Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

Author's note: This chapter has been severely edited after 24.04.2016. It would almost count as a rewrite, but the other chapters stayed mostly the same, with the exception of writing mistakes, fixed grammar issues and making it easier to read. This is the only chapter with anything meaningful added to it since its original release.


Chapter 3 - Family:

Naruto sighed as he dropped the still unconscious Quincy onto a nearby sofa. That had been close. Awfully close.

He did not want to fight someone with that kind of aura. Not yet. Not in his current state. It had been ages since he had felt anything like it.

The golden glow of Kurama's Chakra Mode faded as Naruto looked around the room. A red carpet with European architecture and a brick fireplace gave the place a safe and familiar feel to the blond immortal. The cozy surroundings bellied its lonely existence. There hadn't been anyone here for decades.

The nearest door slammed open as the inhabitants reacted to his unintentional energy leakage. Well… not until a few days ago anyways.

"Uzumaki-kun? Ishida-kun?" Inoue Orihime exclaimed. Behind her was the calm silhouette of Sado Yasutora.

Naruto smiled at the pair. "Hi Hime-chan. Chad. How are you holding up?"

Chad grunted. Naruto hoped that was a positive response.

Orihime beamed. "After you came and knocked out that rude Shinigami, I've been just fine. I healed Chad's wounds. It wasn't that bad, but at least it was something I could do." Naruto frowned at the negative connotation at the end. She didn't think she'd been able to do anything? She wasn't actually supposed to do anything either, but she didn't know that. So far, no one had truly needed her extensive healing abilities. Fortunately, or unfortunately, that had just changed.

"You could heal Ishida. He is in pretty bad shape." He said almost absentmindedly.

The bubbly girl immediately focused on her classmate. She was already calling up her powers as she ran to his side. "Ayame! Shun'o! Soten Kisshun! I Reject!" The two fairies immediately flew towards the wounded Quincy, beginning to heal his broken and mistreated body. Naruto studied the phenomenon for a moment before turning to the second person that entered the room.

"So, you're fully recovered now?" The blond asked curiously.

The half-Mexican nodded. "Orihime is very good at healing."

Naruto grinned as he looked back at the girl and her patient.

"I can take you to Ichigo if you want. He's training right now. But I bet seeing you will lighten some of the weight hanging over him." Naruto suggested.

Chad was silent for a moment, seemingly turning the proposition over in his head. "If my presence can help him, then yes. Please take me to him." Naruto nodded, not having expected anything else.

The shinobi molded his chakra. Tapping into nature's energy, his senses reached through the world, towards the beacon burning in a dimension not so distant from this one. He grabbed the tall teen's arm just as he found it. In less time than it took light to move a planck length, they were standing on a boulder overlooking Kisuke and Yoruichi's training ground.

Naruto started. Something wasn't right here.

Thanks to Kurama, his basic sensing abilities had unintentionally gone up a few notches. And they were telling him there was someone else here. Someone that hadn't been here when he left. The stranger didn't exactly try to hide his presence though, so Yoruichi must have known. Naruto kept that in mind as he escorted the large high-school student over to Ichigo's training place.

As they walked, Naruto looked for Yoruichi. She was surprisingly difficult to sense, even if she didn't try to hide. Stealth must have become a habit by now.

The purple haired beauty looked up as they came within a few feet. She didn't seem surprised. The blond shinobi was sure she had sensed them the moment they materialized on the plateau. She looked over at them, but said nothing as she let them pass.

"Oy, wonderboy! Break time! There's someone you probably want to meet." Naruto shouted as the materialized form of Zangetsu slammed its wielder through a series of rocks.

Ichigo staggered to his feet as blood ran down his face and body. He looked almost dead on his feet. Even so, his complexion lit up when he saw whom Naruto was talking about. Zangetsu stopped his attack, tilting his head back in what seemed like… bliss?

"Chad!" Ichigo shouted as he Flash Stepped towards them.

Naruto left the two friends alone and made his way over to the woman that was technically his employer. "So, what did I miss?" He asked.

Yoruichi was silent for a moment, studying him with a degree of intensity he hadn't seen from her yet. He pretended not to notice, deciding to wait patiently for an answer. "Oh, nothing much." She said after a while. "Renji showed up a little while ago. He's training for Bankai over there. Apparently he wants to rescue Rukia as well."

"Renji?" Naruto muttered as he scrunched his face together. He normally had a very good memory, but things he didn't deem worthy to remember took a little while to dig up. Eventually, the face of a red haired Shinigami lieutenant entered his mind. That was the guy Ichigo had defeated before he fought Kenpachi.

"Oh, him!" Naruto exclaimed. The rest of the fight came to him a second later, among everything else he knew about the Shinigami officer. He had been one of the two to capture Rukia in the first place, and now he wanted to rescue her? Naruto smiled. The world was complicated. A change of heart was more than welcome. "How did he find us?" He asked, honestly perplexed. He hadn't felt anything from this place while he was in Sage Mode, not that he had tried very hard mind you.

"I don't know. He said he knew that Ichigo would be here." Yoruichi shrugged. The blond could hear the frustration in her voice. She had been counting on this place being safe. Someone finding it, even if it had been an ally, had to be both embarrassing and worrying.

"Inoue and Ishida are safe. I should probably head back to them soon. If you need me, just throw the knife." He said, giving the woman one of his Hiraishin Kunai. Someone might have inquired about the decision to give a purple-haired cat lady a tool for instantly summoning him anywhere. Not Naruto though.

The ex-captain studied the object for a moment, taking note of the intricate seal formula etched onto its handle. She was silent for a moment, contemplating her next words.

"What… was that, Naruto?" She eventually asked. The mercenary decided not to go around the question. He didn't like it when others did it to him, and he knew perfectly well what the Shihoin princess was asking.

The blond didn't say anything for a while. Watching as Ichigo resumed his training. Chad sat down, observing as his friend trained.

"You know what it was, Yoruichi. I tend to make a lot of racket when I fight." The use of her real name accentuated his words and lent them a weight they wouldn't otherwise have had.

She sighed and leaned back on her hands. She guessed she shouldn't have been that surprised. Not after the story he'd shown her. Still, that was far more power than she ever would have guessed. He might actually be able to pull off his mission at this rate.

"And that… other feeling?" She asked. Naruto simply drew up his shirt and showed her the mostly closed seal on his stomach.

Yoruichi blinked. "I see."

And that was the end of that.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Naruto stood up again. He checked up on Chad and Ichigo before he took a brief glance at the red-haired intruder. He left quickly however. Some types of training was one of the most personal things a warrior could undergo. Things you would rather release your browsing history publically than reveal to others. It would be the height of rudeness to spy on him like that.

After he finished his visit to an exhausted Hanataro and a bandaged Ganju, Naruto disappeared into thin air. The golden glow of his eyes seemed to linger after he was gone.


Naruto appeared on a familiar stretch of land. Hundreds of buildings lay before him, all in various states of decay. Some were nothing more than rubble, not even recognizable as buildings. Others were better preserved, with only parts broken off and plants growing over them. A mountain edged its way over the horizon, making the reddening sun disappear earlier than it should. Six faces decorated the cliff as they overlooked the broken ruins of Konohagakure no Sato.

The faces of the six Hokage that had ruled the ancient village were in pristine condition, possibly even better than they had been at the height of Konoha's prosperity.

The living legend walked through the streets of his old home, eventually passing through a district that looked like people might come out of the houses at any moment. The buildings didn't seem to belong though. They were a mix between several different architectures from all over the world and all ages. They seemed newly built. Still, there were no people. There was no one inhabiting the inviting households. The only signs of life were rodents and other small animals that had somehow found their way into the abandoned city.

The blond eventually found the house he was looking for. The building was of modern western architecture. Something you might find walking outside the large cities of Britain, France, or Europe in general. He could have teleported directly to it, but sue him, if he wanted to go on a nostalgia trip, that's what he was going to do.

Naruto walked in without knocking, eventually ending up in the same room Ishida was resting in. Inoue had fallen asleep as well, resting her head on her classmate's stomach. Poor girl, she had to be exhausted.

Tucking her up in his arms, Naruto carried the teen into another room, laying her in an already prepared bed. After readying her for a relaxing night, Naruto swept her hair out of her eyes, smiling as she yawned. "Sweet dreams, Hime-chan." He said softly, turning off the lights and walking out.

Five minutes later, he collapsed face first into his own bed, wishing for nothing more than the embrace of sleep. His chakra may still have been at full capacity, but his body had gone through what was essentially death and rebirth. Before he could disappear into sweet, sweet unconsciousness, there was still one more thing to do. Something his new – or old, depending on how you look at it – resident was more than happy to remind him about.

"I have waited long enough. Tell me what's going on."

Naruto groaned into his elbow. He stared into the ceiling as he debated how to go about telling such a story. In the end, he just decided to be lazy about it.

The next second, Naruto was standing in front of the fully formed body of the nine-tailed demon fox. The iron gates that had once hindered the demon from escaping were gone. Nothing but their friendship was restricting Kurama from tearing his mind and body apart.

"Fine, come with me then. It'll be easier to just show you."

Turning around, he walked into the collection of pipes and tunnels that had forever stayed a defining feature of his subconscious. Kurama huffed irritably before following his host.

As he crossed the line between Naruto's inner world and the seal, the Bijuu's form shifted. Rather, he shrank. Kurama's size reduced until he wasn't much larger than a normal fox. Neither human nor Bijuu commented on the change.

They walked side by side as they continued down the increasingly complex puzzle of pipes and tunnels. Naruto seemed to know exactly where they were going, although Kurama could have sworn the setup was different from the last time he was here. Eventually, the duo ended up before a lake of reflective liquid. It was almost like a mirror, sending back any light that touched its surface.

They were standing in a large underground cavern. As with everywhere else, it was illuminated, but the light didn't come from any discernable source. A few meters away from them lay a blonde girl. She was sleeping on the cold stones as if it was the most natural thing in the world. It might have been weird, but both Naruto and Kurama had seen far stranger things.

"She's still around? Why haven't you thrown her out yet?" Kurama asked, cocking his head towards the sleeping female.

Naruto groaned, dragging his palm across his face. "I don't know. She says she likes it here, but all she ever does is sleep anyway. She's much worse than you ever were."

Walking over to the sleeping human, Naruto bent down, studying her face for any signs of awareness. As usual, he found nothing. "Hey, Ino. Wake up!" The shout reverberated through the underground chamber, loud enough to shake the entire world to its foundations.

The Yamanaka only groaned and turned over. "Five more years." She mumbled, only half-conscious.

In response, Naruto rolled her over into the nearby lake. A few seconds later, the young woman burst out of the liquid, dripping wet from head to toe. "What the hell, Naruto! You know I have trouble waking-"

Muffled snickers interrupted her as Naruto tried his best to keep from laughing his ass off. Even Kurama grinned humorously.

"You have slept long enough, and I may need your help soon. You would never have reacted to anything less." Naruto said, his eyes still laughing. The blonde girl huffed and crossed her arms in irritation as she glared up the pair.

Ino jumped out of the water and landed beside the fox and Naruto, her clothes instantly dried as she willed them to do so. Living in a world of thought and dreams did have its perks. "So… how long have I been sleeping, Goldie-kun? Miss me much?" She teased. Her natural friendliness instantly overcame her indignation of being tossed into a lake.

Naruto's eyes lit up with their usual shine as he looked over one of his oldest friends. It had been a while since he last saw her. A bit weird since she was literally living inside him. "246 years, 3 months and 1 day. And yes, Ino-chan, of course I missed you."

Ino's yawn broke her attempt to smile, so instead she pulled him into a tight embrace. "Hmm... I wouldn't have said no to a decade more, but if you need me, then of course I'll help." Ino chirped.

"Oh spare me." Kurama complained with no real heat.

Instead of taking offense, Ino smiled at him as well. Long since used to the Bijuu's gruff attitude. "And you're here as well, Kurama? How long has it been since I saw you last? If Naruto needs us both, then this is something big isn't it?"

The demon jumped out of the way as Ino tried to catch him in a hug. "I came visiting about a century ago, if you were sleeping, too bad for you. Those were some pretty fun fights."

The Yamanaka pouted. "Well, that's good for you then. What about now? What do you need help with?"

Both she and Kurama looked at Naruto, waiting for him to fill them in on the situation."Honestly, it's quite complicated. That's why I brought you here." The blond shinobi told them.

"The lake of memories…" Ino commented absentmindedly, taking notice of her surroundings for the first time since waking. "Wait… This wasn't where I fell asleep! And this place was in a much nicer shape last time. What happened to all the trees?"

Naruto cocked his head to one side, trying to recall how his mindscape had looked two and a half centuries ago. A stream of water fell from the walls and the blond snapped his fingers. "The forest is still at the surface, but I had a couple of incidents with some mindwalkers, so I decided to move it underground. At least until you woke up.

Concern flickered across Ino's face. "Wait, someone broke into your mind, and you didn't wake me? That's why I'm here." She complained, scowling darkly at Naruto in a way that eerily reminded him of Sakura or Tsunade after he tried to leave the hospital too early.

Naruto scratched his neck, a little uncomfortable with the scrutiny she was putting him under. "That was a long time ago, and I figured you needed the rest. It wasn't anything serious."

"Enough of this petty small talk, I felt the energy signature approach us as well as you did Naruto. You need to tell us what's going on. We can exchange pleasantries later." Kurama interrupted them.

Instead of answering, Naruto only nodded.

The owner of the mindscape held out a hand. The lake shook. Before them, a wave of water built and built until it towered over all three of them. The wave was suspended in motion, water sloshing up and down, but it never fell. Not until Naruto pulled his hand towards himself.

The tsunami washed over the three living entities. As the liquid embraced them, scenes and memories flooded their minds. Naruto relived the last two months in near perfect detail, whereas Ino and Kurama got a shallower overview of the story, only seeing a carefully selected set of memories.

It wasn't out of distrust or any form of confidentiality, it was simply a matter practicality. Naruto already had all the memories. Reliving them didn't take very long compared to experiencing them for the first time. There were also a whole lot of details that wasn't very important to the overall situation.

