Aaaaaaaand here's Chapter 5, folks. Naruto, Fuermos, and the rest of their Hollow group are on their way to Las Noches. But what will its bored king think of them?
Disclaimer: Naruto and Bleach do not belong to me.
Chapter 5:
The wind skirted through the giant sand dunes of Hueco Mundo, lifting up the pure white sand in an unusually gentle rhythmic movement. The disturbed sand flitted over to a tiny cave entrance that made a miniscule speck on the landscape.
Within its depths, a lonely mammalian snout poked it's way from beyond the entrance of the cave. It moved it's way farther out into the open, the rest of the face becoming visible in the moonlight. Bloodshot eyes... paranoid eyes they were. They frantically moved to and fro across the landscape, taking in all of their surroundings. They even looked to the rear, clearly not completely trusting their new companions yet.
Fuermos was at the head of the new group, his pensive expression unchanged. Behind him were the other Hollows, their masks showing many different expressions, ranging from broad, toothy grins to closed mouth frowns. He vaguely wondered whether or not they were capable of feeling the emotions that were plastered on their masks. Naruto noticed that they hadn't said a word, or.. couldn't say a word. They distinctly reminded him of the ANBU. Silent warriors who lived to mindlessly serve their (corrupt) master, who often doubled as cannon fodder.
"Cannon fodder who are likely reaping the benefits of Kyuubi, no doubt" he thought scornfully, as images of a red-cloaked shinobi entered his mind. It made his blood boil. Those rat bastards in Konoha would pay the price... dearly. But, not now. Not with the damned Shinigami showing their faces there all the time. Konoha would just continue on living its life, romanticizing the exploits of the ninja and preaching their superficial Will of Fire bullshit. Never mind that they're receiving help from the beyond.
Naruto paused for a moment, not daring to believe that he was actually one of them once. Only after becoming a Hollow did he realize how much was needed to be sacrificed in order to maintain their reputation.
"So... Las Noches should come into view about ten miles east of here, is that right?" asked Fuermos, relaying the information to the group. Naruto half-watched him as he rallied the Hollows together, the luminescence brightening and dimming to match the purpose of the brainwashing.
"Yeah... if that Adjuchas leader can be trusted," said Naruto.
"Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that. That claim that he was only distantly connected with Las Noches is false. He only said that to keep face around here. The truth of the matter is that he originally belonged to Las Noches, in its army to be exact." said Fuermos.
"He was? Then what was he doing down in the Menos Forest?" asked Naruto, his mask conveying a look of astonishment.
Fuermos smiled at him. "I don't know the full details, as he was unlikely to share any personal information, but I do know this. There was an event that traumatized him during his time in Las Noches. You see, it's king, Baraggan Luisenbarn, has some pretty nasty habits. Falling out of his favor can have some drastic consequences."
"Anyway, there came a point in time where he was expelled from the palace of Las Noches. The reasons for that are unclear, but I have an odd hunch that it was a mission failure that caused it, but what's really clear is that King Baraggan had tried to execute him in some way, but failed. After the incident at Las Noches, he wandered around the surface for a while, before he fell into the Menos Forest through the same manner in which all Hollows do. Obviously the weak Hollows that exist in the Menos Forest were no match for an Adjuchas. He bit and tore his way through the Menos Forest, until he came across the same hive you found just days ago. He met the previous leader of the sector, to who he challenged in a battle for supremacy. But, the previous leader was no match for the superior combat training of Las Noches, and within minutes he was slaughtered and replaced as leader."
