"Talking" Normal talking, this will also go for Hollows.
"Talking" Entity such as Kyuubi. Kyuubi doesn't play much of a role here, so this won't be used much.
"Talking" Thinking or narrating.
Just remembered that I forgot to do that last chapter, so I thought I might as well add it now.
Anyway, here's Chapter 2. Not much to say on this chapter, though it is going to explain some things from the previous chapter.
Disclaimer: Kishimoto and Kubo own Naruto and Bleach. Not me.
Chapter 2: El Obstáculo
Hollows are former human souls that are said to have lost their hearts to despair, or simply have spent too much time as a Plus, becoming a creature only seen in a twisted nightmare. Most Hollows have an extreme hunger for souls of both Shinigami and humans, to fill the void that was created by their loss of a heart. Before that however, they will often seek out and eat the one they have loved; or... the one they have had a strong obsession with during their lives...
Tetsu no Kuni. This snow-covered country is considered the most secure place in the ninja world, as it has remained neutral for all of the Shinobi World Wars. It is here that the meeting place of the strongest Shinobi in the world, the five Kages, takes place. Today, there would be two main threats that would enter this place. The first, comprising of Akatsuki, would cause quite the uproar, specifically due to the stunt of Uchiha Sasuke and his team, as well as the declaration of a Fourth Shinobi World War. The second would continue to go completely unknown.
A perpetual cold inhabited the country, making for an extremely fierce climate. The biting cold made the wilderness of the country a bleak, depressing wasteland where life could be snuffed out in an instant. Not that that's the case for one particular Hollow.
A strange mountain, looking like three wolf heads loomed overhead. Every ninja currently in the country was congregating to this spot. This was Tetsu no Kuni. Naruto himself was also heading towards this spot, his bestial body going unnoticed by the shinobi. Ever since he had killed that Shinigami, his hunger had increased. But no, not hunger for just any soul. To fill the void in his heart, he must devour this particular soul without fail.
Naruto snarled. He was close. Something Naruto had noticed over the past few days was his subconscious ability to roughly sense a person's "aura", as he called it. Of course, Naruto didn't know the formal name for it just yet, nor was it as concentrated as one would like it to be. However, he did manage to pick out seven different reiatsu signatures. Although not nearly as strong as that Shinigami's, they stood out as stronger than the rest of the people present. For a human, there were only a select few that had this much spiritual pressure, so Naruto was sure that his target was one of them.
Going from the looks of things, it seemed that there was a large conflict going on at the summit of this mountain. He felt one of the auras flee, the others too busy with fighting to notice. His tail bristled, they all seemed very tasty at the moment; but there was only one that really mattered.
The fleeing aura was getting farther away by the time Naruto reached the base of the mountain. The quadrupedal Hollow raised a paw up, and sank it into the face of the rock. It yielded surprisingly easily under the razor-sharp claws, and Naruto was able to haul himself smoothly up the mountain, using all four of his claws as leverage.
And so, today was the day that a Hollow snuck effortlessly into the Tetsu no Kuni.
Whiel Naruto was sneaking into the Kage meeting, a group of five Shinigami were standing over the mutilated corpse of Hosokaya Masaru, scruntinizing their dead comrade carefully. Like Masaru, they were from the 10th Division, even though their experience far outweighed the dead new recruit.
Around a week ago, Masaru had been dispatched to the real world to perform Konsou on the souls that were killed during Pain's attack, something that most of the members of the 10th Division were against. This particular group of Shinigami were among them.
Around five days after Masaru's trip to the real world, the 10th Division discovered via Hell Butterfly that he had been killed by a Hollow. Masaru may have been a new recruit, but even he shouldn't have been killed by a Hollow that was barely an hour old.
The leader, a man with black hair pulled into a rat tail, stood at the front. He squatted down low, looking at the lacerations and torn flesh that adorned Masaru's body.
"Looks like the Hollow really did a number on him. It's not surprising that he would fall in battle; that was the exact reason why we were so against him coming to the real world."
