'Hollows, are beings that have no heart yet still live and feed on the souls of others,' thought Naruto as he went over his notes. For the past thirty years, he had spent most of his time either in the Human World or in his own lab researching many things, but mostly the habits and characteristics of Hollows.

Something about these creatures caught his interest long ago and since then he had been dying to learn more about them. There were just so many things that he learned about Hollows in the academy that didn't make sense. They were classified as mindless or semi-intelligent creatures, whose only goal was to feed on the souls of others to survive, but Naruto knew there had to be more to it then that. If they were really so mindless and weak then why could the higher ranked one come up with such advanced strategies to take out shinigami? Eventually, this led to Naruto do a more in depth study of why Shinigami tended to overlook the true power of Hollows.

Another thing that he had learned in the past thirty years he had learned about Soul Society is that Shinigami believed themselves better then all others. Very few of them had any real respect for the living world and took no real joy in helping lost souls, but much rather preferred to fight Hollows. Why would a society based on the purification of souls place so little value in life? He learned that because of there arrogance in believing their superiority over Hollows that Shinigami didn't bother to truly study their enemies.

Naruto was starting to believe that Shinigami were the cause of the dramatic rise in Hollows. They were so anxious to fight and prove their strength that they easily overlooked the wondering souls and only noticed them once they became Hollows.

The reason for this conclusion was because Hollows didn't have the organs to reproduce and even if they did they didn't have the same internal functions needed to perform such actions. He studied several hollows ranging from D to S-class and dissected them thoroughly. They were composed mainly of flesh and blood, and depending on there spiritual power, some unique abilities, but that was it. Hollows were not meant to reproduce because there only function seemed to be to devour souls. Reproduction was not a survival instinct for Hollows like it was with Humans and Shinigami. Therefore, Naruto made his conclusion that due to the lack of care for protecting the living, the numbers of Hollows are increasing and it was the Shinigami's fault.

Of course, his conclusion was merely speculations and it could always be something else. He was not arrogant enough to believe that his conclusion was the only possible one out there. No, he was sure there were other reasons to the increase in Hollows as well, but had yet to discover it.

'I wonder, what if it is possible for a Hollow to gain shinigami powers or vice versa," mumbled Naruto, as he went over some more of his notes. He didn't realize that his research had becoming remarkably similar to that of his Captain's, but he didn't know that as he never bothered to see what the man was doing since he had his own things to deal with.

"They are two sides of the same coin. It would make sense that each had the potential to use the powers of the other," said Xemnas as he appeared next to Naruto.

Xemnas had been manifesting outside Naruto's mindscape for the past year now and it made it much easier for the two talk. Naruto greatly appreciated his help and he offered insightful criticism that helped him better analyze his experiments and notes.

"I believe they are called Arrancars, but there are no true sightings on such hollows," finished Xemnas.

"Yes, but I believe such hollows do exist. The similarities between a Hollow and Shinigami are almost identical except for the fact that a soul doesn't lose its heart when it becomes a shinigami," replied Naruto.

"The only way to truly find out would be to travel to Hueco Mundo," smirked Xemnas.

"I am only a third seat officer, and I doubt they would let me travel to Hueco Mundo even if I was a captain without giving them a good enough reason," frowned Naruto.

"That doesn't stop your captain from doing illegal activities," pointed out Xemnas. He did have a good point because Naruto knew for a fact that Urahara-taicho conducted many illegal experiments to further his own understanding of things as did many others in the Twelfth division.

They didn't get to discuss the matter further when a hell butterfly floated in front of him and delivered a message to him. It seemed that Urahara-taicho wished to give to speak with him. After it delivered the message, it disappeared and Naruto sent one of his own in reply so that his captain would know he would be there soon.

Urahara's Office

"Taicho, you wished to speak with me?" bowed Naruto as he entered the man's office.

"Ah Naruto-san, how have you been?" smiled Kisuke cheerfully. The Twelfth division captain was always very cheerful when he spoke with his subordinate even Mayuri who didn't get along with anyone. Mayuri held a major grudge against Naruto because the boy beat him out for the third seat when he had been in the division longer then Naruto.

"I have been well," answered Naruto, as he waited for his captain to tell him why he was here. His Captain for some reason seemed to find it amusing to waste time making small talk so Naruto decided to get right to the point.

"You wished to see me concerning a mission?" said Naruto.

"Yes, the Fourth Division has sent a request that we help them develop a better way to carry around the medical equipment when they go on missions. I figured since you and Unohana-san are such good friends that you wouldn't mind taking charge of this request," smiled Kisuke.

"Very well, I shall get to work immediately," replied Naruto.

"Good, but Unohana-san will be sending her fuku-taicho over to show you what exactly it is they use on the field. I want you to meet with her tomorrow," smiled Kisuke.

