Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or Naruto in the matter.
Speech Rules:
"Talking": Human speech
"Talking": Human Thought
"[Talking]": Name of Spell
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Chapter 1: Plans!
We could see a very handsome young man with yellow-blond, spiky hair that reached his ears. His blue eyes shone like a diamond but yet it held a great power and authority that showed that the young man was not to be messed with. The young man wore a black and white Shihakushō with no sleeves and black armbands. He also wore the traditional Shinigami captain's uniform with a sleeveless haori and an orange obi tied around his waist.
That would be Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, captain of squad 2 of the Gotei 13 and commander of the second largest organization beside the Gotei 13 which is the Onmitsukidō. He is known by many as the third official student of the Captain commander Genryūsai Yamamoto and was known to be a prodigy and a genius having graduated under a year from the Shin'o academy.
After his mentor Yoruichi had gotten exiled, Naruto had to pick up the slack and make sure that the Onmitsukidō would pull through without their leader. He had continued doing his duties as a lieutenant of squad 2 with the purpose of honoring his mentor Yoruichi and due to his diligence that he was promoted to his position after having been recommended.
Right now, the Onmitsukidō had started to gain some standard under Naruto who had made sure to answer to his subordinates needs and expectations which made him a great leader loved by many. Naruto had always believed that if you want the full loyalty of your subordinates, there should be a reward system where his subordinates are given rewards in order to motivate them to work hard.
Despite that, Naruto was still strict and would give punishment if he believed that it was necessary. He was a fair leader who gave equal opportunity to everyone that worked under him which is why the efficiency of work had increased as everyone worked hard to not disappoint their leader.
As for his Lieutenant Soifon, she had been quite supportive of him and had always made sure to work diligently just as Naruto had done previously when he held the position. It was no secret to everyone that Soifon had harbored romantic feelings towards Naruto, her obsessive tendency was similar to her obsession with her mentor Yoruichi so she always competed with the other women that were attracted to Naruto's charisma.
That aside, the situation had been dire the past few days as Naruto arrived at a small cell that contained only a chair with a familiar person who had her back to him. Her Shihakushō was completely white showing that her Reiatsu was gone or in her case was being suppressed by the Hōgyoku that was sealed inside her by a certain humble and perverted shopkeeper.
"Damn you, Kisuke!" Naruto thought, knowing that Kisuke had probably done this so he can expose Aizen and have soul society acknowledge his and the other exiled soul reapers innocence or maybe Kisuke was genuinely hoping to hide the Hōgyoku or maybe he wants him to confiscate it.
"You've really gotten yourself into a big mess, Rukia!" Naruto spoke, his tone was soft and there was no hint of anger or disappointment.
Rukia turned to face Naruto, she was definitely surprised to see Naruto again after all those years. Having been adopted by the Kuchiki family, she was unable to see him or Renji as she used to but Naruto on the other hand had tried to visit her unlike Renji who had practically almost given up because of the difference in status.
"Naruto! What are you doing here?" asked Rukia as she cautiously looked at Naruto who smiled at her gently if only to give her comfort.
"I came to check on you of course." Said Naruto like it was the most obvious thing while Rukia had a bitter look on her face remembering her altercation with Renji the previous day.
"I'm gonna be executed, Naruto!" Said Rukia accepting her fate but her only worry is that Ichigo would come here and make a ruckus that might lead to his death as well. When she stayed in the living world and had started teaching Ichigo about being a soul reaper, she never expected to get close to the boy who was much younger than her but maybe because Ichigo had reminded her of Kaien Shiba and she unknowingly found herself getting close to him and forming a friendship that she had come to value greatly.
"I'm aware of that, you've really put yourself into a very tight position but I assure you that you won't be executed as long as I and those who believe in you are still around." Said Naruto which definitely got a reaction from Rukia who turned to look at Naruto in surprise.
"I already know about Renji's situation and I'm quite disappointed in him for doubting the bond between the two of you but that idiot will come around as well once he stops trying to think about those unnecessary power gaps and status." said Naruto while Rukia gained a softer look appreciating the encouraging words from Naruto.
"Thank you, I'm really grateful!" said Rukia, which Naruto nodded before with a hidden finger motion, Rukia started to fall asleep in her seat. He had visited Rukia cell for another reason aside from checking on her well-being and that is to extract the Hōgyoku.
