PA: Here we go, if you guys have followed my other stories, you probably freaked, seeing as all of them were updated at the same time, think of it as like... Idk a thank you? Yeah, lets go with that, for you guys being so patient while all my family stuff was going on. I have pretty much been seated at my computer for the last few days typing non-stop, but you probably don't care about that, ONTO REVIEWS!

LordGhostStriker: You were pretty damn close to the mark with your first though, but there is a little more added onto it, lets see if you can guess it after this chapter is done ne?

megaslayer321a: I recently literally was watching Rosario + Vampire as I finished working on this chapter, also yes I know, I already started reading the manga and have spotted a large number of differences already, I also just put out a Naruto/Rosario + Vampire story, hopefully it does well cause I really enjoyed working on it.

I had thought of having Haku's combat style similar to Mizore's as well, thinking that it would be rather interesting.

Demon-Slasher: The Terminado (Human Form) that you see now, is Naruto's Kingdom's version of Arrancar, they have perfected it using the methods of hollows from aeons ago.

Senjutsu Sennin: I tried to do it so that everyone is like, 'I am like 95% sure it is so and so' but they still had that little bit of doubt that it could have been someone else.

Otaku97: Sorry about that, my translating site is a little whack, so yeah, I get what I pay for, seeing as I use it for free, I think I have done pretty well so far. Although, I think I might keep it as it is , because he is only going to release like once or twice more in the whole story.

As for your second point, I have no idea whether sand is capable of ageing, I checked Google, couldn't find anything on it.

Your third point I agree with completely and have swapped it around to the correct word for this chapter, I am just so used to Naruto and Fairy Tail, where it is just the same word for pretty much everything... Maybe I am just lazy, and finally thank you, I am glad you are enjoying it.

Hades the Scribe: What did you mean by 'the last' did you mean manga for Naruto? Cause if so I was 'eh', I had expected it to come down to that but still, I kinda wanted him to draw kakashi's face at the end, would have made it more awesome.

Rakjo: It will be coming up later, but it will be similar to the Espada, only they aren't really ranked in power, more on when they joined.

kage88: Only Tia and Nelliel will be with Naruto.

Impstar: I can always come up with something... well... almost always.

Fanfic shuffling: Naruto will gain some semblance of control over his emotions again, but he is not going to lock them away completely.

Krazyfanfiction1: All of your questions, are answered in this chapter pretty much, even if it may not look like it at first.

ultima-owner: Thank you very much.

Gacsam: I know, it was just how Nelliel saw it in the middle of the fight.

For anyone that wanted to know what Naruto is now classed as, technically he is a 'Terminado King' (Complete King). As this is what Naruto and Szayel have decided to call their form of Arrancar, which is really just a modified version of the one from Hollows past.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A small grunt left my body as I lifted the large pile of lumber over my shoulders. A few of the weaker hollows were watching with gazes of awe. I still don't understand why Naruto surrounds himself with those that are many times weaker than himself.

Does he use them to make himself feel stronger?

Doubtful, he doesn't seem like that kind of man, despite the changes he went through since I met him in Wave all those years ago.

That dirty panther, Grimmjow was nearby. Gritting his teeth and 'putting up' with the work. Why would you volunteer for something only to grumble and whine about the work required in doing such a thing?

I placed the lumber in the needed place getting a few cheers from the others, a strange warmth spreading through my normally cold chest.

"Thank you Zabuza-sama. It would have taken us a fair while longer to do it ourselves."

There was a slight hint of arrogance in her voice, yet at the same time I could feel that she was at least somewhat sincere about her words, from what I know, she was one of those hollows that used to follow that Tia woman around.

Giving a small shrug I looked at the mighty lioness, "There is no issue Mila-Rose. I am sure someone else would have helped if I didn't. Ya might want to get a bit of strength behind ya though, relaying on others all the time could put you in a bind at some point in the future."

A small scoff came from her form, "We help one another here Zabuza-sama. Seeing as you helped us, we will help you in return. A favour for a favour if you will."

With a small frown I turned on my feet, "That makes some sense I guess... Only that Gaki would think of such a strange system and make it work."

"No," The single word that came from her mouth caused me to pause in my step, looking back over my shoulder at the woman, "You helped out my group. I will find some way to repay you, because that is what I feel is right."

Waving my hand dismissively I turned back to face the front, "Yeah, yeah. Well, if you need me you can find me in the training grounds, the Gaki hardly covers his back, so I gotta get strong enough to do it for 'im."

"Good luck with that, Zabuza-sama."

"Just Zabuza... See you around Mila-Rose."

"H-hai Zabuza."

Naruto waved his hand through the air, watching as large amounts of stone was carried by the strong currents. Nelliel and Gaara doing the same with their sand, "So why are we doing this again?"

The stoic reply of Gaara got a small smile on the face of Naruto, "Since we just passed through something like this. I decided that the we all needed a place to unwind."

"Yes, I understand that, but why this?" He gave a wave of his hand at the oriental building that they were in the middle of construction with.

The blonde gave a small chuckle, "I thought, 'What is the best way to relax after a long day?' In the end I came to one answer, Hot-Springs. So that is why we are all here you, Nelliel and myself are helping with construction and putting everything into the right places. Making sure it is all watertight, once we are done, Ulquiorra is going to make sure that all the electronics are in place, making sure the place gets heat and power. Once all that is done, Tia should be just about ready to fill the springs using the water control she has been working on and drawing the moisture from the newly erected cloud around us."

The red headed hollow frowned at the choice of words, "So simply because you could not think of a better way to 'relax' as you put it, we will be building a Hot-spring like the one back from Konoha. Correct?"

"Pretty much Gaara."

"It is good to see that you haven't changed too much Naruto. Even after your transformation that seem to have removed your... what was it, Hollowfication?" Gaara mused in thought, dropping another large stone block into place and watching as Naruto lifted hundreds of timber beams into place with just a hand. Nelliel quickly putting tiles into place with her sand and grinding down the ends of the wood to make sure they were flat.

Nel tilted her head to the side in thought, "So Naruto-kun looked like this when he was a human?"

"For the most part. Although, the measurements that his stalker provided made his muscles out to be not as... well placed?"

The green-haired Vasto Lorde rose a brow at that, "A stalker?"

Naruto gave a sheepish chuckle at the reaction, "She was a friend, just a little shy was all Gaara."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"She was definitely a stalker Naruto. A shy friend would not have hidden behind trees while you were training." The redhead stated calmly.

Naruto scratched his head in thought, "How did you know about that?"

"It was back when I was trying to kill you. Before the end of the Chunin exams. I came back to the village early to thin the competition, I heard some people say you were training near the outskirts, thus I made my way and searched for a scrawny teen in bright orange. I found you, but I also found Hinata watching you from behind a tree. Temari distracted me, thus I did not attack either of you."

Nel gawked a little at the openness between the two, while Naruto gave a bright smile, "Ah, the gold ol' days. Back when I just had to worry about pounding on Neji. Also back when you were a manic with a lust for trying to kill anyone strong."

"I believe you can take trying out of that sentence Naruto."

The rose a brow at the former Kazekage, "So you killed me and Sasuke did you?"

A brief moment of silence fell between the trio with the two former shinobi just staring at one another, "Touché Naruto."

"Did anyone ever tell you both, that you are seriously strange?" Nel got out, feeling both sets of eyes shift onto her form.

"This coming from a green-haired fox woman that can throw sand around with her mind?"

"Oi don't speak to Nel like that. She can throw any kind of earth around, not just sand!"

The green-haired Vasto Lorde pointed a finger at Gaara with a smug grin on her face, "Yeah I can throw dirt and stone too!"

The redhead lifted a hand into the air, slowly counting down to something while Naruto palmed his face from what she just said. When it seemed like she wasn't going to achieve the desired answer by herself Gaara spoke up, "If you can 'throw stone', why are you using sand to carry it?"

There was a moment of pause before her victorious smirk turned into a heavy pout, "Muu, Naru-kun Gaara's being mean!"

Naruto walked forward and gave her a hug, his job already having been done for some time now, "Gaara only has tough love and mean. There is no in-between Nel."

"Muu, you should teach him some 'in-between'. He'll never find someone if he keeps acting like that."

"Actually, I held many potential suitors before I passed Nelliel, as did Naruto before he 'moved away'. We just had other things that seemed more important at the time. Love was normally the farthest thing from our minds."

Looking back at Naruto in shock she only received a nod, "Pretty much. But that was a different life. Also, do you want to finish your job so I can tell Ulquiorra to stop floating around up in the air and put him to work?"

"You shouldn't speak to me like that Naruto-kun!"

"He was talking to the both of us Nelliel. He is quite right though, he has been done for quite some time now and his task was more difficult than hours, he has a reason to think that we would already be finished by now." Gaara informed her while he lifted what appeared to be a full spring into place.

Gritting her teeth Nel stuck her hands out, causing a large amount of stone to lift into the air and quickly slam into place creating a second one.

The two earth users looked at one another for a brief time, a similar thought of not letting the other outdo them coming through their heads.

Seeing this, along with how quickly they started to put more and more into place Naruto let out a chuckle, "Ulquiorra you may as well come down now, they should be finished pretty soon."

