Chapter 21- A Zanpakutou's Resolve!
"Fine then...just take care of Ayame-chan..." he spoke in a low tone before blurring out using shunpo.
Teuchi sighed as he put his hands down on the table with a jerk, a grave look on his face.
'That's what I'm trying to do here...I know they're here to get her again.'
Uchiha Clan's Estate: With Others
CLANG!
'Damn they're strong,' Anko thought with gritted teeth, currently holding a kunai as it grinded against the hollow's claw.
"You won't get away!" the Uchiha hollow exclaimed, swiping its other large claw forwards as Anko flipped backwards to dodge it.
Landing on the ground, she didn't have time to compose herself as a few more hollows now began to surround her. They opened their mouths collectively as condensed balls of fire began to form in front of their mouths.
'Shit!' the purple haired jounin cursed inwardly as she jumped just in time.
WHRAASH!
The fireballs collided into each other, creating an explosion while the she landed a few meters away from them.
"Anko, any plans for taking them out? We're easily outnumbered here, and these things are strong," Kurenai uttered in a hushed tone as she landed beside Anko to stand back to back with her. Around dozen of hollows were now closing in on them while Mikoto herself was fighting five hollows on the rooftops.
"None...just keep hitting them, that's all we can do. Naruto should be arriving here soon too," Anko replied, a few shuriken in her hands.
"Well at least you're doing some damage...what...should I do? My genjutsu just doesn't work on them! It's like they are resistant to all sorts of illusions!" Kurenai exclaimed, pausing in between to throw several shuriken towards the slowly approaching hollow.
Anko threw her arm forward as she yelled.
"Sen'ei Tajashu! (Many Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)"
A large number of intimidating snakes shot forth from around her forearm as they whizzed towards the hollows at break neck speeds, hissing dangerously at the creatures in front of them.
"It's useless!"
"CERO! (Hollow Flash)"
Anko's eyes widened as their fire attacks blazed forward through their mouths, completely incinerating the snakes while it continued towards the duo.
'A cero...a cero made of fire?'
"Duck!"
Kurenai yelled as she leaped sideways, taking Anko with her.
WHOOSH!
The crimson eyed jounin gritted her teeth in pain as the dense fire slightly grazed against her back, tearing off her white bandage-like dress a little from the back- exposing slightly burned skin.
"You okay?!" Anko asked as Kurenai, who was lying on top of her stood up a bit unsteadily.
"Y-Yeah..." Kurenai coughed a bit as the smoke slowly cleared.
'Dammit Naruto...what the hell's taking you so long?!' Anko thought in frustration as she leaped to her feet.
Mikoto was currently crouched on a roof, panting a bit with a few hollows surrounding her.
"Why do you resist Mikoto-sama? Join us...leave this village! They did nothing but betray us!" one of them exclaimed, slowly walking towards her as she stood up with a frown on her face.
"I don't care. What has happened with our ancestors is in the past. If we continue to fight, if we continue to protest, nothing will be achieved. If anything, many lives will be lost, there will be no peace. If very few, there are people who are very precious to me here," Mikoto uttered loudly while panting as she remembered Naruto and Sasuke.
"This is my home. This is their home. And one of them...one of them is going to be the hokage of this village! And I will help him achieve his dreams!" the Uchiha matriarch stated firmly, the young blonde's visage right in front of her, giving her strength, the will to move on.
"That's just nonsense! You don't care for your own people do you?! You don't care that one of us was forced to kill his clan! We were manipulated!"
"Yes we were manipulated. And we forced this village to manipulate us! It's because of our own foolish actions that we were manipulated! If we hadn't planned that coup in the first place, all of us would've been alive. We would be living in peace, n-no one would have to die then. I-Itachi wouldn't have to leave us," Mikoto's voice quivered in the end as she quickly wiped her eyes.
"I'm sorry, you are being controlled by your hatred and the desire for revenge. Let me free your souls," she closed her eyes, a lone tear sliding down her cheek for the members of her clan...they were one big family for her.
'And I would save them!'
Snapping open her eyes, her completely matured Sharingan blazed with rapidly spinning tomoes as she dashed forwards at blurry speeds.
"Here, witness my true power, shinigami!" Fugaku exclaimed with a broad grin, his reiatsu levels rising at tremendous rates as he stood on the roof of a worn out building.
The guardian shinigami gazed at the hollow in front of them as his human appearance began to morph into a more hollow-ish one.
"Watch it carefully, because you won't be seeing this again!" he exclaimed, his voice getting more demonic as a white mask began to form over his face. A white substance began to now cover his body, forming a tail behind him. Two triangle shaped arm guards covered his forearms. His feet too turned out to be pointy due to the white substance, as the tail swished behind him lazily.
The mask seemed to have a few cracks on it, cuts along his eyes with strands of his hair falling over it.
"I see...so you're a very high ranking hollow. Not a surprise considering the amount of time you spent in Hueco Mundo. However, I'm surprised that you did not devoured your fellow clan members to become stronger, or is it that being a Vasto Lorde class menos is enough for you?" the guardian shinigami articulated calmly as Fugaku stretched the muscles of his neck, his eyes sporting a certain animalistic look in them.
"Don't compare me with normal low class hollows. Unlike the usual trash, I have risen above my primal instincts. I know who to devour, who to kill," he spoke in his demonic voice, the concrete below cracking under the intense spiritual pressure while the guardian shinigami too seemed to be struggling.
'I still have the limiter seal on. Have to request for permission,' he thought before pointing his index finger at Fugaku.
"Where is your hole? I don't see it..." he questioned as a chuckle escaped the Uchiha Vasto Lorde, who began to lift his right hand slowly.
"Well since you asked so nicely..." Fugaku trailed as he opened his right palm, displaying it to the shinigami standing below. The shape of the hole however startled him- it was the same as the standard tomoe of the Sharingan.
"Here, here's the other one..." Fugaku uttered in an amused tone as his showed off his left palm, it too sporting the tomoe-shaped hole.
'Two holes?'
SWISH!
Fighting the hollows above in mid air, Rangiku continued to attack through her ash particles. She too was panting quite heavily now, having already taken down several hollows.
"You're no match for us!"
WHAM!
Matsumoto skidded back on reiatsu platform in midair, having stopped the hollow's claws by materializing Haineko into its blade.
'We are easily outnumbered. Taking in account their strength, Naruto too won't be enough. We need Ayame-chan too...she should be on her way with him too,' the blonde thought while panting as she stood up, now glancing down towards Fugaku, a bead of sweat rolling down the side of her forehead.
'I have never encountered a Vasto Lorde, and his reiatsu...it's even higher than taicho. It's so...dense...such foul feeling,' she wondered, holding Haineko in front of her defensively.
"What's the matter? Now do you feel our power, Fugaku-sama's power? You should know by now that resistance is futile!" a hollow exclaimed as the group of them approached her at blazing speeds, charging up their fire Cero in their mouths.
