Chapter four and we're finally getting into the good stuff! Sorry this took so long to get out, but there were a lot of things in this chapter that I wanted to do, and I wasn't quite sure how to do a lot of them... Plus it'd been sitting here for so long that I just wanted to get it done! So I feel like some parts may be a bit rough, especially around the last third of the chapter, sorry about that.
Q&A Section
So, people asked some questions about Naruto that I wanted to answer... I would've answered in PM's but they've been weird for me for some reason... So I'm just gonna paraphrase the questions and answer them here, and don't worry, they aren't spoilers.
Is Naruto part Bount, since some circumstances of his birth were similar to a Bount's. - No, he's not a Bount in any way. Honestly I completely forgot how they came about so any similarities are completely coincidental.
Could other 'Living Hollows' like Naruto be made? - It is possible, but highly, HIGHLY unlikely. For it to happen, a pregnant woman needs to be attacked by a Hollow, and said Hollow has to know how to attack the infant's soul and kill it while also Hollowfying it. Then the child has to have their soul revitalized, somehow, at the exact instant the Hollowfication completes. Even then there's no guarantee it'll work. So short answer, yes it is possible, but the chances are abysmally low, and Naruto is the ONLY one that has ever existed.
Will Naruto's children be like him? - I have no idea... yet. I guess it relies on the part of the soul in making a child. Since Naruto's body is human, his children will be getting normal human genes, and could likely be born normal humans. When I say it relies on the role of the soul, speaking purely in the Bleach universe... Does a child's soul come from soul society without being influenced by the souls of it's parents? Do it's parent's souls have a part in making the child's? I don't know, but we're still a long way off from worrying about Naruto's kids.
What kind of villains will Naruto be fighting? Hollows, rogue Soul Reapers, etc? - Yes.
What does his fullbring do, and do I have names for it and Naruto's Zanpakuto. - You'll find out what it does this chapter, as for the names... No idea, I want them to be good, but I can never decide... I don't wanna settle on something then be stuck with it for the rest of the story...
Speaking of his Fullbring, I added anther hole where the pommel meets the handle, why? For spinning it of course! Oh, and it's not meant to look like any other weapon from anime or games or anything, it's just something I thought up that I thought looked cool and like a sword/kunai. Though keep in mind that since Fullbrings usually evolve and get more powerful, it's form is subject to change.
Oh, and not really a question, but someone said that Naruto shouldn't have a Shinigami Zanpakuto, since he's not a Shinigami, and should have an Arrancar-like Zanpakuto. I don't want him to have an Arrancar's Zanpakuto, but I have something planned for his Zanpakuto, so just stay tuned!
Anyway, that's it! Hope you guys enjoy the next chapter! Oh, and just to let people know, we're gonna have another chapter or two after this, then the timeskip to the start of Shippuden and Naruto's return to the nations.
Chapter 4 - What I Really Am.
Naruto planted the blade of his kunai... sword... into the ground and used it to push himself up. Once he was back on his feet, he gave it a few test swings as the blue and green energy faded away. It certainly was an interesting looking weapon, and it felt really good to swing, too. Naruto then felt his face for any more bone fragments, thankfully finding none. Okay, it looked like he was starting to get the hang of this! Unfortunately, Naruto didn't have a lot of time to bask in the awesomeness of his new sword, because he had to quickly raise it to block Zabuza's swing.
Naruto grit his teeth as he did his level best to deflect Zabuza's hits. The ringing of steel against steel sounded out of the clearing as Naruto tried to think of a way out of this. As their battle continued, it became more and more clear to him that Zabuza was only trying to test him, and that was both good and bad. Good because it gave Naruto some time to find a way out of this situation, bad because if Zabuza decided to get serious with him, Naruto didn't know if he'd survive.
Suddenly, Zabuza brought down his blade in a massive overhead swing. Naruto blocked the blow and was forced onto his knees as a result. The much stronger Shinobi bore down on him, inspecting his sword, "I gotta say, kid, you're full of surprises!"
"Gee, thanks!" He got out though gritted teeth. He needed to find some way to get Zabuza off of him! But he couldn't exactly swing his sword and fire of an energy beam while he was trying his best not to get sliced in half! Not for the first time in his life, he lamented not having his mother's chakra chains... Having bladed chains that could shoot out of any part of his body would be pretty damn useful right-
As if Kami was listening to him, a dozen green chains identical to those his mother and sister used shot out of his body, twisting around like snakes to strike at Zabuza. Zabuza's eyes widened as he jumped back, but not quick enough as the chains gave him some nasty cuts to his torso. Naruto got back to his feet and stared in shock and wonder at the chains floating around him. How...
A soft humming entered his ears, and Naruto looked down to look at his sword, the holes in the blade were filled with its glowing blue and green energy. Naruto narrowed his eyes and imagined the chains disappearing, then they did, by turning into rather pretty particles which quickly faded away. The energy in the blade disappeared as well. Naruto imagined the chains emerging from his back, and emerge they did, with the energy appearing again.
"Okay... That's pretty cool." Naruto said to himself while willing them to disappear again, so his sword could make chains? That was pretty damn useful, plus it could probably still make the blades and energy waves. Naruto shook himself out of his thoughts and returned to the fight, looking over to see Zabuza looking himself over. While the cuts Naruto's chains delivered were deep, it didn't look like Zabuza would be out of commission just yet.
Zabuza gave a slight grunt of pain as he hefted his sword, giving Naruto a smirk under his mask, "How about I make you an offer, kid?" Seeing Naruto raise an eyebrow, he continued, "It's pretty dangerous being a Rogue Shinobi, and I need all the help I can get. Why don't you join up with me? I can give you a cut of the job payments, and even help you learn how to use that kunai of yours. What do you say?"
Naruto didn't even need to think about it, "Nope. If that means I have to go around working for scumbag tycoons and being a hired thug then I'll pass. No offense." His eyes hardened, and at that moment, Zabuza felt an unfamiliar weight fall onto him. It wasn't killing intent, but it still gave him a foreboding feeling...
Zabuza chuckled, "None taken, but you know that means I have to kill you." He then stabbed his sword into the ground and went through a chain of handsigns so fast that Naruto couldn't keep up, "Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu!" Zabuza intoned as he shot a massive water bullet out of his mouth straight at Naruto.
Naruto's eyes widened as it shot toward him. Time seemed to slow down as his mind moved, it was going too fast to dodge, and his sword couldn't block it. The chains wouldn't do anything, but maybe something else could. Almost on instinct, like some unseen voice was guiding his thoughts, an image of a wall formed inside Naruto's mind. Seemingly without thought, Naruto held up his sword, and his energy appeared in the holes. A tall, rectangular, semi transparent wall of energy formed in front of Naruto almost instantly. The water bullet slammed into it, the barrier cracking under the force before shattering. But it'd done it's job, and the water that made up the jutsu simply fell harmlessly to the ground. As he watched the wall's remains fade away, an idea formed in Naruto's mind about what exactly his kunai could do.
His thoughts were interrupted by Zabuza coming at him once again, but this time Naruto was ready. Naruto held up his kunai as it started to glow, swinging it toward Zabuza to launch another horizontal wave of energy, this one far faster and larger than any of the others. Zabuza's eyes widened in surprise and he was forced to jump over it, only to be met with an even worse sight for him. One gigantic chain as thick as his torso slamming into him and sending him flying into a tree with a painful sounding crack.