One of the Shinigami, a brown-haired one to the right of him, piped up. "But, considering the sloppy way the Hollow ate him, it seemed that it wasn't even an hour old at the time."
The leader nodded his agreement. "That certainly seems to be the case. It's probably because of the location. Let's face it, everyone here is prepped for combat. We're lucky that a Hollow hasn't come out of this place in a long time."
Two of the Shinigami looked at each other, their perturbed expressions enough to convey what they were thinking. One of them was brave enough to voice his opinion.
"What does this mean?"
"One of two things. Either, Masaru was too weak to kill this fresh hollow, something I deem unlikely. Or we've got ourselves a potentially dangerous Hollow on our hands," the leader stated grimly.
The Shinigami tensed. Never had they been so troubled before on a mission...
It looked like he was too late. The Kage summit was in shambles. Many people, both samurai and ninja alike, lay dead on the ground from the attack. However, the Kaze, Mizu, Tsuchi, and Raikages were still up and standing. They appeared to surveying the area.
Naruto scowled, out of the seven heavy auras previously here, his target was not one of the four that remained.
He slashed at a nearby pile of rubble in frustration, making the four Kages look at it in confusion. He was beginning to get impatient. The Hollow let out a deep breath. He needed to be calm if he ever wanted to succeed.
Naruto opened up his senses again. Two of the three remaining auras were moving rapidly away from the summit, one appearing to chase after the other. The last one seemed to be at a standstill farther from here.
Naruto's decision was obvious. There was a greater chance of finding his target in the two moving auras.
Some distance away, the auras that were Sasuke and Danzou had stopped to duke it out in a battle of Sharingan, with Sasuke struggling with Danzou's Izanagi. However, Danzou currently only had five Sharingan eyes left on his body, the Izanagi causing most of them to shut.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" A giant puff of smoke emerged from the jutsu, before revealing an extremely large tapir-like animal, the Baku (2), which conpensated for the loss of Sharingans.
The large chimera opened its maw, and proceeded to suck in a huge amount of air, taking various debris with it. Danzou used this opportunity to Shunshin behind Sasuke, who was disoriented from the attack.
"Fuuton: Shinku Renpa(3)!" Danzou opened his mouth, and expelled a dozen wind blades, which plowed into Sasuke's Susanoo, causing it to bend back.
However, while Danzou was dealing with Susanoo, Sasuke had taken the opportunity to send a fireball straight into the Baku's mouth.
Naruto was starting to get excited. His instincts as a Hollow were telling him that a great battle was taking place up ahead. He smirked, even if it looked more like a sneer than a smirk. He would likely devour the both of them, even if one of them wasn't his target.
It wasn't long now. He could see them up ahead. The old fool who was named the Sixth Hokage was one of them, he noticed, and the other was...
Naruto stopped. A feeling of intense euphoria filled him, and he lost what little self-control he had left...
The battle was over. Sasuke had used a weak Genjutsu to trick Danzou, who now lay on the ground, all of the Sharingan eyes on his arm closed.
Sasuke stood over him, glaring at him hatefully. "This is a battle of eyes. Don't mess with the Uchiha," declared Sasuke. Sasuke glared deeper, but after a few seconds an oppressive force drew Sasuke's attention from Danzou, and a hissing noise sounded in his ear.
"Don't mess with the Uchihas?" A deep mocking voice resonated throughout the entire area. As the voice said that, Sasuke turned around so fast it looked like his neck would snap. Madara and the fallen Danzou had noticed it too, yet Karin just stood around, an ignorant look on her face.
"Sorry Sasuke, but it looks like this time... I'm going to have to mess with the Uchihas." The voice called out again.
This statement only served to make Sasuke even angrier. "Who are you? Show yourself!" Sasuke immediately regretted his outburst. For the... thing... did in fact, show itself.
It was a blur at first, and Sasuke had to strain to see it, even with his Sharingan. But, the longer he looked at it, the clearer a shape formed.
