Wooh, chapter 3! I'll be going outta town for a week, probably update once I'm back.

FYI: This story begins after Naruto rescues Gaara from Akatsuki in Naruto, and during the Ichigo and co.'s raid on Soul Society in Bleach.

RobotPirateNinja: Good question, I'd answer but that would spoil later chapters. All shall be explained in good time.

LeiseFlustern: As much as I appreciate your praise, I originally got the idea of the hokages serving the death god from shadowmaster62 (I gotta give credit where credit is due). It wasn't a Bleach crossover and they weren't shinigami, but it was pretty much the same idea; shame that he hasn't updated since '05… If you like action and comedy, read his Never Cut Twice story. It's great

If the first two chapters didn't get itthrough to you, let me make it clear: I don't own Bleach, and I don't own Naruto.

"blah"-speech

'blah'-thoughts

"blah"-demon/hollow/other inhuman evil thing speech

blah-dream/vision/letter

underscore- Important change of scene, character, and/or time

Chapter 3

Arrancar and Vaizard

Kasajishi Yachiru cheerfully skipped along in woodlands of the Shinobi World. She had finally gained clearance from Soul Society to come here! She was certain that in a world full of ninja, she would be able to find at least one spirit that could be made into a shinigami that would finally give Ken-chan a worthy opponent. But still, she had seen very few wandering spirits so far, and none of them were ex-nin. Spotting the spirit of a raven-haired teen, she began to hum to herself. Maybe this one would be a shinobi!

Sasuke had, in all essence of the phrase, come to a dead end. The shrine had had absolutely nothing except the ability to pull the plump wallets of tourists to the nearby shops like unexpecting moths to flame. He supposed that he could seek out a shaman, but shaman tended to be reclusive and difficult to find. Also, he had no intention of getting his soul bound or banished by a shaman. Sasuke leaned against a tree, pondering his dilemna, when he heard somebody humming. Sasuke looked and then blinked. Was this a cousin of Sakura's?

She definitely had the pink hair and the "I'm innocent and oblivious to the real world" attitude. She looked to be around six, and was dressed in black robes. Sasuke was surprised even further when the young girl shouted, "Hi! I'm Yachiru! What's your name?! Are you a ninja? How long have you been dead? What's-"

Grinding the palm of his hand into his forehead, Sasuke turned and walked away. Or at least he would have, if he hadn't found that he was looking at the same girl he had just turned away from. Sasuke glared at her, letting his eyes flash with the sharingan and releasing a blast of killing intent, one of the many useful abilities that Orochimaru had taught him.

Sasuke was stunned when the girl grinned from ear to ear. "Yup, that's killer intent, you are a ninja! I was right! Are you strong?" Without waiting for an answer, Yachiru drew the rather short katana buckled at her waist and lunged.

Sasuke parried the the lunge with a quickly drawn kunai. Drawing his wakizashi (think that's the type of sword he uses, correct me if I'm wrong), he swung downwards at the rather annoying and absurdly fast pink-haired child. Yachiru leapt backwards, landing a good fifteen feet away.

Sasuke launched the kunai at Yachiru and sheathed his sword in the same fluid moment. Yachiru bent backwards to dodge the kunai and Sasuke, seeing the opening, performed a few quick handseals, whispering, "Katon, Hebi no jutsu (Fire Snake technique)!"

A stream of flames erupted from Sasuke's mouth, the tip of the flow shaping to that of a snake's head. Jaws spread wide, the burning snake rushed towards Yachiru, the grass underneath it combusting. With his sharingan, Sasuke realized that she would dodge and attempt to attack from behind. Sasuke drew a fuuma sharingan in preparation to throw it on the path that Yachiru would take. However, the sudden increase in the weight of his fuuma sharingan made him turn and gasp in surprise.

There was Yachiru, easily balancing upon the edge of the fuuma sharingan. Sure, his sharingan eyes had shown which way she would take, but her speed was way beyond his own. To add insult to injury, Yachiru said, "Wow, you're not too bad! Wanna be a shinigami?"

Sasuke growled, "A what?"

"A shinigami. We help spirits go to Soul Society, or heaven as most humans call it. We also hunt down evil spirits. Basically, we help the Death God do his job."

Sasuke paused, thinking about the possibilities. Sasuke had just lost his body to a weird snake fanatic, and he did not wish to sell his soul to the Death God and his Sakura Jr. shini-watever. Then again, this was the god in charge of Death they were talking about. Considering that he wanted to come back to life, kill Itachi, and kill Orochimaru, all 3 of which fell into the Death God's "area of expertise," making a deal with the Death God might not be such a bad idea.

"Will the Death God be able to bring me back to life?"

"No, but as a shinigami, you would be able to use gigai, which would enable you to interact with the real world once again."

Sasuke smirked. "Excellent. How soon can I get one of these gigai?"

Yachiru said slowly, "Well, if you do well in the classes, don't ditch any of em, and pass the final exam, you'll have your gigai in… three or four centuries!"

Three or four CENTURIES! This wouldn't do, Itachi would be long dead, and Orochimaru would either be dead or near impossible to find.

"No."

"But-"

"I said no."

"Hmph, meanie!" Yachiru jumped off of his fuuma sharingnan.

She thought for a moment. Her permit in the Shinobi World was almost up, and she still had to find a worthy opponent for Ken-chan. Yachiru threw an object at Sasuke, which he caught on reflex.

Flipping it over, Sasuke observed a rather odd badge with a skull on it.

"Slam that into your chest if you wanna be a shinigami!" Yachiru shouted. His sharingan revealed what she was about to do, but his body was too slow to react in time. Yachiru stabbed the base of his chain of fate, spiderweb cracks forming across but quickly growing larger.

