Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and Bleach. Obviously.
Get ready to read a bunch of crap. It's just to get everything out of the way.
Author's Note: This is a purely Naruto-centric fanfic that features a much more dark and serious Naruto. It'll also feature Sasuke, Ichigo, and Pain (or the Akatsuki) as main side-characters later on in the story. I've also taken some stuff from my other two Naruto and Bleach crossover stories and incorporated it into my story, so some parts might be repeats of some of the chapters from my other story.
Also, in this story, Nagato will just be Yahiko. It sounds weird I know, but Nagato just being the Deva Path will work much better for this story than Nagato, so I'll be writing it that way.
Most importantly, this is a kind of a spin-off from my other story "The Wandering Shinobi," so if you're already reading that, then I would honestly recommend not reading this story until past the first three chapters or so. That is, unless you wanna read it from a Naruto-centric point-of-view, then feel free to go ahead and read it.
Information:
- Kurama's Influence basically means Naruto using Kurama's chakra.
Chapter 1: Journey to Seireitei
"Dying like trash… never ending hatred… pain that never heals… that is war… Naruto… this… is what you must face… The book… and you… It's like… someone… set this all up… Or… maybe… this… is… the hand of the real God… My role is over now… Naruto… you… can really—."
- Pain
|Southern Wasteland, Soul Society|
A single figure trekked across the desert wasteland, fighting against the powerful gusts of wind that occasionally blew throughout the area. The figure was wrapped in a ragged tan cloak along with a matching head scarf which completely covered his face save his piercing blue eyes; the ends of his blonde bangs were also visible beneath the makeshift scarf. The only item that he carried has a sheathed katana. The katana had a tsuba which was shaped like a spiked whirlpool, and it had a dark orange hilt that had black diamond patterns on it.
The gusts of wind blew sand along with it which pelted the figure brutally, and you could a light scoff from underneath the hood as the figure's eyes narrowed. As he continued onwards, he blinked as a deep and rumbling voice spoke from inside his mind.
"It's getting late."
The blonde figure closed his eyes as he entered the palace of his mind. When he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting on the nose of a gigantic orange nine-tailed fox. "Yea, I know."
"If you don't find a place to rest soon, you'll be stuck out here for who knows how long," growled the fox. "You better hurry. The sandstorm's better thicker by the minute. It'll probably thicken to the point where you won't be able to see anything at all."
"Ah… Sure thing." Closing his eyes once more, he reopened them as he left the landscape of his mind. Looking around, he spotted a small cliff-like structure towards his right and grinned from behind his scarf. It looks like there's a cliff up ahead, he thought to himself. I better get going.
…As the figure reached the cave, he noticed that it was unbelievably spacious but completely empty. Hm… This should do. His eyes wandering around the cave, he found a suitable spot near the corner around thirty feet away and nodded in satisfaction. Loosening the scarf that was wrapped around his mouth, he completely unwrapped the scarf around his head to reveal a fairly ruggedly attractive face. He also had distinctive whisker marks on both cheeks, and sharp canines that resembled fangs.
"That's much better," he said as he took in a deep breath. "I felt like I was suffocating underneath that scarf." Looking around, he unfastened the katana from his side and laid it on the ground beside him. "Now…" Closing his eyes, he unsheathed his katana and held it out in front of him as he sat down on the ground.
As he entered his mind, he could feel a cool breeze fluttering around him, telling him that he was no longer in the cave that he was just at a moment ago.
The activation of one's Zanpakuto… Coming into contact with your soul and embedding the very essence of it into your Asauchi, and once you do so, the next step is to come into contact with the spirit inside of the Asauchi and subdue its' spirit… That's what's called Shikai. His eyes slowly opening, he found himself looking at the same gigantic fox spirit that he had talked to inside of his mind earlier that day. The landscape surrounding him was a plain yet spacious room that seemed to be built from stone. It was very rusty and old-fashioned.
"So… Kurama."
"Naruto…" The fox growled as it looked down at the blonde figure. It stood over fifteen stories high above his master, so gigantic that even one of its claws stood taller than him. "Are you ready?"
"Ah…" Slowly getting up, Naruto sighed as he pointed the tip of his Zanpakuto at Kurama. "Let's get going."
|Deputy Official Chamber Two, Seireitei, Soul Society|
"Calling all vice-captains! Calling all vice-captains! All vice-captains are to report to Deputy Official Chamber Two! I repeat- all vice-captains are to report to Deputy Official Chamber Two!"
