Blood. Screams of rage and pain. The taste of airborne agony clinging to the atmosphere. The motion of sheathing his zanpakuto, though not out of fear or hesitation. The faint memory of apathetically allowing the strawberry blonde Soul Reaper and Aizen's captive walk past him without a fight. The Soul Reaper attack him. He broke the boy's arm and sent him rocketing into a pillar.

'Cling to your life and flee.' He had said, no trace of arrogance in his voice. 'I believe in second chances. So take your companions and leave Hueco Mundo before your home is destroyed by the traitor of the Shinigami.'

He had known that the girl, Orihime, could heal his broken arm in no time. After all, she gave Grimmjow back his arm and his position as the Seis Espada in a matter of minutes. With his piece said, he vanished via Sonido and went to retrieve the bodies of Loly and Menoly. That was, of course, before he was cut down by Gin Ichimaru. His face remained blank as he fell from the top of the main base.

Naruto Uzumaki stood in the Forest of Death with his arms crossed as he leaned against one of the thicker tree trunks. This wasn't the first time his conscious mind was haunted by memories of his past life, though was it truly a past life if you lived did while your current life was on hold? It mattered not. During his time in Hueco Mundo he gained power and allies, skills that would give even the Sandaime trouble. Not that the young Espada would ever think about challenging his Ji-chan.

Speaking of allies, he could sense them coming with his Pesquisa technique. The technique was especially useful since he also had access to chakra unlike those arrogant beings in Hueco Mundo, so the technique had double the usage. Within seconds, three women appeared in front of him, each one a knee as they bowed to him in respect and reverence. The first one was his friend, classmate and first Fraccion, Menoly Mallia. With slicked blonde hair that fringed over her covered eye and a tomboy's features, she was the more docile out of his Fraccion duo. Her mask fragment hid her right eye, while her exposed sea green left eye was constantly scanning for any threats to her precious Naruto-sama.

The girl next to her, and his second Fraccion, was Loly Aivirrne. Her hair, dark and shiny as a raven's wing, was styled in twin pigtails that reached down her back. Her mask fragment covered her left eye, while her hot pink right eye burned with unhidden malice for anyone that thought they were good enough to even so much as breathe her beloved master's air. She was, by far, the most protective of the thirteen year old Espada despite his number, power, and skill.

The final Arrancar was a friend and ally that Naruto swore had a crush on him despite the age gap between them. Her purple eyes burned with Arrancar pride which often translated to arrogance, her purple hair came down in wavy curtains on either side of her face, and her mask resembled a hair clip that was positioned directly over her forehead. Cirucci Sanderwicci, the Arrancar-turned-Jōnin, was the first to raise her head and look into the crimson eyes of her master.

"Please forgive our tardiness, Naruto-sama." she spoke in a quiet voice.

Naruto looked over his friends and followers. "Stand. You have nothing to apologize for. Have you completed your individual missions?"

"Yes, Naruto-sama."

Cirucci was instructed to inform the Sandaime of what happened, while Menoly and Loly were to ensure that they remained uninterrupted. Unfortunately, mere seconds had barely managed to pass as Iruka Umino landed in front of the trio. Surprise etched itself onto his features when he noticed the Jōnin and trio of genin-hopefuls; at first he didn't even notice the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing for his eyes were glued to the kneeling Jōnin that was imploring the redhead to further their relationship beyond master-servant, to which the boy explained that he didn't see any of them as servants. Only after the initial shock wore off did he notice the stolen scroll.

"Naruto," he said, the surprise still evident in his voice. "What's going on here? Why do you have the Forbidden Scroll? Cirucci-san, why aren't you trying to retrieve it?"

The blonde, ravenette, and purple haired woman fixed the scarred Chūnin with an icy, ball shriveling glare. Traces of killing intent leaked from them as their looks caused the man to retreat a couple of steps though his incredulous gaze remained on Naruto. His eyes, a sinister crimson with slitted pupils, held the glazed appearance of one who was more than a little bored.

"What about your dream of being Hokage?" asked Iruka in a quiet, yet stern tone. "What about getting people to acknowledge and respect you?"

