Author's Notes:

Well here we are after nearly a year...Gods that leaves such a bad taste in my mouth. I'm not going to try to defend myself because a lot of the reasons to why this took so long have to do with my poor time management abilities. Even though I feel I could point out to a few other reasons to why it took way longer than expected, by proxy it has to do with time management.

The only reason that I can give without being annoyed as Hel, was that I needed to rewrite a LOT of what I had initially planned: how the battle would go, character interactions and exchanging of dialogue, order of scenes, even the devising of chapters. This initially was going to be one large chapter, then was divided in two, and might even be divided into three. That may or may not be the case but we shall see.

The only things I can say with certainty are thus: one, I have reorganized the ending of this arc and there will be no more time wasted in rewriting or planning, and two, chapters will be coming out faster. I'll be taking only one day off after posting this chapter then it's back to business. I hope you can all forgive me for taking so long and continue to look forward to all my current and future work.

Also, if you have any questions, please ask them in the review section or reach me on twitter at DragonofEastblu or on facebook at Dragon of the Eastblue. As long as it doesn't spoil anything, I'll answer any and all questions.

So without future adieu, Merry belated Júl, Happy New Year, and enjoy the chapter.

The Soul of the Fox and the Eagle Chapter XIX: Ring of Fire

"B-Bakana..." gasped Ukitake with some sweat forming on the back of his neck. To his side was Shunsui, equally stunned.

"O-Oiya Yama-jii, this isn't the time nor the place for making jokes like that" added the flirtatious captain.

"And what makes you think that I would make jokes of such a dire situation?" demanded Yamamoto with piercing eyes. "I am very much serious, and this is not a farce."

"There has to be some kind of mistake, Sensei! There is no way that He-"

"SHUT IT!" shouted Kenpachi even less happy than before. "I never cared about Him in the slightest. If he isn't an opponent I could fight then His existence doesn't fucking matter. But, there is an opponent I've fought and I want to fight again; Uzumaki Naruto. I haven't fought someone that fills me with the desire to get stronger since I fought Ichigo, and I am NOT going to let it slip away again. He's still a green horn, but I know he'll become so much stronger, so I couldn't give a flying fuck about what He says. I want to fight Naruto when he reaches his prime, and I'm going to cut down whoever gets in the way of that!"

The elder Shinigami glared at his former student. "Do you truly possess not an ounce of sanity?" he asked with anger. Kenpachi just grinned wickedly.

"Sanity? I thought you knew me better, Jiji. Worthless things like that, I never had them for as long as I can remember!"

"Yamamoto-sensei" cut in Ukitake, trying to drive the conversation back to the serious topic at hand. "While I do not dare disrespect Him, I cannot understand nor accept these are His wishes. I, like everyone else in the Soul Society, have not known Uzumaki-san long. However, everyone who has met him, including myself, can attest that he is a loyal and good young man ready to fight and die for his comrades and the Soul Society itself. He even expressed his loyalty to you, saying he had never met a leader with such power and conviction in his own world. Now tell me, Sensei, is someone like that such a threat that it would demand an order of execution from Him?"

A short silence fell upon the four men, as the three younger Shinigami knew the argument was valid, but were unsure of what their leader would say next. At last Yamamoto gripped his cane tightly before looking up at his captains.

"...If it is His orders, then yes" he said.

'Liar' thought Shunsui and Ukitake unanimously. They could see the hesitation in his eyes, meaning that there was some doubt about these so called orders. This also meant that they could resolve this incident peacefully; or at least more peacefully than what was currently going on. The question now, was how?

xXx

Gaara, Yugito, Momo, Isane, and Matsumoto continued to run towards the battlefield, more anxious than ever thanks to both the spike in Reiatsu and Gaara's foreboding vibes. They were hoping things were not as bad as they assumed, but so far they saw nothing that gave them proof of the opposite. As they ran, something caught the Kazekage's eye and made him come to a complete stop.

"What's wrong?" asked Matsumoto who also stopped along with the others. Gaara said nothing and walked to the side of the road before crouching down.

"It's the Yondaime's wife" he said finally.

"Nani?" the others said rushing to his side and indeed found the redhead woman lying on the side of the road as if she were sleeping.

"Is she alive?" asked Yugito.

Isane quickly kneeled beside the unmoving woman and pressed her index and middle finger on her exposed neck. "Yes, but just barely. Her pulse is very faint; it's as if she's suffering from anaemia, but from blood loss. And there isn't a scratch on her."

"Will she be alright?" asked Momo with worry in her voice.

"I think so. I'll stay here and tend to her, you four go on ahead."

"Are you sure? Will she be alright in your care?" asked Gaara.

"I am the lieutenant of the Yonban-tai. The only one better than I am at healing is Unohana-Taichō. I promise you, she'll be alright. Now go!" answered Isane, with a small hint of pride in her voice, as well as a mix of urgency. Gaara nodded at her words, as to say he trusted her, and turned back towards Sōkyoku Hill before sprinting towards it with the others close behind.

'That makes one of them accounted for, but where is the Yondaime?' he thought. 'There is no way that he would just leave his wife by the wayside especially if she was feeling unwell to the point of falling unconscious. Something is not right here.'

These feelings of dread had not lessened since they began, and this was not making them any less dreadful. There was a heaviness in the air that could not be described by the jinchūriki. Of course the atmosphere was heavy, anyone could sense that, but there was something else layered on top that made Gaara and Yugito very uneasy. It was a form of anxiety that only came from staring face to face with an intimidating force; such as coming face-to-face with a mighty beast, leaving you stunned and awed by its very presence, but also terrified and left in suspense on what would happen next. But what truly affected the two jinchūriki the most, was that they knew it was just the tip of the iceberg.

Something was coming, but what it was and whether or not it was a good thing, was yet to be seen.

xXx

'Old Fox?' asked Naruto in surprise, 'Where the Hel have you been?'

