Disclaimer: Always and always will be the same.

I managed to finish this chapter super fast just because it's more like a filler chapter than a plot-based chapter. I apologize for the slightly shorter chapter, but I didn't have much to put into this chapter. This is just to sort of introduce Sasuke into Seireitei, but the next chapter is where the plot will really begin.

Chapter 8: The Gladiator Arc – The Truth Revealed

My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone

- Uchiha Sasuke

It had been one week since the Grand Divisional Tournament was stopped by the traitor captain, Aizen Sosuke, and his supposed accomplice, Uzumaki Menma. Uchiha Sasuke had traveled to Seireitei along with Unohana and Rangiku, and it was there that he had been told to wait for the ryoka's invasion to end at the 10th Division Barracks. A week later, he had been informed that the ryoka Kurosaki Ichigo and his friends had been hailed as the saviors of Soul Society as their actions had prevented the destruction of Seireitei and the Gotei 13 itself. It was after the invasion had ended that Sasuke was summoned to the 1st Division Barracks to speak to the soutaichou, or the head captain, himself.

…

|1st Division Barracks, Seireitei, Soul Society|

Sasuke stopped in front of the entrance to the soutaichou's office with Rangiku standing by his side. As the large white double doors slowly creaked open, Sasuke walked into a large and spacious office with the left side of the room completely naked, revealing beautiful scenery of the view outside.

Stopping around ten feet in front of the desk, Sasuke found himself looking at a very elderly yet incredibly fit and imposing figure who seemed to be at least a thousand year olds. His eyes were shut close, and he had a long grey beard that seemed to go down way past his stomach. Looking up, the elderly figure's eyes creaked open slightly as he stared long and hard at Sasuke.

"This is the soutaichou, Yamamoto Genryusai," introduced Rangiku as she gestured to him with her hand. "He's the head captain of the Gotei 13."

"Uchiha Sasuke…" When Yamamoto spoke, Sasuke noticed that his stern voice matched his elderly figure, but it also radiated power and wisdom far beyond his years. He also noted to himself that this was not a man to mess around with or anger intentionally. Although he wasn't experienced at sensing reiatsu, he noticed that the soutaichou's level of reiryoku far surpassed even Aizen's. It was so enormous and monstrous that he couldn't even wrap his mind around the entirety of it- only a major part of it.

Th-This Shinigami… Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he studied the strongest Shinigami that sat before his eyes. If he wanted to, he could kill me off with almost no effort at all…

"Allow me to welcome you to Seireitei," said Yamamoto in a gruff voice. "I apologize for the late welcome, but it was crucial that we hid you from Aizen until this whole matter had passed. I hope that you understand."

"I could care less about that," replied Sasuke in a not-so-caring voice. "I knew that I couldn't get my answers from someone like him; however, since he's no longer here, you're going to answer my questions."

"Sasuke!" hissed Rangiku frantically. "This is the soutaichou! Show some respect before he-!"

"It's quite alright, Mastumoto-fukutaichou," reassured Yamamoto, brushing off Sasuke's rude tone. "I don't expect him to know about our customs here in Seireitei or how things in the Gotei 13 are run." Focusing his attention back to Sasuke, he nodded once, slightly. "Very well then, Uchiha Sasuke… What are your questions?"

Sasuke seemed surprised by the soutaichou's cooperation, but he didn't argue. "First of all… Who am I? What do you know about me?"

Yamamoto sighed as he gathered his thoughts. "Let's see… We do not have much information on you I'm afraid. Other than your name, I'm afraid that I-."

"Don't screw around with me," warned Sasuke in a dangerous tone. "I'm not in a good mood right now. Uzumaki Menma told me that I was a part of the 'tainted Uchiha Family.' What did he mean by that? Tell me the truth, and don't try lying to me."

Yamamoto, his vice-captain, and Rangiku all seemed shocked by this. Yamamoto narrowed his eyes as he stared hard at Sasuke, both of his eyes fully opened now. "This Uzumaki Menma… said that?"

Sasuke nodded. "Now, spill it!"

Rangiku bowed her head as she saw Yamamoto stare hard at her. Dammit…! That Uzumaki Menma… I never knew that he knew this much about the Uchiha Family…! If I knew about it, then I would have pulled some strings to kick him out of the tournament… Dammit! Now Central 46 will probably have to get involved in this whole entire situation…

"Well?" demanded Sasuke.

