LIGHTNOVELONLINE Bullying the Bully
Yuna lightly stirred in her sleep; moments later, she slowly woke up and opened her eyes. The first thing she could see was the face of a cute little girl that was sleeping with a peaceful expression.
'Yes, mister policeman, the sexual deviant is over here~'
[Although I'm not arguing against the sexual deviant part, it's not like anything happened.]
'What are you talking about, Kurama? We did the foulest of acts. There was hugging, head pats, a kiss on the cheek, and the most foul of them all: h*lding h*nds.'
[Right, how could I forget about that?]
Moments later, the little girl beside Yuna started stirring as well and opened her eyes a few seconds later. As soon as her eyes met Yuna's, a happy smile appeared on her face.
"Good morning, Yuna."
"Good morning, Hinata. Slept well?"
Hinata hummed in acknowledgment as she nuzzled her head into the nape of Yuna's neck like a cat.
"Very good, and you?"
"Hehe, now that I have my hug pillow back, I'll obviously sleep well."
Hinata chuckled in amusement when she heard Yuna's answer and sighed in satisfaction when Yuna hugged her. Although Hinata didn't comment on Yuna's words, she definitely agreed with them. Sleeping next to each other again felt really comfortable.
It has been over three years since Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto pretty much adopted themselves. The first thing they did was move to Karakura town, which was done on foot and only took a few hours. After arriving there, Yuna dressed up again, and the first thing they did, was rent a small house, which is where they are currently living.
Yuna spoiled Hinata for a few minutes before the duo got up from bed and changed out of their pajamas and into their everyday clothes. The duo went downstairs into the living room and immediately saw a tired-looking Naruto, disinterestedly munching on some toast.
"Good morning, Naruto. Video games all night?"
"Mornin' nee-san, yeah, gotta keep the grind going."
"Good morning, Naruto; you really shouldn't stay up and play games all night."
"Yes, mom~"
Hinata rolled her eyes at Naruto jokingly calling her mom, and went to the kitchen to prepare food for the whole group. While walking, she paused for a moment while a realization hit her.
'Wait a moment? I AM the mom!?'
After coming to that conclusion, she chuckled in amusement and simply shrugged her shoulders. While Yuna and Naruto were researching this world's power system and the use of Kido, Hinata was responsible for cooking and chores around the house, making her look like the household's mother.
Meanwhile, back in the living room, Yuna sat next to Naruto and glanced at him before opening her mouth.
"I hope you don't cut down on training for the sake of more gaming, Naruto."
Naruto simply waved Yuna's words away and started talking after he finished chewing his toast.
"Nah, I'm cutting down on sleep time, not training time."
A tear escaped Yuna's left eye as she nodded her head with a proud expression on her face.
"Very good. Spoken like a true gamer."
Instead of answering Yuna, Naruto simply rolled his eyes and took another bite.
Around an hour later, the trio arrived at the school they were attending. School was... decent. Stuff like physics and biology were mildly interesting due to stuff working differently from their previous world, but the real problem was the pacing. For Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto, the pacing at which new material was introduced was atrociously slow.
Well, the slow pace was one problem, but there was actually another one that was exclusive to Naruto...
"Wow, look, that's Naruto!"
"Doesn't he look super cool?!"
"I love his shiny blond hair!"
...fangirls. Somehow, Naruto managed to amass a small group of fan girls. Well, most people in the country had dark hair and eyes, so Naruto's blonde hair and clear blue eyes drew a lot of attention. That and his kind smile turned him into the childhood crush of a lot of little girls.
"Gotta call the police~"
"Shut up, nee-san!"
Yuna couldn't help but snicker at Naruto's plight. Although she and Hinata also had rather exotic looks, and they had a few admirers, those were much more subdued.
"Well, well, no need to fret, Sa-su-ke."
Naruto could only groan in anguish when Yuna mentioned Sasuke's name. Well, the most significant difference between Sasuke's situation with fangirls is that Sasuke only frowned at them and ignored them, while Naruto tried to shoo them away kindly. Unfortunately, neither method seemed to be working.
In addition to being admired by a bunch of girls, there were quite a few boys that were jealous of him. Considering their age, they probably didn't even understand why they were jealous of him properly.
"That damn Naruto is hogging all the attention again."
"He's so annoying; we should teach him a lesson."