Naruto then opened the cell knowing that he had limited time to do what he came here to do, in his pocket was another Hōgyoku but this one was a faulty one. He was going to replace Kisuke's Hōgyoku with his own version in order to fool Aizen and make sure that Rukia would survive by the end of the whole ordeal.
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Naruto walked out of the barrack with a straight face being flanked by Soifon who looked at Naruto in concern. They were playing a very dangerous game, they don't really know if Aizen is watching them or not but they have been taking extreme safety precautions to ensure everything would go smoothly.
"Do you really think he would fall for it?" asked Soifon. Her voice was low to allow only her and Naruto to communicate.
"Yes, that guy is quite arrogant and overconfident in his strength. He might be on guard around me but he still doesn't see me as a threat to his plans. He wouldn't expect that I had everything planned beforehand." said Naruto with a smile on his face while Soifon nodded her head admiring her captain's tactics.
Naruto was constantly sending pulses in the ground to sense the surrounding area and ensure that nobody was spying on them. He then turned towards Soifon and leaned to give her a kiss on the lips which she accepted happily, she was quite lucky to have gotten in a relationship with Naruto and she was quite smug about it to the other women that had competed for Naruto's attention.
"Now then, I will head to Sensei to hand it to him." Said Naruto making sure that he doesn't mention the name of the Hōgyoku which Soifon nodded her head at.
Using Flash Step, Naruto had headed towards the squad 1 barrack to meet with his sensei. It actually didn't take long for him to reach his destination before he made it inside the office knowing that his sensei and the others that he requested were made present.
"Did you complete the task, Captain Namikaze?" asked the Captain commander which Naruto nodded as he sent another pulse to check the surrounding area which was clear.
Naruto then looked at his sensei and his seniors which were Jūshirō Ukitake, Kyōraku Shunsui and Unohana Retsu. Naruto then pulled the Hōgyoku and kneeled in front of his sensei before handing over the weapon that Kisuke had foolishly created.
Yamamoto took the small bluish-purple orb from Naruto's hand and frowned when sensing the pressure that was being emitted and shuddered at the thought of what Aizen had planned to do with the orb.
"Excellent job, you've served soul society well!" Said Yamamoto proudly as the others smiled at Naruto who stood up and raised his head smiling at the praise given to him by his own sensei.
Yamamoto then hid the Hōgyoku inside a Kido spell in which he decided to deal with later until the situation with Aizen is resolved. Yamamoto was quite grateful for Naruto's quick thinking, if it weren't for that he might have acted rashly in trying to eliminate Aizen and the other traitorous captain.
It was only thanks to the persuasion of Naruto along with Jūshirō Ukitake, Kyōraku Shunsui and Unohana Retsu that he had accepted to follow the plan that was agreed upon by the five of them
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[Flashback]
"What?!" Shouted Yamamoto loudly being angered by the revelation made by Naruto and the others. He was surprised when Naruto had come to his office with his two other students and Unohana.
Naruto flinched at the look of outrage in his sensei face but maintained a straight face since he was being supported by his seniors so he felt a little bit of comfort in coming to the office.
"I'm afraid this is the conclusion that we had arrived at, head captain" It was Unohana that decided to press forward, she was as old as Yamamoto himself so she decided to lighten the burden on Yamamoto students by taking the lead in the conversation.
Yamamoto sat in his chair gripping on his cane that was secretly his weapon in disguise. "So you're telling me that three of my own captains had been working against me." Said Yamamoto, the notion that three of his captains are betraying him left a bitter taste in his mouth especially someone like Aizen who is well-liked by everyone.
"Yes, I don't technically have any concrete evidence aside from the testimony of the exiled Yoruichi Shihōin, Kisuke Urahara and Tessai Tsukabishi who had recounted to me the events that led to their exile along with my own secret investigation that I had launched to determine Aizen goal." Said Naruto, this time he was the one who talked.
"So you're admitting that you've helped the escape of convicted soul reapers?" Yamamoto asked, frowning at Naruto who flinched a little but gained a steely look.
"Yes, I do admit that I've assisted them in their escape from Soul Society. I will accept the punishment later but I did this in the belief that my own mentor and captain Yoruichi Shihōin would not dare betray Soul Society unless with a very solid reason and I was proven correct." Said Naruto as he looked at his sensei eyes who looked disappointed but at the same time, there was a hint of pride.
"It's honestly concerning how something like this was happening underneath our noses. I don't think Naruto is fully at fault here since he was acting on his instinct and his loyalty towards captain Yoruichi who had played a crucial role in his development as a soul reaper." Said Jūshirō trying to remove any heat that would be directed at Naruto.
