Chapter 145: Hokage Tsunade
He had said he would accompany them, but on the way to the Hokage Building Might Guy could not suppress his urge to train.
After offering the two of them a deeply emotional salute, he strapped on an absurd number of weights and began doing frog jumps through the village, entirely ignoring the strange looks from the villagers. Before bounding off, he solemnly promised to wait for them to return.
Aizen, for his part, genuinely admired that decisive, action driven style.
There was no need to worry about how others saw you. As long as you kept growing, other people's gazes were irrelevant. With talent, resolve, and relentless effort, whatever you gained in the end belonged to you alone.
Other people's opinions were just that, other people's opinions.
They could not overturn the facts.
A glance would not kill you.
Gaze, perspective, outside pressure, none of that could truly shake the core of a person. Once the inner decision was made, it was time to act on it and improve yourself.
That was the process Aizen valued most.
It was what he hoped people would choose.
Even the Guy from his own world was still somewhat self conscious about his image. The Guy here was, in that sense, a more refined specimen.
Better yet, it was obvious Might Guy was not as clumsy or brainless as his appearance suggested.
Watching Guy hop out of sight with his weights, Aizen glanced at Kakashi, who was walking with his head down and sighing.
"You have a very good friend, Kakashi kun," Aizen said quietly. "He is a rare talent."
"...I do not know why you find him so relatable," Kakashi muttered. "But I am pretty sure you are misunderstanding something."
"No." Aizen shook his head. "His theory of youth is full of holes and sounds impractical, but his actions are very pure."
Kakashi walked slowly along the main road of Konoha, hands in his pockets.
Aizen strolled at his side with the same unhurried pace, white turtleneck coat billowing lightly as they moved through the village.
He was striking to look at, handsome and neatly dressed, yet no one approached him.
Whether openly or discreetly, people seemed to possess an unspoken awareness.
Commuting shinobi and ordinary villagers parted around them without words, naturally drifting to either side of the street as if there were an invisible barrier in their way.
Even those who noticed Kakashi did not linger on Aizen. Their gazes slid past him, then turned away altogether, like their eyes refused to properly focus on the man walking by Kakashi's side.
The subtle, unnatural feeling made Kakashi uneasy.
It was as if something that had always been there had quietly gone wrong.
Aizen, however, did nothing overt.
The mysterious man from another world maintained his gentle composure, glancing over a row of shops as they passed, taking in the slightly crooked buildings and the merchants hawking their goods.
"I truly admire that refusal to give up," Aizen said after a moment. "Guy kun's concept of youth is essentially about pushing yourself to the limit. No matter what, you drive yourself as far as you can, then deliberately break past that limit, see where the next limit lies, then repeat the cycle. Relentlessly, without hesitation, without stopping."
"Research is very similar. Sometimes research leads you into absurd errors. You cannot even see where the problem lies. All you can do is grit your teeth, keep thinking, keep trying to understand. You break the problem apart, look at it from new angles, and force your mind to reach its limits. You study things that others call taboo or terrifying."
"Most people react to that with fear, Kakashi kun. It is the same principle with Guy's training. They look at him and feel shock or disgust. Research receives the same reaction. But we must tear ourselves free of that conceptual error and pass on a more genuine courage."
"Do what you believe is right. Walk firmly down that path. To me, that is the ideal state of a human being."
"If you care too much about other people's feelings, you become like a machine without its own thoughts, endlessly serving others until you forget what the self is. That is nothing more than being a slave to social interaction."
"Slaves of the body can still be saved. Slaves of the mind cannot."
Oh, this shop is still here.
His gaze paused briefly on Ichiraku Ramen. Through the curtain, he saw a couple of familiar figures seated at the counter. Aizen smiled faintly, then turned away and continued toward the Hokage Building.
Kakashi did not respond.
He did not argue, did not comment, did not attempt to refute Aizen's words.
He simply listened.
The way of living Konoha advocated was simple.
Live for the village and for others.
Even in Team Seven he had found peace and mutual support inside that idea.
Yet after only a few sentences from Aizen, he felt something in himself waver.
That deep baritone carried a strange persuasive power.
It made people want to think about what he was saying.
And the more one thought, the more troubling it became, because it all sounded so reasonable.
That was what made it terrifying.
Everyone knew the grand principles in theory.
Everyone could recite them, could nod as if they understood.
But knowing was not the same as doing, and doing was not the same as accepting, and acceptance was not the same as questioning.
For a shinobi, it was perfectly normal to hold a belief and still cut someone down in the name of that belief.
Yet with just his voice, Aizen Sousuke could push people to think about what they really wanted their future to be.
