OooOoOooO
"Piercing the veil"
Chapter 2
Naruto went out of his apartment and wandered the streets of Konoha.
It was no secret to anyone from Seireitei that this mission was pure torture to him.
Hell, Naruto will gladly even spend the day with Kuchiki-taicho even if it means leaving this place at once, considering the man never liked him for some reason.
Considering his team here, it made him really missed his childhood friends back in Soul Society. They may have their own duties to their own divisions, but they make it a point to always be with each other at some point.
And it pains him that he won't be there with them in case something happens to them.
They promised to protect each other, so how was he going to fulfil that when he wasn't even there? He doesn't go back on his word, damnit!
After all, when he died, they were the ones who took him in and cared for him together with Baa-chan. Something no one had ever done to him when he was alive (maybe except the Sandaime) and it was the happiest moments of his life.
So it was no question that he'll face death for them again if he has to.
He sighed tiredly, only two months and he can go back.
That's the only comfort he could bring himself.
"Oi! Naruto!" A voice called loudly.
Naruto turned around to see Team Eight approaching him. The blonde smiled, even though he missed his childhood friends dearly, he had to admit that some of his friends here are not that bad.
"Yo, Kiba!" He saluted then turned to nod at the Inuzuka's teammates.
"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata greeted shyly while Shino just returned to nod.
"Where have you been, baka?" The brunette boy playfully nudged the blonde with a mischievous grin as Akamaru barked happily.
The blonde inwardly sighed. There was just no winning it. Juushiro-taicho calls him a brat. Sasuke calls him a dobe. Zabuza calls him gaki. Hitsu-teme calls him a dumbass. And now Kiba calls him a baka just like Renji.
He forced a grin over the smirk.
"Oh around, we've just been back from on an A-rank mission, dogbreath." He told the boy cheerfully, his grin widening.
Naruto had taken to calling Kiba dogbreath, hoping it would put a stop to the insulting nickname.
Kiba eyed him disbelievingly.
"No way, baka! You're just genin! There's just no way!" Kiba pointed an accusing finger at him.
'See? There's just no winning.' He contemplated inwardly, practically miserable.
His zanpakutō stirred.
'Just do what you always do then, ignore it. Simple as that.'
Naruto pouted inwardly.
'If only it were that simple.'
"I am inclined to believe Kiba's statement. It would be illogical to send rookie genins on a high ranking mission inexperience as your team." Shino stated monotonously, his sunglasses glinting under the sunlight.
Hinata reluctantly agreed with her teammates with a jerky nod.
Naruto shrugged, his eyebrow twitching.
"Well, it was supposed to be a normal C-rank escort mission but the client lied about it. Apparently, there are some missing-nins hired to kill him. Since we encountered an A-rank rogue, Kakashi-sensei told us that it just escalated to an A-rank. I defeated some bad guys too, believe it!" He explained with his usual exuberance, his grin back as he watched Kiba's jaw drop.
While the Hyuuga heiress gasped at that.
"You should see if the dogbreath's jaw is repairable, I think he'll be gaping for a while. I need to get going, bye guys!" Naruto just couldn't resist the jab at Kiba.
So he left them with the Inuzuka's indignant stuttering form.
As he turned back from them, he could suddenly feel his problems weighing down on him.
How he wished that he was back in his earlier days, where he was just as naive like Kiba and the rest.
'Central 46 will be starting to monitor my movements from now on. That's kind of good, it means that Shikamaru's safe. Renji's presence is a big help, but for how long exactly? I don't want others getting involved. Sometimes, I wonder…' He mused as he started to head to Ichiraku's.
'We should also be ready just in case. I don't really trust them not to make any illegal actions to partake in this case.' His zanpakutō warned him.
'Renji did warn me. So it's fair game.'
As he was about to enter the stand, a loud deep howl stopped him on his tracks and sent shivers down his spine.
Blue eyes looked over the walls of Konoha.
'A hollow…' His zanpakutō hissed, excitement vibrating through the statement.
Naruto just sighed.
– OooOoOooO –
"I just don't get it. He's been a Shinigami for at least five decades and the council decides to take notice now? I find it a little suspicious, Shunsui. And I'm getting quite worried at how they're handling the situation. The Onmitsukidō had already gone through his records and nothing inadequate had arisen so far." Ukitake stated as he paced back and forth inside his friend's office.
Shunsui sighed as he leaned back on his chair.
"You're not the only one, Juushiro. He's been a likable kid so far and has a few friends in higher places. So his existence had been no secret to anyone and the Central 46 always likes to keep an eye on those with potentials like him. For them to act just now, it's almost as if…" The Eight Division's eyes widened as he straightened on his seat.
Then the dark haired man frowned.
Juushiro nodded gravely.
