Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach.

Author's Note: Welcome to the first chapter of my new story, "The Wandering Shinobi." This is a Sasuke-centered fanfic, but Naruto, Ichigo, and other Naruto and Bleach characters will be making an appearance in this story later on. This is a test story, so if I end up not liking it after a few weeks, I will be taking it down. Anyways, I hope that you guys enjoy the first chapter, and please make sure to leave a review if you liked or disliked anything about this story.

Information:

- An italicized paragraph means that it's a flashback.

- Although I may be off by a little (or a lot), 100,000 yen is equivalent to about 1,000 dollars.

Chapter 1: The Wanderer in Rukongai

If you think I'm just a foolish kid ruled by his emotions, that's fine. Following Itachi's path would be childish, the whispering of fools who don't know hatred. If anyone else tries to ridicule the way I live, I'll slaughter everyone they ever cared about. And then maybe they'll understand what it's like to taste… a little of my hatred…

- Uchiha Sasuke

|North Rukongai|

A gust of wind passed through the nearly deserted area as a figure walked across the desert clearing and into a nearby tavern. All heads in the room looked up and turned towards the entrance as the wooden double doors creaked open, their suspicious eyes boring into the stranger as he walked into the old-fashioned bar.

As he walked across the room, the people in the room continued to stare at him suspiciously. The waitresses and female servers blushed as they glanced at his face, taken aback by his handsome features.

The figure was a fair-skinned male with piercing onyx eyes and black chin-length hair with bangs that roughly framed the sides of his cheeks along with a spiked back. His face could have been considered extremely attractive, and he had a lean yet fairly muscular figure. He was dressed in a zippered grey high-collared shirt with short sleeves and blue wrist warmers on his forearms along with dark blue pants that had a dark purple cloth hanging from halfway up to his stomach down to his knees. His outfit was completed with a purple rope belt tied into a bow where a sheathed chokutō hung from, and he wore a pair of dark blue open-toed sandals.

As he ordered a drink, a certain individual with dirty brown hair and blue eyes known the troublemaker of the district glared at the figure in jealously as all of the women in the bar turned their attention to him. Che! he scoffed in his head. Just who does that guy think he is? Slowly getting up from his seat, he walked over to the new arrival and leaned on the counter next to him. "So…" he started casually. "What's a little kid like you doing in such a dangerous place like this? Shouldn't you get home before your mommy starts worrying about you?"

…

The individual, who had been quietly looking down at his drink, slowly lifted his head and glanced at the person beside him out of the corner of his eyes. "Beat it." When he spoke, his voice was flat and masculine with a dark tone in it. After telling the stranger off, he returned to looking down at his drink, an unreadable expression on his face.

The troublemaker clenched his jaw in anger as he heard a couple of people snickering around him while some of the waitresses giggled out loud, hiding their mouths with their trays. "Why you…!" Slamming his hands down on the counter in anger, he grabbed the newcomer's shoulder and spun him around, drawing his right arm back for a blow. "Don't talk to me with that cocky tone, kid! I'll beat the shit out of-!" He suddenly stopped talking as the new figure grabbed his wrist, lifting it off of his shoulder and twisting it as he threw him into a nearby table in a single smooth and fluid motion.

THUD! The brown-haired figure yelled out in surprise as he completely smashed the table with his heavy figure, causing the drinks to spill over and the customers that were seated around it to jump up out of their seats in surprise.

"Ugh…" The figure rubbed the back of his head as he looked up at the ceiling in a daze. "What the hell just happened…?" He suddenly blinked and looked down as he felt something cold prick the nape of his neck. Lowering his gaze from the ceiling, his eyes rested on the new figure that was standing over him, his sword at his throat. "Wh-Who are y-you…?" he asked nervously, his eyes wide with fright at the thought of his life ending so suddenly.

The figure narrowed his eyes as he stared down at the man, a blank expression on his face as he answered. "My name is Uchiha… Sasuke."

…

The brown-haired figure blinked in surprise as the newcomer suddenly spun around, sheathing his sword as he walked back towards the entrance of the bar. It was only when the dangerous individual completely left the bar that he let out the breath that he had been unconsciously holding the whole entire time, sighing in relief as he touched the spot on his neck where the stranger's sword had been pressing against.

...Once he had exited the bar, Sasuke looked up at the sky, closing his eyes as he breathed in the cool air of the morning. The day's only just begun and it's started out so annoying… I wonder if the rest of the day will go just as bad… Sighing exhaustedly, he shook off his depressing thoughts and continued onwards.

