Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

Young Sasuke's gaze swept over the tall figure, from the empty left sleeve to the tired eyes.

Finally, he let out a whisper mixed with anger and disappointment, as if scrutinizing himself, or perhaps mocking himself.

"You look... really awful."

Faced with this aggressive questioning, the middle-aged Sasuke remained calm, simply looking at the young Sasuke as if he were looking at a mirror reflecting a distant past.

"That's no longer important."

His voice was calm, with a hoarse quality that came with age, "Compared to my affairs..."

The middle-aged Sasuke lowered his gaze slightly, landing on the two very different swords at the waist of the young Sasuke.

"The more important question is..."

How did you come to this era?

Both of them knew very well who the person in front of them was; that sense of resonance, which came from the depths of their souls, was something that no technique could imitate.

But young Sasuke couldn't accept the truth.

She couldn't accept that this man, who had lost his edge and even his complete body, was her future.

"answer me!"

Young Sasuke's patience finally ran out, and he gripped the "Takemikazuchi" at his waist, unleashing its power in an instant.

The figure left a blurry afterimage of lightning in place, the light blue blade wrapped in thunder, piercing straight for the heart of middle-aged Sasuke!

He wanted to test for himself how much potential this future "self" still had left!

However, the middle-aged Sasuke remained completely unmoved.

He simply raised his only remaining right hand and gripped the hilt of the Kusanagi sword at his waist.

A flash of light.

"Clang—!!!"

A deafening clang of metal clashing against metal resounded across the empty training ground.

The middle-aged Sasuke used a single sword to block the lightning bolt.

The sparks from the clash of blades illuminated the faces of the two men.

Young Sasuke's pupils suddenly contracted.

He felt a power far more refined than his own condensed strength emanating from the blade, causing his tiger's mouth to go numb.

"The Sixty-First Path of Binding".

In the instant the two fingers crossed, young Sasuke brought two fingers of his left hand together, shouting, "Six Staffs of Light Prison!"

Six condensed light fragments appeared out of thin air, radiating outwards, instantly blocking all of middle-aged Sasuke's escape routes.

“This is…” A look of astonishment appeared on the face of the middle-aged Sasuke.

This is not ninjutsu.

There wasn't even a fluctuation of chakra.

Just as the six beams of light were about to merge, his purple Rinnegan turned slightly.

Tente Power!

Young Sasuke felt a blur before his eyes, and his position was instantly switched with that of middle-aged Sasuke without any warning.

"what?!"

He found himself standing in the center of the six-scepter light prison, trapped in place by his own spell.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged Sasuke had already appeared outside the cage.

"An interesting technique."

For the first time, middle-aged Sasuke's voice carried a hint of genuine curiosity, "It's neither ninjutsu nor a bloodline limit, what... is it?"

Young Sasuke's expression turned somewhat grim at that moment.

This was the first time he felt like a child showing off his cleverness in front of adults.

"Your eye..."

Young Sasuke stared intently at the purple Rinnegan. "What is that thing?"

"This one?"

The middle-aged Sasuke raised his hand, his fingertips gently brushing across his right eye. "This is the ultimate evolution of the Sharingan, the Sharingan Rinnegan."

"It is also you... the power of the future."

"Shut up!"

The spiritual pressure within young Sasuke erupted, forcefully causing the six-strand light prison to shatter inch by inch.

"My future will never become like this!"

He raised his hands high above his head, and an immense energy, powerful enough to distort space itself, began to gather wildly in his palms.

"Beast bones scattered everywhere! Spires, red crystals, steel wheels..."

"Broken Path No. 63, Thunder Roar Cannon!"

A thick, black and white lightning beam roared out of his hand, tearing off roof tiles along its path and hurtling towards middle-aged Sasuke with an aura of annihilation.

However, the middle-aged Sasuke remained calm in the face of this devastating attack.

He slowly raised his only remaining right hand, his five fingers spread open.

"Sizzle—!!!"

A blue-white lightning bolt, equally violent but composed of pure chakra, instantly formed in his palm.

"Thousand Birds".

He whispered softly, gently pushing the raging bolt of lightning towards the black and white lightning cannon.

Two completely different bolts of lightning collided violently on the roof!

Instead of the expected violent explosion, the two energies repelled and annihilated each other the instant they came into contact.

Smoke and dust obscured everything.

Young Sasuke stared intently ahead, the anger in his eyes gradually replaced by a sense of understanding.

He sensed the power contained in the "Thousand Birds" attack from the other side just now.

That's chakra, something that belongs only to the ninja world.

It has no spiritual power, nor any power belonging to a Zanpakuto.

"..."

Young Sasuke slowly lowered his hand, and the violent aura around him subsided.

He watched the figure slowly emerge from the smoke and dust, and murmured to himself.

"I see. Although it is the future, it seems... not to be 'my' future."

The middle-aged Sasuke paused slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in his unfathomable eyes.

"you mean......"

"You are not me."

Young Sasuke slowly raised his head, his eyes terrifyingly calm at that moment.

"Or rather, our paths diverged at completely different points long ago."

It's like... the future of another version of myself who has never been to Soul Society and has never obtained those two swords.

The two are simply counterparts from a parallel world.

Chapter 119 I really...can't tell the difference!!!

"Parallel worlds...?"

The middle-aged Sasuke murmured softly, breaking the silence first.

He looked at his younger self, at the sharp edge he no longer possessed, and his dark eyes churned with complex emotions he could not describe.

Shock, understanding, and even a hint of... envy?

"It seems that something has happened in your world that I am unaware of."

"Something's happened? Tell me."

Young Sasuke's voice was urgent as he began to question the person before him, "What exactly happened in the future? Who severed your arm? Uchiha Itachi...did you kill him?!"

A barrage of questions rained down on the other party like a machine gun.

However, the middle-aged Sasuke did not answer any of the questions. Instead, he focused his gaze on the tattered shihaka uniform of the young Sasuke and calmly asked a question in return.

"Have you defected from Konoha?"

This question seemed completely unrelated to young Sasuke's question and appeared quite abrupt.

Young Sasuke's eyes narrowed instantly, but looking at the man in front of him, he couldn't read any emotion in his eyes.

"Humph."

A very soft, cold snort escaped from his nose, which was considered an admission.

Defect?

That's just a label that the weak attach to the strong when they leave.

The middle-aged Sasuke seemed to have anticipated this answer, and there was no surprise on his face.

He simply nodded slightly, and then asked the second question, which sounded even more baffling to young Sasuke.

"So, did you kill Orochimaru?"

"Ok?"

Young Sasuke frowned once again, confusion appearing in his eyes.