Chapter 11: A Shinobi In Seireitei...
Chapter 10 - A Shinobi In Seireitei...
If there is anything Naruto loved more than training or eating ramen, it's sleeping. The feeling of relaxation the moment the Human body lays on a bed, there is no resistance against its comforting and overwhelming effect. Especially if you happen to be a superhuman Shinobi with a monstrous Kitsune sealed inside of said person and possess a vast arsenal of abilities. You're bound to make many enemies.
As he laid on the bed, sleeping in extreme comfort, Naruto thought that nothing could ruin it. Boy was he wrong.
"Naruto…"
"…"
"Naruto…"
"…"
"Naruto…"
"…ZZZ…"
"Naruto…" Kurama called out a little louder and annoyed. A loud snort was his response. "Grr… Again I reiterate why didn't fate let me be sealed into someone else instead of this barnacle head." Then a mischievous thought came to mind of the fox. "Oh, I'm going to enjoy this."
The fox cleared his throat and inhaled in air as much as he can… and let it all out.
"WAAAAKKKKKE UUUUPPPP!"
"WAH!" cried out Naruto as he abruptly rudely awakened and fell off of the bed, face-planting on the floor… hard. He clutched his head while his ringing ears brought upon him intense pain. "Gah! What the hell, Kurama?!" Naruto complained through the telepathy link after the painful ringing subsided a few seconds later. As he stood up from the ground, Naruto popped his joints to rid his body of stiffness.
"You're late."
Naruto was confused and asked the obvious question. "Late? Late for what?" What was he late for?
"*sigh* Your meeting with the old fart of a Shinigami and his captains."
Still confused about this information, Naruto thought long and hard about this. After ten minutes of thinking and Kurama's patience beginning to run out, he remembered. It had been six days since Aizen and his goons betrayed and declared war on Soul Society. Afterwards Yamamoto approached the Uzumaki member with the proposal of an alliance between him, Ichigo plus his group, and the Gotei 13 against the upcoming fight against the traitors.
"Ohhh… now I remember."
"Finally! Now hurry up before they change their mind about you."
Naruto nodded and walked over to a table that was beside a wall. On top of it laid Tenkaichi, his hip pouch, shuriken holster and his flak jacket. He was still wearing his dark blue long-sleeve Konoha shirt and pants as well his Konoha forehead protector. As Naruto reached for his hip pouch, something caught his attention on his left wrist, specifically his G-Shock watch which surprisingly works in a place like Soul Society. He looked at it and a perturbed look took over his face. "Kurama?"
"What? Did you forget how to dress again like last time?" No loud, brash remark came from his Jinchuriki and this somewhat concerned the Tailed Beast in a 'what's going on and why won't he or she tell me' kind of way. "Naruto?"
"… What time is the meeting?"
"Um…. At 9:00 am. Why?"
"Oh, nothing. I thought it might've occurred to you or you paid attention to outside because IT'S FREAKING SIX IN THE MORNING!" Naruto shouted with an annoyed face.
"…Oops?"
" 'Oops?!' That's all you have to say?!" Naruto would've continued on rambling but he remembered that he was a guest in one of the Gotei 13 division barracks.
The Fourth Division Barracks to be precise. "Crap, I hope I didn't wake anyone up… especially her." Naruto whispered in fear as he reminisced about the Captain of the Fourth Division: Retsu Unohana.
From what Yoruichi told him, Unohana is a great captain who cares about her peers and the division members under her command. Some would say she acts like a mother would towards her children. However if anyone does anything she doesn't agree with or allow, she would use a sickening and deceiving sweet tone that, to whomever she spoke to, scare the hell out of them.
"Kid, do you remember when you sensed her emotions the first time you met?"
"How could I not? It was intense. Way too intense for someone like her." Naruto said as he shuddered off the feeling. "Now I cant go back to sleep because of a certain FOX woke me up."
"You're welcome." Kurama replied with a smirk.
"Screw you." As his arm and hand reached for the hip pouch, Naruto realized something and stopped the motion instead readied his right hand and channeled Chakra into his palm. A second later, a Rasengan burst to life causing the Jinchuriki to smile at his accomplishment of creating it by him-self like it was originally intended to be by his father. "I've come a long way, dad."
