When?
Minato Namikaze couldn't help but have this thought surface in his mind as he looked at Aizen Sōsuke standing calmly upon the high platform; the ominous feeling that had always lingered deep within his heart finally settled.
However, the reality before his eyes made him even more uneasy.
Substitute?
Space Ninjutsu?
Or Genjutsu?
As Ninja, and specifically Ninja who had reached their current status and strength, both Minato Namikaze and Senju Tobirama held a considerable amount of trust in their own instincts.
They were absolutely certain that the sensation of touching the opponent's body just now was real.
But how could this be now...?
Wait?!
As if suddenly realizing something, Minato Namikaze immediately turned his head back.
If the one standing there was Aizen, then who exactly did we just beat up...?
Almost the instant they turned around, Minato Namikaze and Senju Tobirama saw Sasori, completely shattered, his entire puppet body scattered on the ground like parts, utterly torn apart.
Not only was the outer shell, Hiruko, pulverized, but the true Human Puppet hidden inside that body was also shredded into dust, leaving only a head attached to half a torso lying quietly on the ground.
As for the Third Kazekage Puppet, which had been lingering on the edge of their vision, it had silently fallen to the ground at some point, having long since lost control.
Sasori's gaze, directed at Minato Namikaze and Senju Tobirama, seemed to carry a hint of resentment.
"What in the world are you two doing?"
His resentful stare seemed intent on conveying this emotion.
Since just now, these two guys had been flashing back and forth around him like maniacs, and they didn't stop until they had completely dismantled him.
Compared to their actions just now, those block toys he made that needed Chakra threads to move—these two guys were the real puppets, manipulated and deceived by their own senses.
At this moment, Sasori felt that his understanding of puppets seemed to have reached a new level of enlightenment.
However, seeing this scene, Minato Namikaze and Senju Tobirama felt a chill run down their spines.
What exactly is going on?
"Can't you understand?"
Aizen's voice was as calm and steady as ever; even while toying with two historical Hokage, he seemed utterly devoid of emotional fluctuation.
At this moment, this composure instead became the greatest mockery of the two of them, making their hearts feel as if ants were crawling inside.
Minato Namikaze secretly clenched his fists.
Unfortunately, Aizen Sōsuke didn't care about their feelings, merely continuing to speak gently, as if conducting routine business: "Kyōka Suigetsu."
"To be precise, it should be 'Kyōka' and 'Suigetsu'."
"These are the names of my Zanpakuto."
"As for the Zanpakuto, you can understand them as vessels anchored to a certain special Ninjutsu—just like these two in my hand."
He extended the Ninja Blades toward the two Hokage below, gesturing simply, and smiled: "The ability possessed by 'Kyōka' is called Complete Hypnosis."
"Sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch—all the senses you rely on will fall into the hands of another the moment you look upon this blade."
"To help you understand, the two of you can imagine it as another form of the Mangekyo Sharingan."
"This is also one of my most important inventions over the past twenty years."
Just listening to these words, Minato Namikaze felt goosebumps rise all over his body, staring blankly at the man above who maintained the posture of holding the blade aloft.
A blade equivalent to the Mangekyo Sharingan...?
Doesn't that mean that when facing his attacks, this Genjutsu is completely unavoidable?
"Absolutely impossible!"
Contrary to him, Senju Tobirama's reaction was intensely fierce the moment he heard the explanation, loudly refuting: "The Mangekyo Sharingan, formed based on a Bloodline Limit, has been verified countless times since our era! It is absolutely impossible to replicate it by any external means!"
"Do you think you can fool me with mere rhetoric of this level?"
"Don't look down on people, brat!"
Veins bulged on Senju Tobirama's forehead, and his red pupils appeared even more scarlet in his towering rage.
But concealed beneath that anger was an even more intense unease.
Aizen Sōsuke remained unperturbed by Senju Tobirama's accusation, his tone still gentle: "Indeed."
"Therefore, this blade was not constructed using any external means."
"The foundation of its ability originates from my own soul."
—A soul?!
Senju Tobirama's expression froze; this seemed completely outside the bounds of his comprehension.
To lay the foundation of a jutsu using one's own soul.
Is such a crazy thing truly something a human can achieve?
Just as the two of them were shocked by Aizen's previous words, they saw Aizen turn his head, look in a certain direction, and say softly, "The time for chatting is nearly over."
"It's time to end this farce."
Almost the instant those words fell, both Minato Namikaze and Senju Tobirama immediately realized something and abruptly looked toward Orochimaru.
