Chapter 11: Whole
It had been so many years since Yamamoto saw those flames - the black flames of Amaterasu that could rival Ryujin Jakka's flames. He prided himself with his Zanpakutou as the most powerful blade to have ever existed in Soul Society. But that was just a saying. It was the same as saying there has never been anyone born in Soul Society who was stronger than him. Well, in actuality that was the truth, since Naruto wasn't born in this world, he was sure of it.
Naruto had always been someone who could rival him, someone who he could never actually say he could beat down in a straight fight if the blond was fighting him a bit more seriously. The first time they'd actually fought, he'd seen what the blond was capable of doing, he'd seen the power of that cursed blade he so cherished.
When he was returned to the living, he had thought he would never see those flames again. But here he was seeing those flames. Although he knew it wasn't a good thing, Yamamoto felt a bit excited inside of him to be finally able to see those flames. Perhaps it was because over the years he's never had anyone who could actually better him in a battle. However, the current Naruto wasn't like the former.
Yamamoto was forced to think otherwise when a black cloud gathered around Naruto's feet while his blade continued to pour out the black flames. Although Naruto didn't contain as much reiatsu as he did, this power felt denser than before. He wasn't like a nuclear bomb at this level, but that didn't decrease just how deadly he was. Naruto of the old had many bullets to shoot and kill, but this one had little silver bullets, but they could kill with just one shot.
The feeling that Yamamoto felt when those flames started leaking out made his blade tremble in pure anticipation. The whole of Central 46 was shouting for him to do something before the blond raised his blade against them.
''Naruto,'' Yamamoto growled as Ryujin Jakka's flames exploded in a blitz, putting the members of Central 46 in disarray under of the pressure of his and Naruto's flames. ''What do you think you're going?''
Naruto turned to face the Captain-commander with a blank look on his face. ''Oh, Yamamoto, you're still here, I'd thought you had gone back to your barracks to get some sleep. Old age isn't treating you well, after all,'' the former god of Hueco Mundo stated ever so lightly.
How could he be so calm when he was weak? How could he do something so rash when he knew he would have all of Soul Society on his path, and given his current state, he couldn't possibly take them all. If he tried, it would mean the death of him, if he could be killed that is.
The blade of his Zanpakutou was alight in a heap of intense flames as Yamamoto walked slowly towards Naruto. ''Do you really want a beating that badly?''
''You seem hesitant, Yamamoto,'' Naruto stated calmly. The way the blond was talking and the way he was so calm was making Yamamoto feel an itch over his back. What was happening here? ''You know I'm not stronger as I was back then, but something about me makes you cautious.''
Yamamoto narrowed his eyes. ''I'm not hesitating; this is a sacred place that I do not wish to violate. And besides, if we were to clash out swords here, these people would certainly die - I would rather not have the deaths of Central 46 members on me.''
''Since when do you care for such pathetic excuses of living creatures, Genryusai?'' Naruto asked with a small smile that just seemed out of place. The members of the court could hear him well enough, but the tense atmosphere didn't allow them to speak. ''It is alright, Yamamoto, I will give you what you want, shikashi, first thing first...'' Naruto held Amaterasu to his right side before bringing her to the left: the flames that were seeping out of blade had now faded away.
Before Naruto could swing his blade in one swift movement that could have destroyed the inner court, Yamamoto dashed right in front of the blond with unbelievable speed and parried Naruto's swing with his own blade, which was still bleeding out sun flames. The collision of their blades forced the ground beneath to shatter under the pure force of both swings.
''Ho...?'' Naruto raised a brow as he found himself being pushed back by the sheer physical power of Yamamoto. ''Your physical strength never ceases to amaze me Yamamoto. If you'd given such strength to Ukitake, he wouldn't be pathetic like he is now.''
Despite the fact that Naruto was the one who had actually swung his blade, with so much force that Yamamoto was sure even a lieutenant wouldn't have been able to successfully block, he still pushed the Uchiha back because of his overwhelming physical prowess. Naruto wanted to annihilate Central 46 with the swing he'd blocked, Yamamoto was sure of it.
''If you'd actually listened, you wouldn't be in this position. Your swing feels weak, and I can overpower you more than this,'' Yamamoto stated. To prove this, he pushed Naruto back further. But was a little unnerved when Naruto did nothing but smile.
''Yes, my body is rather weak - I can't compete with you. If we were to go out on an all-out war, I would lose,'' Naruto still smiled despite his words. ''But, I will still annihilate these foolish souls who have no role in this world. Quite honestly, I find this court to be a nuisance, and I will see that it is never built again.''
