Although Aizen had previously considered the possibility that Orochimaru might bring him some surprises, he still hadn't anticipated that the surprise Orochimaru brought him would be so intense.
Aizen Sōsuke's gaze was more focused than ever, completely fixed on the ugly monster that circled and leaped in the sky like a bird, dodging blows like a cat playing with a mouse, his eyes flickering behind his glasses.
They clearly belonged to two different worlds, yet their nature could be so similar?
Both born from the souls of mutated corpses, both corrupted by continuously strengthening negative emotions, both twisted into monstrous forms based on human souls... could they really be so alike?
Aizen Sōsuke looked at the figure in the sky.
If he didn't know he was in the Ninja World, he might have mistaken this monster, missing a mask, for a true Hollow.
"Incredible."
He had a very strong premonition.
If he could fully capture this monster and thoroughly understand the principle of the so-called Box of Ultimate Bliss, then he would certainly make great progress in the field of the Hollow plan.
Only then would he have the opportunity to use Hollows as a means to contend with the Pure Land for the energy called souls.
If this plan could be fully implemented later, he would have an endless energy pool to replenish himself, just like the Pure Land.
However, the more critical the moment, the calmer Aizen Sōsuke's heart became, his gaze towards the monster in front of him grew more tranquil, and a smile slowly appeared at the corner of his lips.
"Let me see, Lord Orochimaru."
"How far can the gift you've brought me go?"
"Boom!"
A dense, muffled explosion sounded from the sky, stirring up a large cloud of thick dust.
The dark and enormous figure swept across the ground, its sharp, scythe-like claws merely raking horizontally, leaving two long furrows on the earth's surface.
"Hehehehe."
Along with it, a strange sound emanated from its grotesque maw.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's figure rolled across the ground, and just as it was almost upon him, the iron staff in his hand suddenly extended, attempting to knock the flying monster down.
However, the monster seemed to have anticipated his every reaction, its body abruptly rising higher at the last moment, rolling flexibly in the sky like a fish.
"Damn it!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's wooden clogs scraped against the ground, his body half-crouched, the long staff held horizontally behind him, his fingertips gently wiping away the blood trickling down his temples, his gaze towards the monster above him filled with anger.
From a purely strength perspective, this guy wasn't actually that strong or fast.
But it always reacted an instant before he made his move, which wasn't something mere agility could achieve, but rather more akin to... precognition?
The moment this thought arose, an uncontrollable apprehension surged in Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart.
The only thing worth celebrating was that this was Konoha.
"Don't get too arrogant, you bastard!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi roared, his voice rising sharply as he looked at the figure in the sky.
Almost the instant the monster's attention was drawn by his voice.
"Chidori!"
In a flash, thousands of birds converged into a single sharp shriek, piercing the eardrums of everyone present.
Kakashi, under the night sky, transformed into a bolt of lightning, his entire body moving in a zigzag pattern, stepping on countless shattered roof tiles ahead, rocketing towards the grotesque monster!
"Whoosh!"
As if startled by his movement, the monster's wings behind it subconsciously flapped a few times, causing its entire body to rise significantly, barely avoiding Kakashi.
However, Kakashi, brushing past it, couldn't help but reveal a smile at the corner of his lips.
"Dynamic Entry!"
The swift shadow, completely clad in a green jumpsuit, at the moment the monster attempted to ascend, transformed into a spinning meteor from an even higher point, plummeting down.
Then, with a thud, it plunged into the ruins.
"It's useless, you know."
A harsh, shrill voice suddenly emanated from the monster, which now looked completely unrelated to humans, its tone full of mockery: "Now, I can see everything."
"Whether it's a staff strike."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's iron staff whistled past, but the monster in front of him narrowly twisted its body, allowing the staff's shadow to slam into the ground right in front of it.
"Or a Kunai."
Several Konoha Ninja who had just arrived from a distance threw various projectiles, stirring up a fine whistling sound.
But before they could even touch the monster's body, it merely tilted its wing slightly, batting them all away like flies.
"Or a trap."
The sealing squad members, who had only recently gathered, had just planted their giant sealing scrolls into the ground, but before they could even begin to use them, the huge, ugly figure had already flown high into the clouds.
