Akatsuki Reborn

Hiashi Hyuuga was still in a state of shock; his long dead daughter was standing right in front of him. She wasn't a ghost; he could feel the touch of her skin just as clearly as his own; even her breath held warmth.

"You died so long ago, and yet, you feel so much alive"

Hiashi suddenly jerks his hand away from her, "Did someone bring you back to life? Lady Hokage…"

Hiyori holds out her hand, "Technically I'm still dead, but I'm not a ghost either."

"Yes, Lady Hokage said you're a soul reaper."

He looks in Tsunade's direction for confirmation; she nods slowly…

"But, how is that possible? Soul reapers are responsible for ferrying souls to the afterlife; how did you become one?"

Hiyori smiles, "If you'd like father, I'll tell you my story."

Hiashi nods, this was literally a dream come true for him. He had always dreamt of meeting his daughter someday in the afterlife, and what they would talk about. Now that the opportunity was unexpectedly here, he wasn't about to let his anxiety get the better of him.

He takes a seat beside Hiyori, as she starts her story from the beginning…

"I don't remember much of anything from when I was alive, except the soul reapers that sent my soul to the afterlife. When I arrived in the afterlife, I had nothing on me except for this…"

Hiyori holds up the shawl in front of her…

"I was alone… I had no parents, no siblings, no one to care for me."

Hiyori quickly explains the concept of the afterlife, the Soul Society, and the different districts. Tsunade and Hiashi remain silent, not saying anything…

"The district I was sent to was quite poor, and violence was everywhere. I was rescued from the streets by an elderly man who took me in, and gave me shelter."

She explains the concepts of eating and drinking, spirit energy, and the cycle of reincarnation…

"The old man passed away my second year in the afterlife, and I found myself back on the streets. Life… was tough… in order to survive, I joined a gang of street children; having spirit energy, I was constantly hungry so I had to steal to feed myself."

Hiashi was appalled, though he kept his emotions in check and remained silent. The very thought of his child, as a baby, having to fend for herself, reducing herself to a petty criminal made him angry. Even though he himself was a practitioner of tough love; he always gave his children a fighting chance, even if they didn't deserve it…

"I had been in the afterlife only 3 years before I saw my first murder; the adults around us were cruel and heartless, they would even kill children if they found enough reason too. Many of children I knew had either run away, or were killed, and I was left alone once more."

Tsunade found the girl's story hard to stomach; if the girl had been sent to Heaven when she died, she didn't even want to imagine what Hell must be like…

"It was the end of that year that I encountered them…"

Hiyori smiles, remembering fondly her first meeting with Kenpachi and Yachiru; Yachiru had still been a little kid, and Kenpachi the captain of the 11th Division. Kenpachi had been intrigued when she was able to stand next to him, unaffected by his spiritual pressure...

"I was rescued by two powerful soul reapers; The Captain of the 11th Division Kenpachi Zarachi and his Lieutenant, Yachiru Kusajishi. They took me back to the Soul Society, where I was entered into the Soul Reaper Academy by the end of the year."

Hiyori explains that it was at the Academy that she had been trained to become a soul reaper…

"I was the youngest student in the Academy in over a hundred years; they called me a child prodigy. I was stronger than the other students, despite having average grades; I guess my power just came naturally to me. I graduated two years early, and was placed in the Soul Reaper Reserve Unit of the 11th Division. A year later I was promoted to the 7th seat of the division where I remained until just recently when I was transferred, and promoted to Lieutenant of the 5th Division."

Hiashi smiles, 'A child prodigy…'

He can't help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride. Hiyori was supposed to be the true heir to the Hyuuga clan, but her death had passed that destiny onto Hinata instead. He couldn't help but wonder how different things might have been had she lived…

'Even in death, you were spectacular.'

Even Tsunade was thoroughly impressed; other than Naruto, she had never encountered a child that had developed such amazing powers and authority over their peers in a short amount of time…

Hiashi speaks for the first time, "I'm curious, surely you have some other sort of surrogate family that raised you?"

Hiyori frowns, "Unfortunately no; I never knew what it was like to have a mother or father. The members of my division were always the ones who looked after me, and kept me out of trouble. Captain Kenpachi was killed during the Soul Reaper Wars, and Yachiru was promoted in his place. I've always considered her to be my older sister, and as far as I'm concerned, we're family."

