The conversation between Aoba and Madara was known only to the two of them. It didn't last long, just about ten minutes or so.
Afterward, neither Aoba nor Madara mentioned the contents of their discussion to anyone.
Even the overall situation of the ninja world remained unchanged. Upon returning, Madara continued his "farming" efforts, as if he wouldn't stop until he surpassed Konoha.
And his methods were not without results. After faking his death and escaping back in the day, he had traveled across the ninja world, collecting countless secret techniques and forbidden jutsu.
It could be said that Madara himself was a walking encyclopedia of ninjutsu.
Under his direct guidance, Kirigakure quickly cultivated a new generation of powerful shinobi. In fact, most Kirigakure ninjas had already fully recognized Madara as their leader. The reason was simple, under Madara's leadership, they had grown significantly stronger.
The one who felt this most deeply was Kisame Hoshigaki.
During a mission, he had encountered a group of the new-era Kirigakure shinobi. After returning to Konoha, he was so shaken that he didn't leave his home for half a month.
When he finally emerged again, his demeanor was no different from the ninjas under Mei Terumi.
This was a cruel but undeniable reality, if you wanted to "save" your village, then assuming you succeeded, how far could you take it?
This was the dilemma Kisame and Mei faced. No matter how confident they were, at best, they could only restore Kirigakure to its pre-Blood Mist era level.
But the current Kirigakure had already far surpassed the limits of their expectations. Though still not comparable to Konoha, it had exceeded their own capabilities.
That was why they had ultimately given up.
The goal of saving the village was to make it better. But now that the village had already become better, was there even a need to "save" it anymore?
This unsolvable question left both Kisame and Mei feeling lost. And so, they resigned themselves to the situation.
However, while they had given up, Aoba certainly had not.
Inside Konoha's highest-level research lab, Aoba and Tobirama stood solemnly, staring at a writhing mass of black flesh.
"We've analyzed Black Zetsu's tissue before, but we didn't gain anything useful. This time, it's different.
"Black Zetsu has completely shut itself off, refusing to communicate with us. Not even the Yamanaka Clan's mind techniques can penetrate its consciousness. However, this time, we've successfully extracted its chakra."
Previously, they had only obtained a portion of Black Zetsu's body tissue. While it retained some activity, the chakra inside had quickly dissipated.
But this time, they had captured the actual body of Black Zetsu and finally managed to extract its chakra.
"Anything special about it?"
"That's the key issue. Its chakra is no different from ours. In fact, it's weaker than yours. At least you have the boost from Sage Mode. But Black Zetsu's chakra is just ordinary, it has no special properties at all."
"No special properties… That, in itself, is the most special trait."
"Exactly. That's also the lab's conclusion. According to what you've said, Black Zetsu is capable of many incredible things, passing freely through the Four Red Yang Formation, controlling other people's bodies, healing injuries, and more.
"And yet, so far, we still don't understand how it does these things."
Even Aoba was baffled.
Up until now, he had always assumed that Black Zetsu possessed some form of high-level chakra, which allowed it to perform its unbelievable feats.
But to his surprise, the reality was completely different.
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Currently on Chapter 340 - The New Orochimaru