Starting as the mastermind behind Naruto

Chapter 686 I have no conspiracy, only a long story

A dotted circle.

The spatial barrier slowly opened.

Aizen Sousuke and Orochimaru stood at the very front.

Behind them stood a densely packed army of Arrancar, hundreds of Arrancar gathered together—all Orochimaru's handiwork.

Behind these Arrancar legions, tens of thousands of jet-black Hollows controlled by them surged across the ground!

This is all the power of Hueco Mundo.

In terms of sheer numbers, this fighting force could almost overwhelm the Soul Society in the war, if we ignore the terrifying enemies like Yamamoto Shigekuni…

"Hehehehe..."

Orochimaru frowned slightly, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "Is it really necessary to launch a decisive battle against Soul Society at this time?"

"That's enough."

Aizen Sousuke slowly raised his head, a wisp of hair fluttering in the wind. He slowly raised his palm, and in his sleeve was Black Zetsu's eerie smiling face.

Aizen Sousuke is now stronger than ever before!

The power he now possesses is beyond anything he ever imagined!

The spiritual power provided by merging with Black Zetsu's body alone allowed Aizen to break through the power limits of Shinigami and Hollows!

next moment…

Aizen Sousuke's voice echoed across the land!

"This is a great war."

"An unprecedented war."

"Since the birth of this world, there has never been a war as great as today, nor has Hueco Mundo ever seen a power as strong as ours."

"For this day to come, Mr. Orochimaru has worked hard here for thousands of years, giving you, who once lived only to hunt other souls, a new meaning to life. You were born to change this world."

Aizen Sousuke's voice always carried a unique charm. Whenever he spoke, his calmness and tranquility would spread like a contagious virus, gradually making others unconsciously listen to his words.

Aizen Sousuke slowly lowered his hand, and the man's voice became increasingly calm, as calm as when he often had tea parties with the members of the Hollow Legion during his leisure time.

"It's been too long."

"The Hueco Mundo world has been silent for too long."

"For thousands of years before Las Noches existed, Hueco Mundo was always fragmented, the world was always decaying, and the sky was always gray."

"At this moment, the power of the entire Hueco Mundo has converged here."

"Our purpose in being here is simply to make a voice heard in this world: Hueco Mundo has never been a paradise for fallen souls. When we appear, it will be the time for us to rule this world."

"Let's head towards Soul Society..."

"Let's march towards Seireitei..."

"Soon, we will re-enter Soul Society, completely rewrite this world, and place Las Noches on the throne of world domination."

"Don't worry about the enemies you will encounter."

"Don't worry about how powerful the enemies you encounter will be."

"No matter what happens, no matter what enemies we encounter in Soul Society, just know that I will stand with you through thick and thin."

"Let's move forward..."

"We have no rivals ahead of us."

Aizen Sousuke's conversation was finally coming to an end. After his voice fell, the land and sky of Hueco Mundo fell into a deathly silence, and everyone's face showed a suppressed excitement.

Although Aizen Sousuke's voice was calm...

However, his words possessed a powerful, moving force!

next moment…

The roars of the Arrancar army almost pierced the sky!

"We have no rivals ahead!"

"Lord Aizen, please give your orders!"

"Lord Aizen, please let our team charge ahead!"

"Roar! Lord Aizen, let's start causing a ruckus!"

"..."

With a series of deafening roars, the Arrancar army rushed through the spatial rift opened by Aizen Sousuke, their faces filled with madness!

For these inherently brutal individuals…

There's nothing that would suit their tastes better than causing chaos in Soul Society!

As the Arrancar army advanced, the Espada, led by Koyatai Stark, appeared beside Aizen Sousuke.

Most of these Espada were trained by Orochimaru, because there have never been many Vasto Lorde-class and Adjuchas-class Hollows in the entire Hueco Mundo.

Basically, Orochimaru had already subdued these Hollows of that level.

"What an interesting pre-battle mobilization..."

Orochimaru stuck out his tongue, licked his lips, looked at Aizen Sousuke standing beside him, and chuckled softly: "Well then... let me see... just how far Hueco Mundo, suppressed for thousands of years, can go..."

Sometimes it's really ironic.

Aizen Sousuke's pre-battle mobilization was quite effective in stirring up the emotions of the Arrancar army. He boldly declared to these members that no one was their match in the battle ahead.