There was a sonic boom as the bat appeared next to Naruto, his wings stretching a little before they entered his back once more, "It would seem that way. Zabuza and Grimmjow seemed to enjoy their time helping the gardening group."

"Zabuza had fun, outside of a fight? Are you sure you weren't just seeing things Ulquiorra?"

"Negative Lord Naruto. I had myself checked before the fighting started, my body was in perfect health." The bat responded stoicly.

Giving a small sigh as he should have seen the response coming, Naruto gave a nod in understanding, "Yeah, that was a joke Ulquiorra."

"You really should just say what you mean Lord Naruto. All of these so called 'jokes' are starting to confuse me."

Sitting down on a throne, far away from the newly erected cloud was Baraggan, his eyes looming over the destructive force of nature that was the signature of his rival, no... He was no longer in the same boat as the blonde fox.

Whatever he had done in that fight, it had put him on a whole different level. A level that he had no idea how to reach.

The tell-tale sound of a slithering snake let him know that his right hand man had arrived, from whatever ditch he had been in during the fighting.

"I still have no idea how he did it my Lord. But it would seem that he has fused himself with Shinigami Reiryoku. I have no idea what this could do to a Hollow if they didn't follow the same steps as Naruto did." The snake informed with what seemed to be major irritation.

Baraggan shifted and gave a small growl, "Leave, don't come back until you find a way for this to be brought into our army. Before you go... There was another King during that battle, one I hadn't sensed before. Find him and bring him into our fold, he was able to walk through the lightning field of Naruto and that Bat. A feat that would singe even my bones."

"U-Understood my Lord. With your permission?" The snake bowed its head in a submissive way, getting a wave of dismissal from the Vasto Lorde.

"Gather your army Naruto, for when I return the light from the moon will be blanketed by the shadows of my men, beating down on your door. That 'Queen' was weak, not worthy to try to stand against you. I will not make that same mistake."

Haku's body laid stretched out in the sand, a large amount of sweat pouring from her form. She had just finished learning Esperjo from Naruto, "I didn't think it would be this draining Naruto-kun."

"You should have, it is basicly grabbing a far away place, and putting it a step away from you. Something that most shouldn't even be able to do. The fact that you were able to do so means that you have a good amount of control over your Reiryoku." Naruto responded running a hand through his hair, it really wasn't that draining for him, maybe his reserves were just that big.

"Well you are the first person I taught it to, not to mention I was a Vasto Lorde when I came up with it. So I guess that the drain would vary but I guess I forgot that gap between a Vasto Lorde and an Adjuchas. Sorry Haku." He offered watching as the girl nodded.

"Do not be sorry, I may be required to have use of a skill like this in the future. I thank you for teaching it to me Naruto-kun."

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly the blonde chuckled, "No problem really."

"Lady Nelliel threatened you if you didn't?"

"Don't say her name," He quickly hissed out, "You'll summon her here."

There was a small grumble from above him, looking up he saw Nel sitting on a cloud of sand, with Gaara not to far behind her, standing, sitting was much too relaxed for his liking, "One might think that you don't like me if you keep talking about me like that."

"I love you Nel, but sometimes you go a little overboard when you are thinking of punishments." Naruto replied honestly, seeing the look of indifference that was doing its best to hide what hid just beneath it. Hurt.

Of course she knew he said it in a joking manner but still, hearing him speak like that just didn't sit right in her chest, "Maybe, but you learn don't you?" She went to flick her hair to add extra emphasis only to bat at nothing. Letting a small growl escape her throat, along with some curses at a boneheaded Hollow, "If Tia wasn't busy filling those springs we would be having a few choice words about a certain hollow 'king'."

Naruto gave a small shrug, "It will grow back Nelliel. Hair is something that often pays the price during combat. Though you could always speak to Lily?"

The green-haired woman gave a small shake of her head, "Nope. Lily looks like she has been focused on something the past few days. I don't want to bother her when she is like. Kinda reminded me of you when you get really into your work."

"That bad huh?"

Nel gave a hesitant nod, "Well me and Tia went up to talk to her, normally she knows we are there long before we speak up, but we waited half a minute while she was pouring through books and ended up surprising her in the end."

"Okay, I'll go see what is going on. Haku, create a portal to the centre palace."

The command from Naruto got the dragon to raise her head, looking at the space in front of him for a few seconds as ice started to form into the slate he needed for travel, "Esperjo." Solidifying in an instant Naruto waved his hand over the thin material, making sure everything was in place before stepping through and vanishing, the ice melting away moments later.

"Seems like you have that under control now Haku?" Nel mused.

The dragon nodded confirming her thoughts, "It is much more difficult than I figured it to be."

Gaara dropped down onto the sandy ground, forming two 'Esperjos' out of sand, a decent distance from one another, "Naruto-kun already explained it somewhat Gaara-san. Thank you though."

"A technique that alters the space of an area is going to be difficult to wrap your head around." He stated firmly, letting the sand fall back to the ground like nothing had happened.

"Its difficulty lies in how much Reiryoku it uses. My Sword Dance ability that I still need to name was my most draining before this, and I could maintain it for hours before it really started to take any effect. Esperjo I can only keep up for a couple of minutes at most before I am drained... I don't understand how Naruto-kun does it." Reasoned Haku.

Gaara gave a small understanding nod, "You can feel the difference in power between yourself and myself correct Haku?" Seeing her give a quick affirmative he continued, "The gap between myself and Naruto was close to the same before he evolved. Now I can not measure it. For him to use this ability at the flick of a wrist, without a care in the world, while it reduces you to the state you are currently in, should tell you that the gap is large enough. He would not have bothered to teach you did he not think you would be able to use it, regardless of what Nelliel said."

Seeing that Nel was about to respond he held up a hand to stop her, "When was the last time you saw him take part in something that would be deemed pointless Nelliel?"

"The Springs? I mean they aren't really needed right?"

"They serve as a place for the inhabitants of his kingdom to relax, not to mention, we have three people that can use water to attack. With the amount of springs we just made, there is a lot of water for Tia to fill in, meaning it can be used as a weapon just as easily. Or did you not notice how it was placed in the middle of the civilian district, where no other defences had been held. The same area that took a large amount of damage in the battle?" He quickly informed causing a look of understanding to fly through her eyes for a moment.

"Are you sure you aren't just giving him too much credit Gaara?" She tried to reason, I mean sure, it was possible that he had thought that far through, but really he just seemed to do it for the relaxing purpose, or at least that is what he made it out to be anyway.

The red headed Vasto Lorde shook his head, "I believe I might still be underestimating him. Did you notice what he was doing while you were placing the tiles on the rooftop Nelliel?" A simple shake of her head was all that she could answer with, "Focusing." Well no duh he was focusing, he wanted to make sure it was all right, it seemed that Gaara already know what she was thinking though, "He was much more focused than that. So I checked a little later on when everything was said and done on our end. Each tile was razor sharp. As you were placing them he was filing them down with wind to make them into blades that could be thrown by himself or you."

He saw the look of realisation that dawned on her, "Not to mention, that cloud around us, filled with Air, Lightning and Water... Three elements that hold a great deal of destructive potential. I saw what was able to be done to the cloud, dropping it down to ground level to act as a minefield of sorts. This entire kingdom is built to be one giant trap. I tried ripping some sand up through the cloud, thinking that it would be wet so I would need to exert myself further to deal with the added weight... The air was blowing it dry as it broke through the moisture. The water in the cloud is meant to only stick to things moving into it, not out of it. Yes some was turned to glass by the lightning, but I have no doubt that it will be fixed should this happen again."

"You mean to tell me, that even the random things he decides to do are planned out to have a bigger impact?"

Gaara gave a stern nod, "Indeed. At first I wondered how he controlled the cloud around us, then I watched for a while, something I didn't notice at first and without a careful eye you would look right past it. The cloud is not a perfect cylinder like it looks. Something that further piped my interest. Pacing around the centre palace I found its make up odd. There are unneeded rooms, completely empty, I asked myself why? Upon looking at it further, the palace is the same shape as the cloud, as it grows out, so does the cloud. When the cloud expands, he moves the entire kingdom to add a new room to the palace in order to control the cloud so it doesn't collapse inwards."

"So when there was a chance that the palace could be damaged..."

"Correct. If the palace was damaged I believe that the cloud would come crushing down on us not the way it did during the battle, but if it is already on the ground, it can't do that. Did you see how he checked the palace before raising it again?"

Nel slapped the top of her head, "How could I have missed all that."

"Simple. You did not grow up like we did. Where you had to examine every little detail. They were rather difficult to find, meaning he has done a very good job at hiding them. Those of the Kingdom walk past this all every day and have never noticed. There is a good chance that many of them never will."

"An accurate evaluation Gaara of the Sand."

That voice, he had heard it once before in a situation that would make it unforgeable, "Kurama."

The fox started to appear next to the group, his orange fur materialising out of thin air, "So you did remember. I must have left an impression, good or bad?"

"I am still deciding."

"Understandable," The fox gave a show of teeth in a signature smirk, "I do good work, don't I Nelliel?"