It was a pipe dream at most, wishful thinking normally, and a childish delusion at worst. The citizens of Konohagakure have and will always see Naruto as the Kyuubi that destroyed the village that moonlit night thirteen years ago. On the other hand, it wasn't a secret that both the Sandaime and Iruka himself cared about Naruto the most in the village, both of them topped only by Teuchi and Ayame.

"That dream has long since died," Naruto enlightened the man that considered him a younger brother, his face seeming to age as he spoke those very words. "I no longer care about the view of the villagers, nor do I care about the hat. My main concern is my people. Cirucci-chan, have you managed to get information on the team compositions?"

"Yes, Naruto-sama." the woman said with a respectful incline of her head. "You, Menoly, and Loly are being separated and unfortunately I could not take you three as my genin. You will be on the team with Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha. Menoly will be on a team with Shino Aburam and Hinata Hyuga. Loly will be on the team with Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi."

A thoughtful expression returned the youth to the redhead's face. "Do you have any idea why I was placed on Team Kakashi?"

"Aside from the fact you placed dead last in your classes? It would seem that you are the son of his late sensei." illuminated Cirucci as she turned her violet eyes to the moon above.

At the term 'dead last' Naruto's expression turned murderous, as though he were mere moments away of removing the Jōnin's head from her neck with his bare hands. One look at the genin-hopeful had the purple haired woman on her knees begging for his forgiveness. He gave it after a moment of glaring at her. Needless to say, Cirucci Sanderwicci was glad that her master was a man who believed in second chances.

This was something Iruka found strange; what Jōnin would bow and beg for a Genin to forgive them? If anything, he would expect the roles to be reversed. Still, the thunderous look that had darkened the youth's face lifted at once and he turned his gaze back to the scarred man standing before him.

"Naruto-sama," spoke Loly. "Mizuki is on his way."

'Why would Mizuki…?' was his thought before he spoke up with widened eyes. "Naruto, what are you and Mizuki planning on doing with the scroll?"

Loly turned a deadly glower to Iruka, one that promised pain and suffering the likes of which they only told about in horror stories. "You do not question, Naruto-sama."

Her voice was like ice, her tone like the abyss. Her sole pink eye darkened with an hatred that was fathomless, something that was quickly replaced with love and admiration when she looked back to Naruto Uzumaki.

"That's enough, Loly. Regardless of the past, I still consider Iruka-sensei an older brother of sorts. It is for that reason, sensei, that you must not witness this." The tone of finality made Iruka want to run and never look back but before he could decide on what to actually do, he noticed something off about his favorite student.

There was a violet glint highlighting his crimson eyes. The color combination was hypnotic if not completely horrifying. He noticed movement at the edge of his vision. Purple cherry blossoms began falling before him as a light violet haze seemed to coat the area. Iruka felt his vision blur as his eyes refused to focus on the boy with scarlet eyes. The world around him began spinning and he felt gravity claim him, he heard his most precious pupil whisper a single word.

'Hakufuku,'

The four Arrancar looked to the unconscious Chūnin, the three numeros turning to their master with looks of utter astonishment. They gaped at him as they had all witnessed the effects of the technique he used, despite the brunette male being the only one affected. It was Menoly that had the courage to ask the question that was on all of their minds.

"Um, N-Naruto-sama, if I may?" she started, only to blush lightly as she watched his eye burn into her own. "What technique was that?"

"It was a Bakudō spell." He explained. "One that I learned from tasting the blood of a Shinigami. I know approximately four of these particular spells."

'As expected of Naruto-sama,' was the collective thought from the numeros before Naruto called their attention.

"He's here. Cirucci, take Iruka-sensei back home. And thank you for your hard work today, I appreciate it greatly."

Loly pouted as an attractive blush colored the purple haired woman's fair cheeks. With a slight bow at the waist, she placed a hand on the fallen man's shoulder and vanished from sight via Sonído. Mizuki landed before the trio of genin-hopefuls mere seconds after the older Arrancar left.

"Excellent job, Naruto." smiled the traitorous Chūnin. "Now just hand the scroll to me and you'll officially have gotten your own personal trainer."

An ominous smile curved his lips as he looked into the older man's dark green eyes. Due to his ability to sense negative emotions, the youngest Espada could literally feel the hatred and deceit rolling off of his every word.

