9 Pieces (2/2).

Its been a week since Ichigo saved Minato and since Minato was not an Uzumaki, he could not contain the Yin half of Kyuubi for long, at most 2 weeks and his body would start to breakdown, but before that, Minato took full advantage of his situation by using the corrosive chakra of the bijuu to increase his body's strength.

He and the recently returned Jiraiya worked on a seal to slowly and carefully remove the half of kyuubi's chakra in him back to Naruto, though it would leave Minato weak for a week or so, it was still better than dying.

Kushina on the other hand had her chakra coils burned and crippled due to the forceful extraction of the Kyuubi and couldn't do much of anything. She became reliant on Minato and Tsunade, who had quickly returned after hearing the news. Tsunade was working on saving Kushina and due to the strong life force of the Uzumaki, she would live, but it was clear that even if she was saved, she would not be able to use chakra and would have to live as a civilian.

While this was happening, Ichigo tried to learn about the current world he was in. He learned that there were 8 more beasts similar to the one he fought. That meant there were probably nine pieces of Zangetsu in this world. These beasts were ranked in terms of their strength which depended on the number of tails they had. The one he fought was the strongest having nine tails, the power decreased as the number of tails decreased.

The most important thing he found was that the energy they used, chakra, was a fusion of spiritual power and the strength of one's body i.e physical power. According to this, the reason his strength was increasing so rapidly was because his real body's strength was catching up to his spiritual powers, but he had yet to gain all his spiritual powers back.

His zanpakuto was still incomplete hence his spiritual strength was also incomplete? No matter, if every beast had a piece as big as the first one, his zanpakuto would be complete after collecting all of them. As he thought of this, he felt that he would be too strong for the worlds he was traveling to. 'The next world would probably have much stronger beings.'

The next few days, Ichigo got a crude map of the world and started to gather the information about the beasts known as the bijuu. It was surprisingly easy to find the information about them, probably due to Minato helping him. He found out that all of the bijuu were sealed inside their specific hosts and that these hosts were known as the jinchuriki.

Even though the jinchuriki were one of the most important part of a country's military might, they were not treated with respect or with any form of love rather they were feared, hated and usually isolated from others, well most of them were, and the reason being that they would very easily lose control of the beasts sealed inside them whenever they got emotional.

Ichigo was stumped when he heard this, if they wanted the jinchuriki to remain loyal to them, help them and not lose control of their emotions, they just had to treat them with extra care, they were special enough to deserve it. When Ichigo asked Minato why they didn't do that, Minato told him that there were examples of some villages doing that but it backfired as the jinchuriki either got so arrogant, thinking that they were special and got killed or they simply betrayed the village for smallest of reasons.

According to Minato, the best way for them to keep their trained ninjas was for them to create strong bonds with the village. After hearing this, Ichigo said,

"Isn't that difficult and time consuming?"

Minato said,

"It is, but its worth it. When people have someone they love and want to protect, they try their best to complete their tasks and return to their loved ones alive. That motivation of coming back alive is worth it."

When Ichigo heard Minato, he couldn't agree more. He himself was like that and some people had taken advantage of him due to his love for his family and friends, just remembering them got his blood boiling.

"But if the enemy somehow got to their loved ones, they can force them to do many things."

When Minato heard this, he smiled and said,

"That's why there are villages."

It took Ichigo a few seconds to get what Minato was trying to say, 'The village will keep your loved ones safe so go out and do your tasks freely or something like that, is it?'.

"Minato, I would like to ask for a favor."

"What is it?"

"Do you have any ninjas that use swords?"

Minato smiled and said,

"Well, my wife Kushina was the best sword user in Konoha but she is currently recuperating from the injuries she sustained during the incident. The only other person who knows about swords and can handle your strength is our previous leader. While there are others that can use swords better than him, he is the only one I believe that can keep up with you. I would have helped you myself but I will be very busy due to the incident."

"Well, if he can, I want to learn some proper swordsmanship from him."

"You met him after the Shinigami vanished and well I don't think he will decline, if only to repay you for saving the village."

"When can I meet him again?"