"All ineffective!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the unfolding scenes, his eyelid twitching, the humiliation in his heart beyond words.
When did Konoha, a great Village, ever fall to a point where it couldn't even subdue a single monster, letting it rampage in the very center of the Village?!
But at the same time, deep within his heart, which seemed to have grown timid with age, a voice seemed to echo—the Box of Ultimate Bliss, that was the secret treasure that almost allowed the Land of Grass to unify the Ninja World in the past.
It should be natural that he, with his limited abilities, couldn't match it, right?
Doubt is the seed from which fear is born.
The monster, feeding on fear, was most sensitive to this taste.
"Heh."
Almost the instant Hiruzen Sarutobi looked up, he saw the enormous face floating in mid-air suddenly turn towards him, a mocking smile appearing on its grotesque lips.
As if it had seen through his cowardice at a glance.
"Bastard!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi immediately flipped his staff up, his heart filled with shame and anger.
But before he could even raise his staff to attack, he saw the monster's body, with a flexibility completely inconsistent with its massive size, shoot towards him along the ground.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Several fireballs, gathered from the center of its claws, shot out consecutively, exploding into plumes of dust one after another across the ground.
Hiruzen Sarutobi unhesitatingly brought his staff down, using the immense force to tear through the mist in front of him.
However, his vision had barely cleared when he saw the monster's grotesque face, having used that brief moment, appear before him, rushing towards him.
But before he could even take a step forward, the opponent seemed to suddenly perceive something, its wings shaking as its body, which had been flying close to the ground, rotated upwards, stirring up a howling gust of wind.
"Whoosh—!"
Two figures, moving against the wind, crossed paths, weaving and leaping like dancers, simultaneously passing Hiruzen Sarutobi's stationary figure and continuing forward.
"Eight Gates Released Formation, Sixth Gate!"
"Gate of Joy!"
"Open!"
The rough voice was steady and powerful.
Almost the instant that sound fell, one of the two figures was suddenly enveloped in a surging, steaming current of air, its entire skin surface turning crimson under the burning of boiling blood.
Its already blurred speed instantly surged by a large margin.
"Kakashi!"
"Oh!"
The moment their figures crossed, both extended their hands simultaneously.
Immediately after, Might Guy, while grabbing Kakashi's arm, rapidly pushed off the air with his legs as if climbing, creating substantial, wave-like ripples merely by stepping on the air.
In the face of this unimaginable taijutsu achievement, even the air became a stepping stone, causing Might Guy's speed to suddenly climb even higher.
Kakashi Hatake's pupils constricted even further, his face instantly turning pale.
He had just instinctively cooperated with his teammate's fighting style, but now he seemed to suddenly realize what Guy was about to do.
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa—!!!"
"This is the Youthful Great Windmill!"
Might Guy's roar grew more impassioned, his entire being seemingly about to ignite, as he leaped into the sky at an incredibly fast speed, pulling Kakashi's arm, his body rotating like a professional discus thrower while still in mid-air, flinging Kakashi's body away.
Spinning, throwing.
Until the speed reached its peak.
Launch!
Target, directly above the sky!
"Chidori—!"
An unusually mournful sound came from the lightning that tore through the starry sky.
Unfortunately, although this attack's speed far surpassed the enormous figure still ascending in the sky, the monster merely turned slightly, as if it had completely seen through Kakashi's trajectory, easily avoiding the bolt of lightning.
Not just Kakashi.
"Morning Peacock!"
Might Guy, following closely behind, shot out countless fiery fist-forces from his fists like a machine gun, but they all swept past the monster's body like trailing streaks of light.
Conversely, the huge, ugly monster glided through the air like a fish in water.
It merely occasionally shot out a few fireballs, forcing the people on the ground to dodge.
Whether Genin or Hokage, facing this monster flying in mid-air seemed to make little difference.
Under the deep night, the monster's ugliness and ferocity seemed to be infinitely magnified in this night of blood and fire, deeply branded into the hearts of everyone who witnessed the scene.