Frowning, Yamamoto rummaged through the pile of papers that sat on his desk and nodded when he found a specific document that he was looking for. "I had come prepared as I had expected for this to happen… I had hoped that it wouldn't come down to this moment, but seeing as it did, there's no use in hiding it now." Letting out a deep breath, he continued. "Uchiha Sasuke… Your family, the Uchiha Family, is one of the Four Noble Houses of Soul Society."

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise. "What…? My family is one of the…?"

"Yes… or at least, they used to be."

"Used to be…?"

Sasuke then noticed everyone in the room looking extremely nervous and fidgety. "What's going on here…?" he asked in a flat voice. "Tell me…"

"Uchiha Sasuke…" Yamamoto closed his eyes as he looked down at the table. He stayed like that for a long and silent minute, and then he slowly raised his head to look up at him. "Your family was the single most brutal and bloodthirsty family in Soul Society, and exactly fifty years ago, your entire family was wiped out by the heir of the Uchiha Family, and… your older brother, Uchiha Itachi."

…

Sasuke opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out as he stared blankly at the wall with wide and unblinking eyes. Closing his mouth, he continued to stare at the wall as a bead of sweat travelled down the side of his face.

M-My brother…? N-Nii-san…? Just what the hell is going on here…? Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he stared hard at the floor in front of him. And why-… Why does this seem so familiar…?

"The most notorious and dangerous individual in all of Seireitei…" Yamamoto's vice-captain, Chojiro, shook his head sadly as he looked down at the floor. "The former kyubantai-taichou as well as one of the most gifted Shinigami of his generation alongside the jubantai-taichou Hitsugaya Toshiro…"

"So…" Sasuke clenched his fists tightly as he continued to stare at the floor. "Where is this… Uchiha Itachi now…?" When he spoke, his voice was quiet but venomous. "Is he… dead?"

Yamamoto shook his head in response. "No, he is currently placed in our solitude maximum security prison, Owari."

…

"Let me speak to him," whispered Sasuke.

"No," replied Yamamoto quickly and bluntly. "I'm afraid that I cannot allow that."

Sasuke remained in his still position for a still long minute before looking up at Yamamoto; the soutaichou looked surprised to see Sasuke's Sharingan activated, and his vice-captain Chojiro stepped back nervously at the sight of them as if they were something evil and foreboding.

Saying nothing, Sasuke spun around and started walking towards the exit. "S-Sasuke-kun!" called out Rangiku. Turning to the soutaichou, she quickly bowed nervously. "F-Forgive me, soutaichou! Please excuse me!" Spinning around, she started running after him. "Sasuke-kun, wait up for me!"

|Training Grounds: Level One, Seireitei, Soul Society|

The following day…

"So… This is where Shinigami come to train?"

Sasuke and Rangiku were at a training ground which closely resembles the one back at the Grand Spirit Dome, but this one was much more spacious. There were various straw dummies stationed all around the training grounds, and there were also straw targets hanging from trees. The whole entire area was basically empty save five Shinigami that were honing their skills there.

"Not all Shinigami," replied Rangiku as she gestured to the five Shinigami. "Just captains and vice-captains. This is the level one training ground, which is for high-ranking Shinigami only." She pointed to a group of three that consisted of a male blonde, a spiky red-haired tattooed male, and a small and fragile-looking brown-haired female. "That's the vice-captains Kira Izuru, Abarai Renji, and Hinamori Momo." She then pointed to a short black-haired male with three vertical scars that ran from over his eye down to the bottom of his right cheek. "That's the kyubantai-fukutaichou, Hisagi Shuhei." Finally, she pointed to a slender yet incredibly agile female with gray eyes and black hair that was worn into two long braids that were bound in white cloth that ended in large golden rings. "And that's the nibantai-taichou, Soifon."

Sasuke watched carefully as the nibantai-taichou executed a series of smooth and agile moves. "She's definitely skilled alright… A Hakuda user, am I right?"

Rangiku nodded in affirmative. "That's right… As the commander-in-chief of the Onmitsukidō, she's probably the most proficient Hakuda user in all of Soul Society. You would be smart not to approach her or piss her off."

"Rangiku-san!"