That ability to make others think without realizing they had been led to do so was probably what made him truly dangerous.
What unsettled Kakashi most was that he did not entirely dislike what he was hearing.
Why?
As they walked through the streets of Konoha, Kakashi felt increasingly uncomfortable.
Every time he glanced sideways at Aizen, a different kind of discomfort stirred in his chest.
Aizen, in contrast, was relaxed.
To him, this was nothing more than a new test site.
The same land, the same basic structure, the same environment. Only the flow of time and the people in it were different.
Compared to the ninja world he came from, this one was a perfect reference point, an ideal way to study the differences and similarities between timelines and worlds.
What could be better for his research?
So he was in no rush.
He walked slowly down the main avenue of Konoha, taking the time to savor how this battered village still managed to glow faintly with new life.
Every bit of that vitality was fuel for his future work.
He had no intention of destroying Konoha.
He did not want to destroy anyone.
But in a world that kept advancing, there would always be people who failed to keep up.
Whether they chose to enjoy themselves quietly in some forgotten corner or be crushed to death beneath the wheels of progress depended entirely on their own decisions.
Not everyone who went against the flow deserved praise.
Some people were not resisting out of conviction.
They were resisting out of apathy, foolishness, or a fundamental clash with the world around them.
After passing through a small, underwhelming commercial street, Aizen and Kakashi eventually reached the base of the Hokage Building.
They had walked slowly, talking as they went.
Thanks to that leisurely pace, other people had time to move.
Might Guy was already at the entrance, standing tall in the morning light.
The blue beast of Konoha blocked the main doors, and on the outer railing above him stood the Fifth Hokage herself.
Tsunade of the Legendary Sannin, arms crossed, wooden clogs tapping softly in the breeze, stared down at the two approaching figures with an imposing air that seemed to weigh on the entire courtyard.
Compared to Kakashi, who looked more than a little surprised at the reception, Aizen only smiled.
He nodded slightly to Guy, who stood in front of the doors like a sentry.
"Thank you for informing them, Guy kun," he said pleasantly. "You have saved us a great deal of time."
"Oh. If we have the chance, we must all burn together and show the colors of youth."
"..."
So I am the only clown here.
Watching Guy grin and flash a thumbs up without a hint of resentment or tension, Kakashi felt a twist of guilt.
Guy had clearly realized that anyone who could appear in Kakashi's house late at night without a Konoha forehead protector was unlikely to be an ordinary guest.
After confirming the path they would take, he had gone straight to the Hokage Building to report everything to Tsunade.
Aizen had walked slowly.
He had talked the entire way.
That had been more than enough time for Guy, and for the Hokage's side, to make their preparations.
By the time Aizen and Kakashi stepped into the courtyard, Tsunade was already on the upper railing.
Dozens of eyes locked onto Aizen at once.
He stood in the center of the open space with one hand in his pocket, head tilted up, a calm, almost lazy smile on his face.
"This is nostalgic," he remarked. "It has been a long time since I last saw this sort of thing. It feels very much like the ninja world I remember. I have not experienced this kind of tension in years."
Who are you?
"Tsunade senpai," Aizen called up to the balcony, "this is the first time I have seen you in this form. It seems you have taken on greater responsibility here than you did in my world."
He looked up at her, that bold, commanding figure outlined against the sky, and his expression softened with genuine emotion.
"I am Aizen Sousuke," he said naturally, "and I was once a Konoha shinobi."
"Konoha shinobi?"
Tsunade frowned.
She jumped down from the railing, landing heavily beside Guy, and stared at Aizen with narrowed eyes.
Kakashi slipped away from Aizen's side and found a safer vantage point to observe from, watching the calm man at the center of the gathering storm.
Around them, Anbu operatives had appeared like shadows, taking positions at the four corners of the courtyard.
According to Konoha's newest protocol for unidentified intruders, the hand signs for the Four Purple Flames Formation were already prepared.
One word from Tsunade was all it would take to seal Aizen inside a barrier that would not even let his soul escape.
"Do not joke with me," Tsunade said coldly. "You look about the same age as Kakashi and Guy. Konoha has never had a shinobi like you, and I have never heard of anyone named Aizen Sousuke."
Her gaze flicked briefly to his bare forehead.
"And you are not wearing a forehead protector. If you were a shinobi, even a rogue, you would still have one."
She stared him down.
"I will ask you one more time," she said. "Who are you really? If you cannot answer, I will act."
"I am telling the truth, Tsunade senpai," Aizen replied. "I was once a shinobi of Konoha. That was in the past, however, and that past does not belong to this world."
"...What are you talking about?"
