Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

“My lord.” Harribel turned her head to look at Sasuke, a rare pleading look in her eyes, “This child…”

Sasuke didn't answer immediately, but instead took the still struggling little girl from Harribel's hands and held her up to his own eyes.

Nel's large, tear-filled eyes met Sasuke's calm, dark eyes.

The scene froze for a moment.

"Waaaaah... What are you going to do?!"

Nilu was so frightened that her crying stopped for a moment. Her two short legs kicked helplessly in the air. She looked at the expressionless face in front of her and a sense of instinctive fear rose in her heart.

"I...I don't taste good! My meat is sour! Please don't eat me!"

As if a switch had been flipped, Nilu's crying instantly escalated, tears welled up, and snot bubbles appeared on her nose.

She pretended to cry while secretly observing Sasuke's reaction. "I'm so pitiful. I have no father or mother, and I get bullied by Peshe and the others every day... Please, have mercy on me..."

"..."

A rare look of speechlessness crossed Sasuke's face.

That acting was terrible...

"It's noisy."

He impatiently tossed the "faucet" back into Hribel's arms.

Harribel instinctively reached out and caught it, looking at Sasuke with some uncertainty.

Sasuke didn't say anything, turned around and continued walking towards Las Noches.

Harribel instantly understood Sasuke's meaning, and a hint of joy appeared on her face.

She held the still-soothing little one in her arms and gently comforted him, "It's alright, it's okay now, come with me."

"Lord Nelu!"

In the distance, the three Hollows that had been kicked away finally scrambled over and surrounded Nel with worried expressions.

"We want to stay with Lady Nel!"

"Yes! We'd rather die than be apart!"

“She is now our companion,” Heribel replied crisply.

But seeing Nil's pitiful little eyes, Heribel finally sighed helplessly and agreed to let these "burdens" join the group.

On the way back to Las Noches, Pessie and Dondchaka, Nel's two subordinates, seemed somewhat worried.

“Hey, I said…” Pessie lowered her voice and said to Dondchaka beside her, “Are we really going to follow that Grim Reaper back to Las Noches? It’s dangerous.”

Dondechaka responded in a low voice, "But that lady is also very strong, as you just saw."

"So what? Have you forgotten? Lady Nel, she used to..."

Pessie's voice lowered even further, "It was because of that damned Nnoitra and Szayelaporro's sneak attack that I turned into this child-like figure."

"Besides, the Palace of Emptiness is full of our enemies! Wouldn't going back now be like walking into a trap?!"

“But…” Dondechaka glanced at the back of the black-haired boy walking at the front, “I think that Grim Reaper is stronger than anyone we’ve ever met before.”

"Following him, maybe... we can really protect Lady Nel."

Pesser fell silent.

"I hope so," he murmured finally. "If things don't go well, we'll just take Lady Nel and run away!"

"Ok!"

Chapter 147 Companions: Those Who Stab You in the Back (9k)

Soul Society, Seireitei, Twelfth Division Barracks.

Inside the Technology Development Bureau, as always, the air was filled with the hum of various instruments in operation and the hurried, orderly footsteps of the team members.

But this routine was quickly shattered by a sharp, urgent alarm.

"—Warning! Warning! Area 774, Soul Balance Index Abnormal! Repeat, Soul Balance Index is fluctuating violently!"

A young team member responsible for monitoring the total number of souls in the three realms looked at the wildly rising red curve on the screen in front of him, and the color drained from his face instantly.

"W-What's going on?!"

"The total number of 'virtual' entities in Hueco Mundo is decreasing at a rate of thousands of units per minute!"

These words caused the air in the entire monitoring hall to freeze.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and crowded around in disbelief, staring at the red alert that signified "collapse," their faces filled with horror.

"Are you kidding me! Thousands of units per minute?!"

"Quickly! Report to the director immediately!"

The unrest did not last long.

"It's noisy."

Mayuri Kurotsuchi's tall figure had appeared at the entrance of the monitoring hall at some point, his eerie black and white makeup appearing even more ferocious against the backdrop of the flashing red alarm light.

