Chapter 36: Parasites
This was perhaps the most severe information leak Konoha had suffered in recent years.
Aside from the uncertain details of the White Fang incident, nothing had ever caused such a widespread uproar across the village.
The news spread too fast to contain. Some careless ninjas, either panicking or trying to cover their tracks, even detonated explosives inside the Konoha Library. Flames and debris lit up the night sky like fireworks, visible to everyone—ninja and civilian alike.
The civilians didn't fully grasp the weight of what had been lost. But the jonin did. Their hearts sank like stones.
The very reason they had dared to pull back from the front lines was because they trusted that their brothers—armed with the Blut Vene—were invincible on the border. But now… if the enemy gained that same technology, any one of them could be annihilated in an instant.
A Blut Arterie in the wrong hands could unleash a Sage-enhanced fireball that would turn a man into vapor before he could even blink.
The chaos dealt a devastating blow to the Third Hokage's prestige, plunging the once-stable Konoha into unrest.
Although Aizen Sosuke assured the council that he would focus on improving and upgrading both the Blut Vene and the Blut Arterie, everyone knew the truth.
The value wasn't in the materials or techniques. It was in the concept.
Once a concept was understood, it could never truly be contained.
Konoha's technological superiority was shattered overnight—and with it, the illusion of invincibility that had kept the other nations in check.
Reports came flooding in. The four major hidden villages—normally rivals—had joined forces for the first time in history to infiltrate Konoha. They had dispatched every spy, every covert agent, every assassin they could muster.
They struck precisely during the Blut Arterie demonstration, when nearly every elite jonin was gathered to observe.
A primary strike force breached the library's defenses, while diversionary teams attacked the data archives and even the perimeter around Hokage Rock.
Forced to choose, the ANBU divided their forces to defend the symbolic heart of the village. Hokage Rock represented Konoha's will—allowing it to fall would've been a humiliation beyond recovery.
In hindsight, it had been a flawless "lure the tiger from the mountain" strategy.
Later investigations confirmed the horrifying truth: all four major villages were involved. Even in Takigakure, several unidentified corpses were found, their origins unknown.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was furious—but helpless.
He had underestimated how much pressure Konoha's technological rise had placed on the world.
The Blut Vene and Blut Arterie systems had changed warfare itself. They had terrified every neighboring nation into unity, forcing them to cooperate for the first time since the First Shinobi World War.
And now, the cost of that overconfidence had arrived.
The four nations had sacrificed thousands of operatives, dozens of safe houses, and all secrecy—just to steal the foundation of Konoha's future.
Every hidden contact point within Konoha had been exposed and dismantled in the aftermath. Even so, intelligence reports revealed that the enemy was now sharing and exchanging their remaining bases across borders to strengthen their coordination.
The Sandaime Hokage reviewed the casualty reports with a grim expression. Each line of data deepened the ache in his chest. Every number, every body count, every note confirmed one thing—Aizen's work had been revolutionary.
Revolutionary enough to terrify the world.
And all of it… was gone.
They had gambled on his pride, on Konoha's complacency, and on Aizen Sosuke's brilliance. And they had won.
For the first time since the First Shinobi World War, the four great villages had truly allied—against Konoha.
Even Aizen couldn't completely quell the growing discontent.
Voices rose across the council chambers. The Uchiha clan publicly declared that if the Sandaime was too old to govern effectively, they would provide jonin to "assist" in maintaining order.
In any other era, such defiance would have been condemned as treason. But now? No one dared to speak against it.
The loss was too great. The damage too deep.
Rumors of the White Fang incident were resurfacing again, twisted and weaponized. Some whispered that it was all part of a greater failure under the Third Hokage's rule—proof that Sarutobi's leadership had grown weak.
Konoha was fracturing from within.
"…The Sandaime won't step down," Aizen said quietly.
He sat in his writing room, brush gliding across fresh paper. With one smooth motion, he painted the kanji for heart.
