Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

Yhwach stood with his hands behind his back, letting the surrounding waves of fire crash against him.

“But you have grown old, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni.”

"Look at yourself now. Even though you are consumed by rage, it can't hide the decay of your body."

"You are far inferior to what you were a thousand years ago."

"Arrogant scoundrel." Yamamoto Genryusai sneered. "My appearance may indeed be aging, but that doesn't mean my blade, which is meant to kill you, will become dull!"

He raised the knife and slowly swung it down.

"I haven't used this power for a thousand years."

"It's not because I've become weak from seeking comfort..."

"It's because it has grown stronger with the years, so much so that even I dare not easily pull it out of Seireitei."

The blade swung, hovering at waist level.

"But since it's about dealing with you—"

A blinding glint flashed in the old man's eyes.

"Swastika."

"Remnant Fire Sword!"

The surrounding flames vanished in an instant, leaving behind only the residual high temperature and dryness, with almost no other signs to prove that the flames had ever existed.

Even the knife in his hand changed.

The blade was no longer smooth, but had become charred and rough, as if it were a piece of dead wood that had been repeatedly forged in a furnace and had been completely carbonized.

It appears to have no sharpness and poses no threat whatsoever.

High in the sky, Haschward looked at the weapon, which resembled charred wood, and frowned slightly: "To call something so weak 'Bankai'?"

His words were heard by Yhwach on the ground, who said, "Don't underestimate him. The Blazing Blade has forcibly compressed and sealed all the flames that are enough to burn the heavens and the earth into that small blade."

"That is a sword of mighty fire that, once swung, can instantly incinerate anything it strikes, leaving not even ashes!"

With a stern face, Yamamoto Genryusai held the carbonized wooden sword upright in front of him, its tip pointing directly at Yhwach.

“You really do know it well, Yhwach,” the old man said coldly. “I remember you did see it once a thousand years ago.”

"But are you sure it's exactly the same as it was a thousand years ago?"

Yhwach sneered, and in his palm, a circular metal badge engraved with five equal lines quietly appeared, emitting a ghostly blue light.

"Whether it's the same or not, what does it matter?" he said arrogantly. "Use your Bankai in front of me."

"You're really confident. Aren't you afraid I'll steal your Bankai?"

Star Seal.

This was the Wandenreich's biggest trump card in its invasion of Soul Society, and the culprit that caused many Shinigami captains to instantly lose their fighting ability.

But Yamamoto Genryusai showed no fear and instantly moved closer: "What a boring statement."

"Do you think you can disturb my mind with that little gadget?"

"I have lived for over a thousand years. In the eyes of those younger generations, I may be a pedantic and stubborn old man. In terms of intelligence, I am indeed not as good as Kyoraku and Ukitake."

“But…” Yamamoto Genryusai’s eyes widened suddenly as he stared intently at the star in Yhwach’s hand. “I’m not a fool!”

“Yhwabach, the reason you haven’t used that thing on me is not because you don’t want to take it.”

"But it's you who can't take it at all!"

Am I right?

Upon hearing this, Yhwach paused slightly, his grip on the Star Badge tightened involuntarily, and his gaze became serious.

"Sure enough."

Yamamoto Genryusai confirmed his guess and continued, "During the battle just now, Ukitake Jushiro passed on some information to me."

"You bunch of cowards, you've attacked the Substitute Shinigami in the human world, and even used that tool to steal Bankai."

"But the result is that you failed."

Old man Yamamoto snorted coldly, "At first I didn't understand the reason, but after thinking about it carefully, the answer is very simple."

"Your tool is not omnipotent. If you want to take over Bankai, you must first 'understand' the limits of that Bankai and analyze its power composition."

"The reason you were so eager to attack Ichigo Kurosaki is because you were afraid of him."

"His abilities are unique, complex and varied, and he has only been practicing Bankai for a short time, so there is still a lot of room for evolution."

"You failed because you were unable to analyze a Bankai that was still changing and had unknown limits."

The old man held the broken fire katana horizontally in front of his chest, "But I am a different case."

"For thousands of years, I have sat in the position of captain, but have never truly shown the world my full strength."

