Chapter 134: 130: Restored Space-Time Order & Lost Memories
"Damn it!"
Yamato's face grew solemn as he witnessed his created trees, being severed by large number of shadow blades before reaching Shiraishi.
But a confusing notion gnawed at him. 'Should his strength be this limited? Moreover, why did this enemy seem so young?'
"Captain Yamato!"
"Didn't I tell you to retreat?" Yamato helplessly sighed as he looked at the three subordinates who remained steadfast by his side.
"What the hell is happening? Why is there a fight all of a sudden?" Naruto asked as he looked at Yamato with a blank expression.
"Didn't you hear me call his name just now, Naruto? His name is Chiba Shiraishi."
"Chiba... Shiraishi... um... eh???" Naruto's shock gave way to anger as he locked eyes with Shiraishi.
In return, Shiraishi found himself equally surprised by Naruto's reaction, wondering what kind of expression those shocked eyes held.
Truthfully, Shiraishi was genuinely intrigued by these unknown newcomers, especially since they seemed to have arrived through space-time ninjutsu.
A concept closely related to his experience when he eas unsealing the power of dragon veins.
"Then... this person is Kakashi-sensei..."
The shock on Naruto's face suddenly turned into anger, and he rushed towards Shiraishi without hesitation.
Sakura remained rooted in place, her face a mask of surprise, rendering her speechless. Meanwhile, Sai had a contemplative expression, appearing somewhat bewildered by the unfolding events, especially the involvement of the second-generation White Fang.
Despite his doubts, Sai couldn't reconcile the fact that this youth was that individual in the Land of Demons.
"Wait, Naruto!"
Yamato's anxious cry reached their ears from behind.
Shiraishi couldn't help but wonder about the true nature of Naruto's formidable chakra, which far exceeded his expected capabilities. Could there be a purpose behind this seemingly amateurish fighting stance?
Given the enormous chakra emanating from the opponent, Shiraishi chose to step back, avoiding direct contact with Naruto. Instead, he directed shadow dancer to form a shadow blade aimed at Naruto.
Boom!
An explosion resonated through the area as Naruto narrowly avoided a potentially lethal strike. Shiraishi recognized the substance as black ink, colliding with the Shadow Blade, allowing Naruto to escape grave injury.
Shiraishi also noticed Sai, who was diligently inscribing something on an unfurled scroll with a pen.
"Interesting. You, like me, use Yin Release ninjutsu. Your unique temperamen6, expressions, and gaze shows your affiliation with Danzo as his lackey, don't they? Frankly, I'm growing increasingly curious about your identities." Shiraishi said with a smile.
After thinking for while, he began to suspect that these people were indeed from Konoha, as their authentic gestures and mannerisms seemed hard to fake.
"You bastard, stop pretending and return Kakashi-sensei to us!"
Naruto roared, forming seals with his hands, and a shadow clone identical to the main body appeared next to him.
A chakra ball converged in Naruto's right hand, aiming at Shiraishi's body without mercy.
Yamato sighed, realizing he had no choice but to cooperate with Naruto. He used Woode Release jutsu to cover Naruto's actions from the side.
"Rasengan!"
Boom!
The explosion left a pothole in the road. Shiraishi managed to dodge Rasengan and Wood Release attacks. He summoned a Shadow Blade, aiming to sever Naruto's limbs.
A series of muffled sounds followed as the Shadow Blade successfully severed Naruto's limbs. Soon after, Naruto dissipated into smoke, leaving Shiraishi to snort in contempt.
With eyes growing behind his back, he turned slightly sideways, letting the attack from behind fail, and grabbed Naruto's right hand holding the Rasengan.
"Ahhh!!!"
Naruto's painful face twisted, and sweat continued to flow.
"It's good to use the smoke to go around and attack from behind, but it's useless to me. In this way, get it done first—"
However, Shiraishi was shcoked as he sensed a familiar and terrifying chakra emanating from Naruto's body. Naruto writhed in Shiraishi's grasp, his face contorted in extreme pain. Red chakra feathers enveloped him, accompanied by a visible red chakra tail.