The hollow in question gave a confused look at him.

"You don't know? I thought for sure you would have connected the dots by now. I, a fox, came from Naruto, who now looks human. His Vasto Lorde form, was a fox, when you wanted to evolve, I felt your need, turning you into a..."

"Fox... So I am like this because of y-you?" She questioned hesitantly, could there really be something that possessed such strength?

Seeing the smirk stretch further seemed to cement her answer, "The control over earth was a by-product of your evolution, Naruto's will return in time, but a large portion of it was used to create you. I could not let the mate of my partner remain unhappy now could I?"

Seeing the hesitation to answer on Nelliel, Gaara stepped forward, somewhat defensively without actually shielding her from the fox, merely giving the intention that he would be prepared to, "Do you have a purpose for rubbing in your work?"

"A thank you wouldn't be too much to ask for. Besides, there are no hostilities between us, and I have already had my work out for the day. That dirty panther thinking he could best me, HA! I showed him!"

"I do not understand why you would go out of your way to fight Grimmjow." Gaara remarked, he tolerated Grimmjow, the hollow was a strong fighter for his rank, when he became a Vasto Lorde it would be a sight to see. Yes there was no maybe, it was already cemented that he would become one, the tell-tale signs of evolution were already showing.

Kurama tilted his head to the side, "By that logic, should I just sleep all day until Naruto wants to but heads?"

"What did you do before you were brought back out?"

"Touché Gaara, touché. I thought you would be more interested in how I am back."

Gaara's face remained unchanged as he looked at the fox, "Hardly. When it comes down to Naruto or you, nothing could really surprise me. When the two of you do something together, I doubt even the gods would be able to stop you."

"Such praise, and from the youngest Kage as well. There is something that is starting to get on my nerves though. Nelliel, would I be able to borrow you? I need to see the Shinigami Captains, but it would appear that I have not been granted clearance to do so yet." The fox stated offhandedly like it didn't matter too much to him.

Nel rose a brow at the question, "Why haven't you been allowed to see them yet?"

"Naruto hasn't informed his geeky friend that I am allowed in yet. So instead of blowing it up to get my way, I thought I would ask nicely."

"You can change size right Kurama, like grow bigger and stuff?" Nel asked, getting a small nod from the fox, "Can you become cute and tiny?"

Giving a small grumble as he watched the edge of Gaara's lips twist upwards into a smirk the fox let out a single sentence, "I think I should have just blown the place up."

Naruto frowned at what he saw in front of him. Lily had run herself into the ground, her head was resting against a desk, pages and books laying all around her. Walking up he tapped her lightly, watching her body sit upright and her hands quickly shoot around neatening up the paper, "I am fine!"

"Really, cause you don't look like it..." It would seem that the amount of worry in his voice was easy to recognise as she stopped without a seconds warning.

"Naruto..."

Knowing where she was likely to go with this he held up a hand to stop her, "No, don't Naruto me young lady."

"I'm older than you..."

"It matters little in this situation," He picked up her arms and dragged her onto his back, Lily reluctantly 'accepted' fighting against him was pointless, she didn't have the strength at the moment, nor could she beat him even if she did, "I'm cutting you off from the library until you get your reserves back up."

"But I am fine," Their faces were inches apart, so there was no way she could miss his questioning glance, "Really, I am," Seeing that he wasn't budging on the situation, nor did he stop moving towards his destination, "You're a real hypocrite you know that right?"

"Yes."

"You do this kind of thing all the time."

"Yep."

"And it is normally, me or Nel that tells you off."

"Yes."

"So I don't think you can really talk about this..."

"It is because of those exact reasons that I can Lily. You and Nel normally scold me about it and force me to rest and eat because you know I won't hurt you. Nel hasn't ever seen you like this, neither has Tia and it freaked them right out. Now we didn't know how violent you were going to protest being pulled away, so I figured it would be best if I did it, cause I can smack you about and take a fair kicking if you were going to be a bitch about it." He gave a smirk as she huffed at him in response.

"I hardly think I am a bitch about anything. It's too much effort."

Naruto gave a small chuckle at that, yeah Lily could be hyper at times, but it was clear that she hated exerting effort the majority of the time, which is mostly why she spends her time sleeping or reading, "What has you like this anyway?"

"Your transformation, Tia and Nelliel wanting to become Queens and myself trying to come up with a new ability." She answered without a seconds thought. She had never lied to him before, so why start now?

Naruto pressed his lips together, "How did you become a Queen?"

"That is what I am trying to remember, digging through all these records is starting to fry my head though, I know I stored it in your library somewhere, I just don't know where. Not all of us are born a King like you." She bit in his direction playfully, earning a small laugh.

"Must just be because I am awesome right?"

"I think it has more to do with that large mass of energy you call Kurama, but yeah, let's go with 'awesome'."

She got a small pinch on the back of her legs for that, "Ouch! I don't do this shit to you when you fall asleep at the tables."

"We are different creatures Lily. But I guess I am just not awesome enough to stop myself from doing it."

Another pinch, "Ouch, ouch! FINE STOP STOP! You're awesome okay?!" The attack stopped and Lily let out a small breath, "Better?"

"Much."

"Aren't you supposed to be taking it easy on me ya bastard?"

"Probably."

The two walked in relative silence until he placed her down on a seat in the kitchen, his lips pressed into a thin line as he moved around shifting through the cupboards and fridge, trying to find something for her to eat, "I can feed myself you know Naruto?"

The blonde threw a premade meal into this thing that Szayel called a Microwave, pressing a few buttons like he was told some time ago and heating it up, after a few quick minutes passed he pulled it out, grabbing some chopsticks and giving it a few stirs, placing it in for another thirty seconds to make sure it was cooked through properly. Once done he slid the meal in front of Lily, staring her down until she sighed, slowly picking up the utensils and taking some of the food into her mouth.

"I know, hence why I'm not holding you down, forcing it down your throat. You just needed some encouragement was all right?"

She poked at the food in the bowl, 'encouragement' is now what she would call what had just happened, more like kidnapping and intimidation, "R-right!" She spoke a little too quickly, "So I can go back to the library when I am done...right?"

"Wrong."

"What?!" She dropped the chopsticks and looked at him defiantly, expecting a good answer for why he was keeping her away from something that could be a massive boon to them all.

Naruto cracked his head to the side, placing his hand on the bench in front of them, Lily watched as a strange blue energy filtered out of his hand and through the marble counter top, "The Library is now looked down. You can go back to exhausting yourself tomorrow, after a good night sleep and a day of relaxing... You're my friend Lily, I don't want you to end up hurt from overexerting yourself. If it comes down to it, I'll do this again... Believe it."

Lily paused and thought over his words, he was worried about her? He just underwent this crazy new transformation, that they knew next to nothing about, yet he was worried over her loosing some sleep? There was a strange warmth in her chest, one that wasn't unpleasant, but she didn't have anything she could compare it to, making it different and slightly odd. Was this what friendship felt like? "I understand... Hey Naruto?"

The blonde rose a brow at her when she extended her hand forward, "Yeah?" He questionably spoke, looking at the object.

"This is what friends do... Right partner?" A small toothy grin forming on her face.

Naruto put his hand forward and took her, giving a firm shake, "I guess you're right, partner."

"Lilynette Coyote, the 'Pack Queen'. Bond Marked and sealed."

The two looked around at the strange voice, only to see the chain around Naruto's waist glowing as the words that were just spoken were engraved into one of the links. "T-That's pretty strange you know Naruto..."

"There is a lot that we still do not understand in regards to the Terminado yet Lily. This may just be one of those things we have yet to learn." Naruto looked at the markings strangely, gently thumbing them, only to feel them warm up in response.

Seeing this Lily gave a questioning look at the words, "Maybe we are bound together now? Nelliel isn't going to like that... You dirty fox you."

"*tsk* Troublesome woman. I'll open up the library for you tomorrow... Until then..."

"I know, I know, rest and get a good night sleep."

"Well that is interesting..." Szayel trailed, machines beeping around him as he took down notes, Naruto having just finished explaining the strange thing with Lily and how the chain reacted, "Do you have any idea what caused it?"

"Not really no. Could it be like when Kurama infused his energy into Nelliel? Only this time it is them bonding with me?" He tried to reason, it was really the only thing he could think of.

The first Terminado tilted his head to the side, giving it a small scratch, "Possible I guess. Though I would figure that it would have bonded you to Nelliel first, seeing as you have known her the longest."

"We haven't exactly been in a situation where we have been connected so to say since I evolved. But I do feel a little different now. I feel like my mind isn't as foggy and things are much clearer now," The blonde took the chain from the table, it automaticly wrapped around his waist again, like it knew just what he wanted it to do.

Szayel eyed it for a moment, slowly extending his hand forward, "Well, let's try it out ne?"

"Practical science? I didn't think you would be so ready to just jump into something without more information on it?" The blonde mused slowly putting his hand out in response and slowly taking the one offered by the scientist.

"Well, I guess you could say that even I can get a little stir crazy at times. All of this lab work is really starting to take its toll you know?" He gave a small smile to the leader of the kingdom, despite how much he may say otherwise, everyone saw him as the boss, someone not to be messed with, this was only cemented in place when people saw him take out a Queen with very little effort.