"Hai," bowed Naruto before taking his leave.

'Hmm, I wonder if he will actually be able to help them or not,' wondered Kisuke with a contemplative look in his eyes. Naruto was a certified genius, which was a fact he had proven numerous times with the way he was able to analyze and break down any problem that was presented to him. The kid had even helped him create a new type of gigai, but it still wasn't ready to be tested yet.

Next Day

"Taicho, I still don't understand why you are assigning me to this particular mission. I mean couldn't one of the seated officers do this mission?" said Isane as she walked next to her captain towards the Twelfth division quarters.

"Isane-chan, I think once you give Uzumaki-san a chance you two will get along perfectly. Besides, you are most qualified to help with this since you have explicit knowledge on all the type of devices we use and spells we use," smiled Unohana.

"If you say so taicho, but I get the feeling there is more to why you are sending me on this mission," sighed Isane.

"Oh look, there Uzumaki-san is now," said Unohana as she ignored Isane's last compliment.

Isane blushed slightly as she got a good look at the boy, no man that was waiting for them outside the Twelfth division compound. He looked to be around eighteen or nineteen and was incredibly handsome, but in actuality was really in his early thirties. She estimated him to be about 5'10 or 5'11 with beautiful sky blue eyes and wild, untamed spikey blond hair.

"Uzumaki-san, you have grown since I last seen you," chuckled Unohana. Naruto just looked at her curiously because they had met less then a month ago to chat like always, but he never did understand her when she made comments like that.

"Unohana-taicho, Isane-fuku-taicho, it is a pleasure to see you both," bowed Naruto respectfully.

"Uzumaki-san, I look forward to working with you," bowed Isane with a small smile on her face. Unohana noticed the way Isane gazed at Naruto when she thought no one was looking at felt a bit of jealously rise in her, but quickly squashed it down. There was no reason for her to be jealous since she and Naruto were merely good friends and Isane is one of her closest friends as well.

"I will leave you two be, and I look forward to your future progress," smiled Unohana before taking her leave.

"Come, I will take you to my lab," said Naruto as he led the way through the Twelfth division. Isane just nodded her head and followed next to Naruto.

Naruto's Lab

"This is all the equipment you use?" asked Naruto, as he stared at the items that Isane had laid out on the table.

"These are all the items that we use on and off the field, but most of them we don't take with us onto the field. You see, when using healing kido there isn't any real chant except for maybe the more draining spells. To be able to use healing kido one has to be in touch with life and know the anatomy of a human body," explained Isane.

"If that is the case, then why do you carry around some of these other items?" said Naruto as he picked up an item he didn't recognize.

"Using healing kido is just as draining, maybe even more so then using the Destructive or Binding Arts. That item along with these ones over here, are able to use the spiritual energy in the air and convert it to healing kido when a shinigami runs low on their own. The only problem is that it isn't as potent so it takes twice as long to be of any real help," said Isane.

"Hmm, I can understand why you don't carry around all these items. The Fourth division isn't known for their battle abilities and they are required to provide the healing support, which means they need all the speed they can get to avoid hollows during a battle as carrying around too much weight would slow them down," frowned Naruto, before he started to take some notes.

"Just because we aren't a battle oriented squad doesn't mean we can't fight," huffed Isane defensively.

"I am sorry if my comment upset you, but I was not implying you couldn't fight. I was merely stating that your squad wasn't sent into battle for combat purposes," said Naruto, causing Isane to flush embarrassedly. She had jumped to conclusions and she could tell by Naruto's eyes that he hadn't implied what she had thought he was implying.

"Sorry, I just don't like when people talk down about Unohana-taicho's squad," confessed Isane sheepishly. Naruto just nodded his head because he didn't really understand her feelings, but would merely act as if he did to make her happy.

"I believe I have an idea to fix the current problem with members of the Fourth division running low on spiritual power, but I will need you to provide me with a complete autonomy on how spiritual powers flow through the body," said Naruto.

"Ok, that shouldn't be hard to get at all," smiled Isane before she started to tell him more about each individual item that wasn't a basic medical item.

Break

"Where are we going again?" asked Naruto as he walked next to Unohana. He should have been in his lab working on his new item to help the Fourth Division, but Unohana had insisted that he take a break to get something to eat.

"We are going to get something to eat," smiled Unohana.

"Why are we in Rukongai then? There are plenty of places to eat in Soul Society," frowned Naruto confused.

"Yes, but sometimes it is nice to go out and get something to eat somewhere else then the usual division quarters," explained Unohana.

"You don't like staying in Soul Society," stated Naruto, causing Unohana to look up at him in surprise.

"Why do you say that?" asked Unohana curiously.

"I noticed you seem more relaxed once we past the gate guard, and you're talking more freely then you usually do," answered Naruto as he glanced down at the woman.

