Age and Rating Statement:

The following story received a rating of M (Mature) because of strong language, graphic violence (including depictions of death by injury), and sexual behavior (including depictions of sexual intercourse – also known as lemons) in future chapters. As such, this narrative is not appropriate for individuals beneath the age of sixteen, or individuals that find the composition of the aforementioned situations offensive.

I will not make any notes in the story revealing when such situations will occur, as such statements break the focus of the reader. However, to acquiesce with the rules and regulations of this website, none of the aforementioned questionable scenes is gratuitous, vulgar, or explicit enough that it merits the prohibited MA (Mature Adults) rating.

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Legal Ownership Disclaimer:

Masashi Kishimoto is the creator and main proprietor of Naruto and the characters within that fiction. Tite Kubo is the creator and main proprietor of Bleachandthe characters within that fiction. By submitting Shinigami Passage to this site, the author certifies he will not seek monetary compensation or conceive an exact reproduction of the aforementioned published works while using the source material. Breaking this agreement will result in the author facing possible civil and/or criminal litigation within the United States or Japan.

Any original characters and concepts presented within Shinigami Passage are the sole property of the author. Usage of such characters without expressed consent is prohibited.

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Chapter 01: A Peach Lost in a Maelstrom

"Everyone understands what to do?" a petite woman with a bun tying her hair in the back said with an indecisive tone.

"I've done this mission several times before Lieutenant Hinamori," a man said, wearing the same black clothing as the girl and the other three members. He leaned back on a tree as continued, "We confirm the reishi level in this realm, note anything unusual, then return to Seireitei." With a groan, he added, "This will take less than a day, at worst."

"Don't be too sure," a woman said. "From what I'm reading, the reishi samples are enormous. It's more abundant here than in Soul Society."

"You have to be kidding!" a second man said as he approached the group, while the first man groaned. "So much for getting sake in the evening."

"We should split up and investigate to save some time," a third man said as he strolled toward everyone. He turned to Hinamori and said, "Your call lieutenant."

"It's not a bad idea," Hinamori said with a calm demeanor as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Let's observe the area and return in about an hour. Please be careful though—"

"You worry too much Lieutenant," the first man interrupted. As he sprinted away from the group, he said with arrogance, "Like I said, I've done this type of mission several times before. You worry too much—"

"Wait you idiot!" the third man screamed as he looked at his scanner while the first man continued running. "That area has—"

His words stopped, as the first man continued forward, turning his head around, but a patch of grass he stepped on triggered a trap.

That trap was an incinerating explosion that enveloped the area.

The first man that triggered the trap never had a chance to survive, as he burned into ashes before he could reply.

Hinamori screamed for the other shinigami to take cover as she prepared to sprint away, but the force from the detonation caught up with her. The blast propelled her backwards several yards, breaking through several tree branches before her leg slammed into the trunk of a large tree.

She shrieked in agony as she fell from the tree into a crumpled heap on the ground, reaching for her leg.

Several other screams echoed in the area as she lifted her head. Pushing herself to her feet, she winced as she felt the burns on her face and parts of her arm. She tried to stand, but she realized she broke her leg when she hit the large tree. Instead, she used her zanpakutou as a makeshift crutch to keep her balance.

Glancing at the site of the explosion, Hinamori wished she had not witnessed the scene. Scattered around the site was the rest of her team – none in one piece. The second male shinigami was missing his left arm and leg. The female lost her right eye and part of her face, but nothing compared to the third male shinigami, as the force decapitated his head, while his chest was impaled by a sharp tree branch.

Mere minutes after arriving, everything went from a routine mission to an epic disaster.

Glancing at her team again, she reached inside her hakama for a communication device to contact Seireitei and inform them of the situation. However, she realized it shattered when she fell to the ground.

Desperate to get help, Hinamori tried to reopen the gate, but the reiatsu lingering in the air from the explosion restricted her own, and she could not overpower it with her own. If she wanted to survive, she understood she needed to restrict her use of it.

She glanced one more time at her fallen allies, and walked away. She wanted everyone to return to Seireitei and ensure everyone received a proper funeral, but with her injuries and the condition of the area, she could not do that much.

She knew she had to get away from the area and try elsewhere, where the reiatsu was not as restricted.

Using her zanpakutou as a crutch and ignoring the pain from the burns and fracture, she dragged her body on one leg for over an hour, but she barely managed to travel a mile away from the blast. She tried to open the gate again, but the reiatsu was still too restrictive. She needed to travel further.

