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[Samsara] Chapter 4 - Ambush
🕑 Added 2025-02-04 05:35:20 +0000 UTCPrevious Chapter
The attack missed its target, but the strength behind it was so ridiculous that the large pile of rocks was blown away and all the offerings that Naruto had brought for his dead friends were pulverised.
The blond was still in the middle of his rolling motion when he thrust his palm at the invisible attacker and shouted:
“Hado #63: Raikoho!”
Lightning appeared in the palm of his hand, and a massive explosion of lightning boomed. The earth ruptured, the skies shook, and a deafening thunderclap almost burst the eardrums of all ordinary people living nearby.
⁂
He heard a short scream of pain as his Kido spell struck his attacker in full. However, even after the massive explosion of lightning died down and he looked at his surroundings in a hurry, he could not find any traces of his attacker. There were no places to hide because his Kido spell had devastated the landscape in a radius of twenty-five metres around him, pulverizing everything. Only a crater was left.
‘Does she have some sort of invisibility spell? Or is it a Shikai or Bankai ability?’
Judging by the scream his attacker let out, whoever ambushed him appeared to be a person, not a hollow. And their voice sounded like that of a female.
He focused on detecting her spiritual energy, but his spiritual senses weren’t picking up anything. No spiritual energy, no body, no sound, no trace of footsteps.
‘Did my Kido kill her?’
He shot down that thought right away. Someone strong enough to destroy a large pile of rocks just with the wind pressure coming from the swing of their zanpakuto could not be anything but a captain-level shinigami.
‘No, that Kido isn’t strong enough to kill a captain in one shot and obliterate their body to the last cell.’
While he was debating with himself, he did not stay idle. He unsheathed his zanpakuto and broke into a run in the opposite direction from the village, towards the wilderness. He was afraid that his enemy’s attacks would endanger the regular souls in Rukongai.
According to what he had learnt from the books that Shihouin Chika had given him to study ten years ago, Soul Society was roughly of the same size as the Human Realm, Earth, but it had a different geography. There were no seas and oceans like the Human Realm but an endless wilderness.
He had put a few dozen kilometres between himself and the village when his Negative Emotions Sensing ability warned him of the malevolent emotions coming from behind him.
He twisted his body just in time to avoid a stab aiming for his spine. But he was not able to dodge it perfectly, and the invisible blade grazed his side, drawing blood.
Right as he was wounded, he chopped down at his attacker, but his zanpakuto’s blade struck nothing but empty air.
“Damn it! Hado #33: Sokatsui!” (Pale Fire Crash)
Despite the low rank of the Hado spell, an immense torrent of blue fire erupted from his hand and scorched dozens of trees around him, incinerating everything in its path. 
There was no time for him to express his frustration because his Negative Emotions Sensing flared once more and he raised his zanpakuto to his left side. Unfortunately, despite knowing where the attack would come from, it was still invisible. His attempt at parrying failed and the enemy’s invisible blade slipped past his zanpakuto.
It was only sheer instinct developed over years of battle that made him tilt his head, while simultaneously slashing with his own blade at the enemy.
The attacker’s blade scratched his cheek, drawing blood again, but Naruto’s zanpakuto did not hit the empty air this time. A slashed-off piece of white clothing fell on the ground.
“To think I’d have a Captain from Gotei 13 aiming for my head. Should I feel scared or honoured that you came all the way here, in the boonies, to kill me?”
There were only two female captains among the Gotei 13.
“Who are you? Unohana? Or is it Katori?”
His taunt appeared to be ineffective because he did not receive an answer, but he could feel through his Negative Emotions Sensing that a small measure of anxiety and a healthy dose of frustration started appearing in his enemy’s heart.
The killing intent coming from the enemy erupted in intensity, and Naruto spun, raising his zanpakuto to block the enemy’s strike, but instinct could only take him so far. The enemy’s invisible blade slipped past his guard once more and stabbed at him.
Due to his experience, Naruto had positioned his zanpakuto to protect his vitals—his heart, neck, and head—but the width of his sword could not protect his entire body.
The invisible woman stabbed her blade into his left shoulder, making him cry out in pain.
He shouted as he swung his zanpakuto at the enemy, but his slash was off the mark again.
“Fuck!” Naruto let out a curse.
