Soul King in the Making
Chapter 2
He knew something was definitely happening in the Soul Society and that was even without needing to ask around. Just the feeling in the air around the Rukongai felt malicious and made his instincts scream louder that something bad was going on.
It seemed his timing was 'perfect', as always, as he could feel a storm of reiatsu wavering and running wild in the distance, a mix of both shinigami and hollow. Though what worried him the most was that the shinigami and hollow reiatsu was coming from the same people…
'Seems like someone is up to no good' Naruto thought with a frown as he rushed to the location, gritting his teeth as he felt a familiar signature amongst the storm of reiatsu….one of his daughters…
Throughout the many years, as expected, he had children with his wives. Some wanted to be Shinigamis while others either went out to see the world or stayed in his city to pursue other careers. In the end he supported every last one of them in whatever they wanted to do with their life and was proud of them all.
Right now though he was worried for one of his daughters, that alone was enough to push him to arrive instantly at the area, not caring about hiding himself or anything else other than to protect her. He listened to his instincts as he arrived behind who he felt was the culprit due to all the dark and negative emotions rolling off him, his sword drawn and swinging down towards a surprised man with glasses.
He didn't care one bit about the two others who were rushing him or the three others who were watching, seemingly victims - alongside the many unconscious bodies on the ground - of the man who he was attacking. A simple Shinra Tensei without any attention needed was enough to send the two goons flying through some trees as his sword clashed with the man's.
The man was strong, both in reiatsu and strength due to being able to block his initial strike but Naruto was stronger, instantly shattering the man's sword once he put a fraction more of his strength into the strike and left a gash on the man's chest before he evaded behind him in a burst of speed.
Naruto, knowing the glasses wearing man couldn't do anything to harm him, allowed himself to look over to the cause of his anger, the bloodied body of his recently injured daughter that he had with Temari, Hiyori….
Flashes of her wild personality that she 100% inherited from him and anger she got from her mom made his anger grow harsher as he turned and glared at the man he had attacked, not caring one bit if his reiatsu was suffocating the three others who were still conscious.
"Tell me, who was the one who injured her?" Naruto asked as he pointed to Hiyori, his eyes locking with the man in glasses before the man merely smirked.
"Well this is a surprise, a mysterious stranger out of nowhere. I didn't foresee this, the most I expected was Urahara though Kido Master Tessai was also quite a surprise" the man said, ignoring his question before Naruto's pressure cut him off.
"I don't have time for your narcissistic prattling so I'll take it as either you did it or ordered it. Either way I'm going to be really pushing it with my order banning me from killing anyone" Naruto warned him as the man merely continued to look at him.
Not caring about the return of the man's goons who were rushing him, Naruto threw his sword at the man in glasses, their eyes still locked while the man merely tilted his head to the side to avoid the sword as his lackeys closed in.
Only the man's eyes widened as Naruto disappeared, barely able to look behind him at the sword that was now back in Naruto's hand before an attack bore down onto his back. The explosion from the technique that slammed him into the ground caused dust and dirt to fly everywhere.
"Lord Aizen!" one of the man's goons yelled out as Naruto smirked down at the man who was still on the ground, Naruto's foot on his back keeping him in place.
"So you are Aizen, eh? Nice to meet you" Naruto said as he held his sword against the man's neck. He wasn't able to stay there long though, having to leap back as a blade seemingly stretched and shot at him through the dust while some needle-like blades shot out at him as well - most likely the two goons attacking him.
"Lord Aizen! Are you alright!?" one of the goons almost screamed out as he carefully helped Aizen up to his feet and draped his arm over his shoulder.
The man who was helping prop Aizen up was a black skinned man with his hair done in five spikes while the other goon, a kid with white hair and closed eyes, merely retracted his sword and stood on the other side of Aizen.
"Oh, I didn't shatter your spine with my technique. I should have gone for the stronger version" Naruto muttered with a frown, having opted for a normal Rasengan to take Aizen down since he was told not to kill anyone.
"Get us out of here now Tosen and don't engage him Gin!" Aizen hissed out, his anger ever so slightly peaking out and revealing the names of the black man who was helping him up as well as the kid.
Naruto didn't say anything as he rushed back at them to attack, only for his sword to shatter a barrier Aizen rose up, with him and the others being gone once it broke.
"You all okay?" Naruto asked as he sheathed his sword, looking back to see the one man who had started to grow a mask had passed out while Kisuke was beside him and the man he figured to be Tessai was standing nearby.
"Thanks for the help but who are you?" Kisuke asked, being wary of him which he didn't blame given he had come out of literal nowhere.
"I know Hiyori but it's not important right now, we need to treat everyone quickly or at least get them somewhere safe. You know what this is, I can see it in your eyes and by how you are helping that man on the ground so you have to know a way to help them all" Naruto asked him, watching as Kisuke debated whether to trust him before finally nodding and standing up.
"It's a gamble at best…but we can't safely move all of them in their conditions" Kisuke muttered before Tessai nodded.
"But even so it's better than nothing….as for moving them I can help. I only ask you to cover your eyes and ears as these Kido are forbidden techniques…" Tessai asked them before both Naruto and Kisuke did as he asked.
Naruto already knew the Kido he used but it was still impressive to see someone else use something so advanced, able to move the area where all those affected were lying - dirt and all. Then again, he doubted the 'Kido Master' title that Aizen called him was for show.
"So, care to explain what all this is?" Naruto asked as he looked to everyone who was scattered around, noting they all were forming what looked like Hollow masks while some had more progressive transformations.
"Hollowfication….it's one of the solutions I arrived at upon researching the enhancement of a Shinigami soul" Kisuke started to explain as he lowered the hood of his cloak. "In the course of my research I created a substance that instantaneously destroys and recreates the boundary between Shinigami and Hollow….I will use it to treat Hirako and the others" he continued before he pulled out an orb that was encased in glass.
"I call it the Hogyoku" he explained, Naruto knowing just from one look that it wasn't anything to sneeze at.
Personally though he didn't care, as long as it could help his daughter and the others affected.
