Chapter 112: The Reflection in the Mirror
"Then, why do you assume it was I who fell under the Tsukuyomi?"
Aizen held Kyōka Suigetsu in a relaxed, reverse grip, a profoundly puzzling smile gracing his lips.
Crash!
The surrounding scene shattered like glass.
Uchiha Itachi and Kisame stared, stunned. In that moment, a disorienting illusion gripped them—the realization that the Aizen who had stood before them, the one who had seemingly endured the Tsukuyomi, might have been nothing but a phantom from the very beginning.
"Uchiha Itachi, perhaps you were mistaken from the start," Aizen's voice came, calm and clear. "It is not I who has ignored what is truly important, but you."
His figure materialized silently behind Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi's face contorted in shock. He spun around, but he was too slow. The gleaming edge of Kyōka Suigetsu was already in motion.
Shink!
Before Itachi could even twitch a muscle, the sharp Zanpakutō pierced cleanly through his torso.
The scene was a perfect, cruel mirror of the one in the Tsukuyomi world—only now, their roles were utterly reversed. Aizen was the one holding the blade, delivering a fatal judgment.
Blood trickled from the corner of Uchiha Itachi's mouth, his chakra fluctuating wildly. Yet, a strange, almost knowing arc formed on his lips.
"Crow Clone Technique!"
In an instant, Itachi's own chakra was projected onto a flock of dozens of crows, which scattered into the air as his clones.
Caw! Caw!
The crows swarmed skyward, a chaotic black cloud against the vast sky. The diversion worked, and the blade of Kyōka Suigetsu found only empty air where Itachi's body had been.
"Though I do not understand how you broke the Tsukuyomi," Itachi's voice echoed from the swirling flock, "a blade like that is not enough to defeat me."
The crows circled once before coalescing back into the form of Uchiha Itachi a short distance away from Aizen.
"So this is the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan? More remarkable than I had theorized," Aizen remarked, his Zanpakutō held steady, his demeanor exuding a spotless, untroubled elegance.
On the surface, their exchange seemed even, but in truth, Aizen held a subtle, yet decisive, advantage. The critical point was this: the moment Aizen had released his Shikai, Uchiha Itachi had never truly touched the blade of Kyōka Suigetsu. Therefore, he had never been able to break free from its absolute hypnosis.
"Humans rely on their own knowledge and perception, and live bound by them. That is what they call 'reality,'" Aizen mused aloud, his tone that of a lecturer. "But knowledge and perception are ambiguous things. True reality may only exist as a reflection in a mirror. People live trapped within their own obsessions. Don't you agree?"
He looked at Uchiha Itachi with genuine interest. In Aizen's eyes, only a fellow master of illusion like Itachi was worthy of such a discussion.
"And if I do?" Itachi replied, his voice cold. "Perhaps reality and illusion are absolutes for other shinobi. But before the power of the Mangekyō Sharingan, they are separated by nothing more than a single thought."
"By a single thought?" Aizen slowly raised his head, gazing at the sky. "My apologies, Uchiha Itachi, but there is one thing I must correct. What you call a 'single thought'... perhaps that itself only exists within the realm of illusion, does it not?"
He whispered softly, almost to himself, "What beautiful scenery. Though the season is wrong, it is pleasant to see ice and snow now."
As the last word left Aizen's lips, the clear, sunny sky began to darken. Flakes of white snow drifted down, and the temperature around them plummeted.
"It's... snowing?!"
Even Uchiha Itachi, with his legendary composure, was deeply shaken. He could scarcely comprehend that Aizen's mere words could so easily alter the very weather. This power to reshape the environment on a whim surpassed anything he had ever imagined.
"Do you see?" Aizen said with his characteristic elegant indifference. "Perhaps this is the nature of a true moment."
He had not given up on recruiting this talented individual. "The sky is, in fact, colorless. It does not deceive you. It is your own eyes that deceive you."
"Uchiha Itachi, I believe you understand the true meaning of those words. In pursuit of power at a higher plane, join me. Advance and retreat with me."
This was the second time Aizen had extended an olive branch to Uchiha Itachi, valuing his unparalleled talent for genjutsu above all else.
"A shinobi is a shinobi because they are often forced to make cruel choices," Itachi stated, his resolve unshaken. "Therefore... I refuse."
Uchiha Itachi was, as ever, a genius of unshakeable will. No matter the power Aizen displayed, his heart remained as calm and still as a frozen lake.
"A pity," Aizen conceded. "It seems we are destined to face each other as enemies once more."
He leveled Kyōka Suigetsu, its sharp point aimed directly at Itachi's heart. The atmosphere grew heavy and solemn once again.
A few seconds later, a surge of chakra erupted from a nearby sand dune. Hoshigaki Kisame burst forth, landing beside Uchiha Itachi with a murderous glare, Samehada held ready. Everything had returned to the starting point, a tense standoff, though the psychological landscape had irrevocably shifted.
Just as the three powerful figures were about to renew their clash, their expressions changed in unison. All of them sensed it—a terrifying, immense wave of energy approaching at incredible speed.
Their eyes snapped in the same direction.
Jiraiya!
The Toad Sage's aura was completely transformed. An astonishing power radiated from his body, a potent, natural energy that Aizen recognized as Sage chakra. After a long period of gathering energy, Jiraiya had finally succeeded.
Sage Mode was activated.
Jiraiya's long white hair flowed wildly, and the markings on his face had morphed from simple red tears into the distinctive, bold patterns of a sage. He closed the distance with blinding speed using the Body Flicker Technique, his presence growing larger with every passing second.
When his eyes locked onto Aizen, they burned with a fierce, unyielding killing intent.
The man who had brought ruin to Konoha was now about to face the judgment of a sage.
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