It appeared as though the woman’s stab had severed his nerves because his entire left arm went slack, falling down limply.
The enemy did not give him a moment of respite. She attacked him once more, and this time, Naruto stabbed his blade into the ground and raised his right arm before shouting:
“Bakudō #81. Danku!” (Splitting Void)
A transparent wall of spiritual energy several dozen meters tall and wide appeared in front of him, and a split second later, a sound like that of a loud gong reverberated as the enemy’s blade clashed against his defensive spell, but it could not break it.
Not missing a beat, Naruto raised his right hand above his head. The air grew heavy as a terrible, oppresive reiatsu exploded from his body.
“The crest of turmoil swells. The vessel of madness grows insolent.”
His airy shihakusho robes started fluttering wildly from the release of power, and the very sky darkened as his cold killing intent exploded.
“They boil, they deny, they become numb, they blink, and they impede slumber.”
Spiderweb-like cracks spread from below his feet, and an earthquake made the world shake as Naruto continued:
“The princess of iron crawls-”
He was halfway through his incantation before his Negative Emotions Sensing flared once more. He could feel the woman’s confusion, anxiety. . . and fear. The invisible enemy started to run around his large Danku barrier, fully intent on killing him before he could finish his Kido spell.
Abruptly halting his long incantation, Naruto lowered his arm in front of him and chanted the name of an entirely different spell:
“Bakudo #39: Enkosen!” (Round Lock Fan)
A rapidly spinning disc of yellow light appeared from his right hand. And it was not a second too late. The enemy’s invisible blade struck the spinning disc of yellow light.
The low-level defensive spell broke into myriad particles of light under the powerful strike of his enemy, but it had bought Naruto enough time to grab his zanpakuto from the ground and Flash Step away.
‘Damn it. I don’t have enough time to cast rank 90 Kido and above!’
His Negative Emotions Sensing spiked again, and he tried to cast his strongest barrier spell one more time.
“Bakudo #81-”
The woman attacked him before he could finish even that small incantation, her feelings of anger and desperation almost palpable in his awareness. It seemed as though Naruto being about to cast the Hado #90: Kurohitsugi spell had put the fear of death into her because she started attacking him with wild abandon.
He tried to parry her blows, but even with his reflexes and instincts, he couldn’t avoid every strike. He was protecting his vitals successfully, but many cuts started appearing on his arms and legs, soaking his shihakusho with his blood.
The enemy’s attacks were so fast that he did not have time to cast any spells. Blood began to pool at Naruto’s feet, on the ground, as the invisible enemy attacked him in a frenzy, her blade leaving dozens of painful wounds on his body.
The blond appeared to be on his last legs. It seemed as if he was mere moments away from collapsing under the relentless, lightning-fast sword slashes, and the enemy did not miss those signs.
Sensing the sharp spike in her killing intent, Naruto understood that she was going for the kill with the next hit.
In that split second before his potential death, many thoughts flew through his mind.
‘She’ll go for the head.’
‘A stabbing attack would be too easy to miss. She already missed like that once.’
‘A horizontal slash to behead me would be too easily blocked because that’s the neutral guarding position while wielding a sword.’
‘No, she’ll go for a vertical chop.’
With a vertical chop, unless he parried her slash, even if he moved his head out of the way, her sword would still likely injure his shoulder or neck.
His rich battle experience allowed him to immediately determine his enemy’s target and method of attack.
Confident in his instincts, Naruto quickly raised his zanpakuto above his head horizontally, and his gamble paid off. Bright sparks came from the clashing of blades, and a loud clang resounded in the wilderness.
“Just die already!” came the invisible woman’s enraged scream as she started pushing her blade with her entire strength and body weight against Naruto’s zanpakuto.
Due to the fact that he was holding his zanpakuto with only one hand, she was overpowering him, slowly but steadily pushing the two blades towards his head.
But, all of a sudden, a bright orb of blue spiritual energy appeared in Naruto’s left hand (the hand that was supposed to be injured and limp), and, before she could react, he thrust it into her ribs.
A scream of agony came from the invisible woman as the orb of spiritual energy tore her torso apart before exploding and blasting her away violently.
Somehow, she and her sword were still invisible even after all that. However, it was over for her because she started bleeding heavily, and the blood that dripped on the ground was not invisible.