It was eight feet from head to tail, and vaguely resembled a fox. But it more accurately represented a sick, twisted nightmare of a creature. It seemed to be just standing over there, hunched slightly as it faced their direction. Its soulless black and yellow eyes peered at Sasuke in particular. The targeted human suppressed a shudder at the sight of the thing, but he held his ground.
He tensed, lowering himself into his standard Taijutsu stance. It had been a long time since anything had ever made him this nervous.
"That Sharingan of yours seems to be the reason you can see me," the creature mused. A thoughtful look set itself upon its face. "But that's fine, this will make it far more satisfying when I eat you." A malicious grin replaced the thoughtful look.
Sasuke's eye widened. That last statement had taken creepy to a whole new level. "Eat... me?" he asked.
"That's right, Sasuke, eat you. You, the one who I've been hunting for quite some time now. But. . . now's not the time to be talking. I've been waiting for this moment forever,"
At this point in time, Sasuke had had quite enough of this creature's nonsense. It was just spouting out garbage, but how did it know whether it was capable of eating him? Snapping out of his trance, he rushed towards the Hollow in order to find out.
Naruto grinned at the approach. To a human, it was an insanely high level Taijutsu. But to a Hollow, it was nothing special, and nothing he couldn't avoid.
Sasuke's punch snapped forward, his right fist aiming for the Hollow's strange mask. Naruto just stood there, taking the blow head on. Sasuke felt his hand make contact with a particularly hard material, and it didn't even feel like he caused any damage. Naruto's thick skin pulled through for him, as it easily absorbed the force of the impact.
The Hollow then shot out his left claw, catching Sasuke around the neck. His tail shot up like a snake, and he slammed it into the Uchiha, sending him flying through the air. As Sasuke was falling, Naruto jumped into the air, grabbed his head, and slammed him point-blank into a nearby rock.
"Kawarimi," Naruto hissed, as nothing remained but a heavily splintered log. The thought of that annoying jutsu made his blood boil. Whatever the case, Sasuke had barely escaped his assault. When he re-appeared, he still looked a little ragged.
"You know Sasuke, I always thought you would put up more of a fight." Sasuke jumped at the creature's usage of his name, and he voiced his shock quite soundly.
"How do you know my name?" he asked.
"Oh, I'm hurt Sasuke. Here's a hint. Who's the one who's been hunting after you for the past three years, dattebayo," said Naruto in a mocking voice. The last word was purposely altered so it sounded just like Naruto as a twelve-year old.
Sasuke's eyes widened. "N-Naruto?"
"On the mark."
"W-What the hell happened to you?"
Naruto sighed. "Oh the usual. Fighting Akatsuki, dying, having my friends betray me, having that old scumbag over there experiment on my corpse."
The Hollow took the time to glare over at the wounded Danzou. The man seemed at a loss for words in front of this monstrosity.
"Y-You..."
"Save it, Danzou. I'll deal with you in due time. But first..." he glanced back at Sasuke. "I have to deal with my biggest mistake."
By now, Sasuke was ready for Round Two. "Fine then, Naruto. We shall settle things here." Despite his exhausted state, he activated the Mangekyou Sharingan. "And I will show you not to mess with the Uchihas,"
At that point, all hell broke loose.
Madara, for all this time, had never taken any action throughout this entire ordeal. On one hand, he was perturbed by the appearance of this strange creature, but because of all his great experience and age, remained relatively calm throughout the situation.
What really got him though, was the fact that this thing was the newly deceased Kyuubi Jinchuuriki. He didn't know what the hell had happened, but apparently he could only see it through the use of his Sharingan. That would explain why the girl over there didn't know what was going on.
The death of the boy had come as a large shock to the elder Uchiha. He had trusted Nagato to be able to bring him back alive. When the fake Akatsuki leader showed his face again, he informed Madara that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had died. That threw one hell of a wrench in his plans.
He had had to ignore that for the time being; he'd deal with that problem when the time came. So, he went on ahead with his plan to infiltrate the Kage summit. But, as it turns out; the Kyuubi boy was much bigger of a surprise than he thought. The Akatsuki leader turned his attention back to Sasuke. Things were getting bad...
