Konoha's Main Gate.
Two travel-worn figures appeared at the entrance.
The young man wearing a straw hat gazed at the grand and magnificent gate, which was completely different from how he remembered it.
His expression was somewhat complex.
"Master, what's wrong?" asked the red-haired boy beside him.
"It's been too long since I last returned. Everything has changed," the young man said calmly.
At that moment, a gate attendant called out to them, "If you wish to enter Konoha, please come over and register."
The two followed his instructions and cooperated with the procedure.
"Please remove your hat. We need to record your facial information."
The young man lifted his straw hat, revealing striking red hair.
The attendant was momentarily stunned, as the man's appearance was far too familiar.
"You are…?" He hesitated in disbelief.
"The Second Hokage?!"
The young man replied calmly, "I am Senju Tobirama."
"It's really the Second Hokage!"
All the personnel at the gate were immediately drawn to the scene.
"Lord Second Hokage, you've returned!"
To these Konoha shinobi, the Hokage remained a figure of utmost reverence.
One of them, unable to contain his excitement, said, "I'll report to His Majesty at once!"
His Majesty…
Tobirama asked, "Are we allowed to enter?"
The registration process was completed swiftly, and both Tobirama and the red-haired boy were granted entry.
Konoha was far larger than he remembered.
Upon passing through the gate, they stepped onto smooth, well-paved roads surrounded by towering buildings.
The streets bustled with life, filled with crowds of people.
"Amazing…" the red-haired boy murmured in awe as he took in his surroundings.
The last time he had been here, the village had not looked like this.
He had heard many stories about Konoha's transformation, but seeing it with his own eyes was still astonishing.
In addition to the pedestrians, there were strange vehicles moving through the streets—large, rectangular transports with four wheels, seating a dozen people in two rows, covered by a canopy.
Their speed wasn't particularly fast, but they were certainly quicker than walking.
The scene before them made the two feel as if they had stepped into a foreign land, an unfamiliar civilization.
Tobirama lifted his gaze toward the distant Solarity Towers and the Brutal Justice, which he had already noticed even before arriving in Konoha.
"Let's go."
They wandered through the city for a long time, and gradually, the surrounding buildings began to change.
As they reached the heart of Konoha, the familiar architecture overlapped with Tobirama's memories once more.
Konoha had expanded—its outer area was now the new district, while the inner section remained the old district.
Tobirama led the red-haired boy through the city until they arrived at a quiet residence.
He knocked on the door.
"Coming."
The door was opened by Shizune, who visibly froze upon seeing Tobirama.
"Lord S-S-Second Hokage?!"
Tobirama nodded. "Shizune, where is Tsunade?"
Shizune quickly turned around and shouted, "Master! Lady Tsunade! Lord Second Hokage is here! Lord econd Hokage has returned!"
Moments later, Tobirama saw two Tsunades appear at the entrance—one following closely behind the other.
For a brief moment, he was completely dumbfounded.
Both of them smiled with joy and called out in unison, "Granduncle!"
Tobirama: "…"
............
Front Hall of the Imperial Palace.
"The Second Hokage has returned?" Makoto was somewhat surprised upon hearing the report from his subordinates.
Back when Tobirama successfully revived himself, he had left Konoha to travel the world.
Even after the empire was established, he had never returned.
Makoto had occasionally received news of Tobirama's whereabouts, but they were always rather mundane.
That afternoon, Tobirama arrived at the palace to meet him, accompanied by the same red-haired boy from before.
Makoto remembered that the boy's name was Shiroe, a name given by Tobirama himself.
If he recalled correctly, this boy had some connection to Orochimaru in the past.
However, the moment Makoto laid eyes on Shiroe, he immediately sensed something was off, his gaze turning thoughtful.
Makoto then looked at Tobirama and asked, "Have you still not found a way to restore your soul?"
Tobirama gave a slight nod.
Makoto continued, "What about the missing part of your soul?"
After a moment of contemplation, Tobirama took out a scroll.
Upon seeing this, Makoto effortlessly unfurled the scroll from a distance, releasing the fragmented soul sealed inside.
At that very moment, Tobirama suddenly felt an incredible lightness in his body.
He then realized, with a shock, that his soul had left his physical form—floating in midair, completely immobilized.
Makoto guided Tobirama's soul to merge with the missing fragment, allowing them to slowly reintegrate.
Once the fusion was complete, he returned Tobirama's soul to his body.