''What can you do in this state?''
Naruto's left eye morphed into the Rinnegan, surprising Yamamoto as he hadn't seen the eye in more than a thousand years. ''I don't need to overpower you to destroy this place, Yamamoto.'' Naruto said as black flames began to pour out of his blade.
''Shinra Tensei''
As soon as the words left his mouth, the whole of Central 46 exploded into a heap of debris. The explosion shook Seireitei as the as causing everyone to stand still and wonder what the hell was going on. Explosions had been setting off recently, making it a bit dangerous to live in such a place. The explosion was different though: it wasn't an explosion of Reaitsu, it was like a bomb had detonated.
Soul reapers took their turns, most of the captains and lieutenants surrounded what used to be Central 46 - there was nothing but a large crater in the whole area and a bit of black flames dancing wildly around the area.
Only Naruto was standing in the middle of the crater.
Shunsui shook his head seeing that it had come to such a point; a few moments earlier, Naruto didn't look he was going to fight anyone, he appeared like he was just going to accept what was going to be given to him as punishment, as long as he found it to be acceptable. He didn't put a fight when Yamamoto requested that he go with him to this place.
But now this?
What could've happened that actually changed things? Naruto wasn't strong enough to fight them all, and this would eventually be his downfall if he doesn't have anything planned. But, Yamamoto wasn't going to be happy about this. And he wouldn't allow anyone to stand in the way of punishing the blond for this transgression.
On cue, Yamamoto's reaitsu hit everyone, forcing the lower ranked to fall down their knees under the heavy weight of the captain-commander's spiritual pressure.
''Oh, now he has done it, Yama-jiji is actually pissed,'' Shunsui said sighing, as though this wasn't much of a big deal.
''I'd say he's more excited than pissed,'' Kenpachi said with a grin on his face. The pressure of the Captain-commander's reaitsu was so intoxicating to him, he felt like drawing out his blade and lunge at the old man for some fun.
*cough* ''he is right, you know,'' Ukitake said looking at the burning figure of Yamamoto. The old man wasn't actually pissed, no, he was excited. Ukitake could feel it in the air that his former sensei was actually happy that he could get to cross blades with Naruto again.
''But fighting here will only put others in danger,'' Ukitake added.
Just then, Yamamoto disappeared in some unbelievable show of Shunpo. He cleared the distance towards a favorable place to do battle. ''It looks like he is aware of it,'' Toshiro said. He was actually interested in seeing how the battle between Naruto and Yamamoto would play out. ''But I do wonder about him...'' he said looking down at Naruto, who was still in the middle of the crater.
Naruto picked up Amaterasu from the ground calmly as the captains of the Gotei 13 flashed around him. 'This body can't even handle a Shinra Tensei, and I feel like it is about to break apart. I will have to remedy this,' he thought knowing that the only reason he'd dropped the blade was because his body felt crushed under the technique despite it not affecting him in the same way it does to his surroundings.
The blond looked up into the blue sky as Shunsui stepped forward. ''You're really going at it, aren't you?'' He said. He still didn't wait for a response before he asked another question. ''Why?''
''When I was in faced with those fools with mockery for authority, something clicked inside of me and I asked myself, what am I doing? You see Shunsui, ever since I returned I've been nothing but forgiving and dismissive towards those who look down on me. Often those fools said I did wrong and I would play along with it.
But I've decided that I'll no longer forgive blasphemy, and why allow fools who have no actual power to dictate those with power? Central 46 have no use other than to serve the pride and self-fulfillment of its members. They might've been the governing body, but they are nothing but insects that I could no longer allow to exist in my presence, and so I got rid of them.'' Naruto gave his light explanation. There was the fact that he was whole again, despite the lack of power. Even so, he could do whatsoever he wanted to do.
''Was it really necessary to rid of them though? I do agree that sometimes Central 46 decisions are unjust but killing them all isn't the answer,'' Ukitake argued firmly.
''Sprouting this kind of nonsense is one of the reasons I preferred to be alone than share a bottle of sake with you Jushiro,'' Naruto stated mildly. ''Well then, I shouldn't keep Yamamoto waiting. Who knows, he might die of old age while I talk to you.''
With that, Naruto disappeared in a swirling vortex. ''Well, I'm following them: I want to watch this,'' Toshiro said as he appeared to be ready to leave.
Yamamoto and Naruto
Naruto found the Captain-commander in a remote area with waves of flames surrounding him. The old man appeared to be ready for combat. But Naruto wasn't actually in the mood for a serious battle with him; he was just going to waste some time before leaving. Besides, he couldn't in this kind of situation.