"Besides, we learned that Aizen had been playing us for a fool for so long. His convincing act of a good guy had definitely tricked us completely. I've always wondered why he was so eager to show us his Shikai, it turned out to be just a ceremony for his illusion ability or something similar to it to take a hold of us." said Kyōraku feeling somewhat bitter that he hadn't found his behavior suspicious.
Yamamoto who got over his slight anger towards Naruto assisting exiled Soul reapers, had immediately directed his anger at the three traitorous captains as he stood up ready to head to where Aizen and the other two captain reside and burn them to ash but he was intercepted by Unohana who placed a hand on his chest to calm him down.
"What are you doing, captain Unohana?" Asked Yamamoto angrily but Unohana gave him a glare that told him to calm down.
"It's unbefitting for someone of your position to quickly lose his temper. If you were to attack Aizen and his allies, that would only lead to more problems for soul society. I suggest you hear out what we have to say before making any rash decisions." Said Unohana as the two got into a heated glare that made Naruto, Jūshirō and Kyōraku nervous before Yamamoto gave up and took a seat.
"Very well, I'm listening!" Said Yamamoto as he took deep breaths to calm down his nerves. He had only relented because he was secretly afraid of Unohana and because he also respects her.
"Right now, it is extremely dangerous to attack Aizen and the others head-on as it would cause a lot of problems. Captain Shinji Hirako was one of the few people closest to discovering Aizen's intention and he was taken out of the equation by Aizen along with those who are close to Captain Shinji in order to prevent anybody from discovering his identity." revealed Naruto as Yamamoto listened, understanding the severity of the situation.
"That aside, Aizen had played his role as the benevolent soul reaper quite well and had attracted a lot of admirers who respected him and followed him. He had mostly targeted young soul reapers, especially students from the Shin'ō academy in order to instill loyalty into them so if we were to attack him it would lead to a civil war which would be beneficial for Aizen future goals." Continued Naruto as Yamamoto had calmed down even more, being able to think rationally and was able to understand where Naruto was coming from.
"That's not to mention his Zanpakutō ability. If I'm being honest, attacking Aizen right now is risky considering that we might not be sure if we're really attacking the real one to begin with, not to mention there is the concern that Central 46 might actually be Aizen pulling the strings from behind the scene." The one who spoke this time was Jūshirō who had a grim look on his face which was mirrored by Kyōraku.
"If we were to take the words of our former exiled captains to truth, then there might be another problem in the form that Aizen might be attempting to create his own army of hollows or he might have already created an army already and is waiting for the chance to strike against us." said Unohana, this time she threw her input which left Yamamoto with a headache.
"This is very concerning, what do you suggest I should do considering that you're all completely against my methods of eliminating those traitorous captains?" asked Yamamoto while Naruto nodded his head.
"Aizen is currently attempting to get his hands on the Hōgyoku which is in the possession of Kisuke Urahara, it seems that Kisuke creation is the key that would help with Aizen ultimate goal of creating a successful hollowfication but right now, Kisuke had confiscated the Hōgyoku in order to help stabilize the former captains who were put under hollowfication by Aizen." Naruto said, revealing Aizen's plans which surprised Yamamoto.
"Until we could somehow confiscate the Hōgyoku from Kisuke, we could ensure that part of Aizen's plans are ruined since it seems that his plans are centered on the Hōgyoku but we need a bait in which I mean that we need to create a faulty version of the Hōgyoku so Aizen would be forced to reveal his hands to us." said Naruto which everyone nodded.
"Right now, he's on guard around us so we need to give him a fake sense of safety. That his plans are going smoothly and that he managed to fool us all but in reality we already know of a portion of his plans, this will lead him to get overconfident and arrogant which would let him start dropping his guard." Said Naruto as Yamamoto contemplated Naruto's plans.
"This is my own humble opinion." Said Naruto as everyone gave a nod at Naruto knowing that he was asking them to add onto the plan and alter it, if they deemed it too compromising.
Yamamoto gained a steely look after contemplating everything that was said so far before he decided to further discuss the plans on how to effectively deal with Aizen Sosuke and his supporters in the form of captain Gin Ichimaru and Kaname Tousen.
[End of Flashback]
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"Now that we have the Hōgyoku, we can now continue with our plans." said Yamamoto as he looked at each individual in the office. "I'm sure all of you know your roles quite well so make sure that no one suspect anything." Said Yamamoto, which Kyōraku grinned at.
