The Shinobi Visitor

Chapter 9 - Clash Between Two World's...

With each step he took, it was a step closer towards Yamamoto, the Head Captain of the Shinigami forces in Soul Society. Naruto knew he made the right choice by being at full strength as the air tightened around the older Shinigami as he got closer with Tenkaichi in hand.

When he got into striking range, Naruto slashed Tenkaichi in overhead motion at Yamamoto only for the Shinigami to disappear in a burst of speed. "So fast for an old man!" A surprise Naruto thought to himself before he disappeared in a similar burst of speed.

Meanwhile Soifon, Ukitake, Kyoraku and the other Shinigami could only stand in bewilderment and surprise as the blurs clashed against each other with concussive forces after each contact. The two captains and best friends barely keep up with their speed along Soifon despite being the 2nd fastest Flash Step user, only behind her former mentor who is currently titled "Flash Step Master."

After Naruto and Yamamoto reappeared with their respective high-speed techniques, their weapons clashed against each other; Tenkaichi pushing against the wooden cane that surprisingly held the black sword back and didn't break from contact. The ninja broke the brief sword-lock and Shunshined 10 yards away from Yamamoto.

The two powerful beings stare at each other while the wind started blow against them, evident by Yamamoto's Shingami robes fluttering.

The ninja was about to make the next move when he heard a body hitting the ground… two bodies. He looked to his left and found Kyokaru and Ukitake tending to the female Shinigami on the ground and noticed they were breathing shallow and sweating profusely.

"Looks like they're not strong enough to withstand beings with strong Spiritual Energy and Pressure like the old man and myself. I want to avoid casualties as possible." His gaze returned to the still and calm Yamamoto who for some reason didn't attack the ninja when he was distracted just moments ago. "I have to take this battle away from here, not for only for the safety of Ichigo and the others, but so I won't be ridiculed by Yoruichi."

"Hmph?" Yamamoto grunted when the ninja pulled out a small ball with his free arm. He was about to Shunpo when the Ryoka threw it to the ground, causing smoke to engulf around the latter and blinding his line of sight. "I see… in that case…" He sensed the Ryoka's retreating Spiritual Pressure and Shunpoed from his spot.

Just as that happened, a huge explosion occurred from the other side of the Sokyoku Hill that surprised the remaining Shinigami. Kyokaru looked down at his Lieutenant who was still gasping for air. "Come on, let's get you all out of here." He helped Nanao to her feet but stopped when he felt a cold glare from behind him and calmly stood up before facing Soifon who was ready to kill someone. "Out of the way, Captain Soifon," said Kyokaru with his laid-back expression.

"You and Captain Ukitake have disgraced the Gotei 13 with your actions. The Head Captain should be the one to punish you since you were his former students, but since he's busy, I will be the one to carry out this action." Soifon said coldly with a glare that sends shivers down the spine of the low-ranking Shinigami.

"Hm…" Ukitake thought seriously before his signature smile came to face, so to speak, "Perhaps once you're done fighting with that person." Everyone looked at him crazily until a blur came by and picked up Soifon out of the Hill. "Now shall we get some tea?" His best friend and their Lieutenants simply shrugged and Shunpoed to the 13th Division's barracks.

-Ichigo vs Byakuya-

The mushroom cloud soon dissipated, revealing Byakuya standing with Senbonzakura in hand with a deep trench on his left side and his hand bleeding. "So this is the true power of your Zanpakuto?" Byakuya asked in an unimpressed tone after observing the trench next to him.

Ichigo was on the other side from Byakuya, standing on top of an upturned boulder that was the result of their earlier skirmish. "That's right. When I swing my sword, all of my Spiritual Pressure gets absorbed into my Zanpakuto and it gets released again in a super high-density beam, making it an amplified swing. That is Zangetsu's power!" Ichigo said with Zangetsu on his right shoulder while staring at Byakuya.

"When I trained with Urahara, he told me 'I can only teach you the stances' and now I know what he meant by that. The only person who can teach me how to properly use Zangetsu… is Zangetsu himself!" He reminisced about the last few minutes of his Bankai training and Zangetso telling him the name of his would-be and special signature attack of his Zanpakuto, "It's called… Getsuga Tensho." Ichigo then stabbed Zangetsu to the ground next to him. "Now release your Bankai, Byakuya Kukichi!"

