AN: The next chapter is here and I hope you guys all enjoy it. Reviews and comments are appreciated, especially if you can tell me something that will help me improve this story. And thanks for the reviews so far.

AN2: A quick question. Should I keep doing these small philosophical beginings? Or should I just move on to the story?

On a side note, don't you just hate it when you're reading a story and just when it's getting to the good part, you find out that the author hasn't updated it in 4 years? Or when a story has a completed sign but it's not really completed?

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the Naruto or Bleach worlds except my own creations.

"Speaking"

'Thinking'

Jutsu/Kido attacks

"Zanpakuto/Hollow/Biju speaking"

'Zanpakuto/Hollow/Biju thinking'

"Soul King talking"

'Soul King thinking'

Have you ever wondered why things happen the way they do? Is it just a series of coincidences? Is it because of fate? Or, is it a combination of both?

But one thing's for sure. Once something happens, you can no longer go back and change it. No matter how much you want to and no matter how hard you try, it's impossible. Even if, by some miracle, you manage to travel back in time, what happens changes nothing because you would still remember what transpired the first time. Those memories will stay with you forever because as long as one person remembers something, it is immortal.

Fate is a fickle topic.

Does being born the son of a servant make you a servant? Does being born the son of a king make you a prince? Or, is what you become in the future based on how hard you work in life? Can the son of a servant become a prince? Will the son of a king ever really become a servant?

Such things have happened before. A servant who rebels and overthrows a king. A prince who angers his father and loses his status. But how do we know that it wasn't fate that directed this? How do we know that the servant wasn't always fated to become a king, that the prince wasn't always fated to become a servant?

The answer is simple. We don't.

Is that what makes life so mysterious? To not know if our actions are truly our own.

There are those who openly deny the existence of fate, saying things like 'I am who I am because I will it, not because some divine power wills it.' But is that really true? How do we know that we aren't apart of some elaborate plan set up by greater powers? How do we know that our each and every step hasn't been planned out before we were even born?

For all we know, we could all be pieces in a complex game played by our creators. After all, chess pieces can't decide their own fates, can they?

If you had asked me 5 years ago if I believed in fate, I would have said no. I would have gone into some endless rant about how through hard work and determination, anything is possible. I would have used my dad as an example: a lowly orphan who worked his way into becoming the Hokage.

I remember Kenta saying once before, "It is your fate to die so that I can live. It is your fate to be hated because of your naivety. If it had been me, I would have never done what you did. Who cares if we are family? Who cares if we were brothers? If I had to choose between my life and yours, I would choose mine every time. That is why you're going to die; because you made yourself weak by trying to protect me. You were born an idiot and you will die because of your idiocy."

His words had really hit home. Before that long rant, I never truly believed that he would kill me.

And now, upon my death, if you were to ask me the same question, what would my answer be?

It would be...the same. I don't care if some beings up above planed out my whole life for me. I don't care if every unpredictable action I did was also a part of the plan. I just don't care. Maybe it's the stubborn Uzumaki blood in me. All I care about is what I believe. And for now, even in death, I believe that I shape my own future.

So who cares if we are mere actors acting out our scripted lives? I sure don't.

-Konoha-

Namikaze Kenta POV

It was finally over. He was dead. There's no one that can stand in the way of my happiness now.

I stared at the body lying on the floor. The head was completely cut off and numerous stab wounds could be seen all around the body. An arm had been cut. No, it had been hacked off by a Shinobi who's only relative had been trampled by the Kyuubi's paw. I guess he thought it fitting. It was by no means a clean kill; fitting for trash. Though, it is a shame that he died almost instantly without feeling any pain.

But still, the body had to be cleaned and repaired. Not out of respect for the dead, of course; but more for the benefit of the public. After all, they would love to get a chance to hurt the Demon as well. How would they be satisfied if the body was already almost destroyed?