"I-I don't think that is a good idea. Can't you remember what happened the last time we tried something?"
All three boys flushed crimson when they remembered what happened to them after they pranked Naruto by hiding his stuff. The day after doing so and feeling pretty good about it, the trio sat peacefully in the classroom when orange confetti suddenly burst out of their pants with loud farting noises, causing them to almost die of shame. Worst of all? There was not the slightest hint that Naruto was the one who did it, nor how he did it, but considering the timing, none of the trio had any doubts it was him.
Anyway, the school day started and ended peacefully, and Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were currently taking a stroll next to a river.
"Look, nee-san, there is another person with an unusual hair color."
Yuna followed Naruto's gaze and noticed a young boy with spiky orange hair walking next to an adult woman, likely his mother. Although Yuna found the hair color a little interesting, she was more interested in the mother. It was well-hidden, but Yuna could feel quite a lot of power inside her. Additionally, the woman's power was unlike what Yuna felt from Shinigami. It was similar and, at the same time, wasn't.
Suddenly, Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto lowered their stance as they felt the atmosphere shift. They didn't know what was happening, but something was different. They could tell that danger was coming.
While Hinata and Naruto were carefully inspecting the surroundings, Yuna squinted her eyes and looked skyward.
'Someone is watching us? No, they are watching the mother or maybe... the kid?'
Yuna quickly took off her school bag and opened it to take out a ski mask and a fox mask to hide her hair and face. She always carries these two things with her in case she has to do something outrageous with her small body. She glanced at Hinata and Naruto and saw that they also put on masks, Hinata a bunny-looking one and Naruto one that looked similar to Yuna's.
"We aren't doing anything for now. Just observe and see what happens."
Fortunately, the mother appeared to have noticed the switch in the atmosphere. Unfortunately, she clearly wasn't that used to combat, as she briefly didn't pay attention to the boy by her side, allowing him to wander off. He was currently approaching a small figure that was standing very close to the river.
When Yuna saw that figure, her eyes widened, and she quickly moved toward the boy while mentioning for Hinata and Naruto to back her up if necessary. The figure the boy was approaching was a Hollow. Well, it was a part of it.
Luckily, the woman realized her mistake in time and quickly took action. She approached the Hollow at high-speed and made a motion with her hands as if she was drawing a bow, and surprisingly, a bow actually appeared. However, when she was about to shoot the Hollow with an arrow, the bow and arrow dissipated, causing her eyes to widen. Nevertheless, she continued moving forward, intending to block the Hollow's attack with her body.
Yuna could only curse when the woman's power suddenly vanished. She had no idea why it happened, but she will definitely kick the reason's ass if she gets the chance.
The Hollow was just about to attack when it was engulfed in powerful killing intent, causing it to flinch while delaying its attack by a split second.
However, that single moment of extra time was more than enough for Yuna as she appeared above the Hollow with her two hands, seemingly holding something above her head. She slashed downwards as if she was swinging a sword, and mid trajectory, a massive ice sword appeared in her hands and sliced through the Hollow's neck.
Unlike in the previous world, where she had to awkwardly mix water and wind chakra together, in this world, she could freely create her ice, allowing her to form her sword.
Yuna noticed that the Hollow appeared to be still alive for some reason, but she ignored it, as it was currently fleeing by swimming through the river. Instead of hunting after the Hollow, Yuna lifted her head and looked at the sky. Then, she raised her right hand and pointed her index finger and middle finger at her eyes and then pointed her index finger at the empty sky.
Meanwhile, the small boy had fainted from fear due to the small figure standing next to the lake turning into a monster. On the other hand, his mother was still hugging him, waiting for the pain that would never come.
Moments later, she realized that nothing was happening and cautiously looked around, only to see a small figure wearing a fox mask standing next to a severed Hollow head.
"Saved your life just now. No big deal."
"Eh? Ah... uhh, thank you for saving me and my son's life. I'm Masaki Kurusaki and this is my son Ichigo. Ah? ICHIGO!?"
Only now did Masaki notice that her son wasn't moving at all, causing her to panic.
"Hey, Ichigo! Ichigo, what's wrong!?"
Before she could fuss over Ichigo any further, Yuna approached the duo and held Ichigo's wrist, feeling his pulse. After a short moment, she nodded lightly and carefully opened one of his eyes while Masaki slowly calmed down due to Yuna's professional-looking movements.
