Naruto: Just Want To Be A Death God

Byakuya Kuchiki stood on the rooftop, at a complete loss.

The blond-haired boy on the street was blindingly conspicuous.

Naruto had just dashed off without a word.

Should he go down too?

He hesitated.

Meanwhile, Naruto was already chatting and laughing with Hifumi."You and Byakuya seem to have a good relationship?"

At the mention of that, Hifumi's expression briefly faltered. She shook her head with a bitter smile."Big brother Kuchiki is a Shinigami, and a noble at that. I'm just an ordinary soul. There's no such thing as a 'good relationship' between us."

"Really?" Naruto feigned confusion."I thought you two were close friends."

"After all, Byakuya always brings you up in front of me."

He emphasized the phrase "close friends."

Hifumi was stunned, and a look of joy nearly spilled from her eyes."Really? Big brother Kuchiki talks about me?"

"Of course," Naruto said softly.

Through their conversation, Naruto gradually learned about her past.

After death, she was born into the "Kudaka" district—a place with terrible living conditions. She had fled all the way to this area just to survive.

Byakuya had met her two years ago during a mission, and they had occasionally run into each other since.

According to Hifumi, they didn't meet often—only once every few months—and every time, Byakuya was there on duty, exchanging only a few words before leaving.

"Lord Uzumaki… did you come to find me because something happened to Big Brother Kuchiki?" she finally asked, hesitantly and cautiously.

She had noticed Naruto kept dodging her questions, constantly asking about her and Byakuya, without ever explaining his true purpose.

This made her start to worry.

Naruto didn't answer.

He sensed a spiritual pressure stirring—someone was getting impatient.

With a breeze, that person landed beside them.

"Just passing by on a mission," Byakuya said with his usual stone-cold expression and calm tone."He knows I have a friend in the Rukongai, and couldn't resist taking a look."

He paused, then added,"I don't have many friends in the Seireitei, so he was curious."

Hifumi nodded, but inexplicably felt a little disappointed.

So that's all it was.

Just friends…

"Do you believe that, Hifumi-nee?" Naruto leaned in.

That question startled her.

Believe what?

Believe that Lord Uzumaki was curious about her?Or that they were just friends?

Byakuya couldn't take it anymore. He pressed Naruto's head down, resisting the urge to bury him underground.

But now that he was here, he couldn't help but speak with Hifumi.

The problem was Naruto, who constantly blurted out "half-truths" and "truth bombs" at all the worst moments, making both of them distracted.

Half an hour later, Byakuya dragged Naruto away and left.

Just as they flash-stepped out of the area—

"Naruto." Byakuya took a deep breath. His voice was still calm, but the shift in how he addressed Naruto revealed how turbulent his emotions were."Why did you do that?"

Naruto walked ahead."Because you're too damn reserved."

"I don't want you to regret later—after she's dead—wishing you had spent more time with her."

Byakuya fell silent.

Naruto kept going."Don't turn into someone as cold as stone."

"You're already excellent. No one's going to stop seeing you as a role model just because of this."

Byakuya caught up."I don't want to become like Kōmyōda Shutanda."

Naruto laughed."He's scum because he never knew how to treasure anything."

"He held a treasure in his hands and trampled on it."

"You're not like that, Byakuya. You do treasure her."

Byakuya didn't say a word.

He realized Naruto was starting to become as annoying as Yoruichi Shihōin.

From that day forward, he quietly made a decision:He would no longer go to the Rukongai. If he could suppress and overcome his feelings, all these problems would go away.

But Naruto wouldn't let him.

He kept dragging Byakuya out, forcing him to visit Hifumi in the Rukongai.

At first, Byakuya resisted. Naruto even tied him up with Adamantine Chains and took him away.

But later, Byakuya realized resistance was futile. Whenever Naruto came, he would obediently go with him.

Sometimes, if Naruto was a little late, you could even catch a trace of anxiety on Byakuya's face.

Still, progress was slow.

Even though he went to the Rukongai, all Byakuya ever did was chat with Hifumi or help her with chores—menial labor that a Kuchiki heir had never done in his life.

Both of them had emotional blocks they couldn't break through.

Naruto stopped interfering.

When it came to love, he was practically clueless.

He tried asking Uncle Shunsui for advice, but the two old men gave him the most absurd suggestions.

So instead of making things worse, it was better to do nothing.

