Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, Naruto, or anything else that might appear in this story.


Chapter 7 - Names


As promised, this is the real last chapter. Maybe I'll come back and continue this story one day. Maybe I won't (which is way more likely). Don't count on it. For all intents and purposes, this is the last chapter ever. This story is now officially DISCONTINUED.

ALSO: this WASN'T beta-read, or edited, so there'll definitely be some mistakes/typos here and there. Nevertheless, the chapter should still be easy to understand as a whole.


"So, Schein," Naruto said, "what's the plan?"

"Plan?" She shook her head. "We do not require one."

"We don't?" Naruto frowned. He was powerless before the zanpakutō spirit, and, as far as he knew, Schein, the quincy spirit, had also been defeated by it. He could see no reason for her confidence. "What do you mean?"

Her eyes stared ahead without life. "I have reason to believe there won't be much of a fight. Even if there is, we won't lose." She faced the exit. "I've grown stronger."

Naruto blinked. Why wouldn't they fight? But before he could voice his questions, Schein started walking away.

"She awaits us," she said, "we should go."

"Oh. Alright," Naruto said, following after her.

They walked a steady, mild pace. When they finally arrived back to the center of his mindscape, they found the zanpakutō spirit cross-legged on the ground, her eyes closed and her sword on her lap. She opened her eyes as they entered her domain.

The pair stopped a few dozen feet away from her. She stood up and sheathed her sword. "A wise choice," she said to Naruto. "You wouldn't be able to control your inner hollow as you are now." She looked at Schein. "I see you haven't fully matured yet."

"It is a long process," Schein said.

"A pity," said the zanpakutō spirit. "I was looking forward to a proper match."

"It can be arranged for," Schein said. "I may not be fully grown, but I have grown enough."

The zanpakutō spirit laughed. "I'm afraid you aren't, Quincy. You do not the extent of my powers."

"Nor do you know mine." Schein stepped forward. As she did, she flicked her wrist, and a longsword appeared in her hands. It looked as if cast out of light itself, pale-blue in color, flickering, yet somehow solid.

Naruto's right eye reacted. There was energy building up around the two females—far more energy than he could handle. He stepped away even as the ground began to crack.

"Oh?" The zanpakutō spirit drew her sword. It looked different now—no longer was it shaped like a nodachi. Instead, it had taken a form Naruto had never seen before: it was around the length of a longsword, and had a grip and hand-guard; however, the blade was spun in a spiral, drill-like, cylindrical shape, almost as if a lance, sharpening on the tip, divided into three segments, engraved with crimson symbols. The guard itself was unusual: it was golden and layered, with part of it stretching towards the grip. At the same time, chains appeared around her left arm, wrapping around it in circles, with its end lying on the floor. "Are you challenging me?"

"Shit," Naruto murmured, frowning. The Eternal Tenseigan was seemingly on the verge of going crazy: the amount of reiatsu and chakra gathering around them was nothing short of colossal. The strange-looking sword, specifically, set off dozens of alarms in his mind. When he tried to look at it with his Tenseigan, it was as if he was staring into the sun. The amount of energy concentrated there neared infinity.

And it was all happening inside his mindscape. He didn't know how exactly that worked, but he had a feeling it wouldn't do him any good if a fight did break out. It was then that he felt a hand land on his shoulder.

"And they say I am the dangerous one."

Naruto felt a chill run down his spine. He glanced sideways, only to see that someone was standing right by his side. It was a woman who looked to be around Ichigo's age, with long lavender hair. She smiled at him, sweetly, her eyes dangerous, as if a predator looking at a prey. "Naruto, right?"

Naruto jumped backward, drawing his own sword. That made the two spirits look over; when they saw Rize, it was as if they had completely forgotten each other. The zanpakutō spirit's reaction was by far the greatest. "You are free? How?"

The woman giggled. "Did you truly believe I could be bound?" she said. "Oh, you fool. I just grew bored of playing along."

"How precious," said the spirit. "You fancy yourself invincible, is that right? Well, allow me to show you otherwise." She charged forward, sword in hand, all the while unleashing her chains, which seemed to act as if they had a mind of their own, stabbing at the long-haired woman.

"Please," the woman said. She reached out and grabbed onto the chains, before throwing aside, as if they were loose rope. Then, as the zanpakutō spirit came closer, a long, tentacle-like appendage burst out from her back and attacked the spirit, who was sent skidding toward the wall, having used her strange sword to block the attack. She smiled and retracted her tentacle. "You'll have to do better than that, sweetheart."

For a while, nobody spoke, the woman and the zanpakutōspirit stuck in what Naruto believed to be a staring contest. Finally, Schein spoke up. "What is it that you want?"

"Nothing," the woman said, breaking her gaze "I figured I'd just meet my host." She looked at Naruto again and smiled. "And so I have."

