A/N- Well now! Here are the story stats since I last showed them; words- 16715 chapters-5 reviews- 22 hits- 2042 c2s- 4 favs- 10 alerts- 23. Now this is the kinda thing I love to see! C'mon folks, lets see if we can't make 'em even higher! This story has officially become my longest (wordcount) as of the last chapter, as well as being the second most reviewed and the third most read. Thank you all!

Anyway, now that I've been given his permission, I shall reveal to you all the man who inspired me to become a writer on this site. His name is Kayemsi, and the story of his that I read which lit my want to write is called Ranma, the Second Time Around. It is the best ranma story I've ever read, and I think you all, or at least those of you who know the Ranma series, will love it, so go read it! (Just a soon as you've read this chapter and reviewed that is! heh.)

Anyway, the poll is now closed, and the vote count is 4 in favor of Naruto getting a dojutsu, and 0 against, so he gets it!

Chapter 5, Life Redefined

-Karakura Town-

The boy's eyes were wide, an overwhelming feeling of happiness flowing up from deep within him. Someone was aknowlaging him! Sure, it was a bit unsettling, they were as transparent as everything else around him, but they saw him, they talked to him! The boy was about to reply to the old man when a sudden rift opened over them, several odd looking figures emerging from it, including a number of black, towering beings wearing white masks with long, pointed noses. They were led by a trio of oddly dressed men, the foremost of which appeared to be the leader of the group, his unsettling, emotionless eyes resting on the boy as he observed him.

The boy looked between the two groups, wondering why they looked ready to tear one another apart, when the reiatsu from the shinigami hit him, washing over the boy like a tidal wave. The boy stopped dead, his eyes going wide at the sudden influx of power. He didn't know what was going on, but he heard an urgent whispering at the back of his mind, trying to warn him of something, or so it seemed. The boy was trying to listen to the voice, when the power of the other beings suddenly slammed into him as well, clashing with the power from the friendly men who suddenly seemed so much more dangerous. As he stood there, a second, much darker voice appeared in his mind, saying something that he could not make out. Without warning, a terrible pain ripped through the boy's very being, causing him to fall to his knees, clutching his head as he let out a terrible scream of pain, his vision blacking out when the pain became unbearable...

... Only to find himself in a completely new place when he was able to see again. It was a sprawling town, completely different from the place he was just at, covered in trees, and he was standing atop a tower that overlooked it all. It looked to be a familiar, calming place, and it would have been, if not for the two figures who suddenly appeared in front of the boy, furiously battling one another with identical swords, giant claymores that were every bit five feet long, wide at the base, gradually becoming slimmer, up until they reached a point at the tip of the blade. Both weapons had foot-long handles capped with silver ends, and a spiral swirl inset in the thickest part of the blade.

One of the two, the taller, looked to be a wizened old man wearing white and red robes, along with a large hat that covered his head, the kanji for fire boldly inscribed on the front. His face, which was deeply carved with wrinkles, was set in a grimace of determination as he expertly twirled the large sword, parrying a thrust by his opponent.

Said opponent looked exactly like the boy himself, except for the fact that he was pure white. His hair, his skin, his clothes, all of it. His eyes however, his eyes were wide and wild, with golden irises and black sclera. His blade, while being shaped exactly like the old man's, had a black blade with a silver handle.

The two fought with fervor, theirs being a dance of death as they twirled around one another, their flashing blades sparking every time they made contact, the air about them ringing with the continued battle. "Give it up you stupid geezer, this body will be mine!" The ghostly white boy laughed, jumping over the old man, attempting to slash him as he sailed overhead, only to have the old man block at the last possible second.

"Never! You shall never have control!" The old man said sharply, about to go into another complex set of attacks when a brief flash of orange caught his eye. "Wha?!" He seemed surprized, looking past his opponent, seeing the boy standing there, looking surprized and frightened.

The ghostly boy with black eyes saw the old man's staring over his shoulder, so he decided to lean his head back, bending it at an impossible angle as he stared at the boy directly behind him. "Well whadda ya know, it's the boss! Hey there boss, I was wondering if you'd accept my invitation! Now that you're here, how about handing me the keys so that I can be in control, eh?" He asked, laughing insanely.