Rangiku narrowed her eyes as the blade again turned into ash particles.
'I'm low on reiryoku now, this is probably going to be my last attack. Better take these out in one shot...' she mused before waving her hand- the one holding the hilt as the ash particles whizzed towards the approaching hollows.
Slashing her hand across in a blur...
"Neko Rinbu! (Cat Round Dance)" she exclaimed, the speed of ash particles increasing by several times as they quickly covered the distance. The particles began to condense around the group of hollows, rotating at high speeds as they quickly morphed into a deadly twister.
"W-Wha...AHHHH!"
Rangiku stared at the twister with cold eyes as painful howls of those hollows came out, large amount of blood spraying out as it descended with gravity while the small ash particles continued to flesh out the hollows rapidly.
Mikoto, Anko and Kurenai glanced upwards upon hearing the screams, their eyes getting widened as they noticed the blood drops falling down like rain.
'Such brutality...' Kurenai thought, the blood drops falling on them while Mikoto hardened herself, knowing that those Uchiha souls were being purified.
The twister slowly died down as the ash particles began to separate, coming back to form the katana while Rangiku was currently crouched, panting heavily as she wiped her forehead.
"Anko! Focus here," Kurenai warned, pulling the purple haired kunoichi back to their fight as they again dodged a slash from a hollow, both getting separated as they skidded on the ground.
"Now, let's continue shinigami!" Fugaku yelled as he suddenly vanished.
'Again with that strange technique.'
Sensing something beneath him, the guardian shinigami brought down his katana just in time.
CLANG!
"Grhgh!"
He was sent flying upwards due to the force of the blow while a crouched Fugaku stood up.
"Weak...is that all there is to the famed guardian shinigami of the Spirit King?!" he mocked as the shinigami used reishi beneath his feet to control himself, stopping ways above Fugaku.
'He's fast!'
"You were able to see me, that in itself is an accomplishment shinigami!" Fugaku yelled from the ground, pointing his katana at the guardian shinigami.
"Here I come again!" he vanished from the shinigami's sight as the guardian stretched out his hand.
"Bakudo no Sanjurei..." a burst of crackling yellow energy formed in his hand as he moved it at blurred speeds to form an inverted triangle, cones of condensed energy building at its corners in front of him.
"Shitotsu Sansen! (Break-Piercing Triple Beam)" he fired the energy cones off the corners of the inverted triangle; the cones nearing an approaching Fugaku at mind-boggling speeds.
"Ugh!" they slammed into the Uchiha hollow, piercing his flesh at his shoulders and the stomach. Fugaku went sailing down due to the momentum of the cones blurrily.
WHRASH!
He violently crashed into the ground, forming a deep crater with the cones having him pinned to the concrete.
The guardian shinigami appeared beside the crater via several flash steps.
"Heh...you think a low level kido like this can hold me off?" Fugaku asked, his crazed eyes boring into the shadowed face through the hood of the guardian shinigami.
The shinigami remained quiet as he stood there.
"Hmm...so it appears you're trying to buy some time," Fugaku uttered, startling the shinigami as the Uchiha's reiatsu began to sky-rocket.
"Whatever you're waiting for, you'll be DEAD BEFORE IT! HAAAAAAAARRRRHHHHHHHHHHHH...!" the Uchiha's demonic cry echoed throughout the estate as his reiatsu reached to blundering levels while the yellow energy cones began to waver.
'What power!' Rangiku thought, shielding her eyes as a pillar of light red reiryoku shot forth Fugaku into the sky. The guardian shinigami stepped back, shielding his face by his elbow as the crater began to deepen due to the crazy spiritual pressure in the area.
CRWSH!
The energy cone restraints broke under the pressure as Fugaku downed his reiatsu levels, now slowly standing while blood spilled down the hole through his shoulders and stomach.
"Interesting...very interesting!" he exclaimed as the holes began to close up due to his instant regeneration.
'This one is no joke, he is stronger than a normal Vaste Lorde...'
The guardian shinigami thought when Fugaku stepped forward, now standing deep in the crater.
"Now's my turn..." the Uchiha claimed with a grin behind his mask as he again vanished in the blink of an eye.
'Wait, where is he?!' the guardian shinigami thought in a bit of panic when Fugaku appeared just above him.
CLUK!
THUK!
'What the...?'
"So, a new arrival huh?" Fugaku questioned, currently holding the guardian's zanpakutou in his bare left hand, a tip of another blade trying to pierce his back.
'Naruto!' Mikoto and Rangiku thought simultaneously as they stared at the wide eyed blonde standing above Fugaku.
'Impossible! It didn't even scratched him?!' the jinchuriki thought in shock, currently pushing his zanpakutou with all his strength.
"And a pretty weak to boot," Fugaku shifted his eyes to gaze at the blonde figure behind him.
SWISH!
Having used shunpo, both Naruto and the guardian shinigami appeared several meters away from Fugaku, who landed on the ground, flexing his hand as blood dripped down the tip of his fingers.
"Uzumaki...Naruto...right?"the guardian shinigami questioned making the blonde beside him glance at him.
"Yeah..." he replied.
'His zanpakutou was able to cut him...why couldn't mine? It felt like as I was hitting a diamond or something. The same happened with Urahara-san, he too was able to grab my zanpakutou bare handed. Am I...not strong enough yet?' the whiskered blonde thought as he clenched his fists.
"Hey you, blondie!" Naruto's cold eyes met Fugaku's as they stared at each other.
"Take a look at your zanpakutou," a brief look of confusion crossed Naruto's eyes as he glanced down.
His eyes widened in surprise as the blade of his zanpakutou began to crack up right in front of his eyes.
CRSHH!
'What the hell?!' he thought in shock as a large part of his blade fell to the ground.
'He's still not strong enough,' Rangiku thought with a sigh. Just as she was about to use shunpo to aid him, several more hollows came from below making her curse. Glancing towards Anko, she was not surprised to find the duo doing not so well, they both seemed to be exhausted while Mikoto was still holding her own, though she was beginning to show signs of exhaustion.
"Your zanpakutou can't even cut me...what a weakling!" Fugaku taunted making the jinchuriki glare at him.
'Why can't I cut him? How is it even possible?!' Naruto thought as he gripped his zanpakutou tighter.
"You still need to learn a lot. It seems you haven't synchronized with your zanpakutou. Either way, don't get in my way or else you'll die," the guardian shinigami warned as he stepped forward making the blonde lower his head. He glanced at the guardian's zanpakutou...
'Why? Why can he cut him but I can't? I currently have more reiryoku than him but still...?'
"My...that's quite the amount of reiatsu you've got blondie. Pity you can't control all that power," the Uchiha's ex-leader mocked as he swung his own katana.
"Stay out of my way..." the guardian shinigami again spoke before blurring forward via shunpo making the blonde grit his teeth.
