Alright, so first of all...real sorry for the late update but my exams were on the line a week ago. Updates would be much faster now though ^_^
And oh, thanks to those guys who have reviewed or pm'ed me to tell me just how much you're looking forward to this fic.
Again, special thanks to my friend and beta: SweetestSakura-chan for beta'ing this quite well.
So with nothing else to say, let's march forward!
Chapter-3-Sweet Training!
THUD!
"HEY! Watch it old man!" Ayame's and Shiroi's eyes widened when they heard a baritone voice of Naruto. Rangiku though had that same blush adorning her face when she saw Naruto's transformed form while the other two females could feel heat rushing to their cheeks as they stared at the man before them. Teuchi though had a grim expression on his face as he stared at Naruto.
"What?," the whiskered blonde asked as he found everybody staring at him when Teuchi finally spoke.
"I knew it."
"Huh? You know?" Naruto asked with a confused expression as he carefully picked up his body. Ayame and Shiroi though had blushes on their faces as they stared at him, their thoughts blank as their minds struggled to come to terms with this jaw breaking sight.
'Damn, he's gone from a cutie to hottie in just a matter of seconds,' Ayame thought, a light shade of pink still present on her face as she stared at his matured facial features. The spiky blonde bangs were reaching his eyebrows while his cerulean blue eyes were more intense, they held more depth to them, it was like staring in the endless sea.
"The fact that you're a shinigami," the old chef spoke making others fall face first on the table while Naruto's eyebrows started twitching in irritation.
"I think we already told you that. What I mean to ask you is why I'm...grown up in this form?" he asked making Teuchi laugh lightly.
"Relax kid...I was only messing with you. Well, according to me...the reason that you look physically grown up in your spiritual form is mainly because of how you were treated," he spoke seriously while blonde narrowed his eyes.
"What are you implying oji-san?" he asked with some coldness seeping through his voice, snapping Ayame and Shiroi out of their trance-like states while Rangiku had a confused expression on her face. What did they mean how he was treated?
"I think you yourself know Naruto, that you're far more mature than anyone from your generation. The way you...lived your childhood, forced you to grow mentally at astounding rates. With your growing spiritual energy, I think that spiritually...you matured too, hence the reason your spiritual form looks matured. I'm not sure that this the exact reason, but those are my thoughts on this. Actually, this shouldn't even be possible in a normal case considering that a spiritual body ages far slower than a physical form. There have to be other external factors which caused this. Strangely though, I already had a hunch that you would look a bit older in this form...but I was not expecting such a difference," Teuchi finished making Naruto sigh as he entered his younger form again.
"Wait, Teuchi-san...what do you mean by how Naruto was treated?" Rangiku asked making Ayame clench her hands into fists while Teuchi could see Naruto visibly stiffen at the question.
Silence reigned over the group as Teuchi struggled to find an answer to this, not wanting to say anything in front of Naruto. But he knew that he had to tell Rangiku everything. Considering that she had just given her powers to a human, she had broken a critical law of society and couldn't return to Seireitei in such a state.
'All in all, she will be staying here until she gets her powers back, which I think will take quite some time. I'll have to talk with him straightaway as it seems,' he thought when everybody turned their heads upon hearing the sound of a chair sliding on the floor.
"I...I think that's about how much I can take in today oji-san. I'm going to sleep for now, I...I need some time to sort this out," Naruto said in a stressed voice, giving the old shinigami a forced smile as he was now standing with his hands on the table.
Before Teuchi could've said anything, Ayame replied with a smile.
"Sure Naruto-kun. I understand, and if you have any problem with anything...remember that our door is always open for you," she spoke with a loving smile, making the blonde smile back gratefully.
"Arigatou Ayame-chan. See you later...everyone," he spoke, giving everyone a small smile before leaving the apartment.
Teuchi though had lowered the kido barrier temporarily to let Naruto leave before again activating it.
Matsumoto though just couldn't understand what was going on, but whatever it was, she knew that it was extremely serious. The brief flash of pain that crossed the whiskered blonde's eyes, she hadn't missed that.
"Teuchi-san, what's going on? What's his story?" the vice-captain asked with a serious expression on her face, breaking the tense silence that had coated over the group.
Gazing towards his daughter, getting a nod from her, Teuchi sighed before speaking.
"Sit tight then Rangiku-san, because to explain Naruto's life, I'll have to tell you about this world from the beginning."