He was getting worn down. Everything he tried was being shrugged off like it was nothing. He knew that the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had changed into a monster, but this much of a power difference was absurd.
"Amaterasu!" Sasuke screamed, trying a new technique. He bled profusely from the Mangekyou, but black flames did indeed sprout up around the area, including Naruto.
The Amaterasu flames. . . capable of burning through anything. No opponent could survive this technique... at least, no human opponent.
The flames were indeed on Naruto, but seeing as they were made from chakra, not reiatsu; they had no effect on the Hollow's tough skin. Naruto was able to shrug off the flames like they were nothing.
"This is the so-called Amaterasu?" said Naruto mockingly. "I must say Sasuke, I'm disappointed. I thought you were stronger than this."
A flare of rage customary to Sasuke bubbled up inside him. "Shut up, Naruto! I am stronger than you, and always have been! Who's the one who's failed to catch me up until now!"
Sasuke glared up into the currently apathetic yellow eyes of Naruto, who started to notice the real world fading, and an illusionary world forming.
It was a very strange world. The normal laws of physics didn't seem to apply here. Everything was a different color than what it should've been. A sinister chuckle reverberated throughout the entire world.
"Finally... I'm able to achieve Tsukuyomi."
"You should be grateful Naruto... since you're the first opponent I've ever fully used this on."
From the floor, a despicable liquid emerged. It oozed out of the illusionary ground at a rate slower than that of molasses. Pretty soon, a small puddle had formed, which began to slowly take a human shape. As it was happening, more and more puddles began appearing all over the illusion, creating dozens of silhouettes.
Sasuke's Tsukuyomi was different than that of Itachi's. For one thing, while Itachi's exuded a cold, apathetic aura, Sasuke's created a malicious aura. One that wanted to cause their victim to go through as much pain as inhumanely possible.
The illusions of Sasuke creeped slowly towards Naruto, whose large frame was unmoving. This unnerved the real Sasuke slightly; Naruto didn't seem to be frozen in fear or shock. He just seemed to be unmoving.
Naruto wanted nothing more than to grin at the moment Sasuke cast his Genjutsu. He restrained himself, however, as that would give him away. The hollow didn't want that. No, not at all. He was a predator, and one who liked to mess with his prey, making them think that they had any chance at all of victory. However, he did not truly know why the Genjutsu was not affecting him.
Indeed, if you looked from Naruto's perspective, all you would see is the last Uchiha do some silly looking impressions, and not really looking that intimidating at all. Especially to an eight-foot tall monster.
In truth, though, the way Genjutsu works is that it attacks the chakra flow in the brain, causing the victim's senses to be distorted into the various images that the Genjutsu provides. Naruto, who is dead, has no chakra, and thus; there is no way for him to be manipulated.
Nonetheless, Sasuke thought that his target was under Genjutsu, and began to move forward. Why waste the chance to finish off his opponent while he was distracted? Sasuke reached behind his back and pulled out his Kusanagi, and smoothly yet cautiously approached the Hollow.
Naruto resisted the urge to facepalm. He had now figured it out. The Uchiha apparently had tried a Genjutsu, but something was making it so it was ineffective. Sasuke had confidence in his Genjutsu though, seeing as the Uchiha had just rushed him at point-blank. But still, why waste this opportunity?
The cunning Hollow held his face down, feigning some kind of torture. He emitted various levels of screams and spasms, giving his opponent the impression that the Genjutsu was effective. The Uchiha relished in this, fully convinced of his success.
"Pathetic. With all that talk earlier, you still fell to an Uchiha's Genjutsu. I guess the dobe's personalities do not change, even if their bodies do."
Sasuke walked slowly toward the Hollow, kneeling down when he got there. The Uchiha breathed on Naruto's head. "I'll say it again... Naruto. Don't mess with the Uchiha's." He prepared his sword for an attempt to end the Hollow's life. He did not notice the cunning... the malicious smirk on Naruto's face.
