Samui sat on the ground, her pretty face set in unwavering resolve, looking for all the world like a knight about to die heroically—utterly unmoved by anything Aizen said.
Yet the instant she heard those words her mind began racing, trying to fathom the man's true intentions.
"He's already roped in the Hyuga and the Uchiha, won Hiruzen Sarutobi's trust, and now he wants Kumogakure's help as well?"
"What on earth is he planning?"
The moment her gaze flicked to Uchiha Itachi and the Hyuga Anbu, a single possibility surged through her mind—
—coup d'état.
Yet for all his decent reputation in Konoha, Kekkei Genkai Aizen is still a nobody in the wider Ninja World.
Where does he get such confidence with only the Uchiha and Hyuga backing him?
And why would those two battered clans choose him in the first place?
Questions tumbled through Samui's mind, but instead of refusing outright she said coldly, "A deal?"
"Aizen Sōsuke, you of all people should know you're not nearly important enough to speak to Kumogakure as an equal."
Even as a captive she showed neither humility nor fear, staring at the group with icy composure.
It was both a show of pressure and a probe for weakness.
Aizen regarded her mildly, sipped his tea, and asked in a level voice, "Even if this deal concerns the future of the Ninja World—and peace between our Villages?"
Samui's heart lurched, though her face stayed calm; secretly she sped up her Chakra's assault on her pressure points to regain control of her body, letting a sneer creep into her tone. "Peace for the Ninja World?"
"Who do you think you are—Uchiha Madara?"
At that name Uchiha Itachi's expression flickered, and he shot Aizen a look laden with subtle meaning.
For all Madara's fame in days gone by, he had never slain three Hokage in one breath.
A shinobi of the new era, Itachi could scarcely imagine even Uchiha Madara standing on equal footing with Lord Aizen.
Aizen Sōsuke simply smiled at her, then shifted tack. "Your partner should have been discovered by now."
Samui's face twitched.
Almost before the words left his mouth—
"Boom."
A muffled blast echoed from the distant forest, followed by hurried footsteps outside.
No one needed to look to know something had gone wrong.
Samui's gaze at the man sharpened to a razor's edge.
What did those words imply?
From the very start every move, every timetable, had lain within his grasp.
How had he managed it?
The Byakugan?
Even with Hyuga support, tailing them without detection would take considerable manpower.
Besides, they had slipped into the Hokage Building and Anbu headquarters—areas shielded by barrier seals.
Just how large was his network?
And how deeply could it sway Konoha?
Realizing this, Samui began weighing the man's earlier words with genuine care.
"What can you give us?"
She looked at him, her expression finally grave.
"That depends on how far you're willing to go."
Aizen Yūsuke casually drew a scroll from a drawer and set it on the table, smiling gently. "As a show of sincerity."
"This is a specialized Yin Release creature-capture seal—essentially a traditional Hollow-sealing scroll."
"At the very least it will keep Kumogakure from being helpless against Hollows."
At those words Samui's gaze at the scroll turned fervent.
It was one of the very reasons she had risked coming here.
As if unaware of her reaction, Aizen kept his gentle smile, produced a pocket-watch-sized device and placed it beside the scroll. "There's also this Hollow-detection radar."
"Within a five-kilometre radius you can use it to pinpoint any Hollow Chakra signature."
"Inside Kumogakure you'll be able to hunt them down at any time."
"These two items are my goodwill offerings."
If the scroll had left Samui somewhat composed, the radar nearly shattered her icy mask.
For weeks Kumogakure had been plagued by those masked beasts; several genin teams had been hit, most casualties among the gifted young—
the Village's future strength.
Had they possessed this radar earlier, those creatures would have been wiped out long ago.
Yet recalling his earlier words, Samui reined in her expression. "What do you want in return?"
"You aren't qualified to decide on the rest; Upper Ninja Samui need only convey my words to Lord Raikage."
Aizen Sōsuke smiled at her. "Within two months Konoha will have a new Hokage who settles all internal clan disputes and unites the Village."
"Soon after, the Jonin Council will pass a motion—"
"'The Anti-Interference by the Land of Fire Daimyo in Konoha's Internal Affairs Bill'… or something to that effect."
"Its core will deny the Daimyo and most nobles economic control over Konoha, ending their technological and financial blockades on steel, transport, salt, sugar and more."
"Our slogan will be: 'A shinobi Village belongs to its shinobi.'"
"When that time comes I hope Kumogakure and the Fourth Raikage will remain… silent."
The moment she heard it, Samui's mind went blank, staring at him in stunned bewilderment.
Before he spoke she had expected arms, intel, manpower—perhaps even open foreign aid for their coup.
Never had she imagined Aizen would drop a bombshell of this magnitude.
He spoke of the Hokage succession—of their coup succeeding—as if it were already an absolute certainty.
Even more staggering were his next words.
Anti… Daimyo?
The economic details were trivial; only the first three words mattered.
What was this man thinking?
Samui's eyes widened in shock.
As the saying goes—
'Anything that existed before I was born is simply part of the natural order of the world.'
Anything born when I was young was a revolutionary product destined to change the world.
