The wind pulled the sky cold.
A little girl stood on tiptoes, surveying her surroundings.
"Where are we going next?" she asked, glancing back at that place colder than the outside world, a place that resembled a corpse — her "home." There was a hint of confusion in her voice.
They had been standing at the door for more than ten minutes.
But the man who had "rescued" her showed no intention of taking her elsewhere.
Kanyashiro Tokitana grinned. "No need to rush."
"We're waiting for someone."
The girl lowered her head. Her tone wasn't exactly disappointed. "Papa shouldn't be back yet."
"He said he wouldn't return for a few more days."
Kanyashiro Tokitana shook his head. "The person we're waiting for isn't your father."
The girl looked even more confused.
The man with dark green hair suddenly lifted his head, wearing an inexplicable smile, and softly said, "He's here."
The girl followed his gaze into the distance.
But she saw nothing — only a brilliant flash of light, passing in an instant.
Golden and dazzling — and then it landed before them.
"Captain Uzumaki," Kanyashiro Tokitana greeted cheerfully. "How wonderful to see you here."
Naruto didn't respond to him.
Like a buzzing gnat, unworthy of attention.
He turned to the little girl, sensing the power within her — the "Soul King's power" and a fragment of "Hollow power" — and asked, "Are you Angato Aura?"
"I'm a friend of your father. He asked me to come get you."
As he spoke, he pulled something out of his pocket — a ring.
"You recognize this, right?" Naruto smiled gently. "It's the item your father used for his Fullbring."
"This proves that I'm not lying."
Angato Aura said nothing.
Kanyashiro Tokitana chuckled and waved his hand. "Captain Uzumaki, you're late."
"This little girl already agreed to come with me."
Naruto turned slightly toward him. "Shut up."
Kanyashiro Tokitana still grinned. "I can't shut up. I paid a great price to meet you here."
Naruto raised his hand. "I can make you pay even more."
Reiatsu surged. Golden chains whipped through the air.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
They bound Kanyashiro Tokitana's limbs and pinned him to the wall.
"So quick to resort to violence," he said, his eyes glinting, excitement rising. "Captain Uzumaki, your hatred for the Kanyashiro clan runs deep, huh?"
"Disgust for things as vile as maggots doesn't count as hatred." Naruto shook his head.
Kanyashiro Tokitana nodded solemnly. "Maggots, huh?"
"What a vivid and accurate metaphor."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
This guy…
Was he insane?
"Let's talk seriously now." Kanyashiro Tokitana tried to move but was restrained, so he only bobbed his head. "For example…"
"The secret of the Fullbringers."
"Don't you want to know why the Kanyashiro family is so interested in them?"
Naruto replied coldly, "Because of the Soul King's power?"
"Ah, so you do know." Kanyashiro Tokitana grinned. "Yes, that's exactly right."
"But I need to correct a mistake of yours."
"What's inside them isn't the Soul King's power — it's fragments of the Soul King."
Naruto's pupils widened.
What did that mean?
"Power" and "fragments" are two completely different things.
The latter…
Sounded like body parts.
"This isn't something you'd learn anywhere in Soul Society," Kanyashiro Tokitana said, clearly satisfied with Naruto's reaction, growing even more gleeful. "It's a secret the Kanyashiro family has hidden since ancient times."
"Let me teach you, as your instructor."
"Where should I begin?"
"Let's start from the very beginning."
He looked at Naruto with a mocking smile.
Naruto didn't attack again.
Kanyashiro Tokitana continued slowly, "Countless years ago, the world was chaos — no progress, no regression."
"Everything was just a cycle of spirit particles, even Hollows."
"At some point, the Hollows awoke and began to devour souls and spirit particles. Left unchecked, the entire world would have become one giant Hollow."
"Then the Soul King appeared and destroyed that Hollow."
"And at that time, five sinners emerged. They sought to use the Soul King's power to divide the world."
"So they ambushed the Soul King and sealed him."
"With the Soul King as a wedge, they split the world into what it is now."
"The world of spirit particles — Soul Society."
"The world of vessels — the Human World."
"And the desert exile for Hollows — Hueco Mundo."
Naruto took a deep breath.
The "Five Sinners"… were they the "Five Great Noble Families"?
In his mind, Aizen's words echoed again: "All of Soul Society is built upon sin."
