she stood back up. The wound on her chest and heart healed, which didn’t surprise Yamamoto considering what he previously saw her do, but then her arm began to regenerate. Yamamoto moved quickly, attempting to attack her again to prevent it, but she managed to fend him off with her other available blade arm until the regeneration was completely finished, all the while being forced to hunch down close to the ground, the fear of her falling over constantly lingering in her mind. Once her arm was finished regenerating, however, he leaped far backward, landing on her feet with ease, sliding for a bit, and then pointed both of her blade hands at Yamamoto and fired two Cero’s at the same time. A few seconds after they were launched the Cero’s fused together into one, much larger Cero. Yamamoto was able to dodge this one, marveling at the immense amount of destruction that it caused to the ground, creating an overwhelmingly large crater, but Alejandro wasn’t done yet. After that she pointed both of her blade arms at him again, and this time fired a Bala. This looked exactly the same as the Cero except it was circular blast of energy which completely left the fire point, whereas one end of the Cero’s were still attached to her arms until the attacks were finished. She kept firing the Balas over and over again. They were small enough that she was able to fire many more of them with much less recharge time, but they didn’t cause any less destruction.

It was all Yamamoto could to do keep evading her attacks because a Bala was much faster than a Cero. Gazing around himself Yamamoto could see Yachiru Unohana, Tenjiro Kirinji, and Zentaitoshitenkushimi hurriedly fighting off swarms upon swarms of hollows. They were doing well enough to not take any damage themselves, but not well enough to break through the forces and go help Yamamoto himself and Shoyo.

After awhile Yamamoto gritted his teeth and stopped moving entirely. Clutching the hilt of his Zanpakuto with great force he shouted “BURN THE ENTIRE WORLD TO ASHES! RYUJIN JAKKA!”

First his blade coated in flame, and then fire burst out from all around him. The Balas that were aimed for him were consumed by it. The flames rose high into the sky, erasing even the clouds. Yamamoto became almost unnoticeable, blocked by the immense fire which only seemed to grow larger as time continued with no end. The heat emanating was so great that it visible exhausted Alejandro, causing her to drop to one knee again, sweat tripping like mad off of her body. Shoyo and Honoka gazed over ad the blazing sight. They were both sweating as well, but were able to remain on their feet even though they weren’t that much further away from it than Alejandro.

“It never ceases to amaze me.”  Shoyo exclaimed with a cocky grin.

“This must be the power known as ‘Zanpakuto’ that I have heard about.”  Honoka responded. “And to think, if us Vasto-Lorde could acquire this power, we would be invisible.”

“True enough.”  Shoyo replied, after which releasing a large sigh. “Too bad that’s not possible.”

Without responding Honoka pointed his left bony index finger at Shoyo. All of a sudden Shoyo used Shunpo to evade an unseen attack, and moments later a gigantic explosion occurred. It was so massive and destructive that it instantaneously decimated several miles of land. Shoyo looked onward in astonishment, his usual joking expression turning to a serious frown. The discovery that Honoka is able to release overwhelmingly powerful attacks without uttering a word and is even able to make them invisible was more than he bargained for. Shoyo drew his Zanpakuto right away, used Shunpo to appear in front of Honoka, and struck him. The attack hit point blank on his face, but caused no damage. It didn’t even force Honoka to budge an inch. Instead Honoka just laughed slightly, grabbed the sword with his left hand, lifted it slowly off of his face, and then clutched his right hand into a fist and punched Shoyo in the stomach. Despite being all bones, the punch was strong enough to send Shoyo flying back. He landed on his feet, but he also coughed up blood.

Without slowing down, he stabbed his Zanpakuto into the ground and said “ITTOU DAICHI!”  This caused a bunch of gigantic swords to emerge from the ground at rapid speeds. Each time one emerged, it would be closer to Honoka. Honoka effortlessly sped away from these swords. He would either swerve around them or jump over top of them with ease.