Naruto mainly watched in silence as Kisuke did whatever he had in mind with the Hogyoku after having healed their injuries while Tessai kept them under 'Temporal Stasis' so that they didn't go on a rampage.
Kisuke worked on every single one of those that were affected, working well into the morning to the point of passing out - though a shared look between him and Tessai showed they both knew he'd force himself awake in a few minutes as Kisuke didn't seem like the type to sleep or stay passed out for long.
Almost right on cue Kisuke sprung up only to frown as Shinji, the one who had been previously conscious when he had first arrived at the scene, had no changes.
"Sorry you both….I failed" Kisuke apologized, his tone alone showing just how heavy this was for him.
"They are still alive Kisuke, they are frozen in battle with the Hollow inside them - even you can sense that" Naruto pointed out as both of them knew that if Tessai didn't have them all in stasis they'd be fighting to wrestle control back. "Give them time, we can still at least give them their bodies back if we set somewhere up to let them safely fight themselves" he tried to reassure the man, already thinking up plans on his own to help them - especially since one of the ones affected was his daughter.
"...You're right….I just need to step outside for a bit, get some fresh air and then we can continue" Kisuke assured them, Naruto frowning as he tried to stop him before Kisuke opened the door only to be immediately met with guards who were there to arrest them.
Normally in this kind of situation he'd just kick their asses and then flee but honestly, even he knew that would just cause a shit storm. The safer bet was to hide a clone or two in the shadows to keep an eye on the others - or protect them if need be - and figure things out once this stupid 'arrest' debacle was dealt with.
He's never personally cared much about how the Seireitei did things - finding the 'Central 46' to be rather stupid given they were all curmudgeonly old farts that reminded him far too much like the Konoha Elders for his liking.
It took most of his willpower to keep from breaking free from the wooden 'cuffs' they had him in - thinking it'd actually be enough to restrain him - and even more to keep from scoffing and groaning at their 'Who gave you permission to speak' and 'Know your place' comments.
"And you! You are not a registered Shinigami and yet you wear the uniform! Identify yourself!" one man yelled out, Naruto finally realizing they were talking to him after pestering Kisuke about 'Hollowfication' and seemingly not being aware that Aizen had somehow set up an alibi.
"Oh great, you guys are talking to me now…." Naruto sighed out before he stood up straight. "I'm not a member of the Gotei 13 but I am a Shinigami, really can't say anything more as I'm under very, very strict orders not to reveal my status and they are much more important to obey than some old farts like you so if we could just get this over with that'd be real nice" Naruto told the man, his expression flat and screaming 'so done with this shit' as he could feel the man's anger boiling over and was about to burst just as a soldier used shunpo to appear into the room.
"Reporting in! There is much research on Hollowfication as well as many apparent traces of Hollowfication discovered in the Research Lab in the Squad 12 HQ" the soldier declared, Naruto figuring his clones left them be most likely due to them not being 'threats' towards those in there - though he felt a 'for now' was definitely hanging over that statement….
"That settles it! I shall announce the sentences!" the man who had been doing most of the talking declared. "Grand Kido Chief Tsukabishi Tessai, for the crime of using forbidden techniques you are imprisoned to the 3rd level of the Underground Prison 'Shugou'! Squad 12 Captain Urahara Kisuke, for the crimes of researching and invoking taboo phenomenon, as well as deceiving your colleagues and inflicting grievous injuries upon them, you will be deprived of all reiatsu and forever expelled to the human world!" the man sentenced before turning to Naruto, who felt the anger and annoyance rearing its head again.
"And you! You will be imprisoned until we can determine who you are and what your role in matters were! You'd do well to co-operate unless you wish to be sentenced to death" the man threatened before clearing his throat. "Furthermore, the pitiable victims of Kisuke Urahara's depraved experiments - those being the eight captain-class individuals - will be treated strictly as Hollows and dealt with as such" the man declared before Naruto decided this was enough, the sound of his restraints breaking as he freed himself stopping Urahara from yelling.
"And that is where I find myself done with you all and playing along with your bullshit" Naruto hissed out as he glared at the man, feeling the man's fear even with a paper screen between them. "Sleep well, and be lucky I'm not killing you for threatening my daughter like that" he told the man as he clapped his hands, feathers falling from the air before, one by one, each of them passed out.
"Bout time you showed up whoever you are! Any longer and who knows what would have happened!" Naruto yelled out as the door to the room opened, revealing a woman - that part being obvious given the very tight outfit she was wearing - who wore a scarf as a mask and a head wrap to hide her face and appearance.
"First time I've ever been called slow, couldn't you have done something before now seeing as you freed yourself?" the woman said, her tone - while serious given the situation - still felt like it had a smirk in it somewhere.
"Didn't want to deal with the old farts calling for backup as that would have just wasted time but it doesn't matter now, you took everyone with my shadow clones somewhere so let's get moving" Naruto told her, breaking Tessai and Kisuke's restraints before the woman and him sped things along by almost carrying the two of them away so they didn't have to slow down for them.
"Just who exactly are you?" Kisuke finally asked once they arrived at, what seemed to be, a massive underground training ground - if the damage done around was anything to go by. Naruto was surprised it took Kisuke this long to really ask him, a look in the man's eyes showing he wanted some answers, as Naruto figured that everything he had done or said so far had been making the man wonder more and more about who exactly he was.
"I'm Hiyori's father and an ally to you and the others, for now that is all I can say. It's not like I'm being secretive for the sake of hiding stuff, since I'm normally very open about who I am, but right now I have to be" Naruto told him as he looked over to him, trying his best to convey he wasn't anyone to worry about before the woman sighed and took off her mask and headwrap so he could finally see her clearly.
She was rather pretty with short dark purple, almost black hair and amber eyes. Her figure, not that he was ogling her as this wasn't the time whatsoever, was slender and well-endowed - easily around what he estimated to be a J cup, her skin tight black outfit only showcasing her size even more.
"Now isn't the time to be skeptical of him given he helped me bring everything and everyone here" she said which was seemingly enough to get Kisuke to relax and nod.
"You're right…thanks Yoruichi, for all of this" Kisuke thanked, getting only a scoff from Yoruichi.