"Wha... Wha... huh?" The boy was confused by the words, stumbling back and falling onto his rear when he saw the pure evil in the other boy's eyes. "Wh-what a-are you?" He stuttered. Unbidden, a single word popped into his head, hollow. "Uh... Are yuh... you a-a hollow?" He asked fearfully.

The other boy turned around, straightning his head with a sickening pop as a huge grin spread aross his face. "BINGO! Let's give the boss a prize, he got it right on his first try! Though, do let me correct you a bit. I am a hollow, but I'm just not any hollow. I'm you! I'm all the evil that's ever collected in your heart over the years, taken form now that my brothers powers have awakened me. It was just a bit unfortunate that he old geezer over there was awakened when the power of those stupid shinigami had to go and unleash their power, but he won't be a problem once I've gained control... SO GIVE ME YOUR BODY! LET ME DEVOUR YOUR SOUL!" He screamed, darting forward, his sword raised high over his head, preparing to deliver a fatal blow.

The boy scooted backwards, shutting his eyes tightly as he waited for the sword to cleave him in half, but it never came. Instead, a sharp ringing assaulted his ears, causing the boy to open his eyes and look up. There, kneeling in front of him, was the old man, his face red with effort as he held his sword above his head, holding the hollow's claymore in check. "RUN BOY!" He roared, pushing the hollow back with a mighty shove.

The boy didn't nee to be told twice, stumbling to his feet and taking off, running from the two towards a door that was situated on the roof. Grabbing the knob, the boy wrenched the door open, slamming it behind himself as he ran towards a nearby stairwell, clamoring down the steps as fast as he could go. He had not gotten more than a few flights however, when he heard the door that he'd come through get hit hard enough to be knocked off it's hinges, flying over the railing and disappearing into the darkness as it fell past the boy. "BOOOOOOSSSSS! WHERE AAAAAARE YOUUUUU? COME OUT COME OUT WHERE EVER YOU ARE!"The hollow called out, his words accompanied by his insane laughter as he grasped the guard rail and promptly leapt off, landing just a few flight above where the boy was.

The boy, in a panic, looed around for any way to escape, having come to the end of the stairs. He spotted a door that had a sign reading 'chakra system' just above it, so the boy dove through the doors, suddenly finding himself in a dirty sewer full of knee-deep water, barely lit by dingy lights that dangled from the ceiling, revealing two different complex networks of pipes, both networks a dull black, looking unused. The boy ran down the hallway, followng the pipeline, running for what seemed like several moments. As the boy ran, he saw an opening ahead, and sped towards it, bursting into a cathedral-sized room. On one side of the room were two golden barred doors, so tall that they disappeared into the darkness above. The doors were standing wide open, a small scrap of paper with the kanji for seal laying at their base. On the other side of the room was another set of doors that looked to be made of solid oak, sealed tightly together, every bit as large as the cage doors. Aside from these two sets, there were no other exits that the boy could see. Hearing the insane laughter from the hollow echo through the halls, the boy looked desperately between the two sets of doors, finally deciding on the closed ones, his instincts warning him to stay away from the cage doors. His mind made up, the boy ran to the large oaken doors, pressing his body against them, tryng to open them. They refused to budge, however, and the boy could hear the hollow growing ever closer, calling out to him. The boy squeezed his eyes shut and pushed harder against the door, putting all of his strength into the effort. "Open!" He cried out.

And so they did, sliding open a tiny crack, a blindingly white light emenating from them, washing over the boy, whose eyes had shot open. "Oh..." He breathed, reaching towards the light, which began to shine so brightly that it whited everything out...

-Konoha-

The battle continued to rage on, fighters on both sides falling to deadly strikes by their opponents. It was quickly revealed however, that for some reason, the Hyuuga were far more dangerous to the demons than any of the other ninja, their jyuuken proving to be fatal to the denizens of Hell. Unsure of why, but glad for it none the less, the ninja pushed their advantage, the Hyuuga spearheading the assaults as they tried to regain lost ground.

Where a normal Hyuuga was dangerous to the demonic forces, Hinata was absolutely devestating. Her pure heart and soul, which had been for so long looked down upon by the other Hyuuga, made her attacks against the demons all the more deadly, even the smallest amount of chakra channeled through her Jyuuken blowing holes straight through her opponents, collapsing them. Spurred on by a need for vengance, Hinata's veins around her eyes buldged, granting her ever greater sight as she tore through her enemies like a divine wind, taking down three for every one that any other ninja managed to fell. Seeing her as the greatest threat, several of he strongest demons decided that she needed to be taken care of first.