And he has come a long way. Not only he completely mastered his Wind Chakra and learned the other Chakra Natures, but also can create a Rasengan and its completed Wind-Style variant without a Shadow Clone. His control improved to the point that he needs one clone to create the far stronger and destructive version of the Wind Style: Rasengan.
After dispelling his signature technique and grabbing the scroll he wanted, Naruto opened it and formed a few hand signs. A large puff of smoke covered the Shinobi as it filled the room as a result.
"*sigh* I might as well get some training done to pass the time. Maybe explore the place while I'm at it."
-Assembly Hall-1st Division-Seireitei-
Inside of the ancient hall were multiple lamps that brought light to it. The majority of it was behind of the Head Captain who was standing along with the remaining captains who were not inflicted serious injuries during Aizen's conspiracy. They stood in even lines and some of them are not happy.
"He's late." Soi-Fon snarled as she tapped her foot impatiently and folding her arms.
Ukitake sighed and nodded. "… Perhaps he was held back by something."
"Like what, Jushiro?"
The white-haired Shinigami captain looked at his longtime and best friend. "I don't know, Shunsui. Something-"
"-Oh man, I can't stop!"
"-Else?"
All the captains' turned their gazes to the two large doors after they heard a loud wham crash against them. Yamamoto ordered the doors to open and a second later, the blonde Ryoka, who they were waiting, fell to the ground. They noticed that he was in an different attire than before but armed with his hip pouch, shuriken holster. Not to forget the sword and a little girl with pink hair on his back… wait a girl?
"Yachiru?"
The captain who called her name was a tall and muscular man with a vertical scar crossing over his eye and an eye-patch covering his right eye. His most distinguishing trait is his long spiked hair with bells on them. Instead of a neat captain's cloak like the others, his short-sleeved cloak is rather tattered.
Yachiru looked at the man. "Hi, Kenny!" She got off the blonde's back and went to his head. "Fishie? Are you okay?" asked the little girl who was poking the unconscious Ryoka's cheeks. The girl has perpetual blush on her cheeks and wore the Shinigami uniform with a Lieutenant's badge strapped to her left sleeve. Her persistent poking eventually woke her new friend up.
"Huh? Where am I?"
"We finally made it to the First Division barracks! See?" Naruto felt his head being lifted up and his eyes widen when he saw Yamamoto and his captains staring at him. He quickly stood up and straightened the orange jacket, black jeans and blue sneakers that he got from the previous world. "I told you I'd get you here." Yachiru said with a bright smile.
Naruto chuckled as he patted Yachiru's hair. "Yeah, you did. After this, we'll play tag. How about that?" Yachiru beamed with excitement.
"Yay! Tag! See you later, Fishie." Naruto watched the little Lieutenant leave a trail of trail in her wake as she 'left' the barracks.
"While she's adorable and sweet, her sense of direction is terrible." The Shinobi looked at his watch and paled when he saw the time. "It's 3 hours past the scheduled time… Crap." Naruto thought as he turned to face the Gotei 13 captains and started walking inside the assembly hall. He stopped to stand on the opposite end of the even lines and Yamamoto.
As soon the doors shut closed, silence returned among the Shinigami as they stared at the Human. Naruto chuckled nervously and rubbed his head sheepishly. "Sorry about me being late. I was training earlier this morning to kill some time until the meeting."
"So what took you so long to get here?" asked Ukitake who seemed genuinely concerned.
"… I got lost on the road of life." Naruto said simply with a Kakashi eye smile. Everyone sweat-dropped at comment but Yamamoto who actually chuckled at the pun. Meanwhile Kurama called him an idiot. "Shut up!"
"I told you to sense for their energy, but nooo you wanted to follow that Yachiru girl instead!"
Naruto resisted the urge to talk back enough to hear Yamamoto speak. "Now our guest has finally arrived, we shall commence!" The old Shinigami declared as he lightly stomped his cane on the floor, signifying the start of the meeting. "Is there anyone who would like to start?"
"I would… Head Captain." To everyone's surprise but Yamamoto, it was the Ryoka who spoke first. "How are the injured captains and other Shinigami doing?" asked Naruto as he cracked his fingers.
Just because he's from another world doesn't mean he can't be empathetic.
