Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach. If awesome had a flavor, what flavor would it be? I like to think that it would be either almonds or beef jerky. That's just my personal opinion.

Chapter 14: Sand in My Eyes

It had been one day since Orihime and Tatsuki's planned visit to Naruto's base-in-construction and the orange-haired girl had returned the next day to visit her friend that she knew the least about only to find herself upon a curious scene.

Orihime blinked in confusion as she stood in the training room in the basement of Naruto's base, "You're going where? School starts Monday Naruto, are you saying you'll be back in four days?" She asked him, rather concerned that he wouldn't get back.

Naruto had a frown on his face as he stood in his sage coat and combat gear. With him was Soi-Fon, her lieutenant Omaeda, and Nemu, all of them prepared to go into Hueco Mundo with the blonde immortal, "We're going to Hueco Mundo. And if we don't get back in time…" A smirk came to his face, "Oh well… wouldn't that be a shame."

"Three days is your limit." Yoruichi said, getting him to groan negatively, "If you don't get back in three days I'm taking Hidan to open his own Garganta so we can look for you. We can't have you all staying in there to fight an actual battle. With just the four of you I don't like your odds for being in there for too long."

"What's the worst that can possibly happen?" Naruto questioned as he started stretching himself out in preparation, "Me and Jooubachi should be more than enough by ourselves to get through that place pretty easily. Just in case anything really goes down we have big man over here and Nemu-chan."

Nemu chimed in at that point, "Uzumaki-san I am simply to tag along as an observer. I am to record everything that I see, and if at all possible return with samples for Kurotsuchi-taichou."

Naruto frowned at the name of the mad-scientist that also doubled as her captain and her 'father', "Okay that's fine. I'm not expecting a fight anyway, but just be ready to defend yourself if you have to." He then looked at Omaeda and spoke to Soi-Fon, "Is he going to be worth a damn on this mission? Ichigo beat him with one punch in the Seireitei."

"Hey!" Omaeda barked in offense, "He just surprised me, that's all!"

Naruto smirked, "Aren't you Onmitsukidou? And you let some babyfaced brat get the drop on you?" The large man sputtered as Naruto pressed forward, "And my ass he got the drop on you. You had your Shikai out and he flattened you. He punched right through it. He beat you like a heavy-bag."

"Are we going to leave or what?" Soi-Fon asked impatiently, her foot tapping on the ground, "I want to see what all the fuss is about and what Hueco Mundo is all about. No Shinigami in the Gotei 13 has ever seen it and returned to tell the tale."

Naruto smirked as his Rinnegan blazed to life, "Ow." He said before he began to make hand-seals, "Anxious I see." Naruto slammed his right hand on the ground, "Gedou (Outer Path)! All aboard!" The ethereal demonic head rose from the ground, and those that hadn't seen it before didn't have long to gawk at it as four tongues shot out of its mouth and pulled Naruto, Soi-Fon, Omaeda, and Nemu inside before disappearing back into the ground.

Orihime stared at the place where the Gedou once sat, "W-Where did they go?"

"The world of the Hollows." Yoruichi answered glibly, "This is the third time he's used that thing, and the second time he's used it to go inside. Did you want to go?" She asked.

Orihime rapidly shook her hands in front of her face, "No! That's okay, I don't want to. I'd probably get in the way if I did…" She looked up when Yoruichi grabbed her chin and turned it up.

The dark-skinned woman was smiling at her, "You know, you shouldn't think of yourself that way. Naruto wanted to ask you if you wanted to join him on this team. He thinks you'd really be an asset."

"But I can't fight that well." She tried to reason in return. Why would Naruto want her to be on his squad? Even without seeing him fight firsthand she had to know that he was strong. He got respect in the Seireitei far too readily to be weak, "I don't know what good I would be."

Yoruichi frowned, "He doesn't think so and neither do I, but he said he knew that you didn't like fighting. He loves your healing ability though. He would ask you himself, but he doesn't think you'd join for no reason, even if he pays you well, which he would." She leaned back and puffed out her cheeks, "There's also the thing where he says that he doesn't think you trust him."

"I trust Naruto." Orihime said with a smile, "He helped Kurosaki-kun and all of us out in the Soul Society without any of us even asking him. He didn't even know us that well. I think we're friends." She looked around the spacious training room that reminded her of Urahara's place, "Does he really want me here?"

"Absolutely." Yoruichi said with full confidence, "But like I said, he didn't think you would be interested and he didn't want to force you or take advantage of your kind nature. In the end it's your choice and I'm telling you that I want you here and he all but invited you himself by letting you down here. Whatever you choose you should tell him yourself. I guarantee it would make his day if you did, you'd see."

Orihime then thought about something else, "But what about Kurosaki-kun and the others? Is he going to ask them?"

Yoruichi nodded, "He was, he just didn't know how he was going to go about doing that. None of them would trust him outright the way you seem to. That's one reason why I'm making him go to school actually." She patted Orihime on the top of her head, "Just think about it. He's going to teach your friend Tatsuki how to defend herself so she isn't a sitting duck against Hollows so there's another reason there." Orihime just nodded, planning on later talking to Tatsuki about just what Naruto told her yesterday.

XxX

(Hueco Mundo – White Desert)

Omeada dug himself out of a sand dune, sputtering and spitting out the grainy mineral, "Blah! Where the hell are we?" He looked to his side and saw Nemu there, sitting up out of the sand as well, "Where are taichou and Uzumaki?"

"Someone fat get in my way!" A distressed cry sounded out from above. Omaeda looked up only to be pounded into the ground by the body of a falling Naruto. Soi-Fon merely landed neatly on the surface of the sand and dusted herself off. Naruto stood up and glared at her, rubbing his head, "Why am I the only one that ever lands on their head when the Gedou spits them out?"

Nemu looked around and immediately began recording her surroundings, "The surface of Hueco Mundo seems to be a desolate wasteland devoid of any life whatsoever and apparently operates on an opposite lunar phase than that of the Seireitei or human world."

Soi-Fon looked around, rather unimpressed at what she was seeing so far, "So where are all of the Hollows? This is Hueco Mundo isn't it?" Naruto pointed directly down signifying that the bulk of the Hollows were beneath the surface, "So then why aren't we down there?"

Naruto shook his head, "Because that's where they all are. As in the bulk of the population. Yoruichi-chan couldn't even count them all when we were down there. We're not going down there. Aizen's not even there." He started walking as the others began to follow him, "We're going to be travelling up here, and we're going to be moving fast so we can cover some actual ground. If you can't keep up you picked the wrong guy to follow today." He started breaking out into a run, followed wordlessly by all of the others.

