La Sombrero de Paja 4

Prologue

In the desolate and dark setting of Hueco Mundo, a figure walks the dusty path. The figure is of regular human size with long, unkempt hair and two prong-like horns on his head. His body was covered in white bone-like armor and bits of cloth around his waist with tribal art tattoos covering his body. What looks like tape was wrapped around his feet, legs, arms, and hands as the frayed ends dangled in the wind. His face was covered in a Hollow mask that resembled an ogre with a huge mandible with bottom fangs that framed a portion of his face and one of the eye-holes of the mask had a scar.

But what was most frightening was that this Hollow's presence was enough to choke some lesser Hollows unfortunate enough to cross his path. As he walked by them, the weaker Hollows began to disintegrate into nothingness. And so continues the endless cycle of loneliness for a Vasto Lorde.

At one point, however, the Vasto Lorde was walking past two Menos Hollows of greater stature than himself by comparison. One had the form of an ostrich except with a giant wing span and vestigial arms. The other had a very skull-like mask with two flaps on either side as if they're ears, a skinny torso, intricately long legs with an aviary-structure, and arms that had segmented armor on it as if wearing two sets of armor.

"What the hell, are you following me Zoro?!" the ostrich Hollow yelled, "I'm sick of looking at your ugly face. Endless miles of nothingness and I miraculously keep running into you!"

"You gonna do something about it asshole?" the skull-faced Hollow said. "I don't want to hear your grating voice anymore, so let's end this already." At this, the one called Zoro prepared for battle by splitting both his arms starting in the middle of his hands to make two arms, both of them afterwards reshaped to form hands with three fingers and a thumb. Then they finally noticed the Vasto Lorde that was just watching them from afar.

The ostrich Hollow, still too agitated to notice what it was, yelled out, "What are you looking at you midget."

The Hollow just stood there in silence for awhile as if something confused him. "I am here… yet nothing happened to either of you."

"There's something not right with this one Sanji," Zoro said. "He's just going to be a distraction for me. Let's kill 'im first then continue with our business."

"Fine, but I call dibs on devouring him."

"We'll see about that," the two Adjuchas Menos lunged at the smaller Hollow in order to destroy.

At the end of the battle, the two Adjuchas were on the ground, in pain, before the mighty Hollow, finally realizing their foolishness for not sensing what he actually was. The Vasto Lorde was largely unharmed with but a few scuffs here and there. The two Adjuchas' were beaten and battered, Sanji's wings were broken and his feathers were strewn around his body and his legs were bent in the wrong direction. Zoro's arms looked like they were just hanging in their sockets and his armor was cracking. But for the savage beating this Vasto Lorde gave them, he did not devour them or even partake of even a piece of them. They still remained whole as any Hollow is before they are unfortunate enough to have a piece of them devoured.

The Vasto Lorde just sat there with the other two, feeling content, until Sanji asked "Well… aren't you going to devour us… you are a Vasto Lorde," with a weak voice.

Zoro was breathing heavily, "I've never met a Vasto Lorde up till this point. I guess the stories are true about your veracity and strength… but I've also heard that they have an unending hunger."

"Which begs the question," Sanji began, "Why haven't you killed us yet?"

The Vasto Lorde smirked underneath his mask, "I just don't want to eat you, I want you guys to join my crew."

To this the two Adjuchas were confused. A Hollow was a lone being that don't usually come together in packs unless it was beneficial to their survival. So what did he need them for? Was it an ego thing? He proved well enough that he doesn't need anyone else to survive in Hueco Mundo.

"I've walked this place for a few centuries as a Vasto Lorde and everyone I've come into contact with perishes at my feet," the Vasto Lorde began. "And it's been lonely ever since. I would actually like to have someone to talk to again."

"I guess you Vasto Lorde aren't exactly the closest nit species out there, are you?" Sanji asked.

"Not exactly," the Vasto Lorde said, "Long ago I did meet another Vasto Lorde who was nice enough. Then I had a brother that was one, but that's in the past now."

Zoro didn't know what to think of him. He felt a general connection the Vasto Lorde that he didn't fully understand. "Hey, what's your name anyway?"

To this the Vasto Lorde replied, "The name's Luffy."

End Prologue

Back in the Soul Society, Luffy was looking for another fight. The fight with Captain Kurotsuchi ended when Luffy bypassed Ashisogi Jizo's poison and crushed the worm-like creature. As Ashisogi Jizo released the poison, Luffy used Sonido to jump to another building and charge a Cero to fire but the zanpakto turned while still breathing out a poison cloud that spread at a 90 degree angle. Luffy was seemingly caught but what Jizo saw was an afterimage meant to be a diversion which made Ashisogi Jizo stop emitting poison while he breathes in. This gave Luffy the opening to crush Ashisogi Jizo from above with a punch from above. Afterwards, Luffy went after Kurotsuchi himself who had his sword ready after his bankai was destroyed. A hand-to-sword fight ensued but with Kurotsuchi not the greatest swordsman, he was easily overpowered. At which point Kurotsuchi escaped by liquefying himself with his sword.