When Tobirama opened his eyes again, he looked down at his hands, his expression slightly dazed.
"How do you feel?" Makoto asked.
Tobirama remained silent for a moment before responding, "I don't feel anything."
Back when he first split his soul, he had said that severing one's soul was a terrifying thing—he had known he was incomplete, yet never felt anything was truly wrong.
The fragmented piece of his soul, though weaker than him in power, was otherwise identical—it was still Senju Tobirama.
Now that they had been reunited, Tobirama could only sense that he was somehow more complete, stronger.
Other than that, there was nothing—he didn't even feel the presence of another consciousness.
Taking a deep breath, he said, "Thank you."
Makoto then shifted his gaze to the red-haired boy standing beside Tobirama. "This child is… strange."
Shiroe instinctively shrank back behind Tobirama, seemingly afraid of Makoto.
When Makoto first met this boy, he had not yet mastered the power to control souls and dictate life and death.
But now, things were different.
The moment he laid eyes on the boy again, he immediately noticed the issue.
Tobirama pondered for a moment before saying, "You've noticed it too, haven't you? His body… carries two souls that have merged together."
He had kept this child by his side for a long time before finally realizing this anomaly.
Makoto recalled how Orochimaru had once split himself into countless fragments.
Could it be that one of the souls within this boy belonged to Orochimaru?
If that were the case, then who did the other soul belong to?
Makoto considered forcibly separating the souls within the boy, but doing so might cause him irreparable harm.
"Who do you think the other soul belongs to?" he asked.
Tobirama fell silent for a moment before slowly replying, "One of them is likely Orochimaru's."
"As for the other one… it might be Saru."
............
Seireitei, Sixth Division Barracks.
"My name is Uchiha Obito. From now on, I'll be serving as the Captain of the Sixth Division. No need to be too formal with me—I'm actually pretty easygoing, hahaha."
Facing a group of unfamiliar subordinates, Obito introduced himself a bit awkwardly.
"Greetings, Captain. I am your lieutenant, Abarai Renji. Captains have the authority to appoint their own lieutenants, so if you find me unsuitable, you are free to replace me at any time."
Looking at the red-haired, tattooed man before him, Obito had a feeling he wasn't someone to be trifled with.
Before coming here, he had learned that these Shinigami lived far longer than humans—several centuries was nothing unusual.
This realization made him a little uneasy.
But he quickly smiled and said, "No need for that. If the previous captain saw potential in you, that means you're definitely capable. Since I'm new here, there's a lot I'll need your help with."
Renji's expression darkened slightly at the mention of his former captain.
With a serious tone, he said, "The previous captain was a criminal who killed Head Captain Yamamoto. I ask that you refrain from mentioning him in the future."
Obito was momentarily stunned but then nodded. "Understood."
After introducing himself to the rest of the seated officers, Renji brought in a stack of division paperwork for Obito to review.
Staring at the towering pile of documents, Obito couldn't help but feel a headache coming on.
Sigh… Why did His Majesty give me this kind of position…?
Life in Konoha had been much more relaxed.
Most of his time was spent training, occasionally taking on missions, discussing architecture with builders, or trying (and failing) to ask Rin out for a meal…
Before coming here, the Emperor had assured him that as long as he fulfilled his duties, he could return to Konoha whenever he wanted.
Now that the Soul Society was under the Emperor's rule, the travel restrictions between the two realms had been lifted.
Any Shinigami ranked lieutenant or higher could freely enter and leave the World of the Living.
Anyone with a keen eye could see that the Emperor was planning a major reform in the Soul Society.
Sitting in his office chair, Obito gazed out the window.
Ever since arriving, he had felt something strange—an inexplicable sensation, as if something unseen was calling out to him.
Outside the Captain's Office.
The members of the Sixth Division gathered around their lieutenant, Abarai Renji, discussing their newly appointed captain.
"This Uchiha captain seems kind of unreliable, doesn't he?"
"Yeah, I feel the same way. Compared to—"
"He's from the World of the Living, and he's only in his twenties."
Renji stood there in silence, listening to the murmurs.
Truthfully, he shared their concerns.
Though he had called Captain Byakuya a criminal, he bore no hatred toward him—only deep regret.
Comparing Byakuya to Obito, the difference in presence alone was stark.
It was as if they weren't even in the same league.
But since Obito came from the World of the Living and was a noble of the Empire, Renji reasoned that he couldn't be an ordinary person.
