Chapter 7:

Sui-Feng nodded. "When do I leave?"

"Immediately; as I said before, he usually enters the town of Hokutan every few months for supplies, following his usual time table, he should be there soon. Within the next few days even.

" Yoruichi leaned down and put a gentle hand on Sui-Feng's head, ruffling her hair affectionately. "You do this for me Sui-Feng, and I will be forever grateful to you my little bee.

That young man is very important to me, and I would do anything to let him know that face to face. "

Sui-Feng nodded meekly before standing and making her way from the room to prepare. This was a mission from her idol Yoruichi-sama, she would not fail; and perhaps, she could talk to this man when she found him and get a feel for his character.

If Yoruichi was fond of him, then he must be an amazing individual. Then again, she didn't have very many nice things to say about Urahara and Yoruichi was rather good friends with that mad scientist.

If that proved to not be the case, then she would do as her mentor asked, but only out of respect for her and the promise she made all those years ago.

Only the best would suit her Yoruichi-sama after all.

Around five hours later found Sui-Feng in Hokutan, or West Rukon District Three, in a small secluded corner of the market across from the small vendor her latest gathered Intel indicated as her target's most frequented place of business. She decided to set up shop here, dressed in a simple blue kimono she had purchased before leaving the seireitei.

It was of a higher quality material, but in a district so close to the Seireitei it was more common to be well dressed. She had to leave her Zanpakutou behind, simply because this man would most likely be on the look-out for armed individuals, not just those wearing the identifying shihakushou.

She found herself thinking back on many of the stories that Yoruichi had told her about this man's life in District Thirteen as she waited for any sign of the man in question. From what Yoruichi-sama had told her, towards the end of his life he had actually been counted as one of the most powerful Shinobi to ever live, with strength comparable to that of the world's pseudo-deity known as the Rikudou Sennin; and that he'd died after defeating a Primordial God that even Yamamoto Sou-Taichou would have great difficulty simply matching.

This lead her to the conclusion, that had Yamamoto ever faced off against this young man before he'd died, Yamamoto would surely lose. Which was an almost ridiculous prospect.

Coming from Yoruichi-sama however, it was actually believable.

The descriptions of the Juubi, and all of the limited information within the Archives about Kaguya Otsutsuki, clearly stated that these beings were entirely capable of wiping whole nations off the map in the blink of an eye; literal destroyers of worlds. Kaguya was in league with the Spirit King himself, so it made sense that even Yamamoto would not wish to face her even with an army standing behind him.

To think that a boy, barely seventeen years of age had fought and defeated such a monster was incredible; and that's not even counting the Juubi itself.

His entire life was full of what would normally be classed as impossible achievements; defeating enemies far above his calibre by utilizing an uncanny ability to come up with tactics on the fly and employ them near instantaneously. It was a talent that would and should make any halfway decent tactician extremely wary of facing him on the field of battle.

Even the most battle hardened tacticians needed to take time to think on their stratagems before employing them in the field, yet Naruto had the ability to come up with similar and even superior tactics on the fly.

From what she'd deduced from these stories, Naruto had spent his entire life honing this skill to a razor's edge, while simultaneously growing stronger and stronger and subconsciously revising his tactics to accommodate his increase in power. He had grown so strong that a single attack could devastate entire landscapes, obliterate whole mountains, and actually disintegrate a human being by attacking them on a molecular level.

Leaving nothing behind, not even dust.

He was a master of what they called Wind Manipulation, and was known as the Toad Sage of Mount Myuboku. He possessed startling control over the element of wind, to the point that it allowed him the ability of flight, and this Sage Mode she had been told about actually gave her chills thinking of the possibilities.

She was so lost in her thoughts, she almost didn't notice the flutter of cloth or the tall man wearing the sleeveless crimson haori until he'd made it to the vendor. Her head almost snapped up, but she restrained herself; if he was really as masterful as Yoruichi had said, then he would definitely notice such a movement.

Even if he were to put it off as simple shock at his size, it was a mistake she could not afford to make.

Speaking of size, Yoruichi hadn't told her that the man was so tall. From what she could see, he stood a foot and a half taller than her at the least standing at roughly 192 centimetres, with long blonde hair tied into a wild ponytail trailing down his back to his waist, with two long bangs framing a masculine face with an angular jaw and high cheekbones.

Narrow oceanic blue eyes gazed out from underneath a low brow-line looking almost bored. His arms were covered in thick corded muscle, the result of years of training and actual combat experience, and his shoulders were broad, wide and squared.

He was powerfully built, for both explosive speed, endurance, and incredible strength.

With only a single look, Sui-Feng could tell this man was extremely dangerous. Like Yoruichi had said, she could not sense any reiryoku at all from the man, which in itself didn't make any sense no matter how you looked at it.