Crack.
A soft sound.
To everyone's shock, a slender, white hand reached out and effortlessly stopped Shisui's blade with just one finger.
Stunned silence.
Shisui's eyes widened in disbelief. "This… this is impossible!"
He swore he had put everything into that attack. He had aimed to kill Aizen, without holding anything back. But this… this outcome was something he had never expected!
The very same blade that had sliced through the Fourth Kazekage's "Golden Sand Shield" with ease… had just been stopped—by a single finger. Just one human finger.
Utter disbelief.
The overwhelming contrast sent Shisui's mind reeling.
"Even after all this time, Shisui-kun, your swordplay still hasn't improved," Aizen said with a faint smile, gently flicking his wrist.
Slash.
Bright red blood sprayed from Shisui's waist and stomach.
How… how is this possible?
Not far away, Kakashi froze in shock, his face full of disbelief. Weren't they both considered Konohagakure's twin stars? How could there be such a huge difference between them?
*Whoosh.*
At that moment, Aizen's figure suddenly vanished right before Kakashi's eyes.
Damn!
Just as that thought flashed through his mind, Kakashi felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder, and everything went dark.
Thud, thud.
The sound of two bodies hitting the ground echoed as both Shisui and Kakashi collapsed. Blood seeped into the earth.
"That's enough, Itachi." Aizen flicked the blood off his blade before sliding it back into its sheath. "Take the Nine-Tails now."
"Yes, I understand." Uchiha Itachi nodded slightly, reaching into his sleeve and pulling out a black cube with a large "Nine" symbol on it.
"Aizen!" Shisui, lying on the ground, struggled to lift his head. His voice was heavy. "What exactly are you after by going through all this trouble to take the Nine-Tails?"
"I already told you before," Aizen replied, turning his head slightly. He didn't seem surprised that Shisui was still conscious. "I just want to restore the Tailed Beasts to their original form."
"Their original form?" Shisui frowned, confused.
"The nine Tailed Beasts were originally one entity—a being known as the Ten-Tails."
Aizen looked down at Shisui, speaking at a steady pace. "A thousand years ago, the Sage of Six Paths split the Ten-Tails into nine separate creatures. My goal is to merge them back together and create…"
"Aizen Sosuke!"
Before Aizen could finish, a furious roar interrupted him. A towering figure cloaked in crackling blue lightning came into view—Fourth Raikage.
"Give me back the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails!"
Lightning flashed. Fourth Raikage's entire body became a bolt of electricity as he shot straight toward Aizen. But just as he was about to land his attack, he suddenly realized something—his target was now on his right.
"What? He was just standing in front of Uchiha Shisui a second ago…" A looked ahead in shock as Aizen's form slowly faded like mist.
"Ninpo Hado #4: Red Heavenly Lotus."
Aizen calmly raised his right hand and pointed his index finger at Fourth Raikage.
Buzz.
A deep red glow enveloped A's entire body. The next second, a massive pillar of fire shot up into the sky. A small mushroom cloud formed above Konohagakure.
Whoosh.
A fierce gust of wind blew past. Konan, her cloak fluttering, couldn't help but speak. "Ninpo Hado?"
"Yes. A combination of Ninjutsu chakra and Hado techniques," Aizen replied casually. "But it's still not perfected. The power is only about one-tenth of what I expected."
Not perfected? Only one-tenth?
Konan looked at the massive crater in front of her, as if a meteor had crashed there. In the center lay Fourth Raikage, his body charred beyond recognition.
One-tenth? Seriously? Isn't this too much of a humble brag?
She kept a blank expression, but silently snapped a picture of the Raikage's miserable state and sent it to the group chat.
"Sorry about that, I got interrupted earlier."
Ignoring her little action, Aizen turned to Shisui, who was still in shock. He spoke with an almost apologetic tone.
"Now, as I was saying—my plan to merge the nine Tailed Beasts into the Ten-Tails started with targeting the Six-Tails in Kirigakure, followed by the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails in Kumogakure."
"This way, not only do I obtain the Tailed Beasts, but I also use my identity as a Konohagakure ninja to redirect Kumogakure and Kirigakure's revenge toward the Leaf. Then, under the banner of the Akatsuki, I invited Sunagakure and Iwagakure to join the invasion…"
"Hah! Arrogant brat!"
Suddenly, a gruff voice rang out from above. "Are you saying you've been in control of everything?"
Aizen looked up and saw the small, floating figure of Oonoki.
"I don't know about the others," Oonoki scoffed, "but I came to Konohagakure by my own free will!"
"Your own free will?" Aizen let out a soft chuckle, his voice laced with mockery. "Tsuchikage-sama, have you never wondered why your spy, Iwakawa—a mere Chunin—was able to join Konohagakure's Anbu? And why his reports always helped your forces perfectly avoid the frontlines?"
Wait… could it be…
Realizing something, Oonoki fell silent for a moment. His expression darkened. "So it was all your doing?"
"Looks like you finally understand." Aizen lowered his gaze slightly. "By the way, I don't like looking up when I talk to people. Would you mind coming down from there?"
Come down? Are you kidding me? Why the hell should I listen to you?
Of course, Oonoki had no intention of doing what Aizen suggested.
Facing an opponent like this, whose abilities were completely unknown, his best move was to stay at an advantage. Rushing in recklessly would be pure stupidity.
After all, he wasn't about to end up like the Fourth Raikage, lying half-dead in a crater.
Buzz.
Just as Oonoki was about to open his mouth to mock Aizen, a sudden wave of pressure crashed down on him. It wasn't a physical force but something that struck deep within his heart and soul.
Impossible to resist. No way to fight back!
In an instant, Oonoki fell from the sky like a kite with a broken string. Even after hitting the ground, his body remained bent over, unable to stand up straight.
"Thank you for your understanding, Tsuchikage-sama."
The words sounded polite, yet Oonoki's face twisted with shame, anger, and helplessness. Looking at the young man before him, he couldn't help but recall the time he had faced Uchiha Madara.
No!
This was even more terrifying than back then. Uchiha Madara's power was something you could see, but Aizen was like a bottomless abyss.
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