The water eventually settled and the wave retreated, leaving surprisingly dry stone behind. Kurama looked thoughtful as he processed the new information. Ino, on the other hand, was grinning like someone had just told her the greatest piece of gossip in two centuries.

Naruto shivered as he realized that was exactly what he'd done.

"Don't…" He started slowly.

Ino instantly overrode any feeble protests he might have had, and squealed like the gossip queen she considered herself to be. "You're in love! Oh my god, just wait till' I tell the others about this. Amate will be furious!"

Naruto sighed heavily. There was no stopping her now, he should have known as much before showing her the memories of Yoruichi. "Please, Ino-chan. Ama-chan has had a lot of boyfriends as well. That's what happens when you're immortal. In fact, I think she has one right now, if not several." At least he tried to defend himself.

The excited glint in Ino's eyes refused to die down, and Naruto had to fight down another round of shivers.

"She. Won't. Care." The Yamanaka chirped happily. All too pleased with herself.

"Then what was that monster of an energy signature a little while ago? When can we fight it?" Kurama asked excitedly, nine tails swishing behind him. He was obviously ignoring Naruto and Ino's previous conversation.

The blond warrior grinned as well. The prospect of such a battle was stirring something deep within him. "I'm not entirely sure, but based on what I've heard from Urahara and Yoruichi, that was the Captain Commander. We're not really supposed to fight him, but maybe we can find the time. If not immediately, then maybe in a few years."

Kurama grunted. It wasn't every day they found someone that strong. Even if it wasn't ideal, he could wait a few more years for a battle like that. What was time to him anyway?

Ino silently mouthed the name 'Yoruichi' rolling it around in her mouth. Everything else seemed completely trivial to her. As if the possibility of an entire world being destroyed was nothing compared to Naruto's love life. Or even potential love life.

"And she's so beautiful as well! Smooth curves, big breasts, and that skin!" Naruto colored slightly as Ino continued to pick apart his memories.

"Ino, please. We haven't done anything yet. We haven't even kissed."

The newly awakened kunoichi looked at him as if he was an idiot. "You saw her naked. You gave her a massage, both in the nude. And it was all on HER request. What more do you need?"

"So this Aizen, what do you know about him? Is he strong?"

Naruto frowned as he answered the fox. "I don't know actually. I haven't met him. He has convinced everyone that he's dead through some kind of illusion. It's a really powerful illusion as well. I couldn't dispel it."

A low rumbling sound emerged from the ancient demon. It took a moment for Naruto to realize he was snarling. "Illusions. I hate illusions."

The immortal shinobi sighed. "You're not the only one. But as long as you stay here, he can't get to you." The obvious distaste in Kurama's eyes didn't disappear, but it did lose some of its intensity.

"You have to let me meet her Naruto! I could tell her so many embarrassing stories about you! It'll be hilarious! Oh, and can I be your best man? Or maybe best lady? Bah, I don't care! This is going to be so great! God I can't wait to tell the others."

Naruto decided to ignore Ino for a moment. It was hard enough to keep two conversations going at once, and right now he was more tired than he could remember being in a long time. "Sure, sure, Ino-chan. Now, I think I'll take a nap. You two behave. Remember this is my mind you're in. I don't want to wake up a vegetable."

Seemingly offended by the notion, Ino puffed her chest up. She blew a strand of hair out of her face in an obviously irritated fashion. "Who do you think you're talking to? It's my job to ensure that doesn't happen. Other than you, I know your inner world better than anyone. And Kurama here is about as threatening as a teddy bear. Isn't that right, little Kyuubi-chan?" Ino exclaimed, tossing herself over the red-furred fox.

Several disproportionately strong tails kept her at bay as Kurama sighed. "By the Sage. I forgot how obnoxious you are woman. I want to sleep as well. Wasn't it you who didn't want to wake up for another five years?"

Listening to his two friends bicker back and forth, Naruto receded from his mindscape. He soon found himself lying in the comfortable bed of his house. He was asleep before his eyes had fully closed.


Inoue Orihime woke to the smell of newly made eggs and bacon. Her mouth watered and her stomach rumbled. She hadn't eaten anything that tasty since they left the Shiba compound a few days ago.

It took her a moment to remember where she was, but when she did, she jumped out of her bed. Frowning to herself, Orihime looked over at the furniture. She was certain she hadn't slept in a bed. Somehow, she also felt completely refreshed. Like one night's rest was enough to wash away all the stress of the previous days.

Yawning loudly, Orihime took a moment to look around. She had been sleeping on a very permanent and comfortable bed. Beside her was a night table in a wood type she didn't recognize. The entire place had a foreign feel to it. Not old like the Seireitei. Just… foreign.

She found a new set of clothes nearby, which was good, because she had somehow lost the ones she had been wearing. She tried not to think about what Tatsuki would do to the person who had put her to sleep, male or female. As she dragged her feet out of her temporary room, the smell of food intensified tenfold. Her stomach growled loudly, making its desire very clear.

"Hey there, Hime-chan! You hungry? I have breakfast ready." Naruto's cheerful voice reached her over the frizzling meat on the frying pan. Ishida sat by a table a few feet away from the kitchen corner, consuming his own breakfast with badly disguised enthusiasm.

Inoue stopped when she saw the sheer amount of food Naruto had prepared. It was almost as if he expected an entire platoon to come visit.

She didn't complain though. Her mind was already hard at work trying to figure out exciting new mixes she could try. "Thank you, Uzumaki-kun. Do you have any pasta?"

Naruto was silent for a moment as he looked over the hoard of food he had prepared. There was no pasta. "Naruto is fine…" He said absentmindedly. "And, no. Apparently, I have not made any pasta. But be assured. I will rectify this horrible sin at once."

Then he disappeared. A blond blur flew around the kitchen almost faster than the eye could track. When it settled down, the water was already boiling and the pasta was well on its way to being finished.

The orange haired girl sat down beside the still eating Ishida. He looked much better than he had yesterday. Which was good, considering the fact that he had been lacking liters of blood and almost lost an arm. "How are you feeling Ishida-kun?" Inoue asked seriously, a concerned frown marring her features.

The Quincy looked up at her with a half-eaten piece of toast dangling from his mouth. He quickly put down the bread and pushed up his glasses, trying to look as stylish as possible. "I'm good. Thank you. I can't even feel my injuries anymore. It's like they were never there."

Naruto dumped down on the other side of the table, pasta and bacon at the ready.

"That's because they weren't." The blond commented. As he spoke, the blond shinobi picked out several pieces of food and stacked them on top of each other. It quickly became apparent whom most of the food was intended for.

Ishida furrowed his brows as his glasses glinted. "I'm afraid I don't understand, Uzumaki-san. My wounds clearly happened. I should know, as they were my injuries."

Naruto shook his head as he swallowed a grown man's breakfast in a second. "That's not what I meant. Orihime's healing ability literally makes it so the injury never happened. At least as far as your body is concerned. She negates the very event of you gaining those injuries in the first place, it is far more than simply healing."

The genius archer looked over at his classmate. The bubbly girl blushed under the attention. She didn't think her powers were that amazing. Sure, she could heal. Apparently pretty well, according to Yoruichi and Naruto, but she couldn't do much more than that. And even so, she couldn't…

"So that means…?" Uryuu trailed off, not wanting to get his hopes up.

Naruto smiled as if he already knew what the teen was thinking. "Yes. She could." The blond confirmed.

Ishida's eyes widened behind his glasses. He was staring at the girl with amazement, as if seeing her for the first time in his life.

Orihime became even more uncomfortable as she squirmed under the focused gaze of someone who had just beaten a captain. She didn't even know what they were talking about. Do what? What could she do?

Sensing her confusion, Naruto decided to clear it up a bit. "Hime-chan, did you feel anything weird when healing Ishida yesterday?" He asked with a gentle voice. His blue eyes sparkled with excitement and curiosity. He almost felt like Urahara awaiting the result of one of his precious experiments.

"I…" She began, looking uncertainly towards the young Quincy. Ishida nodded, allowing her to continue.

"His power is gone." She said simply.

Uryuu twitched.

Naruto nodded once. "Indeed. He sacrificed his powers for a chance to beat a superior enemy. Someone who had done him great harm. Yet he still allowed his enemy to survive. Consciously or unconsciously."

Ishida looked down at that, not wanting to be reminded of his failure.

"Heal him, Inoue Orihime." Naruto's voice was commanding. It was kind, yet strict at the same time. It made no room for argument. No room for protest. You did what he asked, and you did it willingly.

Inoue swallowed. "I… I can't…"

"You can."

His voice sounded so sure, so incredibly certain. As if the can or can't issue wasn't an issue at all.

"Your power is not something that's limited by the type of injury. Physical, spiritual or mental. In fact, it's not limited by anything but yourself. If you think you can heal him, then you can." The words shook the young girl to her core. Her hairpins vibrated in silent agreement, giving credence to Naruto's words. "Never tell yourself you cannot do something, Inoue Orihime." The blond finished with a smile that could have put the stars to shame.

Orihime flushed once more, looking down at her clenched fists. "O-okay. I-I'll try."

"No. You'll do it."

She could hear the blood rushing in her veins, responding to his challenge. This was her first big test. Her first big obstacle. If she could do this, she could really make a difference.

"Ayame! Shun'o!" The two fairies materialized before her, giving her encouraging nods. They already knew what they were supposed to do. "Soten Kisshun!" Her reiatsu stretched to the limit as she poured as much spiritual energy as she could into the two fairies. "I Reject!" The words had never meant so much before. She did reject. She rejected her own uselessness. She rejected the weakness in herself. She rejected Ishida's lack of powers. He was strong, and as long as she had anything to say about it, he would stay that way. The glowing membrane of her healing technique quickly encompassed her friend's body, giving of an ethereal glow as the fairies used their magic.

She could feel everything inside that membrane like a sixth sense, or seventh – counting the reiatsu feely stuff. It had been difficult at first, but during her week of training, it had become almost second nature. The cuts and wounds from yesterday were already gone, as was the residual poison in his system. Any other minor scars or wounds had also been removed. Physically he was as in top shape. But underneath that was another type of injury. One she hadn't been able to remove yesterday.

The flow of reiatsu that every living being had was almost gone. Or not gone exactly. Blocked off. Like someone had put a plug in the bottom of a lake. Only a slight trickle of power came through the self-imposed block. It was enough to perceive the supernatural, but little else. The power was still there, a lot of it. It just wasn't accessible.

Taking a deep breath, Inoue willed the block to disappear. It was slow going. It didn't want to go, and it fought her every step of the way. It wasn't easy, and she used up a lot of energy. But eventually, ever so slowly, it began to give.

At first, nothing happened, so she continued to drag and push at the block. As the minutes dragged on, they moved to sit in the middle of the room, giving both healer and patient some space to work with.

Ishida grunted. The teen fell forward as he panted heavily. Sweat ran down his face and his complexion contorted in pain.

Suddenly, Naruto was by her side, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Undo what you did. His reiatsu has sealed itself off for a reason. If it's opened, it will kill him."

Orihime looked horrified. "B-but you said-!" Naruto smiled calmly at her. Despite the circumstances, the young girl felt herself relax.

"I said to heal him, to give him his power back. You can do that in other ways, but for now, you have to undo what you did before he burns up from the inside."

Not waiting any further, Orihime held out her hands again. Ayama and Shun'o immediately reestablished the healing barrier. Focusing all her concentration on that single wish, she willed the seal back into existence. Orihime was relieved to notice it was a lot easier than removing it. Ishida's reiatsu was even helping her. She barely had to do anything.

As the seal reestablished itself, Uryuu sat up again. Sweat still rolled down his face, yet he seemed to be relaxing.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" The eccentric girl asked, biting her lip in worry.

"Inoue." Ishida's voice cut off her resurfacing doubts as she looked over at him. "I came here willing to give my life. This is no different. I will easily give my life for a chance to regain my powers."

Naruto snorted, shaking his head in amusement. "Youth and their melodrama. No one needs to die today. Simply restore his powers, Hime-chan. That's all."

Scrunching her brows together, she put all her doubt into one word. "How?"

Naruto chuckled to himself as if sharing in some secret joke. "Simply do it. There's no other answer you need." When Orihime still didn't react, Naruto sighed.

"What did you do right now?" He asked patiently.

"Ah… I tried to remove the seal on his powers." Orihime answered. She felt there was something there. Something she should know, but couldn't quite put her finger on.

"Right, that's your problem. Why would you want to do that?"

"Eh?"

The blond held back a sigh. With powers like these, the only limit was the users themselves. "You want to give him his powers back right? So why don't you do that?"

A picture of Ishida with flowing white clothing and the special blue glove appeared before her inner eye. That was what she had to do, right? Give him his powers back.

Ok. She could do that.

Nodding once, Inoue turned her focus back on her patient. She was already tired, but she bit her teeth together and focused her will, calling up all of her remaining reiryoku.

"Ayame! Shun'o! Soten Kisshun! I Reject!" This time the process went faster and more efficiently than before. Now she knew exactly what she wanted to do, and the fairies wasted no time getting to work.

Reality warped and changed.

Slowly, another reiatsu signature appeared in the room. Ishida's signature. His clothes also began to change. The stylish white of a Quincy battle uniform replaced the common civilian clothing he had been wearing, completely erasing the previous material from existence. In addition, the blue shape of the Sanrei Glove also reconstructed itself from nothing. Pieces of the legendary item entering reality as a fifteen-year-old girl willed it to do so.

"Without the glove please." Naruto added in the middle of the process.

Orihime hesitated only for a moment before nodding. The glove disappeared as if it was never there to begin with. When she was finished, Ishida sat before her, looking intently at his arms and down his body.

The blue shine of Uryuu's reiatsu burst around him as he stood up. Smiling like crazy, the usually reserved archer was now very vocal at exclaiming his enthusiasm. He laughed. Spinning around in place as bursts of spiritual power emerged all around him. Uryuu laughed like someone who had seen a friend returned to life. The white clad Quincy embraced Orihime in a tight hug that threatened to break her ribs.

