Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto.

I got no excuse, only an apology. I'm sorry this took so long.

Chapter 24: Invasion

Karakura Town - Park

Yammy followed the group while he spat in disgust. "Pah, I've been here once before as a Hollow. The air's still as thin and disgusting as back then!"

Ulquiorra gave his partner a disdainful look. "Of course it is, Yammy. What do you expect from a place full of nothing but trash?"

The large Arrancar grunted. "Whatever you say, Ulquiorra." He then levelled a glare at Hidan and Kakuzu. "These two bastards being here isn't helping either."

The Jashinist turned from Kakuzu to Yammy and mocked. "Hah? It's not like we wanted to be here with you freaks! We're only here because Leader-sama told us to."

"Pah, I don't care what you two humans do! Just stay out of our way!"

Hidan sneered, "Same thing to you, fatso!"

Yammy stopped in his tracks to grasp Hidan's cloak. "What did you call me, you weakling human?!"

Ulquiorra was quick as he appeared in front of his associate and landed a backhand to his torso, making him let go of Hidan. "That's enough, Yammy. While Aizen-sama doesn't care the insults that fly between us, he draws the line at physical confrontation." He turns his turquoise eyes to the two Akatsuki members. "I'm sure that your leader told you the same."

Hidan huffed while Kakuzu replied, "Indeed he did. Hidan," he turned to his partner, "keep it down. We aren't here to antagonize them."

"Tch, whatever," he scoffed as they continued walking to Karakura Town.

They were stopped halfway when they came across a bunch of people playing in the park. Yammy sneered and spat in disgust. "Bah, look at them all! It's disgusting!" Without preamble, he puckered his lips and started sucking. The humans started to glow before they all fell to the ground and the glow left their bodies and went onto Yammy's mouth.

Once it finished, Yammy then grunts out his dissatisfaction. "They taste disgusting!"

Ulquiorra glanced at Yammy disdainfully. "Trash tastes like trash, Yammy. It doesn't take a genius to know that." He then raised his hand as Yammy was about to retort. "Hold. I sense a few nearby who weren't affected by your Pesquisa."

Hidan grinned madly, drawing his scythe. "Who is it? Is it those Shinigami bastards?"

"No. They're stronger than the other trash, but they're trash, nonetheless."

The Jashinist scowled before returning to a grin. "Jashin-sama won't mind if I give him some appetizers!"

Ulquiorra glanced at him with something akin to disgust before he put his hands in his pockets and waited for the approaching enemies. Yammy, on the other hand, couldn't contain his excitement; his entire body shook with it.

Kakuzu snorted as he walked to a nearby boulder on the ground and sat on it while he watched Hidan plant his scythe on the ground and leaned on it to wait.

Seconds later, their opponents showed themselves. Ulquiorra stayed quiet for a brief second before he spoke.

"Impressive for trash to not run away at the mere sight of us, let alone at our power, but you're still trash."

Kakuzu kept quiet as he observed the newcomers. Even though he didn't find Ulquiorra's classification of trash credible – mostly due to how the damn bastard always called everyone except for Aizen trash – he would have to agree in this situation. An orange-haired, airheaded girl and some quiet, bulky boy hardly constituted as worthy opponents. He doubted even Jashin would like them as sacrifices.

Obviously, Hidan doesn't agree with his thoughts because he laughed aloud. "Hahahaha! Who cares if they're trash?! They'll still be sacrifices to Jashin-sama!" He eyed the boy. "That one will be first!"

The two opponents immediately dropped onto fighting stances – sloppy stances, Kakuzu noted – as they stared anxiously at the four of them.

Ulquiorra nevertheless continued, "Still, you're in the way and must be eliminated."

Yammy quickly stepped forward, cracking his knuckles intimidatingly. "Hah! Let me at them, Ulquiorra! I'll crush them like the bug that they are!"

Hidan shouted out as he moved to Yammy's side. "Oi! Give me at least one, shithead! I need at least one for Jashin-sama!"

The large person glared down at him and was about to turn to him when Ulquiorra stopped him.

"Let him have one, Yammy. Aizen-sama doesn't want us to fight just yet."

"Tch," he clicked his tongue in annoyance, "Fine! You get the girl, human!"

Hidan grinned. "I don't care which one as long as I get one!"

"Orihime," the bulky boy shouted to the girl, "Run! I'll hold them both off!"

The girl was hesitant as she stuttered out, "B-But, Sado-kun!"

"Go!" His left arm was then covered in some kind of dark liquid that solidified into armor, with intricate magenta lines along its length. He clenched his fist and then charged at Yammy.

Almost immediately, he was struck down by a powerful blow from Yammy, cutting off his arm at the elbow and breaking off at the shoulder.

Orihime looked on in horror at Sado's state as he was sent flying back to her. Immediately, she called out her powers, encasing his arm with her Shun Shun Rikka and repairing the damage.

Ulquiorra and Kakuzu immediately took note of it, eyeing it and her and her curiously.