He still vividly remembered that interdimensional exchange meeting, where Byakuya had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Kakashi, one of the Empire's Ten Crown Guards.
Even if this Obito wasn't as strong as Kakashi, he had to at least be part of the elite just below the Ten Crown Guards.
"Alright, enough gossiping. Captain Uchiha was personally appointed by His Majesty. There must be something extraordinary about him."
Renji picked up another stack of documents and entered the captain's office, only to find his new captain sound asleep on the desk.
His lips twitched involuntarily.
Walking up, he called out, "Captain Uchiha?"
Obito groggily opened his eyes.
Seeing Renji, he gave an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, I dozed off."
Renji thought for a moment before offering a suggestion. "Captain, do you dislike handling administrative work?"
Obito scratched his head. "I just haven't really done much of it before."
"If you'd rather not stay cooped up in the office, you could take a walk around to familiarize yourself with the division and its surroundings."
The Sixth Division had traditionally been a noble division, but after two major upheavals, most of the high-ranking nobles had perished.
Renji had a feeling that change was coming.
Obito readily agreed to the suggestion, immediately getting up. "Alright, let's go!"
Grabbing his Nichirin Blade, he left the office with Renji accompanying him.
The Sixth Division's barracks were quite large, with a clean and orderly design.
However, there wasn't much to see, so the two left and wandered aimlessly.
The architecture of the entire Seireitei was fairly uniform, and with its winding, interwoven streets, it was easy to get lost.
Fortunately, Renji was there to guide the way.
Along the way, they encountered a few ordinary Shinigami, who, upon seeing the white haori draped over Obito's shoulders, immediately bowed in respect.
Obito wasn't used to receiving such deference, but he thoroughly enjoyed it.
Noticing that Renji kept glancing at his waist, he asked, "What are you looking at?"
Renji replied, "I'm looking at your sword, Captain."
Obito paused, then chuckled. "Are you that curious?"
Since the Nichirin Blade was sheathed, its appearance was obscured by sunlight.
However, Obito had intentionally wrapped a layer of black cloth around the scabbard.
"Not really... I was just curious, that's all."
Without hesitation, Obito drew his Nichirin Blade and casually handed it to Renji.
Renji was stunned and a bit flustered. "Captain, this—"
Obito simply said, "You're curious, aren't you?"
Renji fell silent before solemnly accepting the sword with both hands.
The blade was long and slender, with strange patterns along its edge that shimmered under the light.
"What's your sword's name, Captain?"
"Kamui."
"That's… a powerful name."
Obito took the sword back, sheathing it with a grin. "Renji, you must be pretty strong, right?"
Renji replied, "Not really. I'm just an ordinary lieutenant."
Obito laughed. "I watched the last interdimensional exchange event. That Kakashi guy really stole the show. I've been wanting to spar with a Shinigami—how about we go a few rounds?"
Renji asked in surprise, "You know Lord Kakashi?"
"We're very close. We were even teammates back when we were genin."
—
Thirty minutes later, Obito and Renji returned to the Sixth Division's barracks.
The news of their spar spread like wildfire, drawing a massive crowd of spectators.
Renji secretly groaned.
Losing in front of so many people would be humiliating.
No matter how unreliable Obito seemed, there was no way his strength was inferior to his own.
Obito slowly unsheathed his sword, smiling. "Come to think of it, I haven't actually fought anyone with this yet."
Renji, his expression serious, replied, "Then it's my honor, Captain."
..........
A Void Space of Unknown Location.
"There's a disturbance in space!" Ichibe suddenly sensed something and hurriedly informed the others around him.
"Where does it lead?" someone asked.
Frowning deeply, Ichibe replied, "I'm not sure. The signal is very faint, and…"
He gazed in a particular direction, hesitating before continuing, "The coordinates are very close to it."
That it referred to a certain "Shinigami".
Every encounter with that being had led to a desperate struggle for survival.
This space contained no reishi, meaning that any reiatsu they expended in battle could not be replenished.
"Should we check it out?"
The group exchanged uncertain glances.
They had been trapped in this accursed void for an unknown amount of time, with no clue when—or if—they would ever escape.
But if they remained here, dying at the hands of that "Shinigami" was inevitable.
"We go!" Yamamoto declared firmly.
"If we miss this chance, who knows how long it will be before another one appears? No matter what world it leads to, we have no other choice!"
--------------
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