Chapter 1: Valley of The End

Madara Uchiha froze, stunned, as Hashirama's blade erupted from his chest. He crumpled to his knees, the life draining from his body as he grasped weakly at the metal that had pierced his heart.

So he still had enough chakra left for a wood clone…? Damned monster.

As his vision began to dim, he gathered what little breath remained. "You've changed, Hashirama," he gasped, his voice barely a whisper. "Your misguided priorities... will one day lead the village to ruin."

Hashirama remained silent, his face a mask of sorrow as he watched his former friend and rival succumb to the wound. He held onto his sword as Madara's body grew heavy upon it, the last of his strength fading away. The Uchiha's eyes, once glowing with the power of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, now stared blankly into the distance, their light extinguished. They had remained wide open in defiance until the end.

The Hokage released his sword, then, letting it fall with Madara as his old friend's corpse collapsed to his side. The Uchiha's hands were still clasped around the blade in his chest.

Hashirama did not retrieve his blade. No, that sword had too many memories attached to it. It had tasted the blood and dreams of countless Shinobi throughout their decades-long civil war, and was now forever stained with the life of his dearest friend.

It was a relic of a bygone era, a painful reminder of the conflict that had torn them apart. Such a weapon had no place in the peaceful future he envisioned for the village; the village hidden in the leaves, that they'd both fought so hard to create.

The Hokage turned, staggering back towards Konoha as he ruminated on just how gruesome this fight had been.

An ugly scar had been torn into the earth. Huge swaths of the once vibrant forest around Konoha was gone, replaced by a deep valley still lined with the glowing magma of charred rock. Each breath he took brought with it the thick scent of burnt wood. It was a testament to the destructive power they had unleashed upon each other.

Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed, as a rain began to fill the fissures in the newly created valley. As Hashirama trudged across the desolate landscape, the rain grew into a torrential downpour, as if the heavens themselves wept for the fallen Uchiha.

"Where... did it all go wrong, Madara?" Hashirama whispered hoarsely, barely audible above the raging storm. His eyes stung with unshed tears and his heart ached from what he'd been forced to do, but he suppressed his grief. He had done what he needed to do for the sake of the village.

He had to stay strong, for the sake of the village, and for the sake of the dream he and Madara had both once shared.

He would not mourn Madara's death. Instead, he would celebrate the Uchiha's life, his passion, and his unwavering love for what he believed in. He would honor Madara by marking his death as a milestone in Konoha's path towards peace and prosperity.

A bittersweet smile touched Hashirama's lips as he looked towards the horizon. In a way, Madara's death had brought closure to their clashing ideals. Finally, without Madara's objections in the way, the Senju's method of peace was becoming a true possibility.

This was the beginning of a new Shinobi era.

Sometime Later

Madara awoke in a haze.

His senses felt dull and disoriented. He tried to rise, but found himself already standing. His hair and skin felt dry despite the rain that fell around him.

Confused, his brow creased in a frown as he took a hesitant step forward. The soft, wet mud did not yield an inch beneath his weight.

There was a chilling numbness in his limbs, too; a disconcerting lightness that felt alien to his warrior's frame.

Strange... He thought, looking around him as he clenched and unclenched his fists experimentally. He wiggled his toes inside his shoes, and the sensation was there as expected. He still had control over his body.

Then, the memories of his final clash with Hashirama flooded back, and a torrent of rage and disbelief surged through him. "Hashirama... the fool..." He snarled, taken aback when his voice emerged as a raspy echo of its former, rumbling bass.

His eyes scanned the desolate battlefield, then, falling upon a familiar sight - his own broken body, still impaled by Hashirama's sword.

A cold dread settled in the pit of his stomach as he reached out to touch the hilt, his spectral hand passing through the solid steel as if it were a mere illusion. A rattling sound drew his attention to his chest, where a thick chain, adorned with a hexagonal plate, hung from his torso.

Panic welled up within him as he tugged at the chain instinctively. A jolt of pain wracked his body and he grunted at the unexpected intensity of it.

No… He thought. He yanked at it again more forcefully, bracing for the pain, except this time it was infinitely more visceral. It was unlike anything he had felt before - a searing agony that pierced his soul more deeply than even Hashirama's blade.

