Chapter 10 – Bell Test
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[Training Ground #7, Konohagakure, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]
Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose as he went out an annoyed sigh. He then took in a deep breath, and looked at his former sensei with an irritated look on his face.
"You have got to be kidding me. Kakashi-sensei, I hate to be rude, but I cannot begin to tell you how much I loathe this test. You purposely had three fresh-out-of-the-academy genin who couldn't stand each other try to understand the meaning of teamwork by setting them up against each other. Also, after you used that 'Thousand Years of Death' taijutsu move, I couldn't sit properly for three days! And another thing-"
"Naruto, calm down. At least give me a chance to explain things before you tear into me. I won't be the one with the bells, you'll be."
Naruto's face changed to that of annoyance to flat out confusion as he looked at Kakashi, who was giving him his patented "eye-smile".
"I've decided to change things up a bit. It would be pretty one-sided if I were the one with the bells."
"Oh, … well, toss them here, then," Naruto said as the silver haired jonin tossed the bells and he caught them in one hand. Before Naruto could tie them to his sash, Byakuya grasped his shoulders.
"I would like to have a word with your former team, if you do not mind, Captain Uzumaki," Byakuya asked. Naruto shrugged his shoulders in response. The Sixth Division Captain walked up to Team 7 and looked at them with his usual neutral expression.
"Is there something you'd like to talk about, Kuchiki-san?"
"Yes there is, Hatake-san. And thank you for addressing with an honorific. I want to know why Captain Uzumaki considers you to be his 'precious people' when you have treated him so shamefully in the past."
This took Team 7 by surprise with the exception of Sai, who has a neutral expression on as well.
"What do you mean, Kuchiki-san?"
"I mean that you treated Captain Uzumaki like trash. Hatake-san, is it true that you only taught Haruno-san and Captain Uzumaki the tree walking exercise?"
"Y-yes."
"And you did not consider teaching them anything else in the time between that lesson and the Chunin Exams, such as the water-walking exercise or their elemental affinities?"
"I was going to teach them that but … I guess I just put it off for too long."
"That's unsurprising, considering that you are constantly tardy. And is it true that you trained Uchiha-san during the month before the Chunin Exam finals while you left Captain Uzumaki with some imbecile that would have taught him chakra control exercises and not focus on something that would help him against his opponent?"
"Yes, but my reasoning is justifiable."
"I am aware that Uchiha-san was going up against a psychotic jinchuriki that would of most likely kill him. But wouldn't it of been much simpler to train both Captain Uzumaki and Uchiha-san at the same time?"
" I … suppose so."
"Thank you for answering my questions. You have proven to me that you are a terrible teacher. And your terrible teaching skills are only matched by your poor taste in literature. You openly read pornographic novels in public, and in front of children no less. From what I have heard from Captain Uzumaki, they are also poorly written."
Byakuya then turned his attention to Sakura, and he seemed to scowl at her.
"You, Haruno-san, are a very unpleasant person. According to Captain Uzumaki, you physically assault him when he said something idiotic or when he made a simple mistake. And what disturbs me is that he took this abuse from you all in stride. And whenever he would ask you out on a date or out to lunch, you would hit him and call him a 'baka' or some other sort of demeaning name. That is not how you turn down a date. Instead, you politely say 'No thank you, I am not interested in dating you. I am, however, flattered that you wish to romantically pursue me.'"
Naruto raised an eyebrow at Byakuya's explanation.
"Where did Byakuya learn how to turn down a date?" he said to himself as Renji leaned towards him.
"Apparently, the Captain was a heartthrob back when he was a kid, and a lot of girls tried to gain his affection."
"Oh."
"Kuchiki-san, I didn't hit Naruto all of the time," Sakura said as Byakuya stared at her passively.
"That is still not how you treat a comrade. You should of at least treated him with some sort of respect and acted kinder towards him. And you also tried to gain the affection of Uchiha-san when he was clearly not interested. You should have taken the hint and leave him alone. And lastly, you were the weakest link of the group. You possessed high intelligence and were the top kunoichi of your class, but you rarely contributed to any fights. You were the burden of the team."
