Hey, guys, Breaker12 here with a Bleach/Naruto X-over. Hope you guys enjoy it~!

Beta-read: Kryokon

Chapter 1 - Prologue

A monster...

Apparently, that was what I was. Ever since young, I have always come to terms with it, but no matter how much I try, I just can't understand it. I can't figure out... what deigns me as such.

What have I ever done?

They called me demon, killer, death itself... and yet... why did I feel as if I was no monster?

In my eyes, there was always only one monster – The villagers themselves.

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...

Shrouded in the faint light of the moon, young boy ran through the streets of the mighty Konoha village, the proud hidden village, acclaimed to be the strongest one, of the Fire Nation. His bare feet ruthlessly clashed against the ground, drawing no small amounts of blood. His clothes were torn, and countless wounds could be seen on his body, as he tried his very best to dodge what pursued him from behind. His eyes were narrowed, while his hands were clenched into fists, completely closed, without a hollow spot.

The boy's visage, although battered and worn out, was dark, as his eyes glimmered with defiance and the thirst for power and survival. He knew that this night, his life was on the life. By the end of this night, if he wasn't dead... it could already be considered as an accomplishment; a mighty feat that many wouldn't even dare of dreaming of.

As he ran, the young boy's eyes grew colder by the second, and if they got any colder, it would be enough to freeze the entire continent. Behind him, the sounds of shouting could be heard, along with the droning sounds of footsteps, as a crowd of people cursed him with all their might, steadily chasing after him with all their could. It was completely beyond them how a eight-years old could outrun an adult ninja, but they didn't pay too much attention to that. They eyes were crazed, filled with raw madness, as they held their weapons up high, uttering cries of war.

They thirsted for blood... his blood.

"Demon!" one of the man in the crowd growled, as his coal-like, maddened eyes, flashed with a red glimmer, a small tomoe appearing on it, as he revealed a crazed expression. He held no weapons, but in the entire group, he was by far the most dangerous one. Raising up his arms, his hands started to flash in countless Hand Seals, chakra coiling and churning around him.

Immediately, the young boy up-ahead snapped his head to the side, and while he ran, he kept his trained eyes focused on the man's hands, paying attention to his every movement. Suddenly, a faint glimmer shone in the boy's sky-blue eyes, as he realized the technique.

Snake → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger?! Isn't that...?

Before the man could even shot out the name, he already knew what would follow. His eyes grew even colder, as he realized that this ninjutsu wasn't a simple one. It was far from that; it was a threat to his life – a nasty threat.

Soon after, just as expected...

"Katon: Endan!" the man roared, opening his mouth wide and from within, a dark, greasy substance – oil – was spit out, filling the air in front of him. A spark then flashed before his eyes, as it was all ignited in a fire ball, that pierced the air, flying straight towards the young boy.

Not enough time to dodge... even while watching what could possibly be the cause of his own death, not only did the eight-years old not panic, he maintained a cold an analytical look, as he assessed his situation, searching desperately for a way out of it. He accessed the information that he had about that jutsu, trying to determine the area of attack and the intensity.

By each passing second, the fireball came closer, and he was painfully aware that he only had fractions of a second left. It was do or die.

It's either my life, or... before he could even finish his train of thought, his body moved ahead of him, changing his position, so the fireball would only make contact with one part of his body – his left arm.

In a blazing inferno, the fireball heavily impacted against his arm, charring it completely in seconds, turning it into a pitch-black color, completely lifeless. It hurt. Oh, so much. The fire burned his tissues... his flesh, his bones, his blood... but he had no time to mourn for his loss. Not even a second later, a decisive look flashed in his eyes as he grabbed the knife that was by his waist, something that he had acquired through his years of scavenging for food in the village.

Slash!

With a soft thud, a black object fell to the ground, as the eight-years old kept running, not even bothering to look back, completely focused on the path ahead of him. If one looked at him closely, however, they would see a slight difference to his being – He no longer had his left arm.

The wound, however, had already closed, even though not even a handful of seconds had passed since the severing. Blood no longer spurted out in waterfalls, and skin was already beginning to build up around the gaping hole, covering it completely, not leaving even a single scar to show.

As he continued running, the boy grit his teeth, forcing himself to ignore the pain. He was already used to pain – he lived with it – and his sense of pain was already duller than most people, but the loss of a limb still was a great impact. At the same time, however, he knew that he could do nothing about it, for he had no power.

He lived in a world where the strong prey on the weak, and the latter can only resign themselves to their cruel fate. There was no such thing as justice. There was no such thing as compassion. Power reigned absolute.

This was the kind of cruel reality he lived in, and he learned that first-hand. He, however, didn't hate it. The world was what it was, and there was no way – nor reason – to change it. He only desired for one thing – Power. As long as he had power, no one – NO ONE – would dare to hurt him.

However, that wasn't reality. He was weak. Oh, so weak... so weak that he couldn't even protect himself. Aside from his arm, he had already lost another precious part of his own body... a loss that pained him greatly.

Thinking that far, his right arm unconsciously lifted up to stroke his head, and to be more exact, his right eye – or the place where it should have been. On his fifth birthday, he had had to sacrifice another thing... half of his vision.

His right eye had been infected with poison through a needle thrown at him, and it would soon transmit to his left. Not wanting to take any chances, he had been quick in taking it out. Needless to say, he had to remain bedridden for three days after that.

