A family?
Aizen had only intended to amuse himself, but he paused for a moment. That word gave him a strange feeling.
Both Anzen and the Aizen he was pretending to be understood what "family" meant. But unfortunately, neither of them had ever truly experienced it.
Aizen grew up in the East Rukongai of the Soul Society. Because of his immense spiritual pressure, ordinary souls would disintegrate before even getting close to him. That was why, as a child, he was called "the devil's child."
Having such a terrible childhood left him with a distorted understanding of what "family" was supposed to be.
Later, he found answers in books, but by then, his worldview was already set. He decided that "family" was unnecessary and had no real value, so he never had one.
Anzen's situation was similar—he was also an orphan.
Although he wasn't as extreme as Aizen, Anzen was withdrawn and didn't fit in with others. Because of this, no family ever wanted to adopt him when he was a child.
His personality gradually improved after he started working, and he even thought about finding someone to build a family with. But before he could act on that plan, he was thrown into another world.
His physical body traveled to the Shinobi World, where he was raised in Root from a young age. No matter how he looked at it, there was no way for him to feel a sense of belonging to any family.
Even though Danzo gave Aizen certain privileges, it was only because Aizen had carefully crafted the image of himself as Danzo's "perfect disciple."
Their relationship wasn't really that of a master and student. It was more like a craftsman and his artwork. Aizen had simply disguised himself as the perfect piece of art sculpted by Danzo's hands.
But even as a "prized disciple" or "perfect artwork," Aizen knew very well that the moment he became useless, Danzo would discard him without hesitation.
So how much truth was there in Konan's idea of a "family" here? Was family really just a web of interests tied together, or was it something else entirely?
For some reason, Aizen felt a bit curious. He wasn't just someone who liked to manipulate people—he also enjoyed studying and observing human relationships. It was both his twisted amusement and his personal interest.
His eyes returned to the group chat screen.
Doujin Artist: "By the way, Konan, have you come up with any good ideas? How should we deal with Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu?"
Amegakure Village's Angel: "Sigh, not yet. I'm not even sure if I should tell Nagato."
Curly-Haired Kid: "Well, their strength isn't that crazy, but their abilities are ridiculously annoying. If we don't take them out in one go, they'll just cause even bigger problems later."
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: "That's true. But luckily, we still have time. We can take it slow and plan carefully."
Are they discussing the Naruto storyline?
Aizen wasn't surprised. Since the world of Gintama had JUMP, and Naruto was serialized in JUMP, it would be more surprising if people here didn't know about Naruto's plot—especially with Sakata Gintoki, the protagonist of Gintama, existing in this world.
But they were actually struggling with how to deal with Obito and Black Zetsu, which made Aizen feel like laughing for no reason.
Black Zetsu doesn't have a physical body, but he's usually attached to White Zetsu, so using Yin-Yang Release or sealing jutsu would be enough to take care of him easily. Obito is even simpler—just summon Rin with Edo Tensei, and he'd probably surrender right away.
If they wanted to be extra cautious, they could just set up an anti-space sealing technique beforehand.
Logically, knowing the story means knowing their weaknesses, so why are they overthinking something this simple? Just use the right method to counter them—it's not that hard.
This is an Actor: ...
Of course, Obito and Black Zetsu were still somewhat useful to Aizen at the moment, so he didn't say anything in the group chat. He just typed a string of ellipses to show that he had something to say but decided to hold back.
Doujin Artist: Huh? The newcomer seems a bit lost. You can check the memory list for information about Sister Konan's world.
Memory list?
Aizen noticed a button in the second column on the right side of the group chat. When he clicked on it, a list of stored memories appeared. Besides Naruto at the top, there were also scattered memories uploaded by other group members.
The titles made it clear that these memories were records of the worlds each group member came from.
So, this was their way of understanding each other better?
Aizen realized what was going on and casually uploaded a selected portion of his past life's memories.
Doujin Artist: Whoa, amazing! Our newbie is seriously impressive! You've earned so many degrees and awards?!
This is an Actor: I just worked a little harder than most people.
Curly-haired Guy: Hey, hey, don't you think your life is kinda boring? It's just work and studying. Are you some kind of monk?
This is an Actor: Not really. I watch movies, anime, and read novels too.
Curly-haired Guy: That's not what I mean! I'm talking about the main course, you know? Anime and novels are just the icing on the cake! Wait… hold on! Don't tell me—you're still a virgin?! Guys, come check this out! A rare creature! A 27-year-old virgin?! That's rarer than a panda!
This is an Actor: ...
With Aizen's composure, he wouldn't get angry over something like this. Yep, not angry at all.
Doujin Artist: Shut up! He's just keeping himself pure! Not everyone is like you—thinking with your lower half all the time!
Curly-haired Guy: Hmph, every man's lower half is a beast!
Amegakure Village's Angel: Oh, right. I forgot to tell you all something.
Doujin Artist: ?
Scarlet Lotus Fairy: What is it?
Amegakure Village's Angel: Today, Uchiha Obito brought a new recruit into our group.
Curly-haired Guy: A new member? Uchiha Itachi? No, that can't be right. According to the timeline, that shouldn't happen for another two years.
Amegakure Village's Angel: It's not Uchiha Itachi. He calls himself Aizen Sosuke. He said his best Genjutsu is called Kyoka Suigetsu, and then he pulled out a sword. Isn't that hilarious?
Curly-haired Guy: ???
Doujin Artist: ???