Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach

Chapter Seventeen: The Ex-Captains

They passed through a few more doors before coming to a large, well-lit room. Aizen stood in the center with two others: a silver-haired man with his eyes closed and an idiotic grin on his face, and a dark-skinned man with dreadlocks and a visor. "Greetings, Soul Reapers. I trust your journey has not been too hazardous?"

"Actually, it was quite easy. Your Big Grandes and Mini Grandes were lame," Kiba said.

Aizen looked blank. "Mini Grandes?"

Off to the side, Lee asked Ichimaru, "Are you blind?"

"No. Duh. Tosen's the one who's blind." He pointed at his silent companion.

"Then why are your eyes always closed?"

"Because it's too much effort to open them."

Tosen stepped forward and unsheathed his zanpakuto. "Aizen, let me deal with the intruders. Ban…kai!"

Darkness descended upon the room. Tosen's disembodied voice sounded from a distance. "You are trapped within Suzumushi's range. All of your senses are useless. All you can do is wait until the end comes, silently."

Neji sighed with resignation. These people never learn. Nothing can escape my Byakugan. Veins popped on the side of his face as he activated his Byakugan. Everything became as clear as day: Aizen and Ichimaru were standing outside, watching the show, while Tosen was slowly making his way toward Naruto, who was flailing around as though he was drowning and didn't know how to swim. He darted toward Tosen.

"Eight Trigrams, two palms!" He struck Tosen, who yelped in surprise.

"Four palms! Eight palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms!"

Tosen staggered as Neji's rapid-fire blows to the pressure points struck true.

"Sixty-four palms!"

Tosen flew backwards and let go of his zanpakuto. Everything returned to normal. "Man, that was weird," Sasuke said, shaking his head.

Aizen cleared his throat. "Ahem…Tosen, are you all right?"

"Yes." Tosen got up shakily.

"Good." As Aizen turned away, Shikamaru muttered, "Shadow Possession Jutsu!" His shadow elongated and touched Tosen's shadow. Before Tosen could say anything, hand-shaped shadows reached up Tosen's body and strangled him.

Aizen turned around as Tosen crumpled to the ground for no reason at all. "Oh well, looks like he's under too much stress," Aizen commented.

Taking advantage of Aizen's diverted attention, Chouji said, "Partial Expansion Jutsu!" His fist swelled up to five times its normal size and he punched Ichimaru's idiotically grinning face. Ichimaru slammed against the wall.

"Gin?" Aizen turned around and observed Ichimaru's motionless body. He turned back to the ninja serenely. "So, you took out my lackeys—I mean, partners-in-crime without me noticing. I'm impressed. However…"

The door slammed shut behind the ninja and a lock clicked soundly. "You are now trapped in my Room of Nightmares! I will torture you with my ultra-secret-super-duper-cool hypnotizing techniques! And then I will use your bodies for experiments! Mwahahahahahaha!"

Aizen started laughing maniacally. He suddenly made a choking sound. As the ninja stared, his face turned beet red, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head, and he collapsed to the ground without a word.

The room was filled with silence. "What just happened?" Sakura asked.

"Unless this is one of his 'ultra-secret-super-duper-cool hypnotizing techniques', I think he choked on his saliva and died," Shikamaru responded.

Shino sighed. "And this was supposed to be a dangerous mission?"

"Whatever," Sasuke said distantly. He was thinking of returning back to his beloved Rukia as soon as possible. "Let's just go back already."

Several ninja groaned. "I have to admit this isn't exactly a dream vacation," Temari said. "But at least there's Hollows to kill around here. Soul Society is just plain boring."