Chapter Text
"Naruto, it's good to see you again," Isshin said sincerely, shortly after Ichigo left.
The young teen had apparently arrived shortly before Naruto himself had to, staying for the early dinner and grabbing a few changes of clothes for the sake of appearances as he had told Isshin and his sisters that he would be staying over at a friend's place for a few nights. The brat had choked on his meal rather hilariously when Naruto had commented that was the type of excuse one would say if they planned to spend a night with a lady-friend on the sly.
Ichigo may seem like the only thing he received from his father was his impeccable height, but the well-known Shiba antics certainly ran in his veins, however muted, if the comical red expression on the boy's face was any indication.
Shortly after the still fuming and embarrassed Ichigo left, Isshin revved up his antics to the point of embarrassing even Yuzu, making the two turn in for an early night, despite the blonde's cute and stern pouts. Naruto was gracious enough to help out by teasing Karin and rubbing her cheek against his own and extoling how much he missed his adorable 'Kari-chan,' which drove the twins to their rooms for the night.
Only Isshin and Naruto remained in the living room, which was closed off in one of Naruto's Kidō sound barriers.
"You as well. The twins have grown up to be as adorable as ever," Naruto replied lightly.
"I didn't think I would ever see you again," Isshin replied honestly, a mild glare that fell away too quickly, letting Naruto know that the man wasn't too upset with him.
"I should've stayed and helped," Naruto said, raising a hand when Isshin opened his mouth, seemingly to protest. "I'm sure you had everything under control, but I owed those little munchkins at least that much. Single father splitting his time between twin girls and a slightly older son is too much for any normal person to handle much less with your situation."
Isshin paused for a moment, before he dipped his head slightly, acknowledging Naruto's words but not quite agreeing with him. "I managed as well as I could. I love those little girls so much, and they've always responded to me best, so I focused more on them than I did on Ichigo, even after all that happened. I'm just happy that they had you for the few years that they did. Shibas have always been a large family, but they can't know about my half of the family without endangering them."
Naruto let out a snort. "So, all they got was good ole crazy Whiskers-oji-san and you're thanking me for that?"
Isshin let out a chuckle at that. "I wouldn't put it that way, but they at least got to know someone from my side of the family, even if it was through unofficial adoption. All of us Shibas are a little crazy."
A sly grin crossed Naruto's face. "Please, you Shibas may be crazy but even you idiots drew the line at adopting some nutjob from Rukongai that damn near started a civil war."
"Didn't stop us from building you a little house in the woods, did it?" Isshin shot back.
"A little house?" Naruto said incredulously, "That's like calling the Sōtaichō some old guy with a fancy walking stick. That place was a freakin' mansion!"
"What can I say? We Shibas like to live and let live," Isshin boasted.
"Oh, and I'm sure it had nothing to do with the numerous 'guests' that came and go so often," Naruto said with another snort.
"Alright, maybe we didn't hide our 'evil masterplan' all that well," Isshin admitted with an amused grin.
"You said it was a bookclub. I should've known you morons would never pick up a book," Naruto muttered to himself.
"Oi, I read! I'm a doctor!" Isshin protested.
"You sure? Cause I remember Masaki saying otherwise," Naruto said slyly.
"Stupid Shinji, saying that I should study Korean instead of Japanese as a damn prank," Isshin muttered to himself, a depressed cloud hovering over his head.
Naruto let out a laugh at the sight of his old friend's amusing antics. Unfortunately, it died soon after, cut short when the bearded man looked up and stared at him, a grave expression killing any humor that he'd seen far too often before he left Karakura.
"Ichigo is going to Seireitei," Isshin stated.
"Probably," Naruto replied.
"Will you protect him?" Isshin asked, his eyes silently carrying a silent plea.
"Probably," Naruto repeated.
There was a pause. "From Aizen?"
Another pause. "With my dying breath."
The two just stared at each other, before Isshin scratched his beard contemplatively and said, "Seems like a bit much."
