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Ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, Naruto was shunned as 'Konoha's Demon' when he was born with the Kyuiubi sealed in him. His life was miserable beyond grief. Time passed by and he has slowly proven himself as its jailer instead of its incarnate. But despite this, love never truly touched the young jinchuuriki's heart until death came over him.
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A/N: I do not own Naruto, Bleach or any other canonical characters. If I did, I wouldn't be here in FF now would I?
A/N: This will be the last chapter where Naruto will be in Soul Society. His return to Konoha is imminent. Expect sudden changes and a new hope. Thank you all for the reviews.
Talking
'thinking/flashback'
Kyuubi Talking/Jutsu
'Kyuubi Thinking'
Chapter 9
Burning Desire
With the dawn of a new day…
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A month had passed adding to Naruto's three year lifetime in Soul Society…
Dawn flowed over the scene as Sereitei began a new day with the rising of the orange sun.
Like clockwork, Naruto's flaming azure eyes opened up once more as he got out of bed to start his new day. This time however, he was preparing himself for war. Aside from the academy hakama he was already wearing, he had several kunai pouches strapped to both legs and a utility belt around his waist with several scroll dangling from it. Even his upper arms were strapped with kunai pouches and scrolls.
A battle ready shinobi-shinigami was he. For what reason was this determined blonde so geared up? Why it was the day of reckoning that would determine his fate in Soul Society…It was finally the day of his final exam.
Many hours and years were spent preparing for this day as the young blonde put on his hitai-ate over his forehead lifting his long blonde locks of hair. Though his body didn't age, his hair grew noting that he had been in Soul Society for quite a while now. Though his hair was still as spiky, it had become a little tamer as his hair had grown in length. As he wrapped his long, blonde locks in the back in a low, tight ponytail with black cloth, he began to speak to his nine-tailed companion already at the door waiting.
"Looks like its time kyuubi. Lets raise hell!"
the firey kitsune just shook his head as he said,
Already fired up so early in the morning. You better wash up first before you fall asleep there. I've already seen your proctor and it seems you have a special test involved away from the others.
Kyuubi said as his master had finished tying up his hair. Naruto walked out the door with kyuubi in his zanpaktou mode strapped to his back with red and black cloth.
Naruto then marched his way downstairs to the dining room expecting his friends and family waiting by the dining table only to find an empty room and several stacks of bowls and empty plates along with greasy chopsticks and wet spoons to match.
'Geez…they left without me! No matter, time to head out!'
The young blonde thought as he inspected the mess hall that was the dining room.
It wasn't long before morning arrived to greet the blonde as its glowing orange light complimented his long blonde locks of hair that swept in the breeze while he speedily shunpo'd his way to the training grounds were they awaited him.
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Many young adolescents nervously awaited in an open air room not too far away from the main crowd that stood upon balconies and rooftops to get a good view of those who would graduate this year's exams. Families stood over at the sides watching the graduating batch as they cheered on hoping their sons, daughters, friends, relatives and significant others would enter the division of their choosing.
Some of those who eagerly awaited the graduating students were the Gotei thirteen captains themselves as they gazed upon the several platoons of shinigami hopefuls alongside their commander in chief, Yamamoto- Genryusai who sat in a throne not so far above theirs.
The captains were amused by the sheer number of graduates this year as there were many talented students taking the dreadful exam this time around. One of which, who in fact was the maverick of the batch, was what the captains themselves were awaiting to witness this opportunity of a lifetime.
Feeling enthusiasm flow through his veins from excitement, the tallest one of the captains then spoke to his blonde haired comrade on his left.
"Minato, I hope your son passes the test. I heard he's up against quite the odds."
The golden eyed kobold said to the smiling blonde.
Minato then nodded as he responded to his brown furry friend with assured confidence.
"Don't worry Komamura-san. He will. I have faith in him. I've trained him to the best of my abilities. He should do just fine."
While the eleven of the Gotei thirteen captains were busy conversing through the long and dragging procession of the graduation of the shinigami hopefuls, a firey red headed lieutenant was pacing back and forth beside Sarutobi, Hinamori and three others beside them at the edge of the seats.
The sickly man in that group coughed and then worriedly asked the pacing red head.
"What's wrong Kushina? You shouldn't be so tense after being promoted as my fukutaicho just take a deep breath and relax."
The sickly man said as he gestured his hands for her to relax. He wore the shihakushō as any captain did except for the insignia of the thirteenth division behind the haori. Despite his age, He had long, flowing white hair, gray eyebrows and matching color of eyes.
He was not the only one however who thought she was tense. The other two ran in front of the man and the sandy haired one shouted,
"You should listen to Uikitake taicho!"
The black haired man then comically shoved her aside and said,
"Don't listen to Kiyone! Ukitake taicho is right!"
The sandy haired woman then punched his face to the ground and began shouting at his fallen form.
