Ha haha ha..... Damn, it's been way too long, hasn't it? (looks around to see people glaring at him angrily.) Yup, far too long. I blame life, and a gigantic writers block, and job finding, and collage. Most of all, I blame Nenacu. He didn't tell me to work like he should have.
Nenacu: Yes I did, you just wouldn't listen to me!
Err.... Anyway, you probably want to read the next chapter, and I told you that I'd let you know the harem girls, so here they are, and here it is.
Hinata, Yugito, Ayame, Nemu, Hinamori, Yoruichi. Any more than six right now, and I fear my brain will explode from keeping track of everything.
I did do something else productive in my time. I got the names for several jutsu I'm gonna have Naruto make, as well as the names of his zanpakto and his kekke genkai. Sorry to say, but you don't get to know them quite yet.
Jeff: To answer your question about the healing nature and if it will be passed on. It's best explained by saying sort of. The reason the chakra healed Naruto was because Kyuubi made it do so. Naruto still has that ability, and Kyuubi can still help it along, but his children will have to learn to guide it themselves. So, yes and no.
Well, you've waited long enough, let's get lazy here to kick things off.
"Bah! Once again, Nenacu does not own Naruto or Bleach. He does own me though, so do not steal me. I don't like being stolen."
The Beginning of Life in Death
"Naruto! Watch out!" Came the cry of one pink haired young woman. She was too slow though, Sasuke had moved much faster than she could track, now standing with one arm around Naruto's shoulders from the front, his other hand resting on the hilt of the blade held behind his lower back.
"You really haven't improved at all, have you dobe? Saying you've done something that not even I could do yet. You always were terrible at bluffing." Sasuke began to draw his blade while Naruto simply smiled sadly, all the while gathering small, yet sharp, gusts of wind into his hand, purposefully cutting the flesh of his palm in what he hoped would resemble a certain seal placed on himself days before.
"That snake really has messed with your mind, hasn't he brother? I'm sorry to have to do this, but it's for the best.." The blonde moved just as Sasuke began to strike, planting his bloodied palm on the raven haired Uchiha's bared chest while forcing as much chakra through his hand and into the makeshift seal. The act of which propelled the two from each other. Naruto escaping the encounter with a gash across his side while Sasuke was left with an odd, heavy feeling.
"Well, damn.. I guess that didn't work quite as well as planned, but some of the effect should still be there. How do you feel, teme?" Naruto gave his friend a half grin, sliding easily into his preferred stance. "You'd better fight me with all you've got Sasuke. I didn't devote three years away from my loved ones to fail here, and at my current state, you just may have a chance to get away." With that, he began to tap into his deeper chakra reserves, the golden fox cloak wrapping around him.
Sasuke, now taking this as a serious fight, activated his sharingan, focusing his keen eyes on his blonde rival. He was surprised at what he saw. There Naruto stood, but now he seemed to have nine gold furred tails waving placidly behind him along with pointed fox ears of the same hue standing alert atop his head. "Tch, so it's like everybody said. You've been the demon fox all along, haven't you dobe?"
"I wasn't, but now I am. Or should I say we are? Maybe I'll explain it to you someday." He watched Sasuke carefully, looking for any small opening in his defenses as he took mental note of his chakra reserves. 'The fight with Orochimaru took too much out of me.. I knew I should have worked the chakra balance of Chi Dengeki.. Looks like I only have enough left to weigh him down. If I plan on taking care of that damn curse seal of his as well that is.'
Snapping out of his thoughts, he noticed that Sasuke had begun to charge at him blade drawn and coursing with his own lightning chakra. He cursed himself for zoning out like that right in the middle of battle, shifting his weight to lessen the effect of the blow, though still taking the brunt of the attack. He managed to push another burst of chakra into the rough gravity seal on Sasuke's chest before jumping back, clutching his arm where he took the attack.
Sasuke felt the effect of Naruto's move instantly, his knees buckling slightly as he felt even heavier. He understood the careful positioning of the seal well enough to know that if he were to try to unlock the curse seal, the chakra would feed the gravity seal instead. He knew he had to finish this quickly or he would be taken down.