Naruto gave a smile in response, "I said you're more than welcome to join me on the field any time Szayel."

"Szayelaporra Granz, the 'Mad Scientist'. Bond Marked and Sealed."

They watched as his name was added to a link in the chain, "Oh, you really weren't kidding. Although, I did feel a little pull on something when the 'marking' was done... OW!" Szayel suddenly screamed out, rubbing tenderly at his chest, above his heart a blue fox started to form, nine long tails thrashing about, "Did Lily receive one of these?" He mused pointing at the mark.

"Not that I know of, could this be because you a- Szayel... your mask is vanishing..." Naruto watched in awe as it started to float up into the air.

The pink-haired man tenderly felt the area, seeing that Naruto was right, "Incredible... It feels like my body is completing itself..." He ran over to his computer and starting quickly tapping away at his keys, "It could be possible that this marking of yours, has the ability to complete the current stage of evolution... That would explain why nothing happened to Lily, as without becoming a Terminado, her evolution is completed, well as far as we know anyway... If there is anything higher than what I dub 'The Royal Tier' than I never want to meet them."

"Would that mean that I might be able to make Nelliel into a Queen?"

Szayel paused at that, could he? That would be... incredible, the mere prospect of having that kind of power, it was unfathomable, "If you could, do you know what this would mean?"

"That I am then classed as the biggest threat in Hueco Mundo..." Naruto replied tiredly.

Szayel looked at him with a great deal of confusion, "What? Why would you say that?"

The blonde ran a hand through his hair and sighed, "If that is the case, I would be able to form an incredibly strong army from nothing. The people that actively fight in this Kingdom are already forces to be reckoned with, if I was able to make them stronger, or 'complete their evolution' as you said. Baraggan would stop at nothing to crush us into the ground, that false rumour of him partnering up with the Shinigami may actually end up coming true."

"Try as they might, we will just beat back all invaders, time and time again for :

Even if the morrow is barren of promises

Nothing shall forestall my return

To become the dew that quenches the land

To spare the sands, the seas, the skies

I offer thee this silent sacrifice.

Or something like that, right my lord?" The shit eating grin on Szayel's face was all Naruto needed to see as the blonde male sighed and dropped to the ground.

"I didn't think you would read my poetry Szayel, thinking that the more artistic side of my brain would be better put to use in the labs instead of into the arts." He looked up at the man only to see him pull out a book from his tattered robes, having not finished with the machine to help build clothing like Naruto had designed.

He gave a small shrug, "I was curious. I didn't think it would leave a mark as large as it did on me, though I must ask, who is this Goddess?"

Naruto seemed to pause in his step, "I don't know..."

"Wings of Light and dark? If the Shinigami are considered 'Light' than we would be the 'Dark', meaning that you and myself, would have 'wings' of light and dark. Though now that I think about this... you had this already written long before you become a Vasto Lorde. Nelliel having just transferred your cave 'scribbles' as she called them, onto paper." He tapped the book against his chin a few times, "Just what happened to you before you came to this land, to have already seen what you would turn into, or is this merely just a coincidence that you wrote about a creature that would bond the beings of both good and evil?"

Frowning Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, "I don't know Szayel... How are the Revy and Tengo coping?"

"Oh, I moved them into the same cell under the begging and pleading of the purple-haired one... You might want to check on that though... I would like to get back onto my research on the Terminado procedure... Oh, and Kurama came by earlier, with Nelliel, I think they might still be down there... Should I make an exception on the list for the fox?"

"Yeah, I should have come down and done that a while ago. Thank you for reminding me Szayel." The blonde gave a smile to the man as he started to walk towards the section where the captives were held.

The pink-haired male gave a small shrug, "Not a problem, you have a lot on your plate my Lord. I do my best to make sure you can work at your best... Oh, you may be in for a little bit of a surprise when you go down there... Just thought I would give you the heads up."

"Am I going to be swamped by affectionate hollows again like the last time you said I was in for a 'surprise'?"

"Oh no, you won't be swamped."

"If you two could kindly put aside your past issues, I am trying to acquire information about a matter that is important to me." Kurama stated as calmly as possible, looking between the Dragon and Cat, his eyebrow twitching as they continued to argue.

"I believe it may be difficult for you to be taken seriously Kurama, after all, you are currently being cuddled up in my mates breasts..." A somewhat bored voice came as soft steps entered the room, everyone's gaze turning and taking in the visage of the human looking hollow.

"Naru-kun/Naruto-kun/Gaki!" Came the three different replies from those that were close to him, each standing across from the three Shinigami captains.

"Kurama, Tai and Nelliel. It is good do see the three of you getting along. Lily is resting now, so you don't need to worry about that, on another note, the Library is off limits to everyone for today."

Kurama struggled free of the hold he was in, although he may not admit it out loud, Naruto had found himself good mates, though he didn't like being held in such a way that made him seem as a cute pet. He was the Kyuubi no Yoko after all.

"Storm-Rage."

"Hollow-san."

"Naruto-dono."

The three very different replies came from the Shinigami captains, it was to be expected after all, "Tengo, Revy and Ginrei-san... Kurama what are you asking them about?"

"Zanpakuto, that scientist has one, and I would assume those chained blades around your waist may be yours. These captains have more experience with them so I was seeing if there was a method to 'awaken' them, so to speak, and before you ask, I have been very nice, only snarling twice and giving a small growl once." The fox gave a huff and turned his nose up at the blonde, slowly growing to stand at his waist and moving around the room, taking in all the sights in a different perspective.

Naruto turned his head towards Tia, wondering why she was here, it would seem that his unasked question was heard by her, "I came to speak to Szayel to see if you had stopped by, he mentioned that Nelliel and Kurama came down here, I assumed this would be the best place to wait for you."

"Oh, and I came so Kurama could get in, though I am not really sure about all this Zanpakuto business, is it like my lance and your spear?" Nel questioned, tilting her head to the side in a cute manner.

The blonde male pressed his lips together in thought, "At first I thought so, but I have run into some new discoveries that have made me look at it a little differently... Did you need me for something Tia?"

Tia dropped to the ground, kneeling before Naruto causing him to groan at her having gotten back into this stupid habit of hers, "I request that you allow me to take a group of hollows south. Kerrigan... she seems to have left me a quest in her dying message... and despite how we ended up I still-"

Naruto placed a finger under her chin, slowly lifting her up to look him in the eyes, "Are you ashamed that you want to live our the final act that your teacher wrote for you?"

"I... I don't know, I should be angry at her, but I can not find it in myself to simply ignore this, it feels like it is too important."

"And if I threatened to exile you for leaving?"

The room seemed to freeze over at those words, Tia looking like her throat had been slit, wide eyes staring at the man in front of her, was this another test? Did she take the risk? "You once told us that, 'A fool is one who will not stick his neck out to fight for what he believes in.' I didn't know what to make of it when you first spoke these words but now I do... I believe that this is the right choice Naruto-kun, I need to go south, to fix the mess my old master made, I need to go to find some manner of closure in her death... For while she may have been crooked, if it were not for Kerrigan, it is quite possible that I would have never met you."

Taking a small breath she raised her hand to hover over her heart, "I would have never met anyone from the cloud, I wouldn't have experienced happiness, the ability to rely on others, I would have never felt like there was somewhere in this world where I belong. Though you may exile me for this choice, I believe I would still see my home as by your side... You taught me how to love and how to be loved. I can walk down the streets, without worry of being attacked, I can wave and have a friendly conversation with passers-by... I will protect this King- my home, from within it or outside of it until my last jagged breath."

This caught most in the room by surprise, namely Revy, Tengo and Nelliel. Seeing just what kind of affect this hollow was able to have on others. That was no just a sense of loyalty, this 'Tia' had just poured her heart and soul into that speech, if they had of heard that from one of their subordinates, they might have shed tears of joy, but to hear that come from the mouth of a 'creature', it was kind of insulting. Just how is this Naruto able to cause such emotions to come forth from mindless creatures?

Was this the power that the Captain Commander was so weary of? The reason for why this hollow needed to be brought to Soul Society? His strength was already something out of a horror tale, but now, now they really had to think, were hollows really as mindless as Soul Society thought them to be?

Tia's eyes stayed locked on the man in front of her as he slowly walked forward, her throat going dry as he came inches away from her and leaned forward, placing a small kiss on the bone that covered her cheek, "Only take those that want to go. I could recommend a few that seem itching to get out if you want?"

"Is it okay? For me to continue in this?"

"Hai, it would be kinda bad for me to tell you to ignore your heart now wouldn't it, especially when I told you to listen to it not that long ago. You have my blessing and my best wishes Tia. Was there anything else you needed?" He asked looking over her for a few moments.

Tia gave a nod and took a step forward, pressing her body against his and cupping his cheek with her right hand, standing up on her tip-toes to nuzzle into his other one, "I will become a Queen, then a Terminado like you Naruto-kun. I wanted to do this with my bone mask at least once, because the next time we meet I shall feel you with my skin instead."

