After returning from Takigakure, Ryūjin Uchiha went back to his usual routine.
Work, daily sign-ins, and occasionally spending time with Kurenai Yuhi. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Meanwhile, the relationship between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha remained tense. The village leadership held frequent meetings, and every discussion about how to handle the Uchiha turned into heated arguments.
What happened during the Nine-Tails attack had shaken everyone.
The power the Uchiha displayed, along with their attitude toward the village, forced Konoha to take them far more seriously.
Compared to before, the village's stance had become significantly harsher.
In the past, Minato Namikaze sacrificed himself, but that decision had been his own.
Even then, his death was not solely caused by the Nine-Tails.
He chose to seal part of Kushina Uzumaki's chakra along with the Nine-Tails into Naruto Uzumaki after hearing her regret that she would never see her son grow up.
That decision allowed Kushina to meet Naruto again in the future.
At the same time, Minato believed Naruto was the Child of Prophecy spoken of by Jiraiya, which made him willing to entrust everything to him.
Strictly speaking, even without Minato's intervention, Kushina could have sealed the Nine-Tails herself.
But the cost would have been absolute death, leaving no chance for her to see Naruto again.
And without a Jinchūriki, the Nine-Tails would eventually revive and bring disaster once more.
Minato's choice was shaped by multiple factors.
But the current situation was completely different.
The Uchiha Clan had been directly linked to the release of the Nine-Tails, and Obito Uchiha had severely injured the Hokage and killed Minato in front of everyone.
That alone made things far worse than before.
Still, none of it affected Ryūjin.
He went about his life as usual.
---
That afternoon, after finishing work, Ryūjin returned to the Uchiha compound. He chatted briefly with Uchiha Haruo and his wife before heading back to his room.
"It's been about half a month," he muttered. "Let's see if that puppet freak is still holding on."
With a thought, he entered the Kamui dimension.
Inside, Sasori lay motionless on the ground, like a corpse. There was no visible chakra fluctuation.
"Did he seriously kill himself out of boredom?" Ryūjin frowned.
He stepped closer and checked carefully.
There it was.
A faint trace of chakra within Sasori's core, so weak it was almost impossible to detect.
"You're here."
Sasori's voice suddenly rang out. His chakra surged back to normal, and he rose to his feet.
Ryūjin raised an eyebrow.
A moment ago, he looked like he was about to disappear completely. Now he was fine.
"I accept your offer," Sasori said directly, handing over a scroll.
Ryūjin took it without hesitation.
"I thought I'd have to waste more time," he said casually, glancing through it before putting it away.
"I've given you what you want. Let me out, or kill me," Sasori said, his tone heavy.
The past two weeks had been unbearable.
Endless darkness, no sense of time, no one to interact with. The isolation had pushed him to the brink of madness.
In the end, he had no choice but to enter a dormant state just to survive.
If he stayed here any longer, death would be preferable.
"I'll decide after I confirm this is real."
With that, Ryūjin disappeared instantly.
---
Over the next few days, Ryūjin studied the technique.
And quickly realized something was off.
The method was incomplete.
The first half, summoning souls from another world, was solid. The theory was consistent and mostly flawless.
But the second half, turning those souls into puppets, was crude.
Barely more than a draft.
After questioning Sasori, Ryūjin learned the truth.
Sasori had discovered a soul-summoning technique by chance and tried to combine it with his puppet body.
The result was unstable, risky, and unreliable.
"What a scam," Ryūjin muttered.
He discarded the puppet control method entirely, keeping only the summoning technique.
With the Rinnegan and the Human Path, he already had better ways to manipulate souls.
No need to rely on something that would knock him unconscious for days.
"Still, let's test it first."
For safety, he created a Shadow Clone instead of using his main body.
He had no idea what kind of soul might appear.
If something on the level of the Shinigami from the Dead Demon Consuming Seal showed up, that would be suicide.
Better to be cautious.
He also chose to perform the experiment inside the Kamui dimension.
Following the scroll, he drew intricate sealing formulas on the ground and prepared the required materials.
Hand seals flashed.
His palm struck the ground.
The array activated.
Soon, a strange passage appeared before him, like a distorted tunnel filled with shifting light.
"The passage is open. Now pull in a soul," Sasori said flatly.
Ryūjin ignored him.
He already understood the process.
But then, something unexpected happened.
Images appeared inside the passage.
A desolate landscape.
Weeds covered the ground, with a few scattered trees. In the distance stood broken, crumbling buildings.
Ryūjin narrowed his eyes.
"So this is the other world?"
Unlike Edo Tensei or the Dead Demon Consuming Seal, this technique allowed him to see it.
That alone made it interesting.
He focused, and the "view" shifted.
The scene moved like a camera.
Then—
Shouting.
"Hit him harder!"
"Don't let him get up!"
A group of people fighting appeared.
Ryūjin's interest grew.
Their language, their clothing, everything felt familiar.
"A parallel world?"
"What are you doing? Hurry up and grab a soul," Sasori said coldly. "This is the Underworld."
Ryūjin frowned.
"These are living people."
"Idiot. They're all souls."
Ryūjin didn't respond.
Something felt off.
Then suddenly—
"Oh? Interesting. What is this?"
A voice came from within the passage.
A man stepped closer.
His face was scarred, his expression feral. His hair stood wildly, and in his hand was a battered, chipped sword.
Ryūjin's eyes widened.
"No way…"
The man raised his sword and slashed.
The passage collapsed instantly.
A terrifying force surged through, flooding the Kamui dimension with killing intent.
Ryūjin reacted instantly and vanished.
Behind him, Sasori was cut clean in half before he could react.
Moments later, Ryūjin returned, his expression serious.
"That was…"
He exhaled slowly.
"Kenpachi Zaraki."
Everything clicked into place.
"The so-called Underworld… is the Soul Society."
"Sasori's technique doesn't summon random souls. It connects to another world entirely."
And not just any world.
The world of Bleach.
From the man's appearance, Ryūjin guessed the timeline. No eyepatch, no captain uniform.
Rukongai.
That explained the ruined environment.
"Lucky," he muttered. "If that opened in Seireitei, I'd be screwed."
He shook his head.
"This technique is trouble."
Still useful, but not worth the risk right now.
He turned to Sasori's remains.
The control core had been destroyed.
No chance of revival.
"Unlucky."
With a wave of his hand, Ryūjin removed the body from the Kamui dimension.
Later, outside Konoha, he buried Sasori.
A simple grave.
Nothing special, but better than being left to rot.
After that, Ryūjin dusted his hands lightly.
"Guess I'll keep the technique for now."
No rush to use it.
He had enough options already.