It was the Nine Tails, but wasn't it sealed within Uzumaki Kushina? Shiraishi was left bewildered by this inexplicable revelation.
The collision between the Shadow Blades and Naruto's red chakra tail resulted in a thunderous explosion, propelling Shiraishi out of the chamber.
"Cough! I didn't expect it to be the Nine-Tails. I was so stunned that I didn't realize it... Kid, who are you?" Shiraishi coughed lightly and asked cautiously.
He was struggling with this weird and unreasonable scenario.
Compared to the minor injuries on his body, Shiraishi cared more about the Nine Tails Chakra emerging from Naruto.
Konoha's Nine Tails Jinchuriki should be that woman Uzumaki Kushina, when did she become this blond-haired boy.
There were too many strange things, and Shiraishi's brain was a bit overwhelmed, and he couldn't figure out what was going on now.
Naruto remained silent, releasing the power of the Nine Tails'.
A force stronger than Naruto pushed him back from a long distance.
Mixed with the sonic boom, even Naruto, who had entered the tailed beast mode, showed pain on his face.
On his chest, there was an extra blood hole visible to the naked eye.
Ruri and Ayane appeared beside Shiraishi.
Ayane's fingers were stained with the blood flowing from Naruto's body, and the chakra wrapped around her fingers was evaporated by the tailed beast chakra, causing the blood to directly stain her fingers, which made Ayane frown in dissatisfaction.
"I said your nerves have become much duller, are you at a disadvantage now?" Ruri Chided Shiraishi
"It's okay, this injury is the same as nothing to me."
Shiraishi stood up and answered as if nothing had happened. The injury had recovered by himself under the effect of his own medical ninjutsu.
"So, next..."
Shiraishi re-entered the chamber where the dragon's veins were sealed, and glanced at Naruto and the others.
Ruri and Ayane also followed him in and set their sights on Naruto.
"What's going on here? Why are Konoha ninjas here? Just now this kid used Nine Tails Chakra, right?"
Ruri asked bluntly.
That night, she directly controlled Nine Tails to fight Konoha Ninja. She was extremely sensitive to Nine Tails' power, and it was impossible for her to be wrong.
Shiraishi fell silent, lost in thought.
Dragon veins cause space-time distortion...
Kakashi-senssi...
The second Nine Tails Jinchuriki...
Konoha Ninja...
After the brief contact just now, these key information were linked together. Although he didn't want to believe it, Shiraishi knew that only one guess could explain the current situation.
Outside, the situation had evolved as well. The Konoha ninja Yamato use his Wood Release to subdue Naruto, while Sai continued to draw numerous ink creatures on a scroll before unleashing them as tigers.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
These ink tigers targeted the chamber's ceiling, creating smoke and dust that shrouded the area. When the dust settled, the four Konoha ninja had vanished.
"Aren't you going after them? Those Konoha ninja had suspicious identities" Ayane remarked.
"I have some guesses about where these people are from, but..." Shiraishi's voice trailed off. He approached the device sealing the dragon veins, squatting down to observe it.
"It's possible that they were brought here by some kind of medium, but the dragon vein's power has stabilized." Shiraishi noted.
This indicated that the medium had seemingly vanished. Yet, the Konoha ninja hadn't immediately returned to their original location, suggesting another, unrevealed factor at play.
As footsteps drew nearer, Shiraishi signaled Ruri and Ayane to conceal themselves. The trio promptly vanished from view, leaving behind only the aftermath of the battle.
....
Perched atop a tall, white spire, White Stone surveyed the city below, basking in its night-time glory.
The citizens of Roran filled the streets, celebrating with song and dance as if commemorating a special occasion.
Viewed from this vantage point, the city, encircled by the desert, revealed a unique charm.
"What a peaceful place." Ruri and Ayane observed as they joined Shiraishi, casting their eyes upon the bustling night market scene below.
"It certainly is an unexpected find. However, my priority is investigating the dragon veins and confirming certain matters." Shiraishi explained.
"Then, what's our role in this?" Ruri asked.