"This boy…" Yamamoto thought before a ghost of a smile appeared on his wrinkled face. "Captain Unohana… if you would…"
Unoahana is a Shinigami woman of untold beauty with a graceful smile and long black hair tied up in a long ponytail that hangs in front of her instead the back. "Captains Hitsugaya, Kukichi and Komamura are recovering well but they will be in bed rest for another couple more days. As for Lieutenant Hinamori, her injuries were critical and needed surgery so she's now in the ICU and under heavy observation, but she'll pull through."
Naruto nodded, "Does anyone have a question for me?"
"I do," said a raspy voice.
The Jinchuriki paled when he heard that voice as he turned his gaze to his right to find a Shinigami with purple, white and black makeup and purple hair in a weird and obscene hairstyle that could make hair-stylers blind from the sight of it.
"Crap…" muttered Naruto.
"Hello, I'm-"
"-You're Captain Mayuri Kurotsuchi of the 12th Division and the Head of the Shinigami Research and Development Institute… I've heard a lot of things about you."
Naruto felt jitters crawl on his spine when a madly grin threatened to split the man's face. "Oh really? Like what?" asked the skeleton-faced Shinigami.
"That you're a mad scientist…"
"Why thank you!"
"That wasn't a compliment." Naruto deadpanned, "Plus they said they can't tell whether you're a clown or a skeleton."
"WHAT!? WHO SAID THAT!? I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO THEY ARE!"
"Sorry…" Naruto picked his ear with his pinky before flicking whatever it was to somewhere else, "but I made a promise to not sell them out under any circumstances."
"Why you-"
"That is enough, Captain Kurosuchi." Yamamoto firmly commanded, silencing the grumbling scientist. "Anyone else have a question for Uzumaki here?" Silence was his answer. "Very well then. We all know why we are here; to discuss the proposal of an alliance between the Gotei 13, Naruto Uzumaki and Ichigo Kurosaki and his group. The very reason for such alliance is to fight against Sosuke Aizen and his colleagues, Kaname Tosen and Gin Ichimaru."
Naruto growled as he reminisced about the events that happened four days ago.
(Flashback Starts)
-Sokyoku Hill-
Naruto stood there as the Senjutsu-enhanced Wind chakra wave cut through the air and rapidly approaching Aizen, Tosen, and Gin. "Let's see what they've got." The Shinobi thought to him-self.
With no effort, the captains jumped over the wave. They looked back to see the attack dissipate after it flew out of the Sokyoku Hill area.
"Well that was surprisingly fast, right Captain Aizen?" Gin said in a mock surprise tone as he and his fellow traitors directed their gaze back Naruto.
Aizen simply let out a 'hm' before he spoke, "That Ryoka must be a fool to think if he-" He and Tosen jumped to the air just as two pairs of hands struck out of the ground that missed their feet. However the grinning Shinigami wasn't lucky as his left foot was grabbed by a lone hand from the ground.
"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!"
The two captains landed back on the ground after gaining some distance from their opponent. That's when Tosen noticed Gin's lack of absence.
"Where is Gin?" asked Tosen as he drew his blade, preparing for a fight.
He sensed while Aizen looked ahead to see and feel Gin's head leveled to the ground under him and the Ryoka standing over him, surprising the blind Shinigami though he subtly regained his composure. "He can make clones of him-self. Are they Speed Clones though?" Tosen asked before two more Narutos climbed out of the ground from the spots where they were originally standing.
"Not quite, but it will be interesting to know how he created them." Aizen looked to where Gin's head is. "How long do you plan on staying there?" The smiling captain easily escaped his temporary prison and reappeared next to the devious captain with Flash Step. They gaze at Naruto who was accompanied by his three clones after they leapt to his position.
Both sides are staring down at each other before Naruto made a gesture and his kunai-armed clones vanished in a burst of pure speed as did Aizen and his conspirators. They clashed their blades against the captains' blades, causing two shockwaves in the process before all of them disappeared again except for Aizen who used his arm to direct the clone's attack away from him with no effort.
It wasn't long until Naruto received memories from his three clones and the three captains reappeared on the ground. Both sides are staring down on each other with no sign of letting up. Ichigo and Rukia can feel the tension in the battle and the incredible Spiritual Pressure from the combatants of the battle. Their attention was drawn to the sound of running footsteps behind them. They found who they thought to be Shinigami given their attire, but Ichigo instantly recognized them.
