The Dangai, a seemingly ordinary, dark, and silent passage.
Two figures were traveling through this boundless darkness at an astonishing speed.
They were Soul Reapers, also known as envoys who maintain the balance, and at this moment, they were passing through the Senkaimon from the Soul Society to the World of the Living.
Ahead, Kuchiki Rukia's body was enveloped in a clean, white stream of Reishi, her movements crisp and efficient, clearly very familiar with this passage.
She glanced back at the figure following not far behind, a hint of helplessness appearing on her delicate face.
"Hey, Uchiha Sasuke, keep up! It's your first time in the World of the Living. If you get swept away by the Kōryū because you're distracted, you'll become the joke of the Gotei 13 for the next century!"
The boy called Uchiha Sasuke didn't respond, merely quickening his pace in silence.
He looked no older than a ten-year-old child. The standard Shihakusho he wore was a bit loose on him, making the surrounding darkness seem even more cold and desolate.
Beneath his short black hair, a pair of jet-black eyes were as still as an old well. The Zanpakutō at his waist swayed slightly as he sped up.
Sasuke disliked carrying out this so-called mission, but he had a reason he had to come to the World of the Living.
Three years ago, on that bloody night of the clan's massacre, he had been defeated by that man using a Mangekyo Sharingan genjutsu called "Tsukuyomi."
He thought he would be trapped in that hell forever, but when he regained consciousness, he found himself in a place called the Rukongai.
The people here told him that this was the Soul Society, a place where souls go after death.
Although he hadn't experienced the "Konso" that others spoke of, the reality of the situation was easy for Sasuke to grasp.
Being here meant that he was already dead.
It was an absurd conclusion, but he accepted it.
Only this could explain why he had left that village reeking of blood.
The Soul Society was a final resting place for the dead, but also a cage that deprived him of his right to revenge, and becoming a "Soul Reaper," gaining the power to traverse worlds, was his only way to return to the "World of the Living" and find Uchiha Itachi to exact his revenge.
Relying on the Uchiha clan's innate talent for combat and a hatred that was bone-deep, he learned Shikai in just one year, subsequently graduating from the Shino Academy and establishing himself in Squad 11, the division in the Soul Society that revered strength above all else.
There, no one cared about your past; they only believed in the blades in their hands and the strength of their Spiritual Pressure.
Its captain, Zaraki Kenpachi, was a monster born purely for the sake of battle.
Having been steeped in that environment for three years, Sasuke had been honed into something purer, like an unsheathed blade, existing only to sever the neck of his enemy.
Finally, he successfully applied for a mission to the World of the Living.
"We're almost there! Get ready, the exit is in Karakura Town!" Rukia's voice pulled Sasuke from his brief reverie.
Ahead, a bright point of light rapidly expanded.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly, and the fingers gripping the hilt of his sword at his waist tightened unconsciously.
"Konoha... Itachi... I'm back."
The gate opened in mid-air, and as the soft light dissipated, Sasuke and Rukia's figures appeared on the rooftop of a tall building.
Sasuke surveyed his surroundings. What met his eyes were towering steel skyscrapers, flashing neon lights, and cars moving like beetles on the streets in the distance.
This place was filled with the aura of the living, and a kind of noise that felt unfamiliar to him.
Sasuke's brow furrowed slightly.
This wasn't Konoha, nor was it like the other ninja villages described in his textbooks. There were no ninja village symbols.
In his memory, although Konoha was prosperous, it was characterized more by quaint wooden buildings. Here, there was only cold steel and a clamor that he found irritating.
"So? First time in the World of the Living. Pretty novel, isn't it?" Rukia walked to the edge of the rooftop, looking down at the city that never slept, seeming to be in a good mood.
"But don't let your guard down. Our mission is to guide the souls here and be ready to slay..." Before she could finish, her expression suddenly tensed.
An evil and chaotic spiritual pressure erupted in a nearby street block.
"It's a Hollow!"
