Chapter 10: Departure to the Shinobi World
[Seireitei, Soul Society]
Ichigo looked around the area as he, Naruto, and Itachi arrived in Seireitei. Ichigo also had his new Zanpakuto in its sealed state. It was now in the shape of his original oversized Zanpakuto except that it had a silver tsuba and pommel with a black hilt. The brown sheathe was also now attached to the red rosary-like strap around Ichigo's chest.
The trio entered the Captain-Commander's office a few minutes later, stepping into his office and beginning to explain the situation to Ichigo.
"Welcome Kurosaki Ichigo, Uzumaki-taichou, Itachi-fukutaicho," said Yamamoto.
"Watsup, gramps?" sniffed Ichigo.
"It appears that Aizen has been sighted in the Shinobi world and we have also been informed that he had been trying to create an alliance with a group known as the Akatsuki since he had left Soul Society with Ichimaru and Tosen," explained Yamamoto.
"Wait…" Ichigo scratched his head as he thought. "So why are these 'Akatsuki' guys so dangerous?"
"It seems that they are after a group of beasts known as 'Bijuus,' excluding your Bijuu of course, Uzumaki-taichou," said Yamamoto. "Since he died, he cannot be revived back into that world."
At this point, Itachi stepped in. "I was concerned about the danger that the group posed to Konoha, so I had joined the Akatsuki in order to keep an eye on them and to stall them for as long as I was able to. Shortly before my death, however, I was able to learn that the Akatsuki had planned to make their move the following year, and that time is now approaching fast."
"While the 2nd Division and the Onmitsukidō are the ones with sole jurisdiction over the Shinobi World, the possibility of Aizen getting involved and acquiring the other Bijuus as a result, we can no longer allow just a single division to handle the situation in hand," explained the Captain-Commander. "As a result of this situation, Sui-Feng-taichou and you, Uzumaki-taichou, will lead a five-man team to the Shinobi World to eliminate the Akatsuki before they can acquire the Bijuu. You should also note that Hitsugaya-taichou and Abarai-fukutaichou have volunteered to join the mission."
Ichigo thought about this. "Sooo… Are we going to be like asking for help from Konoha as well?"
Soifon, who had been standing in the back of the room, stepped in for this question. "That's a negative," she answered. "While they can see us Shinigamis, they still do not know of our existence, and unless Aizen directly targets the Shinobi World, it will stay this way. Since we have to briefly go to Konoha regardless of that matter, Uzumaki-taichou will be going there with his identity concealed."
"I see…" replied Ichigo.
"Are there any questions?" asked the Captain-Commander.
…
"Very well then," he said. "All five members of the team are to make preparations for the journey. You shall all be departing for the Shinobi World in exactly five hours!"
Everyone nodded and headed for the door; each member headed for their respective division barracks, with Ichigo going with Naruto and Itachi to get a few things for the journey.
As Naruto and the others entered the 3rd Division Barracks, he stopped and turned to Itachi. "Itachi- you'll be taking charge of the 3rd Division while I'm gone, so don't go and screw this up, ok?"
Itachi blinked, his face just as blank as always. "You mean like the time you blew up the SRDI?"
"OY!" raged Naruto as they reached his office. "SHUT IT!"
Naruto opened the door to his office, and once they stepped inside, Itachi looked around the slightly spacious room, examining and taking in every detail of the room.
The room was about twenty-five by twenty-five feet, and aside from the shelves and cabinets overflowing with papers and documents, there was a desk in the opposite side of the room with a lamp and three picture frames.
The three pictures were what caught Itachi's eyes. As he walked over to the desk, what he saw surprised him. The picture on the left was a picture of Naruto and his parents, the one in the middle was a picture of Naruto, Ukitake, Kiyone, Sentaro, and Rukia, and the picture on the right was a picture of Naruto with Team Seven.
"Wow… Say, aren't you worried that we might blow your cover, Naruto?" asked Ichigo as he leaned over Itachi, looking at the pictures.
Naruto walked over to one of the cabinets and opened it up, rummaging through the stuff in the drawer. "Well, that's the reason why these were made for me," he replied.
