Disclaimer: Still the same.

Author's Note: So I'm skipping over the appearance descriptions just because it's annoying to write out and read (for you guys of course). If you're reading this, I really hope that you know the main villain's appearances. Anyways, enjoy.

Also, prepare for a lot of feud between the Akatsuki and the Espada from now on.

Chapter 12: The Wanderer Arc – A New Threat

I know the four of us have worked together. And for a while, I thought I could choose that path instead… but in the end… I've decided on revenge. That's always been my purpose of living.

- Uchiha Sasuke

|Southern Desert, Soul Society|

A gust of wind blew across the desert terrain as a figure walked across the sand-infested area. Sand whipped around him as he struggled to push himself past the violent wind that pushed back against him. The figure, who was an attractive male with piercing onyx eyes, was wrapped in a ragged tan cloak and a matching hood that only left his eyes and the ends of his front bangs visible.

"Sasuke…"

Sasuke, the onyx-eyed figure, simply blinked at the sound of the voice inside of his head. "Raiden-ryū… What do you want?" He suddenly closed his eyes shut as another even-more-so violent gust of wind pelted his face with sand. "We've been out in this desert for over three days straight since we left the gladiator arena… Is it really necessary for us to travel so far into the desert which is opposite from where Seireitei is located?"

"Trust me," reassured Raiden-ryū in his sickly and eerie voice. "There has to be a cave nearby here. Search for it, and we'll rest for a little while there before resuming our training from the gladiator arena…"

… After walking for another half an hour, Sasuke was able to spot a fairly large cave, just like Raiden-ryū had said there would be. When he walked inside, he was able to see that the cave wasn't as large as he had thought it would be, but it was still big enough to house at least ten people.

A wisp of smoke suddenly blew into existence behind Sasuke, the smoke being replaced with a long-haired pale blue figure the next second. His face showing no sign of any surprise or any other emotion, Sasuke unsheathed his Zanpakuto as the figure did the same.

"I thought that we were going to rest for a while before resuming our training," said Sasuke in a slightly mocking tone.

"Rest is for the weak," hissed Raiden-ryū as he and Sasuke circled each other around the cave. "You don't have much time if you're going to go back to Seireitei to confront your older brother. You're still too weak, and-." He suddenly swung his blade forward as Sasuke swung at him with his released Zanpakuto, the lightning crackling all around the both of them as their blades clashed. "Never raise your weapon to block me… That's the secret behind my power. Don't think that you being able to use Shikai means that you're the superior one here, Sasuke."

He and Sasuke then leapt back and charged at each other again, small charges of lightning crackling around them as their blades met in a clash again and again. Spinning around, Sasuke swung down at Raiden-ryū's legs in an attempt to hinder his movements, but Raiden-ryū simply parried Sasuke's blow with his own released Zanpakuto, the edges of their blades colliding and releasing multiple sparks of flames.

"I'll carve my training into you," growled Raiden-ryū maliciously as he bent forward to face Sasuke, their eyes burning into each other as their blades locked together. "I'll force you to achieve Bankai in just ten months… If you don't, then…"

Sasuke's eyes widened as Raiden-ryū suddenly seemed to disappear in a wisp of smoke, suddenly reappearing behind him with his blade held against Sasuke's throat.

"…I'll kill you."

Meanwhile…

It was basically a desert wasteland, but more like a graveyard which contained the remains of large creatures and Hollows. There was an unusual gigantic bone structure which sat in the middle of the graveyard, and on top of the mammoth-like remains of the creature sat a blonde figure dressed in a chin-high collared orange and black jacket and black pants.

"Naruto…!"

Sighing, Naruto closed his eyes and entered the landscape of his mind. When he opened his eyes, he was sitting on the nose of a gigantic orange nine-tailed fox- the Kyuubi, or Kurama for this matter.

"Kurama…What is it?"

Kurama growled in annoyance as he opened his mouth to reveal his sharp fangs. "Shouldn't you be working on perfecting your Bankai? You only just achieved it not less than four days ago… But then again, even if you did perfect it, you probably wouldn't ever need to use it, am I right?" Pausing for a moment, he growled in amusement as Naruto simply huffed in reply. "You're bored, that's the problem."

"Baka." Naruto sighed for the second time that day. "It's not a problem with me being bored… I've already heard the reports of Aizen's so-called 'perfected Hollows' having been able to be fight par-on-par with the captains and vice-captains of the Gotei 13… I'm just trying to figure out where I stand in all of this…" Rolling his neck, Naruto closed his eyes and left the palace of his mind.