Faster than the eye can see, a large claw shot out and grasped Sasuke's head. Sasuke, having the full belief that his genjutsu was working, was thoroughly unprepared for the assault. The claw slammed his head brutally into the ground.
"You are the arrogant one here, Sasuke. You have so much faith in your little Genjutsu, now don't you? You walked right in front of me without even thinking of using Kawarimi," Naruto said.
Naruto severely tightened his grip on Sasuke's head, causing the Uchiha to scream.
"And that mistake will cost you your life."
Naruto's grin widened, any resemblance of sanity now gone.
"Oh, how I've been waiting for this moment, Sasuke. It's been almost unbearable. But putting that aside, where should I start?" he mulled over, taking glances at Sasuke's head and arms.
Naruto rolled his black eyes almost lazily, but didn't loosen his grip on Sasuke's head.
"Oh, that's right; I wouldn't want to make this too merciful on you, now would I?" he asked rhetorically.
Sasuke said nothing, but his increased breathing would indicate that he was becoming nervous.
Naruto opened his mouth, revealing ludicrously long and sharp canine teeth. He then tore into Sasuke's left arm, devouring everything he could. To Sasuke, it felt like 1000 cold, miniature knives and chainsaws were grinding into his arm at every possible angle, making it total agony. He screamed in severe pain as his arm was reduced to a lump of scattered bone, skin, and sinew.
Naruto looked at his handiwork. He had created a stump out of Sasuke's left arm. The screams were equally satisfying. He looked around, before beginning the same process on Sasuke's other arm.
"How does it feel, Sasuke?" asked Naruto. Sasuke weakly murmured something incoherant. Naruto put his face close to the Uchiha. "What's that, you want more?" Sasuke's eyes widened like saucers.
"Well, I was going to finish it soon." Naruto lied. "But now that I think about it, there's no rush. So I guess I can grant your request."
Naruto flipped the Uchiha from on his back to on his stomach. A maniaical grin set upon his face as he tore into Sasuke's abdominal area. His bloodlust grew as he ate the Uchiha's flesh, though he held himself back from eating anything vital. Sasuke screamed even more. To him, this was one-hundred times worse than the treatment of his arm. In fact, now; Sasuke would be willing to give almost anything to have that back.
Blood gushed from Sasuke's wound in torrents. It was a miracle that he wasn't dead yet. No, not quite a miracle, but a fine precision. Naruto had purposefully left Sasuke's organs alone, instead opting a create just a heavy flesh wound.
Sasuke had now lost the ability to speak. The pain was too great for that. Now, he just wanted it to end. Luckily for him, Naruto was just about to grant him that wish...
Just like before, Naruto lunged his open mouth straight ahead, this time going to Sasuke's head. The skin and muscle was breached immediately underneath the powerful incisors. Naruto gave a push, and his eyes, the precious Sharingan eyes, were mashed and eaten as well.
"NO! NO!" were the frantic thoughts of the dying Uchiha. His gave one final scream as Naruto began to devour his brain.
Sasuke was already dead, but Naruto continued to eat the dead Uchiha's brain, savoring the meal. As soon as he was finished devouring the soul, he felt his power begin to grow. His goal. . . his was complete. And it didn't take much effort at all. Now, he could focus on other things. . .
When the Hollows has finally buried their obsession, two paths will open for it. The first is the more common path. Once burying their obsession, they lose their intelligence, and simply become mindless creatures bent on finding the most powerful souls to devour. They can however, regain their intelligence by spending time with more intelligent Hollows. The second path... creates a much more dangerous Hollow, one that has retained its intelligence. These are the Hollows that ascend to Menos status. They share the desire to eat powerful souls, but they are capable of much more complex things. . . in particular, the ability to hold a grudge. . .
Danzou and Madara were simply stunned. Not only had this thing showed up claiming to be the deceased Konoha pariah, he had also brutalized Sasuke. While Madara was lamenting the loss of his newest subordinate, Danzou was starting to get nervous. He had witnessed Sasuke's death, and even he didn't believe that anything had that much sheer cruelty. This creature simply reeked of it. There was no way that it was Uzumaki Naruto.
