Obito left without a fight.
And Aoba didn't bother with Tobirama's side of things.
The previous battle had interrupted his research on the Shinigami, and right now, he needed to restart his experiments immediately.
Fortunately, the laboratory had suffered no major losses.
Some equipment had been damaged by the tremors, but replacements were quickly brought in.
Soon, the ritual was set up again, and Aoba resumed the experiment to summon the Shinigami.
For Aoba, the most important factor in winning this war was information.
He needed to uncover the truth, the truth about the Sage of Six Paths, Asura, Indra, and all the indigenous deities of this world.
Only by unraveling these secrets could he truly understand what the Sage did, why he did it, and how to defeat him.
The Jashin experiment had failed, the so-called Evil God had been nothing more than a fledgling deity.
Now, the Shinigami was his last remaining lead.
With the ritual restarted, Aoba prepared to continue.
Meanwhile, Tobirama initiated the second phase of his experiment.
He used an incomplete forbidden jutsu developed by the research institute to attempt to touch Hashirama's soul directly.
This was not an easy task.
The stronger a shinobi was, the stronger their soul naturally became—because the soul and the body were inseparable.
A strong body and chakra would reinforce the soul, making it incredibly resilient.
Even though this version of Hashirama lacked his perfect Sage Body, Aoba had grown this body specifically for him, using his own cells.
Its compatibility and physical strength were at the absolute peak of the shinobi world.
And given Hashirama's unique status, Tobirama felt immense pressure from the very start.
Even though Hashirama's body was unconscious, his soul's self-defense mechanisms still made things extremely difficult.
But Tobirama wasn't alone.
One of the greatest breakthroughs in Konoha's research facility had been combining human chakra control with advanced bio-mechanical technology.
Although chakra cores created from Hashirama's cells were still at the heart of the system, the machines themselves were a fusion of biological and mechanical components.
Now, over a dozen auxiliary bio-mechanical units amplified Tobirama's mental strength, allowing him to bypass Hashirama's soul defenses and make contact.
And the moment he did, Tobirama's expression changed dramatically.
He instinctively tried to withdraw, but it was already too late.
From an outsider's perspective, Tobirama's body only trembled slightly before returning to normal.
Ten minutes later, Tobirama exited Hashirama's mental realm. There seemed to be no visible change in him. No one in the research facility noticed anything unusual.
"I've gathered all the data I need. Take him to the medical unit and begin physical restoration."
"Yes, sir."
Meanwhile, Aoba's ritual succeeded.
The Shinigami's spectral form once again manifested before him.
This time, Aoba couldn't use chakra, so he was relying entirely on natural energy.
And this seemed to trigger a hidden mechanism within the Shinigami.
Aoba immediately noticed something different, the Shinigami, which was usually in a state of chaos and automation, suddenly had clear, intelligent eyes.
In the original story, when people summoned the Shinigami through Reaper Death Seal or when Orochimaru manipulated it, the entity always acted like an automated executioner, merely following a preset program.
But now, when Aoba summoned it using pure natural energy, something changed.
The Shinigami's eyes opened, but this time, it didn't raise its blade.
Instead, it simply stared silently at Aoba.
"Hello."
Aoba attempted to communicate, but the Shinigami did not respond.
Thinking for a moment, Aoba tried to use mental energy to establish direct contact.
And the very next second, his entire world spun out of control.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself in a strange space.
His first thought was, this is NOT an ordinary mental space.
Aoba had entered many people's mental realms using genjutsu before.
But this felt completely different.
It was vast and empty, yet at the same time, it felt sealed off from everything else.
Like being inside a massive, inescapable jar, cut off from the outside world.
Aoba's mind raced as he considered his surroundings.
And then, he realized where he was.
There was only one possible answer, he was inside the Shinigami's stomach.
The very place where souls were sealed after the Reaper Death Seal was performed.
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