Rukia's expression instantly became serious. "The Spiritual Pressure isn't strong, but it appeared very suddenly. Uchiha, with me!"
Rukia turned back, only to see Sasuke still standing in the same spot, his gaze not having shifted at all as he continued to coldly survey this unfamiliar city.
"Hey! What are you still spacing out for? A Hollow has appeared!" Rukia urged.
Sasuke finally pulled his gaze back from the distance, glanced faintly in the direction of the Hollow's appearance, and then turned his eyes away again.
"Hmph, you expect me to act for that kind of small fry? Don't lump me in with an ordinary Soul Reaper like you."
Sasuke snorted coldly and turned around directly. "You want me to play your boring Soul Reaper games? Don't get in my way, woman."
"You..." Rukia was choked by his words, anger appearing on her face. "This is our mission! As a Soul Reaper of the Gotei 13..."
"My goal isn't here."
Sasuke cut her off. "Disposing of trash is your job. Don't waste my time."
The moment his voice fell, his figure flickered slightly.
"Shunpo."
No farewell, no further explanation.
Sasuke's figure had already vanished from the rooftop, leaving behind a stunned and furious Rukia.
"That guy... The bastards from Squad 11 are all the same!"
Rukia stomped her foot in anger, but the Hollow's roar was getting closer. She had no more time to delay and could only grit her teeth and dash towards the target alone.
At this moment, Sasuke was moving through the city's buildings at an extremely high speed, with only one thought in his mind.
"Find Konoha, and then... kill you, Uchiha Itachi!"
Sasuke's figure paused briefly on the roof of an abandoned building, his jet-black eyes scanning the unfamiliar streets below.
Just then, the air behind him suddenly warped, and a massive black shadow appeared out of thin air.
It was a Hollow with a ghastly white mask, viscous saliva dripping from its mouth. Its hollow eye sockets were locked firmly onto Sasuke.
"Found you... Your soul smells so rich, so delicious! It's filled with the taste of hatred!" the Hollow let out a piercing roar, its voice thick with greed.
If it were an ordinary seated officer-level Soul Reaper facing this sudden attack, they might have felt a bit of tension.
But Sasuke merely turned his head slowly, not even drawing his Zanpakutō.
"Hatred?"
He repeated the word in a low voice, a cold smirk playing on his lips. "A thing like you is worthy of speaking about my hatred?"
Before he finished speaking, the Hollow had already roared and pounced, its massive claws tearing through the air, aimed straight for Sasuke's head.
However, it only struck empty air.
Sasuke's figure had vanished from its original spot at some point, reappearing ghost-like behind the Hollow in the next instant.
Only then did he unhurriedly place his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Clang—
With a clear ring of a blade being unsheathed, the Hollow's movements froze. A thin black line appeared on its massive body, running from head to toe.
Then, in complete silence, its entire body split in two, collapsing into a shower of dissipating spiritual particles.
Sasuke didn't even glance back at it. He simply sheathed his Zanpakutō with a clean, swift motion.
"Trash," he spat out the word, turning to continue on his way.
However, the moment he took a step, a sinister voice echoed without warning in the depths of his mind.
"A good kill. Just like that, release it... Release all of your hatred..."
The voice was bizarrely familiar, yet held a crazed, twisted quality.
For the past three years, this voice had clung to him like a stubborn maggot, occasionally whispering to him when his mind was in turmoil.
Sasuke's steps came to a sudden halt, his eyes instantly turning incredibly frigid.
"Shut up." He forcefully suppressed the turmoil with his will.
The very moment he suppressed this internal disturbance, an irresistible pulling force suddenly struck him!
The modern nightscape before his eyes began to distort, as if being crumpled by an invisible giant hand.
"What... is this?"
Sasuke's pupils contracted as he tried to resist the force with his Spiritual Pressure.
But it was all in vain. Darkness engulfed him like a tide, and the last thing he heard seemed to be the desperate cry of a child.
Then, everything fell into silence.