Once they stopped appearing he hopped on top of one and pointed his finger at Shoyo again, preparing to fire another Cero. Before he could, however, Shoyo placed the palm of his hand on the sword that Honoka was standing on and said, “DENKISHIKI SAAJI!”  This caused a surge of blue electrical energy to generate from Shoyo’s hand and enter the blade, traveling up it with great speed. The force was enough to destroy not only this sword but all of the nearby ones as well. Once the electricity hit Honoka it caused a massive explosion, which Shoyo had to leap backwards away from in order to avoid.

Meanwhile, Shikyo Fushiawase threw a punch at Tier Harribel, which she managed to effortlessly block with her clawed hand. Using Sonido she achieved a great distance away from Shikyo and then pointed her claw at him. Without a word, she fired her own Cero. Her Cero was yellow in color, and it possessed a very wide arc. Shikyo ducked underneath of it, hit the ground with his feet, and immediately propelled himself up towards Harriebel.

Shikyo shouted “IKKOTSU!” after which releasing a punch with his left fist. Before it hit the strike was intense enough to create ripples through the air, and when it hit the strike pulverized a large section of Harribel’s hierro. Pieces of her white armor chipped away and fell of of her body, leaving her entire stomach and the bottom of her breasts exposed, and it sent Harribel plummeting down to the ground. Before she hit the ground, however, she regained her composure and used Sonido to get behind Shikyo, after which attempting to pinch him with her claw. Without even looking in her direction he did a backward motion with the same arm that he previously hit her with, striking her with his elbow, and shouting, “SAKAHONE!”  His elbow managed to shatter even more of her armor, almost all of it on her arms, hands, legs, and feet. It wasn’t as powerful as Ikkotsu, but it was enough to get her off balance long enough to turn around and continue attacking. He began an assault of punches and kicks, but oddly Harribel was able to either block or dodge all of them. Her claw proved to be quite troublesome, as it was so durable that even Shikyo’s punches weren’t able to damage it, and if he wasn’t careful it was really easy to get cut by it. Even the outside edges were sharp. This brawl lasted for several minutes, and neither Harribel nor Shikyo appeared to be getting tired. After awhile Harribel send a kick straight to Shikyo’s solar plexus. It was enough to push him far enough away so she could use her claw to fire a barrage of large, circular, yellow Balas. Shikyo attempted to dodge them, but wasn’t fast enough. For every group he evaded, another one would hit him point blank, until he was forced to plummet to the ground. This time, unlike Harribel, he actually hit the ground, this thud causing a crater to form where he landed. Meanwhile, Roku Kage and Angelique were going at it. Roku Kage wielded two swords.

Both of them were the length of average sized katanas with light blue and white stripped hilts and square hilt guards. They were both strapped side by side in navy blue sheaths on the left side of his body until he drew them both at once, one in each hand, to do battle. Angelique clapped her hands together and summoned a lot of spiritual power. After a few seconds she summoned four clones of herself. After that each one of them turned their arms into blades, similar to Alejandro, and they began attacking from every direction. Roku Kage was a very skillful swordsman, and quite fast. Using both of his swords he could effortlessly fend them off, constantly spinning around to focus on one of the clones, and then spin around again to focus on another one. Even if he didn’t have time to turn around, he would partially turn and fend off two combatants at once, one with each sword. He grazed both of his swords across the blade arms of two of the clones, jumped and backward flipped in the air, and landed on both of their heads, one foot her head. After that he did another backflip and landed on the ground, after which stabbing both of the clones in the back. When they did their cells broke apart and they turned into a white liquid, combining together as the fell into a puddle on the ground. Roku Kage’s knees were bent firmly, his left foot extended forward and his right foot extended backward. While he was fighting Angelique, Shutara Senjumaru, Ichibei Hyosube, and Higumo Morimoto were hurriedly combating legions upon legions of hollows, and were so overwhelmed that they weren’t able to even attempt to assist Shikyo Fushiawase and Roku Kage. Two more of the clones leaped in the air and tried to slice Roku Kage through his head, but he simply ducked backwards and used his blades to slice them down the middle, once again turning them into white liquids.

