Disclaimer: Always and always will be the same.

Enjoy the final chapter of the tournament arc. This chapter will be almost twice as long as the regular chapters, so hopefully you don't get bored of it. I tried making the side-fights (non-Sasuke vs Menma fights) as short as possible so that this chapter doesn't go too long.

Important question at the end, so check it out. It'll only take like ten seconds.

Chapter 7: Concluding Battle – Sasuke vs Menma

I don't look to the future any more. Only the past.

- Uchiha Sasuke

"Suigetsu and Buzz, please enter the battle arena grounds. Again, Suigetsu and Buzz, please enter the battle arena grounds."

Rolling his neck, Suigetsu grinned in anticipation as he grabbed his sheathed Zanpakuto from the bench behind and side-jumped over the railing, feet first. As he landed on the ground, a small cloud of dust rose up from the ground. Looking up, Suigetsu's eyes met his opponent's sickly yellow own.

"Step forward you two," ordered Rangiku.

When the two did so, the proctor glanced at the both of them and nodded. "Ok, and now for the fourth match of the final round… Suigetsu vs Buzz… Begin!" And with a roar from the audience, the match began.

As Suigetsu leapt forward, Sasuke was mildly surprised to see Suigetsu rush forward at his opponent after dropped his still-sheathed Zanpakuto on the ground. So a Hakuda specialist, huh? thought Sasuke to himself.

Suigetsu revealed himself to be a Jujitsu specialist, using clever and skilled combinations to use Buzz's own force against him. As Buzz stepped forward and went at Suigetsu with a hard right jab, Suigetsu ducked, and, grabbing his forearm with both hands, he twisted his body around and threw Buzz over his shoulder.

Buzz seemed surprised by this, and even though he was of a heavy and stocky build, Suigetsu was able to throw him with relative ease. As he fell on the ground with a soft thud, Buzz growled as he rolled over and got back up onto his feet. "Why you little…!" Lowering his head, he charged at Suigetsu like a large blonde bull, his face red with embarrassment.

Grinning, Suigetsu leapt into air and, twisting in mid-air, trapped Buzz's head between his legs and threw him to the side. As Buzz was thrown onto the ground, Suigetsu laughed and executed a brutal combination of speedy elbows and counter blocks right as his opponent straightened up. Buzz was overwhelmed by the attacks, and Suigetsu finished the quick fight with a powerful roundhouse kick to the side of his face.

… From the waiting booth, Menma narrowed his eyes as he watched his group mate get knocked out of the fight in less than two minutes. Halo, who was standing beside her group leader, smirked arrogantly as she crossed her arms. "That idiot… I thought that he was the muscles of the group, but it looks like that piece of crap couldn't even do that. Right, Menma?"

Menma laughed darkly in response, his unwavering eyes still focused on his defeated subordinate. "That shithead isn't worth crap… If he got knocked out, it was because he was being a dumbass and trying to take his opponent out with just brute strength."

Sakura and Temari overheard this, and Temari laid a hand on Sakura's shoulder before she could open her mouth to say anything. "Be careful, Sakura," she whispered in a warning tone. "That guy isn't someone that you just want to suddenly contradict."

"But-!"

Temari shook her head, silencing her. "No buts."

Sasuke glanced to the side as Suigetsu arrived at the waiting booth, giving him only a slight nod in acknowledgement. As he arrived near Sasuke, he suddenly noticed something and blinked twice. "Wait a second…" Suigetsu frowned comically as he pointed accusingly at Sasuke. "You went and got healed by that captain during my fight, didn't you?!"

Sasuke didn't even reply as he turned back to face the battle grounds. "Geez…" Suigetsu sighed out loud as he crossed his arms in a huff. "So that's the type of guy you are, huh?"

… The next two matches went by fairly quickly. Sakura, who was up against Menma's former teammate Talon, obviously had the upper hand in the fight the whole entire time. Talon proved to be a worthy adversary, but Sakura's skilled Hakuda moves as well as her unusual brute strength completely Talon's barely average Hakuda skills. The fight was over in less than ten minutes.