"Um Tou-san...why didn't you tell Naruto-kun about the Kyuubi?" Ayame asked with a frown while Shiroi's eyes widened. How could they talk of such a monster so freely?
"Didn't you see his face Ayame-chan? He's struggling to come with terms of what we told him right now. How do you think me now telling him about such a big fact would have impacted him? It's not just something you can tell him so easily, it's a huge burden that the boy had to carry for all his childhood. He has already got a big responsibility on his shoulders considering that he's a shinigami now, just let him get comfortable with this first ne? The seal's still perfectly intact and there's no harm to delay the inevitable a bit this time."
'What is this Kyuubi he's talking about?' the blonde shinigami thought when she realized another thing.
"There's one other thing that I've been wanting to ask you Teuchi-san, why haven't you performed the soul burial on Shiroi-san here yet?" she asked making Shiroi lower her head when Ayame spoke.
"Shiroi-chan here was one of the very few souls who even interacted with Naruto. So we thought of letting her stay a bit longer, she still has a plenty of her chain of fate left," making Matsumoto confuse all the more. What did they mean 'of the few souls' who interacted with Naruto? Didn't he had friends and other relatives to spend his time with?
Seeing her lost expression, Teuchi decided to intervene.
"First let me explain everything Rangiku-san, I'm sure that you'll be able to connect the dots later," he spoke while rubbing his temples.
'This is gonna be a looong night.'
Time-skip: Konoha: Naruto's Apartment: The Following Morning: 11 AM
'Agh! Damn this sun!' one Naruto Uzumaki cursed as he shifted in his position, turning his face away from the window through which the sun-rays were glaring at him.
Seeing as winter season was going now, usually the weather was cloudy with the sun showing it's face for short amounts of time at random intervals.
His eyes closed for a few minutes now, the blonde begrudgingly finally gave up returning to the land of dreams. Strangely though, he could feel something soft on his chest as he slowly opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling in grogginess for a few seconds.
"Ugh..." he groaned, covering his eyes with his right elbow to block the offending sunlight.
His eyes traveling down, his mind suddenly froze when he saw what was the soft thing on his chest. Okay, it was just someone's arm...nothing to panic about.
His heart beating faster, he turned his head to the right for his eyes to get wide in shock. There just besides him, a few inches away from him was laying...
'What the...Rangiku-san?' he thought, years of experience from his hardships preventing him from screaming right then in panic.
Just to the left of him, Matsumoto was snoring slightly, her blonde locks sprawled over her face while she had her right arm slung over his chest. Both of them were laying under a thick blanket while Naruto was sweating like crazy, an anxious expression on his face as he gulped nervously, a light blush on his face.
He couldn't help but gaze at her peaceful facial features, his face that of awe at how beautiful she was. His eyes though widened a bit upon noticing liquid stains on her cheeks.
'Was she crying?' he thought with a confused expression when she moaned something.
"Taicho...no more work, I wa...," she trailed, her words now incoherent while Naruto couldn't help but smile at the cute expression on her face. Strangely though, she was now wearing a violet kimono, which was still...revealing her ample cleavage much to his nervousness.
Grabbing a hold of her forearm, he slightly lifted it as he began to worm his way out of her hold.
"Mhmmm...," she moaned in what seemed to be irritation, her eyebrows scrunched up when she pulled him to herself.
'Oh kami...,' Naruto prayed as he found his body pressed to hers tightly, her hot breath tingling his ears while Naruto had a furious blush on his face.
'Why me!'he whined mentally while crying anime tears. He had to admit though, the warmth she was expelling in this chilling cold was comfortable and a welcomed factor for his body.
Seeing that it was better if he laid there for a bit longer, his expression grew serious as he remembered the events that had taken place the previous night.
'Yeah...I'm a shinigami. What now huh? It seems first I'll have to train to control my spiritual energy to at least be able to use my chakra properly. And then, my shinobi career would start,' his lips curled down in a bitter expression.
'Fate does seem to enjoy pushing me deeper into the mud pit it seems. I guess it's better that I just accept I can never be normal like everyone else and should...just move on,' he thought, his eyes turning into that of determined one. He didn't know what was going on with him before, but now that he knew...now that he could see the bridge, he'll surely cross it, no matter the amount of difficulties!
