Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into the Heavens

by Draco Kamikaze

NarutoBleach xover. As Naruto and Sasuke died at the Valley of the End, their lives were over. But as they become Shinigami, they will find that their past lives will help them, as they gain new allies, friends, and battle their inner demons.

6. Chapter 6

"Speech"

Scene Change(centered)

"Inner Spirit Speech"

Thoughts

Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens

By: Draco Kamikaze

Naruto stood still, motionless as his eyes darted back and forth. He took a slow, even breathe as he considered his options. He was surrounded; there was no question about that. But how to get out? His mind quickly began to process what was going on as he felt the people surrounding him finally began to move.

Two blurs shot out of the surrounding forest, attempting to catch him off guard. Expecting both them and the strike, Naruto jumped into the air, flipping around to get on top of them before they realized their target was missing.

Just as he'd planned, they tried to stop before completely reaching him, but it was too late. Naruto landed behind them on his toes, twisting his body around towards the first person he planned on taking out. Naruto ducked down, sweeping the person's feet from under him. The person landed with a loud grunt a few feet away.

Naruto squared off against the next person, waiting for him to make the first move. He watched closely, trying to determine what his next course of action was. Seeing a small twitch in his opponent's movements, he jumped back. Pulling a practice sword from his belt, he dashed around the person, trying to find an open angle that he could strike from.

The person watched also, trying to figure out how he'd get an edge in the fight. Naruto had very few holes in his defense, and wouldn't be easy to catch off guard. After a second, he slid into a defensive stance that should be able to face anything Naruto threw at him.

Suddenly, he heard a small snap from behind him, he quickly glanced around. At the very last second, he realized his mistake, and found himself face to face with Naruto's 'blade'. Naruto unleashed a small burst of reiatsu from the tip of the practice sword, knocking his opponent onto the ground. He then knelt on his chest, holding his blade over his opponents head.

Sighing, he raised his hands in defeat. "I give up."

Naruto grinned getting off him. "You're getting better Hanataro. You'll probably be one of the strongest members of the Fourth division that they've ever seen. Of course, your healing skills are just as good; you'll be able to beat anyone who gets in your way, and then heal them for later."

Hanataro grinned sheepishly. "I'm not that great Naruto. I just get lucky and catch you off guard sometimes."

"No, that's what you'd like to think." Naruto said, waving a finger at him. "I leave those gaps open, to see how many times you'd see them and take advantage. So far, you've gotten a little more than half of them. That's better than any other of our classmates."

Hanataro nodded. "I know, but I'm still only able to get you half the time, and only when you're letting me. I just…I feel so weak."

Naruto grinned. "Who said I'm letting you hit me? I just said my guard was down, not that I slowed down my movements or anything…well, not by much. You've actually been getting through the all by yourself."

As they spoke, a few of their classmates slowly began to walk out into the field, all talking and laughing as they ended their training session. Naruto smiled as they all waved good-bye, waving back as he watched them fade away. Hanataro glanced at Naruto before following everyone else, realizing that Naruto wanted to be alone.

As the rest of his classmates walked away, Naruto stood back, waiting to be alone. After a moment, he slowly pulled his sword from its sheath. He mentally pictured his zanpakuto spirit, glancing at it as he spoke. "You gonna tell me your name yet?"

"The day I sprout wings, or when you actually understand something someone tells you Kiroi-chan. Of course, you could just have Sasuke kick the crap out of you…again."

Naruto pouted. "Gama-san, that's mean."

He heard a small chuckle in the back of his head. After the incident on the Hollow Grounds, he'd finally turned around and looked at his zanpakuto spirit for the first day. To say that it was surprising was an understatement. However, it was also quite funny. He couldn't stop laughing at it for a week, due to the fact that the irony was both cruel and amusing.

His inner spirit was a large frog, just a little bit larger than him, Sasuke, and Kaien. His skin was dark green in color, which seemed to almost blend into the forest. He wore a strange kind of scarf that he told him was made up of tightly bound reiraku (Spiritual Thread), which came below his mouth, letting it flap freely in the wind. He also wore a raggedy, dark brown vest with the kanji for 'shield' written on a white patch on his left breast pocket, and the kanji for 'blade' on his right breast pocket. He was constantly smoking from a short pipe, similar to the one that Gamabunta used to smoke when he was alive. He had raggedy scars all over his face and chest, giving him the appearance of a seasoned warrior. Finishing his look, there were heavy leather bindings that went down his arms from his elbow to his hands. He also had some kind of weird sword strapped to his back, but when Naruto asked, he only told Naruto that it was what his zanpakuto would look like once he'd heard his name. He could never understand how his zanpakuto spirit could be so stubborn. Maybe it was just his imagination.

After discussing it with him for a moment, he decided not to ask his name just yet, and settled for calling him Gama-san. It was both disrespectful, as he did not like being called a toad, yet a somewhat nice way to speak to him. Of course, that was nothing compared to him calling Naruto Kiroi-chan all the time. He was not some blonde.

After a moment, he walked over to the base of a tree where his sword lay. Taking a moment to slip it into his belt, he walked back a ways in front of the nearest tree. He rolled his shoulders, sliding into a stance as he took a small breath as he placed his hands on the hilt of his sword. After a second, he focused on a small leaf that he mentally targeted. As he waited for it to fall, he inwardly groaned. It was never fun to wait for the leaves to fall, but it helped him to settle into his form a lot easier than if he were just randomly swinging his sword around.

Time slowly went by, and the leaf remained where it was. Naruto stood still, not budging an inch as he continued to wait. While he waited, he decided to have a conversation in his head to pass the time.

So Gama-san, what do you think of my latest Hado improvement? Cool huh? It'll be stronger than anything anyone's ever seen!