Naruto walked towards the flames that surrounded Yamamoto before coming to a halt. He looked above his right, ''hello dear, how nice of you to join us.'' Naruto said looking up at Unohana.
This was just wrong; Naruto actually seemed happy. For the first time in a long time he seemed happy with his miserable life. ''You look different than you were a few moments ago when we were talking.'' He was just cold that time, but now he looked lively, and that was just wrong in many ways.
''It would appear so...'' Naruto responded before continuing to move towards Yamamoto's wave of sun flames. The scotching flames didn't bother him one bit; he just walked within them like they were nothing.
The blond held his left hand, flicking it within the flames before inspecting them. ''Your flames are still stronger than ever, Yamamoto.'' Naruto commented holding out his left hand, while his right held Amaterasu.
''What happened in the inner court? You've suddenly reverted back to resemble the 'old' you,'' Yamamoto questioned with so ever slightly opened eyes. The coldness still remained in his eyes, but the rest of his face said something else. It actually worried Yamamoto that Naruto was acting more like his former self like a switch had been turned on.
''Nothing major,'' Naruto responded coolly. ''I just finished sorting out all my memories and made some choices. The explosion kind of banged up my head, so while my memories were being sorted, I took a more ''neutral'' approach to things,'' Naruto stated before his own flames started to leak around him.
''The choice you've taken is one that will earn you a beating,'' Yamamoto stated strongly. He didn't move though - Naruto didn't seem like he was going to attack any time soon.
Naruto shook his head, ''not at all,'' he said. ''The choice I made long ago to annihilate Central 46 was right, and I was also right in this instance. Those fools think they have all the powers to do anything, and they actually do anything they want, whether right and wrong.'' Naruto said. ''Central 46 ordered you to execute a little girl, and you went on to try to do it anyway. It was wrong; Shunsui and Ukitake knew this - that is why they fought you. If you'd been ordered to kill me, you would have gone out to make that happen.
You saw no difference in C46 that was being manipulated by Aizen, and the real C46. As long as it comes from there, you can't decide what is right or wrong or even make your own decision - you just run along like a little human possessed with the heart of love. This only confirms what I've always said about you Shingekuni; you're a slave to C46.''
Yamamoto couldn't say that it had been the right choice to execute Rukia. If he had to say that, then the girl would've died after Central 46 was established again. Even so, he wouldn't agree with Naruto. ''Is there a need to have this useless talk, or should we just get down to it?''
''Don't be like that Yamamoto,'' Naruto said. He then swung his Zanpakutou in a Horizontal position. A blast of black flames mixed with Yamamoto's own flames, and they started to burn each other for dominance. The rest of the captains by now were within viewing ground of this little affair. ''Can I tell you something about myself?''
''What?'' Yamamoto questioned with narrowed eyes.
''What do you think I meant when I said I had finished sorting my memories?'' Naruto asked quietly. ''It is simple really: you see for long I'd lived without an understanding of my true-self. The fact was that I didn't have all my memories as a part of me was missing. But now all my parts have returned to me, but I was still having troubles sorting them in a proper timeline so that I don't confuse things.
Drawing Amaterasu brought back a certain feeling that made me remember things. I guess since a part of my ''good'' soul was imprinted in her, she did well to jog my unsettled memories.
I have also realized that the past actions haven't done me any good. In fact, my past attitude is what brought me to this state. So when things clicked after I had drawn Amaterasu, I thought, ''why not try a new way of things?'' I've lost too much power on this road, and no longer wish to stumble again. What I am saying is that, drawing Amaterasu has made me whole, you could even say perfect.''
''Why are you telling me these, Naruto?''
''Need I explain myself? I am your enemy - the general idea is that you must know whatever you can about your enemies. I'm simply supplying you with some details about me.''
''Enough of this!'' more of Yamamoto's flames burst from the ground, creating a large dome of inferno that surrounded both him and Naruto.
''That is fine,'' Naruto said before bringing his blade to the right. He dashed towards Yamamoto before his blade cleaved through the flames in a horizontal slash that went above his opponent's waist. Yamamoto brought his own blade to parry the swing. A small portion of Flames dispersed under the shockwave of the clash of the blades.
Yamamoto pushed Naruto back, forcing him to jump back. The Sotaicho only waited until he reached the ground before he flashed in front of the blond. His blade became engulfed with flames before he sent a brutal swing towards Naruto's left shoulder. The Uchiha didn't make an attempt to block the swing, he jumped back to avoid being cut.