In a sense...

This situation cannot be called wrong.

However, this statement was clearly inappropriate for Aizen Sousuke, as he was surrounded by enemies who wanted to kill him, both in front of him and behind him.

"Inize..."

Orochimaru suddenly called out to Aizen Sousuke, chuckled, and said, "If we fail, have you considered the consequences?"

"..."

Aizen Sousuke did not answer, nor did he stop moving.

"Hehehehe..."

Meanwhile, Black Zetsu, hiding in Aizen's sleeve, answered ominously on Aizen's behalf, "Orochimaru-sensei, how could we possibly fail?"

"..."

Orochimaru's expression turned slightly strange. He frowned as if he were somewhat disgusted and flew after Aizen Sousuke.

the other side.

Beneath the central tower of Seireitei.

Just as Aizen Sousuke was leading the Hueco Mundo army toward Soul Society, Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni was leading the captains of the Gotei 13 in preparation for battle.

A large army of Shinigami dressed in Shinigami uniforms gathered at the foot of the central tower. The captains of the Gotei 13 stood beside Yamamoto Shigekuni, reporting the number of members from their squads who had come to participate in the war.

There are now about three thousand members standing under the central tower. Most of them are elite Shinigami of the Gotei 13, which is roughly equivalent to half the strength of the Gotei 13.

Apart from the Shinigami responsible for guarding the human world and patrolling the Soul Society, all the Shinigami that can be mobilized in the entire Seireitei are here.

Based solely on intelligence analysis, these Shinigami will be facing an army of hundreds of Hollows that may appear within Hueco Mundo.

Compared to the Gotei 13's army of Shinigami...

Standing beside this army of death gods, a densely packed legion dressed in black robes with auspicious cloud patterns seemed even more eye-catching; they were reinforcements sent by the Uehara clan.

It is said that…

These reinforcements were obtained by Uehara Naraku from the Death Servant Seat Officer.

In terms of numbers, the reinforcements sent by the Uehara clan were even more numerous than the Gotei 13, numbering at least five thousand.

As for the leaders of this army of over five thousand Edo Tensei, they were naturally the Death Servant Seats of the Uehara Clan. The Fifth Seat, Tobirama Senju, personally commanded the army, while the Sixth Seat, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Seventh Seat, Minato Namikaze, and the last four Seats, from the Tenth to the Thirteenth Seat, were all included.

It could be said that almost half of the Shangyuan clan had been mobilized.

"No wonder Central Bureau 46 has been avoiding us..."

Cold sweat dripped from Soi Fon's forehead as she couldn't help but whisper, "In terms of sheer numbers, the Uehara clan can mobilize far more Shinigami than the Gotei 13's regular combat squads..."

"The quality is just as good..."

Kyoraku Shunsui looked down at the Uehara clan's Edo Tensei army, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I heard the selection criteria for the Uehara Castle Edo Tensei army are even stricter than the tests we gave those kids at the Shinigami Academy!"

This is another reason.

Besides this elite Edo Tensei legion, there are also many Shinigami within Uehara Castle who have never been mobilized. Those Shinigami are too weak and can only live like ordinary people.

Just as the Gotei 13 selects souls from across Soul Society, the Uehara clan can also select powerful souls within Soul Society to enter Uehara Castle and become part of their strength.

To be honest...

The Central 46 Bureau was helpless in the face of such powerful and wealthy families because they had no better options.

Whether in terms of high-end or low-end combat power, the strength of the Uehara clan is almost comparable to that of the Gotei 13.

Fortunately, the appearance of Uehara Naraku changed this situation...

Since Uehara Naraku succeeded as head of the Uehara clan, the cooperation between the Uehara clan and the Gotei 13 has increased, which has greatly eased the tension between them.

Recently, Uehara Naraku even announced that he would voluntarily abandon Uehara Castle's policy of collecting souls in Soul Society, which is tantamount to making concessions to the Seireitei leadership.

If this continues for hundreds or thousands of years, the Uehara clan will eventually integrate into the Seireitei system, just like the Kuchiki clan and the other four noble families.

"Speaking of which, where is Naraku?"

Kyoraku Shunsui glanced around, then looked curiously at Senju Tobirama sitting next to Yamamoto Shigekuni, and asked, "Hasn't Captain Naraku arrived yet at this hour?"