"Just like what I thought, someone must have given those old people an incentive. But what would that person gain? It has to be someone who knew Minato-kun well enough but he disappeared almost eight-seven years ago together with the other captains." The white haired man pointed out as he sat on the chair situated in front of Shunsui's desk.
At that, Shunsui's face took a thoughtful approach.
He slightly grinned. "Well, Juushiro, it's also known quite well that Minato-kun has the habit of sticking his nose into…things that usually doesn't involve him at all. I could still quite remember him following after Shinji-kun and Kisuke-kun that night. Good kid too, too bad Soul Society is prone to such prejudice." He muttered under his breath a little darkly.
And that had cost them quite a few friends and valuable people among their ranks.
The white haired man shook his head.
"Yes, but it still doesn't explain why they're targeting his son." He argued. "Naruto-kun and the Kyuubi had already been separated in death, just as it was stated in the contract Minato-kun made with us. And the seal may have something to do with why he didn't become a hollow at all. You know, it's like they wanted something from either Naruto-kun or Minato-kun. The rumors spreading around aren't helping his case at all." Juushiro frowned irately.
"Ah, but you forget Juushiro, as much as they believe that Naruto-kun is Minato-kun's son, they don't have enough evidence to back it all up. After Minato-kun left here, all of his records had been terminated to make it seem like he didn't exist in Soul Society at all. So they can't compare records." The Eight Division Captain pointed out.
Juushiro nodded.
"You know, Shunsui? I get that Minato-kun's supposed betrayal is a taint in our history for them, but what I really don't get is why Naruto is being brought into this. He doesn't have a hand in his father's actions or does he had to endure the punishment in Minato-kun's place. It was as if they are slowly putting the burden on the boy's shoulders." Juushiro scowled angrily, clenching his fists.
Shunsui sighed tiredly as he ran his hand over his face.
"If it was ever proven that Naruto-kun is Minato-kun's son – which I doubt will take that long – the consequences will be unbearable. You should also consider what noble family Minato-kun is from and his standing there before the whole incident those years ago, I'm not looking forward to that confrontation at all." The dark haired captain replied with a frown, his mind already thinking of a certain captain.
The white haired captain seemed to freeze at the reminder.
"So what? Are you saying that the council is going to take this out on an innocent boy just to satisfy the rules, laws, and whatever pride that noble house has? This is extremely unreasonable!"
"That's not it but I get what you're trying to say, Juushiro, we have to clear this up sooner before it's too late. I know the Central 46 is now only waiting for the kid to make the wrong move and then we'll have our hands tied before we could do anything about it." He paused suddenly. "But whoever gave the council the freaking clue about this, I would almost say he or she's trying to lure Minato-kun out or just want something from him or his son just like you said." Shunsui speculated, bringing out a sake bottle from under his desk.
"So I guess, Kenpachi had been right in his decision to send out one of his men after all." The white haired captain stated quietly.
But the thought wasn't enough to really ease Juushiro's worries at all.
If anything, he would almost say that the more he's getting deeper into it, the more dread he's starting to feel.
He then stood up and went to the door to walk out of his friend's office.
"I hope what we can do will be enough." Juushiro stated exhaustedly before walking out completely.
Sometimes, he feels like he wasn't doing anything at all.
– OooOoOooO –
"What the fuck was that?" Renji demanded as they stopped inside Naruto's apartment.
Naruto didn't answer and simply proceeded to collapse on the couch in the living room.
"Renji, that kid is the smartest individual you'll ever come across. Even if I just high-tailed out of there and simply disappeared from sight, Shikamaru still saw our faces and uniforms. He'll be able to at least come up with an investigation of his own." The blonde reasoned and scowled, covering his face with his hands.
Seriously, two messes in one day is just too rookie of a mistake.
And Naruto had been in his post for nearly three years and had been a Shinigami for five decades. So it was frustrating him to no end for letting something like this happen at all. The supposed situation in Soul Society that he managed to get out of Renji hadn't been comforting at all.
He knew that the Central 46 would be on to him someday, not just this soon. And for them to discover him much earlier means that someone had let something slip.
'This mission needs to end sooner. The faster I get him killed, then the sooner it'll be over.' Naruto thought as he sighed.
Renji growled at him.
"We don't involve humans into Shinigami affairs, Naruto. Why didn't you just kill the kid?" The redhead questioned bluntly and straight to the point.
"The fact that there were witnesses should be a clue, baka." Naruto replied sarcastically, then he glared at the other Shinigami. "And I wasn't thinking of killing him at all. It's not his fault that he is much spiritually aware and could see us. Besides, I didn't involve him, I never told him we're Shinigamis." His expression darkening at what Renji had just insinuated.
The redhead gazed at him straight in the eye before his eyes widened.
"You care for a human." Renji spat as he glared at the blonde.