Sakura hung her head down in shame as Byakuya turned towards Sasuke.
"I assume you've saved the worst of the criticisms for me, right?"
"Correct. You, Uchiha-san, disgust me the most. From what I have heard, you are arrogant; believe yourself to be superior to everyone else because of your bloodline and family name, and thought that being stuck with teammates would only hold you back. And you also possess a inferiority and superiority complex, and can not accept the fact of somebody surpassing you. You also have an unhealthy obsession with revenge and power. You were even willing to betray your friends and your village to go join a sickening madman who only wanted you for your body. By the way, what does that mean?"
"He … wanted to transfer his mind to my body and take control of it for himself."
"Good. I thought of something … different when Captain Uzumaki brought that up," Byakuya said as he shuddered a bit. The rest of the shinigami were confused and dumbfounded by what Byakuya just asked. He was the least likely person to ask a question like that.
"In summary, you are all terrible people, and you be ashamed of yourselves. Now, I bid you good day," the Sixth Division Captain as he turned and walked back towards the tree. The original members of Team 7 were now slightly depressed, as they now realized that they treated Naruto like trash. When Byakuya got back to the tree, the sight of an unimpressed Naruto, who was clapping in a sarcastic manner, met him.
"You're the one to talk, Byakuya, considering all of the crap you pulled during the Ryoka Invasion."
"What do you mean?"
"Let's tally up the things you did. You had Renji put in jail just for losing his battle with Ichigo without medical treatment and tried have him executed for the same reason. You didn't allow Renji any sort of medical attention once again after you brutally defeated him with your own bankai and then left him for dead. You also insulted Captain Ukitake and Kaien Shiba's memory while the Captain was already under a great deal of stress while also insulting my bond with Rukia at the same time. Way to kick somebody while they're down, by the way. And to top it all off, you threatened to kill Rukia yourself and almost made good on your word, twice no less, if it wasn't for Ukitake and Ichigo interfering. What do you have to say for yourself, Kuchiki?"
An ashamed look appeared on Byakuya's face as he thought for a moment before answering his fellow Captain.
"I am regretful about the actions I commit during the Ryoka Invasion, but I am at least better than Sosuke Aizen. I did not pretend to treat my division with kindness and then betray them along with the rest of the Soul Society in order to gain power."
"Fair enough. By the way, why do you even care about my team's past actions?"
"I believe that their actions define their character," Byakuya said as he stand against the tree. Naruto gave him an 'are-you-kidding-me?' look before he walked up and faced the new Team 7. Kakashi, meanwhile, had walked back to the rest of the shinigami and sat with them.
"I heard what Naruto said what you did, Kuchiki-san. Doesn't that make you a bit of hypocrite, considering the things you did are much worse then what Team 7 did as a whole?" Kakashi said as he sat against the tree.
"I will be ignoring you from this point on, Hatake-san." Byakuya said tersely.
"He has a point Byakuya."
"The same goes to you as well, Ichigo Kurosaki."
Naruto looked at Team 7 and gave them a smile before speaking to them.
"I have a feeling that you all know the rules of the bell test, so I won't waste your time by explaining them. I would advise you to come at me with the intent to kill, but that would be pretty useless since I'm already dead. Now, disperse!"
Team 7 nodded in confirmation and jumped off into the forest. Naruto, in the meantime, took out a paperback manga titled Weekly Shōnen Jump and began to read it while leaning against a tree. Ichigo was surprised that Naruto had a copy with him, and decided to voice his thoughts.
"Wait, where did he get a copy of Shōnen Jump?"
"According to him, he got on a mission in the World of the Living."
"Wait, he's been to the World of the Living before, Renji?"
Renji nodded in confirmation.
"He was just there to exterminate an abnormally large swarm of hollows there. After he was finished, Naruto decided to get groceries for the 13th Division, namely instant tea, milk, and cup ramen. He apparently bought a copy while getting said groceries."
"Oh," Ichigo said as he turned his attention backed to the field. Around five more minutes passed and nothing much happened, with the exception of Naruto commenting on the manga he was reading. Another five more minutes passed and still nothing happen.
