Aoba couldn't immediately figure out what made Black Zetsu so special, but he couldn't shake off a growing sense of urgency.
After leaving the laboratory, he immediately resumed his path toward full tailed beast integration.
Ōnoki had sent over the chakra of the Four-Tails and Five-Tails. Combined with the Three-Tails' chakra sent by Madara, Aoba had now gathered the chakra of all nine tailed beasts.
All that remained was time, time to absorb and fuse all of this chakra, ultimately transforming himself into a new Ten-Tails.
With Black Zetsu captured and even a degree of cooperation secured from Madara, Aoba should have been able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Yet, in reality, not only did he feel no relief, but he also sensed an impending crisis looming ever closer.
As his strength increased, especially with his mastery of Sage Mode enhancing his perception, Aoba had come to trust these vague premonitions deeply.
So, he began compressing his time, pushing himself to train relentlessly.
It wasn't just Aoba, his drive had influenced everyone around him to do the same.
Tsunade was the first to emerge from seclusion. She had previously mentioned that her strength was falling behind and had gone into isolation to develop a new jutsu.
Aoba knew she had a rough idea of the direction she wanted to take before she secluded herself, but he didn't know the specifics.
When Tsunade finally reemerged, Aoba was the first to accompany her for a test run.
As a medical ninja, Tsunade's combat style leaned heavily toward taijutsu. It was natural that the jutsu she developed would also focus on enhancing her physical combat abilities.
Her signature techniques, her monstrous strength, the Yin Seal and the Creation Rebirth technique were all built around this approach. This time, her advancement remained in the realm of nin-taijutsu, but something felt noticeably different.
Both the Yin Seal and Creation Rebirth essentially mimicked Senju Hashirama's bodily traits. The only technique that was entirely her own creation was her superhuman strength.
"Do you remember when you severed the Raikage's arm back then?" Tsunade asked. "I studied that severed arm and gained some inspiration. But I'm not proficient in Lightning Release, so I couldn't create a Lightning Chakra Armor.
"Also, a body that hasn't undergone special conditioning can't withstand the side effects of chakra-stimulated cells. I can endure it, but there's no real benefit to doing so.
"So, instead of using chakra to directly stimulate my body, I chose a different approach."
As soon as Tsunade finished speaking, she suddenly attacked. A powerful punch flew straight toward Aoba.
Aoba could have easily dodged, but since this was a test, he chose to take the hit head-on.
Tsunade's monstrous strength was not something to be taken lightly, and Aoba was fully prepared to be sent flying. However, the moment he made contact, he realized something was wrong.
The raw strength behind the punch was average, something he could easily withstand. But what followed was a bizarre sensation.
His chakra flow suddenly became chaotic. If not for his immense strength and near-flawless chakra control, he would have suffered severe internal damage just from the backlash of his own chakra.
"This is…?"
Aoba was shocked. In that instant, he even lost the ability to use the Body Flicker Technique, because it required chakra concentration, and right now, he simply couldn't gather any chakra properly.
"Gentle Fist? No… Gentle Fist isn't this extreme. Besides, when we exchanged blows, none of my chakra points were struck, and I didn't feel any foreign chakra entering my body.
"But…"
Aoba carefully recalled the moment of contact and then turned to look at Tsunade.
"It's some kind of field. The attack didn't come from your fist itself, but from a force field surrounding your body, one that disrupts the chakra flow of others?"
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Currently on Chapter 340 - The New Orochimaru