"As expected of my host. To kill your own brother; truly the work of a monster." the Kyuubi's voice rang in my head. The voice exuded power and malice, not a good combination. The fox's sudden words didn't surprise me. After all, I had 5 years to get used to it randomly talking. I remember it always laughing at my reactions, especially when I was in public.

'I'm not a monster!' I thought back doing my best to keep my stoic face as to not arouse suspicion in the people around me. If that trash was right about one thing, it's that these sheep would turn on me in a heartbeat the second they find a good reason to. 'Go back to sleep, you stupid furball.'

"You dare insult me? You pitiful human, know your place!" the biju roared in my head, causing me a small amount of pain. "And how are you not a monster, kin-slayer? You may not have dealt the actual killing blow, but you were the one who ordered it. Even to us demons, kin is important. To actually kill your brother; I ask you again, how are you not a monster?"

'He wasn't my brother! He was a mon-' I started but didn't finish. Kyuubi's thunderous laughter rang in my head.

"A monster? Was that what you were going to say? Have you preached the lie so many times that even you believe it now? You and I both know that he wasn't a monster." the beast laughed out.

'Why do you even care? Just weeks before, you were chanting for his death as well; saying how once he died, all his power would come to me! Now, what are you doing? Trying to make me feel guilty? Aren't you supposed to be on my side?' I bit back.

The fox's laughter abruptly stopped. "I will never take the side of a human, container or not. Remember that, flesh bag. You don't control me and you barely even control my power. I was merely using this for entertainment. It gets rather boring in this dull head of yours."

I could picture the best sneering at me as it ranted. I hated it when it did that; treating me as if I were some inferior being! Even though he's in MY body and can't do anything without MY permission!

"And of course I would chant for his death! I'm a being of malice and destruction! What self-respecting demon wouldn't want to bring death? As for my power, of course it wouldn't go to you. What made you even think that?" It continued, oblivious to what I was thinking.

I blinked at that. What? 'You told me! Back when you first started to talk to me. You told me that he was keeping me from getting stronger!'

"Did I now? How do you even know what I was talking about? For all you know, I could have just been talking about him eating more food than you. After all, you need nutrients to get stronger. I never even remotely mentioned anything about killing your brother to make you stronger. You just got to that conclusion on your own. You will never get anymore of what's mine!" the beast smugly replied.

I knew it was enjoying this, but it was right. Now that I thought back, it never outright said anything like that. But it didn't matter anymore. What's done is done. 'So what if I don't get the rest of your power? I'm the freaking Hokage! I have Shinobi to do things for me!'

The fox snorted at this. "What can you Shinobi do to another Biju? I'll tell you what: nothing. The moment they see a Biju, they'll turn around and run right back to you. They'll demand that you save them and you would have no choice but comply." It was savoring this moment, enjoying the inner turmoil that it was creating. "Then when you stand in front of the Biju, what do you think 2 measly tails of my chakra that you can barely control do? Nothing! Your people will expect 7 tails and you'll give them only 2. If you even live after the attack, your villagers would kill you themselves."

'Mind your own business!' I snarled back in my mind. I didn't need this sh*t right now. There were still lots to do before we give the public his body. Turning to a random Shinobi I ordered, "Get someone to patch up the body. I want it near perfect condition before we present it to the village; and make sure the head is back on too. "

The Shinobi looked confused, clearly not wanting to do the job. "Why do we have to fix up the Demon?"

"Is it you place to question your Hokage?" I asked, daring him to answer wrongly. How hard was it to just follow orders?

"No, sir. My apologies, I'll get right on it." the man stuttered out before saluting me.

Namikaze Naruto POV

I stared emotionlessly at the scene before me. It didn't surprise me at all. Heck, I even called it. After all, these people were so simple minded that their intentions were pretty obvious.

Parade the body of the dead Demon around the village. Have a gigantic party to celebrate its death. Let the people who had lost loved ones during the Kyuubi attack desecrate the body to make their peace. Then, burn it in front of everybody and dump the ashes in a trashcan.

