Tsunade's Desperate Situation

In the rift located above the Hidden Leaf Village, is the realm where hollows dwell; Hueco Mundo. Hundreds of hollows have attacked the village using a technique called the garganta; a portal which connects Hueco Mundo to the world of the living.

From her perch, overlooking the carnage below, the 3rd Neo-Espada Rena Tesla is not happy. Even though it was too be expected that the ninja would be able to see her hollow army and defend themselves, she was still expecting total annihilation. She looks on in frustration as she feels the spirit energy of her army rapidly depleting.

She quickly summons her commanding officers; to her dismay, only half of her adjucha commanders answer her call.

"What the hell is going on? What happened to the rest of you?"

The adjucha's bow in front of her; even though Rena herself was one of Lord Aizen's underlings, her power was overwhelming… even to them. One of them manages to stutter a response.

"T-there's a soul reaper in the village! She's very powerful, a seated officer without doubt; possibly even a lieutenant!"

Rena frowns, 'A soul reaper? Then the Soul Society is here after all! No matter… I will deal with this soul reaper myself…'

It was a bad situation; not only was her army of hollows being wiped out by these wretched ninja, but now she had the Soul Society to contend with.

"Pull the remaining hollows back into Hueco Mundo!" she orders. "I will deal with this soul reaper myself…"

"…Now go!"

The adjuchas waste no time, and disappear from sight. Rena turns and opens a garganta; she stares into the vast darkness of the void.

'Get ready soul reaper, I'm coming for you…'

Slithering through the forest, the enormous snake raises its ugly head before slamming its open jaws onto the unsuspecting rabbit hollow, killing it instantly. Standing on top of the enormous reptile, Anko Mitarashi raises her head; she grits her teeth and commands the snake to move forward.

This was insanity… even by her standards. The village has fallen into chaos, thanks in part to these weird monsters, which supposedly were the ghosts of dead souls. Without the power of the Hokage, she wouldn't even be able to see to fight these things at all.

Suddenly, without warning, her giant snake summoning contorts and explodes in a shower of blood, as a huge blade slices off its head. Anko drops to the ground; her senses on high alert. She feels the giant blade upon her, as it decapitates her and rips through the tree behind her. A second later, a hollow drops to the ground.

'Pathetic, and to think Lord Aizen was actually worried about these humans.'

The hollow gasps in surprise as the girl's decapitated body explodes in a puff of smoke, revealing a severed log; the girl reappears behind it a moment later. The hollow turns, and looks the girl in the eye…

"Impressive… you surprise me human…"

Anko crouches; the adrenaline pumping through her body, as she narrows her eyes at the hollow. It was almost humanoid in appearance; it had elongated legs that reminded her of a frog, and its arms were long, reaching to the ground. Two giant blades replaced its arms and hands.

Most disturbing to Anko, this creature was vastly different from the others. Lady Katsuyu had described the creatures as hollows, and so far they were beastly, and lacked any real intelligence. This was the first hollow she's encountered that could speak and act rationally.

She eyeballs the creature "Are you a hollow too?"

"Of course not!" it bellows in a masculine voice.

"…I am an adjucha; I am far stronger than those weak pieces of garbage!"

"Are you the one responsible for this attack?"

The hollow shakes its head, "It doesn't really matter, you'll be dead soon enough."

Suddenly, it disappears, moving almost too quickly for Anko to follow…

'He's fast!'

At the last second, she draws her kunai. She feels a strong presence suddenly overwhelming her; as she sees a strange blade intercepting the hollow, forcing it back. The hollow slams into the ground, and quickly rights itself. He looks, coming face to face with Hiyori.

'The soul reaper… I've finally found you…'

Anko gasps; the girl moved so fast, appearing out of nowhere. She was hovering in the air right above the enraged hollow. Anko eyes widen as she looks at the girls face for the first time…

"Hinata…wha?"

"That's not Lady Hinata…" whispers a voice beside her. It was Katsuyu; the small slug clone moves from Anko's vest, and up onto her shoulder.

"…she's Lady Hiyori, her twin sister… she's a soul reaper."