The Shinigami scoffed at the human's notion, thinking that there is nothing he can do to defeat him. After a moment, he relented to the demand, "Very well then. But you will soon regret coming here in Soul Society." He drew his sword and pointed its blade to the ground. "Bankai…" Byakuya dropped his sword that entered the ground like it was water and behind him came up a limitless number of swords, "Scatter… Senbonzakura Kagyeoshi!" The sword transformed into limitless numbers of sakura flowers.

Ichigo was stunned until he dodged an attack from the deadly Bankai by jumping high into the air while grabbing his sword. Swinging Zangetsu, Ichigo launched a wordless Getsuga Tensho at his opponent who blocked it with the sakura blades forming a wall in front of him. "Tch…" the Substitute Shinigami didn't notice another attack wave until the shadow of it engulfed him. "Whoa!" He stepped to the left to dodge it and noticed another upcoming wave and dodged it again…barely.

That's when Ichigo realized the attacks are becoming faster than the previous one and his reaction time was getting slower. Finally, another but huge wave of Senbonzakura completely surrounded the human, leaving him no room to use Flash Step. "I'm not going to make it!" The wave slammed into the ground below as it kicked up a small dust cloud and debris as a result from the impact.

Byakuya walked forward as the dust cleared and revealed a crater with the Substitute Shinigami on the ground, struggling to get up. "I'm impressed… not many can withstand from getting hit by my Bankai."

"Damn it… I should've known. Oh well, I had to try to see if my Shikai can match the power of a Bankai," strained Ichigo as he shakily stood up while breathing heavily with his head down and bleeding from his new wounds. Byakuya seem to be a little disturbed by what Ichigo said.

"Impossible. You speak as if you've already achieved Bankai-level."

Ichigo looked up at the captain with a feral grin, "That's right!" He took a stance with Zangetsu outstretched behind him and his left arm stretched forward. "HHHAAA!" An enormous blue energy skyrockets from Ichigo's body as cracks started to form around him and surprising Byakuya at the same time.

"A Bankai? That's impossible! It's the final stage of the Zanpakuto. Only Shinigami of the highest level can obtain it," Byakuya thought as he stares at Ichigo. "Out of the Four Great Noble Families who are blessed with far greater Spiritual Pressure than others, only one child in several generations had the potential to reach that level. And those who have obtained it, they all have their names etched in the history of the Soul Society." As he continues to contemplate Ichigo's progress to reaching Bankai, Byakuya felt a really strong wave of power from the human when he finished powering up. "Tch…"

Ichigo points Zangetsu forward as the white cloth tightens around his right arm before putting his left hand on the forearm. Then he said the simple yet powerful word.

"Bankai." Ichigo said in a fierce tone as his eyes turned blue for a moment. Zangetsu started to emit white electricity from its blade that upturned the ground below before releasing high spiritual energy.

Smoke erupts from the power surge, obscuring Ichigo's being. Soon the huge dust cloud started to dissipate, allowing Byakuya to let his Bankai to see his hidden opponent when a sudden and powerful force pushed away the cloud in a ripple pattern, finally showing the human and his newly achieved yet unusual Bankai.

Ichigo stood there in a new long-sleeved, ankle-length black coat with red lining, which is closed at his chest and left to flare out into ragged ends that replaced his Shinigami robe. In his right hand is no longer the oversized Khyber blade but a daito with a black hilt, a black blade and a black cross guard that has four prongs bent out to form the shape of the manji and lastly a short length of chain with a broken link at the end dangles from the base of the hilt. He looked over her shoulder, glancing at Byakuya.

"Tensa Zangetsu," Ichigo said with his coat fluttering in the wind, ready for the next stage of their battle with their Bankai.

-Forest of Soul Society-

Jumping from branch to branch of the trees until he stopped at a branch of the smallest tree he could find, Naruto started to formulate a plan on which elements are the best choices against an opponent like Yamamoto. Wind Style Ninjutsu is out of the question, that's for sure.

"From what Yoruichi told me, the old man's Zanpakuto is a Fire-type and the most powerful one in Soul Society's history in terms of attack power. Water Style Ninjutsu should help even it's a little. As for th-" Naruto sensed an tremendous power spike and couldn't help but smirk in excitement, "Looks like Ichigo activated his Bankai thingie. Next time I see him, we're definitely going to have a match."