"But that's not all." Kanyashiro Tokitana clicked his tongue in disgust. "The five sinners feared the Soul King's power."
"They were afraid he would one day break the seal and destroy them."
"So they came up with a method. They didn't let him live, nor did they kill him."
"Instead, they cut off his hands, gouged out his heart, severed his legs, and removed his organs."
"Tore them apart and scattered them across the world."
"The fragments inside the Fullbringers — that's where they come from."
Naruto stared at him.
So "Soul King fragments" really were body parts.
Kanyashiro Tokitana's face twisted in a horrifying, crazed grin.
"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked, exhaling deeply.
Kanyashiro Tokitana tilted his head. "Do you know how the Kanyashiro family reacted when they learned you were aware of their actions?"
Naruto didn't answer.
"They discarded me. Told me to be the one to make a final attempt." His tone wasn't personal, more like a stranger's narration. "Whether I succeed or fail, I'll become a scapegoat."
"A plug to silence you Shinigami."
"Of course…"
"The Kanyashiro family won't feel any guilt. They're a clan born of sin."
"So I decided to treat them as the discardable ones."
Naruto reminded him, "You're a Kanyashiro too."
Kanyashiro Tokitana answered frankly, "Yeah, so I'm a born sinner."
"I'm curious — how did you learn all this and prepare?"
"Did someone incite you?"
Naruto didn't respond.
"Is that person's identity inconvenient to mention?" Kanyashiro Tokitana tilted his head. "Never mind. Whoever they are…"
"Let me thank them here."
"If not for them, who knows how much longer it would've taken for me to make this decision."
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
What decision?
"Of course, the reason I'm telling you all this," Kanyashiro Tokitana continued, "aside from those side details…"
"The main reason is because I find you interesting."
"People as upright as you are rare in Soul Society."
"And you're nothing like Tōsen…"
"That guy only used lofty ideals to hide his dark and dirty self."
He paused, his grin turning more twisted. "And I'm curious to see how you'll respond."
"My beloved gave me a very boring answer."
"Captain Uzumaki — give me something more interesting."
Naruto looked at him, brows furrowed, eyes filled with disgust. "This 'beloved' you speak of… don't tell me it's that woman named Kakyō?"
"Who else could it be?" Tokitana whispered.
Naruto shook his head. "And yet you can still say that."
Tokitana's expression was calm, his tone righteous. "Kakyō also had a fragment of the Soul King inside her. Once the Kanyashiro family had her… what do you think would've happened?"
"I killed her — that was mercy."
"And that woman… she was so naive."
"After learning her fate, she didn't feel pain at all. She even said, 'I came here to save you.'"
"Hehehe."
"What will you do?"
"Will you, like that naive woman, try to disperse the clouds so people can see the stars?"
Naruto gripped his sword.
Tokitana kept smiling. "Can't hold back anymore, Captain Uzumaki?"
"Are you going to kill me?"
"I won't believe everything you say." Naruto didn't draw his sword. His tone was calm. "Maybe what you said is close to the truth."
"But—"
He thought of Yoruichi Shihōin.
Of Kaien and Isshin Shiba.
Of Ginrei and Byakuya Kuchiki.
They were all members of the Five Great Noble Families — descendants of those so-called 'five sinners' — but their aura was nothing like that of the Kanyashiro clan, which reeked of chaos and sin.
And the Kanyashiro family always opposed the Shiba clan.
"I believe… there are people who made completely different choices from you." Naruto's face was expressionless.
He stepped toward Tokitana. "I won't part the clouds so people can see the stars."
"I'll become the sun."
"So that maggots like you will burn and vanish under its blazing light."
Tokitana frowned, his features twisting, enthusiasm fading. "You still want to protect this sinful Soul Society?"
"I want to protect my friends, my elders, my juniors." Naruto didn't hesitate.
"Light and darkness coexist."
"Just remove the darkness — don't destroy the light along with it."
"I have enough patience to identify and root out people like you, one by one."
He paused, his tone serious, as he extended his hand. A sealing symbol formed in his palm. "I'll spare your life for now."
"Next, I'll uncover the truth behind all of this."
"And I'll turn you sinners…"
"Into pillars that support this world."
"Just like your ancestors did to the Soul King."
(End of Chapter)