'The arrogant...who does he think he is?!' the blonde stood as he watched Fugaku easily stop the guardian's strike via one hand.
'Heh...he himself is getting his butt kicked,' holding on to his zanpakutou, Naruto too blurred forward using shunpo.
"Huuuuh? Is that all you've got?" Fugaku stated in a bored tone, currently clashing effortlessly with the guardian who seemed to using all his strength.
CWISH!
"Hado no Ichijuichi: Tsuzuri Raiden! (Way of Destruction 11: Bound Lightning)" Naruto exclaimed after appearing on top of Fugaku, his broken zanpakutou pointed at the Uchiha.
KRRRRKKKKT!
Electric current flowed through Naruto's zanpakutou as it further blazed towards Fugaku in the form of a purple beam, lightning sparks crackling around it. Fugaku's eyes widened at the speed of the attack as...
CRSHHH!
The beam slammed into the crater while Naruto narrowed his eyes upon seeing the Uchiha no longer present there.
SLOSH!
"ARGH!" the blonde screamed in pain as blood splattered around him.
THUD!
Dropping into the crater, Naruto gritted his teeth as he opened his half lidded eyes.
'I...didn't even see him...'
Lifting his head, he noticed Fugaku standing in midair with a serious look in his eyes.
'To think he was able to catch me off guard with just kido...what was that speed?' the Uchiha thought with narrowed eyes, blood dripping down the tip of his zanpakutou before he again vanished in a blur.
"You're an annoyance now," the guardian shinigami, who was standing by the crater, froze upon hearing Fugaku's chilly voice inches behind him.
SQUELCH!
"ANKO!" Kurenai yelled as she kicked a hollow on its mask, making the creature stumble back while the red eyed jounin, flipped over several hollows to land beside a downed Anko.
"Oi! You alright?!" she asked as the purple haired kunoichi stood up with her help.
"Ugh...th-these are s-strong dammit. We can't defeat t-them...we're o-outnumbered," Anko muttered as she coughed a bit, her left shoulder bleeding profusely.
Kurenai gritted her teeth in anger as the hollows approached them, howling at him.
"Die now! Feel the wrath of our clan!"
Opening its mouth, a hollow charged up a quick Cero in its making Kurenai's eyes widen.
'No...this can't be it...' she thought in panic.
"KILL THEM!"
WHOORSH!
Her pupils trembled in fear as the large, intense streams of fire approached them.
"Anko-chan! KURENAI-SAN!"
Kurenai felt herself being pushed sideways as she stared at Anko's smiling face while in midair, time slowing down for her while the fire stream approached the purple haired kunoichi.
'What are you doing?! No!'
"ANKO!"
The genjutsu mistress screamed in despair as she fell on the ground when the fire attack completely engulfed the snake mistress's form.
She covered her face due to the large amount of dust and heat as the fire stream slowly diminished while large amounts of smoke now covered the area.
Kurenai coughed as she sat unsteadily. Opening her eyes slowly, they widened as she saw nothing but smoke. Moisture began to gather in them when she stood up quickly, her knees wobbly.
'Anko..no...'
"Anko! Anko! Are you alright?!" hearing nothing but the laughter of those hollows made Kurenai's blood boil as she turned her head quickly, trying to find her best friend.
"Hahahahahaa!"
"Now you feel our pain?! You feel our hatred now don't you?!"
"One weakling is gone, only one left!"
"Why...you..." gritting her teeth, Kurenai charged out of the smoke as she skidded to a stop in front of the group of hollows, all who seemed to be grinning behind their masks.
"Here comes the last piece of trash."
"How dare you..." Kurenai had never felt so much anger in her life. After her parents being killed, Anko was the only one left for her. She was her best friend, her sister...they had gone through the difficulties of their lives together. And for these monsters to kill her like that, and laugh it over?!
No, this was not the death of a kunoichi, these creatures were treating her sister-like figure, one who had sacrificed her life to save her- as if she was nothing, as if her life didn't matter at all!
"Ooh, the woman is angry now! What sho-" all hollows were surprised when they felt a sudden increase in Kurenai's reiatsu.
'Anko-chan...' Rangiku thought with moisture in her eyes as she continued to fight with the remaining few hollows on her plate. One thing that confused her, as she glanced at Kurenai's form...
'What is...she is emitting pure reiatsu, no chakra is being built! She is manipulating her spiritual energy only!' the blonde thought in shock, though not sure whether Kurenai was harnessing her reiryoku deliberately or not.
Kurenai glared at the hollows with cold fury in her crimson orbs as slowly reddish-black reiryoku began to become visible around her, covering her body.
"You're going to regret this! I will never forgive you for this!" she growled, her reiatsu still increasing when a katana began to materialize above her in midair.
"What the...?"
"How is she...is that a zanpakutou?"
The katana now fully materialized above the jounin's head, she loosely swung her hand in the direction of the hollows.
"Wait, it must be one of her genjutsu! Just increase your reiatsu!" one of them stated as they increased their reiatsu to the max while the katana whizzed towards them like a projectile.
"It's just an illusion! Igno-"
SQUICH!
Mikoto, who had glanced upon the scene amidst her fighting, had her eyes widened in amazement at what she had just witnessed.
"W-What's going on?! What did you do?!" one of the hollows yelled as the katana had completely pierced through a hollow's head, shattering it's mask while blood had sprayed out wildly.
Kurenai however just glared at them as another katana materialized above her.
'What is going on down there?!' Rangiku herself was stunned at what Kurenai was pulling.
"Your souls don't deserve to be purified. I always hated you bastards anyway," the red eyed jounin muttered to herself as several more katana materialized above her, forming a dozen of them.
"It's nothing, don't panic! She's just throwing swords!" an Uchiha hollow yelled as he opened his mouth, again charging up a cero making Kurenai act quickly as she sent the katana sailing towards them at breakneck speeds.
WROOOSH!
'Shit!' the crimson eyed jounin cursed as they fired off their attacks, the dense streams of fire engulfing her katana.
Her pupils however zoomed out in shock when the swords just phased through the fire attacks to continue onto their paths.
"WHAT?!" a hollow yelled as the projectiles approached them making the jounin smirk, even though she herself didn't know what the hell was going on, and as to how in the world she was able to make those katana materialize.
Whoosh!
"N-Nani?" the hollows exclaimed yet again in surprise as the katana had phased through them too before slowly disappearing into nothingness down its path.
"An illusion?"
'What the hell is going on?! Why didn't they hit?!' Kurenai thought in shock as she took a step back while the hollows began to approach her with predatory grins behind their masks.
"See? I told you she was using illusions?! The first time she must have used an actual katana to fool us!"
"Kill this bitch!"
Subconsciously taking several steps back, Kurenai closed her eyes in concentration.
'Was that an illusion?'
"HARRRRWWAR!" with a battle cry, all the hollows charged her while the smoke behind her slowly began to lift off now. Ignoring the swords again forming above Kurenai, they continued to charge.