What better way to unite the village? I think even people who didn't approve of my brother becoming the Hokage would love him at this point.

Well, at least they fixed my body.

I heard the crowd roar in approval. I think the only way things could have been better would be if I were executed publically. Why wasn't I? There must have been a good reason, but right now it matters not.

Even though I didn't want it to, it still bothered me that I wouldn't be buried with dad. Why wouldn't it? He was my hero; the person I wanted to emulate when I grew up. He almost single handedly ended an entire war and had the highest bounty in almost every village's Bingo Book. I remembered all the times he would spend time with just me. Sure he probably did it with Kenta too, but it was still special.

Dad.

Namikaze Minato, also known as the Yondaime Hokage and Konoha's Yellow Flash, was the hero of the last Shinobi War and many expected him to live forever. His very being gave off a feeling of warmth and protection. For such a man to die of illness was unthinkable. And yet that's exactly what happened. He died of an illness not even Tsunade of the Sanin, the legendary medic, could cure. The only reasonable cause that anyone could find was because of the technique that made him famous, the Hiraishin no Jutsu. Space and time just shouldn't be messed with. Maybe if he hadn't used the technique so often, he wouldn't have gotten sick. His parting words still ring in my head, even in death.

Learn to love this magnificent village as much as I do, he said. Remember, the village is family and family is to be protected, he said. If you continue to be kind to everyone, some day they will respect you just like they do me, he said.

Well dad, I can honestly say that will never happen. It might've if things were done differently. But, as of now, I could say that the probability of them ever respecting me is a big fat zero.

But I had other things to worry about besides that. About 12 hours have passed since my death and I've learned many things. The most important being that I was in fact a ghost, complete with an ability to float and my invisible nature. That had been a shocking discovery.

When I first opened my eyes, I was honestly confused. It was unexpected.

The first thing I saw was actually myself. It took me a moment to even register the fact that I was looking at my own body and not a reflection. Staring at my lifeless corpse really brought a sense of detachment to me. I didn't know why. It was like I just suddenly didn't care anymore; like everything died when I did. I wasn't obligated to take care of the village anymore. I didn't feel compelled to protect my family anymore. Hell, I didn't even lament the fact that I never made it pass Genin.

But the main question was, why am I still here? According to legends, people became ghosts when they have strong emotions that anchor them to this world. Love that makes you want to watch over your precious people. Hate that makes you want to curse your betrayers. Or even fear that makes you afraid to move on.

Which one described me?

The chain that seemed to protrude from my chest was also a mystery. For some strange reason, the chain was getting shorter and shorter. When I woke up, I had to wrap the thing around my neck so that I could walk. But it seemed like every few minutes, the end of the chain would just spontaneously grow a couple of mouths and eat itself: one link at a time. If it hadn't totally freaked me out, I would have been fascinated by the process. Where did the mouths go after? What would happen when the mouths ran out of chain to eat?

As the hours passed, the mouths came out more frequently. At first, I felt nothing but a tingle as they eroded a link. However as my chain gradually diminished, I started to feel pain. It was little at first; maybe as bad as a needle prick. Then it grew, from needle prick to a punch in the face. From a broken bone to being stabbed. Right now, I felt like acid was being poured onto my skin while my organs where trying to self-combust and my bones were being ground into dust.

In short, I felt like sh*t. I would rather die again than remain a ghost if it means I have to go through this.

Throughout all this I didn't scream, at least not out loud. Mine were silent as I clenched my teeth. It wasn't like I thought screaming was a sign of weakness. Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. But to me, screaming is only worth something if someone could hear you. And after spending all that time trying to find other ghosts and trying to get the living to see me, it was obvious that no one would hear me. So I didn't scream.

As the third to last link of my chain disappeared, I couldn't help but feel that I was going to die again. What was the point of making me a ghost if I was just going to die again not even a day later? I don't get how that works.