However, in the midst of his thinking, he had to halt his steps temporarily, as in front of him, a metallic fence appeared. It was wide and lengthy, by far surpassing his own height, and he knew that climbing it wasn't an option. Looking around, he tried to search for some breach in the construction, and it didn't take him long to find a small fissure, just wide enough for him to pass. Without an ounce of hesitation, he squirmed his way inside, before continuing running.

As for the crowd of people behind him, they were about to follow him inside, but the moment that they caught sight of a sign, they stopped dead in their tracks. Not too far away from them, there was a small sign, tainted with drops of blood that had long since dried. The sign was made out of metal, and it was clearly rusted, but the words displayed were clear:

Forty-Fourth Training Ground!

Forest Of Death!

Caution!

Do not enter!

Immediately after reading such words, the crowd of a dozen or so people immediately stopped in their tracks, a look of disbelief in all of their eyes, as they gazed at that terrifying string of words, complex emotions surging through them. Initially, they were taken aback, completely astonished, but soon enough, one of the man started laughing.

This man was none other than the same one that had thrown the fire bullet at the young boy. He had been a genin in his younger days, but because of the Kyuubi attack eight years ago, he had his right arm damaged. Although he could still cast jutsus, acts like throwing shurikens and kunais were beyond him, so he was forced to retire. Even if he was an Uchiha, he was considered a disgrace to his clan, and had been driven out. He blamed it all on the Kyuubi, which then transferred to the poor boy.

"The demon brat actually walked to his death!" the man's – Ryou Uchiha – eyes were crazed, as he laughed manically, a faint glimmer of insanity in his eyes, as he recalled how that boy had been the cause of the death of his wife, daughter and the end of his career as a ninja and the expulsion from his own clan. "That's the forest of death! Whoever sets foot inside dies!"

Immediately, the crowd showed looks of enlightenment, as one after another, people began to realize how unlucky that boy had been. He literally escaped instant death only to jump into hell! Although this fact already guaranteed the boy's death, some of them were still displeased.

"Damn," a bulky man, on his late thirties to early forties, sighed as he shook his head slightly, his hand still gripping on the mace in his hands, ready to strike at any given moment. His eyes were shimmering with unwillingness, and similar to the Uchiha, it glimmered with insanity. "I think that the brat got lucky; I wanted to torture him! Again, and again and again!"

On the day of the Kyuubi's attack, eight years ago, like everyone in the crowd, he had lost someone precious to him. While in Ryou's case it had been his wife and child, in his – Takahiro Youta's – case, it had been his parents. They were already sick from old age, and the attack had sealed their fates. Right in front of him, both of his parents were squashed to death by one of the Kyuubi's tails.

Youta wasn't the only one like that. Throughout the crowd, many people expressed their anger, but they could do nothing about it, as none of them had the qualifications to even come close to a place like the forest of death. No matter how much they loathed and hated the young boy, they would never dare to set foot within the notorious training ground.

After a while, they all turned around, deciding to either go back to their own houses, or partake in the celebration of the Kyuubi festival. After all, the Yondaime Hokage, along with his wife and daughter would be personally attending it; how could they not join in on the fun?

...

...

...

Meanwhile, within the forest...

The moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the vast wilderness with its faint sheen. Running through the plethora of plants that painted a picturesque scenario, was a young boy, with the faint moonlight guiding his path.

He didn't know where he was going.

He didn't know where he was.

Hell, he didn't know who he was.

Ever since young, he had been shunned by his village for being some kind of demon. Supposedly, he had a family, but he wasn't really sure of their names. From a young age, right after his birth, he had been left alone at an orphanage, with his name as his only belonging.

Because of that, since he was younger, he had to learn how to live for himself. As means of survival, his eyesight adapted, along with his memory, allowing him to easily see through hand-signs and know some jutsus before they were cast. Although it was no-where near the fabled Sharingan, it was still something that the young boy took pride him. At the very least, it had saved his life a few times so far.

Running aimlessly, he didn't mind how much the pain dug its way through his brain, or the amounts of spines he had already stepped on top of with his bare foot. He only cared for one thing – survival.

Thankfully, it seemed that most animals were asleep, as he didn't find even a single one on his path. He thought that it was strange, but didn't think too much into it. After all, if it was for his benefit, why question it?

After a while, he slowly reached an area devoid of any trees – a clearing. It was the first one that he had seen so far, and after checking his surroundings for any sleeping beasts or animals, the young boy walked inside, intending to rest a little there. Much to his surprise, however, as soon as he entered it, his eyes widened, as he realized that this clearing was definitely no simple clearing.

Firstly, it was devoid of any vegetation. Even the grass was withered and dried, of a blackened color. Even the trees surrounding it were also dead. This scenario was nothing short of terrifying; it was as if a God of Death had taken that place as his residence. However, what had caught the young boy's attention the most were the two swords, embedded on the ground, right in the middle of the clearing.

One of them was big, in the shape of Khyber knife, with the grip at the base of the blade and a handle extending back from it. There was a thin, hollowed-out portion running along the back edge of the blade from the base to the middle of the blade.

As for the seconds sword, it was relatively small, much smaller than the first one, and was similar to the first blade, but resembled more of a trench knife than a sword. Differently from the first, it hand an enclosed handle, with a portion acting like a hand guard.

Those swords were close to in another, in an 'X' shape. Around it, the aura of death was even denser, as the grass had a faint, dark glint to it. Looking at it, the young boy felt shivers run down his spine. He had a foreboding feeling when he looked at those swords. Whatever they were, they were...bad.