Yammy/The brute destroyed the boy's arm and she could somehow restore it back within seconds? They both thought, with Kakuzu adding an afterthought. Senju Hashirama was the other person I've ever encountered who could ever regenerate an entire limb that quickly. And that was due to his life force and Mokuton abilities. They both had the same thought after. This girl is bound to be dangerous if not handled immediately.

Yammy scoffed as he turned to face Hidan. "Oi, I changed my mind; they're both yours. Neither of them are any fun."

Hidan chuckled menacingly as he approached the two of them. "Jashin-sama will have his blood today!"

Orihime gazed up at him in fear, making him groan out in satisfaction.

"Good! Be more afraid! Jashin-sama loves your fear!"

Her fear drove her to point her palms at him and shout in desperation, "Koten Zanshun, I reject!"

A light emerged from her hairpin and zoomed towards Hidan.

The Jashinist smirked cockily as he easily grasped the projectile with his free hand and crushed it without difficulty. "Pathetic attempt, bitch," he laughed loudly.

"Tsubaki," Orihime gasped out in horror before she realized that she was now defenseless before these four. "G-Get back!"

Hidan kept on walking towards her, pulling out a stake from his robes and pointing it at her and then raising his head to the sky. "Oh, Jashin-sama, be pleased by this paltry sacrifices!" He lowered his head to her and moved to thrust the stake through her chest.

Just as the stake reached Orihime, however, Hidan jumped away from his position when someone descended on it from above.

The Jashinist frowned at the new arrival, snarling, "Who dares come between Jashin and his sacrifice?!"

The dust cleared from the point of impact, revealing the purple-haired woman, standing from crouched.

"Shihoin Yoruichi," Ulquiorra spoke up, his body still as lax as before. "One of the few Shinigami stationed in this town."

Yammy grinned. "So does that mean she's strong?!"

"She's more powerful than the two pieces of trash behind her but her skills have dulled since Aizen-sama caused her and her associates to be exiled from Soul Society. Still, it's wise to not underestimate her."

Hidan laughed as he hefted his scythe over his shoulder. "It's four of us against one of her! She won't beat us!"

Kakuzu resisted the urge to scoff. His partner's overconfidence would be his undoing one day. "I'll sit this one out, Hidan. You can have her."

He turned to his partner with an outraged gaze. "Hah!? What the fuck, Kakuzu?!"

He calmly replied, "Think of it this way. I won't get in the way of you killing her for Jashin, even if she has a high bounty on the Shinigami's equivalent of a bounty station."

Hidan scoffed as he turned back to the silent Yoruichi. "You won't, either way, Kakuzu, but I'll kill her if you won't."

Ulquiorra piped up, "I will abstain from fighting her, Yammy. You take her."

Yammy laughed as he cracked his knuckles again. "Have it your way, Ulquiorra!" He turned to Hidan and said, "Hey, human, I change my mind about you! I like you! You're my kinda guy! Let's kill this bitch together!"

Hidan smirked as he said, "The same thing to ya, big guy!" He pointed his scythe at her. "Bitch, get ready to be a sacrifice to Jashin-sama!"

Yoruichi crouched low in preparation of a fight as she said, "Orihime, get Sado and get out of here. I'll take them on."

"B-But, Yoruichi-san, you can't take on four of them at once!"

She glanced over her shoulder to offer Orihime a reassuring smile. "Don't underestimate me, Orihime. I've handled my fair share of men before and these guys aren't any different." She returned her gaze to them and firmly said, "Now go and don't look back."

Orihime grimly nodded as she moved to drag Sado's restored body away from the fight.

Kakuzu, however, would have none of that. He clapped his hands once and a wall of earth burst from behind Orihime and Yoruichi, cutting off the former's escape. "No one is escaping us, Shinigami. Not even the human."

Yoruichi clicked her tongue as she moved to cover Orihime from them. "You aren't getting to them…over my dead body."

Hidan laughed maniacally. "Bitch, that's the idea! None of you leaves alive!"

She gritted her teeth as Yammy and Hidan started to rush towards her. She crouched in preparation to defend against them.

They charged and Yoruichi responded in kind. Yammy approached her and pulled his fist to punch down at her. She easily dodged it and ran up his large arm and moved to land a kick to his face.

Hidan was on her in a flash, his scythe slicing upward in an effort to cut off her leg. She used her other leg to push herself off of Yammy's arm, flipping backward to avoid them.

Landing on the ground, she ran at them and appeared behind Yammy, her leg outstretched once more to strike at his back. It impacted but it didn't do anything except make a loud smack. Yoruichi clicked her tongue in annoyance as Yammy swiftly turned around and aimed his elbow to smack her in midair.

Yoruichi immediately moved away from the arc, kicking off his back to propel herself away from him. When she landed, a shadow loomed over her, making her look up. Hidan was grinning gleefully at her as his scythe was poised to slam down on her position.

She flashed away from the spot just as the Jashinist hit the ground, stopping by a nearby tree only to push off of its trunk to dash at Hidan.