"There is no need to worry; he probably lost consciousness due to the sudden shock and will wake up soon. He might not even remember what happened. I recommend you just lay down on the grass and pretend he simply fell asleep."
Masaki visibly relaxed when she heard Yuna's words. She took a few deep breaths to get over her shock before a broad smile appeared on her face.
"Again, thank you for the help. Is there anything I can do to return the favor?"
[NO, DON'T SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT, YOU FOOL!!! RUN AWAY!!!]
'Geez, chill, Kurama.'
[How can I chill when an innocent mother is about to make a deal with the devil.]
'Again, don't compare me to that small fry. Anyway, I actually have the perfect thing to ask of her.'
[May this innocent soul rest in peace.]
'You are exaggerating, Kurama.'
[Am I, though?]
While Yuna was bantering with her inner fox, she resumed talking to Masaki.
"Actually, there is something you could do for me. That power you were about to use, can you tell me how it works and why you suddenly lost it?"
Masaki's eyes widened when she realized that her power had failed her. She carefully placed Ichigo on a nearby grass patch and went through a bow drawing motion again; however, this time, nothing happened.
"No way! What happened to my Quincy powers!?"
Seeing the shock on Masaki's face, Yuna could only shake her head.
'So she doesn't know the reason herself, huh? What kind of weird power can you simply lose instantly without your own consent?'
"Seems like you don't know the reason yourself. Could you still tell me a little about what kind of ability it is?"
Although Masaki was very startled that she could no longer use her power, she decided to shelve that topic for later and fulfill her savior's request first. However, just when she was about to start talking, another two small figures appeared next to Yuna, astonishing Masaki.
"We are no longer being watched."
Yuna nodded her head while Masaki squinted her eyes and looked at the three small figures in front of her with confusion. Additionally, she wondered what one of them meant by 'no longer being watched'. She could only conclude that someone was monitoring her or the person who saved her. Naturally, she wouldn't assume that her small son was being watched.
Before she could ask any questions about the two freshly arrived people, Yuna resumed talking.
"Well, don't worry about these two; they are my comrades."
After a short moment, Masaki simply nodded her head in understanding and decided not to think too much about this mysterious trio. One of them saved her son after all, so they at least weren't bad people in her book.
"Okay, I will tell you about my power. I am a Quincy. Quincy fight by absorbing Spirit Particles and mixing them with our own Spiritual Power to create weapons. Well, mostly bows and arrows."
Yuna pondered Masaki's words for a short moment before tilting her head in confusion.
"What are Spirit Particles?"
"Spirit Particles are the main material of Souls and all spiritual matter."
Yuna's eyes shone with curiosity when she heard that. In her mind, a soul was a soul, a single entity, but it seems like in this world, souls were made out of particles.
'How interesting. So souls are made out of particles; why haven't I noticed that yet? No, that's pretty obvious. Because it's too ridiculous a concept for me to check properly, well, it was in all the other worlds I have visited so far. Now, that only leaves one question.'
"Can everyone create weapons that way, or is it only Quincy?"
Masaki shook her head when she heard Yuna's question.
"The process of mixing Spirit Particles and Spiritual Power is something everyone can do, but only Quincy can form physical weapons out of it."
Yuna nodded her head when Masaki finished her explanation. Although she was a little dissatisfied that she couldn't use that kind of trick and wondered if she could come up with a method to use it anyway, she decided to discard that idea. She could already create weapons with her ice, so putting time into researching an alternative way to create weapons was a waste of time.
Although she couldn't really produce flexible weapons with her ice that well, stuff like bows and whips weren't exactly her main weapons. Well, whips could be used for other stuff as well...
'*Cough* I might look into this a little, hehe.'
[Degenerate.]
'If that was supposed to be an insult, you failed terribly, Kurama.'
[It wasn't. It was just an assessment.]
'Oh? In that case, your assessment is 100% accurate. Good job.'
While Kurama was rolling his eyes like crazy, Yuna brought her attention back to Masaki.
"Well, thanks for answering my questions. Is there anything else I should be aware of?"
At that question, Masaki couldn't help but avert her eyes while her face flushed in embarrassment, causing Yuna to sigh internally.
'*Sigh* I'm such a sinful woman. She hasn't even seen my face yet but is already smitten with me. It's not easy being as beautiful as I am.'
[Good to know that your narcissism is still going strong.]