"Don't you dare give me lip, Kit. You have no idea how lucky we have been thus far" snapped the demon in annoyance.

'Where have you been?! I've haven't heard from you since I gave Hinata my Shinigami powers. Have you not seen what's been going on?!'

"That is what I am saying! Transferring your powers to her was the single most irresponsible thing you could have done. We are bound by our very souls, and the stress of transferring the power of the Shinigami, power fuelled by Reiryoku might I add, into the body of a human with a Chakra structure, could have killed us all! Acquiring these powers to begin with was a massive gamble on our part, with the same probability that we would fade into nothingness. Thankfully I managed to put myself into a state of dormancy, a hibernation of the soul if you will, until it was safe for me to remerge. You're welcome by the way" explained the Kyuubi irritably, as if he were an older sibling having to do the chores that his younger sibling forgot.

'Does this have anything to do with the fact my powers haven't returned after all this time?' asked the blond.

"Correct. That, in conjunction with the loss of our body and overall lack of Reiryoku, the regeneration process has been agonizingly slow. Of course if you had been taking your Yōki training more seriously, it would have been less severe."

'Of course. Even in this dire time you'd still lecture me. I thought you said I was getting better?'

"Not enough, not enough."

'Alright Lord Fuzzball, are you going to help me here or do I have to take on the old man myself?'

"Do not!" shouted the demon king, genuinely distressed by Naruto's plan of action. "Trying to fight Yamamoto-Sōtaichō would be absolute suicide."

'Hinata is fighting Byakuya and she is going to die!' shouted back the shackled man with desperation in his voice. 'Are you seriously fucking telling me just to sit here and do nothing?!'

"Insult my intelligence again and I just might" growled the fox. "You cannot fight yet. I need more time to awaken my power for you to wield."

'Well stop yappin' and start workin', dammit!'

"Even after all this time, patience is not one of your virtues" said the Kyuubi shaking his head. "I am warning you now, you will not be at full power. That will take more time than we have."

'So be it, just hurry up!' begged Naruto, his eyes never leaving the black and violet rose dome that imprisoned the woman who was fighting for his freedom. How much had she gone through since his arrest? The pain, the sweat, the tears. Leaving the only world she had ever known, and cross into a realm so alien and hostile that it forced her to constantly look over her shoulder. Though at the same time, he felt some relief. His friends, both here in the Soul Society and back home, had stayed loyal to him, and helped her so she didn't have to fight alone. He knew that the road to repay such a debt would be a long one, but the best place to start paying that debt would be joining the fight.

Naruto just prayed that Hinata would be able to hold out until then.

xXx

Hinata's eyes were wide as she looked at the world around her. Everything beyond herself and Byakuya had faded into darkness, encasing them in a dome. Then a rose violet light emerged from that darkness revealing itself as four rings of katana rotating around them. They were all Senbonzakura floating unsheathed but glowing with whitish pink Reiatsu. What was she to do now?

"If you believe that my Senkei, Senbonzakura's true form, will attack you all at once then you are mistaken. However..." he said calmly as he raised and extended his right arm to his side so that his palm was facing behind him. Immediately the topmost ring of swords ceased turning and one of the blades fell downward so that the Shinigami captain could grasp it without removing his eyes from his opponent. "...your fate will be the very same, Hyuuga Hinata."

Hinata tensed and gripped her bow tighter, also keeping her eyes on her opponent. 'This is very bad' she thought as she breathed heavily. 'My Shikai should have run out by now, and I'm so exhausted. But I need to end this now. He may be good at hiding it, but I can tell that he is in a lot of pain. If I can use that then I just might have a chance to win and get Naruto-kun home.'

Before she was able to put her plan into motion however, Byakuya flash stepped forward and was no more than a few feet in front of her, before bringing down his sword upon her. Reacting on instinct alone, Hinata raised her bow to block the attack. The captain's sword cut through the bow without the slightest resistance, causing the bowstring to snap like thunder. It was if time had slowed as the two combatants looked each other in the eye; Hinata's with shock and Byakuya's with cold malice. Hinata however was not ready to give up as she tightened her grip on each section of her halved bow, where said sections began to glow violet pearl and shifted in form. With all her might she swung her broken bow as if she were striking on both sides of a Taiko drum which took Byakuya by surprise. He quickly summoned another sword from the floating rings and blocked both attacks, but was genuinely shocked by what he saw.

The upper and lower limbs of Hinata's bow had now turned into a pair of Viking swords that shimmered in the light like pure silver. Each blade was 31 and a half inches long (90cm) from tip to pommel with runes carved into the fuller. The crossguards where a wide V shape (Petersen Type Z) engraved with arrows aimed towards the blade, accompanied by a grip wrapped in black leather. There was a silver band in the middle and a round pommel with more arrows engraved all pointing to a moonstone in the center.

"Impossible..." said the captain aloud, "How can your Shikai still change shape?" Byakuya then immediately winced in pain, the wound on his shoulder pulsing even more painfully than before, making it unfeasible to hide. Hinata decided to take full advantage of this moment of weakness and wrenched her opponent's arms apart.

'I can't keep this fight going any longer' she warned herself as she began to charge her Reiryoku 'I have to end it now. I'll use my remaining Reiyroku to charge my final attack...I just hope it's enough.'

As fast as she could, Hinata clanged her swords together, pommel to pommel, making them glow and return to their original bow form. She drew back her bow with a much larger and intimidating looking arrow knocked, ready to fire at the head of the Kuchiki clan. But as soon as she let her arrow fly, it vanished; not only her arrow, but her bow, her wings, her robes, everything, and returned to her normal Shinigami form.

She had run out of time.

Hinata froze in horror as she realized what had happened, but could not take her eyes off of Byakuya who stood before her watching, the last chance to win the fight slip away.