"He is available right now if you want."

"Should I go to him or....."

"No need. He should be arriving in a few minutes."

Just as Minato stopped talking, the door opened and a familiar old man entered the Hokage office and Minato stood up, saying:

"Sandaime-sama!"

The old man seemed friendly enough but according to Minato he was strong enough to keep up with him. Ichigo wasn't boasting but he was one of the strongest beings in his own world and now he was stronger than his previous self and still getting stronger.

"Hokage-sama, no need to stand for this old man."

"Sandaime-sama please, you are not only my senior but also my predecessor. This is Ichigo Kurosaki, as you know, he was the one who helped me and Kushina contain the Kyuubi."

"Hello Ichigo-kun, my name is Hiruzen Sarutobi. As you have already heard, I was the previous leader of this village and I might not look like it but I am still considered one of the strongest ninja still alive."

"My name is Ichigo Kurosaki old man and I can be considered a mercenary or a freelancer doing whatever catches my interest. You should have also heard from Minato that currently I am looking for the bijuu."

"Yes, Minato has told me about you and your goal. If I may ask, why are you looking for the tailed beasts?"

Sarutobi asked with an intrigued smile. He had already been told everything Minato knew about this Ichigo character. But they had only now learned his family name. He'll have to ask Jiraiya if he knew anything about the Kurosaki name.

"You might not know but all tailed beasts have a metal like solid pieces inside their bodies where their hearts should be. These pieces, my family believes them to be extremely dense chakra, so dense that the energy has gained substance. I want to collect all of them and I have already collected the one inside the Kyuubi."

The solid energy bullshit was a story that he created because he wanted his actions to be backed by something. He had already thought of an even more elaborate story and background on how the chain was a family heirloom that only those who had the Kurosaki blood could use, that the chain could unite and merge all the pieces together to create an unknown artifact and that he was the only one left of the Kurosaki bloodline.

That he was the only one strong enough, even more so than the bloodline originator who was given the chain by someone, who could actually go out and collect the pieces without dying a quick death.

"Oh, and what can these pieces be used for?" Sarutobi asked, now genuinely curious. He was known as 'The Professor', he wasn't bragging but he believed that he had the most theoretical knowledge in the Elemental Nations bar none.

He knew that his teacher, Tobirama-sensei had more knowledge about jutsu, their creation and application. He also knew that his students had more knowledge on their specific fields than him but overall he prided himself with being the most knowledgeable person, yet here was a topic he knew nothing about.

Ichigo proceeded to tell him his made up story adding a few details about how it was called The Moon Slayer, how it was given to his family long ago, how the artifact looked like a sword.

Ichigo told Zangetsus real name because he had read the legend about the sage who had created the Moon. He was hoping that they would connect the dots and create an even more outlandish story about Zangetsu in their own heads. Well more specifically he was hoping that they would believe that Zangetsu was a weapon of this Moon creating sage.

Of course, Sarutobi and Minato both knew about the legend of the Sage who created chakra and the Moon and now they were hearing about a sword named The Moon Slayer. It wasn't hard after that to connect the dots.

'The connection is there but we don't know whether he told us the truth or not', both hokages thought. Sarutobi had wanted to assign a few ninjas to spy on him but Minato had dissuaded him. 'Now that I'm right in front of him, I'm glad he did'.

Hiruzen knew that Minato couldn't feel it but he could. No matter how young you were, once you felt the power of Shodai Hokage, you wouldn't forget it. He was one of the few that had the privilege of seeing Hashirama Senju creating the forest around Konoha. Standing behind the God of Shinobi when he was using his full power was unforgettable. It was awe inspiring seeing and feeling so much power concentrated inside a single man.

That was exactly what he was feeling, facing this young man.

"Ah, how old are you, Ichigo-kun?"

"Hmm, I turned 24 this year."

'Only 24 and already strong enough to fight the strongest bijuu barehanded without any ninjutsu', Hiruzen thought quite perturbed. The anbu hiding in the office though were quite scared. They of course believed their Hokage when he told everyone that Ichigo had punched a whole in the Kyuubi's chest.