Dan Katō

If Hatake Sakumo's soul had seen this scene, he probably would have been so shocked that he went straight to the Pure Land on the spot.

Dan Katō—his existence could be called the pain of many people.

Like Nawaki, he was someone important to Tsunade, one of the Konoha Sannin.

Yet this man, who looked like moonlight itself, appeared here, walking shoulder to shoulder with Sosuke Aizen as though they had known each other for a long time.

Walking beside Aizen along an ancient-looking brick corridor, with the surrounding lights flickering on and off, Dan Katō casually remarked:

"Do we really have to use this method? Stimulating the soul body through intense obsession and emotion to preserve the self?"

"Yes, there is no other way. Sakumo-kun is still in an unstable state. He must undergo at least twenty-one Soul Surgeries before becoming stable. Wouldn't it be a shame to give up now?"

"Using his son to threaten him is going too far."

"The soul of someone who committed suicide is inherently fragile and without obsession. Sometimes, even well-intentioned words are necessary."

With both hands tucked into his sleeves, Aizen walked forward at a steady pace, his words carrying clearly to the other side.

But what was horrifying was that the shadow on the ground belonged to Aizen alone from beginning to end.

Under the lights, the ground beneath Dan Katō was clear and bright, without the slightest trace of a shadow.

"Now that I think about it, ever since you were young, you've always subtly expressed that you were different from Konoha, haven't you?"

The shadowless Dan Katō walked at Aizen's side and said calmly, as though making idle conversation:

"A Haori unlike those worn by Konoha Ninja, never wearing a Konoha forehead protector, and never calling yourself a Ninja. You always did things differently from Ninja, too. The Third Hokage had quite a headache over you at first."

"Ah, in a sense, that may indeed be true. I'm simply not very good at disguising myself. It truly makes me ashamed."

"Haha, if you had just spoken your thoughts aloud, so many things would have become clear. Why didn't you just say it? I really don't understand you, Aizen."

"Building a worldview isn't something that can be done in a few words, Dan-kun."

Arriving before a biometric door, Aizen reached out and pressed the Button.

The heavily secured door silently slid apart to either side, and Dan Katō followed him in.

After Aizen passed through, the door swiftly closed, cutting Dan Katō's figure in two. Yet the part of his body left behind passed through the doorframe without the slightest delay, as though matter could not affect this moon-pale man at all.

Neither man found this unnatural phenomenon surprising. They simply continued onward, walking slowly toward their predetermined destination as the corridor lights flickered on one by one.

Aizen's voice was low and possessed an intense, strange allure. Within the narrow corridor, its echo carried an almost demonic persuasiveness.

"Building a worldview takes time. Only after witnessing with one's own eyes how this world has been twisted by the mediocre can one develop the resolve to resist."

"So we have to wait until after death? The living can only guess at your actions and hints, and only after dying can they see clearly?"

"Yes."

Without considering Dan Katō's subtle feelings, Aizen gave his answer crisply.

"After all, I have no grounds to criticize the thoughts you held in life. It isn't your fault, and I sympathize with you. Humans are creatures changed by their environments. They are always misled by the information around them and unable to see what the true world looks like."

"Only after death can one see, through the emotions and actions of others, what each person is truly like, along with everything their environment brought them. No longer bound by the hunger and desires of the flesh, from the perspective of the soul, you can see what has truly been hanging over you."

"Was it love, or lust? Was it self-satisfaction, or recognition? Were the things others said merely words, or did they prove them through their actions? For most people, these are things they can only understand after death. Some cannot understand even after dying, or willingly sink into it."

Looking at Dan Katō's calm expression, Sosuke Aizen's gentle face once again filled with a smile.

"For example, you once wanted to become Hokage, yet now you have not informed them of anything. You've truly grown, Dan-kun. I'm very pleased."

"...If I wanted to tip them off, could I hide it from you?"

"Whether Sakumo-kun or Dan-kun, each of you is excellent experimental material. It would be best if things remained this way."

"You didn't answer directly."

Following behind Aizen, Dan Katō sighed.

"So? When can we truly show ourselves? When can we step out of the shadows and stand beneath the sun?"

"Do not be impatient. Do not be restless. Just wait for the opportunity to arrive on its own."