Naruto grinned, the gigantic chain fading away. Now that he felt like he had a second, he held a hand up and focused, a cube of energy appeared in his hand. He really shouldn't be doing this in the middle of a fight, but he had to figure out his ability... The cube shifted, before turning into a small sword, a shield, and finally, a bust of himself. Okay, it looked like his energy simply formed itself into whatever he imagined... That would definitely be useful... He'd have to experiment with it, but first he had to-
Blood gushed from Naruto's mouth as a sudden unexplainable chill ran over him. He shakily looked down. A large, deep gash ran down from his left shoulder to right hip, bleeding profusely. Naruto let out a pained gasp and dropped to his knees, then onto his hands as he coughed up a large amount of blood. He barely registered Tazuna's voice calling out to him. All Naruto heard was Zabuza's voice, "I've gotta hand it to you, you're more of a handful than I thought you'd be." Zabuza's said, walking up beside Naruto. He hadn't even seen the hit coming... Naruto thought that there would at least be some tell that Zabuza was coming, a blur or a sound, but there was nothing. He knew this fight wouldn't be easy by any means, but for it to be over so quickly... Zabuza simply chuckled before stomping on Naruto's back, forcing him to the ground, "I don't know if you'll survive this, but if you do, the offer still stands." He said before stalking toward Tazuna.
"Come on, get up!" Naruto thought to himself, but before he could try drawing on his powers, the world started to go black, "No... dammit..."
As the world started to fade away, the last thing Naruto saw was Zabuza suddenly being launched back, and he heard a woman's voice say, "Sorry, but this one's already spoken for."
- An unknown amount of time later -
Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he bolted upright. He frantically looked around the room, trying to figure out where he was. It looked like a normal room in someone's house, the question was, who's house was it? Suddenly, Naruto became incredibly aware of how much his body ached. He let out a grunt of pain as he looked down at himself, he was shirtless, the cut that Zabuza gave him was completely gone. Not even a scar left behind by the grievous injury. Naruto sat there for a minute, before he realized that there was someone else in the room with him. He looked to the side to see a woman, and she was studying him. She wore a black outfit consisting of a sleeveless top with black hakama, and a white cloth wrapped around her waist. She had dark hair that was relatively short, except for a pair of braids wrapped in white cloth, and piercing grey eyes. Lastly there was a wakizashi hanging on the small of her back. The two stared at each other for a few seconds, before she broke the silence, "How do you feel?"
Naruto's eyes narrowed a bit, why did that sound like a test? He met her gaze with an equally cold stare, "Fantastic."
Their staring contest continued for a minute before she stood, "Good." She said, heading toward the door, "Get dressed and come downstairs, we need to talk."
After she left, Naruto quickly got up and got dressed. He didn't know who that woman was, but he did NOT like the way she looked at him. It was like she was waiting for him to attack her or something... Naruto shook his head, who was she anyway? He didn't notice a hitai-ite on her, but she had to be a Shinobi, and she also had to be the one who saved him from Zabuza. What did she mean by 'already spoken for'? Only one way to find out, he supposed.
Naruto crept down the stairs, soon finding himself in a large living/dining room. The woman was sitting at the table, sipping on a cup of tea. It was incredibly uncomfortable... Even though she wasn't even looking at him, Naruto still felt like she was analyzing everything he did. Before he could think on it anymore, another woman came out of an adjoining room, carrying a couple plates. She looked over and gave a smile at seeing him, "Oh, you're awake!" She set the plates down on the table before waving Naruto over, "My name is Tsunami, and Tazuna is my Tou-san. Thank you so much for what you did for him."
Naruto gave a sheepish smile, "It's no problem, really." He looked around the room, "Where is the old man, anyway?"
Tsunami sighed as Naruto took a seat at the table, "He went down to the bridge already to keep working. He wanted to get back to work as soon as possible to try and make up for you getting hurt on his behalf..." She then looked to the stairs, waving someone over. Naruto turned to watch as a small kid walked over, "This is my son, Inari."
Naruto gave the sullen child a grin and a wave, "Hey there, name's Naruto Uzumaki!"
Inari simply stared at him, with a look of almost contempt. Then he let out a scoff and simply left, heading out the front door. There was an awkward silence for a minute before Tsunami spoke, "I-I'm sorry, he... This whole situation has been rough on him..." A sudden beeping from the next room, which Naruto assumed was the kitchen, rang out. Tsunami seemed grateful for the opportunity to change the topic, "Oh, I'll be right back!"
As she left the two of them in the room, Naruto looked over at the mystery woman, "So, you saved me from Zabuza?"
She nodded, "Yes, you're welcome."
Naruto's eye twitched, "So who are you, and what do you want with me?" At her raised eyebrow, he continued, "I heard you after you hit Zabuza, 'this one's already spoken for'. You'd better start explaining, or-"
"Or what?" She asked, his kunai suddenly appearing in her hand. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, "I do want some things from you, Naruto Uzumaki, but if I wanted to hurt you then I would've done it when you were asleep." She tossed his kunai over to him and finished her tea, "Now then, follow me."
Naruto watched as she stood up and headed toward the door, "And if I don't?"
She turned and gave him a smug smirk, "Then I guess you'll never know what you are." She said before a familiar weight encompassed Naruto. It was the same power he had, he was sure of it!
Naruto sat in silence for a second before getting up to follow her, only for Tsunami to come in, "Oh, are you two leaving?"
The petite woman gave a polite smile, "We're just going to get some fresh air, we shouldn't be too long."
Tsunami smiled, breathing a slight sigh of relief, "Alright, just remember to be back for dinner!"
As the pair walked through the woods near Tazuna's home, Naruto stared at his companion with no small amount of curiosity. If she had the same power as him, then maybe she could teach him how to control it... Of course he'd have to figure out who she was and how she knew about him, first. They walked through the forest in silence, with her leading him in seemingly no particular direction, before Naruto's annoyance got the better of him, "Look, lady-"
"Soi Fon," She interrupted, "My name is Soi Fon."
"Okay... Soi Fon, are you gonna explain what exactly is going on, or are we just taking a... contemplative walk through nature?" Naruto asked.
Soi Fon sighed, before looking around, "Alright, nobody should hear us here. The first thing you should know is that I'm not human, I'm a Shinigami."
Silence reigned over the pair, with Naruto blinking a few times before speaking, "I... Are you serious?" At her unamused stare, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, "Come on, seriously."
His petite companion rolled her eyes before pulling what looked like a stamp out of her pocket. Without any explanation, she smacked it against her head, and Naruto's entire worldview changed. At first it looked like she used a clone technique, except the original's eyes went completely blank as she fell like a sack of bricks onto the ground. The one Naruto was left with was pretty much the same, except for the white Haori she was wearing. Oh, and there was the small matter of the ungodly power she was radiating. Naruto felt like someone had dumped ice into his soul, "I know I'm not what you expect when you think of the Shinigami. But I'm not lying when I tell you what I am."
Naruto stared at her, his breathing becoming heavier and his heart rate speeding up, a primal fear seeming to overtake his body. Until her power slowly went away, leaving him with just a lingering feeling of dread, "Okay... So there's more than one Shinigami?" He asked, his voice shaky.
"Yes. Now here comes the complicated part, and I'm only going to explain it once, so you'd better listen up! The Shinigami you know of does exist, and he's normally the only one in this world. However, there is another world, completely separate from this one. In that world, there are many Shinigami. Are you understanding this so far?" At Naruto's hesitant nod, she continued. Over the next hour, Naruto listened as Soi Fon explained about the other world of the living, and about the Soul Society in general. Needless to say it was a lot for Naruto to take in, another world, more Shinigami, and that apparently a Shinigami captain was standing in front of him. Lastly she explained the Shinigami's main duty; purifying lost souls.
"When a human dies with something tying them down to the living world, regrets, unfinished business, or something else, they become what's known as a 'plus' soul. It is the duty of the Shinigami to find and send those souls off to Soul Society, both to continue the cycle of life and death, and because if the soul stays in the world of the living for too long, bad things happen." Soi Fon explained.
"Bad things like..?"
Soi Fon narrowed her eyes, giving him a severe look, "They become monsters called Hollows. They change into beasts, most only running on pure instinct. They're all driven by the same desire to kill, and eat the souls of the living to grow stronger. They take on different forms, but the two things that unite all of them are the holes in their chests, and the bone white masks covering their faces."
Naruto took a second to process everything she said, and something stuck out to him, "Wait... White masks..? The monster that attacked my Kaa-san! It used the same power we did, and it had a mask too!"