"You just said what I said Sentarō and told her not to listen to me?! What kind of corny copycat advice is that?"
while the two were bickering and fighting each other in a cloud of smoke, Ukitake could only sweatdrop at their antics. The fiery red head however had several veins throbbing of the stress they put her under.
In a flash, the two ended their bickering as both were beaten to a pulp while being gagged and tied up by the angry Kushina as she screamed at them,
"Kuso! I'm panicking because my son is late and you're not helping me you know! Just sit still like the Bakas you are and stop whining or else I'll feed you to the eleventh division dogs!"
the firey red head then began to shouting several more profanities while stepping on their hog-tied forms as they cried anime tears and whimpered like puppies while apologising.
The rest of the Gotei thirteen in their seats noticed her antics and sweatdropped. Even Kenpachi felt slightly nervous at the rage the woman showed towards her suboordinates. If the eleventh division captain felt nervousness from her, how much more the other captains around her? She was a scary person to anger. Many took note of this and slid one seat away from her in fright.
After several hours of grueling procession, the time had come for Naruto's appearance at the battle grounds below for his graduation exam. Many people had opted to stay in order to watch the special graduation ceremony for the blonde genius. All have heard of his remarkable performance for the past three years as every teacher stood by the wooden gate awaiting the blonde genius' entrance.
While all were agitated by his lateness, Shūhei Hisagi, the fukutaicho of the ninth division, waited at the center as the referee of the final exam of Naruto. The man had black hair, and a sleeveless version of the hakama to reveal the tatoos on his arms and an obscene number on his left cheek along with his zanpaktou on that side of his body.
It wouldn't be long before he had to declare a forfeit. The young blonde had only ten seconds before he failed the exam of a lifetime.
Kuchiki Byakuya knew how much time the blonde had left and smirked as he said to his fellow companions,
"He only has ten seconds left. I think it's safe to say that…"
before he could continue his pessimistic sentence of defeat, a man seated next to captain Ukitake Jūshirō in a straw hat and a pink flowered haori over his captain's uniform, interrupted him by saying,
"Let's not jump to conclusions just yet. You said it yourself, he's got ten seconds left."
He finished his sentence when he took a bottle of sake next to him and drank it.
Minato and Kushina could only tense up as they wondered where he was at his most important day. It was not like him to be this late. Even Sarutobi knew that he had come a long way from his days at the Chunin exams. Everyone just tensed up as the air grew thick with impatience and people were getting edgy. And to top it all off, Shūhei began the countdown.
"Ten!"
The countdown had begun. Minato then thought to himself,
'Son, I've trained you hard for this day. Please get here on time.'
"Nine!"
The air grew thicker as people begun to riot. Sarutobi began to wonder where Naruto was as he thought,
'Naruto, you better have a good reason to delay yourself for this long. You've had more than enough time to train. Please get here before the crowds get unruly.'
"Eight!"
The air was dense with several killing intents by the onlooking audience as Ikkaku and Yumichika attempted to hold the crowd that was slowly becoming an angry mob.
"Seven!"
As profanities filled the air because of the long wait that the people had to endure, even Kenpachi left his seat and tried to calm down the crowd without resorting to killing seeing as it would be 'less than a buzz kill'.
"Six!"
"Five!"
The counts made the people more agitated as almost all the fukutaicho's of the Gotei thirteen except Hinamori and Kushina who were still on their benches with the captains.
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Two!"
Kushina couldn't take it anymore as she shouted at the top of her lungs,
"NARUTO! GET YOUR LAZY ASS HERE RIGHT THIS INSTANT OR NO RAMEN FOR A YEAR!!!"
And just like paper covers rock, a shadow partially covered the battleground as a tall blonde figure was standing in the highest point of the flagpole of one of the nearby buildings were the sun shined on it back leaving his shadowy imprint on the floor below.
The tall figure then screamed back,
"OKAA-SAN! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE THAT HARSH TO GET ME HERE!"
The sotaicho just smirked at the flashy entrance the blonde made.
Minato, Sarutobi and Kushina just sighed in relief as the young blonde vanished from his place onto the ground behind Shūhei in the crouched position.
As the young blonde slowly got up, the sun shone on his features revealing his long blonde locks of hair and the shine on his hitai-ate as the Konoha symbol was proudly engraved on it. His full battle ready form astounded the now silent crowd as they felt the air of serenity and authority emanate from the blonde as his flaming azure eyes burned brightly.
He then faced the crowd and said,
"Sorry for coming so late! Namikaze Naruto is here for examination!"
Without hesitation, Yamamoto-Genryūsai stood up from his seat for all to see his battle scarred, bald head as the sun shone down on his brow. He then raised his hand and said,
"We've waited long enough! Let the examination of Namikaze Naruto begin!"
The crowd then sat in silence as they sat on the edge of their seats. It was time for the awaited hour.
Shūhei then moved to the side and explained the rules.
"In order for graduate number 1785, Namikaze Naruto, to graduate from the academy, he must take the captain's proficiency test for graduation.