"I don't need your thanks and I'll kick your ass later for not saying anything about this to me last night" she said, clearly annoyed at being kept out of the loop. "All eight of them are here and the prototype for that 'new gigai' you were researching is here too so hurry up and finish this up. I know that ever since you first asked Hirako about this case you've been thinking about the worst of the details and the best means for dealing with them" Yoruichi told him, getting a look in Kisuke's eyes that showed that none of this had been all that surprising to him.
"...Tessai, please put Shinji and the others under temporal stasis and then put a two or three layered barrier around this place. In the next 20 hours I will make a total of ten reiatsu blocking gigai, two for us and eight for Shinji and the others" Kisuke explained, which got Tessai to look over to Yoruichi and him.
"What about Yoruichi and Naruto?" Tessai asked before Naruto waved him off with a smile.
"Thanks for worrying about me but I can completely hide my reiatsu as easily as breathing, that's how I was able to surprise Aizen last night and how none of you sensed me coming until I showed up" Naruto explained before looking over to Yoruichi, wondering about her though, with her speed, he doubted she'd have issues.
"Don't worry about me either, I'll get out somehow or another" Yoruichi assured them with a smirk as Kisuke nodded since he figured all that to begin with.
"We'll conceal ourselves in the human world and slowly but surely we'll figure out a way to undo this Hollowfication" Kisuke declared before Naruto sat down on a nearby rock.
"I'll help in whatever ways I can as I can help forge documents for identities and help get you guys and the others houses to live in" he told Kisuke as Tessai worked on setting up the barriers. "Though I can sense you want to ask something of me before we even leave here" he guessed, getting a serious look from Kisuke before he nodded.
"I want you to help them tame their hollows as, in their current states, we can't put them in their gigai" Kisuke asked before Naruto brought out his swords again, putting them back on his waist as he stood up off the rock and dusted himself off.
"Figured as much and, while it'll be a bit difficult without releasing my swords, I've had harder challenges before" Naruto said, cracking his neck before he waved Kisuke off. "You focus on the gigai and I'll focus on the….Visoreds" Naruto started to say before Kisuke finished the sentence and named what those with masks had become, only getting a shrug from Naruto since he wasn't the expert on things as he turned to Tessai.
"Will you be able to keep up the barrier and temporal stasis on everyone except the one I'm fighting? If you need help I can make clones to create a barrier of my own to take some weight off your shoulders" Naruto suggested, getting a smile from Tessai before he shook his head.
"This really isn't much for me, these techniques aren't that taxing on me. To be honest though, I'm a bit more worried about you" Tessai admitted as he looked over to the group of Visoreds and then at him.
"Ah, well don't worry about me, the fight might be a bit tricky with not releasing my swords but it's not like I have to defeat them" Naruto told him which got a raised eyebrow from him. "I mean, the goal is to pretty much hold them back as they rampage to give them time to fight and tame their new inner Hollows" he theorized as he walked over to the group of Visoreds and crouched down in front of his daughter, brushing some hair back off of her mask.
"You really care about her, don't you?" Yoruichi asked, frowning at the sadness she could see in Naruto's eyes which on its own just screamed 'concerned parent'.
"Of course I do, I'm her dad. I haven't seen her for a good number of years but we kept in contact over letters so meeting up with her after so long like this isn't what I hoped for. Sometimes I get a bit sad over how self-sufficient she is but that's what kids do but right now my focus is on saving her and helping the others" he told her with a chuckle before he took a deep sigh and grew a serious expression as he picked up Hiyori and walked a good bit away from the others.
"Tessai, set up the barrier but don't lift the stasis on her just yet, I'm going to enter her mind and tell her what is going on and what she needs to do. I'll give you a signal when it's good to remove her stasis" Naruto asked, watching as Tessai set up a large barrier around them before he put his hand on his daughter's forehead and closed his eyes.
-Hiyori's Mindscape-
He couldn't help but chuckle at the form her mindscape took given it was the shape of what looked like a massive festival at a very familiar shrine. It didn't really surprise him that her mindscape was based off his city back in the Royal Palace given just how much she loved the festivals there growing up.
His attention though was drawn to the frozen in place debris that was stuck in mid-air and the Hollow in the middle of it alongside his daughter who were seemingly locked in combat.
"Would've liked a better occasion for our reunion but, in our line of work, we take what we can get right?" Naruto asked her with a smile as he appeared beside her, touching her shoulder before sitting on a frozen stall, the touch seemingly 'unfreezing' a bit of her as she widened her eyes and looked over at him.
"D-Dad!? W-What are you doing here!?" she asked in shock as she tried to move only to find her body frozen.
"I know you have a million and one questions but, as you can see, now really isn't the time so listen up and I'll very briefly tell you everything I know and what you need to do" he told her, getting her to nod as she knew now wasn't the time to 'catch up' though she was still clearly surprised by his presence.
"A Shinigami named Aizen, Vice Captain if his badge was anything to go by, has been doing experiments with Hollowfication - the cause of the creation of the thing you are fighting. I'm working with Kisuke, your captain, to help you but afterwards we have to flee to the Human World. Right now though, the only thing you need to focus on, is kicking that thing's ass" Naruto told her before he stood up and moved over beside the Hollow.
"That's what I've been trying to do Dad but this thing is fucking durable as hell! Nothing I've been able to do has done anything to it and it can use all my Kido and my zanpakuto!" Hiyori complained as Naruto nodded along.
"I can imagine but I have faith in you Hiyori, I can't help you with that but I will be fighting you in the real world as you rampage to give you time to take care of things for as long as you need so don't get impatient and rush. You are a strong girl so pull out all the stops to wrestle control back, I know you have it in you. If it has access to all your shinigami powers then how about using your other powers" he assured her, giving her a bit of a hint before appearing behind her and giving her shoulders a reassuring squeeze.
As Hiyori gave a nod he took that as his cue to leave, kissing the top of her head for extra reassurance and a bit of comfort before he left her to it.
-Real World-
Naruto could only sigh, hoping his words helped her a bit as he drew two of his three swords and gave Tessai a nod to show he was ready.