He heard Gama sigh before he spoke. "You're doing great kid, but the Hado has way too many things that could go wrong."

It's just a giant ball of whirling energy; how could things possibly go wrong?

"Well, you're trying to contain all that energy by yourself, and you don't have the power to do so all the time. There way too much energy that isn't being contained, and that loose energy could easily get you and anyone around you killed. Plus, if you lose focus, you'll have wasted all that energy for nothing."

Well it worked last time, didn't it? It's not perfect, but it'll be really good once it's been completed. And since I don't see any way to use my Kage Bunshin's anymore, it's going to have to work as it is.

"…any new thoughts on that?"

No. There are a lot of things that I could possibly do to get my old abilities back. Manipulating my reiatsu this way, or that way until I finally find something hasn't ever been a bad thing before. But I stopped thinking about them a long time ago.

"How come?"

Because, I didn't learn any cool jutsu beyond the Rasengan. If I did, I might be persuaded to figure it out, but there's nothing I can do. Besides that, it would take up too much of my time to try and figure it –

"The leaf is moving."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as a small breeze began to move the leaf. It held onto the tree, not wanting to fall down just then, but was unsuccessful as it finally began to fall. As it fell, Naruto took a deep breath. "Showtime."

As soon as the leaf was eye level, he moved forward. To any other normal person, he was now just a blur that was moving across the fields. As he got closer, he drew his blade from its sheath and swung his blade, cleaving the leaf perfectly in half. In doing this motion, he sent a small surge of wind that blew into the trees, knocking off more of the leaves into the breeze. Naruto jumped into the middle of the whirlwind of leaves as he continued his first motion on them.

It all became a blur for him from then on. He saw each of the leaves, and moved to them with a precise movement that split them all symmetrically in half. He wasted too much energy for his liking, but he was working on it. Within a couple of moments, he was once again standing in the center of the field, two halves of each fallen leaf floating around him.

"It's almost poetic." Naruto said with a small grin on his face. It was always amazing to see how everything moved, how everything had such similar movements that varied only slightly. Everything was completely connected to each other. It was truly poetry in motion.

Suddenly a voice came from behind him. "If this is poetry, then what is the message? What are you getting from watching this?"

Naruto closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I guess the message is…unity. As a part of the tree, or world we are all connected. Yet at the same time we are the individual leaves, individuals who help support each other as we live our lives As soon as we let go of the tree, we become targets for the rest of the world. This makes others fall down as well, as they are hit by the shock of the first person's actions. This continues till there's someone who's strong enough to hold on, and keep the rest from falling away from the tree. That's what I think it means."

Behind him, the person raised an eyebrow in surprise. What the heck? He got all that from watching falling leaves? I've never heard of anything like that before. It's not that great…but relatable in a few ways.

"Is that all? I would expect something better from you. Something more…creative." She said, trying to see if there was anything else to his interpretation.

Naruto chuckled, lightly scratching the back of his neck. "I'm sorry if I disappointed you. But, not everything can be said in the moment. When given only a few moments notice, I'll think of the first thing that comes to my mind and go with it. It's kind of funny how my mind works in a split second; jumping from the situation to the interpretation. Most people think that makes me crazy and gets me hurt, but I'm only trying to do things to help everyone else."

The person glared at a Naruto's back. "We'll meet again."

Naruto's eyes slowly opened, and he turned around. Seeing that no one was there, he groaned. "What the heck? Wait…that couldn't have been anyone I know. So, if that wasn't Gama-san, and it wasn't one of the academy students who'd followed me again than who was it? Gah! Even in this life, I keep getting stalkers! Why do you hate me Kami?!?!"

Captain's Meeting

Yamamoto glanced around the room. He held up a pair of folders, making sure that that the attention was on him.

"Where are we going to put these last few graduates?" Yamamoto asked, glancing between the captains. They were looking through the list of graduating students, and choosing where they'd end up. So far they'd gotten most of it done, and only two people were left.

"Yamato Hanataro, yes he has become somewhat difficult to place." Kyouraku said, sighing as he sat back. "Before he entered the academy, he would have immediately been placed in Unohana's division due to his talent in medical Kido. However, after observing his behaviors during the last few years of the academy, we must assume that at times he enjoys fighting. Not like some of the die hard Eleventh Division members, but close enough."

Unohana sighed. "It doesn't matter whether or not he is predisposed to fight; it is the strengths he has that truly matter. And he excelled in the field of medical Kido, not quite like some of my better members, but he'll learn in time."

"But he likes fighting. Doesn't that clash with what you do? Being someone who heals others, hurting others?" Kenpachi asked, his usual grin somewhat elongated as he looked over at Unohana.

"He only enjoys the moment of battle, because he enjoys that he is able to show how well he can defend himself." Unohana stated, not budging from her position. She turned to Yamamoto. "Please allow him to be placed in my squad."

"Request granted." Yamamoto said, motioning for a scribe to write 'fourth' besides Hanataro's name. As soon as he'd done this, Yamamoto glanced at the last name. "Finally, we have Uzumaki Naruto. He barely passed most of his theory classes, and came close to failing his History class every year. He has the ability to perform most Kido without the chants, but is rather weak in Bakudo. He has come quite a ways with his Zanjutsu, defeating his teachers on more than one occasion. The same for Hakuda, although he has shown greater interest in learning the intricate moves that come from learning Zanjutsu. Also, he was the fastest member of his class in Hoho, outrunning and overlapping everyone many times while he was there. Some have suggested that he has even gone so far as to begin learning Shunpo, which would make him quite versatile in battle. He has been getting a little tutoring from Shiba Kaien, and has improved constantly."