'I'd never imagined that afterlife would be so confusing. But never mind, I already went through this the last night, it's best that I meet Teuchi-oji and Ayame-chan again,' the whiskered blonde thought as he continued to stare up at the ceiling, planning on what he would be doing next.
Last night when he had returned to his apartment, he couldn't sleep for sometime as his mind had slowly came to terms with what had happened. One thing he knew was that his life would be changing drastically from now on, it would never be the same. But...
'But, Rangiku-san doesn't seem to hate me like the other villagers. Of course she wouldn't, she's from another world you baka! But...does that mean that she'll hate me later on just like others? I really hope not, she almost sacrificed her life yesterday to save me and Shiroi-chan. I don't know, but the way she's been treating me...she even offered to train me in controlling my spiritual energy. Nobody has ever done that, and she has known me for only a day...I can't help but feel this sort of strange connection with her. Maybe...maybe it's because she gave me her shinigami abilities.'
His thoughts though came to a stop when he heard a moan coming from besides him. His body stiffened when he felt her move a bit, his eyes widening in panic as he struggled to think.
'Oh my god! What should I do? She'll just think I'm some kind of a pervert...well it's her fault to start with! Couldn't she have just slept at the Ichiraku's house?' he thought before closing his eyes suddenly, acting like he was sleeping while Matsumoto slowly opened her eyes groggily.
Naruto though was concentrating on executing his plan flawlessly.
'Okay...so I have to relax my body completely. My facial features should be totally relaxed while my breathing rate should be completely even and calm,' he thought frenziedly, doing the actions commensurate to his thoughts as he began to breath slowly, his body now completely relaxed while he accumulated on making his heart beat slow down to normal.
'Now it would seem more realistic if I add some light snoring. Hehe...she would never know wha-'
"I know you're awake Narutooo."
FUCK!
He inwardly cursed upon hearing Rangiku's sing song voice, her loud voice hitting his ear drums like a barrage of kunai while he couldn't help but find it melodic...as tight the spot be he was currently in.
Fortunately for him though, he was able to keep a straight face while Matsumoto still had her arm draped over his chest, a pout on her face as she stared at his face.
Suddenly her lips curled into a playful smirk as she slowly sat up, her hand on his chest when she straightaway began to tickle him in a tigerish way.
"Affgh...AHAHAHAHAHAAAHA!" he suddenly burst out laughing, after apparently holding it in for a few seconds as she applied more force to his stomach sides. He wiggled frantically under her clutches as he continued to laugh and plead her to stop.
"H-HEYAHAHA! S-STOP, HAHHAHA!"
THUD!
"OW!"
And he finally fell off the bedside on his butt, panting as he held his stomach while Rangiku peered over the edge with her head resting on her crossed forearms, a smile on her face as she watched him.
Last night, Teuchi had explained almost everything about the shinobi world to her. From the era of the Rikudou Sennin to the great shinobi wars and then finally: the devastating news of the burden that the blonde laying in front of her had to carry everyday. The old chef had gone into detail of Naruto's life, and that how he was treated. Rangiku Matsumoto was a honest woman, and she could easily say that she liked the boy. He held this strange kind of magnetism that attracted her towards him.
'And not to mention his hot spiritual form,' she thought with a giggle.
She was shaken to her core that a twelve year boy, who had to bear so much in his life...could just laugh like that. And last night, he had just stood in front of that hollow like it was nothing...to protect her and to protect Shiroi.
She had came to his apartment in the morning, around four or five...and couldn't help but shed tears for the blonde orphan who had to bear so much.
'His eyes...just look at them, containing so much pain, yet they are bright and so full of exuberance for life. You truly are, different from everybody else Naruto,' she thought with a smile while staring at him.
"Ohayou Naruto," she waved her hand, her melodious voice cheerful while Naruto just laid there, his eyebrows twitching dangerously as he glared at her.
"Ohayou Ranguiku-san. Now may I ask you; ... apartment...again? ...again?" his voice calm as he continued to lay there while Matsumoto put a finger under her chin, adopting a thinking pose.
"Ah, Teuchi-san asked me to watch over you seeing as you just gained shinigami powers and that I had nowhere else to live. Oh, he also asked me to bring you over to their house when you were awake. Besides I like your apartment, it's cozy and possesses this warm sense of home," she spoke with a smile while his cheeks lit in a light blush, embarrassed because of the compliment which he was clearly not used to...even if it was a thing that was related to him.