She nodded, "Yes, your mother was attacked by a Hollow. That's why I'm here."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Seriously? It took you guys this long to come kill the thing?" Soi Fon's eye twitched a bit, "Well better late than never, I guess... So what do you want with me? I don't remember anything."
"We aren't here to hunt that Hollow. We're here because of you." She said, poking at his chest, "When that Hollow attacked your mother, it tried to kill you by Hollowfying your soul. If it had gone the way the Hollow imagined, then you'd have died and immediately became a Hollow before the Shinigami could collect you, but that's not what happened, you came back from it."
Naruto stepped back, putting his hands up, "Okay, so was I not supposed to live? I mean, if I was brought back to life then what's the big deal? I beat the Hollowfication, right?" At her silence, Naruto got worried, "Right?"
Soi Fon sighed, "No, you didn't. You, Naruto Uzumaki, are a Hollow." Just like that, Naruto's mind went blank.
"Wh-What!? No, I can't be a Hollow, you said it yourself! I'm alive, I have a body, I-"
"Went berserk and killed someone." Soi Fon interrupted, "A mask started forming on your face, and your Reiatsu is unmistakably that of a Hollow. You even fired a Cero, the blast of Reiatsu that only Hollows can use. You are a Hollow."
Naruto stared at her for a second, before backing up against a tree. He leaned against it for a second before sliding down to sit on the ground. Naruto started shaking, staring down at his hand, the same one that killed Mizuki, "I... I can't be..." He said to himself. So that's what was wrong with him, all this time he was becoming some monster, a creature that shouldn't exist. He felt strangely conflicted. He didn't feel good about this, learning that his soul was that of a ravenous, soul-devouring monster wasn't something anyone wanted to hear. At the same time though, it felt strangely comforting to know that somebody knew what was happening to him. Naruto took a shaky breath, "So, what happens now?" He asked. Would she kill him, would he get to live, would she take him as a prisoner? Naruto had never been more afraid in his life, but he was brought out of his thoughts by another voice.
"That depends on you, boy..." Naruto looked to the side to see... A cat, a black cat with bright yellow eyes. It watched him carefully, moving to sit next to Soi Fon. There was silence for a second, before the cat tilted it's head, "Are you really not surprised to see a talking cat? No freaking out or anything?"
Naruto shook his head, "No offense, but I've got more important things to worry about right now... Also I kinda grew up knowing a few talking toads, so..."
"Aw... Well that's no fun. I must say, you're taking this rather well."
A dry chuckle escaped Naruto's lips, "Maybe it's because I can't really do anything about it. If you're here to kill me then I doubt I'd be able to get away, and..." He trailed off, taking a deep breath, "I don't want to hurt anyone else. So if it has to be done, then just make it quick."
The cat stared at him as he spoke, it's tail lightly swishing behind it, "That's a very mature outlook, but thankfully, we aren't here to kill you! I'm sorry Soi Fon gave you that impression, she's far too serious for her own good!"
Soi Fon sputtered a bit, "Y-Yoruichi-sama, I'm not too serious! Maybe you just take everything too casually!"
Yoruichi shrugged, before turning back to Naruto, "Anyway, the truth is that while you are a Hollow, you're also the first living Hollow anyone has ever seen. Unlike other Hollows, you're in full control of yourself for the most part. Not only that, but you don't need to eat souls to survive. Both your Shinigami and the Soul Society are interested in you, and we're here to make you an offer."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What kind of offer?"
Soi Fon stepped forward, "Due to certain circumstances, Hollows are now appearing in your world as well as ours, and more Plus souls are appearing than your Shinigami can keep up with. After seeing what you are, the Shinigami is offering you the chance to work with him. We've been sent to take you back to Soul Society for training, and once your training is complete, you would be turned over to this world's Shinigami to assist him."
"Learn to be a Shinigami?" Naruto asked, upon receiving a nod from Soi Fon, his eyes narrowed, "And If I don't want to?"
Yoruichi's eyes took on a serious glint, "We don't know. But we do know that if we leave you without training and you go berserk, we'd have to deal with you."
Naruto sighed, he'd figured it was something like that. He could at least understand their reasoning, he was too big a mystery to simply leave to himself. After a bit of thought, Naruto spoke, "Alright. I accept, on one condition... I want you two to help me protect Tazuna and save Nami."
Soi Fon's eyes widened a bit, before she shook her head, "Our orders were to take you back to Soul Society, we aren't here to play-"
"Sure, why not!"
"Yoruichi-sama!" Soi Fon scolded.
The cat looked up at her with a mischievous expression, "What? Our orders were to get him to come willingly, even if it takes a while. If having to help him save the island is what it takes, then that's what we have to do! Plus, it'll give us some more time to learn about this world... Also, are you really going to let that swordsman get away with ruining your Gigai's Haori?"
Soi Fon flinched back with a surprised expression, then glanced down at the gigai still limp on the ground, lacking the white article of clothing. Zabuza was a bit quicker than she was expecting, and while he didn't injure her, he did slightly wound her pride by destroying her haori. Soi Fon sighed, "Fine, we'll help."
Naruto grinned, "Alright! So all we need to do is protect Tazuna while he's building his bridge! ...Though we'll have to keep an eye out for Zabuza..."
A smirk formed on Soi Fon's face, "Actually he'll be out of commission for a while, I gave him quite the beating before he slipped away."
Yoruichi nodded, "We'll have about a week or so before he's healed enough to fight, and he'll probably be bringing help. We'll use that time to start your training. Soi Fon, you and I will take turns watching Tazuna and instructing our new friend here."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Um... No offence, but how are you going to teach me? I mean, you're a cat..."
If it was possible, Yoruichi's eyes glowed with mischief, and Naruto leaned back as a burst of Reiatsu covered the cat's form. What was happening? Was he transforming into another form? Was that not what the cat normally looked like?
All thoughts in Naruto's head died as the smoke cleared. He could almost hear an audible snap in his brain as Yoruichi was revealed to be a incredibly hot and incredibly NAKED woman. Naruto's eyes shot wide open and his jaw practically hit the floor as Yoruichi strolled over to him, "This is how I'll teach you, you didn't think I was actually just a little kitty-cat, did you?"
Jiraiya paused in his scribbling and looked up from his notebook. His face was the picture of seriousness as he turned and looked to the sky. He stared for a minute before a small smile came across his face, and he simply nodded in approval.
At Naruto's silence, Yoruichi crouched down in front of him, waving a hand in front of his face, "Hello, you in there?"
Naruto nodded his head, "Yeah, yeah I'm here. What's up?" He said, still staring at her.
"Good! Now, let's get down to your training. You all set to begin?"
"I will, quite literally, do whatever the hell you tell me."
Yoruichi nodded, "Good, it's mostly going to consist of some pretty intense sparring."
"Sparring, yeah cool. Full contact I assume, I assure you I will be fully contacted at all times."
A sudden blur assaulted Naruto, which was revealed to be Soi Fon holding him on the ground. Naruto was struggling valiantly to get out of her grip, but Soi Fon held firm, "Yoruichi-sama, clothes, NOW!" The red-faced captain said, before having to strike Naruto in the side to prevent him from getting out of her hold.
Yoruichi watched with a sweatdrop as the two fought. While Soi Fon clearly had strength on her side, Naruto appeared to be driven purely by teenage hormones. Which strangely seemed to be working in his favor... After seeing them struggle for a few minutes, Yoruichi rolled her eyes before getting dressed, if only to stop her first student from killing her newest.
An hour later saw a slightly sulking Naruto standing across from a now dressed Yoruichi, with Soi Fon back in her gigai and sitting on a stump nearby. After Yoruichi had gotten dressed and torn Naruto and Soi Fon off of each other, they'd moved to a nearby clearing where they were about ready to start training. However they'd decided to give Naruto a bit of time to breathe and sort through everything he'd learned. While learning that his soul wasn't human was a definite shock, the knowledge that he could learn to control it helped him to come to terms with it. He still wasn't completely used to it, but training would help him to take his mind off of it, "Okay, so you wanted to spar first?"