Finding a quiet and secluded spot up in the mountains a little while later, Sasuke unfastened his chokutō from his makeshift belt and set it on the flat rock beside him. Stretching out his arms and legs, he then proceeded to carry out his daily morning exercises, which was composed of a set of three hundred push-ups and sit-ups as well as numerous other exercises that involved stretching out all of his limbs and maintaining his flexibility and agility.

After completing his daily exercise routines, he grabbed his sword from the rock and proceeded to walk down the mountain.

Once he had reached the nearby Rukongai district, the first thing that Sasuke did was walk up to a nearby tavern in order to check the bounty status that was frequently posted on various taverns by Seireitei. In order to better maintain the peace throughout the four Rukongai regions without having to constantly deploy the Gotei 13 throughout the areas, Central 46 had decided to mark various criminals that they had deemed dangerous in their eyes as bounties, offering a big reward to anyone who killed off these bounties. The bounty hunters were then to take the bounties to one of the numerous bounty exchange offices that were stationed throughout Soul Society in order to exchange the bounties for the reward money.

The first bounty that caught Sasuke's eyes was a male named Senju, who, according to the bounty picture, was a fairly long black-haired male with dark brown eyes that had terrorized numerous citizens in district #78 in North Rukongai. The bounty was considered extremely dangerous, and the bounty reward was 100,000 Kan.

Hmmm… Sasuke blinked as he glanced over the other bounties. The first bounty is in district #78, which is about a day's journey from where I'm at right now, but still… it's a lot closer than any of the other bounties… Sighing as he rolled his neck, he turned around and started off in the direction of the district that the bounty was located at.

Later that night…

Sasuke sighed as he sat down on the grass, leaning back against a large flat rock as he sighed in exhaustion from having walked over ten hours nonstop. Drinking water from a slender bamboo container, he looked up at the night sky and stared at the numerous stars in the sky.

I wonder… If tōsan and kaasan were still alive, would they be among the stars, or… are they alive somewhere, just waiting for me to find them…? But then again, I can't remember what they look like… I wonder if they resemble me at all… Frowning at how pathetic he must look having such a childish conversation with himself, Sasuke shook off his thoughts again for the second time that day and leaned his head back against the smooth surface of the rock. Closing his eyes, he grew still as he waited for sleep to overtake him.

…

A young Sasuke laughed out loud from his spot on his brother's back. "Nii-san, will I ever be a great ninja like you?"

Sasuke's brother turned his head to face him and gave his younger brother a big smile. "I'm sure that you will, Sasuke. Just make sure that you try your best and do well in all of your classes, and you'll become a great ninja in no time."

"Really?!" asked Sasuke excitedly. As he opened his mouth to say something, he suddenly closed his mouth and frowned. "But still… Even if I do become strong like you, tōsan will just say that I became like you… I sometimes think that all he cares about is you and not me…" Sasuke sniffed as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

Sasuke's older brother gave him a sad smile as he turned around, his face hidden from Sasuke. "Sasuke, tōsan might seem like that at first, but trust me when I say that he loves you dearly… Also…" As Sasuke gave him an inquiring look, he turned around and gave him a big loving smile that even surprised young Sasuke.

"If you ever need me, then just ask," he said in a warm and caring voice. "As your brother, I will always be there for you."

…

Sasuke opened his eyes, a blank expression on his face as he stared up at the bright stars in the sky. What… was that…? And the person who I was laughing and talking with… Who was he…?

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Sasuke's eyes widened as he heard a shrill scream pierce the air. "What was that?!" Quickly grabbing his chokutō that lay on the grass by his side, he quickly sprang up and sped towards the direction of the scream, the wind pelting his face as he streaked across the clearing.

… Once he reached the source of the scream, he found a group of towering Hollows standing over a figure clad in black, their arms drawn back in preparation of an attack. Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke unsheathed his sword and leapt into the air, swiftly dispatching the group of Hollows in a matter of mere seconds.

When he finished, he spun his sword in his hand and sheathed it in a single smooth movement. Turning his head, Sasuke glanced back at the figure that lay on the ground behind him. The figure was a female that seemed to be in her early twenties, and she was an orange-haired curvaceous female with a very attractive face. She was also clad in a black kimono-like robe that exposed her large busty cleavage.

