"He's learning very quickly. Orochimaru is walking him through those earlier research materials."
Tobirama tapped a few keys on the computer. Next to him, a coffin-like device thunked open, revealing a White Zetsu sealed by Fuinjutsu inside.
The prototype for this device came from the old setup of the Akatsuki base used for storing corpses for Pain to use. Later, Tobirama and Orochimaru felt it was pretty handy, so they manually "refined" it into a tool for storing White Zetsu.
On a side note, Obito had manufactured tens of thousands of White Zetsu underground—no one knew for what. But he got caught off-guard when Hashirama and Madara teamed up and took him out. Then, once "First" Madara summoned the Gedo Statue, they followed that lead and captured all the White Zetsu.
After analyzing them, Tobirama and Orochimaru decided White Zetsu would replace "Mr. D" as their favorite test subject—after all, the sheer numbers made them an ideal resource.
Especially once "First" Madara confirmed he could go on using the Gedo Statue to cultivate White Zetsu with Tailed Beast chakra, they basically threw caution to the wind.
Even "First" Hashirama—who generally frowned upon using original Edo Tensei—had no objections to using White Zetsu for Edo Tensei material.
Because presumably, White Zetsu felt no pain.
(Probably.)
Link had no idea whether White Zetsu felt anything. Anyway, so long as they were useful…
"No telling if the Gedo Statue got destroyed," Tobirama lamented. "Tomorrow we'll have Madara swing by and try summoning it again."
He paused, then asked,
"Word is both you and my brother dreamed about the Sage of Six Paths?"
"Yup." Link helped haul out a White Zetsu—well, his shadow clones did the heavy lifting—and offhandedly said, "But that old Sage was stingy. He gave Hashirama a power-up, but I got zilch."
Tobirama slapped a sealed sample of Obito's flesh onto a scroll, preparing an Edo Tensei array.
"They say that legendary Yin-Yang power from the Sage is immense, and my brother really did get something major out of it. I wonder what it might've been like if you had gotten it."
Their idle chit-chat ended there, for Tobirama called "First" Hashirama via the Net. A short wait later, Hashirama arrived, and Tobirama activated Edo Tensei.
A newly formed, mindless White Zetsu body crumbled into dust, taking on the shape of Uchiha Obito.
"Crack!" Wood-Style bonds clamped down, pinning the Edo Tensei body. Obito—sporting a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan—didn't resist. Of course, he couldn't muster the chakra for Kamui anyway, not under that "Yang-power enhanced" Wood-Style.
"You sure are being cautious," he said calmly. "So, what do you want?"
A hush fell over the lab.
Between what they knew from "First" Hashirama's account and from Madara's own words—plus all the atrocities Obito had committed—one thing was clear: Obito was the purest of pure Uchiha.
Right now, though, wasn't he way too mellow?
"Umm…" Hashirama scratched his head. "Thing is, we're facing a monstrous threat bent on wiping out the world—so we might need your strength."
"I see." Obito tried to nod, but his head was locked by Wood-Style. He remained relaxed:
"All right. I recall that little brat Link can summon the dead to fight for him, yeah? Just bring me along."
In the past, he'd gone all-out but couldn't defeat the combo of Hashirama and Madara. Even sacrificing his Kamui eye didn't let him survive; he died, illusions shattered, and ended up seeing Rin.
In short, he was hammered by reality courtesy of Hashirama and Madara. Death with no Rinnegan aftermath—and a single hug from Rin in the afterlife—had settled him.
But as for whether he'd truly moved on…
Tobirama stared silently into Obito's eyes as Wood-Style pinned him to the floor. After a while, he wordlessly undid Edo Tensei. The body broke apart. Then Tobirama said,
"Sure enough, he hasn't let go."
Without going through Naruto's "Talk no Justus" therapy, or seeing for himself how the Eye of the Moon Plan was a sham, Obito obviously hadn't changed.
"I see…" Hashirama looked rather disappointed. After hearing about the Fourth War's outcome for Obito from the future Naruto–Sasuke, he'd been hoping they could become allies. Everyone was working for peace, right?
"Brother, don't be naive." Tobirama's blunt words shatter that illusion. "He's committed countless crimes. The only reason we'd bring him back out is to let him atone. No way we'd let him be resurrected for real."
Originally, Tobirama never intended to let a monster like the man behind the Nine-Tails rampage live again. No chance.
Hashirama froze, a flicker of tension in his expression. "Then that Madara—?"
He realized that Tobirama's stance toward Obito might reflect on the two Madaras.
One of them had caused enough tragedies to fill a book, and the other directly ended up destroying an entire world. Unforgivable in either case.
Tobirama was silent.
He never hid anything from his brother.
"I get it." Hashirama sighed. Indeed, hatred could not simply be cut off, not even by rebirth. This was all because of the looming threat of Kaguya. Madara could guess it, too.
"We're right back to how it was when the village was first founded."
He said nothing more or tried to defend Madara. Just quietly walked off.
(Yes, you can forgive a perpetrator as a victim, but not everyone has the right to do that.)
(We absolutely can't let 'Madara' roam free again...)
Tobirama watched his brother leave, thinking: When the village was built, we let Madara go, and it ended in a sudden attack.
One had to remain on high alert with any Uchiha, especially Madara with so much "previous history."
He gave his head a shake, discarding such trivial musings. They hadn't even defeated Kaguya yet—no point worrying about postwar matters.
"About that new jutsu I developed for you—have you studied it?" Tobirama asked.
Link had been quietly spectating. Put on the spot, he answered, "I failed."
Tobirama had named them "Resurrection of the Dead" (basically controlling a corpse with chakra threads), "Creation of All Things" (some basic trick with the Transformation Jutsu), and "Space-Time Leap" (pumping chakra at his feet to jump farther—just a glorified hop). They sounded impressive, but…
"Failed" didn't mean Link couldn't cast them—he could, but they came out too normal. It was like his ninjutsu-warping ability no longer worked. Yet ironically, just a few days ago, his practice with "Wind Blade" had succeeded, letting him produce a half-transparent blade that moved freely.
"Figures." Tobirama wasn't surprised—rather, he nodded thoughtfully, "Remember your usual Body Flicker? Condensing chakra in your feet to burst with speed?"
Sure, that was basically a standard ninjutsu, the Instantaneous Body Flicker.
"But your ninjutsu is different. Clearly, your mental energy, or say, your subconscious, is judging ninjutsu."
He tapped his temple.
"If you aren't aware you're learning new ninjutsu…
"If you wholeheartedly believe it isn't brand-new but rather a 'shortcut'… then—"
"So," Link interjected, realizing the issue. "The key is faith."
~~~
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