Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

"The five great nations are now leaderless, and the ninja world is in an unprecedented power vacuum."

Kakashi tentatively asked, "Are you planning to use the Land of Fire as the center to annex other countries and establish a complete and unified nation?"

In his view, this was the most logical and safest step.

But Sasuke shook his head.

"No, you'll find out what I'm going to do later."

"Now, there are more important things to deal with."

His eyes sharpened. "Where is Madara Uchiha now? Have you found out anything about him?"

Upon hearing this, Kakashi shook his head with a wry smile.

"I don't know. The secret service has cast all the nets, but there's still no news."

"If he is determined to hide, probably no one in this world can find him."

“Is that so…” A hint of disappointment flashed in Sasuke’s eyes.

"I do have some clues." Just then, Orochimaru suddenly spoke up in a low voice.

"Oh, tell me about it."

“Kabuto, he suddenly disappeared just two days ago, on the eve of the war in the Land of Iron.” Orochimaru licked his lips as he met Sasuke’s gaze.

Sasuke frowned even more: "You mean?"

"That kid, Kabuto, although he seems very loyal to me, is a smart person, too smart."

Orochimaru smiled knowingly. "He never makes choices he's not sure of, and he certainly doesn't disappear without a reason."

"To disappear at such a crucial moment, and even I couldn't sense where he went..."

Orochimaru paused for a moment, then concluded, "Besides you and me, the only other person in this world who could make him willingly sever ties with me is probably that other person."

"Things don't always happen by chance. Kabuto's disappearance is definitely related to Madara."

Sasuke pondered for a moment and then accepted this deduction.

"Do you have a way to find Kabuto?" Sasuke asked.

"Hehe, of course." Orochimaru smiled confidently. "My chakra is still inside him. Even if some kind of high-level sealing restriction is placed on him, as long as he is not dead, I can sense his approximate location."

“Very good.” Sasuke nodded. “Then let’s try to find him. The ninja world is only so big. As long as we can pinpoint the general area, I can find him.”

"We'll definitely find Madara Uchiha."

Without any hesitation, the group set off immediately.

In the following hours, Orochimaru kept his eyes closed and, relying on that faint sense of direction, constantly adjusted his course at the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Earth.

Finally, they stopped in a forest.

"This is it."

Orochimaru opened his eyes, but his brows furrowed slightly. "The connection ended here. It felt like something had forcibly severed it."

Sasuke looked around, activated his Sharingan, and scanned every inch of the land.

There was no barrier, no illusion, and not even the flow of chakra could be sensed.

But he trusted Orochimaru's judgment.

"Can the area be reduced?" Sasuke asked.

"Within a radius of ten miles," Orochimaru gave a somewhat imprecise answer.

"enough."

Sasuke said calmly.

...........

The narrow space between life and death.

This is a space that exists independently of reality, yet is also dependent on it.

In the center of this space, Madara Uchiha sat cross-legged on a floating boulder, his eyes slightly closed.

Not far behind him, a huge and menacing wooden shell stood silently.

On the golem's back, ten stalagmites-like protrusions emanated a chilling sense of oppression.

The fluctuations outside this space were also detected by Madara Uchiha.

"What a fine junior."

He opened his eyes, raised his head, and looked straight up. "He can even sense this place."

Kabuto, standing behind Madara, looked up and sensed the situation upon hearing this, his tone surprised.

"I can only sense Lord Orochimaru's chakra..."

He looked at Madara's retreating figure and asked in a low voice, "Has Sasuke-kun found us yet?"

Not yet, but it will be soon.

Ban withdrew his gaze, showing little concern, and turned to stare at the demonic statue behind him.

Sasuke's power did not frighten him.

However, those special techniques were indeed somewhat incredible, and he had to be wary of them.

Kabuto looked at Madara's profile and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He probably guessed why Sasuke had been able to find this place.

Lord Orochimaru's "insurance" has always been two-way.

...........

In the real world, Sasuke closed his eyes and sensed for a long time before finally opening them.

"No specific entry point was found."

He spoke softly, without a trace of frustration in his voice.

"but......"

Sasuke raised his head and looked at the seemingly empty void in front of him. "This place feels a lot like that kind of place."

"That kind of place?" Yoruichi asked curiously. "Where do you mean?"

"Call me Gu."

Sasuke uttered that word.

"Tani?" Yoruichi paused, then suddenly realized, "You mean those outside the Rukongai in Soul Society..."

“That’s right.” Sasuke nodded.

"Call Valley" is a very special "space" in Soul Society.

The rift between Soul Society and the human world is called the "Dangai".

Generally speaking, only spatial and temporal turbulence exists in the rift, and there are creatures called "Kuto" that clean up any remaining creatures in the rift.

However, there are always exceptions. Over the long course of time, there will be some souls that are not sent to Soul Society or reach Hueco Mundo.

They remain in the broken realm with a probability of one in ten million, gather together, and gradually form a small world that exists outside the three realms but is dependent on them for existence.

Such a spiritual space is called "Calling Valley".

Sasuke pointed to the void ahead.

"Although there is no 'severance' in the ninja world, there is still a boundary between the living and the dead."

"So the small space where Ban hid should be a place sandwiched between the present world and the Pure Land, similar to a 'calling valley'."

"So there's a way?" Orochimaru asked.

Sasuke looked at Orochimaru: "Orochimaru, go and notify all the civilians in the vicinity to evacuate within half an hour."

"Although this is a forest, it's better to clear it out just in case."

"learn."

Orochimaru nodded, asked no further questions, and vanished from the spot in a flash.

About half an hour later, Sasuke took a deep breath and began to mobilize the power within his body.

"Since we can't find the entrance..."

He raised his right hand, and black and white lightning began to gather wildly in his palm.

"Then let's clear out this space in front of us as well."

"Susanoo!"

Rumble—!!!

Purple chakra shot into the sky, instantly transforming into a complete Susanoo hundreds of meters tall, standing tall on this desert.

Takemikazuchi's enormous body blocked out the sunlight and cast a huge shadow.

Sasuke stood between Susanoo's eyebrows, his hands forming hand seals.

"The heavens weep."

Dark clouds began to gather wildly over the forest.

The once clear sky was instantly covered by thick thunderclouds, with countless black lightning bolts churning and roaring within the clouds.

"Not enough..."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and he raised the "Futsu-no-Mitama" in his Susanoo high, pointing it straight at the sky.

"Qilin".

At his summons, lightning from all directions converged wildly toward the lightning sword.

A gigantic Qilin, composed entirely of lightning, poked its ferocious head out from the clouds.

It roared, its thunderous roar deafening.

"Disappear."

Sasuke swung his arm down.