"Th-Thank you," stuttered the woman in a very smooth and feminine voice. "I guess that I just got taken by surprise… It's embarrassing for me to have gotten caught off guard like that against a few Hollows." Getting up, she dusted the back of her robe and gave Sasuke a big smile in thanks. "Well anyways, thanks again for-." She stopped in mid-sentence as Sasuke turned around, exposing his face to her. Wh-Whoa… He's such a handsome fellow…! "Th-Thanks again for y-your help," she finished in a nervous stutter.

Sasuke stared at her through narrowed eyes for a brief moment before responding. "Yea… No problem." He then looked over her entire figure curiously. "Your robe… You're a Shinigami, aren't you?"

The woman seemed surprised by his question. "Well… yea! Isn't it obvious?" She copied Sasuke and glanced over him as well. "And as for you… I don't recognize your style of clothing… Even if you were from the first ten districts of Rukongai, your clothing seems a little too fancy and unique to have come from there… Who are you…? What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Sasuke," he replied curtly. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Well, I'm the jubantai-fukutaichou, Matsumoto Rangiku," said the woman with a smile. She extended out her right hand, which Sasuke took and shook after a moment of hesitation. "It's nice to meet you."

Giving her a curt nod, Sasuke withdrew his hand and turned around to leave. The Shinigami seemed surprised by this and reached out her hand to stop him. "Wait, you're going already?"

Sasuke stopped and glanced back at her. "Don't you have some job to finish?" And with that, he turned his head to face forward and disappeared with a wisp of smoke, his speed surprising the Shinigami.

Rangiku rubbed the back of her neck as she stared at the spot where Sasuke was just at. "Uchiha Sasuke, huh…?"

|District #78, North Rukongai, Soul Society|

The next day…

Sasuke studied the faces in the village as he entered the heart of district #78, having just arrived at the border just over an hour ago. Now… Where could he be…? As he glanced around the village, he grinned slightly as his eyes found a nearby tavern that seemed to be attracting quite a number of people. Well well well, this should be easy… In these areas, a big crowd means a big fight, and a big fight… will definitely lead me to the bounty.

… As he entered the tavern, he found exactly what he was looking for. In the center of the crowd was a bar fight between his bounty Senju and three other people. Although the fight was three versus one, Senju seemed to be easily gaining the upper hand.

Grabbing a nearby opponent, Senju twisted his wrist and threw him onto a nearby table, completely reducing it into a pile of large splinters. Quickly spinning around, he smashed his elbow into another opponent's stomach, effectively knocking him out of the fight. The last opponent seemed hesitant to fight him, but there was nowhere to run as the exits were sealed off by the large crowd.

Grimacing, he grabbed a piece of wood with a sharp splintered end and ran towards Senju with a hoarse scream. "Hah!" laughed Senju maniacally. "Give me a better fight!" And with that, he grabbed the splintered wood barehanded and snapped it in half. Grabbing the final opponent by his throat, Senju swung him behind him and threw him across the bar where he landed in front of Sasuke's feet.

…

The bar grew silent as Sasuke picked the wounded figure up, helping him to the right side of the bar and propping him up against the wall. Turning from his spot to face Senju, Sasuke grabbed the hilt of his sword that was worn horizontally on his back and stared at him with a leveled look on his face. "So… You're the bounty, am I right?"

"Heh!" Senju grinned maliciously as he cracked his knuckles in anticipation. "Quite a cocky brat, aren't you?" Looking around at everyone in the bar, he bent down and picked up the fallen opponent that was lying on the ground behind him, holding him up so that everyone could see his limp figure. "Anyone that doesn't help me beat the shit out of this snot-nosed little brat will end up like him!"

"Oh?" Sasuke looked amused by this although his face remained blank save for a slight twitch out of the corner of his mouth that hinted the start of a grin. "So you need the help of your friends to beat a snot-nosed little brat up? Maybe the bounty was over exaggerating when it stated that you were 'extremely dangerous.'"

"What… did you just say…?!" Senju's bloodthirsty grin suddenly turned into a scowl of rage as he grabbed the sheathed katana that hung by his side. "You'll definitely pay for that comment, kid! Everyone, get him!"

The bar seemed to erupt in a roar as a large number of the crowd threw themselves at Sasuke, suddenly caught up in the heat of the fight. "Yea, let's get him!" yelled out a random opponent excitedly.

"Don't let that punk get away!"