'Yup, I'm that awesome, after all~'
[*Sigh* Although I'm already used to it, this is seriously like talking to a wall.]
'The most beautiful wall of them all, correct?'
[*Facepalms*]
On the other hand, Masaki couldn't help but blush a little due to wanting to request something else from the person that saved her. Quincy completely killed Hollows with their weapons, unlike Shinigami, who only sent them to either Soul Society or Hell, so if the Quincy were to kill too many Hollow, the balance of the world could be disturbed.
A long time ago, this got out of control, forcing the Shinigami to get rid of the Quincy. Although Masaki didn't really care about that, since it happened a long time ago, she didn't know the current stance of the Shinigami. She couldn't be sure whether they would kill her as soon as they discovered she was a Quincy, so she hoped that the three people in front of her would keep quiet about it. Well, her husband was a Shinigami as well, but she deemed him to be a special case.
"*Cough* I know it's a little shameless of me to make another request to you after you saved my and my son's life, but could you keep it a secret that I'm a Quincy?"
"Mhh? Why?"
Masaki had an awkward expression on her face as she pondered whether she should tell what happened to the Quincy and why it happened. After thinking about it for a few seconds, she decided to simply tell the trio in front of her what was going on.
A few minutes later, Yuna couldn't help but frown after hearing the story about the Quincy genocide. She couldn't understand why the Quincy insisted on killing Hollows so much that they were even willing to fight the Shinigami to the death.
'Why were the Quincy so insistent on killing Hollows? There is definitely more to this story than Masaki told me about. Whether she herself is aware of that or not is another question.'
After thinking about it some more, Yuna simply shrugged her shoulders and decided to comply with Masaki's request.
"Fine, I don't mind keeping what you are a secret. I promise I will do so."
Masaki sighed in relief when she heard Yuna's words. She really didn't want people from Soul Society hunting her down. Or even worse, hunting down her son.
"Thank you for that. Oh, I haven't even asked for your name yet. Could you tell me?"
After hearing Masaki's question, Yuna could only shake her head in denial.
"Sorry, that's impossible. We are wearing masks for a reason."
Masaki's shoulders sagged when Yuna denied her request despite already predicting that she would rather not reveal her name.
"Guess it can't be helped. Anyway, again, thank you for saving my son and me."
Yuna simply nodded her head before the trio turned around to leave.
"Have a good day, and stay safe."
"Yes, you too."
After saying their farewells, Masaki noticed that Ichigo was stirring around in his sleep, making her smile. A few moments later, Ichigo opened his eyes and looked around in confusion. He was clearly wondering why he was lying on the grass.
"What's going on, mom?"
Masaki couldn't help but sigh in relief when she realized that Ichigo wasn't aware of what had happened. As she started talking to her son, a broad smile appeared on her face.
"Nothing much, Ichigo. You fell asleep while laying on the grass, and since your sleeping face was so cute, I decided to let you sleep for a while."
A small blush appeared on Ichigo's face as he pouted at his mother.
"Mom, don't tease me!"
Masaki couldn't help but chuckle when she saw her son's pouting face and promptly started petting his head.
"Anyway, let's go home, Ichigo."
Ichigo happily squinted his eyes when he felt his mother stroking his head and nodded his head in agreement.
"Okay, mom."
Meanwhile, a few minutes earlier, in another dimension, a kind-looking man with black-framed glasses and brown hair was staring at a monitor in curiosity. On the said monitor was a young person wearing a mask pointing directly at him. Or rather, the spell that was supposed to monitor Ichigo.
"Well, that didn't go according to plan."
This man, Aizen Sosuke, planned to groom Ichigo to become a powerful individual. He wanted to see how far the child of a Quincy and a Shinigami could reach and if it could even surpass the limit of what a Shinigami could achieve.
So, he planned to set up that Hollow as Ichigo's nemesis for him to defeat later on, but that plan utterly failed due to the interference of an unknown party.
However, despite his plan failing, he wasn't angry in the slightest. As a schemer, he obviously loved it when his plans succeeded, but that wasn't all there was to him. He loved a challenge. Despite being annoyed that his plan failed, he was happy that a new variable appeared that he could incorporate into his next plan. For him, this was like a chess game suddenly having a new piece. Unexpected but interesting. It was just an additional piece for him to control and make the game more fun.