Naruto wasn't paying attention to her words; something far more important troubled him: even with his Tenseigan directly locked on where she stood, he couldn't sense anything with. It was as if she didn't exist at all. "Are you the hollow?" he asked hesitatingly.

"Indeed I am," she said. "However, I'd be grateful if you called me by my name, Rize. The name 'hollow' leaves a bad taste in my mouth. It implies emptiness. Shallowness. And, I assure you, I'm anything but empty." With that said, she glanced back at the zanpakutō spirit. "I am perfectly aware you don't trust me, but I assure you that I mean no harm. Otherwise, we both know you'd be dead by now. Moreover, even if we fought, it'd definitely bring damage to our surroundings, and I'm not interested in harming my host's mindscape."

The zanpakutō spirit hesitated for a moment, then, albeit unwillingly, sheathed her sword, although she kept her hand close to it all times, ready to draw at a moment's notice. "There is truth in your words."

Schein also seemed to agree. She dispelled her light sword. Then, as if previously agreed upon, they all turned toward their host.

Naruto stepped back, unsure of what to do or say. He could barely wrap his head around the situation. He had known from the start his tenants were powerful, but what he had spectated far surpassed even his wildest dreams. He was foolish to think even for a moment he was ready to gain control over them; he doubted if he ever would.

The zanpakutō spirit stared at him silently for a few seconds. Then, she sighed. "Gilgamesh," she said.

Naruto started. "What?"

"That's my name. Gilgamesh," she said. "King of Heroes, Wedge of Heaven."

"Gilgamesh," Naruto repeated, dazed. Then realization dawned upon him. "Wait. Does that mean I am… worthy? But I couldn't defeat you."

She shook her head. Rize smiled, almost as if looking at a young child, while Schein remained indifferent. "You were never meant to defeat me; even if you trained for many more years you wouldn't be able to. The purpose of this was for you to realize that if you only rely on strength, when you meet someone stronger than you, you'll lose. In a battle, you must use anything at your disposal. The solution I wanted you to reach was the one you reached: to seek help. As a king, it'd be unsightly of me to request the help of others. But you aren't a king—you are a peasant, and as a peasant you shouldn't be bound by honor or pride.

"I've also noticed how you're surprised by my change of behavior, so I'll spare you the trouble of asking. During the battle, I intended to keep a solemn and cold atmosphere, as that's what I believe most of your battles will be, in order to maintain a certain level of realism. If I acted as casual as I am right now, you'd probably realize that something was up right away. Therefore, I wanted to truly see how you'd react in a real battle."

"I… I see," Naruto said, nodding. Now, looking back, Schein had probably known all along. But that made him think of another thing. Why did she call herself king? And those titles—where had they come from? He decided to voice his questions. "The last time we met," Naruto said, slowly, trying to structure his thoughts into words, "you told me you were only born recently; that you had been created by the Hōgyoku. But you seem"—he frowned, grasping for words—"as if you're something more, I guess."

To his surprise, Gilgamesh nodded, as if she was already expecting the question. "Indeed, that was what I had first thought. However, as time passed, memories started coming to me—they weren't created, I'm sure; instead, it felt like remembering, in a way. I'm still not sure how all of this works myself, but I have a feeling that what the Hōgyoku did wasn't simple creation and modification, but something else entirely."

"I felt the same thing," Rize said. "My memories are faint, but I certainly feel as if I used to be someone else." She paused. "Aside from my name, however, there isn't much I remember. One thing that comes to mind is the word 'ghoul', but there's nothing besides that."

Schein nodded, although she didn't speak; Naruto figured she saw no reason to share her own experiences.

"I see," he said. He already had a theory or two—and he was sure they did too—but before sharing them he wanted to check with Ichigo and Zangetsu first. And that reminded him—how was he to return?

As if reading his mind (something he wouldn't put beyond her), Gilgamesh said, "Well, I believe this is enough for today. I'm certain you're anxious to try out your shikai. We'll hold you back no longer. Go."

Just like that, Naruto felt his consciousness fade. When he opened his eyes, he found himself back in the real world. Ichigo sat across him, staring at him curiously. He blinked, and Ichigo smiled. "Sensei?" he asked, a bit disoriented.

"You're back," Ichigo said. He stood up and helped Naruto to his feet. "So? How about it? Do you have the name?"

"I do," Naruto said. He had much to discuss with Ichigo, but, at that moment, all he could think of was his shikai. "Should I try it out?"

"Go for it," Ichigo said. He took a few steps back, giving Naruto some space.

"Alright," Naruto said. He raised his sword and concentrated. "Conquer, Gilgamesh."

The reaction was instantaneous: there was a sudden burst of reiatsu around Naruto, golden in color. His shinigami outfit changed—it was now more form-fitting, with golden accents, and a red, sash-like cloth tied around his waist. The biggest change, however, lay on the sword: it had lost its nodachi shape; instead, it now resembled a classic longsword, with a golden grip and guard, whereas the blade was dark, with red characters drawn across its length. In a way, it resembled a more sword-like version of the weapon he had seen Gilgamesh wielding.