"A soul reaper, huh?"

Anko jumps, as Naruto and Sai appear right beside her. Hiyori has sent Hinata and her team ahead to join Tsunade. She can feel the Hokage traveling further away from the village; a heinous force was about to make an appearance, judging by the erratic fluctuations of spirit pressures in the atmosphere.

Hiyori eyes the hollow like a predator sizing up its prey. The adjucha turns its gaze from Hiyori to the two newcomers behind her; he instantly recognizes the blond haired boy as the Nine Tails jinjuriki.

"Well, well… a soul reaper, and the Nine Tails jinjuriki, Naruto Uzumaki…"

Naruto gasps, "Y-you know who I am?"

The hollow smiles, "Of course! You… or should I say the demon inside of you… is very important to my master's cause!"

Naruto growls, but Hiyori interrupts before he can say anything, "So, Sosuke Aizen is here after all?"

"You know the name of my master?"

Hiyori smirks, "Who the fuck do you think I am? Of course I know who he is, I am not some amateur!"

She begins to laugh manically, as blue spirit energy begins to envelope her body. The adjucha's eyes widen as he feels the sudden blunt force of her crushing spirit pressure. He takes a step back, and raises his blades in a defensive pose.

"I am Hiyori Hyuuga, the Lieutenant of the Fifth Division. Thank you for revealing to me the information about Aizen…

She smiles and points her zanpakuto directly at him, "… prepare to die!"

In desperation, the adjucha disappears, and launches an attack. Hiyori blocks his blades, and forces him into the sky. Naruto, Anko, and Sai watch from the ground, completely mesmerized.

Hiyori kicks the adjucha away; in frustration, he charges a large crimson cero and fires it at point blank range.

"Take this, bitch!"

Hiyori grins as she watches the cero close in on her, "Ha! Like that'll do anything!"

Charging her spirit energy, she reaches out and deflects the cero with her bare hand, knocking it back towards the ground. It detonates, uprooting trees, destroying rocks, and leaving a large crater in the ground.

"That's incredible!" shouted Anko, "She deflected that attack with just one hand!"

Naruto too, was equally amazed, but not at the girl's strength. With the power of the Fox, he could see every movement that was made in the air. It was the girl's bloodlust and sheer resolve that impressed him. And it wasn't resolve through hatred, but extreme confidence.

'She's just toying with him… it'll be over soon.'

In a mad rush of desperation, the adjucha makes one final stand; with its blades raised to kill, it charges. Hiyori activates her shikai's special ability… the invisible 360 degree sphere that allowed her to see an opponent's attack in all directions…

"…Mahi Shuuha…"

The adjucha suddenly finds his senses overwhelmed, as his body slows to a crawl…

'What the hell… is this?'

The adjucha looks up in horror, as Hiyori mercilessly slashes him across the chest with her sword. Her eyes hold no remorse whatsoever, as the adjucha falls to the ground and dies...

Whenever an opponent, or an attack, penetrates Senkennomei's sphere of sight, she activates her Mahi Shuuha technique; a high speed frequency which effectively slows down and eventually paralyzes an opponent's body, leaving them helpless within the sphere. The only way to overcome her shikai was to move faster than Hiyori.

Hiyori returns to the ground; she points to Anko, and then to Sai, "You two… go back to the village and provide backup for the other ninja; the infestation of hollows there is currently too much for them to handle."

Anko was about to protest but Sai stops her, "The Hokage herself put her in charge of all of us… an order from her must be carried out."

Naruto nods, as Anko reluctantly turns and follows Sai back towards the village…

"Naruto" said Hiyori, "Come with me… we're going to catch up with the Hokage Tsuande and her group. I've already sent Hinata and her team there as well."

Naruto nods, as moves quickly to follow her, 'This fight isn't over…' he thought

'…not by a long shot.'

On the opposite side of the Forest of Death, Tsunade leads herself outside of the limits of the village, and into the surrounding vegetation. She stops in the middle of a clearing, right next to a giant stream that runs parallel to village. Apart from Lady Katsuyu, she was currently alone; her protégé Sakura, Kakashi, Yamato, and Team Ten had fallen behind to clear the area of any remaining hollows.