They say that when people are about to die, their whole life flashed before them. Well, maybe not their whole life. More like important parts of it since you don't have the time to see everything, even if it's fast-forwarded. I didn't when I died the first time. Was it because my eyes were closed? Now that I'm dying again, will it happen to me? But I've been alive as a ghost for all of 12 hours. There's really nothing much to see.

Oh well, there goes the last link and here comes the darkness. I closed my eyes…

-Unknown Place-

And I opened my eyes once again. Okay, this was getting old. How many times do I have to die for me to be able to finally sleep in peace? I sat up and looked around me, trying to find out where I was. Everything was dark, save for where I was sitting. The weird thing was I couldn't find a source for the light. It was like the light was just there. No candles and no light bulbs, it was just there floating in front of me.

I looked down at my body and was surprised to find that I didn't have anything on. Nothing. Just me and my birthday suit. I sighed. Could things get any weirder? At least this place wasn't cold...

I got up and tried to explore the place. To my astonishment, the light started to follow me around as I moved. After a few minutes of just walking straight, I hit a split hallway and decided to turn left. But the light didn't follow. Instead, it just stayed at the same spot. When I went back and turned right instead, it started to move again.

It must be leading me somewhere. But to where? Or, the most probable case, to who?

Aside from myself, there were no living things in the hallways. At least, I didn't think there were. The orb of light led me to a set of ornate doors after a good half an hour of walking. Judging by the enormous size and the intricate decorations, there must be someone or something important behind the doors. I steeled myself and gave the doors a strong push.

The light didn't follow me as I stepped inside. There was no need since the room was so bright, no bright wasn't exactly the right word. The room was white, with absolutely nothing inside. No furniture, no people, nothing. The floor, ceilings and walls were all completely white.

The door closed abruptly and I spun around in panic. The door had completely vanished! There were no traces of it at all. No hinges, no outline, and no doorknob. The spot where the door should have been was just as white and bare as every other spot in the room.

My eyes widened as I realized what this meant. I was trapped! There was no exit; there was no place to escape. Why the hell did I follow that stupid light! Everyone always said don't go towards the light! But noooooo, I just had to follow it!

Since I was too busy beating myself up, I didn't notice that the white walls had started to change. All of a sudden, it was as if I were watching a movie with no sounds. The walls were the screens, but there were no projectors. But it wasn't that fact that had me so enraptured by what was playing. No, what had me so focused was the fact that I knew the scene that was currently being played. How could I not?

It was the day dad died. Only I was in the room at the time because he wanted to speak to his heir alone. He wanted to tell me something important.

I watched the younger me hold my dying dad's hand. Even without the sounds, I knew exactly what the two people were saying. After all, that moment was burned into my brain. I watched myself promising to my dad that I would protect my family and village for as long as I lived.

Then the scene started to change; first to show me protecting Kenta from some angry villagers. I noticed for the first time, the look of contempt on my little brother's face. I knew he hated me when I saw him on the day I died, but I never knew until now when the hate started.

I watched him pretend to be me while I took on his burden and not once did he try and help me. I watched him stand in the sidelines with a satisfied face as a mob beat me half to death. I watched my mom hit me for trying to tell the truth. I watched her turn a blind eye to my suffering. I watched Kenta be personally trained by the village's best Shinobi, including our mom. I watched as he framed me for things that I obviously didn't do. I watched as my family watched my die, never shedding a single tear.

I watched all the unfairness in my life and with each passing scene, my anger grew. I was so angry! Angry at the village for not believing in dad's sealing techniques. Angry at my mom for abandoning me. Angry at my brother for killing me. And, angry at my dad for dying on us and letting this all happen to me even though I knew it was irrational.

And now, I only wanted one thing. Revenge. I wanted to beat the living crap out Kenta and show the whole village who really had 7 tails of Biju chakra sealed into him. I wanted to see the villagers realize their mistake and beg me to come back only to have me reject them. I wanted to see the horror on my mom's face when she realized that I was telling the truth the whole time. I wanted to raze the village.

