Naruto (Reaper): It's time to start. Let's start the show!

Sasuke (Reaper): And now my arc begins. I wonder what I will find…

Reaper's Blood: Final Mix
Chapter Thirty

Tenten sat in her bed with an annoyed glare at the ceiling.

It had been a day since they had left Yuki no Kuni and the group was on their way back home and all Tenten could think about was Uzumaki Naruto.

She and the others had made it to the field where she watched Naruto and Dōto do battle. The things that she had seen Naruto do was impressive to her but then he was sucked up in Dōto's attack and all had seemed lost.

But then he came back.

She wasn't afraid to admit it but Naruto was very cute to her but in that moment, she felt as if she was staring at an angel on Earth. She watched as he took down Dōto and the icy, snowy plains became one filled with green and flowers.

But since then, she had been deep in thought. Neji and Lee had been too but each one decided they wanted to leave well enough alone and let Naruto tell them when he was ready but Tenten couldn't accept that.

And now she sat there, unable to sleep because of these thoughts.

"Fuck it," Tenten suddenly said as she got out of bed. "I'm not going to sit here like a dumbass while he's in the same boat as me!"

Sasuke was getting a little antsy.

It had been two days since Team 7 left Konoha for Sora-ku and the scroll that was given to him had become unlocked but Sasuke promised to not open the scroll until Naruto came back.

If someone had told him that he would actual wait for Uzumaki Naruto for anything, he would have knocked them out. But after knowing how close their mothers were…He didn't know how to reconcile with that.

Were they friends? Rivals? Family? He didn't know but for now, he would go with the flow. At that moment, Sasuke was reading through his mother's diary from where he left off and he couldn't help but feel curious at what he read.

"Dear Kushina,

It's been six years since you've disappeared and my heart is as weak as it was when I first found out. You've missed so much in that time. Sasuke is so skilled at his age. Fugaku just taught him his first jutsu and Sasuke took to it like that.

Itachi is in ANBU, beating out Kakashi as the youngest ANBU member. I am so proud of him…He and Sasuke are truly the beacon of this clan.

The Hokage has once again denied my request to adopted Naruto-kun but that's not all. When I asked to adopt Tayuya, he told me that she was sent off to some unknown village to be adopted by hopefully some good people. I am currently trying to find out more information.

But despite this, both Hiashi-san and I have been watching him and as best as we can in the shadows but I know the Hokage will find out and force us to cease protecting him and the thought along infuriates me.

You would be so ashamed Kushi-hime at what this village has become after the Kyūbi's attack…You and Minato both and it fills me with shame, Fugaku-kun feels this as well and has been pushing his clan to train harder for the day we go to war.

I see some Uchiha are hesitant to follow his orders, mostly likely due to their own loyalty to this village and a part of me wishes I could talk him out of it but I can't…

When you told me that the Uzumaki clan have long lifespans and can survive injuries that would kill normal shinobi, I knew you wouldn't die from having the Kyūbi removed from you and yet the Hokage says you're dead.

And because of that, he's so intent on making life harder for your children. From taking Tayuya away from her brother to making sure Naruto is alone and unloved. It's sickening to me Kushi-hime…

In my heart, you're out there somewhere and my gut is telling me the Hokage knows where and that's why he's so intent of hurting our kids…I know the way I'm doing this is wrong but I don't care. I will do right by you, My Kushina and I won't stop until the Hokage is defeated and I have our kids in my arms…

But I wonder…If we succeed in this coup and we find you, will you come back to me as the woman that I care for or will you fight against me for helping take over the village?

Kami Kushi-hime, I really need you. I need you so much that I feel like I'm losing my mind. If anything happens to me and you're alive and reading through this…I just need you to know that I miss you.

And I…And I hope you miss me too.

Until we meet again,
Your Kito-chan…"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as his shut the journal. His mother was so sure that Kushina was still alive and out there. It was almost odd to see. What also took him by surprise was how close she and Kushina were.

From how his mother wrote to her, he felt there was something he wasn't seeing but what?

"Sasuke-kun, what are you reading?" Sakura asked curiously.

Sasuke blinked and placed his mother's journal in his pocket and asked "What does it matter?"

"You seem very focused on it," Sakura explained.

Sasuke let out a faint sigh and said "It's something important to me. Let's leave it at that."

"Okay…" Sakura murmured.

"We're almost there. I can see the city from here," Kakashi noted with a small grin.

Sasuke frowned as the abandon city slowly came into view. The city where he and Itachi had spent time in.

The city where he and Itachi would find paw prints for Nekobaa.

The city where his first crush had given him his first kiss.

'I wonder…Will she even remember me?' Sasuke thought softly.

In the distance, there was a woman with flowing red hair as bright as the sun that was beating down on his head and she was wearing a white sun dress but she had her back towards him.

"Even if my words are to lose meaning…even if my heart is to lose its place to belong…"

"Even if I am to lose my voice…you know, I will always be here singing…"

Slowly, the woman turned around to face him but just as she did, the light above them began to shine enough to cover the upper half of her face as wisps of red hair flowed against her face.

"Our song will echo on from here…to the far and beyond…"

"For "you" and the "you" that you really want to be…"

With a jolt, Naruto woke up.

Naruto had turned in early due to still feeling exhausted from his final battle with Dōto and by the rocking of the boat making him feel worse.

But during that, he dreamed of that woman…

Who was she and why did she sing to him?

He then heard a knock on the door before it opened to reveal Tenten. "You awake in there?" her voice asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said after a moment. "What's up?"

Tenten walked into the room and sat on his bed and said "I'm sorry for waking you up but this can't wait."

"I was already awake and what can't wait?" Naruto asked.