There are three different ways to become a Gotei 13 captain:
1. He must perform bankai in which at least three existing captains, including the sotaicho, have to witness the test.
2. He must have personal recommendations from at least six captains and approval from at least three of the remaining seven.
3. He must defeat a captain one-on-one with at least 200 witnesses from the captain's division.
But due to certain circumstances, he will have to perform all three as part of the examination."
The crowd began to murmur to one another as they all awed at how many trials the blonde had to go through. But Naruto did not flinch. He knew that his father and Sarutobi went through the same process in order to achive their rank. Though it was not as grand as the young blonde had to go through, it was similar in a way to his.
While the crowd was busy gossiping about the blonde's odds, Shūhei then continued his speech.
"Will the proctor please step forward to begin the examination of the graduate."
Everyone looked in wide eyed amazement as they saw the proctor enter the arena from the wooden gates opposite to Naruto. The young blonde was speechless when he saw the proctor stood just meters away from him after exiting the wooden gate. Naruto then shouted,
"You're the proctor…Shiro-chan?"
He said to the white haired teen in front of him. The white haired teen then gazed his emerald eyes into the flaming azure ones of the young blonde. Wasting no time for chatting, Toushiro then said,
"I will be your proctor for this test Naruto. If you can accomplish all three requirements by the end of the match, then you have passed the test and will become of captain level. Anything else you'd like to say before we begin?"
The white haired teen said as he pointed his sword at the smiling blonde. Naruto then chuckled which caught Toushiro's attention as the white haired teen raised an eybrow. The young blonde then finished chuckling and said as he put on a foxy grin.
"Let's make it interesting with a bet. If I win, Not only will I get to become of captain status, but you have to take Momo-chan out after."
Toushiro had a slight blush on his face as did Hinamori. Sarutobi chuckled lightly while the sotaicho made a weak smile. After that brief bashful interlude, Toushiro then said,
"Like you stand a chance agianst me. After what you just said, I'm not holding back."
The young blonde then grinned even wider while steeping himself in a battou stance as he held with his right hand, the hilt and the end of the sheath with his left.
The killing intents ran amok as they challenged each other with the sheer might of their reiatsu. Most of the crowd suffocated with the intensity of the roar that the two beasts gave at each other. Intimidation had no room for these two as the stare down began to fade. When Shūhei regained his composure he then raised his right hand to the sky and said the one word that would begin the battle of a century.
"Hajime!"
Like lightning, they both charged at each other as Toushiro's ice, cold steel met the blazing, hot one of the blonde.
While the crowd awed at the deadlock taking place, Kenpachi smiled the widest smile he could and gladly said,
"So it's begun? Let's see what you got gaki!"
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Naruto's Fight
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The deadlock begun to take effect upon the area surrounding the two teens as steam errupted from the colliding area of the two steels. Naruto slid his sword to his right to shift the balance of power to his favor, all to no avail, as Toushiro did the same move in the opposite direction.
Toushiro began inching his way to Naruto's right while still keeping the pressure. Naruto did the same in the opposite direction as well effectively cancelling the possible counterattack. Naruto then quickly slid his blade downward and quickly shifted to his left side in order to make a side slash only for Toushiro to sidestep to Naruto's left side guarding the attack with the blade point upside down in a high reverse guard.
Toushiro then pushed his blade in a crecent form to his left side effectively parrying Naruto's blade. While still in momentum, he then moved to Naruto's open right and attempted to make a side slash only for Naruto to copy his movement and perform the same counter. Lucky for Toushiro, the wound wasn't deep as he shunpo'd out just in time behind the blonde to give a thrust to the back.
Naruto made a backflip, avoiding the attack, and while in mid-air, pulled a three-pronged kunai with his left hand and gracefully spun his body around to land on top of Toushiro's steel in a feat of agility. Wasting no time, he threw the kunai to Toushiro's left shoulder. It hit dead on as blood trickled from the wound while Naruto leaped forward from his position attempting to decapitate Toushiro's head with a powerful side slash. Toushiro crouched and dashed forward to gain some distance.
When both landed safely on the floor, they quickly spun around and dashed towards each other and once again assaulted as they danced around each other's blade.
As steel met steel, and the clangs of metal rung in the air, the crowd began to yell in excitement. Betting could be heard in the sound mixed background while the entire tenth division stared in awe from their seats at the display of flawless skill that the young blonde and their captain presented at their leasure.
Many shouts were heard from the background as cheering erupted from both, Naruto's supporters and the tenth division rooting for their captain. When they were caught in a deadlock once more, Naruto then brought up his left hand from the grip and made one handed seals. Toshiro, who had first hand experience with Naruto's arcane techniques, shunpo'd out of the way as Naruto pointed his index and middle fingers towards Toshiro and then said,
"Hado number four, byakurai!"
