Hueco Mundo

Straw sandals crunched over white gravel.

Yato's eyes turned scarlet, the tomoe spinning as they took in everything around him.

The sky was a gloomy, heavy lead gray. Below it stretched an endless white desert, dotted sparsely with quartz-like dead trees. This entire world was a barren wasteland.

And yet...

"Hado #4: White Lightning."

Yato pointed at a dead tree in the distance. A brilliant bolt of lightning shot forth, not only shattering the tree to pieces but blasting a deep crater where its roots had been.

"The power's increased by a third..."

Yato withdrew his finger thoughtfully.

The Shin'ō Academy textbooks stated it clearly: the concentration of Reishi in Hueco Mundo's atmosphere far exceeded that of the World of the Living and Soul Society. Being here enhanced the various abilities of Hollows and Soul Reapers alike.

At the same time, academy students began filing out of the Senkaimon behind him.

The young people marveled at Hueco Mundo's strange scenery while stretching their bodies and adjusting to the high concentration of Reishi.

Yoruichi Shihōin, who had led the group, was nowhere to be seen. She was probably clearing out Menos Grande somewhere far away. With no one supervising the Senkaimon for the moment, the area was rather chaotic.

Just then, a young man with somewhat pale skin stepped forward.

Four or five academy students had gathered around him, all looking to him for direction.

The man gave Yato a cool nod before respectfully addressing Byakuya Kuchiki beside him.

"Lord Kuchiki, I am Watanabe Hideki."

"With your strength, killing enemies is naturally effortless. But traveling in a group would save both time and effort."

"These people behind me have admired you for a long time, and each has their own specialty. This one excels at Responded, while this one possesses exceptionally keen Reiatsu perception..."

Uchiha Yato studied Watanabe Hideki with interest.

Oh? This guy seems to have a problem with me. But I've clearly never met him...

What Yato did not know was that during his time at Shin'ō Academy, he had gotten in the way of quite a few people.

Watanabe Hideki came from the Seireitei and was a minor noble. After Byakuya Kuchiki entered the academy, Watanabe received instructions from his family to build a relationship with Byakuya as much as possible. Even if they could not become friends, he was expected to at least run errands and lend a hand.

Currying favor with great nobles was, in fact, a way for minor nobles to survive.

But just as Watanabe Hideki had been full of ambition, Uchiha Yato's arrival disrupted everything.

Yato and Byakuya were roommates, as well as the academy's only two true powerhouses. As time passed, their relationship grew closer and closer, and they were nearly inseparable.

Watanabe Hideki had worked very hard, yet he still could not squeeze his way in. A few times, he had "coincidentally" intercepted Byakuya Kuchiki, only to receive a few perfunctory pleasantries. He had not even gotten the chance to introduce himself.

A year passed without the slightest progress. The head of the Watanabe family scolded Hideki several times over it and even cut his allowance.

Watanabe Hideki felt deeply wronged, but he had nowhere to air his grievances.

His attitude toward Yato was therefore easy to imagine.

Still, Watanabe Hideki did not dare show it too clearly. They were both at Shin'ō Academy, and he knew how powerful Uchiha Yato was. He feared angering the man and getting beaten senseless.

Thus, he could only act cold and detached, forming a sharp contrast to his warm and eager attitude toward Byakuya Kuchiki.

What he had not expected, however, was that even after lowering himself so much, Byakuya Kuchiki remained unmoved. Rather than answer immediately, he looked toward Uchiha Yato beside him. His meaning was obvious.

"Do as you like, Byakuya." Yato chuckled. "I was planning to set off on my own anyway and complete the Hollow-hunting assignment."

"Is that so? Be careful."

"Ha, you know me. Even if I run into an Adjuchas, I can still escape if I can't beat it!"

Yato waved his hand, then broke into a long stride and soon vanished into the desolate sands.

Byakuya Kuchiki turned back and decisively rejected Watanabe Hideki's invitation.

"There is no need to trouble yourself. I will travel alone as well."

He paused. No longer maintaining the composure of a great noble, his expression darkened slightly, and a trace of chill entered his voice.

"Also... I do not like how you treat my friend."

With a bang, Byakuya Kuchiki disappeared before everyone's eyes, leaving Watanabe Hideki standing there in a daze.

Two days later.

Somewhere in the endless desert.

"Red Flame Cannon!"

A red fireball formed from nothing and smashed viciously into a tiger-shaped Hollow.

Its enormous roar kicked up clouds of dust and sand. It swung its claws desperately, causing the white mask covering its face to warp with the movement.

Yet all that greeted its attack were a few casual words from Yato.

"Blue Fire Crash Down."

The power of the Uchiha Clan had given him an overwhelming talent for fire-based Kidō. Even without incantation, the might of his mid-level Kidō surpassed that of the lowest-ranking seated officers in the Gotei 13.

Red Flame Cannon and Blue Fire Crash Down struck in succession. The Hollow could no longer endure and collapsed to the ground with a mournful cry.

Yato stepped forward and cleanly snapped its spine.

He had not used his Soul-Cutter Sword.

For a low-level Hollow of this rank, being slain by a Soul-Cutter Sword would purify it into a "Plus," causing it to disappear completely.

"The sixty-seventh one..."

Yato muttered, gripping one of the tiger-shaped Hollow's fangs as he sat beside the corpse.

He closed his eyes, adjusted his breathing, and balanced his Reiatsu.

As though practicing Sword Zen.

After a long while, the youth opened his eyes in confusion and let out a sigh.

He had still gained nothing.

"Scarlet Eye." His expression was somewhat frustrated. "Come out and talk to me."

"I've always been here." The girl clad in red armor suddenly appeared atop the tiger-shaped Hollow's corpse. "You seem to be in quite a bad mood."

"Sigh, there's no need for us to beat around the bush. You must have seen everything I've been doing these past two days..." The youth's voice became calm. "Do you think my idea has any chance of succeeding?"

"What idea?"

"Quit playing dumb."

"Hehe..."

The girl burst into laughter. At first, it was a soft and delicate chuckle, exceptionally pleasing to the ear. But gradually, her laughter grew louder and turned into the wild, unrestrained laughter unique to the Uchiha!

"Just as expected of you, Yato! You're crazy enough! But only someone like this deserves to wield me! Only someone like this deserves to be called an Uchiha!"

Scarlet Eye's wild and fanatical words echoed through Yato's mind.

"With me, you are destined to become a captain-class Soul Reaper, command a division, and have your name forever engraved upon the white pillars outside the First Division, becoming part of Seireitei's history!"

"But even a captain cannot hope to claim the Throne of Heaven."

"Shikai? Bankai? No, your ambition does not stop there. The limits of a Soul Reaper are not your destination!"

"You want to take the Uchiha Clan's power one step further, until it stands shoulder to shoulder with the Ōtsutsuki Clan."

"In Naruto, that realm is revered as the Six Paths. In Soul Reaper terms, it is Hōgyoku Aizen, Ichibē Hyōsube of Squad Zero..."

"Let me tell you, Yato. Even I do not fully understand your condition."

She moved close to Yato, her smile radiant as a flower.

"But like you, I thought of those words."

"Those words... engraved upon the Uchiha Stone Tablet at Naka Shrine."

"[When opposing forces unite as one, all things can be attained.]"

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