As the figure stepped out, the pitch-black space behind him slowly closed.
The faint ripples within the space gradually settled, too.
Nawaki's little face was filled with deep surprise and boundless joy. He looked at the figure and called out excitedly, like a child.
"Big Brother Aizen!"
Minato also gazed at the figure, his eyes alight with excitement. His voice trembled as he said,
"Captain Aizen..."
Aizen appeared with a smile on his face. His deep-set eyes swept over the scene without much interest before shifting to Minato and Nawaki. He chuckled softly.
"Minato, Nawaki. It's been a long time."
For some reason, Minato's eyes grew a little moist at those words. He replied softly,
"It really has been a long time. But as long as you've come back, Captain Aizen, that's all that matters."
Nawaki was grinning just as happily. He had even relaxed his guard against Kakuzu, looking at Aizen with wide eyes as he exclaimed,
"Minato's right! While you were gone, Big Brother Aizen, we didn't even know what to do!"
Aizen smiled faintly at that and glanced toward Kakuzu in the distance.
"What are you doing here?"
Seeing Aizen's gaze, Nawaki quickly explained,
"Minato wanted to recruit that guy to help us carry out our plan, but he doesn't seem interested at all. He even tried to take my heart and Minato's!"
"So Minato and I are going to finish him off here."
After hearing Nawaki out, Aizen's lips curled slightly as he glanced at Minato.
Minato nodded gently, confirming that Nawaki had gotten the gist of it right.
Aizen looked at Kakuzu, then said softly,
"Perfect timing. Let me see how much you've improved over the past year, Nawaki. You've been following Minato, so I imagine your skills have come along."
Nawaki grew a little