Immediately, Naruto released the bolt of lightning. Toushiro shunpo'd out of the way once more, only for the lightning to dissapear in a spatial distortion and struck the kunai on Toshiro's left shoulder as if it was a lightning rod. The electricity dispersered throughout Toshiro's body leaving the white haired teen panting from the sudden pain.
The crowd was shocked to the bone like Toshiro was except in amazement at how the young blonde was capable of performing such a feat. Sarutobi was one of those as he asked Minato where he learned such a feat.
Minato then replied as he kept his gaze on the battlefield.
"He used the Hiraishin no Jutsu I taught him and then used the special kunai as a lightning rod for the kido spell to home on to."
The ubelieving Sarutobi then said,
"But I thought you can't use jutsu and kido at the same time because of chakra and reiatsu?"
Minato then replied,
"True. Not together in a fusion type techinque that is. But that dosen't mean you can't use them consecutively. He used Hiraishin first when you saw him finish the one handed seals before he postioned his fingers for its release. He then let loose the Hiraishin first and with perfect timing, used the kido attack to pass through the warp in time and space. If he hadn't perfected his chakra and reiatsu control, none of those combo's would be possible."
Komamura, who was hearing Minato's response the whole time then said,
"But to get the exact timing of both techniques so it would move in one fluid motion must have taken years of practice. You've trained your son well Minato."
Minato shook his head and said,
"No. I gave him the information. He did the training with or without help. His will and determination was the most important forces necessary for him to achive such feats of combat."
While the Gotei thirteen captains were still in shock at this turn of events, the shock on Toshiro's body was slowly fading away as he removed the kunai stuck on his left shoulder and attempted to get up, not noticing the incantation of Naruto. It was too late to decipher what he had chanted as he pointed his left hand once again at the white haired teen and said,
"Hado number thirty-three, Sōkatsui!"
Toshiro then jumped up and landed on an invisible flooring in the sky avoiding the flash of blue energy that burned a crater on the ring. Seeing no options left, Toshiro then said,
"Sit upon the frosted heavens, Hyōrinmaru!"
After his command, his zanpaktou gained a crescent-shaped blade attached to the hilt by a chain. He then swung the steel in an arc releasing the ice dragon that slept in the sword, towards the young blonde.
"Shit!"
The young blonde cried as he kept dodging the attacks sent at him that froze the ground it attacked in a wild icicle formation. When he dodged an attack from behind him, Toshiro had already, appeared in front of him attempting to make a diagonal slash to the left. Which Naruto instinctively blocked with his sword.
As the deadlock commenced, Toshiro then said,
"You haven't released your zanpaktou yet. You'd best do so if you want to win."
Naruto then made his foxy grin and said,
"Actually, I was waiting for this to happen so I could do so."
Toshiro's eybrows rose as Naruto slid his left hand out of his two handed grip and touched the back of the center of his blade with his two fingers as he said,
"I release your seal...Kaseikitsune!"
Naruto's zanpaktou then glowed red before the crimson light receded revealing the new form of the steel.
The zanpaktou's guard was a nine-pointed, curved gold star. It's hilt is wrapped in black and red cloth. The butt of the hilt is shaped like a fox's head in silver and the blade is a normal sized katana blade except the blade has serrated teeth to allow cutting with ease. all in all, the sword from hilt to tip, stands four feet, two inches.
The onlooking crowd looked in amazement as they sat at the edge of their seats. The power of the sword could be felt from the entire room as its reiatsu reeked of malice.
Toshiro hardened his gaze until he recognized the crackling energy erupting from the blade. He then leaped back and swung his sword. The white haired teen's ice dragon colided with the blonde's byakurai as Naruto swung his simultaneously.
Both attacks exploded with such force that the icicles scattered around the arena began to crash and melt into water as the bleating sun burned the remains. Toshiro smirked as he gathered the water into a huge ice dragon and sent it at the young blonde. Naruto smirked as well as he put up his sword in a defensive position.
Toshiro then thought to himself,
'He's not seriously going to defend against that?'
The young blonde stood firm and absorbed the cold blow of the ice dragon. However the dragon didn't damage the blonde. Instead, it entered the sword. Toshiro was panicked when he saw this sudden turn of events.
"He absorbed the attack into his sword!"
Kiyone and Sentaro simultaneiously shouted.
Naruto then shunpo'd into the air behind Toshiro and swung the sword down, releasing the imprisoned ice dragon at Toshiro. The white haired teen stood no chance and was hit directly as a smoke of ice and vapor emerged from the arena. Naruto then landed back on the ground and said,
"Kaseikitsune's ability is quick release of kido and elemental attacks without the restrictions of incantations or the damage restriction penalty. It's other ability is to deflect or redirect kido or elemental attacks. I just needed you to launch your strongest attack at me so I could redirect it back at you."
The smiling blonde's words were cut short as the smoke began to clear revealing an unharmed Toshiro in his bankai form.
