Itachi Rebirth: A Shinigami Tale

"Captain Soi Fon." Itachi calls out. Soi Fon stops walking but doesn't turn around.

"I can acknowledge the mistakes I made in this battle. My past self may have lived by the way of the Onmitsukido, but that is something I didn't realize until the moment before my death. Using your comrade's life to take another, is what the Onmitsukido sees as "correct." But what they define is correct is simply their "reality," not my own."

Soi Fon turns back around hearing this and walks back to Itachi, looking him in the eyes.

"Uchiha, you are without a doubt a gifted individual. When I saw you fight, I noticed your battle hardened demeanor. I thought you had a certain "ruthlessness" within you, one that I could nurture to one day surpass even myself. However, it appears I misread you entirely and that darkness you harbor is nothing more than a remnant of your past self." Soi Fon turns back around and starts walking away but then stops.

"Also, I don't care for what is right or wrong. I execute my orders for the sake of Soul Society. I eliminate every enemy that will stand in the way of the Gotei 13. I don't distrust your loyalty but if you were to one day become an enemy of Soul Society, you too will become my enemy. Now stop wasting time. The mission is complete so go back to the barracks." Soi Fon says then continues walking.

Soi Fon's words sink into Itachi's head. 'I know that all too well...I became the enemy of Konoha for the sake of Konoha…'

Aizen walks up to Itachi and interrupts his deep thought. He looks at Itachi and sees his eyes are still changed.

"Everything okay Uchiha? I'm sorry your comrade had to die in that fight. But you came out relatively unscathed. That is quite an impressive feat. I could feel that reiatsu from Sereitei. It's definitely something even a lieutenant would have struggled with." Aizen says to Itachi with a slight smile.

"I can cope with it." Itachi replies.

"I don't mean to pry, but based on your conversation with Soi Fon, it appears you two have conflicting philosophies."

"It's understandable in this line of work. The Captain has never been one to value camaraderie."

"Indeed...But you seem to value your comrades. That is quite commendable. If you one day switch divisions, Squad 5 will accept you with open arms." Aizen says, giving Itachi one last smile before walking away. 'You're becoming someone who I might need to monitor, Uchiha.'

Itachi stared at Aizen's Captain haori and the symbol imprinted on it as he walked away. After Aizen disappears from view, Itachi vanishes from his spot and makes his way back to the barracks.

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For the next five years, Itachi was assigned on various assassination missions. Most he would go alone but some he was assigned as a group, even having Soi Fon join a few times. During the times Soi Fon joined, something bothered her about Itachi's methods. Despite him always successfully eliminating the target(s), he would always prioritize saving a teammate over going for the kill.

In his spare time he researched for clues regarding the incident 60 years ago.

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Itachi sat alone in his room, sitting on the tatami mat and reading a book about past events in Seireitei.. 'That man mentioned something about sixty years ago...So multiple Captain and Lieutenant level shinigami went missing. Urahara Kisuke was exiled for performing taboo experiments but the details of the experiments are not specified here...there was something Nobutoshi knew that must be only accessible in confidential records. I seemed to have reached a dead end.' He hears a knock on his door and his name called out.

"Uchiha. The Captain wishes to see you immediately in the meeting room." A voice calls out from behind the door.

"I'll be there momentarily." Itachi says as he closes his book and walks out. He closes the door behind him and then vanishes from view, making his way to the meeting room with great haste.

He opens the door to the meeting room and sees Soi Fon standing by herself. Itachi closes the door behind him and bows.

"Uchiha. Your performance has been far above my expectations. However, I don't think you are a proper fit for the executive militia. But I also don't want your skills to go to waste. The third seat who was in charge of the Detention Unit was killed recently and we are in need of a replacement. Uchiha Itachi, you are hereby promoted to third seat, the Corps Commander of the Detention Unit. Leave your Executive Militia uniform outside your room and change back to your regular shinigami attire. I'll see you in front of the Maggot's Nest." Soi Fon says then leaves the room.

Itachi goes back to his room and changes clothing. He looks back at the book he was just reading and tries to piece things together. 'I'll do this later.' Itachi leaves his room and leaves a neatly folded Executive Militia uniform outside his door before flash stepping away to the Maggot's Nest.

Itachi meets up with Soi Fon shortly at the entrance to the Maggot's Nest. He sees two guards outside guarding the entrance.

"Leave your Zanpakuto with the guards." Soi Fon says as she hands one of them her Zanpakuto. Itachi does the same and follows her through the door.