It took some time, a bit over an hour per Visored, but one by one he was able to hold off each Visored and give them enough time to take control back from the Hollows created inside each of them while Kisuke finished up his end of things.
From there things went as expected, some wanted to charge back into the Seireitei and explain things but thankfully the rational ones helped talk sense into the others. It took a bit but everyone understood that, with how conniving Aizen was, it was safer for them all to just go to the Human World, hide out, and wait for their window in the future.
Without any real place to stay Naruto was the one they relied on, Naruto creating a large house in the forest with a bit of Mokuton and seals as a temporary base - or seemingly permanent one for the Visoreds as Kisuke needed his own space to work on things.
A few decades passed and Naruto decided to stick around them in a small city called 'Karakura Town'. Of course Naruto reported back to Ichibe and Reio once the Visoreds were settled and, given everything, he was given permission to travel back and forth between Karakura Town and his city with a different set of orders that he really didn't see any real issue with.
He wasn't told much, since Reio liked to be cryptic at times, but he knew enough to know that he had stuck his foot into a 'river of events' as Ichibe liked to say and that his actions from here on would cause things to change from how Reio saw them.
But he also knew that this was what Reio encouraged and liked to have happen for the most part.
Personally, whatever it was, he was prepared for it.
-80 Years Later - Karakura Town-
He didn't think he'd get used to this town this quickly but, after 80 years, he found it to be quite peaceful and relaxing. The fact that his house was nice and comfy as well probably sped things along a good bit - though calling his place just a house was underselling it.
On the outside it looked like a simple two story house that had a clinic attached to it - something a certain wife of his asked for and pushed him to get licensed to help out the community. The little clinic was equipped to handle anything except major surgeries and a simple genjutsu was all they needed to keep people from questioning them for looking the same after 80 years
The house was much more than just a little clinic though as, once you entered, you quickly realized that it was far bigger than it first appeared to be. That was done solely with a myriad of seals that Naruto carved throughout the wooden frame of the house through manipulation of Mokuton that he had mastered over the years to the point he could write things so small on the wood he created that you'd need a microscope to see.
The seals did much more than just make him able to spawn a nigh infinite number of new rooms for visitors when he put some chakra into the walls but it also made his house undetectable to those with reiryoku unless he 'tagged' their reiryoku as 'approved'. He also made it connected to his Royal Palace city but he kept that part even more guarded to where only he and those from in the Palace could open the door connecting to it.
There was even a doorway connecting it to the Visored's house but, given how self-sufficient they were, they rarely used it. Hiyori obviously, and expectedly, moved into his house which he and her mother were happy with.
Other than her one other Visored moved in and that was Lisa Yodamaru - the former vice captain of the 8th squad and a rather interesting girl in general. To say she was bold would be an understatement and she was unashamedly bisexual, both flirting with him and his wives - though some like Ino had fun with it. Lisa was a bit confusing as he wasn't able to pin down if she was serious or not with her flirting but he figured, if she was then she'd let him know. For now she seemed more friendly than anything so he personally doubted she was serious about it.
For the most part his days were spent keeping track of Aizen when he did come over to the human world - as they all knew he'd eventually try and smoke them out - and whatever matters caught his attention but even then they did their best to ignore his actions and just keep track. Other than that the inhabitants of his house - i.e. his wives - lived with him, or visited often in Senjumaru and Kirio's case, and did various things around town to help around.
His reminiscing about the years that have passed was interrupted as he felt two Shinigami reiatsu signatures from the next town over get snuffed out and a Hollow signature suddenly disappear afterwards.
'That's the third time in the last two months and it's always the same Hollow signature that suddenly appears and disappears….This definitely has to be Aizen' Naruto thought with a frown before he stood up, deciding this was getting too much. He understood not wanting to reveal their location to him but at the same time just letting Aizen do his experiments was dangerous on its own.
"I hope you've thought things over before rushing out there" a familiar voice spoke out as he turned to see Tsunade standing in the doorway of his office with a somewhat uncertain look on her face.
Seeing her look at him like this reminded him of his past days as a ninja a lot but nowadays that was solely the look of a wife that was worried for her reckless husband.
If you were to ask him how he ended up married to Tsunade his answer was always just a soft smile, a chuckle, and a simple comment about how everything regarding his love life just grew crazy after he became a Royal Guard member and Tsunade would pretty much say the same.
But honestly, given the utterly insane lifespan of Souls, and how close they were even before becoming a Shinigami, it wasn't actually all that surprising according to everyone around them.
Plus, as bad as it sounded, the fact Jiraiya sadly wasn't around made things easier for them to click and grow closer.
It still upset him a bit how the souls of those who had died before he became a Shinigami couldn't be in his Royal City but it did make sense. The reasoning was apparently due to chakra and the Shinju itself as when chakra was introduced into the world through it the Soul King found that chakra wasn't an energy that converted well in the afterlife unregulated.
Long story short was that it heavily disrupted the balance of things and was the reason the 'Pure World' came to be. Those in his Royal City were 'exceptions' as their chakra was regulated through his control of the Shinju and - for balance's sake - the souls in the Pure World hadto stay where they were.
Rarely was Reio serious with him but the tone and emphasis made it clear this wasn't just for the hell of it. He could still visit the Pure World but he couldn't bring anyone there with him and he couldn't take anyone out. It was also why he was only allowed to bring those with personal connections to him to his Royal City.
In fact keeping the Pure World safe and untouched was a major job of his which got him to enlist strong souls inside it to defend it and have some of his people ready to stop any attempts to access it as rare as they might be.
His thoughts were brought away from all that as he stood up and sighed as he knew she was just worried, even after all these years since her past experiences when getting close to men still had an effect on her - not that he blamed her or was bothered by it by any means.
"Rushing isn't quite how I'd put it, I feel it's more nipping something potentially dangerous in the bud before it flourishes and provides even more dangerous fruits" Naruto told her, knowing her worry as he walked up to her and cupped her cheek with a smile, one that only grew a bit as she somewhat pressed against his hand with a cute soft blush.
Tsunade was rather cute like that, all he had to do was show her some soft affection like this and she blushed like a young maiden. The gap between that and her mature looks was something he found to really love about her.