"Stay away!" Kurenai yelled with clenched eyes as she swung her arm violently; all the katana again glided towards the approaching Uchiha hollows at blurry velocities.
SQUILCH!
SQUELCH!
QUISH!
SQUIASH!
"Wha-What's going on?!" this time the swords cut through several hollows, killing a few of them while the remaining ones had holes through different parts of their bodies. Blood had splattered across the ground while Kurenai herself took a step back in shock, not understanding what was going on?
'What's happening to me? What's this power?...It's...it's happening on its own!' she pondered as she continued to step back while the remaining hollows began to regenerate.
Her body jerked when she felt herself hit something flat and solid behind her. She leaped back in a blur solely on reflex, a think veil of smoke still present as it slowly began to clear up.
Her eyes dilated in ground breaking shock at what was slowly being revealed in front of her. Her mind went blank as she found herself staring at some sort of large energy barrier in front of her.
'What...is this?'
The three large, slowly rotating black tomoes on the barrier only served to increase her confusion. A sudden gust of wind swept away the smoke when Kurenai felt her whole body freeze as she spotted an unharmed Anko lying on the ground behind the barrier, now unconscious.
"Anko! Oi, Anko! Are you alright?! Can you hear me?!" her heart was hammering against her chest as she called out to her best friend. Rushing forward, she hesitantly touched the barrier, her eyebrows rising in a pleasant surprise when her fingers went through it unharmed. Giving out a small smile, she quickly went through it before darting to Anko's side as she put the purple haired kunoichi's head on her lap.
"Hey, Anko? Are you alright?" getting no response, Kurenai leaned down to put her head against the unconscious kunoichi's chest, a relieved sigh escaping her lips when she heard the heart beats of her fellow kunoichi.
'Thank Kami...'
She however breathed in sharply upon noticing her curse seal...it wasn't there?!
'It has vanished? I...don't understand,' she pondered.
Swoosh!
WHAM!
"Urgh..." Naruto groaned in pain, having broken through the walls of house. Opening his eyes slowly, he got up, now noticing himself lying in a broken tub- clothes all over his body.
'Damn he's extremely strong...' he thought with a frown, now noticing the hole in the wall in front of him. Seeing the outside through the several holes he had made in the walls, he subconsciously noted the amount of rooms he smashed through to get there- living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms.
Mentally berating himself for the useless thoughts, he stood up shakily, wincing at the pain coursing through his body while the clothes over him fell off. His hand went to large gash on his back, which was healing at abnormally fast rates.
'Well, gotta thank kyuubi for that,' he mentally sighed, now walking sluggishly through the rubble towards the hole.
The blonde however did a double take upon seeing his reflection in a mirror on the side wall, a furiously blush coating his cheeks as he noticed a red lacy bra resting on his head.
"That damn hollow!" he cursed while grabbing the bra and throwing it into the toilet seat comically, inwardly swearing to enact his revenge from that hollow for the embarrassment.
"Damn him...I'm gonna kick his ass! I don't care how strong he is, but that arrogance of his pisses me off!" he muttered to himself with a frown, now travelling through different holes he had made during his crash landing.
A sigh escaped his lips when he seriously considered the situation.
'But...that hollow is freakishly strong, not to mention the oddity of his size being that of a human. All of the hollows I've seen so far have been huge. But fighting him...and with my zanpakutou here...' he trailed while glancing at the broken zanpakutou in his hands, which was currently of no use in the battle
'It's just like when I was fighting with Urahara-san...I feel so helpless fighting against such power and strength,' he thought in frustration when suddenly it him, his eyes getting widened as he remembered what Kisuke had told him, it somehow...it made sense now.
"I can see you trying to protect your precious people, though it seems it's not effective. Can't you see I'm trying to kill you?"
The blonde sweat dropped. Yeah, he definitely knew that Kisuke was trying to kill him back then. A frown however formed on his face as he clenched his fists.
'Why is it not effective? I give my all when protecting my precious people, I'm even ready to sacrifice my life for them! How can it not be enough dammit!' he lowered his head in deep thought, this was all ridiculous and confusing. Was it a common trend for some strange person to come in his life and leave a puzzle for him to solve?
"Can't you feel the resolve in my zanpakutou, to kill you? Can't you feel the resolve in Rangiku-san's zanpakutou, to protect you? I can feel your resolve to protect her, but I can't feel anything from your zanpakutou. Can you feel the resolve to protect Rangiku-san from your zanpakutou?"
'Resolve huh? A zanpakutou's resolve?' he gazed at his broken blade, clutching it tightly.
"Is it that your zanpakutou refuses to obey you?...Or is it that your resolve is not strong enough to reach her, maybe she can't listen to you at all, maybe she can't feel anything from you?"
'She can't...listen to me?' his eyebrows were knitted in confusion as he lifted his zanpakutou to stare at it.
"Why so afraid to go for the kill? A katana is meant to kill. A zanpakutou is meant to kill, however without the resolve to do so, it becomes dull...weak. Fighting with a zanpakutou, you're trying not to kill. It's like trying to swim against the river current, you and your zanpakutou disagree with each other. I guess your nindo contradicts your zanpakutou's desire Uzumaki-san?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes as he started to walk towards the exit, the hole he had made just now.
'That's right...I...I never went for the kill. Even while fighting those hollows, I never went for the kill. Knowing that I was purifying them...I always fought to purify them, but never fought them as if I was going for the kill. That's right...a zanpakutou is meant to kill, a katana is meant to kill, it craves blood,' stepping out of the rubble, out of the house, he stared at the guardian shinigami who too was lying in a crater with Fugaku slowly walking towards him.
'I want to protect my loved ones, but I was trying to do that while avoiding killing...something that contradicts what a zanpakutou wants, what my zanpakutou wants,' the blonde closed his eyes as he took a deep breath.
"You're still here? I half expected you to be running for your life by now?" he snapped open his eyes, whipping around to see Fugaku standing on the top of the house he had just crashed into.
"That means you were half expecting for me stay here too," Naruto replied with narrowed eyes when Fugaku pointed his zanpakutou at him.
"The reason I haven't killed you yet..." he started making the blonde look at him in slight confusion.
"You are Uzumaki Naruto right? The one who saved Mikoto?" this made Naruto's confusion increase.
"Yeah so? What's it to you?"
"I think you should know, before you die, that all the hollows here are Uchiha, the ones who were killed several years ago that night," this made the blonde freeze in shock. These were from the Uchiha clan?
"And I happen to be the Uchiha clan's leader at that time," Fugaku stated while Naruto's breathing hitched in his throat.
"Y-You're Mikoto's husband? Fugaku Uchiha?" he asked making the hollow chuckle.
"So it seems that you died too huh?" he questioned in mirth while Naruto kept quiet, resisting the urge to yell at him that he was alive.