"I made a promise to Aizen, once upon a time. Whether I'll have to keep it will be up to him."
"You never did tell me what that promise was," Isshin commented.
"Best-case scenario, you'll never have to find out," Naruto replied.
"And if the worst-case scenario comes up?" Isshin said.
Naruto rose to his feet and walked around the couch while he said, "Hopefully it doesn't come to that."
"If it does?" Isshin said, his voice still light, even if there was a desperate edge to it.
Naruto paused, his body turned away from Isshin as his left hand rested on the head of the couch cushion, his finger drumming against them.
"Will you force Ichigo to make the same the choice I made?" Isshin tried again, no longer making any effort to hide his desperation.
The blonde let out a slow, purposeful breath. He glanced back, Killing Intent flooding the room as his left eye gazed at Isshin, a sickly, jaundiced yellow tint forming a small circle between the slit emerald iris and the purple sclera interspersed with black bloodshot veins running through it. "It won't come to that, Isshin. Got it?"
Naruto blinked, the moment was over, his eye back to his usual cerulean color as the Killing Intent disappeared so suddenly that Isshin wasn't quite sure if it was ever truly there.
"See you around, Goat-Face," Naruto's voice called out from the hallway, a hand thrown over his shoulder in a half-hearted wave of goodbye. A second later, Isshin heard the door open and close, signaling that the Visored had left.
III
Naruto stood with his arms crossed, his face blank.
It had been three days since Kisuke had severed Ichigo's Chain of Fate, binding his arms and dropping him inside the Encroachment Pit, as Naruto had been taking to calling it. Surprisingly, it had taken Ichigo only two hours for him to complete the next phase of Kisuke's training program, pulling out a long, black butcher knife-like sword.
He hadn't stayed the entire three days, hadn't even seen the beginning of Ichigo's training; by the time he had arrived back from his night in the Kurosaki home, Kisuke had already dropped Ichigo in the pit, and Naruto was too bored to wait around for Ichigo to get out of the pit. Kisuke had ensured him that he would send a message when Ichigo had reawakened his Shinigami powers.
Instead of sticking around, he'd went to find the other kids. Thankfully, due to Tessai's warning, he knew that two of the kids were being trained by a certain cat and he'd approached stealthily in order to avoid a confrontation. He had only been partially successful on that front, as he was sure that Yoruichi had noticed him, but, surprisingly, she didn't call him out, doing nothing more than letting her eyes flicker over to his hidden position.
From what he could observe, she had the two of the kids, Sado, or Chad, as his friends call him, and Orihime, if he remembered correctly, focus on consciously calling their power forth.
Chad, whose overall demeanor reminded him somewhat of Darui, had been able to summon a second skin on his right arm. The boy, though he looked more like a man than a child, could use his reiatsu to enhance his strength and durability to far above normal human levels, with a single punch able to knock down a tree, and that was before he even called upon the second skin.
The resemblance to Darui only increased when he had been able to use 'El Directo,' a medium to long-range beam of supercharged reiatsu. It was too bad that the technique had knocked him out after his first use. He had since worked to increase his stamina so that he could use it multiple times and overall familiarity with his power.
The young man's power had worried him for a little bit, as Naruto could feel the distinct Hollow-like taint Chad's reiatsu took when he donned his right arm's second skin. Naruto found it a bit ironic that Chad had called out the name of his ability to be 'Brazo Derecha de Gigante,' or the 'Right Arm of the Giant.'
The girl, whose hair color was something he couldn't help but grin at, had been able to call up her own ability, which was formed from her six-petal hairpin. 'Shun Shun Rikka,' as Orihime happily christened it, was capable of two main abilities, both using the fairies that the hairpin housed, that shielded her and healed injuries. While she could also use her fairies to attack, it still comprised of a shield, and it barely counted, seeing as the bubbly girl just didn't like violence.
There was a bit of strangeness with her healing ability, something Naruto was sure Yoruichi had already picked up on; she had spent far too much time with Kisuke to miss such a thing, not to mention her own former position of being the Commander of the Onmitsukidō.
