Naruto: Just Want To Be A Death God

"Abandoning one's own sword."

That was a terrifying conclusion.

Even more terrifying...

...was the deeper meaning behind those words.

Naruto stared at Kisuke Urahara, frowning. "Big bro Kisuke, are you saying..."

"...you want Aizen to succeed in his goal?"

Even though Urahara had already laid the groundwork and even brought up "psychology"—a concept previously unheard of but somewhat understandable—everything he said made sense.

Yet Naruto still found it hard to believe.

Would someone like Aizen really hate his own Zanpakuto?

Urahara nodded slightly.

"Isn't the risk too great?" Naruto shook his head. "Can we really be sure he'll abandon his sword?"

As solid as the logic sounded, it was still a "hypothesis."

A possibility that existed only in words—something that hadn't happened and might never happen.

Urahara didn't lightly use words like "definitely."

He simply smiled. "We don't have any better options, do we?"

"Aside from you being immune to his ability..."

"No one else can do this—not even the Head Captain, and certainly not me."

Naruto said nothing.

Urahara continued, "I'm not putting all my hopes in this theory."

"I've considered other methods too."

"Like modifying or even destroying the Hōgyoku."

"But none of that is going smoothly."

"That thing... can't be destroyed."

"I've been trying to erase its power and influence—at the very least, restore it to its pre-creation state."

"But that's not going well either."

He clapped his hands together, the sharp sound like a cheer for himself. "So we shouldn't put all our hopes on one possibility."

"I've made lots of preparations."

"If we can use a convincing enough decoy to lure him out..."

"Then perhaps the Head Captain could end everything in one strike."

"But if we can't produce a convincing enough decoy..."

"...we'll have to use the Hōgyoku itself."

"If we don't toss out a bait he finds believable, that guy will never take the hook."

He paused, then smiled slightly. "Have you heard of the Royal Special Forces?"

Naruto nodded. "I've heard of them, but never seen them."

The Royal Special Forces were a very mysterious organization.

They had no place within the Seireitei itself.

Many lower-ranked Shinigami thought of them as a rumor.

But higher-ranked officers, especially captains, could confirm that this "organization" really did exist.

"Their official name is Squad Zero," Urahara explained. "I know two of them personally."

"I know a little bit about them."

He raised two fingers.

"If Aizen's goal is still the Soul King, then he'll inevitably have to face Squad Zero."

"And I can say this with full confidence—"

"There are at least two people in Squad Zero who could defeat Aizen."

Naruto's eyes widened. "The Aizen you think will abandon his sword, or the Aizen right now?"

"Of course, the Aizen right now," Urahara said with a smile. "Even if he activates his complete sensory deception ability."

"Stronger than the Head Captain?" Naruto was stunned.

Even the Nine-Tails inside him was shocked.

"It's not about being stronger," Urahara considered. "There are... special reasons. But since it involves Squad Zero's secrets, I can't reveal too much."

"So even if everything we try fails..."

"...there are people who will act as our final safety net."

Naruto finally exhaled.

Urahara glanced toward the back of his shop.

Even if Aizen did break through Squad Zero, and really managed to kill the Soul King as he wished...

...when things reach that level of crisis, he himself wasn't without options.

"I'll go interfere with that soul funeral ritual in my own way," Naruto stood up. "If he really comes to test the results..."

"I'll capture them."

Urahara nodded.

The soul funeral ritual at the Shin'ō Spiritual Arts Academy began on a night when the cold hadn't yet fully faded.

Naruto didn't notify Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

But the entirety of Squad 12 was tense, monitoring the Senkaimon closely.

The two previous accidents had made them overly cautious with every mass-transfer mission.

Fortunately, this time, everything seemed fine.

The ritual wasn't complicated.

Students returned one by one.

As an excellent student, Abarai naturally finished among the first group.

He stood in a tree, gazing off into the distance.

The city below shimmered with neon lights. The roads buzzed with traffic—completely unlike the city he remembered before his death.

"Is this your hometown?" Rukia flash-stepped beside him.

Abarai shook his head. "No."

Only now did he understand what the seniors meant when they said, "it feels like a different lifetime."

It wasn't like a different lifetime—it was a different lifetime.

"Feels like it's coming to an end," he lowered his head, no longer paying attention to the world around him.

Senior Hisagi Shūhei—whose face bore the number "69"—was checking off names, confirming who hadn't returned yet.