At the same time, however, the young boy felt a tugging sensation in his gut. There was something calling for him... he was attracted to those two swords. He didn't know why or how, he just knew it.

By this point, interest grew in his heart, as he started wondering what those kinds of swords were doing in a place like this. Walking closer, he tentatively tried to grass the hilt of the smaller one, only to see that no matter how much he pulled, it wouldn't budge.

"Ah?" the young boy's eyes widened, as he tried to use his remaining arm – the right one – using all his strength to pull it up, but it was to no avail. At that moment, he no longer knew why he was even trying; he simply tried, following his most primal instincts.

"It's stuck?" looking at it strangely, the young boy directed his sight towards the ground, gazing at the blackened land beneath him. Nodding slightly, he crouched down, and started to dig with his only arm, trying to find what was underneath. Much to his surprise, however, not even a few minutes after he had begun, his hand suddenly clashed against what seemed to be metal. "Rocks?"

Thinking that the situation was strange, the young boy peered into the hole he had dug, and found a metallic surface. "Metal... what is metal doing here?"

With his interest rekindled, he started to dig around the borders, and before long, right beneath him, a metallic coffin was revealed, and it seemed as if the swords were stuck on its surface, which explained why he had found it so hard to pull them out.

"What is a coffin doing out here?" wondered the young boy out loud, as he grabbed what he assumed to be the lid of the coffin, and swung it, completely opening it with one single swing, surprised at how light the lid was. Immediately after the lid was out of the way, the young boy came face to face with another person.

Differently from what one would expect from what would be inside a coffin, like a corpse or mortal remains, what was in front of him was a young man, at least seventeen years old. The first thing that the young boy noticed was that he was unlike everyone else he had ever seen. He looked like a foreigner, with manly features and a mop of light-orange hair above his head.

The young man's eyes were closed, and he was wearing black robes that reached his ankles – clearly unlike shinobi clothes – and had two white shoulder plates crossing his chest in an 'X' shape, with the plate on his left shoulder having three sections adorned with red scales. A white cloak with black markings was tied around his waist, and the state of his attire was impeccable, without a single dirt spot.

"A foreigner?" the young boy tilted his head to the site curiously, before extending his index finger towards the young man's face, slightly poking. Seeing no reaction, his eyes showed confusion. "Dead?"

Well, it wouldn't be surprising if he was dead, but seeing that his flesh had no decay, he had initially held thoughts that maybe he was alive, but after poking his face thrice and receiving no reactions, the young boy shook his head, clearly assured.

"Truly dead," he nodded slightly, before taking a step back, and getting out of the perimeter of the coffin. His gaze slightly landed on the place where his left arm should have been, before he focused on the two swords, which were still stuck on the lid of the coffin. Taking a step forward, he tried to grab them again, but before he could, he felt wind building up behind him, and before he knew it, there was a hand in his shoulder.

"Kid? What do you think you're doing?"

Slowly turning his head around, the young boy found himself face to face with the young man he had found in the coffin. His eyes were opened, revealing deep brown pupils and were looking at him intently.

"Kid?" he asked again, wondering why the eight-years old was so silent.

"Ah!" realizing that the young man was talking to him, the young boy immediately realized the situation. He was probably mad that he was trying to grab those swords! Instantly, he bowed slightly, "I'm sorry! I didn't know those were your swords!"

I thought you were dead, by the way, the blonde boy thought with dark humor, but didn't voice his thoughts. For some reason, he felt that the man in front of him was powerful; unbelievably so. As such, he made sure to be as respectful as possible.

However, much to his surprise, when he looked up and saw the young man's face, he discovered, much to his astonishment, that he wasn't angry, but instead, confused, as he looked around in curiosity and bafflement. After a while, the young man glanced back at him, a profound look in his eyes. "Kid, tell me, where the hell is this?"

"This?" the young boy looked around, eyeing the forest for a while, before turning back to look at the young man. "The Forest of Death, I believe."

Before, he had indeed read the sign, but believed that it would be better to gamble his life within the forest than to let his fate in the hands of the villagers. So far, at least, everything was going pretty well.

"Forest of Death?" the young man repeated after him, as if tasting those words. Immediately after, he looked back at the kid dubiously, a profound look in his eyes. "By chance, do you know who Yhwach is?"

"Yh...what?" the young boy looked at him curiously, clearly not understanding his words. Hell, he couldn't even pronounce that strange sounding name.

"Ehm..." sighing, the young man thought of how he should explain it. "Have you seen someone tall, broad chin and high-cheekbones? Long, black hair, evil eyes and a huge-ass mustache?"

Hearing the description, the young boy looked at the older male strangely.

"No?" the young boy answered back, taken aback by the description. He had never even heard of a shinobi like that, and that was considering that he knew almost everyone in the village. Could it be that this person along with the one he was looking for weren't from Konoha?

Seeing how clueless the boy was, the young man sighed slightly, a deep and confused look in his eyes.

"Alright, so I'm in a place I don't know, with a clueless boy and Yhwach disappeared..." the young man murmured to himself before sighing deeply. Looking at the boy again, he asked. "What's your name?"

"N-Naruto," the young boy – Naruto – stuttered slightly while saying his own name, half-expecting the orange-haired man in front of him to reveal an expression of hate upon discovering who he was. Much to his surprise, however, he simply nodded.

"Naruto, right?" he extended his left arm towards him in a friendly gesture, "I'm Ichigo."

