Moral Benchmark

Sosuke Aizen was perhaps the most famous Chunin in Konoha Village, without question.

Almost no one in all of Konoha Village had failed to hear the name of this gentle, refined man who loved calligraphy.

He treated others with kindness, gladly helped those in need, and could always use the Will of Fire to explain all manner of principles, helping others overcome their inner knots and even allowing those who had once despaired to regain a new lease on life.

Aizen also funded several orphanages and adoption facilities in his own name, spending nearly all the money he earned from missions on such things. Even the support sent by girls who admired him or by his friends would be routed through every possible means into the hands of the poor. To prevent any mishaps, he even delivered it personally.

So even in Konoha, where pitch-black rain poured down in sheets, a layer of warm light seemed to surround Aizen.

The Ninja and civilians he passed along the way all greeted him with familiar smiles.

"Hello, Senior Aizen."

"Good afternoon."

"Good afternoon, Aizen-sama!"

"Good afternoon."

"Hey, Chunin Aizen, are you going to see the Third Hokage?"

"Good afternoon, Jonin Sato. Yes, I'm on my way to report to the Third Hokage-sama's office."

"Brother Aizen! Here, an umbrella!"

"Thank you. But don't forget about your own business, all right?"

Smiling, Aizen patted the little head of the blushing girl before him and continued toward the Hokage's Office.

Along the way, countless Ninja in flak jackets either nodded respectfully to this man in a White Haori covered in mud or greeted him warmly.

There were hardly any people in all of Konoha Village who bore him hostility. That White Haori was also a privilege possessed by Sosuke Aizen alone.

After cleaning the filth from himself, bathing in the washroom inside the Hokage Building, and changing into clean, immaculate Pure White Haori and clothes, Aizen still wore the same gentle, serene smile as he pushed open the door to the Hokage's Office.

"Third Hokage-sama, I have returned."

"..."

The man seated behind the Hokage's desk wore the Hokage's conical hat and quietly watched the black rain outside.

This man, known as the Professor of Ninjutsu and the most promising Hokage, simply smoked his pipe, watched the storm beyond the window, and silently observed it all.

After a long while, he finally spoke to Aizen, who stood respectfully in place.

"...Sosuke? Come help tidy things up. I haven't paid much attention to this work lately. I'll have to trouble you."

"Yes. Then forgive my presumption."

Faced with the Hokage's nearly unconditional trust, Aizen bowed deeply, then strode forward and began organizing the various documents and books scattered across the Hokage's desk.

Things that could easily be called confidential were not concealed from Aizen in the slightest and lay openly before him. Yet Aizen had no intention of examining them.

Even in the eyes of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hokage currently at the height of his power, Sosuke Aizen showed not the slightest desire to inspect those materials. He merely sorted the documents and files in silence. Those with serial numbers were categorized accordingly, while those without numbers were listed separately and placed where the Hokage could access them at any time.

After watching this almost artistic method of organization for a long time, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly turned his gaze back toward the window.

"...How is Kakashi Hatake? Is he still the same?"

"Yes, Third Hokage-sama."

Seeing the Hokage turn around in his chair, his expression somewhat dim, Aizen, dressed in white and sorting books, adjusted his glasses and revealed a faintly regretful expression.

"He refuses to open his heart to me and refuses to communicate with anyone else. He simply remains angry all by himself."

"Is that so..."

"This is not a good thing, Third Hokage. If this continues, those emotions will crush him like this rain. He is still only a child. Even Ninja regulations should not make him cling to such obsession over his father."

"..."

At the mention of the word "father," the man dryly smoking his pipe paused slightly, and his expression visibly darkened.

Yet as he watched Aizen continue his organizing work without the slightest hesitation, he sighed as though he had given something up.

"Even before me, you uphold your principles. That is what makes you so precious. You are right, Sosuke. Was I wrong?"

"How could that be, Hokage-sama? You have never made a wrong choice. I know that much."

Dusting off the files on the floor, sorting them, and placing them back onto the desk or shelves, Aizen turned toward the somewhat dejected Hokage and said with a gentle smile.

"Everything was for the Will of Fire. Sometimes, necessary sacrifices must be made. Sometimes, rumors and criticism are themselves acts of goodwill. Sakumo-kun simply did not understand your actions. This was a tragedy, and all I could do was prevent it from growing worse."

"Yes, it was a tragedy... because I never thought he would die."

The Hokage held his pipe stiffly between his lips and stared blankly at the black rain outside.

"A Ninja should prioritize his mission, yet that conflicts with the Will of Fire. No matter what choice is made, public opinion will arise. I could have suppressed this storm, but I became numb and allowed it to continue. I never intended to drive him to death, Sosuke. I never intended it."

"I too regret Hatake Sakumo's Death, but that was a choice he made himself. I have no grounds to condemn it."

Looking at the Hokage, who seemed to be staring out the window yet perhaps seeing something else entirely, Aizen finished arranging the documents on the desk and shelves, then returned to his original position and respectfully clasped his hands.

"However, Kakashi-kun is still young. I hope to adopt him as my Adopted Son."

"Adopted Son? Kakashi?"

Drawing his gaze back from the black rain outside, Hiruzen Sarutobi looked in surprise at the young man who was only twenty years old.

"If you do this, you may face great criticism in the village. You are too young. Even if you wish to protect him, you only need to guide him a little."

"No, I wish to become his Adoptive Father. Though I am not old, the First Hokage-sama once said that children's lives are more important than anything else. I am merely doing what I can."

Aizen looked straight into Hiruzen Sarutobi's eyes, his expression utterly resolute.