"You're a lot better than I thought you'd be dobe, I'll give you that much, but I can still take you down, even without the curse seal." He began to pant with the exertion of keeping himself upright, but made no other outer indication of his fatigue.
Naruto was flexing the hand of the arm that Sasuke cut, barely getting the feeling back. "I told you not to take me lightly any more. The only reason this isn't finished yet is that I don't want to kill you." He looked his rival in the eyes, flashing his fox grin. "One last charge. It's all I've got left and you're not much better off at this point."
Sasuke nodded coolly, saying nothing more. Suddenly the both of them charged, Naruto now with his blade drawn, and met, blades and eyes locked together. They pushed each other for a time, the steel of their blades grinding and sparking as each sought dominance over the other. Yet another stalemate. They broke the lock in the same instant and were off, moving quickly though both of their bodies were ready to give out from the stress of the battle.
All that the onlookers could see from that point on was the spark of steel against steel and the blurs that were the two combatants. The heavy thud and slap of hand to hand combat was heard as well, intermixed with the sound of their blades. Sakura, Sai, and Yamato watched in awed silence, witnessing what was surely a kage level fight, while Nenacu and Minato beamed proudly.
Naruto was beginning to become desperate. He was using far too much chakra, needing to save what little he had left for the trial ahead. Suddenly, he saw his chance. It's not often that one can trick the sharingan, and this wasn't even one of those times. Sasuke had made as if to run Naruto through, and the blonde knew he could take this chance. With a subtle shift, he let Sasuke's blade pierce through his abdomen, crying out in pain and triumph at the same time as he landed the last blow needed on the seal, causing Sasuke to collapse from the weight of his own body.
He yanked the blade from his body, knowing that he couldn't heal himself quite yet. He still had more to do, and nothing vital was hit. "Sakura! Come here, I need your help!" He fell to his knees beside Sasuke's prone body, reaching into his vest to pull out a curious black scroll, unrolling it on the ground.
Sakura rushed to her friend's side of course, seeing that Naruto was beginning to lose his consciousness from the combined effects of blood loss, chakra exhaustion, and Sasuke's lightning blade. She was about to begin healing him when he held his hand out for her to wait.
"Not me. Not yet... I have to get this seal off of him before I lose it..." He shook his head, blinking rapidly to stay alert. "You've seen me do the rasen-shuriken. The principle behind this is about the same." He created a rasengan holding that hand out to her. "Put as much healing chakra as you can into this, quickly."
She nodded and did as she was told, holding her hands over the swirling mass of golden chakra until it glowed a bright green. "Naruto.. What are you going to do with this?"
He didn't have the luxury of time, choosing to show her instead. "This is gonna hurt like a bitch Sasuke, but you'll be better for it." With that, her ripped the robe away from Sasuke's curse seal, plunging the attack into his shoulder. Instead of shredding the flesh there like it normally would, it seemed to just sink in, though by Sasuke's scream of pain, one could tell that it was both healing and ripping.
Shaking his head again, he began to lift the swirling mass out of Sasuke's shoulder, and, strangely enough, The emblem of the curse seal began to lift away with it until he pulled the thing off of his body completely. The seal broke it's form, turning the once green ball an inky black. Naruto grimaced at the offending thing before shoving it down against the black scroll. The rasengan sunk into the paper, turning the area where it disappeared into a larger, blood red version of the curse seal.
Grinning tiredly, the blonde collapsed next to Sasuke, leaving Sakura and the others to tend to his wounds.
Three days later.
Naruto awoke, bleary eyed and weak, though alert as he could be. He noticed the form of Sasuke laying beside him, still unconscious from the ordeal he had been put through. He tried to sit up, but winced in pain, remembering how he had been run through. 'Ah, that's right. Kyuubi has just about as much control over our new chakra as I do. Because of that, we used up almost all of what we had.'
"So you're finally awake. I thought you'd be out for another day or so." Sakura entered the room with a tired look on her face even as she was beaming at him. "You were really messed up you know. I don't think I've ever seen somebody live after so much internal damage. We could have waited another day after you finished Orochimaru off. Why didn't you tell us you were that injured?" As she spoke, her smile turned to an angry, sisterly glare.