Sasuke and Rangiku turned around at the sound of a feminine voice that came from the group of three towards their right. They saw all three of the Shinigami running towards them, and as they skidded to a halt in front of them, they looked surprised at the sight of Sasuke.

"Who's this guy?" asked the red-haired male, Renji, with a questioning frown on his face. "I don't think I've ever seen him around before. A newbie, huh?"

Rangiku shook her head. "No, he's not a part of the Gotei 13. This is Sasuke… Uchiha Sasuke…"

All three of the Shinigami's eyes widened in shock at the word "Uchiha," but they all quickly got a hold of themselves and looked down at the floor as to not offend to confuse Sasuke. The small female, Hinamori, gave Sasuke a nervous smile. "H-Hi there, Sasuke-san. I'm gobantai-fukutaichou, Hinamori Momo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Sasuke simply nodded curtly in greeting. So… She's that traitor Aizen's vice-captain, huh? He then turned to the blonde-haired male, Kira, as he stepped forward and extended out his hand.

"Sanbantai-fukutaichou, Kira Izuru." Kira gave Sasuke a small yet welcoming smile, and Sasuke took his hand and shook it. "It's nice to meet you, Sasuke-kun." After Sasuke released his hand, Kira blinked as his eyes traveled up and down Sasuke, studying him. "It's a strange outfit that you're wearing. Which Rukongai district are you from?"

"District #79 in North Rukongai."

Renji's eyebrows shot up at this. "District #79, huh? So you must be pretty tough I'm guessing." As Renji studied Sasuke as well, his eyes stopped as they found Sasuke's Zanpakuto. "Wait a second, if you're not a part of the Gotei 13, then how the hell did you manage to get a Zanpakuto?"

"I killed a Shinigami and took his Asauchi," replied Sasuke bluntly.

This seemed to tense everyone up, and the captain Soifon, who was around fifteen feet away, and the vice-captain, Hisagi, who was around five feet away, all seemed to perk up at this and turn a meaningful and curious yet watchful gaze to the group.

"Y-You killed a Shinigami…?" Renji's eyes narrowed at this, and his hands slowly travelled to the hilt of his Zanpakuto. "Rangiku-san, why the hell is this guy here then? Is he a prisoner?"

"C-Calm down, Renji!" said Rangiku in a startled tone. "The Shinigami that Sasuke killed was a bounty who had defected from Seireitei!"

Renji blinked once. "Oh." Frowning, he relaxed himself. "Well then, never mind. My bad."

"Well anyways, Sasuke-kun and I should get going," said Rangiku. "He hasn't eaten since yesterday morning, so I'm taking him out to a restaurant to get something to eat. Bye you guys!" Turning around, she waved at the group as she started walking away, Sasuke following her closely.

…After they disappeared, Renji and the others faced each other in confusion. "Well, he's a quiet one alright," stated Renji. "But still, an Uchiha… I thought that they had all died out."

"Do not talk about that forbidden history," said a stern voice from behind them.

Renji and the others turned around to see Soifon walking towards them, her hard and merciless eyes narrowed as she glared at the group. "That part of Soul Society history was banned for a reason. If I hear any of you three talking about it or even mentioning it again, I'll have you three stripped of your ranks and placed in a detention unit, understood?"

"Y-Yes Soifon-taichou!" chorused the three in a nervous voice.

Nodding, Soifon spun around and disappeared in a wisp of smoke. Renji and the other two gave each other a nervous look and turned back around, walking back to their respective training spots to resume their training.

|BBQ Restaurant, Seireitei, Soul Society|

"So, Sasuke-kun…" Rangiku let out a squeal of delight as she ate a piece of barbequed meat. "Ah, this is the life! All the barbequed meat and saké that you could ever ask for!" She frowned as she noticed Sasuke not touching his food. "Come on, eat up! You haven't eaten for more than a whole entire day! You need to get your strength up you know."

Glancing up at Rangiku's worried gaze, Sasuke relented and picked up a piece of pork belly with his chopsticks, placing it in his mouth. Rangiku smiled at this, and she picked up a saké bottle and poured herself and Sasuke a small cupful each. "So, Sasuke," she said in a slightly drunken voice after downing her eight cup, "Why are you always so quiet and all, huh? You're so cold and hard to get, just like my captain. You know, you two could be brothers- your cold personalities and all." She spoke in a slurred and drunk voice, and Sasuke frowned as he finished off his plate of meat.