The huge puddle of white liquid quickly dissipated after he was done killing the clones, lifting up into the atmosphere and disappearing completely. Roku Kage followed up by turning around, attempting to strike Angelique who was standing right behind him. However, faster than he could perceive she turned her entire body into the same white liquid as before. The liquid fell to the ground in a puddle, the puddle quickly traversing behind him. After that she reformed and used her left blade arm to stab him straight through the back, the blade exiting through his heart. Thinking quick, Roku Kage propelled himself forward, leaping far way from her, but she appeared in front of him and slashed him down the middle from his head to his groin. Drenched in blood, and with a huge gash traveling the length of his body, Roku Kage was sent tumbling to the ground, both of his swords sliding on the ground away from him. He gazed around him and saw that Shikyo Fushiawase, Shutara Senjumaru, Ichibei Hyosube, and Higumo Morimoto were also lying on the ground in utter defeat. Meanwhile, in another location, Burikka Hakumei Akegata was going at it with Baraggasn Lousenbairn. Without lifting his finger, making a single motion, or uttering a single word, Baraggan fired a barrage of bright scarlet Cero’s at Burikka. Burikka managed to easily dodge each one of them. The Cero’s were incredibly wide and incredibly long. Unlike most Cero’s, these ones did actually leave Baraggan entirely, similar to Balas, except it just took a tiny bit more time because they were longer. After Burikka dodged one Cero, he unleashed several slashes with his swords. The slashes created blades out of the air currents that they built up with were sent flying at Baraggan. Instead of evading, all Baraggan did was block them with red Balas, which he cast once again without making a single motion or uttering a single word.

Faster than Baraggan could perceive Burikka appeared on the side of him and aimed one of his swords for Baraggan’s head. Baraggan managed to maneuver his head back slightly which caused Burikka’s sword to just barely graze Baraggan’s forehead, tiny bits of blood dropping on Baraggan’s thick white mustache. Burikka continued by delivering a hard kick to Baraggan’s abdomen, which sent him flying back several feet, after which assaulting once again with his swords. He managed to lay several successful slashes until Baraggan, without a word, opened a Garganta behind him. He fell inside of the Garganta, and it closed, after which another one opened in a new location, which he jumped out of again, the Garganta closing behind him. Before Burikka could turn around Baraggan used Sonido to appear right next to his side facing his direction, after which touching his shoulder. This caused Burikka to start aging. He began with wrinkles, which appeared all over his body, then he felt weaker and weaker. He managed to jump away from Baraggan, but the effect didn’t seem to stop. Baraggan informed him that the aging effects would ware off eventually, but he wouldn’t give him enough time to allow that to happen. While they were going at it, Joel Goldsmith was combating Hammerhead. Both of them were engaged in some high speed combat. They both appeared to be relatively evenly matched, as they weren’t able to land a single hit on each other, and were able to effortlessly dodge each others attacks. Hammerhead mutated his large, musclebound arms into gigantic, double-sided hammers, and charged for Joel. Hammerhead swung his left hammer arm. Joel raised his staff, and the two collided. When they did the staff glowed a bright red color, and Joel was sent sliding on his feet a little ways back. Hammerhead didn’t stop there however, as he used Sonido to get behind Joel and attempted a strike with both hammers at once.