"How interesting; I wonder to which party that small figure belongs to. Mhh, wasn't there that small vice-captain that went through hollowfication? What was her name again? Hiyori Sarugaki, wasn't it?"
Aizen pondered for a while longer before simply shaking his head in denial.
"No, she was small, but not this small. Mhh, maybe a Mod-Soul? She created that ice sword instantly. Is that something a Mod-Soul can do? Well, as the name implies, they are modified souls, so maybe something like that can actually be added to the artificial soul? If that was really the case, then I think only one man has the intellect to do it: Kisuke Urahara."
A small smile appeared on Aizen's face when he thought about the only person he considered to be his intellectual rival.
"Yes, the chance that it was him is very high. It appears he had yet another breakthrough in his research. I'm looking forward to seeing what else he can come up with. Ultimately, it will only be a useless struggle against me."
Aizen smiled confidently as he nodded at his theory in agreement. However, while doing so, an uncomfortable feeling overcame him. It was the same feeling he had about nine years ago. The feeling that something was going on.
Aizen couldn't help but frown as he mentally went through today's event a few more times, but no matter how he looked at it, there was nothing too special about them. It was just an unknown person killing a weak Hollow.
"Weird, what is going on? For now, I will keep my mind open and continue monitoring the situation. Additionally, I will consider if there are any other factions that could have sent that figure out to save Ichigo's mother."
Ultimately, he could only shake his head and push that matter aside for later. He would spread his network to see if any new players appeared in Karakura town and then plan his next step.
"In the end, everything will go according to plan."
Three more years passed, and a twelve-year-old Kurosaki Ichigo was currently on his way home from school. However, while walking, he heard something that made him frown from a nearby alley.
"You really think you are something special, don't you?"
"Yup, I am~"
"You damn bitch, you even acknowledge it. Do you have no shame?"
"Shame? Is that the name of some new cake?"
"Shit, do you hear how shameless this bitch is? Big brother, please beat her up for us."
"Ohh? Beat me up? Ah, sorry, I didn't realize that you were trying to bully me. Your attempts were simply too pathetic."
"Damnit, beat her up already!"
Ichigo walked to the source of the voice and immediately became enraged. Two girls and one young man were currently surrounding a single young girl with vivid blue and red hair. Ichigo had a very strong sense of justice, so he would naturally not allow a young girl to get bullied and beaten. Especially not if a man was involved that appeared to almost be a fully grown adult.
He was just about to enter the alley and help the girl when the body of a man flew past him and landed on the ground with a heavy thud. The imprint of a fist was clearly visible on the man's face, and he had lost consciousness.
"What the he..."
"NONONO, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!!!"
"Hee~ but you are fine with me getting hurt?"
"I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, I'M SORRY, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!!!"
Ichigo could only look dumbfounded at the supposed bullied girl that was now holding the faces of her "bullies" in a death grip.
'Somehow, now the other two girls are the ones getting bullied. S-Should I help them? Nonono, that's just absurd.'
While Ichigo was deep in thought about what he was supposed to do in this kind of weird situation, the girl holding the other two tossed them aside like garbage with an indifferent expression on her face.
"Trash. Never appear in front of me again, is that understood?"
"Yes, yes, yes, I swear I'll leave you alone from now on."
"Yes, I swear we'll leave you alone from now on."
The girl nodded her head and proceeded to ignore the other two completely. She walked out of the alley and passed by Ichigo. He expected the girl to ignore him, but to his surprise, she stopped in front of him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Wanting to help people is fine, but be careful what fights you pick."
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, the girl approached the man she had previously knocked out and squatted down next to him. Then, she moved her hand into the inner pocket of the man's jacket and pulled something out that caused Ichigo's eyes to widen. It was a switchblade.
"It's already commendable that you were willing to fight an adult for a stranger, but were you ready to fight an adult wielding a knife?"
Ichigo couldn't help but shudder a little when the girl casually revealed the knife's edge with a flick of her wrist as she started spinning it around her hand at high speed. However, determination flooded Ichigo's eyes moments later, causing the girl to give him an impressed whistle.
"Hee~ not bad. You are quite stubborn. Too bad you aren't a woman."
Although Ichigo was confused about what anything had to do with being a man or woman, he ignored that for now and asked a question instead.
"What's your name."
"Yuna Uzumaki. No need to tell me your name; I already know it, Ichigo."
