Within Naruto's mental world.
Sasuke looked at the rampaging Kyubi before him and decisively stopped swinging his sword. A trace of solemnity appeared in his eyes.
'It seems like I've... overplayed my hand.'
"Hahahahahahaha!"
Kyubi laughed maniacally, its voice shaking the entire space.
Its vertical pupils were full of mockery and delight.
"I truly underestimated you, brat! I never thought you actually had the skill to shake this seal!"
It changed its tone, its voice becoming sinister and terrifying, "However, you seem to have overestimated yourself too much!"
Before the words even faded, a stream of Kyubi's Chakra several times more condensed than before violently gushed out from the cracks in the bars!
Outside the gate, it rapidly coalesced into a ferocious giant claw!
"Let me dig out those annoying eyes of yours first!"
The Chakra Claw, carrying destructive power, stirred up a wind capable of tearing souls apart, crashing down towards Sasuke's head!
Sasuke's pupils constricted sharply. Facing this onrushing aura of death, he held nothing back. The Reiatsu within him erupted without reservation.
"Takemikazuchi!"
Sasuke growled, and the withdrawn Zanpakuto in his hand underwent another form change.
Bzzt…!
All the withdrawn cold light instantly vanished, replaced by violent black electric snakes that coiled around the blade like living creatures, emitting deafening roars!
The entire gloomy space was once again completely illuminated by this lightning, reflecting Sasuke's resolute face.
"Raiko!"
The Zanpakuto swept horizontally. Three condensed black thunder pillars were fiercely unleashed! Where they passed, they emitted piercing explosive sounds, crashing into that crimson chakra giant claw in mid-air!
The pitch-black and crimson energies, upon collision, bizarrely annihilated each other, stirring up a terrifying wind visible to the naked eye.
The wind pressure was so strong it almost blew Sasuke off his feet. The water surface in the mental world was whipped into towering waves.
He instinctively raised his other arm to shield his eyes.
Kyubi's roar also seemed to gradually become distorted and blurred in this gale...
He didn't know how much time had passed. The wind in his ears gradually subsided.
Sasuke slowly lowered his arm and opened his eyes.
Before him, a large truck blared its dazzling high beams, roaring past right beside him, making the hem of his Shihakusho flap violently.
It seemed as if the previous strong wind had all been brought by this truck.
Sasuke stood by the noisy highway, slowly raising his head to look at the familiar forest of tall buildings in the distance.
'This is... Karakura Town?'
He looked down at the 'Takemikazuchi' in his hand. The black lightning arcs coiling around the blade had quietly withdrawn, returning to its withdrawn form.
"Damn it!"
Sasuke squeezed out a low growl of suppressed anger.
He was angry at his own miscalculation, angry that the plan had derailed.
What did returning to this world mean?
It meant he was yet another step further from that man, from revenge!
"Konoha, demon fox... I will definitely return."
But the question was, how to go back?
He closed his eyes, trying to sink into his heart, searching for the power that allowed him to travel between the two worlds, but found no clues.
The passage between the two worlds was still a door of unknown location to him.
Just then, a name suddenly popped into his mind.
'Urahara Kisuke.'
This name wasn't unfamiliar to Sasuke.
In Soul Society, this name was almost a legend.
Initially, he had heard this name from the veteran seated officers in the 11th Division during their drunken boasts.
They said that a hundred years ago, the Soul Society had produced a remarkable genius, the former Captain of the 12th Division, and the founder of the Technology Development Bureau.
A monster who had trained the four major skills, Kido, Hakuda, Zanjutsu, and Shunpo, to their extremes and possessed unparalleled creativity in the field of scientific research.
More importantly, the rumors mentioned that Kisuke was exiled to the world of the living due to some forbidden research, but he didn't die. Instead, he was living in the world of the living in some way.
'If it was him, he must have a way to get me back to Konoha.'
But a new problem arose.
He only knew Urahara Kisuke was in the world of the living. But in the vast world of the living, where could he find a former Captain who was deliberately hiding?
Suddenly, he thought of another person.
Kuchiki Rukia.
That woman who seemed somewhat naive and noisy to him, but whose identity was anything but simple.
As a member of the Kuchiki Family, the intelligence and resources she could access were far greater than his. Moreover, she seemed very familiar with Karakura Town.
More importantly, it was she who had brought him to this world initially.
'Perhaps she knew some clues about Urahara Kisuke.'
Thinking of this, Sasuke's frown deepened.
Ask that woman for help?
It made him feel extremely uncomfortable.
"...Troublesome."
He spat out the word in a low voice, his face full of impatience.
He raised his head, his perception instantly spreading out, identifying the direction.
"Shunpo."
The next second, his figure vanished from the spot.
…
Karakura Town, Kurosaki Residence.
Boom…!"
The wall was torn apart with a loud roar. A grotesque monster, carrying a nauseating Reiatsu, threw a figure flying.
Its empty eye sockets locked onto the boy with vibrant orange hair.
"Found you, delicious soul!"
Rukia, lying in a pool of blood, could barely move due to the wound in her abdomen. Her Shihakusho was already soaked in blood.
She struggled to lift her head, looking at the panicked boy.
'Why had it come to this?'
I't was just a low-level Hollow, yet I...'
"Damn it..." She gritted her teeth unwillingly.
Watching the Hollow's claw-covered arm raise high, about to grab Ichigo's sister, Yuzu.
"Get out of the way!" Ichigo roared, using his own 'powerless' body to charge fiercely at the Hollow.
"Don't go!" Rukia cried out in alarm.
The result was predictable. Ichigo was easily swatted away by the Hollow, crashing heavily into the wall.
"You idiot."
Rukia struggled to sit up from the ground, "You want to save your family, right?"
"Of course! Is there any way?" Ichigo turned back and shouted at her.
"There's only one method."
Rukia picked up the Zanpakuto from the ground again, pointing the tip at Ichigo's chest, "You become a Shinigami yourself!"
"Stab this Zanpakuto into your body. This way, I can transfer my Shinigami power to you. I don't know if it will work, but there's no other way."
"Roar…!"
While they were talking, the Hollow lost patience. It roared, its massive body charging forward, its sharp claws aiming directly for their heads!
"Decide quickly!" Rukia urged sharply.
Ichigo looked at the approaching claws, then at his trembling sister inside the room. There was not a hint of hesitation in his eyes.
"Give me your power, Shinigami."
"I'm not called Shinigami. My name is Kuchiki Rukia." A difficult smile appeared on Rukia's face.
Ichigo smiled and reached out both hands, tightly grasping the icy cold blade!
"My name is… Kurosaki Ichigo!"
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