"I look forward to seeing you become what you were born to be Tia, I'm sure you won't disappoint." A warm smile spread across his face as Tia slowly moved away, giving a content nod.

"I will probably be taking Grimmjow and Zabuza from the patrol groups, seeing as they always seem to be ready for a fight, and I feel that one is brewing." Tia spoke honestly moving to walk past him, only to feel his skin brush over her bones, "Yes Naruto-kun?"

"...Be careful... Southern Hueco Mundo is a dangerous place..."

"...You doubt my ability to protect myself?"

The two shared a knowing look with one another but Tia slowly nodded, "I will be careful Naruto-kun... Please do the same."

The room watched as Tia left, none of them knowing how long it would be before they saw her again, but her home would welcome her and those she took with her back with open arms when the time came.

"Well Kurama, I can't let Tia get ahead of me, let's go!" Nel pumped a fist into the air and the fox seemed to stare at her for a few moments, slowly bringing himself to shrug and head towards the doors, stopping and turning around to see the green-haired Vasto Lorde jump up on her toes and plant a small kiss on Naruto's lips before running off down the hall, "I'll see you later tonight Naru-kun, we'll talk more then okay?"

"See you soon Nelliel."

The room fell into an awkward silence as the footfalls of Nel slowly died out signalling how far away she had already moved, Ginrei cleared his throat, "It seems that you are doing much better now Naruto-dono."

"Thank you Ginrei-dono, was there anything I could do to make your stay more comfortable?"

The older man gave a light chuckle, "I would ask not to have a war raged above my head, but that is hardly in your control... I am quite content, though I could do with a new book if it is not too much trouble."

"I do apologise for that, though if I were not," His gaze turned to the two newly acquired Shinigami captains," Distracted, it more than likely would never have come as close as it did to my kingdom. Then again, not everything can always go according to plan. I had thought to try and save any more Shinigami from coming here by sending that girl back, it would seem that she did not give a warning."

Revy chuckled sheepishly, "She was still a little wet behind the ears, I thought she exaggerated a little... Turns out she understated your abilities if Tengo's recollection of your fight was anything to go by."

"Storm-Rage, if you wish to make my stay more pleasant, remove this woman from my cell."

"No," Naruto stated calmly, earning a small growl from Tengo and a confused look from Revy. She had honestly thought that the hollow would have removed her if he was asked too, "There is a lot of tension between the two of you. Anyone could see that. I believe it would be best if you used this time to sort out your issues. So that way when you are returned to Soul Society, you can start to live your lives again."

That statement caused the captains to stand up and clutch the bars in front of them, "You're going to send us back?" Ginrei pressed his lips together in thought, "You had best not be playing with our emotions Naruto-dono."

"I am doing no such thing Ginrei-dono. I have my best man working on a way to safely take the Reiryoku from a Shinigami, without removing their powers. You will be able to return to your home in time, once we have collected enough to be able to create it artificially. My Kingdom will finally be able to rid ourselves of these brandish markings, while you will be able to resume your old life once you hand over every piece of information you collected while you were here to your superiors." Naruto waved a hand to the side to show that he was not bothered with sending them back.

"A wise choice when you have it put that way. Though you believe you will be able to artificially create Shinigami Reiryoku?" Ginrei mused while Revy and Tengo were still trying to picture such a thing.

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest, pressing his lips together and sighing slightly, "That is the difficult part. Though we have successfully created Hollow Reiryoku, the slight differences are incredibly hard to point out without being able to look at two large samples, as everyone's is unique to a certain extent. Once we can get down to the basis of your Reiryoku composition we will be months away from being able to release you. Though at the same time, we do not know how long this will take. I can not give you anything more than the fact that you will be returned home at some point."

"And the reason for that is simple. You feel that once we speak of how advanced your culture here is, that the Shinigami will either try to avoid your Kingdom completely, or they will come seeking talks of peace. It is a two stage plan, you don't lose out either way." Ginrei explained only to hear Naruto scoff.

The blonde shook his head, "As nice as that sounds, it will never happen. There is deeply bread animosity towards Hollows, my kind have long since attacked yours and vice-versa, I am sure that if I was to leave your men out of their cells and roam around the village, they would sooner or later attack those of my Kingdom. It is in our nature to fight against one another... Peace will never happen, the best we may be able to achieve is a non-aggression pact. Though even that would be shaky at best, because how are you to say that the Hollow that went missing in the human world wasn't slain by a Shinigami? They could have easily been eaten by another Hollow, but with all the fighting between our races, no matter what is down on paper, we will always be looking over our backs, trying to spot the sword moving so we can strike before we are struck."

Ginrei watched as the blonde clenched his fists so tight that he started to draw blood, "I do no want to bring peace to this world. That is a fools dream, something I have long realised. There can never be true peace. So I provide sanctuary, that is the best anyone can hope for." The blonde closed his eyes, obviously having had enough of talking about the subject.

Revy frowned, while Tengo scowled, not at Naruto, but at the life he had to live to come to that conclusion. Ginrei on the other hand sighed, "It pains me to see one as promising as you give up. I believe you could bring the worlds together Naruto-san, Tia, the Vasto Lorde that was here before. That is all the proof I need, you are capable of great things, regardless of what you think. You are able to sway minds and have people dance around you, hanging off your words... I believe you could bring peac-"

*CRACK*

The sound cut off Ginrei and forced him to look into the eyes of someone he hardly recognised, the Reiryoku proof ground was cracked from the sheer spiritual force radiating from Naruto, "You think I haven't tried?!" The blonde spat out, throwing a hand out to the side in frustration as the cell Revy had once been in was broken away like it was a wet paper bag, "I ended a war that took hold of nations, yet in the end, the only peace we could manage was until our blades were sharp enough to cut each other down again. I was exiled for trying to spread peace! But then again, I am just a weapon, I was born a weapon as a human, and I became one again when I was reborn here! I hate living, I FUCKING HATE IT! So don't you fucking dare sprout that you believe me capable of such a thing... You don't know me, and I sure as hell don't want to waste my life again."

Naruto spun on his feet and headed for the exit, "The only way for peace... Is to burn out all life. Wars can't be fought if there is no one to fight in them. As evil as you think me to be, I would not sentence a race to death... maybe that makes me more humane than you..."

With those words the blonde left, Tengo scowling as he dropped down onto his bed, "He is telling the truth..."

Revy looked over at the scared man, only to see a defeated look on his face, "I watched him gather the nations of our past life, and for a time it seemed like there could be peace... But that all turned around once the nations got back on their feet... Marching across the lands to 'avenge' his death, using the fact that he killed himself to start a full scale war... Whoever brought him back is a twisted individual, if you knew a fraction of what he went through... you would agree..."

Ginrei moved to sit down on his bed, folding his hands over one another and taking a position of concentration, "Then tell us Tengo."

"It all started long before he was born... Three major clans, the Uchiha, the Senju and his own, the Uzumaki..."

(I am not compressing the Naruto storyline into a story between two people.)

"What do you mean you changed your mind?!" Grimmjow roared glaring at Tia who stood in front of him, her arms crossed under her bust.

Her thoughts were conflicting as she didn't know what to do any more, it would appear that Grimmjow and Zabuza had started to evolve into Vasto Lorde... This was not good, she could risk taking them, but if the evolution was to continue further, they would become a liability, "You have started to evolve. You will become incredibly weak, nearly bedridden from the pressure it puts on your body... It is the single most painful thing that I have experienced. I couldn't possibly take you out of the safety of our home in such a state."

The panther seemed like he was about to argue, only to stop instead and scoff, "About freaking time. Fine, I'll see you when you get back Tia, you better get strong though, cause if you come back and you're weaker than I am... I'll kick your ass."

Tia saw the feral grin on his face and fought back a smile of her own, she took that as Grimmjow's way of saying 'take care'. Zabuza was more straightforward, "Oi, don't get yourself killed, I don't want the Gaki to get soppy on me... I hate that kinda shit."

"I won't let such a thing come to pass." A stoic voice spoke as Gaara rose from the sand next to them, thoroughly freaking out Grimmjow, "I would be a terrible friend if I let Tia wander the desert alone, not to mention that Naruto would never forgive himself if something were to happen to you."

"Then it would be best if I came as well, it would only be logical to have all angles of combat covered." Ulquiorra stated calmly as he dropped from the sky.

Tia now didn't know whether to be thankful or to curse her luck. She was more than aware of how strong these two were, but they had to be the worst travelling partners, she didn't imagine much talking happening.

"You'd best not think that we would let you leave without taking us!" A voice quipped out from behind the group, turning around Tia saw Sun-Sung standing there giving a small hiss while Haku looked at them impassively, "As Zabuza-sama is unable to attend, I will join your venture. I will be able to use Esperjo when we have completed our task to return us here. It will greatly reduce our time away and open up a viable escape route, should it be needed."

"A-ah, I am sorry Lady Halibel, but would it be okay if I stayed behind?" Tia turned to see Mila-Rose standing there, her eyes flicking across to Zabuza every now and again.

The blonde pressed her lips together before smiling behind her mask, "It's okay Mila-Rose... But I expect you to tell me all about what you got up to while I was gone... okay?"

