Author's Note:
So it's been a fucking while hasn't it? The last time this was updated was almost two years ago. I cannot tell you how sorry I am. So much has been going on, along with my own stupidity, which dragged out the release of this chapter. As you know I decided to focus on completing "Pirates vs Ninjas: Battles of Love and Will" (which took far longer than planned), before working on my other stories. And just so you know how long this did take, I uploaded the last chapter of PvN on October 6th, 2015. The creation date on chapter XVIII is October 11, 2015. Ya; way too fucking long.
But the reason to why it took so long is three-fold. Firstly, most of the ending had to be rewritten. As I read the final chapter in note form, I came to realization that the flow of the chapter, as well as certain details, no longer worked with the current story and where it was heading. Furthermore, I knew the ending was crucial, in that it was finally time to tie up all the loose ends (and hopefully shut up all the haters who think I'm just copy and pasting transcripts). Since not enough was being tied given the limitations of the original draft, I had to work on something better.
The second reason was that I was, and still am, transforming an article into a book. This has taken up a lot of my time, mostly because I've had so much enthusiasm with the project and I kept wanting to go back to writing it. I gave myself hour long work slots for each project (the book, the chapter, etc), but my time with writing the book would always spill over and I would just keep writing. So it's more my inability to control myself, rather than the project itself.
But the third and most damning problem was that I had no drive to write. I'd stare at the document for hours and write a few words, if anything. I don't know what was wrong with me. I knew exactly what I wanted to write, but I was completely unable to motivate myself; rereading the Bleach Manga only did so much. Who would have thought that all I'd need was some Mystery Science Theater 3000 and some Soulcalibur?
Anyways, I'm sorry for the delay, and after a day off to do some more work on my book, it's back to business with chapter XIX, maybe chapter XX (if it needs to be divided again), and then the conclusion to the Soul Society Arc. Enjoy and Happy belated every single holiday since October.
The Soul of the Fox and the Eagle Chapter XVIII: Soaring Love, Surging Power
Minato sat crouched behind a large boulder with his back against it, breathing heavily. Things had gone far worse than he had originally thought. Soi-Fon had kept to her word about showing him the true meaning of Flash to the point of running circles around him with ease. No matter how well he planned his Hiraishin no Jutsu, the comparison between his technique and the Shunpo was the equivalent of a pigeon to a hawk. A pigeon may be agile in the air, but the hawk is the god of the wind. The limitation of having to throw the kunai not only handicapped his movements, but made them extremely predictable. While Soi-Fon matched his speed effortlessly, more than once she jumped ahead of him and waited for him to reappear as she knew where he would be. On top of this was the reality that what little chakra he had was being trained at an alarming rate. Minato knew he no longer had a body, but it always felt that he was never able to properly produce any chakra; to a point that it had made him panic since he first arrived in the Soul Society. However, he had something for more concerning to fret over than not having enough chakra.
From head to toe, the former Hokage was covered in Hōmonka, making him look like a Yakuza with a Donburi Soushinbori Irezumi body suit (full body tattoo without the opening in the centre of the chest done in the traditional style; used mostly by the Japanese mafia). Despite the situation he was in, Minato almost laughed as it looked like he had gone through a Bokukei (punishment by tattooing). However, the Hōmonka did not hurt in anyway; not even when Soi-Fon stung him. That only made the notion that the captain could kill him so easily and quickly even more disturbing.
'I have never been so toyed with in all my life' he thought trying to peak around the boulder and spot his opponent. 'At this point she could have killed me a thousand times over. I don't have time for this. I have to regroup with the others and get Naruto out of here. If I can't fight her I need to sneak away.'
"Come out from behind the boulder, Namikaze Minato" said Soi-Fon commandingly. "I know where you are."
"If you know where I am then why are you taking your sweet time? I thought you said you had other things to take care of; that makes two of us so why don't we just go our separate ways?"
Suddenly, the boulder he had been hiding behind exploded, thorwing him forward by over a dozen feet. Minato landed on his stomach nearly knocking the wind out of him, but he still managed to look over his shoulder and saw that Soi-Fon had punched the boulder with her free hand.
"Thank you for reminding me" she said in a near mocking tone. This made the former Kage rise to his feet and face her, knowing that the only chance he had was to stall for time.
"If it's all the same to you, please explain why are you so focused on humiliating me? If I am as worthless as you say, then why do all this? And what is your connection with my son other than being an officer in the army that turned his back on him?"
The second squad captain looked at the blond with a very bitter look on her face. "The pot calls the kettle black" she said. "I admit, the first time that I meet Uzumaki Naruto I greatly disliked him. He reminded me of a man that took someone very precious away from me."
Meanwhile in Karakura Town, Urahara sneezed as he sat up in his bed.
"Well this feels familiar" he said under his breath, rubbing his nose with the back of his right index finger.
"If you're starting to get a cold you better not pass it on to me, Kisuke" warned Yoruichi from beneath the covers. The blond scientist looked down at the woman lying next to him with her back turned and couldn't suppress a smile.
"Well if you do feel unwell, I have some wonderful medicine you can take."