Suddenly, Sakura rushed out of the brush, preparing to deliver a powerful haymaker to Naruto. The Third Division Captain put away his manga and dodged the attack, all in one swift motion. Sakura continued to pursue Naruto, throwing a combination of punches and kicks at him while he continued to dodge.
"Damn. I was getting to a good part in my manga. Yusuke was about to fight the Younger Toguro brother. "
"Just shut up, and fight back!"
"There's no need to be so bossy, Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he narrowly dodged a cross punch. "I can see that your taijutsu skills have improved exponentially. When I was alive, the only real skills you had were your smarts and near-perfect chakra control."
Sakura ignored Naruto's comment as she delivered a hammerfist strike to the blone captain's face. This appeared to stun him, so Sakura took the opportunity to take the bells. As she was about to grasp them, Naruto suddenly disappeared. The only sign of him being there was his haori, which collapsed on the ground in a small bundle. Every on the field was taken back by this, with the exception of Byakuya, who knew what technique Naruto had just used.
"Interesting. Captain Uzumaki used Utsumei (Cicada) to escape from the Haruno girl, although he is most likely using it for a decoy. I wonder what he is up to?"
Byakuya's question was soon answered as Naruto suddenly reappeared; flash stepping to Sakura's side. Sakura was caught off-guard by this, and was unable to properly respond. Naruto then took his right index and middle fingers, which were together in unison, and gently jabbed Sakura as he announced the name of his attack.
"Tsukuyibi (Thrust Fingers)," he said as Sakura was suddenly sent flying by the simple move. She crashed and tumbled on the ground until she finally landed in a small creek with an audible splash. Naruto, satisfied with his handiwork, went over to the spot where his haori was.
"Hey Byakuya, do you know what the difference is between you and me?" Naruto asked as he placed his coat back on.
"Is it that you are headstrong and impulsive while I am analytical and logic?"
"No, it's not that. The difference is that I make this look good," Naruto replied as he showed his back to his onlookers, proudly displaying the symbol of his division. He then walked back to his spot near the tree when he suddenly leaned forward as kunai whirled pass him and lodged itself in the tree's trunk.
"Hm, now that was distracting," he commented as he then leaned backwards. Another kunai whirled passed him and was again lodged in the same tree. This time, however, it was infused with lightening chakra.
"… And that was annoyingly distracting," Naruto said as pondered whenever Sasuke had thrown the second kunai. He must of mastered the use of lightening chakra since his death, which made sense since he most likely had an affinity for lightening, along with fire. He was taken away from these thoughts when he noticed a small flock of birds in the sky, which were apparently coming towards him like dive-bombers. His eyes then widen in realization that these weren't real birds, but rather ink ones and that they had explosive tags attached to them.
Fortunately, they were coming in at a rate that Naruto could easily escape with his shunpo. He suddenly reappeared a few yards away with a bored expression on his face as he watched the ink birds crashed to where he once was standing and exploded, sending up a huge dust cloud. When the cloud cleared, the only thing remaining was part of the splintered tree trunk.
"This is starting to get boring. When will come out and fight me directly!?" a frustrated Naruto yelled out loud, hoping that at least Sasuke or Sai would respond. He got his wish when Sauske dashed out of the forest, blade drawn. He tried to do a downward slash on Naruto, but he drew his own sword and blocked the attack. The two blades separated and Naruto attempted to cut Sasuke from the side, but the Uchiha parried the attack and returned the favor.
"Not bad Sasuke, for somebody who's still a genin," Naruto complimented as Sasuke gave a confident smirk.
"I've got a newsflash for you, 'Captain': I was promoted to the rank of Chunin a year ago. And I've been training to the point to where my skills at the level of a Jonin without my sharingan."
"Well, us captains aren't pushovers either, Sasuke. I know bankai, the most powerful form of a zanpakuto."
"Heh. I've mastered two B-rank fire jutsus and have created a few variants of the Chidori."
The two teenagers separated, though they continued their back and forth boasting, before they both performed a series of slashes and parries as they also continued their boasts, much to the amusement of their "audience". It brought back a sense of nostalgia to Kakashi, as both Naruto and Sasuke tried to outdo each other when they started out on Team 7. It reminded of his relationship with his teammate Obito.