"You know something, sensei? Being the jinchuriki to the Kyuubi has given me some wondrous abilities." He said as a seemingly off-handed comment, not at all missing the look of absolute malice darken the man's features. "One of which is the ability to sense negative emotions. Do you understand what that means? It means you cannot lie to me."

The man's hand twitched as he reached for a kunai, but soon heard a dull thud. When he turned his head, he noticed that his right arm was laying severed in the grass. Beside him stood Loly, her tantō sized Zanpakutō dripping blood, her visible pink eye glinting with a sadistic maliciousness. He hissed, backing away from the three genin. This shouldn't have been possible; he was a Chūnin, damn it!

"You see, Mizuki-sensei, Sandaime Ji-chan is already aware of what is happening at this very moment. A pity you'll not live to see your plan come to fruition." spoke Naruto in a tone of enlightened pity, before turning his gaze to one of his beloved Fraccion. "Loly-chan."

It was then that she spoke the words that her enemies would never live to hear a second time With a wicked grin and nigh-demonic glint in her eye, she said. "Poison, Escolopendra."

"Before we begin with the team placements, I would like to say that I am very proud of you all. You're now taking the first steps in your career as shinobi. Serve Konoha well." smiled Iruka.

After he finished his speech, he went ahead and went into the team placements. It was quite bizarre; he felt as though he hadn't gotten any sleep or rather, his sleep was a fitful one. When he woke up this morning, he was shaken from a nightmare that was vivid within his muddied consciousness. One in which his rather cold and aloof pupil, his ersatz little brother, betrays Konoha by handing the Forbidden Scroll over to Mizuki. Something that was made worse when he consulted the Hokage prior to arriving to his classroom. The aged man was well aware of what had taken place last night, that he allowed Naruto to handle the situation.

'Something about him has changed, Iruka.' The Professor had said. 'I don't know what it is, but he's different. Colder. I watched what happened last night. Needless to say, I'm going to have Kakashi keep a close eye on the boy.'

Iruka didn't bother mentioning Cirucci-san, nor did he mention that strange genjutsu that Naruto cast. Perhaps that was why he felt as though he hadn't gotten a decent night's rest. Yet another bizarre thing; Naruto's chakra reserves were equal to those of the Sandaime, though his chakra control wasn't nearly as delicate. Which meant that medical ninjutsu and genjutsu were two things that the frosty redhead shouldn't have the ability to do. But even as he concluded the team composition for team six, his mind could scarcely recollect the hypnotic falling of the violet cherry blossoms. The gentle, sweet smelling haze that accompanied them. The strange purple hue tainting his scarlet eyes. It was eerie, to say the least.

"Alright, that brings us to Team Seven. Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki are the genin that make up that squad, and your Jōnin instructor will be Kakashi Hatake."

"Ha!" Sakura boasted loudly, pointing at her former friend, Ino Yamanaka. "Take that, Ino-pig!"

Loly and Menoly frowned and sunk into their respective seats. Cirucci had already told them that they wouldn't be on a squad with their master, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. Especially when that waste of space with the pink hair, who so loudly boasted that 'true love' and 'destiny' were the reasons that she was on a team with 'Sasuke-kun', had very few redeeming qualities. The platinum blonde reminded her that Naruto was a part of the squad, and that deflated the pinkette at once. Loly moved to strike the girl for her impudence towards Naruto, but the redhead grasped her wrist.

The ravenette remained in her seat with a blush on her face. When she looked to her right, her master was looking out of the window, as he was prone to do. Briefly, her mind went back last night where her Naruto-sama pet her head and praised her for a job well done in dealing with that traitorous bastard. Loly was many things; a bitch, vindictive, sadistic, malicious, and everything in between. But her weakness was indeed head pats and praise from the red haired Espada.

One by one, Jōnin arrived to claim their new students, each different in specialties and abilities. A woman named Kurenai and a man named Asuma arrived together for Teams Eight and Ten.

"Protect your comrades and your sensei." were Naruto's only directions. "Do not use your Resurrección unless you feel like you have no other choice."

"Yes, Naruto-sama." answered his Fracción before they left with the remainder of their teams.

Before long, only the members of Team Seven remained; a brooding Uchiha, a lovestruck Haruno, and an uncaring Uzumaki.