"I couldn't kill a demon like you when you were alive, but I will do that in afterlife!" Fugaku exclaimed with a grin behind his mask making the blonde glare at him in anger when the hollow disappeared suddenly.
Clenching his fists, Naruto turned around in a blur...
BHAM!
"I'm not a demon!" to deliver a bone shattering punch to Fugaku's mask, completely destroying it as the Uchiha hollow was sent back skidding on the ground.
Fugaku had his head lowered as he halted, a chuckle escaping him while Naruto narrowed his eyes at him.
"You always were an impulsive kid weren't you? I would really enjoy killing you demon brat!" his reiatsu increased suddenly as the Uchiha lifted his head; a maniacal grin on his face while Naruto took a light defensive stance, a frown on his face.
"I was going easy on you earlier, but let's finish this game," a burst of reiryoku shot forth Fugaku as he dashed towards Naruto in a barely visible blur, tearing off the concrete floor on his path due to his high reiatsu.
The jinchuriki brought forward his broken zanpakutou for defence on instinct as he closed his eyes in concentration.
'Resolve...resolve! Resolve! The resolve to kill! I have to make her hear me! She has to feel my resolve!' the whiskered blonde thought as the images of Rangiku, Mikoto, Anko and Ayame flashed in his mind- the people he wanted to protect, those who he would kill for.
'Can you hear me?! Can you feel my resolve?! FIGHT WITH ME DAMMIT!' he screamed out to his subconscious, into his soulscape.
...
"Naruto..."
He snapped open his eyes, a shocked look crossing his face upon noticing that red haired girl standing beside him, staring at him with a small smile.
"Y-You...you're my zanpakutou," he muttered as his lips curved upwards in a small smile, he had done it.
"You...felt my resolve didn't you?" he asked in a low tone, now noticing that time around him had stopped flowing. She shrugged with a neutral look on his face.
"I felt it...the resolve to protect those who are close to you, your intent to kill. But most importantly, I came because you asked me to fight with you, because you needed my help," she spoke, now staring forward as he faltered at her reply.
"Nani? But I needed your help when I was fighting Urahara-san too!" he accused with a frown.
"You were not fighting with me back then. I could not feel anything from you...you were using me as a tool," she uttered with a frown on her face making him sigh.
'Man this whole thing is so confusing but...she is right. I don't know how she knows, I was fighting as if my zanpakutou was just a tool. I felt nothing from my zanpakutou...Urahara-san was right, I could feel nothing from her.'
"Gomen...it must have hurt you to endure my darkness, and now by me considering you just a tool. I now understand that you wanted me to go for the kill, that my resolve wasn't strong enough to reach you," the whiskered blonde verbalized making her shake her head.
"You're wrong Naruto. All I want, is your happiness...nothing else," she articulated in a low tone while his eyes widened in surprise.
"My...happiness?" it sounded so strange to him. She wanted his happiness? It made him blush lightly.
'Wow...she can say the most embarrassing things so easily.'
The blonde looked at her when she touched the broken blade in his hands. He stared at the blade in surprise when it started to repair itself, lightning sparks travelling from her hand to the zanpakutou.
"I'm so happy you don't consider me as a tool. Thank you," the smile she gave him, it was the cutest smile he had ever seen. He couldn't believe she was the same person who he had met the first time, when his dark side had taken over her. Her unique eyes- the sky blue sclera with glowing dark purple bolt-shaped pupil—they were emanating joy and happiness.
'Just because I don't consider you a tool? Is that all you wanted?'
"N-No...it's nothing," he murmured while rubbing the back of his neck, a bit embarrassed.
"No matter what, I will always fight alongside you. So, don't forget me," he smiled warmly at her before grinning foxily.
"You got it!"
She nodded as her form began to glow, slowly turning into raw lightning making him look at her in surprise.
"Don't worry, I'm lending you some of my power. We are going to fight together," she smiled at him when he remembered something.
"Wait! Can I give you a name? Something which I can call you by until you remember your real one?" he asked, knowing that this was not the time for dilly-dallying. Though since time had seemed to stop around him, he wanted to do this one important thing.
Her eyes seemed to lit up at that as she nodded at him with a bright smile.
"Hai."
He had thought over a name that could suit her the previous night.
"Um...how about Hyakurai? Can I call you Hyakurai-chan? I think it suits you," she nodded at it.
"I like it. Now let's go, protect your precious people!" she exclaimed with a determined smirk on her face making him nod.
"Yosh!" her form completely turned into lighting, now coming to rest in his left hand as it began to form another katana while time began to resume slowly.
'Here goes...let's fight together!' he thought with in fierce determination, now seeing Fugaku's approaching form.
"Here I come blondie!" the Uchiha yelled in his mid-dash, rearing his zanpakutou while ignoring the sudden increase in Naruto's reiatsu- which shockingly was equalling his own now.
WHISH!
His eyes were widened in surprise, his zanpakutou slashing thin air while Naruto appeared above him.
'Wow...I...I can't believe I reacted so fast,' the whiskered thought, a surprised look on his face as he gazed at the two katana in his hands.
'Wait!' he suddenly realized it. In one hand he was holding a katana whose hilt was made of lightning with two black ribbons tied to it while the blade was the usual metallic. In his other hand, the blade was made of pure lightning with the hilt being normal while two ribbons- made of lightning were tied to it. He deduced it was a reverse combination- the one his inner hollow, his darkness had shown him.
'Is this Shikai? No, it can't be. Oji-san said that to achieve shikai, one needed to know his zanpakutou's name, the command to release it. Even my inner hollow said the same. If this is not a shikai...then what is it?'
"Oh, so you have unlocked shikai?" hearing Fugaku's bored voice below him, he gripped the two katana in his hands while glaring at him.
The Uchiha hollow though was standing still down there, curiosity in his eyes.
"I've never seen a shikai which turns a zanpakutou into a dual one...," he stated when Naruto suddenly shunpo'ed out of his sight.
"Heh, going on the offensive huh?"
SQUIK!
CLANG!
"Grhh..." Fugaku grunted in pain and shock as the electricity coursed through his body; his zanpakutou currently grinding against Naruto's lightning one while his other hand was holding onto the blonde's other blade.
The Uchiha grinned evilly while Naruto had his eyes narrowed as he pushed more, making Fugaku skid back a bit.
"Interesting, you can finally cut me," he articulated as blood dripped down his hand, which was holding the blonde's metallic katana.
"Or electrocut you," Naruto grinned back challengingly making the hollow frown at him as he vanished to appear several meters away.
Fugaku shook his hand to get rid of the numbness while Naruto straightened himself, briefly noticing how the Uchiha's hand had healed instantly.
'Is there any limit to that ridiculous healing?' he thought with a frown.