The group fell in line and began running after Naruto who kept an even pace without resorting to using any speed increasing techniques so that no one was left behind by any of the faster practitioners. The scenery began to drag after a while, with nothing really jumping out at any of them, just more desert, 'What's with this place?' He thought to himself as he continued to run, 'I keep feeling power in the air, but there's nothing around at all. If I really wind up spending three days here this is going to suck. My senses are wacked.'

Nemu was making her own conclusions, even recording things as she ran behind Naruto, 'The entire atmosphere is filled with Reiryoku in the form of Reishi. This must be how Hollows obtain the necessary nourishment to survive despite a lack of human souls to prey upon in this environment.'

Omaeda followed along behind him captain while looking around distastefully, 'I didn't expect much out of the place that Hollows are supposed to come from, but I expected something. This place sucks. I could see how someone like Aizen could hide here. There's nothing anywhere!' He then looked forward at Naruto who seemed to be leading with a look of duty on his face, 'Why is Soi-Fon-taichou even following this guy? I've never seen her follow anyone's order except for Yamamoto-sotaichou.'

Seeing how Naruto wasn't even messing around this time about getting in and getting out with getting things done made Soi-Fon pay rapt attention to his face and how serious it seemed, something easy for her since she was right next to him, keeping pace, 'He said that the Arrancar that he confronted the first time he came here was strong. Were they that strong that he isn't even cracking a joke or trying to be silly?' "Uzumaki do you have a plan?"

"Do you?" He shot back in return, still keeping his eyes ahead, "What plan would there be except to scout the area? We're gaining basic knowledge, and all of us can handle anything that comes our way. If things get out of hand, I just need some time to summon the Gedou and we'll be right out of here in a flash."

Soi-Fon nodded and turned her attention back forward, "I want to see these enemies you told us about. I want to see for myself just what this army of Aizen's is capable of. Do you know of their skills?"

Naruto shook his head, "Everything we know about Hidan is basically what we know about them. I don't know if Tia Harribel is the weakest, the strongest, or where she ranks on the overall spectrum of power. Either way it's pretty bad news. If you were there you would have felt it too. An army of anything around that kind of power would be something to lose sleep over." A frown then crossed his face, "And from the way she spoke I think Aizen has the entire army wrapped around his thumb. How the hell did this guy manage to amass an army right under your noses? He wasn't even discovered until he chose to be."

"Don't ask Uzumaki…" Soi-Fon muttered to him in reply, "Captain Aizen was trusted. He was one of the leaders of the Gotei 13. For something like this to have happened he must have had this all planned out decades in advance at the very least. I'll make him pay, rest assured."

Naruto looked over at her stone serious face and gave her a smile, "One step at a time my sweet Jooubachi. We need to figure out what exactly we'll be walking into once things begin for real." He looked back at Nemu, "Nemu-chan sorry, but we haven't seen anything worth talking about so far."

Nemu simply looked at Naruto with her usual listless expression, "On the contrary Uzumaki-san. We have only been here for a few hours and already I have enough information that may interest Kurotsuchi-taichou once I return to the Seireitei."

Nodding wordlessly, Naruto asked another question, "Is anyone tired yet? Anyone need to stop and rest for a moment or are we still good to go?" He noticed Soi-Fon glaring at him, "What? I wasn't asking you. I know you're good for at the very least a few more hours, but your lieutenant might not be, and Nemu-chan might not be either."

Soi-Fon immediately asked him, "Omaeda are you tired?"

"Not even close taichou!" He answered immediately. It didn't matter if he was or not, not that he was. If he said he was tired at any point during the mission without having a damn good reason for it Soi-Fon would make him pay later. No weakness in the Onmitsukidou.

Soi-Fon nodded and turned to Nemu, "And you Kurotsuchi-fukutaichou?"

Nemu shook her head, "My body is modified to perform far greater than those of normal Shinigami. I do not feel any fatigue at the moment, I am fine. What about yourself Uzumaki-san, do you require any rest?"

Naruto snickered at the question, "I'm more of a machine than a human. As long as this is all we're doing, just running, I don't know how long I can keep this up for. Seriously, the only reason I ever stopped running during times like this in the past was because I had teammates that couldn't keep my pace. I'll be fine." The ground they ran on began to destabilize and lift up from the rest of the desert. "What the hell?"

"Get ready!" Soi-Fon ordered as everyone jumped back just as a massive Hollow emerged from the sand. It was the size of a Gillian-class Menos, but had a body comprised entirely of sand with a Hollow hole in the center of its chest, long arms, and a head resembling a sand castle.

Naruto flexed his fists in preparation of the fight, "He's huge! Let's get this big bastard out of the way and keep on going people!"

"What do you suppose we do Uzumaki?" Soi-Fon asked, preparing to draw her Zanpakutou as did her lieutenant. Nemu simply set herself in a ready hand-to-hand stance due to leaving her Zanpakutou behind.

Naruto cracked his fists, "You're talking like this will be hard. Compared to the Arrancar lady I met before this guy is just gum on my shoe." From one of the seals on the inside of his jacket, Naruto retrieved a fuuma shuriken that he launched at the sand Hollow, "Catch this big guy!"

The shuriken flew through the air and cut the Hollow's massive arm off, dropping it into the sand with a resounding thud. Omaeda looked at the severed appendage of the Hollow and raised an eyebrow, "That's it? Really? I thought that one of the Hollows ballsy enough to just jump out at us would have more fight in it than that."

"The battle isn't over yet Omaeda." Soi-Fon said, still ready to defend against an attack, "Uzumaki you're not that experienced at fighting Hollows! They have all kinds of powers and I think this one-!" Before she could finish, the arm that Naruto had severed easily regenerated as it swung the new limb back and swatted at them all, forcing them to jump out of the way, "Hollows regenerate! You need to hit them with something fatal to beat them, you're not going to finesse a Hollow!"

Naruto growled at her, "What was finesse about cutting the damn thing's arm off?" He returned his attention to the massive sand Hollow, "Fine, I'll blow this thing away!" He said before Soi-Fon dashed past him, "Oi, I said I'd do it!"

'This thing controls the sand we're standing on.' Soi-Fon surmised as she felt the Hollow try to disrupt where she was running by causing bursts of sand to fly up from the ground. Her eyes then widened when she saw a wave of sand ripple towards her. She grit her teeth and jumped over the wave at the Hollow before disappearing in a burst of her Shunpo. The massive sand Hollow was then cut in half by an invisible force and toppled to the ground with a crash.

Soi-Fon reappeared in front of Naruto and the other Shinigami, dusting grains of sand off of her captain's haori. Naruto gave her a deadpan look before starting a slow clap that he stopped after a few moments, "You get some aggression out of your system with that one?"

Soi-Fon scoffed, "As if Uzumaki. I was just showing you the proper way to exterminate a Hollow." The ground then started shaking, "What? I smashed it clean in half!"

