Chapter 91: The Unfamiliar Face
The top of the watchtower offered a panoramic view of Konoha, a vista of both proud achievement and current, raging chaos. From this highest point, the entire village lay exposed.
Aizen stood there, elegant and unmoved. The soft black hair framing his handsome face stirred in the wind. With the dissipation of the last remnants of his genin disguise, the final traces of youthful immaturity vanished, fully restoring the shocking, kingly elegance that was his true nature.
His immense Reiatsu, no longer restrained, raged outwards like a turbulent ocean, spreading across Konoha and pressing down on the soul of every living thing within its walls.
This spiritual pressure was so dense it seemed to condense into a liquid state, casting a gloomy, oppressive pall over the sky, as if the very air had been replaced by an invisible, suffocating substance. Since the shinobi of this world possessed no innate spiritual power, they could not see the terrifying spectacle of the energy itself. But they could feel it—a pressure that seeped into their bones and made their souls tremble.
Under the weight of this overwhelming power, almost every eye, whether in the midst of combat or frozen in fear, was drawn to the figure on the tower.
Suspicion. Shock. Awe. Disbelief.
Countless conflicted gazes converged on him, every heart shaken to its core.
It wasn't just Konoha's shinobi. The invading Sound and Sand ninja also halted their attacks, staring in confusion at Aizen. None of them understood the real situation. They could only judge by what they saw, and what they saw was the absence of both the Third Hokage and Orochimaru.
"What happened? Where is Lord Orochimaru?" Yakushi Kabuto adjusted his glasses nervously, his eyes wide with shock as he looked at Aizen.
He had fought Aizen in the preliminary matches. Back then, Aizen had only revealed a fraction of his power, yet it had been enough to defeat Kabuto with ease. Now, feeling this incomparable, soul-crushing pressure and seeing Aizen alive, Kabuto's heart was a whirlwind of confusion.
Why is Aizen back from the dead?
The same question echoed in the mind of every person who had witnessed his "death."
But the most profoundly affected were the members of his own Team 8.
Their eyes were locked on Aizen, a torrent of emotions warring within them. The initial, fleeting joy of seeing their comrade alive was instantly drowned by a tidal wave of doubt and confusion.
For the past two months, they had trained together, eaten together, and relied on each other. They had built what they believed was a deep and genuine friendship. The Aizen they knew was gentle, kind, incredibly talented, yet humble.
That impression was carved deeply into their hearts. Memories of their teamwork in the Forest of Death were still vivid.
But the Aizen standing before them now was a stranger.
The aura he emitted, of one standing at the very pinnacle of the world, filled Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino with a primal terror. This level of power was far beyond anything they could comprehend.
"Why? Aizen only started training two months ago!" Kiba muttered, his usual brashness gone, replaced by a numb shock. "How does he have this kind of power?"
Aburame Shino remained silent, but behind his sunglasses, his eyes were wide with bewilderment. He had come to see Aizen as a vital comrade. He had even felt genuine murderous intent towards Zaku for his role in Aizen's supposed demise.
The scene before him now completely shattered that understanding.
Fortunately, Hyūga Hinata was not present to see this. She had fainted upon witnessing Aizen's gruesome "death" at Gaara's hands and was now lying unconscious in a hospital bed, her pure heart still clinging to the beautiful, gentle image of the boy she admired. That innocent affection, like a tender seed, had taken root without her knowing the darkness of the soil it grew in.
The two elite jonin closest to the tower, Hatake Kakashi and Might Guy, had already pieced together the horrifying truth. They had seen it—the final, casual stroke of Aizen's blade that ended the Third Hokage's life.
A hero's reign had ended not in glorious combat, but in cold-blooded murder.
"Damn you, you traitor!" Guy's blood boiled. Beneath his dark skin, veins bulged. His seemingly ordinary physique contained a terrifying, explosive power.
Swish!
Blinded by rage, Guy's body flickered, a green blur shooting directly toward the watchtower. He would subdue Aizen here and now and avenge the Hokage.
"Guy, wait! Don't be reckless!" Kakashi's warning came too late.
Sigh. With a resigned sigh, Kakashi knew he couldn't let his friend face this unknown threat alone. In an instant, he too vanished, reappearing on the watchtower beside Guy.
Tap. Tap.
The two elite jonin landed steadily, facing Aizen head-on.
"You traitor! You betrayed the trust of everyone who believed in you!" Guy's killing intent was a physical force. Every cell in his body seemed to be screaming, unleashing boundless power. He could no longer contain the fury in his heart.
"Oh? So-called 'trust' and 'faith' are fundamentally the same concept," Aizen responded to Guy's provocation not with anger, but with a slight, condescending smile. "Trust is a behavior of the weak. For me, it is an unnecessary concept."
He spoke these words with utter calm, as if discussing the weather.
"How can you possibly understand the Will of Fire?!" Guy roared, ignoring Kakashi's cautioning hand. He took a heavy step forward.
His eyes changed completely, transforming into those of a feral, blue beast. The chakra within Guy's body erupted, a visible, green aura bursting from every pore, radiating a fearsome vigor that warped the air around him.
"The Eight Inner Gates," he growled, his voice a low rumble of pure power. "Release!"