Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 630 Aizen Sousuke, a man who stands above the sky and the stars!

Sometimes, it's no wonder Orochimaru wanted to curse.

Orochimaru's gaze fell on the snake shed skin in the box, and his expression gradually stiffened. In fact, this was not the skin shed by his pet at all...

These are the shed snake skins he left behind after each time he devoured a Hollow!

Moreover, these snake molts still bear faint traces of Orochimaru's spiritual energy.

Without even thinking, Orochimaru immediately guessed who had given his snake molt to Aizen Sousuke, making Aizen Sousuke believe that Orochimaru was having someone spy on him!

Except for that bastard Uehara Naraku…

Who would be so bored as to do this?

Who else but Uehara Naraku could do something so inhuman!

Orochimaru believed that the existence of these shed snake skins was not only intended to mislead Aizen Sousuke, but also likely a warning from Uehara Naraku...

Because every time Orochimaru devoured a Hollow to evolve, it was the moment when he was at his weakest, and the existence of these molted snakes meant that Uehara Naraku was constantly monitoring him.

That guy…

I have never let my guard down around him!

Didn't they agree beforehand to let bygones be bygones and cooperate amicably? Even if he had said he would use Uehara as a test subject, that was thousands of years ago according to the Soul Society's timeline...

Is it really necessary?!

That can't be!

Orochimaru was feeling quite distraught. Couldn't Uehara Naraku have informed him before doing anything?

indeed…

This also aligns better with Uehara's plan.

"Mr. Orochimaru..."

Aizen Sousuke adjusted his glasses, looking at Orochimaru's uncertain expression, and slowly continued, "If I'm not mistaken, there should be a study in your base filled with all the information about me from childhood to adulthood, right..."

"you…"

Orochimaru's expression turned even uglier.

Which bastard leaked this information to Aizen Sousuke?

Or did Aizen Sousuke discover it himself?

Based on Orochimaru's suspicions about Uehara Naraku's character, he was more inclined to believe that Uehara Naraku must have leaked the information, and that Uehara Naraku might have manipulated someone into a fake defection to report this to Aizen...

Orochimaru is now completely unable to explain himself, no matter how hard he tries!

Because there really is a study in Orochimaru's base filled with information about Aizen—a study containing all the information about Aizen Sousuke from childhood to adulthood. This would confirm that Orochimaru is the one monitoring him from behind the scenes…

Orochimaru couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Judging from the current situation…

Even if he reveals that Uehara Naraku is the real mastermind, Aizen Sousuke will still think it's an attempt to incite hatred...

Based on their previous exchanges, Aizen Sousuke now seems to have concluded that the Uehara clan is the conservative faction within Soul Society protecting the Soul King, while Orochimaru is the mastermind behind the destruction of Soul Society and the Soul King…

That guy, Uehara Naraku…

It's really a series of interconnected events!

While continuously sending information about Aizen Sousuke to Orochimaru's base, they also secretly sent people to leave traces of Orochimaru's presence around Aizen Sousuke...

Regardless, Orochimaru is now beyond clearing his name of suspicion!

That bastard Uehara Naraku…

Aren't you worried at all about ruining things?

No, there's really no need to worry about that guy, because Orochimaru knows very well that Uehara Naraku's power is now enough to overturn the table and make it impossible for anyone to survive...

"..."

Orochimaru's emotions gradually calmed down. He had accepted the reality of being controlled by Uehara Naraku, and looked at Aizen Sousuke in a deep voice, asking, "Aizen Sousuke, tell me, how much do you still know?"

"Looks like I guessed right..."

A smile played on Aizen Sousuke's lips. He had regained control of the meeting, and as he watched Orochimaru slowly begin, he continued, "In order to destroy the Uehara clan and regain the power of the Soul King, Mr. Orochimaru has been secretly observing the Soul Society, searching for someone to cooperate with..."

At this point, Aizen Sousuke's face showed even more confidence, and he calmly continued his analysis: "And at that time, you finally discovered me while I was still studying at the Shinigami Academy, and coincidentally, I was hiding my strength at that time..."

Aizen Sousuke stared at Orochimaru, his voice growing increasingly calm, his emotions becoming ever more unpredictable: "So you want to use me as a pawn in your future counterattack against Soul Society and the Uehara clan..."

"..."

Orochimaru's expression stiffened slightly.

According to the script he and Uehara Naraku devised, Aizen Sousuke's ideas weren't off; Aizen was actually still being misled by Uehara Naraku...