There was a slight murmur that went through the captains. Everyone had met Naruto at one point or another, on more than one occasion if they could help it. None of them could say they knew him as well as some of the other students might have, but they understood what he was capable of. He had a lot of potential, and the division that got him would be getting a powerful new member of their ranks.

After a moment, Kurotsuchi spoke up. "I'd like him in my division. He's got nothing for History, but that really doesn't matter in our line of work. Plus, I've still got something for him to help me with."

His eyes narrowed darkly as he thought about Naruto. He'd reviewed the different tapes of the Hollow Grounds incident, and had determined that if Naruto hadn't gotten himself into the situation that he had, he wouldn't have been placed in a position that slowed his work down by several months as he organized and created the Hollow replicas. He had plans for Naruto…and none of them were good. Simply put, it would involve hours of till his soul nearly split in half. It would be quite fun for him to see how well his serums worked on other people.

"I disagree." Ukitake said, his eyes closed as though he were in deep thought. "Kurotsuchi has a vendetta against Naruto-san, and will more than likely bring harm to him should he be placed in his division. We need to place him in a place where his talents can be expanded."

While Kurotsuchi growled at him, Yamamoto nodded. "I see. What is it that you have in mind then?"

"I was thinking of having him in my division. He knows more than a few people there, and his skills are most definitely suited for my division. He works well with others, and is able to organize them no matter how difficult the circumstances."

Kurotsuchi continued to glare at him. "Don't you already have a person who can do all that? Someone by the name of Uchiha Sasuke? The seventh seated officer if I recall."

Ukitake nodded. "It is true that Sasuke is a natural leader as well, and his power is continually growing. However, Naruto is the kind of leader you would want to lead you in any situation, no matter how difficult it is. His mind processes things in a different, unique way that allows him to perform seemingly suicidal tactics that are always realized as the best situation in the end. Sasuke is better at analyzing first to get a better out come, a more political mindset if you would. He would be an excellent strategist for before a battle, while Naruto could compile everyone's strengths in his head and use them correctly for the situation."

Kyouraku nodded. "That does sound about right. He would probably be better suited for the Thirteenth Division than for most of the others. If he were placed in one like mine, Tousen's, or Aizen's, he'd be bored by the lack of activity. He is a man of action, and should be respected as one."

"But his headless actions can get many people injured." Tousen interjected, obviously put out that he'd been drawn into the conversation. "He is one that Zaraki would enjoy having around, simply because he follows paths that have more pain and suffering than any other possibly path."

"You and that stupid belief." Zaraki growled, scratching his neck. "Besides, he isn't really that good for my division. He wouldn't fit in very well seeing as, according to his records, he sees no qualms about using Kido in a battle to injure his opponents from a distance."

"You'd fight him anyway given the chance though, wouldn't you?" Ukitake asked, glancing towards Zaraki.

Zaraki grinned. "Of course. Such fighting spirit should be put to good use." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "I wonder if he'll be able to hear the bells. I can't wait till I can fight him."

Yamamoto ignored most of the sidebar conversations as he glanced back at Naruto's folder. He was quite difficult to place, and wouldn't fit into most of the divisions. They were all to quiet for his liking, and he'd probably get into so much mischief that his captain would eventually try and hurt him. All things considering, he really didn't need for his people to be hurt because they were too stupid to keep their mouths shut.

As he glanced over the first page, he noticed something odd about Naruto's file. It was much, much thicker than any other file he'd ever seen, even from people who'd eventually gotten into Eleventh Division. As he began to flip through the pages, a small smile and groan escaped him.

The next nineteen papers, front and back, were all accusations of different things that he'd supposedly done. Whether it was putting colored dye into the showers making people show up to class in different colors, or the seventy different accusations of him setting off fireworks throughout the halls to chase after people, they all had a trend to them. None of them had a point where they actually proved that Naruto was the culprit. Of course, since he'd still been accused, it was still on file for him to look over.

"What's the matter Genryuusai-dono?" Komamura asked, his helmet barely turning towards him as he spoke. He'd heard Yamamoto's groan, and was somewhat curious as to why he would do such a thing.

"Simple." Yamamoto said, passing around Naruto's folder. As each individual got the folder, they were initially confused. But the moment they turned to all the different accusations, their reactions varied.

"He did what?" Ukitake said, his eye widening at some of the things that Naruto had done.

"Interesting kid." Kurotsuchi said, not really caring either way as he passed it on.

"I think our fight would be quite interesting should he pull out any of these skills." Zaraki said, a sadistic grin on his face.

"Dang, and I thought Matsumoto was troublesome." Hitsugaya said, glancing over the long list before passing it on.

"…could someone tell me what it says?" Tousen said as he got the folder, waving his hand in front of his face. After one of Yamamoto's secretaries came over a whispered what some of the things said into his ears, he raised an eyebrow. "That's…quite interesting."

"And people used to say that I was a troublemaker." Kyouraku exclaimed, pleased to see that Naruto had a 'rap sheet' that put many others to shame.

Sajin just shook his head before passing it on.

"Uh…are you sure that this person passed the graduation exams? It would take a lot of time to perform half of these within a ten year period." Byakuya said, his normally emotionless voice clearly displaying copious amounts of confusion and discomfort. Naruto had done some things that were simply…interesting.

"I see." Aizen said, passing it on. As the attention was diverted away from him, his eyes took on an almost malicious look as he watched the folder move on.

"Well, this does explain some of the interesting people we've gotten. Perhaps Hanataro will be stronger than expected." Unohana said, shaking her head as she passed the folder on.

Soi Fon skimmed a few of the things on the sheet before passing it on. There were things that the others might have found funny, but she really didn't care. The boy didn't concern her, simple as that.