Yoruichi nodded, "Yes, but before that, there's something I want to check." She said as Soi Fon tossed her the stamp she'd used earlier.
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Okay, what did you-" He didn't get to finish his question as Yoruichi suddenly appeared right in front of him, stamping him on the forehead. A chill ran through Naruto's body as he stumbled back. His vision became blurry for a second, and it felt like he was... weirdly vulnerable. He noticed something else as he regained balance, his reiatsu felt different. Before it felt like it was bubbling just below the surface, trying to break out and run wild. Now it felt surprisingly calm, a cool feeling radiating from his stomach and flowing to every part of his body, "Okay, what the hell was tha- AH!" He yelled as he looked down to see his body lying on it's back the ground. Naruto dropped to his knees next to it, "Am I dead!? Why am I dead!? What is happening!?"
Yoruichi sighed and bopped him on the head, stopping his yelling, "Calm down, you're not dead. We just forced your soul out of your body so we could get a better feel of your reiatsu. You'll be able to go back in once we're done."
Soi Fon rolled her eyes, "You saw what the stamp did when I used it, what did you think it did?"
"Hey, it's not every day you see your body just lying there, and how do you have a body anyway!?" Naruto asked, pointing accusingly to Soi Fon.
The petite captain crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, "That's just hitting you now? This is a gigai, an artificial body we Shinigami use whenever we need one. Anyway stop freaking out, like Yoruichi-sama said you'll be able to hop back into your body easily." She said, before she looked over Naruto's form once again, "Getting back to the issue at hand, you don't look anything like what we expected..."
Naruto's brow furrowed in confusion. He looked down at himself and patted his... soul, body? He looked like he always did, "What do you mean? I look totally normal."
"Exactly, if you're a Hollow then why does your spirit form look exactly like you normally do?" Soi Fon asked.
As Naruto checked himself over once again for anything out of the ordinary, Yoruichi thought of something, "Naruto, take your shirt off." Seeing him raise an eyebrow, she smirked, "Come on, you already saw me naked, it's only fair!" Naruto blushed, but removed his shirt all the same. Despite not being a Shinobi, Naruto was trained like one, and had a trimmed body with noticeable muscle. However, that wasn't what Yoruichi was looking for.
Naruto looked back and forth between Soi Fon and Yoruichi as they stared at him, "What? Am I just that impressive to..." He asked jokingly before looking down at himself.
A hole. There was a hole in his chest. It wasn't bleeding, nor did he feel any pain, but there it was. It was a perfectly round hole in the center of his chest, and it looked to only be a couple inches in diameter. Naruto slowly reached down, three of his fingers fitting inside before he yanked them out, looking up at Yoruichi in shock, "Is this..."
Yoruichi nodded, crossing her arms, "Your Hollow hole... We expected you to have one, but we didn't think that the rest of you would be normal. Granted, we figured it wouldn't look like a normal Hollow, but this is still unexpected. How do you feel?"
Naruto stopped messing with his Hollow hole and closed his eyes, feeling for his reiatsu. Unlike when he tried to use it in his body, it rushed to his call. Naruto could feel it permeating his very soul, and his hair started to shift as a slight dark blue glow surrounded his form, "Good, I feel really good!"
As Naruto familiarized himself with his reiatsu, Soi Fon and Yoruichi watched him carefully. They could feel much more of his reiatsu now, and what they felt surprised them. There was the telltale chill that accompanied a Hollow's reiatsu, but there was no malice or hunger. Then as he started drawing on more of it, the picture of exactly how strong he was became clear. Soi Fon narrowed her eyes, 'He's much stronger than we thought. The strength of his reiatsu is approaching that of a menos... He doesn't seem to be able to draw on all of it though.'
Yoruichi's thoughts were much the same, 'I guess he has been feeding on the chakra his people exude. I doubt he would be this powerful otherwise.' She nodded to herself, "Alright, that's enough."
Naruto nodded, reigning in his reiatsu, "So, what exactly are we gonna to do for training?"
A sly smirk formed on Yoruichi's face, "Well your training in spirit form will have to wait until we're back in Soul Society. So while we're here we'll be working on controlling and using more of your reiatsu while in your body. So get back inside and pull out that kunai of yours."
Naruto nodded, getting his shirt back on before walking over to his body, "So, how do I do this?" He asked himself, poking at his body before sighing. He finally decided to just sit next to it and lie down like he was getting into bed. With a slight tingling and warming sensation, he was back in his body, sitting up and patting his chest. After confirming that the hole was gone, Naruto stood up and took our his kunai, "Alright, what's first?"
Yoruichi's smirk widened, and Soi Fon even joined her in giving Naruto an predatory grin, "Well, I believe that the easiest way to do this is for you to learn by experience. So we're going to play tag!"
"Tag?" Naruto repeated, suddenly very disappointed.
"Yes, and we're it." She said, indicating Soi Fon and herself, "Your objective is to tag either one of us, whether it be with a punch, a kick, or any other attack. Of course you also have to survive."
A few droplets of sweat formed on Naruto's forehead as he realized what this 'training' would consist of, "S-survive?"
Naruto suddenly felt very afraid for his life.
- Three Days Later, Keishi -
Tsume Inuzuka looked around the street with a critical eye as she walked. Most of the people around made sure to stay out of her way, which suited her just fine. It made it a lot easier to scan the crowds for their quarry. She and Kakashi had arrived in Keishi that morning, and they'd spent the last couple of hours combing the city for any sign of Naruto or the caravan he'd hitched a ride on. So far they weren't having any luck. The Fire Capital was a large city, and with so many carts coming in and out it was hard to tell what was a caravan and what wasn't... Still, she'd be damned if she went back to Konoha with nothing.
"So, any thoughts?" Kuromaru asked, walking along beside her.
"He had to have known someone would come after him, so he wouldn't stay in one place for long... I doubt he's still here."
Kuromaru nodded, "The kid's smart, come to the big city where people come in and out all day so nobody will remember him when he leaves. He ran away from konoha because he didn't want to hurt anyone, so he'll go somewhere without a lot of people."
"But he's no hunter, so he'd probably go to a small village, somewhere he can be alone but still survive." Tsume finished, before shaking her head with a slight grown, "Hopefully someone in that damn caravan will have an idea of where he went."
They were silent for a few minutes before someone approached them, it was Kakashi. He quickly waved them over, "I found our caravan." They followed him until they reached another wide street with stalls lining one side. Judging by the wagons pulled up to the backs of the stalls, they were there just for traveling merchants to use. Kakashi and Tsume split up, going from stall to stall asking about Naruto. However, neither of them had any luck until Tsume got to a stall being ran by a hefty man with a mustache, "Excuse me, I were hoping you could help me. We're looking for a runaway from Konoha, brown hair, blue eyes, about 15? He'd have been wearing a blue shirt and a cloak." She asked, using the description the guard gave them.
The merchant's eyes lit up with recognition, "Ah yes, I remember the young man! He came up to me with a twisted ankle and asked if he could ride on the wagon for a while. My apologies, I had no idea he was running away, if I had I would've tried to get him to come home!"
Tsume shook her head, finally happy to find someone who could help, "It's alright, you couldn't have known."
Kuromaru's ears perked up as a bad feeling came over him, "Wait... 'For a while'?"
The Merchant looked a bit surprised at the talking dog, but shrugged it off and gave a nod with an apologetic look on his face, "I'm sorry my friends, but soon after the village gates left our sight he thanked me for the ride and hopped off..."
It felt like a rock had settled in her stomach, but Tsume thanked him for his time and left, finding Kakashi, "We have a problem..."