"As I said...I would be the one to clip your wings...Hyuuga Hinata" he said with a slight raspiness in his voice. As swiftly as the wind, Byakuya raised the sword in his right hand and brought it down upon the young woman, cutting her across the chest. Hinata left out a quick gasp before her knees buckled and fell into a seiza position, blood pouring forth from her wound. She had failed. Despite all her efforts, Byakuya had defeated her in combat and now without Reiryoku, she could not even retreat.

'Soi-Fon-san was right...I didn't even have a chance...' she thought, feeling her strength leaving her.

So distracted from her wounds and feelings of failure, Hinata didn't notice the Senkei retreating and revealing the fate of the battle to its onlookers. Naruto, Kurama, Ukitake, Shunsui, Kenpachi, and Yamamoto quickly shifted their focus to the dissolving barrier of swords.

"Is it over?" said Naruto hoping for the best, until a horrible scent hit his nose. Even from the execution platform he could now see Hinata slumped over with the captain of the 6th Division as the victor. "Hinata!"

"Hyuuga-san!" shouted Ukitake.

"Damn it, Byakuya. He was serious from the start" cursed Shunsui, glaring at his fellow captain before looking at his master. "Is he in on all of this, Yama-jii? Out of all the officers under your command, was he the one you trusted most with these so called orders?"

Yamamoto said nothing and merely glared back at his pupil, remaining resolute as always.

"Hinata!" screamed Naruto trying to rise to his feet and run to her, but the chains that bound him would not allow it. "Let's go, Kyuubi!"

"Not yet!" the demon shouted back.

"Gods fucking damn it, Hinata is dying out there!"

"And we'll be dead too if we go into the battlefield now. We're not at maximum power meaning we cannot even break out of these chains so wait. I need more time."

"We don't have fucking time!" shouted the blond, unable to hide the desperation in his voice. "Even after all the power I've achieved and the friends I have made, she is the most important thing in my life. If I have to die to save her then so be it."

The Kyuubi was quiet for a moment before releasing a horrifying growl from the base of his throat. "She is not what we will die for! If we die before we complete our Seisen, then all the souls of the unavenged will writhe at the hearth of Yomi for eternity!"

Naruto stayed still, utterly stunned by Kurama's words. At first he felt a flash of white hot anger but it was immediately doused with cold confusion. Seisen? A Holy War? What on earth was he talking about? Ever since they had renegotiated the terms of their contract, Kurama had revealed to the jinchūriki a great detail of highly classified information about Konoha as well as the demon lords. And if that hadn't opened Naruto's eyes to the world and how wide it really was, then learning that there was not only one other world besides their own, but three, certainly did. It was Kurama who told him about the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the Human world that lay in between, as well as the Shinigami and the Hollow races. It was thanks to this information that Naruto and Gaara had gained new power, and restored Gaara of his old ones, along with that of the other jinchūriki.

If anything had been a Holy War than it was the Winter War as well as all the battles that led up to it. Gods versus monsters, one madman traitor trying to sacrifice tens of thousands of men, women, and children to open the gates of Heaven so that he could kill the King of Gods against a chosen few to stop him. That, by all accounts, was a Holy War. What he and the old Fox were trying to do was nothing along that scale; it mostly boiled down to some good old fashion revenge. He understood that Kurama's reasons were deeply personal, so where his, but there was something entirely different in the way he had just spoken. What other things was he hiding from him? He knew from the beginning that there a few things the Kyuubi was keeping secret that he promised he would tell in due time, but this was again, something else. And Naruto couldn't quiet explain why, but it felt as if Kurama was getting mad at him for the same reasons he was.

"Listen to me you flea bitten piece of shit" snapped the blond, his anger rekindled, "I know how badly you want to push Madara's shit in, but I am not going to stand here on my knees as the woman I love is on hers dying right before my eyes! For the first time in my life I have had something worth more than my own self. I have those feelings for Gaara and Yugito, I have them for Ichigo and his crew, I have them for the officers of this place...but she is all that and more. 'A man who can't uphold his beliefs is pathetic in this world and the next'. You told me that, remember? Back when this all started. Well if I don't stick to my belief that fighting and dying for your loved ones is the only way to live, then I have no right to look in the eyes of my enemies and take vengeance upon them."

Kurama said nothing more, staring only into the never ending darkness that lay beyond the feeble glow of the torches that hung parallel of his prison bars.

xXx

Byakuya looked down at the fallen kunoichi-Shinigami hybrid silently, safe for his breathing which had slowly become heavy over the course of the fight. He visibly winced in pain and was unable to suppress a hiss. His wound was aching tremendously along with a burning sensation that felt as if a heated iron spike was being driven through his back. Her claims that her arrows were not poisonous or possessed some other ability was a total lie, and was affecting him despite Hinata forced to dispel her Shikai.

"It disturbs me greatly how much effort it took to dispatch such a small and insignificant insect such as yourself, Hyuuga Hinata" he said in a raspy voice. "But in the end, all your struggling was for not. You speak of fighting for causes greater than your own, but without the conviction needed to defeat your enemies, you are nothing more than a leech on the belly of greatness..."

Though the captain continued his monologue, Hinata wasn't listening to a word of it. In fact, she really couldn't hear much of anything safe for the beating of her own heart which was oddly steady, though that could easily be that she was only able to hear every other beat. Her focus was pointed at her mild fascination that she wasn't in any pain. Instead she felt rather numb despite the large amount of blood that was pouring from her wound. Was she numb because her body was furiously creating adrenaline, or was it because she was just so tired? The major drawback of her Shikai had left her with very little Reiryoku left which was now making her body beg for sleep.

Yes, sleep. Hinata had had very little of that over the past few weeks. Her constant worrying about Naruto and her training had granted her many sleepless nights. And whatever sleep she managed to gain, was filled with nightmares; nightmares of failure, pain, loss, and remorse. What if she failed her mission? What if Naruto was executed before they could rescue him? What if she wasn't strong enough to defeat her enemies?; either because they were too strong or because she hadn't trained enough to defeat them?

