2 First blood

He felt new memories appearing in his head, everything from the rise of the original Aizen from the position of regular shinigami to becoming a lieutenant under his former captain, Shinji Hirako and becoming a captain himself later on. He saw how he schemed for over one hundred years against the soul society, the creation of the Espada and his downfall. He realised that he also obtained a vast amount of information about every single technique that the original Aizen used.

Since he was now in a world that was much more dangerous than his previous one, he had to find a way to defend himself in case of danger. After pondering for a few seconds, he thought about Kidō. Even though his powers only started developing, he should be able to throw some basic Hadō or Bakudō to defend himself from average shinobi.

Aizen searched the house to find anything that could be useful, but to his disappointment, he hasn't found anything. He left the wooden hut and decided to look for a human settlement to find out where he was. After an hour of walking, he found a small river and decided to follow it. Since the beginning of humanity, settlements were almost always built near rivers because water was necessary to survive. He walked along the river for some time until he saw two Iwa ninja chasing a wounded kunoichi from Konoha. He immediately decided to seize the chance to gather information and find out the location of Konoha.

*I can't let her die, yet. However, I can't just rush in and expect to live against two shinobi. If they manage to close in on me, then I will be in trouble. If only I had my zanpakutō to defend myself in case if they dodged the Kidō...* when he finished his thought a sword appeared in his hand, with a surprised expression on his face, he remembered that the zanpakutō is an extension of shinigami's soul.

*Did our souls merge in some way when I accepted the inheritance?* He thought, slightly worried but he realised that there's no time to ponder about this issue right now. The kunoichi was now lying on the ground next to the river, tightly grasping a scroll in her hand. One of the Iwa shinobi started approaching the kunoichi with a wide grin on his face.

"You aren't so tough anymore without your friends, huh!? Stupid bitch, don't worry, you will join those bastards soon enough." Said the Iwa shinobi.

*Now's the time, one of them is focused on the kunoichi.*

He started mumbling the incantation as quietly as possible.

"Vindictive martyr, poised as flawlessly as the heavens, tear with thy lustrous claw." He chanted as he pointed his index finger at the shinobi that was slowly approaching the kunoichi.

"Hadō #4 Byakurai." Said Aizen as he finished the chant. His voice was gentle but also completely devoid of emotions.

A concentrated bolt of lightning made out of high-density spiritual energy pierced the heart of the shinobi and destroyed a few trees after it went through him. His body slumped and fell. He was now lying in a pool of blood that was flowing from a wide hole in his torso. Death came so swiftly that he couldn't even scream.

"T-thank you stranger, whoever you are. Please, h-help me. I will do anything to repay you." Said the kunoichi, still lying on the ground. Both hope and shock could be seen in her eyes. She didn't believe what she saw — a child using such a powerful jutsu. Maybe she could return safely to Konoha and complete her mission.

*It's fascinating how fragile life is. One moment you emerge victorious from a battle and feel like a king of the world, just to be struck by a bolt of lightning from the shadow and fade into nothingness.*

The second Iwa shinobi let out a frightening roar and began charging with bloodshot eyes at the boy. With his right hand he unsheathed his tantō, with his left hand he grabbed a kunai from his pouch and threw it at Aizen.

"How naive, you cannot win." Said Aizen in a stoic voice. He did not bother to block, just dodged the flying kunai elegantly as he revealed his zanpakutō and held it in front of himself with the blade pointed towards the ground.

"Isn't my sword beautiful?" He asked. "It's called Kyōka Suigetsu." He stated with a soft smile on his face as if he was looking at the greatest treasure in the world.

"Humph, it's just a piece of metal. Die, brat!" The shinobi yelled, and with a wide slash, he beheaded the kid.

"That's what you get for trying to play a hero." Said the shinobi.

"H-how could you kill a child !? You MONSTER!" Yelled the kunoichi, trying to get up from the ground, but due to her severe injuries, she was unable to.

"Bitch, he killed my aniki! He should be grateful that he died a quick death." He exclaimed.

"Now, that's not how you court a lady. I see that you have completely lost your head for her." Aizen said with a playful expression as he appeared behind and beheaded him with one slash of his sword.

The head of the shinobi remained on the blade as the rest of his body fell to the ground. The head slid off the sword and Aizen sheathed his zanpakutō.

The kunoichi had no clue what just happened. Was it a genjutsu? That question will probably be left unanswered. She was grateful to the boy for coming to her rescue, but she still didn't know why a young boy would be so far from any village.

"Thank you. You are the benefactor of mine and the leaf. There's a small first aid kit in one of the pouches in my vest. Could you take it out and help me?" Said the kunoichi, glad that she's no longer in danger.

She decided not to pry into the secrets of her saviour. She may have thought of him as a 'boy', but he seemed older than a mere academy student. This impression was strengthened by the fact that he behaved like an adult. Even though her wounds were severe, she was confident that if she rested for a few days, she would at least be able to get to Konoha to receive professional treatment.

His brown eyes scanned her slim and fragile figure. She was a woman of average height, with deep blue eyes, long black hair and thin figure. She wore hitai-ate with the symbol of leaf on her upper left arm.

"You've got verbal diarrhoea. I would prefer you to be silent." Aizen said with an expression that could only mean trouble. "Bakudō #1 Sai." He said as he pointed his index and middle finger at the woman lying on the ground, causing her arms to move and lock behind her back.

*Maybe it's not necessary, but you can never be careful enough. Humans are the most dangerous when they are about to die and have nothing to lose.* He thought as he approached the woman and began searching her vest for useful items. He wasn't afraid that the woman wouldn't disclose the information he needed, after all, there isn't a person that won't break under the hands of a skilful torturer. He suspected that he wouldn't get any information related to Konoha from her peacefully. From the determined look in her eyes, he could tell that she was the type that would rather die than fail a mission.

"W-What are you doing!?" Asked the surprised woman. Why was a person who saved her doing such a thing? She felt that it was completely illogical.

He found another scroll in one of the pockets that appeared to be a detailed map of Hi no Kuni and throwing weapons. He took the map and the second scroll that was previously in the hands on the kunoichi, but now when her hands were locked behind her back, it was lying on the ground. The second scroll had a seal on it with a mark of the leaf. He assumed that it was some kind of a message that she was supposed to deliver to Konoha.

*Jackpot, this will be my ticket to become a citizen of Konoha. It would be much safer if I were in an environment that I know. With the knowledge of the plot, I should be pretty safe in Konoha if nothing unexpected happens.* He thought with a slight slime on his face.

"You have outlived your usefulness, kunoichi. Hadō #4 Byakurai." Aizen said as he lifted his index finger, but this time he omitted the chant. The much smaller bolt of lightning than previously pierced her forehead and all signs of life disappeared from her face. He could feel her dread when he pointed his finger at her, but he only felt as if he had squashed an ant.

He took her hitai-ate and wore it on his upper left arm just like she did. With this, he looked like a fresh genin straight out of the academy. Passing the control at the gate shouldn't be a problem anymore. Nobody would suspect a child to sneak into a hidden village full of shinobi, especially if he carried an authentic message with a seal on it and had a hitai-ate.

He opened the map and located his position. There was a red line on it with the route that the kunoichi and her team were supposed to follow when going back to Konoha.

*I suppose that I can't go to Konoha dressed like that. I guess that it could work.* He undressed and covered his body with reiatsu, that took the shape of clothes.

He now wore a white hoodie with long sleeves and a blue shirt underneath it. Black trousers covered his legs, and durable boots made out of thick, brown leather protected his feet.

*I should practice Shunpo on my way to Konoha.* He thought and threw his old clothes into the river before he went on his way.