Aizen watched everyone calmly. Suddenly, as if something had just occurred to him, a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He chuckled softly.
"Fate is truly hard to fathom. Even I never expected that a sudden whim would lead me to run into all of you here."
At his words, Jiraiya's expression grew slightly heavy. His voice was low as he asked,
"Back when we encountered the Rock Ninja, why did you choose to let us go...?"
Aizen gave him a light glance and chuckled softly.
"I believe I told you, didn't I? Back then, you weren't even worth the effort of fighting... Because... you were too weak..."
As his words fell, a cool breeze drifted through the street, and the atmosphere seemed to freeze.
Jiraiya and the others immediately went on guard. Minato and Kushina, too, watched Aizen, who stood on the other side of the street, with grave expressions.
Jiraiya stared at Aizen, his eyes intent. In a low voice, he said,
"Then why have you come here today? Are you planning to fight Konoha, or did you just come to see your so-called old friends!?"
At his words, Aizen gently shook his head. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he replied with a faint smile,
"It seems you haven't noticed a thing. I can hardly imagine how a Konoha like this will withstand the coming attack."
Aizen's words startled them all. They didn't understand why he would say that.
"What do you mean by that, Aizen!?"
Jiraiya's expression darkened as he demanded.
"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!"...
Aizen was just about to answer when a series of muffled explosions suddenly rang out in the distance.
At the tremendous noise, everyone's expression changed. They looked toward the distant source, their faces grim.
Even from far away,