Yamamoto cleared his throat as he watched the captains settle back down. "From the information on these highly detailed sheets, we can only assume that Naruto be placed in one division." He glanced at Soi Fon, a small smile on his face. "Soi Fon, do you think that you can handle him?"

It took a moment for the information to reach Soi Fon's brain, but when it did, she gave Yamamoto a dark glare. "You can't be serious."

Yamamoto glanced down at her. "Do you believe that my judgment isn't right?"

Soi Fon considered it for a moment, weighing Naruto's strengths against the other things he'd probably done. He wasn't the sort of person who would respect authority, and would probably hurt her division in more ways than one. But he was also fast, if the reports that said he could perform Shunpo were reliable to go off of. Finally coming to a decision, she shook her head. She'd have to see how well he stood in combat. And not the childish from before, but a real, one on one battle. After coming to that decision, she motioned for Yamamoto to continue.

"This will be the final decisions for the placement of this years graduates. We will now go back to our divisions, and prepare to welcome them into our divisions. Dismissed."

As the other captains began to leave, Soi Fon noticed that Yamamoto wanted her to stay behind. Waiting till everyone else had left, Soi Fon spoke first. "What do you want from me Sotaicho?"

Yamamoto sighed. "You seem to have an idea of what is going on, you tell me."

Soi Fon shrugged. "I'd guess it has something to do with my reaction to getting Naruto on my squad. He'll have to be broken in, but I'll make it work."

Yamamoto shook his head. "No, it is something a little more than trivial things such as that. Rather, it is simply to warn you. Whatever you do, don't underestimate him. He has a way of surprising people when they least want it, and finds away into everyone's life. Just…be careful."

Soi Fon blinked. She had expected something…more. But to warn her about a new graduate? It just didn't make sense. But, since it was coming from the Sotaicho, she would take it into consideration. "Thank you Sotaicho, I will make sure to be cautious. Good day."

As she walked out of the room, Yamamoto shrugged. "Oh well. At least she can't say that I didn't warn her."

Graduation

"Congratulations, you are now official shinigami of the Seireitei."

A loud cheer rippled through the crowd as the former student stood up, grinning proudly as they glanced around. There were only other shinigami there, so some of the people who had 'family' outside in the Rukongai talked to one another, trying to ignore the other peoples reunions.

Naruto punched his fist into the air, an idiotic grin on his face. He'd never felt this kind of feeling of accomplishment before, when there were so many people who had finally acknowledged his talents when he proved himself. "I did it!"

"Naruto!"

Naruto glanced back. "Eh? Kaien and Sasuke!"

Both Kaien and Sasuke grinned as they approached him. Giving him a quick 'guy hug', Sasuke poked Naruto. "So, how does it feel?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't gotten to any of the good action in the divisions yet! I'll tell you how it is after that."

Kaien frowned. "You know Naruto; you might not be placed in a squad that has a lot of action. You might have to do other kinds of work, like cleaning the streets, or filing the paperwork."

Naruto pouted. "Just because I'm a new graduate doesn't mean that I'm going to take any kind of crap from the captains. If they don't give me some of the good stuff, they'll figure out why I'm the Prankster King! Plus, I'm a lot stronger than I was before. I'll be able to handle anything that comes my way!"

Kaien looked him over. Over the last ten years, whether he'd liked it or not, Naruto had definitely grown up. Gone was the scrawny little kid that he used to make fun of all the time. In his place was a man…if only in body. Naruto was almost as tall as he was, even in height with Sasuke. He'd lost the rest of his baby fat after the rigorous self imposed training that he'd put himself through to keep up with Sasuke, and got thickly toned muscles to take their place. His eyes held a small amount of playfulness, yet at the same time mirroring his seriousness that only came out during special occasions. His hands were somewhat callused due to how long his training sessions went, as well as from the Hakuda that he constantly used on the training dummies. His reiatsu hadn't grown as much as he'd thought it would considering the time he'd had in the academy, but he still had gained the skill needed to use his power better for much more powerful techniques. Truly, he'd grown up physically.

Mentally was another issue altogether; he still acted more like a little kid than the semi-adult he should have acted like. Then again, it was probably too late to try to change him now.

"Naruto, you can't just do stuff and think you'll get away with it all the time." Sasuke said, trying to sound like he was scolding Naruto. However, it was clear that he wanted Naruto to do something big for his first day in his division.

Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. After a couple of seconds, he glanced over at Kaien. "Hey Kaien, we're meeting our new Division's tomorrow, right?"

Kaien nodded. "Yea, what of it?"

Naruto smirked. "I need some…supplies for the initiation. It will be one of the funniest initiations ever!"

"What are you planning?"

Naruto just smirked. "Something big, that's all I'll say right now."

"Why do I get the feeling that this is going to be a horrible idea that will get you killed by your captain and everyone else?" Kaien asked, shaking his head. Naruto was so going to die if he did what he thought he was planning to do. He was willing to bet that it had something to do with large explosions that would cause a lot of attention.

"Because I plan on making it big, with lots of big explosions that will get their attention." Naruto said, voicing Kaien's thoughts. Kaien blinked, wondering how Naruto had done it. "Plus, I'll have to make it so intricate that no one would ever think it would be me."

Kaien and Sasuke just shook their heads as Naruto ran off. He was smart enough to do something like that and not get caught, but since they had to wait to find out which division he'd be put in, Naruto was going to have to prepare for anything. This meant pain, lots and lots of pain.

"Kaien-dono."

Kaien glanced behind himself, noticing the messenger. "Uh, yea?"

"Will you please give this to Uzumaki-san?" He held out a letter to Kaien. "I was told that you two were close. And, if I couldn't find him, I was to give it to you?"

Kaien nodded, taking the letter from the man's hand. "Yea, I'll make sure that this gets to him as soon as possible."