… It had been three days since five ryoka had tried to infiltrate Seireitei through the White Road Gate located in West Rukongai region. With the help of the gatekeeper, Ikkanzaka Jidanbo, they were able to get the gate open, but they were soon stopped by the 3rd Division's captain, Ichimaru Gin.
Three days after their foiled plan, Seireitei had announced that the five ryoka had broken into Seireitei by breaking through the barrier that surrounded it, and emergency captain and vice-captain meetings were called immediately to discuss this issue…
Five hours later, a red-haired figure and another figure with short black hair strolled down a catwalk together, conversing as they went.
"This is my first time you know…" The red-haired figure tugged at the white sash around his left arm. "That is, wearing my adjutant insignia…"
"Che!" The figure next to him yawned. "'Course it is. It's my first time too since it was made mandatory. 'All vice-captains, put on your adjutant insignias and report to Deputy Official Chamber Two,' huh?"
They both stopped in front of a door, and the red-haired figure slid the door open to reveal a fairly short female sitting on the floor in deep thought. She had kind brown eyes, and her brown hair was tied into a bun at the end.
She looked up as the two figures as they entered the room. "Abarai-kun! Iba-san!"
"Hinamori?" The red-haired figure looked down at the girl. "No one but you here?" He sighed as he looked around the mostly empty room.
"Looks that way," she answered.
Hinamori and the others turned around as they heard an exasperated sigh behind them. A very busty orange-haired female was standing in the doorway with a bored look on her face. "It's because the vice-captains are always scattered through Soul Society like busy bees," she said as she walked into the room. "It'll probably take at least half a day for them to all gather here."
She sighed again as she passed the three of them. "I think that I'm gonna go and get a drink… Do any of you guys want any? Hinamori? Renji? Iba-san?"
"No thanks," answered Renji and Iba.
"I'm fine; thanks, Rangiku-san," answered Hinamori, giving her a small smile.
Renji blinked as she walked into the other room and turned to Iba, the short black-haired man next to him. "Say, Iba-san… Who's Rangiku-san's captain again?"
Iba took of the sunglasses that he always wore and polished them with the hem of his uniform before putting them back again. "Hmmm…" He scratched his chin as he thought about it. "Hitsugaya-taichou?" he suggested.
Renji snapped his fingers. "That's right! That know-it-all stuck-up genius."
"Shh!" hissed Iba suddenly. "It looks like Chojiro-san is here. The meeting's about to start. Let's go."
|District #15, West Rukongai, Soul Society|
One week later…
Naruto stopped by a nearby inn at the first district that he had come across in West Rukongai. Exhausted from the week's events- that is, training with his Zanpakuto, all he wanted to do was rest for at least a little while before continuing onwards.
As he entered the inn, he automatically noticed the whole entire place becoming deathly quiet as he stepped into the room. Walking over to a nearby table, he unwrapped the makeshift scarf that was wound across his head and quietly breathed in the refreshing air of the inn. The inn began to come back to life after a brief moment, but Naruto was fully aware of everything that was going on in the room.
"C-Can I take your order sir?"
Naruto looked up to see a timid-looking waitress standing in front of his table, a menu in her hand. As he accepted the menu from her, he looked over it briefly before handing it back to her.
"I'll take a bowl of mixed rice and just plain green tea, thanks."
Nodding, the waitress gave Naruto a shy smile and walked towards the back room of the inn. As soon as she left, Naruto turned his attention to a table where two men were discussing something that seemed very interesting.
…"So, did you hear? Apparently the ryoka that managed to get into Soul Society broke into Seireitei not too long ago!"
"Shhh! Keep your voice down! You never know who's listening! Since we don't know what the ryoka look like, they could be anywhere! Even here!"
Sasuke frowned as he listened in on the conversation from the table across from him. Ryoka? So it's true after all- I thought that those were just rumors, but to think that they were actually true… He noticed a group of what seemed like thugs and bandits staring at him and snickering, but he decided to ignore them as he turned his focus back to the conversation.
…"Yea, well I heard that one of them stole Kuchiki-sama's Shinigami powers!" said the first male in a loud whisper.
"What?!" The second male crinkled his nose at this as if he had just heard a child say something unbelievable. "No way! How the hell could he steal a Shinigami's power- especially Kuchiki-sama's?"
"Don't ask me," replied his friend. "I'm just telling you what I heard! Apparently Kuchiki Byakuya-sama killed off the human, but somehow he managed to stay alive! That's why he's here! I bet he's going to get revenge on Kuchiki Byakuya-sama for having tried to kill him!"
"What?! No way!" repeated the second male. "Don't be such a dunce, moron! Even if he did somehow survive his meeting with him, there's no way that he could defeat Kuchiki Byakuya-sama!"