Hidan raised his head to her with his grin, pulling his scythe off the ground and swung it at her. She easily leapt over it, landed within his guard, and moved to punch his exposed torso hard. It landed and Hidan was sent flying to the opposite tree.

Yoruichi wasn't allowed to rest as Yammy turned to her with his fist raised, a threatening red glow appearing on it. He released the attack at Yoruichi, sending a lightning-fast ball towards her. Her form fizzled and suddenly appeared a few feet to the right and the ball zoomed past her and narrowly whizzed past Kakuzu.

Kakuzu, for his part, didn't move from his spot and seemed unfazed by the attack, only grunting out, "Watch where you aim that thing, Arrancar."

Yammy sneered. "Then you shouldn't be in the way, human!"

He scoffed softly but didn't further reply.

Yoruichi frowned as she dashed once more towards Yammy, her form phasing left and right as she approached him. She suddenly stopped mid-run as a scythe was slammed in her path. She swiftly turned her head to the side, where Hidan was pulled towards his scythe by its rope.

He roared, "Not done yet, bitch!"

She clicked her tongue in annoyance, crouching low to avoid the incoming human projectile. She was about to move when two hands emerged from the ground beneath her feet and grabbed her by the ankles, holding her in place. What?! She had enough time to see the distant Kakuzu with his arms buried into the ground before she was tackled by Hidan, her limbs then being pinned by earthen shackles.

"Yoruichi-san," Orihime shouted in horror, seeing her only shield against those four monsters be pinned down. Then, a massive shadow towered over her and she turned her horrified gaze to the hulking form of Yammy. Her body froze in terror, unwilling to move away from the current threat.

"You should be worrying about yourself, human!" He raised his hand menacingly. "I will enjoy crushing your body to a pulp!" He brought his hand down to grab her when a small form appeared between them and jammed a blue sphere onto his torso, shouting, "Rasengan!"

Yammy was then sent flying back to Ulquiorra and Kakuzu, hitting Hidan and taking him back to them.

Ulquiorra and Kakuzu, for their part, immediately looked alert at the newcomer.

Kakuzu muttered out, "You…"

Uzumaki Naruko retracted her hand and stood up, punching her palm at them. "I don't know what you guys are doing here but you made a bad choice attacking Karakura Town!" Behind her, Urahara and Tessai landed with grim looks on their faces.

Hidan pushed Yammy off of him with a snarl. "Get off of me, fatso!" He then scrambled to get up and glared at Naruko. "You'll pay for that, bitch!"

She casted a glance at the pinned Yoruichi and let her loose with a single hand seal. The freed Shinigami was immediate in standing up and joining her companions as she moves to Orihime's side and kneeling in front of her. "We'll be safe, for now. Is Sado safe to be moved before we can get out of here?"

Orihime struggled to calm herself from her shock before Yoruichi placed her hands on her shoulder.

"Orihime, breathe in and breathe out. You can do this."

"H-H-Hai, Y-Yoruichi-san," she stuttered as she did as ordered, breathing in and out to calm herself before she shakily looked at Sado, "Y-Yes, he can be moved."

Yoruichi nodded before hefting the large man over her shoulder. "Come on, Orihime. Let's get out of here." Orihime got close to her and put her arms around her neck, allowing Yoruichi to hook an arm around Orihime's waist and jump away.

"Get back here!" Hidan shouted before he snarled at Naruko, Urahara, and Tessai. "You'll pay for getting between Jashin-sama and his sacrifices!"

Naruko smirked as she crouched to a stance. "Looks like your god will have to go hungry for a bit longer!"

He hissed as he hefted his scythe. "Then, you'll have to suffice to sate his hunger!" With a roar, the Jashinist charged at Naruko, Kakuzu behind him muttering, "Idiot."

The blonde ran towards him in retaliation, leaping over him when he swung his scythe and landing behind him. Hidan snarled and turned around, bringing his scythe up and down on her. She rolled to the side and swung her leg on his knees, making him tumble to the ground.

Yammy, Kakuzu, Urahara, and Tessai jumped into action, the mustached man immediately pointing his palms at them and chanting, "Hado no San-ju-san: Sokatsui!"

Blue flames burst from his palms towards the opposing group. The Karakura group scattered to let the blue flames pass by them before gathering up and charging behind the flame.

Yammy sneered as he rushed forward and took the flames head-on, not suffering any damage at all. "Bah! You'll have to try harder than that!"

Naruko frowned, rushing ahead of the group and forming a Rasengan in her hand.

He growled as he stomped forward to meet her, his fist raised and poised to strike.

They both moved their hands forward and their attacks met, creating a powerful shockwave. Hidan moved above them, bringing his scythe down on Naruko.

Urahara drew Benihime and silently released her Shikai, unleashing an arc of energy at him. Hidan snarled as he reacted and blocked the attack, being sent back in response.

Naruko and Yammy broke fists before the man raised his other fist to bring down on her. She jumped over the fist and planted her feet on his arm, dashing forward and leaping over Yammy's body. She landed behind him and clapped her hands, chanting, "Futon: Kaze Tengai!"

