Naruto looked somewhat helplessly at his tearful daughter, all the logical arguments he had prepared stuck in his throat.
No amount of reasoning could serve as an excuse to persuade a daughter to watch her father embark on a dangerous journey alone.
"Sasuke, please."
Naruto turned his gaze to Sasuke, speaking with some resignation.
Sasuke and Jiraiya, understanding his meaning, both subtly changed their expressions.
"Naruto, you..." Jiraiya began, but Sasuke acted faster than his words.
In the next instant, the Sharingan activated, and Kousei instantly fell unconscious.
"Don't worry, she'll wake up after a while," Sasuke said coolly, then walked to Naruto's side. Naruto showed no intention of sending him away.
Because Naruto understood.
Sasuke was different from the others.
He had already resolved to kill his enemy, even at the cost of his life. Like Naruto, he had left Konoha Village because he had something he absolutely had to do.
Speaking of a point of no return, Sasuke might have already stepped onto it long ago.
"Jiraiya-sensei, after we leave, please escort the Roran Princess back."
"If I don't return, Kousei will need you to look after her."
Uncertain if he could return, Naruto only planned to take Sasuke, who had no attachments-
"Naruto-san, please don't forget about me."
Karin lightly leaped out from the crowd, landing beside Naruto.
"Other than you... there's no one else in this world for me to worry about," She said, her words tinged with sadness, but a natural smile on her face.
When it came to determination, she wouldn't lose to anyone.
Sensing the emotions in Karin's heart, Naruto pressed his lips together but ultimately didn't refuse.
"Then, that's settled."
The Avenger Team... disbanded!
…
The Ryumyaku didn't take long to reopen.
Once the Princess had recovered enough to move freely, it was time to part.
Just as Naruto said, after entering the Ryumyaku, whether they could return was up to fate.
Therefore, even B, who already considered Naruto a friend, and the other Jinchuriki with their own bonds, accepted the proposal to disband.
Everyone had their own ties. Perhaps if Naruto had asked them to go together to save the world, they wouldn't have refused.
But if he had done that, he wouldn't be the Naruto they knew.
"Naruto, won't you reconsider?" Jiraiya tried one last time, or at least wanted to go along himself.
"Jiraiya-sensei, the follow-up matters here still need your handling. I wouldn't trust anyone else."
Hearing Naruto's words, Jiraiya couldn't control the pained expression on his face.
Decades ago, he watched his comrades die, over a decade ago, his student died. Did he now have to watch his student's son go to his death as well?
He found it very hard to convince himself.
Seeing Jiraiya's expression, Naruto didn't say much, just gently patted his arm.
Then, he turned his gaze to the Roran Princess, who could now stand again.
"Then, I'll trouble you."
During the brief exchange, the Princess had roughly understood that because she opened the Ryumyaku, two individuals intent on destroying the world had traveled through time.
Although it wasn't her intention, a heavy sense of responsibility weighed on her, making it hard to breathe.
Fortunately, Naruto was giving her a chance to make amends.
The young Princess knelt before the eye-shaped stone carving, placing her hands on it.
"I must remind you one last time, I've never heard of the Ryumyaku having the power to travel through time. Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Don't worry, a relatively reliable guy told me about it."
As he spoke, Naruto gently rubbed his palm with his finger.
Sasuke and Karin had now positioned themselves beside Naruto, while the other members of the Tailed Beast Team stood at a distance, paying their respects and avoiding being caught in the Ryumyaku's activation.
"...Alright."
As the young Princess nodded and closed her eyes, a tremor accompanied by surging energy rose from underground.
The next moment, the surrounding ground suddenly sank, leaving only the area around the eye-shaped carving stable enough to stand on.
Pale purple Chakra, released as the Princess performed the ritual to open the Ryumyaku, quickly transformed into a torrent shooting skyward. Its terrifying force even surpassed that of a Tailed Beast's Chakra.
"Ready?"
"Yeah!"
"Mm."
The three exchanged glances, then simultaneously stepped into the energy torrent, their figures quickly disappearing.
"They're really... gone..." B murmured not far away.
But the next instant, cries from Haku and Zabuza rang out.
"Kousei!"
The little girl had opened her eyes the moment Naruto disappeared, showing no signs of having been unconscious.
It seemed Sasuke's work was too rough, as despite saying she'd be out for a while, the little girl woke up precisely at this critical moment.
Of course, this was also because Sasuke had severely underestimated Kousei's mental fortitude.
As the descendant of two Conqueror's Haki Users, even without training, Kousei's innate spiritual power was incredibly strong.
The little girl acted decisively, vanishing from her spot and 'flying' towards where Naruto had disappeared.
Her speed was such that even Zabuza and Haku couldn't react in time.
Meanwhile, the energy torrent was gradually weakening.
Just as the Roran Princess had said, she could only open the Ryumyaku briefly.
Kousei's figure reached the purple energy torrent, on the verge of rushing into it.
At that moment, a white-haired figure also rushed from the platform.
It was Jiraiya.
He tried to pull Kousei back, but he was a step too late, forced to watch as Kousei's body began to blur.
If he couldn't stop her, he could at least follow and protect the little girl.
So he stopped resisting his momentum and flew in after her.
Against Naruto's instructions, the old man and the little girl both entered the Ryumyaku.
Just after Jiraiya's figure disappeared, the young Princess could no longer hold on. The energy quickly dissipated and retracted into the ground, the eye-shaped stone carving slowly closing its eyelid, and the Ryumyaku returned to calm.
…
On the other side, Naruto felt as if his consciousness was being kneaded like dough by a giant hand, stretched infinitely.
The intense dizziness reminded him of his first time boarding the Oro Jackson.
Back then, it was his first time at sea, and he was vomiting constantly from seasickness, making Roger and the others laugh hysterically.
Luckily, Shanks was a good guy and took care of him along with Buggy.
'Speaking of which... I hadn't seen that kid Buggy in a long time. I wonder if he had found that so-called treasure.'
Perhaps due to the Space-Time travel, Naruto's thoughts uncontrollably scattered, and the experiences of the past few decades chaotically resurfaced in his mind.
He didn't know how much time had passed before he felt a sudden emptiness and landed on the ground.
Naruto lay there for a full five minutes before he could gather his scattered thoughts.
He wondered if everyone experienced this when going through something like this...
Rubbing his head, Naruto stood up and looked around at the completely transformed underground space.
He didn't realize that his strong perception was actually a disadvantage in this case.
Anyone else would have mostly 'slept' through the journey.
"Huh?"
Naruto's eyes swept around but didn't see the other two who had come with him.
Even after releasing his Observation Haki, he still couldn't find those familiar presences.
Instead, he detected many unfamiliar ones.
It was the Kingdom of Roran, not yet destroyed by war.
But as Naruto's Observation Haki reached further out, his expression grew increasingly strange.
'Did I... arrive too early?'