"But why did you have to sleep...besides me? You could've just woken me and I would've slept on the couch! And how did you know in the first place that I was only acting and not sleeping?" he yelled comically, suddenly standing up as he pointed an accusing finger at her.
"I could sense your reiryoku fluctuating a bit, so I knew you were wide awake. And well….you looked so cute while sleeping! I just couldn't wake you up!" she spoke childishly with a pout while Naruto's face intensified in a furious blush as he took a startled step backwards.
"D-Don't mess with me lady!" he yelled, clearly being shocked by her bluntness.
"Why? I'm not messing with you. I was just telling you the truth. Besides, your body is really warm," the vice captain spoke with a wink, a smile on her face while the blush on Naruto's face got darker as he furiously shook his head to get control of himself. Matsumoto though stared at him in amusement, a smile on her face as she watched his antics.
"S-Shutup! Don't try anything f-funny, I'm just a kid!"
"But yesterday you said you weren't a kid," she retorted instantly with an evangelistic smile, instantaneously shutting him up as he endeavored to come up with a reply.
"Aghh! I need to go to the bathroom!" he exclaimed in frustration before dashing towards the bathroom.
THUD!
He closed the door with some force while she could hear him muttering behind the door. She suddenly broke into fits if giggles, not being able to contain it in when suddenly the door opened.
"What I meant to say was that I'm not a kid! I'm an adult, but not adult enough for adult activities or talk!"
WHAM!
He again closed the door quickly while Rangiku started laughing harder much to his ire, tears leaking from her eyes as she took deep breaths to calm herself.
'Things just can't get boring around you, eh Naruto?'
Meanwhile: Soul Society: Seireitei: Captain's Meeting Chamber
"Alright, let's start this meeting. I've mainly called for this meeting to discuss Matsumoto Rangiku's disappearance a week ago," Yamamoto spoke in a loud hoarse voice, with one silver haired captain stiffing up a bit at the mention of his lieutenant.
"So, still no sign of her, Yama-ji?" Kyouraku spoke in his lazy tone as he tilted his straw hat over his eyes.
"Unfortunately no. However the Patrol Corps of the Onmitsukidō are still searching the Dangai. According to Inaba Kagerōza of the Shinigami Research & Development Institute, who specializes in observing the traffic within Dangai, the coordinates of Matsumoto Rangiku's location indicates that she was there before her disappearance a week ago," the captain commander said with narrowed eyes when Aizen spoke.
"I don't want to be the one to break this news, but it could be possible that she came in contact with the Kotetsu, which was sweeping through the Dangai at the same time when she was found to be there," Toshiro's eyes widened at hearing that. Everybody knew that if that had happened….
"It is a possibility, but regardless…we have to keep searching for her. The fact that she had a Jigokucho, and that she still entered the Dangai is a mystery in itself. It shouldn't be possible…this seems suspicious and I suspect this as someone's doing," Genryusai said in a serious tone while Hitsugaya had a frown on his face.
"Do not take this matter lightly. She is a lieutenant of Seireitei, and as such this is not a small matter which we can just overlook. The second division headquarters would continue to investigate into this matter while Kuchiki Rukia, who was originally assigned to the Karakura town would carry out the mission seeing as Ukitake-taicho's condition is now stable," he continued with Soifon nodding while Ukitake just nodded.
"But, are you sure that this incident wouldn't take place again, sotaicho?" Byakuya asked in a monotone voice, his face expressionless.
"You don't have to worry about that Kuchiki-taicho. The twelfth division has already performed several tests and has declared the passageway from the Senkaimon to the human world as stable," Kurotsuchi spoke with that scary grin on his face while Byakuya just continued to stare at the captain commander, ignoring his fellow captain.
"He's right Kuchiki taicho. You can rest assured, the same thing wouldn't happen to Kuchiki Rukia," the oldest captain said with a nod while Hitusugaya had his fists clenched tightly.
'Matsumoto, I don't believe that you're dead. This seems too fishy to just be any accident. I just hope you're fine right now, wherever you are.'
Timeskip: Konoha: Ichiraku's Apartment: One Hour Later
"Teuchi-san, they're here!" Ayame, who was dressed in her usual dress exclaimed as she entered with Naruto and Rangiku through the back of their ramen stand.
"Eh? Ayame-chan, why are you calling him Teuchi-san? And you keep calling me Naruto-san too," Naruto asked with a confused expression making Ayame smirk while Rangiku giggled, making him look at her with a frown.
