"Join you?" Sasuke shook his head, subconsciously touching the white cloth over his eyes. "I just wanted to see the Seireitei for myself."
After witnessing the darkness within Konoha, Sasuke had sealed his eyes completely, choosing to perceive the real world through his Mind's Eye. The Seireitei was his first stop. He wanted to know what kind of world Naruto had painstakingly created. What were its residents like?
Although he hadn't spent much time on the streets, he had sensed a relatively pure goodness and beauty. The strict rules established within the Seireitei also left a deep impression. The constantly patrolling guards prevented crime from taking root. It seemed similar to the Konoha Military Police Force, but the relationship between the guards and residents was excellent; they would even stop to chat occasionally.
The Seireitei also had a clear hierarchy, with captains managing their respective divisions, each filled with powerful individuals. Overall, the Seireitei was brimming with vitality.
But what impressed Sasuke the most was the abundance of Reishi in the air. The moment he stepped across the border, he could feel the distinct difference between the Seireitei and the outside world. Naruto had successfully transformed this place into a kingdom for Wandering Souls.
"What is your purpose in building the Seireitei? Why is the environment here so different?" Sasuke asked, his brow furrowed. Thinking of Naruto's goal to rule the shinobi world, a terrifying guess suddenly surfaced in his mind.
Does Naruto intend to transform the entire shinobi world into an environment fit only for Wandering Souls?
Such a horrifying idea must never be allowed to come to fruition!
Beneath the blindfold, Sasuke's eyes fixed on Naruto, and a faint glimmer of lightning could be seen.
"Why should I need to explain my purpose to you?" Naruto met Sasuke's question with a look of disdain. "On the contrary, you're the one who has foolishly entered enemy territory. A decision like that truly dishonors the Uchiha name."
At Naruto's taunt, Sasuke coldly lifted his head and assumed a fighting stance. "I have already cast aside the Uchiha name. And since I came here, I naturally have the confidence to leave."
Seeing Sasuke so full of self-assurance, Naruto was momentarily taken aback. It seemed that no matter how much power Sasuke gained, his innate compulsion to show off would never fade.
"Interesting. It seems you've abandoned those eyes," Naruto said, his interest waning slightly. "In that case, you all can play with him for a while. I'd like to see where this confidence of yours comes from." Naruto raised his hand slightly, and a white throne emerged from the ground. He sat down gracefully, resting his head on his right hand as he watched Sasuke with amusement.
"I'll do it." Rock Lee stepped forward, his face alight with excitement. Seeing this, Shion moved to Naruto's side and began to gently massage his shoulders.
"Lee? You're no match for me," Sasuke said with a dismissive expression.
"You're too arrogant, Sasuke." In response, Rock Lee let his actions speak for him.
Using Shunpo, he appeared in front of Sasuke, throwing a heavy punch straight at his face.
"You'll never be my opponent now that you've given up your eyes!" Lee's punch was powerful, and the wind it generated lifted the blindfold from Sasuke's face.
Smack. With a soft sound, to Lee's astonishment, Sasuke easily caught his wrist, a contemptuous smile on his face.
"Give up, Lee. You can't stop the me of today."
As he spoke, Lee's abdomen caved in, and he was sent flying backward like a cannonball, his feet carving long trenches in the ground.
"Even without my eyes, I can see everything. In my Mind's Eye, you have nowhere to hide." Sasuke's figure instantly appeared in front of Lee, lightning crackling around his feet.
Boom. Lee was kicked into the air. Countless arcs of lightning streaked across the sky as he was tossed about like a sandbag.
"Lee, after defecting from Konoha, you haven't improved at all," Sasuke said, appearing above him. He delivered a deadpan kick downwards, lightning converging at his foot to form a Chidori.
Sizzle.
The Chidori pierced through Lee, the force of the blow slamming him into a massive crater below. Dust billowed, his fate unknown.
"Now it's your turn, Naruto," Sasuke said, turning to face him, a hint of pride in his heart. In the past, defeating Lee would have required a great deal of effort. Now, he could do it with ease. His mastery of the Mind's Eye was becoming more and more effortless; fighting blindfolded had no effect on him.
"The fight isn't over yet." In response to Sasuke's provocation, Naruto calmly patted Shion's hand, signaling for her to stop. His gaze passed through the dust and into the crater, a strange curve to his lips.
The next moment, a powerful and undeniable Reiatsu erupted from within the pit.