Ichigo? Once more, the young boy was surprised. That name was certainly uncommon, and it looked really out of place with the other names in his village. By this point, he was already sure that the orange-haired man was a foreigner.

Nevertheless, Naruto extended his remaining arm, shaking his hand slightly. It was also at that moment that the young man – Ichigo – glanced at the place where his other arm should have been, revealed a surprised look, before looking back at him curiously, but not saying anything. Simultaneously, he noticed that Naruto's right eye was closed.

Shaking his head slightly, Ichigo figured that Naruto, the young boy, must have been through many things in his life, so he didn't pry too deep into it. Everyone had their own secrets; he knew that better than anyone else.

Smiling lightly, he looked at Naruto questioningly, "Tell me, Naruto, are we in the Human world?"

Since he was in his Shinigami mode, and this kid could clearly see him, that either this meant that they were in the human world and the kid had high spiritual power, or in another place, like the Soul Society or the Rukongai.

"I guess so?" once more, Naruto revealed a puzzled look. That question could only be described as strange; if they weren't in the human world, where else would they be?

Nodding slightly, Ichigo understood that most likely – as he suspected – Naruto was truly a human with high amounts of spiritual powers, capable of seeing him. Still, that didn't explain the situation. In one minute, he was having his last fight with Yhwach, and in the other, he woke up in this strange place – supposedly called The Forest of Death, without understanding anything.

"Naruto," Ichigo began slowly, making the young blonde pay attention to him, "in which country are we?"

Since they were in the human world, then this most likely meant that they were in Japan, since the kid could speak the same language as him, but it wouldn't hurt to ask. Much to his surprise, however, the kid's answer was beyond his expectations.

"We are in the Land of Fire, if that's what you want to know," Naruto quickly answered, thinking back to the information that he had read when he was back in the library. Seeing the puzzled look in Ichigo's face, Naruto further explained. "As for the village, we are in Konoha, the Hidden Leaf Village."

Land of Fire? Konoha? Hidden Leaf Village? Ichigo's eyes widened, as he suddenly discovered that his situation wasn't as simple as it seemed. What kind of messed up scenario is this? Just where in the world did I end up in?

Looking at him deeply, Naruto noticed that even after he mentioned 'Konoha', the confusion in Ichigo's face didn't lessen, which lead to his surprise. Most of the people in the world knew of Konoha since it was one of the most famous villages in existence. Looking at the orange-haired man in front of with warily, Naruto couldn't help but to say, "You do know what Konoha is, right?

Naruto may hate his village with all his heart, but he simply couldn't believe that someone hadn't heard about it. To him, that concept was simply inconceivable.

Listening to the young boy's words, Ichigo shook his head slightly.

Alright, Ichigo, calm down. First things first, you must find out more about where you are, Ichigo mentally told himself, trying to keep his mind steady and calm, which wasn't proving to be an easy feat. After all, being suddenly teleported to a place you had never heard about in the middle of a life and death battle could be quite a blow to the mind.

Taking in a deep breath, Ichigo slowly began to speak, while looking at Naruto sheepishly, "I'm sorry, but I'm suffering of amnesia. Would you mind explaining to me about this 'village' and the Land of Fire?

"Amnesia?" Naruto gazed at him with wariness, before nodding, since he had nothing else to do. Not only that, since the young man was being polite with him, he had no reason to refuse. "Alright, I guess I can tell you what I know."

Naruto saw no disadvantage in helping out Ichigo. Not only that, as far as he was concerned, this was the longest conversation that he had ever held in his life, and he wasn't willing to let it go. After all, who knew when the chance to talk this much would arise again?

"So, the Land of Fire..." Naruto began after a deep breath, recalling everything that he had read in the library in his entire life.

For the next two hours, Ichigo heard all about the countries, shinobis and the hidden villages. Needless to say, by the end of it all, he realized how fucked up he was. It didn't take him too long to come the conclusion that he definitely wasn't on his world. Apparently, he somehow ended up in a world of... Ninjas.

"... And that's about it," Naruto concluded, having finished his explanation. When he looked at Ichigo's face once more, he noticed the look of utter disbelief and even a little of despair present in his features. "...Hey, are you alright...?"

"Ah?" being suddenly talked to, Ichigo lifted up his head and was about to answer, but suddenly stopped, as he felt a tugging sensation on his clothes. Not even a second later, from his robes, a small, bluish-purple orb fell out, encircled in a crystal-looking case. Immediately after seeing what it was, Ichigo's eyes widened.

"The Hōgyoku?!"

Ichigo couldn't believe what was happening. Hovering in mid-air, right in front of him, was one of the most powerful – if not the most – objects in existence, the almighty, desire manifesting orb – the Hōgyoku. Ichigo clearly remembered how Aizen Sosuke had used its power to transcend into a higher being, and, truthfully, he didn't have a good impression of the little object that could bend reality at will.

However, what surprised him the most was: Why did he have the Hōgyoku with him?! He clearly remembered how it had disappeared after his battle with Aizen, and yet... it simply popped out his clothes.

"Ichigo-san?" Naruto called out, as he eyed the strange object, that kept hovering in front of him. "What's this?" he asked, pointing at the Hōgyoku.

"That's-"

Before Ichigo could even begin, the heaven-defying orb suddenly started to emit a low humming sound, before it started flying forward, directly towards Naruto. Seeing that, Ichigo's eyes widened, as he tried to catch it, but that only caused the situation to grow even worse, as he touched the Hōgyoku in the exact moment that it collided against the small blonde.

