Chapter 2
Yamamoto sighed inwardly, he just hoped that Zaraki did not go around to pick a fight with Naruto. It would prove disastrous should he do that. Naruto may not be as strong as he was, but he was still strong. Any fight involving him had to have collateral damages. That included with Zaraki, the damage would be great. But knowing Naruto, he would refuse to fight the 11th division captain. Not that the man would take no for an answer.
''I believe we have discussed...'' Yamamoto trailed off when he heard a buzz of static inside the room. Naruto appeared in the room. This is just great, Yamamoto groaned. This was unexpected. He was not expecting the man to appear in this meeting. He would just make things worse with his appearance and he did not want to have a headache any time soon.
''Uchiha-taichou, how nice of you to be here,'' Unohana stated looking at the former captain. She still called captain despite him quitting the job. Well she only did that in front of other people.
''It's always lovely to crash a meeting and see Yamamoto annoyed,'' Naruto stated as he walked towards the other captains. He stood in the middle of the captains and stared at Yamamoto.
''I hear that a child who grew up before your very eyes managed to escape you before your very eyes,'' he said. ''Have you grown weak Yamamoto?''
''Ma Naruto, he had the Menos pull him out of here to escape from us,'' Shunsui said. They were unable to do anything because of it. Had not be for the menos, they would have surely captured Aizen.
''What were you doing while he was parading at the Sokoyu Hill? Have you lost your purpose Shunsui?'' Naruto questioned now turning his attention to Shunsui who had the audacity to defend the situation. He had been told that the man had his time around the execution grounds to play with the Ryoka and take the Hogyouku. Had they been there it would never have happened.
''What has happened, happened,'' Yamamoto stated firmly. ''Next time I will not allow him to escape.''
''Yamamoto, those fools in central 46 were killed under your nose. That child made decisions that Central 46 ought to have been making. And you failed to see that. Because they were orders you chose to blindly follow them even though you could question them,'' Naruto shook his head. ''You disappoint me. At least Shunsui and Jushiro were willing to fight for what they believed in. You on the other hand were willing to even go as far as to punish them. Has following orders robbed you of your ability to define what is wrong and right. You choose to blindly follow ...''
''Enough! I will not tolerate this!'' Yamamoto stated with a stern tone releasing some of his Reiatsu.
Naruto ignored his words. ''...nonsense you call Soul Society's Laws. What kind of laws are they if they continue to judge even the innocent? Your age has made you even one track minded Yamamoto. You cannot do anything other than follow orders. If you cannot define good from evil, then you should as well commit Seppuku.''
Naruto's words left the younger captains speechless. They had never seen anyone talk to the strongest Shinigami like that. To be able to talk to the Sotaichou like that took guts. There was also the fact that there was some truth in his words. Not all of them agreed with Rukia's execution. It was obvious to everyone that the Sotaichou followed Soul society's laws to the core.
Naruto walked towards the Sotaichou and stood beside him. He could tell that Yamamoto was holding himself from releasing his blade. The man did not appreciate being insulted. But he had to say it. It was one of the reason he quit the Gotei 13 in the first place.
''I would appreciate it if you did not say such nonsense again,'' Yamamoto stated in a very dangerous tone with a single eye opened narrowing at Naruto. Naruto said nothing though. ''The seat of the Fifth Division is open, will you take it?''
''No,'' Naruto answered again shocking everyone. ''I have no interest in becoming captain of this useless organization. You serve no purpose. You once created this to protect the souls that wonder in Soul Society, but now you have become obsessed with fighting hollows and maintaining your superiority. I have no interest in this nonsense,'' he said walking away.
Yamamoto was silently seething. But he knew that picking a fight with this man was just provoking destruction. As soon as central 46 was reformed, he would request that the soul King reconsider in allowing Naruto to roam free. Even without his Zanpaktou, he was still corrupting the other captains who were not used to seeing this kind of thing.
He followed laws because they were absolute. It was his way of life and he would never change. He had survived this long while following the laws. Naruto had been sealed for nearly 1000 years because he did not follow laws. He could have been killed if it was possible. Between both of them, he was better.
Soi-fon stood in Naruto's way glaring daggers at him. Naruto merely stared at her impassively before speaking, ''You are in the way child,'' he said.
''Who do you think you are? You can't just budge in here and disrespect the Sotaichou, insult the way we do things and call the Gotei 13 nonsense!'' it was unacceptable before her eyes for anyone to do that. She did not care what she had heard about him. She just could not stand his lack of respect.