The former 2nd Division captain rolled over slightly and looked at her ex-subordinate. "If you dare try to feed me some of that expired garbage Tessai keeps around I will shove it down your throat myself" she said seriously before rolling back on her side. Urahara, not too worried by his partner's threat chuckled to himself as he looked at clock and wondered what was taking the others so long.
"He's lazy, incompetent, and unworthy of her praise and attention" Soi-Fon continued.
'The jealous type, I see' thought Minato with a small sweat drop appearing on the back of his head.
"Uzumaki Naruto was and partly is the same...though I must be honest and say that I was impressed by his skill; both in his abilities in combat and his ability to learn. What perplexed me was his stance on fighting from the shadows. Given his background as a Shinobi, I thought that he would be more attune to the way of the Onmitsukidō. Instead, he was firmly against it. 'Let my comrades die? It would be better if I slit my own throat than to do something so cowardly!' he said. 'Fight your enemies head on with your allies by your side and never betray their trust. There is no other way to fight!'
I was surprised and quickly insulted by his words as they stepped all over the honourable name of the Onmitsukidō. He then demanded to know what I would do if Yoruichi-sama was fighting a losing battle and I wasn't strong enough to defeat her opponent. When I answered that I would gladly fight to the death to save her to which he called me a hypocrite...
"It's not the same! Yoruichi-sama is the head of the Shihoin clan, one of the four great noble families of the Soul Society, and I am of the lower clan of Fon that serves the Shihoin. It is our duty and honour to die for them. Furthermore, her life as the former Sōshireikan (Commander-in-Chief) or mine as the current Sōshireikan, do not equate to the lives of-"
"Wrong!" shouted Naruto punching the captain on the head, leaving her stunned. "You would fight to save her because you admire her and because she's your friend! There's a difference between answering the call of duty and fighting to save your nakama. When you fight for someone or something bigger than yourself, you become unstoppable. But if you do so and degrade yourself to the status of a tool, then you are nothing; not a warrior, not a man or woman, nothing. If there is one thing that I have learned after living in the world of ninja, it is that. It's no wonder we're so cruel and unhappy."
It's not surprising that he was told throughout his entire life that he was unfit to be a shinobi while having such a moral code. I'm amazed that he made it this far" she concluded with an odd amount of softness in her eyes. "But after seeing all that I have seen over these past few years, I know can start seeing things his way."
There was a pause of silence before Minato did the most peculiar thing, given the circumstances: he laughed.
"Why are you laughing?" demanded Soi-Fon.
The blond surprised the Shinigami again by smiling a wide smile. "Oh it's nothing. I'm just a bit proud that's all. I used to be like that when I was his age; even younger in fact. I'm just glad that he's a chip off the old block! Kushina will be pleased when I tell her."
Soi-Fon frowned at the man, not enjoying how aloft he was, but then quickly realized that he had drawn something from behind his back. The former Hokage held up in his left hand a katana within its saya (sheath). It was a well crafted piece with the saya painted a dark red and the tsukamaki (hilt wrapping) matching in colour. The tsuba (guard) bore the symbol of the triple hollyhock encircled by a Ryū painted gold, making the entire sword look like the sun rising at dawn. This personification was amplified when Minato held his weapon horizontally in front of him and drew the blade out slowly, allowing the "sun" above them glisten off the perfectly crafted steel. The hamon (pattern of hardened edge) was the most unique hamon Soi-Fon had ever seen. Instead of it being straight or slightly wavy, the hamon looked like rising rolling waves done in the Ukiyo-e style (think "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" woodblock print by Hokusai). A truly magnificent blade.
"I must admit, Namizake-san, that is a wonderfully crafted katana" she confessed, "but what is someone of your background doing with such a weapon? It is obviously not a Zanpakutō, and even if it were, you would not be able to harm me. Care to explain?"
Minato couldn't suppress a smirk as he could tell she did not expect him to be a swordsman; something he had experienced his entire life. "You would be correct in assuming that a shinobi such as I would know anything about Kenjutsu and Kendo" he said holding the sword in his right hand and his saya in his left behind his back with the kojiri (bottom of the sheath) pointed at the sky. "But the clan of Namikaze was and always will be..." he said with his voice becoming more serious as he raised his sword "...samurai."
Soi-Fon's eyes widened just as the blond charged forward and swung his blade at her. She dodged the attack with ease despite being surprised by the knowledge of her opponent being a samurai. She did not however expect the second strike to come from the left and instinctively brought up Suzumebachi to block it. She blinked perplexingly as Minato had attacked her with his saya, but was more perplexed by the sound it made when she blocked it.
'It's not made of wood' she realized. 'It's made of iron.'
She looked at the former Kage in the eye between their crossed weapons, and was once again taken aback by the fierce determination in his eyes. She had seen such eyes before; throughout her entire life in fact. All members of the Onmitsukidō as well as the lieutenants and captains of the Seireitei had the same eyes; eyes of men and women ready to fight to the death, without fear of such a fate. These were not traits she had expected Minato to have.