The only problem is...

After Uehara Naraku's series of maneuvers, Orochimaru himself couldn't clear his name in front of Aizen Sousuke. Because of his history of monitoring Aizen Sousuke since childhood, Aizen Sousuke would never trust him in the slightest again...

That bastard Uehara Naraku…

Orochimaru feels like he gets furious every time he collaborates with Uehara Naraku!

Back in the ninja world, the two made a pact to steal the Scroll of Seals together. However, Uehara Naraku betrayed him to deal with Tsunade, transformed himself into Kabuto Yakushi, shifted the blame to Orochimaru, and stole the Scroll of Seals to escape...

In this world now...

Uehara Naraku then sold him to Aizen Sousuke!

Why can't this bastard change his inhuman nature?!

Although Orochimaru knew he wasn't trustworthy, he did occasionally have genuine desires to cooperate with Uehara Naraku!

It's a pity that this genuine desire to cooperate...

They often don't last long before being destroyed by Uehara Naraku.

never mind…

The situation has already come to this.

We can only continue as planned from now on.

Orochimaru slowly calmed his anger, looked at Aizen Sousuke who looked like he had everything under control, and suddenly grinned, "What a clever child. Can you tell me when you found out about this? I'm quite curious about that..."

"hehe…"

Aizen Sousuke chuckled softly and slowly said, "When we gaze upon the abyss, the abyss also gazes upon us... When I have enough power to pursue the abyss, I will naturally discover the traces of its existence."

Orochimaru sat down again, slowly picked up the teacup on the table, and chuckled self-deprecatingly, saying, "Looks like all the information I've gathered is going to be overturned..."

If Aizen Sousuke had known all along that someone was watching him…

That means all the information about Aizen Sousuke was false. If he knew someone was monitoring him, how could that person possibly leak his true information...?

No, it's all true.

Aizen Sousuke slowly shook his head, a nonchalant smile playing on his lips. "Only authenticity can elicit a more authentic response... If I try too hard, it might arouse your suspicion."

"..."

Orochimaru shook his head, refusing to believe it.

For someone like Aizen Sousuke who has two faces, who knows if he might have a hidden third face?

This is someone who is always deceiving others.

Aizen Sousuke seemed to have guessed Orochimaru's thoughts and slowly said, "In Orochimaru-sensei's eyes, what kind of person am I...?"

"Hehehehe...who knows..."

Orochimaru laughed with a look of utter contempt.

What's the point of saying all this now?

All these years, all that homework has been for nothing!

That bastard Uehara Naraku just exposed him like that. Isn't he afraid that Aizen Sousuke is hiding too well and that he will eventually suffer the backlash?

That bastard…

That's way too confident!

"No, I know, Orochimaru-san knows too."

Aizen Sousuke looked at Orochimaru, stroking his glasses, and smiled as he said, "In Orochimaru-sensei's study where he keeps his documents, there is a document with the most detailed analysis. I am very satisfied with Orochimaru-sensei's evaluation of me in that document..."

"..."

Orochimaru's forehead began to show a question mark.

Wait, why doesn't he remember this document?

Could this be another one of Uehara Naraku's doing? How many things has that bastard been hiding from him? How come he didn't know that he had written an evaluation of Aizen Sousuke?!

That bastard…

They really know how to stir things up!

Aizen Sousuke was unaware of what was hidden here, and continued to himself, "A peaceful mind, tranquil eyes, like an incredibly stable fire... Just these few words alone make me want to consider Orochimaru a confidant."

Aizen Sousuke smiled slightly as he looked at Orochimaru and continued, "Perhaps only an outsider can see the hidden self clearly... Even I can't find a better description than these two sentences."

"..."

Orochimaru remained silent.

He had no idea what those words were.

Orochimaru could only see the darkness and ambition within Aizen Sousuke, and besides him, probably only the Uehara clan truly understood Aizen Sousuke…

That bastard…

Can't we give him a copy of the manuscript?

"Initially, no one was standing in the sky..."

Aizen Sousuke continued slowly, "I wholeheartedly agree with this statement. Neither I, nor Orochimaru, nor Captain Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni, can sit on that supreme throne of heaven..."

Aizen Sousuke looked at Orochimaru, a hint of admiration flashing in his eyes: "Although I am confident enough to end this vacancy on the throne of heaven, I still have to admire Mr. Orochimaru's foresight..."