"Good morning, Team Eight." greeted Konoha's Genjutsu Specialist. "My name is Kurenai Yūhi. The first thing you should know is this; my job is not to teach you flashy jutsu or how to win over your crush. My job is to groom you to be the best shinobi and kunoichi that you could possibly, to help you unlock your true potential, and teach you to get through missions the proper way. Am I understood?"

Though she nodded, Menoly couldn't help but notice that the woman before her was somewhat similar to her master in that she had a cold aura about her. From this brief introduction, her second thought was that the woman's personality left a lot to be desired.

"Now before we begin with the introductions, let me explain something. Team Eight will be mainly taking missions that involve tracking, infiltration, and espionage. Stealth will be our main focus." explained the ruby-eyed kunoichi, before smiling faintly. "Now, let us introduce ourselves."

"M-My name is H-Hinata Hyuuga. I l-like watching the moon, and I d-dislike those w-who take their anger out on o-others. I h-hope we get along."

'We'll have to work on the stuttering and her confidence.' Without a doubt, Hiashi Hyuuga was the reason the young girl has such low self esteem.

"My name is Shino Aburame," his voice was monotonous, deadpan. "I like discovering new species of insects and I dislike insecticides, for obvious reasons."

Kurenai almost wanted to chuckle at the last bit; the Aburame clan were known for their stony stoicism. The bit about insecticide, due to his rather deadpan delivery, could be mistaken for a joke. She doubted it heavily.

"My name is Menoly Mallia." her voice was quiet but she spoke with a confidence that normally came with years of experience. "I like training and ramen, and I dislike those that disrespect my closest friend. I do hope we can get along."

Kurenai fixed the blonde with a curious stare. According to Iruka, that could be one of two people; another kunoichi named Loly, or the village pariah, Naruto Uzumaki. More research would have to be done before she could come up with something solid, but so far Kurenai was relatively happy with her genin team. A shy Hyuuga, a stoic Aburame, and the quiet Mallia. It could be worse. She could have a bunch of rowdy students.

"As I've said, my name is Kurenai. I like reading, and I dislike those who think kunoichi aren't as powerful as our male counterparts. Now, with the introductions out of the way, we will meet tomorrow for a short exercise. Be at Training Ground Eight at seven. Do not come late, or you will fail. You're dismissed."

Asuma Sarutobi, only son of the Sandaime Hokage, sighed as he lit one of his premium cigarettes. As a laid back man, not unlike Kakashi, he preferred things to go off without a hitch. As a shinobi, he was taught to always expect the unexpected, for literally anything could happen in this line of work. Why he didn't expect to get the girl with opposing crushes, however, was something he couldn't answer. Between Ino's obsessive devotion to Sasuke, and Loly's loyalty to Naruto, Asuma couldn't tell who was worse.

"I'm only saying that I don't see what the big deal is." taunted Loly with an uncaring expression that would surely make Naruto-sama proud as she folded her arms beneath her still budding bosoms. "All he does is grunt and call people like you annoying. Not that he's wrong."

He would be lying if he didn't acknowledge the power that rolled off of the provocatively dressed ravenette. Despite her standing in the class, the clan head had a feeling that the pink-eyed girl would give him a run for his money. And that was without the blade that smelled faintly of toxins. Asuma didn't know how to feel about that; why the girl had chakra reserves that would put most Jōnin to shame.

Ino flared up with righteous indignation. "Sasuke-kun is the best in our class. He's leagues better than that idiot, Naruto."

Asuma felt the temperature drop at once. Loly was suddenly in front of Ino with her hand wrapped tightly around the heiresses throat. He didn't even see her move. Despite them being the same height, the ravenette lifted the platinum blonde off of the ground, her exposed eye burning with pure rage and hatred. Asuma was beside her at once, his hand gripping her bone cold flesh.

His normally calm demeanor was gone, a dangerous aura in its place. "Loly, that's enough."

She ignored him and tightened her hold on that blonde bitch's throat until her fair flesh started coloring. "If you ever insult him in front of me again, your parents won't have enough of your corpse to bury."