"Hado #4: Byakurai!"

A powerful stream of white lightning shot from the sky and aimed at Naruto who Shunshined out of the way. He reappeared at the top of a tree where he found Yamamoto standing in the air like it was the ground itself, a benefit to the Shinigami and Spiritual beings. His cane was in his left hand as his Shinigami attire was fluttering with the wind.

"Looks like you found me."

"…"

"What's the matter? You lost your tongue or has old age made you forget to talk?" Naruto quipped as he smirked, "Maybe you should retire and let someone young to battle for you."

"Your arrogance will be your downfall once this is over." Yamamoto simply said as the ninja did some stretching exercises with his sword levitating next to him, "Are you really that confident in your abilities to be acting this way in front of me?" He asked in irritation while observing the boy's black daito, specifically the Uzumaki swirl symbol.

"Pretty much," replied Naruto before gripping Tenkaichi with his right hand, "Anything else before we get started?"

"Yes… why are you doing this young one?"

"Hm?" Naruto tilted his head at the Shinigami. "Do what?"

"Why are you helping Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends to save Rukia Kukichi? How did you arrive here? It's clear to me that you did not arrive with the Ryoka when they first invaded Soul Society."

Naruto pulled an eyelid down with his left index finger while sticking his tongue out, "That's for me to know and for you to find out." Yamamoto shook his head before Shunpoing from the boy's sight.

A yelp of surprise came from the blonde as he barely redirected a thrust attack from Yamamoto who used his cane as a spear with Tenkaichi. Naruto felt the attack's incredible power as it slides and grinds against his sword. He leapt backwards and landed on another tree to put some distance between him and the Shinigami. This is not going to be easy at all.

"Yoruichi was right about you, gramps. You're stronger then you look," said Naruto as Tenkaichi's Uzumaki symbol jangled with the chain after fixing his grip on the black hilt. He felt a sudden and dreadful silence along with the intent to massacre coming from his opponent in front of him.

"Hm... So you know Yoruichi Shiohin?"

Naruto nodded, "Yep. In the last few hours, she trained me on how to fight Shinigami and a few helpful tips regarding Spiritual Energy, Spiritual Pressure and Zanpakutos among other things." He proved that by jumping to the air and stood at the same altitude as Yamamoto is at. "Took me a lot tries but I eventually got the hang of it."

"I see… So a criminal of Soul Society gave you invaluable and confidential information to a Ryoka… Now your death is absolute from this point on," Yamamoto made a gesture and the cane started to 'peel' off to reveal a standard katana with a dark purple hilt and circular hand guard. "I must admit while I thought only Ichigo Kurosaki has vast amounts of Spiritual Energy for a Human, you've shown to have equal or higher amount than him and your Spiritual Pressure compares to a member of one of the Four Great Noble Families. Possibly at the level of my two students."

Naruto was surprised for two reasons: that his Spiritual Pressure is equal to a Great Noble House member and the fact Yamamoto revealed his Zanpakuto. That means for one reason and one reason only. "This is most likely due to your lineage to the Uzumaki Clan and to the Old Man," thought Kurama with his Jinchuriki mentally agreeing with him. "And no matter what happens, do not let him release his Shikai!"

"I know that, Kurama!" replied an annoyed Naruto with a twitching eye.

"You were wise to come at me with your full strength, now I shall return the favor." Yamamoto drew his sword and began the chant, "Reduce All Creation To Ashes, Ryujin Ja-"

"I don't think so!" Naruto declared after he Shunshined and slashed horizontally from behind which Yamamoto blocked. Electricity sparks between the blades of Tenkaichi and Ryujin Jakka. "You think I'm going to let you activate your Shikai so easily? Think again, pal!" Naruto commented as he pushed against Yamamoto who was also pushing back with equal force. "Man, this old guy's really strong! I'm glad I kept my training up and with Yoruichi's help."

Yamamoto shook his elderly head at the young man, "You think that by stopping me from releasing my Shikai will favor you in being the victor in fight?" He actually smirked which surprised and confused Naruto at the same time. "Well think again, brat." Naruto's eyes bulged out when Yamamoto kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying through the air. The Shinigami used Flash Step to appear above the Shinobi and slashed at him with Ryujin Jakka, but the latter disappeared from his line of sight via Body Flicker Technique.