…

When he opened his eyes, he grabbed his Zanpakuto that was lying by his side and unsheathed it. "Alright, Kurama… You win."

…

"Bankai."

|Unknown Location|

It was a large and spacious cave with almost infinite room. The entire cave was empty except for a large humanoid stone figure that sat in the middle of the desolate area, its large arms raised with the palms open face-up. On nine of the ten fingers stood a figure dressed in the same chin-high collared black cloak with the red cloud designs on them. There were nine in total, and none of their true identities were visible as they appeared to be some kind of projection that flickered every now and then.

On the right thumb of the statue stood a figure with short spiked hair and unusually strange eyes that seemed to have some kind of ripple-like patterns on them. He glanced at everyone, the cave deathly quiet as none of the nine figures budged an inch. Finally, after a still long minute, the figure spoke.

"It's been three months since our last meeting… Welcome, everyone." When he spoke, his voice, fairly low and masculine, seemed to sound distorted as if there was some kind of radio wave interference. "I've called you all here to discuss a situation that has come to our attention…" Glancing at the figure on the left thumb, who was in fact Sasori, he gave him a look, singling for him to go ahead and speak.

"It seems that the coliseum in the Olden Seireitei Empire was overrun by the gladiators," explained Sasori in a quiet voice. "Their charge was led by Uzumaki Naruto, Bipolar Juugo, and… Uchiha Sasuke."

If the other eight seemed surprised by this, they didn't show it. After pausing for a brief moment, Sasori continued. "They were able to overrun the entire coliseum, and they managed to kill the five executives who were currently overseeing the operation. The entire eastern as well as the southern half of the base has been almost completely demolished, and I regret to inform you all that it will take more than three months to rebuild the entire operation."

…

"I see." This was the supposed head figure who spoke. "How unfortunate. As the head of the gladiator operation, you failed to keep that branch in check… However…" Closing his eyes, he paused for a second. "However," he repeated, "that was only one of the thirty-five bases that we have stationed throughout Soul Society… Even though it was one of our largest bases of operation, I estimated the loss of profit only to be at around 15%. For a three month period, we can do without that." His eyes slowly opening, his gaze shifted back to Sasori. "How was Uchiha Sasuke?"

"He did well," replied Sasori. "He hasn't achieved Bankai yet, but he's fully mastered his Shikai. He could most definitely take on Uzumaki Naruto, but he still has a long way to go before he's at Itachi's level… If he ever gets there, that is."

"Well, that's to be expected…" The head figure sighed and closed his eyes once more as the room once again became silent. "Very well then… Onto the next order of business…"

|Karakura Town, The World of the Living|

Hitsugaya, Rangiku, and Renji all stood with their Zanpakuto's drawn, trying to catch their breaths as they faced their enemies. Hitsugaya was up against Arrancar Eleven, Shawlong Koufang, Rangiku was facing Arrancar Fourteen, Nakeem Grindina, and Renji was up against Arrancar Fifteen, Yylfordt Granz.

Hitsugaya grimaced as he glared at Shawlong, raising his Zanpakuto slightly up. These guys… The Arrancars are way more skilled than we had expected… I'm only at twenty percent full strength, but as a captain, I thought that I would at least be a match for a Números! Dammit…!

"You're pretty strong," said Hitsugaya in a casual tone. "I didn't expect for us to be this evenly matched… Sit upon the frosted heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"

Shawlong's eyes slightly widened as a giant dragon of ice emerged from the Tenth Division's captain's sword. T-This is… He suddenly looked up at the night sky as he felt something unusual happening above him. The clouds… They're darkening… "So your Zanpakuto has the power of weather manipulation…?" asked the Arrancar in a slightly surprised tone.

Hitsugaya nodded, confirming that statement. "My Hyōrinmaru is the strongest ice-type Zanpakuto in all of Soul Society… There's no way that you can win now, Shawlong Koufang."

Shawlong chuckled silently to himself as he raised his sword sideways, a wicked grin spreading across his face. "Snip, Tijereta!"

A large cloud of smoke leaked out from the Arrancar's Zanpakuto, enveloping him. When the smoke cleared, Shawlong was seen clad in an armor that covered both his arms and his upper chest, while his hands had transformed into large claws. His mask now covered the entire left side of his face, and a part of his original mask fragment extended downwards to form a half-helmet, the side protrusion being mounted on the back of his head.