"Because she's not Ayame Naruto-kun," he snapped his head forwards to see Ayame exit the kitchen, wearing the shinigami garb making his eyes widen in shock.
"W-What's going on here?"
"Relax kid, the one you were talking to is what we call an artificial soul," Teuchi, who was wearing a shinigami garb spoke. Besides him, stood another Teuchi who was dressed in his chef uniform, both of them had came out of what Naruto thought as his bedroom.
'What was he doing inside the bedroom with an artificial soul...? Maybe he was...NO! I don't think iji-san leans that way...Ayame-chan wouldn't have been born then,'' thought Naruto while nodding to himself.
"It's something which was invented by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute of Seireitei. Teuchi-san here probably uses the artificial soul pill to do his everyday duties when he's in his shinigami form," Rangiku replied making the blonde nod, pulling him out of his thoughts.
"It's just like the clone technique, only this is solid," he muttered to himself with a nod.
"And that they don't dispel too," the 'real' Ayame said with a smirk making his mouth open in an 'o', nodding at her.
"Alright, you two can go now," Teuchi spoke as the two artificial souls nodded before they went to serve the waiting customers.
"But, if they are the artificial souls….then surely they wouldn't know how to prepare the super ramen like you guys. They shouldn't possess the skills you guys have developed over the years," the whiskered blonde spoke with a confused expression making Matsumoto's eyes widen a bit in realization while Teuchi smirked at him.
'Yeah, he's not the idiot that everyone thinks of him so much,' the old chef smirked as he smiled at Naruto, a proud smile on his face while rubbing the underside of his nose with his index finger in pride.
"That my boy, is my personal invention. These souls are not ordinary souls. Instead of using the ordinary artificial soul pills, I created something called the Replicating Soul Pills," Ayame just sighed at her father, the old guy never backed down from boasting about his inventions and how great a researcher he was.
"You don't mean…." Matsumoto spoke with widened eyes, just the name was enough for her to understand what those pills did.
"Yeah! Those pills copy the traits of one's soul down to the smallest detail and creates a exact replica of the user's soul!" yeah, he really became enthusiastic like a child on high sugar when it came to his inventions.
"Wow! That's so cool oji-san! You can do something like that? What are the other things you've invented?" Naruto asked with double sprightliness, his eyes shining brightly as he was in front of the old chef in a flash.
'Oh no…' Ayame thought with a dreadful expression on her face, her face pale as she watched that fire ignite in her father's eyes. She knew they had to do something quick, or it was time for another one of his boring science lectures.
"My boy Naruto! I knew there was something special in you! C'mon, let me sho-"
"Ah Tou-san! Didn't we call Naruto-kun here to begin his training?" Ayame held her jaw tight from laughing outright, she knew how much big of a sucker Naruto was when it came to training.
"What? Training! Are you going train me Ayame-chan?" he asked with a confused expression, getting a nod from her. Teuchi though was currently glaring at Ayame for terminating his moment with Naruto.
"You still have one month before your academy graduation exams. I think you can do it this time if you train hard enough this month," Rangiku spoke with a smile making his eyes wide as he snapped his head towards her.
"Y-You think I can do it?" he asked, unable to keep the astonishment from his voice. It was probably the first time in his life that someone was believing in him, and what more…it was a person whom he had just met a day ago.
"Of course! You totally wiped the floor with that hollow yesterday, I believe you can do it," the vice captain spoke with an exhortatory smile while Naruto couldn't help but smile at her involuntarily, his eyes warm and bright as he stared at her in awe.
'She believes in me,' he thought, not believing his ears.
"So, you're up for it Naruto?" Teuchi said with a smirk when the blonde turned his head towards him with incomparable determination reflecting off his face.
"Yeah, let's do this!"
"Follow me then soldier!" Teuchi spoke with a smile as he turned around and entered his bedroom with the others following him.
"Hey, what are we doing in your…..bedroom?" he asked hesitatingly as he backed away a little too wary to go near the perverted old man but trailed upon seeing Teuchi remove a wooden tile from the floor to reveal the tip of a ladder.
"Dive down kid!" the old chef said before he jumped through the wide square hole.
"Go on Naruto-kun….I think you would be surprise to see what's down there," Ayame said with a smirk making both the blondes look at her in confusion. Shrugging to himself, Naruto went towards the hole before jumping down, sliding his hands over the ladder's side to keep his balance.