The next match was Menma vs Blitz, a stocky black-haired male with a unique scar that ran all the way across the right side of his face. Blitz seemed certain about the fight at first, but after a little release of Menma's overwhelming reiatsu, he was intimidated to the point where his moves became shaky and uncertain. Still, it didn't matter either way, as Menma completely demolished him with a quick successful combination of brutal elbows and knees to the face, his trademark finisher moves.

After the first tier of the final round matches were completed, there was a ten minute intermission for the finalists and audience to take a break before resuming the tournament.

…The second tier of the tournament began ten minutes later, and the first- or rather, the seventh- match of the tournament went by in a flash. Temari was able to defeat her opponent Halo without much difficulty, finishing the fight by clipping her opponent in the jaw with the heel of her foot.

After Halo's stunned body was carried off to the medical room, Rangiku raised her hand for the crowd's attention. "And now, will the opponents for the eight match of the final round, Uchiha Sasuke and Hōzuki Suigetsu, please enter the battle grounds? Again, Uchiha Sasuke and Hōzuki Suigetsu to the battle grounds right away."

…

As Sasuke and Suigetsu walked down the stairs separately, they faced each other with a serious yet determined look on both of their faces. "Heh, so it's finally come down to this, huh?" Suigetsu grinned, but this time, it was a bloodthirsty grin of anticipation that Sasuke was mildly surprised to see. He then chuckled darkly, a bright glint in his eyes as his grin grew even wider. "Now…"

"The eight match of the final round of the Grand Divisional Tournament…" Rangiku glanced at both finalists before nodding. "Begin!" And with that, the match began.

Suigetsu leaned forward and charged at Sasuke, quick and nimble as ever. As Sasuke leapt back to get out of his range, Suigetsu used a sluggish but still effective flash step to get in front of him and punched at him.

Sasuke was surprised by his move, but not showing it, he raised his hand and blocked Suigetsu's punch. Suigetsu grinned at this and, twisting around, lashed out at Sasuke with a backhand, aiming to catch him by surprise. Sasuke, however, saw this, and he tilted his head to the side, narrowly avoiding the blow.

Che! Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Suigetsu launched a barrage of quick kicks and punches at him. Sasuke skillfully dodged and blocked all incoming attacks, but Suigetsu's skilled and speedy moved gave him no time at all to counter attack. He suddenly leaned all the way back as Suigetsu spun around and executed a roundhouse kick, the sharp breeze stinging his face as Suigetsu's leg passed a millimeter over his nose.

From their position on the waiting booth, Sakura, Temari, and Menma observed the fight carefully, especially Menma. As the audience gasped as Sasuke leaned back to avoid the roundhouse kick, Sakura let out a slight gasp of surprise. "It looks like Sasuke and his opponent's Hakuda skills are par-on-par…"

Nodding, Temari narrowed her eyes as she watched the two continue to fight it out. "Yea… Those two are definitely Shinigami material… And almost everyone knows Suigetsu from the previous tournaments… Still, I find it hard to believe that he was able to grow this much in just twenty years or so… If I didn't know any better, I would say that he could probably fight on even grounds against a vice-captain."

… Fifteen minutes into the fight, Sasuke found himself forced to switch to Zanjutsu as none of the two were getting anywhere fighting with just their bare fists alone. Suigetsu, however, proved himself to be skilled with a sword as well, although he wasn't as proficient at it as Sasuke himself was.

Sasuke suddenly ducked as Suigetsu swung overhead with his still-sheathe katana, and planting his hands firmly on the ground, he twisted around and kicked at Suigetsu with both feet. Suigetsu managed to block the attack by raising his arm close to the side of his face, but he grimaced as the blow forced him back a few inches.

As they continued to swing and slash their weapons at each other, Sasuke mouth curved upside-down into a frown as he tilted his head to avoid an attack. Why is he keeping his Zanpakuto sheathed…? Leaping back, Sasuke landed on the ground and executed a backflip while clipping Suigetsu on the jaw with his foot in the process.

As Suigetsu rushed forward with his sword held out by his side, Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he blocked a simple downwards slash from Suigetsu. "Why-?" His eyes suddenly widened in shock as he realized that what he had blocked was an attack from his hollow scabbard. "You-!"