'The energy in the air… what's going on?'

When the attack began, the energy in the sky had been fluctuating rapidly; she could feel the changes as hollows were destroyed, only to be replaced by numerous others. Every once in a while she would feel the presence of a more powerful hollow in the area… and even those would dissipate… the presence of the soul reaper nearby. But this feeling was different…

'It almost seems as if, the hollows are retreating…' she thinks, looking around.

"M'lady…" says a voice next to her. It was Katsuyu; the little slug slithers its way onto Tsunade's shoulder.

"… The hollows are in full retreat… they're pulling away across the village. What does this mean? Have we won?"

Tsunade remains silent for a moment; things seemed too quiet… too ominous. Her instincts were screaming at her that a bigger threat was soon to make its presence felt. Even the soul reaper, with all of her power, seemed to be wary, and had been treating this invasion very lightly.

"I'm ... I'm not sure…"

Tsunade's mouth falls open in shock as the sky suddenly rips apart in several places; all of the spirit energy from the hollows suddenly disappears as if an airborne plague had suddenly wiped them all out at once. And then the voids in the sky disappear… and silence reins once more.

Suddenly, Tsunade screams in panic as she's hit with a force so powerful, it drives her to her knees…

"This spiritual pressure… it's overwhelming!"

She's never felt anything like this in her life. All of the hollows…and all of the soul reapers she's ever encountered; none of their powers had come anywhere close to this intensity. In frustration, she uses her chakra to forcefully right herself.

Through past experiences she has found that by using her vast chakra reserves, she can negate the powers of the spirit realm. She had since formed a hypothesis that the powers of the World of the Living, chakra, and the spirit energy from the World of the Dead, in a sense, must be from both sides of the same coin.

The powers of normal hollows, and low level soul reapers did not affect her when negated with her chakra, so for this spirit energy to actually force her to her knees… this creature… or thing, if it was coming from the same source, would easily be a kage level opponent had it been flowing from a living person.

Tsunade narrows her eyes to the horizon, as she sees a figure descending from the sky; it was a young woman. Upon inspection, she finds her body to be much like her own; she had long blond hair, a toned torso, similar height, and large breasts. Her outfit was white, and did not leave much to the imagination. She looked human enough… save for two things. First, her right eye socket was covered in bone, and the upper part of her head had what appeared to be a fox's ear sticking out of her skull. Secondly, there was a large black hole in the middle of the woman's stomach, and it was eerily similar to the one's found on hollows.

The woman descends from the sky, and lands a few yards in front of her. The woman's eyes were cold, even though her body remained stoic. She was the first to speak...

"I am impressed; normally my spirit energy paralyzes anyone that feels it, and yet you're still standing. Not only that, but you can actually see me, can't you?"

Tsunade remains motionless, but decides to satisfy her curiosity, "What are you? Are you a hollow?"

The woman laughs speaking in a heavy French accent, "Hardly… I am an arrancar…" she looks right into Tsunade eyes, as the Hokage feels a chill shoot straight up her spine.

"…My name is Rena Tesla… I am ranked 3rd of Lord Aizen's Neo- Espada…."

Tsunade's eyes widen, 'No! I-it couldn't be…'

"Tell me, Rena Telsa… this Aizen… he's the man, the terrorist, the Soul Society's been looking for; isn't he?"

Rena gasps, "H-how do know that? Unless…you! It was you! You're the one who conspired with the soul reaper!"

Tsunade grins, "Of course I did! As the leader of this village, it's my job to protect it!"

Rena glares, and then begins to laugh so manically, it takes Tsunade completely off guard…

"You're Tsunade Senju aren't you?" Rena asks, sporting a devious grin.

"…Well… this makes my job so much easier!"

Tsunade gasps, "Then you're the one who attacked my village, why?"

Rena shrugs, "It's nothing personal; it would seem as if my master's partners want this village eliminated… don't feel bad, every one of the 5 Great Hidden Villages will be destroyed… yours is merely the first."

Tsunade grits her teeth, 'Madara Uchiha! You bastard!'