She gathered chakra around her to form winds that became a dome around her, which exploded outward, sending Yammy flying forward. Hidan had just landed from Urahara's attack and held firm by channeling chakra to his feet with Kakuzu doing the same and Ulquiorra remaining in place with his reiryoku.

Tessai took advantage of Yammy's flight by clapping his hands, five orbs of light seeping from his closed hands, saying, "Bakudo no Nana-juu-go: Gochutekkan!" The five orbs flew into the air and became five large pillars that pinned Yammy in place. However, he wasn't done. He used his left hand to hold the wrist of his right hand, which was clenched around air, "Bakudo no Kyuu-juu-san: Hono no Gofuken (Way of Binding #93: Swords of Burning Light)!"

Three swords alight with flames descended from the skies and surrounded the pinned Yammy in place, the flames tracing through the ground onto Yammy.

Hidan recovered from the gust of wind as he hefted his scythe and charged at Naruko with a roar.

Naruko whipped out her right hand, a kunai emerging from her sleeve, which she grasped and channeled wind chakra to, a blade of wind gathering from its tip and extending in the shape of a nodachi. She gripped her blade tightly as she swung it and parried Hidan's scythe to the side. Her other hand moved forward and pointed a palm at him, "Hado no San-ju-ichi: Shakkaho!"

A red ball burst from her palm and she grasped it to jam it right onto Hidan's face, exploding point-blank and sending him flying. She then swung her sword back the other way and sent out an air slice at his flying body. Urahara followed through by sending another of Benihime's slashes at him. Tessai attacked next as he chanted, "Hado no Nana-ju-san: Soren Sokatsui!" Twin blasts of blue flame burst from his palms and joined Naruko's and Urahara's attacks at heading towards Hidan.

An explosion rocked the park, blocking their view of the result.

When the explosion subsided, Ulquiorra and Kakuzu were revealed to have blocked the attacks with Hidan crumpled on the ground and struggling to get up.

"This has gone far enough," Ulquiorra announced, lowering his smoking but otherwise unharmed hand. That same hand was immediately pointed at the Bakudo pinning Yammy and fired a sudden shot of red energy that shattered every Bakudo binding him.

The freed Espada clumsily got back up and dusted himself off before he growled at Naruko, Urahara, and Tessai. "I'll kill you bastards!" He opened his mouth, where red energy coalesced pointed at them.

However, before he could fire it off, Naruko appeared directly in front of Yammy and slammed a hand to his face. Yammy finally released the blast onto Naruko's hand but nothing happened soon after. Seconds later, Naruko's palm exploded onto his face.

It felt similar to an explosion from a Cero. Ulquiorra thought to himself, analyzing the explosion hitting Yammy's face, watching dispassionately as the Espada fell to the ground in a dead faint.

She lowered her hand, smoking from the explosion, before turning to face the remaining three. "Now it's your turn."

Ulquiorra kept a frown as he look at the three of them. He was quiet for a few minutes before he snapped his fingers to his side, a dimensional tear opening beside him. "We're leaving. We're outmatched."

Hidan sat up with a roar of rage. "Hah?! What shit are you talking?! We haven't even started."

Kakuzu stepped forward and put a hand to his shoulder. "The Espada is right. We can't fight them, especially if a clone of Uzumaki is here." Without warning, he threw Hidan into the portal and moved to get the unconscious Yammy.

"You aren't going anywhere!" Naruko shouted as she jumped towards them, Urahara and Tessai joining her.

Ulquiorra moved between them and swung his hand, releasing three quick blasts of energy at them.

They easily dealt with the blasts but they stopped in their charge.

The dark-haired Espada drew his blade and pointed it at them. "We are leaving," he firmly stated, "You won't stop us."

Behind him, Kakuzu let out a grunt as he tried to lift Yammy to no avail. He growled before his arm bulged and lifted him again, this time with ease. He was about to throw him to the portal when a yellow flash alerted him to Naruko's presence.

True enough, Naruko was in front of him, left hand on Yammy's palm and her right hand glowing bright with the Rasengan.

The masked Akatsuki growled again before he blocked, using the unconscious Espada against her Rasengan. The sphere struck true and sent Yammy flying. However, Kakuzu had moved himself between the Garganta and Naruko and had pointed Yammy to the Garganta when he used him as a shield. As a result, Yammy flew past him and into the Garganta. He then fully faced Naruko, both arms bulging before exposing the black threads of his Jiongu. "Retreat first, Espada," he commanded, "I'll cover our escape!"

Ulquiorra, casually blocking Urahara's zanpakuto with his blade one-handed while his other hand batted away one of Tessai's Kido, glanced at Kakuzu. Then, he released his reiatsu, making his two opponents fall back to protect themselves, before he moved to the Garganta and disappeared into it.

Kakuzu let out yet another growl, more threads poking out from his body, as he raised his two arms and slammed it on the ground, the black threads protruding from his back exploding outward, threatening to spear his three opponents and ravage the landscape around them.