Following that, a blinding white light filled the entire clearing, and before Ichigo knew it, he found his body disintegrating. At the same time, Naruto slipped into unconsciousness.

Oh, fuck, Ichigo's eyes widened as he realized that he had fucked up. Big time.

...

...

...

When Naruto opened his eyes again, the first thing that he realized was that he was on the ground. Not only that, he was in a rather intimate way, with his mouth kissing the dirt. Immediately, he lifted up his body, and spit out a bit of the soil that had entered his mouth. Raising his head, he looked around, searching for Ichigo, but found nothing.

Not only that, the two swords had also disappeared. The only thing that remained, which served as proof that he hadn't dreamed all that had happened, was the opened coffin, with its lid not too far away from it.

"Ichigo?" called out Naruto, trying to see if his newfound acquaintance was close, but he heard no answer. Shaking his head, he tried lifting his body up, using both of his arms to prop himself up. Wait... both of his arms?!

Like a bowstring, Naruto's head snapped to the place where he thought his left arm used to be, and much to his surprise, he actually found it there. Flesh, veins, blood and meridians... it was all there. With widened eyes, Naruto brought it closer, inspecting it, but he found no blemish whatsoever. It was as good as new.

It was also at that moment that he noticed the scars on his body, or, to be more precise, his lack of scars. Naruto clearly remembered that he held no small amount of scars in his body, amounting to dozens of them, but at that moment, he couldn't find any of them. Not. Even. One.

Once more taking his attention away from his body, not wanting to think too much into what was happening, Naruto tried to search around again, but found nothing, just like before.

"Did he go away?" Naruto's eyes revealed a saddened sheen, as he realized that his newfound acquaintance had already departed. Sighing, the blonde raised his head to the sky, a sad smile on his face, "At the very least," he begun, "he didn't try to hurt me..."

Shaking his head, he turned his gaze towards his left arm, and checked it once more, before sitting on the ground. He needed time to think. So many things had happened in a short span of time, and it had left him quite overwhelmed. He needed to sort out his thoughts, and decide what to do for now.

...

...

...

"What the hell?!"

Brown eyes snapped open, and before the orange haired boy even begun to look around, he slapped his palm against the ground, jumping upwards, already entering a battle stance. He had been through many things, and his actions just now were acted solely on instinct. He was a battle-hardened warrior; there was no denying it.

At that moment, however, he felt a cold feeling surrounding his feet and ankles, which surprised him slightly, making him look down, only to notice that his feet were submerged in water. It was also at that moment that the orange-haired Shinigami finally decided to look around, which lead him to realize that he was in...in...a sewer.

"You must be kidding me," face-palmed Ichigo, as he couldn't bring himself to understand what was happening. His look was one of confusion and anger, as he realized that somehow, the Hōgyoku had managed to do an impossible feat – mess his situation up even further.

Alright, man, calm down. I touched the Hōgyoku, some weird light flashed, and I ended up in a sewer. There must be some sense behind this... thought Ichigo, but even after a while, he was unable to come to a logic conclusion, other than the fact that that day definitely wasn't his lucky day.

First, he had been battling with Yhwach, just one shy step away from beating the hell out of him, and suddenly, in the middle of the battle, he blacks out and finds himself in a ninja country. If this wasn't bad luck, then what was?!

"Ichigo, calm down."

Suddenly, from behind him, he heard a deep and baritone voice, which made his eyes widen greatly. He only knew two people with that voice, but one of them had an even deeper one, which was filled with contempt. This, however, was calm and level-headed... this was his voice. The voice of the manifestation of his Quincy powers; the voice of...

"Old-man Zangetsu?!"

Ichigo turned around in shock, and just as he thought, behind him was a tall middle-man – much taller than him – with a lean-built and a stoic expression. His skin was of a pale color, with high cheekbones, a stubble adorning his face, and long ragged black hair with brownish highlights. He wore a tattered white dress shirt with an upturned collar and cuffs, black pants, low-heeled boot, along with a menacing amorphous black overcoat with a burgundy highlight that flared out in ragged ends. On his face was a brown-tinted, semi-transparent wraparound sunglasses.

This man... was none other than the manifestation of Ichigo's Quincy powers, the other half of his Zanpakutō spirit and also the same spirit that had faded away a long time ago, leaving him behind, so his Shinigami powers could grow.

He was clearly in front of Ichigo, and yet the orange-haired boy couldn't believe it. He had seen with his own two eyes as he faded away... he had perished, giving place for his Shinigami powers... how could simply reappear?!

Seeing the look in Ichigo's visage, the manifestation of Ichigo's Quincy powers revealed one of his rare smiles, although it was a sad one. His eyes were looking deeply at Ichigo from behind his glasses, and it could be seen that he also didn't understand the situation, but still maintained a level-headed and calm mind.

"I know what you are thinking, Ichigo," Old-man Zangetsu took a step closer, and placed his hand on the astonished boy's shoulder, who still hadn't moved from his spot, completely immobile. "However, now is not the time for this. We must figure out where we are."

Ichigo remained motionless, before he slowly lifted up his head, gazing deep within Old-man Zangetsu's eyes. "Is this real?" suddenly, he felt a knot forming in his throat. "A-are you truly alive?"

Before, when he had faded away, Ichigo had suppressed his grieving, but the blow had still been hard on the seventeen-years old. Old-man Zangetsu had been with him for a long time, and had helped him through thin and thick. Even if he had been suppressing his Shinigami powers all along... he was still one of his closest friends.