Testing his claws, Shawlong looked up, chuckling as he narrowed his eyes. Hitsugaya's eyes widened as he swiftly raised his sword, barely blocking the powered-up Arrancar's attack in time; however, the attack was so powerful that it still cut into Hitsugaya's chest, despite it being a fairly shallow wound. Grimacing slightly as he was forced back a few inches, the Tenth Division's captain shook off the attack, glancing over Shawlong's Resurrección form. So an Arrancar's sword release increases his attack power as well as his speed, huh? At the level that I'm at right now, I won't be able to defeat him with just Shikai… Dammit! I can definitely take him down with Bankai, but as a captain, I should be able to defeat someone at his level with just Shikai!

"Let me ask you something…" said Hitsugaya as he stared hard at Shawlong. "You said that you were Arrancar Eleven, weren't you? In other words, you're the eleventh one. So that means that you're the eleventh strongest out of all of the Arrancars, right?"

"No," replied Shawlong bluntly. "Our numbers are just to signify which order we were born in… But that's only for the numbers below me."

Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean…?"

Clasping his hands behind his back, Shawlong looked up at the night sky. "Shall I explain? We Hollow are reborn as Arrancar via the Hogyoku, then given a number from eleven on, according to the order of our birth. Arrancar who are exceptionally skilled killers are assigned a number a number from one through ten, from strongest to weakest. Those select ten are called Espada; they have their numbers tattooed on their body, and they also have the authority to command anyone Eleven or lower."

…

Bringing his right claw forward to cover his face, Shawlong narrowed his eyes, grinning. "And let me just make this clear. Our powers don't even register compared to the Espada."

Hitsugaya's eyes widened in shock. W-What…?!

"And just so you know, one of the Espada has come here with us," continued Shawlong. "Aizen-sama gave him the number Six… The sixth Espada, Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez."

Hitsugaya scowled as he raised his sword, bracing himself for another attack.

…

Dammit…!

|Southern Desert, Soul Society|

From inside of the cave, the clash of metal rang out throughout the area as Sasuke and Raiden-ryū clashed blades with each other over and over again. As Sasuke ducked to avoid a blow from Raiden-ryū, Raiden-ryū twisted over and stabbed down at him with his sword.

Activating his Sharingan, Sasuke was able to easily avoid the attack, and he stabbed upwards as a counterattack, aiming to pierce Raiden-ryū's neck. "You call that Zanjutsu?" asked Raiden-ryū as he slapped the blade aside with his bare hand. "Use your Shikai…! Roar!" His Zanpakuto being bathed in a lightning current, he swung at Sasuke, the blade moving with incredible speed.

Sasuke was barely able to avoid the attack, but he still received a shallow cut that stretched across his nose. "Che!" Narrowing his eyes, he swung back his sword and rushed at Raiden-ryū. "Roar, Raiden-ryū!" The sound of piercing lightning filled the air as Sasuke and Raiden-ryū clashed swords together. "Is this better?" asked Sasuke jokingly as they went head-on with each other.

"You don't deserve to use my name!" hissed Raiden-ryū as he broke away from Sasuke. "Let's see how you handle this!" Spinning around, he suddenly seemed to disappear as he flickered to Sasuke's side. Sasuke's head snapped to the right as he moved to counter his Zanpakuto's attack, but Raiden-ryū managed to take him by surprise by flash stepping in front of Sasuke and striking his stomach with a spinning kick.

Sasuke cried out as he went flying into the wall of the cave. Raiden-ryū took an inaudible deep breath and pointed two fingers at him. "Ye lord… Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man… On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens…" A large orb of blue flame-like energy generated at the tip of his index and middle fingers, growing larger and more powerful by the second.

"Hadō #73: Sōren Sōkatsui!"

Two large concentrated blasts of blue flames sped towards Sasuke, who was caught off guard by the sudden attack. He managed to jump away, but even though he was able to evade most of the attack, the attack managed to graze Sasuke's arm, throwing him away so that he crashed into the wall.

"You're not even close to achieving the last step of your Bankai training…" Raiden-ryū sighed out loud as he spun his Zanpakuto in his hand and started to casually walk over to Sasuke, who was lying on the ground, breathing hard.

"Stand up, Sasuke… We're not done yet."

|Las Noches, Hueco Mundo|

Three months later…

Aizen looked up from his "experiment" as he heard the sound of the double doors opening. "Ulquiorra… Yammy… Welcome."

