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Chapter 179 - I am dying (179)

Anyway, Aizen was ready to deliver his shpiel to his little brother—enlighten him on the truth of this world. After all, it was his job as a big brother to do that.

Wasn't it?

Anyway, he could feel and tell that the elders were still nearby, probably trying to listen in on the bullshit he was about to let known to the world.

Anyway, let the gaslighting begin.

"Her name was Uzumaki Mizue."

His voice was soft.

"My mother."

Seijuro's brow furrowed slightly. He didn't say anything—just listened.

"She was... quiet. Kind. The type who'd read books by candlelight and still smile like the world hadn't been unfair to her."

He exhaled, as if remembering someone dear.

"She raised me alone. Never asked anything from Father. Never spoke a bad word about him, either. All she gave me... was a name and a choice."

Seijuro remained still.

Aizen slowly turned his gaze back to him.

"Just like you, I was born with the Kurama clan's Kekkei Genkai."

That made Seijuro narrow his eyes.

"If that's true," he said, voice low, "why didn't you use it? Against the Cloud. Against anything. I didn't sense it even once."

Aizen tilted his head, amused.

"Because I couldn't."

Then came the smile.

Not warm.

Not cold.

Just... knowing.

"I know you, little brother. Even without ever meeting you, I watched you from afar. You're... kind. You are smart, but deep down, you are soft."

Aizen smiled softly at his little brother.

Well, time for the threat.

"Imagine the world knew what we were. That I was your brother. That the power you carry... runs in more than one bloodline."

He took a slow step forward.

"How long would it take before your loved ones paid the price for my sins?"

Silence.

Seijuro's brow furrowed. Hm, the acting truly was Oscar-worthy. He almost believed it himself.

"What do you want from me?" he asked, finally.

Aizen smiled again.

"Nothing difficult. We look similar, no?"

He gestured between them.

"For now... until the Uzumaki village is fully rebuilt, until we have a proper government and infrastructure, I want you—every once in a while—to act in my place."

Seijuro blinked.

"What?"

"Only temporarily," Aizen said smoothly. "You'll speak with foreign dignitaries. Appear when I cannot. Call it... shadow regency. It ensures no one sees weakness. Not the Mist. Not Konoha. Not anyone."

"Why, though?" Seijuro asked sharply. "Why go through all this? Just disappear?"

Aizen looked at him.

The way a dying king might look at his successor.

And he didn't answer.

Instead, his voice lifted—loud enough for the eavesdropping elders to hear crystal clear.

"...Then again, I am running out of time."

His tone turned mournful.

"I had hoped not to keep this from you all—but you deserve the truth."

Seijuro's eyes narrowed.

The curtains in the back trembled. Footsteps approached.

The elders stepped into the room.

Aizen smiled at them. Sad. Dignified. Too perfect.

"I used a forbidden seal."

His voice was steady.

"I sacrificed 75% of my lifespan to the Reaper. My Kekkei Genkai... both Uzumaki and Kurama... gone."

He had a rather soft expression on his face as he said that, allowing the light Genjutsu he placed on himself to fade.

He looked older. Not so much older you'd notice at a glance—but older than he should look.

"It was the only way," Aizen continued. "To protect this village. To have power capable of defending what remains of our people."

He turned to the table beside him, took a glass of water, and poured it over his head.

The dye washed away.

The hair that emerged was white. Barren of the signature Uzumaki red. Only the faintest hint of rust-colored strands remained—fighting a battle they were destined to lose.

The elders' faces turned pale.

"Aizen..." one whispered.

He looked decrepit, one might even say. Didn't even look like he did before.

"You... are dying..." Seijuro said calmly.

Aizen just nodded once.

"I am."

He turned to Seijuro—eyes calm. Certain.

"Which is why... I need you."

Seijuro didn't say much. He just looked at the man standing before him.

Aizen took in a deep breath.

"All I require of you, brother... is to act like me for a while," the man said softly.

"As for the Rinnegan, your Kyōka Suigetsu should allow you to mimic them," the man then sighed.

"Why do you believe that I will accept your offer?" Seijuro asked, looking at the man.

"Because you care for Kushina... you wouldn't want her to watch her people perish once more, while knowing you had the power to stop it."

Seijuro's brow furrowed. The elders kind of understood where Aizen was coming from, but still—revealing the fact that he was dying...

Wait... but couldn't he have an heir?

No, he couldn't.

He sacrificed that too.

Aizen planned to make this deal he made sound like the worst possible—practically taking everything away for power. Like everything.

If they tried to summon his soul with the jutsu Lord Second created, they wouldn't get it. Because, well, he was still alive—and would have fused with Seijuro by then.

But to them, the explanation would be: even his soul was sacrificed to the Shinigami.

He would probably go down in the history books for the Uzumaki.

"Think about it," the manipulator said with a smile.

A/N...by this point in time most of the elders have a valid reason to think something was off about Aizen, since their uzumaki only seal for some odd reason didn't really allow him in, so, they somewhat was thinking something was off, he even left the seal for them to see, this was him sementing the idea of using it into their mind.

Like this, he could go back to re fuse with Seijuro, Aizen could peacefully retire and that would explain why he did not have a kid.

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