"I'm afraid it is," The stout, middle-aged spirit nodded slowly, a deep look in his eyes. "I am unaware of what made me come back, but now, we should-"

"Oi! Zangetsu! King!"

Suddenly, from behind them, a shrill and twisted voice shouted out, making Ichigo's eyes widen, while Zangetsu's narrowed slightly. Approaching them with a wicked smile on his face was a teenager, who looked like a carbon-copy of Ichigo, except that the colors were all mixed up.

He was fairly tall and lean-built, while his skin, unlike Ichigo's, was of a pure white color, even paler than pale, with his eyes consisting of black pupils, yellowish irises and a black sclera. His face carried a psychotic grin, and he was looking at them with clear and morbid interest.

"Zangetsu," Old-man Zangetsu acknowledged him with a curt nod, before no longer paying any attention to him. As for Ichigo, he simply looked at his look-a-like slightly, before shaking his head.

"So you're also here?"

"Why wouldn't I be, Kingy?!" Zangetsu smiled widely, although it was a sadistic one, as he looked around the area. "Still, what a place to be in, huh? Fucking stinks!"

"We are in a sewer," Ichigo rolled his eyes, as he reminded his Zanpakutō spirit of that simple – yet crucial – fact, that he apparently had forgotten. "Anyhow," Ichigo looked around once more, before looking back at Old-man Zangetsu. "Any idea on where we are?"

"I'm sorry, but I also don't have any-"

"Oi oi! Why don't you ask me, your true Zanpakutō spirit?!" Zangetsu took a step forward as he snarled. "What's the deal, eh, Kingy?"

"As if you would know..." said Ichigo, a knowing look in his face. If not even Old-man Zangetsu, who possessed seemingly limitless knowledge didn't understand the situation, then why would his retard of a Zanpakutō spirit know? It simply made no sense!

"Oh?" Zangetsu revealed a wicked grin, as he laughed maniacally. "What's this?! Kingy is beginning to man-up?! What, did you grow a pair of balls? Hahahaha!"

After a while, he lifted his head, and gazed at Ichigo much like a predator would look at his prey. "Don't underestimate me, King. I, differently from the Old fart, know the situation."

Saying that, he crossed his arms, as he narrowed his eyes. "You remembered that little brat? Fishcake or something like that?" seeing Ichigo's nod of confirmation, Zangetsu continued. "Well, turns out that we are within his mind."

"What?!" Ichigo's eyes widened as he looked around, this time with much more carefulness. This sewer was... the inside of Naruto's mind? Looking back at Zangetsu, he shot him a strange look. "So this is Naruto's mind-scape? I thought it would be like mine, with skyscrapers and buildings..."

At this time, Old-man Zangetsu suddenly spoke, gaining Ichigo's attention. "Each and every person has their own mindscape. It's solely based on their state of mind and personality..."

"That's right, Old fart," Zangetsu nodded as he waved his arms around before glancing at Ichigo. "Your mindscape was that weird-ass city, and I truly thought that you were superior in terms of strangeness to everyone else, but it seems like you have found a contestant," he then gazed around once more before revealing a disgusted look. "Seriously, to have a sewer as his own mind-scape... just what kind of life did the little brat live?!"

In Ichigo's mind, he was also thinking the same things. If this was truly Naruto's mindscape, and the mindscape was the representation of a person's personality, then there was something definitely wrong with the young boy to have such a thing like a sewer as his mindscape. At the same time, however, he couldn't help but to wonder how Zangetsu had figured it out.

"Hey, Zangetsu... how did you discover that this is the kid's mindscape?"

Listening to Ichigo's words, Zangetsu revealed a bestial smile before using his thumb to point to a space behind him. "Ah, nothing, I just asked the fellow over there..."

The fellow over there? Ichigo's eyes widened, as he faced the direction Zangetsu was pointing at. At that moment, he noticed that behind the pale Zanpakutō spirit was a huge cage, that reached up to the ceiling. Right in the middle of it was a paper talisman, with an intricate design. Widening his eyes, Ichigo couldn't help but to think, How didn't I see this before?!

This, however, was the least of his surprises, as from deep within the cave, a rough and cruel voice rang out.

"Shut the hell up!"

The water beneath him rippled, and he could literally see the trembles in the air, as his hair was pushed back, just from the sheer intensity of the voice. Before Ichigo could even react, a huge eye – at least ten times his size – appeared on the other side of the gate.

It was bloodshot and slitted, and more than that, it was filled with hate. Just from gazing at it, Ichigo felt chills run down his spine. Whoever that eye belonged to... wasn't to be trifled with.

"You bunch of humans pop up in here and start making a ruckus," the eye narrowed at them, and Ichigo could hear a growl coming from the other side. "I don't care who you are, why you are here or anything else. If you don't let me sleep, you're dead!"

The ground shook, the water rippled, and the walls vibrated, as Ichigo had to force himself to keep his body attached to the ground, in fears of being thrown away like a rag-doll. That voice contained an immeasurably deep power... much more than he could ever imagine.

It was also at that point that Old-man Zangetsu took a step forward, and started walking towards the cage, before standing right in front of it, gazing at the huge, blood-shot eye.

"What do you want, tiny human?" the voice asked with a snarl, clearly displeased.

"Answers," Old-man Zangetsu gazed at the eye calmly, without a change in expression. "Firstly, who are you?"

"Oh?" a voice full of mocked amusement came from behind the gates, as the eye narrowed even further. "Who do you think you are, to ask me things?"