''Uchiha Naruto, that is who I am,'' Naruto stated flatly. ''Now get out of my way child.''
Soi-fon scoffed, ''I am not a child! I am the captain of the second division and chief in commander of the Covert Orps!'' she said rather loudly. How dare he call her a child? She was not some brat! Now she no longer cared if he was of the same age as Shunsui and Kyoraku. He was way beyond line. She felt anger consume her thoughts to her very core. Her very skin begun to boil like lava in anger as her ears released illusionary steam.
Naruto opened his right palm facing Soi-fon. Yamamoto knew Naruto was going to do something that may harm Soi-fon. He was not going to have one of his subordinates harmed needlessly.
He released a burst of his Reiatsu, ''Naruto! That is enough!'' his tone was on edge. It was clear he was reaching his limit and should he be pushed further he would explode.
Naruto narrowed his eye at Yamamoto before looking back at Soi-fon. He disappeared from her front and appeared behind her. The second division stood frozen. It all happened in the blink of an eye. She did not sense nor see anything. How was that possible? She was really fast, her unit specialized in speed.
Naruto was not even facing her when he spoke, ''Learn your place child,'' he said and narrowed his eyes at Yamamoto, ''I will help in this little party you have failed to stop,'' with that he disappeared in a buzz sounding like the use of a sonido.
''Ah, my, he's fast,'' Urahara commented with a grin on his face hidden behind his hand fan.
''During his time, there was no one faster than he was. Not even the Goddess of Flash can compete with him in speed,'' Unohana stated surprising Soi-fon.
''Soi-fon Taichou, I would suggest you don't do something like that again before him. You can if you want to be punished,'' Yamamoto stated in a defeated tone. ''This is why I felt happy when they sealed him,'' he mumbled just loud enough for everyone to hear him. ''You are all dismissed!''
The captains and former captain all left the room in silence with much to speak about. There once was a man who was as strong as the Sotaichou, possibly stronger. Now he has returned and is not afraid to state it loud that he dislikes Soul Society's laws, their laws.
For Urahara, the meeting was quite 'refreshing'. He had known that the man was said to be quite cold and ruthless, also never fearing to voice his thoughts - not to the Sotaichou not to Central 46. He had never seen anyone like him before. But seeing all that, he could understand why he was sealed. If he had been powerful enough to defeat the Sotaichou and create his own dimension, what more could this man do?
An intriguing part was that he could sense to trace of Reiatsu from Naruto. There was nothing coming from him. It was like the man possessed no Reiatsu at all. This of course made him curious. As far as he knew, the man was powerful. If so, he should have been able to sense his power. Could it have something to do with him absorbing Yamamoto's flames? Possibly. Perhaps it was an evolution. Anything was seemingly possible with that man.
Another interesting factor is that the Sotaichou said nothing about the man's choice of words. No one still with the will to live would have said something like that in front of the captains. Moreover, the Captain-commander would never allow anyone to say something like that without punishment. But yet Naruto said all things, and called the Gotei 13 nonsense. Was it that the Sotaichou was not offended by this? A loud NO.
If the Soul king knew this man would act like this, why unseal him? As Yamamoto had said, the man had no interest in Soul Society matters. Or perhaps he had interest but simply hated the way things were run. He had made that clear. But still, unsealing this man was a major risk. He had no doubt that the whole of Gotei 13 combined could tackled Aizen. But he did not know how it would be possible with that man now possessing the Hogyouku.
Could it be that the Soul King had no choice but to release him? He had managed to escape from being sealed once, it was possible to do it again. If the Soul King was not forced to release, then why? Could it be that he had other objectives? He had taken precautions when dealing with him. He could say that sending Shutara was to short fuse him. There were a lot of questions that raced around Urahara's head, and he had no answers to them.
He knew that the Sotaichou was one second away from releasing his Zapankuto. He had never seen the man holding himself just so he could not release his blade. He knew that there would be collateral damage to the Sotaichou releasing his sword, but when has that ever stopped that old man before? If anything, Yamamoto looked reluctant to stop Naruto. Could it be that he feared doing it because he did not know how strong Naruto was?