"Wind Style: Air Bullet!"

Yamamoto spun around and blocked a pressurized bullet-shaped air with his sword. His face took a small look of strain as the air bullet push against his blade and felt his feet sliding on the air. The Head Captain then redirected the attack downward to the ground below, causing destruction upon the vast and dense trees. He then blocked another sword strike from above, entering a sword-lock between the warriors in the air.

"So your Zanpakuto gives you the power to manipulate wind. That's a rare ability."

"Tch…" Naruto broke the sword-lock and leapt backwards to dodge a slash from Yamamoto. He almost lost his footing when he landed on the air again and knew that he needs to get used to it. "You're wrong."

"Wrong about what?" Yamamoto grumbled irritably as he fixed his grip on Ryujin Jakka's hilt.

"My sword is not a Zanpakuto. That technique you deflected earlier was the result of me using my chakra. It's called Ninjutsu. Frankly I'm surprised that your sword didn't get sliced through or broken by it despite of it being for a wind-based attack. I'm gonna have to up my game from now on," said Naruto before he Shunshined from his spot to rethink his strategy on offensive tactics.

"Chakra? Now where did I hear that term before? I'll be sure to ask him that when I have his broken and bloodied body on the ground and begging for mercy." Yamamoto thought before utilizing Flash Step and flickered from existence.

-Ichigo vs Byakuya-

"Senkei Senbonzakura Kagyeoshi!" Byakuya said with his stoic expression despite being wounded twice by his opponent. His right hand was bleeding after blocking an attack from Ichigo and his Bankai. The Substitute Shinigami acquired unimaginable speed that allowed him to dodge and slice through the blades of the Senbonzakura with ease and it turns out that he compressed all of the fighting power of his Bankai into the daito's blade that gave him hyper-speed.

He and Ichigo are surrounded by countless swords in a four-row column with dark background and no sign of daylight breaking in at all. The captain sees the human checking the circling swords in case they were going to attack him via non-verbal command. "Don't worry about these swords. They will not attack you since Senbonzakura's final form disregards all defensive capabilities and focuses all of it fighting power to its offensive powers. You are only the second person for me to show you this form."

"I'm really flattered," Ichigo replied sarcastically before gripping Tensa Zangetsu with both hands. "Are you just going to keep looking at me or are we going to continue this fight?" Byakuya stretched his right arm and one of the glowing swords flew to his hand and revealed to be the Shikai version of his Zanpakuto before releasing more Spiritual Energy in a white aura.

"I'll take that as a yes." Ichigo said as he released his own Spiritual Energy, resulting in him being surrounded by a light blue aura.

The two combatants rushed towards each other with their weapons in their respective hands. They both slashed at each other when they got into striking distance, unleashing a shockwave and a bright light inside the Senken before disappearing via Flash Step. Echoes of their swords clashing against each other reached no one but the wielders after disappearing and reappearing in different spots.

Ichigo reappeared on the ground but was caught off-guard when Byakuya was suddenly in front of him with his blade already going for his head. He tilted his head to the left, receiving a bleeding cut on his right cheek and blocked a second swing from Byakuya. "What the heck did you do? Somehow you've gotten faster."

His response was the captain stabbing his right foot after he summoned another sword from the walls. "Aggh!" Ichigo now has a bloody foot with a sword in it.

Byakuya slowly lifted his left index and middle finger up to Ichigo's right shoulder. "Hado #4: Byakurai." The powerful lightning bolt shot from his fingertips and pierced through Ichigo's shoulder, inflicting great damage to the latter.

Ichigo coughed up small spurts of blood with widen eyes in pain from the new wound. The right side of his coat was now coated crimson red with his blood. He was about to make a move when he realized something else that tops his current condition; his body won't move.

"What's going on?! Why can't I move?!" The Shinigami asked in bewilderment and fear while his hands were trembling the handle of his sword uncontrollably.

"Right now you're probably thinking that the Senken increased my speed, but that is not the case here." That's when Ichigo realized something about him-self.

"So you're saying I've gotten slower?" That sounded more like a fact than a question.