"I know a fighting style that combines Kidō and Hakuda that only two other people know," Naruto shouted as he locked blades again with Sasuke and applied pressure to his zanpakuto.
"I can infuse my elemental chakra onto weapons!" Sasuke yelled back as he pushed his katana against Naruto's own sword. However, their bragging contest came to an abrupt end as a familiar angry voice filled the air.
"NARUTO, YOU IDIOT!"
The two swordsmen turned towards the origin of the outburst. It was Sakura, who was soaking wet and clearly pissed off. She suddenly went into a series of hand seals before calling out the name of her jutsu.
"Doton: Fist Rock Jutsu!"
Sakura's right hand and forearm were now suddenly encased in rock. Sakura then dashed forward with her fist raised back. Naruto had a feeling about what was going to happen next, but before he could react, Sakura's fist connected with his face and he was sent flying like a ragdoll. Soon, Naruto gained enough sense and he then slammed his feet and free hand on the air. He skidded a bit before suddenly stopping and standing up, on air. This naturally caught Team 7 off guard.
"Since when could Shinigami fly?" Sai asked as he stepped out of the forest with his painfully fake grin on.
"Fly? Oh, I sort of forgotten we could do this," Naruto commented sheepishly as Byakuya facepalmed at his fellow Captain's comment. "Shinigami can use reishi, also known as spirit particles, to create traction on air, which allows us to walk or fly on air. And by the way, that was a decent punch, Sakura-chan."
"How the hell was that a decent punch? I used shisuo's chakra-enhanced strength!" Sakura though to herself as Naruto lowered himself to the ground a couple of yards away from them. He then held out his zanpakuto in front of him and said its release command.
"Break through the Strom, Kaze no Moi (Fury of the Four Winds)."
A small whirlwind covered the sword as it changed into its shikai form. Naruto twirled his sword a bit before pointing it at the Team 7 as he now spoke.
"I didn't want to resort to using my shikai on you guys since I didn't think it would be fair. If you want these bells, then you all better up your game."
Sasuke and Sai glanced at one another as the former gave a affirmative nod. The two shinobi then jumped back as they both went flew through hand seals for their respective jutsus.
"Katon: Grand Fireball Jutsu!"
"Fūton: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
Sasuke then shot out a large orb of flames while Sai inhaled a large amounr of air before blowing it out into a compressed sphere of wind chakra. The two orbs streaked across the field before joining and combining to create one large fireball that advanced towards Naruto. The young captain was completely unfazed by this impending doom as he grasped his chokuto with both hands. Orange reiryoku and wind covered the blade before Naruto released his signature attack.
"Kazekama (Wind Sickle)!" he yelled as he launched his attack, which was met head on by the fireball. The two attacks clashed for a minute before they seemingly canceled each other out. Naruto grinned at this as he prepped and fired off another Kazekama at the unsuspecting Team 7. Sakura suddenly went into a flurry of handseals before slamming her hands on the ground.
"Doton: Earth-Style Wall," she called out as a wall of solid earth rose up as a defense against the incoming attack. Team 7 then dodged out of the way as the crescent of reiryoku slice through the earthen wall like cheese and continued on it's path, cutting down several more trees before finally dispersing. Sasuke and Sakura then threw a barrage of shurikwn, aimed towards Naruto. The young captain grasped his sword in a one handed grip and used it to gracefully deflect the shuriken. Sakura then went through another set of handseals as she called out her next attack.
"Suiton: Water Trumpet," the pink-haired kunoichi said as a large jet of water gushed out of her mouth and towards Naruto, who raised his left hand in response as he prepeared to use a Kidō spell.
"Hadō #31: Shakkahō (Red Fire Cannon)," he said as he generated an orb of red energy in his hand. He then made a pushing motion as the red sphere flew off, going through Sakura's water jutsu before suddenly exploding like a grenade, the force of the blast knocking her back into the forest. Naruto then looked around for any signs of Sasuke or Sai, but to his disappointment, they were nowhere to be found.