But putting that aside, Danzou was beginning to fear for his life. What made matters worse was that Madara was just sitting off to the side idly, watching the latest development with a curious mixture of shock and intrigue.
Naruto turned to the two old men, his steely gaze falling on Danzou in particular. Without warning, he kicked Sasuke's remains in the air, which landed in front of the injured shinobi.
"You will take that back to the village. Tell them publicly about just how painful his death. However, if you tell them just what or who killed him, then you will receive the same treatment as him." He motioned at the dead Uchiha.
"No matter how filthy your soul may taste." Naruto spat out the last part with so much venom that the old Hokage shivered. Danzou was many things, but he was no fool. He knew in an instance that this creature could and would follow up with what he said.
Naruto turned his gaze to Madara. "The same thing applies to you, Madara," The elder Uchiha said nothing.
"I've finally kept my promise. . ." he whispered mockingly. In its own bastardized way, he actually sort of had. Even if it meant nothing more than burying his obsession, the promise was fulfilled.
He didn't think it would be that easy. He really didn't. Hell, he was almost bored with this turn of events. Turns out the old fool actually went ahead and listened to him. He told Konoha all about the Uchiha's untimely death.
Naruto really wished he had a camera. The look on Sakura's face had been priceless.
But. . . he had finally "kept" his promise. Even in death, it would be a cold day in hell when Naruto ever broke a promise. There was now nothing left in the village to burden him anymore. Which means... that he could finally be able to go all out on the place.
Naruto was currently on the outskirts of the village, looking through the open gates. He sneered; oh, how he hated this place. Apparently, the Uchiha was being mourned by a good portion of the village, as if he was still a hero. But, it wasn't like he could blame them. The majority of the civilians didn't know about Sasuke's plans.
But now was the time for action. He had brought back Sasuke, so now he could make Sakura a sobbing heap of depression before he killed her. Yes... she would be the last to die. First, she was torn from her love, and now she will see the rest of the village fall right in front of her.
Naruto's tails twitched with excitement. This would be fun.
Naruto wasted no time in his exploit. The Hollow rushed through the ruined streets of Konoha, thoroughly intent on finishing his job. To prove his point, Naruto sank his powerful teeth into the shoulder of the closest villager.
The man screaming in pain, blood gushed from his wound. The villagers around him looked on in shock and confusion as the man was torn limb from limb, and swiftly devoured with no visible source.
They looked around, and when another villager was killed in just the same way, fear overcame their reason.
Panic.
The villagers scattered to and fro in every possible direction, not wanting whatever that had happened to that man to happen to them.
The panic increased as three more villagers were eaten. Shopkeepers jumped out of their stalls and into the crowds, knocking their merchandise everywhere in a blind attempt to escape. Ninjas were jumping onto the scene, trying to quell the panic as well as attempt to subdue the problem.
To Naruto, it was such a beautiful thing. These people would die without even knowing how. And the pathetic ninja would be able to do nothing to stop him!
Naruto reared back and roared with laughter. He had never felt so alive. If this was what the afterlife was like he would've died a long time ago! A whoosh of movement drew Naruto's attention away from his feast, and his laughter stopped.
"Whoa, it looks like your having a blast," came an unfamiliar voice, as a few presences stood directly behind Naruto.
There, dressed in their standard black robes, were five Shinigami. A standard patrol unit, if you will, but Naruto was quick to notice the arrogant smirks on all of their faces.
"Shinigami. It seems I can never get enough of you people. That buddy of yours can attest to that."
The leader frowned. "Oh, and what buddy are you talking about?"
Naruto put his hand on his cheek, a gesture oddly out of place in the pandemonium. "Oh, let's see, I think his name was Masaro or Musare, or something like that."
The five Shinigami tensed, the smirks on their faces dropping to be replaced by looks of anger. This was the Hollow that had killed Masaru, as a fresh Hollow. It had been three weeks since that time, so this Hollow may have advanced since then.