Then, they saw another figure of Aizen, who had been standing quietly around the seal where Orochimaru was located, constantly maintaining a reaching posture. The tadpole-shaped sealing patterns beneath his feet rapidly receded into the surroundings like ebbing seawater.
Orochimaru's final line of defense around him was also released, exposing his figure standing still to everyone's eyes.
However, the changes in the surrounding scenery seemed to have completely failed to affect his state of mind. The pale figure remained standing in place, his eye movements highly erratic, occasionally accompanied by small physical reactions.
The moment they saw him in this state, Minato Namikaze and Senju Tobirama realized.
Orochimaru, just like they had been moments ago, was still trapped within the Genjutsu woven by Kyōka Suigetsu.
"Stop him!"
Before the opponent could make the next move, Senju Tobirama roared and immediately scattered a dense rain of Shuriken forward.
Almost the instant the Shuriken were scattered, his figure immediately vanished from the spot, and an extremely sharp Ninja Blade swept out, attempting to cleave Aizen's body in two.
However, the sensation upon impact was the emptiness of nothingness.
"Damn it."
Just as this thought flashed through Senju Tobirama's mind, a blade piercing down from above ruthlessly ran through his chest, pinning him to the ground with a single strike.
He spat out a large mouthful of blood, instantly staining the ground red.
However, the time gained by that single strike was already enough.
Minato Namikaze, who was right behind him, did not rush forward to help like a hot-headed idiot; his body skimmed past the two figures, almost immediately following Senju Tobirama.
With one arm swept across, he directly scooped Orochimaru's body up from the ground, cradled him, rushed out of the pit in the center of the large body of water, and flashed to the other side at extreme speed.
"Whoosh—!"
The bottom of his Ninja Shoes scraped against the cracked ground, kicking up a burst of hot, bluish smoke. Minato Namikaze crouched low to the ground, supporting himself with one hand.
His bright blue eyes had closed at some unknown point, and he was moving entirely by relying on his Chakra sensing ability.
He keenly captured the few pieces of information leaked in Aizen's previous statements.
Since his Genjutsu could control the five senses, then temporarily abandoning reliance on the five senses should allow him to escape the influence of his Genjutsu to a certain extent.
"A very good idea."
"However, it's already a little late."
Almost the instant Aizen's voice sounded, Minato Namikaze's heart immediately tightened.
Although Aizen Sōsuke's figure was clearly still far away within his sensory range, the voice distinctly sounded right next to him.
"You thought correctly."
Aizen Sōsuke leaned down and gently placed a hand on his shoulder, maliciously making Minato Namikaze clearly perceive the undeniable sensation coming from his own body.
"Human understanding of the world is processed through the brain."
"Even if you briefly change the way you perceive the world through Chakra, the most basic cognitive logic cannot be altered."
His voice remained calm and gentle.
After all, compared to the slightly crude Chakra sensing ability of Ninja, the Shinigami, who are spiritual beings themselves, have a much clearer and more precise perception of Spiritual Pathways and Spiritual Pressure.
However, they still could not escape the fate of being toyed with by Kyōka Suigetsu.
This is the difference in quality.
These gentle words landed in Minato Namikaze's heart like heavy meteorites crashing down, and the hand lightly placed on his shoulder felt like ice pressed against molten iron, stiffening his entire body.
How should one deal with such an opponent... Before this thought could finish in his mind, a whistling whip kick had already cut a gray trajectory through the air, swift as a gale.
Minato Namikaze, originally famous as the fastest in the Ninja World, experienced a momentary pause at this instant due to the conflict between his Chakra perception and his five senses.
"Boom—!"
In an instant, his body was suddenly thrown out like a ragdoll, crashing heavily onto the ground and tumbling more than ten meters away.
Even Orochimaru, whom he was holding, was flung away.
Aizen Sōsuke watched this scene calmly, not feeling too surprised.
This is the limitation of humans.
Whether it was the Ninja of this world or the Shinigami of the other, it seemed to be the same.
Even Captain Yamamoto back then was no exception.
Aizen Sōsuke had long since become accustomed to this.
Thinking this, he raised his head, looked in a slightly farther direction, and said, "Itachi-kun."
"You may act now."
"Yes!"
Uchiha Itachi's voice was flat from a distance.
What?
Senju Tobirama, lying prone on the ground, seemed to recall something and struggled to raise his head upward.
The moment that sound fell, he clearly sensed an extremely strong yet overly familiar Chakra presence suddenly rising from the seemingly thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy.
The intensity was in no way inferior to that of Uchiha Izuna back then.
"You—?!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi, leaning on the adamantine staff, stared in astonishment at the young man before him.