Despite their advantage however, Konoha was still being overwhelmed...

-Naruto's mindscape-

He knew who he was.

Naruto slowly opened hs eyes, the light that surrounded him dying down. He knew who he was, he remembered it all. He was Naruto Uzumaki, proud ninja of Konohakagure, and he had precious people that he needed to save. "THAT DAMNED FOX!" He screamed, his anger rising as he remembered his last moments, as he remembered how the Kyuubi had tricked hm.

"Hey boss, you've got bigger problems than that fuzzball at the moment. Ready to hand the keys over yet?" A mocking voice asked from Naruto's left.

whirling around, Naruto came face to face with his inner hollow, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "I've got no time for you, bastard, so get out of my way." He growled, noting that the old man, who looked like Sarutobi-jiji, lay against a far wall, a deep gash in his chest, his breathing labored and slow.

Naruto's hollow giggled. "Now now, don't be like that! I want control, and neither of us will be leaving here until I've got the keys!" He screamed, bringing his claymore to bear as he leapt at Naruto, bringing his sword down in a vicious slash, bent on taking the whiskered blond's head from his shoulders.

Naruto reached back, grasping at a pair of kunai that appeared, bringing them around to block the sword slash. The weapons clanged loudly off of one another, and the fight began. Naruto immediately followed the parry by flicking his wrist, sending one of the kunai flying at his inner hollow, who thew his head back in an attempt to dodge, the blade just barely nicking his chin as he leapt away, trying to get in a parting slash, only to have it blocked by Naruto's other kunai. Naruto mirrored his evil clone's jump, leaping away even as he reached into his pouch, a brace of shuriken appearng in his hands, tossing them at his opponent.

The hollow had a look of surprize on it's face, still in mid-air as the projectiles sped towards him... Up until the last second, when he grinned and brought the sword around in a wide arc. It looked as f the claymore would never make it to knock the weapons out of the way, but suddenly it disappeared, his arm blurring at the shoulder, the shuriken falling into small, jagged peices of metal that bounced uselessly on the ground. "That was pathetic!" It crowed, letting loose a harsh bark of laughter. "Let me tell ya somethin' boss..." It finally said, it's laughter dying away. "...That ability, which is unique to this zanpakto of ours, makes any ranged attack useless, especially one so puny as some thrown shuriken. That technique is called 'Lightning Sword'. Basically, it's focousng all of your energy into your sword arm and letting it go wild, exerting only enough control to make it swing where you want it to. It's a technique that's to fast to be followed by the naked eye." The hollow explained, a cruel smirk spreading across it's lips. "Now, out of the goodness of my heart, I'm gonna show ya another attack that comes from this sword. Ya might wanna pay attention too, cuz' this'll be the last attack you'll ever see! Not that you'll even see it, it's basically a full-body version of the other, but hey, use what ya got, right? Ain't I such a nice guy? You'll only feel agonizing pain, I promise! Now then... WILD LIGHTNING!" The hollow exlaimed, his image suddenly blurring, then he disappeared completely.

Naruto glanced around, crossing his arms in front of his face as he watched for any sign of his opponent. All of a sudden, he heard a screeching sound, causing him to jerk his head in the direction of the Kyuubi's cage, several of the bars, which had been sliced into small peices, falling to the floor. Naruto's eyes widened, as suddenly the hollow blurred back into sight right in front of him, the claymore sinking into Naruto's gut. "WHA-?!" He began to cough blood as he dropped his kunai, the hollow's fingers wrapping around his throat. A sudden, jolting pain, completely unrelated to the one coming from having a giant sword stuck through him, erupted from both the area where the sword, as well as the hollow's hand, made contact with his body. Glancing down, Naruto saw that a whiteness, exactly like that of the hollow before him, began to spread across his body. "Wha... wha...?!" Naruto was unable to form any coherent words or thoughts, his mind panicing due to the lack of oxygen and the tainted energy that was quickly eating away at his soul, feeling his wll to live slipping away. Naruto's life began to flash before his eyes, letting him see everything, all the hardships he'd lived through, the few happy moments and people who defined his life, every mssed oppertunity, everything, up to that point, including the conversations he'd had with the hollow. Suddnely, Naruto found himself standing there, facing all of the people that were precious to him, both alive and dead. There stood Sarutobi-jiji and Iruka-sensei, smiling proudly at the boy, along with Jiraiya, Tsunade, Kakashi, and all of his friends in the rookie nine and the sand siblings. Lee and Gai stood off to one side, both giving Naruto a thumbs up, and Sakura and Sasuke were both standing close to the front of the group, Sakura grinning at him while Sasuke had his back turned to him, just the faintest trace of a smile visible from what little of his profile that could be seen. However, it was Hnata who stood out in the forefront of the group, smiling softly at him as she held out her hands, her lips barely moving as she said something that he could not hear, but plainly knew what it was anyway... Suddenly, everything that the hollow had said began to repeat through Naruto's head, over and over, and his eyes widened in understanding.

