"No," he finally said. "If Las Noches wanted to kill Naruto, they could have done it at the safe house yesterday. If they wanted to use him to threaten us, we should have heard from them by now.
But they haven't done anything. They only took Naruto away. That means they have something else in mind for him."
"But-"
"Besides, someone is with him," Minato said. "That Arrancar has been secretly teaching Naruto for the past three years. I don't know what her purpose is, but at the very least, she won't let him die."
Shikaku wanted to say more, but when he saw Minato's expression, he swallowed his words.
"I understand. Then, about the Pure Soul Court..."
"I'll go there myself." Minato looked toward the distant sky, where the silver rift had long since vanished, as though it had never appeared. "Some things need to be asked face-to-face."
[Pure Soul Court · Mind-Cleansing Pool]
Sasuke soaked in the icy water, feeling its cool power seep through every part of his body.
A month. It had been a month since he arrived at the Pure Soul Court.
Throughout that month, he had soaked in the Mind-Cleansing Pool every day and studied swordsmanship and reiatsu control under Byakuya. The Hōgyoku Fragments in his body had gradually been suppressed, no longer threatening to run wild at any moment.
But the hatred in his heart had not diminished.
Instead, once he calmed down, it had become purer and more intense.
Uchiha Ryūha.
Las Noches. The Night of the Uchiha Massacre. Those scenes replayed in his mind every day, and each time, his hatred deepened.
"Hatred is motivation, but it isn't everything."
Byakuya's voice came from beside the pool. He stood there, still wearing his silver-gray haori, his face expressionless.
"If hatred is your