That begged a question; Naruto had his Zapankuto taken, but Urahara knew it was not the only thing taken away from him. You cannot stop a man like Naruto by taking away his Zapankuto. That man could win a fight without drawing out his Zapankuto. He had a feeling that there was much more power that was taken away from him. He assumed even Yamamoto was aware of this. Still, even with the deductions to his power, how strong was he?
Yes, he could not be strong as he was back then. But he cannot forget that the man was immortal and the only way to deal with him was sealing him. But as it had been proven before, normal seals just don't work on the man.
Sighing, Urahara looked at Shunsui who was talking, ''Urahara-san, come by at squad 8 barracks, we will have some sake and catch up with other captains,'' he said.
The former captain nodded with a smile.
Later that day
Ukitake, Shunsui, Urahara, Toushiro and Byakuya were all sited within squad 8 barracks. Byakuya had only been present because he was curious about Uchiha Naruto. The senior captains knew about him, they would surely be sharing the information with everyone. That was why he had even bothered to be present. Coming to a gathering like this was not something that a respectable head of the Kuchiki clan did. But because he was curious, he came.
For Shunsui and Ukitake, since they were good friends, they always got together whenever each of them had time and drank some sake while they conversed. But this was a different occasion. Their friend was back to their lives.
''Was he always like that?'' Toushiro asked curiously. Naruto was not subtle when he spoke and seemed to be cold. He was also rude and for the lack of better word, disrespectful.
''Yes and No,'' Ukitake answered. ''When we met him, he was awfully quite, but deep inside I think he had always been cold. He was always brutally honest and only called the Sotaichou 'sensei' once. But he was happy when we became friends.''
''He was a good person though,'' Shunsui added with a small smile. ''When we were at the academy, he was a lot like me. We both loved women. Naruto knew how to get them.''
''I find that hard to believe,'' Byakuya stated. It was really hard to believe that such a man they had seen had been a womanizer before. He looked nothing like it. He seemed to be all about business and not taking any nonsense.
''It it not that hard to believe,'' Ukitake said. ''Naruto lived much of his life alone. When Genryusai-sensei took him, he was given a chance to start afresh. To make up for all his loneliness he suffered in the past, he chose to always have a women beside him,'' he explained. Before the former captain left the academy, he was always with a girl, always. He never seemed to get tired of them.
''Was it fear of being lonely again that compelled him to seek out women,'' Urahara asked particularly to no one.
''Might have been,'' Shunsui said with a shrug. ''But that all changed when he left the academy. There was little he cared for when he was at the academy. Before he left, he stopped caring about everything, even our friendship,'' he said rather sadly. But smiled nonetheless as something came into his head. ''Do you know that he once had an affair with Unohana-taichou?''
''Ha?'' Urahara grinned. ''Was it serious?'' this was definitely gold. He could never have guessed that Unohana would have a physical affair with anyone.
''No,'' Ukitake answered shaking his head. He looked at his friend, Shunsui, as the man took a sip of his sake. ''Friends? Yes. But it was not serious. Unohana just understood Naruto better than anyone else.''
''If any of you still like to be alive, you won't tell anyone about this,'' Shunsui said. The man cringed knowing how scary Unohana could be. She was sometimes even scarier than the captain commander.
''Just how strong was he?'' Toushiro asked a question that he felt comfortable with. The subject the men were discussing did not suit him at all.
''Scary strong,'' Shunsui stated rather seriously. ''He became captain by showing a fake Bankai while he hid his true Bankai. The only time he would release his Shikai when fighting would be when he was dueling Yama-jiji or me and Ukitake.'' It still was a mystery to him how the man could become that powerful. When he was smiling, he never looked power. He was but a friendly person. That was until his power grew to higher propositions.
''When his Reiatsu could still be sensed, Hitsugaya-taichou, you would not be able to stand before him. His spiritual pressure would paralyze you,'' Ukitake stated looking at the younger captain. The youngest Captain in the Gotei 13.
Looking at the boy, Ukitake knew that in years to come, Toushiro would grow even stronger than he was now. But someone like Naruto would never recognize him as captain until then. When anyone was weaker than him, he/she would be treated as such. Perhaps the only person who ever respected was Yamamoto. But he along with Unohana and Shunsui were also respect in much aspect. Yamamoto was powerful and was always following orders would be probably why he insults him so much. They got along when Yamamoto was training them, but when Naruto's power grew, he changed.