"Both I and Lord Yamamoto forbid him from participating in this war."

Tobirama Senju's face was full of displeasure. He snorted coldly and said, "Taking advantage of Madara and my elder brother's absence, he has taken it upon himself to mobilize the elite Edo Tensei army of the clan to assist in the battle... Fine, since he has already agreed to your request, I have no choice but to cooperate with him."

"Cough cough..."

Yamamoto Shigekuni, standing beside Tobirama Senju, couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed and said softly, "Don't worry, while Captain Naraku is away, I have temporarily appointed the Third Division Captain, Hirako Shinji, to lead the Fifth Division..."

Shinji Hirako was originally the captain of the Fifth Division.

Shinji Hirako and his Visored members were all former squad captains, so this arrangement is quite reasonable.

It's just a bit of a shame that Uehara Naraku wasn't there.

Because the captains of the Gotei 13 lamented at a high-level meeting that their fighting strength was slightly insufficient against the Arrancar army in Hueco Mundo, Uehara Naraku heard these words and took it upon himself to mobilize the Uehara clan's Edo Tensei army to fight together.

Well, this kind of thing...

Naturally, this wouldn't please a die-hard like Tobirama Senju.

This also explains why Tobirama Senju would confine Naraku Uehara before the great battle.

In fact, Yamamoto Shigekuni speculated that there might be another reason.

That is, Tobirama Senju was worried that their clan leader, Naraku Uehara, might suffer some unpredictable harm in this unprecedented war that was about to break out. If anything went wrong, it could lead to the extinction of the Uehara clan, which had only one lineage.

In recent years, Uehara Naraku has indeed frequently encountered danger. Even with the close protection of his two seated officers, Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito, he could not help but be taken advantage of by Aizen Sousuke.

Uehara Naraku's absence before this great battle was indeed understandable.

Yamamoto Genryusai Shigekuni also strongly agreed with Senju Tobirama's opinion, because the existence of Uehara Naraku was the foundation for the fusion of the Seireitei and the Uehara clan.

The Fifth Division's base.

The garrison is now deserted.

The Grim Reapers who guarded this place are no longer here.

Meanwhile, in the captain's room.

The current captain of the Fifth Division, Uehara Naraku, leisurely sipped a glass of juice, sat in his seat, and flipped through a book with great interest.

The fifth division's vice-captain, Hinamori Momo, seemed restless, her fingers slowly twisting together as she cautiously asked, "Um... Naraku... Captain... all the captains of the Gotei 13 have already assembled... are we really not allowed to participate in the battle?"

"It's not the right time yet."

Uehara Naraku shook his head, closed the book on the table, and looked up at Hinamori Momo: "I'm sorry, Hinamori, don't blame me for keeping you here too... It's too cruel to send someone who respects Captain Aizen to participate in the war to defeat him."

"No, that's not a problem..."

Hinamori Momo shook her head and hurriedly explained, "I know... Captain... Actually, we're all the same, we all want Captain Aizen to come back! I'm just wondering, will Captain Aizen...?"

She feared that Aizen Sousuke would die in the war.

Judging from the military strength mobilized by the Gotei 13, Hinamori Momo didn't believe any force could be a match for them, not even Aizen Sousuke, whom she respected...

"Don't worry."

A smile appeared on Uehara Naraku's face as he spoke earnestly, "No one knows how this war will unfold. Perhaps we won't be able to stay here much longer..."

As she said this, Uehara Naraku slowly stretched: "Hmm, it's about time... My order should be here soon, in the time it takes to drink a glass of juice?"

"what?"

Hinamori Momo looked somewhat surprised.

The girl still didn't understand what Uehara Naraku meant.

Just then, a spacetime vortex appeared beside Uehara Naraku, and a hand emerged from the vortex, placing a white finger bone on the table.

"This is…"

Hinamori Momo's face was full of panic.

Why is there a finger bone here?

"Wang Jian".

Uehara Naraku picked up the finger bone on the table, a slight smile playing on his lips, and explained with a low chuckle, "The Royal Key is the key to entering the Soul King Palace. It can only be made from the bones of members of the Zero Division of the Gotei 13."

To eliminate the Gotei 13, the Soul King and the Zero Division must be killed.