"I just-"

"Oi, Old fart, leave this to me," suddenly, Zangetsu took a step forward, and interrupted Old-man Zangetsu, as he gazed at the humongous blood-shot eye. "Hey, big-guy, remember me?"

"Why wouldn't I?" someone huffed from behind the gate, as the iris did a 360 within the eyes. "You are the loud bastard who keeps interrupting my sleep."

"The one and only," Zangetsu grinned wildly, before he revealed a calculating look. "How about this? You answer our questions, and then we shut up, letting you sleep. How does that sound? Win-win situation, isn't it?"

"..."

No voice came from the other side for a long time, as the huge eye momentarily closed. When it opened again, it seemed calmer.

"Make it quick."

"Righty," Zangetsu nodded, before he turned around to face Old-man Zangetsu. Then, with mocked reverence, he motioned towards the eye. "Your turn."

"Thank you," Old-man Zangetsu nodded towards Zangetsu, before setting his gaze on the huge eye. "As I asked before, who are you?"

Looking lazily at him, the eye only narrowed slightly. "Just consider me an inhabitant of the brat's mind."

"An inhabitant?" glancing at the large seal talisman that locked the gate, Old-man Zangetsu nodded slightly. "Then... have you seen the Hōgyoku?"

"Hōgyoku?" the voice once more came from behind, slightly surprised, before it seemed to have realized something. "Oh, you mean this little shit who keeps bothering me?"

While saying so, a gigantic tail suddenly appeared, with the tip twirled around something. Bringing the tail close to the gate, the gigantic being behind the gate unfurled it, letting a small object fall down. Seeing it, Ichigo, who was off by the side, widened his eyes.

"That's it!"

He then ran forward, and was about to grasp it, but Old-man Zangetsu was faster, as he took it in his grasp. Immediately after, he closed his eyes. When they opened again, they seemed different from before. At the same time, he waved his hands, and the Hōgyoku flew up high in the air before disappearing from sight.

"The Hōgyoku has told me the situation," suddenly, Old-man Zangetsu spoke, making all eyes look at him with surprise. "Apparently, that Naruto child desired for power, and the Hōgyoku realized his desire."

Saying that, he assumed a complex expression. "Using its powers, it made the child absorb your soul and spirit, along with your Shinigami, Quincy and Hollow powers, and your true body."

"What?!"

Ichigo's eyes widened, not daring to believe what he had heard. "Then, you mean that now, you and Zangetsu are..."

"No," Shaking his head, Old-man Zangetsu explained, "we are still your power. What the Hōgyoku did was different... it grasped the essence of your three converging powers, got their true nature, and infused it into the boy."

"Hoh?" Zangetsu grinned slightly, as he realized what his older counterpart was talking about. "Old fart, are you saying that he will have his own Zanpakutō? One different from us?"

"Exactly," nodding his head, Old-man Zangetsu confirmed Zangetsu's guesses, "the child is now a Shinigami, a Quincy and a Hollow, but he will have his own spirits. In other words... he will have his own sword, and just like yours, Ichigo, it will have two spirits. One for his Quincy powers, and another for his Hollow and Shinigami powers."

"What?!" Once more, Ichigo revealed a surprised expression. This.. this was simply unbelievable. He had no idea that the Hōgyoku was able to do such things. Sure, it had managed to grant Chad and Inoue their own powers, and also mess with the time-flow and reality, bending it so he could be made a Shinigami, but this... was simply unbelievable.

After a while, Ichigo broke through from his shock, although his eyes still contained a glimmer of surprise. He then look around slightly, before a puzzled look appeared on his face. "Then... where are they?"

Noticing what Ichigo was talking about, Old-man Zangetsu explained. "They have not awakened yet. First, the child needs to become a true Shinigami, and not only have the potential to become one."

"You mean..." Ichigo's eyes widened. "That he will have to go through..."

"What Kingy went through with that creepy Urahara fellow?" Zangetsu completed the sentence. "Have his Chain of Fate severed, so he can awaken his true Shinigami powers?"

"Exactly," Old-man Zangetsu nodded. "At least, that's what the Hōgyoku told me to do."

"Wait, wait," suddenly, Ichigo stepped in on their conversation, a confused look in his face. "Why should we help the kid in the first place? I barely know him... shouldn't I be more worried about how I should get back?"

However, much to his disbelief, Old-man Zangetsu shook his head.

"The Hōgyoku has ordered us to be the kid's teacher... our only purpose is to make him stronger... No, to make him the strongest," he then locked his gaze on Ichigo's eyes. "From what it told me, as long as we make the child the strongest, then he would send us back to our world."

"What?! So I'm supposed to become the kid's mentor or something?" Ichigo's appearance was one of bafflement, as if he could not comprehend the situation. "And, if he becomes the strongest, it will lead us back?!" saying that far, he suddenly stopped, as he seemed to have realized something. "Wait... it told us that it could bring us back... could this mean that the Hōgyoku was the one who interrupted my battle with Yhwach and brought me to this weird world?!"

"I'm afraid so," Old-man Zangetsu nodded slightly. "For some reasons I can't fathom, it listened to the boy's prayers for powers, even if they were dimensions apart, and has brought us to this world in order to fulfill the child's desires. As long as we do so, then we will be brought back."

"Wow, did you hear that, Kingy?!" Zangetsu grinned wildly, excitement on his face. "We will have someone to torment now!"