"Let's kick his ass for Senju-sama!"

Che…! Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he withdrew his chokutō halfway from its' sheath. Looks like there's no avoiding it… Quickly spinning around, he slammed the end of the hilt of his sword into one of the individual's stomach, easily knocking him out. Weaving in and out in order to dodge five more opponents that came flying towards him, he completely unsheathed his chokutō and skillfully used the hilt as a weapon, dispatching all five of them plus another five with relative ease. Flipping over onto his hands, he spun around and knocked back another three opponents with his feet before flipping back over onto his feet and effectively knocking them out of the battle with simple elbows and knees to the chest.

Cracking his neck with his hands, Sasuke sighed as he stared at Senju with a blank look on his face. As an opponent that was creeping up behind him leapt forward, he sidestepped him and slammed him down into the ground with an elbow to his back. The remainder of the opponents nervously backed away, leaving just the Uchiha and his opponent in the middle of the bar.

"Now…" Sasuke looked up at his bounty, narrowing his eyes as he leisurely unsheathed his chokutō. "All that's left is you… Make your move, bounty."

Senju grinned as he unsheathed his katana, revealing its' sleek silver blade to the Uchiha. The katana had a plain rectangular grey tsuba as well as a plain grey hilt. "This is my sword- my Zanpakuto. You have no chance of beating me now, brat."

"A… Zanpakuto…?" Sasuke looked surprised by this, as he had seen the female Shinigami's Zanpakuto from earlier, which was much different than the bounty's own. "The bounty notice never said that you were a Shinigami… What's a Shinigami like you doing in Rukongai?"

"Don't worry about the little details," replied Senju blankly. "Just consider it an honor that you're dying by my hands, brat… You're a hundred years too early to die by-." He was suddenly stopped in mid-sentence by Sasuke who had suddenly appeared in front of him, swinging his sword in a wide arc in an attempt to bisect him from the waist down. S-So fast!

Jumping back as fast as his legs would allow him, Senju was barely able to evade being cut in half; however, the tip of Sasuke's blade still managed to cut into his stomach, giving him a long shallow cut that stretched all the way across his stomach.

"Che!" Senju scoffed as he grabbed at his stomach wound, barely able to keep a straight face as a drop of sweat rolled down his face. "So fast… You're not an average kid, are you?"

Sasuke tilted his head to the side as he continued to stare silently at his bounty. "Apparently not." Spinning his weapon in his hand, Sasuke whipped his sword out by his side as he took a step towards Senju. "Already about to collapse from a single stomach wound? Instead of having left Seireitei, I find it easier to believe that you weren't able to become a Shinigami."

His face distorting in anger, Senju gripped his katana tightly as he jumped up, rushing at Sasuke with an enraged aura enveloping him. "SHUT THE HELL UP, BRAT!" he roared as he sped towards his calm opponent. "WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE TALKING TO ANYWAYS?! JUST DIE ALREADY!"

As calm as ever, Sasuke twirled his sword in his hand and whipped it out in front of him, catching the enraged Shinigami by the side of his neck.

The entire crowd grew silent as Sasuke calmly sheathed his sword, and a few of the women screamed in horror as Senju's severed head rolled on the ground, coming to a halt beside the Uchiha's feet. Looking down at the limp body of the former Shinigami, Sasuke ignored it and instead grabbed the severed head by the hair, lifting it up and carefully wrapping it in a tablecloth from a nearby table. With that, he took the wrapped up head with him as he coolly walked over to the headless body, ignoring the quiet bystanders as they silently watched his every move.

Once he reached the body, he looked down at the katana that was held in Senju's death grip and pried it loose from his still warm dead fingers. "Hmmm… Nice sword," he said, and with that, he took both the sword and its' scabbard and hung it on his back through his rope belt, walking out of the tavern without another word.

|The Outskirts of District #45, North Rukongai, Soul Society|

Three days later…

Sasuke yawned as he stopped near the outskirts of district #45. This was where one of the bounty exchange offices was located at. Well, I might as well get going… Stretching out his legs, he stared out at the sunrise, the sun's rays peeking out through the horizon to resemble a blood-soaked sky. Heh… How fitting…

… As he entered the district, all heads turned to face him, the people of the village obviously never having seen someone dressed so strangely as him. Looking around the central area of the village, Sasuke glanced around his surroundings until he found what he was looking for.