Still Ukitake never faulted the man. On the contrary, he admired him. Naruto stood strong to believes, never wavering unlike most people. When something was wrong, he was not afraid to say that it was wrong. He and Shunsui had learned that from him. Even when sometimes Naruto did take things to wider propositions, he never did anything he deemed as wrong. And in his eyes, he was mostly right to challenge Soul Societies laws.
Some laws were just unfair and unjust. He could never understand them. Naruto was there always to point that out and refuse to follow them. Well he could never agree with that Naruto did when he proclaimed himself as the God of Soul Society because the Soul King was not doing a good job.
He had to say that even he himself was ashamed of the fact that the Gotei 13 did not do enough. Souls were suffering in the Rungoki. But they did nothing about that. Naruto was right, they had become so obsessed with fighting hollows that nothing else matters. It was not that Naruto actually cared for the Souls in the Rungoki. He was merely stating a fault in the Gotei 13.
The Souls in the Rungoki actually feared and hated Shinigami. They were not viewed as the protectors they were supposed to be. No, they were the monster, the oppressors. Most Shinigami never went to the Rungoki to investigate crime and other things. They only went there when there was a hollow seen. They had become so one track minded that anything other than a Hollow or a Shinigami was not a threat or just did not matter.
''That strong huh?'' Toushiro asked not knowing what to believe. He did not actually think that anyone would be able to defeat the Sotaichou. But the man himself had stated it that he could be defeated by Naruto. If he could not even stand the man's spiritual pressure, how could he fight the man?
''The Sotaichou said his Zapankuto was an element type, fire. How strong were they?'' Byakuya asked curiously. This was turning out to be better than he had thought. He was getting much more information than first thought.
''Very strong if they could stand Yama-jiji's flames. Naruto himself did say that the flames were not in the true form, or power when his sword was in its Shikai form,'' Shunsui said. Then again, no one had ever seen his flames true power since he always hid what he could actually do. They spent hundreds of years with the man, and he never told them anything about his eyes.
At first, he had merely stated that he was born like that and that there was nothing special about them. For hundred years they believed that. No one even suspected anything about his eyes. He was indeed good at keeping secrets. Not even Yamamoto knew that the 'Bankai' he had used to gain entrance to the Gotei 13 was not actually his Bankai but just another ability of his eyes.
This of course, never made it easy to deal with him because you never knew what to expect with the man. You always had to be cautious, on guard because if you did not, you would be dead in the blink on an eye. He always ended fights easy so not to show much of his abilities. The ability he never hid was that he was faster than anyone. But Yamamoto could actually go toe on toe with him in speed, that is unless he pulls another card to increase his speed.
''What color were they?''
''Black, pure black,'' Shunsui replied as he took another sip of his sake. He sighed as his sip consumed everything. Well at least there was still another bottle. It would have been a horror of a night had there been no more sake.
''Was there anything more special about him?'' Urahara asked curiously. In all honestly, he was curious. The books he was able to get his hands on never did show much, just a few important facts. But he himself had to go and see them man himself. He wanted to confirm something.
''His Rengkyouku was special. He never elaborated how and he could manipulate Reishi like Quincy. But his manipulation was far superior. This ability is what lead Yama-jiji to believe that he had Quincy powers,'' Shunsui answered with a shrug. ''Like everything about his power, he never told anyone how that came to be. But everything else went back to his eyes. The problem was that he never confirmed nor denied anything.''
Urahara nodded. It was quite interesting, intriguing for someone like him who was a scientist. He always wanted to solve mysteries. This was one he would solve one way of the other. Back then he never bothered because the man was sealed, but right now, he was back to the living. This made it easy for him to do a research. He could just go and ask the man about his eyes, but there was a 0% chance that he would get an answer.
''So he had Quincy, Shinigami and Hollow powers, plus his special eyes,'' Urahara stated with a thoughtful look on his face. If you could have all three powers, there was no way you could not be strong. No wonder the man called himself God.
''Yes, but for some reason he never used his Quincy powers like the Quincies used to do. Yama-jiji theorized that it was just that he could not even though he could manipulate Reishi. He used his Manipulation of spirit particles for other purposes, no one was fully able to tell what.''
''He sure had secrets,'' Toushiro said. ''It makes you wonder why he would hide it. I mean most strong beings never actually hide their power. Some show it off in sheer arrogance, some because they believe that no one could really do anything even if they were aware.''
''It is indeed curious,'' Byakuya stated with a nod agreeing to Captain Hitsugaya's words.