"Yes, but don't worry much about your failure, Ichigo Kurosaki. You defeated many high-level Shinigami and achieved Bankai. You certainly exceeded our expectations, but you must feel it by now; your body is dying. You are only a Human and Humans have limits." Byakuya released the second sword that kept Ichigo in place before wielding his original sword in a double-handed grip in motion for an overhead swing.

"This can't be the end! My friends and I came too far for me to lose here!" Ichigo thought to him-self as Byakuya's blade gets closer to slashing his head off. "I-I HAVE TO WIN!"

His eyes widening in surprise, Byakuya could only stare at Ichigo who grabbed his wrist, stopping his attack. He couldn't move because he reached his limit. So what changed all of the sudden? That's when he sensed another presence in the area coming from the human. "Who are you?"

"You want to know who I am?" asked 'Ichigo' with a distorted echo and maniacal tone in his voice and his head was lowered. Suddenly he shot his head up. "I have no name!" He slashed Byakuya across his torso, spewing plenty of blood as the latter was sent sliding backwards on his heels. 'Ichigo' laughed maniacally since he landed a hit on the captain.

Byakuya couldn't register the pain or his new wound as he senses the increased Spiritual Energy followed by the now stronger yet twisted Spiritual Pressure from the maniacally Human who had a homicidal grin on his face. That's when he noticed a white mask with black stripes forming around the left eye that turned yellow upon its appearance.

"Oh, Ichigo, what a complete amateur you are! Couldn't you tell?!" Byakuya widen his eyes a little as 'Ichigo' continues his dialogue, "You were getting crushed by your own Bankai's Spiritual Pressure. Every bone in your body is creaking from the strain! You really are a hopeless case!" The possessed Shinigami criticized as he crushed the sword in his left hand with no effort. "Now let me show you how I use Bankai!"

He swung his sword and launched a black crescent wave with red outline at the perturbed captain.

This battle is heading on a whole other level for both combatants.

-Naruto vs Yamamoto-

Sounds of metal clashing echoed throughout the vast area of thick and green/brown trees. In the skies, brief flashes of sparks and electricity as the fast-paced battle between the Jinchuriki and the Head Captain Shinigami raged on.

Naruto and Yamamoto reappeared in front of each other on the air as they engaged in a barrage of sword slashes. To each other, it looks the two experienced warriors are fighting with maximum effort in their strikes and counters. But to others, their arms and sword strikes are nothing but blurs with only showers of sparks being the evidence of their counters and blocks.

The two men stopped their barrages when they entered a sword-lock, trying to push one another back with their strength. This was a battle of focus and if one of them was to lose it even for a second, that person should regret that moment. After realizing the old man won't be push back, Naruto broke the sword-lock and Shunshined behind the former with Tenkaichi over his head for a vertical slash.

He was about to swing his blade downward when he felt Ichigo's chakra skyrocketed and stopped to at the direction where the Sokyoku Hill would be. That was his biggest mistake when Yamamoto grabbed his right leg and used it to hurl him through the air and towards the ground below.

"Oof!" Naruto grunted as he crashed through several trees with no sign of the momentum slowing down. After crashing into a tree that managed to stop him, the Shinobi jumped from the human-like indentation he made in the tree and landed on the ground. He coughed a few times 'cause h got the wind knocked out of him but that wasn't on his mind.

"Ichigo's power is even stronger than before, but it feels twisted at the same time. Wait… so the dark power inside of him decides shows itself. Maybe I could-"

A surprised Naruto found Yamamoto in front of him with Ryujin Jakka's blade already close to his face. "Good-bye, boy." The Head Captain said as his sword reach within an inch of the Shinobi. His usually squinted eyes widen a little when his younger opponent disappeared so suddenly, leaving virtually no trace of his existence. After a moment, the trees in front of him revealed a wide horizontal slash mark before falling backwards from their stumps.

A jangling sound was heard from behind him and the Shinigami fully turned around to find the Shinobi standing there with his gaze on him, his primary weapon levitating next to him and a three-prong kunai in his left hand. "How did you get behind me? That was not the high-speed movement technique you've utilized earlier nor was it your natural speed. So why didn't you attack me when you had the chance? I completely lost sight of you." His answer was the Human pulling out a plastic bag and vomiting into it. "Motion sickness?"