The Sotaicho didn't let up; he flashed in front of Naruto again. His blade was swung in a downwards slash that Naruto blocked with his own blade. While Yamamoto was pushing him back with his sheer physical strength, Naruto spoke, ''I must say, I never really planned to fight you in this condition.''
''Hmmm..?'' Yamamoto jumped away from Naruto when he saw that the flames on his blade were being sucked.
Naruto sheathed his blade and held out both his hands. He began absorbing Yamamoto's flames at an alarming rate. The captain commander didn't wait for the blond to complete what he was doing; he shunpo'd straight at Naruto intending to cut him in half with one swift slash. But before he could even swing his blade, Naruto uttered two words.
''Shinra Tensei''
An unbelievable amount of force blasted the flames that he'd yet to absorb as well as Yamamoto away from him. The old man was quick to recover though. ''Do you think that power will strengthen you to avoid the inevitable?''
''Whoever said I wanted to strengthen myself?'' Naruto asked. ''Now then, you have to excuse me, Yamamoto.''
''Do you think I will allow you to leave?''
''The captains are gathered here, and the amount of your spiritual pressure has caused them to focus on this battle alone. I've had the time I wanted to do what I pleased,'' Naruto pointed his finger back at the beloved Seireitei.
Eyes widened when they saw a large black ball of energy looming large over Seireitei. A blast occurred in the sky, causing a black mist to gather. When it cleared, a small glowing ball was alone visible in the sky. That only meant one thing; all that power had been compressed into that small thing.
''I don't need to explain anything as you already know the drill,'' Naruto said before he disappeared in a swirling black vortex. The drill they knew was to allow him to go or Seireitei would explode. If it did explode, it would kill thousands of Shinigami, and leave them in disarray, making things for Aizen as he would no doubt take advantage of their confusion.
After Naruto had disappeared, the small glowing ball of condensed energy also disappeared into a worm hole that appeared right under it. It was sure as hell would have caused chaos if the thing that fallen down their home and exploded. It was a tactical retreat on Naruto's part, and it worked well. Despite being overpowered, and outnumbered, he was still able to get away without his head held high.
Ukitake didn't want to use the concept of running with his tail between his legs. Naruto's exit wasn't like that. He had left this place calmly, while leaving them holding their breaths, just thinking that maybe, and wishing that thing didn't crash down their home. Now that he was gone, they could actually breathe.
''Well that was disappointing,'' Zaracki said as he turned away to leave. ''I had expected a thrilling battle, but this is just boring,'' flicking his blade over his right shoulder, the big captain of the 11th division turned away from the other captains to mind other businesses, or take a nap.
Byakuya merely shook his head at his fellow captain's attitude. There were more pressing matters to deal with rather than a thrilling battle. Central 46 was no more, again. First it had been annihilated by Aizen, and now Naruto had even managed to destroy its quarters - this only meant that they had more rebuilding to do. They also had two powerful enemies to deal with now, Aizen and Naruto.
How could that man think of a thrilling battling when faced against such odds?
''I'm still surprised,'' Mayuri said looking straight at Shunsui. ''You said he was weak, and yet he was able to hold his blade against the Sotaicho. He didn't even seem concerned by the small display of power from the captain-commander.''
A man who was said to be weakened greatly shouldn't have been able to parry Yamamoto's blade, he should have been cut in half by the swing of the strongest Shinigami alive. But if they still maintained that he was still weakened, what did it mean for that man's power? Did it mean that he was just way stronger than his calculations?
''Yama-jiji wasn't going all out, and whether weakened or not, Naruto is still Naruto. Besides, being weak to him means dropping down to our level, or bellow.'' Shunsui respond. ''Nevertheless, if they'd gone in an all-out battle, Naruto would've lost.''
''What now?'' Toshiro asked. ''He killed the members of Central 46; that is a great offence against soul society.''
''Isn't it obvious?'' Soi-fon said as it the answer was simple. ''We put a tag on his head. He is no longer just a former captain stripped of his rank, he is a traitor to the Soul Society who must be brought down to justice.''
Shunsui sighed, before flashing down next to Yamamoto leaving the other captains to decide on what they were going to do. He'd noticed that Unohana was nowhere to be seen; she had walked away after Naruto disappeared. He guessed she was probably going to insure that everyone was alright.
''What are you going to do, Yama-jiji?'' Shunsui questioned looking at his former sensei with a calm look on his face. He wasn't as so much worried about what Naruto was going to do next; he was concerned with what Yamamoto would try to do next.