Toshiro now had ice over his right hand in a dragon's head, and ice on his feet and other hand. Ice wings and tail were frozen on his back along with three purple, four petal ice flowers hovering near his head.
The smile on the blonde's face was wiped clean as Toshiro stepped out of the smoke and said,
"Impressive shikai form. But your forgetting about bankai—a captain's level of power."
Although Naruto's shikai form was impressive and could equal Toshiro's bankai form with enough experience and practice, he knew that it had it's limits. Toshiro had the upper hand on the battle scarred Naruto at this point. If the young blonde wanted to win and graduate at captain's level, he needed to achieve bankai.
Ukitake watched in earnest, the carnage below as Naruto swung his sword left and right, releasing several kido attacks at the flying ice angel. However, the young blonde was heavily fatigued by the constant use of kido attacks, an obvious flaw to his zanpaktou's strength. His mastery of his weapon was exceptional, but his strength had its limits.
Ukitake then asked his fukutaicho,
"Has Naruto achieved bankai yet Kushina?"
The sickly man could see the immense stress the young blonde was under. Kushina then politely but sadly replied,
"I'm afraid not. There was too little time for him to achieve bankai. We trained him with all we knew about the shinigami arts and shinobi arts as well. He himself had to fill the missing gaps. Bankai takes hundreds of years for a normal shinigami to perform. Minato had fifteen years to achieve it and even then had barely made it. Sarutobi was no different as he had only three and still couldn't make it. If it were not only for the recommendations and the special circumstances of the defections, Sarutobi wouldn't be a captain."
Ukitake then bowed his head in defeat as he looked upon the struggling blonde. He then somberly asked,
"Do you think he could make it to bankai now?"
Minato then confidently said,
"Don't, worry Ukitake taicho. He'll make it. I believe in him. You should as well. He has abilities and a potential that not many have. With determination and a strong will, he'll make it. Trust me on this."
Kushina and Sarutobi nodded at this statement as they all looked upon the young blonde.
Naruto wasn't able to keep things up for long as Toshiro managed to freeze his entire body with one shot from his ice dragon. Though Naruto was potentially stronger than Toshiro, he was nowhere near the white haired teen's level of experience.
Seeing the young blonde's frozen state, Toshiro said to the only unfrozen part of his advesaries body, his face.
"Naruto, You're about to fail the exam. Is this the extent of your hard work? You need to work harder than this. I haven't overestimated you, neither have I underestimated you. If you don't achive bankai in the next second, you will lose."
Toshiro then raised his arms for the final attack. He then let loose the ice dragon on the frozen young blonde. The crowd held their breath at the final moments of Naruto's examination.
Naruto was struggling. Even his thoughts clearly showed his struggle as he thought to himself,
'Focus Naruto! Focus! You're not done yet. We need to achieve bankai. Just focus as hard as you can to locate the source like otou-san said…'
Naruto then closed his eyes, and completely ignored the incoming attack of Toshiro. Within a heartbeat, Naruto was in the landscape of his mind.
As Naruto opened his eyes, he saw the cage and sewer-like area he was in. He had been here on so many occasions. Usually when he was here, he, needed energy from the kyuubi to fight off an impossible enemy. But this time, he needed a different kind of power. He needed the power of his zanpaktou.
Naruto then entered the cage and walked forward into a deep darkness. He knew that once kyuubi was in his zanpaktou mode, he couldn't be in this cage. It was rather silent than usual because of the lonely aura that painted the room.
As the young blonde walked through never ending void, he noticed several sparkles that begun to brighten the room. They were stars. Soon a whole universe encompassed the sky. It was beautiful as the shining gems of space created a canvas of glamour among the blackened background.
However, the young blonde could not afford to waste time. He journeyed onward until he reached a human size, ivory balancing scale. On one end of the scale was a ball of fire. On the other where it weighed the most, was a pale gray sphere. In the middle of the scale was an orb that was in the color black with the kanji for man written in white on it. On the foundation of the scale, was an inscription that said,
The mellow moon cannot ignite because it has no bright sun. The bright sun cannot liquify because it has no mellow moon. In order for the flesh of man to merge with the spirit of beast, The man must give up its softness for the beasts hardness. In order for the bright sun to shine brighter, it must change in color. In order for the mellow moon to gain color, it must shine like the bright sun. When four harmonies are together, then true power is awakened.
Naruto thought hard for what seemed like hours. After much headaches and several cursed profanities, the young blonde then screamed,
"AHHHHH! WHAT IN KAMI'S NAME DOES IT TAKE TO RELEASE A STUPID BANKAI!"
The blonde then kicked the scales in frustration. The scales then begun to swing until it stopped back in its original postion.
"That's it!"
Naruto shouted as he realized what it took to gain what he needed. He then continued his sentence as he said to himself,
"The whole riddle is about balance within imbalance. It means that man is the scale balance where the scales are originally set for the moon to weigh the heaviest. If I want to achieve bankai, I must balance it over to the fire side in order for me to achieve a stable merging of man and beast allowing the sun to give color to the moon and vice versa."