"Don't worry Yama-jii, we have everything under control." Said Kyōraku as he gave his sensei a thumbs up which Yamamoto let out a sigh sincerely hoping that everything would end okay.
"I will continue doing my duties as expected from me too." Answered Unohana with a sweet smile as she turned to leave, clearly satisfied with seeing the dangerous weapon created by Kisuke being confiscated.
"I think I will do the same as Captain Unohana!" Said Jūshirō as he let out small coughs from his disease before he decided to relax a little in his squad barracks while also thinking about saving Rukia from her execution but they need to be careful especially when dealing with someone as stubborn as Byakuya Kuchiki.
"My Lieutenant Soifon is already ensuring that our patrol and everything related to our squad remain relatively the same to not garner any suspicion. I will continue doing what I usually do to divert suspicion." Said Naruto giving a nod that he had already planned to do that from the start which Yamamoto nodded in satisfaction.
Kyōraku immediately took this opportunity to throw his arm around Naruto's shoulder as he pulled his junior to the exit door. "Come on, let's have a drink, Naruto!" said Kyōraku enthusiastically which Naruto didn't resist instead followed with a smile.
"Well I don't mind having a few drinks, this has been such a nerve wrecking year." Said Naruto which Kyōraku nodded his head agreeing with how troublesome the situation had been those past few couple years when dealing with Aizen who had been suspiciously spying on them but had been terrible at it now that they knew of his intention, the only problem is his Shikai ability that made them take a lot of safety precaution to ensure that nothing can interrupt their plans.
It was very risky but Aizen had started to let his guard down just like they had expected and had stopped spying on them and instead had been focused on his goals that were approaching rapidly in the form of Rukia Kuchiki carrying the Hōgyoku but he was unaware that Naruto had already left him a gift that he would definitely remember for the rest of his life.
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Aizen was chuckling to himself with how his plans had been advancing quite quickly then he anticipated. He had been monitoring any suspicious behavior especially from the captain of squad 2 Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, a boy with so much potential that it fascinated him but it seems that his worries were unfounded since it seems that Naruto was not aware of anything.
"Are you sure that dropping your guard around that boy is the right thing to do, Aizen-sama?" Asked Tousen being the only one who was still quite concerned about Naruto being clueless. He knows that Naruto is much more cunning than this, he must know at least something especially after his own mentor Yoruichi Shihōin had been framed.
Aizen who was sitting in a much more luxurious chair was sipping on the tea that was offered to him by Kaname before he looked at the blind captain with a smirk that showed confidence. "Do not fret Kaname, I've studied Namikaze quite well to know that he isn't capable of interfering with our plans. Yoruichi Shihōin's supposed betrayal has affected him just as much as it affected his lieutenant Soifon, so our plans of achieving the Hōgyoku are approaching." Said Aizen confidently believing that Naruto behavior around him was just what the humans in the living world called 'teenage rebellion phase'.
Gin, who was leaning on the side, has his ever permanent smile that eerily reminded everyone of a fox as he looked at Tousen. "You're worrying a little too much, Kaname. Aizen-sama had planned everything even before Naruto-kun was conceived in his mother's womb." Said Gin in a mocking tone.
"I see, I may have worried a bit too much given the boy's reputation around as a prodigy and a genius of his generation." Said Tousen trying to give a reason for his worry but Aizen had dismissed his worries with a smile.
Gin on the other hand looked at Aizen with well hidden contempt. "That overconfidence of yours will be your undoing, Aizen! I will never forgive you for what you did to Rangiku and I will make sure you pay your sins with your life." Gin thought he knew that Naruto is probably aware to some degree about Aizen's plans. If he was able to join Aizen inner circles then Naruto was probably aware of everything to some degree.
"What are your next moves, Aizen-sama?" asked Tousen, being quite loyal towards Aizen goals as in his own eyes, Aizen was the one who will bring justice to this world.
"We wait for the Ryokas that will undoubtedly come to Soul Society in order to save Rukia Kuchiki. We will add fire to the chaos by faking my own death and have the soul reapers turn against each other which would help cover our tracks enough to further completion of our plans." Said Aizen as he rested the palm of his hand on his cheeks.
"I fully understand!" Said Tousen submissively acknowledging Aizen as his superior as he poured more tea for his leader who accepted Tousen's kind gesture.
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