"I can ensure he won't know where I'm coming from and where I go when I leave. Plus this will hopefully mess up whatever Aizen is planning or experimenting with" Naruto continued before she sighed and nodded, smiling softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist a bit and kissed her forehead.
"So, does this mean you are going to send a summon out on a stakeout and wait for it to show up again?" Tsunade asked as she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him while he nodded and hummed in thought.
"I'll have to since it disappeared but I'm sure if I look through things I can find anything that can alert me to when it attacks, if not then I'm sure it'll show up eventually during the stakeout" he told her, smiling as he kissed her softly. "For now though I think I smell dinner?" he asked, looking past her and smiling which got a chuckle as she patted his cheek.
"Yes, that's why I'm here, to tear you away from your writing so you can come and eat" Tsunade said with a smile as she took his hands and started to lead him out of the office.
"Hey, my writing at least gives me something to do during the day just like you and Sakura working in the clinic" he told her, getting a smirk as she nodded.
"I know and we aren't scolding you, your writing is great and better than smut" she grumbled with an eyeroll, though her smirk and tone showed she was just teasing Jiraiya rather than anything hostile.
"Oh good, you got him" Kirio said with a smile as they walked in just as she and Hiyori came out from the kitchen with some plates of food - regular size since a massive feast like usual would be too much.
Honestly he was a bit surprised that Kirio had a past with his daughter as not only was she Hiyori's former captain but she was also someone who Hiyori relied on and almost saw like a mother figure. It made things much better when Hiyori learned they got together as normally she would've gotten angry but instead she tried to act angry despite being clearly happy about it.
She definitely got that tsundere-ness from her mother.
"Anyone else joining us or are they busy?" Naruto asked as he looked around, not seeing anyone else really around.
"No, some of us are here, we just had to finish up a few things" Temari said with a smile as she walked with Ino, ruffling her daughter's hair with a smile as she walked over to her seat as a small black cat followed behind them.
"Smells delicious as always" the cat said, talking animals not being a surprise to him but he did find its deep voice to be quite odd - especially since it was a female.
"Yoruichi, what have we said about eating in cat form?" Kirio asked with a raised eyebrow as she stared down at the cat, getting a sigh before she turned around to face him.
"Don't worry, I know the deal" she said, a smirk clearly in her tone before she transformed in front of him with minimal smoke, trying to 'surprise' him with her naked form only to frown as she found herself fully dressed.
"Then you should also know the 'deal' about not walking around nude" Senjumaru said as she stood behind Yoruichi, a soft smirk of her own on her face as one of her skeleton hands held a small needle.
"I swear your speed with that thing is frightening" Yoruichi said with a shiver, always finding it surprising each time Senjumaru clothed her like that at speeds faster than she could even register.
"Okay, okay, there'll always be time to do that later" Ino teased, chuckling as she always found Yoruichi to be interesting given how laid back the woman was about being nude and just in general.
"So? How have things been? You miss me~?" Yoruichi teased with a smirk, draping her arms around Naruto's neck while he wrapped his arms around her waist as she looked up at him and - not so subtly - pressed her breasts against his chest.
"You were lazing about in my office with me throughout most of the day, I thought cats were supposed to be fickle?" he teased back which got a chuckle from her.
"We are but we can also be clingy, don't you know?" she said before giving him a soft kiss, knowing if she did anything more she'd be scolded again before she slipped out of his arms and sat down.
Naruto couldn't help but roll his eyes a bit with a smile on his face as Yoruichi was just as interesting as he first thought she was when they first met. To say they hit it off would be an understatement as something with them just clicked.
He wasn't sure if it was due to his personality working well with her laid back and teasing personality or potentially due to her style of fighting being akin to his but they just really clicked. Plus she found his love life to be interesting and was a constant source of 'ammo' to tease him especially when, after 80 years, she too had become a 'wife' of his even without any ceremony which he generally skipped for the most part sans for his first few wives from his home.
"So how are things going with your bankai training Hiyori? I can feel you making a bit of progress" Naruto asked with a smile as they started to enjoy their meal only to get a grumble from her.
"It's a real pain in the ass as training pisses me off and that makes my mask act up and ruins whatever progress I was making" Hiyori grumbled before Temari rubbed her back to comfort her a bit.
"She doesn't want to use Kisuke's method, preferring to do it how it normally goes - which I don't blame - but she is making progress despite her grumbling" Temari told him since she often watched over her daughter's training alongside a few others who also helped.
"You're working on something as well, aren't you?" Senjumaru asked as she looked over at him, her various other arms working on making uniforms as she ate. "I know that look in your eyes" she added before he chuckled and nodded.
"Yes I am working on something but I have to wait and see what happens as its too soon to tell" he explained though, a shared look between his wives and daughter told him that they all knew he'd eventually find himself fighting something.
"Are you going to warn Kisuke about it?" Yoruichi asked with a raised eyebrow before Naruto just chuckled as he looked over at her.
"I think he either already knows or has planned for it in case things go sour, despite how unlikely that is" he told her, getting a knowing nod from Yoruichi since they both knew that Kisuke was someone who thought up every potential outcome with things.
"Well, just try not to cause too much damage" Kirio teased, getting an eyeroll from him as the others chuckled.
From there all he had to do was wait until the various birds he used as scouts alerted him to when and where this Hollow showed up. Though, after talking with Kisuke, he was able to figure out it always showed up when it rained - unsure if it caused the rain or needed it to appear but either way it would help alert him to when it might next show up.
-A Few Days Later - Unknown Lab-
"Any good news to report?" Aizen asked as he walked in, seeing Tosen and Gin at work on one of the projects only for them to shake their heads.
"We successfully forced hollowfication in a few Hollows but the process is just too unstable to work on humans or shinigami" Tosen told him as Aizen nodded.
"Well that's all right, we've been narrowing down Shinji Hirako and that mysterious man's location and we get to conduct hollowfication experiments while we smoke them out. It's two birds with one stone" he explained to them as they both looked his way. "Be patient, everything is in the palm of our hands. Prepare to send him out again as soon as possible" he ordered, getting a nod from Tosen before he decided to leave, the two of them nodding as they prepared things for the next deployment.