Feeling more than a little embarrassed by what the Vasto Lorde had implied, the adjuchas nodded sharply before blending back into the crowd and getting back to work.

Lily walked towards the group, she seemed to be in a much better mood than the last time that Tia had seen her, the brunette stopping a few feet from the blonde as she pressed her lips together, "You told Naruto on me..."

"I did. I was worried about your health."

The brunette lifted up a hand and placed it on her hip, "Thanks for that. We had been pretty distant with one another lately, it was good to remind ourselves that we were still friends, though the bastard could do without pinching my legs... They're pretty sensitive ya know?"

"I will do well to remember that Lass Lily." Tia stated calmly, not exactly sure where she stood with Lily, Nelliel was easy, they shared the same beliefs and were rivals, though Nel was much more laid back and easy going than she was.

Lily held up a hand and sighed, "Just call me Lily. I see you often enough that you are pretty much like family now, though that being said that would make Naruto like family as well... So if he is my brother, that would make you my sister, meaning that we have some weird as shit inter family stuff going on... Well good for you guys I guess."

A fair few people around them were now in a shocked state at how openly she spoke about that stuff, "I uh, am not sure if I follow Lily?"

Waving a hand as if to say it doesn't matter, Lily lifted up the one on her hip, showing a strange amulet, "Take this Tia. If you ever get in over your head with no way to escape... Crush it ,throw it at the enemy and run for your life. I was able to contain a combined Cero from myself, Nelliel and Naruto, think of it as a going away present... Though the best gift would be you coming back with it still intact though."

Tia held out her hands and let the amulet be dropped into her palms, looking over the craftsmanship, it was in the shape of a cloud, something to remind her of home, "I... I don't know what to say... But thank you Lily."

"Most people would go with that yeah... I probably don't have to tell you this but, Naruto cares a lot about you, so don't go getting yourself killed, it would make a lot of people sad you know?" Lily strolled up wrapping the girl up in a big hug, causing Tia to freeze in place, "You are meant to hug back you know?"

Slowly her arms wrapped around Lily and the two stood there for a few moments, just centring themselves as Tia prepared for her journey, it was all broken apart by the sound of his voice though, "I am glad I was able to catch you before you left."

Lily gave a small sigh as she moved away from Tia, "And there goes any focus she had on me..."

"Sorry Lily, I see you already gave her that? Well, I have something else..." The blonde held out his hand spirit particles flying around it rapidly slowly forming into, well something that she had no idea about, it looked like a plain white stick.

She stared at it for a few moments, as if looking at the object would make it unravel all of its secrets, "I am sorry Naruto-kun... but I don't know what it is..."

Naruto gave a small grin as he flipped it around in his hand, "Take it."

Tia did as he said, feeling a sensation that she hadn't in quite some time flow through her body, "Can you hear me Tia?"

Her eyes went wide, she looked up at Naruto to see his grin grow wider, "I can speak to you through this, a physical collection of my Reiryoku. In the same manner, I can use this to find you, if you want me to or need me to at any point. Sadly I don't know how to make it so you only have to think your words to me... So you kinda need to talk to the stick... I have been working on this for a little bit as a way of staying in contract with people outside of the cloud. I know it is kinda sappy, but I remember you telling me that you liked the feel of my spiritual pow-"

He was cut off as Tia crashed into his body, nearly knocking them both over, "T-thank you... Do you think, that you could do that once more?"

Naruto nodded and leaned down, cupping her cheeky as his face seemed to phase through her mask, she felt his soft lips brush over hers, forcing her to quickly act on how she had seen him and Nelliel during one of their moments, opening her mouth and capturing his lips, savouring his taste and warmth as it spread through her body.

A small cough interrupted them, the pair broke apart and saw Lily looking over at them, "I thought you were meant to be seeing her off, not giving her more incentive to stay?"

Naruto gave a sheepishly smile while Tia took his hand gently and leaned into his body, "I will show you what I can become Naruto-kun. And I'll keep my promise to you, next time, I don't want to see you until I am a Terminado, then I can k-kiss you."

"Hai, the longer you stay here though, the longer you're going to have to wait for that Tia... I'll see you when you've evolved again. I thank you all for going with her, and I wish you all the best of luck and a safe journey." The blonde bowed to the group, causing them to do the same.

Naruto and Lily watching as they turned and started to walk away, leaving behind the cloud. Who knew how long it would be until they returned? A smile spread across Naruto's face he would have to make sure that he didn't stagnate while they were gone, turning on his feet he decided he could better spend his time training. For what? He had no idea.

Nel panted heavily, she was in a training room that Szayel designed for Naruto to use, there was a frown on her face as she looked at where her attack had hit, not a single mark had been left yet. Standing up and steadying herself, she lowered her stance, taking a large breath in as she narrowed her eyes on the spot on the wall, her pictured target, it slowly shifted from an imaginary cross to the skull of Baraggan.

Putting everything she had into the attack her body lurched forward, a large pink Cero flying from her mouth and crashing against the wall. Falling forward she failed to see what her attack had done. Her face was down, looking towards the tiles beneath her, she was short of breath and barely able to stay concious.

She felt a little bad about not seeing Tia off, but she wanted the blonde to have Naruto's whole attention figuring it meant more to Tia than if she just gave her a quick farewell. Growling a little she pushed herself up up and looked at her self designated mark.

She couldn't help the smirk that spread across her face as she saw the scorch mark on the wall, it was tiny and could probably be sanded off, but, this was designed to hold up against Naruto before he evolved, yes his full power would have likely broken the wall down, even back then... But seeing she was able to leave a mark meant she was making progress.

The soft sound of claws striking against the ground drew her attention to the side as she watched Kurama walk towards her, his tails waving around in the air, "Are you ready to go again?"

"Fill me up!"

The fox did, using the same theory behind a Jinchuuriki, that being, 'Fill a small space, with a much larger amount of power, forcing the body to adapt.' Sure this was draining on Kurama's reserves, but it was nothing that a day or two of rest wouldn't fix. Whereas it would improve Nelliel for a life time.

The only reason he was even able to forcibly increase her Reiryoku capacity was because part of him was already inside of her, it was like transferring money across bank accounts, only, using an energy that if used wrong would blow up and possibly cause lethal damage... It is probably a good thing he knew what he was doing.

A small smile spread across his face as he filled the girl up, watching as the tip of a new tail could be seen trying to form. The start of her second tail. This training was going to take much longer than the girl thought.

Yoruichi had been livid for days, ever since waking up and finding out what had happened. It was not the fact that they ignored her warnings... It was that they hadn't taken her.

She let out an angry growl as she read the paper in front of her, after that shrimp Aizen had said that they travelled to Hueco Mundo, everyone on the expedition was marked as K.I.A, and with no way for them to get back... There was a good chance that that was the case, but now her clan was telling her she was going to become the new head.

She had the Captain Commander breathing down her neck because of her recommendation for a captain position from Revy.

All in all Yoruichi was not having a good time. She could feel the tension in the air, a lot of people were put out of place by the fact that they were not going after the group into Hueco Mundo. It was more the understandable, she was furious about being left behind, yet at the same time, she knew that if she let it affect her too much, those around her would take notice.

Running a hand through her hair she sighed, throwing the letting off to the side, she would have Kisuke take care of it later, if he was to become the new Lieutenant of Division 2, he would have to learn how to do paperwork.

Right now she needed to hone her skills more, the taste in the air... It unnerved her, everyone was scared. But what scared her the most was, it almost felt like Revy and Tengo were right next to her. Even weirder was that she could feel Ginrei... but they were all dead right?

Lily pressed her lips together into a frown, she was starting to have second thoughts about this whole Terminado thing. What if her power was too strong for the suppressor after it was done? Would she go back to killing innocents just because she was near them?

Biting her bottom lip, she looked over to Naruto, the blonde had his arms crossed over his chest, seemingly stuck in thought. She couldn't feel a single whisper of his strength, though she knew he was leagues above where he once stood, which was already above her.

If he was able to suppress his massive strength, so would give it her all to do the same. Steeling her resolve she gave a sharp nod, "I'm ready."

"Remove your mask completely. I will make sure you don't injure anyone." Naruto spoke sternly, removing his chain and placing it on a nearby chair before walking into the room, standing a few feet across from her, "No matter what you hear, listen to my voice."

"And if I can't hear you?" She questioned, trying to cover all bases.

The blonde tilted his head to the side, having obviously not thought of that, or just finding the suggestion strange in itself, "If it comes to that, just keep taking in the Shinigami Reiryoku no matter what. Your body will automatically stop when it is full."

Lily nodded and lifted her hands up to her face, gripping tightly around the mask, she watched Naruto turn his head over his shoulder, "Bolt the door and flick the switch."

With a mighty yank she ripped it from her face, letting her skin feel the air for the first time in centuries, her breathing slowly picked up as she felt a strange hunger swell within her, slowly she crawled forward, barely noticing as Naruto placed a finger to her forehead, stopping her in her tracks.

He felt so strong, incredibly so, "Lily~" His voice seemed to be distorted and stretching, it was hard to make out what he was saying, "Start sucking in the surrounding Reiryoku."

