Chapter two
Enter Las Noches
"Naruto!" Tsunade called out to the blonde haired boy as he sprinted out of her office and towards the garganta. "Idiot!" she muttered while lifting herself out of her chair to stop Naruto getting to the source of energy alone.
Although Naruto was fast, Tsunade was faster. He turned his head to see her running next to him right before she stood before him, blocking his way and clutching his shoulder to force him to stop, her brows furrowed in frustration and worry as she stared down into turbulent blue orbs.
"We can't make any rash decisions especially if they're after you, you can't just run off by yourself like that! What're you trying to do? Run straight into a likely trap? It is definitely the same presence I felt the last time they were here but we can't say for sure it's the same people" barked Tsunade. The older woman sighed and tightly shut her eyes in a moment of contemplation while pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I can't just-"
"Yes yes, I know, sit idly by, etc. You're a ninja of Konoha, Naruto. That means you must follow the codes and conducts of what that means and trust in your comrades. At least wait for me before running off on your own. Don't single yourself out and take all the responsibility for something thats not in your control. Now, let's go."
Naruto stared up at Hokage almost in awe, the strongest ninja in the village as he let a gentle smile fall on his lips and his features soften. This quickly faded as his eyes narrowed cheekily and his smile turned into a smirk. "Did you just say we were equals granny Tsunade?" Naruto teased.
"Keep dreaming kid! Are you coming or not?" retorted Tsunade as she already had her back turned towards Naruto, running towards the mass of energy.
"Hey! Wait up granny Tsunade!"
"Lord Aizen" Ulquiorra greeted "It appears the humans have sensed the presence of the garganta. Your instructions, sir?"
"Ulquiorra" Aizen started "Let's see how this plays out, it'd be better if they came here of their own freewill, don't you think?" the former shinigami questioned with a complacent smile.
"Yes, lord Aizen."
Tsunade and Naruto reached the garganta that had been placed where the Espadas had arrived the last time, they vaguely made out a figure already standing at the strange opening. "Kakashi?" called Tsunade as she and Naruto came to a halt right behind the man.
"Lady Tsunade" Kakashi greeted. "So, you felt it too from way over in the village huh?"
"Kakashi sensei" Naruto started before Tsunade could answer "You didn't tell me you fought first hand with the enemies."
"As I said Naruto, I couldn't disclose some information to you."
"What is this Kakashi?" interrupted Tsunade "Is this related to the incident that happened recently?"
"It is. I don't know what this is exactly but from what I saw, it seems as though they use it as some sort of transportation to Hueco Mundo" replied the white haired ninja.
"I see… At least this makes things easier with infiltrating their unit, frankly it would've taken all night to imitate and stabilise the energy particles needed to materialise one of those things. But I can't ignore the fact that this is all too convenient for us."
"I doubt one of these can just randomly appear, especially when a planned attack happened in this same spot. I can't say I trust it."
"Kakashi, make sure this is kept under strict discretion and nobody enters it. We need to make a strategy before we act but the mission is still underway tomorrow morning, this is becoming a matter of important urgency."
"Wait wait wait" Naruto began "Do we even have a team yet? I mean, Kakashi sensei is strong and you're staring at the future hokage but who knows how many of them are on the other side of that!"
"Well if you didn't storm out of my office, I could've filled you in with the mission details and your assigned squad" retorted Tsunade.
"Seems like our team is already here anyway. I hope you don't mind Lady Tsunade, I called them here when this thing opened."
"Heh" Tsunade let out a small smile "Looks like we can start strategising now after all Naruto."
The blonde haired boy turned around to see Guy, Hinata, Shikamaru, Yamato and Sakura running towards the gaping hole. "You guys!?" Naruto exclaimed.
"Ah so Naruto is on the team too now?" Guy stated "It's always nice having the power of youth on our side" the big browed man said as he held his thumb in the air.
"Don't you stop officially being a youth after the age of 24 though?" Yamato questioned.
"Ha ha! You're only as old as you feel my friend" Guy responded.
"N-Naruto, it's nice to have you…" Hinata greeted without making eye contact although was distracted when she all of a sudden saw Naruto rubbing a swollen lump on his head.
"Owww, Sakura why'd you do that!?" Naruto whimpered.
"You idiot, I overheard your conversation with Lady Tsunade when you ran out of the office, can't you ever just do what you're told?" Sakura lectured wrathfully.
While Sakura was jeering at Naruto, Shikamaru's attention had drifting towards the clouds "sometimes I wonder why I never went after the apple pie and white picket fence life" he thought indifferently.