There, in a fancy building that stood out above the others, was where the bounty exchange office was located at. The building itself was actually where numerous hopefuls applied to get the chance to enter the Shin'ō Academy. The bounty exchange office was located inside of the building, and that was where Sasuke was headed.

Inside of the building was a long line of applicants whose ages ranged from twenty to even a hundred. As this was the Spirit World, people aged at a much slower rate. Looking around the building, Sasuke slung the wrapped up head of his bounty over his shoulder and walked up to the desk where a female Shinigami was seated behind. So they have Shinigami run these places…? As he reached the desk, he noticed that the woman barely looked like she was in her twenties, and she was blushing furiously as she caught sight of his face.

"H-How may I h-help you, s-sir?" asked the helper in a nervous stutter.

Suppressing an annoyed sigh, Sasuke opened his mouth to reply. "I'm looking for the bounty exchange office."

"O-Oh, of course!" The female Shinigami got up out of her seat and walked towards the back room hurriedly. Sasuke could've sworn that he heard some kind of excited squeal coming from there as soon as the woman entered the room.

The woman came out of the room a moment later and motioned towards the door on Sasuke's right. "P-Please go through that door on your right," she said. "The bounty collectors are w-waiting for you. They just finished business with another bounty hunter, s-so you should be able to go in right away."

Giving her a nod in thanks, Sasuke turned around and walked towards the door. Once he reached it, he laid his hand on the doorknob, and, after a second of waiting, turned it, walking into the room without further notice.

… As Sasuke walked into the room, he noticed that the room itself was fairly empty save a sleek metal table that lay on the far left side of the room. There were also cabinets built into the wall in the front of the room, and the only people there save Sasuke was two figures clad in black kimonos, showing that they were indeed Shinigami like the helper up front.

The figure on the left was, much to Sasuke's surprise, a short male with messily spiked up white hair and turquoise blue eyes. Although he barely looked like a kid, it was obvious that he was a Shinigami. What was even more surprising to Sasuke, however, was the fact that he also had on a white sleeveless haori, which was the universal term for that person being a captain. Th-That kid is a captain…? said Sasuke to himself. He's definitely extremely young, yet he has a powerful and ice-cold aura surrounding him…

Looking to the figure on the right, Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the extremely busty orange-haired female. It's that Shinigami from before…!

The two figures, who were hunched over the table studying some documents, looked up and turned around at the sound of the door opening. Rangiku, the busty female, looked shocked at the appearance of Sasuke. "No way!" She seemed overjoyed to see him, much to Sasuke's distaste. "Sasuke-kun, was it?" After receiving a curt nod from him, Rangiku introduced him to the young captain, explaining how they had met earlier.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, this is the guy that I was telling you about! Sasuke-kun was the one who saved me from the group of Hollows that-!"

"Oh?" drawled Hitsugaya, crossing his arms as he glared at his now-mentioned vice-captain. "I don't remember you mentioning that part about the trouble with the Hollows, Matsumoto… I thought you said that you saved him, am I right…?"

"Heh heh," chuckled Rangiku nervously. "W-Well, I uh-…. Well, you see captain, I-…!"

"Save it," growled her captain in an annoyed voice. He then turned to face Sasuke. "So you're Uchiha Sasuke, am I correct?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued. "I guess that you've come for your bounty reward?"

"Yea…" Throwing the severed head as well as the bounty paper on the table, Sasuke watched the young Shinigami as he went over to the wall cabinet and pulled out a large and fairly new tan sack full of Kan. Placing it down on the metal table, the young captain looked up at Sasuke. "Here's your bounty. Congratulations on having caught him, Uchiha Sasuke…" Noticing Sasuke's slight frown, Hitsugaya looked at him curiously. "You look like you have a question. What is it?"

"Why is a captain and his vice-captain doing bounty work?" asked Sasuke curiously. "I would've thought that a captain would have much more important matters to attend to rather than giving out rewards for bounties."

"That's a good point," sighed Hitsugaya as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well, the truth is that we tend to check up on the various Rukongai regions quite frequently. The bigwigs in Seireitei ordered a squad to be posted in this district in order to assess the ryoka situation."

"The ryoka… situation…?"

The jubantai-taichou nodded. "Apparently five intruders from the World of the Living broke into Soul Society in order to rescue the felon Kuchiki Rukia. We just received word of this a few days ago, so my division was dispatched here in order to assess the situation."