'I suppose there isn't any need to wonder now' she thought as tears began to roll down her cheeks. 'I failed. I just hope the others can get Naruto away from this place as we originally planned...I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough. I should have trained more, or at the very least paid more attention when we trained together...'

It then hit her. There had been something she had forgotten: her Byakugan. When she had been training back in Konoha under Naruto, they had spoken about the importance of her to continue training in her Kekki Genkai, even though she was now training to be a Shinigami. But, there was no way that it would work against a Shinigami, could it...?

Flashback

Whssht whssht whssht

Hinata swung her Zanpakutō again and again, following the kata that Naruto had given her as he lay at the base of a tree with his back resting against the trunk. He was reading from one of the scrolls he had stored in his tree house with a great deal of focus, making him forget that Hinata was even there. Thanks to that, he only heard her calling him on the third attempt.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Hinata?" he asked.

"Well, nothing, but I do have a question that I've wanted to ask for a while now" she replied wiping the sweat from her brow with the hem of her sleeve.

"Ask away then."

"Chakra and Reiatsu. I'm a little confused about their relation as well as their applications."

"Ho boy" sighed the blond putting aside his scroll "I'll be honest, Hinata, I'm not the best person to ask about either. I was a terrible ninja and as a Shinigami...well I just hit things REALLY hard." 'Mostly that's due to my limited attention span for that kind of training, though I'll never admit that to the old fox' he thought secretively.

"But you must know some things, Naruto-kun. I don't believe for a second that you would train so hard in a discipline and not bother to understand it" retorted the young Substitute Shinigami in a supportive manner.

The jinchūriki breathed out of his nose at her words and scratched his jaw before speaking. "Well...true...but I'm also the guy who, when comes across a difficult obstacle, just bangs his head against it till he figures it out even if by doing so does harm to himself and others."

Hinata's expression softened to the point of looking as if she was unhappy. "Please don't be so hard on yourself, Naruto-kun. I know you've been very secretive over the past few years, but it's clear that you HAVE been working very hard and it shows. Yes it's true you were brash as a child but you have grown and matured into a man. You should be proud of your accomplishments" she said softly.

Naruto blinked at her words and couldn't suppress the slight redness from growing on his cheeks. "W-Well I guess I picked up a few things here and there. What do you want to know, specifically?"

"Is Chakra viable in a battle against opponents wielding Reiatsu?"

"In my experience...not at all. Chakra and Reiatsu are two entirely different energies with their own origins and properties. Even though the Living World of the Other World possesses Chakra and it's sorta like ours, it's still very different. First off, it has never been weaponized. I couldn't find a damn thing about Chakra being used in Ninjutsu or Genjutsu; all there was was that it's an energy used in meditation. As for Reiatsu, forget a horse of a different colour, it's a whole different beast. Reiatsu (Spiritual Pressure) is the energy that comes from one's body and soul called Reiryoku."

"Reiryoku?" echoed Hinata.

"Every being in the Other World possesses Reiryoku (Spiritual Power). Everyone's different of course and depending on how much you have kinda determines how much Reiatsu you have since Reiatsu is the exertion of your stored Reiryoku. I say 'kinda' because there are those who've surpassed having lower Reiryoku by training and having larger Reiatsu. I'm one of those people."

The indigo haired woman's eyes widened. "You? Really?" she asked in shock, "You've always been known as the ninja with unlimited Chakra. I never would have thought you would have low Reiryoku."

Naruto hesitated for a moment before shrugging. "Like I said, two totally different things. You and I have Chakra networks whereas Shinigami and other beings from the Other World have the Saketsu (Binding Chain) which is like the Ingo no Kusari (Chain of Fate) in humans which holds the soul to the body. However in Shinigami it boosts spiritual power, along with the Hakusui (Soul Sleep) which is the actual source of spiritual power. Everything operates very differently and since I have a Chakra network, gaining Reiatsu and Reiryoku was not easy."

Hinata paused to ponder on his words for a moment before looking back at him in realization. "Naruto-kun, are you saying that beings from the Other World don't possess Chakra or Chakra networks, and thus cannot be affected by Chakra?" she asked in fascinated shock.

"Bingo. Genjutsu, which controls the Chakra flow in a target's brain to create illusions, does absolutely nothing to a Shinigami because he or she simply doesn't have Chakra to begin with. Your Byakugan and Jūken also do nothing because one, you can't see a Keirakukei or the Tenketsu so you're scouting ability is gone, and two, attacking where you think the Tenketsu are located won't do anything because they aren't there and there is no Chakra to stop flowing. All you'd do is give crap acupuncture. Same goes for other Kekki Genkai like the Sharingan."

Hinata simply stared at the blond. She had assumed that Shinigami had advantages that ninja did not, but she hadn't expect this much of a gap. Then an idea struck.

"What about using Reiryoku in Ninjutsu? If the energies used are swapped out, then it could theoretically work..." she began but petered off when she saw Naruto shaking his head and chuckling at her.

"I thought the same way you did when I first started out. But I learned very quickly that it just doesn't work. The base formulas for Jutsu and Kidō are completely different so switching the energies would just stop it from working, not to mention what it would do to your body."

"What do you mean?"

"Trying to use Reiryoku in techniques that require Chakra is the equivalent of trying to light a candle with the Sun. Sure you'll light the thing, but it'll melt away just as fast" explained Naruto doing a thumbs down with his left hand. Hinata looked as if she were going to ask another question but decided better of it. However, Naruto sensed her hesitation and continued to speak. "Even without hand seals, since Kidō works with incantations, the raw manipulation isn't compatible. I tried using Reiryoku for my Rasengan once and it nearly took my hand off. Who knows, maybe in time with enough effort and research, SOME Ninjutsu techniques could be converted over but there is already a counterpart for everything we have and they're better so again, not worth it."