The two had made decent progress, something that Naruto was sure would allow the two to take on Hollows weaker than a Menos Grande rather well. Hell, with a bit of experience and couple days of training, he was sure that the two would even be able to hold off a Gillian-class opponent, possibly even take on out. It was impressive for only a couple days of work.
Despite their progress, Naruto was disappointed. Not in them, for they were children, neither even capable of interacting with meagre Plus-souls less than two months prior; to expect them to be able to do the things they were capable with only a couple days of training would've been ludicrous.
What Naruto was disappointed by was not the children, but in Yoruichi. Sure, she was helping them call on their power willingly, outside of a combat or otherwise strenuous situation, and she was working on their stamina, but it wasn't enough. These were children, not Shin'ō Academy recruits, thus had no true understanding of fighting an enemy combatant seriously. They may have the natural aptitude and raw strength to take out unseated Shinigami, but that wouldn't do much for the higher-ups, such as seated Shinigami; god forbid those two come up against anyone higher than a sixth seat or have the misfortune of encountering a Vice-Captain-class opponent, much less a Captain-class opponent, they would be crushed in an instant.
It wasn't just power those two lacked, it was experience, something that could allow even a Shin'ō Academy student to beat a seated Shinigami officer. They had no combat experience, no true sense of teamwork, and they had only ten days to learn to use their innate abilities to a level that could help them break into Seireitei, a military organization that had been around before Jesus had been born.
Naruto didn't understand what Kisuke or Yoruichi were thinking, sending a group of four kids into Seireitei for some half-assed rescue operation. Something fishy was going on, something his two fellow fugitives were keeping tight-lipped about, and he didn't like it. Kisuke might have brought him up to speed on recent history, but he sure as hell wasn't telling him everything.
There were a lot of missing pieces to the puzzle. He could believe that Kurosaki had attracted a Hollow, even one powerful enough to overpower a seated officer of the Thirteenth Division, such as Kuchiki Rukia, and ending up with as a temporary Shinigami powerful enough to fell said attacking Hollow, but not inside his own house. Naruto knew for a fact that every inch of that house was covered in Kidō barriers to prevent any Hollow from even sensing their presence.
No Hollow, short of a coordinated attack by dozens of Menos Grande, could even scratch that house, and yet a single Hollow was able to? Yeah, he was calling bullshit on that, especially if Ichigo had been able to kill it with a few swipes without a lick of training.
Something was off, Kisuke and Tessai were keeping it a secret, something he expected from the former but certainly not the latter. Yoruichi could be excused as he hadn't even talked to her, but her willingness to train two teenagers was telling enough, especially since her usual training sessions were either devastatingly brutal, far too playful, or filled with irate jibes.
Still, he'd given his word to Isshin, or at least implied it, and he'd agreed to Kisuke's plea; he couldn't allow for these kids to end up dead. He trusted Yoruichi implicitly, Kisuke too, not that he ever shown it, but he couldn't, wouldn't, trust Seireitei, even if Yoruichi was coming along. In order for him to make sure, he would need to involve himself in their training.
While that initial idea was good, there were some problems, the most glaring being the time constraints. Ten days, seven now, wasn't a lot to work with, meaning he would need to prioritize.
Orihime, while having an intriguing and multipurpose ability, was purely a purely support-type fighter. She may have the potential to become so much more than what she currently was, it would take too long for him to properly train her, both due to her inexperience and also her pacifist mindset.
Chad, brutish and durable, was similar to Orihime in both experience and mindset. He was certainly a more frontline fighter and could take care of himself, but he was also more of a supporter/follower like Orihime.
He had only taken a cursory look at Ryūken's kid, Uryū, but it was enough for him to tell that the kid was working hard enough by himself. There was no need for him to interfere in that, especially since Quincy abilities typically took a long time to evolve, at least without extremely dangerous training techniques.
That left only Ichigo.