"Interesting," Ichigo said, observing Naruto's new attire. His eyes lingered on the changed sword a little longer. "What can it do? Is it like mine?"

"Hmm…" Naruto concentrated for a moment. His eyes widened. "Wait. What? Really?"

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Naruto said, shaking his head. "I'm just… surprised. I'll show it to you."

He raised his sword, holding it parallel to Ichigo. Then, right before Ichigo's eyes, it split into two. One half took the form of a long, knife-like sword, purely black in color, with a thin, hollowed-out portion running along the back edge of the blade, from the base up to the middle of the sword; the other half became a smaller blade, similar to the first one, but smaller, with an enclosed handle, and completely filled.

"Zangetsu?" Ichigo asked, surprised. "In its shikai form? Shape-shifting?"

"More," Naruto said. "Take out Zangetsu."

Somewhat confused, Ichigo summoned it, already in its shikai form. "What now?"

"We fight," Naruto said, then charged at him.


The fight started out simple enough, with Naruto attacking, and Ichigo defending. However, as time passed, Ichigo realized that Naruto's attacks were gradually getting faster; he also noticed that his disciple's swords were in no way inferior to his own pair.

Naruto's replica rivaled the original Zangetsus, be it in power or durability. It was almost as if fighting with himself. Before long, he had to go into the offensive, lest Naruto would accumulate too much momentum and overpower him.

What he didn't know was that Naruto still had other surprises in store for him. Ichigo, deciding to catch his disciple off-guard, threw in an under-powered Getsuga Tenshōamid a flurry of attacks. However, he was the one surprised instead when Naruto, right after blocking his attack, used Getsuga Tenshō himself, indistinguishable from Ichigo's own attack.

That was when Ichigo realized it wasn't nearly as simple as advanced shape-shifting: Getsuga Tenshōwas an ability unique to Zangetsu and his father's Engetsu. Naruto's ability to use it could only mean one thing: the sword he wielded was, at least in theory, Zangetsu itself.

The moment he realized that, he immediately stopped the fight. That was just too much to swallow. In his lifetime, he had come across unique powers, such Aizen's hypnotic skills, or even the shikais and bankais of the 13 Captains, which tended to be pretty unique, but Naruto's was just too surprising.

"Naruto," Ichigo said, eyes narrowed, "just what is your shikai?"

The boy smiled a rueful smile, scratching the top of his head. Despite that, Ichigo could see the sheer excitement in his eyes. "It's a bit complicated to explain, actually," he said. "To sum it up, it basically has other weapons 'submit' to mine. In other words, my shikai can 'conquer' any weapon it comes across. However, it can't force them into total submission—in other words, it can't grant me full ownership of the weapons, as it's just not that powerful yet. Instead, it demands from the weapon its concept; in other words, the very idea behind it, its blueprint: its powers, shape, hardness, durability, and everything else. Then, taking that, my shikai forces the 'blueprint' into existence, through an adequate vessel. This time, as I didn't have anything at hand, I had to use its own body, but from what I understood, as long as I find a vessel that can contain the spirit of the weapon, it'd also work."

Once Naruto had finished his explanation, Ichigo stood there, motionless for a while, before starting to laugh. "Now that is something else," he said. "If your shikai is that powerful, then I can't help but fear what your bankai will be."

Admittedly, Naruto's power would be incredibly useful back in his world; there, after acquiring the powers of many different zanpakutōs, Ichigo had no doubt he'd become a massive powerhouse there with only his shikai. However, they weren't there anymore—instead, they were in a world in which weapons were considerably undervalued. Nevertheless, that wasn't to say it was useless: after all, it had already copied Zangetsu's shikai, which was, in his opinion, one of the most powerful ones among shinigami. Even if Naruto copied no other weapons, he believed that with his own version of Zangetsu, he'd already be powerful enough.

And that was considering they were only talking about the shikai. For all he knew, Naruto's bankai could be something far, far greater, as it wasn't uncommon back in his world for bankais to be significantly more powerful than shikais. Not only that, if Naruto could also copy his bankai… then, without a doubt, his zanpakutō would already rank at the top.

Nevertheless, there was still much they needed to try out, so they spent the rest of the day seeing what Naruto's shikai could do. In the end, they discovered that Naruto's shikai wasn't powerful enough to force Zangetsu's bankai to submit—despite that, from what they had seen, Naruto's shikai grew more powerful as he did, so it was only a matter of time before he'd be able to force Zangetsu into submission. They also tried to have Zangetsu himself submit, but they soon realized that Naruto's shikai interacted with the sword directly, bypassing the spirit, which made it impossible.

They ended the day with one last spare before each party went to sleep, so they'd be well-rested for the following day, which promised even more training and practice.