But then, suddenly—

A giant hand reached out from the darkness.

Silently. Unnoticed.

It grabbed a student and tossed him high into the air.

The male Shinigami screamed in terror, drawing everyone's attention.

A huge mouth opened in the night, its neat teeth gleaming coldly, and bit down, tearing the student apart in one brutal motion.

"A Hollow! A Menos Grande!" cried Kira Izuru, the blond Shinigami, shock in his eyes. "Damn it, how did it get here?"

Hisagi's heart sank.

Before this mission, he had been "warned."

Last year's graduates had told him: "During Captain Uzumaki's year, a Menos Grande appeared and attacked students."

But—

He hadn't taken it seriously.

Every year's lead student got "scared" like this.

At worst, you'd run into one or two regular Hollows.

A Menos Grande incident had only ever happened once.

And that was years ago.

No way it would happen again...

Right?

Hisagi gritted his teeth. Of course his luck would be this bad.

He sent out an emergency distress signal.

What gave him a bit of comfort was that the signal wasn't blocked—it went through smoothly.

However...

In the dark sky, that massive Menos—blending into the night—reached out again.

It was said in the textbooks that Menos Grande were slow and had overwhelming spiritual pressure when appearing.

Why had this one appeared so silently?

"I can't sense its spiritual pressure," Abarai frowned from his perch.

Rukia instinctively remembered what Captain Uzumaki had told her just days ago during dinner.

Sure enough—

It happened.

Hinamori Momo leapt up, raising her Zanpakuto.

"Bloom, Tobiume!"

Fiery orange spiritual pressure engulfed the blade, sprouting branches like vines.

A massive fireball surged forward—

A direct hit on the Menos.

Flames scattered, an explosive boom sounded—impressive power.

But...

It only left faint burn marks on the surface of the Hollow's skin.

"What... how?" Momo stared in disbelief, whispering.

Her Zanpakuto's fireballs were as strong as high-level Kido.

And yet...

It couldn't even hurt it?

Hisagi raised his sword. Kira charged beside him.

Menos Grande may have been slow, but only relatively so—against high-level Shinigami.

For these students? Far from it.

A simple swipe from the Menos sent Hisagi and Kira flying, crashing through several trees before landing in a heap.

Some brave and fast-reacting students began chanting Kido.

Flashes of lightning, fire, and wind struck—

Useless.

Not even a scratch.

Abarai prepared to rush in.

"Wait, I have something that might work!" Rukia shouted, panicked, and pulled a scroll from her pocket.

She poured her spiritual power in.

Pop!

The scroll unfurled with a burst of smoke.

The Menos roared, knocking away two attackers, then reached toward its chosen target—

A terrified female Shinigami, frozen on the ground.

It wanted a second meal.

Just as its hand was about to grab her—

Golden light flashed.

A chain lashed out, easily piercing the monster's thick skin—the same skin the students couldn't even scratch—and pinned its withered hand to the ground.

"Captain Uzumaki!" someone cried out in recognition, voice full of joy and awe.

Naruto didn't turn his head. He simply studied the Menos.

Its spiritual pressure...

Even with his level of perception, he could only sense faint traces.

This wasn't natural.

Was it the result of that man's experiments?

Sensing danger, the Menos instinctively raised its other hand, tearing a black rift in the sky—a Garganta—and began slipping into it to escape.

A natural reaction.

Naruto clapped his palms together.

Golden chains erupted, wrapping tightly around the Menos, layer upon layer.

With a powerful tug—

Boom! The Menos hit the ground hard, letting out a strange, harsh shriek.

Dark spiritual pressure condensed in its mouth.

It was preparing a final Cero.

Thud! Naruto gave it no chance. A chain struck into its mouth, scattering the buildup.

The chains bound it tight.

Naruto stretched out his hand—multiple sealing arrays activated.

The Menos was wrapped in white bindings, and with a puff of smoke—it vanished.

The students looked up—

Eyes fixed on the golden figure standing upon the night sky.

"That's Captain Uzumaki—just like the rumors said, so cool!" a female Shinigami squealed, grabbing her friend's sleeve in excitement.

Hinamori looked up with admiration in her eyes.

Abarai was amazed.

Some students still remembered Hisagi and Kira lying in the wreckage and rushed to help.

But before they could even get close—

Chains moved faster and more precisely, gently lifting the two from the rubble.

(End of Chapter)

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