Naruto growled as he watched the huge Hollow reform its entire body, "Okay… no more fucking around. I bet it'll stay down when I blow its entire body to kingdom come." He said as he ran back towards it, "Let's see you reform this time!"

The Hollow's jaw unhinged as it opened its mouth and began to inhale deeply. Naruto tried to dig his feet into the ground, but the loose grains of sand gave him next to no foothold and he began to be sucked towards the Hollow. Naruto formed a tiger seal and inhaled deeply, "Katon: Bouka Kabe (Fire Release: Fire Wall)!" Naruto fired off a towering rectangular wall of fire from his mouth that was sucked towards the massive Hollow and drawn inside of its mouth completely.

The massive Hollow groaned loudly after absorbing the fire attack and after a few moments froze solid as cracks faintly appeared on its surface. Pieces of sand chipped away to reveal parts of it had heated to glass by the raging fire Naruto had set in its belly.

"Omaeda, finish!" Soi-Fon ordered her lieutenant who leapt into action, using Shunpo to place himself above the Hollow's head.

"Buttsubuse, Gegetsuburi (Crush, Five-Formed Head)!" The large man's Zanpakutou formed into an oversized spiked ball attached to a long chain on his hilt. He swung the chain around over his head before launching the ball at the top of the Hollow's head, smashing the head and then the entire hardened body of the hollow as rough pieces.

The large Shinigami lieutenant laughed boisterously as he resealed his Zanpakutou and sheathed it, "And that's how you do it! Nobility wins the day once again, better blood, better skill!"

Naruto stared at Omaeda along with Soi-Fon who had learned to tune him out a long time ago. Unluckily, Naruto hadn't. He pointed at the man who gloated to Nemu, who couldn't care less as she tried to analyze the sand that the attacking Hollow had been comprised of, "If I kick him in the head will he shut up?"

Soi-Fon's lips quirked in amusement, "If it was that easy he'd have been shut up years ago. I can't beat it out of him so I deal with it."

Nemu had been kneeling around the pile of sand that had once been the Hollow when she called Naruto and Soi-Fon over to her, "There is something strange about this sand Soi-Fon-taichou, Uzumaki-san." Both of them walked over to her and she tried to explain, "I don't quite know how to place it, but the Hollow you just defeated was a conscious entity representing the desert."

Omaeda scratched his head as he tried to put two and two together, "So… we just killed the spirit of the desert?"

Nemu shook her head as she stood back up, "No. More like you just killed the guardian that was slated with defending the spirit of the desert. If it was the actual spirit of the desert then it would have attacked us the moment we arrived. We simply stumbled upon it, meaning that we were close to the desert spirit and the guardian reacted violently."

"So…" Naruto said, trying to get her to finish her thought and tell them what she was alluding to.

Nemu pointed down, "There's still something down there… and it's coming up to the surface now because we destroyed the guardian."

Soi-Fon sighed and prepared herself for another fight, "When you say it's coming to the surface, how long will it take to get here?"

The ground suddenly exploded and a blur shot into the air, raining sand down on top of everyone, keeping them from looking up lest they find themselves blinded by the sand, "Three seconds ago." Nemu said as a dense Reiatsu settled over them all.

"So this is an Arrancar?" Omaeda wondered as he had his hand on his Zanpakutou. The feeling felt slightly similar to Hidan as there was a specific feeling behind the Reiatsu, only instead of pure bloodlust that would send another person running for the hills, this feeling was one of apathetic detachment. It made you feel as if you didn't even want to fight in the first place, as if it was in your best interest to just leave and forget about being there.

Everyone opened their eyes as the sand stopped raining down and they saw a figure just standing at the top of a sand dune with his arms crossed. On his back sat a spear with a large blade that had four different points of varying size to make it to look something like a claw.

In the distance he stood at he looked shadowed so that his actual features couldn't be seen clearly. He finally began walking down the dune and towards the others, putting them on alarm at the resigned pace he chose to move at. From the way his power felt he seemed to have good reason as to the way he was moving. Soi-Fon looked over at Nemu and Omaeda, 'Those two won't be any good in this battle. It's going to have to be me or Uzumaki. Both of us would be better since Uzumaki doesn't seem to be that adverse to working as a team to fight.'

The figure spoke as the sand began to blow in the wind around him, "Who are you and why have you disturbed my slumber?" The person asked in a calm, yet somewhat ragged sounding voice that made Naruto's ears twitch.

"There's no time to mess around with this one." Soi-Fon said as she grabbed her Zanpakutou, "Jinteki Shakuset-!" She was stopped from releasing her Shikai by Naruto grabbing her right arm, "Uzumaki what are you-?"

"Just wait." He said as he started walking forward into the gusty sandstorm, 'There's no way… but that voice… It can't be someone else. No one else talks like that.' He found the figure in the sandstorm and walked towards him only to freeze once he got within range to actually see him, "Holy crap… Gaara?" Naruto said in shock and awe, his eyes wide in surprise.

The sandstorm died down, revealing the figure to the rest of the Shinigami. A man the same height as Naruto with spiky red hair that reached his neck stared back at him with light green eyes that had no real pupils. He had no eyebrows and black rings were around his eyes. On the left side of his forehead sat a kanji for love, but it was white and in bone. The man blinked a few times with no actual expression on his face even as he spoke curiously, "Uzumaki Naruto?"

XxX

(Meanwhile – Las Noches)

"Aizen-sama." An Arrancar with a bull-shaped skull over his head kneeled in front of Aizen who was sitting at his throne, "In the desert, the Hollow Runuganga has been destroyed."

Aizen smiled at the Arrancar, "So it seems Rudoboun. Do you have a plan of action you would like to take?"

Rudoboun stood up, still posturing submissively to Aizen, "Allow me to dispatch the Exequias to deal with these pests for you Aizen-sama. There is no need to waste the Espada on the fools that have dared to intrude on this land."

"Very well…" Aizen said, gesturing to him to do as he wished, "I'm putting this in your hands Rudoboun. Don't disappoint me." Once again, Rudoboun bowed to Aizen and left the room.

Ichimaru Gin appeared from a corner of the room with his usual smirk on his face, "Y'know, the Exequias are only good for one thing Aizen-san. What are ya thinking sending them out like that? 'S just a waste a' time to me. For us and them. They wouldn't have sent weaklings for this kinda thing ya' know."

Aizen just chuckled, "I know that Gin. You and I both know that the Exequias are utterly expendable. The most expendable portion of my forces. But they will serve a purpose. I will be able to see how the Seireitei are prepared to handle just a taste of my army. It should also provide some misdirection and make them think that is the extent of my Arrancar army's power."