Hiashi folds his arms solemnly, "It must have been difficult for you growing up without any parents."

Tsunade speaks, "One thing I am curious about, how did you come to find out about your Hyuuga heritage?"

Hiyori smiles, "One of my good friends is the Lieutenant of the 12th Division, which forms the center of the Department of Research and Development. Their computers hold information on just about everything in the world of the living."

Tsunade suddenly feels ill, remembering her vast gambling debts, 'E-everything? I regret ever asking…'

Hiashi stands, the girl's story was incredible; and while he had no problem buying into it because he was her father, he was beginning to fear what the rest of the clan was going to do if he brought the girl back to the compound. He needed to talk to the Hokage about what to do with the girl.

"Hiyori, I hate to ask, but I need to talk with the Hokage in private…"

Hiyori holds up her hand, "I understand, this must be hard for you. It's not everyday that you have a dead child show up on your doorstep."

She turns to leave, "I'm going to set up a perimeter around the village."

"What kind of perimeter?" asks Tsunade

"A hollow protection perimeter, a soul reaper can't be too careful; even on vacation."

She turns, disappearing through the ceiling, Tsunade shudders, 'Ghost or not, I don't think I'm going to get used to that anytime soon.'

Hiashi turns to face the Hokage, she sighs, already knowing what he was going to say. She holds up her hand to stop him, "I know what you're going to say, Hiashi, you're worried about what the other members of the clan might do if they found out about her."

Hiashi nods, "I can't leave her here; I'll have to take her back with me at some point."

"We could lie; say she's a member of one of your branch families…"

"That will never work," he interrupts, "The clan elders would get suspicious, most of them know the secret of Hiyori's lineage; many of them were present when my wife and I announced her birth."

Tsunade frowns, "This is going to be harder than I thought. There has to be a way to convince the Hyuuga Clan Elders to not only buy into our story, but to keep Hiyori's identity a secret from the rest of the village."

The two remain silent, until the answer hits them like an unpleasant slap to the face. Hiashi groans, he knew what had to be done…

Tsunade sighs, "Regretfully, I think it may be the only method that will cause us the least amount of grief in the long run."

Their plan was to reveal Hiyori's identity as a soul reaper to the clan elders, then force the clan to go along with whatever story they made up for her.

"We need to think of a back-story for her, something we can tell the rest of the village."

While it worked in their favor that many of the ninja in Hinata's generation had no clue that she had a twin sister; however, a few of the ninja from Hiashi's generation were aware of this fact. Their back-story had to erase any ties this Hiyori might have to the one that died 17 years ago.

Hiashi sighs, the plan he had in mind would work, but it was sure to bring shame to the clan. They did not have allot of options at this point…

"I have a plan for a back-story, Lady Hogake…"

"…If anyone is to ask, she is Lady Hinata's older stepsister… the product of a failed relationship before I met my wife."

Tsunade was stunned, "The Clan Elders will never agree to submit to that; you'll risk shaming your entire clan."

"If we reveal Lady Hiyori's true identity to them, they won't have a choice; they'll be backed into a corner. Let them be angry if they wish… I can handle the Clan Elders, it's better than her presence potentially causing a panic amongst the villagers."

Tsunade nods, "I'll have to accompany you; and since most of the members of your clan are aware of Hiyori's past, they shouldn't be hard to convince."

With that issue out of the way, the pair tackles one more problem… Hiyori's body. Tsunade's Jutsu would allow the girl to be seen as a soul reaper, but the technique was too taxing to be used for long periods of time.

Tsuande points to the lifeless body still sitting on the floor, "I was told it was called a gigai; an artificial body of some sorts."

Hiashi examines the body with his byakugan, it looks exactly like Hiyori, but it lacks any chakra. It had the same characteristics as a human corpse.

"I was given a special glove that will allow me to wretch Hiyori's soul from her body… apparently I'm the only one who can use it."

Hiashi nods, as Hiyori suddenly appears through the ceiling, the sudden change in pressure steals Tsunade's breath away. She shoots a glare at the girl…

Hiyori returns to her gigai, as her father explains the situation to her…

"I'm going to take you home to the compound in the morning, you'll finally be reunited with the family you never had."