The first male frowned as he thought about this. "Well, I guess you're right…" he relented finally, scratching the back of his head in confusion and frustration.
…
How interesting… Naruto looked up as the waitress from earlier brought over his bowl of mixed rice and green tea, and graciously accepting them, he dug his spoon into his bowl and started to eat.
…
After he finished meal, he left the money for the food as well as a generous tip for the waitress on the table and walked out of the inn. As soon as he stepped outside, however, he noticed the group of thugs from earlier following him as he walked into a nearby alley.
Stopping in the middle of the alley, Naruto turned his head to see ten thugs standing behind them, all sorts of weapons in their hands. "What do you guys want…?" asked Naruto in a soft yet dangerous voice. "I'm not in a mood to joke around right now… I really encourage you guys to walk away right now."
"Oh?" A fairly large thug holding a spiked wooden club grinned as he took a step forward. "Looks like we have a tough fish to catch this morning boys. Well then…" Leaning forward, he bent his head and charged at Naruto like a rhino. "Let's get him!"
The excited yells of the other thugs rang throughout the alley. "Yea, let's go!"
"Let's get him!"
"Kick his ass!"
Sighing out loud, Naruto unsheathed his Zanpakuto halfway from its sheath as he braced himself for the incoming attack. One… Two… Three…! Spinning around, he slammed the end of the hilt into the head thug's stomach, instantly knocking him out. Almost instantaneously, he leapt back and slammed his foot into another thug's face, sending him flying into another thug.
"Why you piece of shit!" yelled another thug as he charged at Naruto. Swinging his dagger at him in an attempt to slice his arm, he suddenly went flying back as Naruto elbowed him straight in the face, breaking his nose in the process.
Spotting a blonde-haired thug creeping up behind him, Naruto leapt up into the air and dodged a swing from the thug's wooden club. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he sped forward and backhanded the thug right in the face, sending him flying over three feet away.
"Get real," spat Naruto as he faced the remaining six thugs. "You guys aren't even worth fighting seriously with." Sheathing the unsheathed half of his blade, he rolled his neck as he shook his arms to loosen them. "Ok, check this out."
The thugs stepped back in surprise as Naruto suddenly appeared in front of them, having used flash step to catch them by surprise. Unable to react in time, the thugs could only remain surprised as Naruto quickly took all six of them out with quick and successful punches and elbows to the face and stomach. It only took a couple of seconds until Naruto stood over the fallen thugs, an unreadable look on his face.
A groan emerged from the head thug from earlier, but as he struggled to get up, Naruto walked over to him until he was standing directly over him. Leaning forward, he grabbed the thug by the front of his shirt and yanked him up so that they were face-to-face.
"P-Please," stuttered the thug. "H-Have mercy, p-please!"
"Let me just ask you one thing," said Naruto in a low and malicious voice. "What do you know about the ryoka?"
"Th-The ryoka?" The thug seemed genuinely surprised by this question. "Wh-What do you wanna k-know about them?"
Naruto gave him a feral grin, showing off his pointed canines. "Well, let's say that I'm pretty bored. I heard about them, and I became a little bit curious. So, about the ryoka."
"W-Well, all I know is that they infiltrated Seireitei just a few days ago," began the thug. "I heard they broke i-into Seireitei using West Rukongai as their base, and they've already been able to fight par-on-par w-with the Gotei 13."
"Oh?" Naruto seemed amused by this. "The Gotei 13 Shinigami must be slacking off if they let a couple of ryoka stir up so much trouble." Letting the thug go, Naruto looked down at the thug as a sinister expression suddenly appeared on his face. The thug gulped nervously as a bead of sweat rolled down his face, and his hands started to tremble as he tried to back away.
"P-Please, I-I told y-you everything that I k-know!"
"You're right… You did." As if he was suddenly relenting, Naruto turned his gaze away from the thug and stepped over him, walking out of the alley and leaving the thug alone with his unconscious partners. "Follow me again, and I'll make sure to kill you off."
…
As he stepped out from the alley, he noted a distant structure that seemed to tower above the far-away districts of Rukongai. So that's Seireitei, huh…?
"Why so interested in Seireitei, Naruto?"
Naruto closed his eyes as he tapped into his consciousness. "Kurama, huh? Well, why do you think? The ryoka situation seems pretty interesting, and even though I have no ties to the Gotei 13, Soul Society is my home… I'll protect it any way you put it."