The sickening sound of a cold piece of metal cutting into someone's flesh rang throughout the area as Suigetsu's blade cut into Sasuke arm. As Suigetsu withdrew his blade, a stream of blood spurted out from a three-inch cut that covered Sasuke's upper arm. Although Sasuke had managed to cancel out most of the blow with the flat of his blade, the cut was still very noticeable and slightly hindering.

Grimacing, Sasuke winced slightly as he skidded back, coming to a halt with a twist of his foot. Suigetsu, who was grinning, suddenly looked surprised as a gush of blood spurted out from a wound in his stomach. Looking down, he saw that there was a round hole the size of a large marble on the right side of his stomach. "Oh?" His mouth twisting into a frown, Suigetsu suddenly fell on his knees as he coughed up blood. "So that's what you were doing when you pointed at me, huh? Smart move…"

Sasuke stood over Suigetsu with his sword in hand; he looked down at his opponent as the beginning of a smirk began to tug at the corner of his mouth. "Not going with Shikai, huh?"

"Che!" Suigetsu laughed out loud at Sasuke's comment, wincing right after. "Using Shikai in a tournament like this? Well, if you really want it, then…" A big grin stretching across his face, he struggled to his feet and held his Zanpakuto out by his side. "…come and get it."

Twisting his sword counterclockwise, Suigetsu's grin grew even wider as his eyes flared. "Bulk up, Ken o Kakudai!"

The blade of Suigetsu's sword was enveloped in a smoky blue reiatsu that seemed to whirl around it like a mini tornado. The blade seemed to expand in size as it began to glow, and then the smoky reiatsu dissipated to reveal a fairly large blade about 80 centimeters long and thirty centimeters wide. The edge of the blade had jagged edged that gave it the appearance of a worn-down saw blade, and the edge also had a light steel-blue hue to it.

Sasuke blinked once as he studied the Shikai. "An overgrown sword…?"

"Heh," grinned Suigetsu. "It resembles a decapitating knife, doesn't it? It kind of is, it kind of isn't." Holding the blade out in front of his face, his eyes narrowed as he flipped the blade over to the flat of it. "Wanna test it out?"

Sasuke suddenly leapt back as Suigetsu used flash step to get in front of him, swinging his blade in a wide arc in an attempt to butcher Sasuke in one attack. "Heh, you're pretty fast, huh Sasuke?" commented Suigetsu as he laughed out loud. "Then how about this?" Using flash step to augment his steps, he managed to get behind Sasuke and swing his sword in a surprise attack that most definitely took Sasuke by surprise.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he spun around, obviously not having expected his lazy and cocky comrade to be so skilled. As he raised his blade to block the blow, however, to his surprise, Suigetsu's Zanpakuto suddenly expanded to become over twice its' normal size.

Suigetsu smirked at Sasuke's shocked reaction, and he yelled out as he exerted his strength and threw Sasuke back with pure brute strength.

Sasuke flew back over twenty feet before landing on the ground and skidding to a halt. Narrowing his eyes, he looked up to see Suigetsu wielding his normal-sized Zanpakuto in its Shikai form. Straightening up, he maintained a straight and even look on his face as he stared at Suigetsu.

"So, your Zanpakuto's ability is…"

"…The power to grow in size," finished Suigetsu calmly. "Cool, huh? Not much of a decapitating knife now that you think about it, isn't it? Now, how about you show me your Shikai as well, huh?"

Sasuke chuckled quietly at this. "Release my Zanpakuto? You won't be able to last much longer with that wound you have, Suigetsu. Blood loss leads to sluggish movements and-."

"I already know that," laughed Suigetsu. "That's why I'm gonna finish this fight before I go down!" And having said that, he flash stepped to Sasuke's side, and swung his leg at him.

Ducking, Sasuke flipped around in a somersault and grabbed Suigetsu's leg. He yanked his leg in to trip him, and as Suigetsu fell, Sasuke stabbed upwards with his sword, aiming to stab his neck. Suigetsu quickly reacted by tilting his head to the side, but the point of the sword still managed to knick the nape of his nape, causing a few drops of blood to roll down his shirt.

"Ugh…" Suigetsu growled in pain as he leapt back a few feet away from Sasuke. "You-."

"Hadō #4: Byakurai."