The hollow laughed again, watching as almost all of Naruto's body was transformed, his head sagged forward in unconciousness, it was almost time! Suddenly, however, Naruto's hands shot up, grabbing the hollows arm that was squeezing his throat. "What the hell?! Some lame-ass final act of defiance? Well, it won't work, you stupid bitch! It's too late for anything now except for my dominance, ya hear me?! THIS IS MY TIME TO SHINE!" It screamed, tightening it's grip on Naruto's throat, even as his grip tightened on it's arm, his head coming up until his blue eyes met it's gold.

Nartuo weakly shook his head as best he could. "Th... That's w-where're yuh... you're wrong... I can't loose to you... for... for one reason..." He said weakly as the color began to return to his body, the taint receeding.

"Oh yeah? And what's that supposed to be?" The hollow asked, the slightest hint of doubt in it's voice.

"This..." Naruto breathed. His lips continued to move,whispering something as the hollow's eyes went wide, and then everything disappeared in a flash just as Naruto grinned.

-Karakura Town-

Everyone's eyes widened as the energy dome surrounding the boy slowly died to nothingness, even Aizen's, if ever by the slightest margin. For there, where the boy had been, stood a hollow, roughly ten feet tall, though it was crouched over, covered in a dull white exoskeleton. It's mask was long, with a pointed chin and two horns that sprouted from the forehead and swept back over the skull, two slitted eyes glowing a burning red. It's body was lean and sinewy looking, but one glance spoke of untold amounts of raw power packed within. It's arms, which were long and spindly, were easily seven feet long, the elbows covered by wicked-looking boney protrusions that stuck out, each hand capped by five long dark talons. From it's back sprouted two extra appendages, at just about where the shoulderblades were, both being roughly four seet in length, capped off by a pair of sythe-like blades, looking as if they could be whipped in any direction. It's legs were even longer than it's arms, being thin as well, and containing two sets of joints, the top set bending forward while the bottom ones bent in the opposite direction, giving the appearance that they were meant for great bursts of speed. Out of the hollow's backside swung a bone-covered tail in a wide, lazy arc, tipped with a lethal dagger-like point.

Yamamoto held up a hand, preparing to order the captains to attack the creature, when all of a sudden, a high-pitched curse came from deep inside it, and it's back burst open, a familiar blond head emerging from it as the boy pulled himself from the empty husk. "Kuso, that was rough!" The boy complained, rubbing his head, jumping down and dusting some chips from his shoulders. Where the boy had been dressed in an orange jumpsuit before, he was now dressed in shinigami attire, and he didn't even have a sword at his waist!

"How is this possible?" Yamamoto asked, his eyes hardening and his hand staying where it was.

Naruto laguhed sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Well..."

-Naruto's mindsape, seconds before-

"This..." Naruto whispered hoarsly "...You see, you yourself told me inadvertantly, but it wasn't until I saw the faces of those who are precious to me as my life passed before my eyes that it all clicked together and made sense. You see, you kept on blabbing while you chased me and we fought, saying 'we' this and 'us' that, referring to the two of us being the same person. You yourself said that you are the darkness within my wn heart given form. Tell me,if you're me, and I'm you, then how could we possibly be able to defeat each other? Well, you might be able to beat me, causing my spirit to become a hollow, but I've alreay won. Once I realized that you were a part of me, I understood that all I had to do was accept you for what you are, the dark part of me, and that was the end of it, because I won't kill myself, I can't." He said quietly, releasing the stunned hollow's arm an wrapping his arms around it, embracing his inner darkness in a gentle hug. A bright light flashed from in between the two, and when it died away, Naruto was standing there on his own and fully healed, the hollow having become one with him.