Ichigo's eyes widened when Yuna suddenly spoke his name. As far as he knew, he had never met the girl in front of him. Well, he had actually seen her before, as her hair color was rather flashy, and they attended the same school, but he had never interacted with her.
"Why do you know my name?"
Yuna couldn't help but chuckle in amusement when she saw Ichigo suddenly getting wary of her.
"Hehe, no need to get wary, we are at the same school after all, and there are some rather nasty rumors about you, Ichigo Kurosaki, the delinquent."
Ichigo's mood instantly soured when he was called a delinquent. The only reason why people considered him to be a delinquent was that there were rumors about him being one, so people kept pestering him by challenging him to a fight. Obviously, he wouldn't just lie down and get beaten, so rumors spread that he would often beat up people, despite these people being the ones that wanted to fight him, fortifying the rumors.
"I'm not a delinquent."
Hearing Ichigo's answer, Yuna simply shrugged her shoulders with disinterest.
"I'm fully aware of that. I'm not someone who gets easily influenced by silly rumors."
Ichigo seemed clearly happy that he wasn't regarded as a delinquent by Yuna as he sighed in relief.
"It's good that you know that. I hate being called a delinquent."
Yuna nodded her head in understanding while giving the unconscious man lying on the ground a kick in the stomach while tossing the switchblade next to him.
"Anyway, I've taken care of the trash, so I'll be leaving now. Have a nice day, Ichigo."
Ichigo found it a little weird how casual Yuna was towards him, but he simply shrugged his shoulders in the end.
"Have a nice day as well, Yuna."
Since Yuna spoke to him casually, he would just do the same to her. Seeing that Yuna didn't seem to be bothered by it, Ichigo concluded that that was the right decision.
Yuna was just about to walk away when she paused and hit the palm of her left hand with her right fist.
"Damn, I almost forgot about this."
Then, Yuna squatted down close to the unconscious man yet again and started rifling through his pocket. Moments later, she pulled a small leather wallet out of one of them, swiftly opened it, and took out all the money. After she finished counting, she scoffed in disdain.
"Poor bastard, this isn't even enough to pay next month's rent."
While Ichigo looked at Yuna in utter bewilderment, Yuna tossed the now empty wallet back at the man, turned around, and proceeded to leave this place.
Ichigo looked at the back of Yuna, who was already walking away and then glanced at the adult she had just knocked out, before taking a look at the empty wallet.
'Damn, I really wonder how she managed to knock this guy out so easily. Besides that, did she seriously just steal this guy's money? What the hell.'
His gaze wandered back to Yuna, who was currently slowly lifting her hand, confusing Ichigo. Her finger moved, and moments later, she snapped her fingers.
*Splat*
Before Ichigo could comprehend what that gesture meant, a cake hit him in the face, confusing him immensely.
'Where the hell did that cake come from? Did Yuna throw it? Is that why she snapped her fingers? Was that some kind of signal? What the hell is even going on?'
And just like that, the meeting of this world's canon main character and its current one ended somewhat peacefully.
Meanwhile, Aizen was yet again spying on a little boy... *cough* observing the subject of his research with great interest. His interest in Yuna briefly rose when he saw how easily she dispatched an adult despite being only a young girl, but moments later, he disregarded all the interest he held towards her.
"She might be physically stronger than an average human, but in the end, she is just a normal human. Nothing worth researching about."
Meanwhile, in another part of Soul Society, a middle-aged man wearing a floral Kimono was rolling around on the ground, making him look like a child.
"My beloved Nono-chan~ Booze, I want more booze~"
"No, you have already drunk more than enough, Captain Kyōraku."
"Ehhh~ Don't be like that, Nono-chan~ Alcohol is the best way to make me forget all this trouble. I should have never investigated this matter; then my Division wouldn't have so many traumatized people."
Nonoa, the vice-captain of the 8th Division, sighed deeply as she started massaging the bridge of her nose.
"Haaa~ You are talking about the cake inci..."
"KYAAAA!!!"
Before Nonoa could finish speaking, a high-pitched scream came out of a nearby room, causing captain Kyōraku to frown deeply.
"Nonoa, you can't say the c-word within our division so lightly."
Hearing her captain's words, Nonoa could only facepalm. In fact, things briefly got better as the cake attacks on their investigating Shinigami stopped. Unfortunately, the attacks resumed in another town they were responsible for a few weeks later, frustrating everyone immensely.