Naruto turned around to face Ichigo wearing a black hooded cloak over his uniform along with a mask. It was large enough to completely cover his body, and Ichigo noticed that it repressed all but a fifth of his reiatsu. The mask that he wore was a white mask with two narrow slits for eyeholes that also had two blue vertical stripes as a design, each one going down past each slit.
Ichigo noticed with mild surprise that Naruto's hair, which was blonde, was now jet-black. "So, does that mask do anything?"
"Yea, it does," Naruto confirmed. "This mask projects an illusionary Kido. Urahara Kisuke made this for me around the time that I was training you." Having said this, he pulled a second cloak out of the cabinet and tossed it to Ichigo. "Here, put this on."
"Huh?" Ichigo blinked. "Why do I have to wear one?"
"Don't worry," said Naruto, reassuring him. "The cloak is only to suppress your reiatsu. If we don't, then your reiatsu could draw unnecessary attention from the Konoha-nins, as they're always wary of outsiders."
"Alright, alright," grumbled Ichigo as he put on the cloak.
"Oh, stop grumbling," said Naruto in an annoyed tone. "Soifon, Toshiro, and Renji all have to wear one as well."
Naruto then turned to Itachi. "Ok, Itachi. Good luck with everything, and-."
"Let me give you one last word of warning," said Itachi, stopping Naruto. "I Sasuke gave Sasuke my eyes before I died so he now possesses the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. If you do go to Konoha be careful with him…"
Naruto nodded, a serious look appearing on his face. "I know…"
"Anyways," continued Naruto, glancing sideways at Ichigo. "Ichigo, it's time to leave."
"Got it," replied Ichigo, stretching out his arms and legs. "Let's go."
And with that, he and Naruto flash stepped away to the 2nd Division Barracks, leaving Itachi to himself.
[2nd Division Barracks, Seireitei, Soul Society]
Ichigo looked up with an impatient look on his face as he waited outside near the forested area near the 2nd Division Barracks along with Naruto and Soifon. "Geez," sighed Ichigo. "Where are those two?"
Soifon was wearing a black cloak similar to the ones that Naruto and Ichigo were wearing, but hers was a little bit smaller, and she was also wearing a mask, similar to the one that Naruto was wearing, but hers wasn't projecting an illusionary Kido.
"Sooo…" said Ichigo for like the tenth time that day. "Why is Soifon wearing a mask if it doesn't do anything?"
"Oh, that," said Naruto. "Well, due to various assassinations of certain high-leveled shinobis learning a bit too much about spiritual-related matters, Soifon has quite the reputation in the Shinobi World, which is why her identity needs to be concealed."
Ichigo seemed surprised by this. "Wow, really?"
"Oy, Ichigo!"
Ichigo and the others turned around to see Renji and Hitsugaya running towards them. "Hey, Renji!" yelled Ichigo, waving his hands at them.
Once the both of them arrived at the spot where Ichigo and the others were waiting, Ichigo saw that they were wearing the same black cloaks that everyone else was wearing.
"Well, that took long enough," said Ichigo, glaring comically at Renji.
Renji blinked, confused. "What?" He looked at Hitsugaya, then at Ichigo. "Wait, what do you mean, 'that took long enough?' We were the furthest away, baka!"
"Yea yea, whatever," said Ichigo, waving him off. "Of course bakas use stupid excuses, baka!"
"Huh?" Renji leaned over at Ichigo, his face pressed against Ichigo's. "You wanna say something, Shinigami-daikou?"
Ichigo's face grew red at this. "Oh yea?! Well, I may be a Shinigami-daikou, but I can still kick your ass, baka!" he scowled.
"YOU WANNA TRY?!" yelled Renji.
Ichigo grabbed the hilt of his Zanpakuto from behind his back. "LET'S DO IT, BAKA! I'LL KICK YOUR-!"
THUD! Ichigo and Renji fell on the ground as Naruto slammed both of their heads together, rubbing their heads as they glared at each other.
"Stop arguing, you bakas!" raged Naruto. "If you guys didn't notice, we're about to go on a freaken mission here!"
Hitsugaya sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. Those bakas… He then turned to Naruto, who was standing over the troublesome duo. "My apologies, Uzumaki-taichou," he apologized. "It seems that we kept you guys waiting for quite some time."