"And just when things were starting to get fun," the blonde thought dejectedly as he laid his sword across his shoulders lazily and waited for any sign of his former teammates.
[Forest near Training Ground 7, Konohagakure, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]
Meanwhile...
"Are you alright, Sakura?" Sasuke asked as they recuperated from Naruto's attacks. Sakura was currently sitting against a tree, trying to catch her breath from experiencing a Hadō spell at point blank range. Sai was looking over his two teammates with a neutral expression on.
"I'm fine, Sasuke-kun. I was just caught off guard," she replied as she took in deep breathes before finally calming down.
"I am having trouble believing that your fox-faced teammate out there use to be the class dead last who couldn't perform a simple clone jutsu," Sai commented as Sakura got up on her feet. Sasuke then turned his attention towards Sai before speaking.
"You may not have noticed Sai, but this is a completely different Naruto we're dealing with. He took out that Arrancar creature with just his sealed sword, and he shrugging off our attacks as if they were nothing but annoyances. He's right about Captains not being pushovers. if nothing else."
"Since our first plan failed and he was able to deal with our collaboration jutsu, do you have any plans left?" Sai asked as the Uchiha progidy leaned back against a tree, scratching his chin in thought before a smirk appeared on his face.
"I have an idea that end this stupid test soon. Here's what we need to do…"
[Training Ground #7, Konohagakure, Land of Fire, Shinobi World]
5 minutes later…
Naruto sighed, as he looked up towards the sun, which was now high in the sky, a clear sign that it was almost noon. In his mind, he was going over the skills that Team #7 had shown. Sakura had improved greatly as she appeared to have learned a few Earth and Water jutsus. He was certain that she had an affinity for Earth, and she either had an additional affinity for water or trained herself to use it. As for this Sai person, he apparently had an affinity for wind ninjutsu and judging from the painting equipment he carried, he apparently used ninjutsu that involved ink. Sasuke mostly surprised him but for a different. With the exception of his lightening chakra and kenjutsu skills, he hardly showed off any new techniques, and hadn't even activated his Sharingan. He began to wonder if it was sealed away or that he just refused not to.
He put that though aside, however, as he heared the familiar cry of a hollow as it appeared near the Forest's edge. It was a random, run of the mill hollow that looked like a giant crab with grey skin, a large pair of pinchers, and a skull shaped mask on its front. Naruto groaned in annoyance, as the hollow had decide to use this time to attack/look for souls.
"Hey guys, do you want to deal with this?" he yelled towards his fellow shinigami, who were for some reason, unresponsive. Naruto let out a disgruntled sigh as he gathered a large amount of wind in his sword before releasing it in a twister, its direction heading towards the crab hollow. It was then toppled over towards its side, as it began to kick its legs in the air. With his target down, Naruto aimed his index finger at the Hollow, preparing to use a low level Hadō spell as the finishing blow.
"Hadō #4 Byakurai (Pale Lightening)," he announced as he discharged a concentrated shot of light blue reiryoku in the form of a lightening bolt. It hit the Hollow dead in the center as its body began to degenerate. Naruto gave a satsisfied smirk before he came to his senses. He now found his arms and legs bounded by what appeared to be ink snakes, much to his discomfort. Team 7 was in front of him, with Sasuke holding the bells in a taunting manner and Sakura sitting on the ground panting heavily. The realization that he was bested started to sink as he let out a string of adjectives.
"How? Who? What did you-"
"-do to get the bells?" Sasuke finished for him as he began his explanation. "We realized that either boxing you in or attacking you was impossible to do, so we used deception to get them. First off, Sakura casted a high level genjutsu on you, which made you believe that a hollow was attacking the area. That part was risky but in the end you fell for it. Once the Genjutsu was cast, Sai used his Super Beast Imitation Drawing technique to draw serphents that would bound you in place. After that, I used my speed to snatch the bells off of you while you were distracted."
"Pretty clever if I do say so myself," Naruto commented as he was released from the serpents' grasp. His zanpakuto reverted to its Shikai state as he sheathed it away. Then a sudden thought occurred to him.
"Kurama, why didn't you tell me about the genjutsu?" He mentally asked the giant fox, who stopped snoring and awaken suddenly with a startle.