'Let's see if this brings you out from wherever you are hiding' Aizen thought, his hand almost going to his chest where he had been hurt by the unknown man in the past before he stopped and left.
-Two Weeks Later - Karakura Town-
"How is the preparation for this next trip going? They've doubled up the patrols due to the deaths in Naruki City so there should be more for the sample to go after" Aizen asked before Gin brought an image of it up on the monitor.
"We are preparing the sample for deployment and are just about to send it out in Karakura Town since we don't want to draw too much attention to unknown deaths all in one city. It should be another few more kills before we recall it to ensure it doesn't draw too much attention with its slaughter" Gin explained to him before Tosen frowned.
"It's not a 'sample', please call it White. He's completely different from all the types of Hollows we created so far, the first one that we've created based on the soul of a shinigami" Tosen requested, getting a slight smirk from Aizen before he nodded.
"You are right, sorry Kaname…however calling it White even though it's completely clad in a black armor just because of his inner 'whiteness' is something I find quite ironic" Aizen said with a chuckle before he nodded, telling Gin to deploy it without a word needed.
-Karakura Town-
"It's getting overcast…that's a bad omen…" one of the shinigami patrolling Karakura Town muttered as he and his patrol partner made their rounds. "The two over in Naruki City met their maker on a rainy evening….kinda creepy…" he added before his partner rolled their eyes.
"You can stop talking now" the second said with a sigh before they stopped under a little roofed area in a nearby park.
"Should we head back? You know, in case whatever killed the others shows up due to the rain" the first asked, only getting a flat look from the second.
"Dumbass! You really wanna head back now!? We set one foot in the Soul Society and we're both looking at a demotion!" he chided with a glare, getting a sheepish look from his partner before a powerful gust of air shot at them from behind, quickly getting them to turn around to see a frightening looking Hollow mere centimeters from them - the only thing keeping it from having killed them was various golden chains restraining its two blade-like arms and going between its opened fanged jaws as a 'gag' of sorts.
-Naruto's POV-
"Personally I'd suggest you two leave now as I can't promise your safety while I fight this thing" Naruto warned the two Shinigami as he stepped out of his portal, reeling in his chains to keep the Hollow from pushing forward only to see a Cero begin to charge. "Now!" Naruto ordered before he sharply pulled back on the Hollow, causing its head to tilt back to cause the Cero to fire harmlessly up into the air.
He seriously didn't have time to argue with them as he leapt over the Hollow and swung his chains over his head, flinging the Hollow over him before slamming it down hard into the ground just as he summoned a Senkaimon and sent the two Shinigami through it with a low powered Shinra Tensei.
"You took your sweet ass time showing up, I had scouts in Naruki City and all its neighboring towns but thankfully I was able to show up here in time" Naruto told the Hollow, and now that there were no bystanders in danger, let himself see what exactly he was facing.
The Hollow itself was almost completely black with a white mask and long white hair that reached down to the middle of its back. On the sides of its head there were two long forward-pointing horns while its hollow hole, which was located in its upper chest, was red and filled in. It definitely was made for combat as it had blades for forearms.
It wasted absolutely no time before it attacked, Naruto's swords already drawn to block its attacks. He let it 'lead' the fight to get a feel for the unique looking Hollow, Naruto merely blocking its strikes as it attacked.
He was a bit surprised, and disgusted, at how much fighting it reminded him of fighting a Shinigami.
'Not sure how he'd do something like that but I really wouldn't be surprised if he somehow used a Shinigami as a base to make this thing in some way' Naruto thought as he continued to deflect and block its attacks before he started to go on the offensive.
-Aizen-
"It's that man again, seems like he was waiting for White to appear" Gin told him, Aizen watching intently as the man fought White. "He also didn't appear here through a Senkaimon, one only being opened when he sent the patrol soldiers away" he added before Aizen turned and started walking towards the door.
"I want to see this up close, get the robes. If we can get White to infect that man or even take that man down then it'll benefit us greatly" Aizen told them, his tone showing there was no room to convince him otherwise or talk him down from this.
"Of course, I was thinking the same thing" Tosen agreed as he got up to get things ready.
-Naruto-
'Damn, this thing is tougher than I expected. Even being pushed back it's fighting like a veteran Shinigami' Naruto thought with a frown before he widened his eyes and looked over to see another Shinigami running towards them.
"What are you doing!? This area is under the jurisdiction of the Thirteenth Division!" a random Shinigami yelled out, instantly getting the Hollow's attention as it sped off towards them at an incredible burst of speed with another Cero charging between its horns.
As the Cero fired Naruto grit his teeth as even with his durability this Hollow's Cero was incredibly strong so it stung a bit, his sage robe being burnt and damaged a bit after using his body to protect the random Shinigami from the Cero.
"For God's sake, if you see someone fighting a Hollow don't fucking come running over to bitch about something as pointless as fucking jurisdiction! Learn to read the room!" Naruto yelled out in a mix of anger and utter annoyance before he kicked the random Shinigami hard in the gut, sending him flying back and through another Senkaimon to get him out of the way.
"My patience isn't infinite and that just wore it out. I'm done playing so let's see how long you last now" Naruto told the Hollow as he stared it down before a sword struck him - only for Aizen to be confused as he seemingly ended up slashing through a wooden log instead.
"Got ya" Naruto said with a smile as he appeared behind where he felt Aizen's two lackeys before slamming a Rasengan into each of their backs which in turn sent them crashing hard down into the ground below. "Did you really think I couldn't sense you? Kisuke's cloaks might hide your reiatsu and appearance but it can't hide your soul or the hatred you are radiating, obviously directed at me. So how about it? Do you wanna settle your grudge or let your little toy try instead?" Naruto asked as he held out his arms with a smirk to show he was up for either or.
He could only smirk though as he felt Aizen quickly created some more distance between them, Naruto merely staring him down while he felt the two lackeys shakily get up from the large craters he sent them down into to join him. "I suggest you leave Aizen before this becomes a mess as I promise you, you won't win a fight with me" Naruto warned him before Aizen and the others removed their hoods to allow him to actually see them all rather than just sense where they were.
