"careful!"
Almost the instant that Satoru made his attack move, Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his iron rod horizontally, staring intently at the huge figure rapidly approaching from the front, his nerves taut.
Although this feeling came at a somewhat inopportune time, after several rounds of continuous combat, Hiruzen Sarutobi believed that he had roughly figured out the monster's strength—its unbelievable speed, astonishing agility, and extremely threatening attack capabilities.
All of this made him feel an extremely strong sense of threat when facing the monster's direct attack.
Even... fear.
This subtle sense of fear was amplified to its peak after the attack that nearly shattered the Sarutobi clan's territory.
This is the most fundamental power of this monster, this being named "Enlightenment".
However, the two young men beside him reacted in a completely different way.
Hiruzen Sarutobi noticed out of the corner of his eye that both Itachi and Sosuke stood quietly in place as if nothing had happened.
"Bang--!"
A sudden, violent impact resounded, sending out ripples of vibrant air currents.
Wu's pitch-black body crashed into the armored body that was rapidly rising and materializing under the infusion of his pupil power, like a mountain.
Susanoo's torso grew muscles from its original skeleton, eventually becoming armored and transforming into a god standing on the earth, roaring as it used one arm to hold back Wu Qianchong's charging body, while raising the dark purple longsword high in its other hand.
"boom!"
Wu seemed to have sensed the opponent's movement in advance, and he also raised his long, thick arm, which was as thick and long as a gorilla's, to block the long sword that was about to be swung down, as if in a wrestling match.
The two sides confronted and wrestled like two ancient giant elephants, constantly emitting deafening roars, howling as if they wanted to tear each other in two. The ground beneath their feet trembled, surrounding buildings collapsed, and amidst flying debris and dust, there was a storm-like airflow.
Only the three people standing in the center of Susanoo remained motionless, quietly watching this scene.
"This...this is..."
"
Although he had witnessed the power of Susanoo several times before, this was the first time in Hiruzen Sarutobi's life that he had seen their battle from the perspective of being inside Susanoo.
The indescribable sense of awe gradually calmed his previously uneasy heart, and the intense emotions that had spread through his heart under the power of enlightenment gradually began to subside.
"Please be careful, Lord Third Generation."
Aizen Sousuke's gentle voice rang out from the side, calmly saying, "This monster's characteristics are a bit troublesome."
Despite saying it was a bit troublesome, when facing this monster who had tormented the entire village of Konoha for half the night, his calm and gentle tone made it sound as if he were talking about tonight's meal, giving Hiruzen Sarutobi a strange sense of contrast.
Thinking this, Hiruzen Sarutobi subconsciously turned to look at him, but suddenly felt that he had never really seen through this young man.
As expected.
Almost the instant Aizen's voice rang out, Goku suddenly roared from his ferocious maw, forcefully pushing aside Susanoo's arms with a loud "Ah—".
Covered in jet-black fur, with massive, blade-like claws, it suddenly swung horizontally towards the ground, tearing a deep trench beneath their feet, causing them to lose their footing.
Uchiha Itachi watched this scene calmly, then swiftly leaped to the side.
In that brief moment of stagnation, Wu's perception saw right through him.
His wings suddenly vibrated, capturing the moment Uchiha Itachi leaped up. His massive body soared into the gradually brightening sky, and a pair of equally sharp claws immediately grabbed the Susanoo's heavy shoulder armor. With a buzzing vibration, he soared into the air, dragging his torso and sweeping across many buildings.
Boom boom boom—
"
After only a brief moment of restraint, Itachi Uchiha immediately released Susanoo, his body flipping and tumbling down from mid-air, his movements agile as he leaped and dodged between several ruins.
"Hey."
However, Wu seemed to have foreseen this scene long ago.
Almost the instant Susanoo dissipated, his figure swerved in mid-air, twisting his massive body with incredible agility, and charged straight toward Aizen like a charge.
"Soyousuke!!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was radiating energy, noticed the sudden sound of wind breaking behind him, turned around abruptly, and shouted in Aizen's direction, his pupils contracting involuntarily.
At the same time, the iron bar in his hand swung horizontally in that instant, suddenly growing thicker and longer, in an attempt to force back the black shadow falling from the sky.
"Too late—!"
Wu's sharp screams were filled with an indescribable excitement and exhilaration.
His body spun and leaped from top to bottom to dodge the giant club that was being swung horizontally, his sharp claws piercing through the air, and his hideous maw, which was about to tear his entire body apart, uncontrollably hooked upwards.
All senses were focused on the tiny figure before them.