Stretching her mouth out wide, she felt her body start to fill, but it did little to quell the hunger, she spoke, but it was not normal, more like her body and mind were moving in slow motion, "But I'll burst?" Those three simple words, they took nearly 10 seconds to leave her mouth, something he hadn't expected.

"Szayel, start using the Captain Reiryoku, Lily's mind seems to be slowing down."

"By your orders my Lord." Came the chipper reply from the scientist, honestly he was having much to much fun now that they were able to create the Terminado.

Naruto felt the sudden increase of pressure in the room, feeling his mouth twitch into a smile as it all started swimming towards Lily, "Whatever you do Lily, don't stop."

Her head slowly nodded, she felt like she was about to be ripped in two, her hands coming up to her sides and trying to keep them together as a large white crack ran down her body, a brutal scream leaving her throat.

Naruto was thrown back as she exploded, nearly destroying the room that they were in. Pulling himself from the wall and dusting off his body he looked ahead, watching as two people seemed to move around, still drawing in energy to complete the ritual. A thought tugged at his head, Szayel didn't split, maybe it was only those in 'The Royal Tier' that split? Or maybe just Vasto Lorde?

A few more seconds passed as the dust was still heavy in the air, before her head Lily cough and splutter, "It won't let me take any more... N-naruto? Are you still there?"

"Szayel... Ventilation please."

The sounds of machines kicking to life stirred as the dust was pulled from the room, Lily slowly pulling herself up to her feet, a dirty brown cloak wrapped over her body. There was a small groan, not a few feet from the duo. Lily walked over, feeling her maskless face and checking where her hole was, only to find it all gone.

"Naruto.. who is this?" She mused, leaning down next to the brown-haired boy, he was in his early twenties, around the same age as Naruto with a little bit of stubble on his chin.

"A theory I am working on is that once hollows reach a certain level of evolution, they can not safely become a Terminado in a singular body... In other words, he is you in a sense." He explained as simple as possible.

"Explains why he is so handsome then... Kinda always wondered what I would look like as a dude... Guess I know now... Though what is this tail doing on the front of his body?" She mused, poking at it a few times only to watch it start to stiffen in response, "I think it likes me?"

"Lily, search your head. You'll find what it is for..."

He watched as a focused look came onto the woman's face, despite the fact that she was still prodding the 'frontal tail' with her index finger, a look of revelation came over her face as she slowly stood up, looking under her cloak and rubbing her hand between her legs, "Wow, it is really like we are human again, only we get these kick ass powers now... Umm, what can we do for clothing, I don't think he should be walking around like that all the time."

Naruto instructed her to spin around, she did just that, feeling him take the cloak off from around her and hearing a large tearing sound, probably the fabric, "Stay as you are." With that she heard him walk away before the man on the ground let out a groan peeping over her shoulder, she watched as Naruto turned it into a robe bottom like his, extending the material and making it thinner for the man but still durable. Naruto had probed her male self up against a wall, pinning him in place with some strange energy thing while he completed the transformation.

In the meantime Lily looked down at her body, examining it, it was different to her old one, she just wasn't quite sure on how yet, though one thing that caught her eye was the blue fox with nine tails on her left breast, it was kind of strange, but she saw Szayel with the same marking earlier, just what did this mean?

Next Naruto walked up to Lily, drawing her out of her musings, wrapping a long sash around her legs, and following it up with a top to cover her breasts. It made her feel a little wild at being in this human looking body. "You're going to need to name him Lily." He spoke as he finished tying and clipping off her clothing.

She gave a small tug on the garments to make sure they wouldn't fall off as she moved, remembering somewhere that showing your naked body everywhere was bad, "I'm gonna call him Starrk, he looks like a Starrk to me. Though what are these things around my wrists?"

Holding up the items in question, Naruto saw two bracelets, each having a wolf head dangling from them, looking around the room he couldn't think of anything that resembled a weapon, so with a shrug he said, "Zanpakuto maybe? I mean, Szayel got a sword, and I have a bladed chain... I guess that they could really be anything..."

Lily jingled the bracelets, looking at the small wolf heads in a sense of awe, "So this could be like your chain, with that weird voice and everything?"

"No idea..." The blonde trailed sheepishly, "There is still so much that we don't know about the Zanpakuto, like neither myself nor Szayel have figured out how to do that whole 'Shikai' and 'Bankai' thing, I think that would be pretty cool. Wonder what would happen though."

"You're going to turn into some super monster demon of awesomeness, I am calling dibs on that... Maybe I'll go start up a betting pool?" She walked over to Starrk with a bit of a skip in her step pulling the bindings away from him without much effort, Naruto was thankful that he had stopped taking in the Reiryoku, meaning it was safe to do so, "Hello, my name is Lily, well it is longer, but everyone just calls me Lily. It would seem that we are two parts of the same Hollow."

"You're so noisy..." The male droned out, opening a grey eye slightly before closing it, "Wake me up some other time."

Naruto watched as Lily puffed her cheeks out in irritation, it was actually somewhat 'cute' to see a Vasto Lorde act in such a childish way, though he didn't mention that now as she seemed ready to attack, "No! Come on, your name is Starrk, lets go and get you used to the kingdom."

"Just, just let me get used to this wall first... Such a comfy wall..." His breathing evened out an he become non-responsive to outside stimuli, signalling that he had entered a deep sleep.

Lily stomped her feet and forced his mouth open before grabbing his tongue and dragging it out of his mouth, forcing the man to open his eyes wide in shcok, "Come on~ We are going for a walk, then I show you to the hot springs and where we will be sleeping, oh, and hands off, I don't want you getting any ideas."

"He won't be able to respond if you keep holding his tongue..." Naruto trailed, watching as Lily looked at him and back to Starrk, her lips pressing into a frown as she let go.

"Fine... Bossy woman. Lead the way."

Doing just that Lily spun on her feet and started marching to the door, only to slam right into it and fall down onto her but rubbing her forehead, "Ow... Szayel, can you open the door? I'm not a rampaging monster or nothing, I'm a Terminado like you and Naruto."

"Is that true Lord Naruto?"

Starrk seemed to look at the blonde, as if pleading with him to keep the door closed so that he didn't have to move, giving a small shrug at the man he looked at the door, "Yeah, although you could see that anyway... Did it look as funny for you as it was for me?"

"You mean the second strongest in the Kingdom falling on her but like a small child? If so then yes, it was humorous. It is a good thing that I have it recorded, it will certainly make those long shifts in the labs more enjoyable."

"Muuu! SZAYEL!"

The 'Strange Hollow' as Ulquiorra would call him, stood atop a sand dune, looking down at the hundreds of dead bodies at his feet, they were simply too weak to deal with the attack he was working on, Uzumaki Naruto... He would fight that man to the death.

His lips formed into a frown behind his mask as his wings stretched out wide, feeling the friction in the air he gave a small grunt as he jumped to the side, narrowly dodging the bladed tail that erupted from the ground, "I see you are still as sharp as ever."

"Kabuto... I thought I smelt your foul scent, I assume you are already following the beck and call of some worthless trash again? You do not seem like a man capable of leading himself..." The angel-like Hollow grunted out.

"Oh how your words wound me so, but you have always been the coldest of us all... I don't think I could exile the one person that never stopped believing in me, after stealing his life long dream from him... That is something only you could do, isn't it Sasuke-kun?" The hollow known to be Kabuto smirked as he narrowly dodged a beam of lightning from the one known to be Sasuke.

"You are still as touchy as ever. I wonder, could this be because you are still hung up over how you died?" Narrowly dodging another bolt of lightning Kabuto knew that Sasuke was not aiming to kill him, possibly just to maim.

"S-Sasuke-kun? Is it really you?"

The raven-haired hollow tilted his head, watching as a slug crawled across the sand, wasn't that very bad for them? Wasn't there supposed to be a lot of salt in the desert? "It is Sakura... I thought you would have stayed with the Dobe this time, or are you really as heartless as the creature you are supposed to be?"

"I-I-I"

Kabuto spoke over her, not having the time to deal with a stuttering fangirl at the moment, "If it is revenge you want... Gaara and a would-be mate of Naruto's have headed into the Southern Wastelands."

"They do not fear Kerrigan?"

"Kerrigan was killed."

"The Dobe?"

"Hai, he removed her soul, or something along those lines... I will need to relay this information to my 'Lord' shortly, I just figured that you may find it more useful than he." With that Kabuto started to slink away, not bothering to see the reaction of Sasuke.

Sasuke clenched his fists and gave a small breath out, it was because of Naruto that he was killed. Turning towards where he knew the Southern Wastelands to be, he took a stride forward, pausing after it hit the sand, he was going to regret doing this, "Are you coming Sakura?"

"H-hai Sasuke-kun!" Like a puppy she fell into line beside him.

The Uchiha did his best not to groan, but even a strong Hollow would be foolish to go after someone that Naruto had taken an interest in, his lips pressed together in thought, he wondered how many fighters she had taken with her. There is no way the overprotective Dobe would just let her wonder around by herself.

Raising his right hand in front of him, he stretched it out, lightning a large amount of lightning course around it, striking out to the other parts of his body, "I will get my vengeance Uzumaki Naruto. I will destroy everything you care about before landing the final blow on your broken body."

