A Sage's Pursuit of Power

"Your mother's voice?" Aoba turned his gaze toward Minato, who stood behind Naruto. Minato's face was filled with anxiety.

He remembered that Kushina had made an appearance in the original storyline, leaving a fragment of her chakra inside Naruto.

She had even helped Naruto wrest control of the Nine-Tails' power during the fight against Nagato. However, her appearance was fleeting, and she completely disappeared afterward.

"Aoba, can you bring Kushina back to life, like you revived us?"

"...It's not the same. Minato, have you ever thought about why I only revived a select few from Konoha's many fallen?"

"...Because of the Reaper Death Seal?"

"To be precise, because of the Shinigami. The Shinigami is a very unique existence. It devoured your souls but didn't harm them, merely imprisoning them within its body.

I still don't fully understand the purpose behind the Shinigami's actions. But in doing so, it indirectly protected your souls from entering the Pure Land. This is the key to why you could be revived.

Strictly speaking, you weren't truly dead, you were sealed inside the Shinigami."

"Then why not repeat the process? Use the Impure World Reincarnation to summon Kushina, have the Reaper Death Seal extract her soul, and then you revive her using the same method you used on us."

At the mention of Kushina, Minato uncharacteristically lost his composure. Although his suggested process sounded feasible in theory, it was no longer practical.

"That's not possible anymore."

"Why not? We managed before..."

"Minato, the Shinigami may seem oblivious, but it is still a divine being. It won't be deceived repeatedly. The process I used to rescue your souls from the Shinigami had already violated its principles.

The deed was done, and the Shinigami couldn't undo it. But trying the same thing again wouldn't be so simple. Do you understand?"

The light in Minato's eyes dimmed. He was a man deeply in love, to the point where it seemed even Naruto was less important to him than Kushina.

But resurrection wasn't as simple as a wish or a plan. Snatching from the Shinigami's grasp wasn't a trivial task.

To Aoba, saving Kushina wasn't entirely impossible, but the difficulty was immense, and his confidence wasn't high.

"Naruto, if you want to save your mother, remember one thing: you need to communicate with the Nine-Tails."

"What? Why?"

It wasn't Naruto who questioned this but Minato. In his time, the Nine-Tails was a symbol of nightmares, and the concept of a "perfect jinchūriki" didn't exist, at least, not in Konoha.

For jinchūriki to use a tailed beast's power, they had to wrest it by force.

However, Aoba knew that power taken by force was unsustainable and far from the optimal state for a jinchūriki. The best state was achieved when the jinchūriki reconciled with their tailed beast and the beast willingly lent its power.

This reconciliation was also a prerequisite for saving Kushina, though Aoba didn't make any promises yet.

"The Nine-Tails isn't a simple beast. It's a highly intelligent being with a long lifespan. The reason tailed beasts harbor hostility toward humans is because humans disrupted their lives first.

The Nine-Tails was originally wild. Later, it was captured by both Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha in succession. The process was anything but pleasant, which is why it harbors animosity toward Konoha.

But remember this, Naruto: while the Nine-Tails has been imprisoned by Konoha for years, it has also caused great disasters for the village. In a way, there isn't an unresolvable conflict between the two.

Moreover, Madara Uchiha has been revived. This is a major advantage because, compared to you, the Nine-Tails absolutely despises Madara more. These are conditions you can leverage. Use them to negotiate with the Nine-Tails and achieve reconciliation.

I'm not saying this will definitely save your mother, but it could at least give you a glimmer of hope."

Aoba said a lot, but judging by Naruto's expression, he wasn't sure how much of it resonated. It wasn't that Naruto wouldn't try but that expecting him to strategically negotiate with the Nine-Tails was a tall order.

Leaving Naruto and Minato to their thoughts, Aoba walked out of the lab, where Sasuke and Karin were waiting for him nearby.

"How's Naruto, Aoba-sensei? Is he okay?" Karin, ever kind-hearted, was the first to ask about Naruto's condition. Sasuke, however, wore a complex expression.

Aoba immediately understood why. Despite awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan in this battle, a dream come true, Sasuke didn't feel any joy.

He and Naruto were close friends, a bond forged through shared hardships.

But now, Naruto's father had been revived, and even his mother might return…

Sasuke didn't want to envy Naruto, but he couldn't help wondering: Would Naruto, having regained his family, still value their friendship?

He couldn't stop imagining how things might be better if Naruto hadn't regained all this.

These thoughts made Sasuke feel deeply guilty, yet he couldn't control them.

Having lived two lifetimes, Aoba easily saw through Sasuke's inner turmoil. To him, these thoughts were perfectly normal.

The fact that Sasuke felt guilt only showed that his moral compass was intact and above the baseline of ordinary people.

This inner conflict wasn't something Aoba planned to interfere with directly. Sasuke had already awakened his Mangekyō, and with Itachi's situation nearing its climax, Aoba needed to focus on resolving the brothers' feud.

Aoba had considered many ways to handle Sasuke and Itachi's situation, such as directly revealing the truth.

But after careful thought, he realized there wasn't much of a "truth" to reveal. No matter how one looked at it, Itachi had personally killed their parents, a deed that couldn't be justified.

If something couldn't be justified, it was better not to try. Forcing an explanation would only create more frustration.

Even Itachi agreed with this approach and approved Aoba's plan.

Over the years, watching Konoha's changes, especially the fates of Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura, Itachi had come to an unsettling realization: he might have been wrong.

What he thought was the best solution at the time was, in hindsight, just a way to mask his own inadequacy. If Aoba had been in his position, he undoubtedly would have found a better way.

"Sasuke." Pretending not to notice Sasuke's unease, Aoba casually dropped a bombshell.

"The ANBU have tracked down Itachi."

"!!!"

In an instant, all of Sasuke's tangled thoughts vanished, leaving only one primal urge:

Revenge.

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Currently on Chapter 292 - The Intruder