There were a few moments of silence as Hinata processed this new information before starting to giggle. "What's so funny?" the blond asked.

Hinata looked up at him with a bright smile and said "I was right. Even though you said you weren't suited to explain, you explained everything perfectly. I'm glad."

Naruto couldn't help his cheeks from turning red and looking away in embarrassment, but maintained a look of stubborn denial on her face, which only led to more giggling from his lovely companion.

End of Flashback

'I know what he said...I know there are dangers...' Hinata thought, managing to ball her hands into fists, 'But it's a risk worth taking.' She closed her eyes and began to concentrate as best she could on gathering what little Reiryoku she had left, which was more than she honestly thought she had. She began to imagine the regular process of manipulating Chakra as she would in activating her Kekkei Genkai by sending her Reiryoku to her eyes. When she thought she had acquired enough, she took a breath before activating.

'Byakugan'

The moment Hinata opened her eyes, it was as if she were seeing the world for the first time. Everything was far sharper than they would be whilst using her Byakugan with Chakra in her home world. More incredible still was the range she was able to see with such clarity. After years of training Hinata had managed to increase her long range vision from 50 meters to 10 kilometers. With Reiryoku, it felt she could see farther still. She admittedly was having some trouble seeing through objects as she normally could, but she was able to see objects as they were. Usually she saw the world devoid of colour and only saw Keirakukei encased with the outline of the human body. But now, in extreme detail and clarity, she could see "humans" and objects as if she were holding them in her hands. It was almost more than she could comprehend.

'...It...worked...' she thought barely able to suppress a smile, 'I can use my Byakugan with Reiryo-'. Suddenly she winced, feeling pain in her head and eyes. It felt as if someone had grabbed her head with both hands and were trying to both pierce her skull and squash it in on itself. She'd had her share of headaches from overuse of her ability for years but it had never been to this extent. Naruto's warning of the dangers of the incompatibility between Reiryoku and Chakra was very much real, adding an even more deadly time limit on her fight with Byakuya. She could not waste a second more.

Unfortunately for Hinata, it seemed that her opponent had the same thought and finally decided to conclude his monologue.

"...alas, you'll know true despair when I take your life away" Byakuya finished as he raised his sword into the sky, "Gōkei (Mawscape)."

Responding to his command, Senbonzakura returned to its cherry blossom form before encircling Hinata and encasing her in a dome of rotating blades. "You cannot escape your fate, Hyugga Hinata, nor can you defeat the law of the Soul Society" he said, his eyes showing emotions he had never revealed before, "Your struggling has done nothing but prolong the inevita-"

Before the usually stoic man could continue the next verse in his monologue, he saw the petals of his Bankai do something that they had only done once before: they were pushed back.

'Jūkenhō: Shugo Hakke Rokujyūyon Shō(Gentle Fist: Defensive Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms)' Hinata shouted in her mind as she began striking all of Senbonzakura's petals with her palms at blinding speeds. The petals kept trying to crush her but she continued to divert them by striking them with precise needles of Reiryoku fired from her palms. This granted her complete protection from any and all sides rendering the mighty storm of razor sharp cherry blossoms utterly harmless. The captain of the 6th Division was mortified.

All aspects of his calm and collected demeanor were now entirely lost. He was covered in sweat, his eyes had widened, and the reason for both was only partially that Hinata had succeeded in parrying his attack. The large reason to why he was now experiencing genuine panic, was due to the fact that Hinata was not looking at Senbonzakura to make sure she was deflecting it, but instead was looking right into the eyes of the head of the Kuchiki clan; determined and steadfast. And what was making him shudder, was that he had seen those eyes before: they were Kurosaki Ichigo's.

"Eyes..." he managed to say through his clench jaw, which he did not realise he was doing, "...they're the same..." Not only was Byakuya remembering the fight he had with the orange haired Shinigami, but it was as if he was seeing the young man before him striking down his Bankai. And why wouldn't he remember that fated battle? Wasn't history repeating itelf? Was he not making the same exact decisions he made several years ago when his own sister had been sentenced to be executed for the same "crimes"? But then why was he making these decisions all over again? Had he not learned from his mistakes?

These thoughts where twisting through his mind as he watched his arm lift to guide more of Senbonzakura to kill Hinata. He watched the surge of petals crash down onto the young woman and to see them yet again be pushed away, this time by a swirling attack leaving her in a stance that made her seem like a crouching tiger ready to pounce.

Just before this, Hinata was having her own string of thoughts.

'It's working, it's actually working!' the pearl eyed maiden thought in excitement managing to successfully keep up with Senbonzakura. She had to admit that it felt as if her arms were about to fly off from the shoulders, but the look on Byakuya's face was enough to keep her going and ignore her fears. However, this ignorance only lasted for a few moments before she began to notice there was something flying all around her that wasn't sakura. It didn't register right away what it was, but when it did, it made Hinata's eyes widen in panic: it was blood; and not just anyone's...hers. Her arms were bleeding and appeared to be near entirely covered in blood, lessened by the amounts that where being shaken off by her palm strikes. It was with this realization that Hinata finally began to notice the pain in her arms that almost made her lose concentration. It felt as if white hot needles had been driven up and down her arms with a very large one repeatedly being stabbed into her palms. On top of pain in her arms she was feeling her migraine had increased tremendously and her very eyes were starting to throb and burn.

Hinata knew very well this was all due to the fact that her own Reiryoku was wreaking havoc with her Chakra network; just as Naruto had warned. Every second she was using her Jūken this way, her body would deteriorate further. If she didn't end this fight now it could mean that she would not make it out of it alive. Before she could attack Byakuya however, Senbonzakura suddenly began to rush at her in an attempt to ensnare her once again. Without hesitation she countered the attack with her Kaiten, leaving an open path for her to strike.