Naruto groaned as he wiped his mouth with his left sleeve before pointing the three-prong kunai at Yamamoto. "When I was crashing through the trees, I managed to drop the kunai on the ground while making it look like it fell out of my pouch. This kunai has a technique formula on its hilt that allows me to utilize Space-Time Ninjutsu."

"Space-Time? If he's implying to what I think he is…"

"I used my father's signature technique: the Flying Raijin Jutsu. This technique allows the user to enter a void and reappear instantly at the destination where the technique formula is like on this kunai. It is not swift movement if that's you're thinking, but it is instant teleportation instead." Naruto's face turned green before he vomited inside the bag again.

After wiping his mouth again, Naruto continued speaking. "However… since I have yet to master it, the unfortunate side-effect is vomiting and that's bad during a battle. To be honest, I was saving this technique for my next match with Yoruichi, but you old man…" He chuckled to him-self but it was loud enough for his opponent to hear him, "You're no pushover."

Yamamoto nodded at the boy in recognition. "I could say the same to you, Naruto Uzumaki," He said in a weary but firm tone, "Your swordsmanship skills are impressive as your strength, reflexes and speed. If only you had been a Shinigami."

"Yeah… but I didn't get away clean, you know." He gestured to the cut on his right sleeve and a stream of blood flowing down to his right hand. "Then again neither did you." Naruto gestured to the cut on Yamamoto's chest, which the latter dismissed it as a scratch. "As for me being a Shinigami… I won't take orders from someone who executes one of his peers just because they gave their powers to a Human so he can save his family." Naruto said referring to Ichigo when the latter first became a Shinigami.

"Transference of Shinigami powers is a Class 1 Capital Offense and was declared so by the Central 46. Rukia Kukichi violated the law and now she must face justice." Yamamoto said firmly and clearly since he doesn't want to repeat him-self.

Naruto frowned before letting out a sigh. "Justice?" He willed Tenkaichi back into its scabbard on his back with his head down, shadowing his eyes, "For doing the right thing? You call this justice?" The Shinobi raised his head enough for Yamamoto to see a dangerous gleam in the former's blue eyes and the Head Captain didn't flinch at all. "I'll show what justice really is." He said in a serious tone and pocketed his three-prong kunai in his pouch.

"Show me then." Yamamoto replied in the same tone with a dangerous gleam in his eyes as well.

A dangerous silence washed over them as they continued their stare down, none of them moving an inch with only the blowing wind and leafs making a sound. Swiftly, Yamamoto stretched out his left hand towards the ninja. "Hado #4: Byakurai!"

Naruto swiftly threw the bag containing his regurgitated liquid at the lightning, destroying it in a small puff of smoke as it gets close to him. He quickly sidestepped the attack before he Shunshined in front of the elder Shinigami with an uppercut that has his name on it and connected to his face. Unfortunately he failed to notice the Shinigami didn't retaliate with his sword or the left open palm.

"Bakkudo #4: Hainawa." Yamamoto generated a crackling rope of yellow energy that wrapped around Naruto's body, bounding his arms and body. The surprised Shinobi yelped as he almost lost his balance before recovering and leapt backwards. His face took a massive strain as if he was trying to break free. "This is a Binding spell of the Kido arts." The rope started to crack from Naruto's frame, displaying the natural strength of the latter, "Allow me to show you another… Bakudo #61: Sekkei."

Naruto cursed at the old man as the same but stronger Kido wrapped around him just when the previous one broke off. "You think this will stop me, Yamamoto?"

"No… it's meant to stall you." The elder man stated flatly with Ryujin Jakka pointing at the Shinobi. He then realized what the Shinigami meant, so Naruto Shunshined on the right side of him and delivered a mid-air kick, but the warrior with a millennia of combat experience dodged the attack and countered a sharp right roundhouse kick to the back.

"Oh, that hurts a lot..." Sweat and heat started to penetrate his skin. "Why is it getting hot all of the sudden?" Naruto jumped to his feet with agility and reflex, only to find the blade of his opponent on fire. "Oh sh-"

"Reduce all Creations to Ashes… Ryujin Jakka!" The flames on Ryujin Jakka's blade exploded, surrounding the oldest Shinigami and burning the trees behind him and towards his opponent with frightening speed.