She forced him backwards before trusting her Zanpakutō at his chest. Minato flipped backwards and used his saya to lift himself off the ground and avoid the strike. He then tried to stab the captain whilst he rested on the sheath, but Soi-Fon avoided the attack and did a swift crouching leg swipe at Minato's saya, knocking him off his perch. He was able to quickly recover in mid air and dashed backward to put some distance between himself and the Shinigami. In one swift motion he sheathed his blade and held it to his hip before charging once again at the captain. She immediately knew what he was going to do; another bold test of speed: Iaijutsu (the Art of Quickly Drawing and Sheathing the Sword).
Soi-Fon rushed at Minato holding Suzumebachi at eye level and in a flash, both struck at one another in mid-air. They stood a few meters away from one another but did not turn to face each other. Instead, they stood still for what seemed like a full minute. It was then Minato that stood up straight and turned to look at the Nibantai-Taichou just as another Hōmonka bloomed between his eyes.
"If that attack was with any other weapon I would have been killed. But it seems you still want to toy with me, Soi-Fon-san" he said calmly and retook his stance. "If all I can do is die, then I will force you to kill me as a warrior."
The woman stayed silent for another moment before turning to face her opponent with a look of annoyed confusion. 'How?' she asked herself. 'How was he able to do that?' At that moment, her left braid split in two, allowing the second half to fall to the ground. 'Even if that was a Zanpakutō, he would not even be able to scratch me. And despite that, he was able to cut my braid. The only way that would be possible would be if he already had some kind of mastery of his spirit. But Uzumaki assured me that no one in his world had such training...unless he truly does come from a samurai clan.'
She eyed him from a distance and came to terms with the facts. 'His stance is perfect and has no openings. With my speed it makes no difference, but it would be for officers bellow 5th seat. Such strength and disciple does not come from raw talent or luck alone. I can actually see reiatsu slightly resonating from his body. He is one with his sword and his soul; the very qualities that make a Shinigami.'
"You are not at all what I imagined you would be" she finally said aloud. "Your Zanjutsu, while similar to Madarame Ikkaku's of the Jyuuichibantai, is far more defined and disciplined. You are a warrior; there can be no doubt of that." (a/n: So I've been working on Minato and the Namikaze clan for ages and I had, from the get go, envisioned him using this two-sword style with an iron saya. Only while writing this did I remember that Ikkaku uses that kind of fighting style. Should I turn in my Bleach fan card?)
"You're not what I expected either. You don't look like the complimenting type, Soi-Fon-san" replied Minato without lowering his stance. "I'll return the favour and admit you're the first to not fall to my Midori no Honō (Green Blaze); excluding an old friend of mine of course. It's one of my clan's secret techniques."
The captain nodded at his words as she held up her Zanpakutō. Anticipating that she would attack him for the final time, he tensed his muscles preparing to unleash his clan's most powerful sword technique. Instead, she made Suzumebachi revert to her sealed form and cancelled all her Hōmonka, leaving the blond samurai stunned. Folding her arms, Soi-Fon began to walk towards him.
"There are a great many questions I want to ask you, Namikaze-san, but time is not a luxury either of us have. So I will ask you only one: what is your purpose here today?" she asked calmly and poignantly. Realizing that she was serious, Minato relaxed and began sheathing his blade.
"To save my son from being executed. What other reason could I have?" he replied.
Soi-Fon sighed and rubbed her temples. "Then that means we've been wasting time. It's my mission to rescue Uzumaki Naruto and bring him to a special portal created to take him to the Living World and then back to his home world. Nearly every top officer of the Gotei 13 is in on this plan and are fighting right now. We must go there immediately."
Minato stood there speechless for a few moments before his head slumped forward in defeat. "G...Gomennasai" he said weakly, bowing apologetically.
"Save your apologies for later. We must get Naruto and the rest of his friends out of the Soul Society before the Sōtaichō joins the battle."
"I assume he isn't the most understanding of people."
"Especially when all of his officers are committing high treason, including the ones he has already pardoned for high treason." Despite the situation, the former Kage couldn't help snorting at the Shinigami's words. "And speaking of understanding, you do realize that Uzumaki Naruto will not be happy to see you, and even less so when he learns you are his father. What do you plan on doing then?"
Minato sighed, knowing that it was an unavoidable question. "To answer that question quickly and honestly, if he forgives me then I hope that we can finally have the father and son relationship I dreamed of us having when Kushina told me she was pregnant. If he does not forgive me and hates me for doing what I thought was right, then he can take my life. He has every right to do so."
Soi-Fon looked at the former ninja with pensive eyes, uncertain of which outcome was more likely; given how much she knew of the jinchuriki. But whatever the outcome, the only way to witness them was to get Naruto away from the execution platform as fast as possible. Hopefully there would no longer be any further obstacles in their way.
All of sudden, there was a spike of a familiar reiatsu that made both the captain and the Hokage's eyes widen and turn to face Sōkyoku Hill.
"Who is that?" asked Minato with concern.
"No..." hissed Soi-Fon, "No, you foolish foolish girl!"
xXx
"...og ta til himmel, Valkyrja! (Awaken and take flight)" shouted Hinata. Instantly her reiatsu spiked causing it to release like a geyser, covering her entirely. The violet pearl coloured energy shot high into the sky, along with a large plum of dark dust creating a smokescreen. Byakuya stood there stunned, but not because of Hinata's power level. It was her reiatsu that confused him.