"Even if leaves are burned by fire until only ashes remain, that tiny flame will still illuminate others. That is what I believe."

"..."

How wonderful this man was.

He was the true inheritor of the Will of Fire.

No, in a sense, the Will of Fire was an extension of his actions.

Looking at Aizen, who wore no Konoha Headband yet seemed to embody Konoha itself simply by standing there, Hiruzen Sarutobi could not help but sigh inwardly.

For twenty years, he had watched this young man grow. Pure, kind, responsible, and never dazzlingly conspicuous, he had willingly immersed himself in Konoha's Daily Chores while maintaining the same unwavering heart throughout.

He was not a warm sun shining upon all things. He was a soft moonlight that entered the hearts of others when they suffered in loneliness, becoming a Pure White Moon and making others willingly acknowledge his existence.

Hiruzen even suspected that, compared to himself, everyone would likely see Sosuke Aizen as the true embodiment of the Will of Fire. If trouble arose between the two of them, everyone would certainly believe that Aizen was the one representing the Will of Fire.

Yet despite possessing such immense prestige, he did not have the slightest ambition.

Elegant and composed, generous and steady, skilled in calligraphy and painting, and well-versed in refined pursuits, he was even treated with exceptional courtesy by the Daimyo, to the point that people lamented that he was a Ninja.

And how did Sosuke Aizen respond to such attempts at recruitment? He merely smiled and continued helping others, taking joy in doing good.

Changing everything around him within the limits of his ability—that was Sosuke Aizen.

Only twenty years old, with no glorious military achievements and merely a Chunin, he had become Konoha Village's White Moonlight through nothing but his conscience and actions.

Would he become his Successor? A Chunin-level Hokage promoted by special appointment?

If so, what would the villages of other countries think?

But if not... what would Konoha think?

Looking at the smiling young man before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly closed his eyes. Compared to the sun he had chosen, he had already made up his mind.

"You have truly worked hard, Sosuke... I am truly sorry about Hatake Sakumo's Death."

"You are the Hokage. If the Hokage apologizes, we will become unsettled. Please, do not do this."

"Thank you... and yet I need you to comfort me."

"It is my duty, Third Hokage-sama. If there is nothing else, I shall take leave first."

"Ah, go. I will consider Kakashi's matter."

The Hokage waved his hand, indicating that Aizen could leave.

This man, so meticulous in etiquette, did not crudely leap out the window or smash through the door like other Ninja. Instead, he respectfully lowered his hands, bowed, backed toward the door, and silently closed it behind him.

But the instant Aizen left, the Shadow in the Corner suddenly began to writhe.

A cold, middle-aged man in armor resembling that of the Warring States period appeared beside the Third Hokage, arms folded, and sneered at the door Aizen had just left through.

"Hmph, Sosuke Aizen... Hiruzen, let him train under me for a while. In this Ninja World, his nature is far too naive."

"Do not taint him with your darkness, Danzo."

Watching the black rain outside, the Hokage sat in his office chair beneath his conical hat and could not help releasing a long sigh.

"Aizen is truly a good man. Even being a Ninja is somewhat too cruel for him. I cannot bear to let him come into contact with those things. It would shatter the beauty in many people's hearts."

"How can one become accomplished without enduring hardship? Without the ability to bear darkness, how can he inherit the Hokage's position?"

"I do not intend to make him Hokage."

"...What?"

"Someone like Sosuke Aizen is more suited to the position of Advisor or Elder."

"Advisor?"

As an old comrade-in-arms, Shimura Danzō narrowed his eyes, realizing what his old friend intended.

"You intend to make him a benchmark?"

"Yes. A benchmark for the Will of Fire. A Moral Benchmark."

Slowly exhaling a puff of smoke, the Third Hokage stared at the black rain outside, his voice low and resolute.

"That symbol will be far more useful than me, the Hokage. He will become everyone's example and call upon them all to learn from him. That will be enough."

"Rather than hesitate, it is better to block the path directly... As expected of you, Hiruzen. Well done. But if one day you hesitate and lose the ability to judge, then give the Hokage's position to someone more capable."

Seeing his old friend's resolute expression, the man in the shadows slowly nodded and spoke in a deeply satisfied voice.

"Do not Show Weakness. We cannot allow the enemy an opening to exploit. You handle the Cloud Ninja. They cannot be allowed to notice our problems in the short term. I will handle the problems within the village and create the illusion that Hatake Sakumo actually Feigned Death and is deceiving the other villages into trusting him."

"Let us do that. I will trouble you, Danzo. I also need to carry out Pacification Work among the other Ninja in the village. This was a Sad Accident. Nothing more."

"That is as it should be. You are the Towering Tree, and I am the Root in the Darkness. Do not forget our oath, Hiruzen."

"I have never forgotten."

After taking a deep look at his old friend, who seemed to have suddenly aged ten years yet had become increasingly steadfast and decisive, Shimura Danzō nodded in satisfaction, turned around, and gradually disappeared into the shadows.

Yet after some time, in a dark corner of Konoha known to no one, a greeting suddenly rang out from within endless darkness.

"...This is the first time we have met in this state, isn't it, Sakumo-kun? It is truly wonderful that you were able to kill yourself."

"...?"

"Otherwise, how could I possibly come into contact with the soul of a top-tier Ninja like this without any risk? This is far less dangerous than testing Dan-kun."

"Aizen—!!!"

"It really, truly, truly is wonderful."

Looking at the Pale Blue Soul Fragment bound within a glass Frame, its Eyes about to burst, Sosuke Aizen smiled gently, adjusted his glasses, and looked as serene as moonlight.