“Even before this, Ryujin Jakka had fought against you, but that was just the tip of the iceberg of your Shikai. It is worlds apart from the Bankai that I personally master.”

"The data you have about the 'Broken Blade' is still stuck in that battle a thousand years ago."

"Shut up!"

Yhwach gritted his teeth angrily, "Don't act like you know everything! Do you think you can stop me like this?"

Yamamoto Genryusai ignored him and simply raised his head: "Uchiha Sasuke, open your eyes and take a look."

"In terms of ability and talent, you are indeed a rare genius. I have lived for a thousand years and have never seen such an amazing junior as you."

"But if you want to use that kind of method to forcibly change Soul Society and destroy the existing order..."

"It will not succeed."

The old man gripped the long knife tightly in his hand.

"Let me show you the enlightenment I've gained over the past thousand years, and the true power that supports the Seireitei!"

"If you want to change the world, you still have a long way to go!"

Sasuke stared blankly down below, neither agreeing nor disagreeing with the lecture.

Yamamoto Genryusai lowered his head again and swung his sword.

"Remnant Fire Taishou·Nan——"

"Firefire Ten Trillion Death Burial Array!"

The blade pierced the ground, and the earth cracked open.

One by one, charred, withered bone claws emerged from the depths of the crack.

Then, skeletons, completely devoid of flesh and blood, charred and mutilated, crawled out from the depths of the earth.

Ten, a hundred, a thousand...

Their bodies were burning with dim embers, and their gazes were fixed on Yhwach not far away.

These are...

Yhwach stared blankly at the charred sea of ​​skulls.

The skeletons were completely devoid of flesh and blood, so broken that their original shapes were almost unrecognizable.

But Yhwach, the king who once ruled them, recognized them instantly.

“Zeol...Alfred...Julius..."

These were all his old subordinates who followed him in his campaign against the Soul Society a thousand years ago, and who ultimately died in the flames of Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni.

Its flesh and blood were burned away by the flames, and even its soul was imprisoned in this blade, turning it into a necromancer puppet to be used by the caster.

"Yamamoto Genryusai!"

He could not tolerate that his past glory was being used by Death as a "teaching tool" to instruct future generations, and was being so wantonly desecrated and toyed with!

"Are you trying to humiliate me like this?!"

Yhwach suddenly spread his arms wide to the sides, and violent spiritual particles gathered around him like a hurricane.

"You think this will stop me?!"

"I will definitely kill you here!"

He suddenly grabbed at the void, and a longbow instantly took shape. The Sacred Annihilation Arrow condensed in an instant and rushed towards Yamamoto Genryusai.

On a macro level, their battle is a battle between the "Seireitei" and the "Wanken Empire".

A continuation of the bloody feud from a thousand years ago.

But Sasuke, as an observer, felt a strong sense of unease for no apparent reason.

The development of this battle situation was somewhat beyond his expectations.

It's not that the "Yohabach" below isn't strong.

On the contrary, he was extremely powerful, with spiritual pressure surpassing that of the vast majority of people present.

But if this is the "founder of the Quincy," the King of the Wandenreich who makes the entire Soul Society feel as if it were a formidable enemy...

not enough.

Too ordinary.

He only displayed the most conventional Quincy techniques—Holy Arrow, Still Blood Armor, and Moving Blood Armor.

Let alone someone like Hasward, or Valkyrie before him, who possesses abilities based on some special rule.

Even the two Sternritters who fought Kuchiki Byakuya just now, who displayed "manipulating fear" or "finding spiritual particle loopholes," were not shown by this man who is the "King."

Hasward himself said that their "sacred script" was a gift from His Majesty.

How could someone who can bestow "miracles" and "harmony" upon others only shoot a few light arrows and use some of the most basic spiritual particle clusters?

This level of pressure is far less direct than when Kaguya Otsutsuki descended.

But Yamamoto Genryusai, standing in the center of the battlefield, seemed unaware of this, or rather, he hadn't even considered it.

The man he's fighting now seems weaker than he was a thousand years ago.

But he could accurately pronounce the names of his old subordinates and perform the moves he was familiar with.