''The only person in Soul Society who knows more about him that anyone is Unohana-taichou.''
''So that means other than her, nobody knows much about him.''
Shunsui shook his head. ''Not at all. Unohana just knows him at a more personal level, so do I but not as Unohana,'' he said. When Naruto was still 'happy' they were friends, good friends. Naruto was the one he went to women hunting with. Ukitake was not into that sort of thing.
''Two things that will never change about him is that; he will always be against Soul Society laws, and he will never bow to anyone,'' Ukitake added.
''Can he be trusted then? He was sealed for nearly 1000 years after a failed attempt to kill him. Won't he seek revenge?'' Toushiro questioned in a slight serious tone. Anyone could think as he was, even Byakuya seemed to agree with him.
Ukitake and Shunsui merely shared a look and chuckled slightly. ''Naruto does not hold grudges. He does not do revenge. But his dislike of the Soul King has obviously reached new bounds.'' That was not good at all. But the Soul King must have known about this. Otherwise he would never have released him. If Naruto does get his Zapankuto back, the surely will be fireworks in the Royal Palace.
''And the Sotaichou? He was sent to deal with him once, would not he be angry with him?''
''You are saying that because so far he has been constantly insulting him?'' the questioner nodded. ''No, the only reason he would dislike Yama-jiji is because he always follows Soul Society's laws even when they are unfair. He once said to Yama-jiji, ''Shingeku, you are a woman, a wife to Soul Society. A wife does what the husbands says, as long as it pleases him. If your husband (Soul Society) tells you he is going to bring his friend for a threesome, you will simply open you legs wide, and say ''as long as it pleases my husband''. If your husband tells you to go prostitute yourself because he is broke, you will run along to do that. As long as it pleases the husband. Do not expect me to be a whore for Soul Society because you are one''.
There was some silence before all four Captains burst out manner. Well Byakuya seemed to be laughing also albeit in a dignified manner. They all then turned completely serious.
''You are joking right?''
''No,'' Shunsui said seriously.
''...''
''Did he actually say it?''
''Yes; we were there when he said it. I had never seen Genryusai-sensei so infuriated before that day. Once Naruto opened his mouth, the Sotaichou started unconsciously releasing his Reiatsu to higher proportions. And released his Shikai. But Naruto did not stop. He would have been possibly killed if he had not gone away while the Sotaichou was still frozen in anger,'' Ukitake said.
''We also had to run away. We only heard a large explosion that almost shook Seireitei, but never looked back.''
''How was he able to stand before the Sotaichou after that?''
''He said it when he was quitting the Gotei 13. From then he disappeared for years. Since then, whenever they would meet, Naruto would always insult Yama-jiji. That is why now he is used to it.''
The captains then continued to drink their sake in comfortable silence. They were digesting what had been said so far in the meeting. Uchiha Naruto was one mysterious former captain. His dislike of Soul Society would explain why he refused to take the position of captain. He had quit it because he disagreed with the way things were done. Nothing had changed so far, so there was no reason for him to return to the fold again.
''He is similar to Aizen in some ways,'' Kuchiki Byakuya stated. ''Both desire to become God. While Aizen surely is powerful hungry, he does make it up for by his intellectual capacity. Not to forget that he has hollows by his side.''
Hitsugaya-taichou nodded. ''That bastard is crazy though. He cannot take on the whole of Soul Society even with the hollows by him,'' he said bitterly. It was obvious that the young captain had anger issues with Aizen that needed to be resolved. The only way to solve them, though, was to give Aizen the young Captain so he could murder him.
''They may have the same goal. But Naruto was and is not power hungry. And you could say that he actually succeeded in becoming God. He did have his own dimension with spirit particles that are so dense and potent making it harder even for a captain to breathe unless they are used to the place,'' Shunsui stated. ''He also did say that he had control over life and death. But no one was ever able to confirm it. Even though I find it hard to believe, I know Naruto would never say it unless it was true.''
''Life and death?'' Urahara questioned curiously. ''Is that even possibly? That is beyond what a Shinigami can do. Or anyone for that matter.''
''Perhaps he may have never said things just for the sake. However, control over life and death is impossible. No one has that kind of power. If he had it would not he use it prove it to you?'' the was clear disbelieve in Byakuya's voice. No one could believe that someone could have control over life and death. If one believed that tale then something was wrong with them. If Shunsui had said that the Spirit king had that kind of power, then it would have been believable because he was the Soul King, the most powerful being.