Yamamoto gave Shunsui a look before responding. ''Isn't it obvious? That fool needs a heavy beating.''
''I'm sure he does, but you and I know that Naruto won't actually come here to destroy this place. If he really wanted to see this place burned to the ground, he would have done it long ago when he had the power.'' Shunsui reasoned. He paused for a moment when Ukitake joined them. ''Don't tell me that you're going to discard that fact?''
''Gather the rest of the captains, and meet me within an hour,'' Yamamoto said, while ignoring Shunsui's question. He then walked away from the two, before he disappeared via Shunpo.
''I see sensei is still stubborn as ever,'' Ukitake said smiling. ''This will only cause us more trouble since we have Aizen and his army of hollows to deal with.'' If they focused their attention on trying to deal with Naruto and Aizen simultaneously, it would only exhaust their resources and energy without achieving much.
Ukitake also knew that if Naruto wanted to disappear from the face of the world, he could very well do that without anyone finding a trace of his existence anywhere. He had done it before, and went away for more than 100 years. Nobody even guessed where he'd gone to. Trying to search for him wouldn't yield any favorable results; they would just have to wait for him to appear.
Shunsui nodded. ''Although Naruto himself wouldn't destroy this place, it doesn't mean he will stop anyone from doing it. Well, it isn't like I have any doubt that we can protect this place we call home,'' the captain of the 8th division stated.
Unknown location
Naruto was sitting down on a throne within a dimly lit room. A mixture of his and Yamamoto's flames surrounded his body, burning joyfully. It wasn't long that he'd return and set up this for his body to recover. The flames worked in a different manner than normal flames. What they were doing was ''burning'' his body, but in actuality, they were like a tonic that was breathing life into the regenerative cells inside his body.
''Master,'' a figure called as he kneeled before Naruto. ''We've completed surveying Las Noches, and the human world. While studying the human world, we found some interesting ''species'' that I'm sure you'll be interested in.''
''You mean the former Shinigami's leaving in exile in the Human world after Soul Society had called for their execution because they were deemed to be abominations?'' Naruto asked, already in knowledge of these captain-class species. He wasn't ignorant enough to discard of such a presence in the human world. He just never bothered to see them because he didn't have uses for them.
''You already knew of them. I didn't think you would since their existence remains a secret and they don't involve themselves in anything spiritual since they hold some loathing towards Soul Society.''
''Unohana made mention of them when I asked about an interesting child I'd seen,'' Naruto said. ''I will see them after the necessary adjustment to my body are made.''
He needed to heal his body first before making another move. He couldn't allow himself to be roaming around the worlds with a weak body; even Amaterasu didn't like the thought of a wielder who couldn't handle her carefully. But it was alright, the blade was made by his essence, despite being female, she was more like him in some manner of speaking.
Without a strong body, he couldn't fight for too long without his body breaking apart. When crossing blades with Yamamoto, Naruto felt it inside of him that his soul wanted to break free from his pathetic excuse for a body. It was really an insult to his soul that it had to be clothed with such a body, but it just couldn't be helped.
''How have your progressed in healing your body, Master?'' He was a lot more interested in what they would be doing after Naruto recovered his physical strength. For the past thousand years, they'd been lying dormant, inactive until the life of the master became in threat. But once he recovered, he wouldn't be in danger because of anything.
''I'm just starting with healing it,'' Naruto said. He didn't actually need Yamamoto's flames to boost his power. No, he just made the Sotaicho think that. The only thing he was after was Yamamoto's reiatsu and he got it without the man even realizing it.
''Will it long?''
''A full two months, at most, of none activity from my part while I heal,'' Naruto said. That would be about two weeks in Soul Society's time. ''Despite not being much, my reiatsu is in the same form as it was in my prime. This makes it way denser than what it was. My body is weak, and can't contain it. The same can be said for my soul, since it is complete, this weak body can't contain it forever.
In the worst case scenario, I was likely to lose form as the body would break part under the strain from my soul. But I have found a way to heal it quickly; the reaitsu from the ''meal'' you'd prepared isn't strong enough to be atonement for my body. Yamamoto's reiatsu does it since it is the strongest out of any Shinigami.
I made him think that I was after his flames like I had done last time when I consumed them to ''complete'' my evolution. Just in case, I absorbed some of the flames. Yamamoto's flames are seen as a destructive force of nature, but if I could inject my own spirit particles into them and give them another purpose, I could make them strong enough to ''burn'' me. My body didn't need anything weak to heal, it needed something strong. I just had to manipulate the particles of the flames and add a healing touch in them.