"Or allow your chain of fate to be destroyed, and your spirit transformed in an evil spirit known as a Hollow! Your choice! See ya!" Yachiru dropped a black book onto the ground, and left the Shinobi World for Soul Society.

Sasuke would have cursed if it wasn't for the overwhelming pain. Already, he could feel his soul being replaced with a bottomless hunger. A thick, white gauze was running out of his eyes and mouth, slowly covering his face. Sasuke dropped to his knees. Realizing that he had no other choice, he slammed the badge into his chest, and faded into blissful unconciousness.

Naruto stirred, slowly rising into a standing position. He stumbled over to a nearby pond, intending to splash himself into wakefulness. However, his reflection froze his hands an inch above the water. Naruto looked at the reflection of himself, and stared at his hands. The last thing he remembered, he was about to be killed by that old man, and now he was human again. Naruto ran his fingers along the half-mask and the hole in his chest. Somewhat human, he corrected himself. That old man must have done something to him! But, he wasn't angry. He had returned the Hollow to a semi-human form, and the agonizing hunger had faded to the slightest tingle in the back of his mind. He was grateful for what the old man had done for him. A thought drifted across his mind:

He was a young boy sitting next to the old man at a playground. He was sniffling. He said, "Old man,sniff why did you save me from those bullies? Don't you sniff hate me too, like everyone else?"

The old man pulled out a large pipe and lit it. "Don't worry, not everyone hates you. Besides, it's my job to help and protect all of the people in this village, from the oldest elder to the youngest infant."

The two sat in silence until the young boy noticed that the old man was puffing out rings of smoke. "Whoah! How'd you do that! Can you teach me?!"

The old man chuckled. "Maybe when you're older, Naruto."

"Naruto. Naruto! That's my name, I remember now!" Naruto leapt in joy. He still didn't remember very much, including who the old man was, but Naruto was certain that it would come in time.

Naruto stretched, and was surprised when his hand hit something. 'What?' Grabbing it, Naruto pulled, and found that the object was the hilt to a broadsword. For a weapon about four inches wide and four feet long, it was surprisingly light, light enough to be swung with one hand. The strangest part was that the weapon felt like a part of his body, like a limb. He could also feel his reiatsu slowly circulating through the blade. Naruto gave it a few experimental swings before returning it to the sheath along his back. He would play with it more later, but first he had to find that old man.

Returning to where he had woken up, Naruto noticed the yellow-bound book on the ground. On the front was a cartoony picture of a guy in black robes, much like the robes the old man had been wearing. Shinigami for Dummies was printed across the top, and the added note beneath it read,

Dear Naruto,

In order to make it possible for you to meet with your friends again, I performed a technique which changed you from a Hollow to a hybrid of Hollow and shinigami. I don't know how you'll differ from regular shinigami, but this book covers most of the basics, as well as some info on Soul Society, or as you know it: the afterlife. Read this book. It will help you greatly. Once you are done, come to me in Soul Society. I will help you more there.

-Sarutobi

Now he had a name to the old man, but still little else. Naruto flipped open the book to the table of contents. He saw that the book would be able to teach him many things, including one-handed seals like the ones Sarutobi had used in their battle, other Hollows, swordplay, and Soul Society. Sitting down, he began to read.

Sasuke groaned, a mask on his face clattering to the ground as he stood. Feeling the unfamiliar fabric against his skin, Sasuke observed himself. He was wearing black robes and a sword was sheathed at his side; both clothes and sword were in the same fashion that the mini-Sakura brat had been wearing. Drawing the sword, Sasuke was pleased to find that it was a wakizashi of even better quality than the one that he had received from Orochimaru. Looking around, he spotted a black book.

He picked it up and read the out loud, "Shinigami 101. Everything the Aspiring Shinigami Needs to Know." He flipped the book open, eyebrow twitching as he saw the childish doodles of flowers and small woodland critters. He continued to the table of contents, reading the list. It did not mention masks, which was a shame for he really wished to know where the mask lying at his feet had come from.

The nose of the mask was hooked slightly, and across the bridge of it was a black mark that greatly resembled the black mark that forms on his nose when he entered the second level of his cursed seal form. The eyebrows were highly exaggerated; thick, black, and arching upwards to the edges of the mask. The rest of the mask was a bony white.

The mask seemed to resemble a bird of sorts, such as a crow or raven. But, the expression of the mask was anything but birdlike. It seemed sinister, and if Sasuke didn't know any better, he would say that the mask was expelling its own killer intent. Sighing, Sasuke began to read the book to see if it had an answer.

A few hours later, Naruto had mastered the one-handed seals, and had reasonable control over his sword- Zanpakuto, he reminded himself.

He thought for a little while. He regretted consuming dozens of spirits as a Hollow. Yet, from battling with one shinigami, he had regained a more important part of his memory than killing those spirits had allowed him to regain. So, the best way to regain his memories without consuming millions of spirits would be to seek out Sarutobi and question him… and, of course, to battle other powerful shinigami.

Grinning in satisfaction, Narto drew his zanpakuto. As explained in the book, he began to open the gate to Soul Society. Little did he know that miles away, Sasuke was mirroring his own actions. They thrust their swords into nothingness, and turned them as keys in a lock. The old-fashioned Japanese doors of Soul Society slid open and, as one, they walked into opposite ends of Soul Society.

One seeking his past and one seeking his revenge

Hated idiot and revered genius

Rivals and friends

Naruto and Sasuke

Arrancar and Vaizard

Ok, I'm now taking ideas for release forms for zanpakutos of Naruto and Sasuke (since in Bleach its the creativity that makes zanpakuto so cool, and I seem to be lacking in the "creative and nifty ideas for kickass swords" department. Remember, Naruto is an arrancar, so his release has to be a physical change. Lemme know if you have any ideas.

Please go ahead and R&R, I don't bite (usually)