Suigetsu's eyes widened in shock as Sasuke pointed a single finger at him, and he swore out loud as he raised his blade to block the attack as he couldn't move away in time to dodge. As the condensed bolt of lightning sped towards him, Suigetsu was propelled backwards from the force of the attack, and he let out a cry of pain as he slammed into a tree.

Heh… Suigetsu grinned as he straightened up, coughing up a glob of blood as he winced. Luckily I was able to stretch out my blade in time, or else the attack could've gotten my face… Heh… This guy… Narrowing his eyes, he held his sword out in front of him and charged.

... Sasuke and Suigetsu continued to clash with each other, but as the fight went on, Suigetsu began to pale and slow down, and finally, Sasuke managed to pin him down on the ground with the point of his blade pressed against his neck.

"Down," grinned Sasuke.

…

The rest of the tournament went on with not much surprises. Sakura and Menma were up next, but Menma started the fight with a quick succession of skilled Hakuda moves, and he ended it with a brutal elbow to the face. Sakura was quickly taken to the infirmary before she bled out, and the whole audience, including the tournament finalists, was surprised at the quick one minute match that took place in the quarter-finals.

The semi-final round was a single match between Sasuke and Temari, and although Temari put up a good fight, her Zanjutsu and Hakuda skills were much inferior to Sasuke's own, and her speed was nowhere close to Sasuke's. This, as well as Sasuke's superior intellect and strategy, caused her ultimate defeat in the ten minute match that went on.

…

The final match… Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he walked down the stairs down to the battle grounds. Uzumaki Menma…

The air seemed to grow tense as both finalists walked across the battle grounds. As they reached the middle, the tense atmosphere seemed to settle down as the audience held their breath. The two remained motionless as they stared at each other, the wind breezing past them as it carried a trail of leaves across the arena.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" Menma grinned widely, showing off his pointed canines. "Make this fun for me, huh?"

Sasuke didn't even blink as he continued to stare at him with a level look in his eyes.

"Heh… A cool one, aren't you?" joked Menma in a dark tone. "Alright then… Have it your way." Cracking his knuckles, he rolled his neck as Rangiku raised her arm into the air. Come on, you little Uchiha brat… Show me what you got.

Rangiku glanced at both of the finalists before nodding once. "And three… two… one… Begin!" And with that, the crowd roared in excitement as the battle began.

…

Automatically charging forward, Menma let out a maniac laugh as he jabbed forward with his fist. Sasuke leaned to the right, avoiding the blow, and grabbing his forearm with his hand, he struck Menma in the jaw with an upwards elbow.

Reeling back, Menma grimaced as his fist sped forward towards Sasuke's face. Sasuke saw this coming though, and he quickly trapped Menma's arm in an arm lock and, flipping over, trapped his neck in a leg lock. Spinning over, Sasuke slammed his opponent on the ground, causing a large cloud of dust to rise up from the ground.

"Heh heh…"

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at this. Looking past his legs, Sasuke found himself looking at Menma, laughing as if he was fighting with a ten year old. "What is this…?" inquired Sasuke in a calm and collected voice. "What's the meaning of this?"

"'What's the meaning of this?'" repeated Menma in a mocking voice. "Is this really all that you've got? The infamous Uchiha Family's Uchiha Sasuke is only capable of one or two fancy weak moves?" Reaching for Sasuke's ankle with an almost lazy-like movement, Menma lifted Sasuke's leg off of him and slowly got up; Sasuke stared up at him with a surprised look on his face, unable to comprehend what was going on.

… From his position at the waiting booth, Suigetsu frowned as he watched the scene below. "What is he doing…? Sasuke's just letting Menma get up like that? What the hell's going on here?"

…

"So, Uchiha Sasuke," drawled Menma as he stepped back. "Are you ready to get serious now? Now that you've tested my strength, let's get this match started, shall we?" Slowly unsheathing his Zanpakuto, he gave Sasuke a feral grin as he pointed his katana at him. "Draw."

Getting up from the ground, Sasuke slowly unsheathed his Zanpakuto and held it out by his side. "Now then… Let's-."

"-Get on with this," finished Menma.