"Orihime! Chad! Uryuu!" The original Naruto glanced over his left shoulder and see the three people Ichigo told him about running towards them. Their appearances are quite interesting to the veteran Shinobi.
Orihime is a young teenage girl of average height. She has long waist-length burnt orange hair that is held in bangs tucked behind her ears with hairpins and a slender yet curvaceous figure with large breast. "She's cute and she has a nice figure for a girl in her age. I wouldn't be surprised if Ichigo asks her out." His gaze shifted to the male behind her.
"Damn! What has he been eating?!" He was extremely tall for a high-school student. His eyes are covered by his bangs of wavy brown hair and he was dark-skinned like Yoruichi and has pronounced cheek-bones. This is Sado Yatsudaro, but Ichigo and the others call him Chad. His toad eyes then gazed upon the one wearing glasses.
He was at average height, only a little taller than Orihime and has purple hair with two bangs framing his face. "And that guy with the glasses must be Uryuu. Ichigo told he's a… Quincy? No idea what that is but I have a feeling he's a smartass." Naruto then noticed that the teenagers are breathing heavy as they stumbled towards them the last few yards. That's when he realized it was his Spiritual Pressure that was causing their respiratory problem.
After fixing his glasses to their comfortable position, Uryuu traced the intense Spiritual Pressure back to the blonde whisker-marked teenager.
"Who's he, Ichigo?" asked the Quincy.
Orihime and Chad too looked at Naruto who returned his gaze back at the defected captains for whatever reason didn't attack him while he glanced at them. Probably 'cause Aizen was observing the newly arrived Ryoka or he simply didn't want to.
Ichigo looked at Naruto for a moment before looking back at his friends. "He helped me save Rukia. But for who he is, he'll tell you after the battle. Right?" The ninja didn't look back but he gave a small nod, letting his fellow Human know that he heard him before forming a familiar cross-sign.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu." Naruto whispered to himself as he initiated his signature technique.
Orihime, Chad and Uryuu freaked out when eight identical Narutos appeared behind the original. In fact the young orange-haired girl latched onto Rukia like a scared kitten on a tree.
"Boys! Uzumaki Whirlpool Formation!" The newly created clones heeded their creator's command and formed a defensive circle around Ichigo, Rukia, Chad, Uryuu, Renji and Orihime before half of them slammed both their hands on the ground while the other half drew ordinary kunais.
Aizen looked at Naruto in small interest with an amused smile as a blue translucent barrier formed around the clones and the group of the Ryoka except the original since he was standing outside of it. "He knows Kido. What else does he have on his sleeve?"
"It's not Kido, idiot." The blonde ninja smirked when the calm captain actually got a little upset and that surprised Tosen and Gin. From what Yoruichi told him, Aizen wasn't the one to lose his cool by anyone at all. "Stay inside, everyone." Naruto said to Ichigo and the others without looking back at them.
The devious captain thought to himself about the Ryoka's current strength and thought of it as nothing more than a nuisance but he pondered few thoughts. How did he manage to get the drop on him and where did he get this level of power? And he's a human no less, but seems to be stronger than the Substitute Shinigami. These questions will be nagging his intelligent mind until his mission is complete and the Gotei 13 and Soul Society fall before him.
Naruto saw Aizen reaching for his Zanpakuto and readied his Hiraishin kunai in hand. However two blurs appeared on both sides of Aizen and stopped him from his drawing his blade. Naruto relaxed a little when it turned out to be none other than Yoruichi and her former protégé, Soi-fon.
"Yoruichi!" Ichigo shouted before he cringed in pain.
The next moment, Naruto saw a female Shinigami with long wavy blonde hair whose attire shows her ample large breasts and a curvaceous figure appear behind Gin with her sword drawn and pointing at his back with a serious look on her face. "Damn! First Saeko, then Orihime and now her… I love this journey!" Naruto thought to himself with a little goofy look.
"Oh brother." Kurama muttered to him-self.
Naruto ignored him while he stopped the chakra flow on his Hirashin kunai. That's when a male Shinigami with a punk-like appearance, black hair and a 69 tattoo on the left side of his face appeared behind next to Tosen, holding his blade in a reverse grip and close to the latter's throat.
Soon almost all of the Gotei 13 Captains including Yamamoto, and Lieutenants appeared on the hill via Flash Step, surrounding the three traitors.
