This Is How I Relax (Please Keep Reading!)

This order caused an uproar not only among Konoha's jonin—even within Sosuke Aizen's Soul Society, it sent shockwaves through the ranks.

Though the organization he had created could be said to have no organization whatsoever, everyone had once been a Konoha native, and they still cared about Konoha. After this news emerged, Soul Society split into two factions.

One faction believed the situation was urgent: kill Hiruzen Sarutobi first, then support Brother Aizen as Hokage, and Konoha would surely flourish. Although this faction was sizable, Aizen himself rejected the idea of stepping forward to govern Konoha, so they merely thought about it without taking action.

The other faction held onto a certain sense of wishful hope, believing that as Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi must have had some profound reason for this operation. Though he had not set foot on a battlefield even once since returning after the Second Hokage's death, relying entirely on showing off his five-nature ninjutsu in training grounds and boasting that he knew everything and could do everything, he was still the Hokage. For ninja to slaughter the Hokage was a grave betrayal.

Of course, these were all younger people who had not experienced the Second Great War.

The people under Aizen could not exactly be called brimming with talent; it was more accurate to say their range was enormous. Everyone had their own reasons and thoughts.

Yet all of this was suppressed by the unfathomable Aizen. For now, no one could grasp his intentions. They could only remain in Konoha's shadow, watching everything and sighing softly.

"...The Third Hokage's move is, in truth, an extremely dangerous political gamble."

Within the estate the Third Hokage had granted Aizen, Dan Katō, dressed in the haori of the 2nd Division Punishment Force captain, stood beside the fishpond with Hatake Sakumo, who wore the haori of the 11th Division combat unit captain.

Each held a small bowl full of nutritious fish feed. As they watched the flowing water and schools of koi beneath the covered bridge, they occasionally tossed in some feed, watching the koi surge over in a frenzy and open their mouths to swallow it.

The koi were plump and well-fed, so healthy it was almost unbelievable. Yet they still fought desperately over the feed, forcing down their companions in the hope of monopolizing it for themselves.

Even animals behaved this way, let alone humans. Animals fought constantly out of instinct; humans acted endlessly for their own interests.

Pouring the feed from his bowl into the pond, Dan Katō looked worriedly at the expressionless Hatake Sakumo beside him.

"You should understand, Sakumo-kun. I know that, because of your past, you do harbor some resentment. But Konoha itself is innocent. The Third Hokage's decision this time is an enormously risky gamble."

"He is betting that the Stone Ninja, Sand Ninja, Cloud Ninja, and Mist Ninja have no ties with one another. He is betting that they will act according to his plan. Now the defensive lines in the Land of Waterfalls, Land of Hot Springs, and Land of Rain are all being pushed back. Decades of our efforts are being reduced to nothing."

"Can you accept that your sacrifice meant nothing, Sakumo-kun? No matter what has happened, this is still our homeland. Even if we have become what we are now, when we see something wrong, we should reach out and correct it."

"..."

Without looking at Dan Katō, who was trying to reason with him at his side, Hatake Sakumo merely watched the koi in the pond in silence.

Working under Aizen was easy and lenient. Since the technology was still immature, there were many times when they did not need to work hard at all—they only needed to wait for Aizen's breakthroughs.

Thus, many ninja found hobbies. Some liked reading and writing, while others played chess to cultivate their temperament. Dan Katō preferred reading, but Hatake Sakumo's hobby was rather strange.

He liked observing. Whether animals or people, he could sit atop a hotel and watch the bustling crowd for an entire day.

It even made people wonder whether this 11th Division combat unit captain was a fake.

"Other than Kakashi, there is no one I really care about."

Hatake Sakumo, still wearing his captain's haori, scattered feed with an expressionless face, never once looking at the worried Dan Katō beside him.

"What the Third Hokage thinks, what he does—it actually has nothing to do with me. Only after observing Konoha for so long did I realize that our prosperity has nothing to do with the Third Hokage either."

"How can you say that, Sakumo-kun? Isn't the fact that Konoha is now number one in the world thanks to the Third Hokage?"

"When the First Hokage was still alive, we could allocate the ninja world's resources and stand above the entire ninja world like gods. Under the Second Hokage, he led from the front, and we fought off the Four Great Shinobi Villages one after another. But what have we done under the Third Hokage?"

Watching the largest fish do nothing but rely on its bulk and its mouth to take bite after bite of feed, Hatake Sakumo's expression did not change in the slightest.