Hatred! Anger! Desire! Excitement!
Aizen Sousuke!
On the day you took the root away from me, did you ever imagine this scene would unfold now?!
This scene, the scene I tore to pieces.
"Buzz—!"
A dull, heavy whistling sound instantly pierced through the brief distance of several dozen meters between Him and Aizen, carrying immense inertia and speed from above, and suddenly shot out.
It seemed capable of tearing everything in the world apart.
Until the next moment.
"bite."
"
The moment he sensed that subtle pause, Shiro Aburame, enveloped within the enormous, black body of "Satoru," seemed to pause even in thought for a moment.
It was as if they had witnessed something unbelievable.
The horizontal blade was held straight in front of the claw tip, blocking the giant claw that was about to pierce his chest point-to-point.
More importantly.
Wu did not see this scene.
"boom--!"
Time, which had seemed frozen, suddenly began to flow again. Wu's body, propelled by the inertia of this terrifying speed, crashed into a large area of buildings ahead, sending up a flurry of flying debris and dust.
The claw tip, rubbing against the blade, emitted large bursts of golden sparks amidst a series of ear-piercing friction sounds, yet its trajectory was abruptly bent by the blade.
Aizen Sousuke remained standing with his sword raised, quietly rooted to the spot. His white robe fluttered in the howling wind, but he didn't move an inch.
"—?!"
Upon seeing this scene, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was far away, immediately widened his eyes and stared at the young man in disbelief, as if he had seen an elephant being stuffed into a refrigerator.
The numerous Konoha ninjas who were rapidly gathering from afar also witnessed this scene, and they were all speechless.
He dodged it just now?
Even more unbelievable was Wu, who had just crashed into a large area of building ruins.
"This...how is this possible...?"
"Why, I didn't see your fear?!"
He roared in an unbelievable, hoarse, shrill voice.
That's not all.
As He roared after His death, He suddenly seemed to sense something and abruptly looked down at His own body.
A tear mark was left on that thick, long, jet-black arm, starting from the claw tip and extending to the end of the outer arm.
That was a knife mark.
This is the first wound he has sustained since the start of the war.
"I should have said that from the beginning."
Aizen Sosuke's voice remained as calm and undisturbed as it had been at the beginning.
He slowly sheathed his blade and stepped toward the monster before him.
Despite the enormous physical difference between the two sides, like that between a tiger and an ant, their aura was completely reversed.
The man's body was so small in front of the monster, yet he seemed like a beast surveying its territory, strolling leisurely toward its prey, which was already doomed to die.
"Look at your deformed body."
"No eyes, no ears, no sense of pain, only a mouth used to bewitch people."
"All your perceptions stem from your emotional responses to the outside world."
"Besides that, there was only a bottomless darkness."
"Is that right?"
"What a pitiful sight."
Aizen Sosuke's voice was devoid of any emotional fluctuation; he simply stated everything calmly, as if presenting a fact.
Only then did Hiruzen Sarutobi and the surrounding Konoha ninja seem to suddenly realize something, staring blankly at the huge body lying in the ruins.
It was as if he had suddenly understood something.
That's exactly why.
"You need to constantly emphasize your invincibility, your unstoppable force, and your foresight regarding the so-called future."
"Make everyone fear you."
"Because if you can't do that, even if the opponent is just an ordinary ninja, they could probably easily pierce your body."
Aizen's voice grew increasingly calm.
However, these seemingly ordinary words struck the heart of the monster on the other side like heavy, dull blows.
"impossible--!!"
He roared like this, his voice so sharp it was almost piercing.
However, His enormous body instinctively retreated.
Everyone around could see it clearly.
Although His body had no facial features, everyone seemed to feel the fear emanating from the deepest part of that voice.
That was the fear of having everything easily seen through.
Hiruzen Sarutobi stared at the scene, somewhat incredulous.
Aizen Sousuke's smile softened further as he quietly watched the monster ahead.
"boom--!"
As if to prove something, Wu's body suddenly moved.
The enormous body took a step, its wings flapping, which propelled its speed to an incredible extreme in a mere instant.
They ran straight toward the direction from which the sound came.
However, Aizen Sousuke simply stood there quietly.
"laugh!"
The terrifying giant claws tore through the ground, shattered rocks, and easily left a long trench in front of them.
Unfortunately, the ravine grazed right past Aizen's feet.
Throughout the entire ordeal, he simply stood there quietly, without moving an inch.
"hold head high--!"
On the other hand, it seemed that Wu had completely disappeared from sight. His entire body was soaring in the sky, occasionally swooping down like a headless fly, leaving deep marks around Aizen.