Walking into the room, Ulquiorra looked around the room for a brief moment before he continued on any further. Ulquiorra was a slender pale-skinned male with neck-length messy black hair. He had dark green emerald eyes with small slit-like pupils, and a part of his bangs fell between his eyes. He also had distinctive teal lines which descended from the lower part of his eyes like thin streams of tears. He wore a typical white jacket with a high collar and long coattails as well as a hakama with a black sash. The room, despite its enormity, was almost completely empty save a couple groups of a few large transparent steel cubes stacked on top of each other, resembling a small set of staircases which a few Arrancar were seated on.

"There seems to be something on your mind," said Aizen as he returned to his little project. "Did you need something?"

"Yes." Ulquiorra continued to stare at Aizen with his unblinking eyes as he spoke. "It seems that we have some visitors. You asked you to inform you when they arrived, Aizen-sama."

Aizen, who had his hands cupped around a glowing marble-sized orb in his hand, looked up in surprise and turned to face Ulquiorra. "Oh? Already? Well, that's good to hear." Placing the orb back down in its home, he gave Ulquiorra and Yammy an emotionless smile. "Well, let's go and greet our dear comrades. We wouldn't want to keep them waiting now, would we?"

Aizen and his two Shinigami subordinates Gin and Tosen, as well as the ten Espada, all walked into a fairly large and spacious room in which a single large oval smooth marble table sat in the middle of the room. Twenty chairs sat around the table, and around the left side sat seven figures dressed in black cloaks along with two same figures- one male and one female, leaning against the wall behind them. Their faces were hidden behind the shadow.

As the Espada sat down in their individual seats, they didn't even say a word as they stared at the figures on the opposite side of the table with their unblinking eyes.

"Welcome, dear comrades," greeted Aizen as he stood at the front of the table. Gin and Tosen stood on either side of him, still and quiet. "Thank you for coming on such short notice, but as you might have already guessed, this is of the most urgent matter."

Hidan, who was seated next to Kakuzu, scowled as he leaned back against his chair. "Well, a thank you sure did it for us! That totally makes everything better! I was in the middle of a full-out slaughter near a local district when you called for us! Do you know the consequences that Jashin-sama is gonna -?!"

"Hidan."

Hidan's eyes widened as the male figure behind him spoke. The figure's voice was deep and masculine with a hint of charisma in it, and as his eyes slowly opened, he revealed his ripple-like pattern eyes with light purple sclerae and light dark purple irides.

"Go on," said the figure softly.

The figure's soft yet deadly voice seemed to unnerve everyone in the room save Aizen, Gin, Ulquiorra, and the female figure standing beside the figure. "I apologize for any inconveniences," continued Aizen in a slightly amused voice. "Anyways, I brought you all here to make sure on our agreement from earlier… A temporary partnership… In return for helping us conquer Soul Society, your goals will be met at a much faster rate."

"And the problem is?" asked the figure.

"Yamamoto Genryusai seems to be getting a bit impatient," explained Aizen in an amused tone as if the two were joking around. "Although he's playing right into my hands, I would appreciate any assistance in dealing with my dear former Gotei 13 members should their involvement become to… bothersome, so to say." Pausing for a second, he took a sip from his cup of tea before speaking again. "I'm not asking for anything on a large scale- just providing a hand here and there will be enough."

"Che!" Everyone turned to face Grimmjow, who still had a scowl on his face as if he was still angry about Tosen having cut off his arm. "This is bullshit Aizen-sama! We don't need any of these pussies help in dealing with those weak Shinigami! I can deal with them myself if that's how we're gonna play it!"

Hidan seemed angered by this, and he leapt up from his seat as he gripped the hilt of his scythe which was on his back. "What?! You don't need our help?! We came all the way here to lend you fucking pussies a hand, so don't try and act like a fucking tough guy!"

It was now Nnoitra's turn to get angry as he glared at Hidan from his seat, a dangerous glint appearing in his eyes. "What's this coming from the Shinigami? Trash like you need to keep their mouth shut. You really think that Aizen-sama needs your help? Aizen-sama could wipe out the entire Gotei 13 in an instant if he wanted to, so don't try and act all high and mighty you stupid piece of crap!"

"What?!" Hidan laughed out loud at this as if Nnoitra had just said something ridiculous. "Your precious Aizen-sama?! You mean his fucking cheap Zanpakuto! A ten-year-old kid could take out the Gotei 13 with a fucking Zanpakuto as cheap as that if he knew how to use it properly! That's not being strong- that's having a fucking crutch that no one can touch!"