THUP!
"What in the world…." he muttered to himself, his jaw dropped as he found himself standing in what seemed to be a large underground room. A huge room actually….much larger than an average training ground with random trees and bushes here and there. It was just like one of those large clearings in a forest.
"Wow….this is magnificent Teuchi-san," he turned his head back to see Rangiku having an impressed expression on her face, behind whom was standing Ayame.
"Yo Naruto-kun!" he snapped his forwards to see Shiroi sitting far away on the branch of a tree, waving at him.
"Hello there Shiroi-chan!" he replied back with a smile, glad to see her as they followed the retreating form of Teuchi, who was walking towards the area where Shiroi was sitting.
"What are you doing here Shiroi-chan?" he asked, gazing upwards at her as they stood below her on the grassy field.
"To watch you train of course you silly," she replied with a giggle making him smile at her.
"Alright Naruto, it's time to start. According to what Rangiku-san told me, your speed in spiritual form is really impressive. So I think it would be better if I saw you fight at least once," Teuchi said with a serious expression on his face.
"But whom will I fight? There are no hollows here," he spoke with a confused expression.
"Me Naruto-kun," Ayame said with a smirk making him look at her with a raised eyebrow.
"But, wouldn't you get hurt if I slash you or something. I mean...my zanbatou could easily melt through that average sized katana of yours," he said while Ayame's eyes started to twitch dangerously whereas Naruto could faintly hear Rangiku grumbling about 'it's a zanpakutou.'
"Who do you take me for anyway Naruto-kun?" the female Ichiraku verbalized in a threatening low voice when Naruto felt his breathing being hitched in his throat.
He suddenly felt heavy again, his shoulders slumping down as his breathing came in short pants. Rangiku though had her eyes widened as she stared at Ayame in surprise.
'Her reiatsu...this is a vice captain's level.I never imagined that Ayame-san would have such skill with reiatsu so as to direct it at only one person,' she thought while Ayame smirked at the panting form of Naruto, solely concentrating her reiatsu on him.
"So, you still think I can get hurt Naruto-kun?" she spoke, still maintaining the flow before nodding towards her father.
Nodding back, Teuchi pulled out a black glove, having a white skull mark on it which he thrusted on Naruto's chest. Immediately an adult Naruto was pulled out his body in a flash of blue strings of spiritual energy.
Ayame kept the steady output of her reiatsu, centering it only on Naruto while the adult blonde struggled to stand upright as he panted a bit.
"Alright Rangiku-san, back away a bit...this may get nasty," Teuchi said as the blonde female shinigami immediately nodded before dashing towards him in a burst of speed, her form a blur.
"Whoa!" Shiroi exclaimed in surprise when she found Matsumoto sitting besides her in a blink of an eye.
"Ahehehe, sorry Shiroi-chan. Didn't mean to scare you there, I was just testing this special gigai that Teuchi-san had given me the last night," she said with an apologetic smile while the silver haired plus smiled back at her.
"It's no problem Matsumoto-san. You just startled me, but I couldn't even see you! This body that Teuchi-san gave you, it really is something."
"Yeah, I have to admit that he's really something. There are only two persons who could give him competition in this department," she replied as then both of them turned their heads towards where the trio of shinigami were standing.
"Now Naruto, seeing as you are having trouble standing under Ayame-chan's reiatsu, let me today show just how large your spiritual energy reserves are," Teuchi spoke with a serious expression as he nodded towards Ayame, who further increased the spiritual pressure that was being forced on Naruto.
"Aghh!" the blonde exclaimed in surprise when he found himself on his knees, beads of sweat now streaming down his cheeks as he started to pant heavily.
"Now, to counter this pressure that you're feeling right now, you need to increase the the output of your reiryoku. Close your eyes and try to concentrate, it is just like building chakra...only easier this time. Considering your large reserves, it should be easy to grasp," the aged shinigami said as Naruto just cursed this damn reiatsu thing under his breath.
'Okay, calm down and focus...' the blonde thought as he closed his eyes, searching for that something, that energy he felt flowing through him when he became a shinigami.
"Look...," Rangiku said, her eyes showing her curiosity as she watched Naruto's spiky bangs started to hover a bit.
