Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

When Sasuke's vision cleared again, a cold kunai was already pressed against his throat.

The battle is over.

Sasuke stood still, motionless.

"hateful……"

He gritted his teeth, his heart filled with resentment, "It's that guy causing trouble again!"

Kakashi put away his kunai and looked calmly at Sasuke: "You are not yet a strong person, and you have no right to underestimate your opponent."

"Hmph." Sasuke let out a cold snort, "If it weren't for... Anyway, you'd be lucky this time."

He stubbornly defended himself, but his previous contempt had vanished.

Kakashi saw through his thoughts but didn't point them out. He just shrugged and said, "Well, in battle, only the result matters. If you lose, you lose."

Sasuke's expression turned somewhat grim. He remained silent for a moment before speaking again, "I acknowledge your magnanimity. You are indeed qualified to stand before me."

"Does what you just said still stand?" he asked somewhat stiffly.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised that he would say that.

"Huh? What did I say?"

“...Stay and get stronger.” Sasuke practically spat out those words through clenched teeth.

"Oh, that one."

Kakashi looked like he suddenly understood, then smiled and said, "Of course it counts. What, do you want to be my disciple?"

"Boring." Sasuke turned his head away, no longer looking at him, but did not mention leaving again.

Kakashi hoisted Naruto onto his shoulder and prepared to turn and leave when Sasuke's voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Tomorrow, what time?"

Kakashi paused, turned around, and looked at him with some surprise.

Sasuke's face remained indifferent, as if nothing had happened: "Ninja Academy."

Kakashi paused for a moment, then smiled—a genuine smile.

"Well, around nine in the morning, don't be late!"

After saying that, he vanished in a flash.

Watching Kakashi's departing figure, Sasuke looked down at the slightly trembling Zanpakuto in his hand and murmured:

"We did lose this time, but we'll give you a chance to go all out in the future."

Although he hates to admit it, staying in Konoha is indeed his best option right now.

Through this battle, Sasuke roughly realized his own strength.

If we go looking for Itachi now, let alone whether we can find him, we'll probably just be throwing our lives away...

It would be better to stay and get stronger, as Kakashi suggested.

After all, as a ninja, he still has a lot of room for improvement.

It would be difficult for him to find Itachi on his own, but staying behind would allow him to use Konoha's intelligence to find clues about Itachi.

But there's something more important right now.

How exactly did I get back to Konoha?

Because of that voice inside me? Or...?

If you don't understand why you travel between the two worlds, it will be troublesome if you can't get back to Soul Society next time.

Sasuke tried all sorts of strange and unusual methods, but none of them worked.

Chapter 8 Annoying Sakura

Uchiha Sasuke has changed a lot.

The students at the Ninja Academy have recently experienced this.

The most obvious change is internal.

Although Sasuke used to often have a stern face and don't like to talk to people, he always carried a bit of the awkwardness and arrogance that belonged to a child.

When he finishes his studies with top marks, a smile unconsciously appears on his lips, and his ears turn slightly red when he is fawned over by girls.

But now, everything is different.

That blood-red night drained all the light and warmth from him.

Sasuke, standing there now, exudes an inexplicable sense of deathly stillness.

……

"Hey Sakura, don't you think... Sasuke-kun seems to have become a little scary?" During lunch break, Yamanaka Ino, who was having lunch with Haruno Sakura, poked at her rice ball with her chopsticks and suddenly said this.

Upon hearing this, Sakura slowed down her chewing and followed Ino's gaze.

Uchiha Sasuke was sitting cross-legged under a tree on the side of the field, with a sheathed long sword lying across his lap.

Sasuke seemed no different from usual, at least in her eyes; he still acted like he didn't like to talk to people.

"Scary?" Sakura frowned, not quite agreeing with the word. "How could that be, Ino? Don't talk nonsense."

"But it just feels different."

Ino puffed out her cheeks, trying hard to organize her thoughts, "Although Sasuke was cool before and didn't pay much attention to people, it felt like he was still with us."

"That's because he went through unimaginable suffering."

Sakura's voice lowered, filled with deep pity, "Ino, think about it, if one day you come home and find that the Yamanaka family's flower shop is gone, and your parents are also gone... what would you do?"

Ino's face turned pale instantly; just thinking about that scene made her tears well up.

"I have no idea......"

"So, Sasuke-kun isn't scary in his current state."

Sakura Haruno looked at Sasuke's lonely figure and said firmly, "He's just locked himself away, afraid of making contact with others again, afraid of getting hurt again."

Ino nodded without saying anything, but she didn't quite agree with the view because Sasuke seemed very strange to her.

"How about we go talk to him?"

Sakura Haruno looked at Ino expectantly, "Even if he ignores us, wouldn't it be better if he knew that someone still cares about him?"

Yamanaka Ino hesitated for a moment: "But Sasuke-kun seems to be busy."

Ino's feeling was correct.

At this moment, Sasuke sat alone under the tree, like a lonely island, isolated from the whole world.

But in fact, it was Sasuke who deliberately isolated himself from the world.

His consciousness had long since sunk into his own mental world.

This is the Blade Zen.

The training method by which a Shinigami communicates with their own Zanpakuto.

In meditation, one resonates with their spiritual power and Zanpakuto, achieving the goal of communicating with the Zanpakuto.

Being able to communicate with the sword is the first step for a Shinigami to liberate their Zanpakuto.

Only by knowing the name of the sword can its true power be unleashed.

But for Sasuke now, it's more like a habit to kill time.

Communication? It's no longer needed.

Knowing the name of the sword and completing its initial release were the minimum requirements for him to graduate from the Shinigami Academy.

In an environment like the Eleventh Division, if you can't even take the first step of talking to a sword, you have no right to survive.

The reason he was still practicing Blade Zen was simply to isolate himself from the meaningless noise of the outside world, and to wait for a guy who was never punctual.

"Kakashi Hatake..."

Sasuke's consciousness detached from the mental world, his eyes opened, and a trace of irritation flashed across them.

We agreed to meet at 9 a.m.

It's lunch break time now.

Did I get stood up?

Or is this the magnanimity of a Konoha Jonin? Disregarding the agreement.

Just as his opinion of Kakashi dropped another notch, two figures interrupted his thoughts.

"Sasuke-kun!"

It was Sakura Haruno. She pulled the hesitant Ino Yamanaka along and walked straight over, a self-righteous smile of concern on her face. "You must be so lonely here all by yourself. Let's have lunch together?"

Sasuke didn't even lift his eyelids; the Zanpakuto on his lap exuded a cold aura.

"roll."

Sakura Haruno's smile froze on her face, but she quickly rallied and took another step forward.

"Sasuke-kun, I know you're sad, but you can't keep locking yourself away like this. We're comrades..."

"Sakura, let's go..." Ino whispered, tugging at her sleeve. Sakura could clearly feel the air around her getting colder; it wasn't an illusion.

"No!" Sakura stubbornly shook off Ino's hand. "I have to help him get through this!"

"I'll say it one last time: disappear from my sight." Sasuke finally raised his head.

"Why can't you understand my good intentions!" Sakura was inexplicably provoked and even tried to argue with him.

"What a hassle..."

Sasuke lost his patience.

He suddenly stood up, raised his left hand, and brought his index and middle fingers together, as a pure spiritual energy began to gather.

"Binding Spell Four..."