They somewhat had a stare down, Tosen having a look of pure rage on his face while Gin seemed neutral about things before Aizen shook his head and turned around. "Fighting you would serve no purpose, I merely tried to wound you to make the fight against White more interesting. I'm interested to see how you deal with defeating him" Aizen told him before, with a look to the two others, they left through a Senkaimon.
'Smart man, didn't want to have to fight him and those others either as that would've been a pain in the ass without releasing my swords' Naruto thought before he turned back towards the Hollow that, according to Aizen, was named White.
"Well, how patient of you to wait. Though you're probably ingrained with orders not to interfere when your master is attacking I bet," Naruto commented towards White as he sheathed one of his swords so he could wield his sword with two hands "but let's finish this, shall we?" he proposed as he coated his sword in wind chakra only for it to turn into almost a miniature tornado around his sword that only grew stronger and stronger as he rushed towards White.
"Let's see just how durable you are! Kaze no Kizu!" Naruto yelled as he swung down his sword at the last second to ensure White couldn't dodge, firing off the condensed tornado in the shape of a massive crescent moon with the explosion of air being strong enough to dispel the clouds for a few miles around them.
Thousands of years, that was how long Naruto had experimented with and trained his chakra for, getting to a point where to others he was told it looked like he was commanding the elements from nature itself. Honestly it wasn't too hard for him after sitting down and starting since when he was given Six Paths Sage Mode it came with a rather masterful grasp on chakra and the ability to comprehend it on another level than others.
Though don't ask him to explain it as, to him, it was more something he knew how to do on pure instincts.
He didn't care about having gotten caught up in the explosion of his attack that much as he could handle this much, especially given how much he was holding back to keep from damaging the world around him. Though, as the wind died down, he frowned as it seemed he held back too much as White only lost its left arm from the elbow down and its right leg from the knee down, neither of which seemed to slow it down as it charged at him again.
"Durable as hell, I'll give you that!" Naruto said with a smile, somewhat enjoying this fight as he blocked White's strike and grit his teeth as it charged up another Cero. Though, it quickly canceled it and leapt to the side to dodge an arrow made of blue energy that was aimed for its head.
The person who shot it turned out to be a high school aged girl with short brown hair and a brown school uniform that wielded a bow made out of blue energy. He had sensed her when she first arrived a bit before he fired off his Kaze no Kizu but, given he was in the middle of a fight, he didn't pay her any attention.
Now though, with that arrow, she had grabbed White's attention as he sped after her near instantly at breakneck speeds. "I'm your opponent here, don't think I'll let you get away!" Naruto yelled as he sped after him, twirling a chakra chain in each hand after sheathing his sword to get ready to bind White though it was difficult due to having to also dodge the arrows that she was firing at White to try and take him out - not that he blamed the girl.
As the girl dispelled her bow Naruto saw his window to grab him, launching his chains at White - the first binding his remaining arm while the second was able to wrap around his neck.
"Whatever you plan to do, do it now!" Naruto yelled to her as she quickly resummoned her bow and aimed it point blank at White, Naruto keeping it reeled back so it couldn't attack her while it roared at her.
She didn't need to be told twice thankfully as she fired the arrow straight through its head, the attack shattering its mask and causing serious damage before it somewhat went limp.
White, even with fatal injuries, wasn't done just yet as the red matter that was in its hollow hole quickly expanded out the back of it. Naruto instantly knew what this was and while he also knew he didn't have time to pull White away or rush to save the girl he still had one way to protect her.
He couldn't do this much outside of his shikai but, given the situation, he quickly dropped to the ground and pushed himself a bit to swap positions with the girl.
'This is gonna sting….' Naruto thought with a sigh as he braced himself just as White exploded.
"A-Are you okay!?" the girl yelled out once the explosion died down and the smoke started to fade, Naruto looking behind him from his position of being on his hands and knees to see her running his way.
"Y-Yeah I'm fine, thankfully my swapping technique keeps the original positions so my back ended up being to the explosion though I would've been fine either way" he told her as she hurried over to his side and kneeled down.
"I'm sorry for getting involved…you probably wouldn't have gotten hurt if I didn't…." she muttered as Naruto chuckled a bit and smiled over at her.
"Don't be like that, you helped finish him off quickly and how could you have known he'd explode like that?" he assured her, getting her frown to lessen up a bit before she hovered her hands over his back and started to actually heal him.
"I'll heal you, don't move" she told him as he nodded and let her do it.
Sure he had naturally quick healing but to say no when someone was offering it out of kindness was just rude.
"So Miss, who are you?" he asked her, looking over to the side only to frown at the worried look on her face due to his question. "If it helps I'll start, my name is Naruto Uzumaki - a wandering Shinigami I guess" Naruto told her with a smile, telling her a half-truth since he couldn't admit to being a Royal Guard member so openly.
"Masaki Kurosaki…I'm a….a Quincy!" she told him, her voice a bit shaky as he lifted his head and smiled at her.
"Well Masaki the Quincy, it's a pleasure to meet you. Thank you for coming to help me out like this" he said, his answer getting her to visibly relax a good bit. "I'm happy to see there are more Quincy out in the world as I seriously despise how the Soul Society treated your kind when it could've been resolved in much better ways" he muttered with a frown only to get surprised by her chuckling and see her smiling a bit.
"You are so different from how I imagined Shinigami would be" Masaki said as she continued to laugh a bit, Naruto happy to see her not scared by him anymore.
He let her continue healing him, only helping along a little bit to lessen the burden, while he silently - and without looking their way - observed the two watching them. From the similar reiatsu he figured them to also be Quincy but, given how they left, he figured they were more there to check on Masaki and ensure she was safe.
"So, what brought you out here? Were you also hunting down that thing?" Naruto asked as he sat up and plopped down cross-legged to make it easier to talk.
"Oh no, I just came cause I was worried about you. I felt some other Shinigami disappear suddenly and I was worried people were dying" Masaki told him before he shook his head.
"No one was dying, I pretty much kicked them all through a Senkaimon to get them out of the way so I could fight White" Naruto told her which got a relieved look from her as she also let out a sigh of relief.
