Prologue:
"Wha… whats going on?
Why am I lying there?
Wait. I can see myself?
How? Why don't I feel the pain?
Sasuke… the Rasenshuriken missed, but I was hit with his Chidori.
What is this weird chain?
Am… am I dead?"
"Yes, you are."
"Wha?" Naruto spun around, looking into the light brown eyes of a man he had never seen before. His unusual white robe, katana, and shoulder-length brown hair seemed strange to Naruto. He seemed both fearsome and calming, but yet he didn't feel a human presence in him. It wasn't the presence of a monster, either. It wasn't physical.
"Who are you?"
"Sosuke Aizen. Come with me and every question you have will be answered." The stranger replied, on air as if it were a path.
"Wait! I don't know how to walk on air! Oh." He said as he realized he already was. He ran to catch up to the man, and in almost no time he caught up. They walked side by side until they were way above and a little to the west of the clearing Naruto's body was in. Then a huge hole opened up in the previously cloudy sky. It almost looked like a mouth and Naruto was a little nervous to enter.
"Follow me." The man said as he walked through the hole and out to the other side. Naruto followed, finding his feet to be on a short path that ended right in front of the man.
"Where are we going?" Naruto asked, unsure whether he should jump back through the hole or follow the stranger.
"Hueco Mundo. Your questions will be answered there." He replied, looking back at Naruto with a chilling smile. The opening they had come through suddenly closed and they were trapped in the strange light of the unusual space.
The man started walking, and the path grew in front of him, astounding Naruto. Nothing he had ever seen resembled this. It had to be a dream; a terrible dream that if he tried hard enough, he would wake up from and be back in his home, where there would be microwave ramen for breakfast. He closed his eyes, trying to imagine home. That's when it happened.
He tripped over his foot and fell off the path. Naruto screamed, reaching for the path that was getting smaller and smaller as he fell. All he got in response from the man was a dirty stare. Then Naruto's ninja instincts took over. He made the seal for his shadow clones, intending to make a ladder, but nothing happened. He tried again and again, even trying to activate Sage mode and the Kyuubi's cloak, but nothing was happening!
He continued to fall, the path now nonexistent to his vision. The chain fluttered weightlessly as he fell, but Naruto noticed it was getting shorter. Little mouths seemed to be eating it! He grabbed at the chain, trying to get it off of him, but it just kept getting shorter. He kept trying, even though pulling on it felt like he was ripping a hole in himself.
There were only two links in the chain left. The mouths were getting closer to him now, and he was feeling painfully sleepy. He gave up, shutting his eyes and letting his memories leave him. It hurt badly, but he couldn't open his eyes or move. He let himself slip into the darkness, giving up his struggle.
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"So Taichiou, ya didn't bring a soul back from that new place?"
"No Gin. He fell off the spirit particle path. Who knows where he'll end up now? We may never see him again."
"How unfortunate. We'll win against the Shinigami anyway. The Espada we have now are strong enough."
"Yes, but it would've been nice. From what I observed in the boy's fight, he was very strong. If the energy he used is related to spiritual pressure, he may have been able to rank among the top espada."
"Well, I guess it doesn't matter much now, eh captain?"
"No, I suppose it doesn't. Anyway, call the Espada. I plan to announce the strategy for the fight against the Shinigami."
"Okay."
Chapter 1:
Naruto lay splayed on the sandy ground and stared at the moon. The black, starless sky depressed him, yet filled him with a strange sensation of belonging. It wasn't dark like the night, but it wasn't like day. There were a few small, barren, dead trees, but besides that there was nothing but sand.
"Where am I?"
He raised his hand, sitting straight up as he noticed something. It wasn't like before! There was no peach-colored flesh or light pink fingernails, but instead deep burgundy claws. They were featureless except for the points that were wickedly curved and a barb on each of them.
He jumped up and examined the rest of his body, finding it much the same. His other hand looked identical, his feet were similar, and at his joints of his elbows and knees he had a single claw just like the ones on his hands. The thing he really noticed, however, was the gaping hole where the Dead Demon Consuming Seal had been. It went all the way through his abdomen and he was able to put his hand through it.
