A Sage's Pursuit of Power

In Konoha's early years, the sealing corps was in an awkward position.

They were called a sealing unit, but they couldn't actually perform high-level sealing techniques.

Sealing jutsu was inherently too dangerous, and Konoha had always been an extremely conservative village.

There was no way they would allow ordinary civilian shinobi access to the village's most powerful techniques.

As a result, the sealing corps mostly served a supporting role, while the truly powerful sealing techniques were only used by a select few from the Hokage's lineage.

However, after Aoba entered Konoha's leadership, he opened up vast amounts of sealed knowledge to the sealing corps.

Even though civilian-born shinobi lacked powerful bloodlines, their numbers were overwhelming, and many of them were talented but simply lacked resources.

Once sealing jutsu became more widely available, the sealing corps rapidly produced a new generation of elite shinobi.

With the help of chakra cloaks, these shinobi were now capable of independently performing even techniques on the level of the Eight Trigrams Sealing Style.

If caught within their sealing formation, even Aoba himself wouldn't take them lightly.

.....

Dozens of Golden Adamantine Sealing Chains burst from every direction, lunging toward Obito.

Realizing the danger, Obito repelled all of them and leaped into the air, trying to escape.

However, just as he ascended, a deadly blade of light came slashing down from above.

"Damn you, Aoba!"

Obito was filled with rage and frustration.

From Aoba's perspective, Obito's overall talent as a shinobi was actually quite mediocre.

His raw potential was strong. His Kamui Sharingan was borderline broken.

But his overall ninja skills?

They were average at best in a battle at this level.

Despite having multiple game-breaking abilities, Obito had struggled against the Fourth Hokage in the past.

Even in his fights against Kakashi, Guy, and Naruto, he never displayed the kind of overwhelming tactical brilliance that someone like Madara would have.

At best, he was a second-tier shinobi who relied on his overpowered abilities.

If his powers had instead been given to Madara, the entire shinobi world might have already collapsed.

Initially, Aoba hadn't planned to kill Obito here.

Something still felt missing.

However, now that the sealing corps had arrived, it was worth testing how far they could push him.

But just as Aoba fully unleashed his power, an immense chakra presence suddenly appeared.

A chakra signature Aoba was all too familiar with.

"Wood Release: Wood Dragon Jutsu!"

"Fall back!" Aoba shouted.

That chakra… that jutsu…

There was only one person in the world who could perform Wood Release at this level.

Not even Yumi could achieve something this powerful.

A colossal wooden dragon surged forward, tearing apart the battlefield.

As always, it wasn't the Wood Release itself that was powerful, it was Hashirama.

His jutsu weren't just techniques, they were natural disasters.

Regular ninjutsu couldn't even begin to compare.

Amidst the chaos, a deep blue giant soared into the sky...

Aoba had activated Susanoo to confront this massive jutsu head-on.

A monstrous sword extended from Susanoo's hand.

With a single sweeping strike, Aoba unleashed his Mangekyō signature technique, Parting.

The blade sliced cleanly through the wooden dragon's neck, severing it like cutting through tofu.

As the dust settled, a familiar figure emerged, standing beside Obito, Hashirama Senju.

Aoba raised his hand, signaling the Konoha shinobi to stand down.

Even Kakashi and the Third Hokage were left behind.

Alone, Aoba stepped forward, facing both Obito and Hashirama.

Hashirama had been missing for a long time.

Despite Konoha's best efforts, they had never been able to track him down.

Yet now, at this critical moment, he had suddenly appeared to rescue Obito.

Aoba wasted no time and immediately threw down a heavy accusation.

"Why have you betrayed your village?"

Hashirama sighed. "I'm sorry. But this is something that must be done. I'm striving for a greater goal."

"Oh? Then tell me, what 'greater goal' could possibly justify this? As you can see, I am an exceptional shinobi. Maybe I could even help you."

Hashirama shook his head. "No, Aoba. You can't help me. The one I need… is Obito."

"..."

Aoba was stunned.

Of all the reasons Hashirama could have given, this was the last thing he expected.

He carefully observed Hashirama, looking for any signs of genjutsu or mind control.

But he found nothing.

This aligned with his previous suspicions, that the old man behind everything had very limited direct influence over the shinobi world.

Or perhaps…

That he couldn't directly influence anyone, except for the reincarnations of Asura and Indra.

In that case…

Had Aoba accidentally made things worse by reviving Hashirama himself?

Right now, Aoba had one burning curiosity.

Between Hashirama Senju and Naruto Uzumaki 

Who was the true reincarnation of Asura?

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Currently on Chapter 328 - Ōnoki