''It seems impossible, even I cannot believe it, unless I see it,'' Toushiro added.
Urahara was in thought. Shunsui was right, a man like Naruto never said he could do something unless he could. This begged a question; if he had the ability why did he not prove it. Was it simply because he did not want to or could not. The former did not seem likely; the latter could be likely. He could theorize it as having a powerful attack; without the required power or Reiatsu for the attack, it becomes impossible to do it. Could it be the same for Naruto? Could it be that there were some drawbacks that followed using the kind of power?
He certainly had a lot more questions that needed answers. He could not get them all on his own. But the man who had the answers, according to Shunsui and Ukitake, would never give them the answers given his secretive nature. Still, this only gave him a job to do. He did always like doing research. What kind of a scientist would he be if he did not love doing research?
''It is still a surprise to me why he would be released in the first place. We know he cannot be killed, not even the Soul King can do it. But why release him knowing that he would still have the same mindset that had him sealed in the first place?'' Byakuya questioned a more interesting question that each captain and former question had asked themselves.
''I have also asked myself that question, but I have not found an answer,'' Ukitake stated with a tired sigh. ''I know that he would never change, and he will always be against Soul Society's laws unless he chooses not simply not care about them.''
''That woman who unsealed him, gave him something after he had threatened to go against Soul Society. Do you think that the Soul King promised him something?'' Toushiro questioned looking at the senior captains. They were the ones with more knowledge than him about the matter.
Before either of the senior captains responded, Urahara spoke, ''Before we even assume that. We must first think of what could have been written in that note. Was it a threat, a promise, it could be either. And the only ones who know are Naruto-san himself and the Soul King,'' he stated calmly.
''Urahara-san is right, we don't know what was written in that note. However, we do know that whatever it was, it Naruto stopped from doing anything,'' Shunsui stated.
''Are you going to ask him what was written in the note,'' Urahara asked with a smile.
''No,'' Both Shunsui and Ukitake answered in unison.
The following day (Secret 'lab' under squad 5 barracks)
Naruto sat comfortably on a chair he knew he did not put inside his lab. As soon as he entered, he knew that someone had been using his 'lab'. He had constructed it during his time as Captain. He used it for his researches and other some other things. There are only two people who know of its existence. But given that there were some new equipment inside the lab, he could guess that someone had found its existence.
He had hid it pretty well. And also placed some barriers around the entrance. Unless someone was very perceptive, they would never find the entrance. But even so with the entrance found, there was a task of breaking the barriers he had set up. That someone who could break his barriers had to be strong. But the barriers had to have weakened over time. It had been over 1000 years since he set it up.
The new equipment that were inside the 'lab' were camera's for monitoring Seireitei. He of course had set up the surveillance cameras under the 12 division nose. He had done it when he was bored. Life had become quite boring after some time. To help with the boredom he had settled for setting those camera's. It also helped him know everything that went around Soul Society. The fact that the camera's had been replaced with new ones meant that the person was able to locate each camera he had set up.
Well it did not matter anyway. He just hated it when someone used his property though. If he wanted someone to use it, he would never have bothered setting up the security to hide and protect it from someone else. But then again, if someone had managed to break his barriers, then that person was at least worthy of using his 'lab'.
He never did keep anything important in the 'lab'. It was mainly used for observing Soul Society and some research. But the results would be taken back to his house for storage. He had done well to ensure that only he could open the safe he could all his research data. That was before he had his own dimension. Most things were in the place. He only left things he would need to use.
He was no scientist, but he could collect data and do some research. The previous age did not have brilliant minds. But this age ought to have someone. He needed some theories to be proved by a real scientist.
''I thought I would find you here,'' a voice stated from behind.
Naruto turned around along with his chair. He locked eyes with Unohana; the woman wore her brilliant smile. ''It unnerves me when you look at me like that,'' he said referring to the concentrated look Unohana was giving him.
Unohana walked calmly and sat on a chair beside him. She turned to face Naruto. She gave him a slight serious look. ''Can I assume that it is this Aizen who was using my 'lab'?'' he asked looking straight at the woman.
''I would assume so too. I never came here since you left. He was smart and cunning, he could have found it,'' Unohana replied keeping her slight serious look.
''Say it,'' Naruto said seeing the serious look. He knew she had something in her mind.