"What happened to me?" he whispered to himself, staggering backwards and putting a hand to his face. Unfortunately, it had changed to. It felt much harder, and it had a weird shape to it. It was almost bulb-shaped, but the curves were narrower…
He suddenly detected a presence; he spun around and stared into the eyes of what looked like some kind of monster! It had a strange green body and what looked like a bone on its face. The thing jumped at him, snapping its mouth like it was going to devour him. Naruto jumped back, dodging the monster's attack.
"Wait! Why are you attacking me?" he yelled, but he was ignored by the beast; that attacked him again without warning. This time, Naruto counter-attacked, ducking under the enemy's attack and punching its gut, causing it to fly back, a thin stream of blood coming from the wounds the barbs on Naruto's claws had created. The monster gave a cry of pain and anger, and then reared his ugly head back. Naruto watched in amazement as a strange ball of energy started to form, but had to dodge as a beam of energy came from it. Naruto knew he had to end the fight fast, or else he wouldn't survive.
"Rasengan!" he yelled as he quickly made the seal for a Shadow Clone and ran toward the foe, but before he reached the strange monster, he realized two things: his jutsu didn't activate, and that there was another person around. Naruto quickly diverted his path, juking the first monster who was completely fooled by his footwork.
"What's wrong? Keep fighting." A voice said. Naruto looked around, trying to find where the voice had come from, but there was no one around. Suddenly, he had to dodge another attack from the monster.
"You aren't getting anywhere just dodging. Haven't you fought before?" the voice said again. Naruto didn't even bother to look around this time. There was only one threat, and he needed to focus- to remember the Taijutsu he learned from training since Ninjutsu wasn't working.
He got his opportunity soon enough. The attacker seemed to start backing away as if in fear! Now was the time to attack! Naruto rushed toward the attacker and punched him full in the face. The strange bone cracked-revealing itself to be a mask-and the monster fell, defeated.
"I won!" Naruto said, victorious. His questions weren't answered, but he had won!
"Yeah, so finish him off."
Naruto spun around, staring into the most piercing yellow eyes he had ever seen. He fell to the ground, transfixed by its gaze.
"Wha… What are you?"
"You have the intelligence to ask questions? Strange."
The once-human boy crawled back slowly. This thing that stood in front of him wasn't human! It wasn't even like the monster that lied beside him! What stood before him was the same general shape as a man, but there were some major differences. This being had a single white wing (although it wasn't made of feathers) and strange whitish-purple skin. It wore no clothes except for the torn bottom half of a black robe. His face was mostly covered in a white, bird-looking mask, but the most disturbing thing was the gaping hole right where its heart should have been! On top of it all, Naruto couldn't feel his presence. It was like the thing wasn't even there.
"What are you!" Naruto repeated, trying not to sound scared.
The creature looked at him with its piercing eyes. "I am a Hollow just like you, so finish the dying one off or I will."
"Wait! I don't know where I am, why I'm here, or what a Hollow is! Give me some answers ya jerk!"
"You are in Hueco Mundo. You are a monster that feeds on souls now. You're here because you died and couldn't leave your home in peace. That thing beside you is also a Hollow."
"What? You're saying I'm a monster because I couldn't be at peace? I mean, I made a promise to Sakura that I didn't keep… But I'm going to be a monster in this world too?"
"You have memories of your life!"
Naruto blinked; his fear melting away as he talked to the creature. If they were the same, there was no reason to fear. This creature, a Hollow, might be able to help him find that Aizen guy, and then he might be able to do something about Sauske!
"Yeah, I remember it all. My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I WAS going to be Hokage someday."
"Amazing. No Hollow should ever have their memories unless another Hollow interfered! Who brought you here?" the Hollow said, curiosity rising in him. He had been a Hollow for more years than he could count, but had never heard of such a thing happening naturally.
"Some guy named Aizen or Sosuke, or something. He looked pretty weird, but not as weird as you." The former ninja replied, feeling right at home with the Hollow. It almost seemed like a dream- as if the creature wasn't even there.
"I've never heard of anyone called Aizen. Are you sure that was his name? And what do mean weird?"
"Well, he wore a white robe and had a katana, he could walk on air, and he opened up a weird hole in the sky."
"Is that how you got here? A hole in the sky?"
"Yeah. The guy opened it, and then led me through. I fell off the path though, so I didn't really know what it was."
"A hole in the sky… a garganta! You fell off the Reishi path and wound up here! You realize what this means? You could be 1000 years in the future, or 1000 years in the past!" the Hollow said, wonder filling his voice.