"Heh heh," chuckled Nnoitra softly. "You really don't know Aizen-sama at all, do you?"

"Grimmjow, Nnoitra," said Aizen softly. "I appreciate your words, but this is a joint operation. This isn't a matter of who can best who in battle, but a matter of teaming up and accomplishing things the right way."

The figure behind the shadows straightened up as he got up from leaning against the wall, his face still hidden by the shadows. Uncrossing his arms, his hypnotic eyes seemed to bore into the heart of every single individual in the room save Aizen and his two Shinigami subordinates. "Don't talk down to your comrades, Hidan. Any insubordination from here on will be considered an act of betrayal." Turning to face Aizen, he stared at him for a split second before turning around to face the door. "Anyways, I'll keep in touch. My organization is much more vast than your group, so we will lend you full support in your operation." Having said that, he began walking towards the door, his female partner following him closely behind.

The rest of the Akatsuki got up from their seats and began to walk out of the room in a single file line, neither group saying a word until the final member left the room, the double doors softly closing shut behind him.

…

"Organization?" A blonde female Espada turned her head to face Aizen. "Aizen-sama, what did that Shinigami mean by that? It was to our understanding that their group was just comprised of those ten."

Aizen shook his head as he smiled to himself. "No… Allow me to elaborate on my earlier explanation, Harribel. The Akatsuki is a group of rogue Shinigami started by their leader. I suppose that you could say that there are three divisions in the Akatsuki. Starting from the bottom, there are the foot soldiers, so to say. They're just normal low-ranked Shinigami and other mercenaries. The next division is comprised of fairly strong and skilled Shinigami whose abilities could match a 3rd Seat's or even a vice-captain's. The first division, on the other hand, is comprised of the ten most skilled members of the organization. There can only be ten members at a time, and their abilities surpass those of even a captain's." He then glanced at Grimmjow out of the corner of his eyes. "That's why you should be wary of them, Grimmjow. As much as I am confident in you all, there are a few select individuals in the Akatsuki whose powers surpass those of even the top Espada."

Grimmjow's eyes widened at this, a look of disbelief appearing on his face. "What?! That's ridiculous, Aizen-sama!"

"I am not above praising a worthy person's abilities," stated Aizen quietly. "They will be very useful my plan to conquer Karakura Town, so I would appreciate your full cooperation for the time being. After the destruction of Karakura Town, however…" A devious grin appeared on his face. "Well, anything is possible."

|Karakura Town, The World of Living|

Hitsugaya looked up from his meditative state, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked up at the sky. It's quiet… Peaceful… Maybe too peaceful… What's this feeling that I'm getting…? Keeping the uneasiness that was welling up inside of him in check, he swallowed the feeling of dread that was coming up his throat and turned his focus back to performing Jinzen, which was a form of communication between a Shinigami and his/her Zanpakuto.

…

Shit! Hitsugaya's eyes suddenly snapped open as a giant Garuganta appeared in the sky without warning. So soon?!

Ikkaku, Rangiku and Yumichika, who were all trying to perform Jinzen as well, felt the Garuganta appear as well and quickly reacted by popping a Gikongan into their mouths, entering their Shinigami forms. "Che!" Ikkaku scoffed as he unsheathed his Zanpakuto, grinning in excitement at the thought of fighting another Arrancar. "It looks like fresh meat's here, Yumichika!"

"Ah, yea," agreed Ikkaku's bob-haired companion. "It seems like it."

Hitsugaya glared at the four figures that stepped out to stand near the edge of the Garuganta. One of the figures was a large tan male with a distinctive ridge-lined cranium. The second figure was a slightly thin figure with slightly medium-length curly black hair and lavender eyes. The next figure was Grimmjow, who was missing his left arm, and the last figure was a blonde-haired child-like figure who had a dumb expression plastered on his face.

"Don't let your guard down you guys!" he warned as he unsheathed his own Zanpakuto, gripping it with both hands as he held it out in front of him. "I'm not one hundred percent sure on this, but if I'm not mistaken, all of the Arrancar are Espada-leveled!"

Rangiku grimaced as she remembered just how easily she had been beaten by a Números, which was nothing compared to an Espada. So basically, we're all dead if we don't remove our limiters!