Sakura looked at the man next to her, nothing had changed, he was always trying to kill someone, first it was Itachi, now it was their old team-mate, she frowned a little, was it right for her to just leave Naruto behind? Yes she had gotten a lot of her memories back, but she didn't understand how Naruto killed Sasuke, he just didn't seem like the type.

I recently found myself in a troubling situation. I have spent long hours trying to figure out the meaning behind Lord Naruto's words, but they hardly seem to hold any logic that I can find. Normally there are parts that can be analysed and studied to reveal a true meaning, though now I could no longer find one.

I found my mind, wandering, if only slightly, to Lady Tia. She was so focused on her love for Naruto, that she seemed to sacrifice all kinds of logic in her thinking. Was the heart, an organ that Hollows are without, so important to her?

The one I found easiest to understand, Lord Gaara, he seemed to also have a strong 'bond' with Lord Naruto. Did I too share this 'bond' that was spoken of? Was it possible that I acquired it without understand, nor knowing what it truly meant?

What was a bond? A symbol of friendship? Rivalry? Was it simply something that showed that you cared for something? If so I do hold a bond, two actually, one to Lord Naruto, he saved myself from a life without learning, a life without meaning. Now I protect those that can not do it themselves. My second one... That would be my bond to logic, without it I can not find the answer I am looking for.

Emotions are still outside of my grasp. I once tried this thing that Lass lily called a 'Joke', I was scolded by Nelliel for it, apparently my 'joke' was capable of something called a 'Jinx', some strange ability that allows a sentence or phrase to tempt the laws of the universe into making the worst happen.

I believe that to be a ridiculous theory, how could I hold such a power, as to change the outcome of something that was predetermined the moment we drew our first breath?

"Ulquiorra, are you okay?"

It came from Lady Tia, she seemed to hold a hint of worry, why would she? The past has shown that I will be fine to keep this pace for over a day, we are barely a few hours into our journey, logically I would still be 'okay' for hours to come.

"I think he is lost in thought again Lady Tia."

That came from Haku, the ice-dragon, Adjuchas in level but holding some minor abilities of Lord Naruto. She could prove to become very strong in a handful of years if she continued to train and evolve. That is the only way for us to grow stronger.

"I am able to continue at this pass." I responded calmly, mostly to keep them from bothering me further.

"That isn't what I was asking Ulquiorra..." Lady Tia trailed, bringing the group to a stop, I scanned my eyes over her and watched as she looked at me with those eyes again, worry evident, this emotion is near the top of those that I do not understand.

"What were you asking about then?" I offered, personally I believe it would be best if everyone left their emotions behind, I feel that they become a hindrance.

Although Lord Naruto was able to become incredibly strong when he became enraged, maybe if everyone anger was as strong as our Lord's, things would be more interesting in this dull desert.

I watched as Lady Tia seemed to stumble on her words, I forget at times that she was as cold as myself before meeting out Lord, "I wanted to make sure that your head was in the right place."

"It is attached to my shoulders... How could it be in the wrong place?" The thought was ludicrous, how would one lose track of their head?

"I believe she was referring to your ability to clear your mind of thoughts and focus on the task at hand Lord Ulquiorra?" Lord Gaara offered, finally someone in this group that held a logical view in mind.

I gave a small nod, "I will be able to when the time comes, I am just pondering something that has caught my attention of late." The others seemed to shrug, possibly assuming that was the best answer that I was going to provide them... They would be correct in that assumption.

Our group continued to move forward, but we slowed down to a walking pace, slower than what we moved in the patrol groups, but it did allow for us to be able to react easier to a situation, should someone humour the idea that fighting a group of three Vasto Lorde was a good idea.

The only one that would be able to manage a feat of such, would be those that resided in the 'Royal Tier'. Those that would be able to be considered a possible threat to our lord before he evolved into this 'Terminado' creature. His body now looked weak, yet I had seen him spar, while I could not feel the power coming from his body, I could see the strength behind his strikes.

I watched him effortlessly take down the very same woman that was able to wipe out a large number of Vasto Lorde from the Southern lands. Kerrigan was strong, there was no denying that, even in Tia's current state she was no match for her, yet our Lord all but destroyed her in two attacks.

Was there anyone out there that could stand up to Lord Naruto now? Surely even Baraggan knew that it would be foolish to make a move while the gap in strength was so high... Does that mean that Lord Naruto has been able to fortify out kingdom with his strength alone?

I could often understand Lord Naruto, Lord Gaara as well come to think of it, I could often see the logic or reasoning behind most of the male Hollows I know... "I do not understand women."

"Pardon Ulquiorra?" Lady Tia asked, no longer did I understand her motives, yes I knew that they revolved around Lord Naruto, or this strange need to fix Kerrigan's mistakes, but I could not see why they needed to be done.

"I do not understand females, their species is confusing."

From the way her eyes narrowed, it would seem that the way that I spoke that aggravated her, "Do you believe I am not female?"

"No... I no longer understand you the majority of the time, though I can see some reason behind what we are doing, I am still not convinced, I mostly came because myself and Lord Gaara have been working on a combination attack. Understanding the logic behind recent events, it would seem that you will come under attack, this would provide an opportunity for us to see its effect against enemy Hollows." It could be possible that if I continue to use a profound amount of logic in front of her that she would return to how she once was.

"Oh, Lord Ulquiorra jinxed us again..." This statement came from Haku, I found this confusing, I had somehow activated this 'Jinx' again.

I watched Tia give a small groan, "I had actually somewhat hoped that I would be able to return without fighting any one."

"Logic would dictate that you would not increase your strength then Lady Tia. I believe I need to study this 'Jinx' further, such a strong ability could come in use for the defence of our Kingdom." The others seemed to giggle and chuckle, I do not understand why, can they not see the logic behind using the 'Jinx' as a weapon?

Expansion:

Zabuza x Mila-Rose: I don't know why, but I just found that those two really suited on another, nothing really serious is going to happen, like having whole chapters devoted to them developing a relationship, but it will just be little snippets here and there, another way of showing how Naruto's Kingdom is growing.

Character Interactions: These are, as above stated, mostly used to show character growth, though at times they are also used to explain things in great detail. For example Gaara's analysis on the layout of the Kingdom and his theory behind why the hot spring was placed into the civilian section.

Lily: She is pretty damn important in this chapter, well if you are down to here than you already know that. Having discovered a strange reaction with Naruto's 'Zanpakuto' and becoming a Terminado, I have put a fair bit of effort into developing Lily's character, so I didn't want to throw it away completely, but I didn't not want to add Starrk into the story either. So it is going to be a bit of a hyper Lily, and an incredibly lazy Starrk, both as adults.

Nelliel bonding with Kurama: This is due to a few big reasons, mostly, she is kind of embarrassed to ask Naruto for help with her hollow techniques. So now she will be learning from Kurama while Naruto teaches himself. Her 'growing tails' is going to be a measure of her power, I was thinking of stopping her at around 6-7 as opposed to letting her reach 9 like Naruto... 6 would be good, I have to stay with the whole numbers thing.

Now some people are probably going to be like, 'but that isn't how Reiryoku works' well, there is a fair chance that it doesn't work like that and you are correct, but this is a lovely thing called 'fanfiction'... I gave a somewhat viable excuse for as to why Kurama is able to 'charge up' Nelliel, so just buy into it.

Tia leaving: This is for her to grow, to learn about what it takes to lead a group and to become a Queen class Vasto Lorde. Naruto was not able to turn her down, seeing as he spent so long trying to fulfil his own master's wish. Plus some sappy stuff was added cause... why not? Plus there was a line that was thrown back at Naruto from a few chapters ago.

Naruto losing his temper: No one likes being reminded of his failures, and while he still doesn't have all of his memories, he has the vast majority of them. This being said, he doesn't want peace that extends further than his kingdom. While he may have the power and ability to stretch it across the land, it is kinda like feeding a dog, if it bites your hand once, you are going to be a little skittish about feeding it again aren't you?

Same thing here, only he hates the idea completely.

Sasuke: I am expecting some hate here, and I don't blame you, but it was pretty obvious to see who this was going to be, and really, the slug could have only really been a handful of people, like four max, and one of those was stretching it pretty far. I wanted to do the whole 'split team seven' thing, and it is going to happen, now there is no way Sasuke is strong enough to fight Naruto at the moment, he knows that, or at least I hope he does... He best be reading his freaking lines or I swear to Kami I'll shoot that Uchiha ass of his.

But yeah, he will be joining Aizen... Kinda? It will be weird, but make sense at the same time.

Yoruichi: I wanted to give a little view of what things were like in Soul Society. Next chapter is going to be a bit more involved in the goings on over there, as you can see, something is on the horizon.

Naruto saying that he would return the Shinigami home: Yep, and the blonde always keeps his word.

Ulquiorra at the end: That was just for a little bit of fun, and to point out that Tia has changed since he first met her.

PA: So, there is chapter 10 done. And we broken the 100k words mark with this one, so you guys think you could do me a favour and break the 500 reviews mark? I believe in you all!