Darkness

Under the dim moonlight, a young man with neatly combed hair, parted three to seven, and glasses perched on his nose, strolled toward Zashi and Yoru with an enigmatic smile on his face. 

Behind him trailed a short figure with silver hair and strikingly pale, white eyes—an unmistakable member of the Hyuga clan. 

Zashi didn't recognize the Hyuga child, but the man with glasses... he knew all too well.

Rustle.

The sound of footsteps on the grass accompanied their approach as the pair halted in front of the injured duo. 

"Aizen?!" 

Zashi gritted his teeth, anger and disbelief simmering beneath his gaze. His expression twisted as a grim realization began to take form. "So it wasn't Hiruzen who betrayed us... it was you?"

There was doubt in his voice, though frustration tinged his words.

Yoru, struggling to sit upright, shared the same disbelief, shaking his head as if to dispel the notion. 

"How... How is that possible? Only Hiruzen has the ability to manipulate things to such an extent." 

Aizen's smile widened, a glint of amusement flickering in his eyes. 

"Heh, Captain Zashi, there's no need to dwell on it. I'm here today because Aizen commanded me, not the old man," Orochimaru declared smoothly, standing beside Aizen.

Orochimaru's words hit Zashi and Yoru like a thunderclap. 

They knew Orochimaru—a proud, Kage-level figure—would have no reason to lie. 

As impossible as it seemed, they had no choice but to believe it. 

But how? 

'How could Aizen hold sway over someone as powerful and cunning as Orochimaru?'

'How did he slip past Konoha's Anbu unnoticed, and how did he manage to outmaneuver the Third Raikage himself?'

The mysteries surrounding Aizen piled one atop the other, leaving Zashi and Yoru overwhelmed.

Watching their confusion, Aizen chuckled softly, as if savoring the unfolding despair. 

"You know, the way you're struggling now reminds me of Senju Ryuken before he died." Aizen's voice dripped with cruel amusement. 

Zashi's breath hitched at the mention of that name.

'Ryuken.'

He had long suspected that the man, one of the few to carry on the Senju legacy, met a mysterious end. 

"Senju Ryuken was one of the few who carried the diluted cells of Hashirama. His death was... necessary." Aizen's voice was matter-of-fact, as though the murder had been an afterthought. 

A horrifying realization dawned upon Zashi as his eyes widened. 

"It was you who killed him!" Zashi's voice cracked with disbelief. 

Yoru stared in shock, his thoughts reeling. 

Aizen's expression didn't falter. Instead, his smile deepened, sinister and unrepentant.

"Indeed," Aizen replied. "He wore a similarly amusing expression when I stabbed him in the back." 

As if the revelation weren't already enough, Aizen leaned in slightly, his voice now a whisper, dark and malevolent. 

"And, just so you know... It was I who killed Uchiha Kai and the others last year and pinned it on you."

The air froze around them, thick with disbelief and rage.

Even Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly at this admission. He had suspected Zashi was behind that infamous massacre—only now to discover it was Aizen all along. 

"Goodness, you've been carrying quite the burden, haven't you?" Orochimaru remarked with a sly grin, though even he was taken aback by Aizen's audacity. 

Zashi, however, was beyond words.

"You... YOU! It was you all along!" 

Red with fury, Zashi's eyes burned with hatred as his body trembled uncontrollably. He tried to lunge toward Aizen, his mind consumed with rage. 

But his wounds and exhaustion betrayed him. His battered body refused to respond.

Mitarashi Zashi staggered on the ground, his body trembling like a cornered animal, helpless but consumed with rage. His eyes blazed as he roared furiously at Aizen, driven mad by the betrayal. 

The original Uchiha Kai incident had torn through Konoha like a storm, casting the new faction into disrepute. The blame that Aizen had so skillfully placed on Zashi and his comrades had led to their isolation within the village. 

Because of this isolation, Zashi had been forced to stake everything on this mission, desperate to break free from the stranglehold of Konoha's politics. His reckless commitment had only deepened when Aizen betrayed them, plunging the new faction into ruin.

'Everything—everything—had been orchestrated by Aizen.' 

At that moment, Zashi's hatred burned deeper than any river flowing through the shinobi world could cleanse. If given the chance, he would tear Aizen apart, devour his flesh, and grind his bones to dust. 

Beside him, Yoru wore the same murderous expression. If he could stand, he would have already lunged at Aizen, ready to tear him apart. The suffering that Aizen had inflicted on their faction was so immense that mere curses could never suffice.

"You snake! Sakumo was right to doubt you! I always knew you were trouble!" Zashi shouted, his voice hoarse with rage. "That's why I never trusted you! Why I told Yoru to keep a close watch on you! And yet, somehow... you still tricked me." 

Zashi's face twisted with anguish. He thought back to the time he'd assigned Yoru to monitor Aizen personally. Even after all his vigilance, it had ended in catastrophe.

Aizen, however, merely adjusted his glasses, a glimmer of dark amusement flickering in his eyes. 

"Yes, Captain Zashi, I know you never trusted me." Aizen's voice was smooth, unnervingly calm. "And that suspicion... It was the reason my plan succeeded so flawlessly." 

"What?" Zashi blinked, momentarily stunned, as Aizen's words sank in. 

"You see," Aizen continued, a twisted smile forming on his lips, "because you were so suspicious of me, you never noticed that the 'me' you were watching all along was nothing more than an illusion." His gaze was laced with mockery. "For over a month, you've been chasing a phantom."

Zashi's breath caught in his throat as realization dawned, leaving him speechless. 

Aizen took a slow step forward, towering over the defeated shinobi. His voice now carried a mocking lilt. 

"The truth is, Captain Zashi, the reason your subordinates are dead is because of you." Aizen's eyes gleamed with cruelty. "Not me. Your paranoia and arrogance led you here. You killed them." 

The weight of those words hit Zashi like a thunderclap, and his whole body sagged as though the very life had been drained from him. 

His mind spiraled into chaos. 

'Was it me?'

'Was it really my distrust and foolishness that doomed my comrades?'

'Am I the reason Sakumo and Yoru are in danger?' 

'Is all of this my fault?'

The questions echoed endlessly in his mind, crushing him under the weight of guilt. His once fierce spirit crumbled into a pit of self-doubt and regret, leaving him paralyzed.

Watching Zashi fall deeper into despair, Aizen's smile widened. His right hand drifted toward the hilt of Kyōka Suigetsu, the elegant sword resting at his side.