The young blonde then unlocked the screw on the moon side of the balance. Immediately, the moon side of the scale swung and folded up with the sun side of the scale. When the two spheres touched each other, the moon became yellowish red and the sun became white.
What seemed like an eternity there, was only miliseconds in the real world as Naruto awakened with flaming cyan eyes. Naruto then quickly shouted,
"BANKAI!"
The ice suddenly melted as Toshiro's attack connected leaving a cloud of vapor. This shocked all the spectators and the young blonde's opponent.
"So it's over just like that. Naruto…I guess you weren't ready yet. This test was insane from the beginning to end. Looks like you'll have to wait another three more years."
The white haired teen said as he closed his eyes in dissapointment.
But then, a familiar cry echoed in front of Toshiro.
"I don't think so Shiro-chan!"
Toshiro's head had veins throbbing all over at the sound of that nickname. When the angry white haired teen opened his eyes to look at what kind of person would give such a remark, he was speechless as he saw the figure in front of him.
As the smoke faded, Naruto appeared in his red fox cloak. His sleeves were shredded revealing eight tatoos of the numbers one to four on his right arm, and the numbers five to eight. The kanji for number one tatooed on his right arm was now glowing redder than the fox cloak as his eyes were now a slitted crimson one and his claws and fangs had grown while his sword was nowhere to be seen.
The crowd was frightened beyond belief at the monstrous sight before them. They thought that Komamura was inhuman, but they were never prepared for this. Not even Naruto's family and friends were prepared for this sudden surge of monstrosity. The very floor that Naruto stood on was melting from the fox cloak's oozing energy while Naruto remained unharmed.
Before Toshiro could react, Naruto had appeared behind him.
'I didn't see him move! So fast!'
The white haired teen thought as his angelic form of ice suddenly collapsed and evanesenced, leaving a falling Toshiro. Naruto then caught the white haired teen as he fell unconscious in his arms.
"Whoops! Can't fall there, that's solid ground. Besides…after you wake up, you're going to pay your end of the bet eh Shiro-chan?"
The young blonde said as his fox cloak dissapeared back into his body.
Kushina was the first to react and shouted at the top of her lungs.
"HE DID IT! MY SON DID IT!"
Several joyous screams were heard ringing in the atmosphere as even Kenpachi and Yachiru were laughing their hearts out. Minato then jumped to his wife's side as he joined in the celebration. Komamura and Sarutobi just smirked at the grinning, young blonde while the rest of the shinigami captains clapped at the grand performance.
Shūhei managed to climb out of the rubble and was about to declare the winner until he saw that there was no need anymore.
'Looks like we have another powerhouse in the Gotei thirteen. Naruto, you're one heck of a guy to pull this off. Things will get interesting with you around.'
The burdened fukutaicho said as he dusted himself off from the rubble.
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After several minutes of cleanup of the arena, the sotaicho and all twelve captains, were assembled at the arena. With a brow full of confidence and a weak smile upon the battle scarred face of the sotaicho, he spoke to the kneeling young blonde.
"As the current commander of the Gotei thirteen, I am here to announce the promotion of a new captain of the ninth division. All those in favor of Namikaze Naruto for captain of the ninth division, kneel before him and me."
Without hesitation, all captains kneeled in accordance with the procession. The sotaicho then smirked a smirk of joy as he then said,
"There is a unanimous decision. Namikaze Naruto, you are herby promoted to ninth division captain upon graduation. Wear your haori proudly."
The young blonde then stood up from his kneeling position as he dawned a sleeveless shihakushō with his zanpaktou strapped to his back and a sleeveless haori over it with the insignia of the ninth division on its back and several kunai holsters strapped to his legs and the leg openings wrapped with black cloth at the ends to prevent unecessary looseness that can hinder movement and tabi boots.
Naruto, with his flaming azure eyes burning brightly, then said,
"I'll be the best captain I can be sotaicho!"
And with that, Naruto graduated the top of his class and attained the rank of captain. Life here in death was better for the blonde than it was in life.
After the graduation exam, Toshiro payed his end of the bet and took Hinamori out as promised. Both were glad and had a splendid time together thanks to the arrangements made by Naruto. In fact, it wasn't long before he managed to hook up his two friends. The two became inseperable after they got engaged.
Many weeks passed and Naruto successfully ran the ninth division to its fullest capacity. His strength and leadership echoed through the ranks. He was an icon among his peers and had become the only well favored captain by the sotaicho himself. Thought at times he went awall due to some messes within the rebuilding government of Soul Society, he was easily pardoned as he had valid reasons for doing so.
Naruto had made a tremendous impact on Soul Society. Even the eleventh division had changed their view of kido based shinigamis due to Naruto 's strength and the strength of his division as a whole.