Naruto vitalized his body with as much chakra as he can and Shunshined as far away as he could from the raging and intense heating flames that burned everything in its path. But it was still coming after him. He was running out of options and couldn't perform the Substitution Jutsu since his hands and arms were bound and he doesn't want to keep running. So that left one choice and hopes it's strong enough.

"I really hope this works." The Shinobi muttered to him-self as he initiates his technique.

Yamamoto looked on as his heating flames prepares to consume his opponent, bent on incinerating his existence from this world. "What a shame for a warrior like him to die. Now for my two stu-" He felt the Spiritual Power of the boy increased drastically as his Spiritual Pressure pushes away the flames with a strong force of wind, revealing the Shinobi with orange pigmentation around his closed eyes to be unscathed by the intense flames.

The Head Captain looked at the Shinobi with interest. "You're strong enough to resist from being turned to ashes by my Shikai's release. This battle will worthwhile for me since I haven't enjoyed a battle since…" He reminisced about battling a mysterious stranger with ripple patterns in his eyes centuries ago.

"Yes, this battle will be worthwhile." Naruto stated calmly as he opened his eyes, revealing toad-like eyes that replaced his blue eyes earlier and his utilization of Sage Mode. He then broke the rope around his frame with ease. "However I'll take you down in a single move."

"Such arrogance. You think by using a transformation that saved you from my flames, you can defeat me? I'm the oldest and most powerful Shinigami in Soul Society because there isn't one who can surpass me!" Yamamoto willed his flames on his blade to rage wildly, scorching the ground below and heating the area to intense temperatures.

The Toad Sage said nothing but stares at the Head Captain with a calculating look while assuming the Frog Kata stance. Yamamoto responds to this by raising the heat of his flames to the point that the skies are being affected by it. "Here we g-" Naruto stopped mid-sentence when he sensed three new Spiritual Pressures back at the Sokyoku Hill and they were near Rukia, Renji and Ichigo?

"Naruto… that Ichigo kid and his Shinigami friends are in trouble!" Kurama stated after sensing the three Spiritual Pressures as well.

"Yeah, I'm about to head there now." He muttered to him-self, but it was loud enough for the Shinigami in front of him to hear.

"You are not going anywhere, Ryoka. This battle is far fr-" The Shinobi disappeared in untraceable speed, leaving behind an irritable Yamamoto. "Kids these days… They don't have any respect for the elders whatsoever." Yamamoto then felt something pinging in his head and received a message from the 4th Division's Lieutenant, Isane Kotetsu.

-Sokyoku Hill-

Ichigo could only stare in disbelief and shock as he watched one of the Gotei 13 captains effortlessly defeated another. The Shinigami captain that struck his former fellow captain was a mild-featured man with brown scholarly hair enhanced by his square glasses and brown eyes.

"I feel so helpless. This much gap in power between captains… it's unbelievable." Ichigo then accounted something else about Naruto and Yamamoto's Spiritual Pressures and the fact they were so far away, he still felt them during his fight.

The struck down captain was much taller than the other captain and completely different. His head is the face of a wolf and sports the Shinigami outfit with the captain's cloak over it. He also sports shoulder weights over the cloak and large, plated boots instead of sandals. The color of his bloodied fur is light brown that matches with the boots and weights.

"Now…" The Shinigami captain looked down at the terrified Rukia before grabbing her by the collar and lifted her up with his left hand. "Since we have no more interruptions, the ritual shall begin." Suddenly a number of wooden pillars started to spring up from the ground, surrounding him and Rukia. The captain's right arm took a wooden appearance as well. Rukia started to panic within when she saw the changed arm and silently cried for Ichigo or her friends to save her. "Don't worry, Rukia… This wont hurt… a lot." He thrust his arm into the female Shinigami or so he thought.

Rukia closed her eyes the moment she saw the captain thrust his hands towards her. She waited for the pain to come along and be over with, but instead she felt an enormous Spiritual Pressure that was very close to her. So she opened her eyes and was shocked to find the ryoka with the blonde hair standing next her and holding the captain's arm with an iron grip.

"N-Naruto…" Rukia muttered softly in relief while the Captain suppressed his surprise in front of the Ryoka that stands before him.