Without even turning around Joel shouted “DANKU!”  Once he did, a translucence barrier appeared between him and Hammerhead. Hammerhead’s hammers weren’t able to even so much as dent the shield. After that, Joel appeared behind Hammer head and hollered “RIKUJOKORO!”  This caused six long, wide, and sharp beams of light to appear in the air and stab Hammerhead from all directions. Hammerhead was dumbfounded and afraid as Joel still appeared to be on the other side of the shield. However, moments later that Joel turned into water and splashed on the ground, and the real Joel backed up from him for a bit. He lifted his staff in the air and exclaimed “KUROHITSUGI!”  After that, the skies were covered by dank, pitch black clouds, and purple electricity surrounded Hammerhead. The electricity molded together to form a rectangular coffin. The coffin stretched all the way up to the sky and completely enveloped Hammerhead. Unwilling to leave it at that, Joel followed up by shouting “RAIKOUYA!”  This caused lighting to generate in the clouds which formed a gigantic yellow arrow. Obeying the downward motion of Joel’s hand and arm the arrow plummeted into the coffin, striking Hammerhead. Once that was done, Joel did a sideways motion with his hand and arm, the arrow and the coffin disappeared into nothingness, and Hammerhead collapsed lifeless to the ground, covered in his own blood. Joel wiped the sweat off his forehead, releasing a large sigh. He looked around him, only to see a horrifying sight. Burikka Hakumei Akegata, who was doing battle with Baraggan Louisenbairn, and Kaibutsu Shihoin, Nemaiya Oetsu, and Onoki Higurashi, who were doing battle with legions of Hollows, were all on the ground, beaten and wallowing n their own blood, unable to return to their feet. Meanwhile everyone else has been defeated as well.

Tier Harribel, Angelique, and their army of Hollows were standing over Shikyo Fushiawase, Roku Kage, Shutara Senjumaru, and Higumo Morimoto, and Honoka, Alejandro, and their group of Hollows were standing over Shoyo Tabinin, Shigekuni Genryusai Yamamoto, Yachiru Unohana, Tenjiro Kirinji, and Zentaitoshitenkushimi, reveling in their victory. Yamamoto’s flames, which were previously burning bright, hot, and high, had been completely extinguished. Honoka had probably beaten him as Alejandro was also kneeling close to the ground as if she had been defeated by Yamamoto. It wasn’t long, however, before she completely healed herself, and rose to her feet. The same was true for Honoka, Tier Harribel, Angelique, Baraggan Louisenbairn, and Hammerhead. The mindless Hollow armies were much less in numbers now, only a few dozen in each area remained, whereas before they were seemingly endless.

“It’s about time that I ended this. You Shinigami Order were quite the challenge, but now it is over.”  Honoka exclaimed.

Honoka proceeded to raise his Spiritual Power on a tremendous level. This was like nothing that Shoyo, or any of the others, had felt before. His Spiritual Power could be felt all over Hueco Mundo. Every Hollow in the entire realm, especially the Hollows that were involved in the battle, including the other Vasto-Lorde, were forced to silence. The Hollows laid on the ground, and the Vasto-Lorde knelt in respect. Even Tier Harribel, Angelique, Baraggan Louisenbairn, and Hammehead, who were nowhere near him, knelt to one knee facing his general direction. All fifteen of the Shinigami were forced down to the ground in both pain and terror, unable to do anything against him. Their vision blurred, their bones cracked, and tears began to rain from their eyes. The only one who was able tro see clearly was Shoyo. He was also able to move a tiny bit at a time, but it didn’t matter much due to how far away from Honoka that he was. After awhile he raised both of his bony hands in the air. This caused three gigantic Cero’s to form. Each Cero would have been large enough to completely eclipse the sun if Heuco Mundo had a sun. The Cero’s were red, were mostly made of normal magic energy but also surged with scarlet electricity, and each one was eclipsing overhead of each of the three groups. As time went on, the Cero’s just seemed to keep growing constantly with no end in sight. After a few minutes Honoka gave an evil, sinister grin, and then waved his arms downward. This caused the Cero’s to move towards the ground, albeit slowly. Once that occurred all six of the Vasto-Lorde used Sonido to evade the blast zone that the Cero’s were gong to strike. It took a little while, but eventually the Cero’s reached the Shinigami. Fear completely eclipsed all of their hearts. Eventually bright lights entirely blinded their vision. And then there was nothing.

Flashback Arcs:  1,000 Years Ago