Naruto didn't even flinch.
"If I killed the kid, it goes against everything we've been fighting for, Renji." The blonde stated lowly, his teeth bared. "And that's the reason I don't understand about Shinigamis, they look down on humans as if they are mere dirt. But don't you dare damn forget that every one of you had been human once."
Renji looked away but he frowned deeply.
"You're also way too good for your own good." He muttered softly. "This attachment will eventually kill you someday. There's a reason why we do the defending, we're not like them and it's because we can."
Naruto snorted and smiled mirthlessly.
"No, I don't play nice. I just know fucking unfair when I see one."
They knew he was referring to the council's sudden aggression.
It surprised Renji when Naruto suddenly laughed.
"You know? Who are we to judge anyways? There's no such thing as black or white so why bother?" The blonde grinned at the redhead. "Besides, I like Shikamaru. Soul Society has a much loose hold of this realm than the 80th district, I could get the kid off of their annoying radar."
'That'll be easy enough since I am the one under radar.' Naruto thought with a deadpan.
Renji sighed as he sat beside the blonde on the couch.
"It's because you now realized that there are people who's different, is that it? The reason you're willing to let the kid go?" He found himself asking.
Naruto didn't answer.
Renji nodded to himself.
"Thought so. People like him are kind of rare, especially if he could put up with a baka like you." The redhead commented idly.
The blonde grinned.
It seems that he wasn't the only one learning things.
Naruto looked at Kabuto with feigned curiosity, cerulean blue eyes blinking.
"Wow, you even know about that B-rank mission I did before I officially graduated. Sooo," The blonde drawled as he squinted at the silver-haired genin. "Do you really have information on anyone? Are you sure?" He made sure to sound skeptical.
Kabuto looked a little affronted but he covered it up with a polite smile.
"Yes, is there anyone in particular you would want to know about?"
Naruto nodded eagerly, like the excitable genin that he was supposed to be.
"How about…" Naruto mulled it over, but one name always stood in his mind. "Orochimaru? He's a former student of jiji, right? Though others say that he'd gone rogue. Do you have information about him?" It sounded like a challenge.
Sakura tried to hit him for his obvious bait, but he just ducked this time and grinned at Kabuto mischievously.
The older genin cleared his throat.
Naruto knew that Kabuto appeared to be uneasy but he could see those dark eyes glinting with intrigue behind those round glasses. It doesn't help the silver haired genin's case that Naruto could tell that he is obviously not a genin. Aside from the large amount of chakra behind that damnable fake smile, the fact that Kabuto knew certain information mostly only jounin have the clearance to be privy to is a dead giveaway.
Valuable or not, that one action is tantamount to treason.
"And why are you asking about a traitor?" Sasuke questioned with a raised eyebrow.
Naruto shrugged as he scratched the back of his head.
"Well, jiji used to tell me stories about his team. He always seemed extremely disappointed in him or something whenever his name comes up. So I was curious what Hebi-teme did." He explained with an awkward chuckle.
Some of the genin seemed shocked if a bit curious themselves at Naruto's reason.
This time, Naruto thought with morbid fascination, Kabuto seemed to be really uneasy.
'I wonder what brought on this development?' He mused suspiciously.
Kabuto shuffled his cards before bringing one out and turned it around to show them the picture of Orochimaru.
It was an extremely pale-skinned man with long black hair. He had amber eyes with slits in his pupils and purple markings around his eyes — making them appear as if looking at the very eyes of a snake.
Kiba blanched. "Eww! Is that guy a gay or something?"
Even Ino's nose wrinkled but didn't say anything.
The older genin frowned a little.
"Orochimaru is one of the Legendary Sannin previously under the tutelage of Sandaime Hokage-sama, Sarutobi Hiruzen together with his teammates Jiraiya and Senju Tsunade. He is considered a genius of his generation and a ninjutsu specialist with Jiraiya-sama behind him. He is also the owner of the Snake Contract. He had completed 1,468 official missions in total: 16 D-rank, 332 C-rank, 521 B-rank, 491 A-rank, and 108 S-rank. He is also the previous mentor to his former apprentice, Mitarashi Anko. He had been kidnapping his fellow Konoha shinobi and used them as human guinea pigs in his experiments, a reason he had been driven out of Konoha by the Sandaime himself."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
Cerulean blue eyes met Shikamaru's dark eyes just as they snapped suspiciously to the silver haired genin as well.
'I was right. No genin would be able to get a hold of that confidential information unless he's really a…traitor. Even what I found in the Bingo book hadn't mentioned his mission records and especially about an apprentice. It doesn't help that it was established earlier that Kabuto is not genin either.' He paused. 'Seventh time for the chuunin exam, either he has no talent or he's purposely failing them. The former is a nowhere near as sensible since he should have the skills to get this kind of information.'