'He's doing it! I can feel it, he's increasing the output rate of his reiryoku. I've never seen someone grasp his spiritual reserves so soon. Even the strongest of the prodigies in the Shino academy weren't able to do this so soon,' the blonde lieutenant thought with an stunned expression on her face.
Ayame too stared at him, sensing his growing reiryoku as she increased her reiatsu more, wanting him to relinquish more of his spiritual energy.
Naruto's face though scrunched up in an expression of struggle as he kept his concentration, his body and the air around feeling heavier than before.
'C'mon...a little more...THERE!'
Everyone's eyes widened when they felt a huge shift in the air pressure.
"Whoa!" Ayame exclaimed in surprise when suddenly Naruto's body lit up in a flash of violet spiritual energy, becoming a violet colored tower of raw energy as it reached to the artificial sky that was the ceiling of this underground compound.
'What raw power!' Teuchi thought, his elbows in front of his eyes as dust had covered the area around him. Waves of raw reiryoku swept over the area violently as wind picked up around the trio.
Ayame was shocked! The reiatsu he was ejecting was already that of a captain's level, but she could tell that it was wild and untamed. It was clear that Naruto had huge spiritual energy reserves, but no control whatsoever. So just to stand under the crazy amount of spiritual pressure, she had to release all of her reiryoku.
Matsumoto too couldn't believe her eyes, so much reiryoku! She too had increased her now decreased reiryoku because they could feel the effects even at this distance.
Naruto slowly opened his eyes, never having felt so at ease...and powerful. Slowly his spiritual energy output began to decrease.
Teuchi however, had noticed another strange thing about his spiritual energy which was currently visible, it had random lightning streaks which were surrounding his reiryoku as well in the air around him.
'That lightning...does this mean that his reiatsu is of elemental type just like Yamamoto Genryusai. But it clearly isn't complete, this is a mixture of an ordinary one and an elemental one. It does seem though that his reiatsu might develop at a later stage into a lightning type one,' he thought as now Naruto's reiryoku levels had returned to normal levels, only dust covering the clearing.
"Shiroi-san, are you alright?" Rangiku asked as she held the plus carefully.
"Yeah, I'm fine Rangiku-san," she replied while panting.
'Her chain of fate...it seems she has a maximum time of around two or three weeks.'
"See Naruto...you have huge spiritual energy reserves but lack control over it, just like the case with your chakra. But you'll see that it is easier to control your reiryoku than chakra," Ayame said while coughing a bit under the dust. Not much to Teuchi's surprise though, Naruto had an expression of awe on his face as small random flashes of lightning were now hovering over every part of his body.
"I...I never knew I had such power. I felt so...so much, I just can't describe this," the blonde said as he gazed at his palms, clenching them as blue lightning streaked around them which slowly died down.
"Don't get carried away Naruto. Just like in the shinobi world, if you can't control your reiryoku...then you are practically useless in battle," the aged Ichiraku said making Naruto look at him with a serious expression, nodding back at him.
'It seems Naruto-kun isn't an ordinary human after all. That lightning...it can't be a result of Rangiku-san transferring her powers to him,' Ayame thought to herself as she stared at him before taking out her zanpakutou.
"I think it's time we see what you can do Naruto-kun," she spoke with a challenging smirk, making him look back at her with his own confident smirk.
"Alright, create some distance you two. Let's start this...a guest would be arriving soon," Teuchi said with a smirk making Naruto shrug as he pulled out Haineko.
"Oh this should be good!" Matsumoto spoke with an ecstatic smile as Shiroi too looked on with curiosity.
Both of the teens jumped back to create some distance while Teuchi too walked back.
'Alright, Teuchi-oji told us that Ayame-chan's been working with him for some years, so she should be strong. Though she doesn't look intimidating at all...but so is the case with Rangiku-san,' he thought as clenched the hilt of Haineko tighter, both of them staring down each other with serious expressions on their faces.
"Okay Naruto, attack Ayame-chan with everything you've got. And remember, don't hold back!" the elder Ichiraku yelled making Naruto look at him like he was crazy.
"Are you serious? Do you not see the size of my katana, she can get injured seriously!"
"That baka...," Rangiku mumbled as she face palmed herself.
Ayame too sighed along with Teuchi, they should've known that he would state things like these.
"Fine then kid. Don't say I didn't warn you. Ayame-chan, just one weak strike...and make sure that he can see you," he said making her nod while Naruto too readied himself with a smirk.