It looked like she understood that as well because she Flash Stepped, running away as fast as she could, as evidenced by the large gaps in the trail of blood she left behind.
He wanted nothing more than to chase her down, but the numerous bloodied cuts that she had inflicted on him made it hard for him to walk, let alone run.
Eyes shining with ferocity, Naruto thrust his palm forward and shouted:
“Hado #88: Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!”
Flying Dragon-Striking Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon was the strongest long-range Kido spell that he could cast without a full incantation.
An enormous beam of blue spiritual energy burst from his palm towards the fleeing woman. The air shook, and the earth was torn asunder as his spell razed everything off the ground.
“Damn it.”
His devastating attack had reshaped the landscape, but judging by the fact that he could still feel the woman’s terror and hatred in the distance through his Negative Emotions Sensing, she had escaped.
Not detecting anything or anyone hostile in his vicinity any longer, Naruto sat down with a heavy, pained groan. It felt like his entire body was burning. Everything hurt.
‘What the hell was with that ability?!’
It was not only the woman’s body and her sword that were completely invisible, but her spiritual energy was impossible to detect as well.
'It was like fighting Madara's Limbo clones all over again.'
However, back then, he had the Six Paths Sage Mode. His senses had been far sharper, otherworldly even. He was not on the same level anymore.
‘If I didn’t have Kurama’s Negative Emotion Sensing, I would have died.’
He was firmly convinced that in a regular fight, he could kill that woman effortlessly because his reiatsu dwarfed hers and his skill set was far more versatile than hers. But her ability to become completely invisible had made it almost impossible for him to defend against her strikes and land any hits on her. What good was all his power if he couldn’t see where she was and couldn’t hit her?
‘Who was it? Was it Unohana? Or was it Katori?’
He didn’t know how he could have offended either of them. He had never talked to Katori Batsu’unsai in person. As for Unohana, Naruto had never slighted her again after their first encounter ten years ago. After all, he was not even a Lieutenant. Excluding Shihouin Chika, Naruto and the Captains of Gotei 13 did not frequent the same places and circles. He did not interact with them.
‘. . . Or maybe it’s some other Shinigami Captain that I haven’t heard of?'
He couldn’t dismiss that possibility because the Gotei 13 had many secrets he was not privy to.
'Or maybe that psycho bitch I killed has some relatives, and now they want revenge? But why wait 10 years? Why not kill me right away?’
He did not know what to think.
Having caught his breath, Naruto got up from the ground and sheathed his zanpakuto. He was still wounded; he no longer had the miraculous regeneration of his past life. But he could not afford to dilly-dally. He had to return to Seireitei as soon as possible.
⁂
In spite of his many injuries, Naruto actually managed to arrive back to Seireitei faster than Kenji, his patrol-duty partner.
His bloodied and messed-up visage did not raise any eyebrows. Everyone was used to seeing such scenes because the fatality rate among the lower-ranked shinigami was alarmingly high, with many of them dying within their first century of service. The large gatekeeper guarding the entrance to Seireitei quickly lifted the gate and let him pass.
After the violent war against the Quincy ten years ago, the Captain Commander proposed the creation of a support unit within the Gotei and a medical division, but none of the Captains were eager to volunteer for it so the matter had been postponed.
The Captains of the Gotei 13 were, until not long ago, little more than crime lords, psychotic killers, and warlords. “Live by the sword and die by the sword” was the motto most of them lived their lives by. None of them wanted to suddenly change who they were and become medics for the sake of saving others.
With that being said, the Gotei 13 did not have a common hospital or a medical unit just yet because it was still a new and half-savage organisation. Therefore, most of the Shinigami who returned wounded from their duty could only rely on the people from their division who were skilled in Healing Kido to patch them up.
Once he entered the barracks of Squad 2, he rushed straight to Shihouin Chika’s office.
⁂
“What the hell happened to you?” Chika asked, his eyes wide with surprise as he stood up from his seat.
Shihouin knew that Naruto was hiding a portion of his abilities, but even with what he had shown to him until then, it was enough for him to consider the blond a captain-class shinigami. He couldn’t understand just what had brought him to that deplorable state when he was supposed to be on a simple patrol mission in Rukongai.
