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 8: Execution Stopped!
Currently, Naruto could be seen standing at the Sōkyoku hill along with the other captains and their respective Lieutenants. Of course there were those who still had yet to come because the only one who attended so far was the Head Captain Yamamoto along with Chōjirō Sasakibe then him and Soifon and Kyoraku and Nanao Ise.
There was Isane Kotetsu who is the lieutenant of Unohana but the latter had still yet to come. Naruto guessed that she was dealing with the injured Soul Reapers since the Ryoka really did make a mess of Soul Society which is really embarrassing that an amateur was doing this kind of damage.
"Zaraki is truly a dependable person." Naruto thought with a smile as he felt the traitor Tōsen's spiritual pressure disappear completely that meant he had been killed by Zaraki.
Yamamoto was at first skeptical of his decision to let the criminal deal with the traitor but Naruto had confidence in Kenpachi Zaraki to pull it off since despite the latter's behavior, he still knew how to do his job. Besides, if Tōsen were to be killed by another person, it would alarm Aizen and make him cautious and he didn't want that.
Zaraki was the captain of the 11th which is really self-explanatory since if you want to be the captain, you would have to challenge the current captain and have witnesses and if you succeeded in killing the said captain then you can inherit the position.
Aizen will only see this as Zaraki being the typical bloodthirsty captain and will mostly pin the blame on Tōsen for provoking Zaraki Kenpachi in the first place and if anything, he'd probably be happy to get rid of a useless pawn even if it hurt him since he lost a valuable one.
Naruto's small smile had quickly disappeared as he saw Rukia standing at the execution block with a look that showed that she had accepted her own fate. If she is saved then she would be grateful but if she ended up dying regardless, she was grateful for the life she had in Soul Society.
Naruto watched everything with a calm expression not showing any form of emotion over the execution of Rukia because he knew that she would survive if everything goes right. Still, despite how confident he felt, there was still a part of him that was still slightly nervous.
Aizen was still a very dangerous man and should be treated as such. Even if he did manage to fool Aizen for so long but that was because Aizen became arrogant and started to let his guard down around him and the others.
If Aizen had taken him seriously, he knew that Aizen would have found a way to get rid of him, not that he would ever make it easy for the traitor to remove him. If anything, Naruto had made many contingency plans in case that were to ever happen to ensure that he would take Aizen down with him.
It was then that Byakuya Kuchiki decided to make his own appearance alone as he had already dealt with his own rebellious lieutenant who had challenged him over the current decision of Central 46 over executing Rukia who was his adopted sister.
Renji Abarai was still alive but was badly injured during the almost one-sided fight between him and his Captain. Naruto had found himself regaining some form of respect for Renji for finally standing up to his own captain and stopped bitching like he had been doing for the past few decades.
"Elder brother..." Said Rukia softly but the surprise on her face showed that she didn't much expect her own elder brother to come see her execution.
Byakuya didn't answer, if anything he chose to close his eyes because looking at the state of his little sister was unbearable no matter how much he tried to pretend that he never really cared. Naruto honestly didn't like what Byakuya was doing but he wasn't one to judge since he knew that Byakuya had broken two rules in the past.
One of them was when he married Rukia elder sister Hisana Kuchiki who had come from Rukongai even though it was forbidden for one of the great four noble houses to take a peasant from Rukongai as his wife because it would dilute the bloodline.
The second rule that he broke was when he adopted Rukia as his little sister who again was from Rukongai but did it anyway in order to honor the request of his late wife Hisana who died.
Byakuya had made a vow to his own parents grave to uphold the laws of soul society and ever since then, he became who he is today willing to let his own little sister get executed even though with his power and influence, he could get the sentencing reduced.
The Kuchiki clan had always insisted on having a set of laws that should be followed to the last letter. They believed in having order and protecting the balance of the worlds.
They had to set a good example for the rest of the other soul reapers, if he were to start showing favoritism and break the laws, then the others will also do the same. This is how Byakuya had seen this, which is why with a heavy heart, he had to attend and watch his little sister's execution.
"I'm sorry, Hisana!" thought Byakuya to himself mentally beating himself for being powerless. Part of him wanted to honor his late wife's wishes but he also made an oath to his parents grave to uphold soul society law after having broken it twice so far.