"Aw, Sakura-chan, you don't need to get so angry with me over something like that. Besides, if we had waited, who knows if we would have found sleepy over there after I was done healing. No, it's my fault for not acclimating myself to this new chakra before the mission." He propped himself up slowly and carefully to avoid aggravating his wounds and gave her his signature grin. "Speaking of which, how is he doing? He shouldn't have been too bad off aside from muscle fatigue.
She bit her bottom lip at his question. "He actually has woken up a couple of times since then, but we're keeping him sedated. No telling what he might do if he woke up completely.."
He nodded in complete understanding, his face taking on a look of seriousness. "Sakura.. He still might not want to come back to Konoha, and now I'm not going to try to force him." He held a hand up to keep her from saying anything further as he spoke. "The seal messed with his mind, yes, but the underlying motive is still there. He wants Itachi, and he'll never stop until that's done. Whether he decides to do it with or without our help is up to him from here. I'm sure he'll come home when he's ready though."
Sasuke had been awake long enough to hear this exchange. Everything was glaringly clear to him now. Ever since that fateful day in the forest, his mind had begun to twist further away from his original goal. Sure, revenge on Itachi was important, but hadn't he also wanted to restore his clan? Where did selling his soul to a deranged snake come in there? No, it was obvious that, though the curse seal had given him great power, it had also chained him to Orochimaru's will. Even after his death. Too stubborn, still, to admit this, he drifted into the first night of restful sleep he'd had in years.
By the next day, Naruto was feeling well enough to walk around, his injuries healed both by Sakura's abilities and by his Kyuubi's work while he slept. Sasuke was awake and feeling up to talking to his former team mates.
"Sasuke.. Are you really alright? It's hard to believe that you've just changed.." Sakura was sitting with him, still in the cabin that Yamato had created with his wood jutsu.
"I wouldn't say I've changed that fast.. I want things to be like they were, but there's still Itachi. I know now that Naruto could, and would, help me if I asked. I know that you probably would too. However, I know people once in the service of Orochimaru that would join me. I may even be able to bring them back to Konoha once my mission is complete. I've already talked to Naruto about this. I'll be leaving early tomorrow morning to gather them and then hunt down Itachi. He understands my wishes."
Sakura nodded her understanding of his wishes. "You'd better come back home when you're done Sasuke. Otherwise, Naruto will most likely track you down again. I don't know if he would hold back on you next time either." She chuckled at his face after she said that. Sasuke still couldn't believe that Naruto had passed him by so much.
The blonde in question was currently sitting outside, his eyes closed in meditation, finally at peace with the world around him. One thing amused him though. He had taken a good look at his reflection in the local river, curious to see if the changes to his body had begun. What he saw had surprised him. His ears had become slightly pointed, his eyes were beginning to slit naturally, his whisker marks were wider, and on close inspection, his canines had begun to elongate. He was glad that he grew his hair out, it covered his ears, and the other features were only slightly noticeable at this point, though he wondered if he would have to eventually wear a mask much like his cyclopean sensei.
Nenacu made his way toward the young man, clearing his throat to catch his attention, and he got it, rousing Naruto from his thoughts. "Hey kid. Minato just hot a hold of me. It looks like the Sotaicho wants to meet you personally. Once we get back to Konoha, you've got about a day to get things set before we head to Seireitei, so you'd best let that pretty little Hyuuga girlfriend of yours know."
Naruto chuckled at his friend's attempt to provoke him. "And I think you ought to tell Miss. Yamanaka where you'll be off to. If you hadn't figured it out yet, that girl tends to get pretty clingy." He was rewarded by a visible shudder.
"Yeah, I kinda got that much by now. I knew she was the princess type, but I had no clue how much. Can't explain it to her though, not allowed. Anyway, apparently you'll be introduced to the captains. It seems that many of them are looking forward to meeting you. Seeing as you won't be able to attend the shinigami academy, you'll be taught in this world."
Naruto nodded to show his understanding when a question suddenly struck him. "Say, Nenacu.. I was wondering. Why, if you're a captain, aren't you stuck in your office?"
"'S because I don't usually work in Seireitei. My squad is assigned to living world duties. Usually basic patrols. You'll actually most likely join my squad when you're ready, seeing as you're still rather attached to the living world" He chuckled at his own joke, turning away. "Looks like we'll be on the move tomorrow."