After that Luffy was roaming around as he lost track of Nami while fighting Kurotsuchi and plowed through shinigami grunts. "Ok, where did I leave Nami? I think I turned this way… so… maybe—no not there." Luffy was interrupted by a lightning strike which he easily dodged.

"Ok, who did that?" Luffy asked.

"Hadou 33," a voice began, "Shakkaho!"

Luffy instead decided to take the hit rather than dodge to try and flush out the person. He then noticed a young looking girl with black hair and a zanpakto around her waist. Suddenly, another shinigami showed up behind him carrying a huge cleaver in his hand. Needless to say, they didn't arrived on the most friendly of terms.

Elsewhere

Nami was dealing with both Renji and Chad alongside Franky. Franky's and Nami's zanpaktos were both drawn, Franky his brass-knuckle type zanpakto and Nami's bo-staff. While Renji's shikai was released and Chad had his fullbring activated.

"Why exactly did we come here again?" Nami asked. Truth is she had no beef against any of the shinigami and just came along for the ride.

"Cuz our boss was bored," Franky said nonchalantly.

"Right," Nami responded.

"Hey, you mean to tell me this isn't an attack set by Aizen?" Renji asked, listening to their conversation.

Taken aback at the sudden outburst Nami responded, "No, we just work for him. We're not exactly one of his more loyal minions."

"Then what the hell is the point of this attack?!" Renji yelled.

"If I remember correctly," Franky began, "I heard something about Luffy having a personal grudge against someone but who was it."

"We can't afford to waste our time with this," Renji said. He then prepared to release his full power. "BANKAI!"

An explosion of smoke and reiatsu appeared which revealed a giant skeleton of a snake with red mane and Renji wearing what looked like a baboon pelt. "Hihio Zabimaru!"

At this site, Nami had a profound look of shock. "Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?" Nami said.

Franky prepared himself for the worse as he noticed Chad's arm letting loose blue energy. "I'll take on the latino, I'll leave the red head to you."

"You're going to leave a poor defenseless girl to fight that!?"

"Yeah right, 'defenseless', a broken jaw you gave me a few centuries ago says otherwise. Now just release your full power and stop being a little girl."

Nami was particularly insulted by that last comment, "Except I am a girl! Fine, forget it."

Afterwards, Chad used the blue energy to propel himself toward Franky which took them away from Renji and Nami. Nami took her bo-staff and began to glow with power. "Storm through…" Nami began, and the bo-staff emitted an abundance of smoke, "La Niña" ("the girl" but referencing an oceanic-atmospheric phenomenon). Her Ressureccion began with the mist covering her and then turning into a twister.

Meanwhile, a few miles away, Sanji senses another spiritual pressure. "This pressure… Nami is releasing her Ressureccion, which must mean she's in trouble. BUT THAT ALSO MEAN I GET TO SEE NAMI IN HER RESSURECCION FORM!" Sanji then shamelessly started heading toward the direction of Nami. "WAIT FOR ME SWEET NAMI!"

The mist around Nami began to dissipate to show her revealing, true form. Her hair grew out longer and had cat ear protruding from her head. Instead of a jacket and skirt, she now wore a fur-like bikini that covered her bosom but didn't connect in the front but instead covered one breast then reached around her back to cover the other. What followed downward was an intricately designed pattern that led past her exposed navel and connected to her thong, the overall design of the pattern gave her a feral look. Alongside the pattern, what also gave off a feral look was a cat tail and fur on her hands and feet along with sharp claws.

Renji was dead-panned at the site of this shameless new form. "Well… I never had a problem fighting a woman… but this poses a different sort of problem for me."

Nami made the first move, jumping into the air and about to kick down on Renji. Her leg was surrounded by wind. "Tempestad Ciclónica (Cyclone Tempest)." Renji used a segment of his bankai to block the kick which caused the ground to shatter.

"DAMMIT!" Renji yelled, straining himself just to stand his ground. It took a lot of Renji's strength but he was able to throw her off. "So your Hollow capabilities involve using wind?"

"You wish," Nami blew what looked like cold air into the sky and clouds began to form in the oncoming cold front that Nami caused. "I'll give you a hint, I'm predicting a heavy rainfall."

Robin and Rangiku/Ussop, Hitsugaya, and Uryu

Rangiku was in a strangle hold by arms that were coming out of her own body and Robin was about to come in for the kill. "I really expected more than this," Robin began as she took out a small broadsword and readied herself to strike. "Oh well."

"Don't think you've won yet," Rangiku said. Though her hands were tied she still held the hilt of her zanpakto with her shikai still active. Some of the dust got near Robin's face as Rangiku swiped her hilt to make a small cut. Small though it may have been, it was enough to distract her causing her disembodied arms on Rangiku to loosen enough for her to break free.

"I forgot your zanpakto was still active," Robin said.