Rukia deflated as she saw her elder brother not even looking at her but if only she knew the mental torture the man was going through. Nonetheless, Rukia wasn't angry in the slightest since she felt that she was the one who failed him since she got herself in this situation.
Even when she was adopted in the Kuchiki family, the elders, especially the ones who are extremely traditionalist, looked at her with contempt not even referring to her as a Kuchiki because to them, she was still a peasant even if she had a Great Spiritual pressure.
If Naruto was the same as he was a century ago when he was still wet behind the ears Gennin, he probably would have been like Ichigo right now and try to crash the execution even if it meant betraying everyone in Soul Society but years change a person.
Naruto knew if he did something stupid and reckless like this, he would be playing at the palm of Aizen's hand. He would also be putting Rukia's life needlessly in danger and the last thing he wants is for Rukia to die that day since she was still young and had a lot to achieve.
Naruto hopes that the fake Hōgyoku he had implanted inside Rukia when he swapped the original with the fake to fool Aizen. If Aizen realizes that it was a dud, he might retaliate in anger by killing Rukia. Naruto was here to ensure that Aizen would at the very least retreat if killing him wasn't an option.
"Rukia Kuchiki...Do you have any last words?" Asked Yamamoto to keep up with the act that they had planned beforehand.
"Yes...just one thing...In exchange for my life, I'd like for the Ryoka to be released and returned back to their world unharmed." Said Rukia with a look that showed that she had accepted her fate.
"Very well. In keeping with your wishes, I will allow the Ryoka to return home unharmed after the execution." said Yamamoto, which technically wasn't a lie since those Ryoka were planned to be sent back home.
If they didn't know about Aizen's schemes of betraying soul society, this would have been a lie since he wouldn't have left such threats to walk around. Not to mention, Naruto's secret investigation had led him to learn that the Ryoka who had been causing havoc around Soul Society was from the Shiba clan.
Yamamoto was intending to give some leniency to the Ryoka given that they would be needing more manpower to replace the three captains. It's just up to the Shiba to show his merits.
"Thank you very much!" Said Rukia with a smile on her face, happy to see that her request was heard and accepted by the head captain.
"How cruel. He has no intention of sparing them." Isane muttered unaware that Yamamoto was actually going to spare them but she didn't need to know for the moment.
"It is not cruelty, Isane. It is compassion." Said Unohana appearing to witness the execution as she decided to keep appearance.
"Captain Unohana! Where have you been?" Asked Isane surprised at seeing her captain who was late to arrive.
"If this is the unavoidable fate, the least we can do is ease her of any worries...and give her some peace of mind." Said Unohana sympathetically not answering Isane earlier question as they watched the Kidō corps member walk before surrounding the Sōkyoku.
The Kidō corps members started doing hand signs which caused their spiritual pressure to rise as the ropes started to unwind and shoot away from the hills piercing the ground.
The red ropes binding Rukia hands were removed by itself as three blocks floated from the ground of the Sōkyoku takka which carried Rukia to the air as she floated looking down at the head captain and most importantly her brother who turned his back on her.
She looked at Naruto who gave her a comforting look as if to tell her that everything will be okay. She hopes that he was right and that she and the other Ryoka can be saved and spared.
"Nanao-chan...Don't look so sad. You'll make me sad, too." Said Shunsui to his lieutenant who appeared to be scared since this was probably the first time in her life witnessing the Sōkyoku being unsealed and used.
"It's not sadness." Said Nanao as she looked down, unable to express how she truly felt at the moment.
Intense fire erupted from the Halberd as it floated in the air pointing it's sharp end towards Rukia Kuchiki before the flames took the shape of a phoenix-like entity called Kikōō.
"It's shape–!" Muttered Soifon as this was also her first time seeing this including Naruto himself who was slightly in awe even if he knew about it.
"This is Kikōō, the true form of the Sōkyoku when it's activated. Its power is equivalent to that of a million Zanpakutō. Its purpose is self explanatory which is to vaporize the soul of the criminals." Naruto said explaining to those who are ignorant.
Many of the lieutenants except Sasakibe and Soifon to some degree gulped nervously at seeing the massive Phoenix. The captains, while maintaining their composure were still in awe and surprised.
"This is a surprise!" Muttered Kyoraku to himself as he adjusted his hat since the heat was bright so it was hard to simply stare at it.
