Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

Sasuke raised his hand and gave a gentle push.

The door was wide open, and the five daimyo huddled in a corner of the room, their faces filled with terror.

Sasuke's gaze merely swept over them briefly before lingering there.

In his eyes, these remnants of the old era, whose very bones had been corrupted by power, were no different from the dead.

What truly caught his attention was another unfamiliar chakra.

Sasuke looked up and saw a man sitting in the center of the roof beam.

He had long, black hair that looked like a hedgehog, covering half his face. He wore red armor and had an arrogant expression.

"Are you Uchiha Sasuke?" the man asked, his voice arrogant. "This face really does resemble Izuna's."

Sasuke looked at him, meeting his gaze with those Rinnegan eyes.

With his own precedent, he certainly wouldn't be as foolish as Obito, asking questions like "Why do you have the Rinnegan?"

"You are Uchiha Madara," he said softly, lost in thought.

“Indeed.” Madara’s lips curled slightly. “It seems that even in this forgotten era, my name can still be remembered by future generations.”

"spot?!"

Upon hearing this name, the five powerful figures who had been cowering in the corner, trembling with fear, jumped up one by one, like cats whose tails had been stepped on.

"You idiot! If you were here, why didn't you come out sooner?!"

The daimyo of the Land of Fire pointed at Madara and roared, his face contorted with rage.

"Do you know how scared we were?! What if that kid had barged in and killed us?!"

"Exactly! What kind of bodyguard are you?!" the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning roared. "We were paid 'compensation'!"

Faced with the accusations from the daimyo, Madara slightly turned his head and glanced coldly at the corner.

"Shut up."

It was a casual remark, yet it exuded a chilling murderous aura.

The five powerful figures could only gasp for breath, their faces turning a deep purplish-red, and they dared not utter another sound.

Madara withdrew his gaze, looked back at Sasuke, and nodded approvingly.

"To possess such power and vision at such a young age, even in the Warring States period, you would be considered a genius."

Madara leaped down from the roof beam and landed steadily in front of Sasuke, arms crossed.

"I've heard about your deeds." Madara looked at Sasuke, his tone carrying a hint of recruitment. "Do you want to overthrow this corrupt ninja world and establish a new order? A very ambitious idea."

He stretched out one hand, palm up.

"Since our goals don't conflict, why not join me?"

Sasuke scoffed, his tone undisguisedly mocking.

"Don't embarrass yourself by showing off relics from the old era."

He looked coldly at Ban, "Your era is long over. Don't you find it ridiculous that you're trying to recruit me with such outdated arguments?"

Ban's hand froze in mid-air, and the smile on his face gradually faded.

"Relics..." he repeated the word in a low voice, then sneered, "It seems that defeating an Edo Hashirama who couldn't even unleash half of his full strength has made you quite arrogant, brat."

"Arrogance?" Sasuke shook his head calmly. "Arrogance stems from ignorance, while my confidence..."

The immense spiritual pressure emanating from him surged slightly, causing the air to tremble.

"It stems from absolute strength."

"On the contrary, it's you."

Sasuke stepped forward, looking directly into Madara's eyes, "You went to great lengths to revive him, and then had Obito collect the Tailed Beasts everywhere..."

"Is your goal really just that ridiculous Eye of the Moon Plan?"

"Oh?" Ban raised an eyebrow slightly, clearly somewhat surprised. "It seems you've seen that stone tablet too."

He did not deny it; instead, he readily admitted, "That's right, that's the answer I gave to the world."

“But…” Madara looked at Sasuke, his eyes filled with confusion, “Why do you think that’s ridiculous?”

"To create a perfect world without war, without pain, only happiness... isn't that the ultimate dream of every ninja?"

"Perfect?"

Sasuke seemed to have heard some absurd joke and couldn't help but scoff.

"Indulging in a false dream, playing a happy role in a carefully crafted script, being kept like livestock..."

You call this perfect?

"That kind of false peace is like a castle built on the beach; it will collapse completely as soon as a wave comes in."

"The so-called Infinite Tsukuyomi is nothing more than a huge lie you've woven for yourself to escape the cruelty of reality."

"escape?"

Ban's face darkened. "Kid, you're too young. You don't understand how cruel reality is, far beyond your imagination."

Ban raised his head and looked up at the distant horizon.

"Under the intense sunlight, footprints imprinted on thin ice will disappear without a trace. This world is built on countless lies and illusions."

He looked at Sasuke again, his tone becoming impassioned.

"It is better to find eternal peace in beautiful dreams than to struggle to survive in the harsh reality."

"In the world of Infinite Tsukuyomi, there is no war, no famine, and no troubles."

"Your loved ones will rise from the dead and be by your side; all your regrets will be made up for..."

Ban opened his arms wide. "So what if it's all fake?"

"As long as people can feel genuine happiness from it, that is true salvation!"

Sasuke listened quietly, his expression unchanged, but the mockery in his eyes grew stronger.

"That sounds nice."

Sasuke raised his hand and extended his palm towards Madara. "I'm really looking forward to it."

"If you really have the ability to do all of this."

Madara looked at the hand reaching out to him, remained silent for a moment, then lowered his arm and let out a soft, ambiguous laugh.

"An interesting kid."

Madara stood there quietly, his gaze calmly fixed on Sasuke.

This strange standoff left Nagato and Orochimaru, who had been standing behind Sasuke, puzzled.

Why are you talking nonsense here when you're clearly mortal enemies?

If we can't reach an agreement, why not just take action?

“This is a shadow clone.” Sasuke sensed their emotional fluctuations and explained calmly, “After all, even Hashirama Senju was defeated by me.”

"Now he doesn't dare to show his true form in front of me."

"After being a coward for decades, I've just changed my shell and am continuing to hide."

Madara burst into laughter: "Hahahaha... Your abilities are indeed quite impressive."

"However, he's still a bit lacking in brainpower."

"If I hadn't happened to have other things to do, do you think you'd still be standing here talking to me?"

"You should be glad that I don't have my hands free right now."

"otherwise......"

Madara's eyes instantly turned icy cold. "You are now a dead man."

Sasuke smiled faintly.

"is it?"

"Well then, let me look forward to our next meeting."

The moment he finished speaking, he clenched his raised right hand tightly.

Dark flames suddenly ignited on Ban's body.

Madara Uchiha calmly looked at Sasuke, a faint smile still playing on his lips, as he let the black flames engulf his body.

"We'll see each other again soon, Sasuke."

Leaving behind his last words, Ban's figure transformed into a wisp of white smoke and vanished completely into the air.

Sasuke turned around and looked at Nagato behind him.

"Can you sense the location of Madara's true form?"

Although his own power far surpassed Nagato's, Nagato, as a member of the Uzumaki clan and possessing the Rinnegan, did indeed have a unique advantage in this kind of wide-range, precise perception.

Upon hearing this, Nagato immediately closed his eyes, formed hand seals, and extended his perception to its limit.

A moment later, he opened his eyes with a frown and shook his head.

“No.” Nagato’s voice was heavy. “There is an extremely large amount of chakra blocking my senses.”

“I can only vaguely sense that he’s in that direction…” he pointed north, “but I can’t pinpoint his exact location.”

"Is it blocked...?"

Sasuke glanced in that direction and nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that guy is indeed very cautious; he would never easily reveal his location unless he was absolutely certain of success.

"I understand." Sasuke withdrew his gaze, completely unconcerned.

The remaining tailed beasts are now in his hands.

As long as he still wants to realize that so-called Eye of the Moon Plan, as long as he still wants to revive the Ten-Tails...

He can't escape himself. You don't need to go looking for him; he'll come out to his death sooner or later.