168. Unfold

Pressure.

Uzumaki Naruto looked up at Aizen Sosuke in disbelief, but Aizen's gaze had already shifted away from him, smiling as he greeted Hinamori Momo and Ishikawa, who had just arrived.

It was only then that Uzumaki Naruto truly grasped the weight of the name Aizen Sosuke.

When his own name was uttered so casually from those lips, a suffocating sensation coiled around Uzumaki Naruto's heart like a python. He felt as if he had been plunged into an ice cellar; though a cold sweat had instantly broken out across his back, all he could feel was this bone-chilling frost.

Why... did he know his name?

Could it be that, aside from himself and possibly Hinata, Aizen had also experienced an event similar to the cinema?

"Captain Aizen, I have finished registering the old man's information and have arranged for someone to visit him monthly."

"Mm, you have done well, Lieutenant Hinamori."

"Menma, what were you chatting about with Captain Aizen? He's a very kind person, isn't he?"

Ishikawa patted the head of the stiff-looking Menma and comforted him: "No need to be so nervous. It's best if you pass the assessment, but it's fine if you don't. Look at how many people didn't pass and are still living just fine. Actually, life in the Rukon District isn't so bad."

"Mm." Uzumaki Naruto responded with a dull grunt.

Then, he regained his composure.

A very strange thing happened just like that, abruptly.

The previous fear, anxiety, confusion, and surprise seemed to be cast behind him in an instant. His expression didn't change much, but his eyes were no longer filled with a clear, naive stupidity, and his spine straightened slightly.

Ishikawa and Hinamori Momo did not notice such a subtle change, but Aizen, whose gaze had not been on Uzumaki Naruto, perceived it. This drew his attention back, and he locked eyes with Uzumaki Naruto.

This was the first time their gazes had collided. Although they had spoken for a while, Uzumaki Naruto had been intentionally or unintentionally avoiding Aizen's eyes, but this time he did not dodge. He simply stared back at Aizen calmly, his eyes no longer fearful, even reflecting the same curiosity and investigative intent found in Aizen's own eyes.

It was as if, just as Aizen was observing him, he was now observing Aizen.

The rapid and massive transformation in him caused a flicker of subtle surprise to appear in Aizen's eyes for the first time. Immediately following that, a sense of delight emerged from his warm brown eyes, as if he had finally encountered something interesting, something no longer dull.

"Why—" "Captain Aizen."

Uzumaki Naruto actually interrupted Aizen, speaking first:

"How did you know that my name is Uzumaki Naruto?"

There was no technique, no foreshadowing, and certainly no scheming.

Uzumaki Naruto asked it bluntly, like a naive fool, completely disregarding the maneuvering, probing, and coded language that should have been part of interpersonal interaction. These "etiquettes" that were tacitly agreed upon to be followed on the surface were overturned by him in one stroke, as if he were saying: I don't care about all that, if I don't understand something, I'll just ask you directly; as for whether you answer or not, that is a matter for you to consider.

However, this act, which could be called reckless and simple-minded, forced Aizen—who had always been in control of the rhythm—to make a "forced" response for the first time.

The moment Uzumaki Naruto's voice fell—no, to be precise, the moment his lips formed the shape of the character "Uzu"—the gazes of Ishikawa and Hinamori Momo began to drift.

They locked onto the empty air beside Uzumaki Naruto and Aizen. After Uzumaki Naruto finished speaking, they began to chat and laugh at the empty air, and Hinamori Momo even reacted with a shy and comfortable expression, as if she were being patted on the head by some invisible person...

"Kyōka Suigetsu, is it..."

"It seems that Naruto-kun also has some understanding of my Zanpakuto?"

Aizen wore a smile. His temperament remained gentle, yet it was vaguely more unrestrained than before, as if he had shed certain disguises.

Uzumaki Naruto did not answer immediately. Instead, he let out a strange "Agh" sound, and seeing that no one around them had noticed, he clicked his tongue and turned back.

"Since Captain Aizen knows so much about me, it wouldn't be fair if I didn't know a little about Captain Aizen as well," Uzumaki Naruto said calmly. "It's just that I didn't expect you to use Kyōka Suigetsu."

"Heh..." Aizen's lips curled. "Then when was it that you got the illusion that I hadn't used Kyōka Suigetsu?"

"..."

"Since you cannot answer, Naruto-kun, let me ask you instead: where did you learn about me?"

"I was the one who asked you that question first, wasn't I?"

"One answer for one answer; that is fairness," Aizen said. "Although I am also curious about the reason for your sudden transformation, let us take it one question at a time."

"Because I feel that Aizen Sosuke is not such a shallow person."

Uzumaki Naruto did not answer the first question, but instead began to speak on the second one of his own accord: "At the beginning, when I heard you say my name, I did indeed feel it was incredible—even to the point of fear and ridicule."

"I feared that you had truly seen through everything about me, and I ridiculed myself for thinking I was playing a game of wits with you, while in reality, I had been played in the palm of your hand all along... But as I thought of this, I remembered the mistakes I had already made several times, mistakes born of [self-righteousness]."

The memories of mistakenly believing the Nine-Tails was interfering with his chakra, and the belief that he was the only survivor of the cinema, flowed through Uzumaki Naruto's mind. He continued:

"Subconsciously trusting one's own judgment is arrogance... Therefore, what I should focus on is not [what I am feeling], but [what kind of person you are, and why you would do this]."

"Would Aizen say my name for the sake of 'playing' with me, just to inform me of the intelligence that 'he knows who I am'?"

"No, he wouldn't. Although you are indeed arrogant, you would not perform an act where the loss outweighs the gain for that reason. Therefore, you saying my name must surely yield some kind of benefit for you."

"So, what could you gain by saying my name?" Uzumaki Naruto pointed at himself. "It is obvious: it is my reaction."

"So my deduction is simple: your gain is my reaction. You are confirming something through my reaction... Perhaps you weren't even entirely sure if I was Uzumaki Naruto? So this was originally a probe? Or perhaps you were building up psychological pressure in advance to pave the way for your future actions? I don't know."

"The only thing I know is that I cannot continue to follow your rhythm. To be honest, this isn't something I'm good at anyway."

"Oh?" Although Uzumaki Naruto had answered a different question, Aizen, who had not interrupted, finally spoke. "Then what are you good at?"

"That is the second answer." Uzumaki Naruto smiled. "But I can give it to you in advance: I am good at telling the truth. This isn't something I think myself; it's what a friend told me."

--But when I need to lie, I will not hesitate either.

This was the second half of the sentence that Uzumaki Naruto did not speak aloud.

Just as he hadn't revealed the primary reason for his shift in mindset—which was, in truth, that he was merely a Shadow Clone, and since dying didn't matter, there was nothing to be afraid of—he didn't know what kind of intersection or even conflict he would eventually have with Aizen, but that didn't stop him from starting to pave the way for his "image" for that moment right now.

He had been growing rapidly, and the Aizen before him was the person who had exerted the most pressure on him since his return, as well as the existence that provided him with the most nourishment.

Furthermore, Naruto also believed that not only himself, but Aizen as well, was paving the way for something in the future.

Clap.

Clap, clap...

Aizen applauded softly, neither confirming nor denying Naruto's deduction, simply smiling as he said, "A brilliant line of thought, far better than that fellow who only knows how to shout."

"Courtesy demands reciprocity; you should answer my question now."

Naruto remained noncommittal toward Aizen's applause, simply posing another question that seemed somewhat inexplicable:

"Do you know that girl?"