Black Zetsu was still alive.
In truth, it hadn't even been tortured much.
Konoha had only taken some of its body tissue for research, then simply locked it away.
At first, Aoba had considered killing Black Zetsu. But given its unique existence, he ultimately chose to let it live.
If nothing else, its life form alone held immense research value.
As Aoba approached, Black Zetsu squirmed slightly. Sealed as it was, it could barely move.
Not that it mattered, its body had never truly been corporeal to begin with.
"Aoba Kamikawa, have you finally come to kill me yourself?"
There was a trace of unwillingness in its voice.
Even now, it still found it unbelievable that it had been defeated by a mere human.
Aoba tilted his head. "I've considered it. But it's not a necessity. Black Zetsu, I know your origins. So if you can give me something I want… maybe we can have this conversation somewhere else."
Black Zetsu let out a sharp laugh. "Heh… forget it. Aoba, I will never tell you anything about Mother."
Aoba smirked. "Is that so? Then let's change the subject. Tell me about your brother."
"Brother? Which one?"
"The one called the Sage of Six Paths."
"..."
Black Zetsu fell silent for a moment.
Then, it suddenly burst into laughter.
"Hahahahahaha… Aoba, he's noticed you, hasn't he? I should have realized it sooner. You've moved too fast. You were bound to catch his attention. Hahaha… this is perfect. Now we're both doomed. Hahahahaha—!"
Aoba didn't react.
He simply sat there, watching Black Zetsu quietly.
Eventually, the thing's laughter faded.
"You want to know how to defeat him, don't you? Too bad. If I knew how to kill him, I would have done it myself long ago. No, actually, there is one way. But you already know it."
Aoba narrowed his eyes.
He knew exactly what Black Zetsu was referring to, freeing Kaguya.
As the true progenitor of chakra, once Kaguya was revived, defeating the Sage of Six Paths would be trivial.
In the original timeline, Kaguya had been disastrously incompetent in battle, despite having overwhelming power, she lacked combat instincts.
Frankly, if Madara had possessed her power, he would have erased Naruto and Sasuke in under a minute.
Instead, Kaguya dragged the fight out unnecessarily… and still lost.
Aoba suspected that Kaguya's low status within the Ōtsutsuki Clan might have been a factor, perhaps she wasn't even meant to be a combatant.
And there was also the possibility that the Sage of Six Paths had interfered in some unseen way.
Regardless, Aoba wasn't considering reviving Kaguya, not yet.
He wasn't at a dead end yet.
"Let's change the topic. Do you know why the Sage and his brother sealed your mother away?"
"...I don't. Mother created me in her final moments before being sealed. She only told me one thing, bring her back. She never had the chance to explain what truly happened. But I do know this, that so-called Sage of Six Paths is a fraud. A traitor."
Aoba smirked. "For once, I actually agree with you. That old bastard doesn't exactly give me the best impression either."
Unfortunately, Aoba didn't gain much new information from Black Zetsu.
If anything, he realized that he knew more than Black Zetsu did.
That was the issue, Black Zetsu had only been born after Kaguya was sealed.
It had no direct knowledge of what transpired before that.
And unlike Aoba, it hadn't been able to peek at the original story's plotline.
Right now, neither Aoba nor Black Zetsu had reached their absolute last resort.
So, both were holding something back.
Releasing Kaguya was a final measure.
But since it wasn't time for that yet, Aoba would have to rely on more conventional methods.
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Currently on Chapter 356 - Aoba's Divine Power