“Was it a hollow who did it? Did you encounter a Vasto Lorde??”
“What would a Vasto Lorde Hollow do in Rukongai of all places? No, it wasn’t a hollow. It was a Shinigami,” Naruto replied. “Remember how I kept telling you that someone was watching me? Well, that someone attacked me today.”
“. . .Are you being serious?”
“Look at me. Did you think I carved myself up like this for shits and giggles?” Naruto retorted.
Not replying to Naruto, Chika went to a nearby cage and took out a beautiful, black butterfly. It was a Hell butterfly. The captain’s hand glowed with a blue light as he relayed his thoughts to the butterfly.
Following that, the butterfly flapped its black wings and flew away, disappearing from view as it passed through the walls of the office like a ghost.
“I called the medic to heal you. Save your strength until then; don’t talk.”
“Thanks, but it looks worse than it really is,” said Naruto. “I don’t need a medic; it’s not life-threatening. More importantly, the one who attacked me was a Captain-class Shinigami; I’m sure of it.”
“Tell me more,” Chika said seriously. “Tell me everything; don’t leave out any details.”
Naruto was forced to pause his tale when one of Squad 2’s medics arrived and started treating him with their Healing Kido. It appeared that his claim about his wounds being superficial was not a mere bluff. The medic only took a few minutes to patch him up. Although he was healed now, he still needed to rest and recover due to how much blood he had lost.
Once the healer left, Naruto finished his tale, giving Shihouin as many details about his encounter as possible.
“Female captain. . . I don't know about Saito Furofushi having any relatives. With how unhinged she was, I'd wager she killed her family with her own hands... As for our Gotei Captains, I’ve seen Katori-san’s shikai before: it’s a spear, and she doesn’t turn invisible. I’ve also seen Unohana-san’s Shikai and Bankai once; they’re not invisible either. Besides, if Unohana-san wanted you dead, you’d be dead now. I don’t think it’s either of them.”
After that, Naruto looked at Chika strangely as he started going through a lengthy list of names of all the capable female shinigami in all the thirteen squads of Seireitei who may have hidden their strength and may have had the potential to be a Captain-level shinigami secretly.
“...How are you so familiar even with lower rank officers?”
Chika smirked and shrugged his shoulders.
“Why would I not be? Gotei 13 is almost like a family. As a Captain, it’s my job to ensure our troops' morale stays up. And I made it my personal mission to ensure that every lovely officer in Seireitei knows she’s appreciated.”
“...So, being a womanizer is part of your duties as a Captain?”
Naruto’s flat expression and deadpan tone made Chika burst into laughter.
“Precisely,” Chika replied, still grinning. “A happier squad is a stronger squad.”
“No wonder Unohana-san won’t give you the time of the day,” Naruto shot back.
The dark-skinned man wasn’t affected by his barb.
“It’s only a matter of time now.” When the blond gave him a look that practically said he was delusional, Chika doubled down: “I’m serious. She’s been warming up to me lately.”
Naruto shook his head. He wasn’t in the mood to continue bantering with him at that moment. He changed the subject.
“Captain. I want to be reassigned. I want to join Onmitsukido.”
Chika wasn’t bothered by his borderline rude way of speaking.
“Why?” he asked.
“I need to fade into obscurity for a while.”
“Merely wearing a hood and a mask to hide your face won’t be enough to fool a Captain-class shinigami’s senses. Unless you plan on sealing your spiritual energy-”
“That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Patrolling Rukongai when there’s an invisible Captain-class Shinigami out for my blood is no different than suicide. I can’t be on my guard 24/7. Sooner or later, they will get the drop on me.”
Shihouin Chika brought a hand to his chin, seemingly deep in thought.
“You want to train for your Bankai, don’t you?”
Seeing the startled look on Naruto’s face, Chika scoffed:
“What are you acting so surprised about? You nearly died against a Captain so you clearly want to improve yourself. And if I were to guess, you probably want to join the Detention Unit. The deepest level of the Maggots’ Nest would hide your reiatsu completely. It couldn’t be any more obvious to me what your plans are.”
Soul Society had three main military forces:
Gotei 13 with its thirteen squads and thirteen Captains.
Kido Corps, a military branch independent of Gotei 13 that specialised in the art of Kido.