He saw the three pitch-black tomoe, shaped like tadpoles, in the center of the boy's eyes suddenly connect and cluster together under an injection of intense Dojutsu Power, transforming into a pair of unfamiliar, windmill-like tomoe.
This is the same as Uchiha Madara's...
"Mangekyo Sharingan."
"Hiruzen!!"
The instant those eyes appeared, Danzo Shimura realized the situation was bad and abruptly lowered his head, shouting out.
But what met his eyes was the reflection of the Mangekyo tomoe on the water's surface.
"Tsukuyomi."
The moment after he lowered his head.
The young man's cold voice sounded as if it were right next to his ear.
Immediately after, Danzo Shimura found his consciousness had appeared in another space, his entire body bound to a Cross, completely unable to move.
"This is a world belonging only to you and me."
"One second in the outside world is equivalent to seventy-two hours here."
The young man's figure appeared before him, holding a sharp Awl, and spoke calmly: "It's just that I have no preference for torturing people."
"So, please die cleanly and swiftly."
"You inherently evil—!"
Danzo Shimura's voice didn't have time to fully leave his mouth.
The rusty spike, covered in spots of rust, had already been driven deep into his chest, making a dull "thud."
Completely piercing his heart.
Danzo Shimura was suspended on the pillar, struggling to open his mouth, trying to breathe.
But the intense pain completely overwhelmed all his senses.
At the same time, Uchiha Itachi, leaning over his chest, had his other eye begin to rotate.
"Ichibitoshi."
The pinnacle of Genjutsu, capable of bringing everything from the illusionary world into reality.
"Die."
Almost the instant his voice fell.
"Thump."
In reality, Danzo Shimura's knees suddenly went soft, and he blankly collapsed onto the ground.
His hand instinctively covered the hole in his chest, but he felt nothing, only the increasingly profound weakness of constantly flowing blood and life force, continuously draining everything from him.
Until the very end, he simply watched death arrive with open eyes.
"Splash—"
The Chakra beneath his feet could no longer be maintained, and his entire body easily submerged into the water, silently turning into a corpse.
"Danzo!!!"
Hiruzen Sarutobi watched this scene, his eyes suddenly splitting with rage.
He struggled to support his weakened body, swinging the adamantine staff as he lunged fiercely toward the young man ahead, like a mad tiger.
However, the young man in front of him merely watched him quietly, as if looking at a dead person.
Dark red bones continuously condensed outward along the spread of Dojutsu Power, transforming in a short time into a half-armored, sword-wielding giant.
The heavily whistling blade cleaved through the waves, forcibly slicing open the swirling adamantine staff from the front, driving Hiruzen Sarutobi's weakened body into the water and splashing up huge sheets of spray.
Akimichi Choza and Aburame Shibi met the same fate.
Ninja, small and brave like moths flying into a flame, appeared so powerless and fragile when faced with the crushing force of absolute power.
Kakashi Hatake, who had been protected behind everyone, stared at the massive divine figure standing before him, feeling as if his entire being had been frozen in place. He had completely lost the strength to move, and his limbs were subtly trembling.
Having never experienced the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, nor having been exceptionally promoted to Jonin, he was still just an ordinary genius.
But regardless of what kind of genius he was, when facing this scene, all he felt was bone-deep powerlessness.
This Genjutsu, this power...
Was all of this truly within the reach of human capability?
The excellent situation from moments ago was completely reversed in this brief instant.
Everything happening before his eyes made him feel it was utterly unreal.
The emotion named Fear gripped his heart tightly.
His gaze swept across the entire secret room.
Lord Second Hokage, Lord Hiruzen, Lord Shimura, Minato-sensei... everyone had fallen.
The mission they were supposed to be undertaking today was clearly just a normal investigation.
Where exactly did things go wrong?
Uchiha Itachi glanced at Kakashi's subtly trembling, fearful appearance, gradually retracted the Susanoo surrounding him, and strode toward Lord Aizen.
Aizen Sōsuke, meanwhile, paid no attention to the reactions of others, walking step by step toward the seal of the Dragon Pulse Power that Orochimaru had been guarding.
He looked at the Source of the Earth Vein where the seal had receded, clearly sensing the enormous power hidden beneath it, and gently extended his hand.
"This is..."
"The Dragon Pulse."
An immense power capable of breaking through the dimensional differences of space and time, unique to a planetary level.
At this moment, Aizen Sōsuke's gaze was, unusually, serious.
Simultaneously.
Orochimaru, lying prone on the ground in the distance, suddenly revealed a mocking smile on his face.