"No... this cannot be!" He roared, his voice reverberating through the desolate valley. "I used Izanagi! I cannot be dead!"

He frowned, then. Did he use Izanagi? The thought had definitely been at the forefront of his mind, but he couldn't remember explicitly activating the jutsu.

He desperately activated his Sharingan, but the familiar swell of chakra in his eyes remained dormant, and nothing changed in his vision.

He kicked the ground in frustration, but his feet passed through the mud unimpeded. The truth was undeniable now, settling over him like a grim shroud.

He was dead, and his soul could not interact with the physical world. His body may as well be a hollow shell.

Horror and despair consumed him, his vision blurring as the chain on his chest writhed and contorted, metallic teeth gnashing hungrily as it consumed itself. A blinding pain erupted from within his soul, its white-hot agony threatening to shatter the very essence of his being.

As his consciousness slipped away for the second time that day, a spectral, white liquid oozed from the chain, enveloping him in a cocoon of otherworldly energy.

Elsewhere, an unseated Shinigami from the 10th division was patrolling the Elemental Nations. He perked up and narrowed his eyes as he sensed the unmistakable pressure of a Hollow's reiatsu. It felt incredibly unstable - likely a newborn - but strong enough to warrant taking it seriously.

Hollows had become quite common in the last few decades here in the Elemental Nations, as the constant wars left many dead with lingering regret and attachments.

Takomi was one of the Shinigami in charge of patrolling and performing konso on pluses and purifying Hollows in the Land of Fire.

He cautiously scoped out the Hollow's reiatsu. He had honestly not been very diligent in his duties since he was assigned here. As one of a very exclusive group of lower-seated officers who had awakened a Shikai, Takomi felt that it was beneath him to actively hunt and purify regular Hollows.

None that he had encountered so far had given him any significant trouble.

This one was different, however - it was much stronger than what he was accustomed to fighting. Plus, he would never hear the end of it from Captain Hitsugaya if he allowed such a Hollow to go on a rampage under his watch.

He weighed the Hollow's reiatsu against his own, and reassuring himself that it was nothing his Shikai couldn't take care of, Takomi took off with a shunpo toward the creature.

Madara opened his eyes as the pain subsided. His body now felt a lot more substantial. The previous sensation of weightlessness was replaced by a gnawing hunger.

He took a moment to gather his bearings before he tried to get to his feet. This time he was definitely lying down. His body was caked in mud, and as he pushed himself up, a clawed limb caught his eye. Surprised, he scrambled back, tripping over a strange weight behind him. A sharp pain shot through his body from the base of his spine as he landed on... his tail?

Dumbfounded, he looked behind him at the thick, white appendage. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw that the clawed hands were his own, and a cylindrical hole had appeared at the centre of his chest. "What is happening to me?" He muttered, surprised by the high-pitched, layered tone that his voice had taken on.

Before he had time to analyze his situation further, his battle instincts took over. A gust of wind and a flash of steel warned him just in time. He dodged, dashing to the side as he narrowly avoided decapitation.

He suffered a shallow cut on his shoulder instead, as a young man in black appeared where he had just been.

The assailant withdrew his katana, quickly recovered from his missed swing, and pointed two fingers toward Madara. "Sai!" He shouted.

An invisible force bound Madara's arms. The man charged, and Madara stumbled backwards, tripped by his tail. A myriad of thoughts raced through his mind as he fought to maintain his balance. What is this body? Am I in a Genjutsu? Who is this powerful Shinobi? But with the attacker closing in, only one word escaped Madara's lips: "Cero."

Red energy erupted from Madara's eyes, shattering the man's sword and knocking him back. Madara clutched his eye with a cry of surprise. He had intended to use Amaterasu, but instinct had taken over.

Closing his eyes, Madara focused his chakra and yelled, "Release!" He opened them. His white skin, claws, and the injured man remained.

Not a Genjutsu, then? He thought.

Madara lumbered towards the man, realizing his new form was immense as he lifted the wounded man up to eye level.

"Just kill me. I've got nothing to say to a filthy Hollow," he wheezed, deliberately spitting in Madara's face.

