Summary: "Hmm? Me? I'm just an ordinary writer." Naruto Uzumaki died once while defending his planet against dangers from outer space, before he found himself in the Soul Society, where he learned to use his new powers. He then sneaked into the human realm and established an easy life for himself. But as always, he would face many different situations where he would need to lend.
"Speech."
'Think.'
Technique
Flashback/Events of the Past
Warning: English isn't my native language.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.
„It seems like something happened," said Naruto, looking to the side where the woman who formerly walked away from the two talking men came running toward them.
"Captain Kyōraku!" said Nanao. Nanao was a slim and youthful girl with long, black hair that was normally kept pinned back, featuring flat bangs that hung to the right side of her face. Nanao also wore a standard Shinigami outfit. She had slightly light blue eyes with a deep tint of violet, and she wore glasses with a slight oval shape.
"Why the rush, Nanao?" asked Shunsui. "I am having an enjoyable conversation here."
Nanao looked cautiously at Naruto, who held a cup of Sake in his hand, before she ignored the fact that her captain was conversing with an enemy like they were old friends for now, since she had an important message for her captain.
"Someone from the inner court group came and delivered a message," said Nanao. The inner court group was part of a larger organization called the Onmitsukidō (Stealth Force). The inner court group was a messenger group, if someone were to describe it from the outside perspective. They were all experts in the use of Shunpo (Flash Step).
"Then I suppose this can't wait," said Shunsui, finishing his cup of sake. "What did the message contain?"
"Captain Aizen died this morning at the hands of an unknown enemy," said Nanao.
Shunsui closed his eyes before he sighed, adjusting his hat. "My, my… this is certainly an unexpected development." He looked at Naruto, who had also emptied his cup of sake, holding it toward Shunsui. "I'm afraid we have to stop here. The death of a captain isn't something we can overlook."
Shunsui accepted the empty cup of Sake and stored it away inside his Shihakushō. "Of course, but I wonder how that could happen. To be honest, none of us could really threaten, let alone kill, a captain-level Shinigami," said Naruto.
"Are you sure? I think you would give a captain a good challenge, Naruto," said Shunsui, his voice taking on a bit more seriousness. Naruto chuckled a little and said, "Well… outside of me, no one in the group could threaten a captain-level Shinigami. Perhaps if Ichigo faces two or three more death situations, he will become strong enough. The boy is growing at an astonishing rate."
"But as you might already know, you are the second captain I encountered since we entered the Soul Society," said Naruto. "The first one would be the captain of the third division if my memories don't betray me."
"Are you sure? You didn't meet someone else with a captain's haori over their Shihakushō?" asked Shunsui.
"Certainly," said Naruto. "But I suppose my word alone doesn't really matter in such a situation, huh?" His smile never left his face, but Shunsui and Nanao saw that his carefree body was ready to act if either chose to attack him.
"The situation is very tricky," said Shunsui. "Nanao, when was Captain Aizen's corpse discovered?"
Nanao looked at the report she had received from the inner court group before saying, "Two hours ago."
"And where was he discovered?" asked Shunsui. Nanao looked at the report again and said, "At the Senzaikyū (Repentance Palace)."
"Well… this made things easier," said Shunsui. "This shows that you couldn't be the culprit. You were out here running around and beating up low-level Shinigami without harming them seriously."
Naruto laughed a little nervously. "Well… I didn't want to get caught. I made sure they didn't suffer serious wounds, outside of possibly having a headache," said Naruto.
"Is just the question, what happens now? I can think that you must go and report back to your supervisor," said Naruto. "But you can't simply leave me alone either."
"This is where the tricky part begins… I actually enjoyed our little conversation and don't want to fight with you, but as you just said, I can't simply let you wander around either," said Shunsui. He sighed, then adjusted his hat. "You won't just simply come with me and let yourself get caught, right?"
Naruto smiled apologetically and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't simply let myself get caught. I promised someone to meet them at the place where Rukia is being held. I am still not 100% sure where that is, but I have a hunch." He looked toward the Horizon toward a massive structure beside a giant hill. "I can only guess Rukia is being held over there."
Shunsui followed Naruto's gaze and chuckled. "You certainly have a good intuition. This is indeed the place where Rukia Kuchiki is being held, but I also need to go to another location now."
Naruto scratched his cheek and said, "This is a problematic situation."
"Indeed," said Shunsui.
Both remained silent, looking into each other's eyes. Nanao stood a little behind Shunsui, looking at their conversation. She always knew that her captain was a little special and had his own head and ideas, but this situation was even a little ridiculous for him.
He should have attacked him the moment both discovered Naruto beating up other Shinigami. They noticed Naruto an hour before they eventually confronted him. She told her captain that he should deal with Naruto, but he told her that they would observe for now, as he wanted to see what kind of person Naruto was.