To kill the Soul King and the Zero Division, you must enter the Soul King's Palace.

To enter the Spirit King's Palace, one must use the King's Key.

For thousands of years, the Seireitei, fearing that the Uehara clan would discover their infiltration of the Soul King's Palace to eliminate the Soul King and the Zero Division, has meticulously concealed the secrets of the Soul King's Palace. Even ordinary Shinigami captains have difficulty accessing information about it; only the four noble families know these things.

"..."

Hinamori Momo's expression changed slightly.

At this moment, she sensed that something was off about Uehara Naraku in front of her. The Seireitei was concealing these secrets, but Uehara Naraku had discovered them and even obtained the key to the Soul King's Palace...

Do not…

Something is very wrong!

Even though Hinamori Momo hadn't heard of the secrets of the Soul King's Palace, as a vice-captain she had heard of the Zero Division's name, which was said to be the Soul Society's strongest trump card!

Zero Squad...

They claim to be even stronger than the entire Gotei 13!

"Would you like to see it?"

Uehara Naraku, a faint smile still playing on his lips, spoke as if oblivious to everything, "Aren't you curious to see who will win between the four Seats of the Uehara clan, the strongest fighting force of the Uehara clan, and the Zero Division, the strongest fighting force of the Seireitei?"

"..."

Momo Hinamori's vision went black for a moment.

and many more…

Why are the four chief officers of the Uehara clan fighting against the Zero Division?

Right now, in the central plaza of Seireitei, the Uehara clan and the Gotei 13 have already assembled, ready to face Captain Aizen's Hueco Mundo army together, right?

"Naraku..."

Hinamori Momo slowly clenched her fists, gritted her teeth, and said in a deep voice, "Tell me what happened? Why are the four chief officers of the Uehara clan fighting against the Zero Division?"

She still refused to believe the truth.

Hinamori Momo couldn't help but think of another possibility, and her voice became especially fragile: "Did...did they defect?"

this moment…

Hinamori Momo desperately hoped that it was the four seated officials who had defected, rather than Uehara Naraku who had betrayed them.

"They didn't defect..."

Uehara Naraku slowly began, "They were just following my orders to eliminate the Zero Division..."

"..."

Hinamori Momo's expression changed drastically.

At that moment, the girl almost fainted!

At this moment, the girl finally felt the malice of the world. She felt an unprecedented sense of estrangement from Uehara Naraku, her longtime friend and boss.

Do not…

Or rather...

It's a strange kind of familiarity.

That feeling was just like when Hinamori Momo saw Aizen Sousuke defect.

Has her former friend and most trusted captain, Uehara Naraku, betrayed her just like Aizen Sousuke?

Why does this world always play such cruel tricks...? Even a gentle person like Aizen Sousuke defected from the Gotei 13... And even a kind person like Uehara Naraku... betrayed us?

"you…"

Hinamori Momo's eyes instantly reddened, and tears involuntarily streamed down her face: "You...you...why do you always have to do this...scheming...deceiving..."

"No, it's not a conspiracy..."

Uehara Naraku held up a finger and shook it, smiling as he soothed the girl's emotions: "What I possess has never been a conspiracy, just a very long story..."

"Then tell me..."

Hinamori Momo's face was full of pain and struggle. She stared intently at her friend in front of her, a glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes, as if she were trying to find a reason to defend Uehara Naraku.

Even if she knew that Uehara Naraku had betrayed her, Hinamori Momo refused to believe it.

Now, Hinamori Momo even wants to find a reason to persuade Uehara Naraku to turn back: "Tell me... what story that was... what do you want to do now... can everything still be salvaged... Naraku?"

"I can't tell you that..."

Uehara Naraku slowly shook his head, a low chuckle playing on his lips: "If I had to give a reason... it would be a waste of my story if you were the only listener."

Uehara Naraku slowly stood up, looked down at the girl with red eyes, and continued with a smile: "This is a story that I have carefully prepared for thousands of years... Hinamori... You are not even worthy of being a single line in this story."

Uehara Naraku reached out his hand and placed it on Hinamori Momo's hair, gently patting the girl's head as he softly said, "As payment for deceiving you, I'll bring Captain Aizen back after this war is over..."

Is it too late to say that Uehara Naraku isn't a villain?

(End of this chapter)