That year...
The black haired girl and the white haired woman, their eyes filled with sorrow and reluctance, quietly watched the red haired youth slowly disappear before them...
Then...
The black haired girl turned her head, looked at the people kneeling on one knee around her, her face switching to an icy expression, and gently opened her vermilion lips...
...
"Master was truly a remarkable person." Gamaru sighed, looking at the silent Uzumaki Jun before him, his eyes filled with nostalgia, and said, "On the day you left, Master led the villagers of Lan no Sato to attack the Land of Ancestors, destroyed the Land of Ancestors in one move, and established the Ancient Kingdom of Loulan on the old land of the Land of Ancestors."
"She said the teacher always told her that she would become a queen and would establish the Ancient Kingdom of Loulan, and..."
"Master finally truly realized the words the teacher said back then."
Hearing Gamaru's words, Uzumaki Jun fell silent for a moment, then opened his mouth and said, "She... must have been very tired."
He never expected that the words he casually said back then would ultimately lead to Chimiko's success.
Looking at the aged Gamaru before him...
"Why didn't I finally see Chimiko in the Dragon Vein? I clearly told her..."
To meet again a thousand years later...
Jun wanted to say it, but did not know how to put it into words...
A thousand years is simply too long. Perhaps it was only the blink of an eye for him, but for Chimiko and the others...
It was a thousand years of lonely waiting...
"The future always changes." Gamaru sighed leisurely, with a tone of sadness and helplessness, and said, "But..."
"I have seen you, Teacher, on countless timelines, and among these countless futures..."
"There is only one timeline where you would meet us."
He closed his eyes...
"Drip—!"
A tear fell from the corner of his eye...
"But on this timeline, the future of the Ancient Kingdom of Loulan disappears into history..."
"Master did not want to wake up a thousand years later and see the Lan no Sato you and she built together destroyed, nor did she want to fail to meet you while gathering herbs a thousand years ago, so..."
"She chose to watch quietly over Lan no Sato through the years, only letting go after she grew old."
"She's still a silly girl." Jun said with a tone both helpless and nostalgic, muttering, "Just as silly as when we first met."
To ensure the Ancient Kingdom of Loulan would be destroyed, she chose to depart this life herself...
He took a deep breath and looked at Gamaru...
"Was Kaguya hime also sealed for the sake of history?"
Could it be you were secretly manipulating things behind the scenes again?
"Kaguya hime-sama, well!" Gamaru, because of his advanced age, spoke slowly, "It is true that in order to be able to see you, she personally plucked the Chakra Fruit, and also..."
"Did not tell Hagoromo and Hamura about you, and also placed me by Hagoromo's side..."
Saying this, Gamaru did not continue further...
.
And Uzumaki Jun also understood what Gamaru meant to say.
He sighed helplessly in his heart...
To think they went to such lengths just for my appearance and time travel.
And Hagoromo...
His own child, because of this old toad secretly stirring the pot behind the scenes, ended up betraying his own mother...
What an unfilial son!!
"So, Kaguya allowed herself to be sealed willingly?"
"A thousand years of waiting is too long. Kaguya hime-sama chose to wait for you in slumber." Gamaru nodded, his face full of helplessness, and said, "And I, in order to ensure the future could become what Master and Chimiko saw, have always quietly observed the ninja world..."
"Hagoromo acted just as I expected. For the peace of the ninja world, he established Ninshū based on that Red Book left behind by the Teacher, and finally..."
"It split into the state the ninja world is in now."
.
Hearing Gamaru's words, Uzumaki Jun was stunned.
So the 'If everyone gives a little love' utopian society that Hagoromo established was actually caused by the book he left for Chimiko's enlightenment...
He looked at Gamaru with a face full of black lines, sighed, and said, "How do I break Kaguya hime's seal now?"
If I just smash the moon directly, will Kaguya hime be harmed?
And the Ten-Tails...
Do I really have to follow the process using the Rinnegan?
"I do not know either." Gamaru shook his head and said, "Perhaps it truly requires the method Hagoromo envisioned, or perhaps..."
"There is another way?"
"Is that so?" Uzumaki Jun fell silent for a moment, finally sighed, and said, "If that's the case, I should take my leave. There are still many things waiting for me in the ninja world."
And there are the matters of Chimiko and Kaguya hime...
It seems I need to meet Hagoromo face to face.
Just as Uzumaki Jun turned around...
"Teacher." Gamaru suddenly called out, "And this." He took out a golden cat's eye stone and tossed it to Jun. "Perhaps this can help you."
Then, watching the stunned Jun who was staring blankly at the golden cat's eye stone, his aged, withered lips revealed a faint smile...
"Master also said the candy you gave her was very sweet."
.
"What do you plan to do?" Madara crossed his arms and looked at Hashirama beside him, saying, "Just charge in and wipe out Konoha?"
"No, Madara, you know." Hashirama shook his head and said, "The deceased should not interfere with the world of the living. So, I hope to talk to Saru and the others." He sighed. "They did this to protect Konoha too."
"Hmph!" Upon hearing this, Madara snorted disdainfully and said, "Stubborn fool." He shook his head. "You're still as naive as ever, Hashirama!"
You thought about it all this way, and this is the lousy plan you came up with?
Protecting Konoha means sending your own village's people out one by one to die?
"Have you forgotten the fates of the Uchiha clan, the Senju clan, and the Hatake clan?"
"But you know." Hashirama looked seriously at Madara and said, "If the two of us take action, many people will inevitably die, and also..."
He looked up towards the direction of Konoha...
"If we can persuade Saru to stand down, why must people die?"
.
Uchiha Madara fell silent for a moment, a cold smile appearing on his lips, and said, "I hope it really turns out as you think. Otherwise..."
"I will take action myself!"
Things have already reached this state, and this idiot still thinks he can persuade others with words...
How did I ever acknowledge this fool back then?
He sighed inwardly and touched his chest...
"You are the God of Shinobi, the First Hokage of Konoha. And I am Konoha's nukenin. This task suits me best."
"Madara, you..." Hearing Madara's words, Hashirama was taken aback and said, "I..." He sighed helplessly. "If it really comes to that, let me be the one to take action."
He knew...
If Konoha was truly rotten, Madara would really destroy it.
If that's the case...
He who founded Konoha, should let Konoha perish...
By his own hand.
.
"Why do I feel it's getting colder and colder?" Black Zetsu tightened his body, sneezed, and said, "Is winter coming soon?"
But...
He has been naked for over a thousand years. If he was really afraid of winter, he would have frozen to death long ago. How could he have survived until now, still looking for a chance to save Mother?
"I don't know." White Zetsu also tightened his body, shivered, and said, "I feel a chill too."
And why is this feeling getting stronger and stronger?
It's just like that time back then...
Before White Zetsu could finish his recollection...
"It's already the end of autumn. If you don't wear a few more layers of clothes, of course you'll be cold."
A voice, carrying a mix of helplessness and concern, sounded behind them...
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