Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

How could he possibly kill Yhwach, the "son of the Spirit King"?

And if he had already been killed, why did the monk just say that "Yohabha is still alive"?

Seemingly seeing through Sasuke's doubts, the monk let out a soft sigh and slowly shook his head.

"That's right, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni did win that great battle a thousand years ago."

“But…” the monk’s tone shifted, becoming playful, “Yamamoto won not because he was stronger than Yhwach.”

"It's because, after that decisive battle began, I used my abilities to seal away Yhwach's most troublesome ability."

"That's why Yamamoto was able to win that war by sheer luck."

"As for Yhwach..."

The monk's voice deepened, "He did not die, but was severely injured. Together with the 'Wanken Empire' he established, he retreated to the deepest shadow of Soul Society and fell into a slumber for almost a thousand years to recover his strength."

“The deepest shadow…” Aizen murmured, his eyes gleaming with a look of inquiry.

"What is his goal?" Sasuke was more concerned about this.

"What else could it be?"

The monk's tone turned cold. "Naturally, it's about replacing his father and then reuniting the three 'divided' worlds—Soul Society, the Human World, and Hueco Mundo—into one, returning the world to its original, chaotic state where the boundaries between life and death are blurred."

"So, his ultimate goal is also to kill the Soul King?" Sasuke asked.

"That's one way to understand it," the monk nodded slightly.

"Then why didn't you eliminate him completely before he fully recovered his power?" Sasuke's voice was somewhat puzzled. "With your strength, it shouldn't be difficult for you to do so."

"wipe out?"

Hyosube Ichibei couldn't help but laugh.

"Young man, didn't I say this before? What we've always been protecting is balance itself."

"Although Yhwach is dangerous, his existence is part of the balance."

"He is kept alive in order to prevent a future event where, if something happens to Lord Soul King, Yhwach will be the most suitable 'new wedge'."

"..."

Sasuke stared silently at the monk's matter-of-fact smile, a wave of nausea rising within him.

"I won't say anything more," the monk said with a simple smile, seemingly oblivious to the fleeting disdain in Sasuke's eyes.

"And you don't need to worry too much about your strength. Before you arrived here, Lord Spirit King prepared a gift for you."

"A gift?" Sasuke frowned slightly.

Even Aizen, standing to the side, couldn't help but show a curious expression.

"What is it?" Sasuke's voice was deep.

Hyōsuke Ichibei reached into his robes and rummaged around for a moment.

When he stretched out his hand again, there was something else in his palm.

It was a palm-sized, perfectly clear cube of crystal.

The crystal shimmered with light, and at its very core, a solidified golden teardrop floated.

"Lord Lingwang never interferes in the affairs of the Three Realms easily, but you seem to be an exception, young man."

The monk handed the cube-shaped crystal to Sasuke, his voice filled with emotion.

"This is the only thing the Spirit King left behind before he fell into slumber, something that hasn't been tainted by the identity of the Wedge..."

"The primordial power."

Sasuke looked at the fragment and felt a strange sense of familiarity about it.

just like......

Sasuke's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Aizen.

That Hogyoku?

"What's it for?" Sasuke asked calmly.

"Who knows?" Hyosube Ichibei shrugged. "Lord Rei-ou only said that this power will be very helpful to your future."

Sasuke remained silent for a moment, then finally reached out and took the slightly cool crystal.

It was the instant his fingertips touched the shard.

The crystal, which had been dormant, suddenly shone brightly!

The golden teardrop transformed into a warm golden stream of light, flowing silently down Sasuke's arm and into his chest.

There was no pain, not even the slightest discomfort.

Sasuke felt an unprecedented warm current instantly sweep through his limbs and bones, eventually flowing into the deepest part of his soul.

An immense spiritual pressure, powerful enough to shake even the Spirit King's Palace, erupted from Sasuke's body!

A white pillar of spiritual pressure shot into the sky, causing his wide immortal robes to flutter wildly.

"..."

Aizen's breathing faltered slightly.

He stared blankly at the figure bathed in the beam of light, watching as his long hair, which was originally black and white, was now visibly and completely stained with a pure silver-white.

At the center of the pillar of light, Sasuke opened his eyes.

The color of the eye patterns was not the original purple and scarlet, but rather a clear, glass-like gold.

Deep within those golden, wavy pupils, six jet-black tomoe, like stars surrounding the moon, slowly rotated around the central pupil.

What shocked Aizen even more was Sasuke's spiritual pressure.

After the burst of spiritual pressure, it did not subside as he had expected, but continued to grow steadily.

In other words, Sasuke is still getting stronger, even if he does nothing.

Perhaps this power has its limits, but at least it doesn't require expending any of one's own strength, so it's not a bad thing.

Aizen stared blankly at Sasuke, the smile on his face vanishing.

There was jealousy, there was resentment, but most of all, there was a fervent desire for a higher level of power.

"Is this true evolution...?"

The beam of light slowly dissipated.

Sasuke hovered in mid-air, his long silver hair moving without wind amidst the dissipating air currents.

He raised his right hand and held it out in front of his eyes, without making any further moves.

But the surrounding spiritual particles seemed to have heard a command, and they gathered and compressed into shape in his palm on their own.

In the end, it transformed into a silver-white, transparent longbow made entirely of spiritual particles, with nine purple magatama symbols branded on its body.

The bowstring was made of more condensed light, and with each vibration, it caused subtle ripples to spread through the surrounding space.

"..."

Sasuke felt the texture of this spiritual pressure and his expression was somewhat astonished.

"This is... the annihilating power belonging to the Spirit King?"

"Truly a perfect creation."

Aizen's voice, filled with complex emotions, rang out as he stared up at Sasuke in a daze. "In just a moment, your spiritual pressure has already surpassed mine."

The monk walked up to Aizen and patted him on the shoulder lightly.

"Speaking of which, that thing inside your body..."

The monk's tone became meaningful, "In essence, it is not much different from the gift that Lord Spirit King just gave us."

"However, the power contained within it is much weaker."

Aizen looked down at his chest, his eyes flashing with an unfathomable light.

Sasuke frowned slightly upon hearing this conversation.

A strong sense of unease washed over me.

Not right.

He looked down at the immortal robe he was wearing and his long, silver-white hair.

Feel the new power within your body that integrates the power of Indra, Asura, Death God, Hollow, Sage, the power of the Six Paths, and even the original power of the Spirit King.

Based on what the monk had said earlier, Sasuke could easily deduce that the more abundant the power within his body, the closer he was to the Soul King...

The more perfect the wedge, the better.

Could this monk in front of me be harboring such thoughts?

With this thought in mind, Sasuke narrowed his eyes, and a slight surge of terrifying power emanated from his body.

He stared at Hyosube Ichibei with an unfriendly gaze.

Chapter 210 The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path

"What's wrong, young man?"

Hyosube Ichibei seemed oblivious to the fleeting chill in Sasuke's eyes. "Is it because you're not used to this new power yet?"

Sasuke stared indifferently at the seemingly honest monk in front of him, but ultimately chose not to lash out immediately.

He knew in his heart that even if his guess was true, now was not the time to break off relations.

In this world, only absolute strength is the sole measure of everything.

If his current power truly surpasses that of everyone in the Zero Division, then whatever schemes Hyosube Ichibei may have, they are nothing but laughable tricks.

But if one's strength is not enough to crush him, then turning against him now would be futile.

Moreover, Sasuke could sense that within the power left to him by the Soul King, there seemed to be another power hidden within it.

It is exactly the same as the power of annihilation, or rather, it is the true manifestation of the characteristics of this power of annihilation.