'Well well...isn't that interesting. He uses one blade to slice while the lightning one numbs his opponent in addition to slicing him with increased sharpness. If I had blocked his lightning blade with my zanpakutou, still...the metal would have conducted electricity and again would have shocked me, meaning one can't let that lightning touch him, or his blade,' Fugaku analyzed while Naruto stepped forward.
"Here I come," the blonde muttered as he dashed forward, lightning crackling around his lightning blade while Fugaku smirked at him.
'What a cocky brat!'
Whoosh!
The Uchiha swayed sideways effortlessly dodging the first strike from his metallic katana while Naruto followed his initial attack with his lightning blade, slashing blurrily at Fugaku's head- aiming to kill as the Vaste Lorde ducked down.
The blonde gritted his teeth as he began to fire rapid slashes at Fugaku, who kept dodging them at ease with a smirk on his face- annoying Naruto.
"Damn...it!" he cursed, further increasing his speed as he began to slice wildly, his strikes now a barely visible blur to the naked eye, but so was Fugaku.
"You don't really know how to handle two swords do you? And on top of that-" he stopped when the blonde vanished to appear behind him in midair, the electric ribbon of his lightning blade clutched in his hand as he hurled it at Fugaku at blazing speeds.
'Always the unpredictable one, weren't you?' the Uchiha did a back flip as the lightning blade passed over him, it's electric sparks slightly grazing against his white body.
QWISH!
Fugaku's eyes widened in surprise when the blonde appeared behind him to grab the lightning katana, the metallic blade now approaching his mid section.
"Your clan carries on with its arrogance even in the afterlife huh?!"
In between the back flip, Fugaku twisted his body on one hand, barely dodging the blade.
The Uchiha grinned as he increased his reiryoku drastically resulting in a violent shockwave. Naruto had no time to react as he was sent flying back with a jerk.
Blonde flipped in midair to skid on the ground, stabbing both of the katana into the hard soil to control his momentum.
He stood up with a stunned look on his face, now staring at Fugaku's amused eyes with something akin to disbelief.
'I...did he just blast me away...with pure spiritual energy?' the blonde was now beginning to feel something wrong here. If that hollow was able to just send him away with pure reiryoku, was he being fooled into thinking that he could actually defeat this guy?
"Ahh, that look of realization in your eyes. I love to see that look in my opponent's eyes every time. Now, do you realize the gap between our powers?" Fugaku questioned with a smirk behind his mask while the blonde stood there, no words escaping his mouth.
"Are you that pathetic that you didn't realize I was just playing with you all this time?" the Uchiha asked when he blurred out of the blonde's vision.
"Are you that pathetic to hope that you could defeat a Vaste Lorde like me?" Naruto's blood ran cold upon hearing Fugaku's cold voice behind him, inches away from his left ear. He didn't need to see a blade approaching his heart from behind though, he could hear it, as it sliced the air, as it neared his flesh.
CLANG!
"Are you that pathetic to hope that you could defeat a guardian so easily?" the blonde's eyes widen upon hearing the guardian shinigami's voice behind him. He stumbled forward before turning around to see the shinigami having blocked Fugaku's strike with his zanpakutou.
The Uchiha narrowed his eyes as he exerted more force into the clash while the guardian stood firm on his ground.
Naruto's knees buckled a bit when he felt the crazy amount of reiatsu that guardian shinigami's reiryoku was emitting- if it was making him struggle a bit, his reiatsu really was massive.
"You...how?" Fugaku gritted his teeth, now using his full strength as their blades grinded against each other, sparks coming off.
"Are you that pathetic that you didn't realize I was playing with you all this time?" Naruto smirked at the guardian's taunt while the Uchiha narrowed his eyes.
"You...Uzumaki Naruto...thank you for buying me some time. Now go and help your friends, they need it," the shinigami spoke over his shoulder making the jinchuriki turn towards the other battles taking place a little far away.
'He's right...due to Fugaku's overwhelming reiatsu, I completely forgot about others. Wait...Anko!' he thought before flash stepping out of there, going full speed towards Kurenai and Anko, having sensed the latter's low reiatsu signature.
Kurenai stared forward with a stunned look on her face as she gazed at the hollows who were getting up after being blown away by the strange barrier in front of her. She looked on as the tomoes on the barrier began to spiral in, the barrier getting dispelled slowly when the three tomoes flew towards Anko, setting back on her neck to form the curse seal.
'It was her curse seal...?' the genjutsu mistress thought in surprise as she stared at the heaven's curse seal.
"Damn...what was that barrier?" she turned her head back upon hearing that demonic voice. Setting Anko's head down, she stood up to stand defensively in front of her best friend.
"It doesn't matter. Let's just finish her," about six of them left, all of them again opened their mouths to charge up a cero.
'I'm really starting to hate this attack,' she thought when...
SQUELCH!
SQUICH!
SPLASH!
All of them dropped down, their masks shattered as they began to disintegrate into reishi.
'What the...?'
Her eyes widened when a figure blurred to land in front of her, holding two katana- one of which was made up of lightning.
'Ayame-chan was right...the moment they are charging their Cero, that's when you strike,' the blonde in front of her thought with a smirk.
Kurenai suddenly had a nostalgic feeling upon staring at the back of the blonde, his spiky locks.
Naruto slowly turned to face her, giving her a small smile when she suddenly clutched her head in pain. The blonde started to walk towards her while Kurenai could feel memories returning to her, that night...those hollows...the blonde in front of her...the one who had saved her life back then...what was his name?
"Kurenai-san, are you alright?" she jerked her head upwards upon feeling a hand on her shoulder, her eyes dilating in recognition of the whiskered blonde in front of her.
"N-Naruto? Y-You're a shinigami, aren't you?" she questioned making him nod. He knew he could've covered his face with the hood, but after receiving her message via Anko from that night...he didn't mind if she knew; he couldn't deny Anko's request after all.
Kurenai now fully remembered what had taken place that night, how Naruto had almost sacrificed himself for the village. Her eyes began to water up a bit when the blonde glanced at Anko.
"Is she okay?" she was not surprised to see the concern in his eyes; it relieved her, she was happy Anko had found such a good friend. Kurenai however felt her cheeks heat up a bit as she gazed at his facial features from up close.
"Kurenai-san, stay with her," he spoke seriously, staring upwards at something as she nodded at him.
"Hai, please help Mikoto-san and Rangiku-san," she spoke as he disappeared via shunpo. The crimson eyed jounin stared at the ground in sadness as she remembered those feelings that night.
'A shunned boy like him, even with all the hatred and a demon inside him...he protects us. Not expecting anything in return, he continues to lay his life on the line. Why? Why didn't he just run away from here?'
Mikoto was panting heavily now, a kunai in her hand with Rangiku crouched beside her, clearly exhausted.
'Just one more...' only one hollow was remaining. With Rangiku's help, she had disposed all of them.
"Mikoto-san, I'm s-sorry but..." Mikoto glanced sideways to see the blonde panting heavily, she clearly was empty now.