Rangiku stood back up and used her Haineko to clear out the arms that were attached to her. "Your ability is pretty good. Being able to bind your opponent from a distance gives you a distinct advantage. However…" Rangiku's zanpakto was able to damage one the arms before it dissipated and Robin winced in pain, which Rangiku noticed. "First off, the strength of the limbs you create is still proportionate to your own, and second whatever pain is dealt to the limbs is transferred to you."

"Are you saying you're physically stronger than me? Our body builds don't look that different."

"There's a lot about me you don't know. And I intend to use the experience I gained from those secrets about me."

Meanwhile, Ussop has been having trouble with both Uryu and Hitsugaya. If Ussop wasn't dodging a bunch of arrows, he was evading shards of ice or running away from both at the same time. "WAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! WHAT THE HELL? HOW AM I STUCK WITH BOTH OF YOU?! TWO AGAINST ONE ISN'T FAIR!"

"No, it isn't," Hitsugaya said, "but this isn't a sanctioned fight, this is war. And in war there is no fair or unfair, we do what we must to protect what we cherish."

Ussop finally found a break in the storm of projectiles to find a place to hide. When he thought he was clear, Hitsugaya showed up and used his zanpakto, Hyorinmaru, to freeze Ussop to death. Cornered, Ussop had no choice, "RAAGH! TAKE AIM, ESCARABAJO! (Beetle)"

An explosion issued forth but Hitsugaya's attack didn't stop. What came out of the smoke was a heavily armored Ussop with a huge dome on his back. His Hollow mask now had a big Heracles-beetle horn coming out of his head. "HA! Just try and penetrate my mighty shield," Ussop then pointed at the dome on his back, "This thing here is like the Thunder Dome only in reverse, nothing ever checks in. And while in my ressurecion form, my defenses are fortified to the absolute limit. So just try and—GYUH-HEY—"

Uryu just started shooting at Ussop just to shut him up and while his arrows didn't pierce Ussop just as he described, the force of the arrows still managed to push him. Hitsugaya just started to sic ice dragons on Ussop and what followed afterwards Hitsugaya and Uryuu bouncing Ussop around just because they didn't want to hear him talk anymore. "GYAH—WHAT THE—STOP ALREADY…DAH! I'M GETTING DIZZY!" Ussop kept yelling out.

Luffy, Ichigo and Rukia

Luffy noticed the orange hair on Ichigo and recognized him instantly. "So you're Ichigo guy Aizen keeps going on about right? Nice to meet ya!" Luffy said.

"Um…Ok, you too," Ichigo responded, "What exactly are you doing here?"

"Nothing really," Luffy said. "It's just that Hueco Mundo gets really stuffy and none of us have ever been to the Soul Society before."

"You're telling me this is all some vacation for you?!" Rukia shouted angrily.

Luffy took a look around at his surroundings for a moment. At one end, he sense Robin and Rangiku fighting with Robing using her powers to create a giant hand that swatted away a kido spell. Nearby, Ussop was fighting, or some would think that, with Hitsugaya and Uryuu. Elsewhere a giant storm cloud appeared in the area where Nami was fighting while Franky and Chad were grappling, almost equal in strength. Sanji was heading towards Nami's position until something interrupted him and Zoro and Brook were messing with the grunts.

"Huh… yeah I guess this is a bit much," Luffy said.

"You guess?!" Rukia said.

"Well, whatever, what's done is done. By the way, the name's Monkey D. Luffy, the Quinta Espada. So why don't you introduce yourself."

"Ichigo Kurosaki, Shinigami Representative."

"Rukia Kuchiki of the Thirteenth Division."

After Rukia introduced herself, Luffy smiling face turned into a scowl upon hearing who she was. "Did you say 'Kuchiki', as in the Kuchiki clan?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?" Rukia said. She noticed the intense glare in his eyes and readied herself for the worst. Unfortunately Luffy used Sonido to get right next to her, grab her by the collar, and pin her on a nearby wall, all while enroute.

"RUKIA!" Ichigo yelled.

"I need you to answer something for me," Luffy began. "Where is Sojun Kuchiki!"

To be continued…

A.N.

Thank you for waiting. God this one seemed long, how many words was this… 2,700! Well don't expect anything like this next time. Probably… Whatever.

Let's review

Tony Tony Chopper

Resureccion: Heal, Reno (Reindeer)

Special abilities: Textbook-enhanced abilities such as strength and all that. In addition he can produce a number of different chemical compounds.

Nami

Resureccion: Storm through, La Niña (the girl)

Special abilities: Ability to manipulate weather using her spiritual pressure to absorb heat or give off heat to make different pressures and fronts.

Ussop

Resureccion: Take aim, Escarabajo (Beetle)

Special abilities: Thick armor that repels everything. His horn is also a focus for his powers to utilize offensive capabilities.

In case you're wondering, yes Luffy's original Hollow form is based on Oars and yes Zoro's original Hollow form is based on General Grievous.