Even without guidance, Aizen Sousuke will one day stand in a place higher and farther than the sky and the stars... Is this why Orochimaru-sensei merely watched from the sidelines and never interfered in my life?

"..."

Orochimaru remained silent.

This has absolutely nothing to do with him!

So what exactly is that document that Aizen Sousuke supposedly obtained from his study? Can't anyone tell him about it?

Looking at Orochimaru's unpleasant expression, Aizen Sousuke spoke slowly, "Don't worry, Mr. Orochimaru, I won't mind your surveillance. It's precisely because of that information that I believe Mr. Orochimaru, who understands me, can become my best partner..."

"...Hehehehe..."

Orochimaru's face flashed an ugly smile. He glanced at Aizen Sousuke, then at everyone present, feeling like a clown.

Even if they can cooperate…

The two of them had grown to distrust each other.

Moreover, the fact that the two people who were not originally equals are now standing on equal footing again makes Orochimaru feel a little uncomfortable.

Orochimaru no longer looked down on Aizen Sousuke as if he were a child, and Aizen Sousuke no longer needed to look up to this senior from Soul Society.

Just at this moment...

The first written test for the new Arrancar Menos has ended.

The second round of group competition began immediately, without any rest time. The host, Grimmjow, simply and directly divided the participants into groups and announced the start of the competition.

In Orochimaru and Aizen Sousuke's lounge, a white screen quickly appeared, monitoring the Arrancar Menos Grande taking the exam.

Orochimaru took a deep breath, slowly stood up, and forced a smile to maintain his composure: "Your Excellency... this exam is going to be very interesting. I need to take care of some personal matters first... Your Excellency... surely you don't have any objections?"

"Of course not."

Aizen Sousuke returned the smile with a gentle smile and nodded slightly, saying, "Putting aside my proposal to cooperate with Orochimaru-san, I am quite interested in this test for the Arrancar..."

"Hehehehe... Okay."

Orochimaru sensed he was losing ground in this exchange, but he maintained his sinister smile: "Then please have a seat for a moment... excuse me!"

After speaking, Orochimaru left the meeting room accompanied by Nelliel and hurriedly headed to his base. He needed to immediately ask Uehara Naraku about the truth!

After Orochimaru left.

As Aizen Sousuke watched Orochimaru's departing figure, a mocking smile crept onto his lips: "Before the formidable enemy even arrived, a seed of doubt was planted in his heart... Has standing on high for too long made him unable to accept standing on solid ground?"

"How interesting..."

Gin Ichimaru squinted and smiled, "I originally thought that everything we had was under this senior's control... I didn't expect that just a few words from Lord Aizen would make this Orochimaru-senpai start to suspect that his subordinates had leaked information?"

"I didn't expect that either..."

Aizen Sousuke chuckled and continued, "Perhaps this senior suffered too much of a blow before, his mental defenses seem weaker than I thought... However, it's a pleasant surprise that he suspected a traitor among his subordinates before our war with him even began."

indeed.

The study room in the base.

All the documents in the study were leaked.

Orochimaru would definitely suspect that there was a traitor in his base.

"yes…"

Gin Ichimaru nodded slowly, then casually probed Sosuke Aizen, "So... in this enemy base, did Lord Aizen already have people turned against him?"

"I only found out yesterday."

Aizen Sousuke didn't directly answer Ichimaru Gin's question. Instead, he poured himself a cup of tea and said nonchalantly, "For me, it was just an unexpected bonus from an experiment many years ago. I never imagined it would have such a significant effect..."

Many years ago…

When Aizen Sousuke was using the Shinigami's spiritual power to create the Hogyoku, he didn't let the Hollows off the hook either. In the very early days, just like Urahara Kisuke, he secretly used the Hollows to conduct experiments on creating the Hogyoku!

Unfortunately, that experiment failed...

That failed experiment gave birth to a monster called Black Zetsu!

After Orochimaru's messengers Grimmjow and Nereil appeared at Las Noches, Aizen Sousuke secretly dispatched Black Zetsu to follow Nereil and Grimmjow's trail and gather enough information from Orochimaru's base!

It was precisely because Black Zetsu provided so much information…

Aizen Sousuke, who always preferred to plan carefully before acting, dared to rashly lead a few people, including Ichimaru Gin, to Orochimaru's base, a den of dragons and tigers, to carry out the Great Menreiki Forest Collapse Plan!

Black Zetsu has appeared!

The curtain has just been raised!

(End of this chapter)