'What is this reiatsu?' he asked himself in confusion. 'It is like that of a Shinigami, but at the same time not. It is not that of a Hollow, Vasto Lorde, Arrancar, Visored, Quincy, or any other race. It is not even comparable to that of the Yamato Nibantai. What else has that other world produced?'
(a/n: I failed to explain this earlier in the series, but I decided to created an official name for both Ichigo's group and Naruto's group. Given that the Soul Society is such an old fashion place, I assumed they would still refer to Japan as Yamato rather than Nipon. Thusly, Ichigo's team, which includes Orihime, Ishida, and Chado, was named the Yamato Ichibantai. But when Naruto and his group came into play, they learned that the Naruto world was very much like Japan in the Feudal Era; so they labelled Naruto and his group as the Yamato Nibantai. This will be explained further in the future in greater detail, as to avoid spoilers. So to all those who have said I'm just copying Bleach and not giving this story much thought, this is just a fraction of what has been cooking since this story's inception. *blows raspberry*)
In the blink of an eye, a thin bolt of violet pearl reiatsu flew out of the smokescreen and passed by Byakuya's left check, leaving a bleeding cut behind.
"That was a warning shot..." said Hinata as the dark dust began to swirl violently. From the plume came a pair of giant snow white wings creating a massive gust of wind and sent it at the 6th Division captain. This also revealed Hinata herself and her Shikai. She no longer wore a Shinigami uniform, instead she wore a white toga like dress that hugged her legs individually and exposed part of her stomach with a slight oval cut. She had a matching pair of tokkou gloves on her hands (a/n: not the fighting gloves; what Miroku from Inuyasha wears) that linked to the main dress while still leaving her shoulders exposed, along with steel bracers. On her head was a silvery steel helmet with wings that extended downwards to double as cheek guards. It was engraved with golden Viking art carvings (a/n: Couldn't find the actual name for them) around the edges and from the nose guard to the back of the helmet. She also wore a matching breast plate with a pair of wings engraved on the front and matching winged sabaton boots.
In her left hand was a large metal composite bow. It was curved with sharp points, with a grip and sight made to look like interlocking scales wrapping around a pole. She raised the bow and extended her left index finger as she pressed her right index and middle finger onto the grip and drew backward. An arrow with a large broadhead materialized as she drew and paused when she was at full draw anchored just passed her cheek.
"...I will not be so generous again" Hinata finished aiming her weapon at the stunned Shinigami.
"What kind of Shikai is that?" demanded the head of Kuchiki family. "All Shikai turn the Zanpakutō into a modified sword or another weapon entirely, but there are no Shikai that create an entire transformation of its master. Such transformations are only possible with a Bankai, something that would not be possible for you to possess. The only instance that a transformation is a result of releasing a Zanpakutō would be if you were an Arrancar; which again you are not. What are you then?"
"I am a kunoichi of Konoha that became a Shinigami in order to protect my village and my loved ones. That is the truth and nothing less" answered the indigo haired woman, still at full draw.
"Then the better question would be 'what is your Zanpakutō?', Hyuuga Hinata."
"Let me show you" she said confidently and released another arrow. Effortlessly the captain Shunpoed away.
"A mere Shikai is not enough to stop me" he commented calmly, but his eyes widened in shock when he felt something pierce the back of his left shoulder. He looked to see that the arrow Hinata had fired had managed to embed itself, despite the fact he had avoided the attack.
"This 'mere' Shikai is more than just flashy, Kuchiki-san" said the woman moving her bow out of the way to reveal her right eye, which now had a glowing crosshair surrounding the pupil. "When I lock eyes with a target, my Zanpakutō recognizes the reiatsu signal, and when I fire an arrow, it locks on. So even if you do evade the attack, my arrows will still track you down."
Hinata quickly began to fire arrows in rapid succession at Byakuya, who dodged them with ease. Of course the arrows followed the Shinigami who battered them away as if they were flies. One of them made it passed Senbonzakura which appeared to pierce the captain between the eyes. Instead, he caught the arrow with his bare left hand without so much as a twitch in his brow.
"How unimpressive" he said snapping the arrow in two, which disintegrated until nothing remained. Hinata quickly nocked another arrow just as Byakuya vanished and appeared behind her faster than she could blink. "Enough piddling" he said raising his Zanpakutō and pierced the young woman in the back. To his astonishment, she vanished and reappeared behind him with her arrow pointed at the back of his head.
"I agree" she said calmly about to release her arrow. Before she could however, she saw something press against the captain's haori, and that it was glowing. A bolt of bluish white lighting thundered at her and would have pierced her if she hadn't Shunpoed out of the way. She landed roughly 12 yards in front of her opponent, giving herself a mental note that close quarter combat was just as dangerous as fighting at a distance.
"I see. In the time it took for you learn your Shikai you also mastered Shunpo" said Byakuya with the slightest hint of admiration in his voice. "And to use such graceful and swift Shunpo whilst having a Shikai of that size means you have an acute talent for the art of Hohō (Step Movement). Who was your instructor?"
