As Obito and Black Zetsu were talking, they suddenly received several "thought waves."
"Boss Yahiko is in such a hurry to call a meeting; I guess he must've successfully recruited someone!" Black Zetsu chuckled.
"Hmph! We'll find out once we go inside!" Obito snorted and sat cross-legged.
At that moment, within the illusory space—
["Projection Technique"?] This ability is indeed very convenient!" Aizen remarked.
The projection created by the Projection Technique wasn't a soul, but rather a physical image. Otherwise, in the original canon, when Sasori attended the meeting via projection, he wouldn't have appeared as the Hiruko Puppet.
"Hehe, of course it is!" Yahiko grinned. "Nagato is really impressive!"
Aizen smiled but didn't respond.
Soon, two projections appeared in the illusory space: one with an aloe-shaped head and the other wearing a swirling mask.
Yahiko's group of three, Obito's duo, and Aizen made a total of six people.
"Ha! Our group has finally grown again!" Yahiko laughed proudly with his hands on his waist. "Madara, Zetsu, let me introduce you. This is my newly recruited companion, Sosuke Aizen!"
Aizen let out a surprised sound, "Madara?"
"Haha, actually, he's just a huge admirer of Madara Uchiha. His real name is Tobi, but just call him Tobi!" Yahiko explained.
Under his mask, Obito's lips twitched. Back then, in order to leave a deep impression on Nagato, he intentionally claimed to be Madara Uchiha.
Although it had led to Yahiko suspecting him, he hadn't cared at the time since he believed Yahiko was already a dead man.
Never would he have expected that Yahiko had somehow miraculously survived. To dispel suspicions, he could only keep passing himself off as "Tobi," Madara's eccentric fan.
His plans had thus deviated.
Originally, he intended to control the Akatsuki from the shadows and have them revere him naturally as Madara Uchiha, which was understandable. But now, things were different. He had to appear directly in the shinobi world as a member of the Akatsuki. Using the identity of Madara Uchiha just didn't fit anymore.
"Boss Yahiko, don't spoil my cover!" "Tobi" flailed his arms frantically like a maggot squirming. "I was really looking forward to seeing the new recruit's shocked face!"
"Haha, next time, next time for sure!" Yahiko laughed.
At first, Yahiko had thought this was just another disguise, but as time passed, he gradually realized that Obito truly was just a clown.
How could someone like him possibly be Madara Uchiha…
As he mused, Yahiko continued, "Well, now that everyone has met, then next—"
Suddenly, Tobi raised his right hand high and frantically signaled.
Yahiko looked over in confusion. "Tobi, what's wrong?"
"It's not that I want to question Boss, but don't you think joining the Akatsuki should require some real strength?" Tobi crossed his arms defiantly. "I still don't know his capabilities yet!"
"You already know more about him than they do!" While Black Zetsu secretly sneered, he was also amazed—how could this guy lie so flawlessly?
Yahiko didn't get angry. It was normal for Tobi not to know Aizen's power.
"Captain Aizen is incredibly powerful. He saved us from Sanshouo Hanzo last time, and this time, he defeated the warrior general in the Land of Iron using sword techniques!"
"Absolutely incredible! Beyond incredible, even!" Tobi exclaimed dramatically, then looked puzzled. "If this new captain is so powerful, why have I never heard of him before? It feels like he just suddenly appeared from some unknown corner!"
"New captain?" Konan couldn't help but ask.
"He's both a new recruit and our senior, so putting it all together, he's our New Senior Captain!" Tobi joked.
"Trying to use my mysterious past to make them doubt me? Hmph, you're quite the little troublemaker!" Aizen mused with an internal chuckle. "Fortunately, I've been prepared for this!"
Then, with a sorrowful expression, he let out a deep sigh. "Because I am a spirit beyond my time!"
"A *spirit*?"
"A spirit beyond this time?"
Everyone looked confused. Yahiko even shouted in terror, "Wait, does that mean, mister—you're already dead?"
"Heh, allow me to tell you a tale," Aizen began his 'recollection'. "A long, long time ago—so far back that even chakra hadn't appeared yet—the rulers of this land weren't humans, but gods, yao monsters, and immortals. Humans could only struggle to survive physically between them."
"Later, an outsider claiming to be a god descended upon this world, sweeping away those ancient rulers with absolute power, and bringing humanity the system of chakra!"
"Everyone was grateful and worshipped that true god, thinking that finally a new life was possible, but unfortunately this beauty didn't last long. Corrupted by power, that god became a cruel demon, depriving people of everything, even more ruthlessly than those ancient rulers!"
"People began to resist, but it was useless, only provoking that god's wrath and triggering an apocalyptic disaster… everyone perished, but somehow, one person remained asleep. When he finally opened his eyes again, the world had already become unrecognizably strange! There were no more clansmen, not even enemies were left!"
"To understand the final outcome of that war, he frantically searched for historical records after awakening. Although he never found the ultimate truth, he learned a lot about that era, such as the Uzumaki clan."
"Then later, he met all of you. Your shared belief in pursuing peace, and Nagato's similar experiences, made him leave his first mark in this era… That's the entire story!"
Yahiko and the others looked stunned, Obito lightly furrowed his brow, while only Black Zetsu stared at Aizen in shock.
"He got every detail right. Could this guy really be a survivor left behind before Mother destroyed the world?" Black Zetsu thought in shock, suddenly widening his eyes. "Wait a second, if he experienced that era, he should know that his enemy had the Rinnegan!"
"I get it now, I finally understand! His goal for joining Akatsuki must be to trace back to his enemy through Nagato's Rinnegan… which means directly to Mother herself! But why would he reveal all this? Doesn't he fear being exposed?"
As Black Zetsu remained deep in thought, Aizen let out a soft chuckle. "Just treat this as a story. Sometimes, even I can't tell what's real and what's illusion. Perhaps it was nothing more than a not-so-pleasant dream."
However, Yahiko suddenly figured it out. "No wonder you mentioned earlier, Uncle, that the reason you saved us is because Nagato and your experiences are somewhat similar!"
Then he said determinedly, "Uncle, I will definitely help you uncover the truth!"
Aizen exclaimed in surprise, "You actually believe what I said?"
Konan nodded understandingly, "That explains why your swordsmanship is so extraordinary, yet you were unwilling to talk about it at first. It must have brought back some painful memories, right, Uncle?"
Nagato also nodded. "Senior, did you overcome your inner turmoil after rescuing Karen Kagura, which is why you're no longer hiding the fact that you used to be a warrior?"
Konan suddenly realized something else. "Uncle, your genjutsu skills are so amazing, it must be because you wanted to clearly distinguish reality from illusion, right?"
Is that really what I was thinking... Aizen looked somewhat perplexed, but went along with their interpretation. "Yes, I was originally a warrior. After my awakening, I began studying the mysteries of chakra, and now I've returned to kenjutsu."
"After all, chakra is the power brought forth by that evil spirit. Relying solely on chakra, even if I find her, there's no way I could defeat her!"
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