"What's going on? I was in a middle of a nap." Kurama stated as his host facepalmed. Naruto then contacted the spirit of Kaze no Moi.
"You better have a damn good explanation, Kaze," the blonde grumbled as the Sword Spirit chuckled to himself.
"I was going to alert you, but I wanted to see if you could detect and escape the illusion without the Fuzzy Fleabag's help," Kaze said as Kurama let an irritated sound escape his throat.
"Fuck you!"
"I love you too, darling," Kaze sarcastically replied as Naruto ignored the ensuing argument and looked over to where his Team was. Byakuya had his emotionless expression on while Ichigo looked rather impressed at Team 7's craftiness. Renji, on the other hand, looked amused.
"Wow, Naruto. I can't believe you, the guy who almost defeated Aizen and one of the youngest captains I history, got beat by a couple of humans," Renji joked as Naruto frowned at his comment before replying.
"Hey, at least my losing streak isn't as bad as yours Renji. According to the reports, Ichigo was handing you your ass when he was still using a sealed zanpakuto. Then during the Ryoka invasion, he owned you with his Shikai. Then when you went and achieved bankai, and went to rescue Rukia before Byakuya here defeated you rather brutally with his own bankai. So that's 3 losses to my one lost."
Renji's good mood was suddenly soured as he turned and faced the other way. Kakashi got up from his spot and walked towards his former student and team, giving them all a smile.
"That was an impressive display, Naruto. Although I have a feeling that we only saw a tiny bit of what you could do. As for you, Team 7, great job combining your respective skills in order to accomplish your goal."
Both teams then got up and prepared to leave, before Sasuke grabbed Naruto and Ichigo's shoulders. They turned around and looked him in the eye before he spoke.
"I need to talk to the two of you in private."
This caught both of them off guard, but the two Shinigami nodded as they walked to a rather secluded part of the forest.
"So what do you want to talk about, Sasuke?" Naruto asked as the last Uchiha hung his head and let out a heavy sigh.
"Quite a lot actually. For starters you're probably wondering why I'm now acting differently, and what happened to me after your death."
"I assumed that you spent some time in jail for your offenses and was paroled for good behavior."
"It's completely different from that, Naruto. I was able to walk."
Ichigo raised a disbelieving eyebrow at this before he decided to speak his mind.
"I find it hard to believe that you would walk after commiting murder and treason."
Sasuke let out another sigh as he spoke again.
"I guess I should start at the beginning, I was brought back to the village after our battle and spent some time at the hospital to recuperate. When I finally awoke, I still wanted to seek out the Snake Bastard and kill Itachi. One day, Jiraiya paid me a visit in the hospital. He knew how important I was to you, and he revealed a few facts about you. How you were the son of the Yondaime and the previous jinchuriki of the Kyuubi. How the Yondaime was forced to seal the fox inside of you. How you were forced to live a life of loneliness and that almost everyone spurned you and either loathed or ignored your existence. After that talk, I thought for a while and came to a few conclusions. Like me, you shared the pain of what it was like to be utterly alone, although I selfishly believed that nobody could identify with my pain. While I had been obsessing with avenging my clan, I never once thought about my family, only about the night they were killed. And I finally came to realized that despite they way I treated you, you were the closer friend that I ever had, and I had killed you for the sake of power."
Ichigo was rather shocked by this; he knew that Sasuke wanted revenge on Itachi but Naruto never told him that Itachi had murdered his and Sasuke's clan.
"My conscience then settled in, and I began to feel a tremendous amount of guilt. Because of this, I unlocked the Mangekyō Sharingan, but I never once used it. I was tried for my charges, but Sakura and our other classmates intervened. In lieu of prison, I was sentenced for a year of probation. Those idiots on the civilian side of the council wanted to keep the 'Uchiha-sama' loyal and offered me jutsus and special ANBU training."
"Please tell me that you turned them down," Naruto interrupted as Sasuke gave a small smirk.