Naruto nodded again, returning to his meditation once he was sure he wouldn't be interrupted again for a while. 'Oi, I know you both are listening in. It looks like we've got a lot of work ahead of us, so let's all do our best!'
As morning broke the next day, the light found the three members of the former team 7 standing at a crossroads. Two of them needed to return to the village, but the other was on a mission of his own.
"Sasuke, you'd better not get yourself killed before we can fight again." Naruto held a gloved hand out to his friend, who took it firmly before turning around.
"Give me a year you two. In one year, I'll return to Konoha."
With that, they parted ways, Naruto, Sakura, and the rest making their way to Konoha at a leisurely pace. A smirk grew on Sasuke's face. "You're still too trusting dobe, that much hasn't changed."
He set off to where yet another base of Orochimaru's was, intent on finding the first person to aid his cause.
The journey home was uneventful to say the most. The sun was high and hot the entire time, and they were traveling on open ground, forcing Naruto to remove his long coat to stay cool. To make matters worse, Minato was still gone, having other work to do in Seireitei, so he couldn't satisfy his thirst for more knowledge about the strange new world he was to experience.
In this way, they made it to the strong gates of Konoha, checking in with the guards before making their way towards the hokage tower. As usual, the villagers directed angry glares at Naruto, and with his newly enhanced hearing, he could make out what every one of them was saying. There were the normal whisperings about the demon child, and what they would like to do if they got him alone. Then there were new ones. Some about how he had abandoned the village and should have been hunted out and killed and others about how they would punish him if he hurt their precious Uchiha in any way. Apparently, their mission wasn't such a secret.
It didn't help that Naruto hadn't quite gotten the hang of hiding his altered appearance either. The changes had been gradual to the point that his teammates had only recently noticed a few days before reaching the gates. To the villagers who thought he was the demon personified, he must have confirmed their every suspicion.
'If only they really knew just how close they are to the truth, eh furball? Seeing as you and I are now actually the same.'
In his mind, Kyuubi grinned as best as a fox can. "I'd refrain from telling that particular bit of information to anybody but those you trust and your future mates."
'Yeah, that was about my line of... Wait, mates? Ero-kitsune, what kinda thoughts are you having? Whatever they are, keep 'em to yourself.'
The green haired girl giggle mirthfully at their exchange, sitting on top of Kyuubi who she had taken to referring as either Kyuu-chan or Fluffy. "I think Kyuu-chan is trying to tell you that he thinks you should start thinking about taking wives."
'Bah! What is it with you two today?'
This exchange ended when he realized that they were in Tsunade's office. What's more is that he noticed that she was looking at him strangely, and he was blushing brightly.
"Ah! Baa-san! What's up?" He went into his old habit of rubbing the back of his neck unconsciously.
"How many times to I have to tell you that I'm not old, brat?! You are supposed to report on the mission, so get started."
Naruto instantly snapped to attention and delivered his report, leaving anything having to do with his father out. He did, however, cover his fight with Orochimaru and the subsequent victory, his thoughts on Danzo's plot from what little they could coax Sai into telling them on the way, not that he wouldn't cooperate, but the training was hard to break, and finishing with his battle with Sasuke.
"Well, in the end, I guess it was best to let him go. I don't quite trust him yet though Hokage-sama. He's still too bent on revenge. The curse seal is gone, but I don't know if there will be any lingering effects to his sanity. I can safely assume, however, that he will come home eventually. I just don't quite know if it will be the way we wish.."
Tsunade nodded, a dark expression crossing her features, but passing as fast as it came. "You've done all you should have. We'll just have to let things fall where they may. Now, what about this training mission with Nenacu?"
"I'll be leaving tomorrow actually." He wished he could explain further, but he didn't know enough, and both Nenacu and Minato had advised against it. "If you don't mind, I'll be off. I have to get ready to head out, and I want to see some of my friends first"
With a wave of her hand, Tsunade dismissed the blonde who was quickly becoming even more of an enigma, smirking to herself. "He's always got to be doing something I don't know about. No use stopping him now." At that, she reached into one of the drawers of her desk, touching a seal that released one of the only bottles of sake Shizune had yet to find.
