Book Artist: "The warden's rounds have nothing to do with your performance! Just run away; don't even bother coming up with a better excuse."
Scarlet Snake Fairy: "Oh, I truly hope Gintoki can change this habit of speaking without thinking."
Book Artist: "That's impossible. This problem is completely ingrained in him. Unless he is retrained or loses every single one of his memories, he'll always be in trouble."
Skirt-Lifting Maniac: "Ah, memory loss! I remember that Gintoki in the story actually experienced something like that."
Book Artist: "That's true. But he regained his memory in the end, which is a real shame."
Curly-Haired Boy: "Stop it, you bastards! Eriri-chan, if I really lost my memory, I wouldn't recognize you anymore! Wouldn't that be a tragic thing?"
Book Artist: "No."
Shark-Faced Guy: "No."
Scarlet Snake Fairy: "No."
Skirt-Lifting Maniac: "No."
Curly-Haired Boy: "No, my sisters! You're just repeaters, aren't you? The very essence of human lack of originality! I curse all of you to have diarrhea so bad you have to do it upside down!"
Book Artist: "Only you could manage something so difficult."
Curly-Haired Boy: "Shut up! Your world is about to be in dire straits, and you still have the mood to chat in this group? Don't you have any shame at all?"
Book Artist: "Why should I be ashamed? I'm neither a ruler nor a chosen hero. Even if the world truly were to fall into chaos, I can't stop it. My abilities are limited; I can only protect those I want to protect."
Scarlet Snake Fairy: "Well said. That is enough."
Curly-Haired Boy: "Damn it, you didn't fall for it? Aren't boys and girls your age supposed to have dreams of saving the world?"
Book Artist: "The second year of junior high is over, thank you. Besides, a casual group chat might not be incapable of saving the world. As long as I work hard to accumulate the points required to level up the group, I can just cling to Anran-san's thighs."
Skirt-Lifting Maniac: "I thought so too! The experimental site for the Level 6 Shift Project is so hard to find. Anran-san, please come and save this child!"
Angel of the Hidden Rain Village: "Anran-san seems to still be thinking about that Ito Makoto thing? @This is an Actor"
Konan looked at Aizen, who was sitting in front of the monitor. She keenly noticed that his eyes weren't on the screen at all. After receiving the notification, Aizen turned his head to look at her and sent a reply.
This is an Actor: "Was it that obvious?"
Angel of the Hidden Rain Village: "I think that apart from this matter, there is probably nothing else that could give you that pensive expression."
Curly-Haired Boy: "Hey, you two are clearly face to face, right? Why are you using the group chat to communicate? Are you just showing off?"
Book Artist: "You don't get it, do you? That's called sentiment. But that scumbag Makoto is dead, so the clues are gone. Is there anything else you need to consider?"
This is an Actor: "It is just a slight association."
Both Aizen and Anran himself were the type of people inherently curious about the unknown. Ito Makoto's death had piqued his interest, leading to mental associations ranging from alien invasions and spiritual resurrections to zombie viruses. After all, in the web novels of his previous life, such disaster tropes were common.
Of course, what happened at the academy might not be a global catastrophe, but an isolated incident. It was also possible that a transmigrator who hated Ito Makoto had killed him in some creative way. The key was that the information obtained was too sparse to be certain.
Forget it.
Retracting his thoughts, Aizen refocused his gaze on the screen. "Oh? Has it started?"
Amegakure, a mansion in the eastern district.
This was originally Hanzo's residence, but it was now being used by Pain as the Akatsuki's new gathering point. The Five Kage Summit was being held here.
At the massive round table in the center, Pain, Tsunade, Onoki, A, Rasa, and Yagura Karatachi sat in turn, while their respective guard shinobi stood behind them.
"I remember this was Hanzo's residence," Onoki said, looking around as the first to speak. "Where is that old guy?"
"He died this morning," Pain replied indifferently.
Hanzo... is dead?
Tsunade was stunned, her eyes momentarily dazed. She still remembered the suffocating feeling of powerlessness she had felt at his hands during the war. She never expected that the man who once dominated her world had simply vanished. It was a somber thought.
As for how Hanzo died, no one present needed to ask. With the legendary Rinnegan, this man was truly extraordinary.
After a moment of silence, Jiraiya asked with a complicated expression, "Are you still having trouble letting go of what happened back then, Nagato?"
Apparently, he had learned of Pain's true identity through certain channels and even knew why he and Konan had become what they were now.
Nagato did not answer the question directly. He spoke in a tone as cold as ice. "I am Pain now."
"Nagato, you—"
Bang!
Before Jiraiya could finish, he was interrupted by a loud, muffled sound. The Fourth Raikage slammed the table with his only remaining hand, a fierce grin on his face. "I'm not here to play house. No matter who you are, it has nothing to do with me! I came here today for one reason: to deal with Aizen Sosuke!"
He had nearly been burned to death by Aizen's spiritual pressure and fire, saved only by Tsunade's medical ninjutsu. However, the cost had been his entire right arm.
"Speaking of Aizen Sosuke, he was essentially a disciple of the Fifth Hokage, wasn't he?" Onoki turned his eyes toward Tsunade, his voice heavy with meaning. "Don't you think Konoha owes us an explanation?"
"Fine." Tsunade stood up abruptly, surveying the room. "But first, you must compensate Konoha for the damage caused. Although you were misled by Aizen, invading Konoha was your own decision, was it not?"
As the words fell, the atmosphere in the hall turned razor-sharp.
"Are you planning to start a fight?"
Just then, a young man wearing a bright red cloak standing behind Pain spoke up. "It's alright. I think Master Aizen would be quite happy to see that."
Every Kage present, including Tsunade, turned their gaze toward the youth. "Who are you?"
"Ah, my apologies." The boy in the red cloak smiled, adjusting his round-framed glasses. "Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kabuto Yakushi, and I am something of an insider."