"You should go home," said Sasuke as he stood up. Walking over to Rangiku, he helped her up and slung her arm over his neck. "Come on, let's go." Leaving the bill as well as a generous tip on the table, he and Rangiku walked out the door. He noticed a few jealous glances from various males throughout the bar as they stared at Rangiku and her cleavage with a lustful gaze, but Sasuke simply stared them back down with cold and unblinking eyes as he continued out the door.

|10th Division Barracks, Seireitei, Soul Society|

As he reached the entrance of the 10th Division Barracks, he nodded at the two guards stationed outside of the door as he motioned to Rangiku with his eyes. "Your vice-captain is a little drunk. Where's her room?"

"Who are you?" asked the Shinigami on his right with suspicious eyes. He grabbed the hilt of his sword as he noticed Sasuke's unfamiliar clothes. "I don't recognize you."

"I'm Uch-, I'm Sasuke. Your vice-captain is my… guide while I'm in Seireitei. This was your soutaichou's order."

The two Shinigami guard's eyes widened at the word "soutaichou," and they quickly resumed their normal positions and bowed low to Sasuke. "F-Forgive us, Sasuke-san! Matsumoto-fukutaichou's room is just down the hall. Take the last right at the end of the hallway, and the it should be the second to last door on the right."

Nodding his thanks, Sasuke brushed past the guards and walked through the entrance.

…As he reached Rangiku's room, he realized that he didn't have the keys and frowned. Looking down at a passed-out Rangiku's pockets in her Shihakushō, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath in order to not lose his temper and opened his eyes right after. Reaching down into her pocket, Sasuke's fingertip touched the edge of a cold metal object, so he grabbed it with his two fingers and fished it out of her pocket, seeing that it was indeed the key. Rangiku giggled at this, but then she quickly returned to her calm and sleepy state.

Opening the door with the key, Sasuke walked into the room, which was a complete mess. A bed sat in the top corner in the far left of the room, and a desk and chair sat on its' side; a lamp sat on the corner of the desk. Aside from those two necessities, the whole room seemed to be littered with clothes, purses, and- to Sasuke's disgust-, her undergarments, which she seemed to have an almost ridiculous amount of.

Setting her gently on her bed, Sasuke turned around to leave but was stopped by Rangiku grabbing the end of his makeshift rope belt.

"Mmm… Sasuke-kun, you don't needa leave…" she murmured in a still drunken and giggly voice. "You could say you know…" After that, she started spouting words that Sasuke didn't even know existed, and he simply shook her off in disgust and walked out of the room, making sure to close it right after locking it from the inside.

Outside of the barracks, Sasuke sighed as he looked up at the night sky. "What am I doing here…?" He suddenly looked down and spun around at the sound of someone approaching him from behind. It was in fact one of the Shinigami guards that he had met with earlier, and he remained motionless as he watched the Shinigami approach him.

"What is it?"

The Shinigami stopped around five feet in front of Sasuke and saluted him. "Sasuke-san, I have just received word from Yamamoto-soutaichou about you. We have prepared a separate room for you to stay in during your stay here." Turning around, he started walking back to the barracks. "Please follow me."

…As he entered his room, Sasuke looked up at the ceiling as he lay on his bed, his hands tucked under his head. An interesting turn of events, but it's still not what I was looking for… I have to find a way to speak to Uchiha Itachi…

One month later…

Sasuke spun his katana in his hand as a Hollow dropped to its knees. Whipping the katana out in front of him, he caught the Hollow by its' jaw and completely sliced through it; the Hollow dropped on the ground, dead, and its' body started to slowly disintegrate as it disappeared into nothingness.

…It had been a whole entire month since his arrival to Seireitei, and although he hadn't formally joined a division yet, he had been given regular Shinigami duties, such as the extermination of Hollows and various other tasks to keep him busy.

Sasuke was currently purging a group of Hollows near the borders of the 10th Division area, and as he killed off the remaining five Hollows, he sheathed his sword and started walking back to the barracks.

"Sasuke-kun!" called out a flirty and seductive voice from behind him.

Sasuke turned around to see Rangiku running towards him, and he frowned as he watched her bosom go up and down. How disgusting… I would have expected a woman to have more respect for her pride than this… He narrowed his eyes as Rangiku reached him. "What is it?"