The man bowed. "Have a good day Kaien-dono."

As he left Sasuke glanced at Kaien. "Kaien-dono? What's that about?"

Kaien shrugged. "The Shiba clan is something close to a noble clan here in the Seireitei. So a lot of people call me Kaien-dono, or Kaien-sama. It's kind of annoying in the beginning, but I got used to it."

Sasuke nodded. After a couple seconds, he glanced over to Kaien. "I bet Naruto's going to make a big splash when he gets to his division."

Kaien nodded. "Yea, he will."

A pause. "Think he'll kill anyone?"

Kaien chuckled. "No, but he'll probably make most of the people wet themselves in fear. He has a habit of doing that…a lot."

"Kaien, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, waving his hands around. "We need to head off to Kukaku-nee-chan's place! I left a few things there, and I really need them!"

Kaien glanced at Sasuke, confusion written on his face. "Fireworks?"

Sasuke shrugged. "More than likely. They're his style; loud, noisy, and can make a big crater if for that purpose. If his division doesn't see this coming, I seriously hope they've got enough patients to not kill him."

Kaien shrugged. "With Naruto, I'd bet that even if they did have enough patients, he would still get his captain to kill him. It's just who he is."

Shiba Residence

Naruto stared at the letter, silently trying to figure out how it had happened. Maybe Imamate had made a mistake. No, he was too smart for something like that. But…why did he feel so weird about the letter? It just didn't make sense.

"So…I'm going to be in the Second Division?" Naruto asked, glancing over the letter again to make sure that he hadn't read it wrong.

Kaien nodded. "I've only heard a few things about the Second Division. People go it, and they basically have to relearn everything that they already knew. They teach you a whole new style of Hakuda, some Zanjutsu, and practically everything else. They've got one of the most exclusive training regiments, and the people in Second Division have to be strong, or else they won't live very long."

Naruto scratched the back of his neck. "Uh, what do they do?"

"They're divided into two sections. The first is the police force, mostly meant to keep order within the Seireitei, which would be different from the police for the Thirteenth division specializes in, which is in the Rukongai. They help set everything up should there be an , a big fight inside, or something like that. They help clean up the inside of the Seireitei. They are aided by the Patrol Corps, who help patrol the different worlds in advance to see the level of threat they are, as well as the rest of the Seireitei.

"The second section is Special Forces. That particular portion is where a lot of action takes place. They go out and take on most of the larger Hollows from C to A ranked Hollows in the real worlds to make sure that they don't all get together. They train most of their lives before entering the Special Forces, and no one who isn't from a clan has made it into one of the higher parts of the division. It's seriously that tough."

Naruto's grin widened as he went through all of the different things, getting somewhat excited. He had a habit of doing things that no one else did, why should this be any different? "This sounds like the perfect place for me! I'm so going to have fun!"

Sasuke shook his head, trying to understand what Naruto was thinking. "Naruto, did you listen to anything he said?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "Well, I kind of stopped listening after he said that we get to take on C and A ranked Hollows. Everything else sounded boring. Sorry."

Kaien and Sasuke face-vaulted. Of course he'd stop listening after that, it was the only part that would grab his complete and undivided attention. He had a one track mind, and was using it to good effect to seriously mess with their nerves.

As they were about to yell at him, they realized Naruto wasn't standing in front of them anymore. There was an outline of him made up of dust, as though he'd taken off at high speeds. And before they could try and move around, they heard Naruto's voice ringing through the building. "Kukaku-nee-chan! Where are the really big and dangerous fireworks?! I want to make a really, really big boom!"

They both groaned, rushing out of the room to find him. They quickened their pace when they suddenly heard Kukaku giving Naruto the instructions on how to use them from somewhere they couldn't seem to find in time. When they did find him, he was running in the opposite direction towards the Seireitei, his arms filled with lots of different fireworks and a backpack that held a lot more. Kaien noticed that a few of them were meant to a lot more damage than normal fireworks, and lightly cursed Kukaku.

Kaien stayed behind to reprimand at Kukaku, while Sasuke attempted to catch up to Naruto and prevent him from doing something stupid. Neither were successful.

Next Day

Naruto fidgeted as he and the other people waited for their captain to show up. In order for his plan to work, he had to be with the rest of the division when they went off, so no one could pin it on him. After a moment, he noticed that no one else was fidgeting, and attempted to do the same. Most of the people had been trained to wait for long periods of time. Naruto was not one of those people.

Naruto perked up when he saw the door open, but quickly dropped it when he saw that it was the vice-captain who came in. After a second he cleared his throat. "You have been enlisted into the Second Division. You will be working under me, Omaeda Marechiyo. You may try out for the Special Forces later, to work under our captain, Soi Fon."

Naruto raised his hand. "When can we try out for the Special Forces?"

Marechiyo chuckled heartily. "You'll have to train for another hundred years before you can even think of joining the Special Forces. You need more than just some ambition; you need speed, skill, and understanding of how your opponent thinks."

"Wouldn't are opponents all be dead after we've dealt with them?" Naruto asked, somewhat confused by Marechiyo's accusation.

A few people chuckled as Marechiyo turned red. "Th-that's not what I meant! What I meant was that you need to understand how your opponent thinks the moment you start fighting them. Whether they are a brawler, strategist, backup, etcetera. Does that make more sense?"

Naruto grinned as he nodded. Before Marechiyo could continue on, Naruto interrupted. "Where do you sign up for the Special Forces?"

Marechiyo gapped, somewhat shocked by Naruto's bluntness. "Are you stupid? I just said that –"

Naruto gave Marechiyo a hardened glare. "I've got the speed, picking apart fighters is second nature, and skill comes with time. I want to know where I would sign up."

