OooOoOooO

"Storm of destruction"

Chapter 3

Naruto looked back at his teammates with a frown.

He could already feel Orochimaru's chakra signature closing on them. They had been ambushed earlier by an Ame genin and Naruto had excused himself in order to gauge his team's reaction to possible battle. Sasuke was more perceptive and had been the one to notice that it wasn't really his teammate they were facing. Sakura had believed too easily just because the Naruto she'd seen had acted like an idiot.

As much as he slightly disliked Sakura for her naivety and fanaticism towards the Uchiha and Sasuke for being so self-centered and arrogant, he didn't want to put them in any danger.

Subtly, he took out his Gikongan from his pocket. Taking a quick look at his teammates, he made his decision. He swallowed the pill and broke apart from his gigai (though he had to be grudgingly impressed with Kurotsuchi-taicho, a proxy body that could circulate chakra was no easy feat), now in his Shinigami form. Naruto would confront Orochimaru and hold off from his teammates. This was his mission alone.

Besides, he trusted Renji to take care of the hollow outbreaks that might occur within or outside the village.

He landed on a random branch above his teammates and saw his Gikongan give him a quick nod which Naruto returned with his own grim one.

Naruto faced the direction opposite his teammates with a determined gaze. This was the moment–he chose the completion of his mission from Konoha. He knew that there's no turning back now, and whether Orochimaru died or not, the blonde knew that the war would be inevitable for this village. Even though knowing the coordinates of this mission, he had accepted it wholeheartedly on his part and loyally served under his superiors for the past decades or was it just years?

'It's time, Naruto-kun.'

The blonde took a deep breath as he tilted his head to the sky.

'I know.'

Naruto could feel the smile of his zanpakutō without even seeing him.

'Will you release me?'

He hesitated. 'I honestly don't know. As much as I don't want to, we have no choice.'

'Do you trust me?'

He nodded without any uncertainty as his hand gently gripped his katana's hilt.

'With my whole being.'

Smiling to himself, Naruto held his hand in front of him as he focused his reiryōku. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!" He chanted as a concentrated red orb of reiatsu appeared on his palm. Blue orbs then flickered into a pair of stormy gray.

"Hado #31: Shakkahō!"

The red orb exploded into a concentrated blast of energy as it surged forward. The figure that had just arrived through the trees didn't even have any time to react before he was hit by the attack head on.

Naruto unsheathed his zanpakutō. As much as it dismayed him, he knew full well that the victim of his attack was very much alive and intact.

"You might as well come out. I can sense you even from a hundred yards away." The blonde called out coldly, his grip on his zanpakutō momentarily tightened.

Nothing seemed to happen at first, not a hint of sound aside from the genins in the forest. Naruto wasn't even the least bit surprised when he instantly whirled around just in time to block a sword aimed for his back. Stormy gray met the surprised pair of yellow eyes.

"You!" The owner of the voice hissed, anger building up in the yellow orbs.

"Yes, me." Naruto retorted dryly as Orochimaru jumped away. "Didn't expect to see me?"

The Sannin stilled as he assessed the blonde carefully.

"So, you're the mole here in Konoha. I expected those damn Shinigamis to send someone powerful. I guess they were stupid enough to send a weak brat like you." The man sneered as he bared his teeth. "And you look much younger than your counterpart. Tell me, Naruto-kun…how long have you been dead?" He mocked, underlying venom to his voice.

Stormy gray eyes narrowed but Naruto didn't take the bait.

"How long I have been dead is none of your business. You call me weak but let's see who will come out of this alive. So those random disappearances of unseated officers were not random after all." Naruto growled, feeling rage coursing through him. Some of those officers had been friends of his and Renji's.

Orochimaru relaxed his stance a little, a clear show of mocking the blonde–how weak he believed Naruto was.