XxX

(Karakura Town – Kurosaki Home/Clinic)

"Yeah I'm coming!" Ichigo yelled from the living room of his house as the doorbell rang. Due to the fact that his father Isshin and little sister Yuzu were busy with the clinic and his other little sister Karin was out playing sports with her friends he was the designated getter of the actual door to their home. It didn't bother him though. Rest was more than fine. The Soul Society had provided more than enough activity for his summer vacation twice over and then some.

He opened the door to find a childhood friend of his standing there with her arms crossed over her chest, "Tatsuki? What's up? You should have called or something before coming over."

Tatsuki sighed and looked into Ichigo's face, "Yeah well I'm not here to hang out or ask you for anything. I just came to talk for a moment."

"Sure." Ichigo said, wondering what she had to talk about. Then again he had been gone all summer so she couldn't talk to him about anything while he had been gone, "Go ahead, do you want to come in?"

Tatsuki shook her head and rubbed her arm before she began to talk, "I know, about what you and Orihime actually did this summer." She noticed him flinch and then break into a slight sweat at having his secret possibly exposed, "It's okay, I'm not dumb enough to actually say anything about it out loud for the world to know. Naruto told me that much at least."

Ichigo's panic dropped when he heard Tatsuki use the name of the weird blonde guy that helped him save Rukia, "Wait, Naruto? You know that guy? How?"

"Apparently…" Tatsuki said before a smile came to her face, "He's going to be my new trainer, and I can't wait! The guy is seriously strong, I don't think anyone at my dojo could lay a finger on him if he didn't want them to!"

Ichigo blinked a few times, "So why would he train you?" He asked, slightly bewildered before he noticed Tatsuki start to get mad, "No offense, but I've seen what the guy can do. I don't think you'll be pulling any of that stuff for a long time if ever. Trust me. I don't think a regular person can get that strong." He felt comfortable saying that because there wasn't anything normal about Naruto in the least.

Tatsuki's angry face turned to a toothy grin, "It's a good thing I'm not exactly normal then, isn't it?" Before Ichigo could dispute anything she was saying she pointed directly in his face, "I can see spirits Ichigo, and apparently I have some power in me called chakra that Naruto said he can work with. You and Orihime have been keeping secrets from me and fighting. Well now I'm directly involved, so next time don't hesitate to ask me for help if you need it."

"Help?" Ichigo said, not really understanding it, "Tatsuki what could you do to help me out?"

She stood frozen before rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly, "Uh… right now, I guess nothing. Just give me some time and you'll see though." Tatsuki turned and began to walk away, "That's all I wanted Ichigo. But there's one more thing; Naruto said he wanted to talk to you, but there's no real hurry. He just said he'd see you next week. Later." She said as she waved and left the premises.

Ichigo watched her leave, shaking his head as he walked back inside and shut the door behind him, "Man, and I thought the weirdness would stop after I came back from the Soul Society…"

XxX

(With Naruto and Shinigami – Hueco Mundo)

As the Shinigami that had come with Naruto ran to his side as the sandstorm faded, both Naruto and Gaara spoke at the same time, "What are you doing here?"

Naruto followed up and laid out his questions first, "Gaara, what are you doing here? How are you still alive, it's been thousands of years! And how did you end up being an Arrancar or even a Hollow in the first place?"

Gaara raised an eyebrow, "I'm here because I died Uzumaki. Do you have any questions that aren't simple?" He smirked when he saw Naruto get a tick mark on his head, "But has it really been thousands of years?"

"Around 2000." Naruto said, surprised at seeing his old friend there. Gaara was dressed in a white colored robe that covered all of his arms and legs with what looked to be a long beige scarf around his neck, "What happened to you?"

Gaara looked at Naruto for about thirty seconds before speaking, "I failed Naruto. I wasn't able to keep Madara away from you and you wound up getting the Kyuubi extracted from you. Sasuke killed me when I attempted to get you out."

Naruto put a hand on Gaara's shoulder, "Sakura-chan resurrected me. I'm sorry Gaara, it was my fault that all of that happened. We won though. It may have taken me a few years after that to get everything together but we did it. Madara was stopped." He then took a good look at Gaara's face and noticed that he really didn't look any different from when he was alive, "Gaara what happened?"

"The grief of failing you and everyone else turned me into a Hollow." Gaara said sadly, "I didn't roam for long before I became sick of my existence as a Hollow and pulled my mask off. I then used the sands of this desert to hide myself away, from the Hollow Barragan in particular. The 'ruler' of Hueco Mundo wanted me to join his army and I chose not to. I have been at one with the sand ever since that day. "

Soi-Fon spoke to the strangely docile Hollow. She would have tried to finish it by now, but Naruto seemed to know him from years in the past and he wouldn't take too kindly to that if she did. He would probably violently lash out and possibly leave her there, "But what of the massive Hollow that attacked us? It was under your control wasn't it?"

"Runuganga was my avatar as I slumbered that manifested from my power." Gaara explained, "I was aware of my surroundings in a loosely dreamlike state as he roamed under the sands, ever moving and keeping me safe from discovery or harm." He looked at his hands, "My power must have grown while I was asleep. I do not remember feeling this strong when I was last awake."

Naruto shook his head with a smile on his face, "This is so great… Now you can come back with me!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed Gaara in a massive hug, "Yeah!"

Gaara blinked and tried to struggle his way out of his old friend's grasp, "Please let go of me Naruto." Naruto did as instructed, "And how can I come with you? If I were to go to the Human World then the Shinigami would attempt to exterminate me, even if I were to just try and exist there."

Naruto turned around to Soi-Fon and the others, "You guys wouldn't do anything stupid like try to kill Gaara would you?" He asked with a dangerous gleam in his eye that only seemed to visibly shake Omaeda.

Soi-Fon scoffed and looked away from him, "If he is to join your team like the other one then he's your responsibility. Keeping him under watch is your job."

Gaara shook his head, "I have and would never attack a living soul. I had enough of that when I was alive. I simply slumbered while I was here to keep from fighting Barragan and dealing with the other aggressive Hollows in Hueco Mundo. I had enough of killing them to keep them away."

Naruto didn't want to just leave Gaara in Hueco Mundo. If they found him then someone else could do so now that the thing that kept him safe and hidden was destroyed, "Come on Gaara. I could use the company. Being immortal kind of sucks." Gaara cocked a nonexistent eyebrow, "It's a long story."

"Very well." Gaara said, surprising a lot of them by smiling at Naruto, "I will go with you. It would be… nice, to spend time with a friend again, and there is no separation of villages to keep us from communicating in this time either." Naruto happily extended his hand and Gaara wasted no time in shaking it, "I do have to ask what you are doing here though."

Naruto sighed, "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

Nemu blinked and walked up to Naruto, staying behind him to keep herself out of Gaara's line of attack just in case, "Is it really wise to trust this Arrancar Uzumaki-san? He could be trying to fool you and sneak attack us. He could be an agent of Aizen Sousuke like the other Arrancar you came across."

