Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned in place.
Aomi... or rather Naruto, or maybe the voice of Senju Tobirama in the eyes of Sarutobi Hiruzen...
were like sharp bolts of Lightning Release, shaking the remnants of his rational mind, leaving Sarutobi Hiruzen barely able to think amidst the logical tempest.
What had he heard?
The Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, his old mentor, had not been resting peacefully in the Pure Land after his death, but had transformed into a wandering soul, roaming within Konoha for nearly forty years!
All to prevent a genius beyond control from the Uchiha Clan from causing destruction to Konoha...
It sounded too crazy.
So much so that even Hiruzen from the Otherworld, who considered himself seasoned with many trials and tribulations in his life, theoretically possessing the composure to remain unfazed as "Hokage Rock crumbles before his eyes," learned a truth today—
"Your teacher is still your teacher!"
This maneuver was excessively sinister!
But as Sarutobi Hiruzen calmed down slightly and thought it over carefully, he realized that this was indeed the style he expected of Senju Tobirama in his heart...
How could this teacher, who could delve into space-time with the power of a mere mortal and even control souls, die so simply?
After the First Ninja World War, as he assumed the position of Hokage, in the first few years when feeling immense pressure, Hiruzen often thought—
His teacher might not be dead, he might just be quietly recuperating and watching him manage Konoha...
He would come back!
This thought supported Sarutobi Hiruzen and became one of the motivations for him to grit his teeth and strive to maintain Konoha during his youth.
As time went by, Sarutobi Hiruzen also realized it was a fantasy and a psychological crutch, his teacher was most probably truly dead...
But today.
The memories from his youth when he often pondered by Hokage Rock about when Senju Tobirama would return surged forth like a tide!
Back it came.
His teacher Senju Tobirama had truly returned!
Only, after forty long years.
Forty years turned Sarutobi Hiruzen from a young man with dense hair and a straight posture into an old man with white hair, a hunched back, and a pipe never leaving his hand...
While Senju Tobirama turned into a fair-faced child, merely in his first year at Ninja School...
As if separated by worlds, it was insufficient to describe the absurdly disconnected feeling Sarutobi Hiruzen had.
And at this moment.
Naruto and the Nine-tails had been utterly shocked by Aomi's actions.
Without relying on any external forces like genjutsu, solely through the accumulation of rhetoric and information... Sarutobi Hiruzen was entirely caught in the trap woven by Aomi!
In the eyes of Naruto and the Nine-tails, Aomi's information reserve was on par with theirs...
An immortal beyond the sky like Aomi, how could he possibly be well-informed about the events happening in this little village of Konoha?
Aomi absolutely couldn't be that familiar with Senju Tobirama, the Former Hokage!
His information about Senju Tobirama, like Naruto and the Nine-tails, most likely came only from the "Chronicles of Konoha" and fragments of intelligence Naruto had gathered...
Yet even so.
Aomi seemed as if he had lived with Senju Tobirama for a long time, imitating the demeanor and tone of the Second Hokage to perfection, so much so that even Sarutobi Hiruzen, his closest disciple, couldn't see through the deception and was instantly drawn in...
"Naruto! Mr. Aomi merely called him 'monkey,' and Sarutobi Hiruzen was dumbfounded!" the Nine-tails exhaled a long breath, his fox face full of awe and respect:
"When those Konoha ninjas rushed to act, a mere glance from Mr. Aomi left Sarutobi Hiruzen in a panic... How did he manage that?"
"Relying not on chakra but on snippets of information to probe the weakness in one's heart... If only I had even half... no! A third of Mr. Aomi's skill, those who sealed me as Jinchuriki long ago would've been beguiled into unsealing it themselves!" the Nine-tails remarked with genuine admiration.
Aomi's actions truly bewitched the heart...
In comparison, the Nine-tails could only be said to clumsily interfere with Jinchuriki's thoughts through violent use of Tailed Beast Chakra...
So crude!
"I saw it, big fox!"
Naruto murmured to himself: "Aomi really is omnipotent..."
"I even feel, even without chakra, he is an unparalleled strongman... tell me, how is it we're so lucky to encounter Aomi, such a gentle and dedicated mentor?"
The Nine-tails was suddenly silent.
What Naruto said was what he thought as well...
Being sealed as a Tailed Beast inside a Jinchuriki dark era, Naruto's tragic childhood experiences were barely worth mentioning compared to the luck of meeting Aomi...
"Cherish it, you useless Uzumaki brat..." the Nine-tails said slowly: "Try to learn, maybe we'll have a chance to repay Mr. Aomi!"
Naruto nodded earnestly: "Big fox... you're right..."
And within Aomi's body...
The turmoil within Kaguya's heart was no less than Sarutobi Hiruzen's…
"How can this be? Aomi is a sincere and fervent gentle man… How could he deceive people?"
Kaguya painfully closed her white eyes, recalling when they first met, faced with the eager rush to seize Tailed Beast Chakra from Kaguya, Aomi still gently comforted her, asking if she needed help…