After briefly reaching an agreement, Aizen looked at the four souls and asked, "From now on, you'll temporarily reside inside these masks?"
The four exchanged glances before nodding. "We have no choice. Ordinary human bodies are incapable of housing our souls!"
Aizen gave a slight nod. One of the three conditions required for Impure World Reincarnation was obtaining a certain amount of the deceased's physical matter. As for these four, they had lost not just their bodies, but even their ashes were gone.
Sure, they could still fight a bit with just their souls, but it wasn't a long-term fix.
"When the time is right, I'll find suitable bodies for you!" Aizen softly said, looking up at the full moon hanging in the night sky.
Though the four didn't quite understand his intentions, they remained silent.
After making this promise, Aizen sent the four souls back into the masks. Then he unsealed some imitation masks from the scroll and hung them on the wall.
These replica masks had been casually made by him along the way. While they didn't contain any Shinigami power, they would be sufficient to confuse those unfamiliar with authentic Shinigami masks.
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Outside the shrine, Karen Kagura shivered slightly in the cold night wind.
Suddenly, the soft sound of approaching footsteps made her turn around joyfully.
"Lord Aizen!"
"Thank you for waiting here all this time!"
"Not at all!" Karen Kagura shook her head firmly, her eyes shifting to the four masks in Aizen's hands.
Had Lord Aizen entered the shrine just for these four masks? She felt puzzled but didn't ask.
However, Aizen smiled gently, "Looking at these masks? They're specially prepared for you and Xianglin!"
Karen Kagura couldn't believe her ears and pointed at herself, "Specially... for Xianglin and me?"
"Of course," Aizen replied with a smile. "Take a few steps back."
Karen Kagura obeyed and stepped backward. Aizen shook the masks slightly in his hand. "Come out and meet her!"
"Come out? Who's coming out?" As Karen Kagura was still puzzled, she suddenly saw four ghosts floating out from the masks.
Their eye sockets were hollow, ghostly blue flames drifting around them, appearing quite terrifying.
Startled by the four ghosts, Karen Kagura still managed to ask, "Lord Aizen, who are they?"
"They are the spirits of the [Uzumaki clan] who have passed away," Aizen introduced. "They're your ancestors, and at the same time, the teachers I've found for you!"
"Ancestors? Teachers?" Karen Kagura repeated, then turned her gaze toward these spirits.
For Karen Kagura, these so-called ancestors weren't particularly exciting. When she had gone through hardships and been bullied, her ancestors hadn't shown up. When she faced danger and fell into desperate situations, her ancestors still hadn't appeared.
Now they were here—what good would they do?
All she knew was that Lord Aizen was the one who saved her and Xianglin!
The one who gave them a peaceful life and continued searching for teachers for both Karen Kagura and Xianglin was still Lord Aizen!
As for these ancestors, although she didn't hate them, she couldn't bring herself to feel close to them either.
Karen Kagura could tell that Aizen held these ancestors in high regard, so she didn't show much resistance—only a proper amount of distance and restraint.
"Ancestors, hello!"
"Haha, you're doing well too!"
Although they could sense Karen Kagura's coldness, the four didn't mind.
They had willingly offered themselves as Shinigami as a sacrifice, so naturally they were deeply committed. Now that they saw Karen Kagura and Xianglin, it felt like seeing the future of the Uzumaki clan.
They were overjoyed—they wouldn't dream of scolding her.
Aizen then handed four masks to Karen Kagura. "These masks will be under your care."
Karen Kagura accepted them carefully. "Yes!"
...
After this small incident, Aizen immediately set off toward the Land of Iron. One reason was his interest in the samurais' training methods; the other was his intention to create some commotion "accidentally" to draw Akatsuki's attention.
As for the journey itself, he didn't plan to linger excessively.
Although he also intended to adopt those geniuses who appeared in the original plot—like Haku, Kimimaro, Jugo, and others—and make use of them, such adoptions needed to happen at the right timing.
Just like with Karen Kagura, his perfect timing in appearing was based on Mui's intelligence-gathering in the Grass Country.
Of course, Mui wasn't aware that his actual target was Karen Kagura, because the order he issued was simply to monitor red-haired individuals in the Grass Country.
After all, simply having red hair wasn't that rare in the Grass Country.
...
Several days later, Aizen and his ghostly entourage arrived at the capital city of the Land of Iron.
"Wow, it's so lively here!" Walking on the streets, Karen Kagura was amazed by the surroundings.
There were merchants calling out their goods, children chasing and playing around, and people chatting joyfully—everything was completely different from what she had seen in the Grass Country.
"Yes, a rare Pure Land (a peaceful, untouched sanctuary)," Aizen nodded slightly.
Thanks to the powerful samurai clans within and its neutral status externally, the Land of Iron rarely faced outside disturbances.
Even the previous Great Ninja World Wars hadn't spread to this place.
"Wouldn't it be nice to live in peace?" Karen Kagura sighed.
"Without conflict? How could that be?" Aizen chuckled. "Samurais here have a culture of martial prowess—the norm here is constant fighting!"
"But isn't it peaceful here..."
"That's because the Land of Iron has a special Duel Arena where samurais can use up their energy and resolve disputes—it's exactly where I'm heading next!"
As they were talking, the four masks inside Karen Kagura's bag were also chatting idly.
"The Duel Arena for samurais? Could he possibly know sword techniques?"
"You think so? His Genjutsu is already overwhelmingly powerful!"
"In terms of Genjutsu, he might even surpass Madara Uchiha!"
"Madara Uchiha? You mean that person who can control the Nine-Tails with Genjutsu?"
"Then can't Lord Aizen control the Nine-Tails too?"
"It's different. Madara was able to do that mainly because the Sharingan has a natural advantage over Bijuu."
During this journey, they finally got to witness Aizen's extraordinary abilities firsthand.
It was like a passive ability—an incredibly powerful Genjutsu that could pull someone in without warning, shocking even these seasoned experts.
In their day, they had never encountered such an incredible illusion master!
Because of this, their faith in the mysterious and enigmatic Lord Aizen only deepened further.
When they arrived at another district of Kokuto, although it wasn't as bustling as the market area, it was somehow even livelier.
Even from hundreds of meters away, one could clearly hear the enthusiastic cheers coming from the Duel Arena.
It was still the middle of winter, yet the fiery passion felt as if it could melt the cold away.
"This is the place where Lord Aizen plans to conduct his trial?" Karen Kagura wasn't worried in the least—in her eyes, there was no one in this world more powerful than Lord Aizen!
"Let's go inside!" Aizen smiled, patted the sword he had casually bought and hung at his waist, then led Karen Kagura toward the Duel Arena.
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