"Ow, ow, ow." She squeaked feebly. Still, she couldn't stop smiling. She had done it! She had truly done it!

Pulling away from her, Uryuu beamed down at the reality-bender. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! I cannot say that enough. You have saved more than my life here, Orihime. You have saved my life's purpose." The smile he gave her made everything worth it several times over.

"I couldn't have done it without Naruto." She said. Her face practically burning with embarrassment at all the praise he was giving her.

"Pfft… nonsense. You did that entirely on your own." The blond shinobi insisted.

"B-but I…"

Naruto would have none of it. "Hime-chan, if you can't take credit for your own work, then you will never recognize your own abilities." The orange haired girl nodded, although she still looked like she wanted to protest.

"Still, she has a point. I must thank you as well, Uzumaki-san. If for nothing else, then for the advice you gave her." Ishida responded, speaking oddly formal. Naruto nodded in recognition, if not agreement. He was at least recognizing that they wanted to give him some of the credit.

"But no matter what he did to help, it was you who restored my powers, Orihime. For that, you have my eternal gratitude." When Orihime tried to respond, Ishida held out a hand, silencing her before she could even begin. "For something like this, my pride demands repayment. It is only logical that I give what you restored in the first place."

Then the archer went down to one knee.

For an absurd moment, Inoue thought he was going to propose. The thought almost made her giggle.

Instead, he bowed his head and summoned a blue longbow made of reishi. The same bow he used before the entire ordeal with Soul Society, although it looked far more solid now than before. "I, Ishida Uryuu, swear on my pride as a Quincy, that can I, either dead or alive protect you, Inoue Orihime. I will. You have my bow." The energy weapon flashed once then disappeared as Ishida finished his vow.

Orihime was silent. What could she say? 'Thank you' seemed like far too small a response for something like this.

Naruto smiled as he watched the two youths interact. That had gone well. His smile dimmed a bit as he reiterated the list of things he had to do today.

During the night, a new set of memories had returned to him. It told him Rukia's date of execution had been moved. Again.

Someone was desperate to get their plan underway, it seemed.


A few hours later Naruto was sitting beside Yoruichi, both were looking down at the orange-haired teenager trying to achieve Bankai. Renji had left a little while ago. In return, everyone in the original group was gathered here, in addition to a nervous fourth division officer.

Orihime had healed Ichigo's wounds a few hours ago. And as a result, both Ichigo and Zangetsu had stepped up their game. The two pieces of the same soul were flashing across the training ground in impressing displays of Shunpo. A technique Ichigo had mastered in a very short amount of time. Mastered was perhaps a strong word. Yoruichi would probably call it adequate.

Naruto had precious little attention to pay to wonderboy's training however. He had more than enough with the blonde pervert shouting inside his head. "Just kiss her already! It would be so romantic. Time's almost up. The story will be twice as juicy with something substantial backing it." Naruto held back a growl. Ino could be really persistent when she wanted to, but with this, she had precious little right to anything.

"Something the matter, Naruto? You've been making faces all day…" Yoruichi asked curiously. With people like him, you never knew when you got to the bottom of their quirks.

Naruto looked over at her and staggered backwards as Ino actually tried to wrestle control of his body away from him. Quickly activating his mental defenses, the immortal shinobi managed to throw her into the old seal Kurama used to be in. Without a second of hesitation, he pressed a palm to his stomach and twisted. The gates – which hadn't been closed for god knows how long – materialized and slammed in front of the highly indignant kunoichi.

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow as Naruto breathed a sigh of relief.

The blond smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "It's nothing, just… girl problems." A response that did nothing to alleviate any curiosity or answer any questions whatsoever.

"O…k…?" The shapeshifter said as she shifted her attention back to the struggling Shinigami-human hybrid.


Rukia took a deep breath to steady herself. The flaming form of the Sokyoku hovered before her, preparing to disintegrate her soul.

A silent tear fell from her cheek.

After everything was said and done, she would die anyway. At least the Soutaicho had agreed to honor her request.

The words of the cheerful blond rang hollow in her ears. 'Wouldn't let her die'? Ridiculous. How could he decide something like that?

Her life flashed before her eyes as the flaming phoenix approached.

Renji, Nii-sama, Ukitake-taicho, Kaien-dono… Ichigo.

She closed her eyes, waiting for the end.

It never came.

When she finally opened her eyes, they shot up in disbelief. Before her stood Ichigo, holding back the power of a million Zanpakuto.


As Byakuya and Ichigo began their fated duel, Naruto silently contemplated the situation.

The head captain had disappeared a few minutes ago, and the blond was sorely tempted to follow him. This was an opportunity he didn't think would present itself again, at least not so readily. Despite that, he stayed where he was. He was no stronger now than yesterday. And he had a mission to complete. A very important mission. He would just have to endure Kurama's protests.

In the meantime, he couldn't help but be impressed at the match happening right in front of him. Ichigo's Bankai was impressive. There was no other way to put it. The teenager had just achieved it, yet it still allowed him to go toe to toe with one of the captains of Soul Society.

He could feel there was more where that came from as well.

A lot more.

Sage Mode was an invaluable ability. When he first learned it, he barely even understood what it was. Never mind what it allowed him to do. The sensory abilities of a Sage had saved him time and time again. It allowed him to pinpoint the exact location of the strongest and weakest beings in an enormous area, as well as read a multitude of character traits from energy signature alone. Their current emotional state for instance. Something made even easier by Kurama's inherent affinity for that ability. When fully utilized, it was like looking at a specter of emotions surrounding everyone. Thoughts and feelings lay bare before him.

With nothing anyone could do to stop it.

It was a massive invasion of privacy. That was the main reason Naruto wasn't a passive sensor. He could still feel spectacularly strong people though – something that seemed to be in abundance amongst the Shinigami.

Unless they hid their presence, Naruto would know approximately where they were anyways. He did not need, nor want, to know what they were thinking. He did not want to know what kind of person they were, and who they once had been. Such information was strictly confidential and he wouldn't seek it out unless there were no other option open for him. Lives came before privacy though, and he had long since found a way to activate Sage Mode instantly and indefinitely.

The sensing prowess of a Sage went so deep that if he looked close enough, he could feel what someone could become. He could feel their potential, both as a self-aware soul, and a fighter. He could feel their current strength, as well as the inborn power of every being around him.

Byakuya had been very hard to pinpoint at first, but it became easier and easier once Naruto got a better feel for both his character and fighting ability. The noble captain was still young. Despite his prodigious talents and fighting prowess, he had a lot more to go on. The noble was still only scratching the surface of what he was capable of. In contrast, people like Yamamoto, Ukitake and Shunsui had already realized almost all of their inherent potential and were pushing the limits of what a Shinigami could do.

Ichigo though… That kid stood in another class from everyone else.

The most prominent piece of information Naruto got when trying to discern the teen's potential was that he had a lot of it. The blond could feel the incredible amount of energy that was just waiting to be let out of the boy's soul.

Yet that wasn't all.

Like many other warriors, including Shinigami, Ichigo had layers of power stacked inside himself. Almost like an onion. But Ichigo had a lot more layers than anyone Naruto had ever met.

The kid had just begun to scratch the surface of Shikai before he broke straight through to Bankai, unlocking a whole other layer in the process. A layer he had barely dipped his toes into. Yet still there was more. Another level even after the final release. Not truly part of his Shinigami abilities, but dependent on it nonetheless.

He had other sources of power as well. Based on what Urahara had told him, one of those was undoubtedly because of his mother. Still more though... Always more. Trying to discern his potential was like looking at the sun and judging its size.

Still, all of that barely even registered in Naruto's list of priorities at the moment. Almost all his attention was fixed on the pink-haired woman currently healing her fellow lieutenants. Like the others, Ichigo had knocked her down in one hit. Unlike the others, she had picked herself up almost immediately afterwards. In addition to her, Naruto had also registered another disturbingly familiar signature. It was currently running together with the tenth division captain somewhere in the middle of the city. He already had a shadow clone checking it out. The anticipation was too much.

Naruto swallowed heavily as the fourth division captain called upon her sword. Both she and Sakura took to the air, taking the wounded officers with them. The blond raised his hand feebly in a useless attempt at… something.

The captain and her vice-captain disappeared over the edge of the cliff.

Naruto's hand shook involuntarily as it dropped limply to his side. Both Kurama and Ino were silent. Kurama out of respect, and Ino because she was as overwhelmed as he was.

He had hoped he could find some of his lost friends here… but... Sakura? He had almost given up hope that he would ever see her again. The reincarnation cycle was complicated at the best of times, and seemed to act randomly unless set into a system by beings capable of manipulating it.

But finding Sakura in what was essentially the same body he remembered her in, and after all these years. It was… almost inconceivable. What were the chances? Then his shadow clone reported that the other signature was indeed who he thought it was.

Ino's breath hitched.

Not only had they found one of her best friends from her childhood. They had found two. Naruto struggled with himself. He wanted to see them, to make them remember who they had been. To shake them until they remembered him.

He knew it wasn't that easy though.

They had new lives now, and it was doubtful they had even a shred of memory from the era of shinobi. Not to mention his mission was still hanging over him. He had not moved for the prospect of another legendary battle, he would not move for this either.

No. They would have more than enough time once this was over. No matter how it ended.

A black sphere of reiatsu emerged when Byakuya called upon another ability of his Bankai, and Naruto lost any visibility he may have had over the battle. Not that it mattered much. He could feel much more than he could see.

He could also feel several huge signatures engaging in combat all around him. The Soutaicho was truly a terrifying opponent. He could almost feel his skin burning from all the way over here. And Yoruichi had also pulled out one of her own trump cards. That was one incredibly dense energy structure. It almost rivaled his Rasenshuriken.

Naruto hissed as his shadow clone popped.

That had been entirely unexpected. He didn't even know who had done it, or how it had happened for that matter. Then the energy signatures that had been exploring the central 46's chambers began to disappear. He almost burst into full speed mode once he felt the same thing happen to Shikamaru. Ino shouted in alarm, but Naruto somehow managed to calm her. Sakura and Unohana were there now. As long as they were alive, the duo could heal the others. Still… It was really frustrating to do nothing.

Focusing back at his pupil's fight for a moment, he saw the black bubble breaking apart. Light and darkness surged against each other. Byakuya and Ichigo clashed in a final blow worthy of a ballad. The pair exchanged some words before the noble captain departed in a surprisingly controlled Flash Step. He had to have one foot in the grave by now, yet he still managed to maintain all the elegance of a noble.

Que victory shout.

Naruto felt a proud smile etch its way onto his face. Ichigo was unlike any student he had ever had.

Ishida appeared beside his rival as the orange haired boy collapsed. He was carrying Orihime, who at once started healing her crush. Naruto remembered the plan they had made before everything. It was very basic, but that was probably the reason it had even tiny chance of succeeding. Once Renji got ahold of Rukia, the gang had split. Some went with the redhead to defend them from attackers, and some stayed behind to help Ichigo should they find the opportunity.

So here they were. Three mortal teenager in the heart of Soul Society, having just rescued a prisoner from certain death. Beside the healing, they weren't doing much. Only talking and following their friends' reiatsu signature.

Naruto was quite happy with the plan they had come up with. Even if it was risky, stupid, and incredibly arrogant. The idea was a reaction to Ichigo's enormous reserves and lack of control. Any decent Shinigami could pinpoint him almost immediately at this point. So they decided to leave Ichigo at Sokyoku as bait for those chasing Rukia. In order to fight, he had taken Ishida as backup and Inoue as a healer. Once Rukia was out of the Seireitei, Naruto could supposedly teleport her to safety, quickly followed by the speedsters that were Ichigo and Uryuu.

Naruto felt almost bad for lying.

Still, for the sake of Urahara's 'grand plan', he had agreed to do it. It wasn't like shinobi had some ridiculous rule like 'thou shalt not lie' or something. Really, the Abrahamic religions went a little extreme on that one.

Suddenly, Renji's reiatsu fluctuated. Naruto felt the vibrations of gravity as space-time warped. Two white spinning ribbons appearing out nowhere quickly followed the sensation. In an instant, seven more people were standing on Sokyoku hill. Ganju, Hanataro, Renji, Chad and Rukia. They were all looking around in confusion, all their running having been rendered naught in an instant. A stoic Kaname Tousen, a grinning Ichimaru Gin and a calmly smiling Aizen Sousuke were among them.

"Attention everyone! Captains, vice-captains, seated officers and the Ryoka. This is vice-captain Haruno Sakura of the fourth division speaking. This is an emergency transmission carried out under the authority of Captain Unohana Retsu of the fourth division, and myself. Please listen carefully. Everything I'm about to tell you is true."

Naruto nearly missed what she said next. Too enraptured by a voice he hadn't heard in ages.

When Sakura finished, Aizen's betrayal was clear as day. He had manipulated everyone like a puppeteer with his puppets. Playing with people's minds and emotions like a particularly cruel child tearing off butterfly wings. During Sakura's recounting of everything Aizen had done, Naruto could feel his emotions surging. This person… It was like Madara all over again.

Except this man had immortality given to him on a silver platter, while Madara had to incorporate it into his plans.

Naruto's chakra built up inside him. Both his and Kurama's fusing seamlessly. Still, he kept it tightly controlled inside himself. Not yet, wait just a little longer. The next seconds passed like a dream. Aizen revealed how he had fooled them all, and what he had done. And he did it all with the same calm smile stretching his face. Throughout his speech, several different people attacked him. Everyone had exactly the same amount of success.

None whatsoever.

They couldn't touch him. Both Ichigo and an enraged Komamura's Bankai were stopped with nothing but the traitor's bare hands.

Naruto bid his time. Soon.

The brown-haired captain eventually got his hands on Rukia. Everyone else was lying on the ground in various states of consciousness. Even Ichigo and Ishida's speed having been naught before the monster. Ichigo screamed as Aizen pierced the weakened Shinigami with a hand covered in green scales. Absently, Naruto noted it seemed somewhat similar to Mokuton.

