Dangai, a seemingly ordinary pitch-black passage.
Two figures were moving at an astonishing speed through this boundless darkness.
They were Shinigami, also known as guardians of balance. At this moment, they were traveling from the Soul Society to the world of the living via the Senkaimon.
Ahead, Kuchiki Rukia's body was enveloped in a pure white stream of Reiatsu, her movements crisp and efficient, clearly quite familiar with this passage.
She glanced back at the figure following not far behind, a trace of helplessness involuntarily appearing on her delicate features.
"Hey, Uchiha Sasuke, keep up! It's your first time in the world of the living. If you get distracted and swept away by the Koryu, you'll become the joke of the Gotei 13 for the next hundred years!"
The boy called Uchiha Sasuke didn't respond, merely silently increasing his speed slightly.
He looked no older than ten, with a childlike appearance. The standard Shihakusho he wore seemed slightly loose on him, making the surrounding darkness feel even more isolated and cold.
Under his short black hair, a pair of dark eyes were as calm as still water. The Zanpakuto at his waist swayed slightly as he sped up.
Sasuke disliked carrying out this so-called mission, but he had a reason for coming to the world of the living.
Three years ago, on that blood-soaked night of his clan's massacre, he was defeated by that man using the Mangekyo Sharingan's Genjutsu, Tsukuyomi.
He thought he would be trapped in that hell forever, but when he regained consciousness, he found himself in a place called the 'Rukongai'.
The people here told him this was the Soul Society, a place where souls go after death.
Although he hadn't undergone the 'Soul Burial' others spoke of, the facts were easy for Sasuke to understand.
His presence here meant he was dead.
It was an absurd conclusion, but he accepted it.
Only this could explain why he had left that village reeking of blood.
The Soul Society was the final resting place for the dead, but also a cage that stripped him of his right to revenge. Becoming a 'Shinigami' and gaining the power to travel between worlds was his only path back to the 'world of the living' to find Uchiha Itachi and exact his revenge.
Relying on the Uchiha Clan's innate combat talent and that deep-seated hatred, it took him only a year to learn Shikai, graduate from the Shin'o Academy, and secure a position in the 11th Division, the division within the Seireitei that values strength the most.
There, no one cared about your past, they only believed in the blade in your hand and the strength of your Reiatsu.
Their Captain, Zaraki Kenpachi, was a monster who lived purely for battle.
Soaked in that environment for nearly three years, Sasuke had been honed into something even more pure, like an unsheathed blade, existing only to sever the neck of his enemy.
Finally, he painstakingly secured an opportunity to go to the world of the living on a mission, becoming one of the few Shinigami from the 11th Division to have been there.
"We're almost there! Get ready, the exit is over Karakura Town!" Rukia's voice pulled Sasuke out of his brief reminiscence.
Ahead, a bright point of light rapidly expanded.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly, his fingers gripping the hilt of his sword tightening unconsciously.
'Konoha... Itachi... I'm back.'
The Senkaimon opened in mid-air. As the soft light faded, the figures of Sasuke and Rukia appeared on the rooftop of a tall building.
Sasuke looked around. What met his eyes were towering steel high-rises, flashing neon lights, and cars crawling like beetles on the streets in the distance.
This place was filled with the aura of the living, and a kind of noisy clamor that felt unfamiliar to him.
Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly.
'This is not Konoha, and it is different from the other Shinobi Villages described in textbooks. There is no Shinobi Village's symbol.'
In his memory, while Konoha was prosperous, it featured more rustic wooden structures. Here, there was only cold steel and a noisy bustle that irritated him.
"So? Feeling curious about the world of the living for the first time?" Rukia walked to the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the city that never slept, her mood seeming quite good.
"But don't let your guard down. Our mission is to guide the souls in this area and be ready to exterminate..." Before she could finish her sentence, her expression suddenly sharpened.
An evil and chaotic spiritual pressure erupted abruptly in a district not far away.
"It's a Hollow!"
Rukia's expression instantly turned serious, "The Reiatsu isn't strong, but it appeared very suddenly. Uchiha, with me!"
Rukia turned back, only to see Sasuke still standing in place, his gaze not even shifted, still coldly examining this unfamiliar city.
"Hey! What are you spacing out for? A Hollow has appeared!" Rukia couldn't help but urge him.
Sasuke finally withdrew his gaze from the distance, glanced faintly in the direction where the Hollow appeared, then turned his attention back.
"Hmph, that small fry isn't worth me drawing my blade? Don't lump me in with common Shinigami like you."
Sasuke snorted coldly and turned away directly, "Expecting me to play along with your boring Shinigami games? Don't get in my way, woman."
"You..." Rukia was left speechless by his words, anger flashing across her face, "This is our mission! As a Shinigami of the Gotei 13..."
"My target isn't here."
Sasuke cut her off directly, "Dealing with trash is your job. Don't waste my time."
The moment his words fell, his figure blurred slightly.
"Shunpo."
No farewell, no unnecessary explanation.
Sasuke's figure had already vanished from the rooftop, leaving only a stunned and furious Rukia behind.
"That guy... the bastards from the 11th Division are all the same!"
Rukia stamped her foot in anger, but the roar of the Hollow was getting closer. She had no more time to waste and could only grit her teeth and rush toward the target direction alone.
Meanwhile, Sasuke was moving at high speed through the urban landscape, his mind focused on a single thought.
'Find Konoha, and then... kill you, Uchiha Itachi!'
Sasuke's figure paused briefly on the roof of an abandoned building, his dark eyes scanning the unfamiliar streets below.
Just then, the air behind him suddenly twisted, and a massive black shadow materialized out of thin air.
It was a Hollow with a pale white mask, viscous saliva dripping from its mouth, its hollow eye sockets fixed intently on Sasuke.
"Found you... your soul smells so rich, so delicious, so full of hatred!" The Hollow let out a piercing shriek, its voice full of greed.
An ordinary seated officer-level Shinigami might have felt some tension facing this sudden ambush.
But Sasuke only slowly turned his head, not even drawing his Zanpakuto.
"Hatred?"
He repeated the word in a low voice, a cold smirk curling his lips. "Something like you dares to speak of my hatred?"
Before the words had fully faded, the Hollow roared and lunged forward, its massive claw tearing through the air aimed directly at Sasuke's head.
However, it only caught empty air.
Sasuke's figure had vanished from its original position at some point, appearing ghostlike behind the Hollow in the next instant.
Only now did he leisurely place his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.
Shiiing…
A clear, sharp sound of a blade being drawn. The Hollow's movement froze. A slender black line appeared from head to toe on its massive body.
Then, silently, its entire form split in two, dissolving into scattered Reishi with a crash.
Sasuke didn't even glance back at it, simply sheathing his Zanpakuto with clean, efficient movements.
"Trash." He spat out the word and turned to continue on his way.
However, the moment he took a step, an icy voice, without any warning, sounded deep within his mind.
'Well done. Just like that. Release it. Release all the hatred...'
The voice was eerily familiar, yet carried a sense of mad distortion.
For the past three years, this voice had been like a persistent maggot, occasionally whispering when his spirit was agitated.
Sasuke's steps halted abruptly, his eyes instantly turning frostily cold.
"Shut up." He forcibly suppressed the restlessness with his will.
Just as he was forcefully suppressing the internal disturbance, an irresistible pulling force suddenly assailed him!
The modern night scene before him began to distort, as if crumpled by an invisible hand.
"What… is this?"
Sasuke's pupils constricted sharply as he tried to resist the force with his Reiatsu.
But it was useless. Darkness engulfed him like a tide. The last thing he seemed to hear was the despairing cry of a child.
Then, everything fell into silence.