Masaki's kid, also the one with the most experience fighting in general, but Shinigami specifically, even if it was just the one time. Uryū was the most experienced in terms of hunting Hollows, but Ichigo was the one who had been able to take on a Vice-Captain, even if said Shinigami was only at one-fifth strength. By all accounts, the kid had the most potential, heritage-wise, and Kisuke himself said that the kid grew at an astounding pace, having been able to significantly injure a Menos Grande enough to send it back to Hueco Mundo in less than two months with only borrowed Shinigami powers.
Ichigo was a frontline fighter, the one that tied together his fellow classmates in their future crusade, and he would be the one in most danger. Seireitei's response to Ryoka wasn't typically light, what with the Central Forty-Six, but the Captain Commander, the Sōtaichō, while stern and old, was amenable to allowing young souls to go mostly unpunished; he would surely allow Orihime and Chad to return to Karakura without much fuss. Uryū might be a bit of a problem, what with being a Quincy, a onetime enemy, but the Quincy genocide hadn't been something that the Sōtaichō ever felt good about, only ever going through with it because the radicals in both the Quincy groups and the Central Forty-Six were unrelenting, thus forcing his hand, but the pestering of both of his students for clemency on behalf of the young Ishida progeny would ensure his safety.
What Seireitei could not afford to overlook was Ichigo, and not just because of his Shinigami powers, though that would certainly play a role. It would be the combination of his unnaturally high reiryoku, his uncanny resemblance to the deceased Shiba Kaien, and his influence on Kuchiki Rukia, a Shinigami noble. Seireitei wouldn't allow such an unknown quantity to be left by himself, even if he didn't invade Seireitei.
Plus, if he was lucky, Ichigo just might learn fast enough that there would be enough time to train the others as well.
With his mind set, Naruto walked over to Kisuke, who was looking at a sleeping Ichigo in amusement.
"Kisuke, I'm taking over from here," Ichigo said, surprisingly the other man.
"Why?" Kisuke asked, his eyes shining with genuine curiosity.
"You can't seriously think that he's strong enough to pull off a rescue attempt, do you?" Naruto asked in return.
"If they sneak in, it should be enough," Kisuke said.
"Do you really think a Shiba can pull off any mission requiring stealth?" Naruto said flatly.
"True," Kisuke admitted, before his eyes lit up in curiosity once more. "What do you plan to teach him?"
Naruto grinned wickedly.
III
"Taichō," a soft, feminine voice spoke.
Looking up, Aizen Sōsuke effected a polite expression at the sight of his Lieutenant.
"Hinamori-san, please come in and have a seat," Aizen replied, beckoning the young woman into his office.
She walked in quietly, her gait almost timid from modesty and respect, taking one of the two seats in front of his desk.
"What can I help you with?" Aizen prompted politely in a kind voice.
"Do you need any help with your paperwork?" Hinamori replied in a soft voice.
Aizen shook his head with a smile. "No, thank you. It may seem like a lot but it is the monthly budgeting reports, which aren't due for at least a week."
"Now, I'm sure that isn't the only reason you've come in here," Aizen stated, his attention split between listening to his lieutenant and going over the sheet of paper he had been looking over before she entered. "What is one your mind?"
She seemed hesitant for a moment before she replied, "It's about Rukia-san."
Aizen paused, carefully dabbing the ink from the brush in his before returning it to its proper stationary place. He looked up, giving his full attention to the young woman in front of him considering her.
"Kuchiki-san, correct?" Aizen inquired, receiving a nod from Hinamori. "Is this about her execution?"
"Yes, Aizen-taichō," Hinamori said with a nod, "I was wondering if you could tell me what exactly is going on."
"What do you mean?" Aizen replied, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.
"Well, Rukia-san and I have been friends for some time, but no one is telling me why she's being punished," Hinamori said, a look of frustration barely kept off her face.