Anything born after I grew old was an offense against the laws of nature.
For shinobi living in the Ninja World, the saying holds just as true.
The daimyo and the shinobi Villages are parts of the world order that have existed since the moment they were born—an invisible yet indispensable part of everyday life.
Most people from outside this world can hardly imagine why a group of humans who wield such tremendous power would bow to nobles whose only merits are eating, drinking, amusing themselves, and being rich.
Much like citizens of modern states elsewhere struggle to understand why a 'monarch' in a constitutional monarchy deserves the title at all.
Yet, however one puts it, to natives of the Ninja World such talk is heresy—blatant treason.
At this instant, Samui's gaze toward Aizen Sōsuke even carried an involuntary hint of dread, her voice unsteady: "You…"
"What exactly do you intend to do?"
The question itself might be nothing special; were an ordinary person to ask it, an upper-Ninja like Samui would only sneer in contempt.
Yet if the man before her truly has the power to topple Konoha's supreme leader at will and change the Village's regime, stripping the daimyo of authority and wiping out the nobility's prestige would hardly be impossible.
Should that happen, the Fourth Great Ninja War would truly begin.
In recent years the Hidden Cloud Village has often waved the banner of war to intimidate Konoha, but that doesn't mean they actually want to start one.
No one who has read the histories understands better than these shinobi how horrific those wars were.
Hearing the tremor in her voice, Aizen Yūsuke offered no reply, merely smiled serenely and sipped his tea. "Upper Ninja Samui, you need only convey these words to Lord Fourth Raikage."
"As for what follows, that will be for him to weigh for himself."
"Aizen Sōsuke!"
"Do you even realize what this means?" Samui could not restrain herself; her voice turned sharp and severe.
At the same time, her seated figure quietly tensed; every blocked Chakra point inside her had been forcibly opened.
Samui's eyes locked onto Aizen Yūsuke in front of her, measuring the distance to him and his two guards.
No matter who they are, no matter what they intend to do later…
If she could seize this seemingly defenseless man first—yet Aizen Sōsuke, as if completely unaware of her small motions, gently explained, "The wheels of era wait for no one who lingers in place."
"If shinobi arts are to advance, if the Village is to expand, if the number of Ninja is to rise, we can never avoid what lies before us…"
At the instant his words reached this point—
Samui's hands behind her back burst free of the ropes; her foot pressed to the floor and suddenly sprang, launching her lithe figure forward like a powerful female leopard, charging at incredible speed toward the man in a life-risking assault.
She stretched out her hand, fierce and resolute, aiming to subdue him in a single move.
As long as she could grab him, escaping would be certain!
That thought flashed through Samui's mind in that instant.
Then Aizen's teacup lightly tapped the porcelain saucer, letting out a crisp "ting".
Aizen Sōsuke lifted his head and fixed his gaze on her.
"Buzz—!"
In a flash, a crushing pressure—mountainous, torrential—broke every restraint and bore down on her body.
Even the surrounding air seemed distorted by a heavy gravity; in Samui's vision it grew viscous, dragging into downward streaks that shimmered with ripples.
At the very moment the sound rang out, her body felt pulverized by countless weights and slammed to the floor with a heavy "thud".
Samui lay incredulous on the ground, palms braced against the floor, trying to keep some semblance of posture.
Yet her body had lost all control; under that soul-level pressure she was seized by helpless weakness, blood flow seemed halted, thoughts frozen, unable to summon the slightest will to resist.
Samui barely raised her head; her vision caught the tall figure seated behind the desk, leaning back, chin propped on one hand.
He sat there looking down at her prostrate form, like a sovereign cloaked in shadow.
For the first time the man's voice lost its usual calm modesty, carrying a hint of coldness: "Your loyalty to nation and Village is admirable, Upper Ninja Samui."
"However…"
"I have not finished speaking."
Listening, an almost imperceptible bead of cold sweat slid from Samui's temple down her fair cheek.
Her jade-green eyes stared at the floor, faintly vacant.
From start to finish the fight had lasted but a single round.
To be precise, a single glance.
Though she knew her strength among Jonin was far from top-tier, she still understood what such a gap signified.
At this moment Samui suddenly realized…
She had made a grave misjudgment from the very beginning.
The Uchiha and the Hyuga were not supporting this man.
Rather, this man controlled Konoha's two greatest clans.
The instant the thought arose, her heart felt flash-frozen, terror and tremors spreading wildly.
What kind of monster was seated before her?
Driven by that tangled turmoil, Samui lifted her head with effort, stared at the man's face, and rasped, "What… do you really want?"
Aizen Sōsuke looked down at her; the coldness in his gaze now bared without conceal, sending a chill to the bone: "That is not something you need to ponder."
He stretched out a hand, pointed to two items on the desk, and said, "Take my gifts and leave."
"Nothing more is required."
"Samui."
The warrior-like kunoichi, steadfast until now, felt for the first time an uncontrollable weakness—fear of this man rooted in her very soul.
Under Aizen Yūsuke's gaze she slowly bowed her head as if in submission and answered,
""
"…Understood."