The blonde analysed as his fellow rookie genins were awed and became queasy at the information.
'What does that makes us?' He heard his zanpakutō asking.
'I am loyal to Soul Society first.' He voiced inwardly without hesitation. 'Even though I kind of started to like some people here, I can't betray the place that gave me a new and better life.'
There was a beat of silence.
'I hope that that conviction is as strong as you make it out to be when you are forced to make a choice. Remember, Naruto-kun, everybody's hands had already been stained by blood and Soul Society is no different than Konoha when it comes to it.'
Naruto didn't answer.
Renji was right. He was too good for his own good. He had let himself get attached to some people.
"But why would he experiment on one of his comrades? Not to question…other humans." Sakura pointed out hesitantly, nervously twiddling her fingers.
Kabuto didn't answer for a moment.
Naruto knew that the older genin wouldn't answer the question truthfully, and he wasn't disappointed.
"I don't know the answer to that, Haruno-san." The silver haired genin replied apologetically.
The others didn't seem to be satisfied at all.
'Aside from that unforgivable immortality jutsu of his, Orochimaru's mastery of the Nidaime's forbidden technique is what set Soul Society onto him in the first place.' Naruto inwardly scowled and was about to question Kabuto some more regarding the target of his mission when the proctor of the first part of the exam appeared.
"Take your seats immediately you pathetic brats! I won't have no for an answer!" The large man in the middle boomed as the genin scrambled behind the desks.
Nonetheless, he was going to keep an eye out for this Yakushi Kabuto.
Naruto smirked faintly to himself.
'You better watch your back, Orochimaru. The Shinigamis are demanding you to pay your dues already.'
He could feel his zanpakutō paying more attention.
The mission was just beginning.
– OooOoOooO –
Renji stood on a rooftop adjacent to the Academy where the first part of the exam is taking place.
He had made sure to stay in the shadows, just in case. He hadn't ignored Naruto's warnings any longer since the incident with Nara Shikamaru.
As he felt a brief flicker in Naruto's reiatsu, he knew that the mission had already started. He wasn't the least bit surprised, after Naruto had shown him what intelligence he had gathered about the target, it had showed that the man is taking advantage of the Chuunin Exams to start an invasion of the village.
Naruto had told him that it had been done through the extensive use of Kage Bunshin to acquire that outside the village. And the Jiraiya character that keeps sending the knowledge back to the Hokage was a big help.
He let a grin curve his lips.
'Finally…'
- OooOoOooO –
Gin eyed Aizen with a curious grin.
"The kid hadn't done anything, so why the hell did you get the council to put a hanging death threat over his head?" The silver haired man questioned with a pout.
After all, Gin liked the kid. The kid was honest and strong, something he respected. But the blonde is also his partner in crime during some incredible pranks around Seireitei. The kid may play all mature and serious for all he want like a certain white haired brat of a captain, but he's mischievous, funny, and someone who could understand Gin's practical jokes.
It also helps that the brat isn't the least bit creep out by his attitude like most kids his age.
Aizen hummed but didn't immediately answer.
The silver haired man waited.
Then the Fifth Division Captain put down his tea cup on his table and eyed Gin with hard brown eyes, something that Aizen rarely shows to anyone.
"Aside from revenge, I can't let someone with his potential to grow into a serious threat." The brunette replied calmly.
Gin raised an eyebrow before whistling.
"What the hell did the kid do to earn your vengeance, taicho?" He questioned playfully.
Aizen let an amused smirk to appear on his lips.
"I never said that he did. His death would be the revenge I needed from someone who crossed me." There was a certain edge into his tone and Gin had to strain his ears just to catch it.
The silver haired man's grin widened.
"Ah, Minato-san." Gin nodded to himself as Aizen tensed slightly. "I wonder how that happened?" He turned his gaze to the brunette man.
Aizen sighed at that.
"Because…" He began as he eyed Gin through his glasses, brown eyes cold with malice.
The Third Division Captain suppressed a shiver at the sight.
Gin had to admit, there are rare times that Aizen scares him.
"Minato is the first Shinigami that wasn't affected at all by my zanpakuto's shikai."
– OooOoOooO –
Hitsugaya Toushiro eyed the simple sheet of paper settled in front of him.
Teal eyes gazed at it with no small amount of anger as he read Ukitake's simple message on the paper. His hands clenched as the simple seven worded message went through his head all over again. The white haired boy gritted his teeth and exhaled sharply, trying in vain to rein in his furiousness.
There's nothing we can do for now.
And that meant his hands are officially tied now.
AN: Thanks for all the reviews. I appreciate it, so I'm going to haste the chapter a bit. I'm not really fond of timeskips but this will do. And again, you have sincerest thanks.
I'm giving you enough clues here to get a somewhat half of what really happened. Reviews!