"Hmm, odd. I hadn't realized that there was an information shutdown," Aizen muttered to himself before he returned his focus back to his Lieutenant. "Kuchiki-san is responsible for deserting her duty and transferring her Shinigami powers to a human."
"But why would she be executed for that?" Hinamori asked in reply, "That isn't a major offence, at least the latter part. And Rukia-san isn't one to neglect her duties."
"That is usually true, but you are aware of the Kuchiki noble house, correct?" Aizen said, getting a confused nod in return. "The Kuchiki clan is most notable for their duty of creating and preserving the law. As such, any and all Shinigami officers coming from that house are expected to strictly adhere to the rules and regulations of the Gotei Thirteen, more so than any other Shinigami. Thus, any Kuchiki officer that breaks the law is more liable to heavier punishments than any other Shinigami."
"Shouldn't she at least get a trial?" Hinamori asked, a bit of desperation entering her voice.
"Actually, yes, she should," Aizen replied, his words brightening his lieutenant, at least until he continued, "but, because of her status as an adopted member instead of being born into the Kuchiki clan, her situation is a bit complicated. It also doesn't help that there are concerns about her stability due to her involvement in tragedy of the former Lieutenant of the Thirteenth Division, which I believe she was on probation for up until recently. Her own brother unofficially testified that she had been recalcitrant in returning with him, which certainly doesn't help matters."
Hinamori looked confused, which drew a sigh a from him as he smiled sympathetically. "I know this matter is…difficult, and I have questioned Central's decision myself, but anything short of the Sōtaichō's interference won't stop it. Even then, he is duty-bound to carry out their decision, as we all are."
She appeared sullen, her eyes shining with unshed tears.
"Take the rest of the day off, I insist," Aizen said, raising a hand when she opened her mouth to refuse. "You deserve some time to prepare yourself. If you need tomorrow, or the rest of the week, let me know. It's the least I can do."
She thanked him before politely excusing herself, after he dismissed her, exiting the office and closing the door gently. When he was sure she had disappeared, he leaned back in his chair and let out a soft sigh.
Hinamori was, justifiably, upset, but emotion was not something Aizen was at all comfortable with. While he specifically picked Hinamori as his lieutenant because of her modest and subservient behavior, along with the appropriate hero worship and admiration he instilled within others, her soft-spoken nature also led her to be rather emotional.
At least she's polite, he thought to himself.
It was another of the reasons he picked her. Emotional Shinigami were a dime a dozen, as were those who were polite to their superiors, but those that could keep their emotions locked down enough to remain polite while still diligently completing their tasks were not that easy to find. The Sixth Division was full of polite Shinigami as much as the Eleventh Division was full of hotheads, but finding one that were both was difficult, and Hinamori was just that.
It also helped that she was a more proficient user of Kidō than of Zanjutsu, something that was a rarity in the Shinigami forces. The Eleventh was believed to contain the strongest Shinigami, yet few were even halfway decent in the Kidō arts. It was something of a goal of Aizen's to have a lieutenant that was strong enough to wipe out the other Lieutenants with Kidō alone then have another brute.
Even if it was all meaningless in the end, he demanded excellence of his division, as their weakness would reflect badly on him, which would also encourage others to take a closer look into him.
That was another thing that brought a headache to him; people were suspicious of him. It all started went back to the Hollowfied Captains and Lieutenants that odd century or so ago. If things had gone as they should have, there wouldn't be any suspicion aimed at him.
Aizen snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a familiar presence enter the room.
"Taichō," Ichimaru said with his typical grin, his eyes narrowed into slits.
"Gin," Aizen replied with his fake smile on his face. He could never tell what Gin was truly after, though he suspected it was merely for amusement. All that seemed to matter to the man was whether or not he got a kick out of something.
"I got some info ya might want to hear," Gin said, his grin growing just a touch wider.
That grin worried Aizen. If there was one thing Aizen had ever learned about Gin, it was that if he was grinning larger than usual, it could mean only two things. Either whatever he was about to say would either be something Aizen approved of or something that would infuriate him, and there was usually no way to tell a difference. Either way, Gin would get a kick out of it.