Sasuke turned impassively to face the crater, a hint of caution in his eyes. He hadn't expected his former punching bag to now possess a level of Reiatsu that could even make him feel a twinge of apprehension.
"I take back what I said, Lee. You do have some skill," Sasuke said, raising his hand as lightning began to gather.
"Don't underestimate me, Sasuke. I'm not the same as I was before." The smoke cleared, revealing an unharmed Rock Lee. A white mist swirled in front of him, finally coalescing into a strange scepter.
"This is my Shikai, Divine Wish," Lee said, brandishing the scepter as he met Sasuke's gaze.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Five massive fireballs appeared in the sky, hurtling down towards Sasuke as Lee's calm voice echoed, "I've given up all my taijutsu abilities in exchange for long-range combat. This is my Shikai."
"Earth Hand." The ground surged, forming a giant hand that shot up to grab Sasuke.
The five fireballs crashed down, and the resulting explosion sent a violent shockwave sweeping through the area. Naruto's Reiatsu washed over the arena, creating a ripple in the world that contained the blast within a controlled area. No matter how fierce the explosions were, the residents outside would not notice a thing.
After the explosion, Sasuke was revealed, completely unharmed.
"He took all those attacks head-on with just his body?" Naruto frowned. "That's not a Zanpakuto ability. The Reiatsu has strengthened his physical body... he's more like a human with Reiatsu. A Quincy?"
Naruto had heard about the special group known as the Quincy from Aizen. Unlike Shinigami, Quincy completely annihilated Hollows, preventing them from reincarnating. Their attacks also relied on Reiatsu, but their frail human bodies were often their weakness. After all, a human body had its limits. In the past, the Quincy had fought a bloody war with the Shinigami and had all but vanished after their defeat. As a result, even Aizen's knowledge of them was limited.
"This is getting interesting," Naruto said, unable to help himself from sitting up straight and watching the fight with renewed focus. One had abandoned all close-combat ability, while the other specialized in it. This was bound to be a fascinating battle.
Under Lee's control, the entire area was filled with ice needles, fireballs, and hailstones, all raining down on Sasuke. But Sasuke's expression remained calm. A dazzling golden light erupted from his body, and he moved so fast he left afterimages, shattering every attack in an instant.
"Too weak, Lee." In a flash, he closed the distance between them, his right fist crackling with lightning as he threw a punch.
Thwack. The punch landed on Lee's chest, but it didn't have the expected impact. Lee's body twisted and transformed into countless entangling vines that wrapped around Sasuke. Several ice spears then materialized three meters away and shot towards him.
"Did you really give up taijutsu, Lee?" Sasuke sneered. The lightning around him flared, shattering the vines. He chopped with his hand, breaking the ice spears. "Or did you just get lazy after becoming a Shinigami?" Sasuke's speed surged, and in an instant, he was in front of Lee's real body, his palm on Lee's chest, his eyes filled with contempt.
"Final Flash."
Boom. With a deafening roar, Lee was engulfed in a blinding light. The massive explosion sent him flying back dozens of meters, crashing through several trees.
"They both only recently became Shinigami, but the gap between them is still quite large. Is this the power of a Quincy?" Naruto thought to himself. "But Lee won't be defeated that easily. In the past, he focused solely on taijutsu, and was ridiculed for his lack of talent in ninjutsu and genjutsu. Deep down, he always longed to be like the other ninja. When his Zanpakuto awakened, that suppressed desire manifested, transforming his taijutsu abilities into other talents. But it also retained a degree of his physical conditioning. That means his durability is still quite good. A move like that won't be enough to seriously injure him."
As if on cue, Lee stood up, patting the dirt off his clothes, his face alight with excitement.
"Amazing, Sasuke! You're even stronger than I imagined!"
"Then I won't hold back either." Lee formed a strange hand seal, and a clone split off from his body.
"Eight Gates Release!" To Sasuke and Naruto's surprise, the clone immediately opened the first five gates.
"I didn't expect Lee to have that trick up his sleeve. Interesting," Naruto nodded in satisfaction. "The main body for long-range, the clone for close-combat. It's essentially a two-on-one. A very interesting Zanpakuto ability."
"Sasuke, it was only after becoming a Shinigami that I glimpsed a new world," Lee's clone said, appearing in front of Sasuke and kicking him into the air.