I couldn't use Amaterasu's flames to do so, for reasons that they are already a part of me and can't break hurt me.''
His form of healing was different from what Unohana used. He didn't things that couldn't put up a fight with his reaitsu, or otherwise, nothing would work. If nothing worked, his body would break apart. He felt it while clashing with Yamamoto, things were unstable inside. He couldn't afford to allow it to happen, hence the need to be inactive.
''Though I'm using Yamamoto's flames combined with mine, it wasn't the flames that I needed; I absorbed his dense reaitsu while we clashed swords and covered it by absorbing the surrounding flames. With Yamamoto's reiatsu, as well as his blade's reaitsu, it was easy for me to recreate the flames in a new nature.
For this process to be completed fully, I ought not to move. I will take two months long sleep to insure that nothing happens while I heal''
''Hai,'' the figure said. ''Is there anything we must do while you're out?''
Naruto shook his head. ''No, I will handle things once I heal,'' Naruto said.
He really needed this. He couldn't even open the gate to his core dimension because he was weak. Without an entrance to heaven, he couldn't be happy live in such a place when his wholeness was in him. He wasn't worthy to live in heaven back then because he was weak, but he was whole again, and the dense atmosphere within his dimension would work well in his recovery of power.
''The Soul Society has branded you a traitor and will be after you; don't you think Unohana-san will be in danger because of her close ties with you?''
''No,'' Naruto said. ''Yamamoto won't do anything since he trusts her. Retsu is also not a child, that old fool knows this much. If anything, he would rather have her take over him as Sotaicho. With that in mind, he won't do anything stupid. However, If I hadn't destroyed Central 46, then she would be in danger since those fools obviously care for nothing but their own laws. Besides, Unohana can take care of herself.''
He had no doubt that Retsu could take care of herself, but knowing her new nature, she would probably choose to die rather than trouble Central 46 and Soul Society. His elimination of those fools insured that she wasn't pressured into doing anything she didn't want to do, and that she could stay in her home without anyone looking at her with suspicious eyes.
''Why did you choose to change, Master? I imagine that since your 'heart' was destroyed when she attempted to kill you. Emotions then would become trivial and you wouldn't hold any.''
''That is what everyone was expecting; people were expecting me to be all bitter. I saw this when I contacted Unohana, I was bitter by that time. So once my memories clicked into place, I decided to play a bit differently.'' Naruto explained before closing his eyes. He needed to rest now. ''Seal the room on your way out.''
Soul Society
Naruto acted a bit different than what she was expecting of him. When he returned after the explosion that tore apart his house - she still didn't understand how he survived the explosion - the look on his face was much more alike to what she was expecting of him after someone had evidently tried to kill him and nearly succeeded for that matter. But when he was holding his blade, when the black flames were around him, he'd become a completely different person.
A little bit like when he used to ''get well'' with Shunsui in those younger days. Though he wasn't full of smiles, he wasn't always full of coldness either. Even when he was faced with a mountain, Yamamoto, which he knew he couldn't climb, he was so damn calm and conversing like everything was alright. At least he was a little likeable in this mode.
What Unohana found to be curious was the confrontation with Yamamoto. She could guess that having Central 46 around would be a problem for him, but even without them around, it was still a problem since he got rid of them while Yamamoto watched. This only meant that Soul Society would be after him. If maybe he'd left them alive, perhaps they would've waited until Aizen was dealt with.
Oh, well, it was not a big problem - even if she doesn't have the answers, Naruto would eventually tell her. He always does.
Something that made her a bit excited than she liked to show was the fact that Naruto told Soi-fon he would kill her in a month; she wasn't happy about the fact that he wanted to kill one of her fellow captains, she was excited about what that actually meant. In simple words, Naruto was saying that within a month, he would be doing whatever he wants without anyone to stop him or say otherwise, within a month, he would be strong again.
Two weeks have already passed now, which only meant two more weeks were left. Time was ticking, and aside from killing the members of central 46, Naruto hadn't done anything that would assure her that he was going to recover his strength. Could he be going after Aizen? The former captain's hollow activities have been frequent these past days, and even stronger hollows were appearing. What was Naruto doing? He'd yet to appear since his little confrontation with Yamamoto.
Unohana looked up from the couch which she sat on; she heard footsteps clicking within the dimly lit lab and study. This was the only secret place she knew Naruto would come to since his house was destroyed and she didn't think he had any other holes in this spiritual world to dig himself under, while hiding from the sharpened look of Yamamoto.