Gaara looked at the girl standing behind Naruto and then at the other Shinigami around him, "I see time hasn't made you any less busy."

Naruto shrugged, "Got to fight the still-life somehow Gaara. The world didn't just settle into peace I'm sorry to say. Right now it's in more trouble than ever, and the trouble is centered around here in Hueco Mundo."

Shaking his head, Gaara crossed his arms once more, "I am sorry Naruto. I know nothing of this world if you truly say that it is 2000 years since my death. I am unable to assist you in this scope."

Naruto nodded to his old friend and turned back to Soi-Fon, "So do we keep going?"

"Yes." Soi-Fon said, feeling the former tension when Gaara revealed himself having fully faded from the scene beforehand, "We still have nothing of actual substance to take back with us. If this Gaara isn't an Arrancar in Aizen's army then we still have no clue as to what they are capable of, their actual numbers, their strength. We have nothing."

"I will go with you." Gaara said, putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "It would be good to catch up with an old friend, and I believe I could be of some help to you in some way. Just one moment." Gaara kneeled down and buried his hand completely in the sand.

Omaeda raised an eyebrow at Gaara when he shut his eyes and looked towards Naruto, "What's he doing?"

Naruto kept his eyes on his friend as he continued to do what it was he had been trying when it finally hit him, "Gaara can probably sense anything in the sand. The way that I can sense life and power easily in Sage Mode, Gaara can probably do that anytime he's in contact with sand in Hueco Mundo, or maybe anytime he's around sand in general."

Nemu's eyes actually widened in surprise at that fact, "From what I can deduce, all of Hueco Mundo is covered in sand. So if you are correct, Gaara-san can potentially sense anything in Hueco Mundo if he knew what to look for."

Gaara's eyes snapped open, "You are supposed to be the only Shinigami in this realm, correct?" He asked Soi-Fon due to her wearing the captain's haori and looking like she was in charge of the others.

"We're searching for the location of a trio of rogue Shinigami." She responded to him in kind, "The former captain of the 5th Division Aizen Sousuke has conspired with two other captains to attempt to destroy the Seireitei." She noticed Gaara giving her a blank look, but could tell that he was lost, "Do you know what that is?" He shook his head, "I thought as much. Just as clueless as Uzumaki…"

Gaara ignored the crack at him and his fellow former shinobi, "I can sense a Shinigami's Reiryoku, however it is very far from here and mixed in with other powerful signatures that surround it." He pointed in a direction, "That way. It feels far enough to take a few days to get to."

Naruto grunted and kicked at the sand softly, "Fuck. To hell with it, let's keep going." He said as Gaara stood up from sensing his way around, "Think you can keep up Gaara? You never were the fastest back in the day."

Gaara just stared at Naruto until disappearing, a low booming noise erupting from where he had been standing moments before. He reappeared a short distance away with his arms crossed, "Are you all coming?"

Naruto chuckled and began to follow until he was grabbed on the arm by Soi-Fon who then spoke to him, "Do not stay my blade again Uzumaki. It doesn't matter that he used to be your friend in his past life, here he is a Hollow, a monster that survives off of devouring the souls of others. The next time you do anything like that you will be defending yourself instead of them."

Naruto just leered at her with no amount of care in his gaze that he usually looked at her with, "Wrong or right isn't black or white. Just because Gaara's an Arrancar doesn't make him evil." He jerked his arm out of her grip, "I've met humans more evil, even a Shinigami more evil than most Hollows. Most of them operate off of instinct and the ones that are aware have the same ability that any human or soul has for good or evil."

"It's just lucky that I have no standing orders to kill Hollows on sight." Soi-Fon said, looking away from Naruto's eyes, which seemed to steel over once they locked with hers. She couldn't find herself able to meet that stare. For some reason it made her feel weak. She was a damn captain of the Gotei 13, who was he to make her feel this way for no reason?

"You need to relax sometimes, I swear… I'm going to make sure you chill out a bit before you leave Karakura Town." Naruto then began walking after Gaara and the two lieutenants up ahead before adding something on the end, "Don't seriously threaten me again Jooubachi. Usually when you chase me it's fun. I like you a lot, and I'll keep thinking of you like that until you do something like attack my friends. I wouldn't have stopped you for no reason."

She stared at his back until returning her features to normal and walking along at her usual reserved gait, "Whatever Uzumaki. We still have work to do."

XxX

(Karakura Town)

Tatsuki and Orihime walked with Yoruichi through the base that Naruto still had to have his clones outfit to look like a legitimate publishing company. The second-in-command of the whole operation was currently walking around with a clipboard taking notes on what needed to be done when he and the others got back from Hueco Mundo, "Sorry Tatsuki, he's not here." She turned back towards the girl in question, "He said he'd train you next week. I'm sure he'd like that you're eager, but Naruto didn't just throw out a random timeframe to start."

"Well that sucks…" Tatsuki muttered lowly, "Now I'm all excited and I've got nothing to do for a whole week." She wasn't looking where she was going and bumped into someone, "Hey!" She looked up to find the guy that Naruto said was his assistant glaring down at her.

Hidan stared at Tatsuki for a long while, making her feel slightly uncomfortable as there was just something about the guy that didn't feel normal. Eventually he grunted and turned to Yoruichi, "This is the girl that Uzumaki-brat said he was going to train?"

Yoruichi smiled at the usually hostile Arrancar in hiding, "Yes Hidan, this is Tatsuki. You know Orihime by now since she was here yesterday too. She's thinking about helping us out as well, so be nice."

"I don't do nice…" Hidan said, "I do kill and don't kill."

Yoruichi gave him a dry look as the two younger girls recoiled at his somewhat serious tone at how he said that, "Isn't he just lovely?" She asked sarcastically before thinking of something, "Wait, Hidan you were a shinobi like Naruto was weren't you?"

Hidan gave her an offended look, "You say it like neither of us are anymore. You let Uzumaki-brat hear you say that and he's going to tear that pretty little ass of yours up." He ignored her spike in Reiatsu, whether it was for his language or vulgar content of conversation, he didn't care, "We're different in how we fight, but at some point we were trained almost the same way. I can see what she's got at the very least."

"So, basement?" Yoruichi said, pointing down with a raised eyebrow.

"Basement." Hidan confirmed, turning back around and heading back from where he had just come from.

Yoruichi led the girls downstairs, following Hidan who was muttering about having to turn and go back downstairs after he had just gotten through training his other powers. Once they got there, Tatsuki gawked at the sheer size of the place, "How is this under a building?"

Orihime brightly informed her, "Mister Urahara is really good at making these places! He has one under his shop too!"

Hidan was standing out in the middle of an open area waiting impatiently, "Is she going to get over here or what? I don't have all day you know, I'm hungry!"

