Konoha's Scenery Depends on Who's Looking

The atmosphere of war between the Five Great Nations grew increasingly intense.

Merchants' businesses had also begun to suffer. Even commercial circulation in Konoha had started to stagnate.

Although Konoha was the strongest of the Five Great Nations, it still relied on relatively primitive commerce. Once the flow of goods was obstructed, prices often surged dramatically.

But Sosuke Aizen, who had foreseen this, stopped the trend. After explaining matters of commerce and confidence to the Third Hokage and Danzo, Aizen obtained temporary command over part of the ANBU and Root, cracking down harshly on unscrupulous merchants.

Naturally, as expected, many merchants had major clans backing them. Although Sosuke Aizen strongly advocated handling everyone equally, that was all it amounted to—talk. Many clans lived off this business. How could they possibly let him wipe them all out?

Thus, this minor disturbance ended without resolution. Prices remained relatively high, but everyone could still accept them.

The major clan ninja had also begun to form the beginnings of commercial alliances, gathering friends and associates to engage in the most primitive form of price-setting.

Meanwhile, the Third Hokage once again exerted the authority of the Hokage to preserve Konoha's unity, making the Will of Fire burn even more brightly. No matter how one looked at it, it was a situation where everyone was happy.

Of course, prices having risen nearly threefold was naturally still within an acceptable range. As for those claiming things had become so expensive they were about to die, Aizen had charitable shelters where they could study, work, and eat all at once. At any rate, they would not starve to death.

At a time when prices were soaring, ordinary people generally tightened their spending. Only ninja living from one day to the next drank to their hearts' content in taverns.

Yet amid the clamor, three young and middle-aged men in Haori sat in a corner.

Such a sight was not actually uncommon in Konoha. After all, those below followed what those above favored. Sosuke Aizen's righteous appearance in a Haori had become an example to many people. Beyond ninja, quite a few passersby and children liked to parade through the streets in White Haori.

After all, with black lining underneath and the garment draped over one's shoulders, it truly looked handsome and stylish. Though long swords and blades did not suit a ninja's image, well, many people were not dressing for their fighting prowess. Naturally, they wore whatever looked coolest.

However, the Haori worn by the three drinking here differed somewhat from those of ordinary people.

The numbers two, six, and eleven were written across their backs.

Three different emblems—a red spider lily, the Uchiha Gunbai, and a short blade—adorned the backs of their Haori.

No one present noticed the three men dining in the private room. They merely continued drinking, playing finger-guessing games, and shouting noisily outside.

Had servers not occasionally brought dishes before them, people might have even thought their existence was an illusion. Yet even so, no one detected anything unusual here.

Whether it was the ninja keeping watch or the servers delivering food, the three Haori-clad figures sat naturally by the window like ordinary travelers, looking at the scenery outside and marveling at someone's terrifying abilities.

"Soul Transformation Bodies, simulated cognition... Even if we appeared right before them, they still couldn't recognize us."

"Aizen's techniques truly are terrifying."

The man bearing the Uchiha Gunbai emblem and the man with moon-white long hair looked at each other, neither of their expressions particularly pleasant.

In truth, Aizen had no secret base at all. His research facility was openly located directly within Konoha's shadow, and anyone could enter or leave freely, so long as they did not harm Konoha's buildings or people.

At first, everyone had thought Aizen's arrogance had finally reached the point of madness. If they went outside dressed like this, ten out of ten people would probably scream that monsters had returned from the dead, then bring a crowd of jonin and the Hokage over to beat them up and force them to expose Aizen. But in hindsight, they had overthought it.

Even in conspicuous Haori, with their appearances utterly clear and obvious, those who could not see them still could not see them, and those who could not recognize them still could not recognize them.

Combined with the so-called Soul Transformation Bodies they used—bodies capable of carrying souls and even eating, drinking, and tasting flavors—they finally developed a measure of awe toward Aizen.

This was practically like a horror story. Behind Konoha's normal daily life, there actually existed a shadow kingdom. The unnoticed people brushing past them might very well be people who had died years ago and returned to life.

But it was precisely because of this that they could once again view present-day Konoha from every angle.

"Sakumo, do you have any thoughts?"

"Hm?"

"You've been eating and drinking this whole time. Don't you have any particular thoughts?"

Looking at Hatake Sakumo, who sat silently to one side, eating Sake Thief and sipping alcohol, the other two asked curiously.

"Aizen absolutely won't care about our thoughts or actions, but we cannot give up. For Konoha and everyone's future, do you have any particular thoughts?"

"Nothing else. I was only thinking... is Aizen truly an evil man?"

"?"

Dan Katō and Kagami Uchiha froze as they looked at the dejected middle-aged man.

What was that supposed to mean?

They had no idea what this man was talking about. Wasn't it obvious that Aizen was an evil man?