- Back in Wave -
"FUCK!" Zabuza roared, having just tried to get back on his feet, only to fall flat on his face. With a bit of effort he managed to get himself back into bed, grumbling about his incredibly sore body. This job had started out so simple... Kill the bridge builder and that was it, then he'd ran into a kid with weird powers and a magic kunai, and he'd been excited about finding something interesting. THEN some woman had shown up and kicked his ass! Not that he'd ever admit that, and if anyone mentioned it he'd kill them on the spot.
Soi Fon... That was her name. At first he'd underestimated her, thinking she was just some mercenary who was also interested in the kid. He'd payed the price for that mistake very soon after. Before he even knew what was happening she'd blitzed him, dealing serious damage with just a few strikes and putting him on the defensive instantly. After that they'd fought for a few minutes, and Zabuza had sustained even more injuries once she'd pulled out her sword. As if her skill wasn't enough, she was also the fastest opponent he'd ever faced! He barely even had time to register that she'd moved before he got another cut somewhere on his body. It was a serious blow to his pride to run from a fight so quickly, but after those hits and the brief exchange between the two of them, it became apparent that he wasn't winning that fight. All he managed to accomplish was ruining her haori...
"Zabuza-sama, you really shouldn't be trying to get up yet." A voice interrupted. Zabuza turned to see a masked figure enter his room, carrying a tray of medical supplies, "Your wounds haven't completely healed yet."
Zabuza narrowed his eyes, "I'll do what I want!" he growled, "Take that damn mask off, Haku. It's creepy when you wear it all the time."
The figure shrugged, before setting the tray down and removing their mask, revealing a feminine face, "Of course, Zabuza-sama." As much as he didn't want to admit it, Haku was the only reason he'd survived his encounter with Soi Fon. His sneak attack with a few water clones had bought them just enough time to get Zabuza out of there. Now they were simply biding their time until they could strike back.
"How long until I'm back on my feet?" Zabuza asked impatiently.
"At least a few days, and then a few more to make sure there aren't any lingering issues. She really did a number on you."
"I know, I was there... But next time, I'll be ready for her." Zabuza said with a sinister grin under his bandages.
The door to Zabuza's room opened once again, and his next visitor was a short man in a suit carrying a cane, "Well Zabuza, I'm beginning to think you weren't worth the price after all." He said with a sneer while his two guards chuckled.
Zabuza rolled his eyes, "Quiet, Gato. This is just a minor setback, next time I'll be prepared and the bridge builder will be dead."
"I certainly hope so, because if he isn't-"
A glare from Zabuza stopped him cold, "Careful little man, it sounded like you were going to threaten me. But we both know you're not stupid enough to do that, right?" Gato grit his teeth, but did nothing other than glare back, "Good, now leave!"
It looked like Gato and his thugs were about to try something, but Haku's cold voice kept them from doing anything, "Zabuza-sama told you to leave. Why are you still here?" Haku's icy tone sent a chill down their spines, and Gato gave a huff before leaving, slamming the door behind him.
Not long after they left, Zabuza narrowed his eyes, "Gozu, Mezu." A pair of Shinobi appeared to one side of the room, Kiri's famed demon brothers, "Watch that little snake. If he tries anything against us then I want him torn to pieces..."
"Yes boss!" They responded in sync.
"Good, but keep yourselves sharp, I might need you for the rematch with the kid and his friend." Who would've thought that such a simple mission would've turned out like this? Ah well, the life of a Shinobi was never boring.
"Hold still goddammit!" Naruto yelled as he swing his sword, or Fullbring as he now knew it was called. A wave of green energy flew from the blade toward Yoruichi, who simply smirked at him before disappearing from his sight completely. Naruto barely had time to register that she was gone before she appeared behind him and gave him a sharp kick to his back, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Over the last few days of training, Yoruichi and Soi Fon had taken turns playing tag with him while the other watched Tazuna or scouted around town. While most of the training consisted of fighting like this, they did take the time every now and again to hone his control over his reiatsu. Those exercises usually just involved him trying to make various shapes and figures with his Fullbring, or trying to stand in the air with his reiatsu. Using his Fullbring seemed to come naturally to him, but the standing on air thing was much harder...
"Now where would be the fun in that? It's not my fault you're so slow!" Yoruichi said with a shrug.
Naruto quickly pushed himself off the ground and spun around, slashing as he did. Once again Yoruichi easily evaded him by blurring out of sight. That was another thing he really wanted to learn... It was incredibly frustrating how she could just disappear in the blink of an eye, "It'd really even the playing field if you could just teach me how to do that teleporty thing, ya know!"
Yoruichi appeared on a tree branch above him and gave a catlike grin, "Let's just take it one step at a time, Shunpo is probably still a little out of your reach. Also I'm not teleporting, I'm just very, very fast."
A twitch of the eyebrow was the only response she received as Naruto gripped his Fullbring and jumped up toward her. While standing on air was still out of his reach, empowering himself with his reiatsu was pretty easy. Once Naruto reached her he swing his sword downward, however he only hit the branch as Yoruichi had already hopped down to the ground. Once Naruto was on the ground he immediately dodged the kick she sent his way, before responding with his own attack, thrusting his Fullbring at her in a series of strikes. Yoruichi weaved through them with apparent ease, before once again flashing behind him. However, her eyes widened as she saw something she didn't expect. Naruto was already looking over his shoulder at her, and he'd already shifted his fullbring into an underhanded grip to point behind him. With a quick backflip, Yoruichi got away from his backward thrust, a slight grin on her face, 'He's getting better..."
Naruto gave a smirk of his own. Learning under the fastest man alive taught you a few things about people who used high speed or teleportation techniques. They always went for the back. If you lose sight of them, it was a pretty safe bet they'd be behind you. Of course that only helped you if you were fast enough to catch them before they noticed they'd been caught. He couldn't match her in close combat, so he'd try another tactic. Naruto held up his sword, glowing blue and green, and slashed at the air a few times, glowing kunai forming in front of him. The reiatsu constructs quickly multiplied, some circling Naruto while the others quickly flew toward Yoruichi. Naruto directed them through the air with his sword, all the while trying to think of a plan while Yoruichi dodged his blades.
'I need to beat that Shunpo somehow... Really wish I knew how to use the Shunshin no Jutsu right now! Wait...' A thought occurred to him, if Yoruichi really was just moving fast then Shunpo and Shunshin might not be so different. It was obvious by the way Yoruichi was using it that it had more use in battle than Shunshin, but the core concepts seemed to be similar. Hell, he even remembered hearing from Kakashi about an Uchiha who had mastered Shunshin to such a degree that it seemed like he was teleporting! The question was, how to do it?
As Yoruichi flashed between trees and branches, Naruto carefully watched her movements, it didn't look like the was doing anything special... If he remembered correctly, then Shunshin involved using chakra to power up the body and move at high speeds. If Shunpo was something similar, then he should be able to use reiatsu to accomplish the same feat. Naruto's reiatsu started to leak out of him as he concentrated, his kunai constructs deteriorating as he did. By now Yoruichi was back on the ground, watching him curiously.
'Oh? What's he going to try now?' It felt like he was trying to power himself up with his reiatsu again, only this time it was pooling in his legs. Naruto slightly bent his knees, and took a step forward. Yoruichi's eyes widened, 'Did he-?' With a loud boom, Yoruichi watched as Naruto shot forward with an explosion of reiatsu. He sped toward her like a bullet, and Yoruichi was momentarily stunned. However that turned to amusement as he sped right past her and slammed face-first into a tree.
Naruto rammed straight into a large, sturdy tree and fell back onto the ground, clutching his nose. His Fullbring fell out of his hand and turned back into a kunai as he writhed around on the ground, "Ow! I think that broke my nose, son of a bitch!"
While Naruto continued cursing up a storm, Yoruichi stared at him in thought, 'He picked up Shunpo's basic concept just by watching me? Well, that was less a Shunpo and more just blasting himself forward, but to figure it out that quickly...' Yoruichi walked over and crouched down next to him, and once he noticed her staring, Yoruichi gave him a smirk, "That was terrible, if you tried that in a real fight then you'd do nothing but embarrass yourself!" Naruto deflated at her assessment, "I can't have my newest student embarrassing himself, since it'd reflect poorly on me, so get up and I'll teach you how a Shunpo should be done!"