Times were good until Aizen once again made his move to usher in his final plot out of desperation. The entire Gotei thirteen was stationed at Karakura town as a massive battle took place. Thanks to the combined efforts of Ichigo's team and the ninth, fifth, and third division's advanced guard, Aizen's massive tide of troops slowly became shallow enough for a last attack by the Gotei thirteen.
While the battle in Karakura town raged onward, a blue haired lieutenant came rushing in the office of the sotaicho. When the panting man kneeled down in front of the wise old warrior, he then said,
"Sotaicho! We found Aizen and his remaining Espada along with former taicho Gin Ichimaru and Tousen Kaname at his side."
The wise old warrior had a hardened gaze as he looked in the panting man's eyes. He then asked him,
"Where is Naruto at now?"
The panting man then replied,
"Sir he is currently headed there as we speak to personally join the battle."
As the two men in that office talked about the current battle situation, the young blonde shinigami-shinobi was running through the tunnel leading to the real world.
"Man I should have been there earlier. At this rate casualties will rise faster. I need to get there faster!"
Naruto said to himself as he ran as fast as he could. Kyuubi couldn't help himself except rant at the blonde when he told him,
I hate to tell I told you so, but I did gaki. So quit complianing if you want to get there faster.
"I get it already damn fox! If you just pipe down for a minute, I can sprint us there faster!"
The young blonde said to his zanpaktou strapped behind him. When the kyuubi had calmed down, Naruto began to concentrate chakra on his feet as he felt more chakra empowering him as he got close towards the exit of the tunnel. In matter of seconds he was gliding through the tunnel as the wind underneath his feet pushed him forward. He was literaly skating without weels.
The amused kyuubi then spoke.
Using your wind element so soon?
The young blonde then smirked as he said,
"If I can get there sooner, then I can prevent more disasters from happening. The faster I get there, the less heartaches I can prevent, and the more families I can spare."
He finished his sentence with a sad expression on his face as his flaming azure eyes shone like a flashlight in the darkness of that tunnel. The young blonde's servant could feel the pain of the young blonde as Naruto could remember how Sarutobi had died that day just a week ago.
Flashback
It was a bloody mayhem as Ichigo struck his sword on the final Espada aside from Ulquiorra. Exhausted and beaten, the Hollows managed to retreat from the heavy losses they received while many dead shinigami lay by the riverside.
Among the few survivors of the onslaught, one was mortally wounded. Without aid from Inoue or at the very least, a squad of the fourth dvision, the old man was very close to a second death. His fukutaicho was all that remained with the least amount of wounds. However, her heart was pained with another death of her taicho. The first time FELT real. But this time, it will be and she gets to see it first hand as the man lay in her arms while she flooded his bloody hakama.
Ichigo saw the two still breathing and ran over to them. When he reached the two wounded soldiers, he then said reassuringly,
"Don't worry Sarutobi jiji. We'll get you to a medic soon. You too Hinamori-san. We'll get that broken arm of yours fixed up. I can only do some temporary first aid, but it should help the two of you."
Sarutobi, who was already having difficulties from his wounds then shook his head and said,
"Save your bandages for Hinamori. She has a family to raise after she gets married. I on the other hand need to pass on to the living world. Don't cry Hinamori. Be strong. You stood up to that Arrancar with such bravery and chivalry. You have the makings for a shinigami captain. I pass on the responsibility to you. Lead them well into a brighter future."
Hinamori who was sobbing protested.
"But…I can't do things on my own…I'm not the strongest or cool headed person in the entire division. I don't even know how an insane person like me became a fukutaicho in the first place. Please don't leave us now!"
The sobbing girl said as she cried her heart out. Sarutobi, with the last of his strength, held her hand in a tight grip. The teary eyed young lady looked at the dying man with concern. She knew that time did not permit him anymore to linger as a soul. With his final moments of life left, Sarutobi smiled as he said,
"You're a good, and strong girl Hinamori. Have more faith in yourself just like your fiance does for you. It was worth protecting you and my men for me…so…it should…be…worth…protecting…the…rest…of the…"
He couldn't finish his last words. He had already passed on to the next life. Ichigo then put his hand on Hinamori's shoulder and said,
"Could you finish what he said for you?"
The sobbing girl then wiped her tears and looked at the dead man in her lap with a smile on his face. She then closed his empty eyes and said,
"It should be worth protecting the rest of division for you."
Hinamori said as she laid his arms over his chest and took up the bloody haori and wore it proudly in memory of her taicho.
End of Flashback
Kyuubi could feel the pain that the blonde had gone through. But a feeling of assurance and confidence kept washing it away little by little.
As the young blonde skated forward, he then threw a three pronged kunai towards the exit of the tunnel. When he felt the kunai pass through he then made a final push with the wind that sent him straight to the exit. He then performed the seals necessary for Hiraishin and was about to enter the warp as his thoughts and memories replayed in his head.