"Kiko-Oh!" called out Yamamoto as he stood facing the captain's direction with Rukia floating behind him with a nervous look seeing the large Phoenix of the Sōkyoku directed towards her.
"The Halberd of the Sōkyoku has taken on its true form as the officiating executioner to render the Ultimate punishment! It will impale the condemned, thereby ending the execution." Said Yamamoto announcing the start of the execution by giving an opening speech.
"I'm not afraid. I've lived a good life. I met Renji and the others...I met Naruto who gave me courage...Elder brother took me in...Sir Kaien guided me...And Ichigo saved me." Thought Rukia as she closed her eyes waiting for her own execution but a part of her was hoping that Naruto's words were right.
"I feel no pain...No sorrow...I have no regrets. My heart leaves nothing behind. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Goodbye." Thought Rukia in her mind as she opened her eyes, tearing up.
Rukia closed her eyes once more as the large Phoenix rushed towards her ready to impale her. Naruto's hand twitched towards his Zanpakutō ready to interfere if nobody else did but then sensed someone and smirked lightly as he rested his hand next to him.
The Sōkyoku was blocked by none other than Ichigo Kurosaki which shocked many given that the Sōkyoku was known to have a million Zanpakutō and a mere Ryoka had blocked it with his own Zanpakutō.
"Hey." Said Ichigo as he looked at Rukia who looked surprised but hope welled up in her chest as she realized that maybe she could survive this.
"I-Ichigo?!" Shouted Rukia but despite her hope, she felt that they were still in the Soul Reaper territory and she doubted they would easily let her go more so Ichigo who disrespected them in their land.
"You fool! Why did you come back?!" Shouted Rukia angrily which baffled and surprised Ichigo since he didn't expect such a reaction from the person he was trying to save.
"You should know by now! You can't defeat my elder brother! This time, he'll kill you for sure! I've made my peace! I don't need you to rescue me! Go Home!" shouted Rukia to Ichigo who calmed down.
"What's up with this stupid drama?" Asked Naruto with an annoyed tone as he wondered if Rukia seriously wanted to die after he just told her that she was going to be saved.
"Well...it would be boring if there weren't any drama." Said Kyoraku, chuckling a little at the words of his junior as he wondered why Ukitake was taking too long to get here.
"He stopped the Sōkyoku with only a single Zanpakutō? The Sōkyoku is said to have the power of a million Zanpakutō?" Asked Soifon in disbelief as she looked at what had been happening before her eyes.
"It seems the whole million Zanpakutō thing was either extremely exaggerated or maybe it had a different meaning then what we're led to believe." Naruto spoke in a relaxed tone.
The whole Sōkyoku thing took the shape of a large-Phoenix which is pretty intimidating to a certain degree but it was very basic and nothing too complex. The Phoenix would just stab you while increasing the heat by Ten Fold which would then burn your soul with its heat and that's pretty much it.
The Sōkyoku at its current state is the equivalent of a Shikai and when it pierces its target, it increases by ten fold which is the equivalent to a Bankai state. The Sōkyoku is only ever used to execute dangerous criminals who are captain-class level but it wasn't used for fights.
Yamamoto flames in his opinion are much hotter than this one. He mused that the legend of the Sōkyoku is simply exaggerated because when was the last time it was used. It was probably propaganda to scare people into behaving at least that's how Naruto sees it.
Or rather, the whole million Zanpakutō probably meant million low-ranking Soul reaper Zanpakutō put together and not some captain-class Zanpakutō since Ichigo shouldn't be able to casually block it with his back turned against the Sōkyoku.
Naruto was confident that he could slash that thing away with his Zanpakutō and while he didn't know if it would simply regenerate given that it's a Phoenix that we're talking about but he wasn't intimidated by it in the slightest.
The Phoenix roared almost making Ichigo trip but managed to hold himself much to Rukia's worry. The Phoenix started to back up to prepare for another strike, something which Ichigo had clearly noticed.
"Backing up to prepare for a second strike, huh? Fine, bring it on." said Ichigo while Rukia got even worried for Ichigo who was recklessly going to fight the Phoenix.
"Stop, Ichigo! Enough already! You won't be able to stop the Sōkyoku a second time! You'll be torn to pieces!! Ichigo!" Shouted Rukia but Ichigo obviously ignored her.