"Don't worry, I did turn it down. I was actually disgusted that they tried to keep me happy because I'm the last of my clan while they badmouthed your name, especially after learning the truth about you from Jiraiya. I secluded myself in the Uchiha Compound, training to get stronger. But I never once activated my Sharingan since what happened out of a sense of shame. As you can probably tell, Sakura lost her feelings for me and I lost the Konoha 12's trust."
"I hope they still don't hold that against you."
"No, Sakura still thinks of me as a close friend and the Konoha 12 are willing to give me a second chance."
"Sasuke, from what Naruto told me, you were proud of your clan. But now I've met you... you're a bit different from what he told me. Also there's something I wanted to ask you; I noticed that you've got your clan crest crossed out," Ichigo said. "Mind explaining the deal with that?"
"I was just about to get to that, Ichigo. Half a year ago, I was on a B-rank mission in the Waterfall Country. I happened to run into Itachi, who was in the country going after their jinchuriki, a girl named Fu. He was surprised that I didn't attack him immediately. I told him about what had happen, that I lost my desire for revenge, and I now had the same eyes as him. He realized how much I had grown and decided to come clean about the massacre. He told me that my father was planning on committing a coup d'tet, and he was forced to kill the clan in order to stop a greater war. He couldn't go through with killing me, so he spared me, waiting for the day that I would kill him."
Sasuke's revelation surprised Ichigo even further, especially since he met Sasuke's father, now the captain of the 9th Division, as well as Sasuke's mother who was now the 3rd Seat of the same Division.
"I… I was ashamed and disgusted with what my father and the clan was planning. We were one of the most respected clans in Konoha and we ran the military police, but we wanted to take over the village to spite them or because of our jealousy or lust for power. Since that, I've crossed out the Uchiha clan crest out of a sense of shame. However, I still promised Itachi that one-day, when I had gotten stronger, that I would seek him out and kill him to restore our clan's honor."
Sasuke looked up at the two of them with a sorrowful expression, as he had just taken a great load off of his conscious.
"Naruto, I'm … I'm sorry for-"
"I know. I still considered you my friend, and I was content with dying if it meant saving from that Snake Orochimaru. That said... I forgive you, Sasuke."
Naruto then smiled as he raised his fist. Sasuke, giving a small smile of his own, promptly bumped. Ichigo, for once, actually gave off a genuine smile at this scene. Two friends had been reunited and they had made amends with each other.
"Anyways I think we should head back," Sasuke said.
The three of them then walked off together, searching for their respective team members.
[Aizen's Control Room, Las Noches, Hueco Mundo]
Meanwhile...
Deep within the bowels of Las Noches, Sosuke Aizen, grand traitor to the Soul Society, was leaning back in his chair, watching various clips of one Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki 's fights. Aizen had now abandoned his Captain's haori, and wore a long white robe over his shihakusho. His appearance would have been considered intimidating, except for the fact that he had a rather large bandage covering his nose, ruining his image.
Aizen kept his eyes focused on the screen as he watched a scene of Naruto beating a hollow with his bare hands, and then another of him 'sparring' with Kenpachi Zaraki ('sparring' being a lose term in that situation). He analyzed each and every move in his head ad he thought to himself.
"The boy is very powerful yet completely unpredictable in his battle tactics. He just seems to make things up on the go. I wouldn't be surprised if he made the rank of Captain."
Ever since Naruto had crushed him back at Sokyoku Hill, Aizen had spent much of his time analyzing the young Uzumaki's abilities, something that he foolishly thought was unnecessary and had not done before. As he watched the videos of the former Leaf ninja one thing was obvious: Naruto Uzumaki was not an opponent he could really plan ahead for, which was just as problematic for Aizen since Naruto had ability to render Kyoka Suigetsu completely useless .
Aizen, having finished watching the video, pressed a button on his keyboard, and soon, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen entered the room. They were both dressed similarly to Aizen, with white robes over their shihakushos.
"What do you want, Aizen-sama?" Gin asked with his enigmatic, fox-like grin on his face and his perpritually closed eyes.
"Gin, do me a favor and gather the Espada. Kaname, I want to you to find the whereabouts of Uzumaki-kun. I have a little 'treat' in store for him …"
Next Time - Training, Meetings, and Dinner with Friends