Onmitsukido, or the Stealth Force, which was under the direct command of Central 46, the main governing body of Soul Society. It was an organisation consisting of many members from the Noble families.
That being said, whenever a particularly powerful Shinigami rose from among the members of the Five Great Noble Families, the Stealth Force would become subordinated to them. That was why Shihouin Chika, despite being a Captain of the Gotei 13, was also the Supreme Commander of the Stealth Force; because he was the head of the Shihouin Clan, one of the Five Great Noble Families.
“Are you against me joining the Detention Unit?” asked Naruto.
The Detention Unit was one of the five branches of Onmitsukido, specialising in uncovering and detaining dangerous individuals among the members of Gotei 13. The Maggots’ Nest was under their direct supervision.
“Not really,” said Chika. “We spar often enough for me to know that your Hakuda is at least at a Lieutenant’s level. As for your Kido, it’s at a Captain’s level. You’re more than qualified to join the Detention Unit. . . But why should I let you do that?”
“I thought you wanted me to become strong.”
Shihouin walked to the window of his office, standing in silence for a moment as he watched his squad’s new recruits swinging their zanpakuto in unison on the training ground.
“I do want you to become strong,” the dark-skinned man finally said, his voice losing its usual laid-back tone.
Turning to face Naruto, a sharp look appeared in his yellow eyes as he said:
“But lately, I find myself wondering whether you’re truly on my side or if I’m raising a viper in my bosom.”
The two men looked at each other silently, seemingly locked in a staring contest.
“It was you who took me from Rukongai,” Naruto said in an even tone. “I was content with just dying together with my people. But you threw me in the Maggots’ Nest, and you all but forced me to become a Shinigami. Now you’re saying you don’t want it anymore?”
“I didn’t force you-”
“Let’s not play games of words,” Naruto cut him off sharply. It was as if he had no respect for his position as his Captain. “It was obvious that if I had refused to become a Shinigami, you would have killed me on the spot.”
“That’s not how I wanted our discussion to go. . .” Chika ran a hand through his messy silvery hair and let out a long sigh.
Dropping his shoulders, Chika spoke in a bummed-out voice, turning back to his affable and laid-back behaviour:
“Listen, relationships between people are always like two-way roads. It’s always a give and take. Even between parents and their children, it’s still a two-way road. You can't expect to always be on the receiving end. You have to give something in return too."
"I saved you from Rukongai. I even went as far as to kill my fellow Shinigami to keep you alive. And then, for the next 10 years, I trained you and gave you all the resources and knowledge you had asked me for. But what have you done for me?”
When Naruto didn’t answer, Chika replied to his own question:
“Nothing. You’ve always kept me at arm’s length. Always gave me a cold shudder. You’ve always kept secrets. You never tried to at least pretend that you cared for our friendship.”
When he put it that way, Naruto became silent. He actually started feeling bad deep down when he realised that Shihouin Chika was being genuine with his words. . . his Negative Emotions Sensing wasn’t being triggered by any lies, which meant that the dark-skinned Captain truly thought that Naruto was his friend.
“What would it take for you to be honest with me once?” asked Shihouin.
“You could start by being honest yourself first,” Naruto said. “Why did you rescue me from Rukongai? And I need something more than what you told me ten years ago. I understand you need my power. What for?”
Unlike ten years ago, when he had just been brought to Seireitei, Naruto was no longer ignorant about the ways of the world.
“You’re the Head of the Shihouin Clan, one of the Five Great Families. You have your Clan’s wealth and manpower, the entire Squad 2, and even the Onmitsukido at your command. Why is my power that important to you? I’m just one man. And what do you need my power for?” the blond asked.
“Everything you said is correct. I do possess all that manpower, wealth, and authority. But none of that means anything in front of absolute power. You have that potential. You tried as best as you could to hide your true strength, but I know that your reiatsu has already surpassed mine,” Shihouin said.
“You still haven’t answered the real question,” said Naruto. “What do you need my power for?”
Shihouin walked to his chair and plopped himself down, leaning back against the backrest in a manner unbecoming to someone of his status.
“At first, I merely wanted a strong subordinate. What sort of clan leader would I be if I could not recognise a talented person when I saw one?”
“Well? What changed?” Naruto asked.