Sasuke's eyes widened at the name "Kuchiki," obviously having heard of that name before. "Wait… Did you say 'Kuchiki?' I feel like I've heard that name before… Isn't it one of those Four Noble Families? Why would she…?"

"You're correct. She's the adopted sister of the 28th Head of the Kuchiki Family, Kuchiki Byakuya," explained Rangiku. "She was arrested and put on trial for execution for the crime of transferring her Shinigami powers to a human. Kuchiki-taichou and his vice-captain have already gone to the World of the Living and eliminated the human, but as for Rukia…" Her voice trailed off as she looked down at the floor, a look of sorrow on her face. Sighing, she looked back up at Sasuke after a brief moment of silence. "Anyways, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but if you ever happen to see any of the ryoka, please-."

"No thanks." Picking up his reward money, Sasuke turned around and started off towards the door. "Thanks for the information, but the ryoka are none of my business. I don't plan on wasting my time looking for something that has nothing to do with me."

Right as Sasuke reached for the doorknob, Hitsugaya spoke, stopping him. "Hey, Uchiha Sasuke…"

Sasuke glanced back at the captain, a blank expression on his face. "What is it?"

"Is that…" Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes as he eyed the second of the two swords that hung from the rope on Sasuke's back. "… a Zanpakuto? Where on earth did you manage to get one of those?"

Letting out a light scoff, Sasuke turned back around and opened the door. "Look at the head of the bounty. I'm sure that you'll recognize your own kind." And with that, he walked out of the room, the door softly closing shut behind him.

Rangiku frowned, a wistful glint in her sorrowful eyes. Sasuke…

…

Outside the building, Sasuke looked toward the risen sun in the east. It's already morning… So much time has passed already… Glancing towards the horizon, Sasuke blinked as he started off towards the distance.

|District #60, North Rukongai, Soul Society|

One month later…

A soft breeze of wind rustled Sasuke's hair, causing it to sway to the side as he cut across the open plain. It had been one month since his last meeting with the two Shinigami, and he hadn't met a single one since. He had also been constantly meditating with his Asauchi, curious to hear its' voice; however, he had heard nothing.

Stopping near a large flat rock that stood in the middle of the plain, Sasuke sat in a meditative pose and laid his nameless Zanpakuto over his lap. Taking a deep breath, he calmed his mind and allowed his body to relax. As his mind began to float into a meditative state, he thought back to his meeting with Rangiku approximately one month ago.

… "Sasuke, wait!"

Sasuke looked back from his spot in front of the building of the bounty exchange office to see Rangiku running towards him. "It's you, huh? What do you want?"

Stopping in front of him, Rangiku gave him a smile as she touched the hilt of the Zanpakuto that he taken from the dead Shinigami bounty. "This is called an Asauchi," she said suddenly, her voice soft and gentle. "It's basically a nameless Zanpakuto, which is why it looks so much different from mine. If you want to gain a real Zanpakuto, what you need to do is meditate with it and pour your soul into it."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he stared at the female Shinigami. "What are you suddenly-?"

"I'm telling you this because I feel like you have the makings of a Shinigami," she explained. "Meditating with your Zanpakuto is something that was developed over a thousand years ago, and it's called Jinzen. If you really want to gain a Zanpakuto, try it out. You might find yourself becoming interested in it, and if you want, just come and seek me out in Seireitei. I'll help you become a Shinigami if you ever choose to become one."

…

Sasuke sighed as he frowned in frustration. It's been exactly a month since I've tried this Jinzen thing out, and yet I can't-.

"Sasuke…"

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as he felt something touch his mind, but he kept his eyes closed and continued to keep a relaxed mind and pose. That voice… Was that…?

"Sasuke…"

"Wh-Who are you…?" asked Sasuke mentally. "Are you my Zanpakuto…?"

Sasuke heard a sort of a deep chuckle that shook his mind slightly, and when the voice spoke again, Sasuke suddenly noticed that the voice was a light and masculine with an eerie echo that resounded throughout the chambers of his mind. "Perhaps," answered the voice softly. "You've been searching for my presence for quite a while, and I think that you're finally ready to meet me…"

Sasuke felt a grin tug on the corner of his mouth as he spoke. "So what's your name, friend of mine…?"

…

"My name is Raiden-ryū, and I am your Zanpakuto."

Translations:

- Tōsan: Father.

- Jubantai: 10th Division.

- Raiden-ryū: Lightning Current.

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