A wide grin quickly spread over Naruto's face.
Later that evening, Naruto found himself walking through town with Tsunami. After wrapping up his training for the day, he'd found out she'd had been a bit hesitant to go into town to buy groceries. Apparently Gato's thugs were always prowling around, and an unaccompanied woman was never safe with them around...
"Thank you again for this, Naruto-san." She said as they approached the markets.
Naruto waved it off with a slight smile, "No problem Tsunami-san, it's the least I could do..." Plus it helped him to hone his sensing abilities to be around so many people. He was finally starting to learn how to differentiate between people, and even objects. That was a bit of a shock, realizing that objects have their own 'soul'. But hey, it might be a useful thing to know. They were silent for a minute, before Naruto looked around the street, "I just realized, this is the first time I've been in town. I heard it was bad, but..." He trailed off. It turns out Tazuna hadn't been exaggerating when he described the state of Nami. People wearing rags huddled around tiny fires, boarded up houses, and even kids shuffling around looking... lost. The only guy who seemed to have even a bit of spark to him was a brown haired man with a rope-like headband and a scar on his chin.
Tsunami nodded, "I wish your first look could've been before all this happened. We were never a rich nation, but being a port town we certainly didn't want for much!" As they entered a store, Tsunami's got quiet and wistful, "Now I can't even go to the store without being afraid for my life... I know my Tou-san's bridge is the only way to end this, but some days I don't know how I can keep going."
Seeing her start to shudder a bit, Naruto put a hand on her shoulder, "Well then you, Inari, and the old man can show me around once the country is back on it's feet. I'll make sure Tazuna can finish the bridge, I promise." He flashed her a big grin, "And when an Uzumaki makes a promise, we keep it no matter what!"
Tsunami gave him a grateful smile, and they continued their shopping. Thankfully they didn't have any problems and were soon on their way back to Tazuna's house. However, as they walked Naruto started to worry over his ability to fulfill his promise. Zabuza had beaten him with barely any effort after he'd stopped sandbagging. Naruto could tell he was getting better, but would it really be enough to make a difference? Yoruichi and Soi Fon had said they'd help him, but what if Zabuza got the drop on them, what if he brought help and they were overwhelmed? He didn't know if he could do it...
Suddenly, Naruto felt someone slip their hand into his pocket. He quickly spun around and grabbed the thief's wrist, bringing his hand up to knock their lights out. Only to stop, it was a little girl. She was wearing a tattered dress, her dark hair was matted, and she was dirty all over. Her wide brown eyes looked up at him with fear, and Naruto's eyes softened. He looked around to see peoplewatching, only to turn and look away when he looked at them. Many seeming like they wanted to step in and defend her, but they were too scared to do it. Further down on the street he saw a group of kids watching them, fear evident on their faces. It looked like most of them were even younger than her...
Naruto looked back down at the girl, loosening his grip on her wrist and kneeling down in front of her, "My name's Naruto, what's yours?" He asked with a small smile.
She stared at him for a minute, "S-Suzu..."
"I guess you're trying to take care of those other kids, and you're all out on the street, right?"
Suzu just nodded, and Naruto thought for a minute before looking over to a large, boarded up building nearby, "Tsunami-san, what's that building?"
Tsunami, who'd been watching the exchange so far, followed his gaze, "It's an old inn. It was the biggest in Nami before Gato came, then the owner tried standing up to him and... it's just abandoned now."
Naruto nodded, letting go of Suzu and walking over to the door, "Not anymore." He said before kicking the door open. It was dusty inside, but overall it seemed to be in pretty good condition. Even most of the furniture was still in one piece. He turned back to Suzu, "You and your friends can stay here now, and so can any other kids you know about who don't have anywhere to go." Her eyes went wide as she walked inside before looking back to Naruto, who shrugged, "It's just sitting here, somebody might as well use it." Naruto then walked up to her and reached into his pocket, pulling out a wad of ryo notes. His life savings, which he no longer needed since he'd be going to Soul Society... or dead. He handed them to Suzu and ruffled her hair before heading back outside. He walked over to Tsunami and watched as Suzu came out to waved the other kids inside.
As they all went into the building, a couple of the villagers traded looks before nodding to themselves. They quickly got up, grabbing a few boards and loose nails lying around, then used rocks to hammer the boards on over the top half of the door. Before Naruto knew it, the building looked boarded up completely once again. However the door still swung into the building, and since the board only went over the top half the kids could still get in and out. As long as the door was closed, Gato's thugs would never know anyone was inside. Once they were finished working, one of the villagers gave Naruto a nod, before sitting back down in front of the inn, presumably to stand guard. Meanwhile Suzu left with the other villager, heading toward the markets with her money.
Tsunami watched them go, a smile on her face, "I think you inspired them..."
Naruto nodded, "I guess so, and I think I've found a little more motivation myself..." No matter what happened, he'd see this through. Even if it killed him.
- Two Days Later -
"You've killed me..." Naruto groaned in pain as he was dragged down the road, facedown, by his leg.
Soi Fon scoffed, "Oh please, stop being so dramatic! It's not my fault you refuse to walk back to Tazuna's place yourself."
Naruto turned over his shoulder to glare at her, "It's not that I refuse to walk, it's that my legs literally can't hold my weight after the workout you forced me through!"
"You wanted to learn Shunpo, did you think it'd be easy?" The petite captain asked with a smirk, "Shunpo is a technique that requires years of training to use, and decades to make it battle ready. You're not going to pick it up just like that!" She huffed, 'Though, I will admit that he's learning far quicker than I expected... Shin mentioned that he came from a long line of powerful and intelligent warriors, and I think I'm starting to see that...'
"Oh, I know why you're so hard on me today... It's because of what happened with Yoruichi-sensei last night!"
"Grk!" Sou Fon froze, a slight blush on her face.
Naruto gave a mischievous grin, "It really was a stroke of luck finding that hot spring in the forest, and how generous of Yoruichi-sensei to cut the training short to enjoy it!" Heedless of the tick mark appearing on Soi Fon's forehead, Naruto continued, "Ah, Yoruichi-sensei and I had a marvelous time soaking after a hard day's training. Though I'm sure you would've loved to be there, right?" By now Soi Fon was shaking in rage, her grip on Naruto's leg tightening, "Ah, you should've seen her glorious body, dripping wet in the evening sunlight... Of course, she was in cat form most of the t- AAAAHH!" Naruto yelled as Soi Fon suddenly threw him forward.
Meanwhile, Yoruichi stepped out of Tazuna's house with a raised eyebrow, Soi Fon and Naruto should've been back by now... Then, as if Kami heard her, Naruto suddenly landed on the ground near the house, skidding forward until he stopped right in front of her, "Oh, there you are." Yoruichi was slightly curious about what happened to him, but she got her answer when Soi Fon appeared via Shunpo, red faced and glaring at Naruto. Yoruichi shook her head, reaching down to pick Naruto up by the back of his shirt, "Bad Naruto, no teasing Soi Fon!"
"Thank you Yoruichi-sa-"
"You need to wait until you're fast enough to get away before you do that, or you end up like this!"
"Y-Yoruichi-sama!" Soi Fon gasped.
It wasn't long after that when everyone in the house settled in for dinner. Tazuna looked over to the disheveled Naruto, "Jeez kid, you get run over by a wagon or something?"
Naruto simply let out a pained groan into the table, before picking himself up and rubbing his neck, "I'm gonna go with 'or something'." With a sharp jerk of his head, a popping sound came from Naruto's neck, and he gave a sigh of relief.
"Maybe you should take it a little easier Naruto, you wouldn't want to seriously injure yourself..." Tsunami said as she came in from the kitchen, concern on her face.