“You see, not all the Quincy had been eradicated. Yhwach used to be the leader of an empire in the Human Realm called ‘Lichtreich’. Many of his subordinates are still alive in the Human World, and they went into hiding once he died. I ordered the Espionage Unit to infiltrate their ranks and uncover their hideouts.”
Unlike the first, second, third, and fifth units of the Onmitsukido that operated within Seireitei, the fourth division of the Stealth Force, the Espionage Unit, operated outside the Court of Souls.
“Nine years ago, one year after the war, my subordinates uncovered a prophecy they heard circulating amongst the Quincy: the sealed King of the Quincy. Over 900 years, he shall recover his heartbeat. Over 90 years, he shall recover his intellect. Over nine years, he shall recover his power. And over nine days, he shall recover the world.”
“How can this be? We were both there. We all saw him dying,” said Naruto. “Sasakibe-san backstabbed him, and the Head Captain cleaved him in half and burnt his remains to ash!”
Shihouin shook his head.
“Yhwach’s identity is not that simple. There are things that even the Head Commander does not know. Information that only the Five Great Noble Families are privy to. . . If Yhwach comes back and if he is as strong as the myths about the Soul King make me believe he will be, the current Gotei 13 may not be strong enough to stop him. And that’s why I need you—not just you, but anyone strong enough to make a difference.”
Despite the severity of the things he was talking about, Shihouin seemed rather nonchalant. But Naruto knew, thanks to his Negative Emotions Sensing that the Captain was not lying.
“Did you tell Captain Commander about this?”
“I did, but he doesn’t seem too concerned. He said we’ll just have to beat them back again if they were to rise once more. . . All I can do is prepare myself for the future."
"Well, it's your turn now. Remember, give and take,” Chika said while staring at the ceiling. “What’s your goal? Is your heart still filled with rage and vengeance? Do you still want to kill all shinigami?”
Naruto shook his head.
“No. . . I know not all shinigami are evil. And I’ve already killed those who were responsible for my people’s deaths. . . I don’t wish to kill all Shinigami like I wanted ten years ago. . . but I can’t forget about what they did and what they will continue to do should the need arise.”
His knuckles turned white from how hard he clenched his fist.
“Killing innocent people is something that I will never do. And I will make it so that the Shinigami never kill another innocent soul from Rukon again.”
“How?” Shihouin asked. “Are you going to oppose the Seireitei all by yourself? And even if you were to become strong enough to do that, how would you preserve the balance?
“Gotei 13 and Central 46 don’t care about Rukongai, but I do. I will create a new organisation that will police the Rukon district. Instead of being executed on the spot, like what Shinigami do to most criminals in the present, I will imprison them. I will build a prison and keep those vile people locked up until their lives are needed for the sake of balance,” Naruto said in a determined voice.
“Building a prison, huh? So you wanted to join the Detention Unit not just for the sake of your Bankai, but to learn Sealing Kido as well. . . “ Shihouin said in realisation. “However, Central 46 would never accept the existence of a military organisation that is not under their direct control.”
“That’s where my power will come into play,” Naruto said. “I will become powerful. So powerful that they will have no choice but to bend to my demands. You said it yourself, didn't you? Nobility, money, authority—none of that matters in front of absolute power.”
Chika snorted.
“I’ll never understand why you would go so far for the people of Rukon.”
“Because I don’t judge people’s value based on how useful they’ll be to me, Captain. . . And I don’t want anyone else to experience the things I went through.”
“I see. . .” Shihoin said thoughtfully. “I’m not opposed to your goal. I don’t particularly care about them but if it makes you happy, I wouldn’t be against following your principles. As long as you don’t betray me, I’ll support you in your endeavours.”
For the first time since they met, Uzumaki Naruto and Shihouin Chika held an honest conversation with each other. No words laced with lies, no hidden hostility, no secret agenda.
On that day, a lasting friendship was born between the two men.
Comments
Jesus Duran
An invisible captain, it's gotta be katori right. The spear would definitely help to stay out of narutos range and give her a moment to change attack direction if she sees him reacting. Not sure about the invisibility thou maybe a shikai or banzai ability. Glad to see naruto finally opening up to Chika I can't wait to see how that goes
Hadrian v.E.
Exciting stuff!
Kyle Hayle
🔥🔥