Hiyori was ecstatic; she couldn't wait…

Dawn came surprisingly quickly that morning. Hiashi has stayed the night in the Hokage tower, part of it was spent getting to know his estranged daughter, another part was spent with Lady Tsunade trying to come up with some sort of plan to conceal Hiyori's identity, the last was spent worrying about how his clan was going to react to the news.

'They'll react the same way I did, they'll panic until the Hokage and I can convince them that everything's fine. The Hyuuga's are a sensible clan, and the elders are aware of Hiyori and her passing… they should be able to accept her the way I did.'

An ANBU member was called to summon the Hyuuga Council together before Hiashi and the Hokage were to arrive. With Hiyori back in her gigai, and Tsunade leaving her office in Shizune's care, the trio departs for the Hyuuga Compound.

Despite being it being mid morning on a weekend; the streets were still busy, as civilians and ninja's scrambled back and forth. Hiyori was amazed at everything she saw, taking in the village in its entire spender.

"I still can't get over how cool this place is, I would have done some sight seeing earlier, but we were attacked before I could do anything."

Hiashi smiles, "Maybe later after we clear up this ordeal, I'll take you to see the monuments."

"I'd like that; though I am aware of what's going on, I managed to catch the last part of your conversation with the Hokage."

Hiashi raises his eyebrows, as Tsunade frowns; Hiyori continues, "You're worried about the rest of the family… my family… what they'll think of me… I won't blame them."

Hiashi quickly counters, "Nonsense! The Hyuuga's are a sensible clan; they may be startled at first, but they'll eventually accept you. After all, you were to be the next head of the clan before you passed."

Hiyori was stunned, "Really? You never told me that. In fact, there's allot you haven't told me, I was the one doing most of the talking back in the tower."

"What would you like to know?"

"Well, I always wanted to meet my mother, and any siblings I might have. I already have several brothers and sisters, but none of them are related by blood."

Hiashi was silent for a moment, "My wife… your mother… passed away years ago."

Hiyori was disappointed, there was so much she wanted to ask her; and even if her soul had been sent to the Soul Society, it would be nearly impossible to find her again.

"I'm sorry; however, you were not the only child we had before she passed."

"Really?"

"I have two other daughters, Lady Hinata and Lady Hanabi. Hanabi is my youngest, five years your junior, and Hinata… is your identical twin sister…"

Hiyori was stunned, 'Twin sister?'

Suddenly she begins to laugh, catching the adults off guard, "A twin sister, huh? So there really is another me running around here after all. No wonder we were caught so quickly."

Hiashi coughs, "Well Lady Hinata isn't exactly like you Hiyori…"

He had tried using proper honorifics when addressing her, but she had made it clear just to call her Hiyori, as Lieutenant Hiyori was proper in her case.

"…you're audacious and outgoing… and Lady Hinata is…well, timid and shy."

She laughs, "At least it'll be easy to tell us apart."

Fifteen minutes later, the trio arrives at the front of the compound, Hiyori stares, awestruck at the massive size of the building. Even Byakuya Kuchiki might have been slightly envious.

"This is your home?"

Hiashi nods, while Tsunade begins to laugh, 'This girl's like a kid in a candy store here.'

Waiting for them inside is the Hyuuga Clan Council. The council is composed of the Elders of the Main Household, as well as several representatives of the Branch Families; among them is recently appointed Neji Hyuuga. Lady Hinata and Lady Hanabi were also present, which was weird considering that neither were members of the Council.

Hiashi enters the chamber first, followed by the Hokage. An elder from the main household was the first to speak.

"Hiashi, what is the Hokage doing here?"

The Hokage's presence was starting to worry a few of the councilmen; the Council hasn't been called together in months, since before Pain's Invasion. What could be so important that the Hokage had to show up as well?

Hiashi clears his throat, "Thank you all for meeting here in such short notice; I will be blunt, we have a situation on our hands, one that will affect this entire clan."

Most of the Council reminded silent, apart from a few murmurs; Neji was the first to speak, "Lord Hiashi, what's going on?"

"We should just get this over with," Tsunade whispers to Hiashi, he points to the door behind them.

"You may enter now."

Hiyori was told to stay behind the door out in the hallway until she was called; she stands, walks over, and opens the door. The room was silent; Hiyori looks around nervously, feeling the eyes of everyone around her boring into her. She smiles sheepishly…

Several of the Hyuuga Elders immediately began voicing their discomfort…

"Hiashi, is this a joke?"