Out of nowhere, a strong Reiatsu appeared, clearly from a captain. Naruto looked behind him and saw a familiar face. The one he had already stopped in Karakura before he could finish Ichigo off. If Naruto hadn't been there at the moment when this guy and Renji appeared, then Ichigo would already be dead.
"So the Reiatsu I felt truly belonged to you, Naruto Uzumaki," said the captain of the sixth division, Byakuya Kuchiki. Byakuya's appearance was that of a youthful and eye-catching adult man. He was tall, lean, fair-skinned, and clean-shaven. He had slate-gray eyes, as well as long black hair, which he kept up in intricate white headpieces called kenseikan. Symbolizing his nobility and status as head of the Kuchiki Clan, he wore three on top of his head and two on the right side. In addition to the standard Shinigami shihakushō and a short-sleeved captain haori, Byakuya donned a white scarf, which was tailored by the master weaver Tsujishirō Kuroemon III.
"Hello there, Byakuya Kuchiki. I never thought we would meet again so soon," Naruto said.
"You can go, Captain Kyōraku. I will take care of this man," said Byakuya, his face expressionless. Naruto had already met some people, like Byakuya, in his past life, and even after he woke up in the Soul Society, in the 58th district of North Rukongai.
Shunsui sighed a little, turning around. "Come, Nanao, we're no longer welcome here." We only disturb the reunion of those two," said Shunsui. He looked one last time at Naruto before walking away with Nanao directly behind him.
Naruto looked over his shoulder, seeing how Shunsui walked away from him. He smiled a little and thought, 'This way, we can walk away from each other without needing a fight.' He really liked Shunsui and didn't want to engage in a fight with him.
He looked forth again and looked at the expressionless face of Byakuya Kuchiki. "You are stoic as always, huh?" asked Naruto with a smile.
"There is no need for small talk. I will ensure that you will no longer be able to interfere in the affairs of the Soul Society," said Byakuya, placing his hand on the hilt of his zanpakutō. His zanpakutō in its sealed state took the form of a regular katana. It had a cross guard, with an open frame much like a four-pane window. The guard was bronze-colored, with lavender hilt-wrapping. The sword was associated with a white sheath.
"Directly to business, I see," said Naruto, placing his hand on the hilt of his own zanpakutō. Both opponents were about to draw their blades when they stopped, sensing the clash of two powerful Reiatsu signatures.
Naruto looked toward the place where he was sure Rukia was held captive. 'This is Ichigo's Reiatsu… He has certainly become stronger since his fight with Renji. That boy never fails to amaze me,' thought Naruto.
Naruto turned his attention back to the man who wanted nothing more than to stop him. Byakuya seemed to focus his attention back on Naruto, pulling his zanpakutō out of its scabbard.
"It won't be like last time," said Byakuya. "I would suggest you also take this seriously. This time, I am not limited."
Naruto chuckled and said, "Don't worry. I know that I can't simply dance around you like last time. Your mastery over Hohō is amazing. There are only a few who could move that fast with 80% of their powers sealed." He pulled his zanpakutō out of his scabbard and held it toward Byakuya.
"So… shall we begin?" asked Naruto with a carefree smile. Byakuya didn't react to the provocative smile and simply took a step forward before he vanished. Naruto raised his zanpakutō and blocked a slash from the front before he countered with a powerful blow. Byakuya blocked the powerful counterattack, and both looked at each other as their blades clashed.
"It seems you are hiding more than I believed," said Byakuya. He raised his Reiatsu, allowing white Reiatsu to appear around his body and sword. Naruto's smile widened a little, and he said, "Deception is the way of the Shinobi." He matched the raise in Reiatsu, allowing orange Reiatsu to manifest around his body and blade. They pressed against each other slightly before launching into a wild melee fight.
Shunsui and Nanao, who were walking toward their destination, stopped when they felt the clashing Reiatsu from Naruto and Byakuya. "My, my… he is even more exceptional than I thought," said Shunsui, looking in the direction where the two Reiatsu signatures were clashing.
"Is this truly a normal Ryoka?" asked Nanao. "Are you sure, you don't remember someone like that from your past, Captain Kyōraku?" It was a reasonable question from her perspective. The Reiatsu she was feeling was that of a captain-level Shinigami, and it matched the Reiatsu of Captain Kuchiki, someone from one of the five noble houses. Members of those houses always had more Reiryoku than others from birth.
"I don't like to admit it, but I never saw this man before we encountered him today," said Shunsui. He also wondered how such a strong person wasn't well known in the Soul Society. He even mentioned that he had once lived in the Soul Society before entering the human world.