'*Sigh* Seriously, what is going on? If it continues like this, I might have to investigate this matter by myself. So annoying, I have more than enough other work to do and have no time to play around in the human world.'
Some more time passed, and Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto were currently sitting crosslegged within a large sprawling forest. All three of them had their eyes closed and were taking steady breaths. They had been sitting like this without moving their bodies a single centimeter for around four hours now.
Around another hour later, all three of them opened their eyes, causing a small shockwave to erupt from their bodies. All three of them just had a breakthrough in their cultivation.
"Well, this place is still far from perfect, but it's definitely better than the previous one."
Hinata and Naruto both nodded their heads in agreement as Hinata clenched her fists, resulting in them getting coated in a thin layer of water.
"Indeed, one year here is equivalent to at least ten in our previous place."
This time it was Yuna and Naruto's turn to nod their heads while Naruto swiped his hand from left to right, causing a slight breeze to blow.
"Yeah, it's a bit annoying that we have to split what we absorb between us three, but I guess it can't be helped."
Considering Yuna's significantly higher experience in regards to cultivation, it was somewhat weird that she broke through at the same time as Hinata and Naruto. However, due to the scarcity of Natural Energy in the air, even one of them could suck away all the energy on their own, so the trio decided to simply split it evenly between them. This was still more efficient than cultivating in places that didn't have such thick Natural Energy.
By now, the trio had found plenty of evidence that this wasn't a plain world without anything supernatural. The Hollows and Shinigami aside, there were plenty of stray ghosts hanging around town. Additionally, there were the Quincy, who Yuna wasn't certain how to judge yet. She had the gut feeling that the Quincy situation was not as clear-cut as Masaki made it out to be.
Well, in the end, it didn't really matter as Yuna, Hinata, and Naruto would continue cultivating and increasing their strength no matter what, so they would be ready for whatever situation might come up.
Another year passed, and Naruto was currently leisurely walking home from school. Usually, he would be together with Yuna and Hinata, but the duo claimed that they were having a date, so they ditched Naruto. He could only smile wryly while regretting not convincing one of his girls to accompany him here. He wouldn't mind having someone he could cuddle with right now.
While thinking about the things that had happened in this new life so far, he could only smile wryly, especially if he were to compare it to his previous life. After all, in his first life, two maniacs with an eye fetish were after him the moment he was born. Compared to this life, things were really leisurely except for the occasional Hollow attack. Well, the Hollows he had seen so far weren't precisely clever, resulting in them barely being a threat. Thinking about that, Naruto paused for a moment.
'Wait a second, isn't it usually the other way around? Usually, people get reincarnated from a normal world, but our case was the exact opposite. Well, this world isn't exactly normal considering the Shinigami and stuff like that, but it is definitely more normal than my previous one.'
[Can you really say that? Considering how little information we have, a lot of messed-up things could be happening in the background. We have especially little information about Hueco Mundo.]
'Mhh, true. However, no matter how many messed up things are happening so far, our real identities are still seen as just some random children. When I was at my current age in my previous life, I had to leave the country on a guard mission, fight two trained killers, and overthrow a midget's terror regime.'
[Don't forget about making one of those killers your wife.]
Naruto couldn't help but chuckle in amusement when he heard Kurama's comment.
'Indeed, to think the person wanting to kill me would one day turn into one of my wives. Well, it's not like I'm the one who fought her, but it's still a little amusing.'
"You damn bitch, what's with this disgusting hair color?!"
Naruto's eyebrows rose when he suddenly heard someone yelling. Initially, he assumed that whoever was speaking was talking to him since people in this country somehow linked blond hair to being a delinquent. Well, people usually paddled back on thinking that he was one when they saw his blue eyes, resulting in them thinking he was a foreigner instead, but that was beside the point.
As he turned around and looked at the source of the noise, he noticed three girls pulling on the hair of a younger-looking one who appeared to be around Naruto's age.
Naruto frowned deeply as he disliked bullying, so he quickly approached the small group of girls with a severe expression.
""What the hell are you three doing!?""
Surprisingly, someone else called out to them simultaneously to Naruto. That person was a woman around Naruto's current age with spiky, black hair and brown eyes. The duo briefly glanced at each other before focusing on what was happening in front of them. Both of them recognized each other, as they were among the most athletic students in their year.