Naruto took to the streets of Konoha, rushing through crowds to the place he knew everybody would be. Ichiraku ramen. He smiled to himself, seeing his suspicions confirmed, and sidled into his usual place which Hinata 'just happened' to be sitting by.
"Hey guys, how's life?" He grinned as Techui placed his regular order in front of him. Being a customer for that long, it wasn't too surprising.
Everybody at the stand greeted him in their own way, each having heard the general outcome of the mission he'd just been on. Still, those who tended to regularly underestimate him, namely Kiba, felt the need to ask. "Rumor has it you took Orochimaru out by yourself. Any truth to that?"
The blonde paused in the middle of bringing a mouthful of noodles to his mouth and sighed. "Somehow, I knew it'd be you that asked that one Kiba. Yes, I did take him out by myself. As to how I did it.. Well.."
Flashback no Jutsu!
Naruto and Orochimaru had just broken from the pack, running at top speed through the forest beyond the bridge. Orochimaru was confident as always, planning just how he would lure the powerful blonde into a trap that would end with him gaining the almighty powers of the Kyuubi. 'Kukuku.. Once I have this kid's powers, I can just take Sasuke's eyes for my own. He has more than enough chakra to support the Sharingan indefinitely, and the Kyuubi's power will ensure that the transplant goes perfectly.'
Naruto, on the other hand, was following behind, his eyes cold and calculating as he listened to the conversation between the two voices in his mind. Orochimaru was getting careless, but that was probably a feint to lure him into action. 'Well, if it's an attack he wants, I'll just have to give him one.' Running through a quick plan, along with multiple contingencies, his fox grin replaced his grim smirk.
The blonde drew from the vast wellspring of chakra within as he flared his cloak out further, partly to trip up the snake in front of him, and partly to let his comrades know his position. It worked. Thinking that it was his chance to set his plan in motion, Orochimaru turned to see Naruto grinning at him. "Time to die Hebi-teme. I hope you won't make this too easy for me."
Naruto drew the extra chakra from his golden aura into his katana, splitting the chakra into wind and fire elements. What followed tapped into the one thing that frightened Orochimaru. It was as if Naruto had become the Angel of Death. His blade resembled an unbroken, red hot tongue of flame, and he had changed his aura to resemble a large pair of translucent, golden wings. The confident grin remained, but in his eyes, Orochimaru saw only righteous fury.
The blonde jumped, and the world slowed for the snake-nin. He watched, paralyzed with fear as the blade of flame came down on his right shoulder, cleanly separating his arm from his torso. Burning pain broke him from his stupor and he jumped back, reminding himself that the boy was a trickster by nature, and was merely playing to his fear for an edge. His foul smirk crept onto his face, and once again, he came climbing out of his own mouth, whole once more. Though his eyes widened when he realized that was not quite true. He couldn't control his arm properly. The blow Naruto had struck had burned out the nerves in his shoulder beyond what his technique could repair.
Naruto, unfased by Orochimaru's recovery, allowed his aura to resume it's usual form, knowing that such a ploy would only work once. "What next, Hebi? Your other arm? Or perhaps a leg this time." He didn't continue though, as Orochimaru managed to quickly summon several large snakes to use as a distraction. The blonde merely chuckled, mowing through the snakes before giving chase once more.
All was silent in the forest for many minutes. Orochimaru leapt from branch to branch with the stealth that only one who had trained their whole life could have. Then, it happened. He felt something pierce through his left shoulder, lodging in the joint. He couldn't get his right arm moving quick enough to tear it free before he heard his death sentence. Hiden: Chi Dengeki no Jutsu!
Flashback no Jutsu, Kai!
Kiba snorted as Naruto finished his story. "An angel? Honestly? Do you really expect us to believe that crap?" He was silenced immediately as every other person at Ichiraku's glared at him dangerously.
Hinata decided to chime in here. "Kiba-kun, when has Naruto ever lied about anything? If he said it happened, then it happened." She looked at Naruto with pride as he polished off his umpteenth bowl of ramen for this sitting, seemingly oblivious to Kiba's insult.
The blonde merely grinned as he dropped the money for everybody's meals, excluding Kiba, and turned to Hinata. "Ne, Hinata-chan, let's go for a walk. There's a few things I'd like to talk to you about." She nodded, and both stood, Hinata looping her arm around Naruto's, and fought back a blush as all of their friends teased them playfully about being together as they walked away.