"That's enough" Tsunade commanded, raising her voice to get the attention of her subordinates "There's time for chit chat later, right now there are more important matters to address, we're wasting daylight. Kakashi, since you'll be leading this mission, what are your thoughts on this?"
"I think our best chance at gathering intel would be through this portal" Kakashi contributed "Although we are unaware of whether this is just a coincidence or if it was sent here on purpose, we now have a way in and our team is made up of ninja who could be tactically compatible with defeating our enemy."
After a moment of silence Tsunade nodded her head in agreement. "Seeing as you've dealt with the enemy, you know how capable our opponents are, I'm trusting you with this Kakashi. You will all be entering through the portal at first light. We'll still use the information we gathered to hold this portal open so there's no risk of you getting stuck over there"
After going through the mission details with the team, Naruto flopped over his bed on his back as he lightly patted his belly "Ah, there's nothing like Ichiraku to settle the nerves but I probably ate too much, I feel like I'm gonna explode" he thought to himself aloud, not noticing the soft glow around the nine tails seal.
He got off of his bed and started to change into his pyjamas, preparing himself for a good nights sleep. As soon as the the hairs on his head grazed the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep induced by mental exhaustion from stress of the situation that was happening all too fast for him to follow properly.
"Naruto" echoed a low growl "Naruto!"
"Huh?" the blonde haired boy sleepily lifted his hand and groggily waved it side to side as if signalling whoever was calling him to quiet down.
"Naruto, don't ignore me" it growled again, more aggressively this time.
"Who…?" he asked still half asleep.
"Who else could possibly be inside your head besides me you brat."
Naruto's eyes shot open. He was surrounded by water and grim lighting as he stood before large red bars and stared into familiar angry eyes. He almost forgot this place existed within his very self, the place the fourth hokage sealed the kyuubi in.
His eyes narrowed "It's weird how I could feel so awake but yet I'm still asleep" he muttered to himself as he stepped forward slightly. "What do you want? Why are you talking to me after all this time now?"
"As much as I hate being imprisoned in a prat like you, I'd take that over being used by things that aren't of this world. I can help you defeat them easily Naruto, just accept me."
"I know what you're trying to do and I'm not buying it this time, I'm not letting you take control again" Naruto stated with clear resolve as he let his eyes sink down to his feet remembering his attack on Sakura while he had been immersed in the nine tails cloak.
"Don't be stupid boy, every time you've undergone something you can't handle it's my chakra that sees you through. Where do you think you'd be without me?"
"After all these years, I'd think that you would know me better than anyone" Naruto confidently said "I don't need your power, you hear me? Because I can do this without you." The young boy stood in front of the cage as he searched through the darkness to find a trace of the kyuubi besides the crimson eyes that glowed with heavy anger towards the boy. "You're a pest, you know that? But I'm gonna make sure nobody gets to you without getting through me first" Naruto declared with an assuring grin painting the surface of his face "Don't misjudge my own power, even if I'm on my last legs I'll still find a way to take 'em out!"
A silence fell over the conversation as the Kyuubi didn't lift his furious glare from the boy on the other side of the bars. "Don't say I didn't warn you, brat" the crimson orbs slowly faded into the darkness on the opposing side of the cage and everything seemed to fall around the blonde boy left alone in the dark. A small beeping noise was becoming louder and louder until everything became black.
Naruto opened his eyes to see he was in his room with rays of light beaming in through his window over his bed, showering his being in the first rays of light for the day. He lifted his hand and shuffled around for awhile to get his bearings so he could hush the beeping which was his alarm clock.
Tsunade stood before the ninjas who are assigned to the Hueco Mundo mission with the portal to the other world behind them. They stood in a straight line as she began wishing them good luck as well as reminding them of their roles.
"You are all specifically chosen because you all have some skill that is very valuable for this particular mission. Hinata, you have the Byakugan study the lifeforms there well. Shikamaru, you are one of the finest strategists of your generation. Yamato, you are a member of the Anbu black ops, some of the very finest fighters in Konoha. Guy… well, your will alone ensures you for success and combined with your taijutsu skills, you're practically invincible and Sakura" she said firmly "you've grown into a fine kunoichi but don't engage unless you have to, you are the one medical nin on this team and I'd like everybody to make it back alive" Tsunade stated softer than usual.
Sakura gazed up at the older woman as she affirmatively nodded towards her teacher "Yes, my lady. I will do my best, everybody will make it back alive" the young green eyed girl said with a soft smile. Tsunade returned her smile and moved on to see Naruto just arriving and falling into line with the other shinobi.
"You knuckle head" Tsunade started off with "you seemed so keen on this mission and you're late."