"This has to be some sort of genjutsu," said another.

"Or a henge…"

It wasn't possible for there to be two Hinata's, unless someone was playing a nasty joke; and Hiashi wasn't the type of person to joke around with something like this, considering the tragedy that befell the main household all those years ago.

Neji was the first to try a proactive approach, Hiyori watches the boy run through a series of hand signs, as he activates his Byakugan. His eyes became brighter, as a series of deep veins appeared on the sides of his face around his temples.

Hiyori was amazed, 'So that's the Byakugan…'

Many of the other council members follow, activating their Byakugan's as well. The girl wasn't under any sort of henge as far as any of them could tell, and Neji couldn't see any signs of a genjutsu present.

He nudges Hinata on his right, and whispers "Lady Hinata, what's going on?"

Hinata has remained silent, as soon as the girl entered the room; she could tell right away that that something wasn't right. Small beads of sweat were beginning to form at the top of her forehead. Both Neji and her little sister were starting to worry…

"I-I'm not sure who she is… but, I don't think she's supposed to be me."

Neji's eyes widen; he quickly checks the girl's chakra, and is astonished by what he finds.

"Her chakra… it's no higher than an ordinary civilian's."

Even though first impressions might be deceiving, Hinata possesses the deepest chakra reserves of any female of her generation in the village; more than both Sakura and Temari from the Sand. And even though she did not have the rank, Hinata was now as powerful as a jonin level ninja.

But this girl, this look-a-like, possessed chakra levels that were even lower then those of an Academy Student's. Hinata was right; whomever this girl was supposed to be, it definitely wasn't her. Looking around, he comes to the realization that many of the others have figured out the same thing.

"Alright, Hiashi, you have our attention, who is this girl? Very clearly she isn't masquerading as Lady Hinata."

Hiashi was grinning from ear to ear; an uncharacteristic display from the normally stern clan head.

"Go on, introduce yourself…"

Looking around the room, Hiyori quickly locks eyes with her twin. The girl's Byakugan was still active, and it was starting to make Hiyori nervous. It was as if the girl could see right through her gigai and into her soul. Could she know? It was possible… they were twins after all.

She smiles, "My name is Hiyori Hyuuga…It's a pleasure to finally meet all of you."

The room was silent, Neji did a double take, 'Who? I've never heard of a Hiyori Hyuuga before.'

He turns to Hinata again, but is startled to see the girl with her Byakugan activated, she looks as white as a sheet, and her eyes were wide in terror. Around the room several of the Elders begin to chuckle, as a raucous laughter suddenly fills the room.

"Surely you must be joking, Hiashi!" cried one of the elders.

"Hiyori Hyuuga? Impossible, she's been dead for almost twenty years!"

Hiashi quickly shoots the perpetrators a look to kill, "How dare you! How dare any of you! Do you really think I would joke about something like this? The greatest tragedy ever to befall this family?"

"Greatest tragedy…" Neji was shocked, and slightly appalled, 'even worse then the day my father died?'

"If this girl is whom she claims to be; then prove it" said one of the Elders with a smirk on his face.

Tsunade smiles and steps forward, "How many of you are familiar with the Spiritualist Medium Jutsu?"

A few of the members nodded reluctantly, while Neji, Hinata, and Hanabu stared on, dumbstruck.

"What jutsu are you talking about, Lady Tsunade?" asked Neji.

"Of course, you kids wouldn't know about it; you're too young. It's a genjutsu that I created that was used primarily during the Second Great Ninja War, and in the conflict against the Stone Village. I had the Third mark it as a forbidden jutsu after Orochimaru used it to bring the dead back to life."

Tsunade explains the situation, and orders everyone to use the technique as a genjutsu on themselves. The Council reluctantly agrees, but soon everyone in the room is under the effects of the technique. Tsunade uses the glove, and frees Hiyori soul from her body like she did in the tower.

The entire Council watches with wide eyes, as Hiyori's gigai falls away, leaving her soul reaper form in its place. Hiashi and Tsunade look on without a care as every single eye in the room is now fixed on the girl.

"W-what the hell is she?"

"She's a ghost! This jutsu gives the user the power to see the dead!"

Hiashi chuckles, 'Their reaction is just what I expected.'