"I'm guessing you're after Naruto, and the Nine Tailed Fox, right?"

Rena nods, "That's correct... although, it doesn't really matter. You see, it seems that there are also a few of you pesky ninja in this village that Lord Aizen's partners do not want left alive… so I've been ordered to kill all of you…"

Tsuande's eyes widen as a bright yellow energy suddenly engulfs the girl, as the mere presence of her power threatens to crush her. Tsunade ignites her body with blue chakra in retaliation; the two swirling masses of energy send shockwaves through the ground, as masses of dirt swirl violently around the two women.

Rena smiles and rests a hand on her sword, "… And do you know what Tsunade Senju, leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves? You were the first on my list to be annihilated!"

She disappears, catching Tsunade completely off guard. Rena draws her sword, and slashes her adversary deep across the chest. Tsunade looks down, only to see the blood explode from the massive wound…

"Lady Tsunade!" screams Katsuyu as Tsunade collapses to one knee, 'What was that? She moved so fast so suddenly…'

Rena raises her sword, which was covered in the Hokage's blood. She turns her head towards Tsunade and frowns, "I meant to cut you to the bone; I guess I didn't swing hard enough."

Tsunade stands and turns to face her foe, "I must admit, you caught me off guard; I won't make that mistake again."

Rena's eyes widen as the diamond on Tsunade's forehead disappears, replaced by elaborate purple markings, as her wound begins close. The markings disappear, and the diamond is soon replaced…

'What kind of technique was that? Some sort of regeneration? Her wound is completely healed!'

"That's some technique; I admit I underestimated you, Tsunade Senju."

The two women stare each other down, in a mental tug of war. Tsuande takes a stance, as Rena sheaths her sword.

Tsunade strikes first, taking a swing at the girl with her chakra infused fist… Rena ducks as the fist breaks the ground apart beneath her.

'Unreal! Lord Madara wasn't kidding about her super strength…'

She smiles, '…but, it's nothing that I can't handle.'

She uses sonido, and gets behind Tsunade before she can even sense that she's moved. Rena flattens her with a punch of her own, and sends the Hokage sprawling onto the ground.

"What? I didn't even see her move! Katsuyu, did you?"

The little slug shakes her head. Tsunade swore; she couldn't afford to lose here. Tsunade puts up her guard, trying desperately to figure out the nature of her opponent's technique. She was too slow to keep up; her great strength was useless.

Rena dodges another chakra infused punch, and sends Tsunade to the ground once more, "What's the matter Tsunade Senju? Are you too slow to catch me?"

Tsunade picks herself up and wipes the blood from her mouth, "Is it teleportation?"

Rena looked offended, "Ha, like I would use such a cheap trick! It's called sonido, a move elementary to every arrancar. They're no gimmicks involved; it nothing but pure speed!"

Tsuande frowns, 'How can I beat her if I can't catch her?'

Normally her super strength would be more than enough to finish most jonin level opponents; however, she wasn't known for her speed. Tsunade contemplates using lightning release; but the techniques would put too much of a strain on her already worn out chakra reserves. Her opponent was way too fast, and gathering chakra would leave her wide open for a finishing blow. She couldn't get close enough to use medical ninjutsu, and using poisons was absolutely out of the question…

…Then the answer hit her… it was so simple she felt like smacking herself, 'of course, clones! If she's anything like a soul reaper, then she won't be able to tell the difference between myself and my clones!'

She summons two shadow clones and attacks again; confused, Rena attacks the clone closest to her. She watches in disbelief as it explodes in a cloud of smoke.

'So that's the clone technique these ninja use that Lord Aizen warned me about.'

Tsunade summons another clone, testing the waters against her opponent; it appears that Kakashi had been right… these spirit beings really could not tell the difference between a clone and an actual person… that gave them a huge advantage.

Rena was starting to get pissed off; in frustration she begins to strike wildly, trying in vain to find a way take out all the clones at once. Even though Tsunade did not have the inhuman chakra reserves that Naruto had, creating ten shadow clones was no problem for her… even with depleted reserves.

Rena defeats all the clones except for one, 'Now's my chance!'