"Of course not." The sannin replied calmly. "They just caught my interest at first. The first time I saw one, no one could see them aside from those who are 'spiritually aware' or has high maintenance of their spirit and mental energy in their chakra. But really, Naruto-kun, just sate this humble man's curiosity. How long have you been dead? To think that Jiraiya had put all his efforts to provide and care for you even when he's outside the village. How would he react when he learned that his own godson was dead?"

Glee was practically coating his words as he cackled and laughed.

Orochimaru always loved playing with people's mind. But as he saw the blank expression from the small boy's face, the grin slowly died.

"You sick bastard." Naruto spoke coldly under his breath, his spiritual pressure thickening around him.

The Snake Sannin could feel the energy pressing down on him. Sweat began to trickle down his temple, his hand–the one holding Kusanagi–trembled at the force.

"Don't you dare bring him up into this. Unlike those Shinigamis you've violated, I am not an unseated officer. But really, Orochimaru, just sate this humble boy's curiosity. Did they even tell you how our ranking works in Soul Society?" He mimicked the man's earlier words, his voice harsh and demanding as his gray orbs oddly glowed.

The man shifted as he released a burst of his chakra. Only to find that the pressure was still there and was now pushing down on him much harder.

Yellow eyes blinked in shock as Naruto appeared in front of him suddenly in a shunpo.

"I see, they didn't tell then. They were loyal to Soul Society until their deaths if you don't know whom you're facing. You may be a sannin of this realm, Orochimaru," He spat the man's name as if it were poison. "But you got to remember that I am a Shinigami. A high ranking Shinigami. Even Hokage-jiji won't stand a chance against my captain. The only reason we waited this long is because if we sent Shinigamis after you directly, you would be forced to hide. And that was a mistake that we didn't want to repeat."

Orochimaru snarled as he blindly swung Kusanagi to Naruto's direction.

"You don't scare me child!"

The Shinigami nimbly dodged the strike and jumped over the Snake Sannin. Naruto laughed at that, it oddly sounded hollowed.

"Child? You call me child? I may look younger than every warrior in this village but I assure you, I'm much older than you, teme!" The blonde scowled at him. "I also know about Kabuto, he seemed to like the scent of snakes as his perfume. Aside from being an obviously high-level shinobi, even if he was undercover, no jounin or ANBU would willingly share confidential information to chuunin-hopefuls with foreign nins around. Mistake number one." Naruto counted as he appeared above Orochimaru with a downward slash.

The man barely avoided the strike. It was too fast for him to comprehend as he awkwardly held Kusanagi to block the blonde's blade.

With a frustrated yell, he shoved the blonde away by brute strength alone. He grimaced as he felt the pressure push down on him again, as if to hold him down. It was suddenly hard to breathe and he could feel his chest slowly tighten in pain.

Those other Shinigamis he managed to capture for studying and interrogation were nothing but weak pests. Sure, they also own this kind of power but nowhere near as powerful or dense as this was–since he could still fight them much conveniently. He could still remember some laughing in their deaths that he stood no chance against their superiors.

He growled under his breath.

Naruto didn't stop his assault as he appeared in front of the Sannin.

"Then I encountered Mizuki's hollow just a few days before the exam. Guess who ordered him to steal the Forbidden Scroll? You knew of our existence but you forget that death isn't the end for people here! That's mistake number two!" The blonde yelled at him angrily, slashing at the man's side.

Blood sprouted as it splashed on the ground far below them.

Orochimaru winced at the wound inflicted on him.

It was getting harder to move with the building pressure. It wasn't killing intent but it was starting to instil doubt within him.

"Who the hell are you brat? Why the hell are you so strong?" He sneered lividly, a hand pressing down on his wound.

Naruto appeared on a branch in front of Orochimaru, his zanpakutō dripping with the man's blood. His expression was hard and detached. Stormy gray eyes gazed dispassionately at Orochimaru. He knew that this wasn't as easy as he made it out to be. Slaying the sannin as a human was simple. But once he killed Orochimaru's current human body, he would be dealing with the man's hollow.

He learned that the stronger a person was as a Shinobi the stronger they are as a hollow.