"Making such a racket so early in the morning, are you trying to become the experimental subject for my new drug?"

He walked up to the screen and examined the completely broken curve with great interest.

"Chief, Director Nekomori!" The young squad member froze upon seeing him, practically scrambling to make way.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi ignored him and tapped her fingers lightly on the screen.

"What a magnificent sight!" His voice betrayed no trace of tension.

"Chief! This is no joke!" A squad member's voice trembled. "At this rate, the balance of the soul circulation will be completely broken in less than a month! At that time, the soul circulation between the Human World, Soul Society, and Hueco Mundo will begin to erode each other due to severe 'imbalance,' and ultimately..."

He didn't say anything more, but everyone knew the word.

"Everything will collapse because of this, right?"

Mayuri Kurotsuchi picked up where he left off, "Of course I know, my dear teammate. You don't think I don't even have this much common sense, do you?"

He slowly turned around, his pupils appearing even more eerie in the light from the screen.

"That's typical Quincy style."

He licked his chapped lips, his voice filled with undisguised contempt, "To completely purify this wonderful existence of 'Void' from its very source, preventing them from ever returning to the cycle of souls..."

"Besides those rats that have long been forgotten by history, I can't think of anyone else who would do something so extremely stupid."

"Queens?"

The vice-captain, Nemu, who had been silent all along, finally spoke, her voice as flat as a puppet's, "But according to the records, the only pure-blooded Quincy still alive is Ichigo Kurosaki's companion, Uryu Ishida."

"Given his current level of spiritual pressure, it is absolutely impossible for him to cause such a large-scale annihilation of souls in a short period of time."

"Who knows?"

Mayuri Kurotsuchi shrugged, his enormous wheel-shaped headdress swaying as he did so. "Perhaps that brat has secretly mastered some unknown power, or perhaps some more interesting variables have emerged."

But he didn't dwell on the issue, because it wasn't important.

"I don't care about the reasons or the process."

He turned around, opened his arms, and his voice suddenly became sharp.

"The only important issue now is..."

"How can I recalibrate this tipping scale back to the way I want it to be?"

"Director... what do you mean?" the officer asked in a trembling voice.

“It’s simple.” Mayuri Kurotsuchi grinned, revealing a chilling smile. “Since the total number of ‘Hollows’ is decreasing, it means there are too many souls on the other end.”

“Yinmeng.” He turned his head, his voice returning to its usual calm.

“Yes, Lord Mayuri.” Nemu immediately stepped forward and bowed slightly.

Mayuri Kurotsuchi didn't look at her again and gave a cold command.

"Take your team and head to Rukongai."

"Cleanse some of those worthless souls wandering the streets."

"W-what?! Clean it up?"

"Chief! What are you saying?!"

"You...you mean kill them?!"

All the team members present could hardly believe their ears.

Annihilate the residents of Rukongai?! That's tens of thousands of innocent souls!

Are you questioning my orders?

Mayuri Kurotsuchi slowly turned her head, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Or do you want to personally experience the magnificent sight of the three realms collapsing when souls are out of balance?"

He stuck out his long tongue and licked the corner of his mouth, his voice becoming increasingly frantic.

"If one side of the balance is missing something, then take something from the other side to make up for it. Isn't that the simplest and most efficient solution?"

"A bunch of brainless idiots."

"But, Lord Mayuri Kurotsuchi..."

Nemure's voice rang out without warning, tinged with a barely perceptible hesitation, "Doing that would cause the 'disappearance' of tens of thousands of souls. In conclusion, it would be no different from the actions of the Quincy, and perhaps even..."

"Ok?"

Mayuri Kurotsuchi suddenly turned his head, his eyes fixed intently on his "daughter's" face.

Nemu didn't continue speaking and respectfully bowed her head to Mayuri.

“...I understand, Lord Mayuri.”

She straightened up, her face regaining its doll-like calm, and turned to walk towards the exit of the Technology Development Bureau.

After a brief hesitation, several other team members who were also responsible for combat could only grit their teeth and follow in her footsteps.

The entire monitoring hall fell into dead silence once again.