The two clashed together the next second, their blades scraping against each other as they locked gazes. "This is the finale, Uchiha Sasuke!" howled Menma joyously. "Now, let's see what you can do!" With that, he spun around and lashed out at Sasuke with the flat of his blade.

Sasuke was barely able to deflect the speedy attack, and as he crouched low in order to take up a firm stance to deflect the attack, Menma grinned as if he had been expecting it and drew back his leg.

Oh sh-!

THUD! Sasuke struggled to not cry out in pain as he went crashing into a large rock. As he got out of the crater in the rock, he shook his head in order to clear his head. He's strong… Very strong… His strength is most likely superior to my own… Now then, what to do… Narrowing his eyes, Sasuke used flash step to get behind his opponent, swinging his blade in a wide arc to catch him off guard.

Menma seemed surprised by this, and he seemed to trip backwards as he spun around to counter the attack. Looking behind him, he narrowed his eyes as he caught sight of a flat propped-up rock behind him. What?! He was able to place this rock behind me and still launch a surprise attack?! You've gotta be kidding me! Growling, Menma roared out loud in anger and frustration as he slammed his sword down on Sasuke with both hands.

The ground seemed to explode as large bits of ground and rocks shot out in all directions. The force of the attack was unbelievable, and as Sasuke flew through the air to avoid the range of the attack, he struggled to keep a straight look on his face as he glanced around the arena for Menma. It looks like I've been underestimating him…

"GAHHHHH!"

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as he spun around to see Menma behind him, lashing out at him with his fist. Sasuke quickly raised his arms in an "X," he grimaced as he braced himself for the oncoming attack. As Menma's fist connected with Sasuke's arms, Sasuke went flying into the ground below, the impact causing a big crash below.

"Heh heh…" Menma spun his katana in his hand as he walked leisurely towards Sasuke. "You Uchiha's aren't capable of much, are you? You're fast, and your Zanjutsu skills are superior to my own, but that's all you got. It looks like your family isn't worth crap, huh?"

As Sasuke struggled to his feet, he narrowed his eyes as he stared hard at Menma. "You keep talking about my family… What do you know about them?"

Menma seemed genuinely surprised by this question. "So he wasn't lying then? So you really don't know about your tainted family, huh?"

"Tainted… family…?" Sasuke's eyes seemed to flare as it was bathed in a lightning-blue reiatsu that seemed to swirl around in his eyes like a pool of water. "Don't talk about my family like that…!"

"Oh?" Menma grinned a wild feral grin as he held his Zanpakuto out by his side. "Well, I wouldn't waste my Shikai on a weakling like you, but since he told me to, I have no choice in this matter…"

Sasuke's narrowed eyes grew wide as Menma's Zanpakuto started to glow dark violet. What is this overwhelming sinister reiatsu that I'm feeling…? This guy… He's much more than he's letting on to be…

"Align, Rasenringu!"

The whole arena seemed to shake and tremble as Menma's overwhelming reiatsu was released in dark violet waves of pure energy. The untied waves of energy suddenly seemed to be absorbed into his Zanpakuto as it was all sucked into its' blade.

Suigetsu, Temari, and the rest of the defeated finalists watched silently from the waiting booth. Suigetsu narrowed his eyes as he watched the scene below carefully. So this is Uzumaki Menma's Zanpakuto release…

Menma's Zanpakuto's true form took the form of his regular katana which seemed to be bathed in a dark violet aura that caused the blade of the katana to look like a pool of water. Sasuke frowned as he saw this.

"So is this all your Zanpakuto's release looks like…?" inquired Sasuke calmly. "How amusing…"

Menma chuckled quietly to himself as he glanced down at his Zanpakuto. "Oh really?" As he grin grew even wider, a dark violet orb roughly the size of a baseball was generated at the tip of his blade. The orb itself was surrounded by a series of white rings that gave it the appearance of planetary rings, and as the orb hovered at the tip of his sword, Menma laughed out loud as he drew his sword back and swung it at Sasuke. "Take… this!"

Sasuke leaned back until the back of his hair brushed the ground below, the orb whizzing past his face at an incredible speed. As he twisted his body around to regain a firm footing, Sasuke saw the orb expand and release a series of shockwaves.

