Minato and Kakashi also found it somewhat unbelievable that they had captured Hashirama. It wasn't that they thought they were incapable of winning...
It just felt… too easy.
After all, this was the God of Shinobi they were dealing with. Why did he seem so weak now?
The two of them remained extremely cautious. The sealing team checked the seal over and over again, confirming that there were no issues. At this point, Hashirama could no longer use any chakra.
Only then did the medical team step forward to ensure he wouldn't actually die.
By now, Hashirama had already lost consciousness. Without his perfect Sage Body, he simply couldn't withstand losing half of his body in an instant.
The only reason he was still alive was probably due to the power of Asura, or more precisely, the Six Paths' power, still lingering in his body.
Theoretically, the true inheritor of Asura's power should have been Naruto. As the previous generation's host, Hashirama's Asura chakra should have already transferred to Naruto.
However, since Hashirama had been revived under the Six Paths Sage's influence, it was entirely possible that he had regained a portion of Asura's power.
In fact, it wasn't just Hashirama, there was also a lingering trace of Indra's power within Madara.
That was what puzzled Aoba the most.
Because unlike Hashirama, Madara was different. Throughout the entire history of the Shinobi World, aside from being manipulated by Black Zetsu, he had never been controlled by anyone.
The Sage of Six Paths clearly couldn't control him, nor did he even like him. He would rather let him die at the hands of Black Zetsu than save him.
And yet, for some reason, even after Sasuke had appeared, a portion of Indra's power still remained within Madara's body.
This had been bothering Aoba for some time, but his relationship with Madara wasn't close enough for him to ask directly, at least not yet.
Inside the Research Facility, Aoba and Obito Continued Their Standoff.
Obito was a true paranoid extremist.
Aoba had originally assumed that, like Hashirama, Obito had come to interfere with the Shinigami summoning ritual.
But instead, the first thing out of his mouth was about the Tailed Beasts.
He was still fixated on the same old plan.
Aoba almost couldn't hold back his laughter.
He had never met Rin before, but at this point, he really wanted to see her.
Just what kind of girl was she, that Obito remained so obsessed with her?
Unfortunately, Obito had likely taken Rin's body himself, meaning there were no remaining tissues to perform Edo Tensei on her.
Obito, for his part, wasn't eager to fight Aoba head-on.
He was different from Hashirama.
Hashirama was a follower of the old man (the Sage of Six Paths), but Obito wasn't. This guy wasn't a follower of anyone.
In the original timeline, Madara had schemed for half a lifetime, yet Obito never truly believed in him for even a second.
Obito only failed in the end because of his background and the protagonist crew's plot armor.
He was the perfect example of an extreme Uchiha, his emotions and personality pushed to their absolute limits.
His one and only goal was to create a world where Rin existed.
Any other ideology or influence was meaningless to him.
"Aoba, your time is running out. If you don't want Konoha to be destroyed, hand over the Tailed Beasts."
Obito was starting to grow impatient.
He knew that Hashirama wouldn't be able to stall the others for much longer.
That guy might have been the so-called God of Shinobi, but he wasn't the brightest.
And Konoha wasn't the same Konoha of the past.
In his weakened state, Hashirama had no chance of defeating Konoha.
Aoba, however, also didn't want to fight Obito here.
It wasn't just about avoiding combat, this was the core of his research facility.
If the two of them fought here, the entire lab would be wiped out.
This place was Aoba's hard-earned creation, and he wasn't about to let it be destroyed so easily.
But at the same time, if he didn't do something, Obito definitely wouldn't leave.
Obito wasn't the same as before.
The fact that he had bypassed all of Konoha's defensive barriers and silently infiltrated this place was proof enough that he had changed.
Aoba narrowed his eyes slightly.
"You should already know this, Obito, no matter what you do, I will never hand over all the Tailed Beasts to you."
"However…" Aoba's tone shifted slightly.
"I have a special proposal. Would you be interested?"
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