"My own explanation may not be very persuasive," Aizen said mildly. "Why not let Kakashi kun speak instead? His testimony may give you a clearer grasp of what happened."
"Kakashi has been with you too long," Tsunade said flatly. "He could already be under genjutsu. You can explain things yourself."
"Is that so." Aizen let out a quiet sigh. "It seems you are beginning to lose your confidence. That is a little disappointing."
He glanced around at the carefully arranged formation of shinobi in the courtyard.
On the surface, it looked like they were wary of their own people, unwilling to trust even Kakashi's judgment.
In reality, they had already moved to the position of a cornered animal, one step away from springing.
This was not how a true great power met unknown visitors.
This was how a village already pushed to its limit reacted when it could not afford to take any more hits.
If Konoha were still strong, still confident, they might have had the composure to ask about his ideals, to weigh the path he represented rather than pouncing without a word.
It seemed this world was far more merciless than the few deaths Kakashi had summarized so casually.
Even before he did anything, they spoke of being fully prepared.
In his own world, Konoha had never felt the need to say that when facing an outsider.
This weakened Konoha was, in its own way, pleasing to him.
The weaker people were, the easier they were to tempt.
That was simply how the world worked.
"It is very simple," Aizen said. "A transaction. I will grant you one wish, limited to this ninja world. That wish can include resurrecting the dead."
He let the words settle.
"In exchange, I will use Konoha's intelligence network and collect some research data during my time here."
"...Are you mocking Konoha?"
Tsunade's voice dropped to a low, dangerous register.
She stared at him, jaw clenched, fingers curling into fists at her sides.
Her true weakness, and Dan's death, were no secret to the shinobi world.
The fact that this stranger could strike directly at that scar proved he had already done his homework on Konoha.
But precisely because she was Tsunade, precisely because she was a medical shinobi, she had always rejected the idea of dragging the dead back into the world of the living.
Those who had died should return to the earth.
The souls who had reached the Pure Land should not be disturbed by the living.
That was Tsunade's creed.
Of course she knew about Impure World Reincarnation.
Of course she knew that with forbidden techniques and medical ninjutsu it might be possible to restore a body permanently.
But if she allowed herself that selfishness, what about everyone else?
What would they demand? What would they do?
She was the Hokage. That was the one role she could not run from.
Even at her lowest, she had never truly considered resurrecting Dan.
Now this man stood in the courtyard of Konoha, speaking lightly of breaking that taboo as if he were commenting on the weather.
"If you do not state your true purpose," she said in a low voice, "you will face the wrath of Konoha."
"I have stated it several times already," Aizen answered calmly. "I simply want to make use of Konoha's intelligence system while I carry out my research. That is all."
He spoke like a neighbor asking to borrow a broom.
His gaze did not falter.
"To be honest, it is a little humiliating to say this, but I can even promise not to observe or make use of any particular secrets you want protected. If necessary, we can arrange something else in exchange. Whatever you think is appropriate, Tsunade senpai."
"There is no need for further talk," Tsunade said. "Prepare the Four Purple Flames Formation."
"Yes."
In the next instant, several more shinobi appeared in the courtyard, surrounding Aizen in a loose circle.
Hidden away at the four corners, four specialists already had their hand signs poised.
The barrier could be raised at any moment.
"Are we really going back to this again?"
Aizen let out a quiet sigh.
He looked at Tsunade with a small, almost regretful smile.
"Tsunade senpai," he said seriously, "you should activate the Hundred Healings Technique. Otherwise you might die."
At first she dismissed the warning.
Then, without quite knowing why, she reacted on instinct.
Her eyes widened.
The prism shaped Yin Seal on her forehead snapped open, and in the next heartbeat black markings surged out across her skin, spreading over her body like ink.
Even with the Four Purple Flames Formation flaring to life around them, even as the barrier's walls began to form and lock the space down, Tsunade could feel every cell in her body screaming.
Adrenaline, raw intuition, call it what you liked, something deep inside her howled danger.
She forced the Hundred Healings Technique to full power, flooding her body with chakra, all of it primed to repair whatever damage was about to come.
Even that did not feel like enough.
In front of her, red light bloomed in Aizen's hand.
"Hado number thirty three," he said softly. "Azure Fire Falls."
He looked at the fully raised Four Purple Flames Formation and the shinobi braced inside it, then lifted his hand with the same peaceful, untroubled smile.
A heartbeat later, a column of fire roared upward, tearing through the morning sky above Konoha.
A thunderous boom split the air as the azure flames hammered against the barrier.
In the pale dawn, the first Kido of the day fell like a bolt of lightning on the village.
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