Byakuya and Hifumi were already on that path—no need for him to add complications.

Naruto shifted his focus back to his research and observations.

He had learned that Kūgo Ginjō wasn't one of Aizen's experiments. The strange "Hollow aura" around him, according to Ginjō himself, was because he had been attacked by a Hollow while still a fetus inside his mother.

That's what gave birth to Fullbring.

Things in the Seireitei remained peaceful.

It seemed even Aizen had started behaving himself.

Sui-Feng was still acting like a wall ornament in her office. She still hadn't figured out the reason—after all, once people accept that "the Hollowfication issue has been resolved," it's incredibly difficult to break out of that mindset without a clear new clue.

Time passed.

Naruto began preparing for his next return to the ninja world.

He wanted to know what things he could bring back.

And what the mechanics of traveling between the two worlds were.

He confirmed that clothes worn on the body couldn't be brought back. But Zanpakutō could.

So during this time, he carried a scroll and tied a strip of cloth with writing around his Zanpakutō.

For the one-hundredth time, it still didn't work.

Year 24.

Naruto woke up and looked around.

He wasn't in his dorm.

It was that inn in the town from the other night.

He had returned to the ninja world.

He checked his belongings.

The scroll and the cloth tied to his Zanpakutō hadn't come back.

That made Naruto frown, confirming a theory.

Only things that belonged to his soul could come through.

The two worlds seemed entirely disconnected—except for himself.

He extended his hand and attempted the Summoning Jutsu.

The seals formed… but nothing appeared.

Even with Mayuri's modifications, the essence of the technique was still summoning things from the same dimension. The Soul Society and the ninja world were entirely separate spaces.

While he was pondering that—

In his inner world, the Nine-Tails couldn't help speaking up, its voice urgent and slightly joyful:"Naruto, we're back in the ninja world."

Naruto smiled.

He knew exactly what the Nine-Tails wanted.

Back in the Soul Society, with someone like Aizen around, even though they had discovered a method to temporarily release the Nine-Tails, he couldn't risk using it.

But there was no Aizen in the ninja world.

Naruto leapt out the window and dashed outside the town.

Standing in the forest, he extended his hand. Chakra gathered at his fingertips as he pressed them to his stomach.

The sealing formula spread out like a fan. The Four Symbols Seal unfolded halfway before stopping.

At the edge of the seal, the characters surged into a line of symbols, threading into his inner world and connecting to the Nine-Tails' stomach.

This new sealing method, developed by Mayuri, was called the "Outer Four Symbols Seal."

When activated, it felt like turning the Four Symbols Seal inside-out.

The thread formed by the seal became a physical channel linking Naruto and the Nine-Tails' life force.

The tailed beast chakra flowed through it.

First a tail emerged, then a paw. Gradually, the massive body of the Nine-Tails squeezed out of the tiny opening in the seal.

The thin thread remained.

It was the physical manifestation of the opened Four Symbols Seal and the lifeline binding Naruto and the Nine-Tails together.

"This is the air of freedom," the Nine-Tails said cautiously. With a sweep of its tail, it cleared a section of forest and sat down, offering a paw to Naruto.

Naruto flash-stepped onto its shoulder."Still can't fully release you though."

"This is fine." The Nine-Tails yawned, lowering its body and lying down."Ninjas are a bothersome bunch."

"If they knew I was fully released, they'd come running to seal me again."

"Staying by your side is way better."

It paused, then added distastefully,"Wasn't there a group called the Akatsuki trying to capture us tailed beasts?"

"Sharingan is such an evil power!"

Just saying the word gave it chills.

Naruto tilted his head."Wanna try shrinking your size?"

"You're too conspicuous like this."

"Good thing it's midnight, or we'd attract a whole army of ninja just like last time."

The Nine-Tails swished its tail again, knocking down a few more trees."Let me enjoy this form a bit longer."

"I'll think about how to shrink later."

It loved this feeling.

It had been over a hundred years since it had felt so free.

Meanwhile, in the town…

In a tavern, under the coaxing of a few bar girls, the already drunk Jiraiya suddenly sobered up.

He sensed a massive chakra surging in the distance—his heart raced, and unease flooded his chest.

The sensation pushed him to step outside the tavern, leaping to the rooftops and gazing into the distance.

A massive, fire-red creature came into view—and instantly sobered him up.

What was that?

The Nine-Tails?!

(End of Chapter)