Naruto opened his eyes wider as a sick grin spread across his face. "He was very good." The response came as nothing more than a whisper, but it succeeded in putting the Shinigami even more on edge.
One of the Shinigami got bold. "Monster. Die, Hollow scum!" The large, bald Shinigami screamed as he brandished his sword and charged Naruto.
"Idiot! Don't let him get under your skin!" the leader screamed at the berserk Shinigami.
Naruto deftly avoided a sword strike by leaping into the air, and afterwards his tail shot out and attempted to impale the reckless Shinigami. He was alarmed when the Shinigami caught it.
Naruto winced as the Shinigami tightened his grip on the tail.
"What the hell are you doing?"
The Shinigami gave no reply, instead choosing to twirl the tail around his head, which made Naruto spin round and round like a lopsided windmill.
The Shinigami let go of his tail, sending Naruto flying into a makeshift house. The villagers paused for a split-second to stare in confusion at the damage, but soon went back to their pandemonium.
Naruto pushed the rubble off of him and got ready to continue the battle. Another Shinigami appeared in front of him in midair with a slash that Naruto managed to avoid, but not without taking a shallow cut on the torso. Naruto staggered, before following up with a claw swipe, which caught the Shinigami on the face.
"Hisao!"
The brown-haired Shinigami clutched his face. Being slashed by eight inch claws had created a deep enough wound for the relatively fragile Shinigami to be incapacitated for a few minutes. The fox flew towards the wounded Shinigami, attempting to do his trademark impale.
He almost got his hand lopped off by the leader of the Shinigami. He reared back, and noticed that the remaining two Shinigami had joined the fray in an attempt to protect their comrade.
"Five-on-one. Doesn't seem very fair, now does it?" mocked Naruto.
"Shut up, Hollow! We don't have to be fair against the likes of you!" yelled the bald Shinigami.
"Shut your hole, bastard! I wasn't talking to you!" Naruto roared back. He didn't notice that his reiatsu seemed to increase after that, but the rest of the Shinigami certainly did.
Naruto turned to the leader after he was finished berating the bald man.
"You seem stronger than the rest of them. What's your name, Shinigami?"
"20th seat of the 10th Division: Moriguchi Kichirou."
"Interesting, that other Shinigami didn't mention anything about Shinigami ranks. Care to elaborate?"
Kichirou scoffed. "I don't think so. That fool of a new recruit may have been so willing to give out information, but don't think it's the same for me!"
The 20th seat gestured to the remaining two Shinigami, the youngest man and the only female.
"Attack!"
The other two Shinigami rushed at Naruto, providing a distraction for Kichirou. Naruto blocked both Shinigami, but failed to properly react to an incoming Kichirou. He protected his mask in order to minimize the damage, but he was still sent flying back.
The Hollow skidded along the air, coming to a halt 20 feet away. He was then hit with a heavy punch from the bald Shinigami, which sent him flying to Earth, leaving the wounded Hollow in a crater.
He was lying on his back, with Hisao shakily coming in for the killing blow.
"Too naïve!" Naruto shouted, as he shifted to the left, causing Hisao's Zanpakutou to stab into the ground. He whipped his tail around, hitting Hisao in his claw wound.
Giving his opponents no time to react, he quickly grasped Hisao's face and began to squeeze. Hisao, who was still trying to pull his Zanpakutou out of the ground had no chance. He let out a small yell as Naruto tightened his grip.
"Hisao!" yelled the female of the group.
"Let of Hisao, you bastard!" screamed Kichirou, as he desparately attempted another attack. He was too late.
Crunch.
The four Shinigami looked on as Hisao's head was crushed easily under the Hollow's strong hand. He died instantly as his skull caved in under the pressure, and blood poured from openings in Hisao's head. Naruto shook the blood from his hands.
"A pathetic Shinigami. Am I correct in assuming that he was the weakest one among you?" said Naruto coldly.