"And it leaves recipient's body intact. What a wonderful technique. Urahara Kisuke truly is a genius." Aizen commented, studying the object in his hand. The perfectly geometrically shaped crystal emitted a weak light. The dark sphere in the middle seemed to suck in the very fabric of the universe. If you looked for long enough, you could lose yourself in its depth.

Now!

A high-pitched shrieking sound emerged from nowhere as a four-armed orb of wind and chakra descended on the traitorous captain. At the same time, Naruto appeared beside Rukia, teleporting her out of harm's way. The captain didn't seem surprised. Instead, he only shook his head in amusement.

Just before the attack hit, the traitor disappeared in a display of Shunpo that put Yoruichi's to shame.

Once he moved, Naruto disappeared as well. He caught the Rasenshuriken as if it was a normal baseball, preparing to fire it again at a moment's notice. Naruto's Hiraishin had been perfectly planned. Once Aizen came out of his expertly performed Flash Step, he was centimeters away from a ball of super-condensed air and energy.

The world exploded in white. Wind blades small enough to cut through the body on a cellular level encased the traitor. Everything was quiet for a moment as those present tried to catch a glimpse inside the cloud of dust. Only Gin seemed to be unaffected by the display. Still smiling in his usually unnerving manner.

As the dust settled, Aizen emerged without a scratch. Even the dirt seemed to have completely ignored him. The same infuriating smirk was still coating his mouth. "Ah, Uzumaki Naruto. Leader of the Elementals. I was wondering if you'd show up."

Naruto narrowed his eyes. No effect? Did he just tank a Rasenshuriken head on? "What… The hell?" He could hear Ino's disbelieving voice in the back of his mind. Not very different from his own, actually.

Much like Byakuya, it was exceedingly difficult to get a read on this new enemy, but there was something… more to it this time. The difference lay in the core of their character. The stuck-up noble had shut himself off from the world, while Aizen had lived by deception. It was part of his very being. He had played the role of a caring leader for hundreds of years and never been exposed. His soul's power was literally to fool people.

Even so, Naruto knew he was strong. Terribly strong.

"I was sent here with a very specific mission." Naruto started. Flexing his chakra coils in preparation for plan B.

The smile on Aizen's face didn't disappear. "To kill me. Correct?"

Naruto nodded. Golden eyes shone with power as the blond studied his opponent. "I don't usually take assassination missions. And those I do take, I always judge individually. Life is precious, and shouldn't be wasted so easily."

Aizen fully faced him then. He seemed mildly interested in what the blond mercenary had to say.

"But you are a special case. Your ambition is too high. Your powers too dangerous. The consequences… disastrous." The immortal said.

Naruto's chakra flowed through him, preparing to teleport him to any location he wished at the slightest hint of movement. A few days ago he had filled the entire hill with invisible seal markings, most of which belonged to the Hiraishin. On top of that, Sage Mode would allow him to react before most could even decide to do anythi-

Badum.

Naruto felt a warm liquid run down his stomach. The world seemed to shatter into a thousand pieces as his nerves caught up to reality.

Badum.

The ground fell towards him as he saw his legs topple the other way.

Badum.

Aizen had cut him in half.

Badum!

"Hmm, at least I finished it this time. A shame it should end like this. A mercenary like you has no place in a war between gods." Aizen commented, still calm and condescending. "You may be strong for a human, but that is all you are. Human. Your body is held back by the physical limitations of matter. You cannot react faster than your nerves can register signals. Your skin cannot withstand the swing of a Soul Reaper's sword. While your energy might rival a captain's, it is of no use when your body is inferior." Emotionless brown eyes stared down at him as Naruto's world began to darken.

Badum!

"Naruto!" Someone shouted just as Yoruichi appeared beside him, her face white as a sheet.

The blond shinobi noticed Byakuya had also reappeared. He stood protectively over Rukia like the big brother he was supposed to have been from the start.

The second division Captain had also appeared besides him and Yoruichi. Her back turned to them as she faced Aizen.

Badum!

Naruto clenched his fist around a rock lying beside him. It crumbled to dust in his grip. The blond could feel the sting of truth behind the crazy man's words. He had hit the same barrier multiple times before, but it had never been so glaringly obvious.

Badum!

Sousuke Aizen. He had thought of him as just another Shinigami. Somewhat stronger than the previous two, but still measurable at the same level.

Badum!

No. Aizen was as much a death god as Madara had been a shinobi. As Hashirama had been a shinobi. As Naruto was a shinobi.

Badum!

Time pressed on unceasingly. The conversation continued, and the other captains eventually arrived. Naruto couldn't hear them.

Badum!

There was some noise farther down in the Seireitei, but it stopped soon after Kukaku and Jidanbou decided to pay them a visit. Naruto couldn't hear it.

Badum!

Yoruichi said something to him. Naruto couldn't hear her.

Badum!

He could hear nothing but his own heartbeat.

BADUM!

Had Naruto been the human Aizen thought he was. He would have died. Good thing he wasn't fully human anymore.

BADUM!

A spiral of energy embraced him as red yoki fell over him in wave of power. The demonic chakra lifted him into the air. Both parts of him.

Yoruichi jumped back as she aborted the healing kido she had started. Her expression changed from surprise to shock as she witnessed Naruto healing himself from something that would have been fatal for practically anyone else.

Naruto's eyes were forced into their Rinnegan state as his chakra exploded outwards. His power continued to build and build until it reached a level where no one but the three oldest Shinigami present could remember its equal. It was an amount of energy Soul Society hadn't felt since the first Quincy fought the Captain Commander one thousand years ago.

Strings of chakra stretched between Naruto's upper and lower half, dragging them back together as his life-force did what it had done for millennia. "Don't patronize me, Aizen!" Naruto shouted. His voice had taken on a double tint as Kurama's Chakra Mode engulfed him. The golden haori and flaming hair whipped around him as the wind picked up. The atmospheric distortion being created purely by Naruto's own presence.

A second later, his chakra became visible to the human eye. A golden glow grew around him, blooming like a flower during spring. The blond was standing in the center of his own fountain of light, his body wreathed in holy fire. The energy spread out, covering everything like a warm blanket. This wasn't reiatsu though. It was chakra. It wasn't oppressive. It didn't push people down. It was simply there, washing over everything and becoming part of the world.

Two steely purple orbs pulsed with power. Naruto took a deep breath as six chakra arms emerged from the cloak around him. Two spirals of incredibly dense energy were brought into the world. The same keening sound from a Rasenshuriken was there at the start, but as the technique's energy continued to grow, so did the pitch of the sound, soon exceeding that of human hearing.

The pressure in the air shifted again as the jutsu completed. It spiraled around the blond, creating a mini-tornado with Naruto at the center. Two eight-armed Rasenshuriken was spinning at both his sides. The condensed nature of the orbs made them appear completely white. They were painful to look at, as the photons emitted from the intense rotation of gases made it look more like a fire technique than wind manipulation.

At the same time, Naruto's original hands had gone through a long set of hand-signs. Fingers flying at inhuman speed. It ended with his palms folded like in prayer. The air burned and twisted with energy even more intense than before. "Gedou: Keshin no Ryuu!" (Outer Path: Soul Dragon)

Three ethereal dragons emerged from behind the legendary shinobi, each one with glowing, unnatural eyes. Their bodies emitted an unearthly purplish shine, somehow transparent, yet not. The dragons curled around the light Naruto was producing, feeding on it with an almost eager intensity. The chakra the blond was letting off cracked the ground. Quakes rippled through the execution grounds, and subsequently most of the Seireitei.

For the first time since Naruto had seen him, Aizen wasn't smiling.

Naruto's eyes flashed with determination as he threw the two incredibly powerful wind techniques. The three soul dragons sprang forward with an earth shattering roar, their eyes glowing hungrily.

Then pillars of light descended from the sky. They encompassed the three traitors right before the orbs of compressed wind found their target. The two Super Rasenshuriken hit the wall between dimensions and shattered into a million pieces. The explosion rocked the world, destroying every particle of dust that was within their reach, down to the very bonds that connected individual packets of reshi.

The three dragons proceeded unhindered of the energy outburst, their immaterial form passing straight through the explosions without a problem. They snaked their way around the newly created column of light, trying to press themselves into another dimension.

The negation beam did not give.

"Seize your pointless struggle, Uzumaki Naruto. Aizen is out of our reach." Yamamoto Genryusai commanded. His voice brooking no argument.

After a moment of hesitation Naruto let his hands fall. They were clenched into fists by his side. The flaming form of Kurama's Chakra Cloak vanished, although his chakra still hung in air, dissipating slowly. The shinobi grit his teeth in frustration.

Powerlessness was not a feeling he felt often.

Aizen's smile returned full force. "It seems I have underestimated you, Ryoka. No matter, my plans proceed unhindered. There's just one more pawn to take into account." Despite his words, the traitor's gaze was calculating. Yet his eyes still only revealed smugness and complete control.

"Hollows! How far have you fallen Aizen? What is your purpose? What are you trying to accomplish?!" Ukitake shouted at him. Shouts and protests of similar natures went up from the crowd around them. All addressed to the three departing Shinigami.

Aizen smiled condescendingly down at them. "To go higher." He said simply.

Naruto swore under his breath. This definitely sounded like a crazy man alright. As far as he was concerned, one world-conquering maniac was one too many.

"No one starts at the top of this world. Not you, not me, not our little mercenary here. Not even the gods…" As he talked, Aizen took off his glasses and smoothed back his hair. "But the unbearable vacancy of heaven's throne is over. From now on, I will be sitting on it."

Naruto shifted his stance, his mind going through the thousands of techniques he knew for anything that might help him here. Aizen was dangerous, far more dangerous than he would have believed. He needed to stop him. He needed to stop him now.

"Good bye, Shinigami. Good bye, Ryoka. For humans, you are really interesting." Aizen finished. His appearance having gone through a drastic change from two simple actions.

When he dropped his façade, he had been a traitor. He had been a man that had fooled everyone. Strong? Yes. But not much more threatening than what everyone there, save the youngsters, had dealt with before.

Now he was a being impossible to ignore.

His eyes bore none of their previous kindness. Those orbs showed an intellect even the greatest minds of the world would be hard pressed to match. They showed power and authority rivaling an entire plane of existence. An existence he had just declared war on.

Aizen was not a renegade captain. He was not a simple rebel who refused to confer to the laws of his homeland. Aizen Sousuke was a being with the determination and motivation to lay waste to everything. He would not stop until the world was as he wished it would be. He would not stop until he held all realms of existence in the palm of his hand.

No. Not even then…

Before the Garganta could close, Naruto took a deep breath and reignited his golden chakra. The familiar haori manifested itself behind him. Purple eyes shone as the legend thrust his hands upwards. The outermost ring of the Rinnegan thickened as he called upon his eyes' power.

"BANSHO TEN'IN!" His voice shook with effort as the sound of it resounded through the relative quiet after Aizen's speech.

Shinra Tensei with a fraction of the energy had enough power to obliterate a city. A tenth of the power could level a mountain. This was a force so undeniable even the gods would bend to it.

Among the four forces of nature, gravity was the only one that was not bound by the limit of dimensions. It made it effectively weaker than the other forces, but right now, Naruto couldn't help but be thankful for that fact.

The pillars of dimensional separation warped and twisted as gravity denied them the right to exist. The Garganta swelled to ridiculous propositions and the noh-men inside the void staggered. In the back of his mind Naruto could hear something tearing. Even so, he continued. Aizen had to go down. Now. Before he had the chance to begin whatever scheme he had planned.

Cracks began appearing in the Hollow technique. The negation was fracturing. They weren't the only thing that began to crack, however. The sky above the Seireitei began to give away as wounds in reality opened to the blackness between spaces.

"STOP!" The voice of the Captain Commander wasn't just authoritative, it was furious.

Naruto looked over at Yamamoto, his mind instantly beginning to reevaluate the situation. He could break the negation technique right now, smashing the barrier around the Seireitei in the process. Not to mention wreaking all manner of havoc on the balance between Soul Society and Hueco Mundo. But would it be worth it?

Naruto thought so, but apparently the Captain Commander did not. The Soutaicho of the Gotei 13 had already drawn his sword, and although it wasn't explicitly pointing at Naruto, it was a clear enough message.

The blond shinobi hesitated just a moment longer before letting go of his technique.

Instantly, the Garganta snapped back in place and the cracks in the sky began to heal themselves. The negation beams disappeared and Aizen was truly out of their reach.


Hitsugaya Toshiro was diligently working his way through a mountain of paperwork.

After the Ryoka invasion and Aizen's betrayal, the Seireitei had been in an uproar. This naturally meant more paperwork. It did not help matters that both his vice-captain and third seat were renowned for their laziness. At least Nara was disciplined enough to do his own share, if only barely. He never went above the minimum amount required though.

Toshiro cracked his neck to one side. The injuries Aizen had given him still weren't completely healed. Thanks to Unohana, he got away without any lasting injuries, but he had gotten strict instructions about taking it easy for at least a week. The tenth division captain sighed as he put down his pen.

The same could not be said about Momo.

Hinamori hadn't woken up yet. She was well on her way to full physical recovery, but how she would react to the current situation, Toshiro didn't know.

Several loud crashes and swearing erupted outside the shoji doors, making the ice user's eyebrow twitch in irritation. Oh, and Uzumaki had apparently decided to use his division as a personal playground. Opening the doors with a flourish, Toshiro scowled at everyone and anyone dumb enough to disturb his work.

Then he had to stop and blink as his brain tried to process what he was seeing. A toad the size of a horse, and twice as wide, was chasing a giggling and possibly drunk Matsumoto. Uzumaki was sitting atop it and cursing up a storm as he tried in vain to get the animal under control.

The eccentric vice-captain turned around and stuck her tongue out towards the amphibian, before jumping through a hole in the wall that had certainly not been there a few hours ago.

Nara was observing this with a mix of bewilderment and resignation. He was lying on his back, having been either awakened from a nap, or trying to take one despite all the racket.