"Don't even move Aizen." Yoruichi stated dangerously while noting Naruto's drastically increased Spiritual Power and the strange toad-like eyes that replaced his blue eyes. She then noticed a smirk on the traitor's face and knew that he had something on his sleeve. "What's so funny?" The amused smile stood in place of the captain's face until Yoruichi realized it. "Soifon! Move back now!"
The two captain-class Shinigami leapt backwards just as a yellow large barrier encased around Aizen. Rangiku and the other Shinigami leapt jumped backwards as well as the same barrier encased both Gin and Tosen.
The Shinigami and Ryoka looked up to see a black hole that seem to rip the sky and out came tall, black creatures with white masks, elongated noses and red eyes that can pierce a person's soul. "T-those are Menos Grande; the Gillian class!" Omaeda cried out as he was freaking out and sweating in fear while everyone else but Yamamoto remained both shock and bewilderment.
Naruto then noticed a blinding glow coming from behind him and turned to find Rukia is the one glowing.
"Rukia! What's happening?!" Ichigo shouted in concern while Oirhime, Chad and Uryuu looked on.
Yoruichi looked back at Aizen who was levitating towards the Hollows along with Tosen and Gin. "What did you do?" Yoruichi glared at Aizen who was staring at Rukia with interest.
"I've done nothing. It seems it is awakening on its own will. And surprisingly fast too." He, his fellow defectors and the Captains and Lieutenants watched the petite Shinigami glowing in the white bright light and it seem to be no end to it. Their eyes widen from everyone except Yamamoto when a small object floated out of Rukia's chest and towards Naruto who absently held out his right palm to hold the object.
Ichigo broke the sudden silence among them. "What is that thing?" The answer came from atop.
"That is the Hogyoku." Naruto looked at the ascending Captain and he narrowed his eyes at him, "You see my plan was to possess the Hogyoku after Rukia Kukichi's death since Kisuke Urahara had hidden it inside of her." Both Naruto and Ichigo growled in their throats at Aizen talking about Rukia like she was some tool to be used and tossed aside. "However even I did not anticipate the Hogyoku waking up this early and you, Ryoka." Aizen said as he pointed at Naruto and reached the Garganta with his followers.
Kurama lurched in his cave after a very strong yet vaguely familiar force suddenly pushed him with great strength. The last time he felt this was when… "Naruto, that Hogyoku is the-"
"I know… I felt it too." The boy replied back through the link. "It was almost overwhelming but…"
"But what?" He didn't get an answer. Instead of waiting for an answer, Kurama decided to read his Jinchuriki's thoughts and was frankly surprised by what he discovered. So the fox decided to wait and let his partner do what he does best; be unpredictable.
"… Get rid of the mask." Naruto said as he looked at Aizen who seem amused by his demand. "Since we now know of your betrayal, there's no need for you to keep up the act."
Ichigo and the others were confused by what he meant by that and looked at the captain. He wasn't wearing any mask whatsoever and this was agreed upon the Shinigami… except two of them of course.
Aizen chuckled as his hand reached for his glasses while staring at the blonde Human. "Very perceptive… for a Human. Oh well, I see no reason to keep this disguise any longer than I have to." He took his glasses off, revealing very menacing features that replaced the scholarly looks with a single lock of his hair on his forehead. To Ichigo and his friends sans Naruto, he looked very intimidating and evil.
"What has caused you to stoop so low, Aizen?" Ukitake asked in both disappointment and anger as Aizen and his subordinates reached the top of the black hole filled with Hollows.
And so the traitorous Aizen explained his plan of becoming a God with the power of the Hogyoku and overthrowing the Soul Society as well disrupting the balance that connected the World of the Living. Now his plan has been slightly delayed and left Soul Society, but not before declaring he will have the Hogyoku that is now in Naruto's possession.
"… Well… guess I have a new enemy to deal with." Naruto muttered to him-self as the black hole closed shut in the sky and some of Gotei 13 captains destroying some of the Hollows left behind.
(Flashback Ends)
From the way that the captain explained his plan that day, both Naruto and Kurama unanimously agreed about Aizen and his colleagues had planned this for a very long, long, long time given that the Shinigami can live for centuries. Not to mention they don't age at the same rate like Humans do.
His thoughts were cut short when he heard his name being called.
"Uzumaki… Uzumaki."