Tessai brought out his Danku barrier and Urahara joined him behind it while Naruko used a powerful Futon jutsu that split the threads headed her way, spreading them both ways and making them harmlessly pass by her.

When the barrier and the Futon jutsu dissipated, they expressed their annoyance when they discovered that Kakuzu was also gone, the Garganta all but closed.

Naruko clicked her tongue. "While I want to open a dimensional tear to chase after them, I'm not Naruto; I don't have his full abilities. I doubt I'll last long as he would in there."

Urahara approached her and puts a hand to her shoulder, saying "Very wise, Uzumaki-san. Even the mightiest of us will eventually fall against numbers with tremendous power."

She chuckles as she rolls a shoulder. "Yeah, I know. But I'm sure I can still handle myself against them well enough!" She puffed her chest, grinned wide, and laughed loudly. "I'm the great Uzumaki Naruko-sama, after all!"

He couldn't help himself and laughed with her, patting her shoulder. "I'm very sure, Uzumaki-san."

Her grin widened in response. "Alrighty, what say we get back and start beefing ourselves up for when they attack again?"

Tessai bowed his head, muttering, "What an excellent suggestion, Uzumaki-dono. We must begin our retraining to prepare for their inevitable invasion."

Naruko saluted them. "You guys do your thing. I'm going to head over to Ichigo-kun and the Visoreds to tell them what happened."

En route to Konohagakure no Sato

Sasuke couldn't help the amused smirk that came to his face when he looked at Naruto fiddling with his Kage robe. "Having trouble there, dobe?"

The two men flanking Naruto glared at Sasuke but he ignored them as the blond calmed them with a raised hand.

Naruto, for his part, clicked his tongue while he loosened his Kage robe a bit. "Shut up, teme. I'd like to see you wearing a Kage robe and not be annoyed by this stupid thing."

He snorted, waving a hand in dismissal. "No, thank you. Judging by what I'm seeing, it's a lot more trouble than it's worth."

One of Naruto's guards, the armored male, glared at Sasuke with his red eyes as he put a hand to his sword. "Naruto-sama, he's not showing you the proper respect. I will not stand for it."

The other guard, a tall man with horns on his forehead, raised his hand. "I agree with him, Naruto. This whelp should be taught the proper respect"

Naruto let out a sigh, waving his hand again. "Stand down, you two. Temujin, stay your blade. Kuroma, lower that hand. We aren't here to start a fight. We are here to broker an alliance, or at least an agreement, with the Hokage. Attacking one of her shinobi is not gonna help that."

Temujin and Kuroma hesitantly did as ordered, bowing their heads and saying, "As you wish, Naruto/Naruto-sama."

Sasuke snorted at that but didn't reply, instead frowning at Naruto. "How soon do you think Madara and this Aizen guy will attack or something?"

Naruto frowned in return. "It wouldn't surprise me if they attacked right now. Those two are notoriously cunning. Who knows what they're thinking?"

The Uchiha scowled as he went silent in thought, making Naruto narrow his eyes.

With his ability to sense emotions, Naruto sensed some anger start to simmer from within him "What are you thinking, Sasuke?"

"Eh? Nothing you need to worry about, Naruto. I'm just thinking that I'll need to train a lot harder so that I'll be ready for them."

Naruto then sensed some semblance of worry coming from Jiraiya.

"Don't worry about it, Naruto. You already have plenty of things to worry about, Naruto. Let me worry about myself." Naruto opened his mouth but Sasuke glared at him. "I said, don't worry about it."

He frowned at Sasuke but relented. "Alright…I won't press the issue, Sasuke." Nodding, Sasuke turned around to face the road.

Naruto glanced at Jiraiya, whose face was also set into a frown as he stared at Sasuke. Jiraiya noticed his gaze and shook his head. Let me handle this, he silently communicated to his old apprentice. Naruto silently sighed and nodded. So be it.

They trekked forward onto Konoha in silence after. Eventually, the large gates and walls of Konohagakure were in sight and Naruto couldn't help the smile that graced his face at seeing it. Jiraiya noticed his smile and gave a smile of his own.

The five of them approached the entrance booth, where the two Chuunin usually in charge of it, Kotetsu and Izumo stood. Their faces were blank with shock as they stared at Naruto and his Kage robe.

Naruto let out a chuckle as he waved his hand at them in greeting. "Yo, long time no see, yeah?"

They shook themselves out of their stupor before they grinned at him.

Izumo chuckled at him. "Hey, brat, it has been a long time, indeed."

Kotetsu processed their papers before he looked up at him. "You sure you should be back here, Naruto? You are still banished, after all."

Naruto grinned as he took out a scroll, bearing the insignia of the Hi no Kuni Daimyo, before he turned around and jabbed a thumb at the insignia on the back of his robe. "Let's just say that my banishment is rendered null and void." They were wide-eyed at him. He turned back to face them and gave them a salute. "I'd love to stay and chat but I have to go talk with Baa-chan. See ya guys around!"