''I am curious,'' she said looking at him intensively. ''Unlike every other Shinigami, you created your own Zanpakuto. If I remember correctly, your Zanpakuto was half of your soul. Without it close to you, there would be no balance in your soul; it would possibly collapse. This is what made your Zanpakuto special. You are only complete in your Bankai. But separation from Amaterasu puts our life at risk.''
Naruto merely smiled at the woman before him.
''You are mortal now,'' she realized now after saying her words.
''No,'' Naruto said surprising her. ''You assume that without half of my spirit I would lose my immortality,'' he smiled. ''That 'thing' seems to knows what Zanpakuto means to me and what I am without it.''
Unohana nodded. ''I see,'' she said calmly. ''So that note...''
''Yes,'' Naruto confirmed what Retsu had in mind.
''Is it the only way to kill you?'' Unohana asked curiously. Naruto had said that there was a way one could kill him but he never told her. If the Soul King had planned to kill him this way then it must be the only way to kill him. She was curious though, how the Soul King found out how Naruto came to posses his sword. He had only told her, not even Shutara knew about it.
''No,'' Naruto answered. ''With that that 'thing' had in mind, I should be dying in the one or two years.''
''Two years at most,'' Unohana frowned slightly, but it quickly disappeared when she realized that Naruto was not even the slightest worried by it. ''Are you going to tell me?''
''I am still Immortal, but the Soul King does not know that,'' he said. ''However, it is true that separation from my Zanpakuto is not good for my health and result in my death, but it does not make me mortal. I am still immortal but I can still die. My immortality is what is keeping me alive right now.''
''So the Soul King only released you because he found a way to kill you,'' Unohana said now she was not even the slightest saddened by the realizing that had dawned on her.
''Smart move on his part hey?''
''It seems well thought. I was wondering why you would be released after being sealed,'' she now had answers as to why he was released. He was released so he could die. ''What do you plan on doing, now?''
''What do you mean?'' Naruto asked with a raised brow.
''Knowing you, you are not just going to sit around till you die. You are going to fight until you find a way to survive,'' Unohana stated with clear conviction in her voice.
''You know me better,'' Naruto said, his expression becoming impassive, losing the smile he had. ''Soon I will lose my evolution, then my spiritual pressure will become lowered for everyone to feel it. When that happens, know that, I am losing power and my death is drawing near.''
''That is risky,'' Unohana stated, knowing that after that happens, he will start to put plans in motion to keep himself alive.
''I cannot do anything in this evolved state; my soul cannot be restored. But when I lose my evolution, I can find means to restore my soul. Then Amaterasu will be just an extension on my soul. She will be no different from any other Shinigami's blade,'' Naruto explained to Unohana with a blank tone.
Unohana's eyes widened slightly. Could it be? That would mean that if his sword was no longer half of his soul, he would become even stronger. It would also eliminate this way of killing him. Could it be? She eyed him suspiciously. ''I know that you allowed yourself to be sealed. If not, the Royal guard would have never entered your dimension. I always thought that it was because you were bored and lonely. But now...'' she trailed off as Naruto stood up.
''This is why I like you,'' he said.
''You should not lie, Uchiha-taichou,'' Unohana said in a dangerous tone. ''We both know that the only person who managed to penetrate that cold heart of yours is Shutara.''
''True, the only person I cared for was Shutara. But I liked you, just not enough to care,'' Naruto said drawing closer to Unohana. ''But you have never betrayed my trust. You also care for me, why should not I return the favor, Yachiru?''
''What are you getting at?''
''You and Shutara are the only souls I care for,'' he said placing his hand under her chin. ''I liked your old hairstyle better,'' he said then kissed her on the forehead.
''I did not think you had the heart to do that,'' Unohana stated, referring at him saying he cared.
Naruto merely smiled, ''I will be gone for a few days,'' he said leaving Unohana alone.
As soon as Naruto opened the door to exit the lab, he found someone standing there. ''I was wondering when you would come back.''
End
A guest asked why Naruto is Uchiha instead of Namikaze or Uzumaki. Like I said in the last chapter, when I started developing this story, I was planning a sequel for my story, "Uchiha Naruto: the Sage". But I changed some things for it not to be that way. And besides, I like Uchiha Naruto, and for this story, Naruto had to be Uchiha.
When will he get his Zanpakuto back? I will keep that a mystery.
This chapter has also given the answer to questions about Naruto's strength.