THUD! As Sasuke leapt away, the force of the attack caused the very ground to tremble as it completely devastated the surrounding area, which was almost a hundred feet in all directions. That attack… What an incredible power…

"Go, Rasenringu!" roared Menma. Releasing another energy orb at Sasuke, he leapt up into the air as Sasuke dodged the attack. "Take… THIS!" Spinning around, Menma's heel dug into Sasuke's side, causing him to cry out in pain as he went flying into the ground below for the second time that day.

"HAHAHAHA!" Menma, laughing maliciously, released another energy orb after his opponent, the orb speeding towards Sasuke as he crashed into the ground below.

…

As the smoke below began to clear, Sasuke was seen on all fours, his head bent as he struggled to get up from the attack. Menma landed on the ground below silently, as he brandished his sword out by his side as he slowly began to walk towards Sasuke.

"Pathetic," grinned Menma. "Pathetic pathetic pathetic… You know, Sasuke, you should really-." He suddenly stopped talking as he noticed something strange. "What the-. Uchiha Sasuke, you…"

Sasuke slowly turned his head as he remained on all fours, and as he glanced at Menma out of the corner of his eyes, he revealed a pair of strange red eyes with three tomoes circling the middle of them.

"Your eyes…" Menma narrowed his eyes as he saw this. "So that's the legendary Sharingan, huh?"

Gripping his sword tightly, Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he got up from the ground. "Roar, Raiden-Ryū!"

The air seemed to crackle from the static electricity that filled the air. The other finalists, as well as the audience, covered their ears in order to block out the ear-devastating sound as they winced in pain. As the electric currents died down, Sasuke's Zanpakuto, which was now a tad bit longer than usual, seemed to be bathed in a lightning current that seemed to be automatically channeled through the blade of the sword.

"So that's your Zanpakuto's release?" questioned Menma in a mocking tone. "You must be kidding me. You-." His eyes widened in shock as Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of him, his sword drawn back. Oh shi-! As Sasuke lashed out with his sword, Menma, knowing fully well that he couldn't dodge the attack in time, raised his sword in order to block the attack.

Sasuke grinned at this, surprising Menma. "Mistake number one." As the edges of their blades seemed to touch each other, Sasuke's blade, shockingly, seemed to pass through the sword and cut deep into Menma's arm.

"Ahhh!" Menma cried out in pain as he reeled back in shock, surprised at what just happened. "What the hell was that?!"

Keeping silent, Sasuke simply lashed out with his sword in response as he sped forward. Menma, being cautious from the first attack, ducked and swung forward with his own sword. As their blades clashed together, Menma narrowed his eyes as he leapt back, throwing a handful of dirt at Sasuke's face in the process.

As Sasuke reeled back in surprise, Menma swung at him with his sword, spinning around and kicking him in the chest right after; however, Sasuke easily avoided both attacks as if his reflexes had been bumped up to a whole new level.

"So…" Menma growled in annoyance as he generated another orb of mass dark reiatsu at the tip of his sword. "That's the power of the Sharingan… You can almost see my moves before I know them myself, am I right? I heard about it… Predicting your opponent's movements from even the slightest twitch and body stance."

"Well then," he added as he raised his sword high into the air. "Let's go with this then, shall we?" Having said that, he threw the orb of energy at Sasuke, the orb covering the ten feet of distance in less than a second; right after, he cast another attack at Sasuke.

Jumping up into the air, Sasuke twisted around in mid-air as he narrowly dodge both attacks as they both whizzed passed on either side of him. Landing on the ground right after, Sasuke whipped his sword out in front of him, causing a massive explosion of lightning energy to raise up a cloud of dust and bits of rock and dirt in front of him, which provided a temporary weak shield which was enough to buy him some time to flash step out of the attack's range.

The two energy orbs, however, caused a chain reaction of compressed energy which literally ripped apart most of the battle grounds. A huge cloud of dust enveloped the arena, and the audience struggled to peer through the suffocating curtain of dust to see what was going on below.

As Menma glanced around his surrounding area for Sasuke, his eyes widened as he heard a voice behind him.

"Mistake number two."

Whipping around, Menma lashed out with his sword in an attempt to catch Sasuke before he could launch an attack, but Sasuke blocked the attack with his own sword, causing a number of sparks to fly everywhere and momentarily blind Menma.