Completely turning a deaf ear towards Zangetsu's sentence, Ichigo adopted a look of deep thought, musing over his possibilities. After a while, he opened his eyes and sighed.

"I guess I could help out the boy... he doesn't seem like a bad person..." suddenly, the presence on the other side of the gate snorted, but Ichigo didn't pay too much attention to it. "Alright, so I can teach him how to use his Shinigami powers... but what about his Quincy and Hollow powers? I only know Blut Vene and the Gran Rey Cero, after all."

"I'll teach the brat how to be a Hollow," replied Zangetsu as he shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.

"You?" Ichigo gave him a look of mock surprise. "Like you know anything..."

Hearing Ichigo's words, Zangetsu merely huffed, before he disappeared from his place, making Ichigo's eyes widen, as he realized that familiar ability. "S-sonido?!"

"Surprise, surprise," Zangetsu appeared behind Ichigo, with his arms crossed, a feral grin on his face. "I know everything about being a hollow."

"Wait..." Ichigo's eyes widened as he turned around, yet again realizing something. "If you knew all this from the start, why didn't you teach them to me?! I can only use the Gran Rey Cero.. if I could use the rest, my life would be much easier!"

"You never asked me for them," Zangetsu merely shrugged his shoulders. "And it's not like I would have taught you even if you wanted to... To the kid, however, I'll gladly do so. His personality isn't that bad... or should I say... it is that bad."

He then let his eyes wonder around the place faintly before gazing back at Ichigo. "After all, look at his mindscape. Now this is what I call a fucked-up mind! Also, for him to desire for power so much that the little ball heard him from another dimension.. that's the kind of person I would like to teach!"

Hearing Zangetsu's words, Ichigo could only give him a flabbergasted look before shaking his head, turning around to face Old-man Zangetsu. "What about his Quincy powers? Don't tell me that you also know the basics?"

"Actually," Old-man Zangetsu, for the first time, gave Ichigo a faint smile, which caused the orange-haired young man to reveal an expression of shock, "it appears that I do."

"What?!" this time, Ichigo was astonished. It was one thing for Zangetsu not to teach him how to use his hollow powers, but for Old-man Zangetsu to omit such information from him... he just couldn't believe it. Seeing the look of betrayal in Ichigo's face, Old-man Zangetsu sighed.

"It's not like that, Ichigo," he begun. "You can see that I have appeared, even after I clearly faded away, right? That's because the Hōgyoku restored my existence, just so I could teach the boy the Quincy techniques. For that, it also gave me information about everything Quincy-related... in fact, it gave me the memories of my..." reaching that part, Old-man Zangetsu revealed a dark expression, "other self."

Other self?! Does he mean... Yhwach?! Ichigo's eyes widened, but he didn't voice his thoughts. After a while, he sighed, having come to terms with the situation. He was stuck in a world he knew nothing of, and the only way back would be to make a kid strong... what could possibly go wrong?

Shaking his head slightly, he was about to say something, but stopped, as he recalled a memory from long ago. Seemingly having realized something, he once more gazed at Old-man Zangetsu. "Wait... there's still one problem left. When Urahara severed my Chain of Fate, Tessai had bound me with Kido... what shall we do about that?"

Old-man Zangetsu suddenly revealed a troubled expression, as he heard Ichigo's words. Truly, there was no way to bind the child... how should they go about it?

However, it was at that moment that from behind the gates, a deep voice resounded.

"Leave that to me."

"Huh?!" Ichigo's head – akin to a bowstring – snapped towards the gate, peering deep into the boundless darkness with surprise. "You?"

From behind the gates, someone sighed, before saying, "I don't understand anything about Shinigamis, Quincies and Hollows, but... if it will make my host strong, then I'm willing to help you out. I only need to bind him, right?"

"Yes..." Ichigo begun carefully, but inside, he was confused. Clearly, whatever was behind the gates didn't seem like a good person that would help out others... then why would he be willing to help the boy?

As if seeing Ichigo's suspicions, the huge eye closed slightly, as the voice filled with the entire room. "I may hate being sealed like this... but that kid has suffered, much more than me. Although I hate to admit it, he deserves power."

Suddenly, the voice grew cold, sending shivers down Ichigo's spine. "However, if you ever dare to tell the kit that, then believe me when I say this, you're not going to like the result."

Reaching that part, the eye closed once more, as the voice seemed like it had gotten far-away. "Just tell me when the time comes."

Upon saying such words, the presence behind the gates spoke no longer, as it seemed to have went to another place, or have simply slumbered.

"I like him already," Zangetsu smiled wickedly after noticing that the presence could no longer hear them.

"Oh, shut your trap," Ichigo rolled his eyes, before sitting down on the ground, a deep and thoughtful look on his face. "Now, I must find some way to communicate with the kid... I gotta tell him the situation."

"Should I bring his consciousness here? Like I did with you many times before in your mindscape?" Old-man Zangetsu suggested, which earned Ichigo's nod.

"That would be for the best," Ichigo then shook his head slightly, as he rubbed his temples. "Great, now I have to explain all of this to the kid...," sighing, he shrugged his shoulders. "This could take a while..."

Read & Review~!

A/N: Ichigo is NOT a Zanpakutō spirit! His soul was only temporarily absorbed by Naruto through the Hogyouku in order to grant the latter the former's powers. Ichigo will still be able to leave Naruto's body just fine in the future, by means of a Kage Bushin. After all, Naruto didn't fully absorb him... his situation is akin to that of the Kyuubi... sealed.