After first fighting Kisuke earlier, and then taking on these high level hollows- she was clearly out of stamina and energy now.
"I understand..." the Uchiha matriarch muttered as she stared at the only hollow in front of her.
"Even if you kill me, remember that this village will one day turn on you. They will never accept us," the hollow, who too looked to be out of spiritual energy, wheezed out making her lower her gaze. Hearing the slightly feminine edge to the demonic voice, Mikoto could tell it was a female.
"Were you a mother?" she asked quietly when the hollow's reiatsu increased.
"I was...I was a mother. My newborn daughter was killed! She..." Mikoto's eyes widened when the hollow's mask began to crack. It shattered, revealing the face of a woman in her thirties, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"S-She was so beautiful. She was e-everything I had...I re-remember the sight of her blood on my hands, as I c-cried on her dead body!" Mikoto took a step back, tears forming at the corner of her eyes while the woman had her eyes clenched shut as tears continued to cascade down.
"D-Do you know h-how that...feels? Huh? I...the c-coup didn't even m-matter to me. All that m-mattered was my baby to me. I b-begged him to let her l-live!" Mikoto could feel her vision become blurry as she tried to stop her tears. The woman opened her eyes, an angry look in her eyes as she glared at Mikoto.
"She didn't deserve to die! No child deserved to die that night! It was their fault! IT WAS THE VILLAGE'S FAULT!" she screamed at her, the mask now slowly reforming while Mikoto had a hand over her mouth as she tried to control her sobs.
"I'm...s-sorry..." she muttered.
"You're sorry doesn't mean anything to me! It wouldn't bring my baby back!" the hollow yelled as it dashed towards her. Mikoto had her eyes clenched shut as she stood there rigidly, repeatedly muttering 'I'm sorry' as tears fell off her chin.
SQUELCH!
The Uchiha matriarch, after hearing the painful howls of the hollow- knew what had happened. She felt so low, Itachi was her son. He had killed the whole clan. She felt so low. The guilt, the shame which she had buried deep inside of her a long time ago had resurfaced full force...she didn't want to live. She just kept her eyes closed, more sobs escaping her lips as she slid to the floor, crying heavily.
"Mikoto-chan..." that voice, the warmth which had been a source of comfort for her since that night. Upon feeling that familiar hand on her shoulder, she threw herself forward, sobbing uncontrollably into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her, encasing her in his protective warmth.
Rangiku's eyes softened at she stared at Naruto hugging the raven haired kunoichi. She, on some level, could understand what Mikoto was feeling.
The jinchuriki had a sad look in his eyes as he hugged her tightly, her sobs being muffled into his shinigami garb.
"Please, control yourself Mikoto-chan. I may not completely understand your feelings, but you are stronger than that. Remember that you still have Sasuke. You can't give up like this. I'm here too, what about me huh?" Naruto spoke softly to her as her sobs subsided slowly, which the blonde knew she was controlling herself solely on willpower.
It wasn't the time to cry; they still had one more to take care of.
He turned to Rangiku, gazing at her in concern while she smiled at him warmly, nodding at him. No words needed to be spoken as he nodded back with a smile.
BOOM!
The trio's eyes widened upon feeling a humongous pressure in the air as they heard a blast take place nearby. Mikoto leaned back to wipe her eyes while Naruto slowly stood up with her.
"Rangiku-chan, Mikoto-chan, stay here..." he told them seriously making Rangiku nod, she couldn't stand up now anyway. Just as he was about to flash step away, Mikoto grabbed his wrist.
"No, please, let me go with you too Naruto," she spoke with pleading eyes making him sigh. Pulling her in, the blonde blushed a bit at their proximity as the duo vanished via shunpo.
"So he finally came huh?" Fugaku muttered to himself, currently panting a bit while his right arm was missing, blood dripping down his sliced shoulder as it healed slowly this time. The guardian shinigami however seemed to be unharmed as he stood several meters away from him. Craters, destroyed buildings, uprooted trees now littered around the area.
'What is this reiatsu? It's...unbelievable,' the guardian thought, now sensing the barrier outside the Uchiha clan's estates being destroyed.
A figure suddenly appeared beside Fugaku, both the hollow and the guardian grunting under the massive reiatsu of the new arrival.
"You can stop now Fugaku," the guardian's eyes widened upon noticing a familiar figure in the new arrival's arms.
"Hai Madara-sama," the hollow bowed, his arm now almost completely healed when Naruto and Mikoto appeared beside the guardian shinigami.
Naruto's eyes widened slowly as he saw an unconscious Ayame in the unknown man's hands.
"What are you doing with her?! Who are you?!" he asked angrily while Mikoto was frozen to her spot as she stared at the legendary man in front of her, one who was thought to have been dead a long time ago.
"U-Uchiha...Madara," she whispered to herself in groundbreaking shock.
"I asked who are you?!" Naruto yelled in anger as he stepped forward.
Madara, who had a completely normal appearance with no mask on his face, was wearing a black high-collared cloak. The guardian however looked at Fugaku in surprise whose mask began to crack while the white substance over his body began to evaporate, the Uchiha soon returning to his normal human appearance.
"Know your place boy," Madara spoke with a neutral look on his face, his reiatsu increasing further as both Naruto and Mikoto fell to their knees. Even the guardian shinigami looked to be barely standing as he struggled under the unbelievable pressure.
'This guy...how can a hollow be that strong?' the guardian thought as a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.
Naruto gritted his teeth under the enormous pressure as he struggled to stand when the pressure decreased around them. Mikoto breathed in deeply as she panted heavily while the blonde stood up slowly, a small amount of fear in his eyes as he stared into the cold onyx eyes of Madara.
'Just...what is this guy? There are people...that strong in afterlife?' he thought in disbelief, no longer surprised that a Vaste Lorde like Fugaku was bowing before him.
"I have no obligation to tell you anything. What about the others Fugaku?" Madara asked.
"I'm afraid all of them have been purified Madara-sama," Fugaku, who currently was bowing before him spoke.
"I see, well they served their purpose," he uttered, no change in his expression while Mikoto narrowed her eyes at him, rage filling her system.
"Uchiha Madara! The founder of Uchiha clan, were they nothing to you?! Is that what they were to you all along?! Just some disposable toys?!" she yelled at him in fury as he looked at her with a critical eye.
"Is she your wife Fugaku?" Madara asked while staring at her.
"Hai Madara-sama."
"Leave Ayame-chan alone!" Madara turned back to Naruto with an annoyed look on his face.
"Do you think I will do that, Uzumaki Naruto?" he asked making the trio's eyes widen.
"How did you know his name?" Mikoto questioned. A smirk formed on Madara's face as he stared at Naruto while the guardian shinigami went stiff.
"You are quite famous in the afterlife boy. Uzumaki Naruto- the child of prophecy, the human who carries a portion of the spirit king's powers."