"You're mine Tsunade Senju!"

Lunging forward, she plants her fist into the skull of her adversary, sending the Hokage sprawling against the rocky ground. She watches in shock as the clone explodes, replaced by a log. The real Tsunade reappears behind her and strikes her neck with the back of her hand, sending an electric jolt through the core of her nervous system.

Rena collapses to the ground; she could no longer move her arms or legs; was she paralyzed?

Tsunade smiles, "I've fried the sensor and receiving cells in your nervous system; your brain won't respond to your body like it normally would. It's over, Rena Tesla…"

She begins to laugh, "I commend you Tsunade Senju, you truly are worthy of the title Hokage; the strongest fighter in your village…however… I realize now why I was hand chosen to lead my mission."

Her body begins to glow, as yellow energy begins to pour from her paralyzed body; Tsunade watches in shock as jolts of electricity begin to dance back and forth across the woman's body. In horror, she watches as the Neo- Espada regains control of her motor skills; she stands, and turns to face the Hokage with a maniacal grin on her face.

"Had it been anyone else other than me, you would have won…Are you surprised? I absorbed the electric impulse that you sent into my body, and recharged and reset my motor nerves with my own electricity. You're outmatched, Tsunade… you can't beat me…"

Tsunade grits her teeth in determination, 'Dammit! What do I do? She's right… I am outmatched…'

Rena laughs, "Come to think of it, you look pretty young to be in your fifties. Is that even your real body? An old hag like you could never match up to a beautiful, young physical specimen such as me!"

Tsunade feels herself turning red with rage; her blood was boiling, she had to force herself to remain calm.

She breaths… this was going to drain the last of her chakra before she entered the "red line" of her reserves, 'Alright… Naruto… this one's for you.'

Gathering strength, she summons another clone…

"Again? Is this all you can do, Tsunade?"

She draws her sword, and quickly cuts down both the clones. Her eye twitches as both clones disappear into a cloud of smoke.

"Bitch, where the Hell are you!"

"Here!"

Rena gasps as the rock beside her transforms into her adversary; leaving her completely open. Tsunade pounds her with everything she's got, a combo of rights and lefts, an uppercut followed by a vicious roundhouse kick that slams Rena's body into the ground. Tsunade drops to the ground, completely exhausted.

Rena groans, as she struggles to her feet, 'She transformed herself into a rock! But when? How? This is getting ridiculous, I won't lose to her!'

"Condamnez-vous, vous putain des feuilles!"

She spews the words with venom, as she wipes the blood from the side of her mouth. "You think you've won? Occupé faible imbecile! You wouldn't stand a chance against me in my released form!"

Tsunade's eyes widen, 'Released form? She's been toying with me this entire time?'

Laughing, the 3rd Neo- Espada raises her arm and points her hand at the defenseless Hokage; Tsunade's eyes widen as a ball of pure energy forms in the palm of the woman's hand.

"Die!"

Rena fires a massive golden cero at point blank range; using the last of her strength, Tsunade slams her fists into the ground to forcefully summon a boulder to protect herself. The energy blast slams into the giant rock, instantly annihilating it. The blast sends Tsunade sprawling backwards, she lands with a heavy thud against the ground…

'I can't give up, I won't! As the Hokage, I pledge my life to protect this village! Even if I have to put myself into another coma to do so…'

Tsuande struggles to one knee, "Let me ask you something, Rena Tesla… You say you're the 3rd Neo- Espada; does mean you were the 3rd of your kind to be born, or is it some kind of ranking… like the military?"

She smiles, and tilts her head a little to the side, "Not that it's any of your business, but it's neither. It means that I'm the 3rd strongest from the top… so even if, by some miracle, you did manage to kill me there are two others that are even stronger than me!"

Tsunade laughs catching Rena off guard, "Then how foolish of you to think that just because I'm the Hokage that I must be the strongest ninja in this village!"

She stands, and begins to gather what little remained of her chakra for a final strike…

"Lady Tsunade!" came a tiny voice beside her; it was Katsuyu, "…you're exhausted! If you do this you could die!"