"In my life, I've come to realize the limitations of a ninja. To break through, one must improve on a fundamental level. That's one of the reasons I became a Shinigami." Sasuke's chest took another heavy blow, sending him rocketing higher into the sky.
"In the past, I was mocked as a failure. But who would have thought that I now possess the strength of a Kage?"
"Konoha is corrupt, and so is the shinobi world. I will prove it with my strength." With a sonic boom, Sasuke was kicked back down to the ground.
"I haven't fallen. I have been reborn."
"Hellfire." A sea of scorching flames erupted on the ground where Sasuke was about to land, forming a fiery hand that engulfed him. The intense heat warped the air and cracked the earth.
Sizzle. The flames burned on, and Sasuke's figure could be faintly seen within. Suddenly, a pillar of lightning shot up, completely shattering the hellfire. Sasuke's calm voice came from within:
"I admit, your ability is not bad. You actually forced me to use this move." As they watched, Sasuke's hair stood on end, and crackling lightning surrounded his body.
"Hmm? Lightning-attribute Reiatsu? Similar to Lightning Release, it strengthens the body. His physical durability has reached a point where it can't be ignored. Even an ordinary Chidori wouldn't be able to hurt him now. Is this the power of the Quincy?"
Hearing Naruto's words, Shion frowned and said softly, "Lord Naruto, if Sasuke builds up a Quincy force, it won't be good for us. Should we kill him?"
"No need. They're just Quincy," Naruto shook his head, his gaze fixed on the battlefield. "The fight is about to end."
On the battlefield, a super-charged Sasuke was locked in combat with Lee's clone. Their figures flickered, leaving afterimages all over the arena. After a dozen exchanges, Sasuke destroyed the clone with a single punch and broke through all of the real Lee's techniques, knocking him unconscious. The entire time, Lee was on the defensive.
This allowed Naruto to see Sasuke's potential even more clearly.
"Your ability is decent, but it's not enough to face my Mind's Eye," Sasuke said, looking at Naruto. The eyes hidden behind the white cloth seemed to see Naruto's surprise.
"To defeat Lee after abandoning your sight... a fine talent," Naruto nodded in satisfaction. "It seems you have grown. I'm curious, have you truly discarded the Sharingan, or do you fear its power, and that's why you cover your eyes?"
Sasuke covered his eyes and said in a low voice, "I closed these eyes myself because they have seen too much evil. I want to use my Mind's Eye to feel the truth of this world, and my strength to defend my ideals."
"Is that why you came to the Seireitei?" Naruto asked playfully. "You should understand that you are too weak right now."
"I wanted to see what kind of person you are now. Are you still gentle, or are you as arrogant and confident as before? I can see your ideals in your Seireitei. I approve of everything within it, but," Sasuke's tone rose, "if you intend to turn all humans into Wandering Souls, then I will risk my life to stop you!"
"You've become even more conceited, Sasuke," Naruto shook his head, his expression turning cold. "Remember, right now, you are just an experiment."
As he spoke, a white Rasengan formed in Naruto's hand, and he tossed it lightly towards Sasuke.
"Do you really think an attack like that can hurt me? With my Mind's Eye, I have already seen through everything," Sasuke laughed maniacally, looking up.
"Guh!" The next moment, his vision swam, and the Rasengan was already on his chest, its boiling power pushing him backward.
"How is that possible? My Mind's Eye..." Behind the white cloth, his eyes widened in disbelief.
"When were you under the impression that you weren't under the influence of Kyoka Suigetsu?" Naruto's playful voice echoed.
The seething energy of the Rasengan carried Sasuke into the sky, tracing a brilliant arc before he landed outside the Seireitei's border with a deafening explosion.
"Let's go," Naruto said, standing up expressionlessly and walking towards the main hall.
Outside the Seireitei, Tobi hid in a corner, watching Sasuke get caught in the explosion, his heart pounding. In his eyes, Sasuke was already quite powerful, but within the Seireitei, he was still nothing.
Looking at the injured Sasuke, an idea began to form in his mind. Now that Uchiha Obito had lost his usefulness, perhaps he could invite Sasuke to join the Akatsuki. Maybe Sasuke could even replace Obito as Uchiha Madara's representative. The more Tobi thought about it, the better the idea seemed.
"Damn it!" Sasuke emerged from the explosion, covered in wounds. He clutched one arm, blood dripping from his hands.
"Who's there!?" Suddenly, Sasuke's head snapped in the direction of White Zetsu. Tobi instantly felt himself being targeted.