"Yeah, that's great and all, but what do I do now?"
"Well, first of all you need to take the Hollow's Reishi, and then I can teach you how to become strong with your new powers."
"Okay, but why are you helping me?"
"You're interesting. You see, I'm different from most Hollows. As I am one of the few Vasto Lordes, I have power beyond that of most Hollow. Vasto Lordes are able to have characteristics of their past life, and so I am very curious. Do you understand?"
"Not really."
"Oh well. I suppose I'll have to explain it later. Anyway, come on. Take your prey's Reishi and we can go somewhere where I can teach you how to survive this world."
Naruto finished, rose and followed, in wonder at this new friend. A Vasto Lorde? What was that? And all this about Hollows… Could he fulfill his promise to Sakura still? He didn't know a lot yet, but he did know this:
Whatever happens, he would fight for what he believes in.
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"So, you didn't die along with him."
"No, I didn't. My chakra is too great to die so easily."
Sasuke stared into the eyes of the Kyuubi, its massive form looming over the ninja.
"This is perfect. I can finally gain the power Naruto refused to use against me! I can just seal you into me, and I will have unlimited power!"
"You think it's that easy?" the Kyuubi responded, a foxy grin breaking his face.
"I hold the Sharingan and the Mangekyo Sharingan. There isn't anything I can't do!" Sasuke retorted smiling the insane smile he had started to develop as he ventured into the darkness.
"I won't let you do that, little brother."
Sasuke stared straight into the eyes of the Kyuubi, which had been replaced by the all-to-familiar eyes of Itachi.
"How are you still alive!" Sasuke shrieked, emotions overwhelming him. His brother was alive, but the feelings Sasuke had weren't that of brotherly love. He was afraid. He was afraid Itachi wouldn't approve of him; that Itachi would kill him.
"I transplanted a small part of my consciousness and my part of the Sharingan's power into the Uzumaki, and then entered the Kyuubi's mind. I did this so I could stop you if you should stray from the path I hoped you would follow."
"You're here to kill me? Your only brother?"
"Yes. You are no longer my brother."
Chapter 2:
"I see. Your life would DEFINITELY give you a good cause to be a Hollow. I mean, you were orphaned, abused, your best friend left you, a war was fought for your life, and then you had to kill your friend after you achieved your dream as Hokage. That surely doesn't leave you much chance to be at peace."
"Yeah…"
Naruto stood up and stretched in his new body. He was getting used to it, but the constant empty feeling inside made him uncomfortable.
"Hey, does this feeling ever go away?" Naruto asked, anxiety filling his voice.
"What feeling?" the Vasto Lorde replied.
"I feel empty, like I'm missing something, but its physical. I felt it go away for a brief second when I consumed the uhhh… Rayetsu or whatever It's called, but it came back very quickly."
"Ah. It is part of being a Gillian."
"Gillian? I thought I was a Hollow."
"You are. I'm going to explain this part to you simply. Gillian are the weakest Hollows. Everything about you is weak. A Shinigami wouldn't have any trouble cleansing you. Now…"
"Woah! A Sh… Shinigami!" Naruto shrieked, remembering his fear of the dead.
"Oh, I forgot to tell you. Shinigami are the souls who had peace, went to their place called Soul Society, then decided to fight us- the Hollows."
"So, they're the enemy?"
"Yes, kind of. Really, it's us who are the 'bad guys'."
"I'm confused."
The Hawk-man sighed. It wasn't going to be easy to teach this kid all he needed to be a Hollow, much less a Vasto Lorde. "I'm going to make this even simpler. You are a Gillian Hollow. If you absorb the power of 1000 souls, you can be an Adjucas. If you go beyond that and take 100,000 souls, you can be a Vasto Lorde, like me. Shinigami are the 'good guys' who try to cleanse us. Simple enough?"
"Yes, actually. The more souls I consume, the more powerful I get."
"Pretty much. Now, knowing that, what do you want to do?"
"What do you mean?"
"I can either teach you to fire a cero, or you can take your first human soul."
"What's a cero?"
The Vasto Lorde slapped his head. It wasn't going to be easy to teach this kid.
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"So, you've learned Susano'o. I may have to actually try now." Itachi said, the Kyuubi's voice mixing with his.