"But that's not all," growled Kurama. "What's the other reason? Don't lie to me, Naruto…"
Naruto seemed to be amused by this, but his voice remained even as he answered. "Alright… Something's definitely leading me there, and I know that you can feel it too, am I right?" When Kurama didn't answer, Naruto continued. "Anyways, I'm going there whether you like it or not. Who knows? I might be able to get some answers as to who I was before all of this once I get there."
|White Road Gate, West Rukongai, Soul Society|
Five days later…
"So…" Naruto looked around the outskirts of district #1 as he arrived at the western gate of Seireitei. "This is Seireitei, huh? An impressive structure." As he took a step forward, he was stopped by a loud rumbling noise which came from the distance.
"Hold it right there!" roared a booming voice. "I'm Jidanbo, the guardian of the White Road Gate! What do you think you're doing here?!"
Naruto didn't even blink as he turned to see an enormous giant thumping across the plain. "Huh… So he's one of the legendary guardians of the four gates… He doesn't look like much."
"Be careful, Naruto," warned Kurama with a growl. "You could easily defeat him, but his strength is almost equal to your own. Be wary."
"Yea… I know." Naruto tapped the hilt of his Zanpakuto as he walked over to Jidanbo, who skidded to a halt just a foot away from Naruto. "So, Jidanbo, was it?" When Naruto looked up at the giant, Jidanbo's eyes widened in shock to see Naruto's eyes full of murderous intent, his eyes flaring with untamed orange-red reiatsu.
"Wh-What the-…!"
"Let me pass," ordered Naruto with a low rumbling voice. "I don't have the patience… to deal with people like you."
"S-So you have a short temper, huh?!" laughed Jidanbo nervously. As grabbed both axes from the belt on his side, he charged at Naruto with a wild look appearing in his eyes. "Well then, try this on for size! Ten-Thousand Buffalo-Red Strikes Festival!" With a loud roar, he slammed both axes down on Naruto simultaneously.
THUD! The ground seemed to explode from the impact as Naruto dodged the attack. "H-How did you dodge my attack?!" asked Jidanbo with a dramatic yell. "I-Impossible…!"
As Naruto reappeared by Jidanbo's side, he glanced at him out of the corner of his eyes, his eyes dark red due to Kurama's Influence. "I told you… that I didn't have to patience to deal with people like you." With a low growl, Naruto backhanded Jidanbo with monstrous force, sending his gigantic figure flying back over two feet.
"Ugh…" Jidanbo rubbed his head as he struggled to get up from the attack. "Unbelievable strength… Wh-What?!" His eyes grew wide as he saw Naruto standing on top of his chest. "Y-You win," he finally relented. "As a defeated gate guardian, I'll open the gate for you."
"That's much better," grinned Naruto, showing off his pointed canines. "Now, tell me what you know about the ryoka situation."
|Captain's Council, Seireitei, Soul Society|
In the Captain's Council were twelve captains standing in two lines of six, an elderly Shinigami sitting at the head of the group. It was him that was currently speaking.
"We cannot allow the ryoka to do as they please and stir up trouble in Seireitei. Therefore, the restriction on releasing one's Zanpakuto is temporarily nullified! This is a Code One Alert, and-!" He was suddenly stopped by the sound of someone pounding on the door.
"Soutaichou-dono! We have a Code Three Alert coming from the west of Seireitei!"
The other twelve captains turned to look at the door, taken by surprise at the sudden interruption. A petite female captain with her hair worn in two long braids standing on the right, however, seemed both surprised and annoyed at this. "What is it?! Can't you see we're in the middle of a meeting here?! Hurry up and speak your piece you fool!"
"Y-Yes ma'am!" stuttered the voice behind the door. "We have reports of a person having broken into Seireitei through the White Road Gate! According to Jidanbo, the person was a blonde male with incredible reiatsu!"
"What?!" The female captain from earlier spun around to face the head captain at the front. "Soutaichou, could it be-?!"
"Another ryoka?" finished the soutaichou. "It could indeed…" Frowning, he mused over what to do for a few seconds before continuing. "Soifon-taichou. You and Omaeda-fukutaichou are to find this other ryoka and dispose of him accordingly! If you should happen across any of the other ryoka, take precaution and handle them as well; remember, however, that one of them was able to almost go head-to-head with Zaraki-taichou."
"Heh!" Soifon scoffed at this as if it was some kind of joke. "That fool Omaeda won't be able to handle anyone of their caliber. I'll handle these scum myself."
Meanwhile…
Naruto ducked as he leapt over a railing, narrowly avoiding a pipe as it whistled over his head. Jumping onto his hand, he executed a backflip and landed on the other side of another system of pipes which stretched out over five feet.