"Here I come Naruto-kun," she muttered before dashing towards the blonde, majorly holding back on her speed.
CLANG!
"Aghh!" he exclaimed in surprise as he found himself flying back...
WHAM!
...before he crashed into a large tree trunk violently. Apparently, he had horizontally blocked her blurry slash; which held some mind boggling force behind it.
"You think I hit him a little hard?" Ayame asked with some concern in her brown orbs when Teuchi just shook his head.
"No, his training has started as of today. He'll be enduring much more stronger hits than this," he replied as Naruto slowly stood up, a hand on his strained back as he gritted his teeth in pain.
"T-That was a weak strike!" he exclaimed with surprise written all over his face.
"Yes, now do you see...you don't need to hold back Naruto-kun. Now come at me," she said with a 'come on' motion with her left hand.
Gripping Haineko tighter, the whiskered blonde nodded before he bolted towards her at full speed.
'Impressive,' both Ichirakus thought simultaneously upon witnessing his speed.
Rearing his zanpakutou back, he lunged towards her at blurry speeds before going for a downwards slash, putting as much force behind the attack as he could.
CLING!
His eyes widened to massive proportions, he stared at her astonishment as she had easily blocked his strike with her 'katana', only one hand gripping the hilt.
"I do hope you're not holding back Naruto-kun," Ayame spoke with an amused smile on her face while he gritted his teeth as he tried to overpower her...but to no avail.
Jumping back, he skidded back to a halt.
'How did she...how can she be so strong?' Naruto thought with a thunderstruck expression.
"Wow, did you look at that. She's freakishly strong," Shiroi said with an amazed expression while Rangiku too had to say...she was impressed.
'I don't know if she has unlocked her shikai, but in other areas...she's clearly at a lieutenant's level.'
'Alright, if can't overpower her then I'll just go for one after another strikes,' Naruto thought before he again jolted at her.
'Hm, he clearly possesses that raw instinct for battle, wonder if it is because of the kyuubi,' Teuchi pondered as he watched the blonde go for one slash after another, with Ayame easily dodging each one of them with practiced ease, her movements fluid while it looked like she was toying with the blonde.
"Stay..."
He gasped in between one of his missed whips when he again reared his sword behind him, stretching his arms to the max before going for a downwards slash at thundering speeds
"STILL!"
CWING!
"Ugghh!" he grunted through gritted teeth after she had blocked his zanpakutou again...this time however using both of her hands.
"Impressive Naruto-kun...the strength behind your attacks has been continuously increasing from the beginning. I wonder what's your limit," she spoke calmly with a smirkas both of their zanpakutou gridded against each other, sparks being produced along with minute screeching sounds.
"H-How can you be so strong?" he asked, his face hunkered up in struggle as he again tried to overpower her.
"Don't know..." she trailed, a smile on her face while Naruto's eyes widened when he felt himself being overpowered.
"Kghh!" he exclaimed, Haineko slipping out of his hand as it went sailing upwards in air, courtesy of a strong upward slash by Ayame. His eyes were widened as the blonde took several startled steps backwards while she stood with a smirk on her face.
...
...
"W-What?"
"...maybe because I've training myself into the past these past several years," her smirking face now only inches away from his, she spoke in a low tone while her blade was poised at his throat.
'She was so fast! I couldn't even see her,'he thought in astonishment as Ayame had just blurred from his vision to appear in front of him.
"Well well Naruto-kun, already started training huh?"
'That voice,' Naruto thought in surprise as he snapped his head towards the entrance of the compound.
"Wha...?" he trailed in neck breaking shock upon seeing the figure walking towards them.
"Ah Hokage-dono, it's nice to see you," Teuchi said with a smile. Ayame though sheathed her zanpakutou, giggling at Naruto's dumbstruck expression as she ruffled his hair tenderly...of course with her cheeks being decorated by a light blush.
"Sorry for being late Teuchi-san...the paperwork just wouldn't leave me."
"J-Jiji?" Naruto stuttered with wide eyes, with his pupil zooming out in shock as he stared at the old man in his hokage robes, walking towards them.
"You've grown Naruto-kun, or should I say...shinigami."
YOSH! Hope you liked the chapter...and the cliffhanger. So if you guys have any questions, just shoot! (Either in a review or a PM)
So please REVIEW, and I'll update extra soon! So thanks for reading and take care you guys! Ja Ne! :)
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