Turning, he saw the old man who looked like Sarutobi-jiji standing there, fully healed as well, smiling as he held the claymore out to take. "I see that you've discovered the truth of things m'boy. Since you know that we are both a part of you, there is no need for me to remain a seperate concience. So take my true form in hand boy, and whenever you have need of me, I shall appear for you." He stated proudly as Naruto took the claymore from him.

"How will I know? What do I call you?" Naruto asked, staring down at the giant sword in his hands.

The old man grinned. "You know already boy, you just have to say it out loud." He said simply, fading from view as Naruto's vision began to blacken.

-Karakura, present-

Yamamoto's eyes widened in shock as he stared at the boy in front of him. "Is what you say true? You have both the powers of a hollow AND a full shinigami?!" His eyes narrowed again. "So which are you boy? A Vizard, or an Arrancar?" He asked.

Naruto grinned in return. "Neither! I'm Naruto Uzumaki, the most surprizing ninja you'll ever meet!" He stated proudly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a home to save, so I'll see you all later!" He exlaimed, turning from them.

Aizen, his eyes narrowing, snapped his fingers. One of the Gillian that accompanied them glided forward, reaching down for the boy, intending to crush him. It was much to everyone's surprize, however, when Naruto whirled around, a large claymore appearing in his hands as he slashed downwards, a huge flare of energy erupting from him as most of the rght side of the Gillian disappeared, causing the collossal beast to tumble backwards, disentegrating. Naruto shot a glare at Aizen. "Don't try that again. I've got an important mission, and no one will stand in my way of saving my precious people." He growled, the large swrd disappearing as he turned on his heel and ran through the soul gate, disappearing into the swirling mists as he went into the timeless land of the dead.

Aizen, seeing that the boy was now beyond their grasp, snapped his fingers again, a large rift appearing over their heads as several Gillian used their abilities to seal the group in a different demension, pulling them upwards.

"Betrayer! Do you plan on running once again?" Yamamoto called out.

Aizen looked back dwn at the old man, smirking slightly. "Soon, old man, soon. Your time shall come" He replied, and then they were gone, the rift sealing closed behind them.

Yamamoto sighed, looking back into the gate between the worlds. "And what shall become off the boy?" He asked no one in particular.

Zaraki grinned. "I dunno, but he better come back soon, I wanna fight him." He said, Toshiro openng a gate back to the Seireitei.

Yamamoto sighed one last time, before turning to the opening gate.

-Konoha-

The battle was going horribly. Ninja fell before the might of the demonic horde, the great demon leading the way. Yest, despite all of this, despite their lagging strength and failing morale, Hinata pressed forward, fighting off any demons that engaged her as she inche her way across the battlefield, trying desperatly to reach Naruto's body, Sakura and the others sticking right by her.

However, there were still over a hundred demons between Hinata nad her goal,a nd it was not lost on them that the dangerous girl had some goal in mind other than their defeat. Demons may be chaotic and evil creatures, but one thing that could not be said about them was that they were unintelligent. Notibly, the horse headed oni had stayed in the rear ranks during the battle, noting that more often than not, her gaze kept lighting on the dead blond that lay not to far away. A cruel smirk forming on it's mouth, the demon put two and two together, reaching down and grabbing the dead boy by the collar of his jumpsuit, hefting him high into the air. "Little girl! Is this what you are looking for?" The demon calle out tauntingly, shaking the body in it' grip.

"Naruto-kun! Put him down you bastard!" Hinata screamed, watching in horror as the demon laughed evilly, pulling Naruto's head to the side as it lowered it's opening maw towards his exposed jugular...

... Only for it's eyes to go wide in shock, wondering why it was flying backwards, even as it's upper torso shredded. Hinata's eyes widened as well, filling with tears as she clasped her hands over her mouth and gasped, watching as the boy who she loved and thought dead landed lightly on his feet and go into a crouch, his head lowered. Straightening up, his head began to raise, and Naruto's blue eyes met with Hinata's lavender ones, before he looked past her and his eyes narrowed in anger, turning a brilliant silver color, his pupils slitting.

Unable to take the shock, Hinata fainted.

-End-