"My Zanpakuto is something that you never want to block without the appropriate precautions," explained Sasuke. Spinning around, he quickly managed to trip Menma and stab down at him. Menma, however, rolled over to the side and blocked the attack, releasing another attack in the process.

Sasuke's Sharingan helped him to see this coming, and he quickly slapped the orb with the flat of his blade, but unfortunately, this caused the orb to discharge prematurely, causing a not-so-massive but still powerful explosion that blew to two opponents away over thirty feet from their previous positions.

"GAAAHHHHH!" roared Menma as he straightened up. "I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU!" Drawing his sword back, he generated a massive orb which was this time over twice as massive as the normal one. "GO, RASENRINGU!"

…

"Wh-What in the world…?" whispered Rangiku and Akihiro from their positions at the sidelines.

The whole arena seemed to fall deathly quiet at the spectacle before them. Sasuke, his eyes wide with surprise, lowered his blade at what lay before his eyes. His eyes narrowing right after, he raised the point of his blade up to his chest as he took up a battle-ready stance.

From his position in the waiting booth, Suigetsu, Gaara, and Temari looked surprised. "Wh-Who is that person…?" asked Temari in a hushed tone.

…

Before Menma had swung his sword at Sasuke, a figure had suddenly appeared behind him, grabbing his wrist before he could finish the attack. The orb slowly dissipated to nothing, and Menma's Zanpakuto returned to its' sealed state as he glanced behind him.

Menma grinned as he glanced at the figure's face. "Aren't you supposed to be in Seireitei… Aizen…?"

Aizen, a male with brown hair and eyes along with glasses, gave Menma a small smile as he released his grip on his wrist. "Menma-kun… I would appreciate it if you didn't dispose of our friend here so quickly." He motioned to Sasuke as he said this.

"Your friend…?" inquired Sasuke rhetorically. He looked around the arena and suddenly noticed that all of the audience members, including the finalists, were all fast asleep. "Just who are you…?" Looking over the stranger Aizen's, entire figure, he frowned as he noticed his white haori. "Are you…?"

Aizen nodded in confirmation. "That's right, Sasuke-kun. Allow me to introduce myself. I am the gobantai-taichou, Aizen Sosuke. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Sasuke stared intently at Aizen, his released Zanpakuto held tightly in his grip. What is this feeling that I'm getting…? He seems like a nice enough guy, but his reiryoku… It's so huge that my own supply of reiryoku feels almost insignificant compared to his… and the aura surrounding it… So sinister that it makes that Menma look like an innocent child… Sasuke shifted slightly back as he kept his eyes on the newcomer. I need to be careful of this guy…

"Aizen-taichou!"

Aizen, Sasuke, and Menma turned around at the sound of the voice to see Rangiku running towards them, her Zanpakuto in her hand. "Aizen-taichou!" she called out again. "Is something the matter? What is the reason for your appearance here, if I may ask?"

"Matsumoto-fukutaichou," said Aizen as he raised his hand in greeting. "Yes, there seems to be a problem here. Central 46 has sent me from Seireitei to stop the tournament and recall all Shinigami back to Seireitei right as of this moment."

Rangiku's eyes widened as this. "C-Cancel… the tournament…? But the members of Central 46 were the ones who-!"

"Matsumoto-fukutaichou," said Aizen in a more stern matter, "this isn't my own decision. Please understand that questioning this decision can have serious consequences." Turning to Sasuke, he gave him a small smile. "Now then…"

"Aizen-taichou," called out a calm and quiet voice from behind them.

All four people turned around to see Unohana walking towards them, her hands tucked in the sleeves of her haori. "Aizen-taichou, what do you think you're doing here?"

Aizen smiled widely at this. "Whatever do you mean by that, Unohana-taichou?" he asked as he spread his arms out wide. "I just explained my reason for being here, didn't I? Central 46 has-."

"Please spare myself and Matsumoto-fukutaichou the theatrics and tell us the truth, Aizen-taichou," said Unohana calmly. "Mastumoto-fukutaichou was at the tournament these past two weeks so she does not know, but as for myself…"

Aizen's smile grew wider at this. "What of it…?"