Matsumoto giggled with a light blush as she Flash Stepped away from the deceptively fast toad. Finally, the blond shinobi had had enough. With a hand sign and a surge of energy, the toad disappeared in a burst of smoke.

The vice-captain was left pouting a few feet away, not pleased that her entertainment had escaped to another dimension. "Moh, You're no fun Uzumaki-san. It's not my fault your toads don't like me."

Naruto developed a dangerous tick mark as he tried to build up his anger. He had been experimenting a bit with his summoning in order to avoid Kurama's situation with someone who was not as… immortal.

It was a good thing he remembered the feeling of passing through Kisuke's reshi converter. It was a lot harder than he'd thought. It took him the better part of a day to recreate the effects, and that was with outside help and clones.

Still, nothing about that had anything to do with how angry he was at the pair of very large… personalities… yeah. That sounded about right.

"It is your fault if you deliberately antagonize them." He said instead, forcing his eyes not to look down. "Honestly? Who steals sake from toads? Don't you know they take their drinks very seriously?" He looked pointedly at the almost empty cup of alcoholic beverage. At least Matsumoto wasn't a light drinker. Sake from Mt. Myoboku was not light under any definition of the word.

"Matsumoto." Toshiro growled, an icy feeling settling over the area.

The lieutenant froze – figuratively – and looked over at her captain, paling slightly at the sight. Even Shikamaru seemed uneasy, shifting sideways as he scanned his surroundings for possible escape routes.

Only Naruto was unperturbed as he trotted casually over to the tenth division captain and tussled his hair. "That's a scary glare you have there, Toshiro. Be careful so you don't develop wrinkles. They're never a good sign on children."

Everyone in the immediate vicinity stopped what they were doing and stared wide-eyed at the soon to be dead shinobi.


Naruto was silent as he observed the other people called to the meeting. It had been several hours since he had been forced to flee from the tenth division, three dozen ice dragons fast on his heels.

Appraising the officers summoned here, Naruto would admit at being impressed.

There was a lot of power in this room.

How long had it been since he had found himself in a similar situation? Centuries, certainly. It was refreshing to visit an unfamiliar pantheon with strength rivaling his own. Who could have guessed the Shinigami got this strong? The ones he had seen in the living world couldn't even reach the toes of these monsters.

The same could be said about shinobi as well, but there weren't usually this large a difference.

The captains of the Gotei were in an entirely different league than the rest of their forces. Some of their lieutenants were the only people that could even measure themselves on the same scale. And those were few and far between.

At the front of the room stood the Captain Commander, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto. The old man radiated authority with every fiber of his being. Looking at him, Naruto knew he couldn't afford to make this man into an enemy. No matter who was the stronger of the two, their battle would inevitably end in tragedy. That didn't mean he didn't want to fight the old man though. His fingers were itching to draw a weapon against such an opponent. Yet now was not the time. In a few years, perhaps, when they had established a form of trust. Maybe then, he could ask him for a spar.

One of the captains that seemed to be especially interested in him was Zaraki Kenpachi. Naruto had only seen the end of his battle with Ichigo, but from what he had heard. It had taken a long while before strawberry had even been able to cut him. The man was looking at him with an intense glint in his eyes. Barely contained killing intent permeated the room.

The twelfth division captain was also looking at him with a hungry expression. It reminded Naruto far too much of Orochimaru for his liking.

Although the snake summoner had mellowed out slightly as the years went on, he was still far too excited about his research. As if the idea of morals being a restriction was something the Sannin couldn't grasp properly. Although he still followed Naruto's orders and regulations, or at least the blond hoped he did.

With a few exception, the other captains in the room looked at him with a sort of wary interest. One such exception was Toshiro, who only wore an expression of resigned exasperation.

Another was Soifon, who looked like she was trying to stab him with her glare. Naruto winked at her, causing the stealth commander to somehow scowl even harder.

Letting his eyes drift over the room again, his attention landed again on Sakura. She was standing behind Unohana, her face a mask of professionalism and neutrality.

"Uzumaki Naruto." The voice of the Captain Commander drew everyone's attention to him. "As one of the Ryoka that invaded Seireitei, you have broken our laws and incurred the wrath of the Gotei 13." The old man started.

Naruto stayed silent.

"As a living human, you entered the afterlife, all the while meaning to go directly against our laws. You fought our forces when they attempted to restrain you. And you threatened to break the dimensional borders between Soul Society, the Living World and Hueco Mundo, possibly causing untold damage between all three realms." Yamamoto continued.

Naruto nodded once. That sounded about right.

Several of the people in the room – mostly lieutenants – looked uneasy. Despite the majority of the Gotei 13's military power being concentrated in this very room. They didn't seem at all confident. Inwardly, Naruto laughed at them. One show of might and they get this shaken up? Granted, he hadn't used that much power since he last fought a planeswalker, so it was somewhat understandable.

"Despite this, you helped to uncover the machinations of Aizen Sousuke. And you are still a living human and thus not under authority of the afterlife. As Soul Society is now under martial law, I have decided to let your previous transgressions pass." The old man finished.

Not to mention it would be terribly inconvenient, dangerous and wasteful for you to attack me now. Naruto mentally added. On the surface he only smiled his usual smile. He wondered where Yoruichi was. He'd thought she would be with him at this meeting, but the cat-lady had disappeared hours ago. Either she was far outside the Seireitei, or in one of those sekiseki covered places, because Naruto couldn't find her. Even with Sage Mode. Traitor. He thought glumly.

"That does not mean we will be so forgiving again." Yamamoto said. Naruto nodded gracefully in perfect understanding. "Now, we have a few questions to ask you. I will let my fellow captains open first, before I ask my own." The old commander continued.

Almost before he had finished, the captain that reminded Naruto of Orochimaru stepped forth. His mind soon supplied him with a name and background information. Kurotsuchi Mayuri, captain of the twelfth division and the one Ishida had sacrificed his powers to beat.

"Uzumaki, you have some of the most peculiar reiryoku composition we have ever detected. Not only does it not resemble anything we have seen before, but it also consists of several distinct reiatsu patterns of varying strength, something that should be impossible. How?" The researcher asked. The light in his eyes was eager. He didn't seem at all bothered by the potential privacy breach such a question might pose.

Naruto hummed. "Well, I doubt you have ever come across a being like me before, so an unfamiliar signature is to be expected. As for the multiple patterns… that's probably because my soul contains more than just myself."

That got a reaction.

Some shifted uncertainly while others looked more directly at him. The atmosphere in the room seemed to grow both colder and hotter at the same time. Several of the current warriors shifted their hands towards their weapons. Only Kenpachi and Kurotsuchi seemed undisturbed.

"I see. How did this come to pass? Other beings who consume souls usually incorporate them into their own, yet your divided reiatsu suggests a more separated fusion. Symbiosis? Parasitism? " The twelfth division captain mused, interest sparking in his eyes.

Naruto shrugged, not at all bothered by the oppressive atmosphere. "Sort of. I don't really consume souls. I just allow visitors. They can leave if they want to." Kurama snickered.

"But I like it here, Goldie-kun. It's warm." Ino pouted. It wasn't the first time Naruto had tried to convince her to go outside, but despite the occasional excursion, she rarely left his mindscape. And even then, it was only for a few days at a time.

The mood seemed to improve after Naruto's admission. Most were still uneasy, however. Consuming souls were far too similar to their sworn enemies.

"Hmm… I would like to examine this phenomenon further. Do you mind visiting the twelfth division later?" Mayuri asked, the eager light in his eyes intensifying. Several of the captains appeared uncomfortable at this request. Some even glared at the scientist. No one said anything though.

The blond shinobi cocked his head to one side, thinking the proposition over. "Maybe some other time? After the current crisis perhaps." No. He wouldn't give himself away as a test subject. He had better things to do with his time. Hopefully an arm or two would be enough. After Aizen was dealt with he would most likely have a much better relationship with the Gotei 13, and they probably wouldn't use what they found against him.

Kurotsuchi seemed disappointed, but before he could respond, another captain stepped forward.

"Are you stronger than Ichigo?" Zaraki Kenpachi asked. His smile was even more deranged than the resident mad scientist's.

Naruto blinked before he returned the expression. Even if he couldn't fight the Captain Commander yet, that didn't mean he couldn't play with the other captains. "Yes."

Kenpachi seemed satisfied at that, stepping back and letting the other captains have their turn. He still sent Naruto that slightly insane look from time to time.

The next to speak was Ukitake. "If it's not too personal a question, do you mind telling us how and when you became immortal? In addition, how your immortality works. As the guardians of the afterlife, such things are important to us." He seemed almost desperate to be polite and cordial, trying to place the Gotei in a better light than their resident psychos had managed. Naruto wasn't particularly bothered though. He had seen much worse.

Scratching his head, Naruto thought the question over before deciding on an appropriately vague answer. "I became immortal thanks to a bunch of factors. First is the fact that my family has always had an exceedingly strong life force, often living over a century without problems. And even amongst them, my reincarnations always had the strongest chakra of them all. Most likely because the trait originated from my first father, the Sage of The Six Paths."

This also procured a great deal of reactions from the room, but less aggressive than last time. "Reincarnations?" Ukitake asked, his voice sounding both curious and wary at the same time.

"My first name, as far as I can remember, was Ashura Otsutsuki. Son of Hagoromo Otsutsuki, the first wielder of the Rinnegan." Naruto answered.

Although the names didn't strike any chords among the assembled death gods, Byakuya's eyes widened a fraction. Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Combine this with some special circumstances of my birth, and I was born with the ability to instantly heal from almost any injury. Although it took a few years for this power to fully mature." Inside his head, he could hear Kurama snort. Special circumstances, yeah…

Continuing with his explanation, Naruto let his eyes shift to gold. "Sometime during my early years, I learned to tap into the energy of the world. Something that helped bolster my already impressive life force." He then let his aura flow. He didn't push it, releasing only enough to show how natural energy changed his own signature. "Then I acquired the Rinnegan." Naruto smiled as most of the Shinigami balked at the unusual dojutsu. Although he did agree that they were a bit imposing.

"I died a few times. Shit happened, and voila, my life force now replenishes itself." The blond finished, letting his exceedingly exotic eye color fade back to blue.

Ukitake seemed taken aback, not quite sure how to respond to that. Neither did the other captains, with the exceptions of Kurotsuchi who seemed even more desperate to do his experiments, and Hitsugaya, who seemed to want to hit his head against the nearest wall. "That's not an explanation, Uzumaki." The ice user grit through his teeth. Apparently, 'shit happened' was not a good enough explanation for the boy genius.

Naruto only shrugged. "It is the explanation you could most easily comprehend. My chakra ended up in an infinite loop without killing me. And that somehow made me immortal."

Toshiro sighed, giving up trying to understand a phenomenon with a type of energy he had no experience in.

"So I won't die of old age. My body and chakra have instantly rejected any poison or illness I have ever come across, and I have an overpowered healing factor keeping me from dying even if some megalomaniac manages to cut me in half." He finished, causing several people to wince at the memory.

Yamamoto's eyes opened slightly. It did not escape him that Uzumaki had refrained from stating his age. He was also withholding information. It was questionable how important it was, however.

Sakura was blinking rapidly, trying to stave off the headache that only seemed to be building the longer this meeting went on. She was here as vice-captain of the fourth division. It would not do to collapse in the middle of such an important meeting.

After a few more minutes of a Q and A that only seemed to deteriorate the longer it went on, Yamamoto asked his own question. "When you fought Kaname and Komamura-taicho, you summoned an entity of unknown origins. A demon, if I am not mistaken. It called itself 'The Nine-Tails, mightiest of the Bijuu'. Tell me, what are the Bijuu? What are their powers? Can you also summon the others? Are you certain these creatures can be trusted?"

Naruto tilted his head slightly. He was silent for a few seconds before he answered. "Why don't you ask him yourself? He wants to meet you as well, Captain Commander."

The golden chakra cloak they were quickly becoming familiar with burst into existence around Naruto. Transforming the blond from what seemed to be a young man into something that looked more like an ethereal spirit. His energy was nowhere near as overwhelming as it had been on Sokyoku Hill, nor did it approach his first real battle in the Seireitei.

Naruto seemed to be relaxing. If this ascended state took any effort to uphold, he didn't show it. If it hadn't been for the infinite ocean of energy lurking just under the surface, he might have been mistaken for someone around the level of a middle ranked seated officer. Although only the more experienced warriors in the room could actually feel the mass of reiatsu he was holding back, everyone could tell there was something more about his powers. It was too dense. Too concentrated.

Despite Naruto's posture not having changed at all, or the Captain Commander not moving an inch, several of the younger officers crouched into ready stances.

Naruto beamed at them.

Then another form emerged from Naruto's aura. A foxlike creature with nine tails swishing behind it. It was gold and seethrough with black markings spiraling along its body and tails.

It looked very little like the bubbly mass of red malice Komamura had described. In fact, this being emitted the same comfortable warmth Naruto always spread around.

Not that such a thing was unheard of. With a few exceptions, a manifested Zanpakuto spirit had almost exactly same reiatsu signature as its wielder, making it hard to differentiate between the two based solely on reiatsu sense.

The fox looked around the room before its gaze settled on Yamamoto. Thankfully, he was not his true size, or things might have become awkward. "Greetings, Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Captain Commander of the Gotei. I am Kurama, the Nine-Tailed fox. Eldest of the Bijuu." Most of the Shinigami in the room looked surprised that the small creature had such a deep voice. "The Bijuu are nine entities of nature that once existed as a single being. The Sage then separated us and gave us each a name and a number of tails from one to nine, correlating to our power." Beside him, Naruto rolled his eyes. Even after all these years, Kurama would not let that go. It was hard enough to make his mythical siblings get along without Kurama spouting about tails and power superiority every chance he got.

"I am the strongest, but each of my siblings has enough power to crush countries." The demon smirked as he looked straight at Yamamoto. How a golden construct of energy could remind someone of Kenpachi would still be discussed even decades later. "If you wish to test our power, I am more than willing to provide you with a demonstration."

The Captain Commander didn't visibly react, only silently studying the creature in front of him.