Without warning however, more blood began to pour from Hinata's arms, except this time it wasn't seeping, but instead forcefully ejected from her limbs like a high pressure hose before spraying into a mist. A powerful jolt of pain rocketed through her body making her arms and legs shake uncontrollably as well as knock the wind out of her lungs. It was then that she noticed her hakama and tabi had begun to turn red from absorbing, and failing, her own blood.

'It hurts...' she thought 'I've never been in so much pain in all of my life...but I have to move forward. I have to win, no matter what!' She locked eyes with Byakuya and readied herself to deliver the final blow. 'If my Jūken will only give you acupuncture...then I will make sure to fill your belly with needles.'

"Kuchiki Byakuya!" she shouted as blood began to pour from her nose, eyes, and ears, "You tried to clip my wings...and you have failed! Jūkenhō: Hakke Sanbyaku Rokujū Isshiki! (Gentle Fist: Eight Trigrams Three Hundred Sixty One Palms)"

As the young woman launched herself at her opponent, the captain knew what he would do. 'I will end this with my Shūkei: Hakuteiken (Endscape: White Emperor Sword)' he thought, 'Anything less would be an underestimation of her power.' But as he tried to gather Senbonzakura for this final blow, his body snapped tightly with pain. As if he had been struck by lightning, pain unlike anything the Shinigami had ever felt before, burned through him, routing him to the spot. His back, particularly the wound bellow his shoulder, was burning as if a rod of heated iron had been driven through him.

'What is this pain!? I can't move!' he thought feeling fear for the first time throughout the battle. 'I can't focus my Reiryoku! I can't use Shunpo! FUCK!'

All Byakuya could do was watch as the blood soaked young woman charge at him with pale lavender eyes burning like fire.

"Ni Shō! (Two Strikes)" Hinata shouted driving her right middle and index fingers into the captain's chest followed quickly by another strike with the left. Byakuya's head jolted forward from the attack but he managed to stay on his feet. "Yon Shō (Four Strikes)...Hachi Shō (Eight Strikes)...Jūroku Shō (Sixteen Strikes)...Sanjūni Shō (Thirty Two Strikes)...Rokujūyon Shō (Sixty Four Strikes)..."

Jūken was already a very fast style of Taijutsu, but Hinata's hands were moving faster than even a Sharingan user could see let alone predict her attack pattern. All that could be seen was a blur along with the blood still jetting out from her arms. In regards to patterns, she was well aware that she attacking where the Tenketsu would be from memory as she could not see them. She wasn't even entirely sure she was doing any damage to her opponent but it felt more natural to follow the kata of her family style rather than attacking willy-nilly. Given that she was in pain and at these new speeds was having some trouble staying on target, this made the most sense to her.

"Hyaku Nijūhachi Shō! (One Hundred Twenty Eight Strikes)" Hinata shouted as she pivoted her feet with each step. If she wasn't sure if her attacks were actually harming Byakuya, they certainly possessed enough force to force him backward with his feet digging into the dirt. All that was going through her mind was to keep attacking and to continue moving forward. It felt odd thinking that way after being raised on Jūken and learning Kenjutsu/Shigure Soen Ryu over the past few months, both of which focused on fighting with circular movements. But this time she was going to take a page out of Naruto's book: hit it, keep hitting it, and if it was still moving, hit it harder. And with that in mind, she unleashed everything she had left.

"Sanbyaku Rokujūichi Shō! (Three Hundred Sixty One Strikes)" she cried out, pushing herself beyond her limits. She ignored the pain, she ignored the fear, she was making her final gamble, and she was going all in. When she drove the final strike centre mast, she did it which such force that it managed to knock Byakuya into the air and spin several times before crashing down into a heap. His scarf and kenseikan headpieces were also knocked off by the attacks and lay scattered several feet away from where he landed. Breathing heavily and drained of Reiryoku, when Hinata saw that he was no longer moving, she couldn't hold back a triumphant smile from growing on her face.

The same went for her supporters.

"She won!" said Ukitake with a relieved smile.

"Full of surprises that one" grinned Shunsui.

"Damn right!" plugged Kenpachi, "She's got a lot of potential even with the weak Reiatsu."

There was a great amount of relief permeating amongst the rescue team, but none more so than Naruto who was looking upon his childhood friend with extreme relief and pride. "She did it" he laughed with a near goofy grin on his face "She beat Byakuya even without her Zanpakutō."

The Kyuubi said nothing however and just watched the world before him through Naruto's eyes.

Hinata, still breathing heavily, looked up at the execution platform and saw her love looking back at her. Feeling a resurgence of her strength, she smiled wider still and began to call out to him.

"I did it, Naru-"

And then nothing. Not another word came from the young woman's mouth. Instead, her shoulders snapped back and twisted as a geyser of blood erupted from her body and showered her as she fell to the ground. When she did speak, it was the most blood curdling scream of pain and agony that anyone present had ever heard.

"Hyuuga-san!" shouted Ukitake.

"What the Hel happened?" asked Shunsui with genuine concern on his face.

While too far away, the older Shinigami had not seen what had happened. And even if they could, they would not have been able to understand. Hinata was bleeding from every single one of her Tenketsu as well as from her eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. At first the pain had been harsh, but now it was nearly indescribable. If Hinata was able to speak instead of screaming in agony, she would say that it felt as if her entire Keirakukei had been filled with lava before being ripped out by her Tenketsu. From head to toe Hinata was in excruciating pain but she felt even more so in her head.

The migraine had evolved into as if someone was striking her in the head with an axe repeatedly and it was clear why. All the protruding veins that become visible when she activated her Byakugan had all burst which drenched her face further in blood. She clutched her head in a vain attempt to sooth the throbbing, but ended up grabbing onto her head so fiercely that she ended up digging her nails into her skin and created bloody lines down her temples and cheeks.

Her screams were uncontrollable and all in ear shot felt genuinely unwell by them, though none of them felt as Naruto did.