"Oh, don't worry about me. I can handle this no problem, plus I can't take it easy if I want to beat Zabuza and take Gato down..."
"You really think it's that easy?" A soft voice asked in a mocking tone. Everyone turned to see Inari walking down the stairs, glaring at Naruto, "You should just give up, no matter how hard you train you won't be able to beat Gato, it's hopeless."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Nothing is hopeless. As cheesy as it may sound, as long as people have hope then nothing is impossible."
If anything, that only seemed to make Inari angrier, "That's easy for you to say! You come here acting like you're gonna solve all our problems like some kind of hero, but you're just gonna die like everyone else! The heroes always die!"
Naruto was silent, staring at Inari, "You lost someone." Inari's eyes widened, "You lost someone you looked up to, that's why you gave up, right?"
Tears build up in the young boy's eyes, "Shut up... SHUT UP!" He yelled, "Don't act like you know me, you don't know anything! You don't know how it feels to be hopeless, I bet you've never been unhappy in your entire life! You've had it easy while we were here being crushed over and over again, you don't have the right to to tell me or anyone else how we should feel!"
An uncomfortable silence settled onto the group, with even Yoruichi and Soi Fon not quite knowing what to say. Inari wiped the tears from his eyes before storming past the table, only to be stopped by Naruto's voice.
"I didn't." Inari stopped, looking over at him confusedly, "I never told you how you should feel, because you're right. I had a good childhood, never had any problems anywhere near as bad as yours, so I can't even begin to imagine how you feel. But that doesn't mean I can't help Nami." Naruto said, clenching his fist, "I swore to help Tazuna finish his bridge and free this country, and that's exactly what I'm going to do. I don't care what you think of me, you can hate me, say I'm wasting my time or throwing my life away, but I will never give up. Even if everyone else in Nami decides to just lie down and accept Gato's rule, then I'll build that bridge myself if I have to!" Naruto rose from the chair, "I've spent my entire life dreaming that I had the power to help people who need it, and I'll be damned if I throw it all away now, when I can finally make that dream a reality!" Naruto took a few seconds to calm himself down, "You'd better not get used to wallowing in self-pity, because I'll save this country whether you think I can do it or not... I'm going out to train some more." He said, heading out the door.
Soi Fon got up to follow, but a hand on the shoulder from Yoruichi stopped her. The two shared a look, before Soi Fon sighed and sat back down.
Meanwhile Naruto was walking through the forest, back to the clearing he usually trained in. He didn't know why he blew up like that... Once he started talking, everything else just came out. He wanted to say something to help Inari, but maybe he just said it to reassure himself. Either way, after a declaration like that he couldn't fail to save Nami, could he? Once he made it to the clearing, Naruto took a moment to steady himself before pulling out and activating his kunai.
Actually, there was something he'd been wanting to try...
- The next morning -
Naruto was shaken from his sleep, leaning back against a tree, by the arrival of someone else in the clearing. He looked around with bleary eyes, shaking the sleep from his brain. He must've gotten too into his training and fallen asleep, "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you."
Naruto stretched and looked over to see... a very pretty girl. She had long brown hair, soft features, and was wearing a pink yukata. Naruto waved it off, "Ah, it's alright... I probably shouldn't be sleeping in a place like this anyway."
She gave a slight laugh, "I was going to ask about that, why are you sleeping out here?"
Naruto stood up, continuing to stretch, "I was training last night and got a little too into it."
"I can see that..." She said, looking around at the clearing. Slash marks, chunks taken out of the trees, gouges in the ground, "Are you a Shinobi?"
Naruto shook his head, a sheepish expression on his face, "No, I'm just a guy trying to make his way in the world I guess. Oh, my name's Naruto Uzumaki!" He said, holding out his hand.
She smiled, shaking his hand, "Haku, just Haku."
"Well, nice to meet you Haku! So what're you doing out here, anyway?"
Haku indicated the basket she was carrying, "I'm gathering herbs for a friend of mine, he's a bit under the weather and I need to make a salve for him."
"Let me help you out, my godmother kinda forced me to learn a few things about medicinal herbs..." Naruto said, remembering how Tsunade had beat the knowledge into both himself and Yui.
"I'd appreciate that, thank you!" So the two went to work, it took a bit for Naruto's knowledge to kick in, but he did pretty well in finding the herbs for himself. Of course Haku was much better at it, and Naruto couldn't help but wonder what kind of life she'd lived to have to learn these skills, "Naruto, why do you fight?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you fight?" Haku asked once again, "I believe that people can only gain true strength if the have something to protect, something precious that they have to keep safe at all costs... So, why do you fight?"
Naruto thought about her words for a minute, "Well, I don't think I fight to protect anyone... At least that's not the main reason. Don't get me wrong, I'd do anything to keep my friends and family safe, but they never really needed me to protect them. All my life I've been surrounded by people a lot stronger than me, hell even my own baby sister could've kicked my ass with barely any effort if she really wanted to. Not even to mention my parents or the rest of my family." He shook his head, "I don't really have some big motivation... I just want to help people. If that means I have to fight, then I'll fight as hard as I can for their sake. Am I making any sense?"
Haku gained an understanding smile, "I understand, and I think you have a good heart." She said as she stood up with her basket, "I'd better get back to my friend, it was nice to meet you, Naruto"
"It was nice to meet you too Haku!" Naruto said with a grin, "Then again, it's always nice to meet a lady as beautiful as yourself..."
A look of amusement crossed Haku's face, "I'll bet... I also look forward to seeing just how strong your desire to help people is." Before Naruto could wonder what she meant, Haku turned to leave. Not before speaking over her shoulder to him, "I'm a guy, by the way."
"Wah?" Was all Naruto got out as he felt his world shatter around him. That was a guy!? Why was he so pretty!? Wait, no he wasn't!
"Well that was an interesting experience..." Naruto said to himself as he walked through Nami's main town. After recovering from the emotional shock of Haku being a guy, he'd decided to take a little walk to work out the stiffness in his body. He'd also made sure to stop by the old inn and make sure the kids were alright. Thankfully they were doing a good job of keeping their hideaway secret, and Gato's thugs were none the wiser.
Soon Naruto found himself walking along the shore, staring out to sea, "Huh, I didn't realize at first, but this is my first time seeing the ocean..." Seeing the calm waves lapping at the shore brought back memories. Strangely enough, of his mother. She used to tell him stories about her time in Uzu, and many of them featured the ocean. She used to say that the Uzumaki were a lot like the ocean itself; gentle, but holding incredible power, "It's weird... I've never seen it in person before, but I almost feel at home."
"Lucky, I wish I could experience it for the first time again." A voice beside him said.
Naruto turned to see the man he'd spotted when he was with Tsunami. He was standing near Naruto, staring out at the ocean with a forlorn expression on his face, "Well, at least when Gato's gone you'll get to have a lot more fun with it, right?" Naruto asked.
He nodded and the two stood there for a bit, before his eyes widened, "W-Wait, did you hear me!?"
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Of course I heard you." It was then that Naruto noticed something that he hadn't, a broken chain attached to his chest. He idly remembered Yoruichi mentioning something about a chain plus souls had, also this guy felt different from a normal person, "Are you... dead?"
He nodded, "Yeah, my name's Kaiza!" He said happily, grabbing Naruto's hand and shaking it vigorously, "Kami, it's been so long since I've been able to talk to anybody! I thought I'd just go crazy from loneliness!" Eventually he let go of Naruto's hand and calmed down. Honestly Naruto didn't blame him for being so excited, being alone for so long must've been torture, "Oh, you're one of the people staying with Tazuna, Tsunami and Inari."
"You know them?"
Kaiza flinched, the happiness being replaced by sadness, "I do, or well... Did. I came to Nami to start a new life for myself, then I ran across Inari and saved him from drowning. After I brought him home I met Tsunami and Tazuna. I didn't intend to stay in Nami for very long, but I took a shine to Inari and started to teach him everything I know. One thing led to another and I ended up falling for Tsunami, we got married and life seemed pretty great for a while. Then Gato came..." Kaiza said, a hand coming up to rub his shoulder, "I lived by the motto of protecting what's precious to me with my own two arms... So Gato had them cut off and executed me. In front of everyone in Nami..." He shook his head, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have burdened you with knowing how I died."