"We must keep an eye on those Konoha ninja and prevent them from leaving Roran. This is a crucial period for the Ninja World War, and their interference in the outside world could disrupt the order and potentially lead to a time and space collapse in this world. We should avoid meddling with matters involving time and space." Shiraishi emphasized.
He recognized the gravity of the situation. If the Konoha ninja had indeed traveled from a distant future through time and space, they couldn't be left unattended.
Space-time ninjutsu was the most complex chakra system, fraught with unknown risks and severe consequences for failure.
Therefore, whether it was to preserve the order of the other world or safeguard the stability of their own, restraining these individuals within Roran was a necessary precaution.
....
Dawn approached.
Yamato led Naruto, Sakura, and Sai to seek refuge in a dilapidated structure within Roran. Sakura used medical ninjutsu to treat Naruto's chest wound, then applied medicinal powder and bandaged it.
"Naruto, can't you restrain your impulsive nature?" Sakura asked with a hint of annoyance.
Naruto winced, clutching his wound. "I know, but when I think about Kakashi-sensei..."
Sakura fell silent, the atmosphere growing heavy.
Finally, Sakura raised her head, her gaze directed at Yamato as she questioned, "Captain Yamato, what's going on? How could Chiba Shiraishi be so young?"
She recalled Shiraishi from earlier, a stark contrast to the formidable figure she had remembered. The age difference alone was baffling.
"I have no idea what happened." Yamato admitted, scratching his head in confusion.
"It has all been said. When you use future established preparations to influence this world, the history of this world and the historical knowledge within your mind have already deviated. Stupid."
Shiraishi didn't look at Anrokuzan's lifeless body but instead moved to the dragon vein's seal, thinking for a moment.
"It appears that if I leave this here, individuals from other times and spaces may come here in the future... There's no other choice; I'll guard it as diligently as possible. It should deter visitors from treating this world as a tourist attraction and repeatedly visiting."
With those words, Shiraishi began forming seals, using jutsu to unleash the power of the dragon veins.
The device sealing the eyes opened, and just like the previous day, a torrent of purple chakra surged forth, coalescing into a brilliant pillar of purple aurora.
Standing before the purple beam of light, Shiraishi withdrew a handful of kunai adorned with seals from his pouch. He swiped them through the pillar of purple aurora before returning them to their pouch.
Next, Shiraishi inserted his palm into the purple beam of light, retrieving half of the crystal from within.
This was half of the dragon vein's core.
Shiraishi sensed the abundant rich chakra within the half-core, expressing satisfaction as he carefully stored it away.
Transitioning from one seal to another, he enabled the eye device to reabsorb the excess purple chakra and returned the portion of the dragon vein core, which Shiraishi hadn't taken, for safekeeping.
It wasn't that Shiraishi had no desire for the entire piece; rather, it was because the dragon vein's power was interconnected with all of Roran. Extracting all the dragon vein cores could potentially lead to the catastrophic collapse of Roran.
However, refraining from taking the core left Shiraishi concerned that individuals from different time and space might exploit this world's dragon veins, plunging it into chaos and disrupting its history.
Hence, Shiraishi had to reach a compromise, deciding to take only half. This choice not only preserved the normal functioning of the Kingdom of Roran but also significantly weakened the dragon veins' power. This made it impossible to use the forbidden ability of time and space travel and prevented any further disruptions.
Shiraishi turned to gaze and observed that Anrokuzan, whom he had killed, glowed like particles, slowly dissolving into the air.
"It appears that time and space have finally reverted to their natural order. Thankfully, this person confined their activities in a secluded country like Roran when they entered this time period. The extent of the changes in history is limited..."
If future history were to be disclosed to the outside world, it would easily incite chaos, plunging not just the ninja world but the entire world into chaos. Such an outcome would be far more catastrophic than any previous ninja world war.
If war was an inherent consequence of human history, manipulating established future history to tamper with the past would yield disastrous consequences beyond Shiraishi's imagination.
.....
Within the ruins,
"What's happening?" Naruto and the others stared in astonishment at the white light enveloping them.
"It seems something has concluded over there. The medium responsible for bringing you to this world has been resolved, restoring the order of time and space within you." Ruri explained.
