Chapter 267: Trivial Matters

Kisame remained silent throughout the journey, but his eyes had already taken in everything, he had seen a completely different Konoha.

This scene should have only existed in his imagined future, a world that could only appear in dreams.

Reality was always cruel, especially for some people. There were things one might spend a lifetime chasing after, only to find that their neighbor had obtained them effortlessly.

Kisame was a traditional ninja, and there was little that could change his beliefs. He was the type who would commit suicide without hesitation if he failed a mission, a perfect enforcer, but also somewhat of an idealist.

But now, this new Konoha had begun to shake his resolve.

This wavering was subtle, so subtle that even he might not have noticed it. That was until Aoba took him to meet some unexpected people.

Mei Terumi was Kisame's junior. When he defected from the village, she had only just begun to make a name for herself.

However, the two still knew each other. Kisame had always cared about the future of the village and paid attention to talented ninjas.

And it wasn't just Mei. To his surprise, Kisame found a large number of familiar faces in Konoha, ninjas he had once taken note of for their strength or potential.

The only question was, why were they in Konoha? Kisame's first thought was that they had all defected.

It wasn't impossible. He knew how much damage the Blood Mist policy had done to the skilled ninjas of Kirigakure. Many of these people were bloodline limit users, likely the persecuted ones. Defection was entirely plausible.

Since he himself was a defector, Kisame had no right to judge them.

Terumi Mei was also startled when she saw Hoshigaki Kisame. Of course, she recognized this renowned top-tier warrior of Kirigakure, after all, he had once been a contender for the position of Mizukage.

According to her intelligence, Kisame should still be with the Akatsuki. However, since the Akatsuki had been nearly wiped out, it made sense that he had ended up in Konoha.

After all, from what she had observed, Aoba Kamikawa liked to collect talented individuals, and Kisame was undoubtedly a top-tier talent.

"I know you both have a lot to talk about. So, I'll leave the rest of the time to you. Mei, explain everything to Kisame properly," Aoba said.

Handing Kisame over to Mei, Aoba left. After all, with Tsunade deeply immersed in developing new jutsu, most of Konoha's administrative work had fallen on his shoulders.

The most crucial thing was that no one seemed to find this arrangement unusual.

Aoba wasn't particularly interested in wielding power. In a world where extraordinary abilities existed, where superhuman beings capable of destroying entire landscapes roamed, political power felt meaningless.

Right now, traditional training methods had little effect on him. He needed time to gradually integrate the power of the Tailed Beasts and the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Fortunately, the fusion of his Eternal Mangekyō was progressing well. At this rate, once he fully absorbed the chakra of Matatabi, it would take less than a month to complete the fusion.

By then, he would have access to two new Kotoamatsukami.

No matter how strong his sensory abilities were, they could never compare to having actual eyes. Once the process was complete, his combat strength would return to its peak.

Next time he encountered Obito, he would be sure to give him a "surprise."

Recruiting Hiruko had gone smoothly, predictably so. That guy had no principles to speak of.

Aoba promised to fund his research, and since Hiruko had little room for negotiation, he agreed without hesitation and immediately joined the research institute.

Aoba even provided him with an independent laboratory.

Lastly, there was Sasori. Not long ago, Aoba had suggested to Tobirama that they cultivate a new body for Sasori. Tobirama worked quickly.

With the assistance of White Zetsu's cells, a new body was soon developed, and Sasori's remaining flesh core was forcibly transplanted into it.

When Sasori regained consciousness, he was already in a completely new human body. Furious, he immediately lashed out, seemingly intent on perishing together with his enemies.

But Tobirama subdued him with a single move.

With a single Edo Tensei, he summoned Sasori's parents, leaving him frozen in place.

Many people in the ninja world suffered from psychological issues. The main reason was the constant state of war and the severe loss of life among ninjas.

To ensure the continuation of their villages, marriage and childbearing were pushed to earlier and earlier ages. Many were sent to the battlefield as early as seven or eight years old, and by fifteen or sixteen, they already had children of their own.

Other than killing techniques, they knew little else. Raising a child required great effort and skill, something few possessed.

As a result, a vast number of ninja offspring in the shinobi world grew up with extreme and eccentric personalities.

Sasori lost his parents to the White Fang when he was young. With constant war and chaos, no one had the time to care for an orphan, there were simply too many like him.

Left with nothing, Sasori grew up surrounded by puppets, which laid the groundwork for his later personality distortions.

Puppets were inherently deceptive, especially to a child. The more lifelike they were, the more dangerous they became. To a young Sasori, the more realistic the puppet, the more he believed it was truly alive.

At first, he genuinely believed that. He turned his parents into puppets so that they would always be with him, alive in a sense.

To maintain this illusion of companionship, he wished for himself to exist forever as well.

Such complex and twisted thoughts ultimately shaped the Sasori of the future.

He was not devoid of emotions, his emotions were simply extreme and distorted. With nowhere to direct them, he became the puppet master he was known as.

Tobirama, an expert in understanding human nature, struck at the very core of Sasori's heart, forcing him to confront the emotions buried deep within.

Seeing that Tobirama had settled the matter single-handedly, Aoba was happy to let him handle it and left for the training grounds to check on his new disciples.

He had quite a few students now. Sakura, as his senior disciple, was already capable of handling things independently and was in charge of the Chakra Cloak project.

Team 7 had three members, with Sasuke being the second disciple. He had inherited Aoba's signature Lightning Release, making him a true successor.

Karin was more like a half-daughter to Aoba rather than a full-fledged disciple.

Naruto was a special case. Aoba's system wasn't very suitable for him, so what Naruto learned from him was mostly combat experience.

After Minato was revived, Naruto's training naturally became his responsibility. Aoba had no intention of interfering further.

Then there were his newly accepted disciples, Neji and Hinata. Both were exceptionally talented and crucial to Aoba's future plans, so he was particularly invested in them.

Both children trained with dedication and perseverance. Even though Aoba had yet to teach them any substantial jutsu or secret techniques, they could still feel themselves growing stronger.

While guiding his disciples, Aoba hadn't forgotten about his research on the Byakugan.

Despite conducting a series of tests on the Byakugan before, the progress had stalled.

His research on Byakugan fusion and ocular power analysis had reached a bottleneck.

For now, Aoba decided to pause the experiments, take a break, and reorganize his thoughts. After some rest, he came up with a few new ideas.

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Currently on Chapter 317 - The Shinigami's Transformation