A Sage's Pursuit of Power

The fusion of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was not an easy task. Aoba could clearly feel a significant resistance throughout the process.

He speculated that the primary reason was his lack of Indra's reincarnation lineage, which left him a step behind in terms of bloodline compatibility. Furthermore, his Sharingan was transplanted, and he wasn't originally an Uchiha. In this world, where everything revolves around bloodlines, his foundational disadvantage was apparent.

However, Aoba didn't see this as a problem. In fact, he felt relieved that he wasn't born as an Uchiha or part of the Senju or Uzumaki clans.

Even though he was facing difficulties, he knew they were surmountable. If he had been an Uchiha, it would have been much worse.

The issue of bloodlines wasn't insurmountable to Aoba. While this world seemed to revolve around bloodlines influencing chakra, Aoba had long concluded that the reality was the opposite, it was chakra that shaped bloodlines.

Therefore, the solution to this problem didn't necessarily lie in bloodlines.

In a secluded laboratory, Aoba opened two scrolls, breaking the seals on them. A mass of violent and active chakra appeared before him, this was the pure chakra essence of the Eight-Tails, which had been sent to him by Konan. Aoba was methodically collecting the essence of all the Tailed Beasts.

However, his purpose wasn't to revive the Ten-Tails and become its Jinchūriki. Instead, he sought to fuse the chakra essence of all nine Tailed Beasts within himself, turning himself into a unique, new kind of "Tailed Beast."

The process of merging the chakra of the Tailed Beasts wasn't simple.

In the original story, even with the Rinnegan and being nearly at the Six Paths level, Obito struggled to absorb the Ten-Tails, relying on sheer willpower to barely suppress it. Although he achieved Six Paths status and manifested Truth-Seeking Orbs, his control over these powers seemed clumsy.

This was clearly because Obito wasn't an Indra reincarnation, and his natural potential paled compared to Madara's.

Contrast that with Madara's absorption of the Ten-Tails, which was nearly flawless. His near-perfect Sage body and true Six Paths-level status allowed him to wield the Truth-Seeking Orbs with ease, this was the difference brought by their bloodline and lineage.

For Aoba, whose origins were even more humble than Obito's as a civilian-born shinobi, the challenge was even greater.

Instead of absorbing all nine Tailed Beasts' chakra at once, he was doing it incrementally, taking small portions and taking over a year to digest each one.

Upon absorbing the chakra essence of the Eight-Tails, Aoba felt the chakra violently surge within him. The Eight-Tails' chakra acted like a disruptive force, not only resisting fusion but also inciting his own chakra to riot, as if it was vehemently opposed to cooperating.

Aoba remained unfazed, however. He calmly mobilized his chakra to encircle the Eight-Tails' essence and began methodically grinding it down.

After years of training, Aoba's chakra reserves were at least half of what Hashirama Senju's were in his prime. This vast chakra supply allowed him to overwhelm the Eight-Tails' essence, surrounding it and eroding it steadily.

The chakra essence of the Tailed Beasts was a peculiar form of energy, not just chakra but also a unique living entity.

Though this portion of the Eight-Tails' essence lacked full consciousness, it retained a vague semblance of awareness, which was why it instinctively disrupted Aoba's chakra.

Aoba's task was to "kill" this fragmentary awareness within the essence.

This was not easy. Destroying the consciousness of a purely energetic life form without obliterating its body was a challenging task.

Fortunately, Aoba had the experience of working with Shukaku, the One-Tail. In fact, his methods were taught to him by Shukaku, who had guessed what Aoba aimed to do. In exchange, Aoba had promised to ensure Shukaku would never fall into anyone else's hands.

The process was both simple and complex. Simply put, Aoba repeatedly attacked the Eight-Tails' essence with his chakra. The complexity lay in the fact that he couldn't completely destroy the chakra, he had to continuously wear it down while leaving it barely intact.

To put it bluntly, it was a prolonged form of torture. Through continuous attacks and damage, he aimed to break down the remaining consciousness, leaving behind a pure chakra essence.

This approach had another hidden effect, a silent understanding shared between Aoba and Shukaku but never explicitly mentioned.

The process was incredibly time-consuming. After running through a portion of the procedure, Aoba sealed the Eight-Tails' chakra essence again and exited the lab.

Outside, Minato was waiting for him.

Lately, Minato had been troubled. Naruto had seemingly noticed something. Despite appearing dense at times, Naruto's instincts and emotions were sharp. During the battle where Minato protected him from Black Zetsu, Naruto had felt something unusual.

Since then, Naruto had been using various clumsy methods to test Minato.

Minato, of course, didn't fall for Naruto's tricks, but he also didn't dare face Naruto head-on. Especially after learning about how much hardship Naruto had endured during his childhood, Minato was filled with guilt and hesitation.

Minato felt an overwhelming sense of guilt.

He knew he had failed to fulfill his responsibilities as a father, leaving him unable to face his child.

At the same time, however, another thought lingered in his heart: the overwhelming desire to reunite with Naruto. This was a natural emotional response, and the yearning to finally acknowledge Naruto had grown so intense that it bordered on desperation.

Now, Minato was stuck in this complicated emotional conflict, torn between guilt and hope. His indecisiveness was agonizing to watch.

"I've noticed that Naruto really admires you, Aoba-sensei. I'd like to ask you something."

"You want to know how to reconnect with Naruto without hurting him, right?"

"..." Minato hadn't expected Aoba to directly call out his thoughts, leaving his plans to approach the topic more cautiously completely shattered.

"Yes, I… Naruto trusts you the most, Aoba-sensei. I want to understand how you've earned that trust."

"Heh, so even the legendary Minato Namikaze has things he's not good at, huh?"

"Heh heh." Minato scratched the back of his head sheepishly. Seeing Naruto had made him realize that even the most complicated time-space ninjutsu paled in comparison to navigating the complexities of father-son relationships.

"Alright, buy me a meal, and I'll teach you a trick. I guarantee it'll help you rebuild your relationship with Naruto."

"Uh, Ichiraku Ramen?" Minato blurted out without thinking.

"..." Aoba said nothing, only stared at him with a blank expression.

"Then… BBQ?"

"Now that's more like it."

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Currently on Chapter 246 - Hidden Agendas