Within the forest, before a massive tree hollow.
Under Nagato and the others' watchful eyes, Jia Jin, whose body had become a lump of flesh, crawled at Aizen's feet and made a grand vow.
"Please, I beg you, bring this world under your command. Like the Buddha, show mercy to all living beings..."
Hearing his words, Aizen's lips curled slightly. He slowly extended a pale hand and gently rested it upon the mass of flesh, smiling softly.
"Welcome to our ranks... Jia Jin."
As Aizen's words fell, a brilliant azure glow faintly bloomed from his body.
The next moment, something miraculous occurred.
To everyone's astonishment, the lump of flesh that had been crawling on the ground began growing at a speed visible to the naked eye!
Even Jia Jin himself, within the flesh mass, wore a stunned expression as he looked over his own body in disbelief.
"Riiip... riiip..."
Accompanied by the eerie sound of flesh sprouting!
Very soon, a delicate-looking monk, completely naked, appeared before Aizen and crawled at his feet in shock.
Seeing this, a smile appeared on Aizen's lips.
Konan, standing farther back, merely tilted her head away, unwilling to look directly at the scene.
After recovering from his shock, Jia Jin, now restored to his original appearance as a monk, respectfully bowed to Aizen. Then, a slender hand suddenly pierced into his own side.
"Pshk..."
Amid everyone's slightly confused gazes, he slowly pulled a pitch-black, tendon-like spike from his abdomen.
Immediately afterward, the sharp spike seemed to melt and disperse, turning into a curtain-like mass of sinewy tissue that Jia Jin wrapped around his waist, barely covering himself.
Aizen gave the spike an interested glance but said nothing. He slowly turned his gaze into the distance and said softly, "Now that this matter is settled, let