"Jeez, Kurama! We are supposed to be friendly! Not spur them to a fight." Naruto complained, swatting the mystical being over the head. The Bijuu turned and growled. But it was far less intimidating than the front he had presented just a few seconds ago. Some of the lieutenants looked relieved.

"If that is all. Then we are done." Yamamoto declared hitting the concealed form of Ryujin Jakka against the floor. The sound was unnaturally loud. "Everyone who is not a captain, leave now." The old man ordered.

Naruto smiled and bowed as Kurama's form merged with his golden aura again. Kurama's Chakra Mode dissipated as the blond shinobi left the first division's barracks together with a bunch of nervous lieutenants.


Nara Shikamaru relaxed as he watched the clouds overhead drifting harmlessly past.

The last few days had been complete chaos. Finally they were back to normal, or mostly normal, at least. The Guard Squads was down three captains. Not an insignificant loss, especially because they couldn't be easily replaced. "If you hadn't been such a lazypants, it wouldn't have been such a big problem!" The voice of his companion almost shouted in his head. Shikamaru ignored it with practiced ease. Times weren't that desperate yet. He could stay where he was without risking everything breaking apart.

"Nice clouds?"

Shikamaru tensed at the question. He hadn't sensed anyone approaching. Turning his head slowly, he relaxed a bit when he saw who it was. "Mhm, there are some really nice ones on the northwestern horizon." He comment airily, too lazy to point.

The blond laughed like he knew exactly what he was thinking. "Yeah, I think so too. One of them looks like a person." Naruto said, laying down beside him, curling his hands behind his head as he looked up at the sky.

Shikamaru frowned. He just couldn't figure the guy out. The blond was strong enough to beat two captains on his own, something which had led to numerous meetings between him and the Captain Commander. He was a leader for his own group of soldiers and had close ties to the other Ryoka he had entered the Seireitei with. So why did the blond spend his time bothering a nobody like him?

Maybe not bothering, Shikamaru amended. To be honest, he actually enjoyed the company. Naruto seemed to be a laid-back individual, always cheerful and positive. And… there was also something else. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Why are you here? Your companions left yesterday, didn't you follow them?" Shikamaru asked. He was curious. Sakura had been one of the people seeing them off. She had clearly mentioned that Naruto had gone with them.

"Ehehe." Naruto laughed nervously, scratching his nose absentmindedly. "Well, don't tell anyone, but that teleportation ability of mine works across dimensions, it's just a little more difficult."

Shikamaru's eyes widened. That was an incredibly valuable piece of information. How could Naruto expect him not to tell his captain? "Uhu, I don't suppose you could give me a summation of your military power in the process. You know, just for curiosities sake." Shikamaru drawled.

He had meant it as a joke, but when Naruto took out a notebook and pen from nowhere, the black haired man straightened from his normally lazy position. "Oy, oy, oy. Do you realize what you're doing?" The third seat demanded. His voice was a bit higher than normal.

The blond immortal shrugged, apparently not very bothered by the situation. "Consider it a sign of trust." Naruto said seriously. "I tell you this because we're allies, and knowing each other's abilities is important to the upcoming conflict. Now, do you want me to explain or not?"

Shikamaru looked around. He really wasn't the right person for this, nor was this even remotely a convenient place or time. Not that Naruto seemed to care about any of that.

"Now, we aren't as many as we were in my youth, as the culture has changed greatly over the years." Naruto began. Steamrolling over any protests Shika might have had. "I won't tell you the exact number, but we have a little more than 50.000 battle ready shinobi, and it has stayed that way for hundreds of years." Shikamaru's eyes widened. 50.000 superhuman warriors? That was several times more people than Soul Society had at their command.

"Among those, maybe 4000 have the rank of jounin, or the elite. Do remember though, they're still human, and most lack the strength, speed and endurance of Shinigami." Something in the back of Shikamaru's head moved uncomfortably, something akin to déjà vu, yet distinctly different at the same time. Still, no matter how hard he tried, the Nara couldn't seem to get a hold of it.

Naruto began drawing in his notebook. The strokes of his pencil were confident and rhythmic. "The entire forces of the Elementals are divided into five main groups. These are Stone, Cloud, Sand, Mist and Leaf. Mostly depending on which natural affinity you belong to. There are other more specialized divisions as well, but most belong to these five." Shikamaru nodded, the strange feeling of familiarity wouldn't leave him, but he stayed content ignoring it for now.

"Each of the main five divisions is led by a Kage, who again reports to the Allied Shinobi Commander, although he is only active in times of war." Naruto continued.

The Nara's mind carefully analyzed the information Naruto was giving him. He would have to remember it in perfect detail. "So where do you belong in all this?" The third seat asked carefully, looking for any signs of deceit in his companion. Not that he expected to find any, but it was always better to be careful.

Naruto smiled proudly. "I'm currently the Hokage, the fire's shadow, the leader of the leaf faction. As well as the Allied Shinobi Commander, but that's only when I need to be." Even after all these years, the fact that he was the Hokage was still a source for undeniable pride for the blond.

Shikamaru sucked in a breath. If what Naruto said was true – and he had seen no signs of lying so far – then he was speaking to someone of the same standing as the Captain Commander. A leader of people. A leader of soldiers.

Naruto didn't seem to care about his neighbor's thoughts, instead continuing to lay out the structure of his own organization. "While the average strength of a shinobi is below that of a Shinigami, there are several ninja with special abilities that make them a valuable asset in any battle. Still, as is the norm in such organizations, our real military power lies amongst our strongest warriors. We have... maybe eight individuals who could match your captains. Including me." If Shikamaru had held something at that moment, he would have dropped it.

"Match is perhaps a strong word." The blond mused. "Only two others and I can compare to a taicho's energy potential. Most of us are still mortal after all. For the most part, it is our fighting ability that sets us on par with the strongest of the supernatural world." As he talked, Naruto had finished illustrating the various aspects of his organization, quite artistically at that. Straight lines and easily understood kanji dotted the page, dividing the Elementals and divisions into further detail. Shikamaru found himself immensely happy Rukia wasn't the one drawing.

During Naruto's explanation, the Nara found himself with more and more questions. Eventually, one of them had to be asked. "If you are the commander of an army 50.000 strong…" Shikamaru hesitated, tasting the feeling of that number. 50.000 was a lot of people. And that was only battle ready shinobi?

At its highest, the Gotei 13 had never exceeded 15.000. That was a long time ago as well. Many said the organization was merely a shadow of what it once was. Of course, that didn't count the Onmitsukido or the Kido Corps. The third seat didn't know how many soldiers they had, but it was common knowledge that the Gotei 13 was by far the largest.

"You wonder why I am here, and not leading my people?" Naruto asked easily. Shikamaru nodded, relieved that he didn't have to say it. The blond sighed and leant back on his arms. "They can manage a few years without me, plus, it's not like I'm absent." Naruto finished with a chuckle. The Nara frowned, trying to make sense of that response.

"So… what do you do then? You're mercenaries. You take missions from clients. Do you take any type of mission or are you selective in which to accept?" Somehow, Shikamaru felt he should know the answer before he even asked.

Naruto shrugged, looking up at the clouds passing over them. "What missions to take is up to each Kage. I trust them to do the right thing."

"Why?"

Naruto looked over at him, not fully understanding the question. Shikamaru gestured around himself, looking for… something. "How is it that someone like you ended up here? Why do you take missions from just about anyone? What are you trying to accomplish?"

The Shinigami's main reason for existence was to purify souls and lead them safely to Soul Society. They had been made specifically to counter the threat of Hollows, using their Zanpakuto to purify the twisted spirits. They had a goal, a reason for existing.

What was the shinobi, if not a weapon for anyone to use?

Naruto hummed. "You are asking me what shinobi are?" The blond chuckled ironically. His voice was unusually low. Shikamaru nodded, feeling like he hit a nerve.

A melancholic smile stretched the immortal's face "My old master once said that shinobi are those who endure. It might have been true once, maybe it's still true, but it doesn't have the same meaning as it once held. Back when I was young, you didn't quit being a shinobi. Once you became one, that was it. You became too old, too wounded, too scarred to be on the active roster. But you're still a shinobi. No matter what you do, you're always a shinobi, and the village could call upon you should they need you."

Naruto sighed as he put away his notebook, tearing off the page he had been writing on. "That was an age of war. Even in times of peace, there was still war. Thankfully, that time is over. Anyone can quit at any time. Even I... Sort of." He amended at last, a confused frown settling over his features. He quickly regained his smile however, continuing his speech to his one audience member. "We do not need to fight in order to sustain ourselves. We do not fight to protect ourselves. We do not fight to right some horrible wrong." Naruto held out his hands as if in surrender. "No, we fight because that is what we have always done. This is how we have always lived, how we have always existed. And if we can help others along the way, great!"

With that, the blond stood up, giving Shikamaru the piece of paper he had torn off. "Our story is over, now we are simply intruding on yours." Blue eyes and an easy smile met him as Shikamaru looked at this strange individual.

When he wasn't paying attention, it was easy to overlook the blond's humongous presence. He didn't try to hide it, not anymore at least. By its very nature, it simply wasn't threatening. Why would you fear to be in the shadow of a mountain, when the mountain was so large it's simply inevitable?

Naruto began to walk away, waving lazily behind his shoulder. "Tell Sakura-chan I said hi. See you around, Shikamaru." Then he vanished, leaving behind a thoroughly confused third-seat.

When had they gotten on a first name basis?

"Have we… met before?" The Nara spoke into the air. No one answered him.


Urahara Kisuke blew out a breath as he leant back in his chair, Yoruichi in cat form reclined comfortably beside her old friend. Naruto was sitting on the other end of the table.

"So he escaped." Kisuke said after several minutes of silence.

Naruto nodded, not backing down in the face of his failure. Some missions you simply didn't succeed in.

Urahara shrugged his shoulders, not visibly disappointed. "Well… It wasn't like I expected anything else. Even if those attacks had hit him, I doubted he would have died. Aizen is… a special case."

Naruto frowned down at the steaming tea Tessai put before him. "Yeah, I could tell. That man is a monster. I still don't know how strong he is, despite taking a direct blow from him. Nevertheless, those dragons were designed to drag out his soul. Do you really think he would have a counter against that?"

Urahara tapped his chin thoughtfully, taking everything Yoruichi and Naruto had told him into consideration. "Honestly, I couldn't tell you. Shinigami already exists in soul form, I don't know if there's even anything to drag it out of. Nevertheless, I doubt that man would have ignored such a fatal weakness. He has experimented even more on souls than I have."

Naruto was silent for a moment. Not counting the Bijuudama or other Bijuu related abilities, the Super Rasenshuriken and the Keshin no Ryuu were currently his strongest attacks. "Do you have a way into Hueco Mundo? Attacking him before he masters the soulstone will be a huge advantage." Naruto asked.

The scientist waved his fan slowly in front of his face. He did in fact have a way into Hueco Mundo. He could open a Garganta within the hour should he wish to. Although no one but him knew that.

A head on assault was not something Kisuke had seriously considered. At least not until all the pieces was in the right place. Now that they had Naruto however, the equation ended up very differently from what it would have been.

"What do you suggest? That we invade a stronghold we don't know where is and hope no one notices us? I doubt he is without allies." Kisuke responded with instead. Not outright dismissive, but still skeptical. There was also a few other matters that needed attending to.

He did not wish to attack the Hollows where they were strongest. First, he wanted a measure of their skills and abilities. They still had a few months until Aizen could fully utilize the Hogyoku… Urahara scrounged his brows together. What was it Naruto had called it? "You said soulstone? Do you know anything about the Hogyoku?" The scientist asked.

At mention of the famed object, Naruto frowned. He sipped his tea, but only enough to get a taste of it. "Hogyoku…" He whispered the name, almost savoring it. "There are many names for such objects. They are exceedingly rare, and incredibly difficult to create. But those that do exist are highly sought after." The blond clenched his fist, making the blood vessels on his hand stand out. "Throughout all my life, I have only seen two others. They are a collection of souls in certain configurations, set to create a continual supply of energy. The most famous among them is the Philosopher's Stone, although I have never seen that one in person."

Urahara's eyes shone. His hands were twitching in eagerness and excitement. "You mean there are others out there? I'm not the only one to have created one?"

Naruto studied the man with a hard gaze, his blue eyes burning through the air. "While I'm not usually one to judge a person based on what he once did far in the past. I will say that no matter what you do, I will not allow you to make another one of those monstrosities."

Urahara looked at his blond companion and retracted his next question. Naruto looked… angry. Truly angry. Much more than what he had been after Rukia's abduction.

Kisuke bowed his head. He knew he sometimes had a hard time keeping morals in mind when his curiosity got the better of him, but he had long since learned his lesson on this front. "I will never create another one, Uzumaki-san. I swear this on my soul. Indeed, had there been any way for me to do it, I would have destroyed the Hogyoku long ago."

Naruto took a deep breath and nodded, at least somewhat satisfied.

"We should never have allowed him to take it in the first place. It is far too dangerous a tool." The blue eyed shinobi continued, sipping on his tea.

Urahara sighed, resolving himself to wait in order to get more information on these soulstones. "Then what would you have done? I have been keeping it from him the last one hundred years. During that time, his influence and power only grew. The only way to make him reveal himself was to give him what he wanted. Once the gem was within his grasp, he would never have given up until he had gotten ahold of it. The worst outcome would also have the Gotei 13 unprepared or even ignorant of the danger. Letting him have it was by far the better option. Now we have time to regroup and become a stronger unit." Naruto frowned. There was something the scientist wasn't telling him, quite a few somethings actually.

"And Ichigo?" Naruto asked.

Kisuke smiled. It was only slightly evil. "I can't deny he is also part of my plans." Naruto sighed as he finished his cup of green plant material and water.

"Well then, keep your plans. I have my own place to see to."

Urahara cocked an eyebrow. "Oh, I had hoped you would continue as my assistant. It was very fun to boss you around."