"My team, Jiraiya and I…We made it to the field while you were battling Dōto," Tenten explained. "When you got sucked up into that ice tornado, we all thought you were dead and were going to jump in but you came out of it. You had these rainbow wings and…this rainbow chakra and it looked like you were glowing…"

"Did I look cool?" Naruto asked.

"Hardly the point but yes," Tenten said. "I…That power…We all felt it. It was massive. I've never felt that before but you single handedly defeated a powerful enemy and I'm beside myself because I want to know how? How did you get that power?"

Naruto frowned to himself and said "I don't know admittedly…I remember going unconscious…Then I came upon a woman singing…And then I woke up with that power."

"Are you an angel or something?" Tenten asked.

Naruto opened his mouth to speak when a familiar voice said "Naruto-san! I am glad to see you awake!"

It was then a bright light floated down in between him and Tenten and said "After your battle, Shinigami-sama sent me down to talk to you."

"I'm sorry what?!" Tenten exclaimed.

"Seishin-chan, I don't think this is the right time," Naruto replied.

"Do forgive me however this cannot wait," Seishin replied.

"That's what I said," Tenten said. "So understandable. Continue."

"That power you had used was something we weren't expecting to see," Seishin said. "So Shinigami-sama sent me down to tell you what it is."

"Alright…Well, what did I use?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, what did he use?" Tenten asked.

"The power that you activated was the Okita Senshuken (Awakened Champion)," Seishin replied. "When the Senshuken no Shinigami is in mortal danger, that power is used as an absolute last resort. It can not only replenish your chakra reserves, heal any mortal wounds suffered but it can also boost your powers to levels only told in legends.

"With that said, I'm sure there are some risks in using it. So what are they?" Naruto asked.

"There are three penalties. First One: Once used, the awakened state takes five months to replenish. Second One: The champion themselves are weakened to an almost crippling degree for two weeks with the Kioigan spirits locked away during that time."

"That explains why I'm so exhausted," Naruto said. "The Shinigami told me that my clan's chakra levels are super high so if I'm extremely weak, where are my levels currently?"

"Your chakra is at the level where a normal human, who is not a shinobi, is able to live off of," Seishin said.

"What?!" both Naruto and Tenten exclaimed in unison.

"That must mean you have a shit ton of chakra if a normal person's levels are you at your most weakest," Tenten said.

"Holy shit, that just spells it straight out," Naruto said. "But tell me…What is the last penalty?"

"Final One: For every minute you spend in that awakened state, a year is taken off of your life." Seishin said gravely.

Naruto felt his heart seize up at this. "Tenten…" Naruto said. "Do you know how long I was in that state for?"

Tenten thought back to it and replied softly "Five minutes…"

"She is correct," Seishin said.

"Five minutes means…I lost five years of my life…" Naruto leaned back into his bed in stunned silence.

"That is why I was ordered to come down here…To tell you what you are losing each time you use that. So per orders of the Shinigami, you are forbidden to use that mode again," Seishin commanded.

"And in order for you not to, you need to be strong enough to stay out of mortal danger," Tenten said.

The orb bobbed up and down, which Naruto took as nodding. "That is my message. I shall return when Shinigami-sama commands it."

"Thanks for the heads-up Seishin…" Naruto whispered.

The orb flew into the ceiling and vanished.

"So…You are an angel," Tenten said after a minute of silence.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh at this. "With my bad habits, no way…"

"So…mind if I get some context to what the hell just happened? How do you know the Shinigami? What the hell is a Kioigan? What the hell is going on?!" Tenten exclaimed.

Naruto sighed and said "I'll tell you but…Promise me you won't tell anyone else?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die," Tenten replied.

Naruto smiled in thanks and began his tale.

Despite the many years he had been gone, Sasuke felt at peace in Sora-ku. It was dark, quiet and strangely beautiful. When he was a bratty child, he never took stock of how it seemed to suit him but after all he had been through, this place reflected how he felt inside.

"This place is creepy," Sakura said.

Sasuke could only sigh in annoyance. She couldn't find the beauty in this place. Sasuke would never be afraid to admit that he found Sakura very cute but it was offset by her yelling, random bouts of rage and her constant fawning over him.

He didn't think she was a bad person but felt she needed to grow up. He wasn't this prince charming she thought he was. There was a darkness in him that Itachi and forced upon him when he killed their clan.

"Ah! Sasuke-kun. You've returned after all these years," A voice said from behind them. Sasuke turned around to see a light-colored brown cat with darker markings along his ears, on his cheeks, paws, and tail.

The cat wore a simple blue kimono with mesh armor underneath, held closed by a simple white sash and on its forehead was the kanji for "shinobi"

"How peculiar," Sai said while Sakura yelled in surprise.

"A talking cat!" Sakura exclaimed.

Sasuke let a small smile appear on his face as he knelt down and held out his fist. "Long time Denka," he said as the cat's paw pressed against his knuckle.

"Long time indeed," Denka said happily. "We were wondering if we would ever see you again."

"We?" Sasuke asked.

"Ah yes. Nekobaa and Tamaki of course," Denka replied.

Sasuke paused.

"Who are they Sasuke?" Kakashi asked.

"Family friends…" Sasuke replied. "Can you lead us to them? It's been awhile and I can't remember how to get to them."

"Of course. Why do you think I'm here?" Denka replied cheekily before he motioned for them to follow him.

Rain: And that is the end of this chapter. So now another person knows about Naruto's secret but completely by accident and Sasuke's mission has started. What will occur during his mission? Hehehe I want you guys to guess and whoever wins, I'll think of a prize! Until next time!

Sasuke: Hm…