Naruto inwardly grimaced. He would then have to release his zanpakutō.

"I'm going to have to kill you now." Naruto stated firmly as he gripped his zanpakutō with both hands as the reiatsu around him became visible–an alluring shade of gray and crimson. "And confronting the Uchiha personally was mistake number three. A friend already notified my captain that this would be my last day here in this village. I couldn't afford to fail now. So I will introduce myself only once and you better remember it."

The blonde then grinned as the energy swirled around his small form.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, Third Seat of the Thirteenth Division–ttebayo!" He shouted as he lunged at the man.

Orochimaru was sure that he wasn't hallucinating. One second the blonde vermin was in front of him, he didn't even blink. Then suddenly, the same blonde vermin was behind him. The sword in those little hands flowing freely with that same gray and crimson energy. Idly, he also noticed the darkening clouds above them.

As if a storm was brewing.

Then he was cleanly sliced in half. Or at least, his body was.

Naruto had to cover his face when dust picked up. When the sound of a loud howl reached his ears, he tensed but the large reiatsu stunned him. He knew Orochimaru would be powerful as a hollow but not this strong.

'Orochimaru's chain of fate had already been cut off. By transferring his soul to different bodies, the chain had slowly eroded. The transformation took so quickly! What the hell just happened?' He wondered with a hint of panic as he eyed the gargantuan hollow in front of him with wide eyes. It was in the shape of a snake, with its mask in the same face of the reptile but with purple lines running down its cheeks, as if crying.

It was huge, the size of a three story building. Normally, the size was overlooked since it didn't speak for their strengths. But the reiatsu that steadily grew as the hollow howled louder into the day made Naruto gulped slightly.

'I knew this mission would eventually be a major pain in the ass.' He inwardly lamented as he gathered his reiryōku and held his zanpakutō in front of him.

His eyes were now a much vivid pair of gray with red pupils. The clouds above them became darker–swirling in the sky as the thunder roared.

'Ready?'

'As always.'

Taking a deep breath, Naruto jumped high into the forest, above all the gigantic trees. He held the blade horizontally in front of him, the blade pointed to the side as the flat surface rested against his open palm. Without waiting for another urging, he slid it across the skin of his palm–drawing blood that seemed to make the blade glow.

"Slaughter,"

Everything seemed to still.

"Ryūketsu Arashi." (Bloody Storm)

Renji's head snapped to the Forest of Death, his eyes wide as his mouth hung open.

'That's…Naruto's zanpakutō!' He realized with a feeling of dread.

He had been with Naruto for the past two months and he had never seen the blonde release his sword. Even back in Soul Society, he rarely called on it. The power behind it was terrifying to Naruto that even Renji didn't have the heart to encourage the kid to use it more often.

So far, no hollows had shown at all which was suspicious by itself. When during ordinary periods, one hollow would at least appear during the day. It was either he or Naruto who would work on it. But their absences were making the redhead antsy.

He so badly wanted to help Naruto out or at least make sure that the kid was alright. But he also couldn't abandon his post. After all, it was assigned to him as a cover to why he really came here for which was to watch out if the Central 46 acted suddenly. So if he left his task, then it would be held against the account of the blonde.

"Damn it!" He cursed loudly as he punched his fist on the roof which he had been sitting on.

Renji closed his eyes as he felt the strong fluctuation of a hollow's reiatsu where Naruto was currently located. And he had to grit his teeth together to prevent himself from panicking when he heard the loud shrieking howl.

'You better be alright you baka…'

Nonetheless, he was still worried.

"Yo, Shinigami." Renji whirled around in surprised and was met with the sight of white and red.

Instantly on his feet, his hand found the hilt of his sword.

His head snapped over his shoulder.

"What's wrong Shika?" Chouji asked with concern, he hadn't felt anyone around them.

"Yeah, what's up, Shikamaru?" Ino grunted as she gave a deadpan stare to her teammate.

The Nara pursed his lips.