"We learned diplomacy. We gave other nations the opportunity to recuperate and secretly form alliances. Now, we are even abandoning the blood and sweat we struggled for over so many years, all to gamble on what they call a mistake. You say the Third Hokage has merits, and I admit that he does. But his merits were built upon the First Hokage and Second Hokage, while our present environment was given to us by Aizen."

"Konoha's ninja truly must remain loyal to Konoha forever, and they must not harbor any disloyal thoughts, or they become rogue ninja. So instinctively, we do not want to think about certain issues, nor do we wish to compare several generations of Hokage. But compared to the Second Hokage and the First Hokage, do you truly think the Third Hokage is good?"

"Even from the perspective of clans, we can all see the Sarutobi Clan's growth. Have you ever imagined how many ninja forces their clan will have in twenty years? Is it that the Uchiha Clan and the other clans refuse to integrate into the village, or are certain people doing it deliberately?"

"The Uchiha Clan are not blind. They possess the Mangekyo Sharingan. Everyone can still see what people say and what they do. If you were an Uchiha, would you still integrate into the village?"

"This..."

Faced with Hatake Sakumo's calm words, Dan Katō opened his mouth but did not know how to refute him.

His lifelong dream had been to become Hokage and marry Konoha's most powerful woman, Senju Tsunade. So instinctively, he did not want anything to happen to Konoha.

Even if it meant denying his enemies and twisting his own thoughts, Dan Katō did not want the woman he loved to live in such an environment. She was Konoha's Princess, and she was also his princess. Naturally, he wanted to give his princess the finest castle.

But now, weeds had overrun that castle, and corruption and foul stench were gradually breeding within it. Dan Katō himself was already a dead man—other than persuading himself, what else could he do? He was, after all, a ninja. From a ninja's perspective, this was an unsolvable riddle.

"You two over there, if you want to chat, could you do it somewhere else? I still need to handle administrative affairs here."

Sitting in the Writing Room, Aizen looked helplessly at the two people who had come to his fishpond to begin their performance art.

"I still have plenty of administrative work to finish. If you truly wish to discuss something, I suggest finding a restaurant and talking it over properly, rather than doing it here."

"You're not the original body, are you? So there's nothing for us to interfere with."

"Of course. But although I am not the original body, I am still Sosuke Aizen."

Aizen, seated upright in the Writing Room as he handled administrative affairs, smiled gently and nodded.

"Chakra: the aggregate energy produced through the cultivation of life. They say anyone can cultivate it, but it is truly fascinating. It possesses both self-division and aggregation. Under the effect of an inducing source, they reunite into a single whole. So although I am not the original body, I am still the real Sosuke Aizen."

"...I feel like you are saying something very important, but I have no idea what you are talking about."

"I have not said anything at all, Dan-kun. Still, regarding this matter, I can tell you my stance."

Seeing the two grow somewhat serious, Aizen pushed up his glasses and said softly:

"I look forward to everyone finding the courage to step toward the cliff. I also look forward to the people of the ninja world walking their own paths. My path is not suitable for everyone, and the ones who can save this world are not saviors from outside, but the courage of everyone in the ninja world."

"If one does not even have the courage to call for peace, if one only thinks of retreating to claim benefits when trouble arises, merely scraping by and believing no one will notice, then it is only natural for such people and things to be despised. At times, pure interest is not enough to move people. You must make sacrifices worthy of your position."

"Though this world places great importance on interests, what makes it so captivating is precisely that it does not rely entirely on interests. Beneath courage and sacrifice, more thoughts can always be awakened."

But faced with Aizen's explanation, Dan Katō, standing where he was, found it even stranger.

"Then why didn't you lend a hand? Don't you think Konoha's current situation fits your description?"

"But I have no feelings for Konoha. Whether it is destroyed or not, what does that have to do with me?"

"...You have no feelings, yet you still do so much?"

"Yes. To me, this is like calligraphy—it has a calming, character-refining quality. I don't consider my duties a burden. On the contrary, they are how I relax. Because dealing with your problems requires no thought on my part; I only need to write down a few suggestions to reap possible Fruits. There is nothing better than that."

Sosuke Aizen looked at Dan Katō's livid face, leisurely adjusted his glasses, and said as if it were only natural:

"By the way, the Sannin are almost back in the village. Would you like to go see them?"

"..."

Dan Katō gave Hatake Sakumo, who stood with both hands tucked into his sleeves as he watched the carp, and Aizen, who sat properly at work in the Writing Room, a deep look before turning and vanishing from the clearing.