The internship was scheduled for a week later.
No teachers would accompany them.
They would be led by top students from the sixth year.
Seireitei was silent and solemn, and the "Senkaimon" standing in the corner was even more so.
A huge open-air arena-like space.
A straight, broad jade-blue road led to a lacquered red gate engraved with golden inscriptions.
It was the "gate" from Soul Society to the human world.
At the beginning of the road,
This group of intern students had gathered.
An upperclassman began speaking, "No need to be nervous about this trip to the human world."
"We're headed to a town called Akita, not a spiritually dense area."
"Even if we do run into Hollows, they'll be newborn, weak ones."
"The souls we need to perform soul burials on have already been prepared by the stationed Shinigami there."
He went on with a detailed introduction.
Naruto was restless and not really paying attention.
Akita?
Never heard of it.
Didn't sound like a shinobi village—probably just an ordinary town in the country?
He wasn't even sure if it was within the Land of Fire.
The "Land of Fire" was the country governing Konoha.
As for the others—like the Land of Water and Land of Wind—he'd only heard of them, not familiar at all.
While he was lost in thought, the senior finished his speech: "Once you complete the soul burials, return immediately to the drop zone."
The enormous red gate slowly and silently opened from both sides.
A gentle white light burst forth.
The senior raised his hand, and a black Hell Butterfly landed on his index finger: "Stick close to your group."
"Without the guidance of a Hell Butterfly in the Dangai, it can be very dangerous."
—The Human World. A clear night sky.
In the middle of the forest, a tiny white light shimmered, then quickly expanded. Like a four-pointed star, the Senkaimon appeared in a burst of white light and slowly opened.
A group of Shinigami trainees walked out.
They chattered noisily.
Naruto looked around.
Sparse trees, the sky wide open.
This couldn't be the Land of Fire. The trees around Konoha were all tall and lush—these were more like saplings.
"Alright, let's begin," the senior said, clapping his hands lightly.
The other students dispersed to find the souls they were to help pass on.
Naruto didn't move.
The senior asked, "Uzumaki-kun, is something wrong?"
"Senior, which country is this?" Naruto asked curiously.
He perked up, prepared to hear answers like "Land of Wind" or "Land of Lightning."
The senior looked confused. "Why do you ask that?"
"This is Japan."
Shinigami typically didn't care much about the human world.
Most of them came from Rukongai and were second-generation souls—children born from soul-to-soul unions.
But considering this famous junior was one of the rare few who possessed immense spiritual power right after dying in the human world, such questions weren't that strange.
"Japan?" Naruto froze. "Is that close to the Land of Fire?"
He had never heard of a country by that name before.
The senior blinked. "Land of Fire?"
"Sorry, Uzumaki-kun, I've never heard of that country."
Naruto's eyes widened. The unease that had lingered in his heart before the internship now bloomed completely: "How could that be? The Land of Fire is the strongest country."
The senior smiled faintly: "The strongest? I don't know much about the human world, but I don't think that's what the strongest country is called."
Naruto forced a nod. "Alright, I see."
"Maybe the Land of Fire is just the name of a village," the senior added kindly. "You came to Soul Society quite young—it's possible your memory is fuzzy."
Naruto gave him a wide grin: "Yeah, thanks, senior."
He was the last to leave.
He didn't immediately go to find the soul he was assigned to bury.
His identity as a Shinigami gave him many advantages. Ordinary people without spiritual power couldn't see or sense him, allowing him to roam freely through human dwellings, reading books and searching for information.
The scenery here was beautiful.
Cloud seas, forests, hot springs...
But Naruto wasn't in the mood to appreciate any of it.
He soon found a world map in a large household in the area.
"Japan" was just a tiny sliver on the map.
Its landmass was nowhere near vast. And none of the names resembled the "Land of Fire."
There were no traces of anything "ninja" either.