His eyes widened slightly when he saw a giant monster just a few kilometres away from behind them. It was big and Shikamaru had no doubt that it was one of those monsters that he usually saw that lingered around the forest of their village.

He heard its howl and he fought the urge to cover his ears unless he alarmed his teammates.

"Nothing." He gritted out.

Then they continued on their way when he remembered something. Naruto had approached him before the start of the second part of the exams and Shikamaru felt something akin to betrayal and understanding fighting dominance on what he should really feel.

"Take care of everyone, alright Shika? That's all I ask."

It didn't sound like a request, more like a goodbye on the blonde's part that Shikamaru felt betrayed. But when those cerulean blue eyes flickered momentarily into a pair of intense gray, he felt understanding. He didn't even know what he meant. It was just that Naruto was different from them.

His first encounter only left him with more questions.

"Do you believe in spirits?"

But he had come to one conclusion.

Naruto was dead.

The hilt was still the same stormy gray but the black tussles dangling from the end became pure crimson in color–the color of blood. The blade was now a contrast of black and gray as it gleamed dully under the light while the guard had dissolved and had become a chain wrapped around the blonde's wrist.

As the dark clouds seemed to rotate above them, the hollow stopped its howling as it looked up to the sky.

It was suddenly raining on their vicinity.

The raindrops appeared to be ordinary liquid until the odor reached the hollow's keen sense of smell. It looked ordinary until the hollow smelled it. It stunk of crimson and metal, with a tinge of death. It was the smell of blood…so strong that the hollow howled again.

The color was all wrong but the hollow could have sworn that it was raining blood.

"Saishokōu: Tatsumaki." (First Rainfall: Tornado) A voice stated calmly somewhere above the hollow as amber eyes looked up just to see a swirling vortex of crimson energy descending upon him, the rain almost feeding it with power. It jumped away from the attack but was surprised when it just swirled and followed his direction. That in its stunned and curious state, it had managed to catch its tail, almost shredding it into parts if he didn't jump away again.

Amber eyes noted the damage the attack had done to its surroundings.

It had destroyed most of the trees there, a deep crater now on the ground where he previously stood and where his tail was formerly resting at.

His eyes then rested to the figure standing on a random branch above him. For some reason, when he saw the blonde kid, he felt anger and rage. But also curious. The air around the brat was cold and devoid of any emotion while the sword vibrated through the child's grasp. As if sucking in those very emotions.

Dead gray eyes stared at him as the face was set into a nonchalant calm. Devoid of expression. Or any feeling.

But he wanted the child to die.

So he slithered up to the tree faster than the eye could follow and was within the blonde's front view in a moment's notice. The hollow opened its mouth, fangs protruding longer.

The child just raised his sword and held it horizontally in front of him, the blade's face in his direction. "Tsugikōu: Nenshō Kiri." (Second Rainfall: Burning Mist) He spoke calmly as red mist began to seep out of the blade.

It knew it was an attack that's why the hollow changed its momentum and slithered to the side instead.

It screamed when the mist touched the side of its body, burning skin. It reacted on its instincts as it attacked again, the brat just disappeared in front of him and flickered above him with his sword raised. Instincts screamed at him so he opened his mouth and gathered energy.

A red beam escaped his mouth as it surged forward to the brat.

He noted the shocked expression with glee.

The blonde barely dodged it but the hollow was instantly on his heels. Regenerated tail immediately lashed out and slapped the kid away from him. The hollow cackled, loving the feeling of superiority of power. The power.

"An Adjuchas? How the hell is this hollow so powerful instantly?" He heard the kid question with incredulity as blonde head jumped up to a tree branch, panting a little as he held his side gingerly. He caught the kid off guard and the hollow was basking in its temporary triumph.

"Sorry, Orochimaru, but I'm going to have to end this sooner." The blankness of expression and voice was back and the hollow growled at it, unknowingly gathering a cero on its mouth again.

The child grimaced as he raised his sword above his head.