"HINATA!" he screamed jolting towards her but was still held back by the black chains.

"She did not heed your warning" explained the old fox, understanding what his host was thinking. "She utilized her Jūken with Reiryoku and now her body is collapsing from the strain. Her body is being torn apart from the inside out."

"Gods fucking damn it! Hinata-" Naruto was about to begin shouting once again but was stopped when he saw what was moving down below. Byakuya, who was thought to have been defeated, now stood over Hinata wielding Senbonzakura which had returned to its sealed form.

The captain of the Rokuban-tai looked very alien to his comrades. No longer presenting his usually dignified and stoic persona, but instead presented a man boiling with uncontrollable wrath and hate. His hair was a mess partially covering his face, which was twisted with pain and anger, matched by his eyes filled with a disturbed glare to them. And glaring was exactly what he was doing, focusing on the young woman at his feet who was still writhing in agony.

"I want to die...I want to die...I want to die..." whimpered Hinata over and over again with bloody tears running over her face, left broken due to the havoc within her body. Her eyes, normally a beautiful lavender pearl, were now horrifyingly blood shot as all the blood vessels within them had burst, leaving the heiress blind and unable to see that her opponent was before her.

"Good to hear" growled the head of the Kuchiki clan "I'm glad that in the end we were able to agree on something!" He grasped the hilt of his Zanpakutō with both hands and raised it above his head with the tip pointed at Hinata. "Goodbye, Hyuuga Hina-"

Fortunately for Hinata, who was completely unaware of what was going on, Byakuya no longer seemed able to deliver the killing blow. He now was shaking as if he were convulsing or having a severe seizure. His eyes had rolled into the back of his skull and his mouth kept opening and closing in the same way a fish gasped for air. Suddenly, Byakuya began to half scream half roar as black smoke shot out of his mouth and eyes and rose high into the sky before allowing him to finally collapse next to the barely conscious kunoichi.

His onlookers were utterly shocked as they had no idea what had just transpired...except for one very old and now very alert fox, who now stood poised in his cage. He knew what had just happened and what had caused it...and he was far from happy.

"Kit...it's go time" he said coolly.

"Finally!" growled Naruto in a very demonic voice just as his eyes turned to crimson. He reared back his head and unleashed an unholy roar that boomed so loudly it was heard across the entire Seireitei.

xXx

Itachi stopped mid run and looked immediately at Sōkyoku Hill wide eyed.

"Master..." he gasped.

"Was that Naruto?" asked Sasuke recognizing the demon roar. Sakura recognized the roar as well and immediately had flashbacks to the day they barely escaped from Orochimaru. The elder Uchiha said nothing and didn't reply to Sasuke's shouting as he made a b-line to the execution platform.

xXx

Isane's eyes landed on the Hill, taken aback by both the roar and the Reiatsu she had never sensed before. Unfortunately for her being on edge, she couldn't suppress a cry of fright when Kushina gasped as she sat up.

"Who are you? Where am I?" demanded the crimson haired woman with a confused look on her face.

"My name is Kotetsu Isane. I'm the lieutenant of the 4th Division and I was traveling with Hyuuga Hinata's group when we found you unconscious. I stayed behind to bring you to a stable condition" she explained.

"Unconscious? Oh, yes I wasn't feeling well so I told my husband to go ahead" Kushina replied remembering what had happened to her. "Has my son been rescued?"

Isane hesitated for a moment. "I'd have thought that the others would have succeeded by now...but I sensed that Hinata was fighting against Kuchiki-Taichō, then both of their Reiatsu dropped dangerously, and now I'm sensing a new Reiatsu that I've never felt before. It doesn't even feel like that of a Shinigami. I have no idea what's going on."

Kushina remained silent as she took this information in, understanding the gravity of it. She then stood up and stared at Sōkyoku Hill.

"Pick yourself up, Kotetsu-san. We're going to join the others" she said before making her way towards it. Isane was about to protest but decided that it wouldn't be the best option.

xXx

Nearing the base of the Hill, Soi-Fon landed on a tree branch and stopped, nearly sending Minato hurtling forward.

"What now, Soi-Fon-Taichō?" coughed the former Hokage.

"They're gone..." she said in confusion.

"What do you mean? Who's gone?"

"Both of them. Kuchiki and Hyuuga. They were fighting intensely and now both of them vanished, or at least their Reiatsu have dropped so low they can't be sensed at this distance" explained the captain.

This sharpened the Yondaime's senses immediately. "Are you saying they're both dead?"

Soi-Fon wasn't sure what she was saying, but she could sense that things were going to from bad to worse.

xXx

Gaara, Yugito, Momo, and Matsumoto also heard Naruto's demonic roar and stopped dead in their tracks.

"What the Hel is that?" asked Matsumoto squinting at the Hill in both confusion and morbid curiosity.

"It's Him" said Gaara with a small grin.

"Him?" asked Momo.

"Naruto-sama" explained Yugito with a near joyful smile on her face. "He's finally regained his powers."

"Or at the very least reawakened Kyuubi-sama. This is a good sign, despite that the plan has changed, we still have a good chance of success" added the Kazekage with a slightly larger grin. Just as he said that however, the scent of blood hit his sensitive nose, and he knew whose blood it was.

The odds might not be as in their favour as Gaara believed.

xXx

As Naruto stood roaring with all the pent up rage and sadness he possessed, the black and red chains that bound him were being pulled tightly, clearly showing signs of weakening. The cracks began to slowly widen before they finally could no longer contain the angry jinchūriki and gave way with the most satisfying of snaps. Like a crack of thunder, Naruto's roaring elevated further as crimson red Reiatsu burst from his body and twisted high in to the air forming the head of a demonic fox.