Time seemed to slow down for Naruto as a gust of wind swept across the area while Mikoto too couldn't believe her ears.
"W-What?" the blonde questioned as he slowly narrowed his eyes.
"Don't fuck with me?! Give Ayame-chan back!" he yelled making the Uchiha shrug.
"Believe what you will then, time will make you see the truth eventually. Let's go Fugaku," Madara verbalized as a garganta opened behind the pair.
"Where do you think you're going?! Give her back you bastard!" the blonde shouted as his reiatsu began to increase, a surge of raw anger flowing through his body. He wouldn't let them take Ayame away! No way! He would sacrifice himself, but no way they were going to get Ayame!
"Take her then, if you can that is," Madara uttered as he took the first step towards the garganta while Fugaku smirked at the blonde.
"STOP IT!"
"Naruto control yourself!" the blonde didn't hear Mikoto's plea, all he could see was the pale face of Ayame hanging loosely over Madara's left shoulder. She was suffering from a high fever, her skin tone was pale. All of this was worsening her condition!
The blonde gritted his teeth as electric sparks began to crackle around his body, his reiatsu sky rocketing while Mikoto struggled to stand.
"Help him!" she yelled at the guardian shinigami. Just as he was about to move, again they felt the humongous pressure slam on them. Mikoto fell to her knees, struggling to breathe.
"If anyone except the Uzumaki moves, you all will be dead," Madara threatened with a serious look on his face as the guardian stood his ground- knowing it would be foolish to go against a being of such power alone.
"Uzumaki Naruto, if you can walk to a distance of one meter from me before I reach the garganta, I'll give her back," he spoke making the blonde look at him with wide eyes before glaring at the Uchiha.
"You think this is a game?! Playing with people's lives, is that what you enjoy?!" Naruto stepped forward slowly while struggling under the pressure, feeling the reiatsu increase whereas Madara narrowed his eyes.
"Watch your tone boy," he uttered while the jinchuriki continued to glare at him. Naruto began to take heavy steps, feeling the pressure increase at every step as he glared menacingly at Madara.
"Mark my words, you won't get away with this!" Mikoto, Fugaku and the guardian stared at him in surprise as red chakra began to seep out of him, the lightning sparks getting dense while Madara turned around towards the garganta, a smirk on his face.
"Marked them boy. See you later, I won't ask you to come again Fugaku," he spoke over his shoulder, now walking towards the garganta with Fugaku following him.
"STOP! I SAID STOP IT!"
BHOOM!
A burst of purple-black lightning shot forth Naruto upwards, his tone taking on a hollow-ish tone. A crater formed beneath the jinchuriki as dust began to rotate around him wildly. Mikoto, Rangiku and the guardian had to cover their eyes due to the intensity of the lightning.
'What is going on?' Rangiku, who was sitting on the edge of the roof, looked up as she stared at the quickly forming clouds above them. The day's light intensity had suddenly decreased, the weather had gone cloudy.
Madara too looked up before glancing at the blonde behind him. His eyes widened a bit upon noticing Naruto's eyes- the sclera was sky blue with a glowing red bolt as the pupil. His whole form was covered in lightning.
Turning around, he smirked at the blonde, his reiatsu further increasing while even the guardian shinigami was brought to his knees by now. Naruto lowered his head, chunks of earth being lifted off due to his spiritual energy while the lightning crackled wildly around him.
Looking up, he glared at Madara, his eyes cold and full of hate
"Don't...Don't ever!"
"DON'T YOU EVER PLAY WITH PEOPLE'S EMOTIONS!"
KRKKKKKSH!
WHAM!
"W-What the...?" Fugaku stammered in shock, currently staring at Naruto, who was standing where he was a moment ago; only difference being Ayame resting in his arms bridal style. The Uchiha turned his head to glance at Madara, who had his head turned to his other side, a black scorching bruise on his cheek with lightning rustling around the deep wound.
"Impressive, your punch made me take a step back," Madara muttered as he turned back, the bruise on his cheek healing right in front of them.
Mikoto and Rangiku- felt like the ground had slipped from beneath their feet. They continued to stare at Naruto's back with astounded looks on their faces while the lightning around the whiskered blonde slowly died down.
"H-How did he...?" Mikoto turned to the guardian shinigami with wide eyes.
"It was pure speed, nothing else," the guardian spoke, oddly calm about the situation while Mikoto still couldn't comprehend what had happened right in front of her eyes. She didn't know what had happened- all she saw was that Naruto was standing there at one second, and then; less than a second later, he again was standing there with Ayame in his arms.
"I...I...how can it be? N-No one's...no one's that f-fast!" she exclaimed in horror of the absurdity while the guardian sighed.
"Well apparently he is. And he's not the only one," he articulated while she and Rangiku still couldn't come out of the shock.
Kurenai, who too had seen the scene after coming to check what was going on, with an unconscious Anko on her back- was dumbfounded. Right then, she knew that Naruto had matched the yondaime's hokage's speed, or maybe he was faster? She won't be surprised.
'The difference however is...yondaime-sama's jutsu was a time-space one...this is, this is pure speed!'
Naruto slid to his knees as he panted heavily, Ayame tightly clutched to his chest.
"What...what was that?" Fugaku questioned as Madara continued to stare at Naruto.
WHOOSH!
WHOOM!
"Teuchi-san?!" Naruto turned his head back at hearing Mikoto to see Teuchi on his knees, heavily bruised as he was panting profoundly in exhaustion. His eyes however widened a bit upon noticing three other shinigami standing aside Teuchi, hoods over their faces.
"Nah...Naruto! Ayame!" the old chef panted making the blonde nod as he turned a bit to show him Ayame, making the chef sigh in relief. The whiskered blonde turned back towards Madara, a serious expression on his face.
'This guy even defeated oji-san so easily, and I gave my all in that punch. All it did was put a simple bruise on his cheek, which too is healed now. And who are all these shinigami?'
"Uchiha Madara..." one of the newly arrived guardian shinigami stepped forward, now standing beside Naruto.
Madara closed his eyes with a sigh as he crossed his arms over his chest- his next words shocking most of them present there.
"It's been a while, otouto."
Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee eewww! This was LONG! Like, the longest chapter I've written since I became an author- it's almost 11K! -.-
Anyway, in this chapter we saw some major plot development. And it's the way I'm doing things, so not everybody has to like what I'm doing right now. For those that liked it and are curious for what's going to happen- rest assured everything will be explained in due time.
Please, PLEASE review here. I'm putting in a lot of effort for the plot of this fic, and I would REALLY appreciate your opinions and suggestions. Spent a whole day writing this non-stop, so it would be a real downer if this chapter didn't invoke much response from my readers.
And OH! Lately I posted the links (Deviant Art) to my art I drew for my fanfics at the bottom of my profile. It contains some scenes from this fic too. Check them out if you're interested. :)
Don't forget to review please! :D
N6023