"Goodbye, Konohagakure, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, and Iwagakure. And to the members of Akatsuki, you all played your roles beautifully."
With those parting words, the massive black rift in the sky slowly closed.
The shinobi on the ground all wore different expressions.
Shock, anger, fear, disbelief... A mix of emotions filled their faces. But deep inside, every one of them understood one thing—
The world as they knew it was about to change.
"That bastard... He's mocking us even now!" Kakuzu fumed.
Sasori, ever straightforward, simply said, "So what? You can't beat him." Then, he turned his gaze to their leader—who remained silent, staring intently at Konan.
"Tsk, what a crushing defeat," Tsunade muttered as she scanned her surroundings, seeing nothing but devastation.
Sarutobi Hiruzen hung his head, clenching his fists tightly. "This is all my fault!"
"What a terrifying kid," Rasa finally spoke after a long silence. "He single-handedly toyed with the five great villages and successfully captured seven tailed beasts, including the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails. At this point, is there anyone left in this world who can stop him?"
Strangely, the Fourth Kazekage's tone carried little hatred. Instead, there was a hint of admiration.
"No, there's still hope," Jiraiya suddenly spoke, his voice firm. "For the future of this world, we can't give up. This is just the beginning!"
"The beginning?" Oonoki asked abruptly. "Jiraiya, what exactly do you know? And who gave you all this information about Aizen?"
He had been wondering about this for a while.
Aizen had hidden in Konohagakure for years, fooling even the Third Hokage and Uchiha Shisui—people who were closest to him. So how did Jiraiya know so much?
"Was it a prophecy from the Great Toad Sage?" Sarutobi Hiruzen also looked curious.
Jiraiya shook his head. "It involves the ultimate weapon against Aizen. I can't reveal anything right now. But trust me—whatever he's planning next will be even crazier. The entire ninja world could be destroyed because of it..."
From his throne, Aizen looked down at the Arrancars before him and spoke calmly, "Everyone, the first phase of our plan is complete. Now, it's time for the next step."
"Aizen-sama, do we really need a plan to deal with those ninjas?" Kinkaku grinned, his left cheek partially covered by a white mask. "We should just wipe them out! Leave Kumogakure to me."
"Then I'll take Kirigakure," Hozuki Mangetsu added.
"You two dare to defy Aizen-sama's orders?" Pakura narrowed her eyes, staring at them coldly.
A powerful spiritual pressure erupted, sweeping toward Kinkaku and Mangetsu. But neither of them backed down, unleashing their own energy in return.
The entire hall buzzed as the clash of spiritual pressure made the furniture tremble.
"It's fine, Pakura," Aizen said, waving his hand. "Kinkaku and Mangetsu are simply eager to fulfill our shared ambition. I understand."
As soon as he spoke, Kinkaku, Mangetsu, and Pakura all withdrew their energy.
"But reckless actions won't get us anywhere," Aizen continued with a smile, turning his gaze to Kinkaku and Mangetsu. "Don't you agree?"
Though he was smiling, to them, he felt like an inescapable nightmare. Without hesitation, both of them dropped to one knee and shouted—
"Forgive us, Aizen-sama!"
"I got carried away, Aizen-sama!"
Cold sweat ran down their backs.
Unlike the ninjas, the Arrancars understood Aizen's power on a much deeper level. Just a tiny trace of his spiritual pressure was enough to make their bones creak under the weight.
"Hah, these idiots," Ringo Ameyuri scoffed as she turned to Ginkaku. "I feel sorry for you, having a brother like that."
"He's been more affected by the Hollowification," Ginkaku muttered. But his attention wasn't on his brother—it was on the small figure standing beside Aizen's throne.
A bone-white mask. A Zanpakuto. These clearly marked the figure as an Arrancar.
But unlike the others, this one's entire head was covered in a white Hollow shell, completely obscuring their face and even their gender.
By Arrancar standards, that was an incomplete form. So how did an unfinished one get to sit beside Aizen-sama? And why did Aizen seem so tolerant of them?
Questions filled Ginkaku's mind. So much so that he barely heard anything Aizen was saying.
In fact, he wasn't the only one zoning out. Konan was too.
Amegakure Village's Angel: Alright, I've uploaded the full memories of the Konohagakure battle. Compare it to what I explained earlier.
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: Thanks for your hard work.
Doujin Artist: Seriously, that must've been exhausting. It'd be so much better if we had a livestream function.
Considering the effort, even if she could type with her mind, narrating such a long and detailed battle must have been a huge task. And Konan wasn't just the commentator—she was actually there.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: A livestream function... That might not be far off.
This is an Actor: Still need 4,856 points.
Doujin Artist: Excited! Can't wait!
Curly-haired Guy: But thanks to Konan, we got a firsthand look at how dangerous Aizen really is. Tsk tsk, did you see Sarutobi Hiruzen's face? Hahaha!
Shark-Faced Guy: He was absolutely furious. And Oonoki—he's probably the first ninja in history to be completely crushed by Aizen's pure spiritual pressure, right?
This is an Actor: That's right.
Aizen nodded in agreement. Normally, he wouldn't rely on something as crude as spiritual pressure to overpower his enemies—it was too simple, too boring.
Skirt-Flipping Maniac: Nagato-san was also completely pissed off by Konan.
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: Looks needs some explaining.
Amegakure Village's Angel: No, I think it's quite interesting.
Doujin Artist: Pfft! What's so interesting about this? Konan, you're acting weird!
Amegakure Village's Angel: Two close friends splitting apart, clashing over their ideals—doesn't that make for a great story?
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