Hiyori reintroduces herself, "My name really is Hiyori Hyuuga, and I am a member of this clan. I'm not a ghost… I'm a soul reaper…"

Hiashi quickly intervenes, "Now before any of you make a big deal out of this, let me make things perfectly clear… she's not here to harm any of us, or anyone in this village. She's here because she wanted to meet her real family, the family that she never had."

The entire Council was silent, trying to process the scene in front of them, as well as the words from their leader. Whether any of them felt this to be nonsense or not, both the leader of their clan, and the leader of their village seemed to be on board with the girl's story. There wasn't any other choice but to trust the girl for now…

"Excuse me, but who is this girl exactly?" Neji asks, he was still confused, and Hinata did not look to be in a talking mood.

"You're father never told you about her?" Hiashi frowns, surely his brother would have told the boy about her before he died.

Neji shakes his head; Hiashi continues, "She's my daughter, Lady Hinata's twin sister, who died 17 years ago. She was the true heir to this clan…"

Neji gasps, and quickly shoots a glace at Hinata; the girl was still, and her face was bowed. Inside, she was losing a battle with her inner emotions, she wasn't happy…

Several of the Hyuuga Elders begin to voice their opinions, and just as Hiashi predicted, they were starting to accept the girl as one of their own.

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to believe this story or not, but the girls got the support of Lord Hiashi, and the Lady Hokage."

"I was present on the day Lady Hiyori was born; and if it really is you appearing to us again from beyond the grave, then this truly is a miracle!"

Neji was dumbfounded, by all logic he was starring at a dead woman; and not just any dead woman, but Lady Hinata's twin sister, the true next head of the clan. Suddenly he begins to feel like a huge asshole, not only for the way he acted as a kid, but also for a certain incident that happened years ago at the Chunin Exams.

'All this time, Lady Hinata… you were just like me… trying to defy a destiny that you couldn't escape…'

The noise in the room is suddenly drowned out by the sounds of mournful sobs. Eventually, all eyes made their way to the far side of the room; Hinata was crying. Her tears weren't of happiness or joy, but of anguish. Silently she stands, and runs out of the room.

"Wait! Hinata!..."

Hiashi tries to stop her, but Hiyori stops him. This was about her, and she knew it. From the moment she had walked into the room, that girl had stared at her with eyes that held nothing but loathing.

"No, father…I'll go after her…"

Hiyori runs after her, disappearing straight through the wall, much to the shock of many of the Council members. She follows the sounds of sobbing to a room in the rear of the house, where Hinata has barricaded herself in her room. In her grief, Hinata has forgotten to cancel Tsunade's technique; so when Hiyori suddenly appears right through the wall, it nearly gives her a heart attack.

"What are you doing here? You're the last person I'd like to see right now!"

Hiyori was right, this was about her, "What's with the hostility? I'm not sure what I did, but I'd like to help."

Hinata wipes away her tears," It's not what you did; it's what you didn't do, though I suppose I have no right to blame you."

"Do you want to talk about it? I know we don't exactly know each other very well, but I have been told that I am a good listener."

She sits down on the bed beside her twin, as Hinata decides to start from the beginning.

"You were born first, so by right, that made you the next head of the clan. When you died that destiny was passed onto me. I've spent my entire life fighting that destiny, until recently. And now I find out that the one thing in life I desire might not happen."

"What's that?"

"I am in love with a man named Naruto Uzumaki; even though he's still young, he's one of the strongest ninja in this village, and the next Hokage for sure. Besides his strength, he has an amazing heart, and his compassion is limitless. When I was I child, I had little self confidence, and I was depressed all the time. But watching him through his trials and hardships gave me the strength to push myself; to better myself. Naruto was the reason why I accepted this destiny. Only recently did I find out that a marriage between us wouldn't ever be possible. There are certain… practices in this clan that Naruto doesn't like, and as the Hokage, he will surely try and change them. My father and many of the elders want to preserve our laws at any cost; even that means keeping me from marrying Naruto."

Hiyori was silent for a moment. Love was a messy and complicated subject that she wasn't going to worry about for another hundred years or so; however, humans did not have the life span of soul reapers, so she could easily see why Hinata was so upset.

"Are you sure this Naruto Uzumaki feels the same way about you?"