'The reason why I'm here is because I want to save my precious people and the precious people of those people. I want to help them and protect them in any way possible. I will not let anything happen like in my old life. I have a new life now and I will make sure that my future and the future of Konoha eventually, become better and brighter than before. The future that Hinata and I should have had…'
The young blonde thought to himself as his eyes ignited into cyan ones and he warped through the tunnel.
Without notice or introduction, while Naruto and Kyuubi were travelling in the warping zone, a voice spoke to Naruto.
"Why don't you make it so you can have it with her?"
The young blonde was shocked to say the least. But he immediately shrugged it off as he shouted to his zanpaktou.
"Oi! Kyuubi! What the hell you talking about?"
The agitated Kyuubi then said,
Naruto…
The young blonde was shocked once again as the Kyuubi never called him by his first name. Something was obviously up and it was very serious. He then listened with intent as his faithful sword spoke once more.
That voice…it wasn't me.
Before Naruto could react to the kitsune's words, the soft but heartfelt voice once again spoke.
"Do you love her? Do you want her back so badly that you would pay any price to have her because she was and still is that precious to you?"
The voice's words struck hard and deep at the depths of Naruto's burning heart. Naruto wanted to know who it was that was speaking to him from this technicolored tunnel. But his desire was too strong for him to deny as he instanly replied to the heartfelt voice with all his might.
"YES! I LOVE HER MORE THAN LIFE OR DEATH! SHE'S THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON TO ME EVEN IF I ONLY GOT TO TRULY KNOW HER THAT DAY SHE DIED. I WOULD DO ANYTHING TO HAVE HER BACK. IF I HAVE TO BEG AT KAMI'S FEET TO DO SO, OR DIVE THE DEPTHS OF HELL TO FIND HER I WILL! BECAUSE….BECAUSE….BECAUSE I LOVE HER THAT MUCH!"
After the young blonde screamed what has been aching in his heart for so long now, he and Kyuubi finally made it out the tunnel.
A blinding white light then flashed both their eyes for a moment before it faded away and they could see were they were.
They were falling into an enormous hall. Kyuubi had somehow reverted back to his wolf sized form as they both collapsed on the marble floor. Thought they, fell on solid ground, they were unhurt.
"My head…which dimension are we in this time Kyuubi?"
Asked the young blonde to his slightly groggy companion. When the firey kitsune had regained his composure, sweat began pouring out of his body as he looked around in nervousness. He then muttered,
Ka…K-K-Ka…this is…
"My place!"
Said a man in majestic blue and white robes as he approached them with a beautiful yet mysteriously charming smile.
He had long flowing black hair and the same flaming azure eyes as Naruto. His face and eyes were genderless as his robes naturally fit his perfect physique. Aside from the beautiful robes of unusually beautiful design, he wore no footwear and was happily skipping like a child towards them.
While Kyuubi was lying down prone in fear of this person, Naruto was blushing at the genderless beauty this person had.
'Who is this guy? Is he even a he? Somehow he dosen't feel like a guy or a girl. He's not gay or she's not gay that's for sure. It's just that, there's something about this person without gender. There's this air of mystery surrounding him and an aura of…holiness coming from this person.'
The young blonde thought as he began to rise up into a kneeling position just in time for the unkown person to stand in front of them. The arcane human then spoke to them,
"It's been quite some time since I last saw you two at Sereitei when you were gazing at the moonlight. You said that you were willing to do anything it takes right?"
The young blonde just naturally nodded. When the arcane human saw his acknowledgement, he then said,
"It's quite amazing what people would do for love. But that's what makes them so interesting. Especially when I come around to aid them in the most mysterious and humanly impossible ways."
Kyuubi could no longer contain himself and said,
Kami-sama! You would be willing to help my master in this matter?!
Naruto then looked at the Kyuubi and then looked at the arcane human. After two more looks at them, he then screamed.
"WHAAAT???!!!"
The arcane human could do nothing else but laugh at the jawdropped expression of the young blonde as saucers had filled his eyes.
Naruto's heart was pure and strong. He had a flaming will that burned so brightly that even Kami himself had taken notice. All that determination and firey will had now paid off as his desire was to be fulfilled by the great Kami-sama. If it was any old desire, Kami would have taken notice. But Kami took notice to his in a completely personal way. The reason was because of the young blonde's pure and loving heart with a will unlike any other…The reason was because…of his….burning desire.
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Yes! Naruto gets personal help from Kami himself. Before you wonder if Kami is a guy or a girl, he is neither because he has no gender. An all powerful and peerless etherial being though he chooses a human form… That is my Kami in the story. And if your wondering when Hinata's coming back, read the last conversation between Kami and Kyuubi again. Hehehe.
Anyway, the next chapters will bring our azure-eyed blonde hero into a beautiful twist of events.
Thank you once again for reading this chapter. Till the next update, Ja ne!
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Kaseikitsune(Fire Born Fox)- The name of the Shikai form of Naruto's zanpaktou. I clearly explained its strength and weaknesses as well as his new bankai form.