Itachi and Soi Fon walk through a long dark hallway until they reach another door.

"Beyond this door, are people who were deemed a threat to Soul Society. A lot of them roam around freely and you will most certainly be attacked. We leave our zanpakuto at the front in the event one of them somehow gets a hold of our weapon. Inside here, only Hakuda is permitted. I wouldn't have chosen you for this job if I didn't think you could hold your own here." Soi Fon says as she unlocks and opens the door.

Itachi follows and walks out in a huge room. As the door shuts behind them, Itachi could feel the gaze of every inmate.

"They know better than to cause trouble while I'm here. But they don't know you. Once I leave, they will definitely attack you. Anyway your mission as Corps Commander here is to patrol the grounds. Make sure these guys aren't trying to escape. If they attack you, deal with them using the necessary actions." Soi Fon hands Itachi a small book with a key inside.

"In that book is a list of protocols in case certain events happen, what you should be doing on your patrols, and other things. Keep it with you at all times."

"Yes Captain." Itachi replies. Soi Fon turns around and exits. As soon as she shuts the door, the inmates start to group up in front of Itachi. One of them takes a step away from the group and walks towards Itachi.

"So I'm guessing you're the new guy in charge huh? You ain't nothin special." The inmate taunts at Itachi. Itachi does not reply and maintains his stoic composure.

"A tough guy huh?" The inmate suddenly charges in at Itachi. He throws a punch that Itachi is able to dodge with ease. Itachi grabs the inmate by the head and smashes him into the ground.

Itachi looks back up at the rest of the inmates. Another one, who was looking right at Itachi, starts to run at him but falls to the ground immediately. 'I need to show sufficient strength to dishearten any attempts of riot.'

"Before my eyes, all of your attempts to fight me are useless." Itachi says with a cold gaze. A majority of the inmates start backing off but a couple dozen remain standing in front of Itachi. There is an eerie silence for a few moments as they face each other. The silence is broken as one of the inmates starts to yell and the others follow suit as they charge at Itachi.

Itachi runs into the fray, dodging each attack while simultaneously counterattacking, with each strike knocking an inmate out instantly. In a matter of seconds, the group of inmates were lying unconscious on the ground. The other inmates who chose not to join the fight started walking away back to their cells.

Itachi pulls his manual out of his shihakusho and begins to read through it quickly with his Sharingan. 'Okay I understand what I have to do here.' Itachi begins to walk through the compound. The prisoners avoid making eye contact with him after what they have just seen him do. Near the end of his patrol he sees a prisoner in the corner huddled down. As Itachi walked closer, he noticed pieces of rock that were chipped away from the wall.

"Hey, stand up." Itachi says to the prisoner. He remains crouched down and doesn't move an inch. Itachi leans in to place a hand on his shoulder when the man suddenly jumps up from his spot and delivers a spinning kick to Itachi. Itachi blocks it but gets sent skidding back with his feet remaining on the floor. The man makes eye contact with Itachi. 'This man...he's blind. I can't use my genjutsu on him.'

"If I kill you, I can finally leave this place!" The man starts laughing and runs at Itachi. 'He's physically much stronger than the rest of the other prisoners.'

The man keeps moving in at Itachi and throws a punch at Itachi's face. Itachi dodges it and jumps back. The man jumps forward at Itachi again but Itachi dodges it again. He grabs the man's robe and flips him over. The man manages to reposition himself skillfully to land on his feat and flips Itachi over his head. Halfway through the flip, Itachi breaks free of his hold and lands. Itachi makes eye contact one more time with the man.

"You fight well despite your lack of vision." Itachi says. The man begins chuckling.

"Yeah so what? I lost my eyesight over a hundred years ago. Right now I can see more than any person who has actual working eyes can." The man leaps at Itachi. They engage in a short clash of punches and kicks. 'A hundred years ago...he might know about the incident with the missing Captains then.' During their brawl, Itachi strikes a conversation with him.

"Do you know anything about the Captains who went missing sixty years ago?" Itachi asks him while parrying his blows.

"Listen, none of the other inmates in here are a real challenge for me anymore. If you can knock me out I'll stop trying to escape and tell you what I know." The man says.

"Fine." Itachi suddenly vanishes from his spot. In his place he leaves an afterimage.

"I can sense the real one out!" The man turns around and delivers a spinning axe kick to Itachi behind him. He is surprised when his foot makes contact with Itachi but his presence is no longer there.

"The afterimage technique...why does it have mass and why can I sense each one?" The man questions as he senses three Itachis surrounding him.