Hinata relaxed slightly at the older Shinigami's words before responding. "I owe so much to everyone, especially to Soi-Fon-san, Ukitake-san, and Unohana-san. Ukitake-san and Unohana-san said that my grasp of Kido was surprisingly high given my background which led to Soi-Fon instructing me on Shunpo. She showed me what she had learned from Yoruichi-san, who I was surprised to learn is not actually a cat" she said genuinely.
This made Byakuya frown immediately. "I retract my praise" he said coldly raising his left hand. "Hado no.33: Sōkatsui."
A wave of blue flames erupted from his hand and flew at Hinata with great speed. She Shunpoed out of the way and fired an arrow back at the captain of the 6th squad. Byakuya was about to swat away the attack, when to his surprise Hinata revealed her Zanpakutō has more tricks left in the bag.
"Ichaival" she said causing the single arrow to become ten. Byakuya quickly got out of the way with the arrows chasing after him. "Ichaival is a special attack that multiplies each arrow I fire by ten-"
Before Hinata could finish speaking, the stoic Shinigami caught four of the arrows with the bare spaces in-between the fingers of his left hand, and in the blink of an eye twisted his wrist and broke the other six. "How fruitless. Whether it be ten arrows or ten thousand..." he said clenching his fist and breaking the remaining arrows, "...your fate will be the same." Not wasting time Hinata gritted her teeth and fired three more Ichaival arrows at the captain, planning to distract him with enough of a barrage to get another hit in. However just before the arrows made their mark, they shattered into pieces before disintegrating.
'How did he do that? Is he finally displaying his true swordsmanship?' the young woman asked herself. But when her eyes landed on Kuchiki's Zanpakutō, they widened when she realized that he was only holding the hilt.
"Chire, Senbonzakura" said Byakuya without emotion. "If you enjoy fighting me with projectiles, then I am sure you will appreciate falling to my blade."
With only the light barely reflecting off the petals, it was all Hinata saw as Senbonzakura closed in around her.
xXx
As fast as she was able, Soi-Fon made her way back to the execution platform. This was proving to be difficult as she had no choice but to carry Minato back with her; the former Kage's subpar speed was the main reason for this.
"I-Is there not a better way to travel, Soi-Fon-san?" asked the blond, gagging slightly as he was being dragged by the back of his collar.
"If you don't want to be left behind, no" she replied without stopping or looking over her shoulder. "We also don't have the time to do things at leisure. We must make it back to Sōkyoku Hill."
"Then answer me this..." began Minato nearly hitting a branch, "why have you become so worried about Hinata? What's going on?"
"No matter how much I told her not to, she went ahead and picked a fight with Kuchiki Byakuya, captain of the Rokubantai."
"Is the difference in their strength that great?"
"You must be joking. She has only just learned her Shikai, whereas Kuchiki has had both a Shikai and a Bankai for centuries. They are quite literally worlds apart. However, that is not the worst of it."
This made Minato listen closely. "What is the worst of it, Soi-Fon-san?"
"Hyuuga Hinata possesses a very unique Zanpakutō with an equally unique Shikai. It's a winged suit of armour complete with an arsenal of weapons made of highly pressurized reiatsu, making it more of a Bankai than a Shikai. It's also the most beautiful Zanpakutō I have ever seen. But despite having so many upsides, it has one major downside."
"And that would be...?"
The Nibantai-Taichou clenched her jaw as she looked at the bleak landscape she was traversing. "It's too much like a Bankai. With her limited reiatsu reserves and lack of training, it has a time limit of nine minutes and leaves her completely spent. Now no more questions, we need to hurry." She immediately began to pick up the pace making the blond shout in protest, still being dragged by the back of his collar.
xXx
Throughout Sōkyoku Hill, the civil war between the rescue team and the remaining Gotei 13 raged onward. It was clear that none of them truly wanted to fight one another. The lieutenants and captains at no point wanted to harm their subordinates, and the subordinates did not want to fight against the men and women they looked up to and respected; though the lower seated officers had no choice as they were sandwiched between the fear of fighting their superiors and the fear of dealing with the Captain-Commander if they disobeyed orders. "Luckily" for them, their "traitorous" peers were dealing with them with the utmost care.
Iba threw a lower ranking Shinigami into the crowd as he had chosen not to draw his sword, and looked at the fearful soldiers behind his trademark sunglasses. "There is no shame in retreating from battles that you know you cannot win. I'd advise you to think before doing something you'll regret" he said, more as genuine advice than as a threat.
Yumichika sent a dozen officers flying into the air before they crashed into the crowd. "Retreating is such an ugly thing. The look in one's eye and the expression on one's face is just so pathetic" he said. "But for this one time, I will turn a blind eye to such ugliness and advise you be ugly and run."
Not far from them, another 30 Shinigami collapsed to the ground with all their limbs tied behind them with Bakudo. Nanao stood up from behind the pile of collapsed men and adjusted her glasses.
"You know you can treat them with a little more delicacy" she said, not too pleased with their handy work.
"We are being delicate" replied Iba matter-of-factly.
"Indeed we are" echoed Yumichika with that particular smile on his face. Nanao just glared back at them with a throbbing vein on the back of her head. Despite the fact that Iba had left the Juuichibantai, deep down he was still one of them. Furthermore, while neither of them was aware, Yumichika's true Shikai was perfect for this situation; however given his own ties to the Juuichibantai, it was never an option.