But they couldn't touch the figure standing there at all.
Wu also knew this.
He could clearly sense that, from the moment he began, his claws had not touched anything.
The more this happened, the stronger the fear in His heart became.
How is that possible?
How could there possibly be someone in this world who doesn't feel any fear towards him?
Is this guy even human?
If Satoru felt fear when he witnessed this scene, then the Konoha ninja around him were simply incredulous.
"Wow, it's actually true."
"From the moment he left, it was as if he couldn't see Aizen at all!"
"It's that simple?"
"What an amazing guy, to be able to completely overcome his fear when facing that kind of monster."
"Who is that guy?"
"Haven't you heard of him? Aizen, the Radiant Release. I'd only heard he was a research-oriented Jonin before, I didn't expect him to be so strong."
If anyone in the crowd was most shocked by this scene, it would probably be Kakashi, who had just been thrown far away by Guy.
He held his injured arm, staring blankly into the distance at the figure standing in the center of the ruins, constantly being swept by Wu's giant claws, his gaze lost in thought.
Unexpectedly, Sosuke has already developed such strength without making a sound.
This is really...
"Drink up!"
From Wu's ferocious maw, hysterical roars continuously erupted.
His enormous claws swung wildly, blindly flapping in the endless darkness, tearing apart the entire surrounding land.
However, he never felt any flesh or blood in his hand.
In contrast, each time he flew close to the ground, the wounds on his body kept increasing.
That seemingly inconspicuous blade left long, bloody welts on His body, causing Him to bleed continuously.
To those around him, it seemed as if he had repeatedly offered his body to the other's blade, an act of utter foolishness.
"Huff...huff...huff..."
"
Finally, as his fear intensified, Wu began to breathe heavily and uncontrollably.
The sense of fear emanating from the surroundings is diminishing, and so is the energy used to replenish what is being consumed.
All of this made him feel terrified, even bewildered.
"Splash."
When it finally fell to the ground from the sky again, its body was covered in bloodstains.
The moment she sensed Aizen Sousuke's footsteps, she even subconsciously took several steps back, as if to create some distance between herself and the terrifying man in front of her—only in this way could Sode feel at ease.
Why should we keep our distance?
He had only taken one step back when that calm voice rang in his ears again.
Aizen Sosuke's gaze, hidden behind his glasses, fell heavily on the sleeve.
"If you really want to kill me, you should get close and attack me."
"Enlightenment".
Are you starting to feel fear?
This calm tone was like a sudden piercing of the deepest nightmare in His heart, penetrating straight to His core.
"Ah...ahh ...
As he approached, Wu's wings suddenly unfurled, as if to escape something, propelling his massive body upwards.
Unfortunately, it was too late.
"Four Purple Flame Formation".
Almost the instant his body took off, Aizen Sosuke, as if he had anticipated his actions, suddenly spoke.
Four enormous, dark purple walls suddenly extended from all directions, completely sealing off the space between him and Wu, and blocking everyone's view.
"boom!"
Wu's figure had just taken off when his entire body crashed into the deep wall, bursting into flames.
The people around looked into the distance.
Then they saw four Root ninjas who were under the influence of genjutsu, simultaneously forming hand seals and merging into a formation.
Clearly, because he was under the illusion, Wu was also unable to perceive the fear in these people's hearts, and naturally had no way of predicting it.
Aizen Sousuke slowly walked forward, step by step, under everyone's gaze, toward the huge figure whose entire body was wrapped in dark purple flames.
"Aizen..."
"
"Aizen Sousuke—!!!"
Amidst the endless burning pain, Wu seemed to briefly glimpse the approaching figure ahead. He struggled to his feet, muttering a low growl.
In the end, as if in a desperate gamble, it suddenly supported its massive body and, amidst a series of rumbling sounds, stumbled and ran, launching a final charge towards Aizen.
The hideous maw opened towards the monster that terrified Him, bewildered Him, and filled Him with disbelief.
The sharp teeth covering the entire massive mouth were like a hellish abyss of blades, slamming shut as if to swallow him whole.
"Oh."
Looking at the monster that had lost its mind, Aizen Sosuke smiled somewhat helplessly and suddenly leaped out.
He thrust the blade forward.
Without hesitation, he leaped into the enormous maw formed by endless blades.
"puff--!"
The next moment, under the horrified gaze of everyone in the self-illumination.
His figure pierced through the massive body, the blade in his hand cutting through the front and sinking into a pale-skinned torso buried deep within the dark body.
It runs through.