Loly threw the girl to the ground and nonchalantly brushed off Asuma's grip. From her place on the ground, Ino spluttered, gasping for air. At the same time, Choji was hiding behind a tree, his barbeque flavored chips forgotten. When all had calmed once again, it was obvious that this team was going to need a lot of work; Loly stared off to the side, Ino threw hateful glares at her while maintaining a distance that showed fear, and Choji was caught in the middle, equally afraid of both kunoichi on his squad.

The son of the Sandaime sighed. This wasn't supposed to end up like this; today was supposed to be simple. They were only introducing themselves and then the two girls with opposing crushes started arguing about who was better. With a sigh, Asuma lit yet another one of his premium cigarettes. He had quite a ways to go with his team. It was official; Asuma needed a drink.

After two hours, Kakashi Hatake entered the classroom in which his genin team sat in various states of being; Sasuke Uchiha was brooding as he had been for the past two hours while irritation rolled off of him in near tangible waves, Sakura Haruno was staring dreamily at the dark haired boy while completely ignoring any and everything that wasn't Sasuke, while Naruto Uzumaki sat unmoving in a meditative state.

"My first impression of you all is," Kakashi paused for dramatic effect before noticing that only one person was paying attention to his very presence. "You're all boring. Meet me on the roof in five minutes."

Naruto didn't make any movements but suddenly vanished and reappeared before the masked Jōnin. Though Kakashi didn't speak, it was clear that he was slightly surprised. Neither male said anything, preferring to let the silence speak. The silence grew heavy after a while, but Sasuke and his number one fan thankfully showed up.

"Alright." smirked Kakashi beneath his mask. "Let's all introduce ourselves. How about your first?"

Sakura finally managed to tear her gaze away from the object of her affections to turn to her sensei. "Why don't you go first so we know how you expect us to do it?"

The white haired man sweatdropped. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like a lot of things, just like I dislike a lot of things. My dreams for the future… I don't have any. Your turn."

"My name is Sakura Haruno," That was all the pink haired girl managed to get out in between glancing at her crush and squealing uncontrollably.

Naruto was annoyed and had to resist the urge to snap her neck. As a 'him', he didn't revel in killing, but the Espada in him did. He often thought of himself as a strange mix of Stark, Halibel, and Ulquiorra. Like him, they were Espada that didn't necessarily like taking lives. Of course, they would, but the fact remained.

"Alright. You're next."

Sasuke folded his hands in front of his mouth as hatred darkened his features. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like many things, while I dislike a lot of things. My dream is not a dream, for I will make it a reality. My goal is to kill a certain man and restore the honor of my fallen clan."

Sakura felt her face heat up as she pondered on how cool Sasuke was. Kakashi raised a speculative brow. Naruto didn't care.

"And you?"

The redhead looked into his sensei's exposed eye for but a moment before looking away. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. That is all I will share."

All eyes turned to him. Sakura wanted to say something, but the frosty, near murderous look in his slitted eyes forbade her from even moving her lips. He had no power over her, but she had a feeling that he would hurt her if she dared to insult him. Not that it had stopped her before, but that was before he was tortured into a coma. Since coming out, he'd been different. The pranks stopped. He no longer smiled, and his eyes never returned to the oceanic cerulean they had once been. Many called Sakura what they wanted, but she was capable of paying attention to things other than Sasuke, albeit not for very long.

Sasuke could feel the power rolling off of the dead last, he had no thoughts save for the hope that the idiot tomato didn't hold him back. Meanwhile Kakashi could blame the kid for being guarded; he was dealt a shit hand, and this was how he was coping with it. Regardless, there was a darkness about him that seemed to make Sasuke's seem unimportant. It was like comparing a shadow during the day, the encompassing night sky. It made the masked Jōnin hesitant. Regardless, Naruto was his sensei's child, so Kakashi would be damned if he didn't try to help him as he planned to help Sasuke.

"Well then, that's all for today. We're going to have a little test tomorrow, so meet up at Training Ground Seven at seven tomorrow morning. Oh, and I recommend you don't eat breakfast."

Before Sakura could point out that they had already taken a test, Kakashi vanished in a swirl of leaves. Naruto, too, vanished without so much as a word to his new team. Sakura went to ask Sasuke on a date, but the moment she opened her mouth, he replied with an easy 'No,'. Dejected, the pinkette went home to think about everything that happened today.