It had been seven years since Hyuga Mirai left the ninja world. Ordinary citizens only thought the principal of the Federal School had resigned and didn't know much about his whereabouts.
Moreover, among the top federal officials, Hyuga Mirai was the most low-key. In the beginning, if not for a shortage of personnel, he wouldn't even have wanted to serve as principal of the Federal School.
During these seven years, the Federation's territory had expanded by about thirty percent, now covering nearly half of the planet's land.
Pakura had already resigned in the second year after Hyuga Mirai left. The first year, she somewhat believed that Hyuga Mirai had just gone traveling elsewhere. But when she still hadn't seen him by the second year, Pakura decisively resigned from the position of Federal Leader.
She had had enough of that position. After serving for so long, the first thought that crossed Pakura's mind every day when she opened her eyes was resigning.
Her successor was Senju Tobirama. Although the name was changed, the federal high-ups were quite clear about the identity of this Second Hokage. The Federation had a subroutine left by 18 to help handle administrative affairs, so the Federal Leader didn't have too many things to do, but for Pakura, every extra day was torture.
"Mom, I'm heading out. I'll take my little sister to school."
Hyuga Mio shouted loudly into the house to Kiyo Hyuga at the front door, then prepared to leave with Senju Yoko and Uzumaki Karin.
Just then, Kiyo Hyuga walked out of the house. Seven years had left no trace on her face; she still looked as young as she did in her early twenties. However, she exuded the invisible majesty of someone who had held a high position for a long time. Coupled with her status as Minister of Education, she could suppress any child at home.
But only Hyuga Mio and Hyuga Yuto were rowdy. Senju Yoko and Uzumaki Karin were very obedient. Uzumaki Karin in particular, like her mother Ayaka Uzumaki, had no strong desires. If not for school being Kiyo Hyuga's mandatory requirement, Karin would have wanted to stay home and play all the time.
"If I receive another complaint from the Security Force, you know the consequences, Mio."
Kiyo Hyuga warned Hyuga Mio. Without Hyuga Mirai, Hyuga Mio's status at home had plummeted. When she made mistakes, no one could save her.
"I know. I'm fourteen already. Stop treating me like a kid."
Kiyo Hyuga crossed her arms and said, "Only kids impersonate the Security Force to enforce the law. If you really want to join the Security Force, then pass the entrance exam properly. No one's going to pull strings for you."
"Hmph, just you wait!"
Unable to win the argument against Kiyo Hyuga, Hyuga Mio could only drag her two younger sisters out of the house. Senju Yoko and Uzumaki Karin didn't dare interrupt the exchange between the two, after all, Aunt Kiyo was rumored to be a strong figure who could easily suppress even their father.
Watching Hyuga Mio leave the house, Kiyo Hyuga turned and went back inside. She had been in the position of Minister of Education for seven years. Even though Kiyo Hyuga had a strong career drive, she still felt tired.
Now she was the only one left at home. Ayaka Uzumaki had left early with Uzumaki Kushina to film. They had suddenly taken an interest in acting and were now famous stars in the ninja world. They were the kind with extremely high status. Even if the movies they made had very low ratings, they would still be aired repeatedly on several TV stations, followed by praise from newspapers.
However, the reviews on the internet were refreshingly honest. For their terrible movies, netizens showed no mercy. The leading troll was Kiyo Hyuga herself, who, after posting a long, critical essay, would affectionately call Kushina and Ayaka to dinner.
"That guy has been gone for seven years. Why isn't he back yet..."
Kiyo Hyuga couldn't help but think of Hyuga Mirai again. She had handed over most of her tasks and didn't know what else to do, so her mind wandered involuntarily.
Boom!
Suddenly, a series of clear thunderclaps sounded from the sky.
It was only morning, yet this noise appeared. Moreover, the entire planet was under satellite surveillance. If thunderclouds were gathering, the subroutine left by 18 should have reported it.
"18, is it going to rain?"
"There is no sign of rain. The sound just now has nothing to do with thunder."
As soon as Kiyo Hyuga heard this, the sky outside suddenly darkened, as if the sun had been blocked out, leaving no light at all.
This wasn't a sight limited to one city; it was the entire planet. All towns in the Federation activated emergency lighting.
Only then did Kiyo Hyuga realize something was wrong. She flew out of the house and into the air.