"I killed you before Itachi, I can do it again!"
"Oh really? Just how strong do you think you are?"
"I killed the Hokage! Something you didn't have the strength to do 20 years ago!" He screamed in reply.
"Fool. You had no idea, did you? You had no idea how much he was holding back."
"What?"
"He could've killed you in a heartbeat. In fact, if it weren't for your friendship he would've killed you long ago."
"Liar! He was weak!"
Suddenly, Sasuke's world went black. His surroundings were gone, the sky was gone, the forest was gone, the Kyuubi was gone, but Itachi was right in front of him. The Akasuki robe he had once wore was gone, and the clothes he wore when he massacred the Uchiha's were upon him again.
"I can no longer allow you to live Sasuke."
"You can't kill me! I'm stronger than you!"
"Idiot. I should be saying those words to you."
In a flash, Sasuke was running at Itachi, Chidori in hand. Itachi easily deflected it, sending Sasuke flailing to the black ground.
"You lack the hate to kill me a second time. You know the truth, so you no longer hate me. But the fact is… I hate you."
Itachi was beside him in a second, hands in an obscure seal Sasuke had never seen before.
"Summon."
There was a loud earthquake-like sound, then silence. Sasuke felt his spine shiver, and his body wouldn't move. His brother seemed to be having a conversation with something, but there wasn't anything there.
"Uchiha Itachi. Why have you summoned me, the Demon of the Dead?"
"I wish for you to take this man-my only brother. Take him to the place we discussed."
"Very well, in exchange for your life, I will take him to the place."
"Thank you."
Sasuke's vision started to fade. The world seemed do distant. His brother was gone, and he was alone in the darkness. Sleepiness took over. His eyes shut slowly, and his breathing grew slower. His memories faded and his mind slipped into the warm welcome of sleep.
Chapter 3:
Sasuke's eyes fluttered open. He noticed he was clothed in a pure white robe, and his hair was combed back. He was in a simple room, with a chair in one corner, a few mats, and a picture of a flower on a wall. He sat up and shook his hair so it was in the same general condition it usually was.
"Where am I?"
As he said this, he was suddenly overcome with the memories of Itachi and the Kyuubi. His head pounded with the surge of information. He would've screamed if he hadn't been used to the pain. It was dull compared to the Mangekyo's effects.
His attention turned from himself quickly as four people walked in. Their black-and-white robes flowed as they walked, giving them a regal look, although some of them didn't look like royalty. They all stared at the boy questioningly, but they remained silent. It wasn't long however before one spoke up.
"As you can see, this is the boy in the report: the one found lying in the precipice world."
They stared at him, wonder in their eyes. Sauske didn't like the stares, but he didn't do anything. It was best to keep quiet, since the past events told of some strange happenings. He didn't know if he should or even could use chakra, and if he offended them, he wouldn't know how to fight back.
"Hi, what's your name?" a woman with red hair and green eyes walked over to him and kneeled down beside him, smiling. Sauske was taken aback by her. She was friendly. REALLY friendly.
"Uchiha Sauske. Where am I?"
"Oh, that's quite a name! I'm Hanabira Suzuki, or Suzuki Hanabira if you remember it easier that way. You're in the Soul Society or the afterlife as some call it."
"Yeah." Said a man who also had red hair, although it was kind of spiky. "It means you died. Don't worry about your family though, if you came here it means they will do fine without you."
"Hmph, I wouldn't need to worry about my family anyway. They're all dead." The former Uchiha heir said, crossing his arms and turning his head down and a little to the left.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Said the woman, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. The rest just stared. Did he really just say that? His family was all dead? It wasn't the dead family part that disturbed them though.
"Captain Karumi!" said the one who hadn't spoken yet. His white hair spiked out a little in the front, and the spikes waved a little as he whipped his head around at the captain. The look of surprise on both their faces alerted Sauske that something was clearly wrong.
"You have your memories?" asked one with long blond hair. His hazel eyes were almost calming, but they seemed able to mislead thoughts easily. He seemed to be the leader, and the respect for him could be felt in the room.
"Yes."
"Well then, that's very interesting. We'll have to investigate further into this sometime. It was a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Uchiha." He said before turning and leaving. "For the rest of us, we must discuss some matters. You may stay here with Squad 5's captain." The man said, pointing at the man who had barely said anything. Sauske watched all but the one captain walk out, and then looked at the man. He seemed friendly enough, if simply un-hostile. Before the silence got too long, the captain spoke.