They gave him their farewell and begrudgingly returned to their work after Naruto and the others entered fully into the village.

As they passed through the main street of Konoha, they ignored the stares and whispers from nearby people. Then, Naruto grinned as he jumped high and landed on an electric pole, gazing down at the village. He crossed his arms and exclaimed, "This place hasn't changed at all!"

Jiraiya and Sasuke chuckled and looked up at him as Temujin and Kuroma kept a close eye on their Uzukage.

Then, they heard someone approaching them and turned to see a head of pink hair getting closer to them.

Sasuke gave a brief nod to her. "Sakura," he greeted.

Sakura smiled at him. "Hey, Sasuke-kun, welcome back," she returned.

"Hn," he grunted back, making her shake her head at him.

She then turned to Jiraiya and bowed at him, "Jiraiya-sama."

The Sage chuckled as he waved his hand, "Hey, kid, fancy seeing you here."

Raising her head, she furrowed her brows at the two others with them. "Um…who are those two?"

Temujin and Kuroma looked at her and gave a nod of their heads.

"I am Temujin."

"I am Kuroma. We are escorts to Uzukage-sama."

Sakura blinked as she tilted her head, asking, "Uzukage? I didn't even know such a Kage exists outside of the Gokage."

A voice from above interrupted her thoughts, "Oh, hey, Sakura-chan!"

The pinkette looked up only to see a shadow dropping from above and landing in front of her. She took a few steps back in surprise before she focused on the person who landed. Her eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Naruto?!"

Naruto grinned at her, giving her a two-fingered salute. "Yo, Sakura-chan, it's been a while!"

Sakura then became worried as she looked around. "Are you sure you should be in the village? You are still banished, after all. I mean, it's a stupid sentence for you but it's still in effect."

The blond let out a laugh, making her glare at him.

"This is serious, Naruto! I don't want you…to get…into…trouble…" She trailed off as her eyes finally registered what he was wearing. Her eyes were wide as she alternated between looking at him and the robe. "Wh-what? What are you wearing?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly, chuckling at her, "Uzukage, at your service, Sakura-chan, officially recognized by the Daimyo of Hi no Kuni, kept a secret from the world at my request."

She went speechless at his revelation.

"And as he told me when I met with him, as a recognized Kage, my banishment at Konoha's hands is rendered null and void."

"…"

Naruto laughed, scratching the back of his head again, sheepishly and weakly saying, "Surprise?"

Seeing as Sakura didn't respond at all, Sasuke let out a sigh, rubbing his forehead. "Great, you broke Sakura with your status, dobe."

He coughed awkwardly into his hand. "Shut up, teme."

It took minutes later for Sakura to recover from her shock and gestured at Naruto, grabbing his shoulders. "Wh-What is the meaning of this, Naruto?! You're a Kage now?!" She paused. "And you have bodyguards, too?!"

A hand was placed on her wrist and she snapped her head towards the glaring Temujin. "Unhand Naruto-sama. We are told to let insults slide; while it will depend on the manner of insults, we will not suffer any physical action done against him."

Naruto interrupted her retort. "Just…just do it, Sakura-chan. I tried to get them to lighten up but this was one of the things that they won't let go."

Sakura frowned but hesitantly let go of him. "Fine. But I want an explanation for this."

He smiled at her. "Well, you can join us. We're about to go over to the Hokage Tower; I've got some things to tell Baa-chan, some that are confidential, some that aren't."

Her frown deepened but she relented. "Fine. But it had better be a good explanation."

The party of four now became a party of five as they walked to the entrance to the Hokage Tower. They ventured in and eventually got to the next level, stopping the door to the office. Jiraiya knocked on the wooden surface and waited for the 'come in' from the Hokage.

It came and they all entered the office.

Naruto, as Naruto could be, raised his hand in a two-fingered salute, grinned, and exclaimed, "What's up, Tsunade-baa-chan?!"

Almost immediately, the Senju gained a tick mark on her forehead and grabbed a stapler to throw at him.

Temujin was immediate in grabbing it, keeping quiet as he put the stapler by the nearby bookcase. Unlike with Sasuke or with Sakura, he didn't threaten or make any demands of Tsunade. He knew that he was in the presence of a Kage so doing either would have been foolish.

She raised a brow at the action before she sighed. "I haven't seen you for three years and you come back as the Uzukage and still greet me like that." She smiled at him. "You haven't changed at all, brat."

His grin widened as he approached her. "I wouldn't be me if I changed, would I, Baa-chan?"

She snorted, returning to her paperwork, "Damn right." She raised and waved two scrolls, one bearing the Daimyo's insignia and the other, Naruto's. "An explanation would be nice for these two."