'11th squad idiots' she thought in annoyance. From behind her, an annoying laugh rang over the chaos of battle.
"Ha ha ha! Well what did you expect from such low class idiots?" said Omaeda in his usual arrogant manner.
"Omaeda..." said Nanao, giving him her infamous icy glare, "Get back to work."
The large man immediately recoiled and began to sweat, remembering the rumors about the lieutenant of the Hachibantai. "H-Hai" he replied so that she would not continue to look at him. He honestly wondered who was more terrifying, Nanao or Soi-Fon-Taichou?
Speaking of which, where was she?
Amidst the battle, a particular fight was growing in intensity. Sasakibe, forced to unleash Gonryōmaru's Shikai, quickly parried Hisagi's attack but was immediately forced into a blade lock.
"What's wrong, Sasakibe?" asked the tattooed Shinigami. "You've brought out your Shikai but you're even slower than before."
The older Shinigami gritted his teeth. "Unbelievable. To think so many would turn against the Soul Society."
Those words made Hisagi frown even more and pushed his opponent's blade further away as he leaned closer to Sasakibe, eyes filled with anger. "You're right, it is unbelievable. Everyone should have been on our side."
Before the older lieutenant could respond, he saw something jump over Hisagi. It was Kira wielding Wabisuke, already in its Shikai form, and he slashed down at Sasakibe. The white haired Shinigami quickly pushed Hisagi back and parried Kira's attack by trusting the tip of his rapier Zanpakutō at Wabisuke's tsuba, avoiding the sword's ability. Kira landed next to his friend and held up his sword at the ready.
"And where have you been?" asked Hisagi with a slightly annoyed tone.
"Forgive me, but I was busy dealing with the rest of the Sanbantai" apologized the blond haired lieutenant. "Given my Zanpakutō's ability, it was the best way to dispatch my comrades without harming them."
"Guess that's where our priorities differ," said Hiasagi, looking back at his opponent. "I want to hurt my comrade."
At the furthest point of the battle, past where Hinata and Byakuya were fighting, stood Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni at the base of the execution platform. He was resting upon his cane with a mixed look of anger and disappointment. Before him stood Ukitake, Zaraki, and Shunsui, each waiting for their commander to make the first move; despite that Zaraki very much wanted to start fighting.
"I had believed that after all the trials and tribulations the Soul Society and the Gotei 13 had gone through, we would be stronger and closer united than ever before" said the elder Shinigami, "But as I can see, you are all still far too green."
"I see the opposite, Genryūsai-sensei" calmly argued Ukitake "Nearly all of us have united over a single goal and stand resolute in upholding justice. Is this not what you taught us?"
"And it seems you have forgotten what I taught you! There is no individual sense of justice that can overrule the justice of the world!"
"Oiya, Yama-jii, that's just it. You're the one who's forgotten" said Shusui looking past the brim of his Sugegasa straw hat that covered half his face. "The humans have an old saying, 'Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it'. That's what's happening here. You're forgetting what we learned with Kurosaki Ichigo, not only when he fought against us to save Kuchiki-san, but to save Inoue-san as well. I thought you had learned that lesson back then as you sent a squad to support Kurosaki's team in Hecto Mundo. What's changed, Yama-jii?"
"Things have not changed, Shunsui. The statutes of the Gotei are what I am upholding with every ounce of my soul. The duty of the Gotei is to give their lives to destroy great evil; it is our very nature."
"Then what is this 'great evil', Sensei?!" Ukitake asked strongly. "It cannot be Uzumaki-kun; he has been an ally since he first arrived here. If it were not for his contributions to the war, things would have not have gone as smoothly as they did. You're hiding something from us, aren't you, Genryūsai-sensei?"
"Enough tongue-flapping!" shouted Kenpachi, his patience drawing to a close. "It's clear to me that talking isn't going to do shit since the old man is the last line of defence. But since it's the old man, he isn't going to release his Shikai and fight us head on as he'll kill most of the Gotei. Hel, just by farting he could take out most of the weaker shits."
"Well this is Yama-jii we're talking about" muttered Shunshi, honestly worried that his old master would go so far for "justice" as to kill his own soldiers. After all, isn't that what he was doing with Naruto?
"Fight me?" echoed the ancient warrior with cold eyes. "Your foolishness is so great it astounds me, Kenpachi. I have not been Captain Commander of the Gotei 13 for over 1000 years for nothing, nor will I be defeated for another 1000 years. Even if you mastered Kendo and the Chūō Shijūroku had not stopped me from training you fully, you would not have a chance against me."
"Fighting you was never on the table, Yama-jii, we just want to get Uzumaki and his friends out of here because of your unjustly ruling" said Shunsui. "But there is something wrong here. Since the beginning, every decision you've made, every order, has been suspicious. Ukitake's right, you are hiding something from us. What is it, Yama-jii?"
Yamamoto stood before the three captains with a tense silence before tightening his grip on his wooden cane. "That orders are absolute."
xXx
Byakuya glared at Hinata as his patience was running thin. "Even tenacity has its limits, Hyuuga Hinata" he said coldly.