It was him, Naruto. His hair had grown longer again, reaching down his waist. The younger look on his face never abandoned him. The clothing was still the usual, but his blade was no longer around his waist, in fact, he didn't have it with him. The intriguing thing Unohana caught from him was that she couldn't sense anything from him - she couldn't sense his power, but he was there, just away from her.
This was a surprise to see him like this. He looked perfectly fine, and the fact that she couldn't sense any reaitsu from him rubbed her off the wrong way. The bandages that covered his body were all gone, and his physical appearance was as good as it could be.
''I thought I would find you here...'' Naruto said, walking towards the black haired woman. He then chose to sit right beside her on the couch she was sitting on, on her left side. He leaned back to the couch to be a little more comfortable. ''What bothers you?'' He asked seeing the look the woman was giving him.
''You're so close to me, yet I can't sense anything from you, what happened? I should be able to sense your reaitsu,'' Retsu said in a matter of curiosity more than anything. It wasn't the first time his reaitsu couldn't be sensed. Even when he returned, no one could sense his reaitsu; no one could feel his power, unless he brought it down for them to feel it.
''Those who know my true power will never say they've felt it, they will tell you that they ''saw'' it. I am not like Shinigami, Hollows or Quincy; I am not bound by any law. The only reason you could sense my reaitsu at first was because I'd lost my makeshift evolution. You see, even back then I wasn't complete, to try to become complete I chose to transcend to something higher thinking I would perhaps reach the point I was before - it didn't work as I had intended.
But now I am complete, body and soul, I just lack a bit of power, but it matters not to this rule; I exist on a different plane. The moment my body became perfectly fine, I ascended again. For this reason, you can't sense my power. Nevertheless, this doesn't mean that I've recovered all my powers, it only means I'm on track to recovery.''
The reason they couldn't sense his reaitsu wasn't because he was just too powerful, it was simply because he was a unique being. His existence was on a higher level than hollows and Shinigami. Although he could exist in this plane, these other beings didn't exist in his world. For them to sense his power, they'd have to be on his world. At this stage, they could only ''see'' his power, just like Amaya did.
''Recovery - that has been the main subject since you were unsealed. Will you ever fully recover, Naruto? It seems that every time you get close, something knocks you down,'' the destruction of Soul Society wasn't going to occur even if he recovered. She knew him, and knew that destruction was not what he sought. People may fear his power, but he wasn't all that bad of a person.
For this reason, Unohana felt no betrayal on her part by seeing him. If she knew that he sought to destroy Seireitei, then things would've been different. She couldn't say he cared for anyone in this world, she couldn't say he just loved this world, but even so, he's never sought for its destruction.
''Are you growing a little impatient, Retsu?'' Naruto asked quietly. ''I do understand that things haven't gone smoothly as I would've liked it. By now, I should have reclaimed my glory, but I'm still stuck on this dimension, unable to pass through to my own home. But I've had enough of hindrances, I will see this through. Nothing is going to halt my match and nothing is going to make me postpone anything.''
He sounded way confident that he could do it. Then again, since when did he lack confidence? He always seemed to carry an eternal supply of confidence wherever he went - it was always oozing out of his person in abundance each time he spoke.
''You can never be too sure about anything, even you can be surprised.'' Unohana said. ''Are you going to tell me who gave you the last scare?'' He hadn't told her the details of the explosion that nearly killed him and she was darn right curious about the details.
''I'm not here to tell you that,'' Naruto said before sighing, ''time isn't yet right for me to tell you about the details. But it is the royal family who tried to kill me,'' he revealed surprising Retsu, but she hid her surprise quite well.
''Are you serious?'' Well, he had said the Spirit King was trying to kill him when he returned. But that just went away like floating dust. She was even beginning to think that perhaps Naruto had lied when he said the Spirit king wanted to kill him.
''Do I have time to joke, Yachiru?'' Naruto asked rhetorically. ''Don't think much to it - I will handle it soon enough.''
After a few moments of silence, Unohana nodded. ''What brings you here?'' She didn't doubt for a second that he'd come here for something, otherwise he wouldn't risk coming here knowing that Yamamoto would pounce on him the moment he sees him. The Sotaicho was a little irate after all.
Shunsui suspected that it was either he was like that because he didn't get to enjoy a battle with Naruto or he missed out on a chance to ''beat'' the blond into submission. Unohana was fairly certain that Yamamoto would never accomplish the feat, not if Naruto had a say in it. Getting a beating from someone else wasn't something Naruto even talked of - it wasn't in his vocabulary.
