Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

I'm complimenting you.

Yumichika stopped what he was doing, a playful smile curving his lips. "After all, a single-minded person can sometimes be a kind of 'beauty'."

He paused for a moment before explaining slowly and deliberately.

"Didn't you notice? Ever since just now, the captain's deathly spiritual pressure has been like..."

He extended a finger and traced a graceful arc in the air, as if searching for the most fitting adjective.

"It's like a flower that has been dormant for a long time, suddenly smelling the sweetest dew, and eagerly wanting to bloom."

Madarame Ikkaku was completely confused and scratched his shiny bald head impatiently: "Speak like a human!"

"That's so rude, there's no beauty in it at all."

Yumichika sighed helplessly, finally abandoning those flowery words, "Didn't you hear what Lieutenant Yachiru just said?"

He gestured with his eyes in the direction Kenpachi had gone.

"That 'delicious' aroma that excites the captain so much is coming from Uchiha Sasuke's room."

"Huh? It's that brat?"

The expression on Ichika's face instantly shifted from displeasure to surprise. "That weak little brat who always likes to use demonic arts? Didn't he go to the mortal world?"

"Yes, he's back."

Yumichika's gaze also turned in that direction, his eyes gleaming with barely concealed shrewdness.

Upon hearing this, Yijiao finally understood.

The fact that Kenpachi Zaraki could be this excited means only one thing.

That brat named Uchiha Sasuke, after taking a trip to the human world, became...

Very strong!

"Ah! So that's how it is!"

On Ikkaku's face, a sinister smile identical to Kenpachi's instantly appeared, and he slammed Hozukimaru heavily to the ground.

"Then what are we waiting for?!"

He grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, "How could we miss out on such a fun 'welcome ceremony'!"

After saying that, he couldn't wait to take big strides and chase after Kenpachi.

Yumichika Ayasegawa looked at his rude back, shook his head helplessly, and covered his mouth with his sleeve, letting out a soft sigh.

"Honestly, she's always so clumsy and messy, not beautiful at all."

Although he complained like that, he still followed along, only with much more elegance.

"Although I knew long ago that the brat had been transformed, I never expected that he could make Captain Zaraki, that beast, bloom with such a 'beautiful' fighting spirit."

.........

Deep within the Eleventh Division barracks lies the room that belongs solely to the Sixth Seat.

Unlike the endless hustle and bustle outside, this place seems like another world—simple and as quiet as ever.

A low table, a neatly folded futon, and nothing else.

Uchiha Sasuke sat cross-legged on the tatami mat, holding a clean white cotton cloth in his hand, wiping the blade of Takemikazuchi's sword.

His movements were slow, as if he and the knife in his hand were the only things left in the world.

But his thoughts drifted back to the white bridge under the moon.

Aizen Sousuke...

Every word the man said lingered in his mind like a maggot clinging to his bone.

At first, he thought it was just a clever seduction.

But as time went by, when he returned to this quiet place alone, the logic behind those words gradually revealed the reality he had been deliberately avoiding.

Aizen said that the order of this world is outdated and arrogant, built on a stagnant pool called "balance".

Is he referring to Soul Society?

Yes.

Most people numbly repeat the same cycle that has lasted for thousands of years under these rules.

This is indeed a kind of "stillness," and also a suffocating, decaying "peace."

but......

Is he only referring to the Soul Society?

Sasuke's breath hitched slightly, and he slowly closed his eyes, thinking of Konoha.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, who always wore a gentle smile and spoke of "the will of fire," yet remained oblivious to the darkness within the "Root."

Danzo Shimura, who personally pushed the Uchiha clan into the abyss, yet always hid behind the fig leaf of "Hokage's assistant."

And then there were those two advisors and elders who, at the funeral, twisted the truth and casually portrayed a blood-stained executioner as a "hero."

How are they any different from the "decaying sages" Aizen spoke of?

The so-called "protection of the village" and the so-called "will of fire" are also hypocritical lights built on sacrifice.

The Uchiha clan was the sacrifice for that "balance".

Sakumo Hatake was the sacrifice to that "rule".

In the end, the two worlds are nothing more than different rooms in the same cage.

Aizen said that the act of "protecting" was itself a sin.

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, a self-deprecating smile playing on his lips.

yes......

Wasn't Itachi Uchiha the most loyal executor of this "sin"?

In order to protect that decaying village and maintain that ridiculous "balance," he personally turned the butcher's knife against his own parents and compatriots.

He believed that he was cutting off evil and protecting the light.

Little did he know that what he was protecting was a sin built on lies and sacrifice from the very beginning.

What difference was there between him and those of his own people whom he despised?

"Oh......"

Sasuke let out a laugh that was hard to decipher.

He gently put down the "Takemikazuchi" in his hand and instead gripped the long, jet-black sword beside him.

A cold touch came from his palm, and a resonance filled with destructive desire quietly surged into the depths of his soul.

Indigo dyeing...

That man was right.

His analysis of the world is frighteningly precise.

Two worlds, the same decay.

Aizen longs to break all of this and reshape the order.

And what about myself?

He also felt the same disgust for the corrupt ninja system in the ninja world, the very system under which the Uchiha clan met their tragic end.

only......

not enough.

Simply having an endorsement is far from enough.

Nothing has yet happened in Soul Society that would be enough to make him make up his mind.

However, while Sasuke was still immersed in Aizen's words...

A violent, deafening explosion erupted from his side without warning!

The walls of the house where Sasuke was located suddenly burst open like fragile pieces of paper, and countless wood chips and dust instantly swallowed up all the light in the room.

Before any reaction could be made, a spiritual pressure mixed with blood and madness swept through the entire room like a tsunami, as if it would crush the entire space.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a silhouette, exuding an oppressive aura, slowly emerged against the light.

"Xiao Zuo, Xiao Jian is here to play with you!"

A clear and melodious child's voice rang out.

A petite figure with short pink hair peeked out from the shoulder of the massive silhouette; it was Yachiru.

She swung her legs, her bright, sparkling eyes curiously observing Sasuke, a naive smile on her face.

The smoke and dust slowly dissipated.

Kenpachi Zaraki's tall figure was fully revealed. He ignored the wall he had slashed through with his sword and stared intently at the figure who stood up from the tatami mat.

"The 'smell' on you..."

Kenpachi grinned and let out a satisfied whisper, "You've really improved."

Sasuke's eyes turned icy cold instantly, his thoughts on the order of the two worlds shattered by this brutal intrusion.

Seeing that he didn't speak, Yachiru nimbly jumped off Kenpachi's shoulder and came to Sasuke's side, ignoring the aura of "keep away" around him.

"Hey, you little stinky face."

Yachiru stretched out her little index finger and curiously poked his tense cheek. "Why is your face always all scrunched up? Did you eat some sour plums?"

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly.

After glancing at the naive and fearless vice-captain, he finally turned his attention to the real source of trouble.

"What do you want?" His voice was cold, devoid of emotion.

"what!"

Kenpachi Zaraki let out a wild laugh and pointed his massive, slashed Zanpakuto at Sasuke.