It was not that his attack had failed to reach the young woman as it had landed, but instead, it had not done any damage. At the last possible moment, Hinata had surrounded herself with her large wings deflecting Senbonzakura. However, her snow white wings were now a silverfish grey, and when they moved, they made the sound of a thousand swords being drawn.
"Járn Vængi (Iron Wings)" said Hinata calmly and she rose to her feet. "Perhaps, but I have something worth fighting for, Kuchiki Byakuya."
"As you have stated before along with your willingness to die" he replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice. He paused for a moment as he felt the wound on his back pulse in pain. "I see you have yet another weapon in your arsenal. Poisoned arrows? You failed to mention such an ability; however that would betray the purpose of said ability. Regardless, you will be dead before the poison can take effect."
This took Hinata by surprise. "I don't know what you are talking about. My arrows aren't tipped with poison" she said honestly. This made the captain look at the young woman and her bow with some concern. Despite being enemies, Byakuya knew she wasn't lying. Nevertheless, he was feeling a lingering pain in his back that had been steadying growing since she managed to land that arrow. He also had a head ache that he couldn't account for, though what else could be the cause of it than his shoulder wound?
"It matters not" he said finally, looking at Hinata with cold steady eyes. "Let us see how much tenacity you have left." Without saying another word, the captain raised his right hand and summoned his fragmented Zanpakutō which reformed into a standard katana. He turned the blade so that the tip pointed to the ground, and he spoke the words that everyone had warned Hinata about, as he let go of his Zanpakutō's tsuka.
"Bankai..." Byakuya said with a voice that cut like steel.
It was as if time had slowed down as Hinata watched his sword fall. She knew what it meant. She knew the terror and fear that came from the word Bankai. She had been warned time and time again of the power of the captains, and how she should not, under any circumstance, fight Kuchiki Byakuya. Now she would be facing both for the fight of her life, and Naruto's. When Senbonzakura completely vanished into the ground, just as a pebble would after being dropped into a still pond, Hinata assumed that an attack would come from under the ground. But what returned to the surface was neither an attack nor a continuous ripple, but two rows of a thousand giant blades running alongside both Byakuya and herself. They were intimidating to say the least, but the young kunoichi-Shinigami was not prepared for what happened next.
"...Senbonzakura Kageyoshi."
The giant swords shattered into a massive storm of cherry blossom petals, which seemed even larger than it was as it swirled around them. It was impossible for Hinata to know how many petals there were, but she did know that her Járn Vængi would no longer protect her from them. Not allowing her time to plan an attack, the 6th squad captain made his Zanpakutō form into a dense mass of sakura and sent it at Hinata.
The substitute-Shinigami immediately reacted with a beat of her mighty wings, launching herself high into the air with such speed that it appeared that she had used Shunpo. She then aimed herself at the captain and flapped once.
"Járn Fjöður Skot! (Iron Feather Shot)" she shouted, unleashing a hailstorm of iron feathers. However the attack never connected as part of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi formed a shield and destroyed the feathers on impact. The petals then gave chase once again, trying to cut Hinata to ribbons. However, the young woman was proving to be up to the challenge and that her giant wings were not just for show. She soared high into the sky beyond the darkness, avoiding the blitz of petals; which only bothered Byakuya further, especially when Hinata began firing arrows at him.
The stoic clansman winced as he felt pain in his back once again. While it had started at his shoulder blade, the pain had now traveled down to the small of his back, and the headache had turned into a full blown migraine. He still believed that Hinata had infected him with some sort of poison, but he now believed she was telling the truth. Given that she had only learned of her Shikai several days past, it would not be a stretch of the imagination that she had yet to fully master it, and thusly not know all of her abilities; her Zanpakutō had an arsenal after all. For the first time in his military career, Byakuya was succumbing to his battle wounds, as the migraine was affecting his mental control of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi's movement. He raised his right had once more and tripled its speed which was starting to add a great deal of pressure on Hinata.
'I can't keep this up for much longer' she thought, knowing that Valkyrja's time limit was fast approaching. 'I haven't had enough practice in the air, especially at these speeds. I need to end this now.'
Doubling her speed by combining her Shunpo with her flight, Hinata aimed herself right for Byakuya. She had noticed that he hadn't moved since he unleashed his Bankai. Perhaps to control it he had to stay in one spot? Or remain where he had initial dropped his sword? Either way, it was a chance she had to take. Feeling the razor sharp sakura petals inching towards her, she forced herself to fly even faster and prepared her bow.
The 6th squad captain saw her and wondered if she was truly so naive to attack him head on. When she did not stop he knew that she was. But right before they collided, she vanished revealing the swarm of petals. She reappeared behind him with her bow drawn and without hesitation released her arrow. She did not see if it hit its mark as Senboknzakura Kakgeyoshi crashed over his master, forcing her to move out of the way, but Hinata had confidence that it had landed. The sakura were still swirling around the captain keeping him obscured from view, however the young woman was not going to waste any more time and was about to make her way to the execution platform, when the sky began to darken once more.