Ruri and Ayane simply observed the unexpected reactions of the four Konoha ninjas without taking any action.
"Really, It always felt like a dream." Yamato admitted, struggling to find words to convey his inner shock.
"Farewell, then."
Given the discordant relationship between the two groups in their respective timelines, Ruri and Ayane bid their farewells and departed.
Yamato and the others watched the two women transform into particle-like lights, gradually vanishing into the air. They silently bade farewell to this peculiar time and space that was never meant to be their own.
Locating Shiraishi took approximately half an hour.
"Have the Konoha ninjas returned?" Shiraishi had taken up residence in a hotel in Roran city as a traveler.
The remnants of the future, left by Anrokuzan, were undergoing processing. Various items from the future era were being placed into the fireplace for destruction.
"They have indeed returned. How is the power of the dragon vein?" Ayane asked, seated on the soft bed, observing the room's layout.
"I took only half." Shiraishi replied.
"Only half?" Ayane inquired.
"It's sufficient. After all, I couldn't take it all. The people of Roran still require half of the dragon veins for their livelihoods. I've taken half, which significantly reduces its power, enough for sustenance but insufficient for time-space manipulation."
Shiraishi briefly explained.
"Very considerate." Ayane noted.
Allowing the dragon veins to maintain full power could potentially lead to future disruptions of time and space, a more dire outcome than the Ninja World War.
"Now, let's address our own matters."
Shiraishi said. He stood up and, after placing items in the fireplace and watching them burn.
"Our matters?"
Ruri and Ayane exchanged suspicious glances.
"Unlike the people of Roran, in their memory, Anrokuzan is a figure from this era, posing no threat to the world's order. However, the three of us are different. Our power to meddle with history far surpasses the confined Roran nation. The memories of Anrokuzan and those Konoha ninjas must be reasonably erased." Shiraishi explained.
Ruri and Ayane's expressions abruptly stiffened.
Seeing their reactions, Shiraishi deduced what the two had done earlier.
"You two... When you watched those Konoha ninjas, did you asked about the future?" he questioned.
"No... we actually just know a little bit." Ruri defended.
"Knowing a little bit is not enough." Shiraishi asserted, noting their solemn expressions.
"That information is valuable... and those Konoha ninjas haven't been erased." Ruri admitted.
"That's in a different time and space, unrelated to our situation. Let those people deal with their predicament. I've taken half of the power of the dragon veins here. Even if the ninjas from that time and space attempt to use the dragon veins for time-space travel and to meddle again, they can only traverse to other times and spaces, preventing their return here." Shiraishi explained.
Ignoring Ayane's pleading gaze, Shiraishi did not hesitate to place his hands on Ruri and Ayane's foreheads, erasing all memories of Anrokuzan and the Konoha ninjas from their minds.
Afterward, he applied the sealing jutsu to himself, deleting that segment of his memory. He retained only the vital memory of secreting sabotaging Minister Anrokuzan's conspiracy, rescuing Roran, and inadvertently securing half of the dragon veins.
In his mind, the information about Anrokuzan hailing from the future and the presence of the Konoha ninjas simply ceased to exist.
Upon regaining consciousness, Shiraishi slowly opened his eyes, sensing an unusual heaviness in his body. His arm, in particular, felt weighed down by something.
As he glanced left and right, his face turned pale in an instant. In the crook of his left arm lay a peacefully sleeping Ruri, and in the crook of his right arm, Ayane was similarly lost in sweet dreams.
Shiraishi couldn't fathom the situation before him. He remembered that the previous night, Roran's Minister Anrokuzan had hatched a nefarious plot to assassinate their queen and seize the power of the dragon veins.
Shiraishi had fought fiercely against Anrokuzan to secure the dragon veins, successfully sabotaging the conspiracy and saving Roran and the Queen of Roran. However, the events that had transpired after that remained shrouded in a confusing fog. Try as he might, he couldn't recall anything further.
Setting aside such thoughts, he knew that this was not the time to dwell on such trivial matters. If Ruri were to wake up and see this scenario, it would surely lead to disaster. Shiraishi needed to find a way to extricate himself from this awkward predicament.