Meanwhile, the three bullies chuckled in amusement when they saw the two much younger people trying to stop them.
"Oh? You want us to stop? What will you do if we don't?"
Before anyone else could say anything, Naruto stepped forward with indifference on his face.
"Shut your mouth and piss off. I grant you five seconds."
[Young master Naruto makes an appearance~]
'Urgh, shut up. That slipped out by accident.'
Meanwhile, the girl who wanted to help as well, Tatsuki Arisawa, couldn't help but look at Naruto in bewilderment. Although she had never really interacted with him, she always perceived him to be very kind and open with a cheerful personality, so she really wondered why he suddenly acted so domineering.
Naturally, the three bullies weren't happy about those words and got even more aggressive.
"What kind of bullshit are you spouting, you damn idiot?!"
One of them walked towards Naruto, intending to slap him, causing his eyebrows to raise.
'Guess I shouldn't have expected more from an untrained person, but who the hell uses slaps in a real battle?'
[Real battle? Are you drunk?]
'*Cough* Okay, okay, calling it that is a little much. Guess it's just a fight between children.'
The slap descended, and Naruto casually caught the attack before it could hit his cheek with a bored expression.
"Could you leave now? I would rather not beat up a bunch of weaklings."
The woman's eyes widened when Naruto casually caught the slap, but moments later, all three of them became more aggressive.
"Let's beat that brat up!"
"Yeah, let's teach him a lesson!"
Naruto could only shake his head while wishing he was back in his old world. There, he could just beat these three idiots black and blue, but that might prove to be a problem here. So, when the first woman tried to hit him with the hand he wasn't currently holding, Naruto dodged the attack and hit her on the back of the head, knocking her out instantly. Then, he disappeared from his position, and before one of the women knew what was going on, she was unconscious on the ground as well. As for the third woman, Tatsuki quickly took care of her as well.
Tatsuki couldn't help but be surprised due to Naruto's skill. Although she could keep up with the speed Naruto just displayed, it wouldn't be easy at all.
"Your name is Naruto, right? Do you practice any martial arts?"
After hearing Tatsuki's question, Naruto simply shook his head in denial while slowly approaching the girl who was previously bullied.
"Not really, but you could say I'm rather used to combat."
Tatsuki squinted her eyes when she heard that.
'Used to combat? What does he mean by that?'
Moments later, she took a glance at Naruto's hair color and quickly came to a conclusion.
'He might be like Ichigo, who is always dragged into fights due to his unusual hair color. Nonetheless, I'm a little interested in having a match against him. Unlike Ichigo, who barely coordinated his moves, Naruto's fighting style looks much more systematic.'
"Yo, my name is Naruto. Are you alright?"
While Tatsuki was thinking about challenging Naruto to a fight, Naruto arrived in front of the bullied girl and squatted in front of her with a kind smile on his face.
"Ah, m-my name is Orihime Inoue, thank you for helping me."
"Hehe, no big deal, always happy to help."
Hearing Orihime's words, Naruto nodded in acknowledgment and refocused on Tatsuki, who tilted her head in confusion.
"Can you care for her, Tatsuki? I have something else to do."
Although Tatsuki's eyebrows rose a little due to how casually Naruto called her, she didn't really mind. She was a tomboy, and a bit rough around the edges, so minor stuff like that didn't bother her.
"Sure, I don't mind, but could I ask what you have to do."
Naruto nodded his head as he squatted down next to the first bully and threw her over his shoulder.
"I have to hang these three on the front gate of the school and paint 'I like bullying little girls' on their faces."
Tatsuki's face immediately deadpanned when she heard Naruto's response.
"Is that really necessary?"
Naruto almost seemed offended by Tatsuki's question as he looked at her in disbelief while throwing the second bully over his shoulder.
"What kind of question is that? Obviously, it is absolutely necessary."
Tatsuki had some serious doubts about that, but before she could issue those doubts, Naruto picked up the third bully, causing Tatsuki's eyes to widen in shock.
'Wait a moment. Just how much weight is he currently carrying? That's easily over a hundred kilos. How the hell is he so ridiculously strong?'
Naruto noticed the confusion on Tatsuki's face but didn't comment any further on it. After all, he had a mission to fulfill. Mission: Bullying the Bully. One of his favorite missions.