Naruto stretched his back as he walked towards the exit. "Nah, that contract is expired. I'll stay in touch. My mission is still not completed after all. I found my own place to set up shop here in Karakura. I need a little more space for a few projects I have in mind."

Urahara cocked his head to the side, but he got no answer to his unanswered question. "Yare, yare, Uzumaki-san sure is mysterious isn't he?" He commented airily to Yoruichi.

He got no answer.

Blinking twice, Kisuke noticed he was alone. His feline companion was nowhere to be seen.


Arisawa Tatsuki was walking home from one of her usual training sessions. Orihime had come back about a week ago, but she had a hard time making the ditzy girl talk about her trip. The only thing she had gotten out of her so far was some vague mention about a sick cousin.

She stopped abruptly as she passed a billboard. The evening sun was setting, and she didn't have long until she was supposed to be home, but something about that poster was… Tatsuki blinked. What was that?

"Are you tired of your friends running out on adventures without you? Are you tired of those same friends inexplicably gaining superpowers while you get nothing? Worry not! The Uzumaki gym of unlimited youth is the right place for you! In the spirit of Gai-sensei, I will get you in top shape in no time."

There was a lot of other promotional material, as well as some pretty pictures of a blond guy doing poses and strange katas.

At the bottom of the page was an address and phone number along with a ridiculously cheap price. Either this was a scam, or someone was playing a prank on her. She didn't like either of those options.

With a scoff, the dark haired girl continued towards her home and comfortable bed. The address refused to leave her mind, however. It wasn't too far away from her house.


Ichigo blinked as Naruto led him to a huge house he was certain had not been there before they left. Several people of all shapes and sizes moved to and from the building with furniture and training equipment. Above the door was a huge sign that read 'Uzumaki gym. Train to your hearts content. Death may occur.'

The last sentence was written in small writing, only noticeable once they got close.

As the pair walked through the house, Ichigo continued studying the faces of all the men and women around him. He didn't recognize a single one. "Who are these people?" He eventually asked, ducking to avoid a pair of bulky men carrying a large amounts of construction materials.

Naruto smiled as he watched the place come together. He waved one of the workers over. "Me." He said simply. The woman that had approached them changed form in burst of white smoke, revealing a perfect copy of Naruto. The copy smiled and waved before it disappeared in another burst of smoke.

Ichigo blinked. "Wait... so all these people are you? Or copies of you?" The orange-haired teen tried to imagine how useful such an ability could be, but his brain short-circuited after the first few seconds.

Naruto nodded with a humorous glint in his eyes. "Most of them, yes. I want you to meet the others, those that aren't."

Going up a set of stairs, Ichigo was now certain the house hadn't been here before.

The entire place smelled like new wood and fresh plastic. Looking around at what seemed to be a normal gym, Ichigo commented almost absentmindedly. "You know… there's really no reason to for me to train now. Rukia is safe. Soul Society are our allies. I have achieved Bankai. Can't I just go back to my normal life?" The teen tried to sound nonchalant, as if the issue didn't matter all that much to him.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. He could tell the boy how stupid that sounded. How Aizen was still out there, as well as everything else. He could tell him that he and his friends were far from safe, and probably wouldn't be for a long time.

Instead, he just asked him one simple question. "Do you truly want that?"

He was still just a teenager after all, despite his enormous potential. If he didn't want to fight. Well… Naruto wasn't the kind of person that would force someone into such a life.

Ichigo blinked. Was he just offered a way out? A way to live his life in peace? He had thought that with Hollows roaming around Karakura and everything that may come to haunt his family and friends, there was no way he couldn't fight. But what Naruto had said seemed to imply that he didn't. Somehow, he got the feeling that everything would be ok. That he could leave all the fighting to Naruto and the ones that were supposed to do this. He could simply enjoy his human life as long as it lasted.

He wasn't stupid. He had at least an inkling of what he would face in the future should he continue as a Shinigami. War. It was a concept he had only heard about in stories. Something he had only read about in books. He didn't actually want to know what it was like, but still…

A hum from deep within his soul stopped him in his tracks. Ichigo smiled.

Ever since the fight with Byakuya, Zangetsu had been eerily silent. There were still no words, but simply feeling the sword spirit's presence was reassuring. Still, he knew what the old man was getting at. A normal life was never what he wanted in the first place. And even if he didn't want to fight in a war, to live in a world of death and battle, he would be lying if he said part of him wasn't excited at the prospect of fighting.

It might be a bit morbid of him, but he was proud of his strength. That power was his. He had earned it through arduous training and experience, through the bond he and Zangetsu shared. To let all that go to waste seemed wrong.

The orange haired teen shrugged. His signature scowl back in place. His shoulders rolled smooth with the motion. "I guess not." He had to sound a little hesitant, at least.

Naruto stopped before the next door. He frowned at the young teenager. He would never have figured Ichigo for unmotivated. "We will talk about this later." The blond said. "Right now, I want you to meet my family." With that, he pushed the handle.

On the other side was a cozy common room with several sofas, tables and chairs. Modern kitchen appliances lined the walls. Things like coffee machines, refrigerators, a freezer and a bowl of half-filled with snacks dominated the central table. A large LCD TV dominated one of the walls. Beneath it was an assortment of game consoles and accessories.

Four people were currently occupying the room, all in various stages of relaxation. One was a blond haired man very similar to Naruto. His face was a little rounder, his jaw a little less pronounced. On his cheeks were four whisker marks instead of six. He was lounging on the sofa but paused his game once he heard them entering. His face lit up when he saw the other blond.

Holding up an arm, he waved enthusiastically. "Father! Good to see you, what took you so long? … That is the real you, right?" At the end, his voice had a more annoyed tilt to it, as if this was a reoccurring problem.

The outburst got the attention of the other person lying on the couch. A beautiful woman with lavender hair and sky blue eyes poked her head sleepily over the furniture.

She blinked twice before recognition dawned on her features. Much like the other man, her face lit up. "Dad! How did the trip go? We got a little worried once Kurama disappeared…" She trailed of as Naruto walked over to them, picking them both up as if they weighed nothing.

"Boruto! Himawari! I missed you! Yes, it's really me this time." The sight was a bit comical as Naruto was literally crushing his two children in a hug. Both of whom looked the same age as their father.

"Gah! Let go old man! I get enough snuggling from grandma to last a millennium." Boruto complained, struggling to free himself. Himawari simply sighed and resigned herself to the hug.

The two other people in the room were bent over a table, a game of shogi was placed between them. They barely reacted as Naruto walked into the room, both completely enraptured by the contest of wills and tactics. A few seconds later however, the blond among them moved his piece. He stood up and walked over to join the family reunion. "Naruto! How have you been? Anything to report?" Namikaze Minato asked with a smile.

Breaking up the hug with his children, Naruto stood to embrace his father, something Minato readily returned. "As a matter of fact, yes, quite a lot actually. I'll go over it later tonight. We have time." Minato nodded. A second later, his attention shifted over to the other person that just entered the room.

So this was Naruto's father? Ichigo met the man's gaze, looking for the same kind of strength that so defined his teacher. There was something there, but it was hard to put his finger on. Mostly, he just looked… kind. He got the impression that Naruto was at least several hundred years old. How old was his father then?

The older blond smiled, his blue eyes filling with friendly warmth not unlike his son's. He reached out an arm, intention clear. Ichigo hesitated only for a moment before grasping it. "Namikaze Minato. Nice to meet you."

The orange-haired teen shook the arm before answering. "Kurosaki Ichigo. Nice to meet you too, sir." Who said he couldn't be polite when he wanted to?

Naruto beamed at them. "Let me introduce you. Hey guys, this is Kurosaki Ichigo, a new student of mine. He's a Shinigami."

Ichigo twitched as that particular piece of information was just casually waved around. Still, this was Naruto's family. He probably trusted them more than he did Ichigo. A pang of jealousy entered the orange haired teens mind. He would never trade his family for anything, but he dearly wished he could just tell them about everything. Most of his being recoiled at the very idea of getting them involved, however. Even his stupid father.

"Ichigo, this is my family. Uzumaki Boruto and Himawari, my oldest children. You have already met my father, Uzumaki Namikaze Minato." Then he pointed to the fourth person in the room, still sitting at the table. "That's Uchiha Itachi, my something-something cousin on my mother's side." He was a black haired man with a face that looked like it had been carved out of marble. He nodded once before refocusing on the game before him.

Ichigo looked between the four people, trying desperately to fix the names in his mind. He was horrible at remembering people, but something told him he really should make an effort this time.

A sound like glass breaking sounded through the building, quickly followed by a set of footsteps. A few seconds later, a woman with the reddest hair Ichigo had ever seen entered the room.

She had an apron over a green dress that made her look like the very image of the stereotypical housewife. "Naru-chan!" She shouted. Her smile was practically radiant as she tackled her son to the floor. Manhandling Naruto in much the same manner the blond had done to his own children. Naruto didn't seem at all irritated or concerned by this. In fact, he only seemed happy.

That was until the redhead's long hair began moving like it had a life of its own. A dark presence filled the room and Naruto began shivering in fear. "Na-Ru-To… You disappear for two and a half months, and then call us out of nowhere to explain you moved to Western Tokyo!?"

The lights in the room seemed to dim by themselves as Naruto quickly disappeared in puff of white smoke, a piece of wood appeared in his place. Ichigo blinked. Where had the log come from?

Naruto reappeared behind his father, making the older man laugh nervously. "I swear I was careful! Please mom, I'm old enough to make my own decisions!" Naruto's feeble attempts at defending himself disappeared as Kushina began stalking towards him, killing intent following her like a palpable aura of malice.

Minato's face went white as his eyes desperately searched the room for a way out. Not finding any in his nearest surroundings, he decided to make his own. Faster than Ichigo could blink, the man was gone.

Naruto paled even further as his cover disappeared.

Ichigo could only stare as this woman chewed out the most powerful person he knew. At least a mother was a mother, no matter how powerful you became. Once she was finished, Naruto was sitting shamefully staring at the floor.

Then the redhead turned to Ichigo. For a short moment, Ichigo saw his own mother reflected in the older woman's features, despite their personalities being vastly different. Then the illusion was gone, and the redhead before him was once again a stranger.

"And who are you then?" Her tone of voice was warm and friendly, much like the rest of her family.

Ichigo introduced himself again, gaining a smile from Kushina.

"A good name, take care of it." The orange-haired teen's scowl got a little lighter. It wasn't often people understood his name before he explained it.


The next few hours went by in a blur. Soon, his friends also showed up, having been escorted by copies of Naruto. Thus, everyone was introduced to Naruto's family. It was quite the night. None of the teens could remember anything quite like it.

One curious development was that Kushina seemed to have taken it upon herself to adopt them all. Realizing none of the them had mothers of their own.

She hovered over them, making sure they were enjoying the food and that everything was in order. She chided them for bad manners and generally behaved like mothers should. It was… nice. And her cooking was simply heavenly.

Among Naruto's family, Itachi was the only one that did not seem eager to talk. He had no problem responding when someone approached him though.

Minato stood out as the responsible patriarch. He went between the guests, talking and engaging them in conversations. He spent a lot of time talking with Ishida about ranged weapons and their uses. He was kind and friendly, smiling with bright eyes.

It wasn't quite as radiant as his son's, but it had its own unique quality. It was a smile that was reassuring and confident, whilst still retaining a humble quality. It was a very complicated expression. It fit him. He also seemed slightly clumsy, scratching the back of his head when he got embarrassed.

Boruto and Himawari were like day and night. One was hyper and rude to everyone and everything, annoying Ichigo to no end. The other was calm and patient. She spent a lot of time talking with Orihime about… well… Ichigo didn't know what they talked about. But based on Inoue's excited arm waving and gesturing, he somehow doubted it could be understood by normal mortals. Male or female.

Sometime during the party – because that was what it had become – Yoruichi showed up. She curled up on Naruto's shoulder and seemed to stay there for the rest of the evening, observing everything with shrewd laziness.

The festive mood was broken at one point when Himawari revealed the ability to change her age on command, becoming an unbelievably cute five-year-old. Once she was lifted up to be cuddled, she was never put down again.


Yoruichi sat on the roof of Naruto's new house. Her tail swishing back and forth as she enjoyed the evening chill. She could feel the man approaching behind her long before he announced his presence.

"Nice evening, isn't it." Namikaze Minato commented.

"Hmm… Indeed. The full moon is bright tonight."

The blond sat down beside her.

He wasn't exactly the same, but give him a few whisker marks, change a few features on his face and he could pass like his son's double. Or his grandson's for that matter.

The pair didn't say anything at first. The comfortable silence was only broken a few times when the teens went back to their respective homes. Eventually, even the conversations inside the house stilled. First when the relative calm had transitioned into the deep silence of night, did Minato speak.

"He is a remarkable individual, isn't he?"

Yoruichi didn't answer at first, disregarding answers as quickly as she came up with them. "He is… interesting." She eventually conceded.

Minato nodded, as if he had been expecting that exact response. "I died once." The blond started again, his voice gaining a playful tilt to it. "The tenth of October. Oh so long ago." Yoruichi got a feeling this was more important than it seemed. As a Shinigami born into one of the noble families, she could not remember a previous life… If she ever had one.

"I died the same day as my wife. The same day my son was born." Yoruichi stilled. Her tail curled around her frame. "In order to save my village and family, I sealed the Kyuubi no Yoko into my son. As payment, I gave my soul to The Shinigami."

Yoruichi had a feeling he wasn't talking about the Shinigami of Soul Society.

"Yet, my son wouldn't accept that. Several years later, he came after me, dragging me back kicking and screaming. He didn't even know me. The father that had abandoned him. The man that forced him to carry a burden no child should have to carry. Yet he still risked his very soul for my sake." The man explained, his normally kind and playful persona falling away, revealing a warrior every way his son's equal.

Minato clenched his hand, looking at it as if seeing it for the first time. "He even made me a new body, since the old one was long since lost." His eyes burned with emotion as he stared intently at the black cat beside him. "And then he did the impossible. He found my wife, his mother, he weaved through worlds of souls, with nothing to go on but a weak imprint I had left in his seal. Again risking his very existence, he traversed the lands of the dead to find her. And he did."