Naruto waved his concern off, "No, it's alright... After being alone for so long you deserve the chance to talk to someone about whatever you want."
Kaiza bowed his head, "Thank you." The two stood in second, before Kaiza seemed to realize something, "Um, I know this is a lot to ask, but could you help me with something?" Seeing Naruto nod, he continued, "It's about Inari, I want to help him but until you came along I never thought I'd have the chance. I got a present for him, something that he'd wanted for a while. Then everything with Gato happened and I never got a chance to give it to him. But it's still hidden under the floor in the house, in a spot only I knew about. The gift itself isn't really anything special, but it's got a note from me with it, and I want Inari to read it."
"Alright, then let's head back!" Naruto said with a smile, if this could help Inari get a little hope back then he was all for it.
Naruto entered the house, Kaiza coming in behind him. Everyone was seated around the table, having just finished breakfast, "Oh, good. Everybody's here."
Tsunami looked up, relief on her face, "Naruto! When you didn't come back last night we got worried about you."
"Sorry about that, I ended up falling asleep in the forest... Anyway I actually have something important to do." Naruto said, before turning to Kaiza, "So where is it?"
"Over here."
"Uh, kid? Who're you talking to?" Tazuna asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Kaiza." Naruto answered simply, "He wants Inari to have something, but he didn't get a chance to give it to you before he died." He missed the shocked and confused looks on everyone's faces and followed Kaiza to one corner of the room, where he followed his instructions to remove a few floorboard. Once he was done, Naruto reached inside and pulled out a large wooden box.
As he took it over to the table and set it down, Tsunami stared at it in shock, "W-What is- Did you say Kaiza!?"
Naruto nodded, just now realizing how crazy he probably looked, "Oh... Yeah I can see ghosts apparently. After Kaiza died he stuck around, unable to move on. I met him while I was taking a walk and he asked me to give this to Inari. He's also standing right there." Naruto said, indicating said spirit.
Soi Fon groaned, "I believe we told you to keep everything about this a secret..."
Naruto shrugged, "You never said anything about me seeing ghosts. Also what was I supposed to say? 'Hey I suddenly know about Kaiza, oh by the way here's a present from him and don't ask how I knew about it'?"
"H-Hold on," Tazuna started, "Y-You're serious about this?"
Yoruichi nodded, "We can't give all the details, but the afterlife is a real place, and sometimes spirits don't move on like they're supposed to. Soi Fon, Naruto, and myself can see these spirits, and I suppose you could call us exorcists. It's our job to send these spirits on to the afterlife, though we didn't expect to find any here." She said, giving Kaiza a look.
"H-He's really here?" A quiet voice asked. Everyone looked to see Inari, staring at Naruto, "How do we know you're not lying, that this isn't some kind of trick?"
Instead of responding, Naruto simply pushed the box toward Inari. Then, almost like he was afraid it'd hurt him, Inari slowly reached out to open it. Inside the box was a crossbow along with a bunch of bolts for it, and they still looked brand-new. However the thing that caught Inari's attention the most was the piece of paper placed squarely on top, 'Remember, Inari, never give up and always protect what's precious to you with your two strong arms!' Inari stared at the note for a minute, before his hands started shaking and his eyes welled up with tears, and it wasn't long before he was crying freely, with Tsunami giving him a hug.
Everyone let them have their moment, before Tsunami spoke up, "What will happen to Kaiza now?"
Soi Fon stood up and drew her gigai's zanpakuto. While it wasn't a real zanpakuto, she could perform a konso with it all the same, "He'll have to move on." She said, looking to Kaiza, "It's not good for you to stay in the living world for very long."
Kaiza nodded, "Alright, I just wish I could talk to everyone one last time..." Then a sudden thought hit him, "Oh, Naruto! Could I ask you for another favor?" A few minutes later found Naruto writing out some notes for everyone.
Tsunami took hers, 'I love you, Tsunami. No matter where I am or where I go, I always will.' She stifled a sob and nodded, "I love you too, Kaiza."
'Tazuna, keep everyone safe for me, and have a drink for me too!' Tazuna chuckled, "You got it."
Lastly was Inari, 'Inari, I know things have been hard, but as long as you keep hope alive in your heart, you can always make it better. Just remember what I taught you, trust those close to you, and you'll find your way through any hardship.' A single nod was all Inari was able to manage through his tears. Kaiza took one last look at everyone before turning to Soi Fon, "I'm ready."
Soi Fon nodded, "Then may you rest peacefully." She said, bringing her sword up and tapping the butt against his forehead. Kaiza seemed to relax, and his body started to fade away.
With one last smile, Kaiza turned to Naruto, "Give Gato hell for me!" After that, Kaiza completely faded and left the world of the living.
Naruto had a small smile on his face as he watched, happy that everything seemed to work out. Though he still had to deal with Gato... His thoughts were interrupted as Yoruichi put a hand on his shoulder, nodding her head toward Tsunami and Tazuna comforting Inari, "Let's head outside and give them some privacy." Once they were outside and walking into the forest, Yoruichi gave him a smile, "That was a nice thing you did, though we'll have to make sure they know to keep everything a secret."
Soi Fon crossed her arms, "You might not be completely hopeless after all."
"I guess that's the closest thing to a complement I'm gonna get from you..." Naruto said with a good-natured smile. Even Soi Fon's Ice queen attitude couldn't ruin his good mood. It'd never really clicked with him that he could probably see ghosts until he met Kaiza, and he was already wondering how he could use it. It felt good to help Kaiza reach out to his family one last time, and to help them find some closure. Maybe once he came back that'd be part of his job? Of course he knew not everyone could get as nice a sendoff as Kaiza got, but it would be nice to give them some semblance of comfort as they moved on.
Once they reached the clearing, Yoruichi watched Naruto activate his kunai, "Zabuza's going to be back in fighting shape soon, so we're going to step up your training. We're going to be coming at you with the intent to kill from now on, so you'd better be ready!"
Naruto took a breath and held his sword at the ready, "Bring it on!"
Chapter End!
Alright, finally done! So next chapter will be the battle on the bridge and Naruto's introduction to his real training. Again, I'm sorry if this chapter was a bit rough. I think the thing I had the most trouble with was the whole Inari situation... I mean, I can't have Naruto blow up on him like he did in canon, my version of Naruto really doesn't know what Inari's going through. So I tried to do it in a way that I felt made sense.
About his fullbring, do you guys think that it being able to mimic elements in addition to shaping whatever he wants would be too OP? I mean, it's meant to act as a replacement for chakra, but using all the elements in addition to what it'll already be able to do might be too much... Actually, compared to the shit people like Madara as well as canon Naruto or Sasuke do, it might not be as much of a hack as I first thought... Well, let me know what you guys think!
Oh, there is one more important thing I wanted to run by you guys... So, I plan to have Naruto gain some allies and make his own little Shinigami division in the Nations. It's mainly going to consist of some canon characters Naruto would meet who would be recruited by either he or Shin for one reason or another, with a couple OC's that he meets on missions. The thing I want to ask you guys is; how involved in the main story should they be? Should they go on missions with Naruto and be involved in the 4th war, or should they just stick to being side characters who are around, but don't really get involved in the main story events? I've only got two members planned out so far, one canon character and an OC. However I should make it clear that this won't be a collection of every character that I like and wanted to stick around. Like, I think Madara is awesome, but we can probably all agree that he wouldn't join up...
But, since this little division is going to happen whether they're involved in the story or not, I'd definitely be willing to hear you guys out if you have characters you think would be a good fit for it. Also I'm not gonna kill people off just so they can be in this division, it has to be a character that's died in the canon series.
So, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you all next time!