Marechiyo apprised him for a moment, thinking it over. The boy wasn't really that great, maybe in the reiatsu department. But his skill was probably worse than what anyone else's might have been. However, from his file, he was certain that he would at the very least give them a run for their money. After considering everything, he sighed. "Alright, it's your funeral though. Since you're practically asking to die, I'll personally sign to let you take the test. If you fail, which you will, you'll probably be injured beyond what other shinigami besides people from the Eleventh Division would normally see in their lifetime. Your entire career could easily be ruined by this. Should you, by the remotest possibility, survive, you will work along with the rest of Second Division in their primary duties." He glanced at Naruto. Seeing that he was still set in his ways, he continued, "If by the slightest possibility you pass, you'll find yourself on a one way path that only leads to pain. You wouldn't be expected to sleep in the barracks with all the other Second Division people, but it will save you the trip of waking up before six in the morning to begin training. And you'd be pounded into the ground every day till you are able to take on anything that's thrown at you. Are we clear?"

Naruto grinned. "Crystal Fukutaicho."

Marechiyo shrugged, starting to walk away. "Dismissed!"

Naruto and the rest of the class hurried out. Naruto stayed towards the back…knowing what was about to happen. He almost felt sorry for Marechiyo.

As Marechiyo stepped out of the room, he triggered a small reiatsu string. The string sent out a pulse of reiatsu that traveled to the roof of multiple buildings. As the rest of the people followed, they were greeted with the sight of rows of fireworks off from the adjacent building. A few people looked on in awe, while others jumped at the sudden noise. Marechiyo's mouth dropped as he saw them going off. But if that had surprised him, then what happened next was downright scary.

Several giant, dragon shaped rockets began screaming through the streets, charging directly at them. Most of the kids got out of the way, but Marechiyo, who didn't notice till it was too late, wasn't so luck. One of the large rockets slammed into his gut, actually picking him up and carrying him off into a wall, before being knocked into the sky. There were screams all over the Seireitei as the other rockets finally began their accent into the sky. After nearly hitting the barrier around the Seireitei, they all began to explode. The intricate coloration, as well as the different patterns captivated the students for what they would later say was the best wasted minutes of their lives.

Naruto just watched the fireworks with a small amount of pride. I bet Kukaku-nee-chan is having the time of her life watching this right now. It's so awesome!

In the Rukongai

Kukaku was laughing loudly, clutching her sides as she watched the explosions from her home. Ganju stared, bug eyed as he watched Naruto's plan take action. It was beautiful to say the least.

"Oh, I've got to thank that kid later." Kukaku said, grinning as she wiped some tears from her eyes. "Of course, I taught him everything there is to know about fireworks, so I am allowed to say that he will make it far should he decide to stop being a shinigami and decide to sell fireworks. And the way he set it up, it's just perfect."

Ganju glanced at his sister. "Nee-chan, won't he get in trouble for this?"

Kukaku shook her head. "There are two reasons why he's never gotten caught. One, he's sneaky enough that no one catches him setting the stuff up, and it usually blows itself up in the end anyways. And two, should he ever get caught, he's fast enough to get away to a safe place. I wouldn't believe that he got caught for any reason whatsoever."

"But he's in the Second Division. He'll be near one of the fastest people in the entire Seireitei." Ganju replied, holding up Naruto's letter.

Kukaku just stared at the letter for a moment, trying to remember who the captain currently was. Then, a grin crossed her face. "I hope he makes it into the Special Forces."

Ganju blinked. "That has nothing to do with what I'm saying!"

Kukaku's grin widened. "I know, but a thought just hit me. The captain of the Second Division, Soi Fon, is one of the coldest people you will ever meet. Naruto is just the opposite. If he's in the Special Divisions, he'll be around her more often."

"What's your point?"

"He and Soi Fon will have to meet at some point. And Naruto's not going to just let her get away with staying cold to him all the time. He'll probably heat things up in the Second Division. Plus, no one can resist his childish antics; she'll crack and start warming up to the world at some point."

Ganju scratched his head. "Isn't that like playing with matches in a room filled with fireworks?"

Kukaku nodded. "Exactly."

It took a moment, but understanding finally hit Ganju. "Oh…so that's what you're hoping for. I just hope he doesn't die while he tries to do it."

Kukaku shrugged. "Collateral damage. His sacrifice would bring peace to so many people."

Ganju shook his head. "You're merciless."

"Thank you."

They both sat back, watching the firework show fade away.

2nd Division Captain's Room

Soi Fon glanced out her window, watching the fireworks going off all over the Seireitei. She grimaced as she remembered how Yamamoto had warned her that Naruto would do something big for his first day in her division. However, she hadn't thought that he would do something like this.

She glanced up at her ceiling, trying to ignore the fireworks going off outside her room. Unfortunately, she couldn't get back to her meditation as they got progressively louder. "Darn that boy. I swear, I'm going to –"

She suddenly stopped herself, a thought coming to her. She didn't know much about this boy, but if he could do all this…

She sighed, slowly pulling out a slip of paper. "Perhaps I'm getting too sentimental."

"Taicho?"

Soi Fon glanced up. "What is it?"

The messenger bowed his head. "Forgive me, but Marechiyo is taking someone to the Training Grounds to be tested."

Soi Fon raised an eyebrow before she thought over who it could be. No one from the lesser clans was asking to enter, and she was certain that no one who just graduated would…

"Oh, I see." She finished writing before standing up. She slid out of her captain's haori, and took off her sword. Handing them to the messenger, she began searching the room for something.

The messenger looked uneasy as he watched her look around for the object. "Uh, aren't you going to do something about this?"

Soi Fon nodded. "I'm going to see who this person is, and whether or not he is good enough for the Special Forces."

"But Taicho!"