Yoruichi rolled her eyes and turned to Tatsuki, "Go ahead. Don't worry he won't do anything too bad, and you wanted to train anyway didn't you?"

"I didn't even bring my gi." Tatsuki said indignantly as she walked out to face Hidan who scoffed.

"A gi?" He gestured to himself wearing his street clothes, "Do I look like I'm wearing anything like that? You should know that you're not going to be in a gi for an actual fight so suck it up missy." He spread his arms wide and tilted his head to the side, "Okay go ahead."

"What?" Tatsuki said in disbelief, she had already been in her fighting stance ready to go at this point.

"Go ahead." Hidan repeated, still standing wide open for attack, "Give me your best shot, your very best shot. Don't hold back at all, hit me like I'm a heavy-bag." Tatsuki looked back at Yoruichi and Orihime, getting a nod out of Yoruichi, "Oi! What the fuck are you looking at her for? Do you need permission to throw a goddamn punch? Hit me already bitch!"

Tatsuki growled at Hidan and ran directly towards him, 'He wants my best shot, let's see how you like this then you prick!' She let out a loud yell of exertion and delivered a textbook straight right hand right to Hidan's face. The hit sent him sliding back across the ground, but to her surprise he never fell or stumbled back even a step, "What? That should have broken your jaw!"

"Who said it didn't?" Hidan said, slightly mumbling. An angry red mark appeared on his face where Tatsuki hit him as he started walking back towards her, "That was a pretty good shot. You injured my jaw… but Uzumaki would have snapped my neck if he had a clean shot like that one."

"W-What?" Tatsuki took a step back as Hidan seemed to walk back towards her as if nothing had just happened, "Snap your neck? And you're not dead?"

Hidan smirked and chuckled darkly, "You can't kill this body with physical damage. I'm pretty much immortal if you didn't know." He saw Tatsuki's jaw drop, "Uzumaki-brat told you about the Hollows and Shinigami and all of that right? He didn't tell you jack about either of us though."

"No way. That can't be true." Tatsuki said defiantly.

Yoruichi sighed and covered Orihime's eyes with her hands, "Yeah, you're not going to want to see this next part."

Hidan grabbed the cylinder around his neck and extended the spike. Tatsuki bristled, thinking he was going to attack her with it but recoiled in horror when Hidan drove it directly into his chest, "What the hell! Are you insane?"

"Yes, but that's not what you should have been paying attention to." Hidan said, pulling the spike out of his chest and letting it recede back into the cylinder, "So you can pretty much beat on me as much as you want. My spirit body is way more durable than this one but in this body you couldn't kill me with any weapon you could possibly get your hands on." He walked towards her and found that she was shaking slightly, putting a frown on his face, "No more of that. If you're afraid of just that then you might as well quit now. No one's even done anything to you yet."

Tatsuki swallowed a nervous lump in her throat and nodded.

Hidan stepped back from her a few feet and stood across from her, "So I'll guess that you at least know how to generate your own chakra. I would have at least told you how to do that much before leaving to run around Hueco Mundo raising hell… bastard won't let me go." He saw Tatsuki make the ram seal that Naruto taught her and allow her chakra to build, "Good."

Orihime called out across the field to both of them, "Mister Hidan, do you want me to heal your face?"

He looked up at Orihime and watched her shiver slightly at the expression on his face, "No. I'm fine. Nothing like a little pain to let you know you're alive. I'll have to settle with my own since if I used the jutsu I want to use on Uzumaki-brat's protégé before he ever even got to her he'd tear me apart and scatter me to the four corners of the planet."

Yoruichi smirked over from the sidelines, "So are you going to teach her anything?"

A grin came to Hidan's face as he looked at Tatsuki and she felt as if she needed to get out of there fast or she might wind up paying for it, "So what do you humans know of the almighty Jashin-sama? If you believe in him as I do faithfully you may be granted with-." He was shut up when he found a boulder chucked at him by Yoruichi that smashed into him.

"Not that…" Yoruichi growled out threateningly as she walked over and escorted Tatsuki away from Hidan, "I guess you'll just have to wait until Naruto gets back to learn any of his tricks Tatsuki."

Orihime looked over at Hidan worriedly to see him sputtering with the boulder covering his torso, "Is he going to be okay?" Yoruichi shrugged and led Tatsuki back upstairs. Instead of directly following, Orihime ran over to the boulder Hidan was under, kneeling by him, "Are you alright?"

Hidan held up a shaky thumbs-up, "Immortal…" He choked out before coughing again, "But could you get the rock off of me? My legs don't seem to be working right now."

Orihime nodded and stood back, "Okay Mister Hidan, one second. Koten Zanshun (Solitary Sacred Cutting Shield)!" One of the petals on Orihime's hair clip transformed into a flash of light that hit the boulder and pulverized it, freeing Hidan. Orihime ran over and kneeled over his injured body once more, "Hold on for just one more moment, Souten Kisshun (Twin Sacred Return Shield)."

Hidan watched in surprise as two of the flowers on her hair clip this time went to the opposite ends of his body and engulfed him in a barrier that began to heal him. Hidan looked up and met Orihime's eyes, "Okay after seeing that, I'm with Uzumaki-brat, and I'm not stark-raving mad when I'm saying this... I think it would be fucking awesome if you were on the squad."

Orihime just smiled as she continued to heal his body, "Maybe."

XxX

(One Day Later – With Naruto – Hueco Mundo)

The expedition group comprised of Soi-Fon, Omaeda, Nemu, and Naruto followed Gaara as they continued to move through the desert of Hueco Mundo. Despite cutting a swift pace across the landscape, nothing seemed to ever change in appearance, letting them know just how vast the place was.

No one had let out any complaints, even Omaeda lest he suffer his captain's wrath at making her squad look weak out in the field, but even Soi-Fon and Naruto's patience had begun to wear thin. It had been nothing but running and momentary rest for the night, followed by more running the next day. They hadn't even run across anymore Hollows all the while.

"Gaara-san." Nemu said, getting the red-head's attention, "Can you tell me what of all of the Hollows in Hueco Mundo? Surely there have to be some around somewhere."

Gaara answered her, "As I'm sure Naruto told you before, most of the notable Hollows, what you refer to as 'Menos class' reside underground. Weaker Hollows normally do not come out and roam the deserts for risk of being devoured by those more powerful than themselves. They instead head to the Human World for what they perceive to be 'easy prey'. Most Hollows simply hide and exist on their own, waiting until they are provoked or are driven to a great enough feeling of emptiness to hunt about or as I said head to the Human World."

Soi-Fon focused and began to scan around for anything close before narrowing her eyes, "Something is coming this way."