Naruto's body had immediately begun changing with his power reawakening. His finger nails had grown into razor sharp claws just as his canines grew into thicker fangs around an inch long. The whisker marks on his face grew larger as well as darker which made his demonic eyes more pronounced. His hair had grown slightly longer and wilder, giving the handsome blond an animalistic look and presence, exacerbated further when he slammed his right hand into the platform and hunched over to be nearly on all fours; poised and ready to attack. Finally, protruding from the base of his spine were five long raised tails made of concentrated Reiryoku...or at least they were assumed to be.

The higher ranking Shinigami officers looked upon him with different emotions as they felt the pressure of his Reiatsu. Shunsui and Ukitake respected the blonds' power knowing that he was a force to be reckoned with. Kenpachi looked at him with wild excitement as even when being faced with the power of a demon god, he saw it as a new challenge that he would have fun fighting against. Yamamoto on the other hand was far from pleased. For the old Captain-Commander, this was his greatest fear realized and a threat he needed to stop at all costs.

"So it begins" he said raising his wooden cane into the air and held it with the handle pointed forward. His students saw this and immediately realized what he was doing.

"Oh no you don't, Yama-jii!" shouted Shunsui reaching for his Zapakuto but was stopped by Ukitake.

"Forget about trying to fight him!"

"Are you nuts?"

"Look!" hissed the white haired captain indicating to the large number of Shinigami behind them. "You know what he and his Zanpakutō are capable of. We have to get everyone out."

"Common, Ukitake, you don't seriously think that the old man would kill all of his ranking officer-" argued the straw hat wearing Shinigami before cutting himself short seeing his master's wooden cane dissolving and revealing a katana. "Well shit."

"Finally!" laughed Kenpachi reaching for his eye patch. "I've been waiting for this moment for week-"

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Shunsui punched the 11th Division captain square in the face to stun him long enough for Ukitake to bind him from head to toe with Bakudō.

"Mina! The Captain-Commander is going to release his Shikai! Full retreat! Grab the wounded and get out of here!" shouted Shunsui flash stepping away with Kenpachi. Hisagi, Kira, Sasakibe, and every other officer that was engaged in combat heeded the orders of their superior officer, regardless of what side they were on. They immediately began grabbing members of their own divisions and began transporting them off Sōkyoku Hill as fast as they could. Unfortunately it was clear they would not be fast enough.

"Banshō Issai Kaijin to Nase... (Reduce All Creation To Ash)" began Yamamoto grabbing his sword by the hilt, preparing to draw.

Bellow the Hill, Soi-Fon felt the spike in Reiatsu and realized what was about to happen. "Keep your head down!" she shouted at the Yondaime before flash stepping up the cliff, leaving the blond to fall out of the tree. When she arrived at the summit, she saw the unconscious pair sandwiched between the transformed Naruto and her commanding officer in mid draw. Without hesitation, she flash stepped to Hinata and Byakuya and flash stepped again to leave with the fleeing Shinigami.

At the same moment, Gaara's group arrived just in time to see the retreat.

"Well things have gone badly" pointed out Matsumoto.

"They aren't going to make it out in time" realized Momo in horror.

"Let's grab as many as we can-"

Gaara knew that aiding in transporting the wounded and the slow would not be enough. However, he did know of one way that he could protect the rebelling Shinigami, though it was a reckless one. He flash stepped past all the retreating warriors with his eyes closed and his arms held out before him with his right hand gripping his left elbow and his left hand gripping the crook of his right arm. When he opened his eyes, they had changed from their normal green to a sandy gold with a black diamond and four dots for pupils.

"Daiyōkai no Mahō - TanuKidō: Seinaru Suna no Kabe! (Greater Demon Magic - Way of the Raccoon Dog: Holy Sand Wall)" he shouted as he slammed his hands onto the ground. Just before him a massive plume of smoke erupted as an ornate fifty foot wall rose from the earth spreading several hundred feet in either direction.

"...Ryūjin Jakka! (Flowing Blade-like Flame)" finished Yamamoto, drawing his Zanpakutō. His blade burst into flame as did his body knocking off his haori and kasode revealing his incredibly scarred and built body. His scars glowed red like lava between the cracks of cooling stone as he raised his flaming sword above his head and swung it, unleashing an unbelievably powerful blast of fire in all directions, though was aiming specifically at Naruto. The blast turned into a massive ring of fire in both diameter and height that encircled around him and the execution platform. When the wall of fire made contact with Gaara's wall of sand, the result was a shock for the young jinchūriki. It struck with so much force he was able to feel the heat before the sand wall melted/exploded which caused molten chunks of semi-sand-glass to crash into him, sending him fly over his comrades who had hit the deck as soon as the fire began to rage.

"Gaara!" screamed Yugito but could do nothing as her boyfriend was thrown through the air like a rag doll and crashing somewhere behind her.

The sheer pressure of the Sōtaichō releasing his Shikai was something truly otherworldly; which was saying something. All present were covered in sweat; partly because the intensity of the flames being produced, and partly because of the weight of the Sōtaichō's Reiatsu. Many were having trouble breathing and some had already lost consciousness, reinforcing just how powerful the oldest Shinigami was, and how mad one would have to be to challenge him.

"Jōkaku Enjō (Fortress Blaze)" he said steadily, "is a technique to imprison my enemies to which there is no escape. All fear my Zanpakutō and fear me even more so, as Ryūjin Jakka is the most powerful fire Zanpakutō in the history of the Soul Society, and I, the strongest Shinigami. Despite knowing this and that my plan was to stop you from fleeing, you jumped through the flames to face me, Yamamoto Genryūsai Shigekuni, Sōtaichō of the Gotei 13?"

As hard as it was to believe, Naruto had indeed jumped through the wall of fire purposely and was seeking to fight the elder Shinigami. He slowly rose amongst the flames with his back still hunched and his tails blending in with the roaring flames.

"Fire?" he echoed raising his right hand and cupping some of the flames before extinguishing it forcefully by clenching his fist. "I am fire."

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