As she limped around, Hinamori reached an open road and noticed a town with several buildings not far away. She realized that was the area holding the massive amount of reiatsu. In theory, if she reached the area, she could be able to open a gate to Seireitei with relative ease, or find a way to bypass the restrictive chakra in the area.

She continued to limp toward the village. However, her injuries were too serious for her to continue. She collapsed a mile away from the village entrance.

As her side hit the dirt pavement, she thought about how she failed in her mission, and allowed her team to get killed. Everything around her turned dark as she thought about how she may never see her friends again.

Barring a miracle, Momo Hinamori understood that she would die soon, far away from her home.

The last thing she heard unconsciousness enveloped her, were the sound of footsteps.

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Naruto Uzumaki traveled on the main road to Konoha with Jiraiya. After three years of extensive and arduous training, he was ready to return home, and reunite with friends. Before he reached the gates of Konoha, what he saw surprised him.

" Ero-sennin!" Naruto said as he sprinted ahead towards an unconscious body. "A girl just collapse on the ground!"

"Wait gaki!" Jiraiya yelled as the blond shinobi noticed the girl had several burns on her. "Don't rush in! That could be a henge or a trap!"

"I checked for a henge or chakra when I ran," Naruto said as he checked the pulse of the girl. "She's alive, but unconscious. In addition to the burns, I think her leg is broken."

"She has traces of chakra in her system," Jiraiya muttered to himself as he noticed the sword close to the woman. "She doesn't have a hitai-ate either. Perhaps she is a missing-nin or a mercenary that fell in a Konoha trap." Paying attention to her attire, he knew civilians did not wear black robes like that.

"We should take her back to Konoha. She does needs help," Naruto said as he looked at the girl once more, not hearing anything that Jiraiya said. "Maybe she was attacked or ambushed." He went inside his bag and used some of his emergency medical supplies to create a splint to stabilize her leg.

Granted, he was not proficient in the field of medicine, but part of his training over the years included emergency first aid.

"Whatever you say Naruto," Jiraiya said as he rolled his eyes, while the blonde placed the unconscious girl securely on his back. However, even the toad sage was not dispassionate enough to leave an injured person to die. "Go ahead to the village, and let the medics take care of her. When she gains consciousness," he folded his arms and glanced at the sword again. He lifted the blade from the ground as he finished the sentence, "she will have to answer a few questions for Tsunade, or if she fails to cooperate with her, Ibiki."

"Right," Naruto said with a nod as he sprinted toward the village with the girl securely on her back. The blond apprentice could not dispute the words Jiraiya mentioned. He did not know who this girl was, or where she came from, but there was something about her that felt unique.

Jiraiya followed his apprentice, carrying the sword. While in his hand, he noticed that the blade also contained chakra. When he tried to access the chakra, the sword did not respond.

Perplexed, he knew that was another question that needed an answer.

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Author's note:

This is my new Naruto-Bleach crossover attempt, as I was displeased with Second Existence: Dual Objectives. It did not surpass my standards of reading, so I decided to discontinue the story. From a reader perspective, my biggest gripe is that it does not have the character development like my other stories, and some of the scenes felt forced and unnatural.

The chapter lengths for this story will be significantly shorter than my other stories. About fifteen hundred words a chapter.

However, Shinigami Passage will keep some of the core elements that I planned for Second Existence: Dual Objectives, while focusing more on Konoha. I hope that shorter scenes can create a more active story.

In this story, Reishi/Reiatsu is Chakra. Chances are, you know what that means for both the shinobi and the shinigami. For those who bitched that Naruto was too weak, he will retain his abilities, and gain new ones as well. (As will many other shinobi and shinigami.)

I will keep the "multiple women after Naruto" situation from Second Existence (not sure if I can call it a true harem). However, I will have to switch out Tatsuki (as she doesn't fit the story at this time) and Soifon (for whom I have very different plans). I intend to keep Sakura, Hinata, and Hinamori. (Which should be interesting, to say the least.)

Why did I pick Hinamori for the main representative from Bleach? She seemed to be the best fit for the design I have. I can't say anything more, as it will reveal too much, too soon.

That's all for now. If this introduction is worthy to the other readers, I shall continue. Since you got this far, review and let me know what you think about the chapter.