"I must admit that was a good strategy" he said coolly as the petals began to dissipate; his words sending a chill down Hinata's spine. "You tried to use the momentum of my Zanpakutō to harm me, or at the very least distract me so that you could pierce me with another arrow. Against any other enemy that would have worked flawlessly, but alas you are against an opponent with more skill and power than you could even achieve in your short human lifetime. Senbonzakura possesses an ability called Mushōken (Woundless Zone). Within the Mushōken I am safe from my Zanpakutō's attacks as well as wield him for both attack and defence. After extensive training I have shrunken the Mushōken down by half of its original size, meaning that even at a few inches away, your attack would have never reached me."
Hinata swallowed as she felt a few beads of cold sweat roll down the back of her neck. "My arrow was shredded instantly" she said, now realizing the truth.
"Correct. And now Hyuuga Hinata, I will end this over drawn battle. You may have pride in your mighty ability of flight, but I am the one who will clip your wings. Senkei (Slaughterscape)."
xXx
Gaara, Yugito, Momo, Isane, and Matsumoto were nearing Sōkyoku Hill, eager to join up with the others and find Minato and Kushina, but froze when they sensed the spikes of multiple reiatsu.
"What the Hel is going on up there?" asked Yugito "I thought you Shinigami had a plan? How is that under control?"
"There is a plan and I'm sure it is under control" Matsumoto shot back at the jinchuriki. "Something must have happened."
"We haven't been in contact with the others for some time now. But if there was something wrong or urgent, we would certainly be made aware" added Isane, providing some comfort.
"Kotetsu-san is right. It would be very obvious if things had gone truly wrong" Momo said, furthering her friends' sentiments.
Gaara was far from convinced.
"The situation at hand is far more dangerous than you realize" he said in a strong voice, as he turned to the rest of the group. "We have no idea where the Yondaime and his wife are, I can sense that Hyuuga Hinata is in combat with a captain class opponent, and while all of this is taking place, Naruto is still at the execution platform. Whatever it was that you planned as a rescue, it has failed. Also, there is something else..."
"Something else?" echoed Masumoto.
"Yes...there is something in the air that I cannot place. A disturbance...a feeling of warning..." he raised his hand to look at it, and saw that it was shaking.
"Gaara, what's-" began the other jinchuriki, but she stopped herself when she saw that the hand she had raised to reach her boyfriend was shaking as much as his.
The red haired man looked at the hand, then up at his mate. "You sense it too, Yugito. But not you three. It feels familiar; I cannot describe the sensation properly, but what I can say is that it feels instinctual, and something, something surreal, is going to happen."
xXx
From the execution platform atop Sōkyoku Hill, Naruto watched the battle still bound and helpless. He saw his friends from the ranks of the Gotei 13 fighting their subordinates, he saw the three most powerful captains fighting the captain-commander, and the most frightening sight of all, Hinata fighting Byakuya. Why would she fight him? She must know that the head of the Kuchiki clan was far too powerful for her to defeat. Didn't the other tell her? He knew that she was growing stronger, but she was nowhere near captain level the last time he had seen her and she could not have closed the gap in such a short amount of time.
But if that was the case, then why had Byakuya released his Bankai? Yes Hinata had awakened her Shikai, but a Shikai, no matter how extravagant, cannot defeat a Bankai, let alone a Bankai wielded by a captain who has mastered it. Why weren't the others helping her? Was it because Yamamoto was in their way? Was the old man so powerful that they were too afraid to make a move? These and so many other questions were running through the young man's mind, but there was one question that was gnawing at him the most: why hadn't his powers returned? He knew that the act of transferring Shinigami powers had such side effects thanks to his meeting of Kurosaki Ichigo, but his personal situation was different. In the Soul Society, Naruto was more than 100 times more powerful than he was in his home world. Was his body so necessary that his soul in the land of souls would be left so feeble?
Worse yet, throughout the entire time since he had transferred his powers to Hinata, he hadn't been able to speak to the Kyuubi. After becoming a Shinigami, his connection with the old demon was stronger than ever, so to be disconnected completely from him worried the jinchuriki greatly. He had called and called and called, but he heard nothing; he couldn't even sense the old fox. It could only mean that they had been separated; but if that were the case, then neither of them would exist.
"Damn it...why did everything turn out this way?" he asked the world. He lurched forward and knocked his forehead against the platform as he clenched his fists so tightly they drew blood from his palms. "The whole time I felt calm, like I knew how everything would turn out. I felt calm and ready to die, but still ready to fight and get out of here. What the fuck is wrong with me?! When I got here, I broke down and acted like a fucking Ningyō Jōruri puppet (a puppet used in traditional Japanese puppet theatre) without any control of my mind or body! It's like I was completely detached from reality! Did I lose my mind?! This is exactly what happened with Rukia. Why?! This doesn't make any sense!"
As Naruto demanded answers from the world that seemed to be hell-bent to ruin his life, he failed to notice that the answers he sought were far closer to home. It was true that Naruto's behaviour was completely unlike him, but what he did not realize was that all present had been acting mysteriously, and someone had been watching. For from just beyond the darkness of his mindscape, a pair of eyes filled with rage, wisdom, mischief, and authority peered behind the icy metal bars that were a cage to a being that knew all too well the feeling of being manipulated.
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