Swiftly Naruto connected a roundhouse kick to the Captain's stomach, sending him flying away and forcing him to let go of Rukia. He caught her in bridal style and used his Sage Mode-enhanced speed to reappear in front of Ichigo and an unconscious Renji, both who are heavily wounded. Setting Rukia down front of the wounded men, he stared at three Shinigami and smiled at them. "You guys look like crap."

An angry vein and tick mark appeared on Ichigo's face. " So do you! Wait… Why is your face green?" Naruto didn't answer him as he stifled the urge to puke, so Ichigo decides to forget about it. "As for why we look like crap, we were battling for our lives of some sort." He tried to get up but failed, "But that captain… he's unreal. He took me down while I'm using my Bankai."

"Your Bankai?" Naruto took a closer look at the boy's appearance and noticed the different Shinigami robe and most notably the black daito lying next to the latter. "Ichigo…"

"Yeah?" Ichigo asked only to find a devious Naruto glaring at him comically with a red gleam in his eyes.

"Why is it that your Bankai sword looks exactly like my sword?"

"Eh?"

Naruto suddenly grabbed the injured Ichigo by his collar with both arms and lifted him to his height before shaking him comically. "Huh?! Explain to me! Why does it look exactly like Tenkaichi?! Are you trying to copy me or something?! Huh?! Answer me!" He was then struck in the head hard, but he didn't feel any pain at all. Naruto looked to find the culprit and found an angry Rukia with angry veins on her right fist and forehead while cringing in pain with said hand.

"What?" He asked as if nothing's wrong.

"What do you mean 'what?!'" Rukia roared at the dense Shinobi. "This isn't the time for that! We have three traitors who are captains behind you and all you're worried about is Ichigo's Bankai sword looks like yours?!" She huffed and puffed with each breath and a twitching eye.

Naruto blinked a few times at the petite Shinigami before smiling sheepishly and rubbing the back of his head with his left hand. "Sorry."

"Sorry?! That's all you have to say?!" Both Ichigo and Rukia screamed at the stunned Naruto ad continued to scold him. They soon stopped when they heard several footsteps coming and looked past the Shinobi to find the rogue Captains and his two fellow traitors.

"My my, my… I have to say I wasn't expecting that blonde Ryoka get the drop on you, Captain Aizen." Naruto turned around to find the Captain with the glasses get up with a dust footprint on his robe. He also sees two of the traitors standing in opposite sides of Aizen.

The Shinigami on the right side has unusual silver hair, his eyes are narrowed to slits plus his face is in a constant mocking smile. The other has dark skin and dark brown braids in a ponytail with clear joggles that covers his eyes, an orange scarf around his neck. He sports the Shinigami attire with white boots, black fingerless gloves and the captain's cloak over it.

"I didn't sense him at all until he appeared next in front of you, Captain Aizen." The dark skin Shinigami said as he turned his head to the said captain. "Are you all right?"

The one called Aizen chuckled in amusement but winced slightly as he touched the spot where the Human had kicked him. "I too was caught unaware of his appearance, but that won't happen again." He gazed at the four adversaries, particularly the blonde one. "I have to admit; I didn't anticipate this intervention. Who are you really…Naruto?"

"As if I tell you who I really am. But I know about you three; Sosuke Aizen, Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tosen." He saw the grin on Gin's face grew wider, an amused smile from Aizen and no reaction from Tosen. "I don't know what you were going to do to Rukia, but I'm not going to allow it!" Naruto drew his Flying Raijin Kunai and held it in a normal grip with his right hand.

"Oh, so you're going to fight all three of us?" Gin said in a mock shock tone before drawing his Zapakuto.

Naruto smirked at the grinning Captain. "I can't wait to wipe that grin off that face of yours." He channeled his Wind chakra into the kunai. The materialized blue chakra glowed for moment before it shapes into a blade, extending the range of his Flying Raijin Kunai. "Flying Swallow." The chakra grew sharper and denser than usual due to Sage Mode's ninjutsu-enhancing abilities.

He stares at the amused face of the four-eyed captain before his face took a serious look. "You'll pay for what you've attempted to do… Aizen." The Sage said firmly as he swung his kunai at the three captains, unleashing a wave of Wind chakra towards them.