He made sure that worry was never broadcasted. He had an appearance to maintain. So, Aizen merely raised an eyebrow.
"I hear Uzumaki's in Karakura," Gin said, his grin widening just a touch more.
Aizen was a master of control. His Zanpakutō created perfect illusions, able to easily manipulate each and every one of the five senses of whoever witnessed its Shikai release. He was able to play the entire Gotei Thirteen like a chessboard, fooling them with a mask of kindness while running around their backs, even their fronts, doing whatever he wanted. He even slaughtered the entire Central Forty-Six, ordering them to do his bidding, to destroy the one thing that stood between him and the final component in order to create a complete Hōgyoku, which would enable him to transcend to true godhood.
Despite all of that, he couldn't stop his eye from twitching.
"Leave."
"Gotcha, Taichō," Gin replied.
Despite his near blinding rage, he didn't miss Gin's shaking shoulders.
"Uzumaki Naruto. I will crush you under my heel," Aizen whispered his promise furiously under his breath.
No one was better than him, especially when it came to illusions or elaborate machinations. Not Urahara, not Uzumaki, no one.
He ignored the annoying familiar cackling laughter that slowly disappeared. Aizen would get back at him later. Right now, he had seething to do.
III
He had calculated everything perfectly, taken numerous precautions and had even more contingencies in place. Each and every Shinigami he had chosen for that experiment of his was selected through meticulous research and consideration.
Ushōda Hachigen, exceedingly kind, polite, and subservient, yet an equally brilliant Kidō specialist, expert in time-space barriers, and exceptionally perceptive.
Hirako Shinji, unnaturally suspicious and deceitful tactician, enough so to see through Aizen's mask and recruit him as his Lieutenant to keep an eye on him.
Ōtoribashi Rōjūrō, laidback and seemingly overdramatic, yet a fellow expert in auditory illusions that can ensnare even a deaf enemy.
Kuna Mashiro, seemingly naïve and childish but incredibly physically powerful and whimsically unpredictable.
Aikawa Love, peaceful and laidback, yet equally merciless and intuitive in battle.
Sarugaki Hiyori, disrespectful and seemingly unintelligent, yet the Lieutenant of the Twelfth Division and naturally suspicious and disdainful of both peers and superiors.
Yadōmaru Lisa, stern and detached, yet exceedingly curious, secretive, and insightful.
Muguruma Kensei, serious with an odd polar temperament, yet quite decisive and brutally efficient enough to ignore his pride and fight without holding back.
Each and every one of those Shinigami were unique, many with the potential to become even more powerful and skilled than they already were. By themselves, even in pairs, they were manageable, but they were all friendly with one another, ranging from amiable to damn near familial. If they were to band together, they had the potential to 'unmask' Aizen and interfere with his goals, especially considering one or two of them had already been suspicious of him during his days as a lieutenant.
They needed to be stopped, but a massacre would have been suspicious, so the Hollowfication experiment served a triple purpose of destroying their potential, having them executed legally, and observing how the Hollowfication process would alter such a wide, yet powerful, group of subjects.
Everything had been going fine, the framing of Urahara Kisuke done wonderfully, as is typical of his performance, and even the defense and involvement of Shihōin Yoruichi and Tsukabishi Tessai, who were both childhood friends of Kisuke's, was accounted for.
Aizen had gotten excellent data from observing the Hollowfication process and both Urahara and Tsukabishi would have been far too busy worrying about saving and curing their fallen comrades to investigate Aizen or even provide a proper defense or alibi for themselves. This would have ultimately left them so psychologically strained that escape would be the only viable option for them. Doing so, the injured and unstable would only open them up to ambush when hunted down by either Seireitei on the orders of an enraged Central Forty-Six or by Aizen himself.