Rangiku looked saddened by his cold personality, and her bottom lip stuck out in a pout as she crossed her arms in a huff. "Why do you have to be so cold to me? I'm the only friend that you have here you know. You could try to be a little bit nicer to me!"

Sighing, Sasuke struggled to keep himself from losing his cool. For some reason, Rangiku's cute childish acts annoyed him, and yet, it seemed to work like a charm for the rest of the male Shinigami. The only males that it didn't work on were the captains as well as Chojiro and Kira-fukutaichou.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. "Did you need something?"

Rangiku nodded. "Yea, the soutaichou called for you just a while ago! It seemed pretty urgent because the messenger was out of breath when he finally found me."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at this. The soutaichou, huh? I wonder what he could want after a month of not speaking to me… "Alright, take me to him."

|1st Division Barracks, Seireitei, Soul Society|

"Uchiha Sasuke, welcome."

Sasuke stood in front of Yamamoto's desk as he stared at him with cool and unblinking eyes. "Thank you," he said curtly. "What did you call me here for?" Noticing a nervous tension in the room which especially radiated from Chojiro, Sasuke guessed that it was something of the highest importance.

"You request from a month ago… I do not know how he learned of your arrival, but he had learned of it somehow, and…"

Sasuke felt his hands grow cold as Yamamoto finished his sentence.

"…he has asked to speak to you."

…

Sasuke stared hard at the floor as he clenched his hands into a fist.

"Take me to him."

|Owari, Seireitei, Soul Society|

Owari was the fifteenth level of the multiple underground levels, and it was over fifteen hundred feet under Seireitei. The entrance to the solitary confinement was barred by a huge metal gate that Sasuke had been told had over a hundred Kido spells placed on it as precautions, and the walls that stood on either side of the gate were made of sekkiseki, which was a special type of mineral that was said to be able to repel all types of reiryoku.

Only a captain was able to unlock the gate of Owari, and so, Soifon was chosen as the captain to accompany Sasuke and Rangiku. As they reached the gate, Soifon motioned for both Sasuke and Rangiku to stand back as she unsheathed her Zanpakuto.

Nicking both of her thumbs so that she drew blood, Soifon drew strange patterns on both of her forearms with the blood and slammed her hands together. Closing her eyes, she began to murmur a long incantation that took a full minute to finish, and after that, she opened her eyes and slammed her right hand against the middle of the gate.

"KAI!"

The whole area began to rumble as the gate glowed in all sorts of different colors, and then the rumbling suddenly stopped. Nodding in satisfaction, Soifon opened the gates and motioned for Sasuke and Rangiku to enter, following the two closely behind as ten Shinigami guards stood guard near the still-opened gate.

As they walked inside of the solitary confinement, Sasuke saw that it was in fact a wide and spacious cave, the walls glistening from the dew from beneath the walls of the cave. A large waterfall sat on the far opposite side of the cave, and a single wooden bench sat in front of it.

A figure was seated on the bench, his head bowed and his elbows resting on his knees as his arms hung over them. The figure had jet-black hair pulled back into low ponytail with a red elastic, and the ends of his bangs hung directly over his eyes. He wore a black sleeveless assassin top along with gray pants and black ninja sandals similar to the ones that Sasuke wore. Sasuke noticed that he wore a necklace with three silver rings with red gems inside of them as well as a crimson ring on his right ring finger that had the kanji for "crimson" on it in black.

Sasuke gulped as he saw the figure, and as the figure looked up, Sasuke's eyes widened as he caught sight of his glowing red eyes with the three tomoes circulating the pupils and distinctive long, pronounced tear-troughs under his eyes.

"The foremost cruel and dangerous Shinigami of his generation," whispered Soifon in a cold and chilling whisper, the sound of the crashing waterfall adding to the cold and foreboding atmosphere.

"Uchiha Itachi."

To be continued…

Translations:

- Nibantai: 2nd Division.

- Sanbantai: 3rd Division.

- Kyubantai: 9th Division.

- Jubantai: 10th Division.

- Owari: The End (meaning the lowest level of the multiple underground levels).

- Soutaichou: Head Captain.

- Taichou: Captain.

- Fukutaichou: Vice-captain.

If you liked or disliked anything, let me know through a review. All criticisms and complaints are appreciated as long they're not full-on hate messages.