"Hmm, I guess I will have to work on controlling my emotions better if you can see through me so easily," said Unohana with a fake smile. Naruto just nodded his head before asking her a question that caught her off guard.

"Why do you not like Soul Society?" asked Naruto. Unohana just sighed and her shoulders slumped a bit before she replied to him.

"It isn't that I don't enjoy being there and helping purify souls along with helping others, but I do not like the way things are run. It seems as if all shinigami are being raised to only value fighting abilities and care about nothing else," replied Unohana. Naruto was probably the only person she would truly confide these types of feelings in because she knew she could trust him. He just had that type of aura about him that let you know he wouldn't judge you or betray your secrets.

"Yes, I have noticed that as well, but I wonder if that means you do not like me either," said Naruto, causing Unohana to look at him with a hurt look in her eyes.

"I say this because I do not truly care for the on goings or the wellbeing of others either," stated Naruto as he explained himself for his last comment.

"That is not true, because I know for a fact that you always help and sometimes go out of your way to perform konso on wandering souls in the living world when you go there," argued Unohana with a knowing look in her eyes.

Naruto frowned at that comment because what she had said was true and he never realized it. Whenever he felt a soul, wandering around he always went to find it before a Hollow came around then performed konso on it. For some reason the idea of someone, defenseless being attacked didn't set well with him and he would have the urge to protect it. He eventually narrowed it down to something he picked up from his life when he was a human, but couldn't be for sure since he still couldn't really remember anything from his past life. It wasn't that big of a problem anymore because he had become much better at suppressing any of these unexplainable urges as of lately.

"If you dislike Soul Society so much why do you still continue your duties as a shinigami?" asked Naruto as he changed the subject.

"I love helping people and I would never abandon those who look to me for help. I take great joy in teaching all those that join my division and even if I dislike how most shinigami are. I would never refuse to aid them unless I thought they were doing the wrong thing," replied Unohana with a small smile.

"Your answer confuses me," replied Naruto honestly.

"Yes well, I have heard much the same thing from Isane-chan when she asked me why I willingly help those who talk down about my division," laughed Unohana. Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly in anger because the idea of someone talking bad about Unohana upset him greatly for some reason. He would have to look into why he was feeling so protective of Unohana later when he was back in his lab.

"Oh look, a ramen stand. Why don't we go eat there since I doubt you have ever had it before," smiled Unohana as she headed towards it. She wouldn't realize it until after Naruto had his first bowl, but from this day forward Naruto would be in love with ramen and eat it whenever he had the chance.

Soul Society: Twelfth Division

It had about six months since Naruto was assigned to help out the Fourth Division and after many trials of error, he was almost done developing something that could save many lives. Funny, but he had got the inspiration from a distant memory of his and based his new items off that. The concept of what he wanted to develop was simple, but actually making the items was what kept giving him the problems until he realized how to fix it. He was just about to continue perfecting his new invention when he sensed someone nearby and turned around quickly to find himself looking into the smiling eyes of the Fifth division captain.

"Hello Naruto-san, I don't mean to intrude, but I was hoping to get the chance to speak with you," smiled Aizen. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he sensed something wrong with this picture before he realized what it was.

"So that is how you got in here, by using a kido spell to project your image here. I have never heard of any spell being able to do that," said Naruto as he approached the man and stuck his hand through him.

"You truly are a genius to have figured it out so quickly, and I would be willing to teach you how to perform such a spell, but I have more important business to speak with you about," chuckled Aizen. Naruto withdrew his hand and then took a step back before asking him why he was here.

"What is you wish from me taicho?" asked Naruto not betraying any emotion. For a shinigami that wielded the power of darkness as a weapon it was easy for him to see that this man was surrounded by an aura of darkness. Curious, as he had never realized that the gentle captain of the Fifth division was truly a master puppeteer until he started to speak with him about joining him in his goals in return for a place to conduct his research without ever being bothered.

"I have only one condition," said Naruto, causing Aizen to raise his eyebrow in curiosity.

"What would that be?" asked Aizen curiously. He could always just kill the boy instead of indulging a demand of his, but he knew that he would make a great ally. If his newest invention wasn't a sign of his genius then nothing was and Aizen wanted his mind working for him not Soul Society.

"The Fourth Division Captain is not to be harmed at all," said Naruto firmly. Naruto desired for an area to perform his research without worrying about his repercussions, but did not wish to see Unohana hurt though he couldn't explain why.

'Interesting, he seems to have developed a deep attachment to Unohana-san. Very well, I will agree to his terms,' thought Aizen before nodding his head.

"It is agreed, I will make sure no harm comes to Unohana-san and in return you help me take over Soul Society," smiled Aizen.

"I accept," said Naruto, causing Aizen to break out in a large grin. Everything was going according to plan.