Hinata nods, "Naruto had a rough and violent childhood. He grew up with allot of naivety towards social relations; after I revealed my feelings to him, risked my life for him, and nearly died protecting him, he saw what was really in my heart. We aren't dating, because of the war, but he made me a promise that he'd take me out for a proper date."

"Have you talked to father about this?"

"Yes, and the Council several times, they're all against it. I guess when I saw you alive; it opened up so many wounds and I couldn't control myself. I feel that if you were the head of the clan, I could marry Naruto."

Hiyori quickly holds up her hands, "Well technically, I'm still dead. And I didn't come back here to lead anyone; just to visit the family I never had growing up. I have my own responsibilities and obligations."

Hinata seemed crushed, "…Oh…"

"However, if you'd like, maybe I could have a talk with your father and the Council for you?"

"What could you possibly do? Not even Lady Tsunade could change their minds."

Hiyori scoffs, "I'm a soul reaper, and a powerful one at that. I could threaten to kill them and send their souls to the Underworld if I wanted to, and my superiors wouldn't even bat an eye if I did."

Hinata quickly pales, "I… d-didn't need to know that."

She laughs, "I'm sure everything will work itself out, for a human, you're still young; you've still got plenty of time to sort out this love business."

Hinata cracks a smile, "Thank you… for listening."

Hiyori smiles, "No problem, that's what big sisters are for."

To the North of Fire Country, just beyond the Valley of the End, wedged in between the Countries of Waterfall and Sound, lies an unexplored and dangerous land protected by a treacherous mountain range. It is here that the remaining Akatsuki members lay low; gathering strength to crush their enemies.

Madara's treacherous plan was coming into fruition; his desire to rule the world as its king. He would have no equals, and society as a whole would be beckon to his every whim. His enemies where stronger than he realized, and the birth of a ninja alliance against him was quite unsettling…

To make matters worse, his list of allies were growing thin; most of the Akatsuki were dead, and Konan has defected. The only members left were Kisame and Zetsu; and both were out on missions. Then there was the boy, his ancestor Sasuke Uchiha…

…Madara manipulated the boy's natural desire for power and greed, and used his emotions to mold and shape him into the perfect weapon. The boy's strength has surpassed all of his expectations; by his guess Sasuke was even stronger than Nagato now.

The operation to fuse Itachi's eyes to the boy's was a success; Sasuke was now the second member of the Uchiha Clan to possess the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. However; Sasuke was quickly becoming cold and ruthless, and Madara feared the boy losing his sanity. He was hard enough to control already…

About a month ago, Madara was approached by a strange man who was clearly not of the living. The Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan allowed him to see things that no regular human should. His Sharingan allowed him to see the spirits from the afterlife; as well as the agents of death themselves…

It was one of these soul reapers that approached him with a proposition; he wanted to use the power of the Ten Tails to forcefully subdue his enemies. The monstrous creature was supposedly so powerful that no one, not from the living or the dead, could possibly stand against it.

The soul reapers name was Sosuke Aizen, a former captain of the Soul Society who led a war against his allies in a attempt to overthrow the king of the afterlife… he lost, and his main source of power was crippled in the process. Aizen claimed no interest in the world of the living, because he was not a living entity; therefore, a formal alliance between the two men was easier for Madara to accept.

The two men were after the exact same goals and desires but in two different worlds, and both were planning to use the same method to obtain ultimate power. As unoriginal as their plan sounded, the two worked out an agreement to split the powers of the Ten Tails in an even share…

In order for the plan to work, Madara and Aizen needed the power of the Eight Tailed Ox and the Nine Tailed Fox. Akatsuki had already captured the other seven, and Madara was ready to use them in battle, if need be.

Aizen supplies his own army of hollows which was ready at moments notice. Many of those hollows were, in fact, dead ninja whose spirits had been intercepted and forcefully turned into hollows. Knowing this action was likely to alert the Soul Society to the area, Aizen was careful to take his own precautions and hid his army in Hueco Mundo; and his soul in an untraceable gigai that he personally designed.

He was confident that the Soul Society would choose not to interfere with the ninja conflict; and once the Ten Tails was successfully summoned, it would be too late for any of them to do anything to stop it.

Madara sits with Aizen at their meeting place like they do every morning, the next stage of their plan called for the termination of the 5 Great Ninja Villages. With the Soul Society looking the other way, Aizen's hollow army could easily crush the ninja's.

