Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

Meanwhile, inside Sasuke's sealed space.

"How is this possible?!" Yin Jiuwei exclaimed in shock.

The Three-Tailed Isobu, who had been silently floating on the lake's surface, now had eyes filled with awe. "Is the power of the old man of the Six Paths about to be recreated in a place like this...?"

"And where exactly is this place? How come everyone here is so strong, yet none of them have chakra?"

The real world.

Sasuke could feel that something had appeared inside his body.

A chakra that belonged neither to Indra nor Ashura, yet was far more refined, slowly began to form within him.

That chakra-like texture...

Sasuke's mind was uncontrollably filled with the image of the Truth-Seeking Ball from the Pure Land, which contained the power of all things in the universe.

Yes, that's the feeling, the Sage of Six Paths...

At the same time, a burning and itchy sensation came from deep within his eyes.

It was as if something entirely new was about to emerge from that darkness.

Sasuke lowered his hands from his face, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.

He raised his hand, and water chakra silently gathered in his palm, forming a crystal-clear water sphere.

The surface of the water sphere was as smooth as a mirror, clearly reflecting his appearance at that moment.

And his brand new eyes.

Six purple ripples, radiating a mysterious aura, rippled across his pupils.

Rinnegan.

This is the ultimate pupil technique known as the Eye of God.

However, unlike his future self, that self had a Rinnegan with six tomoe.

And with his eyes like this, can he still use the power of the kaleidoscope...?

Sasuke's thoughts stirred slightly.

After a silent ripple, the pair of purple Rinnegan eyes transformed back into the familiar six-pointed star pattern.

Not only did it not disappear, Sasuke could also clearly sense that these new Mangekyou Sharingan contained even greater ocular power than before.

Unlike before, the interior of the six-pointed star now features some windmill-like patterns.

He raised his head and calmly gazed at Aizen.

Their eyes met again.

"..."

As Aizen watched Sasuke switch freely between the Rinnegan and the Mangekyou Sharingan, the composed smile on his face froze slightly, and a hint of disappointment appeared in his eyes.

He leaned back in his throne, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrests, quietly scrutinizing Sasuke.

"Did we fail...?"

A regretful murmur escaped Aizen's lips.

A work of art that should have been flawless was found to have a flaw in the final step of the process.

This was not what he had expected.

In Aizen's calculations, when the two powers within Sasuke collided and fused under the perfect catalyst of the Hogyoku, what should have been born was a new species that completely transcended the concepts of "Shinigami" and "Hollow".

A perfect transcendent being who could amaze even him.

Aizen could certainly sense the power of those Rinnegan eyes; the strength of that power was undeniable.

But this power remained at the peak that he could understand and foresee.

In other words, it is powerful, but incomplete.

Those eyes seemed to be missing something crucial.

A resilience that originates from life itself.

"interesting."

Aizen murmured to himself, the disappointment in his eyes gradually fading, "Is it that the power of the material itself is not perfect enough?"

"Or is it that the power of the Hogyoku is still unable to completely fuse those two fundamentally different powers?"

He looked at Sasuke, the curve of his lips becoming increasingly meaningful.

"Then, Sasuke-kun."

"How do you feel? This newfound power."

Sasuke did not answer immediately, but calmly dissipated the Mangekyou Sharingan, and his eyes returned to pure black.

"How do I feel?" He turned his head to the side, his tone flat. "I feel the same as before, nothing different."

"is it?"

Aizen was not surprised by Sasuke's answer and gave a gentle smile.

"It seems that Sasuke-kun still has a deep misunderstanding about me."

"The reason I did this is simply to find a more perfect answer for your strength."

"Answer?"

"Yes."

"Sasuke-kun, the power within you is strong, but it's still incomplete. You should know that better than anyone else, shouldn't you?"

"I just want to help you completely fill in the gaps in your life."

Aizen looked at Sasuke, his brown eyes filled with sincerity.

"To make you a truly perfect transcendent being."

"But now it seems..."

A perfectly timed expression of regret appeared on Aizen's face. "It seems we're still one step away from the final answer."

"However, there's no need to rush."

"We still have enough time to slowly find that last piece of the puzzle."

"Isn't that so?"

Sasuke himself did not understand what this complete power should look like, but with the knowledge of those tailed beasts, they must know the source of this power.

After all, this is a power unique to the Sage of Six Paths.

"You had Ulquiorra call me back, didn't you say you had something to discuss?"

Sasuke's voice was calm as he changed the subject, "What is that plan concerning the Three Realms?"

"Hehe..." Aizen chuckled softly, seemingly quite pleased that Sasuke was able to recover from the aftereffects of the power so quickly.

Instead of answering immediately, he posed a seemingly unrelated question.

"Sasuke-kun, as a former chief officer of the Seireitei, you must have heard of the Zero Division, which is above the Gotei 13, right?"

Sasuke nodded slightly. He had seen records about them in the Great Spirit Book Corridor, and Yoruichi had given him a detailed account.

"Then, do you also know who else, besides the Zero Division, can freely enter and leave that palace?" Aizen continued to ask.

This question made Sasuke frown slightly.

He shook his head: "I don't know."

"The Soul King, and his Soul King Palace, are another dimension located directly above the Seireitei." Aizen's tone became meaningful. "An absolute domain constructed of the power of rules."

Aizen's gaze passed over Sasuke's shoulder, as if it could pierce through the sky of Las Noches and look towards that distant other world.

"There, it is protected by seventy-two defensive barriers, each with different rules and powers, enough to make any unscrupulous intruder lose their way and be condemned to eternal damnation."

"Beyond these seventy-two barriers, there is an ultimate barrier formed by the power of the Spirit King himself, called the Royal Command."

Aizen looked at Sasuke with great interest as he said this, "That is an absolute rule that cannot be broken by any physical or energy attack."

"Even now, I'm not confident I can force a breakthrough."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly; he knew that Aizen was finally about to get to the heart of the matter.

“So…” Aizen shrugged, a troubled look on his face, “to get in there normally, you need a key.”

"Wang Jian."

"Wang Jian?" Sasuke repeated in a low voice.

"That's right, it was personally granted by the Soul King, and it allows one to travel freely between the Soul King's Palace and the Soul Society without regard to any barriers."

“But unfortunately,” Aizen chuckled self-deprecatingly, “I am not the one chosen by the Soul King, so naturally I cannot receive this blessing.”

"It is said that the core of the King's Key is to transform a special bone in the body of a certain Grim Reaper recognized by the Soul King into a coordinate connecting the Soul King's Palace and the Soul Society in a way that we do not know."

Sasuke's eyes turned cold upon hearing this explanation.

"So, what do you plan to do?"

"Since it cannot be granted, I will have to create it myself."

Aizen's smile became confident and indifferent, but his voice inexplicably carried a hint of passion.

"I will search for a place in the mortal world with the highest density of spirits!"

"Then, there, ten thousand souls were offered up, their souls serving as bricks, the very spirit veins of that land as the furnace..."

"I will forcibly forge a King Key that belongs only to me!"

"Thus, you will gain the ultimate qualification to enter that realm!"

"So, Sasuke-kun, is this plan magnificent enough?"

The shocked expression Aizen had anticipated from Sasuke did not appear; instead, Sasuke let out a disappointed sneer.

He raised his head, his newly formed Rinnegan staring calmly at Aizen, his voice filled with undisguised contempt.

"How ugly, Aizen." He shook his head, the corners of his mouth curving into a wider smile. "I thought you would use a more sophisticated method to surprise me."