Bleach x Naruto: Shinigami in Konoha

Sasuke and Itachi exchanged a glance, both immediately sensing something off about the couple before them. It was as if they were deliberately hiding something. Sai stood quietly at the side, his expression still frozen in its usual false cheerfulness.

"I'll believe you for now," Itachi said calmly, his gaze sharp, "but be aware that if you're concealing the true details of this mission, we can abandon it at any time."

The man flinched ever so slightly before quickly recovering, replying, "Respected ninja, we would never dare lie to you. Everything we said is exactly what happened. If you don't believe us, you can verify it directly in the Land of Rice Fields."

His tone was steady, and he looked straight into Itachi's eyes without flinching. Itachi said nothing more. Since it was against protocol to use genjutsu on mission clients, he had no choice but to accept their words for now.

"It's best that you understand that. I'll trust you—for now," Itachi replied, his tone cool. "So, when do we depart?"

"If possible, we'd like you to leave today. The longer we wait, the colder the trail gets," the man said.

"In that case, we leave now." Itachi gave a nod.

Sasuke and the others had already packed when they accepted the mission, so the five-man team departed immediately for the Land of Rice Fields.

Shortly after their departure, a mission center staff member quietly slipped away.

Deep underground, in a darkened basement, Danzo fed a scroll into the mouth of a waiting serpent. The snake swallowed it and disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

—

Several days later, Sasuke and the team arrived in the Land of Rice Fields. The journey was mostly uneventful, though a few bandits with more courage than sense tried their luck. Sasuke dispatched them effortlessly using only his basic taijutsu and White Fang-style swordsmanship.

As they walked through a sparsely populated street, they searched for a place to stay the night. The destination provided by the couple was still a fair distance ahead.

"The streets here are worse than in Konoha," Sasuke remarked, observing the small, rundown shops around him.

Most sold local wares, clearly produced and traded within the country. Foreign goods were rare—evidence that this nation had minimal trade and interaction with the outside world. Few merchants seemed willing to do business here.

"This is just a small country after all," Itachi replied while eating a local confection. "It's nothing like Konoha. The last time Naruto and the others went to the Land of Waves, it looked even worse than this."

That mention reminded Sasuke of something. "What happened to those two missing-nin from the Hidden Mist that Naruto's team brought back?"

Soon after Team Eleven's first mission ended, Team Seven had their own—escorting the bridge builder Tazuna from the Land of Waves. When they returned, they brought back two rogue shinobi: Zabuza and Haku. Sasuke wasn't too surprised that Naruto had managed something so impressive.

He had a fair understanding of Naruto's strength. Not only had Naruto mastered his signature techniques—the Shadow Clone Jutsu and the Rasengan—but his Shunshin no Jutsu had greatly improved. He had even begun learning the Uzumaki clan's sealing techniques. Overall, Naruto's power had reached the level of a high-level chunin, possibly even low jonin.

Naruto's teleportation and general ninjutsu were taught by Minato via remnants of his chakra, while his sealing techniques came from his mother, Kushina. Minato had somehow ensured that Kushina's residual chakra would remain inside Naruto for years. Whenever Naruto deeply missed her, Kushina could appear to guide him.

Sasuke had even been summoned by Kushina once. She had asked to see what he looked like when he'd grown and inquired about his own mother, Mikoto.

"I think Lord Hokage had them both sent back to Kirigakure," Itachi answered after some thought. "What the Mist Village does with them now, I'm not sure. But I heard there was a major shift in leadership recently—Yagura, the Fourth Mizukage, died. The Fifth Mizukage has taken over. That might change how they handle treason."

So Terumi Mei and Ao discovered the truth behind Yagura's mind control? Sasuke pondered silently.

He knew the major incident Itachi referred to—the revelation that Yagura had been manipulated for years. The one pulling the strings was Uchiha Obito. Sasuke hadn't yet told anyone about Obito's existence. Partly because the opportunity never came, and partly because few would believe him without proof. Worse, some might treat him with suspicion if he brought up another rogue Uchiha. It was better to wait until he could produce evidence.

"Speaking of which," Sai interjected with a sly grin, "after this mission ends, the joint Chunin Exams among the Five Great Shinobi Nations will begin. It won't just be genin from the five major villages—smaller villages will join too. Sasuke-kun, are you planning to participate?"

Indeed, the massive Chunin Exams were fast approaching. The timing was close to what occurred in the original history—less than a year after Naruto and Sasuke became genin. But this time, the scale was unprecedented.

It wasn't just a joint test between Konoha and Sunagakure. All five great villages would take part. Even smaller hidden villages were sending candidates. And the host village? Konoha.

It was the first time in ninja history that such a massive Chunin Exam was held—proof of Konoha's strength and influence. Though other villages coveted Konoha's abundant resources, they didn't dare attack head-on. Instead, they hoped to assess Konoha's strength through this "peaceful" competition.

"What else is there to think about?" Sasuke responded calmly. "Of course I'll participate. It's the first major event I've been part of in years. Skipping it would be a waste. Still, with my current strength, I'll just take it one step at a time. If I get promoted, we'll have two chunin on our team."

Because of Itachi's genjutsu, Sai perceived Sasuke only as an average genin. Every time they went on a mission that required combat, Itachi placed Sai under a genjutsu. From Sai's perspective, the battles seemed like clever skirmishes of tactics and positioning. In reality, Sasuke was handling most threats alone.

"With your strength, Sasuke-kun," Sai teased, "I doubt you'll get promoted. Maybe try again in a few more years."

Sasuke turned to glance at him. While he didn't mind keeping up the illusion, that last remark irked him slightly.

"What?" Sai blinked. "Did I say something wrong?"