Naruto chuckled as he approached Tsunade's desk and crossed his arms, Temujin and Kuroma flanking him. "After I was banished, I didn't know where to go so I had nothing to start with. But I studied the scrolls given to me by Iruka-sensei on the Academy basics and some more intermediate lessons." He smiled. "That reminds me, I should treat him to some ramen." He coughed as he looked back at Tsunade. "Eventually, I stumbled upon Uzushiogakure in my wanderings. I haven't really planned that since I was just wandering around but I took the opportunity anyway. I got to Uzushiogakure and took my time in studying all I could there." He grinned as he flexed his muscles. "And the result of that is this big bag of awesome you see today!"

Tsunade couldn't help herself and gave a short laugh. "I can see that you're still as rowdy as ever, brat."

He lowered his arms, his grin still on his face. "I had a goal after that, to bring Uzushiogakure back from its ruined state and to do that, I needed the Daimyo's support. Unfortunately, Hi no Kuni's Daimyo didn't have ownership of Uzushio because it was taken first by Mizu no Kuni's Daimyo. Long story short, I had to do a favor for Mizu no Kuni before I was given ownership of Uzushio. Then, I returned to Hi no Kuni to petition for Uzushio to become a recognized village with a recognized Kage and asked the Daimyo to keep my village's existence a secret for a bit. And here we are."

She leaned back in her chair and sighed. "That's one hell of a story."

"You did a favor for Mizu no Kuni, Naruto," Sakura asked, curious, "Just what was it that you did for them? I can't think of anything that they'd need from an outsider outside of labor and more supplies, neither of which you would have."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly, Jiraiya coughed to hide his laugh, Sasuke scrunched his face in slight envy, and Tsunade massaged her forehead.

Tsunade then pulled out a Bingo Book and wordlessly tossed it at Sakura, who caught it. "Open to the folded page."

Sakura did as told and fainted straight away after comprehending what she read.

Now, Jiraiya didn't hold back his laugh, making Naruto blush in embarrassment.

The Hokage let out a sigh and massaged her forehead more. She then leaned forward on her seat, put her elbows on the desk, and rested her chin on her folded hands. "Now that she's currently incapacitated, there's something you're neglecting to tell with her here, isn't there? I could tell that that wasn't the entire story."

Naruto frowned before he nodded. "Yeah, I already told Ero-Sennin and Sasuke this beforehand but I also had a sensei between the time I was banished and I got to Uzushio. I didn't send any information through a letter, just in case."

"And just who is this sensei of yours?" She then noticed Sasuke's face twisted in internal conflict and Jiraiya's mirth turned grim.

Naruto took out a seal and held it out in front of him. Then, he raised his hand in a one-handed seal, making the seal glow and cover them all in a nigh transparent barrier. With the seal still raised, he said, "My sensei…is Uchiha Itachi."

Tsunade's eyes widened as she stood from her seat, glaring at Naruto, making Temujin and Kuroma tense behind him. "I'm going to need a LOT more explanation if you're taking lessons from the killer of the Uchiha clan!"

He smiled solemnly at her and then continued his explanation.

Elsewhere

Ulquiorra and Yammy walked through the pale halls of their fortress, having separated from Hidan and Kakuzu after they retreated, and eventually entered through massive doors to see Aizen seated by his throne, smiling his benevolent smile down at them while the rest of the Espada were lounging in various places around the room.

Aizen gestured to them. "Ulquiorra, Yammy, welcome home."

Yammy let out a grunt in response but Ulquiorra bowed at the waist, greeting him, "Aizen-sama."

His smile widened as he then gestured to the other Espada. "Now, grace us with what you discovered, Ulquiorra."

The emotionless Espada gave a brief nod before he raised his hand to his face and gouged out his own eye, not even letting out so much as a sound at the action, before he held out his hand with the eye and crushed it. Instead of bursting in gore, the eye exploded into particles that spread outwards and onto the entire room. Aizen closed his eyes and smiled as the particles surrounded him.

Minutes after, he opened his eyes and he chuckled. "That is certainly an enlightening experience, Ulquiorra. I thank you."

The Quatro Espada gazed up at Aizen, the empty eye socket already showing a restoring eye within, before he bowed to him. "You humble me, Aizen-sama."

His smile widened but he didn't respond. He instead spread his arms to the entire room. "We have seen but a glimpse of our enemy's potential. We must be strong for when we strike. Return to your chambers, strengthen your resolve, and prepare yourselves." At the dismissal, they all left the chamber. Aizen chuckled as the door closed and he stood from his throne, walking around it to see a flight of stairs headed downstairs.

He barely took the first step when he stopped, glancing at his side. "Kaname," he softly called out.

The dark-skinned Shinigami straightened up, standing behind his throne, and uttered, "What is your command, Aizen-sama?"

"Prepare to deploy the Hollow Ninjas to Soul Society. In light of our attempted attack on Karakura Town, I expect them to send reinforcements. Given the nature of the attack, they'll likely send out a single captain, the lieutenant, and no less than four other Shinigami. That'll reduce the defenses of Seireitei; not by much but it's noticeable and sufficient."

"When do you want them deployed?"