After making several instructive gestures toward a collector, layer upon layer of doors unfolded in neat succession. With both hands tucked into his Haori sleeves, Aizen said naturally:

"The experiment to materialize souls has already shown promise. Next comes imprinting and compressing soul traces. The forging of Zanpakuto has already begun selecting materials. At that time, a medium can be used to let the self within your souls bloom forth."

"...Why are you so wary of Chakra, Aizen?"

"Oh? What makes you say that?"

"Spiritual Pressure that manipulates Nature Energy to suppress enemies; Soul Reaper bodies forged by releasing souls and Nature Energy; and Zanpakuto that use a medium to indirectly guide natural power, souls, and the self—this is your plan, isn't it? Why abandon Chakra? I can understand abandoning Konoha, but why reject Chakra?"

"Only out of caution. If you want to carve out a path, isn't it natural to first discard entrenched ways of thinking?"

"It seems we still aren't trusted."

"Trust and reliance are similar words. They are the actions of the weak—placing one's ideals and thoughts upon others. I do not need that. Besides..."

Looking at the final area covered in seals, Aizen adjusted his glasses and gave Dan Katō a meaningful look.

"If I can create the Shinigami Contract to monitor and control you to a certain degree, then could the one who created Chakra still be somewhere, watching us? What does he think when faced with this battered world?"

"..."

Hearing Aizen's calm explanation, Dan Katō's expression froze.

"...Are you sure?"

"It is merely a well-intentioned warning."

Aizen's smile remained warm and pure beneath the lights.

"I neither deny it nor confirm it. I simply hope everyone can remain calm. I would not want anything to happen to my precious experimental materials. Ideas such as tracing the origins of Chakra are far too distant. My current goal is merely a very, very small one."

"You called back the dead and let us see all this. Aizen, your small goal probably isn't that small, is it?"

"No. At present, it truly is minuscule, Dan-kun. I merely hope to loosen this rotten system a little."

At the end of the corridor, Aizen reached out and pushed open the final door.

Inside this innermost sealed room stood several pitch-black coffins, each fitted with countless tubes.

Seeing one of them labeled "Dan Katō," Aizen looked toward the man beside him, the smile on his face becoming ever more sincere and gentle.

"If the fish tank is only this large, it cannot provide enough room for large fish to survive. So either expand the tank, or kill the other fish. I simply happen to belong to the faction that cannot bear to kill the fish."

"That really is the kind of thing you would say..."

Dan Katō shook his head. Just as he was about to say something, he raised his hand and saw a pitch-black shadow fall from it, spreading a stain of darkness across the floor in the blink of an eye.

"Time is almost up. I truly don't understand your affairs very well, but I hope you won't make too big a mess. Many people are innocent."

"I would not stoop to acting against those who know nothing, Dan-kun. Continue to flourish beneath Konoha's shadow."

Watching Dan Katō gradually collapse and merge into the coffin, Aizen adjusted his glasses and said with a smile:

"Besides, I look forward to the day you choose to betray me, my friends of Konoha. But before that, I still hope you study well."

"If you have any questions, feel free to ask me directly. I would be delighted to answer them. New things must always make an appearance and be put to use. How much you can learn will depend on you."

"After all, it is lonely to always perform alone in a world no one understands."

Hearing those words, Dan Katō, whose body had already melted more than halfway into the coffin, paused as though he wanted to explain something. But in the end, he melted into the shadows.

Sosuke Aizen was a mysterious man.

He seemed sincere and earnest, yet he always held something back. Even when facing people like them, who were already dead, he was the same.

Beneath his pure white Haori was pitch-black lining. Though he was clearly a Konoha Ninja, he had never been willing to wear a forehead protector or flak jacket. Yet everyone had a favorable impression of him.

Still, there might not be a single living person who knew his true face.

Even the dead had merely glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.

"I wish you pleasant dreams, Dan-kun. The same goes for everyone else. I hope you all recover peacefully. Everyone has someone they love, so do not do anything irrational."

Watching the soul body gradually turn into a black shadow and merge into the coffin, Aizen maintained that elegant smile as he looked upon everything before him.

After a long while, only once he had confirmed that all the Instruments were functioning normally did he turn and leave. Until the figure in the White Haori completely merged with the darkness, the coffins showed no reaction, as though there were nothing inside them at all.

Only several hours later did a sigh emerge from the endless darkness.

"Sosuke Aizen... What exactly did you see that made you become like this...?"

The voice was gentle yet grief-stricken, but it did not belong to Dan Katō.