Naruto blinked a few times before answering. "Yes? Sorry, Yamamoto, I didn't hear what you said."
"*sigh* I said I have a question for you."
"Shoot."
With that, Yamamoto asked him the question he wanted to ask since his battle with the Human, "… Are you the Disciple of the Sage of the Six Paths?" The shocked expression on Naruto's face was all he needed. "I'll take your expression as a yes."
"You know my master?" Was all Naruto could say. The Head Captain nodded in agreement. "How- Wait, when?"
Yamamoto raised his hand to cease the questioning. "That will be discussed at a later time between you and I in private. As you stand before me, I now realize that your master's worst fear has happened…" The captains, even Shunsui and Jushiro, stood in their places as they waited for what could be the greatest threat to in history of the Gotei 13. "The Shinju has been revived."
"I believe I speak for all of us here, Head Captain; who or what is the Shinju?" asked Soi-Fon in a firm tone.
"Who is the Shinju? I never heard that name before."
"You idiot. The Shinju is the Ten Tails' true name! Just like Kurama is my name and Gyuki is the Eight Tail's name."
"Oh…" Naruto thought before he answered Soi-Fon. "To answer your question, the Shinju, or commonly known as the Ten Tails, is a demon in my world." Now everyone's attention was on him. "But before I continue… there shall be no record of any kind of what I'm about to say nor will there be any attempts to cross over to my world. I'm only divulging this information because we have a common enemy."
Yamamoto firmly nodded at the boy. "I concur, Uzumaki. In respect of your master and you having helped Ichigo Kurosaki saved Rukia Kukichi from Aizen's grasp, we will respect your request… won't we?" He said while looking at Kurotsuchi who grumbled about old man being a killjoy.
"Thank you, Head Captain," Naruto said gratefully. It felt weird to address someone by his or her formal title. He didn't do it in his childhood or during his two years-and-a-half of training with Jiraiya.
Guess some people tend to change some of their habits when meeting and training with their ancestor.
-Later That Evening-
"*yawn* Man that was tiresome." Naruto said as he stretched his arms. The Konoha Shinobi was walking around Soul Society as the blanket of night hovered them.
As he was walking, Naruto thought a lot about the topics during the meeting; the first thing was since Central 46 is temporarily out of commissioned, Yamamoto is now in charge of both Soul Society and Central 46 and answers to the Spirit King. The second topic was about Ichigo becoming an official Substitute Shinigami since he proved him-self during the invasion. The third was his tale of his training with the Sage as well his relation to him and the mission regarding the Sealing Keys and the Shinju. The last thing was about the Hogyoku. Yamamoto agreed that the Hogyoku will be in Naruto's possession since it was his to begin with.
"Oh yeah." He pulled out a scroll after jumping to a roof of a nearby building. Naruto laid it out, revealing a very complex sealing formula, courtesy of his clan. "Kai." Puff of smoke emanated in front of the Shinobi before it cleared to reveal the small gem-like object. "From what Yamamoto said, he was the first Guardian of the Key until he gave it and the title to an exiled Shinigami… Kisuke Urahara. Apparently this guy was the captain of the 12th Division before Clown-Face and created the R&D and became its first head scientist."
"If he was the Guardian of the Key, then why did he hide it inside that Rukia girl?" Kurama put in his two cents. "From that action alone, it looks like he is not that smart if Aizen figured it out."
"Perhaps… but we'll have our answers tomorrow." Naruto replied with the Tailed Beast giving an thumbs up before ending the link. After sealing the Hogyoku back into the scroll, he looked up to the black sky and a smile appeared in response. "It sure is a beautiful night with calm winds, a full moon… a great opportunity to meditate."
A moment after staring at the moon, all that was left of the boy's presence was a swirl of leafs.
-(Meanwhile)-Las Noches-Hueco Mundo-
A lone crescent moon shines its light through the vast darkness shroud that covers the sky and below was sand. Mountains of layers of sand stretched out for miles and formed to be a desert. This is the home of the Hollows; beings who were once Human souls, or Pluses, and was unable to move on to the Soul Society.
In the midst of the homeland of said beast, there stands a large white tower. Inside said tower, on the top floor, there is Aizen still clad in his Shinigami captain uniform who sits on a white throne like a king would. By his right and left sides stands his fellow conspirators, Gin and Tosen, who like their leader, still sports their Shinigami uniform.