Aizen went silent as he walked down the stairs, with Tosen following him down, and entering a room that held a smaller version of their fortress. He walked around the model and stopped by a small clearing. He smirked as he peered at the holographic figure of Grimmjow. "Send them out after Grimmjow leaves."

"And what is to be their purpose, Aizen-sama?"

"Have them attack Rukongai," he looked up at Tosen, "all of them. Let me deal with the rest."

If he had eyes, Tosen would have widened them. "You're heading out, Aizen-sama?"

He chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, heavens, no, I'll just inform Madara that our little pet project has been unleashed so that he'll head over there and observe their performance. What else he'll do there is his business."

Tosen's face scrunched in disgust at Madara's name but he nodded. Then, he tilted his head. "You expect Grimmjow to head over to Karakura Town? Is he so unruly that he's going to challenge the Shinigami forces by himself with his Fraccion?"

"Grimmjow is a predator, Kaname. He craves the hunt, he desires to run right into danger and overcome his prey, whether they're powerful or not. Grimmjow is powerful but he'll fall. But he is not our primary concern, the Shinigami reinforcements are."

"I'm afraid I do not understand."

"We shall take advantage of Grimmjow's unsanctioned behavior and acquire the Hogyoku from Kuchiki Rukia's body."

"Is Kuchiki going to be one of the Shinigami sent?"

"Incredibly likely," he replied, "Kurotsuchi, as genius as he believes himself to be, is nothing compared to me or Urahara Kisuke. He doesn't know how to extract the Hogyoku from Kuchiki, even more so without the proper tools. As such, Kuchiki will need to head over to Urahara Kisuke to have it removed. That's when we'll have it extracted."

Tosen hummed in thought, "And what of Kurosaki or Uzumaki?"

"Kurosaki Ichigo has yet to pose a threat to us. As for Uzumaki," Aizen chuckled, "the first attack on Karakura Town showed us that he is not present, possibly back in his home dimension; otherwise he would have been a part of that counterattack. That means that our biggest threat is neutralized for the time being. It would be foolish to not take advantage of his absence."

"But doesn't the female Uzumaki have the same abilities as the original?"

"She likely has most but not all of his abilities. Those light-based powers and that Ryujin of his don't seem to be shared with his clones. Regardless, I consider her inferior compared to the original. That doesn't mean that we should go easy on her but she is not as dangerous as he is."

"Understood," he nodded, "And when do we strike to extract the Hogyoku from Kuchiki?"

He turned to a closet and opened it to show its contents, three dark robes hung by the hook. "While we both watch from the shadows, Kaname, I'll be the one to extract the Hogyoku; you'll be waiting for my signal to drag Grimmjow and his Fraccion back to Hueco Mundo."

Konohagakure no Sato

Tsunade leaned back in her chair, massaging her temples. "I can't believe this crap. I'm getting too old for this."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly. "Don't say that, Baa-chan, you're still plenty young."

"Flattering me won't get you anywhere, brat."

He shrugged. "I'm just telling it like it is, Baa-chan." He then grinned. "Besides, don't worry. These Shinigami are a lot older than we all are…combined!"

She scoffed. "If you scale our ages to theirs or theirs to ours, you'll find that I'll be near the older end of the spectrum." She gave a frown as she looked at him. "So what do you want to do, Naruto?"

"I'm trying to make as much villages knowledgeable about this as possible. I haven't been to Iwagakure yet but that's among the last on my list."

"Are you sure you should be going there? You know how they are with Konoha."

"I'm sure. The Elemental Nations need to know about the additional threat but, as I said, Iwa is one of the last villages."

"I'll slowly inform my forces about this Aizen and Madara. Consider Konoha informed, brat." She raised a brow at him. "Is there anything else?"

Naruto took out a folder and placed it on the table. "As Uzukage, I request an alliance with Konohagakure no Sato. I already have an alliance with Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Kirigakure. With you, that'll make four."

She scowled. "You know Konoha's history with Kumo, Naruto. Even if Jiraiya gave us Kumo's compensation for the kidnapping attempts and Hizashi's body, the memories and the emotions still remain; Hiashi made that abundantly clear."

"I know. But it's my hope that we can all go beyond our past." He smiled. "It won't be an easy road but I feel like Madara and Aizen will be the catalyst for peace and understanding."

Tsunade's eyes softened, glancing at Jiraiya's proud smile and Sasuke's smirk. "You've truly grown, Naruto. I'm proud of you and I'm certain your parents would be too."

Naruto blushed as he scratched his cheek.

"It will be hard road but you won't travel it alone." She held the folder and smiled at him. "You'll have my support in promoting peace, Naruto."

"You know me, brat," Jiraiya joined in, patting his shoulder, "I'll be damned if I didn't work for peace too."

Sasuke let out a soft chuckle. "You're still a dobe but you're an ambitious dobe." He ignored the glares from Temujin and Kuroma and smirked at him. "I'll do what I can to help out, Naruto."

Naruto grinned wide. "Thanks, guys."

Of course, Sakura was still unconscious on the floor.

And that's the end of that!

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