Not long ago.
When Carl saw Tsunade's request in the chat group, he accepted the mission without hesitation.
He nodded. "Initiate teleportation."
A mysterious force enveloped his entire body. The world before his eyes blurred like an ink painting washed by rain.
Then came a system prompt.
The next moment, Carl found himself inside a traditional wooden house.
The style was unmistakably Japanese, its architecture, tatami flooring, and shoji panels instantly revealed its cultural origin.
Not far from him stood a striking figure, slim waist, curvaceous figure, sharp features, golden-blonde hair tied into a high ponytail.
This was Tsunade, Princess of the Senju Clan.
Naturally, she noticed the sudden arrival of the dark-haired stranger. He was tall, handsome, and emanated an aura of mystery.
Still, Tsunade was a seasoned shinobi. She immediately adopted a guarded stance.
"Who are you?" she asked cautiously.
Orochimaru and Jiraiya, who were in the room, also tensed up. For someone to appear so close without them noticing, such negligence was unthinkable for ninja of their caliber.
If he were an enemy, they would already be dead.
The two of them silently shifted into battle stances.
Carl glanced at them, unfazed. Then he turned back to Tsunade.
"From the chat group. Codename: God Among Men."
"You're the one?" Tsunade relaxed noticeably.
In that instant, everything clicked.
The man before her, the casually dressed, confident, otherworldly stranger, was the very one who offered to help in the chat group.
He was real. The members of the chat group could actually travel across dimensions.
Tsunade's heart surged with excitement. Still… Could he really bring Nawaki back to life?
Trying to suppress her doubts, she bowed her head slightly in thanks. "I'm Tsunade. Thank you for coming."
Carl nodded. "No need to thank me. I'm Carl."
"Hey!" A loud shout interrupted them.
"You bastard! Who the hell are you?! Why are you in our village?!"
Jiraiya stood glaring at Carl, visibly irritated.
His feelings for Tsunade were hardly a secret. Now, a mysterious man had appeared out of nowhere, and he seemed close to her.
Naturally, Jiraiya didn't take it well.
And more importantly, the man had entered their village completely undetected.
Before Tsunade could explain, Jiraiya's figure blurred into motion, only to be launched backwards in an instant, crashing through the wooden wall.
"Jiraiya!"
Orochimaru rushed to the broken wall, only to find Jiraiya had vanished beyond the horizon.
Every building in his line of sight had been punched through. Shocked, Orochimaru's body trembled.
Jiraiya had been one-shotted.
Such power. Such speed.
If this man wanted him dead… Orochimaru knew he wouldn't stand a chance.
"Relax. He won't die. I held back," Carl said calmly.
He turned to Tsunade. "Your mission is to resurrect your brother, right?"
Tsunade cast one final glance in the direction Jiraiya flew before nodding. "Yes."
She decided to trust Carl's words.
As much as she worried for Jiraiya, nothing was more important right now than bringing Nawaki back.
"Do you need anything prepared? Offerings? Talismans? I can get them for you."
"Talismans? Offerings?"
Carl raised a brow at her.
Did she think he was performing a ritual?
"I don't need any of that. Just give me a moment."
With that, Carl clenched his fists and soared upward.
A sonic boom rang out around him. Thankfully, his bio-field protected his clothing, or he might've ended up flying in the nude.
Having inherited the Silver Superman template, Carl's speed could easily exceed the speed of light.
He could traverse time, reverse causality, bend the timeline to his will.
That was exactly why he dared take on this mission.
The world around him blurred and streaked past at an impossible speed.
Eventually, the direction of the sun reversed, it began to sink in the east.
Carl knew he had succeeded in piercing through time.
He didn't know the exact time Nawaki died, so as he flew across the sky, his super sight and super hearing scanned the Earth in search.
Finally, he saw a boy with short, light brown hair.
Nawaki.
Nearby stood Orochimaru, watching Nawaki run ahead of his fellow shinobi with a proud expression.
Carl's enhanced vision immediately spotted the deadly trap of explosive tags lying in Nawaki's path.
"This is it."
Without hesitation, he intercepted Nawaki mid-run, pulling him up into the air.
Before Nawaki could react, his instincts kicked in. He reached for a kunai and slashed at Carl.
Carl simply flicked his wrist and sent Nawaki flying into Orochimaru's arms.
"You… Who are you?"
Orochimaru caught the boy and stared warily at the floating figure in the sky.
This man was too fast. He hadn't even seen him move.
Was he from Amegakure?
If so, then everyone here was doomed.
Thinking quickly, Orochimaru shoved Nawaki behind him and dashed toward Carl.
"Nawaki, go get backup!"
At the very least, he had to keep the boy alive.
"Tch."
Carl watched with mild amusement.
This version of Orochimaru… wasn't quite like the one he remembered.
Still, it didn't matter. If someone attacked him, he wouldn't just stand there and take it.
He dodged Orochimaru's strike and delivered a swift kick to his chest, sending him crashing into the ground like a cannonball.
Carl floated above the crater, calmly saying, "Don't panic. Tsunade asked me to save her brother."
"There was a trap ahead."
Without another word, Carl vanished.
He wasn't here to make friends. He came to do what he promised.
With his super vision, he quickly located the Tsunade of this time.
She was tending to a wounded shinobi.
Carl hovered nearby and glanced at her.
"I've saved your brother. My task is done."
Of course, this younger Tsunade didn't recognize him or know about the chat group mission.
It was just like that director's cut of Justice League, when the Flash broke through time and changed the apocalyptic future of Earth.
But once that timeline changed, no one remembered it happened.
No one knew Flash had saved the world, only he did.
Carl now stood in that same silence.