"Were you worried about them?" he asked, getting a slight nod from her.
"It was more I acted because I wanted to help save any life I could since I couldn't just sit at home while all this happened….If someone died because my inaction I wouldn't be able to look at myself in the mirror" she told him as Naruto chuckled as he stood up and softly ruffled her hair.
"That's a nice way of living, don't lose that part of you" Naruto praised with a smile, getting a soft blush on her cheeks as she nodded before he sheathed his sword and turned to begin to leave.
"Wait!" she quickly yelled out, getting him to stop and look over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow. "W-Will I be able to see you again?" she asked, silently kicking at herself for sounding so nervous.
"Of course. Just keep your senses out for me and follow where it leads you, should bring you to a little clinic" he told her with a smile before he disappeared in a burst of speed, missing the little fist bump she did before quickly realizing she had to return home as well.
-Aizen's Lab-
"Impossible!" Tosen yelled out in frustration as he slammed his hands down on the console only to wince in pain a bit from the injuries that man gave him and Gin. "To induce self-implosion, that means it didn't just undergo hollowfication but it actually managed to achieve its final form!" Tosen ranted as he turned towards Aizen. "But that Quincy and that man! Because of them both it was a failure since White wasn't able to infect either of them!" he yelled before Aizen put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down.
"That man, Naruto Uzumaki, is an a painful thorn in our side and has once again arrived out of nowhere to ruin things but - even if we are not certain he is in Karakura Town it gives us a sense of where he at least has his focus on" Aizen pointed out as Gin sighed.
"So? What's the plan? Are we going to try and draw him out?" Gin asked before Aizen shook his head.
"No, if he can detect us with our cloaks and can do that much damage without releasing any of his three swords. We will continue our plans as they don't involve the human world for quite some time and by that point his potential involvement won't make any difference" Aizen explained to them, getting nods from both as they trusted his judgment and obeyed his decisions.
The only bothersome issue was how Naruto had somehow ended his observation a bit after White was destroyed but idle chatter wasn't what he was after so he didn't mind that much. He was able to at least learn the man's name as, until now, he hadn't been able to learn anything about the man which both frustrated him and intrigued him.
'Naruto Uzumaki….almost as frustrating as Urahara, though he shouldn't be much harder to deal with in the end if all my plans go accrodingly' Aizen thought to himself as he looked forward to putting that man in his place once everything was set in motion as what was one simple man compared to everything he had in store.
-Chapter End-
Pairing
Naruto x Sakura, Temari, Ino, Kirio, Senjumaru, Unohana, Rukia, Rangiku, Kukaku, Yoruichi, Masaki, Tier, Nel, Riruka, Mila Rose, Nemu
Maybe:
Orihime, Isane, Cirucci, Jackie, Sung-Sun, Meninas, and Ikumi
First major thing I wanna discuss/explain is Hinata - I've had a lot of people complain about not using her and - if I'm being honest - I'm not much a fan of her or NaruHina especially since that pairing was forced as Kishi even admitted he didn't have time to set it up and needed not only Neji's death to act as - in Kishi's own words - a 'Cupid moment' for the two like….wtf? And then the whole genjutsu in 'The Last Movie' that 'made him realize his feelings' when 1 - as a jinchuriki Kurama can instantly snap him out of genjutsu so that shouldn't have been a thing and 2 - when you need a genjutsu to tell you how you feel then, to me, it doesn't feel genuine.
I much more prefer NaruSaku due to the multitude of MinaKushi parallels with it but that's just me - also yeah, stop complaining about Sakura being in the harem - I like her and am not gonna budge with her whatsoever as it is MY story
In the end I will NOT add Hinata to the pairing and I ask you to stop pestering about her or else I might have to go the route of a friend of mine and threaten to do something in regard to her lol
Another thing I wanna explain to clear up confusion with his swords as I had people go "Why have swords with those powers when he still has them?" and it's more that the swords allow him to use all the powers of the Shinju while without them he only has access to a very small number of them like Shinra Tensei as one example PLUS the 'non-sword versions' are much weaker than the versions you will see with the sword later on in the fic. As shown he can 'push' to use the 'heavier' skills but even then its not something he can do much given the power is all in his sword you know?
One big thing I also feel the need to explain is about Hiyori being Naruto's daughter. The way I went about things is that I figured, being married and living for thousands of years, he'd have kids with his wives.
I plan for some of them to be Bleach characters like Hiyori and I have a few in mind from other animes but I worry that might feel weird so please – alongside your actual review please – let me know what you think about me potentially using people from other anime as his kids (though please don't suggest characters to use)
In regards to the time skips I only do that to speed things along as otherwise there wouldn't be much going on before canon you know? I'm going to do one more time skip at the start of the next chapter and that'll be it as that'll bring me to the start of canon.
But yeah, this chapter had a lot happen that is causing ripples in the flow of how things are supposed to go you know? Masaki being the biggest ripple but I do have a lot of changes for how things are already planned out so I hope you all look forward to seeing them
Other than that I can't think of anything else I need to mention in here
**Attention!**
I have officially started a discord server for my writing that anyone can join!
If you wish to join drop me a PM and I'll give you the link or you can ask alongside your review and I'll give it to you. Originally I was just gonna have the link here but that could be a tad bit dangerous if a troll got it or if someone I have blocked got it lol
Keep in mind people have access to channels with stuff equivalent to the tiers they are pledged to. BUT, even if you aren't pledged you have access to all the basic stuff of the server :)
I would like to remind everyone I do have a pat reon which includes rewards like seeing progress updates, notifications to new stories I plan to do, voting polls, and early access to chapters before I post them on FF.
Simple go to pat reon and paste:
/user?u=4783680
At the end of pat reon's url and you'll find my page.
You don't get anything that everyone here won't get aka there will be no "pat reon exclusive stories" or things where I have to get a certain amount of money before I work on something as both of those are shitty practices.
It is solely "hey, you want to support me, a disabled unemployed writer who survives off my disability checks? Thanks, I appreciate it" and nothing more
So yeah, check it out if you want :)
I hope you all liked it
Until Next Time
Rate and Review
Buh-Bye!