"Well, my name is Kin Ko, but most people just call me Kin or Captain. I don't care what you call me, but I guess you can follow me and I'll show you around."
Sauske complied silently, noticing that he felt strange walking. It wasn't that walking had changed; it was more like he had changed. He felt lighter and more agile, but he also felt something was missing… Chakra! He couldn't feel his chakra! Sauske shut his eyes for a second, trying to activate the Sharingan. When he opened his eyes, nothing had changed. It seemed his chakra was gone, maybe forever. He almost felt sad, and he would've if he hadn't already lost more than that.
"You must be pretty special." The man said, breaking Sauske's thoughts. "Not only do you have your memories, Captain Suzuki actually started a conversation. She barely ever speaks unless she knows the person well."
Sauske rolled his eyes. As far as he was concerned, she wasn't anything more than a fangirl.
They walked through a few halls, out a couple doors, and then they were outside. The man turned lazily to Sauske. "To start your tour, are ya gonna be a Shinigami?"
"It depends. What would I do as one?"
"Eh, go the living world, kill some monsters, send souls here, stuff like that."
"Are there any benefits?"
"Ya don't have to live in the Rukon district. That's where most of the civilians live, but it isn't as nice as here."
"I guess being a Shinigami wouldn't be so bad then."
"Well, if you become a Shinigami, you might die. Then, who knows what'll happen."
Sauske stared blankly. Of course being a Shinigami meant the risk of death! It came with the killing monster part of the deal. Did these people think he was a child?
"I'll become a Shinigami."
"Okay then." The man turned and led him down a road. As they walked, the man pointed out the various buildings, squad members, and other things of interest. Throughout the tour, Sauske noticed something.
"Where are the rest of the captains?"
"You noticed." the captain said, a bit of surprise in his voice. "Well, several travelled to Hueco Mundo for high-risk recon, and the others are injured from a recent battle with a band of rebel Quincy."
"What's Hueco Mundo and Quincy?"
The Captain sighed. He didn't want to teach this kid! It would be too much work! Why couldn't Hanabira or Head Captain Karumi do this? There had to be a way out of this…
Just as he was thinking this, his hopes came true.
"Captain Ko! Hollows in the 42nd sector of the Rukon District!" said a man in a Shinigami uniform as he came running up to the captain. He didn't solute like the others, and he looked the captain in the eye with a relaxed expression. There was a small smile on his face and he fidgeted with his sheathed sword.
"Well well. Looks like this day might not be so boring. You ready Aoi?"
"Are you kidding? I've wanted to fight even more now that 3 captains are in Hueco Mundo!"
"Good. Let's go. Sauske, you come too."
Sauske followed the pair, half filled with wonder. This was all new to him, unlike his former life. He felt not much different from when he was a genin in Konoha; when things were full and undiscovered. He felt nostalgia rise within him, and all he really wanted to do was fight.
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"Good! You're getting it!" the Vasto Lorde dodged quickly, avoiding a well-timed cero from our former hero. "It won't be long until you're ready to fight another Hollow with ease!"
Naruto fell to the ground exhausted. The training was almost as hard as the Pervy Sage's, and it was hard to control the cero. It wasn't anything like a jutsu, and controlling Reiatsu was a lot different from chakra.
"Your becoming strong, Uzumaki. If you continue to improve like this you just might make it to Vasto Lorde status."
"Thanks… hey, what's your name anyway?"
"My name? If you must know, it's Skriller. I don't really have much of a use for it anymore, since most Hollow are to unintelligent to remember it."
"Oh. Thanks Skriller." Naruto said, a smile lighting up his mask.
"It's no problem. You know, soon we can start working on your Hollow powers."
"Hollow powers? I thought the cero was my Hollow power!" the former boy said, confused. There was much more to learn, and it was all starting to be messed up in his head.
Skriller sighed. Teaching this boy wasn't going to be just not easy, it was going to be hard. VERY HARD. Maybe this kid wasn't the one…
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"They're coming our way."
"I know. Won't they be surprised Wrecker?"
"Yeah, I can't wait to see their faces when I kill them all!"
"Patience, we have to make sure they deliver the message first. Then you can kill them."