It was, unexpectedly, when the Hollowfied Shinigami, or Visored, and Urahara were in the holding cells that everything went to Hell, and not in the way that Aizen had believed. Between the disdainful Sarugaki, the suspicious Hirako, pessimistic Yadōmaru, and the scheming and distracted Urahara, the decision to escape should have been obvious, yet they all stayed, awaited their trial in front of the Central Forty-Six. It was an idiotic move, everyone knew that the Central Forty-Six were a bunch of stuck-up, ignorant, and bigoted nobles, who have made it clear that they see even the people of the outer districts of Rukongai as subhuman, so their opinion of Shinigami with Hollow powers would have been seen as monsters needing to be put down.
Yet, despite what should have been common sense to the 'guilty' party, they stayed. Not only did they stay, during the trial, Urahara had been in well enough state of mind to not only somehow bullshit enough of a defense to convince the Sōtaichō and almost all of Central to believe him, but also to subtly point the finger at Aizen, as an open accusations of Aizen, a mere Lieutenant at the time who had been openly defensive of them, would have been ignored or turned back around on Urahara.
Thankfully, Aizen had already put a few of the Central Forty-Six under his Zanpakutō's effect and was able to twist Urahara's defense just enough that those under his spell rejected their arguments. It had been done as a precaution, as Ichimaru Gin had joked that they might be crazy enough to stay behind and Tōsen had been adamant about planning for that contingency.
Unfortunately, due to the duration of the trial, it was enough for the Hollowfied Shinigami to recover their strength enough to escape just when things were about to hit the fan.
It was always a possibility for them to escape both Aizen and Seireitei's forces hunting them, but the escape that Aizen had planned for would have allowed for him to, at the very least, keep track of him, for both scientific and strategic purposes. Due to the shifting time tables and the sheer chaos that the trial put on Seireitei, Urahara, Shihōin, Tsukabishi, and the Visored all escaped quietly, untraceable to both Seireitei and Aizen.
Of course, Aizen knew exactly what had gone wrong. When he had been manipulating events so that the perfect squad formations would be assigned into his trap, he had overlooked a relatively new policy change. When a support team is formed in response to a call for backup, a member of the Fourth Division needed to be added on. Aizen, in swamped by research and ensuring all parts of his plan went correctly, had failed to pick up the newest policy change as it had come up in one of the meetings that he had used his sword's ability to avoid.
In his arrogance, when he had seen that the only hiccup in his plan had been a Fourth Division member, he hadn't thought much of it, fully believing that anyone short of a Lieutenant in that division was utterly useless.
After meticulously going over what could possibly have gone wrong with the escaped fugitives, Aizen had come to the conclusion that the only odd variable had been the Fourth Division member. In his pursuit of self-improvement, he had researched the odd variable.
The Fourth Division member that had been sent out with the backup squad was a Third Seat, Uzumaki Naruto.
He would look into this Uzumaki Naruto. He had, somehow, disrupted his plans. It would not happen again.
He would make sure of it.
III
"Ready to go?" Naruto said, walking towards the group of four teenagers. They all tensed, their backs almost jolting straight, Ichigo's hand gripping the handle of the sheathed sword strapped to his waist, Chad's hands fisted loosely as his feet separated a tad, Orihime's hands clapped together in front of her as her feet also separated a tad, one of Uryū's hands forming a sort of claw with his palm facing downwards that almost hid a soft blue glow, and each one of them moved to keep him in their line of sight as their eyes flickered all around them.
Internally, Naruto couldn't help but grin, but refrained from letting one slip onto his face.
"The hell happened to your face?" Ichigo said after a tense moment.
Naruto quietly considered him for a moment before he grinned wickedly. "It's a looong story, and you know I feel about lectures, so are you sure you want to find, Berry-chan?"
Uryū audibly gulped before sending a wide-eyed glare at Ichigo, his clawed hand twitching slightly in Ichigo's direction, who dutifully ignored it but shook his head while keeping his eyes on Naruto.
"I thought so," Naruto replied with a toothy smile, causing each of them to shudder, which he pretended to ignore as he turned to Kisuke. "We good to go, Geta-Bōshi?"