"Is it strong?" Naruto asked her, getting a shake of the head in response, "Oh well, play it safe. Ambush?" Soi-Fon nodded and Naruto grabbed her, surprising her as he made hand-seals before she could even complain, "Close your eyes. Doton: Moguragakure no Jutsu (Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole Jutsu)!" Naruto and Soi-Fon then vanished underground beneath the sand.

Gaara looked over at Nemu and Omaeda and drew his spear, "Take a breath." He said before stabbing it into the ground and causing a small whirlpool of sand that sucked them all in, hiding them underneath as well.

After a moment of no motion in the area from any of the people hidden underground, a pair of figures chasing another smaller, cloaked person across the sands came running over the area, followed by a large eel-like Hollow. One of the two had a large body with a yellow bodysuit covered in polka-dots as clothing. They also had a very large head, almost the size of their body, that was covered in a mask that resembled a tiki mask.

The other of the two chasing after the smaller figure was rather skinny with an insect-like mask on its face complete with mandibles and horns. The right eye was covered with a purple veil. This one had a purple body but the torso was covered by white armor as well as a purple loincloth. The Hollow hole was positioned on the belly slightly under the armor.

Just as they kept running, a pair of hands shot up from the sand, grabbing the two pursuing figures by their ankles and holding them in place, "Huh?" They both said just as Soi-Fon jumped out of the sand and smashed them both with hard kicks that sent them flying.

The large eel-like Hollow stopped in its tracks when a large hand of sand grabbed it around the body and hoisted it up into the air. Gaara then revealed himself from underneath the ground followed by Nemu and Omaeda who sputtered and spit out sand, "What, do I look like I breathe sand?"

Nemu simply dusted herself off, "Gaara-san instructed you to take a breath before going under."

Soi-Fon shoved her arm into the sand where Naruto's hands had been sticking out from and pulled up sharply, lifting Naruto up from the sand by his throat with one arm with an angry look on her face while she shook him repeatedly, "I didn't need you to drag me under the sand… I could have hidden myself without you Uzumaki!"

Naruto got her to release him and brushed the sand off of his sage coat, "Where else could you have possibly hidden?" He asked her rhetorically before turning to the giant sand hand holding the large Hollow up, "Gaara could you go ahead and finish up so we can keep going?"

"No!" The small cloaked figure that had been chased yelled out, getting everyone's attention, "Why did you beat up my brothers?" The little figure pulled the down the hood of the cloak to reveal a little girl with blue-green hair and hazel eyes. A crimson line stretched horizontally across her face under her eyes and a scar came down her forehead to her nose. However her most noticeable trait was the skull mask on top of her head that had a crack in it and was missing teeth.

Naruto walked over to the little girl and kneeled down, "But weren't they chasing after you?"

She nodded happily, "Yep, it's eternal pursuit! It's a game!" She said with a lisp.

Naruto face-faulted into the sand and Soi-Fon palmed her face, "Okay… let's just get a move on." Soi-Fon said, done with the whole situation, "This is obviously another Arrancar that has nothing to do with Aizen's army at all. We're getting nothing out of this."

"Just wait." Naruto said, urging her to hold on for a moment before he put a hand on the little Arrancar's head, "What are you doing out here all by yourself?" He couldn't sense much power from her at all.

"Nel isn't alone." The little girl said as the other two that Soi-Fon had kicked away earlier made their way back over rapidly, leaving a trail of dust in their wake, "Nel has her brothers Dondochakka and Pesche."

The two other Arrancar stopped at Nel's side, panting heavily at running all the way back as fast as they could. Soi-Fon's eye twitched at seeing them just get right back up from her attacks, "They got up from that. Damn limiter… Why did Yamamoto-sotaichou put a soul-limiter on us? Even if we were staying in the Human World we would eventually have to come to Hueco Mundo."

Naruto did a double take as he turned to her, "You still have that on? Why the fuck didn't you tell me that before we got here? I thought you'd gotten it taken off before we left the base."

"There's nothing we can do about it without good reason to have it removed." Soi-Fon explained to Naruto who didn't like the news that he had taken a handicapped crew into the hornet's nest, "It's protocol for all lieutenant and captain-level Shinigami."

"Okay…" Naruto said, holding the bridge of his nose, "And that's as far as we're going on this little trip into Hueco Mundo." He said with finality, "Yamamoto-jiji better get his shit together… sending you guys in without full power."

"Why leave?" The skinny Arrancar, Pesche said, "If you go anywhere else you could run into Shinigami or something like that."

Nemu blinked, keeping her dulcet expression on her face, "We are Shinigami."

"I'm not." Gaara said, finally allowing his large hand made of sand to put the eel-Hollow down, "I'm an Arrancar."

"I'm not either." Naruto said as well, "I'm a human/sage/immortal." He noticed everyone looking at him, "Yes I introduce myself like that all the time, you got a problem with it?"

The larger Arrancar, Dondochakka started backing away with Nel and Pesche, "W-What are Shinigami doing here? Are you going to try to kill us?"

Gaara walked forward towards them, "That won't happen."

"Yeah." Naruto said, agreeing with his monotone-speaking old friend, "I don't attack things based purely on what they are. I'm a sage, and all forms of life are precious to me… even forms of life that are created after death." He made his way over to Nel again making sure they all knew he meant no harm, "How does a Hollow end up with brothers anyway?"

Dondochakka picked Nel up and held her out, "Well we found her just out here in the desert one day and we decided we couldn't just leave her out here like that. So we decided to take Nel with us and make her our sister."

Omaeda just stood back picking his nose while this was happening, "Man Hueco Mundo is a weird place. I'm definitely staying away from here in the future. The place is ugly and bland… not anything befitting a noble."

Nemu just ignored him to keep trying to obtain any data she could on Hueco Mundo until she stopped and turned in a direction, just staring, "Something is coming."

Hearing the usually silent lieutenant speak up in warning, all of the others snapped into action. Gaara kneeled down and tried sensing the immediate area, "She is right. There are multiple signatures coming this way."

"Dangerous?" Naruto asked, ready for another fight to clear the area so that he could summon the Gedou and take them all home.

An angry scoff came from Soi-Fon, "We wasted our ambush on those weaklings."

Gaara didn't say anything and drew his strange spear once again before stabbing it into the ground. The sand quaked for a moment before in the distance a blast fired dozens of figures into the air. In the sky, they righted themselves and landed nearby the expedition team. Each of the figures wore white uniforms and had human-shaped skulls as heads. Without even saying a word they all drew their swords threateningly at the others.

Naruto and Soi-Fon just gave them all deadpan looks before using their speed techniques to disappear from sight. In a matter of seconds a large number of the attacking force had been battered, smashed and beaten away with just their bare hands. Soi-Fon and Naruto reappeared after disposing of a good chunk of the enemy, "These enemies barely have enough Reiatsu to qualify for potential positions as seated officers. And I'm being polite about gauging their chances for even that." Soi-Fon said, disgusted at being confronted by such weak foes. Even at not even 30% of her power she was more than enough to handle this alone.