The four Shinigami screamed in rage, wanted to pulverize this Hollow into a bloody pulp. The four of them attacked Naruto at the same time, effectively catching the Hollow off-guard. And this time, there was rage fueling their attacks.
Naruto had barely managed to stop a slash from the female Shinigami, when he was attacked by Kichirou. The Hollow winced, and then screamed as he was slashed through the middle. He fell backwards in a heap.
The wound was deep. Naruto huffed and puffed; they had really done a number on him before that, and now they had to throw in a huge slash.
The four Shinigami were now towering over the fallen Hollow, the rage on their faces faded to cold apathy. "You're finished, Hollow," said Kichirou quietly.
Naruto's eyes widened in rage at the statement. "No! I can't let it end here! I have to destroy Konoha! I have to! I won't let little shits like you get in my way!"
The Shinigami took a wary step back. Naruto's rage was allowing his reiatsu to pour out of his body, stronger than before. Rage was fueling him similarly to determination when he was alive. But this time, the combat abilities and maliciousness was greater.
The Hollow rushed the four Shinigami blindly, shrieking in rage. The three non-seated Shinigami barely managed to avoid the attack, but Kichirou got a lucky stab in the ribs to the fox.
Naruto fell to his knees, breathing even heavier than before. He was getting too wounded, and he didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. His sight was getting blurrier, and these Shinigami didn't look like they would let up anytime soon. His "aura" as he called it seemed to resonate with something. He felt a strong urge to touch a claw to the air around him, and he used the last of his strength to do just that.
"No good. I.. have to.." his thoughts were interrupted when a strange thing showed up. It stood 3 feet away, very brilliant in the air. Apparently the Shinigami noticed it too.
It opened slowly, serrated shapes flowing upward in a coordinated motion. It was oval-shaped, showing nothing but a dark, swirling void inside.
Despite its strange features, Naruto yearned for it. He didn't why he felt this.. this strange sense of kinship for this portal. It was almost like going home after being gone on a long trip. But, it was a kind of different home, a true home. Whatever the case, he simply wanted to plunge himself into it.
Kichirou would have none of this. He readied himself for another slash at Naruto, but... Too late. Naruto had already entered the black void, which closed as soon as Kichirou slashed down upon him.
"Shit! How did that Hollow figure out how to use Garganta so early! Not to mention he was capable of fighting five Shinigami to a standstill, killing one of them. Soul Society may have a heap of trouble thanks to our mistake."
Kichirou kicked the ground in frustration. The other three Shinigami looked at him in sympathy. While they had all liked Hisao, none were as close to him as their 20th seat.
But the words of their leader were coming back to haunt. Would that Hollow really become a huge threat?
They had no idea.
The black portal deposited Naruto on a sandy desert. White sand and quartz trees littered the place, and in the perpetual night sky, a pure white crescent moon filled the land with its only light source. It was beautiful, in its own way.
Naruto did indeed feel the particular feeling of coming back home, but that thought was overshadowed by those of the Shinigami.
He laid down on the ground sleepily, and punched the sand with his fist. "Fuck! Who do those Shinigami think they are, to get in the way of my revenge!"
"I'll kill them! I'll kill all of them! From now on, every Shinigami I meet is a dead man, no matter who they are!" he exclaimed in a flurry of rage.
Naruto had no idea how much that sentiment was shared throughout the white sand of Hueco Mundo...
Well, heres the second Chapter.
One more thing, I noticed that in some of my reviews, there seem to be a lot of questions. Now, I'm not going to put up anything like a Q&A, but if you PM me with a question, I'll be more than happy to answer it, provided it's not insulting.
Translations and other features
Tetsu no Kuni: Iron Country
Baku: The Baku is Japanese mythological creature. It is a chimera, but it more closely resembles a tapir. They are said to eat dreams and nightmares.
Fuuton: Shinku Renpa: Wind Release: Vacuum Serial Waves.
Garganta: Throat
Well, that about wraps things up for this Chapter. I'll see you next time in Chapter 3.