"Eh, it's nothing," said Naruto, waving his apology off.
"If you guys are done arguing, please look over here," said Soifon, catching their attention.
Once she got everyone's attention, she raised her hand and snapped her fingers, the sound echoing throughout the clearing.
Ichigo looked on in amazement as a large red Torii Gate materialized in front of the group, the double doors slowly creaking open. W-Whoa…
"This gate is the official portal to the Shinobi World," explained Soifon. "Since the Shinobi World is a completely world from the World of the Living, it's only natural that there's a different form of the usual Senkaimon, and anyone who's either a former shinobi or a member of the Onmitsukidō and the 2nd Division would have knowledge of how to use this gate."
"Now, be careful once we enter the Shinobi World," she added, turning to specifically look at Ichigo. "The Akatsuki members that we're supposedly hunting are extremely dangerous S-Rank nuke-nins, but we might need to fight against shinobis from the other shinobi villages that we're forbidden to kill under any circumstances."
After giving everyone the warning, Soifon turned to the Senkaimon, motioning for everyone to follow her. She and Naruto, the only ones among the group wearing masks, pulled up their hoods as they entered the Senkaimon Gate.
[Valley of the End, The Shinobi World]
One minute later…
Naruto and the others looked around their surrounding area as they arrived in the Shinobi World. The area around them was basically just large masses of rocks shaped into the form of makeshift mountains. In the middle of the two mountains was a large body of water, and in the very front of the valley was a waterfall with two figures carved from rock standing on either side of it.
The figure on the left was a figure with long and spiky hair with his bangs swept to the side and covering one eye. He wore a traditional samurai amour, and his right hand was clasped against the hilt of his sword.
The figure on the right had long straight hair, and he was wearing a headband around his forehead. He was also clad in some kind of samurai-like armor, and both figures had their left hands up with their index and middle finger up while their other fingers were curled into a fist.
"Hmmm…" Renji scratched his chin as he looked around the area. "So what exactly is this place, Uzumaki-taichou?"
"This is the Valley of the End," replied Naruto, closing his eyes and breathing in the fresh air. "A long time ago, there was a fierce battle between the two legendary shinobis Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju. Their fight was so fierce and devastating that their battle left a giant scar on the land- this place."
Ichigo, Renji, and Toshiro looked surprised. "W-Wow," stuttered Ichigo. "That sounds intense…"
Toshiro turned to look at Soifon. "Is this true, Soifon-taichou?"
Soifon nodded in response. "It is. I actually witnessed the battle myself with my own two eyes… Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju… Their powers are absolutely frightening… Anyways, the Onmitsukidō built a hideout a few miles south of the valley so we'll rest there for the night."
Ichigo narrowed his eyes as he stared at Naruto, noticing the fact that he was staring intently at the center of the valley. Soifon, also noticing this, walked over to Naruto and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Naruto?" she asked, a surprising tone of genuine concern in her voice.
Naruto sighed. "Yea…"
Ichigo blinked, a confused look on his face. "What did Soifon mean by that, Naruto?"
Naruto turned to look at Ichigo, a fierce light in his eyes. "This was where I fought my friend Sasuke before I died. He had just betrayed the village in order to join this guy named Orochimaru, an extremely powerful shinobi who wanted to take control of Sasuke's body for his Sharingan. I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't listen, so we ended up fighting it out. At the final moment of our fight, I used Kurama's chakra to create an enhanced version of my most powerful jutsu, Rasengan, while Sasuke used the power of the Curse Mark that Orochimaru had given him to create an enhanced version of his most powerful jutsu, Chidori. Our jutsus collided, and the result of it is what you see here," he said, pointing to the chunks of rocks missing from the two figure's legs.
"Sasuke ended up piercing me through the chest," continued Naruto. "As I fell into the water, I found out that I was paralyzed by the electricity from his attack, so I couldn't move my body. It was then that I realized that… I was going to die... I just hope that Sasuke and the others are okay…"
Naruto suddenly looked up at Ichigo and the rest of the group, shaking off his past memories of his final battle. "Anyways, we should go to the hideout and rest for a bit…"
Ichigo nodded. "Yea… Let's go."