"Hey old lady, a young guy like me needs his sleep!"
"What did you-"
"Where's Kakashi sensei?" Naruto interrupted while looking back and fourth over the line up.
"Hm, seems like you're not the last one here after all Naruto" Tsunade said pensively.
"Oh, I like to think I got here a few seconds before him actually" a casual voice said from behind Tsunade.
"Kakashi" Tsunade begun "I can entrust a mission to you, but I can never trust you with timing" she said while shaking her head to some degree. "But never mind that, you have a mission to get to."
Kakashi lifted his shoulders into a shrug "I got stuck helping an elderly woman with her groceries" he lied with curved eyes showing a smile although it quickly faded as his lidded orbs hardened once again as he nodded in agreement with the Hokages statement "But yes lady Tsunade, we should get going now. If time is still the same over on their side then hopefully they aren't morning people."
Tsunade let out a slight chuckle with a hint of a smile. "Now get going, the earlier the better" she said with an unwavering tone.
Kakashi mimicked the way the enemy previously entered the portal before any of the other shinobi, when he stepped inside he was faced with an infinite smothering darkness. Ignoring this, he turned to his comrades and nodded in assurance. "Let's go" he commanded.
Guy ran towards Kakashi and entered the portal "Don't worry, I've got your back old friend" he said confidently as the lidded eyed shinobi was already running ahead of him "Hey, wait!" Guy called out to him.
"Well, I guess we better get this over and done with" Yamato said as he ran into the portal with Hinata, Shikamaru and Sakura following.
"See ya granny Tsunade, this'll be sorted before you know it" Naruto called out over his shoulder with one last wave to the older woman as he ran into the darkness of the large vortex. Tsunade smiled softly at his goodbye. "I think I made the right decision" she thought to herself.
"So it seems they did come after all." Aizen addressed the Espada as he felt the Shinobis distinct presence as soon as they entered the garganta.
"Lord Aizen, what do you want us to do now? I still have unfinished business with those types." Yammy said trying to control his tone when speaking to the former shinigami.
"Don't worry Yammy, once we find out which one of them we need you can dispose of the others in time. That goes for all of you, for now, we let them find us."
"Pft" Grimmjow scoffed "I bet they aren't even that strong. But it should be fun to watch them battle Ichigo if they happened to run into each other."
"How obtuse" muttered a woman with short blonde hair and beaming green orbs "They'd probably kill each other off with their preconceived impressions of all beings who exist in Hueco Mundo."
"There's something ahead of us" Kakashi exclaimed to his squad "I think it's an exit."
"It seems to be clear from where we are but we better prepare ourselves" Shikamaru replied.
"Byakugan!" Hinata called as her vision became sharper "If something comes up, I'll let you guys know but because another one of my clan members couldn't detect chakra points when they came to Konoha last, I can't guarantee I'll know for certain."
"That's okay Hinata, just let us know if there's anything you can see up ahead" Kakashi assured.
"This should be interesting Kakashi, it's been awhile since we've been on a mission this mysterious" Guy stated.
"Everyone, we're getting closer" Yamato confirmed "we could come out the other side at any moment."
"Gotcha" Shikamaru responded quietly, concentrating hard on different scenarios that could happen once they break through the end of the portal. "Oh man, this is such a drag" he ended with before preparing for an attack.
"Are you okay Sakura?" Naruto asked quietly as they ran together at the back of the group.
"Yeah, I'm okay" she replied gazing down "I just hope no one gets hurt, I don't know what type of damage these people can do."
"Don't worry Sakura, I won't let anything like that happen and you're a great medical nin! Trust me." Naruto comforted with a large smile and determined bright blue orbs that could almost light the darkness they ran through.
The pink haired Kunoichi felt more motivated than ever for their mission "Thank you, Naruto" she said returning his smile.
"Everybody get ready" Kakashi demanded as they were immersed in a light while they passed straight out through the portal. They all stood armed and ready but to their surprise and suspicion, they were standing in front of a large structure, almost like a fortress in the middle of a desert like land.
"The name Hueco Mundo really does this place justice…" Shikamaru said under his breath, taking care not to draw any unwanted attention.
Everything fell still and silent, the land was dry and cold, it almost felt like what they thought death would be like. Hinata broke the silence as her eyes widened and she gasped, trying to suppress the noise. "I can see faint Chakra points coming this way, three of them."
A/N: Well, this is it for chap two :D I hope you enjoyed it! I am also sorry for inaccurate information (I haven't watched Naruto or Bleach in so long but I still love them so much :D) so please bear with me :) Thank you for reading!