"But I have a feeling that maybe one could know him. It could also be just a feeling, but we will see how this unfolds. For now, let us continue and say our goodbyes to Captain Aizen. It is the least we can do to pay our respects to him," said Shunsui, adjusting his head before continuing to walk toward their destination.
"Yes," said Nanao, following her captain while she looked over her shoulder.
Naruto blocked two strikes before retaliating with a forward slash. Byakuya blocked the slash and pushed Naruto away before he thrust his sword forward, transforming his zanpakutō into a dangerous flash of white steel. Naruto began to grin when he was about to get pierced by Byakuya's zanpakutō. Just when the deadly flash of white steel could hurt him, Naruto vanished and appeared 5 meters further back.
"Your basics are good," said Naruto, raising his zanpakutō. "That thrust attack isn't something many do." Byakuya only went into a fighting position again before he took one step forward, appearing behind Naruto.
Naruto turned around in a flash before deflecting Byakuya's sword slash to the side, creating cracks in the ground from the extreme force their weapons produced when they clashed. Both exchanged five more blows, always triggering shockwaves that formed more cracks on the ground around them.
'But he isn't staying true to the most fundamental basic technique in a sword fight,' thought Naruto, clashing his zanpakutō with Byakuya's. He learned how to wield a sword in his past life from Sasuke, one of the best swordsmen who ever lived. Perhaps only Killer Bee, with his 8-sword style, was in terms of pure skill better than Sasuke, even though Killer Bee would never stand a chance against Sasuke after the war. But that didn't make Naruto's teacher any less impressive.
It was just something he did to honor his clan, the Uzumaki Clan. Besides their mastery over the sealing technique, they were also masters in the art of the sword. Naruto was never really a swordman, as he specialized in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. When it came to Taijutsu, he was one of the most skilled users in the Elemental Nations. He could trade blows with Godlike entities, such as the Ōtsutsuki, when it came to pure Taijutsu skills.
Even after he learned Kenjutsu from Sasuke, he mostly used his fists. However, after he woke up in the Soul Society, he soon realized that it was common for everyone to use some sort of weapon, and combat with limbs was very rare. So, he focused on the things Sasuke had taught him and repeated them until he could do them in his sleep. Everything became natural for him after he repeated the basics of swordsmanship for multiple decades.
Naruto identified a minor flaw in Byakuya's approach to handling his zanpakutō. When he blocked a slash from Naruto, he used his upper body more than his lower body to deflect the blow, despite the lower body being more important for a swordsman than the upper body. The legs were the beginning and the end of a swordfight. In fact, the legs were the foundation for every close-combat action. The legs were the parts of the body that had to endure every impact. Even when someone blocked a punch to the face, the legs were the factors that allowed the user to stand their ground in the end, rather than sliding backward or flying away.
Naruto had to deflect another slash before he vanished, appearing a few meters away from Byakuya. Byakuya followed him with another Shunpo and slashed forward. Naruto smiled and blocked the slash attack, letting him look into his eyes.
"Is your goal really to kill me? So far, you haven't accomplished much besides holding me here with our fight," said Naruto, as both blades rubbed against each other. Byakuya was pushed back before he had to deflect a strong blow from Naruto, letting him slide backwards before he stopped.
"Oh, wait… You are analyzing my strength! Is that it?" Naruto asked, curious.
Byakuya didn't say anything and only held his zanpakutō before him. Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly when he felt the rising Reiatsu from Byakuya's sword. "Oh, you will activate your Shikai. Then show me the true nature of your partner," said Naruto. "I am curious about the true nature of your partner."
The zanpakutō from Byakuya began to glow pink before he said, "Scatter, Senbonzakura." Naruto was allowed to see how the blade of Byakuya's zanpakutō transformed into many tiny blades that flew around Byakuya.
'Hmm… it seems like his Shikai transforms his blade into hundreds of tiny blades that resemble Sakura petals,' thought Naruto. 'This is truly a beautiful Shikai.' It reminded him of a certain pink-haired medic ninja who patched him up when they were younger. He closed his eyes for a second to think about his former teammate.
"I hope you are prepared to die. I admit you are better than I thought, but you won't be able to withstand the true form of my blade. Even if you train for hundreds of years, you won't be able to respond to my next attack," said Byakuya as the thousand tiny blades flew around him, still holding the bladeless hilt in his hand.
Naruto did nothing while Byakuya swung the hilt forward. The thousand tiny blades began to shoot forward in an elegant show of beauty. No one would think that those thousand little objects, which looked like pink petals, could tear someone to shreds.
Naruto raised his zanpakutō slightly, tightening his grip on his partner before he opened his mouth. He said the two words that would show the world the true nature of his partner.
(A/N Since many wanted this to continue, I will continue this story. I appreciate every review, thanks. I wish you all the best.
With regards, WayofHonour56)