With Kisame Hoshigaki on a mission to capture the 8 Tails, that left the Leaf Village the prime victim of this assault. Even though the hougyoku was damaged, and no longer served any use to him as an offensive weapon, Aizen found that he could still create new arrancar's.

Thus the Neo-Espada were born; four of them, born from the strongest menos Aizen could find. Regretfully, these Neo- Espada weren't nearly as powerful as the previous Espada. By his guess, he'd say the strongest member of his Neo- Espada had the strength equivalent of Ulquiorra Cifer's.

A knock on the door interrupts them; it was Neo- Espada 03, Rena Tesla. She was a tall, well- endowed beauty with long blond hair, with a heavy French accent.

She bows, "My lords, we have an intruder…he wishes to speak with both of you."

They stand, and follow the woman outside. Madara and Aizen were both cunning and devious; however, both were completely unaware of a third party that wanted a piece of their power. Madara narrows his eye at the man he sees before him, while Aizen stands off to the side with the girl behind him.

"Kabuto…"

"You know this boy, Madara?" asks Aizen.

"He's one of Orochimaru's subordinates; however, last I heard he was dead. How unfortunate..."

Kabuto grins, "It was Sasuke's doing; I managed to absorb a piece of him into my body. I too, am now curious to learn the secrets of life."

"Why are you here, exactly?"

Madara did not trust Kabuto at all; not after learning of his treachery involving Sasori.

"I'm here to offer a truce; I will lend you the might of the Hidden Sound…"

"…But in exchange for what?" Madara wasn't a fool, and he had a pretty good idea of what Kabuto wanted. Kabuto turns, and locks eyes with Aizen.

"You're Sosuke Aizen, aren't you?"

Aizen was slightly taken aback, "You know who I am?"

Kabuto laughs, "I've met more than my share of soul reapers, and apparently you're a wanted criminal in the afterlife. I was told a rumor that you possess a very special device, the hougyoku, I was told it was called."

Aizen's eyes widen, how did he know about the hougyoku? Had the Soul Society infiltrated this land further than he thought?

"That's correct, I do possess a device called the hougyoku; however, it's not exactly in good working order right now, so I doubt you'd want it."

Kabuto smirks, "In exchange for helping the two of you obtain ultimate power, I want the hougyoku, as well as Sasuke's Sharingan."

He quickly flashes several hands signs, "Here is a token of my good faith, Summoning Jutsu: Impure World Resurrection!"

Madara and Aizen watch in fascination as five caskets rise from the ground, they open, and out pop Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, Sasori, and Nagato.

"Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, Sasori, and Nagato? That's quite an impressive line up…"

Aizen was impressed, 'The ability to raise numerous souls from the dead, with their powers and abilities perfectly intact; no soul reaper would be capable of doing that.'

"Your power is amazing Kabuto, you are far stronger than I ever could have guessed…" said Madara.

"…However, I am not ready to except an alliance from you."

Kabuto frowns, he was hoping it wouldn't have to come to this, 'Damn you, old man.'

"I'm not giving you a choice, Madara" he replied coldly.

"And what would you do if I refused?"

Aizen subconsciously reaches for his sword, 'This could get messy…'

Kabuto smiles, and quickly summons a sixth coffin, stopping both Aizen and Madara dead in their tracks. Kabuto doesn't open the coffin; instead, he illuminates a design pattern on the front of the door.

Aizen pales, the boy had managed to do in half a second, what it took nearly the entire Soul Society to do… and that was to back him into a corner.

'I can't afford to part with the hougyoku; but it looks like I don't have a choice,'

Madara was pissed, even though his mask hid his emotions. The design on the coffin was eerily reminiscent of the necklace worn by the Sage of the Six Paths.

'This kid! God Damn him!'

Madara closes his eye, "Very well Kabuto, we accept your proposal."

"We will also agree to your demands, but only after the war is over" said Aizen.

Kabuto smiles, "Very well gentlemen…"

Madara leads the newly resurrected Akatsuki in the base, as Aizen turns to the woman beside him.

"That was quite a show, wasn't it sir? You're not really going to give him the hougyoku are you?"

"Of course not, but at this point I must agree to his demands. You have your own mission, Rena. Do not disappoint me."

She bows, "Of course not, Lord Aizen."