Beneath Terumi Mei, several Mist-nin still stood locked in confrontation, their eyes widening in shock.
Terumi Mei herself was stunned, staring toward the rainforest where Kurosuki Raiga had been blasted away, leaving behind splintered tree trunks scattered across the ground.
Even though she had expended a great deal of chakra fighting him for multiple rounds, Raiga was still considered an elite Jōnin, a veteran of countless battles. How could he be defeated so easily?
"You… you are—"
When she turned, her gaze landed on a tall, slender figure wearing a pure white mask.
"The second-in-command of Sunagakure… Aizen?"
Behind her, a middle-aged man with a bandage over his right eye spoke solemnly.
Ao—now the deputy commander of the rebel army and Terumi Mei's right-hand man, who would one day accompany her to the Five Kage Summit.
Beneath the bandage on his right eye was the Byakugan he had seized from a Hyūga during the Third Great Ninja War.
"Aizen?"
Terumi Mei arched a brow, her uncovered left eye narrowing slightly. It was clear she had never heard of him.
As the leader of the rebellion, the affairs of the Land of Water weighed heavily on her shoulders—she had little time to pay attention to other villages.
Ao quickly explained, "After the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, was injured, this man took over as head of Sunagakure's ANBU division. Rumor has it his strength is comparable to that of a Kage."
As Ao spoke, the veins around his bandaged eye bulged—he was preparing to activate the Byakugan.
"Don't even think about peering into me with that clumsy eye of yours… unless you're ready to die here."
Aizen's indifferent gaze fell on him. He had not yet invoked Kyōka Suigetsu's hypnosis, and allowing Ao to perceive his chakra flow with the Byakugan would only complicate matters.
A heavy pressure erupted—Reiatsu, filled with killing intent. Ao shuddered violently, forced to shut his eye.
"Wh-what… what is this bottomless force!?"
Terumi Mei and the surrounding Mist-nin staggered back in fear, their faces pale from the suffocating spiritual pressure.
"Damn… bastard…"
From the rainforest, Raiga staggered back into view. His body was bloodied, his wrists and head cut, but his eyes burned with fury.
"Bastard! You're the one who ambushed me just now, aren't you? Do you want me to chop you into kindling!?"
Aizen didn't even look at him. "Yagura's loyalists and the rebellion are at each other's throats… and you are?"
Terumi Mei's expression froze, but she quickly composed herself. "Terumi Mei. Successor of the Lava and Boil Release… and leader of the rebel forces."
"Bastard! I'm talking to you—don't pretend you can't hear me!"
Enraged at being ignored, Raiga crossed his twin fangs of lightning, arcs of white thunder crackling violently.
In the next instant, he lunged at Aizen's back, snarling: "Die!!!"
"Behind you!" Terumi Mei cried in alarm.
Just as Raiga's blade came within inches of his neck, Aizen turned. Kyōka Suigetsu, still sheathed, lashed out with its scabbard and knocked the blades aside.
Bang!
The collision erupted in sparks and thunder, and the immense force sent Raiga hurtling backward.
"Ugh!!"
Thrown several meters through the air, his wrists went numb, and he nearly dropped his blades.
This masked bastard… such monstrous strength! Stronger than even Kisame…!?
Shhhhk!
A flash of silver-blue light—Kyōka Suigetsu was drawn at last.
The Mist-nin only saw that single arc of brilliance. Their eyes instinctively shut, and when they reopened—
They were dumbfounded.
The once fearsome Raiga, who had nearly forced even Terumi Mei to her limits, was skewered straight through the heart, suspended in the air on Aizen's blade.
Clang… clang…
His twin thunder blades slipped from his hands, striking the earth with a clear metallic ring, as his life left him.
Aizen yanked the sword free, flicked the blood from the blade, and slid it smoothly back into its scabbard.
Thud!
At the same moment Kyōka Suigetsu was sheathed, Raiga's corpse collapsed to the ground.
[Current template character: Aizen Sōsuke. Unlock rate: 24.56%]
"S-so strong…"
Terumi Mei's sapphire eyes widened.
Though Raiga had been wounded and nearly drained of chakra, killing him with such perfection—with such frightening ease—was something even she could hardly imagine.
Cold sweat dampened Ao's forehead. The thought echoed in his mind, the same one Orochimaru once had:
Sunagakure's second-in-command… is he actually stronger than the Kazekage himself…?
"Rebel leader, Terumi Mei."
Aizen's voice broke the silence.
She blinked, forcing herself to focus.
"Work with me," Aizen said calmly. "Together, we'll wipe out Yagura's loyalists first."
His tone carried no arrogance, only an unshakable confidence that made her strangely at ease.
After a brief pause, Terumi Mei's lips curved into a smile. "That sounds reassuring. In that case… I'll be counting on you, Mr. Aizen~."