He had drawn others in and infiltrated within Konoha, used his influence to weaken the clans, and even secretly manipulated Konoha's entire direction. If someone like that was not evil, then who was?

Yet faced with the confused looks of his two companions, Hatake Sakumo slowly shook his head.

"He hasn't used ninja for any Human Experimentation, nor has he desecrated corpses already laid to rest. On the contrary, people within Konoha do those things all the time."

"And after reviving us through threats and inducements, he has not really controlled us much. If anything, he has been quite generous, giving us money and supplies. They say this disturbs the dead, but I think being revived is better."

"I thought that after I died, Kakashi and everyone in Konoha would become more tolerant, and then unite more closely. But what united them was not my death. My death was only a joke. The one who united them was the Aizen we had always despised."

"So I was thinking, is he truly an evil man?"

Hatake Sakumo looked at the sparse crowd outside, his expression somewhat troubled.

For a ninja, killing an enemy required no reason. Anyone could do it.

But deciding who was an enemy required a reason that could convince both oneself and others. The other two both had such reasons.

From the Uchiha perspective, Sosuke Aizen was an enemy.

His plans and policies had gradually compressed the living space of bloodline clans. He hoped to rotate clan ninja and ordinary ninja into each other's positions until they finally merged as one, infringing upon their interests.

From Dan Katō's perspective, Aizen was likewise an enemy.

He belonged to Konoha's direct faction and was Senju Tsunade's boyfriend. He occupied an authoritative position within Konoha's administrative system and was deeply dissatisfied with Aizen's sweeping attempts at reform, believing they altered the laws of their ancestors. More importantly, they might affect Tsunade's and his own interests.

But from Hatake Sakumo's perspective, was Aizen truly an enemy?

His son had gained a powerful adoptive father whose influence reached the heavens. All kinds of secret techniques and technology were handed out as if they cost nothing, and the conditions of civilian ninja had improved greatly. There were also far fewer rumors and malicious comments.

Though Sosuke Aizen was a destroyer to clan ninja and Konoha's entrenched internal establishment, from Hatake Sakumo's perspective as a victim, he was surprised to find that he could not seem to identify any fault in Aizen.

Other than his foul mouth and sarcastic manner.

"Dan is doing this for Tsunade and her future. Kagami is doing this for the Uchiha and Konoha."

"What about me? What do I hate him for? The Will of Fire that drove me to death? Or the Konoha that mocked my son?"

"You both have other things to hold on to. I only have one son."

"..."

Dan Katō and Kagami Uchiha looked at the somewhat aged man before them. They opened their mouths, but did not know what to say.

Hatake Sakumo's death could be described as both bizarre and tragic. It could almost be concluded that it had been a measure taken by Konoha's upper ranks to suppress ninja who were truly ordinary.

Konoha had always promoted the Will of Fire and team spirit, even making Medical Ninja mandatory. Yet because someone had abandoned a mission to choose a companion, it had launched a storm of public opinion and driven that person to suicide. Anyone who thought about it understood what that meant.

Though it was not enough to completely shatter the values of Konoha's Will of Fire, everyone could see that people had become much more cautious in conversation. When they interacted, they no longer treated one another with the same sincerity as before. Even the trend of many clans integrating had begun to stall.

Kagami Uchiha felt this most deeply. He had died in battle at twenty-five. Back then, the Second Hokage had perished alongside them on the battlefield, dying for Konoha.

At that time, even if the Uchiha did not say it aloud, they still contributed both people and effort. At most, they were verbally unconvinced.

But what about now? The Uchiha, who controlled the Konoha Military Police Force, openly and covertly demanded more benefits and territory. They clearly did not trust the Hokage or Konoha.

The death of Konoha's White Fang, which seemed to have resolved a problem, instead brought many hidden problems within Konoha into the open and intensified them. This only made Konoha's White Fang seem increasingly terrible and disgusting in other people's eyes.

No one liked someone who had ruined their interests. Even if he seemed tragic, even if he seemed to have contributed something for others, their own interests had suffered real losses. If they did not curse him, who would they curse? Why not just commit suicide and admit defeat?

Faced with the 11th Division captain's calm expression, Dan Katō and Kagami Uchiha exchanged a glance and realized they truly could not find any reason to refute him.

Instead, Hatake Sakumo waved a hand himself and brushed the topic aside.

"Let's not talk about this. What do you think about that long-term mission Aizen mentioned?"

"What long-term mission?"

"The mission where someone was observed secretly investigating Konoha and watching the Uchiha Clan's ancestral grounds. The one where he wants us to find the source."

"I will investigate that."

"Is that so..."

Taking a sip of alcohol, Hatake Sakumo looked at Kagami Uchiha, whose expression had suddenly turned serious, and smiled somewhat subtly.