The Uchiha felt a disturbing urge to bite the man but quelled it. He laughed. "Just saliva? No rocks, water, or any oral jutsu? You'll need more than that to faze me." He gently set the man down, observing his clothes.

After a tense silence, Madara asked, "Who are you? Which clan are you from?"

"I don't know who you are," the man bit out; "But you've become a Hollow, a monster formed from tormented souls. I'm a Shinigami, a soul reaper. I purify Hollows like you... help you reincarnate."

Madara pondered this. "A soul reaper? So I am dead." He paused briefly, before scowling. "But do you truly expect me to believe you were helping me reincarnate by trying to cut off my head?"

The Shinigami was gasping for breath through bruised lungs. He had pressed the emergency button on his soul pager, but for now, he was alone.

He needed to stall until reinforcements arrived.

"A soul reaper's zanpakuto has p-purifying properties..." The Shinigami stammered. "I-I don't know the specifics, but it's not permanent death. You'll be reincarnated, but without your memories of any previous lives."

"You speak as if I have no choice in the matter," Madara stated.

"It's just the way it is," the Shinigami insisted. "You must feel it, don't you? The hunger for human souls? If you don't want to hurt the people you once cared for, you should just let yourself be purified."

Madara erupted in laughter. "People I care for? Boy, don't presume to know me. There's nothing left that I hold dear. I—"

Instinct honed from decades of war made him stop abruptly, jumping back as the wounded Shinigami vanished in a blur. Madara's eyes darted around. Again? Where do they come from?

An auburn-haired woman stood in the Shinigami's place, sword raised. Behind her, a white-haired boy carried the injured man. Something about them set Madara's instincts on edge.

"How strange, Rangiku," the white-haired boy began; "Our surveillance does not indicate that Hollows this powerful can emerge from a place like this."

"Maybe it came here from Hueco Mundo?" The woman, Rangiku, suggested.

"No..." Takomi answered. "I definitely felt the birth of this Hollow. It's a newborn, but definitely a lot stronger than what I'm used to running into here. It used a cero."

The white-haired boy raised his eyebrows at that last part. "...Is that so?" He turned to Rangiku, then. "Do you want me to handle it?"

Rangiku scoffed. "Oh please, Captain. This Hollow's reiatsu feels like that or a 4th or 5th seater at best. I've got it in the bag." She winked suggestively at the boy, before launching herself toward Madara, sword at the ready.

Madara's mind was reeling as he struggled to keep up with the Shinigami's conversation. The only thing he understood from their words was that the woman, Rangiku, spoke of him as if he was small fry.

"I am Madara Uchiha!" He bellowed, flexing his claws. "You would dare underestimate my-"

His words died in his mouth as the woman disappeared, her afterimage bowling through him as she reappeared to his side, leaving a nasty gash on his arm.

He started. The woman was blindingly fast. He swiped at her, but missed as she disappeared again.

More cuts appeared on his arms as he shielded his head and neck. What the hell are these people? He thought. I am Madara Uchiha! How can I be overwhelmed like this? He lashed out, but again his claws found no purchase.

The woman dodged and sliced deep into his right shoulder, disabling his arm.

Madara hissed in pain. He needed his gunbai and scythe. Or even a sword. He couldn't fight like this.

His thoughts raced as he put some distance between the woman and himself. He looked down, and saw the corpse of his physical body on the ground.

He had already died once today.

Live. That was all that mattered. He had been given a second chance. He couldn't die again, not when he finally understood the Uchiha tablet.

Instinct guided him. He slashed at the air, sensing a portal opening. Ducking another horizontal strike from Rangiku, he grabbed his corpse and dove into the garganta.

Before the portal closed, he cast a bloodthirsty glance back at the woman. She made no effort to follow, and seemed smugly content at being able to drive him off. "I'll kill you!" He spat. "Mark my words, woman! Madara Uchiha does not lie!"

AN- So I got an idea for a Bleach/Naruto crossover fic where Madara is the main protagonist. It's going to be a bittersweet story, and there's a lot of action planned :P

This fic is going to span the Elemental Nations, Soul Society, Karakura Town, and even the Soul Palace itself. Some important characters are going to be: Madara, Hashirama, Aizen & top 6 espada, Ichigo, Orihime, and the Gotei 13.

Read and review if you find it interesting please!