AN: Happy 4th everyone! First off, I do NOT own Naruto, Bleach, the ideas within Bleach and Naruto, the material from which I get names for chapters and etc, the internet, the computer you're viewing this with, the electricity powering your computer, or your mind and soul. If a lawyer can still find a loophole in that, then I'm stumped.

"blah"-speech

'blah'-thoughts

"blah"-demon/hollow/other inhuman evil thing speech

WARNING: There are HUGE spoilers in this story, both for Bleach and Naruto

Also, if anyone knows a site with a translator for naming jutsus, I'd like to know it. I absolutely hate the English names.

Anyway, here's the story. Enjoy

Chapter 1

Death is The Beginning of A New Journey

Naruto opened his eyes and saw… himself?

"It is finished," confirmed a man robed in a dark cloak covered in red clouds, "the Kyuubi has been successfully removed from the brat. Well done." Sure enough, Naruto could no longer feel the demon's presence. Or anything else for that matter. He spun around and yelled,

"Hey you Akatsuki bastards! What have you done to me?!?"

But none of the Akatsuki seemed to take notice of him. Kisame said, "But he was a strong one. I haven't had that much fun in years!" The rest of Akatsuki nodded in agreement. Slowly, Naruto's memory returned to him. He had been deceived into believing a young boy named Tobi. Tobi had lured him outside of Konoha, where he had been attacked by three other members of Akatsuki, including Itachi. Even drawing out three tails of Kyuubi hadn't been enough, and Naruto refused to draw out any more with Konoha so near. He had been beaten.

Zetsu said, "Should I dispose of the corpse?"

"No, it would be better to send it back to Konoha. Show those stuck up fools their place. Who knows? The villagers weren't too fond of him, we just might get an entire village of support." Naruto silently took this in. The only way they wouldn't be able to see him is if he was under a genjutsu, which he knew he wasn't, or if he was a spirit. But if he was a spirit, wouldn't that mean that the copy of him on the ground was…..

His corpse?

Naruto noticed for the first time the broken chain that seemed to hang from his chest. "I'm dead." The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. Naruto sprinted out of the cavern. 'Tsunade… Tsunade can revive me! She's a master medic, she'll figure something out!' With these fervent thoughts, Naruto headed for Konoha.

Along the way, Naruto spotted a familiar person. Forgetting that no one could see or hear him, he yelled, "Sasuke! What are you doing here!" Sasuke turned and said, "What do you think dobe? I'm returning to Konoha." Naruto rushed up to Sasuke, his mind never making the connection that Sasuke shouldn't be able to see him. Faster than he could blink, Naruto was crushed inside of the incredible maw of a Hollow.

Ground Fisher grinned to himself. That blonde boy- practically burning with reiatsu (spirit energy, pretty much chakra of the dead)- had been an ease to catch. He watched as "Sasuke" melted away, revealing Fisher's simple-yet-effective lure. Ah yes, with this absurdly large amount of reiatsu, he would be able to heal the wounds that blasted orange-haired shinigami had inflicted upon him.

Fisher shifted uncomfortably. Since when did he- or any hollow for that matter- get a burning sensation in the gut with a meal? Shifting again, the burning sensation increased. Fisher cursed, now recognizing the telltale symptoms of digesting the toxic reiatsu of a demon. He had no choice but to release the now heartless spirit. It seemed he would have to look elsewhere to heal his wounds.

Somewhere in the desolate wastelands those evil spirits called home, a Hollow was coming into existence. Naruto screamed in agony, the gaping hole where his heart used to be spreading to cover his chest. His body, twisting and contorting as bones cracked and muscles grew, took on the form of a large fox, easily ten feet tall. Black fur mixed with red stripes rippled over his convulsing muscles, and nine writhing tails fanned out behind him.

His screams were cut short as a bony mask slowly grew, obscuring his face. The ebony-white mask rose up at either side of his head, and closely resembled horns or pointed ears. Crimson red stripes stretched up from where his jawbone used to be, and narrowed as the approached his gaping mouth, giving the appearance of whiskers. His hair grew longer. Whereas before his hair had been spiky, it now resembled jagged golden spears. The hollow gazed at himself, observing his mutations and contemplating deeply.

'How did this happen?' He didn't know.

'Have I always been like this?' He couldn't remember.

'Who or what am I?' He couldn't remember this either.

'Am I a monster?' He didn't care.

Suddenly, his entire being focused on one subject. Food. He was hungry. No, he was ravenous. Starving. He needed nourishment. He needed… souls. Reiatsu. Letting out a bestial roar, the hollow phased out of the cloudy wastelands, and into reality.

Miles away in a supposedly abandoned hideout, Sasuke cursed. He had always known this day would come. He knew when it would come, and why it would come. Yet, he had assured himself that he was strong enough to handle it, that when the dust settled he would be on top. Orochimaru had always said that one day his cockiness would lead him to his death.

That is, if he didn't die today.

Orochimaru and Sasuke battled for dominance in the depths of Sasuke's mind. Sasuke would have already killed the snake if he had access to his cursed seal. Unfortunately, Kabuto had temporarily sealed it. Now, he was trapped in a conflict with this damnable snake of a man, and -although Sasuke would rather commit seppuku than admit it out loud- he was losing. Badly. It was clever really. Orochimaru had taught all of his biggest, most destructive moves, moves that he would need to defeat Itachi. However in his mind, he could not use a single one of them, as missing would destroy part of his mind and leave him a drooling vegetable until death.

Orochimaru lunged, Kusanagi (Grass Cutter Sword) held firmly by his tongue. Sasuke blocked with his sword, just to watch Orochimaru vanish in a puff of smoke. 'What?!? A bunshin that can't be recognized by the sharingan? That is-' Sasuke never got any further in his thoughts. He looked down to see the Kusanagi protruding from his chest. His vision spun and darkened.

When Sasuke opened his eyes, he saw… himself, talking with Kabuto. Orochimaru's body lay on the ground a few feet away

"Yes, I was successful. His soul was easy enough to defeat."

"I'm glad to hear that, Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto replied, "How are the sharingan eyes?"

Sasuke's eyes–or Orochimaru's eyes, to be more accurate- glowed red, the first tomoe forming. "Splendid. It will take some time getting used to though."

Sasuke burned with wrath. How dare that-that snake use his body! Sasuke launched a flying kick that promised death for whoever it hit- in this case Orochimaru. Rather than connecting, Sasuke's foot continued through Orochimaru's head, followed by his leg, torso, and the rest of his body slamming into the wall. Orochimaru still continued to talk with Kabuto as though nothing had happened. Sasuke paused for a moment. 'If Orochimaru is in my body, then that would make me…' Sasuke noticed the broken chain hanging from his chest, 'a spirit. A dead spirit. Just terrific.' Sasuke quickly updated his goals in life, death, existence, and ghost hood, whatever:

Kill Itachi

Kill Orochimaru and reclaim body

Revive clan

To accomplish A and C, Sasuke realized that he had to complete B first. Swearing under his breath, Sasuke stormed out of the hideout.

As he walked, Sasuke recalled a shrine that he and Orochimaru had once investigated. Supposedly, it was able to resurrect the dead if they had a good enough reason to live. They lost interest and left; after all, Orochimaru wanted immortality, not to die and then return to life repeatedly. Turning north, Sasuke dashed towards his new destination.