And the ninja in this world were nothing like the ones Naruto knew—though they did espionage, intel gathering, and assassination, they were all ordinary people. Not only did they lack chakra, they didn't even possess spiritual power.
They were divided by "factions," not "villages."
All this information combined led to only one conclusion:
Konoha was not part of the living world that Soul Society connected to.
This was a completely different world.
He would not find his parents in Soul Society.
Naruto sat on a tree branch.
Above him, a lone crescent moon was half-hidden behind dark clouds.
He felt it resembled himself.
—Back at the Senkaimon.
Students were gradually returning.
Soul burials weren't hard, but sometimes it took effort to find the spirits, especially if they kept moving.
That tested one's ability to track spiritual threads.
"Uzumaki-kun hasn't returned yet?" As most had gathered, the senior looked around, noticing the absence of that striking golden-haired figure.
"Not yet."
"I saw him earlier in the east. He seemed to still be searching for a soul."
The senior frowned.
Souls moving around unpredictably did complicate things.
Many souls turned into Hollows because they couldn't be found in time.
But... with Uzumaki Naruto's abilities, it shouldn't take this long.
The Headmaster and teachers all said Naruto already had the capabilities of a seated officer.
He shouldn't need to worry.
But the expression Naruto had when he asked that question earlier...
The senior couldn't help but worry.
No matter how strong, he was still technically a child—not even fifty years old yet.
The senior hesitated, considering whether he should suggest looking for Naruto.
Just then—
Several overwhelming, evil spiritual pressures surged from nearby.
He was startled and looked around nervously.
Two grotesque, terrifying monsters with white bone masks over their faces suddenly emerged from the forest—charging straight toward the Shinigami trainees.
"Watch out, we're under Hollow attack!" a senior student shouted.
The students panicked.
They had little combat experience against Hollows.
"Hadō #4: Byakurai!"
But some upperclassmen remained calm and reacted swiftly, chanting spells and launching attacks.
However...
The white lightning struck one of the Hollows, but failed to pierce its skin.
The Hollow chuckled mockingly.
As if ridiculing how weak their attacks were.
"It's a Menos-class Hollow!" one senior trembled in fear. "Quick, request backup!"
"We can't." Another student shook his head, the Hell Butterfly in his hand trembling weakly. "Our spiritual communication is down. We can't send a distress signal."
Many turned to look.
Down?
How could the signal be down?
During internships, trainees were always connected to Soul Society. This had never happened before.
"Delicious spiritual energy." A Hollow rushed forward, grabbed a Shinigami, and spoke greedily.
It was hungry—for food.
The senior drew his sword and charged bravely, slashing its arm.
Other upperclassmen joined in, chanting in unison:
"Hadō #12: Fushibi."
Thick orange flames erupted, binding the Hollow's arm, forcing it to release the student it had grabbed.
White smoke rose as it burned.
But the damage wasn't fatal—it only caused pain. The Hollow roared and easily tore free from the flames.
It swatted a student away.
The creature crouched low, ready to bite down.
"Senior!" someone screamed in panic and despair.
In that split second—
A crimson ball of spiritual energy struck the Hollow and exploded violently.
The Hollow howled in pain.
Thick black liquid dripped from its body.
The seniors recognized it: Hadō #31: Shakkahō.
None of them could cast that.
Who was the caster?
The answer came instantly.
"Uzumaki-kun!" someone shouted.
They followed the trail of spiritual pressure.
A golden-haired boy stood atop a tree.
The crescent moon behind him framed him in soft light.
"Sorry, spaced out a bit. I'm late," he said calmly, eyes sharp. "Hollows, huh?"
"This is my first time fighting these creatures."
"Let's just say—"
Naruto spoke, drawing Kyūbi, and slashed forward: "Let me blow off some steam."
He flashed forward, vanishing from sight.
All the students saw was a streak of golden light fly past them.
The next instant—
That Hollow's body was cleaved clean in two.
(End of Chapter)