Chapter Two: To Each His Own Zanpakuto

After the longed-for meal, Renji explained to them about Soul Reapers. "The mission of a Soul Reaper's mission is to send good souls, or 'Wholes', to Soul Society. We also purify the bad souls, or 'Hollows', so that they can enter Soul Society also."

"Is that all? That sounds like a boring job," Naruto commented.

Renji glared at him. "I'm not finished! We all have zanpakuto," he said, patting his sword, "which are manifestations of our spiritual energy and all have unique abilities."

Naruto still didn't look convinced. Neji ventured, "And you fight with these…zanpakuto?"

"Correct. We can also use kido, or the demon arts, when we fight against Hollows."

"…And that's it? Is that all there is to a Soul Reaper?"

Renji began to become impatient. "What do you mean, 'that's it'? Yes, a zanpakuto is all you need to defeat ordinary Hollows!"

The ninja sat in silence. No one felt like undertaking the immense task of briefing the lieutenant on why projectiles and jutsu were useful—no, essential—in a battle. Sakura asked, "When do we get our zanpakuto?"

"That's what I was getting to. See, usually people have to go to the Soul Reaper Academy to become Soul Reapers after many years of training. But, since you all have such enormous spiritual energy, you are going to become Soul Reapers first and learn everything in a few days, just like the great Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Who?"

"A Soul Reaper who lives on earth."

Shikamaru interjected, "But you just said that only dead people could become Soul Reapers."

"Never mind. It's complicated. Anyway, today you're going to get your Soul Reaper uniforms and start training." Renji brandished a black robe identical to the one he was wearing.

The ninja stared. "We have to where that thing? It's so boring!" Ino complained. "Can't we at least have different colors?"

"No. This is the standard Soul Reaper uniform that all Soul Reapers must wear."

None of the ninja were planning on taking him seriously, however. Already, they were planning on ways to alter their uniforms to their liking.

The next morning, Renji's jaw dropped as he saw the ninja. Naruto's was bright orange and black. Sasuke, as he had no fashion sense whatsoever and liked the emo color black, did not modify anything. Sakura's uniform was red and pink, with cherry blossom decorations all over it. There was a gap around the sleeves; they were connected to the rest of the outfit with red cords. Ino had sawed off a lot of her purple uniform, leaving a mini-skirt with a sleeveless top. Ten Ten's uniform was white with dark pink trim, Hinata's was white and lavender, and Temari's was also purple. Shino somehow attached a high collar and hood to his uniform, while Gaara's uniform was a dull red. Lee wore a green uniform and Neji wore a white one. The rest kept the uniform as it was, even though Kankuro felt oddly exposed without his usual cap.

"Do all lieutenants gape like that?" Neji asked, trying to make Renji get on with it. "Our sewing skills aren't that bad!"

Renji shut his mouth. "Uh, that is…you all should have received your zanpakuto by now."

Naruto checked his side. "Hey, I have one!"

"We all have one," Shikamaru replied pointedly.

"Okay, now, the first thing you need to do is learn how to use your zanpakuto—"

Sasuke sighed with impatience. "I already know how to use a sword."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean the rest of us do," Naruto shot back.

A vein throbbed on Renji's forehead. "Shut up, you two! The point is that you need to learn the name of your zanpakuto to increase your power. Every zanpakuto has a name and some have a physical form as well. For example…" Renji unsheathed his own zanpakuto. "Roar, Zabimaru!"

The ninja watched as Renji's ordinary-looking sword transformed into a many-sectioned weapon. Renji demonstrated how the segments could extend and retract. "This is called the initial release, or shikai. Every zanpakuto's initial release is different. There's also something called the final release, or bankai, which is a highly advanced technique that is only known to captains, with the exception of Ichigo Kurosaki, myself, and a third seat Soul Reaper."

"That technique doesn't sound very advanced, then," Shino said.

"What does the final release look like?" Ten Ten asked.

"It depends on the zanpakuto," was Renji's vague answer.

The ninja weren't ready to give up, however. "Come on, show us yours," Kiba said eagerly.

"No way. It uses too much spiritual energy. I'm not going to do my bankai just to show you lot."

Kankuro sniggered. "Guess that means you can't do it, then. Come on, let's find someone who is willing to show us."

A vein popped visibly on the side of Renji's face. "Okay, you asked for it!" He held Zabimaru in front of him. "Ban…kai!"

As the ninja looked on, Zabimaru transformed into a giant, skeletal snake. A furry cowl was draped over Renji's shoulders. "So this is the final release, you say?" Shino asked.

"My final release." The next moment, the snake had disappeared and Zabimaru looked like an ordinary katana again. He sheathed his zanpakuto. "But maintaining bankai costs a lot of spiritual energy."

"You said that already." Naruto grinned to himself. Oh, there was no chance of that happening to him. Not with the spiritual energy of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox that lived inside of him.