The Goddess of Flash remembered the unearthly visage of Naruto as he prepared to disintegrate Aizen. She had no problem imagining such a being forcing his way against the order of the universe to bring his loved ones back to life. For a moment, she wondered what other people the blond mercenary had brought back in a similar manner.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked. Her voice was calm and collected despite the emotions within her.

Minato shrugged. His blue eyes were far too similar to his son's. "I just figured you should know him better. The orphan that saved the world. I mean, you do love him, don't you?" The feline froze at those words. Love. Such a powerful word. She didn't know what she felt, there was certainly attraction, but love was…

The ex-captain chuckled silently. What was she so afraid of? She was acting like a scared schoolgirl. "Perhaps." She said, relaxing again as her tail continued its hypnotizing dance.

"He saved our world, you know. He carried the fate of our people when no one else had the strength to carry us. He held off the destruction of our home long enough for most to get away. He surpassed me when he was only a teenager." Then he smirked, a slightly devious smile that Yoruichi recognized very well. "I'm still faster though. He can't outrun the Yellow Flash just yet."

The shapeshifter felt her fur rise at those words. She prided herself on her speed. Very few beings could hope to follow her once she really got going. Yet Naruto had something she could never match. Instantaneous teleportation. How could someone be faster than that?

"But enough about me, you may want to know that there are more than one woman in his life. It just becomes like that when you live for millennia." Minato said with a slight blush on his face. His warm and friendly persona was back, together with a healthy dose of embarrassment.

Yoruichi blinked. Was she really getting partnership advice from Naruto's dad? And Millennia? As in over thousands of years? The situation was so absurd she didn't know how to react.

"Of course, there's his first wife, Boruto and Himawari's mother. Unlike Kushina and me, he never managed to find her again. We don't know where she is right now. She may be the one woman he would be willing to settle down with. But I doubt she would make him. Immortals are almost forced to become polygamists. Especially someone who so easily loves." The blush was gone now, only a melancholic smile left in its wake.

"Unlike most of us, he refuses to become distant from mortals. Even after the pain of their loss. It is admirable, yet tragic. No matter how many years pass, Naruto refuses to become cynical. He would rather remain a naïve dreamer than… whatever he would have become." Minato almost winced as he said the last part. As if the thought physically pained him.

Yoruichi studied the man beside her. There was something he wasn't telling her. A piece of information vital to understanding what he was trying to articulate. Yet he still seemed hesitant about admitting it.

"So how is that any different from what you or other immortals have to go through?" She asked, her thoughts wandering to the oldest amongst the Shinigami.

Among them, Ukitake and Shunsui were perhaps the most unaffected by the passage of time. Nevertheless, even they had developed far-reaching scars that weren't obviously noticeable. Add to that, the life expectancy of Shinigami were far greater than mortals were. Years for a human might as well be a few weeks for a Shinigami.

It was different in the living world. Where everyone dropped like flies as you continued. Yoruichi had seen it for herself. A hundred years in the mortal world had truly changed her perspective of time.

Both humans and animals fell dead before they had even begun to develop. It was one of the reasons she and Kisuke hadn't even tried to befriend the local populace. If Naruto was truly over a thousand years old, and during all that time, he had never stopped falling in love with humans…

Minato smiled. It seemed forced. His warm eyes was changing before her. His entire complexion seemed to age as she watched. Decades, centuries, millennia. Like a man that had seen much more than he was supposed to see. Inside her mind's eye was an ancient white-haired man hunched over an old staff, far older than should be possible, yet somehow still alive.

"It may seem strange to you, but Naruto is much older than any of us." His voice didn't match what her mind had conjured up. It still belonged to the young blond she had met at tonight's party.

"I'm not sure if you've seen it, but one of his techniques allows him to create copies of himself. Not just illusions, but real, tangible copies with minds of their own. Each time he creates one, their experiences get added to his. Their memories and lives get assimilated into the original."

Yoruichi's mind flashed back to when they first entered the Seireitei. Then to the dozens of people in the first floor that had identical reiatsu signatures as Naruto. That might explain some of it, yet that wasn't all, was it?

Relenting to her expectant look, Minato sighed. "Ever since he learned the technique as a little boy, only a bit older than a decade, he has been able to use it to a greater extent than anyone else. Even at the start, he was able to create hundreds of copies on a whim, and that number only increased as he got older."

Yoruichi frowned to herself. Indeed, that would explain some of what Minato was going for, but why would that be a problem as long as he didn't use it outside of combat… but, what if he did? What if Naruto constantly had aspects of himself running around?

'I already have too many memories, where am I going to put them all?'

Yoruichi's eyes widened as she remembered one of the earliest conversations she had with the blond enigma. He had told her he absorbed the memories of every soul he sent to afterlife. Add this to what she had just heard… "How many?" She asked. Her voice sounded strangely small, like she watching the conversation from a point far away.

Minato's smile became a little less forced. "Too many. Far, far too many. I don't think anyone but him know the exact number. At this very moment, there are more than six hundred active missions signed and contracted to Uzumaki Naruto."

Six hundred? At the minimum. Had he kept that up for over a thousand years? Yoruichi shivered. The night had suddenly become a whole lot colder.

"A word of warning." Minato said, as if he had just remembered something. "There is a woman, the mother of his third child. She is… slightly different." Minato's eyes turned sharp again as they locked with Yoruichi's. "Be careful. She can be a very jealous individual."

The cat blinked twice. She felt an irrational flare of irritation. If what Minato had told her was true, then this woman had no right to claim him like that. Still, this was familiar ground, something not as world-shattering as Naruto's true nature.

A rival. She could work with that.


Blond hair blew in the wind as the perpetually red sun of the dimension shined down on the ruined streets of Konoha. Sweat poured down Naruto's face as he hefted a giant boulder above him. All of his chakra-enhanced muscles being used to their maximum.

"Why don't you just use your clones? It would be much faster." Ino's voice sounded from inside his head. He knew she already knew the answer. The girl was simply trying to pass the time with conversation.

Deciding to indulge her, Naruto took a break from the exhausting physical labor. "I'm on no timeframe here, and I want to do this with my own two hands. No elemental manipulation, no jutsu, just me and my body."

Ino sighed. At least he could have asked for help. The Elementals would jump at the chance to rebuild their legendary city. But nooooooo. Naruto wanted to do it alone. He didn't even use Mokuton to create the trees, instead going out and cutting them down by hand.

After hours of exhausting work, Naruto returned to his new home in Karakura. New memories from his clones told him the gym was already attracting visitors, one of them being a black-haired girl with an attitude problem. She had even brought Orihime with her. The poor girl looked terribly out of place.

He walked through the common room, greeting his mother who glomped him with one of her customary hugs before wrinkling her nose and ordering him to take a shower.

A few minutes later, he was standing in the bathroom as hot water cascaded around him. The liquid felt pleasant as it ran down his body. The drops of water hit the floor in a calming rhythm. After he finished and cleaned himself up, he dragged his feet over to his bed before collapsing. He wasn't actually tired, but it was nice to pretend sometimes.

He lay there a few minutes. Simply staring at the roof.

He needed to get stronger.

Rolling over to one side, Naruto mulled over the problem.

Reaction speed was a necessity. Even with Sage Mode, he hadn't been able to register Aizen's movements before he was already sliced in two. Other than that, if he was going to train the brats, he would need something a bit specialized for four-eyes. Archery wasn't something he had practiced in a long time. More control was also important. It tied in well with Swift Release at any rate. While he was at it, medical ninjutsu also sounded like a good idea. Now that he was dealing with dimension warping demons and gods, his chakra might not be the all-encompassing panacea it usually was. There might also be a time where he wouldn't have the option of teleporting people to safety.

During the next half an hour, Naruto carefully went through things he would need for the upcoming conflicts, sighing tiredly at the long list. He should have done this before going to the Soul Society. Even if he hadn't known exactly how strong Shinigami could become, he should at least have gotten an inkling through Urahara and Yoruichi. The fact that he hadn't spoke volumes about their skill.

Long story short, his default setup simply wasn't good enough.

Once he had finalized his list, Naruto's breathing slowed and his heart found a new rhythm. Within seconds, he found himself in his inner world.

He was standing before the lake of memories again. The calm liquid was swishing ever so slightly in the nonexistent wind. Neither Kurama nor Ino were anywhere in sight. Naruto steadied himself as he began to walk forward. He passed as easily over the surface as if it was ordinary water. As he walked, his surroundings began to change. He could still see the shore he had embarked from, but the ceiling was gone, as well as the walls that had once formed the cave-like room. Instead, he stood in the middle of a black void, on top of a lake hovering in the middle of nowhere.

The lake was contained only by a bowl of stone. Remnants of the cave it had once been a part of. All around him was countless other lakes. Some above him, trickling streams to those below, some beside him, with impossible rivers connecting the other pieces across the darkness. There were thousands of them. There seemed be some kind of system to it all, but watching from within, the structure was more than a little difficult to comprehend.

The blond began walking.

He walked over the hovering rivers, moving steadily towards his destination at the same speed the water was flowing. The rivers flowed in both directions, streams of memories going both upwards and downwards at the same time while somehow managing to keep from interfering with each other. Naruto walked from lake to lake, deeper and deeper in a network of conscious thought. Some lakes were larger and some were smaller. Sometimes they had space for more, other times they were practically overflowing. Some had dozens of rivers connecting them, while others were cut off from the rest.

After what seemed like hours, Naruto finally reached the center of the impossibly large structure.

Before him was a humongous sphere of liquid, far larger than any other object in the formless darkness around them. It was the only piece of water not contained by something else, only held together by the undeniable will of its inhabitant.

It was large enough to contain thousands, if not millions of smaller lakes. It would swallow them like an ocean swallowing all the rivers of the world.

It was the centerpiece. The most important point. The Origin.

As Naruto stood at its edge, something moved beneath the surface. A pair of eyes opened to stare him. The gaze burned through him as his very soul was measured and judged. Naruto's eyes shifted in response, reflecting the legendary eyes of the Sage back at the lake. The Rinnegan beneath the surface blinked once, then disappeared. The heavy presence lifted from Naruto's shoulders.

The blond looked around. This place was always so different with the Rinnegan active. Thousands of microscopic strings was filling the void. All of which were attached to the sphere before him, traversing the void as the only connection to every single lake. They were incorporeal, passing through him as easily as they passed through any other object.

Without the mystic perception of the Rinnegan, he hadn't been able to see them. Now, each string stood out like a wet spider's web reflecting the early sunlight.

Without further preamble, Naruto dropped straight onto the sphere. Gravity seemed to reorient itself as he stood there. The mass of his massless body was dragged towards the center of the orb. He stood there undisturbed for another minute, collecting his thoughts before the plunge. Then he fell backwards. The well of memories engulfed him, filling him with all the sensations he could no longer remember.

Words whispered in ages long forgotten.

Majestic halls long since abandoned.

Stars of fire with the eternity of cosmos around them.

Time stretched as Naruto stayed beneath the water, sorting through the familiar yet alien sensations. Another presence brushed against his consciousness from time to time, but the immortal didn't react. He knew who it was.

Finally, the blond opened his eyes. They were still in their Rinnegan state, the steely purple orbs cutting through the darkness. Before he got the chance to move, the other person made themselves known.

Before him was a girl. A blood red mane billowed around her. Long tendrils of hair snaked their way across her naked body, drifting lazily in the liquid they occupied. The same eyes that had judged him previously stared back at him now. Rinnegan.

The girl said nothing. She simply looked at him with a frightening intensity. They hung there for a few minutes, both staying motionless. Without a single word being uttered, Naruto began drifting outwards. The girl stayed where she was, but her hand slowly reached out for him.

A single tear mixed itself with the liquid memories.

As Naruto reached the surface of the sphere, he looked back. The redhead was still there. She was still studying him. Forcing a smile onto his face, Naruto bit back his own tears. He had long since made the decision to leave her there. He couldn't take it back now. Not even if he wanted to. The girl smiled back. A sad, melancholic smile that showed she understood. Taking a deep breath, Naruto jumped.

No wind bothered him. No surface stopped him. He could see all the countless lakes surrounding him, but he ignored them for now. The blond homed in on his own platform, the one connected to his body. It wasn't hard. Without visibly moving, the world had shifted around him, placing his desired destination directly beneath him.

He landed on the surface of his own mindscape as softly as a feather, barely even disturbing the surface. Walking quickly, the blond touched down on the shore he had left hours earlier.

"I told you not to do it." Kurama's voice echoed towards him.

Naruto turned. The cave was there again, as was his foxy companion. Kurama was reduced in size, but his form was no less majestic because of it.

The legendary shinobi sighed. "It was either that, or begin to forget. Everything else was only a temporary solution." His voice sounded tired, as if he had gone through this argument thousands of times before.

"Was it worth it?" The fox continued.

Naruto had no answer

Author's note:

Edit (24.04.2016): I am sorry about adding so many scenes to a chapter already published, but I felt I hadn't finished it the first time. It might be unfair to those that read the story before the changes, but I felt the story itself would become better for it.

It was either that or continue to write a story I wasn't happy with. But for what it is worth; I am sorry.


A lot is happening in this chapter. A lot of new (or old, depending on how you look at it) characters are introduced. In a normal story, I would have hesitated bringing in so many people at once, but since this is fanfiction, and hopefully you all know them already, it's a lot easier to manage.

Yes, Minato and Kushina are alive. They're one of my favorite people from Naruto, and I really wanted them in my story. Especially Minato, his presence will hopefully influence things in ways no one can predict. Not even me.

Although I have the main story outlined in my head, there are a lot of details I haven't sorted out yet. I have a few battles I want to write, and a few characters I want to interact with each other.

For those wondering, this really isn't a harem fic. I simply can't see immortal humans sticking to one partner for thousands of years. And yes, they are thousands of years old, although I won't tell you the exact number yet, if ever.

Anyways, thanks for reading. I really appreciate your enthusiasm and feedback.

Jacob out, out and away!