As soon as his feet touched the ground, he passed as he sensed something coming closer and closer to him. It looks like I've been spotted… I expected as much. Sighing tiredly, he grabbed the hilt of his sword as he turned to face the direction that the two sources of reiatsu were coming from. Judging by the reiatsu, they're strong… The weaker one isn't worth mentioning, but the other one… His reiryoku almost matches mine…
…
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise a blur of black and white flickered into view in front of him, another blur of black appearing right behind her a few seconds later. So fast! He became even more surprised to see that the huge source of reiatsu was a fairly petite female of average height. She's the…? That haori… She's a captain…?
"So you're the ryoka, huh?" grinned Soifon. "Tasty reiatsu… At least give me a challenge, ryoka. I haven't been able to find an opponent to fight against as that monster Zaraki Kenpachi stole all of them…" Looking behind her, she glanced at her vice-captain Omaeda, a fairly unattractive and meaty male. "Omaeda… Get out of here if you don't want to die."
"What?!" The vice-captain screamed dramatically in horror as if his captain had just suggested something completely ridiculous. "Th-There's no way that I could leave you with this guy all by yourself, captain! Let me take care of him!" Having said that, he clumsily grabbed his Zanpakuto and yanked it out of its sheath. "I'll take him out by myself!" he roared as he charged at Naruto.
THUD! Omaeda yelled out as he went flying over ten feet away from a square kick to his chest by Naruto. Stumbling over the edge of the roof, he let out a girly scream as he plummeted over the edge and into the ground below.
"A pathetic excuse for a vice-captain," said Naruto, laughing quietly to himself at Omaeda's foolishness. "I heard about the 1st generation of the Gotei 13… Their captains used to be at level far beyond the current group of captain's, and their vice-captains were almost at the level of you guys."
"You sure like to talk a lot, ryoka," scoffed Soifon as she ignored his last remark. Rolling her neck, she cracked her knuckles as she started walking towards him. "I'll teach you some manners, trash. The last thing that you'll see in this life is my face, so remember it well!" Using flash step to flicker out of sight, she reappeared behind Naruto in an instant, catching him by surprise.
She's too fast for me to handle! thought Naruto as he spun around. He was barely able to raise his arms in time to block her fast attack, her foot slamming into his arms and sending him flying into a large water drum which stood over ten feet away from them.
Balancing himself in mid-air, he used his feet to propel himself off of the water drum and go speeding towards a mildly surprised Soifon. As they clashed together and started engaging in Hakuda, Naruto frowned as they exchanged punches and kicks.
This is strange… I've never fought against something of this woman's caliber, and yet… I feel as if this kind of combat of is something old and familiar… Could it have something to do with who I once was…? Ducking in order to avoid a roundhouse kick from Soifon, Naruto managed to trap her leg with his own and land an upwards kick on Soifon's jaw, sending her flying into the air.
Now! Using flash step to appear above her, Naruto spun around violently in mid-air and slammed his foot into her stomach, causing her to cry out in pain as she went crashing into the roof below. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Naruto unsheathed his Zanpakuto and walked towards her. She's toying with me… She's definitely trying to get a read on my movements and fighting style… "There's no way someone of your caliber could fall for an attack that old," said Naruto out loud. "Even a moron like me knows that. Did you get all the intel on me that you were looking for, or do you wanna go another round?"
As Soifon slowly got up, Naruto noted the murderous grin on her face. "So, you got," chuckled Soifon as she straightened up. "Very well then, here's what I've figured out." Taking a deep breath, she let it out right after as she leisurely unsheathed her Zanpakuto that was strapped to her back. "You're definitely strong. Your Hakuda skills are impressive, and I can already tell that your combat level is of the highest rank. I don't know who you were before all of this, but you were strong. Very strong. Still…" Raising her blade in front of her face, she gave him an even wider grin. "This is the end of the line… for you that is."
…
"Sting all enemies to death, Suzumebachi!"
Waving her Zanpakuto out by her side gracefully, her Zanpakuto began to glow as it shrunk down to become a black and gold gauntlet which had a small chain linking a stinger-like blade on Soifon's middle finger.
"It's over, ryoka."
Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath as he held his Zanpakuto out by his side. "An interesting Zanpakuto if I ever saw one… We're both opponents seeking the thrill of battle… Be careful…"
"…of me."
…
"Bleed… Sakende Ikari."
So, thoughts? If you liked or disliked anything, please let me know as I accept all forms of non-flame or biased criticism. Thanks.
Translations:
- Sakende Ikari: Screaming Anger. (Applying to Naruto's dark side).
- Soutaichou: Head Captain.
- Taichou: Captain.
- Fukutaichou: Vice-captain.
- Suzumebachi: Hornet.
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