She laughs lightly, "If I die, then perhaps the soul reapers will be merciful with me… I haven't exactly lived the life of a saint."

With a loud battle cry she charges in, glowing fist raised for a final attack… Rena smirks; preparing herself, she catches the Hokage's fist with her own. Tsunade gasps, as the force from the chakra implodes the ground beneath them, leaving a crater.

Tsunade was horrified; Rena smiles, her own fist was now glowing in that same sinister golden energy that always seemed to envelope her body.

"Bala…", she slams her fist into Tsunades skull, sending her careening backwards; her body bouncing end over end over the rocky ground before finally slamming into a giant boulder some distance behind them.

Tsunade spasms, and begins to cough up blood, 'It's over… she won, I lost…'

"Lady Tsuande!" cries Katsuyu, "…speak to me!"

Rena closes the gap between them almost instantaneously with sonido. Reaching down, she grabs Tsunade by the neck and hoists her to her feet. With one arm she lifts the near lifeless body of the Hokage above her head, and begins to choke the life out of her.

"Odd… I expected more from a kage level ninja … you disappoint me, Tsunade Senju…"

A scream behind her catches her attention; teams seven and ten had arrived. Upon seeing the near lifeless body of her master being choked out, Sakura had screamed bloody murder. Despite the heavy protests from her comrades, the enraged pinkette charges; her chakra infused fist glowing.

Rena smirks, and chucks the now lifeless body of the Hokage to the side, readying herself for another chakra powered punch… just like before, she reaches out and catches the girl's fist; the compressed chakra making another impact crater beneath them.

Sakura stares like a deer caught in a set of headlights, 'Impossible…'

With one swift move, Rena grabs her sword and cuts the girl down as hard as she can; from behind the rest of the ninja watch horrified as Sakura body explodes in a gusher of blood. Sakura's body slumps to the ground; blood was pouring like a river out of the gaping wound across her chest. Rena kicks the body away, sending the pinkette sprawling backwards.

Ino screams, and immediately comes to her aid, "No! No! No! No!"

Kakashi, Yamato, Shikamaru, and Choji get into stance, now very wary of the strange woman's incredible power. Kakashi stops them before another reckless incident can occur… they were going to have to work as a team in order to defeat her efficiently…

Rena stares, catching the sight of the arrival of three more blurs; team eight had reached the battlefield.

"Oh no! We're too late!" yells Kiba.

"Lady Tsunade! And Sakura too!"

With her byakugan activated, Hinata can't see any type of chakra surrounding the woman, which meant that she was a spirit, like her sister…

Ignoring the frantic cries of her teammates to stay away, Hinata rushes onto the battlefield to retrieve the body of the fallen Hokage. She drags Tsunade away from Rena, and lays her next to Sakura.

"Sakura you idiot…" cries Ino through tears. She had the mystical palm activated, and was desperately trying to save her friends life. Despite being heavily injured, Hinata deduces that Sakura did have a chance of survival… she was lucky to have received medical attention right away… it was Lady Tsunade that worried her. The Hokage's chakra was now sitting on zero…

"How powerful of an opponent are we facing? She defeated the Hokage, and took out Sakura like she was nothing!" Ino wailed.

Rena laughs, "A hundred more of you wouldn't make any difference! All of you will be dead in the end!"

She charges another cero, and fires it at the group of ninja to her left. They dodge and roll out of the way, as the blast rips up the landscape beneath them…

She then turns her attention to Hinata and Ino, who were caring for the Hokage and her fallen student, "I guess you four will be the first to die!"

She charges another cero, and fires it… Ino screams and covers Sakura's body protectively, while Hinata covers her eyes…and waits for death… only it never comes.

"Que l'enfer?" cries the 3rd Neo- Espada.

At the last second, the energy beam dissipates into thin air. The two kunoichi recover and look up; Ino gasps as Hinata smiles in relief…

"That was a close one…eh, little sister?"

Hiyori Hyuuga stands in front of them…zanpakuto drawn. Blue energy was pouring off her body in torrents…

"It's… it's about time…" Tsunade said weakly, before unconsciousness overtook her.