Ichigo rushed towards the Sōkyoku with the Phoenix doing the same until suddenly, a long cord wrapped around the Sōkyoku making Ichigo stop quite abruptly along with the others staring at the culprit revealing Ukitake and his two seated officers.
Naruto, Kyōraku, Yamamoto and Unohana were hardly surprised since this was part of the plan. Rukia wasn't going to be executed regardless since she was innocent of the crimes she was accused of but they were doing this to also lure Aizen.
"Captain Ukitake?! And Kiyone, too?!" Shouted a surprised Isane as Kyōraku immediately reacted by jumping at the second cord.
"Hey there, handsome. What took you so long?" Asked Kyōraku with a smile as his hand rested on his straw hat.
"Captain Kyōraku?!" Shouted Isane once more horrified at seeing two other captains suddenly out of nowhere stop the execution.
"Sorry, breaking the seal took a while. But...this ought to do it!" Shouted Ukitake as he slammed the Shield-like item of the Shihōin family on the ground.
Both Kyōraku and Ukitake draw their respective Zanpakutō before stabbing it into two vertical slots running from its top; their flows through the cord and destroys the Sōkyoku.
The Sōkyoku being destroyed resulting in a rain of fire to drop from the sky which Naruto easily used his spiritual pressure to dissipate the fire that would come near him or Soifon.
Soifon, despite being told of the plan that was going to happen, was still baffled to see the Sōkyoku being destroyed just like that. The Kidō corps members were screaming as they brought their hands to their faces to protect themselves.
"Aren't those people supposed to be Kidō corps members? They should be able to at the very least create some barrier to protect themselves." Thought Naruto in disappointment seeing many of them get knocked out
"The Kidō corps has lost its standard after Tessai and Hachigen got exiled from Soul Society." Naruto thought as he clearly remembered the Kidō corps commander and Vice Kidō Chief.
"I don't know what's going on...but in that case, I'll just–!" Said Ichigo as he backflipped while still floating in the air as he landed on the Takka of the Sōkyoku hill where Rukia was crucified, eyes glowing blue with power.
"What are you doing, Ichigo?!" Rukia shouted clearly worried at what the idiot was going to do next but she wasn't angry. If anything she was happy since Naruto words held true.
"Isn't it obvious?" Asked Ichigo as he started to spin his Zanpakutō that it started to blur quickly in his hand. It was obvious from a glance what the orange haired teen was going to do next.
"I'm gonna break this Scaffold!" Said Ichigo, which Rukia, despite her happiness, found it stupid.
"Don't! That's crazy! Listen! Listen to me, Ichigo! The Takka of the Sōkyoku is...!" Rukia tried to explain how the material of the Sōkyoku hill was not that easy to be destroyed but Ichigo interrupted her.
"Never mind. Just shut up and watch!" Said Ichigo as he stopped spinning his Zanpakutō ready to destroy the Takka of the Sōkyoku.
"Ichi...go..." muttered Rukia as she watched Ichigo stab his Zanpakutō on the Takka of the Sōkyoku causing a blinding light to appear before an explosion ensued with even a part of the Sōkyoku hill taking damage from the Reiatsu poured into the attack.
"Quit telling me to leave you alone...and to go home. You talk too much. I told you before that I'm rejecting all of your requests. This is my second try. This time for sure..." Said Ichigo as the rubble cleared away revealing Ichigo carrying Rukia who was freed.
"I'm going to rescue you, Rukia." Said Ichigo while Rukia smiled and teared up not wanting to be honest with how she truly felt at the moment.
"I'm not going to...say thank you. You fool..." Said Rukia tearing up while Ichigo had a content smile happy to have saved her.
"I know..." Said Ichigo while the rest watched Ichigo in surprise for destroying the Takka of the Sōkyoku...well not really everyone since Naruto remained unfazed.
"The Sōkyoku's Takka..." Muttered Isane in shock along with a few others even Ukitake was surprised but for a different reason and that was because a Ryoka who is clearly a novice soul reaper managed to do that.
"I-Ichigo...Let me ask you...What do you plan to do now?" asked Rukia hoping Ichigo had some sort of plan because no way was Ichigo this reckless as to destroy the Takka of the Sōkyoku in front of the Head captain including other Soul Reaper captains who most of them could clearly sneeze Ichigo out of existence.
"Is there a way to disappear...with so many eyes watching us?" elaborated Rukia as she looked down with a dejected look.
"We're gonna run away." Said Ichigo casually as if it was really that simple because so far he was only running out of pure luck and because of Yoruichi being there.
"Impossible! They're captains! We can't get away from them!" Shouted Rukia in utter disbelief at how easy Ichigo was trying to make it look.
"Then I'll beat them all up and run away." Said Ichigo before his eyes fell on Naruto who had a malicious look in his eyes having clearly heard his words and was daring him to try beating him.
"Uhm...Well except Naruto. He'd probably sneeze me out of existence if I tried challenging him, I don't want to get tossed around by him like a ragdoll, I really love living." muttered Ichigo with a sweatdrop which surprised Rukia that both Naruto and Ichigo had already met.
"Anyways, you're not the only one...Inoue, Ishida, even Chad, are here. Ganju and Hanataro, too. I'm gonna rescue everyone who helped out and get away." Said Ichigo with determination.
"From the looks in his eyes...from his words...I can feel Ichigo's strength flowing into me. You've become strong, haven't you? Ichigo..." Thought Rukia to herself but suddenly they heard screaming as the Kidō corps members or as Naruto would like to call them fodders were screaming as someone was attacking them.
"W-What?!" Shouted Rukia as she watched the Kidō corps members drop very easily revealing an injured yet bandaged Renji before he fell to his knee as he held onto the wound in his stomach.
"Well...at least he decided to stop being a pussy and came here but at his current state, he'd be killed by another lieutenant." Thought Naruto as he saw that Renji was injured to fight at his full strength especially after his earlier one with his captain Byakuya.
"Renji!" Shouted Rukia as Renji looked up from his wound and seemed to smile happily seeing that Rukia was still breathing.
"Rukia!" Shouted Renji back while Naruto let out a sigh as he rubbed his temple wondering what kind of situation he got himself into.
"Thank goodness you're alive! Renji!" Shouted Rukia while Ichigo smiled at seeing the bastard alive.
"I figured you'd come." Said Ichigo while Renji scoffed at the words said by the orange haired Shinigami.
"Of course! Who'd save Rukia if I didn't come?" said Renji confidently while Ichigo smirked at the declaration seeing Renji resolve to save Rukia.
"Up we go." Said Ichigo as he lifted Rukia by her sash, it was clear as day what the orange-haired bastard was planning to do.
"H-Hey, Ichigo...?! What're you doing?!" Shouted Rukia as she found Ichigo raising her up once more while Renji's face went pale.
"W-Wait! Hey, you're not gonna—?!" Shouted Renji only for Ichigo to throw Rukia towards Renji.
"You Idiot!" Shouted Renji as he watched Rukia flying towards him almost like how child Goku did when he killed Evil King Piccolo. Rukia was screaming her lungs out as she headbutted Renji in the gut causing a mini explosion.
Luckily for Renji, Rukia wasn't a Saiyan so he didn't have a basketball sized hole in his stomach. Rukia and Renji recovered quickly as they glared at Ichigo heatedly.
"You fool, Ichigo, damn you!" Shouted Rukia with a tick mark on her head and angered look while Renji decided to vent his anger as well.
"What if I dropped her, you idiot?!" Shouted Renji as well as he held onto Rukia protectively while Ichigo looked at them nonchalantly.
"Take her!" Shouted Ichigo which confused both Renji and Rukia as to what to do with this given that they were still technically surrounded by the captains and their respective lieutenants and even the big boss himself.
"Don't just stand there! Get out of here! That's your job! Protect her with your life!" shouted Ichigo as he placed his khyber knife at the back of his head trying to look cool.
Renji momentarily contemplated before he took off running with Rukia in his arms which caused the latter to be surprised by Renji's decision but was still quite hopeful to escape with her life.
"Should we deal with him?" Soifon asked, wondering if they should keep appearance but Naruto simply shook his head.
"No...I'd like you to stay by my side." Said Naruto with a smile as he patted her head which made her cheeks reddened as she was more than happy to stand by his side.
"O-Of course!" Said Soifon happily as she relaxed by his side while the other lieutenants were ready to chase Renji only to be intercepted by Ichigo who easily dealt with them. Byakuya having had enough was the one to initiate the attack but Ichigo managed to easily block the attack unlike before when he couldn't even see Byakuya's attack due to how fast he is.
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