It clearly felt the surrounding fear surging endlessly, being absorbed by itself, and its grotesque lips involuntarily began to curl into a smile.
This is it!
This is what it wanted!
But it wasn't enough yet.
Although it had transformed into this appearance, the deepest will of Aburame Shigehira's soul was still etched within this body.
He wanted this Village to pay the price.
He wanted them to walk towards destruction in their deepest fear.
So, the monster's figure stopped high in the sky, opening its arms towards the people on the ground, and a sneering laugh echoed from its beast-toothed maw that spanned its entire torso.
"Is this all there is to it, then?"
Its voice was muffled and hoarse, mixed with a piercing sharpness, rough like metal teeth scraping sandpaper, sending chills down one's spine.
Even as it spoke, countless Ninja on the ground were still throwing various weapons in its direction, attempting to use Ninjutsu.
Unfortunately, the monster's current altitude alone was enough to block most attacks.
More and more Ninja looked up at the monstrous, ugly, and ferocious ghost-like figure, clenching their fists tightly.
It merely stood in the sky, looking down at everyone, as if searching for something, its gaze locking onto a patrol of Ninja among the ruins—they still wore Internal Affairs Department armbands.
"Heh."
As if finding an interesting toy, it turned its head and spoke to Hiruzen Sarutobi: "Third Hokage, a great person like you probably can't understand, can you?"
"The desire we've had these past few days to protect our clan members from these black-skinned bastards."
The moment Hiruzen Sarutobi heard this, a bad feeling surged in his heart, and he demanded, "What do you intend to do?!"
But no sooner had the words left his mouth than the demonic shadow in the sky transformed into an arrow shot from a bow, streaking straight towards the distance.
Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes widened.
That was the direction of the Sarutobi clan compound.
Konohamaru?!
"Wait!"
Almost the instant this thought came to mind, he immediately cast everything aside, his speed suddenly bursting to its maximum, following the monster's flight path without hesitation.
In the monster's perception, it could clearly feel the emotion called fear erupting and spreading continuously within Hiruzen Sarutobi's aging body.
So delicious.
Its lips curved into an even more malicious smile, as it gathered a huge, dark ball of light in its hand, aimed towards the Sarutobi clan compound.
"Bastard!"
Just standing by and watching the huge Chakra sphere condense in the opponent's palm, Hiruzen Sarutobi could imagine the damage it would cause the moment it exploded.
The moment he saw the ball of light shoot out, he disregarded his own safety, forming hand seals simultaneously, attempting to block it.
Just a split second before his hands came together.
The monster's direction had already twisted, facing him directly, its smile growing even more delighted.
Clearly.
From the very beginning, his goal was to kill this Third Hokage.
It could clearly see.
If it took one more step forward, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was intent on blocking that last attack with Earth Release, would be pierced by its sharp claws.
"Whoosh—!"
The giant claw, wrapped in black fur, tore through the air, and with a muffled sound like ripping cloth, it pierced through everything in its path, growing larger and larger in Hiruzen Sarutobi's highly constricted pupils, the violent wind blowing his gray hair wildly.
Until...
"Bang!"
It heavily collided with a deep purple skeletal frame.
The moment that sound rang out, Hiruzen Sarutobi's body trembled.
When he turned around, he saw Uchiha Itachi standing to his left, his Mangekyo Sharingan continuously spinning in his eyes, staring directly at the monster in front of them.
And standing on his other side was a tall young man with a sword at his waist.
He looked at the monster in front of him, gently pushed up his glasses, and spoke with interest: "Using an instinctive sensitivity to negative emotions to feign precognition, huh?"
"What an interesting soul structure."
"This... Mr. Aizen?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression towards him was somewhat subtle.
The moment the monster heard his words, its attention was also drawn by this suddenly appearing young man.
This appearance seemed to activate a part of its memory, and the smile that had still lingered at the corner of its lips suddenly twisted, turning into an unbearable, suppressed roar: "Aizen—!!"
Clearly, it still remembered the man who had personally taken his son away from him.
"Please don't get agitated, Mr. Shibi."
Aizen Sōsuke adjusted the frame of his glasses, speaking gently as always: "I will reunite you and your son as soon as possible."