"Daisankōu: Raimei." (Third Rainfall: Thunderclap) The rain around them suddenly got stronger as the wind picked up, violently thrashing around them. The child brought down his sword as the clouds twisted above them, red and gray energy from the sword descended upon him. Thunder roared above and the attack thrashed and got stronger. Three thunders followed and the attack was big enough to consume him.

He knew that his cero would fail him.

But he wanted the child to die.

And he wasn't going to die. So he powered his cero up until it was a sickly purple color and released it. It met the child's attacks head on but the hollow could see that his cero was being overpowered as the thunder roared once again–the attack gaining strength.

He wasn't going to die.

So as the attack continued toward him, he was surprised when light surrounded him.

He was suddenly floating upwards, towards the light and saw creatures with masks like his. Hollows. Amber eyes looked to the child below and noted the sword had transformed back to normal but the shocked if not repulsed emotion on his face was enough to make the hollow feel triumphant all over again.

"Negacìon." The child muttered with alarm and horror.

The hollow laughed. Swearing on its life that it will kill the brat once he's powerful than him. He may have pride and instincts but he knew he was underpowered against this brat.

He will come back for that brat's head.

"Renji, why the hell are you slowing down? I need to report this immediately to Ukitake-taicho!"

Naruto was alarmed, angry and beyond unnerved.

The hollow had help. But how was that supposed to happen when it hadn't even had the chance to go to Hueco Mundo, fairly new born. How the hell did the hollow get a goddamned fucking help? With the use of Negacìon no less! His mission was to eliminate it but the coordinates never mentioned that it could gather the assistance of fellow hollows and Menos.

"I know." It was his companion's quiet reply.

Now Naruto was also worried for his friend, since he met Renji outside the Academy, the redhead had been subdued and dare he say it, sad. But what could warrant such reaction? As much as Naruto wanted to find out, he didn't have time for this.

He needed to report this to his superiors.

If hollows were starting to have a semblance of fellowship and some kind of order, this was bad. Suddenly, it wasn't about his mission anymore. He had already extracted his gigai from the team and had sent his abrupt resignation and hitai-ate to the Hokage. He had already apologized to his teammates (because his departure meant their failure of the exam) when they had been asleep and had left Shikamaru with a letter. He apologized to everyone on his way out of the village even if he wasn't supposed to.

This was his mission, there's nothing to apologize about. Just like when a ninja infiltrated a family and became part of it just for information, he was never sorry about it.

But his departure was already abrupt in its best and the least he could do was apologize to these people. Explain himself that his friendship and the emotions he expressed wasn't the least bit fake, that all of the memories he had here was cherished but he couldn't.

He felt like a traitor but at the same time all he felt was accomplishment for serving his home.

He looked away as they rushed inside the Dangai.

As soon as they reached the light, Naruto was silent. His reaction never changed, always at awe of this place. He wondered if how long he'd been gone here. Two months for Renji could mean a few years, a decade or two already.

"Seireitei…"

AN: Sorry for the long wait, college was keeping me busy these days. I know its a little fast and (yes, Naruto would still come back to the elemental nations) abrupt but understand his situation - away from home and his mission incomplete...and Orochimaru's hollow not only on the loose but with help from fellow hollows or someone else? That's a hint already. This is how my story goes so please read the preview. Not many may like it but this was the original plot anyway.

Preview:

"Naruto-kun, we have a month left to help rectify the situation. So I'm sending you in Rukia's place for the mission to patrol the Karakura Town. Get ready for anything, a month is all we need so please trust your captain on this one." Ukitake said firmly, assurance in his voice as he crouched in front of his Third Seat.

The blonde couldn't help but look away.

"You didn't have to do this taicho, this is my problem. You shouldn't do this. A lot of things could happen in a month." He replied solemnly, unable to look at the man.

"Naruto, don't burden yourself so much. Just do as I say. And that is an order." He knew the blonde wouldn't listen so he'll use his power over him as much as it pains Ukitake to do so.

Circumstances had finally led to this.