Chapter 79: The Unseen Shattering
Before the eyes of the entire stadium, Aizen uttered the release command for his Zanpakutō.
"Shatter, Kyōka Suigetsu!"
With the invocation of the release phrase, the blade that had once toyed with countless powerful beings in the Soul Society performed its first Shikai in the Naruto world, blooming with its unique and terrifying brilliance.
Bzzzt…
An almost imperceptible hum resonated from the steel of Kyōka Suigetsu. An invisible wave of energy pulsed outwards from the blade, washing over the entire arena and the stands beyond in an instant.
For a single, fleeting moment, every person in the audience experienced a bizarre lapse in their perception. A gap in their consciousness, so brief it was almost a hallucination. The feeling vanished as quickly as it came, and everything seemed to return to normal.
Aizen, now holding Kyōka Suigetsu's hilt, resumed his calm walk forward.
With each step, his presence seemed to grow. When Gaara met Aizen's gaze, a sliver of inexplicable fear, cold and primal, wormed its way into his heart. It was a feeling that seemed to sprout from nowhere, yet felt deeply, unsettlingly familiar.
What terrified Gaara even more was the reaction of the One-Tail, Shukaku, sealed within him. The beast, usually so restless and violent, had suddenly grown still and quiet, as if suppressed by some immense force. Gaara could even sense a trace of... fear emanating from it.
The combination of these factors sent a wave of panic and nervousness through Gaara, a feeling he was utterly unaccustomed to.
He was not alone. Throughout the stands, many seasoned shinobi felt a similar, inexplicable unease.
Especially the Fourth Kazekage, whose brow furrowed deeply.
This prestigious Kage-level powerhouse was, in fact, not the real Kazekage at all, but Orochimaru in a perfect disguise. The true Fourth Kazekage had been slain by him. It was this flawless impersonation that allowed the entire Sunagakure forces to be deceived and manipulated into the alliance with Otogakure.
Orochimaru watched Aizen's actions, a cold weight settling in his stomach.
Outwardly, nothing had changed, yet a sense of panic stirred within him. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced in a very long time, and it unsettled him to his core.
Orochimaru's serpentine eyes narrowed, his focus intensifying on Aizen, searching for any clue, any tell.
Yet, no matter how hard he looked, he could detect no abnormality in Aizen's posture or chakra. It seemed as if Aizen's act of holding the sword was nothing more than a theatrical flourish.
But when Orochimaru tried to calm his mind, he found the thread of fear stubbornly persisted, making him hesitate.
The Third Hokage watched from his high seat, his gaze deep and contemplative. He had always felt there was something off about Aizen, but the boy had never shown a single flaw. Now, this action felt like a warning. Strangely, the Third Hokage felt no direct sense of threat, and this contradiction only deepened his confusion.
"What is your game?" the Third Hokage murmured to himself, lost in thought.
After a moment, the atmosphere in the stadium returned to an uneasy tranquility. All eyes were back on Aizen, now filled with more confusion and doubt than before. After his grand gesture, nothing had happened. Everything was perfectly calm.
"Grandstanding!" Gaara sneered, projecting disdain, though internally he was just as puzzled. The moment Aizen had made his move, he had expected a new, devastating ninjutsu. To see it result in nothing felt like a personal insult, an act he could not tolerate. In his estimation, a true genius would never make such an empty move.
"Since you are so full of secrets, I will simply crush you and your secrets with my own hands!"
Blue veins bulged on Gaara's forehead as a furious, tangible killing intent erupted from his body, sweeping across the arena. He already despised Aizen's condescending gaze. Now, this act of feigned mystery pushed his murderous rage to a fever pitch. He swore he would personally shatter this enigmatic opponent!
"Sand Binding Coffin!"
This time, Gaara was swift and direct. He mobilized the special sand reserved for his Absolute Defense, the sand from his gourd. It churned and coalesced in the air, forming colossal, powerful arms that blotted out the sun, their sheer size exuding an aura of absolute destruction.
"Go! Crush him completely!"
Gaara swung his arms down. The gigantic sand arms descended from the sky with overwhelming force, aiming to pulverize everything in their path.
Yet, what Aizen did next stunned every onlooker.
They saw Aizen, still holding Kyōka Suigetsu's hilt in one hand, form a seal with the other hand. A single-handed seal!
"Fire Style: Dragon Fire Technique!"
In an instant, Aizen exhaled several massive fire dragons. They were wreathed in scarlet, scale-like flames, their forms mighty and vigorous, radiating a pressure akin to that of real dragons. The fire dragons soared through the air, growing larger in Gaara's vision until they slammed headlong into the descending sand arms.
BOOM!
A colossal crash echoed throughout the stadium, deafening the spectators.
Under the fiery impact, the giant sand arms that had seemed indomitable began to crumble at a visible rate, dissolving into a majestic shower of sand that rained down upon the arena.
"How is this possible?! He can use a ninjutsu of this level?!"
The audience was dumbfounded. They never expected Aizen to not only use the B-rank Dragon Fire Technique but to also effortlessly shatter Gaara's seemingly world-ending assault.
Had this been performed by a seasoned Jōnin, it would have been impressive but understandable. But this feat came from a boy who had only begun practicing ninjutsu two months ago. It was genuinely shocking.
Swish…
The sound of the falling sand grains seemed to strike Gaara's heart like a heavy hammer, filling him with a profound sense of humiliation and injustice.
Time and again, in front of everyone, Aizen had easily thwarted his attacks, stripping Gaara of all dignity.
A wave of pure, unadulterated resentment flooded Gaara's heart. And from the deepest part of his being, a power responded—the power of the beast sealed within him, the One-Tail, Shukaku!
ROOOAR!
Gaara threw his head back and let out a guttural, inhuman roar. Sand clung to his face, twisting his features into a hideous mask.
There, in front of the entire crowd, the unmistakable, malevolent chakra of the One-Tail began to seep out.