Her Byakugan was strong, but she couldn't see the entire planet. She could only get information from 18's subroutine. However, a change affecting the whole planet was beyond the monitoring range of 18's subroutine.
Even Sasori, who had been doing experiments on the moon and rarely returned to the ninja world, sensed that something was off.
The next second, everyone's vision blurred, and they suddenly felt as if their environment had changed.
The sky was still pitch black, but they could see many stars in space, which had been impossible before. Even if Kiyo Hyuga didn't often look at the night sky, she knew that starlight forming a Milky Way like this couldn't exist. She had lived for decades and had never seen such a thing.
Kiyo Hyuga murmured to herself, "What is going on?"
Acquaintances like Senju Tobirama, Uzumaki Ayaka, Uchiha Mikoto, Uzumaki Kushina, and Hyuga Neji kept sending her messages asking about this. Because before leaving, Hyuga Mirai had given her control over everything in the ninja world. However, Kiyo Hyuga also didn't know the cause of this incident.
"Kiyo."
Just as she was puzzled, Kiyo Hyuga suddenly heard a familiar voice. As she slowly turned to look, she saw the person she had been longing for day and night.
But she still said in disbelief, "Genjutsu?"
"How could there be a genjutsu that can fool you? Actually, Kurenai's genjutsu could fool you now, Kiyo. You'll need to be careful in the future."
Hyuga Mirai said with a smile, and then Kiyo Hyuga rushed over and hugged him.
After a long time, Kiyo Hyuga finally understood the situation. They were no longer in their original universe. Hyuga Mirai had moved them from the ninja world's universe to another universe with a snap of his fingers.
But the cost had not been small. At least, Kiyo Hyuga was startled when she saw that half of Hyuga Mirai's body was almost burned to a crisp. She had wanted to use medical ninjutsu to treat him but found it ineffective.
"This is the negative effect of overusing cosmic energy. To bring you all here, I just destroyed at least four galaxies that might have given birth to life. The universe's energy has decreased by nearly thirty percent."
Hyuga Mirai couldn't use the Infinity Gauntlet for a while. His snap was much more severe than Thanos's snap that killed half of all life in the universe. It directly connected two universes. Without the traces left by the three outsiders like him, even gathering the entire universe's energy might not have succeeded.
"How are your injuries? How do we treat them?"
Kiyo Hyuga didn't care much about other things, only about Hyuga Mirai's condition.
"I'll recover slowly. Once the God Tree grown with cosmic energy matures, I'll be completely healed. If I don't need the God Tree... it'll take about three years."
Although this injury was severe, it wasn't impossible to heal. If he used Yin-Yang Release to treat it slowly, three years would be enough.
"First, reassure the people in the ninja world. Otherwise, they'll panic."
After looking at the familiar planet, Hyuga Mirai said to Kiyo Hyuga. Suddenly being in a new environment was a big shock for others. Although Hyuga Mirai had used the power of the Infinity Stones to create some protection for the ninja world planet, people like Senju Tobirama still needed to understand the situation.
Kiyo Hyuga nodded and said, "I understand. I'll go talk to them first. As for you..." She glanced again at Hyuga Mirai's arm.
"I'll go get Kurenai and Tsunade. I'll be right back."
After saying that, Hyuga Mirai took the Space Stone in his hand. He couldn't use all six Infinity Stones, but one or two was fine.
The next second, Hyuga Mirai appeared beside Tsunade and Kurenai Yuhi on Earth.
"You used all six Infinity Stones?"
Seeing him, Tsunade, like Kiyo Hyuga, wanted to step forward and treat Hyuga Mirai, but she was also stopped. He himself was the best medical expert and knew his own condition best.
"Come on, let me take you home for a visit."
After speaking, Hyuga Mirai used the power of the Space Stone again. Before coming, he had also taken away the young God Tree seedling that absorbed the Stone's energy. That was Hyuga Mirai's most precious thing on Earth.
For the time being, if he couldn't use the Infinity Stones, he would let the God Tree continue to absorb the most fundamental energy of the universe through them.
If it weren't for his current injuries, he would have definitely captured a few Celestials to plant trees.
The most powerful Celestial in this universe should be Arishem. Hyuga Mirai could sense this Celestial's power. Its birth had sacrificed at least a galaxy's worth of intelligent life.