Once they had gotten far enough away from the public ear, Naruto turned to Hinata. "Alright Hime, I know you've already figured out just who my family is, but please keep it under the hat for now. When I'm ready, I will make the announcement myself. That said, there's something I would ask of you." Hinata nodded, showing that she was following his words. "I'm going to be on a bit of a training mission. I don't quite know how long I'll be gone, but I won't be able to take my body with me, understand?" Again, a nod, but he could tell she was mildly confused at the direction of the conversation. "What I need is for somebody to watch over my body while I'm out. To avoid the scare that seeing my dead body would cause among those that actually care, and those who think that, should I die, the kyuubi would rampage again." Now she understood, but there was one more thing.
"Naruto-kun, wouldn't it be too dangerous to leave your body just anywhere? Even your apartment gets broken into regularly enough that it would probably happen while you were away."
Naruto nodded, flashing his smile. "Precisely. That's why I need you to hide me in the Hyuuga compound. Nobody would think to find me there of all places."
She squeaked in a fit of nervous happiness, her mind a flurry of thought. 'Would Tou-san approve? I just wouldn't tell him, that's easy enough.. But is there anywhere in the compound that only I...' "Oh, that's perfect!"
The blonde tilted his head to the side as she vocalized the last part of her thought process. "What's perfect Hime?" He found it amusing when her stutter, long since forgotten, returned with full force for the moment.
"W.. Well, t.. the only p.. place that nobody else ever goes is...," Her face flushed a deep red as she whispered the last part of her sentence so that it was barely audible if not for his enhanced sense of hearing. "m.. my room."
"Perfect. If nobody will find me, and you'll be able to watch over me, that's just fine. I still have a few other things I need to tie up around Konoha before I head out though, so I'll see you a bit before midnight." With that, and a quick peck on the lips, he was off to make it look like he was actually leaving the town.
True to his word, Naruto was tapping at her window just before midnight. How he knew exactly which room was hers, and how he had snuck past all of the Hyuuga guards was a mystery to her, but she was happy to see him all the same. He crawled through the window, followed shortly by Nenacu, already stripped of his false body.
"Well kid, say your goodbyes, and let's be on our way. Shotaicho is scary when people don't arrive exactly when they should." The older man was freeing his katana from the sheath, and looking around for something. Hinata wasn't quite sure what though.
Naruto produced the same strange red gloves that first separated him from his body and turned to Hinata. "Hime, put these on and hit me in the chest. Not too hard though." She nodded, and they shared one more kiss before his corporeal body fell to the floor with a meaty thud that made Naruto wince. "Don't think I'll ever quite get used to that.." He had to chuckle at Hinata's reaction to his more anamalistic spirit form. "Sorry Hime, I'll let you fulfill the need to pet the furry thing when I get back. For now, I've got to go." A strange black butterfly landed on his shoulder, having flown through a strange gate that Hinata could only assume Nenacu had opened. With a wave, he stepped through, the gate closed and vanished, leaving Hinata with one thought. She had a warm, life sized Naruto doll to cuddle in her sleep until he returned. She did just that.
Ha! Finally done with this chapter.. God that sucked that it took this long to yank it out of my brain. Hope you all enjoyed the fight against Orochimaru. Now you see why he was drained when he fought Sasuke, and because he isn't quite used to the new chakra, using it like he normally would use his weaker blue version puts strain on his system, thus the internal damage mentioned earlier.
I dunno if people are gonna question this, but an explanation for the warm, though lifeless, body of Naruto should be explained. He's not exactly dead when he leaves his body. His heart still beats, he still breaths. It's like being comatose, except that he uses so little energy that his body doesn't produce waist. If that's not how it works in Bleach, it's how it works in my fic.
Well, as always, I thank you for reading my story. I get better with constructive criticism, so let me know what you think. Hit that shiny button below and give me a review!
Next time, a meeting of the captains of Seireitei, and the introduction of Naruto and Ichigo. Don't you dare miss it! Till next time folks. Nenacu, signing off.
P.S. Please don't kill me for my chapter being so very very late.