Hitsugaya lowered his communication device, which he had pulled out just a few second ago, and stashed it back in his uniform. "I just received word from the 12th Division that they've just gotten authorization for the limiter removals!" he informed the group. "They've finally gotten the hang of it!"

Hitsugaya and Rangiku pulled back the chest-portion of their uniforms to reveal their division's flower symbol appearing on the right side of his/her chest or bosom.

"LIMITER RELEASE!"

"Oh?" Yammy, the large tanned figure, looked down at the group and grinned as he saw two large pillars of reiatsu shooting up from a clearing around a hundred feet away from the Garuganta. "That's some pretty powerful reiatsu," he commented as he cracked his knuckles.

Turning his head to look at an Arrancar that was standing next to him, he opened his mouth to speak but was stopped by Grimmjow, who was standing on the far left. "Che!" scoffed the blue-haired Arrancar, his hands shoved into his pockets. "The guy that I want to kill isn't with them."

…

Yammy's eyes widened as Grimmjow leapt away from the Garuganta, flying towards a group of nearby apartments with an angry glint in his eyes. "Oy, Grimmjow!" he called out angrily. "Che! Grimmjow, that bastard…!"

"Don't worry about him," said the Arrancar next to him. He stared lazily at the lower right area of Grimmjow's back where there was a scar covering the place where the number "six" used to be. "He's not an Espada anymore… He can't do anything."

Meanwhile…

Kensei and Love, who were two of the Vizards- Shinigami with Hollow powers, struggled to hold back an orange-haired teen as he tried to rush out of the secret room underneath a warehouse. The teen was in fact the Shinigami-daikou Kurosaki Ichigo, and he was currently residing with the Vizards in order to undergo training to control his inner Hollow.

"Let me go!" Ichigo struggled to pry himself from Kensei and Love's grip, a determined and slightly frustrated look on his face. "I have! To! Get out of here!"

"Don't be so reckless!" scolded Kensei as he held Ichigo back with his arm wrapped around his neck. "Why do you think that your Shinigami friends are here?! They're here to protect Karakura Town from Aizen and the Arrancars, right?! Just as their job is to protect Karakura Town, your job is to train and grow stronger until the final battle this winter!"

"I know that already!" Ichigo retorted angrily. "But still, if I've been training all this time to get stronger, it's useless if I can't protect my friends with it, right?! Please, let me go!"

Kensei seemed pissed off by this. "You little-! This is useless!" Drawing back his free arm, the Vizard prepared to knock Ichigo out with a blow to the back of his head. Just as he was about to, however, he was stopped by Hirako, who calmly placed a hand on his shoulder. "Sh-Shinji…?"

"Let him go," ordered Hirako quietly.

…

Ichigo ran towards the entrance of the underground training area as Kensei and Love released their grip on him. Kensei looked annoyed at Hirako having allowed Ichigo to run free, and he turned to Hirako with a frustrated look on his face. "Oy, Shinji!" he called out as the blonde Vizard began to walk away from the two. "Why'd you let him go?! Are you crazy?!"

"It's alright." Hirako waved at them as he walked away. "I know what I'm doing."

Kensei scowled angrily as he watched Hirako walk off.

You better, Shinji…

|Southern Desert, Soul Society|

Sasuke rested his hands on his knees as he leaned over, an exhausted look on his face as he struggled to catch his breath. This is a lot harder than I expected… Naruto had to go through this for eleven years…? This is-. Sasuke suddenly looked up in surprise, taken by surprise from Raiden-ryū suddenly flickering into view in front of him. As Raiden-ryū slashed at him, Sasuke was barely to evade the attack by ducking swiftly, the blade whistling over his head.

Dammit! Sasuke braced himself as Raiden-ryū skillfully spun around on the ball of his heel, his foot slamming into Sasuke's arms as he raised them to block the attack. "Really, Sasuke?" Raiden-ryū spoke in an amused tone. "This is beyond disappointing… I expected more from you." Twirling his sword in his hand, he watched the dazzling reflection of the blade with a curious look on his face. "So beautiful, isn't it?" He almost sounded as if he was talking to himself. "Strange how something so beautiful could be the death of you in the next second, huh?"

Sasuke's eyes widened in shock as Raiden-ryū appeared in front of him, a dangerous grin on his face. "Now," continued Raiden-ryū, "your break time's over." Sasuke narrowed his eyes as Raiden-ryū's blade suddenly flashed in front of his eyes.

…

"Use Bankai."

If you liked or disliked anything about the chapter, let me know.