''You know I like telling you secrets,'' that was all that needed to be said for Unohana's attention to be fully on him. ''Last time I told you that I once lived in Hueco Mundo with my grandfather before coming to Soul Society. I did not have all details about my past then, but now, everything is clear.''
''You mentioned something about your memories... Does this have to do with them?''
Naruto nodded. ''For so long, I've lived without fully understanding where I come from because my memories were ''stolen''. Even when I did get some of them, they were often vague, making it difficult for me to fully interpret them.'' He paused for a moment to get a breather before continuing. ''I've told you already that I'm neither Shinigami nor Hollow. You can say that I exist between the barrier that connects, humans, Shinigami and Hollows. What I've never told you is that a part of me is human.''
Human? That was just unbelievable. Naruto almost had no thoughts about humans. With all that she's seen of him, he has been doing nothing but disregarding the existence of humans. Whenever he spoke about something, he never spoke about humans - they were never in his tongue. Unohana had to be surprised by this.
''What do you mean a part of you is human? You've lived as a Hollow, and a Shinigami, but there has never been anything human about you.''
''When humans die, they are either sent to be reborn in Soul Society or they go to Hell, some of them turn into Hollows. If I had died as a human, I would've gone to hell, but the gates of hell wouldn't hold me - they couldn't even hold my grandfather. Then again, you never know with these things.'' He was by far stronger than that man. Hell couldn't hold him. Nothing could hold him.
Naruto gave her more than one puzzling thing and it only raised questions within Unohana's mind. ''Are you suggesting that you didn't die as a human and your grandfather escaped hell?''
''That is what I'm saying, Yachiru.'' Naruto said smoothly. ''There was a time when I discarded my humanity, in favor of a more hollow like mentality. I was an immortal human and over the years, the human world started to reject me and I lost of physical body.''
''But your soul would still have remained behind.''
''There is one little complication that aroused, my ''being'' or conscious was all over the human world. That meant that no one could see me, nor touch me, even if you were spiritually aware.'' Naruto said. ''My soul was a little too big; hence I was able to divide it without suffering any backlash.''
''A little too big is an understatement if your soul was everywhere. Though I find it hard to believe, I think that the human world existed inside your soul. If one wanted to you, they'd have to stand from another dimension and look at the human world from afar. Unfortunately, we are only able to pass through to the human world.''
''That may be the case,'' Naruto said. ''My mother was already dead then, but I was surprised when she appeared in the human world and actually had a real conversation with me. She offered me a solution to free myself from the human world. I don't understand it myself, but she managed to give me my ''real'' form and sent me to Hueco Mundo.''
''What do you mean ''real'' form?''
Naruto smiled. ''This body you see is the perfect, controlled center of my being dominated by my human nature. I did tell you I discarded my humanity, what do you think I meant by that? My real form is more of a hollow in physical appearance, but way bigger than anything you've ever seen.''
''Let me get this straight: this isn't your real form, and you got this real form when you discarded your humanity...'' More to that, he already said he was immortal. That was something that was against all laws. No human was supposed to live for all eternity.
Naruto nodded. ''After some time, I was able to recreate this body you see. Then I moved to Soul Society where I lived with my mother for at least 10 years. The name I was given by my mother was Uzumaki Naruto, but after she disappeared without a trace, I discarded it and used the name my grandfather gave me. That is after I'd moved back to Hueco Mundo.''
Unohana could guess the name he was given by his grandfather was Uchiha Naruto. He still didn't show anything with regards to how he felt about the disappearance of his mother. ''Can I assume that you embraced your human nature when living with your mother? And you discarded it after she'd disappeared?'
''Yes, I removed every emotion that was in me after that. So I was only left empty inside, until I met someone.'' Naruto said. Amaya was the one to give him emotions of love - emotions he'd lost when he lost his humanity. ''You already know the rest of the story.'' Naruto concluded.
''Does anyone else know about this?''
''The royal family knows some details.'' Amaya knew everything about him, and she was the one he trusted the most, yet she was the one who betrayed him. Perhaps she just feared his power, perhaps there was something else she saw that he couldn't.
''What now?'' Many scenarios played in her head, but Unohana couldn't pick the one that would be perfect, one that Naruto would most likely follow.
Naruto merely smiled. ''Kami will awaken soon from his slumber, and the worlds will know that he is indeed Kami.''
Your reaction to the last chapter was absolutely fantastic, and I thank you all. It was really nice to read that some of my readers are willing to stick with the story no matter what – I really appreciate that, and in response, I will try to provide you with likeable material.
The confusion with Uzumaki has been cleared I hope.