Soi Fon glared at the messenger, making him gulp in fear. "Do I need to repeat myself? I'm going to watch. Marechiyo will deal with the consequences later. Understand?"

The messenger nodded. "Yes Taicho."

After another moment, Soi Fon finally found what she was looking for. "Alright. Let's see just how good you are…Uzumaki-san."

Special Forces Training Grounds

Naruto was somewhat surprised by the training grounds. It was basically just a giant box. The base of the box was where he and the five examiners were currently standing, the five of them staring at him as they waited. The walls seemed to be designed to be high enough that the people wanting to watch the examination could do so without getting hurt. From where he was standing, it almost looked like the walls reached the sky. Naruto looked up at Marechiyo, mentally thanking him with a grin on his face as he did a few quick stretches. If Marechiyo hadn't been annoyed enough, he wouldn't have let him take the Special Force's exam. Of course, he'd made sure to annoy him enough to get him to do it.

He also mentally laughed at the fact that he still had residue of the fireworks on his face that he hadn't been able to get off. His angry look was priceless as he'd yelled for the members of the Second Division to search the area to find the person who did it. The combination of anger, shock, and disgust was one of the strangest expressions he'd ever seen. Of course, the expression was even funnier when they'd told him that they couldn't find the person who'd set off the fireworks.

Naruto glanced between the people around him. They were all seasoned fighters, although not necessarily as strong as some of the other people he'd met. They were standing at attention, waiting for Marechiyo, who was standing off to the side, to tell them that they could go. As he continued to glance around, he began to grin.

"The qualifications are simple." Marechiyo said, looking down from outside the training ground. "You are to take down all five of the examiners without having to submit to their strength at any given point. Should you submit, you will be let out of here without further harm. You may begin…now!"

Naruto slid into a defensive stance, his eyes suddenly losing the last of their warmth and humor as he was suddenly in 'battle mode.' The first examiner quickly sped forward, catching Naruto off guard. He had expected them to be fast, but not this fast. It was almost inhuman.

Naruto didn't even have time to block as the examiner began to slam a flurry of strikes into his chest and gut, not bothering to pause between strikes. Naruto felt the wind being knocked out of him as he bent his knees to prevent himself from sliding back. He wasn't very successful as the quick succession of blows forced him to slowly be moved into a wall. It was much harder than he'd thought it would be.

Suddenly, the examiner pause, looking at Naruto as though he had won the match. There was a small smugness in his eyes as he looked up at Naruto. Naruto ground his teeth together as he glared at him.

Don't look down on me! He mentally yelled as he began his counterattack.

The examiners eyes widened for a moment before he was down by Naruto sped forward and slammed his fist into the mans gut. Before he could think, Naruto took another step forward, slamming the palm of his other hand into the mans chest. He took a final step forward, delivering a crushing uppercut to the mans chin. The examiner went down before being able to do anything else.

Naruto barely had time to react before the second examiner suddenly slammed him back into the wall again. Slamming his feet into the ground, he winced as he took multiple blows that were slowly beginning to hurt. He mentally thanked Sasuke for not going too easy on him during their sparing matches. He would not have had the endurance to take this kind of punishment any other way.

Gritting his teeth to endure the pain, Naruto reached out and grabbed the mans hand. Caught off guard, the examiner attempted to kick Naruto in his head. Naruto ducked down, dragging the mans arm along with him. Unable to do anything from the position he was in, the man could only watch as Naruto swept his leg out from under him. Grabbing the examiner around the waist, he made him crash head first into the ground, knocking him unconscious.

Quickly jumping to his feet, Naruto was caught off guard as the third examiner struck him from the side. Unable to retaliate, Naruto soon found himself with the examiners arm around his neck in a powerful strangle hold. "Give up boy. You're too inexperienced to get out of this hold. No one who's been placed in this hold has ever escaped other than Marechiyo and Taicho."

Naruto grunted, trying to twist his body out of the examiners hold. It was indeed impressive, cutting of his ability to breathe properly while holding him almost completely still. Plus, he wasn't much of a weak person. After taking a short breath, he managed to rasp out. "Screw…you."

Grabbing his left fist, he used his right hand to push his elbow with much more force into his opponent's side than he would normally have been able to use. The examiner grunted in pain, his hold not relaxing in the slightest. Figuring that he would pass out if he didn't think of something, Naruto did the first thing that came to his mind. He jumped upward and backwards, pushing the examiner back with him. Unable to move from his own hold, the examiner was slammed onto the ground with a loud . Naruto rolled off the mans chest and feint punched the examiners face, panting heavily. The examiner groaned. "I yield."

Naruto shakily stood up. He was surprisingly sore from the strikes seeing as they had not been as strong as his own. But that would have to wait as the forth examiner rushed forward.

Naruto groaned as he moved out of the way. He could see the strikes coming at him, but unlike most of the strikes before, they were harder than before. He could dodge them, but when he got hit by them, they stung as the pain shot threw him. He grimaced as another blow hit him. I'm not going to be able to hold back my Shunpo forever. Might as we get this over with as fast as possible.

The examiner's eyes widened as Naruto suddenly disappeared into his guard, slamming his fists as hard and fast as he could. The examiner was actually raised of the ground as Naruto's blows continued. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to keep it up forever, he quickly brought his leg straight up in a crescent motion. The examiner flew back, slamming painfully into the wall with a dull thud.

Not waiting for the final examiner to attack him first, he used the fastest Shunpo he could and slammed his fist into his face as hard as he could, practically dragging him over the nearest wall and slamming his head into the wall. The examiner didn't make a sound as he crumpled to the floor.