"Right then." Naruto said, reaching into a pocket of his sage coat to retrieve the hilt of the Raijin no Ken, "So why are we wasting time just talking about it?" He tilted his head to acknowledge even Omaeda getting in on some of the action, fighting off more than a few of the strange Arrancar enemies without even using his Shikai, "I bet I get more than you do."

Soi-Fon's eyes let off a shine at the challenge, "If I win you can never see Yoruichi-sama in a familiar manner again."

Naruto shrugged, "Sure, and I'll tell you my terms after I win. Now-." With that, they both headed into the fray of fighting their strange foes once more.

Naruto simply headed right in and cut them down with the Raijin no Ken, Soi-Fon went around the outside of the force, taking out whatever stragglers weren't involved enough in the fighting to place her in the path of Naruto's onslaught. Nemu just sat back trying to examine the corpses of the fallen skull-Arrancar that she could find, only paying attention to the battle for a moment to smash one of them that tried to sneak up on her with a brutally efficient kick to the head.

Meanwhile, Gaara just stood back observing and keeping Nel, Pesche, Dondochakka, and their large eel-Hollow safe from where he was, 'Who was it that dispatched these soldiers to attack?' He wondered, 'They came from the direction that I sensed the misplaced Shinigami's powers in.' Before he could think too much on it, the battle was over as the formerly embattled team members walked back over.

Soi-Fon had a frown on her face, Omaeda had a look of amazement on his, and Naruto had a grin on his face all the while he was swinging the Raijin no Ken around like a toy, "Kami, I love this thing!" He looked down at Soi-Fon and put a hand on her shoulder, "Don't fuck with the Jedi master love." He then heaved out a grunt as he found Soi-Fon's foot in his stomach.

"Just take us back already since you're not going to take us any further… I have to report." Soi-Fon said, taking her foot out of Naruto's torso and walking in front of him.

Naruto rubbed his belly where he was kicked as he looked over at Nemu carrying one of the dead Arrancar towards them, "You ready to go Nemu-chan?" She nodded, satisfied at actually getting a test subject to take back with her. Naruto began making a long chain of hand-seals before smashing his hand against the ground, his eyes flickering with the Rinnegan for just a moment, "Gedou (Outer Path)!"

The disembodied demonic head sprang from the ground and once again grabbed everyone to swallow them up before receding back, leaving the desert empty except the bodies of the deceased littering the sands.

XxX

(Karakura Town – Naruto's Base)

The portal reformed in the air and spat them all out high above the ground of the training room. Naruto, Gaara, and Omaeda all fell to the ground in a heap, with Naruto immediately jumping to his feet after his fall and glaring at the disappearing Gedou as Nemu and Soi-Fon dropped to the ground safely, "I think that stupid thing is sexist or something. This is the fourth time that piece of shit spat me out like that." He turned towards a groaning Omaeda, "You okay big man?"

The large lieutenant rolled over and sat up, "I'm fine… luckily my neck broke my fall."

Gaara got up off of the ground glaring at Naruto, "I could have formed my own way to this plane Naruto."

Naruto sneered at Gaara who he could guess was scolding him for flagrant use of Gedou, "Well next time cut us a Garganta yourself so that I don't have to hear you complain."

Soi-Fon and Nemu had taken the time provided to go back to their Gigai and were about to leave when Naruto called out to them, "Ah, ah! Wait a minute Jooubachi, you lost the bet."

Soi-Fon turned around abruptly to see Naruto smirking at her, "I wasn't even at 100%. You can't count that."

Naruto chuckled, "I can because you accepted and actually made terms to the bet. Now I want to tell you what I'm getting out of winning so get over here." Soi-Fon glared at him until he made a gesture telling her to go over to him, "I can say it out loud, I just thought you'd want to save some face in front of your lieutenant." She narrowed her eyes at him but walked over nonetheless. Standing by Naruto he whispered in her ear, and whatever he told her got her to widen her eyes and shake her head slowly, "You have to do it." He said before she could dispute anything, "You need to take a break anyway. If anything I'm doing you a favor."

"When?" Soi-Fon growled out, wanting to jump out of her Gigai again and possibly kick him in the head.

"Tonight." Naruto answered calmly, "If you really don't want to do it, we should just get it out of the way as soon as we can, but you aren't getting out of this one."

Soi-Fon turned away with a huff and walked away with a blush on her face, 'Grr, I'm going to kill that man one of these days, I swear!'

"Wow, so this is the Human World eh?"

That voice not only stopped Soi-Fon in her tracks, but got everyone else in the room to come to an abrupt stop as well. Everyone hurried over to a different area of the room and found the three Arrancar that they thought they had left in the desert, Nel, Pesche, and Dondochakka, sitting around looking at the landscape of the room, "It looks like Hueco Mundo but with rocks!" The skinny Arrancar Pesche said.

Naruto palmed his face while the others all looked at him strangely, "I swear, I didn't do that on purpose…" He said when he felt Soi-Fon and Gaara glaring at him, "The fucking Gedou hates me…"

XxX

(Hueco Mundo – Las Noches)

Aizen walked through the halls of Las Noches, flanked by Ichimaru and Tousen Kaname, "I believe I've let them get enough of a chance to scout my territory; however this won't be the battlefield as they anticipate it to be. I believe it's about time I run some general reconnaissance of my own."

"Rudoboun and his Exequias failed." Tousen said rather distastefully at the turn of events.

Gin simply kept his usual closed-eye smirk on his face as he spoke next, "Did you really expect 'em them to? We didn't send that many of 'em for them to even stand a chance against anyone the Gotei 13 would think would be worth sending. That was just cannon fodder."

"Gin is right." Aizen said to Tousen, "Only any Arrancar with any substance or actual skill and power will be of any use in the coming battle. Rudoboun's troops are only needed for one thing and open battle against seated officers is not what that thing is." Despite what most would perceive as a setback, Aizen never stopped smiling, "I think a show of force is called for. Don't you agree? A message to be sent to the enemy of just what resisting will get them in the end."

Okay, I put in Gaara because... well, he's Gaara. That 's the only real reason I should need. Gaara's awesome. But anyway, he and Hidan were the only ones I had planned on using and my mental mind will not be swayed. I AM A ROCK! Gaara serves a purpose, has a reason for being a Hollow, and has an out for living as long as he has as an Arrancar. I covered all of my bases because I'm the man.

No smart-alecky remarks today, I'm all tapped out of smartass for the rest of the weekend. I'll be ornery enough for a gem of a rant of some sort next time around I suppose, not today though.

Kenchi out.