Rangiku's eyes darted from Aizen to Unohana rapidly as she glanced at the both of them confusedly. "Unohana-fukutaichou, what do you mean by that?!"

Unohana closed her eyes as she sighed out loud. "Aizen-taichou… was supposed to be dead; in fact, he was killed just a little under two weeks ago."

"What?!"

Aizen's smile disappeared as he suddenly became serious. "Unohana-taichou…"

"I know your interest in Uchiha Sasuke-san," said Unohana as she unsheathed her Zanpakuto. "I will not let you touch him. Please step back, Aizen-taichou- or rather, I should say Aizen Sosuke…"

Unsheathing his own Zanpakuto, Aizen's smile returned as he pointed his sword at Unohana. "Very well then… Zanjutsu is it? Bring it!" He suddenly spun around and swung his sword in order to block an attack from Sasuke. "Uchiha Sasuke…"

"I don't know who you are or how you know about me," started Sasuke, "but you seem to know a lot more about me than I probably know myself… You're going to tell me what I want to know whether you want it or not."

"How foolish of you," chuckled Aizen. "It seems that you can't perceive the situation here. Don't worry, Sasuke-kun…" He suddenly seemed to disappear as he reappeared behind Sasuke, shocking him. "…I'll show you what I mean." As he swung down at Aizen, Rangiku flickered to view in front of him, blocking the blow with her own sword.

Unohana rushed forward calmly, swinging her sword at him with graceful accuracy. Aizen pushed Rangiku's blade away with his own, and then he easily countered Unohana's attack by slapping her sword aside with the flat of his blade. As Unohana stumbled back a step, Aizen's eyes widened in surprise as Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of him.

Sasuke swung his sword at Aizen, and as the gobantai-taichou raised his sword to block the attack in time, Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he grinned widely.

Aizen looked surprised as Sasuke's blade passed through his own, and just as the cold metal cut into the edge of his sleeves, Aizen flash stepped away just in time, receiving only a shallow cut on his arm. Looking down at his ripped sleeve, Aizen narrowed his eyes as he looked back at Sasuke, but Unohana, giving him no time to take a break, leapt forward and attacked him right away with a rapid barrage of stabs and lunges.

"Aizen-taichou, give it up!" ordered Rangiku as she suddenly blocked Menma's attack. "Please stand down!"

"Menma-kun, fall back," ordered Aizen as he leapt back away from Unohana. "It seems that we won't be able to capture Sasuke-kun with Unohana-taichou here… It's time to retreat… for now." And with that, he and Menma disappeared in a wisp of wind.

…

Sasuke narrowed his eyes as his Zanpakuto reverted back to its' sealed state. Somehow, I feel like that captain was lying… If he really wanted to capture me, he could have…

"This is horrible… We need to return to Seireitei as fast as possible," stated Unohana in a serious and slightly worried tone. "Mastumoto-fukutaichou, please make the arrangement immediately." After Rangiku nodded and left hurriedly, Unohana turned to face Sasuke. "Sasuke-kun, please prepare to follow Matsumoto-fukutaichou and I to Seireitei. It seems that we need have some explaining to do."

Sasuke stared hard at her. "Yes, you do."

Unohana nodded in agreement and turned around, walking back towards the building. "Akihiro-san, please make the necessary preparations to negate the effects of Hakufuku on the audience."

"Understood, Unohana-taichou." Akihiro spun around and started walking towards the place where the audience were seated at.

As he looked all around him, Sasuke frowned as he then cast his eyes upwards at the sky. A feeling of dread that's approaching… I have a bad feeling about this… With that, Sasuke started walking back towards the infirmary where Suigetsu and the other finalists were carried to, unsure of what was waiting for him in the future.

That's the end of the tournament arc. The next chapter will be featuring Sasuke in Seireitei with the Gotei 13 along with an unexpected reunion with person from his past life.

Important Question:

Would you guys prefer to have OSTs in this story or no? If so, then it would only happen like once every five chapters or so, but if not, then that's fine too. I prefer not to include OSTs, but I know that a lot of people like them. Anyways, let me know.

Translations:

- Ken o Kakudai: Expanding Sword.

- Rasenringu: Spiraling Ring.