"This is problematic, Captain Aizen," Tosen said breaking the silence.
Aizen didn't bother to glance at him. "How so?"
"You do not possess Kisuke Urahara's Hogyoku; that surprisingly strong Ryoka boy does. Without that, how do you expect to move forward with your plan, sir?"
"It is true that sets back our plan… but only a little. I have a contingency plan in mind and our guest should be arriving in a few moments," Aizen said calmly.
"Oh, you mean that-"
Gin was interrupted by a ring of dark light in the ceiling that caught his own and Tosen's attention. Aizen simply closed his with a smug smile as a figure appeared and descended from the ceiling. The figure has the appearance of a young man with black hair, red eyes and pointy ears and his attire is all dark-colored. But the distinctive and interesting characteristic about him is the five pairs of black wings on his back.
As the man stopped descending and hovered in front of the trio, Aizen opened his eyes and calmly spoke two words.
"Hello Kokabiel."
The man known as Kokabiel grinned madly as five more rings appeared on the ceiling and out came five more people like him.
-(The Next Day)-Sokyoku Hill-
"Man, where is he!?"
"Calm down, Ichigo. Complaining about it isn't going to make Naruto appear out of nowhere."
"Uryuu is right. The only thing to do is try to relax," said a deep male voice. The humans looked down to find the origin of the voice to be a cat with black and familiar yellow eyes.
"You should listen to Yoruichi, Ichigo."
Ichigo groaned as he started to pace around in place while Orihime, in her short-sleeved pink shirt with matching pants, and Chad, in his short-sleeved dark shirt and brown pants, were talking to each other to pass the time. While Ichigo was healing from his wounds he received by both Byakuya and Aizen, Yoruichi came by and informed him about Naruto will be returning with them and staying with her-self and Kisuke. This should be fun.
After ten minutes of waiting, Naruto arrived via Body Flicker Technique along with Rukia and some of the Gotei 13 Captains followed suit: Ukitake, Komamura, Kyorkaru, Soi-Fon and Unohana.
"Hey guys," said the grinning Jinchuriki with the Uzumaki Clan crest dangling from Tenkaichi's hilt. "Sorry, I took so long. I just got lost on the road of life."
Ichigo, Uryuu and Yoruichi sweat-dropped at the boy's comment while Orihime thought it was cool and Chad simply nodded.
"Where's Yoruichi?" Naruto asked after he noticed the woman's lack of appearance.
"I'm right here Naruto." Yoruichi pointed her paw at herself.
Naruto blinked a couple times before freaking out. "Ah! A freaking cat just spoke to me!"
"That's what I said." Ichigo said while chuckling at the blonde's reaction. He then noticed Rukia's division captain walking up to him. "Captain Ukitake."
"Greetings Ichigo. I have something that will help you a long way."
Ichigo blinked a few times as Ukitake lifted his hand and opened his palm to reveal the object that's supposed to help him. It was an inverted pentagon-shaped pendant with a 'X' mark and a small skull in the middle of it and a small thick chain dangles from the base.
"What is it?" asked Ichigo as he inspects the object after receiving it from the captain's hand.
Naruto, after calming down, listened in between the two. "That is a Substitute Shinigami Badge. You will be an official Substitute Shinigami for Soul Society and it is your mark of authority to perform your duties. Plus it will alert you of nearby Hollows and separate you from your body into your Shinigami form." Ukitake explained more about potential Substitute Shinigami before his face took a solemn look. "But… there are no words or gifts that appraise for what you've done here." He looked at the whiskered Human. "Both of you."
"It's all right. I didn't do it because I had to. I did it because I wanted to do it, but I'll gladly accept this. It's an honor. Thank you," said Ichigo genuinely as he pocketed the badge inside his robe.
"Same here. Whenever someone's in trouble, either they're friends or my friend's friend, I'll always be there to help them." Naruto gave a big smile at the captain, causing Ichigo to smile as well.
"These two… they're cut from the same cloth. They're truly exceptional," Ukitake thought with a small smile.
After saying goodbye to Rukia, who chose to stay where she belongs, the group entered the gate that would take them to the World of the Living. For Ichigo, Chad, Uryuu and Orihime, feelings of nostalgia ran through but as for Naruto, the next chapter of his mission/adventure begins here.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone