Bleach x Naruto: Shinigami in Konoha

Walking into the Forest of Death, tall trees surrounded the area, and the dense canopy blocked out sunlight, plunging everything into eerie darkness.

"Come out," Sasuke's voice echoed coldly, "You're not seriously afraid of just one person, are you?"

He had only just arrived when he noticed several presences surrounding him. It wasn't that his perception was exceptionally sharp—it was just that their concealment was too clumsy. Sasuke deduced that these were likely second-rate Genin teams participating in the Chūnin Exams.

"Not bad, you noticed us. But don't be mistaken—we didn't rush you because of a team nearby," a ninja from Iwagakure stepped out from behind a tree. He was brawny, with two Iwa-nin flanking him on either side.

The leading Iwa-nin sneered and shouted toward a nearby bush, "If you don't come out with this brat's scroll, we'll just take it ourselves."

As soon as his voice fell, three ninjas wearing Kumogakure headbands jumped out from the shrubs.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as he looked at the six before him—none of them were familiar, clearly not from the elite group. All of them seemed like average participants.

"You Iwa scum always pull cheap tricks," one of the Kumo-nin snapped. "We're here for you—not that kid. He's incidental."

The animosity between Iwagakure and Kumogakure dated back to the Third Great Ninja War. Iwagakure once launched a massive ambush against Kumogakure, and in that battle, the Third Raikage had stood alone against ten thousand Iwa shinobi for three days and nights to protect the younger generation. He died standing, but the grudge lived on.

Sasuke had initially thought these two teams were both after his scroll. Apparently, there was bad blood between them.

Still… neither team meant anything good.

"You want a fight? Let's see if you can back that up!" the lead Iwa-nin snarled.

Sasuke watched silently as the two squads clashed, seemingly forgetting about him entirely.

Their total disregard for his presence annoyed him more than their threat.

"Aren't you... underestimating me a little too much?" Sasuke muttered, narrowing his eyes.

Suddenly, a crushing spiritual pressure—like a force of gravity—radiated from Sasuke. This wasn't chakra. It was something foreign, something from another world. Reiatsu.

The six charging ninjas froze in place, their eyes bulging in terror. An invisible force pinned them down. Their knees buckled. Then, one by one, they collapsed, unconscious.

"…Pathetic."

Sasuke hadn't even meant to knock them out—just suppress them a little—but their willpower was so weak they couldn't even withstand his base-level reiatsu.

He walked forward, checked their gear, and collected their scrolls. Unfortunately, both teams carried Heaven Scrolls, the same as his.

"Tch. Useless."

He tossed the duplicate scrolls into his storage seal and continued wandering the forest, intentionally slowing down—he was waiting for Orochimaru to make contact.

Suddenly—

"Raaawr!"

"Ahhhh!!"

A monstrous bear's roar echoed from nearby—followed by a girl's scream.

Sasuke's eyes lit up.

Bear paw meat.

He'd heard people say it was a delicacy in the old world, but he'd never tried it. Might be a good chance. And it could serve as rations for Ryūjin Jakka too.

With a swift leap, Sasuke dashed along the tree trunks, heading toward the noise. Using Shunpo in a place like this was difficult, but high-speed footwork on the branches worked well enough.

Soon, he arrived at the source.

A massive, two-meter-tall black bear stood on all fours, saliva dripping from its mouth as it cornered a girl. She wore glasses and trembled on the forest floor, inching backward in terror.

"Help… please… help!!"

Even though she understood anyone in this forest could be an enemy, her survival instinct kicked in. She closed her eyes and screamed.

BOOM!

A loud thud shook the ground. A shockwave of air blew her red hair aside.

Sasuke stood there, hands in his pockets, next to the now unconscious bear.

"Perfect. Lunch is settled."

He dusted off his pants and looked down at the huge animal.

It looked menacing, but one kick to the face had been enough.

He turned toward the girl.

Red hair, glasses, a Kusagakure headband, short sleeves over a mesh ninja shirt, and clutching an Earth Scroll.

The net shirt didn't seem to serve any real combat purpose—it looked more like something you'd use to catch fish.

She hadn't changed much since she was older. Just not as irritating as he remembered. Sasuke sighed inwardly.

"You okay?" he asked Karin Uzumaki, who was still frozen on the ground.

Karin blinked, eyes finally focusing on his face.

In that instant, the moment burned itself into her memory.

"I-I'm okay. Thank you… really, thank you," she stammered and got up, her eyes lowering shyly as she bowed her head.

"Where are your teammates? Why were you alone?" Sasuke asked as he drew a kunai and began butchering the bear.

"They… they went off to attack another team for their scroll. I couldn't keep up…" Karin replied, clearly letting her guard down around her savior.

Her cheeks flushed. The bear had terrified her, and now her body was dirty and scraped. It felt embarrassing.

As Sasuke considered what to do with her, two other Kusa-nin emerged from the trees.

"Damn it, I didn't expect those punks to be so strong," one of them grumbled, clutching his ribs.

"If that useless idiot hadn't lagged behind, we could've won with her healing." The second was bloodied and annoyed.

They spotted Karin instantly.

"Trash! If you hadn't held us back, we'd have that scroll by now. You're as worthless as your mother!" the limping Kusa-nin snapped as he stomped toward her. They hadn't yet noticed Sasuke, hidden by the bear's body.

Karin clenched her fists. Tears welled up in her eyes.

Her mother…

"And what the hell are you standing there for? Hurry up and heal us, damn it!" the other snapped.

Her knees shook. She wanted to refuse, but she had no strength to resist.

She took one trembling step forward—

—and a firm hand grabbed her wrist.

Sasuke.

"Your teammates…" he said quietly, "I don't like them very much."

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