Panting heavily, he turned around to look at Marechiyo, to grin with some amount of pride that he'd accomplished something. But as he did so, he saw another person on the wall. He couldn't see who it was, but by the look of it, they were another examiner. This seemed even more obvious as the person entered the Training Grounds. The first thing that he realized was that it was a woman, with navy blue hair that was worn short with two long braids covered in cloth. She wore a kind of mask over her face which hid her identity from his view; not that he really cared. She had a calm and cool aura about her, which made Naruto groan. He really didn't need this right now. Sliding back into a defensive stance, he waited fore her to make the first move.

He didn't have to wait long, as she shot forward. Naruto's eyes widened. The speed at which she was coming was even faster than the normal examiners. She's on a whole other level!

Not willing to back down, he rushed forward as well. Slamming his fist into hers, he attempted to keep up with her speed. She was going so fast that he swore that he was beginning to see a small ripples in the air as she moved her hands and legs. His body was quickly somewhat of a human punching bag as she moved within his guard and continually slammed her fists into his gut. Finally, she slammed him into a wall, grabbing his throat. It was getting a little old for the people to slam him into the wall all the time.

"Do you yield?" She asked, putting pressure on his windpipe.

Naruto grimaced. "No way."

Before she could react, Naruto had slammed his elbow into the side of her head. She slid back a short ways, somewhat surprised that he hadn't yielded; even more so since he'd actually had the nerve to attack despite being in a dangerous position. Does he really think that he can last much longer?

Naruto rubbed his jaw, realizing that at some point during the fight, he'd split his lip. He turned back to the woman, a determined expression on his face. "I'm not…going to…to yield."

She smirked behind her mask. "Are you afraid of telling everyone that you got beat by a woman?" Typical guy behavior. Able to be beaten up by any other guy and just brush it of and be friends in the end. But if it was a woman, their pride couldn't handle it; they had to do something that would keep their pride intact.

Naruto shook his head, wincing in pain as he felt the pain of doing so. "I…couldn't care less…if you were a…a guy or not. I…just don't want…to walk out of here…in defeat."

The chuckled. "Are you so prideful that you would risk your life to win?" Before Naruto had a chance to answer, she used a Shunpo to get in front of him. Slamming her leg into his head, Naruto found himself lying on his back. She then slammed her foot into his chest, causing him to cry out in pain. "Your foolish pride will get you killed. We have no need for people would risk something as foolish as this for a mission."

Steeling himself, Naruto barely spoke. "It doesn't…hurt the mission…if I get…get the job done…right?"

"What are you talking about?"

The woman's eyes widened as she felt Naruto shifted all of his weight to his chest. Before she could do anything, Naruto's legs had shot up, wrapping around her and slamming her against the ground. Naruto grinned. "That's…what I mean. That's how…I've kept myself…alive."

Before he could force her to yield, Naruto felt multiple blades suddenly pressing against his throat. He tried to focus on the different people, but they were beginning to blur out of his sight. "Are you alright Taicho?"

He had one last thought that flew through his mind as he sunk into the darkness. Taicho? Who's Taicho?

Soi Fon grimaced as she glanced over her opponent's body, her mask falling off as she glared at his barely moving body. "What's this boy's name?"

Marechiyo glanced at the list. "Uh…Uzumaki Naruto."

"And why was he taking the examination?"

Marechiyo looked down sheepishly. "Because I signed him up for it."

Soi Fon glared at him, as he stumbled to explain. "He was stubborn! He asked me how someone could get into the Special Forces, and wouldn't stop bugging me. I just gave him what he wanted; I didn't realize that he would actually pass the examination!"

Soi Fon glanced at Naruto again. "He was a surprisingly versatile fighter. Fast enough to catch two of our examiners off guard, as well as strong enough to knock four of them out. Even I made most of my opponents yield in order to pass this examination." She winced as she remembered what had happened next. Yoruichi had jumped into the middle of the training grounds and proceeded to defeat her. Of course, she'd mostly lost due to the fact that she'd been surprised to see that her captain was fighting her. Naruto hadn't even bothered to put two and two together to realize that. He's simply attacked her due to the fact that she was in the arena fighting him. Maybe Yamamoto was right; after all he was a rather surprising fighter.

She glanced back to Marechiyo. "You know, I don't think that I'll punish you for this."

Marechiyo blinked. Maybe he hadn't heard her right. "You won't?"

Soi Fon shook her head. "No, you actually did something right." She began to walk away, handing something to Marechiyo as she did so. "This boy has a lot more potential than I expected. I just hope he can survive the training."

Marechiyo blinked, looking at the letter. It wasn't sealed, so no one would notice if he'd read it. After a couple of seconds, his curiosity got the better of him, and he opened it. Reading through it his eyes widened. He read through it again, his mouth coming agape at what was written. "This…this can't be!"

The letter said:

Uzumaki,

Congratulations. You have been requested to join the Special Forces. You are to report to your captain as soon as you can, and be prepared to receive your assignments from her on in. While you are within the Seireitei, you will be acting as one of the Second Division captain's personal guards. You will need to prepare for everything that is to come, and will be expected to be in a good condition as much as it permits. That is all.

Your captain,

Soi Fon

A/N: I bet you guys saw a lot that coming. But then, it was fun to write!

For those of you who liked Sora, sorry he had to die; it was a hard scene to write. But I wanted to show how much Sasuke's changed, and make him a little more humanistic. I hope I portrayed it correctly.

Anyways, just to clear a few things up, I wanted the Naru/Soi paring myself, but it was pure luck that it got the way it was. And if it's overused, then you've never seen me do this before. Plus, the ones that I've seen are all in Harems.

If you have any ideas, or have things that you want to see in the future, let me know!

Anyways, this is the sixth chapter of Naruto Chuuten: Rising Into The Heavens. Don't forget to REVIEW people!

Till next time,

Draco Kamikaze