Aizen paused for a moment, as if reliving that hollow, empty feeling.
No one in the chat interrupted.
Tsunade set down her sake cup. Kafka narrowed her eyes slightly.
Mash tugged anxiously at the corner of her clothes, and Sakiko's eyes reddened.
Even Rin—the loudest troublemaker—pressed her lips together.
Only now did they truly realize: this powerful group leader had been carrying a past far heavier, and far crueler, than they'd imagined.
[Group Leader (Aizen): No goal. No direction.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): Even after arriving in a new world, I drifted in a daze—surviving like a walking corpse.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): Until this chat group found me.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): I made a contract with the chat group.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): I act as its host and provide the energy it needs to operate; in exchange, it helps me recover those lost fragments of memory.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): So some of you may have wondered—why do I help you so relentlessly?]
[Group Leader (Aizen): Now I can say it plainly: from a utilitarian perspective, helping you is helping the chat group grow.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): The stronger it becomes, the more power it has to repair my memories—and the more I can retrieve.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): That's my "benefit." That's my most fundamental motive.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): And as for the chat group itself… I don't actually know much more than any of you do.]
(He kept the other detail to himself: that this "repressed chat group" runs on "repressed energy.")
When Aizen finished explaining, everyone except Kafka unconsciously let out a quiet breath of relief.
That's the messiness of human nature:
When a seemingly omnipotent powerhouse keeps giving you kindness with no visible reason and no apparent payoff, it can increase anxiety—people start suspecting some enormous hidden scheme.
But the moment you realize you actually have value that the other party needs, and their help is also pursuit of their own goal, that fear of being "given charity" dissolves.
The scales tilt back into balance—into something more stable, more comfortable: cooperation.
Kafka, of course, was the exception.
Without a fear response, she'd made plenty of guesses about Aizen's motives—but none of those guesses were laced with dread.
Right now, she simply found the story even more interesting than she'd expected.
[Athletic Lunchbox (Rin): Waaah… Group Leader, I'm sorry!!!]
[Athletic Lunchbox (Rin): I… I went too far earlier!]
[Athletic Lunchbox (Rin): I shouldn't have suspected you like that! (teary puppy.jpg)]
Rin was the first to apologize—full of guilt and genuine pain.
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): I didn't expect something this heavy behind it all… Group Leader, we misread you. Sorry. (heavy sigh.gif)]
[Roasted Eggplant (Mash): Mr. Group Leader, I'm sorry!]
[Roasted Eggplant (Mash): And thank you for telling us.]
[Roasted Eggplant (Mash): We'll work hard to help the chat group develop—and help you recover your memories! (determined.jpg)]
[Classic Lunchbox (Sakiko): Yeah! Group Leader—we'll all help you! (nods hard.jpg)]
[Purple Sweet Potato Taro (Kafka): I always trusted the Group Leader. (smile.jpg)]
Seeing their sincere reactions, Aizen felt a faint warmth rise in his chest.
[Group Leader (Aizen): Alright, alright. (waves hand.jpg)]
[Group Leader (Aizen): The past is the past. No need to apologize.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): It's personal, but since it affects how the chat group operates, as members you have the right to know.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): Now—back to business.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): About this newly released Sub-Group Leader Authority: what do you think?]
[Group Leader (Aizen): Or rather—what questions do we need to discuss?]
Aizen deliberately cut through the heavy mood, pulling everyone's thoughts back on track.
Tsunade responded first—like the battle-hardened leader she was:
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): The rules are written fairly clearly. Most questions are already answered.]
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): The only key point worth a deeper discussion is this: the choice of invitation method.]
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): Do we go with random invites, or manual invites?]
Rin's energy returned, but her tone stayed noticeably steadier than before:
[Athletic Lunchbox (Rin): Do we even need to debate this?! Of course it's manual invites! (tiny fist wave.jpg)]
[Athletic Lunchbox (Rin): Look at the benefits the chat group brings.]
[Athletic Lunchbox (Rin): Just "Possibility Avatars" alone can rocket someone's power growth, right? And there's teleportation as a life-saving option.]
[Athletic Lunchbox (Rin): And the main group is still upgrading—subgroups will definitely get stronger over time too.]
[Athletic Lunchbox (Rin): With an opportunity this valuable, why give it to some random stranger from who-knows-where instead of your most trusted friends and family?]
[Athletic Lunchbox (Rin): What if you roll a troublemaker? Kicking them costs points—you'd lose money doing cleanup!]
Her view was basically: keep the power in the hands of people you trust.
Tsunade didn't refute her immediately. She let Rin finish, then pivoted.
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): Rin, you have a solid point. People naturally prioritize those close to them.]
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): But many problems can't be solved by raw force from a single person or a small team.]
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): The Group Leader himself has said individual power has limits.]
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): And honestly—we're still nowhere near our personal ceilings.]
Then she guided them toward the "strategic" layer:
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): If we focus on our own worlds, the value of random invites shows up.]
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): It breaks through our existing social circles and information walls.]
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): Imagine people from different classes, factions—even outright enemies—pulled into the same subgroup by randomness.]
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): That collision across status and worldview can create explosive information gain, new perspectives, and unexpected cooperation—or breakthroughs.]
[Giant Daifuku (Tsunade): Sometimes, diversity like that matters more strategically than concentrating resources into a few core members.]
Aizen spoke up at the right time, affirming Tsunade's line of thinking:
[Group Leader (Aizen): Tsunade's analysis is spot-on.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): Random invites vs manual invites—there's no absolute "best." It depends on the redeemer's needs and environment.]
[Group Leader (Aizen): Here's a ready-made example: Kafka.]
(End of the provided excerpt.)
Join here to read ahead.
In Star Rail, Ultra-Beast Armored — Have I Caught "Equilibrium"? l (Chapter 80)
Uma Musume, But I Only Have Five Years Left to Live (Chapter 90)
Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Doctor, Not a Bangboo (Chapter 95)
Ben Tennyson Wants to Join the Justice League (Chapter 80)
TYPE-MOON: Redemption Beginning with the Holy Grail War (Chapter70)
Yu-Gi-Oh! — Transmigrated into the White Dragon Girl (Chapter70)
"Is this chat group even serious?" (Chapter50)
I, Lord Ravager, Utterly Loyal! (Chapter60)
Can Playing Games Save the World? 20
Crossover Anime Multiverse: The Demon Hunter of an Unnatural World 20
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