If he could turn it into nutrients for the God Tree, even if he himself didn't need it, the people around him could use it.
Perhaps sensing the change in cosmic energy, Arishem already knew about the Infinity Stones, but he didn't understand Hyuga Mirai's hostility toward him. After all, the Celestials in this universe were not omnipotent.
Since Celestials could be born by absorbing the energy of intelligent life, Hyuga Mirai could also absorb their life force to become stronger.
After returning, Kiyo Hyuga, together with Senju Tobirama, Orochimaru, Sasori, and dozens of others, held a meeting to inform them of the current situation.
Hearing about this, many found it unbelievable. Moving a planet between two universes.
It sounded utterly preposterous.
Orochimaru was the first to speak: "Is Mirai-kun back? It's only been seven years, but his achievements have far exceeded my imagination." He was still researching the perfect sage, and Mirai-kun had already become a god?
Kiyo Hyuga shook her head and said, "He went to pick up Tsunade and Kurenai. He'll be back soon. He'll probably rest for a while after returning. He seems to have been seriously injured to accomplish this."
"Is that so? Then I must visit Mirai-kun at the federal capital."
Orochimaru couldn't wait to talk with Hyuga Mirai. He even wanted to end the video conference immediately and set off for Hyuga Mirai's home. However, Kiyo Hyuga glared at Orochimaru for this behavior. Now that Mirai had finally returned, their family certainly had a lot to say to each other. If Orochimaru came, it would turn into a research lab.
Senju Tobirama said, "I will also visit him. But the top priority is to arrange things in the ninja world. The Security Force needs to prevent unrest next. The ninja world has been peaceful for too long. This sudden change might bring many hidden dark elements to the surface."
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Sasuke nodded handsomely and said, "I understand, Leader."
Now twenty years old, Uchiha Sasuke was already the Captain-General of the Federal Security Force. Uchiha Tetsuka had stepped down a year ago, giving way to Uchiha Sasuke. This wasn't a family inheritance; no one in the Security Force had performed better than him.
In terms of position, Uzumaki Naruto was far behind Uchiha Sasuke. In peacetime, the Security Force always earned the most merits. When Uzumaki Naruto was still only a deputy of an army corps, Uchiha Sasuke was already a federal high official.
Other matters were also arranged. Fortunately, the ninja world's infrastructure was good. Even if they suddenly entered darkness, there were security light sources. Moreover, the internet was well-developed. If they released news, everyone in the ninja world could know instantly.
Even in remote rural areas, there would be one or two computers specifically for receiving messages.
Senju Tobirama had been focusing on infrastructure since taking office. After being revived, he treated the ninja world as a second spring for his career. He had even asked Hinata to perform Edo Tensei on Uchiha Izuna.
Reviving Uchiha Izuna wasn't meant to humiliate him. Senju Tobirama had genuinely considered bringing him back to life. Initially, when he invented Edo Tensei, his idea was to revive Uchiha Izuna and make Uchiha Madara completely loyal to Konoha.
But unexpectedly, Edo Tensei had taken the wrong path. The revived people became almost puppet-like existences. Eventually, Senju Tobirama resigned himself to using Edo Tensei together with another technique on the battlefield.
The meeting lasted for a while. After Senju Tobirama had arranged everything methodically, he ended the meeting.
After Kiyo Hyuga closed the video chat, she glanced at the time and frowned slightly. It had been a long time. Why hadn't he returned yet?
"Kiyo."
Just as Kiyo Hyuga thought this, a voice called her name from behind.
A smile immediately bloomed on Kiyo Hyuga's face. She turned around and saw only 'Hyuga Mirai'. She complained, "Why so slow? Where are the others?"
There was no one around, so Kiyo Hyuga no longer hid her longing. She walked directly over and hugged 'Hyuga Mirai'.
But as soon as she pressed her cheek against 'Hyuga Mirai's' chest, she felt that it was soft and had a very fragrant, familiar smell.
"Oh my, Kiyo, I didn't expect you to miss me so much. Giving me such a warm hug as soon as we meet, I'm so touched."
Upon hearing this familiar voice, Kiyo Hyuga looked up sharply and saw Kurenai Yuhi's smiling face. Behind her were Tsunade, barely suppressing a laugh, Uzumaki Ayaka, Uzumaki Kushina, and others.
(End of chapter)