"Will you stop calling me that?" Kisuke replied with a frown. "Give me a second."
After a moment of fiddling, he shot them a thumbs-up. "This is a Senkaimon. Usually, this is made by adding Reishihenkankon to the top of the Senkaimon and Ketsugōfu is used to cov-"
"Shut it, Geta-Bōshi, we're already late and you're not helping," Naruto cut in, earning a depressed pout from the man who had been happily explaining. "What's the time limit for this one?"
"Seeing as I had a bit more time, this one can hold up for hours, if needed," Kisuke boasted with a smile before it deflated a little, "though I wouldn't do that if I were you. You are already late, like, really late."
Naruto stayed silent for a moment before he took out a pocket watch, wincing when he saw the time, before returning it to his pocket at staring at the Senkaimon, considering.
"How many hours?" Naruto asked Kisuke, who tilted his head curiously.
"At least five, maybe six," Kisuke replied, looking to want to ask but keeping his mouth shut, if barely.
"You connect directly to the Dangai, right? That's how you avoid Seireitei's sensors," Naruto half-asked, half-stated.
"Correct," Kisuke replied, his eyes boring into Naruto's.
"Can you check if its empty?" Naruto asked.
"I always make sure it is when I activate it," Kisuke replied.
Naruto nodded his head a few times. "Good. We're guaranteed to be too late if we go through now."
"What!?" Ichigo exclaimed, finally broken out of his stiff state. "Why did you hold us back for so long?! We could've avoided this if we had left without your fuc-"
Ichigo cut himself off as Uryū stomped on his foot, who he turned to glare at but was met with a stern look that made him clench his jaw shut.
"Thank you, Uryū," Naruto said, before turning back to Kisuke. "The Dangai's flow of time is somewhere around two-thousand times faster, right?"
Kisuke's eyes narrowed at Naruto, his hand coming up to pull the edge of his hat down to shadow his eyes slightly. "Yeah."
"Can you force the Kōryū to increase at an exponential rate?" Naruto said.
"Naruto," Kisuke said, a warning edge to his voice. "What you're suggesting is highly theoretical, and just as equally dangerous."
"The average trip through the Dangai at a Captain's max speed is, what, a minute? Half that?" Naruto said.
"You would have a tenth of that, if you're lucky," Kisuke said, his tone not differing.
"I broke nearly half my skeleton because of one Shunpo, nearly exhausting myself," Naruto replied. "and that was centuries ago. I've gotten better."
Kisuke just stared at him.
"Stakes are high, Kisuke. Unless you think you drop us right on top of Sōkyoku Hill, this is the only way," Naruto stated.
Kisuke stared for a moment longer before he sighed. After a minute of surveying the makeshift Senkaimon, he takes out a dozen sheets of paper and tosses them at the gate, each of them flying to a specific part of the gate and easily melding onto it.
"I figured this was what you were thinking of when you asked me to improve the Senkaimon gate time," Kisuke said, eyes still pointed at the gate. "We're breaking a lot of rules here."
"That's the life we live," Naruto replied seriously, before he beckoned the kids closer to him. "Put a hand on my shoulder and keep a tight grip."
"What're we doing?" Ichigo said, a confused frown on his face, though he complied, as did the others.
"No matter what happens, do not let go. I don't care how painful or uncomfortable, you do not let go, do you understand?" Naruto said, his eyes flicking over to each of them, getting nods in return. The claws digging into his scalp let him know that at least Yoruichi had heard and understood.
"Kisuke, fire it up and give me the ready signal," Naruto said, starting to take large, slow deep breaths as he reached deep into his reiryoku.
"Activated," Kisuke said, his voice strained, letting Naruto know that he was using his own reiatsu to help the process along, though he mostly ignored it as he focused a vast majority of his reiatsu.
"Go!" Kisuke grunted, voice strained more than Naruto had heard for quite some time.
A second passed, then another, and then all Naruto knew was fire.