Unfortunately, Ruri clung to his arm so tightly that attempting to withdraw it would undoubtedly awaken her. Thus, he decided to start with Ayane, who seemed to be in a more relaxed state.
Deliberately and gently, Shiraishi began to free his right arm from Ayane's embrace. As he did so, he couldn't help but notice a certain physical reaction that he attributed to the recent intimacy with Ruri during their nights together. It seemed that he was becoming unusually prone to such reactions lately.
Just as he was slowly pulling away from Ayane, she unexpectedly tightened her hold on his arm. Shiraishi's body froze, and the intimate sensation made it impossible for him to proceed. Ayane, however, continued to sleep with a serene expression, seemingly innocent.
In his bewildered state, Shiraishi inadvertently let out a cry, which he immediately regretted. Ayane mumbled in her sleep, responding to his outburst in a most unexpected manner.
"Shiraishi-kun, please don't stop... I can't resist anymore."
Shiraishi's mind raced, imagining the bizarre scenario playing out in Ayane's dream. Did she believe he was forcing her?
"Since this is your wish, Shiraishi-kun, I'll make the necessary preparations. Enjoy it." Ayane murmured, deepening the mystery of her dream.
Shiraishi couldn't fathom what was happening in Ayane's dream, and he found himself entirely lost in the situation. He had no recollection of any such events, and the night following his confrontation with Anrokuzan remained a hazy myster6.
Suddenly, a cold voice cut through the air from behind him.
"What are you doing? Feeling unsatisfied in the morning?"
Shiraishi felt a shiver race down his spine.
"Uh..."
Ayane stirred, releasing Shiraishi's arm. She sat up, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
Observing Shiraishi's confused expression, Ayane couldn't help but frown. "Shiraishi-kun, what's the matter? You look rather strange. Weren't you satisfied last night?"
Shiraishi couldn't believe how casually Ayane brushed aside the apparent intimacy between them. He stammered, trying to make sense of what had occurred.
"No... I mean, last night... What happened?"
He couldn't recall any of it. Shiraishi had clearly confronted Anrokuzan and secured the dragon veins, but everything afterward seemed to have vanished from his memory.
Ayane waved off his concerns with nonchalance. "Oh, that? Don't worry about it. It's not a big deal."
Shiraishi was utterly bewildered. He couldn't comprehend how she could be so nonchalant about it. What had happened during that mysterious, forgotten night?
Ruri, too, roused from her slumber and began to get dressed. She removed her pajamas, revealing her fair, slender legs and her back, concealed by her flowing black hair, as she reached for her black ninja attire. The serene scene of the two women living harmoniously felt like an unimaginable dream to Shiraishi.
But what had occurred in the gap of his memories? Why was he the only one who seemed clueless about reality? It was a perplexing situation that left Shiraishi deeply confused.
Ruri and Ayane headed for the restaurant downstairs. Their previously relaxed atmosphere had vanished entirely, replaced by an icy silence. Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the corridor, signaling a clash between two powerful chakras.
"I knew you'd do this. Next time, could you please give me a heads-up before attempting it?" Ayane sighed, her voice filled with resignation.
"Don't think i will let you go." Ruri retorted coldly.
"Hey, the idea of backing up your memory was my idea."
"Even without you, I have other ways to retain my memory."
"Is that so?"
"Why, do you want to challenge my strength?"
Ruri's gesture of crossing her chest, her proud expression as if she were treating a weak insect.
"I don't want to experience your monstrous power again, but remember that you can't kill me. I can be quite persistent, you know." Ayane replied with a self-assured smile.
"Just a reminder."
Ruri strode ahead, leaving the corridor and heading toward the restaurant.
"What kind of 'reminder' is that? I was the one who made the first move! If anyone should be providing a 'reminder,' it should be me!" Ayane muttered indignantly.
The morning had taken an unexpectedly tense turn, and both women seemed eager to vent their frustrations over breakfast. Shiraishi couldn't help but wonder if the inn's restaurant would bear witness to their showdown.
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