"The Sarutobi clan is depending on him. He loves this village—and his family—too deeply to let go now. And honestly," Aizen said softly, "none of this can truly be blamed on him."
Tsunade stood before him, frozen in place.
Tsunade's beautiful face twisted with fury, her fists glowing with chakra so dense that the air around her trembled. Her legendary strength—enough to shatter mountains—was gathered in her palms, ready to strike.
But even as Aizen finished painting the single word "heart" on the wooden board and began framing it, Tsunade remained suspended in mid-air—frozen, her expression locked in anger.
In the corner of the courtyard, Hatake Sakumo crouched idly by the pond, feeding koi with a handful of breadcrumbs, his expression bored and detached.
Not far away, Kato Dan stood motionless behind his Second Division haori, his mouth slightly open as if trying to call out to Tsunade. But like her, he was trapped in place, his expression caught between surprise and concern.
When the ink on the paper dried, Aizen hung the finished calligraphy among the countless sheets fluttering in the wind. Then he turned, sitting neatly behind his desk. His eyes fell on the frozen Tsunade, and his voice was calm, his smile gentle—almost kind.
"It's been an hour," he said softly. "Have you finally calmed down, Tsunade-senpai?"
"…!"
Time seemed to resume. The stillness broke. Tsunade fell abruptly to the ground, landing in front of Aizen in a clumsy heap.
Normally, her first instinct would have been to punch anyone who saw her in such an undignified state. But this time, she didn't move. She simply stared at him—her eyes hollow, her face pale and trembling, stripped of its usual strength.
That flawless, ageless beauty now carried only confusion… and despair.
"…Why?"
Aizen blinked. "What?"
"I asked you why."
Her voice was low, hoarse. She took a deep breath, fighting to hold herself together.
"Don't you want to control Konoha? To control everything? Then why—why did you let the village be attacked like this? Why let those people steal your work?" Her voice broke, frustration and disbelief mixing with helplessness. "I don't understand you at all… What are you really trying to do?"
Aizen tilted his head slightly, his smile faint.
"If I told you," he said smoothly, "that I'm a villain who wishes to manipulate Konoha's resources, seize control of the world, and one day lead the Thirteen Divisions in a rebellion that sweeps across the entire shinobi world—ending with me seated upon a Sky Throne, ruling over all… would that answer satisfy you?"
Tsunade froze, her breath caught in her throat.
Aizen sighed softly and shook his head.
"When people encounter something beyond their understanding," he continued, "they fill the gaps with their own imagination. They project their desires, fears, and flaws onto others, then call those assumptions truth."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"I've seen this happen countless times. Every so-called saint believes their perspective defines the world. But what happens when someone acts outside that narrow comprehension?"
He paused, watching her eyes tremble.
"You call it manipulation. Control. Arrogance. Because you cannot fathom it."
Tsunade clenched her fists, her voice rising. "Then tell me this—why did you let them steal your technology?! It was your creation!"
Aizen smiled, serene as ever. "Didn't I tell you? I want everyone to move forward together—to awaken their will, their courage, their resolve."
His voice was gentle, but his eyes were cold with reason.
"Konoha was never the only village I wished to see evolve. I never said I'd keep my work exclusive to this village."
"…!"
Tsunade's breath quickened. "You knew… and you didn't stop it?"
"Why should I?" Aizen asked calmly.
He set his brush aside, the faint sound of bristles against wood echoing in the quiet room.
"I gave Konoha power, stability, and knowledge. I gave you peace, structure, and a future. And now you ask why I didn't stop others from taking what was never truly yours?"
He pushed his glasses higher on the bridge of his nose, his tone flattening into something colder—stripped of compassion.
"If I have to guide you through every disaster, every decision, every consequence… then tell me, Tsunade—what meaning does your existence have to me?"
His gaze cut through her, calm and merciless.
"Are you just a parasite?"
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