My whole body began to contort in pain as my anger continued to grow. I felt my body morphing and something start to come out of my face. I felt even worse than when I died the second time, something that I didn't think possible. My body started to glow red as some of the Kyuubi's chakra started to leak out. As the intense red aura started to burn my skin, I watched as some white material seep out and cover my wounds. The anger in me was at its peak and other emotions were joining in. Sadness. Disgust. Envy. And above all, hunger. For what? I didn't know yet.

Just as I felt my whole being was about to burst, I heard something in the back of my mind. It was a voice that was so familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. Who was it? What was it trying to tell me? A memory started to play in my head and despite all the pain I was in, it had my undivided attention.

"What will you do, young Namikaze? Will you hate , or will you forgive? Pick wisely, for to choose one is to forsake the other..."

Flashback Start

A young Naruto was lying on the grass, staring at the clouds. Beside him, also lying on his back, was the Yondaime Hokage himself. Both were enjoying the peace and quiet until the older of the two asked his son a question.

"Hey Naruto?" the man asked as he turned his head to face his son.

"Yeah?" the boy responded, curious as to what his father wanted.

"Do you know why being the Hokage is hard?"

Naruto tilted his head slightly to the side and furrowed his brows in thought. "Because of paperwork?" he answered.

Minato sweat dropped at the answer. 'I should stop complaining about paperwork at home…' He ruffled his son's hair and smiled back. "Not quite."

There was a moment of silence before Naruto became impatient. "So, are you gonna tell me then?"

"Hmm? Are you sure you want to know?" the man teased. "Maybe you're still too young…"

"Dad! You're the one who asked! Just tell me." the boy said as he pouted.

Minato barked out a laugh at his son's impatience. "Alright, alright." His face became serious as he said the next part. "The hardest part about being Hokage is knowing that you can't satisfy everyone. In every decision you make, someone will always end up with the short straw. If I choose to give the Academy more funds, other departments will have less money. If I choose to go to war, my Shinobi will die and the citizens will be taxed more to help fund the war effort. Do you understand?"

"I think so." Naruto replied hesitantly.

"Now, what do you think happens when you can't satisfy everyone?" the Yondaime asked his son next.

"Um, they get angry and complain?"

"That's right. You might think that everyone loves and respects the Hokage, but that's not entirely true. Every day, the Tower receives countless complaints from unsatisfied citizens. They become angry when we inform them that there's nothing we can do to help them. And when people get angry, they become irrational and do stupid things; and sometimes, those stupid things can make you angry. As a leader, we have to 'be the better man.' If they insult you from time to time, you turn a blind eye. If they shout at you, you politely listen. If they attack you, you show them the error of their ways." Minato explained carefully.

"Why would you do that, dad? Why don't you just beat them up or throw them in jail if they insult you like that?" the boy asked confused.

The older man shook his head, "I am the Hokage, Naruto. I'm the most powerful person in this village and because of that, people will fear me and my power. If I hurt every villager that angers me, then I won't have any villagers left! What kind of leader has no one to lead? Also remember, you should never live a life full of anger. Anger clouds your judgement and eventually you'll end up making fatal mistakes. Remember that for when you become the Clan Head."

Flashback End

You should never live a life full of anger.

With a mighty roar I ripped the white mask, which was almost done forming on my face, off. I focused on all my happy feelings and denied my negative emotions any place in my mind. My skin began to reabsorb the white substance that was surrounding my body.

I panted heavily and my whole body was covered in sweat. I started to feel a burning sensation on my right arm and I cursed. What could be going wrong now? I looked at it and my eyes widened at the tattoo that just finished forming. What an interesting picture.

"Interesting. To choose neither, yet choose both at the same time. A perfect hybrid? You have exceeded my expectations, Namikaze Naruto." a voice suddenly said.

I snapped my head towards the direction of the voice and openly gaped. What the hell is that?