"Naruto: My Ninja Skills"Chapter 200: To You, Thousands of Years in the Future
"The old man's time is almost up—it'll be within the next few days..."
"There's nothing too sad about it, right? The old clan leader has lived for so many years—shinobi who can achieve such longevity are rare."
"You can't say that. Under natural conditions, our clan members tend to live relatively long lives, but cases like the old clan leader surviving so many wars at such an advanced age are extremely rare."
After concluding their secret discussion in the hidden chamber and learning the clan's deepest secrets, Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Ruri walked through Konoha's nighttime streets.
After revealing the final secret, the old clan leader Uzumaki Ashina seemed to have exhausted all his strength and had already fallen into unconsciousness... or rather, he had reached his final moments.
"It all feels somewhat unreal. Even if that prophecy stone tablet truly dates back to ancient times, is the old clan leader's interpretation of those words really correct?"
Uzumaki Ruri felt as though she had experienced a dream floating on reality's surface, uncertain whether to believe its contents. Her words were less a question directed at Uzumaki Mito than at herself.
Uzumaki Mito shook her head and said: "Besides the abstract text on the stone tablet, there must be accompanying oral traditions passed down through generations. Only by cross-referencing both can one obtain accurate information... Surely some ancestor had a sudden inspiration and encoded that clear information into cryptic language."
She made a reasonable speculation, though not entirely accurate... It wasn't some ancestor's sudden inspiration, but the original troublemaker's whim from the very beginning.
"That's true. A thousand, even several thousand years is such an immense span of time. For this information to reach us without distortion is almost miraculous... I've even heard that during a certain period, the clan conducted a pure-blood movement, expelling those unfortunate clan members who displayed other characteristics."
Uzumaki Ruri marveled at time's power. Throughout their long history, the Uzumaki Clan had weathered many storms. Such ancient shinobi clans inevitably display stubborn, unreasonable, even cruel aspects during certain periods.
"Mm, probably some ancestor carried the bloodline of other shinobi clans. Given the conservative atmosphere of that time, the clan would certainly view it as contamination. To ensure bloodline purity, those clan members would inevitably face exile."
"Artificial selection? Only the most obvious traits would be purged, right? Rather unlucky—like a witch hunt."
"Forget it. That was so many years ago; discussing it further serves no purpose."
"I have another question. If our bloodline truly traces back to that lord... he possessed numerous Kekkei Genkai—why weren't those traits passed down?"
"The Sage's Body is already extraordinary enough—what more do you need? Or perhaps the ancestor evolved from Kekkei Genkai to Kekkei Tōta?"
"Possible. After all, Kekkei Tōta lacks hereditary properties."
The so-called "ancestor," when he traveled back in time, still possessed two Kekkei Genkai. Later, his Wood Release was overwritten by the more fundamental "God Tree-Man" characteristics, while his Ice Release evolved into the Kekkei Tōta Crystal Release.
Uzumaki Ruri pondered, ultimately having to admire the old clan leader Uzumaki Ashina's wisdom. He had deciphered that prophecy long ago yet managed to remain composed... Was he perhaps worried that losing composure would eliminate the Uzumaki Clan's chance to emerge?
"For a certain period, the old clan leader only allowed red-haired clan members to interact with that lord. He must have understood everything by then... After Konoha's establishment, nothing could remain secret. We're all clan members—what difference is there between red and black hair?"
"Who knows? They say two ancestors truly unified our Uzumaki Clan into a cohesive group—perhaps those two brothers had some distinction?"
"Could someone's bloodline be impure? Not truly from the Uzumaki source?"
In an instant, Uzumaki Ruri conjured up a three-hundred-episode family drama in her mind. But you know what—her thought process was actually heading in the right direction, even if not quite so melodramatic.
"Stop talking nonsense. At your age, you should be more settled."
Uzumaki Mito rebuked Uzumaki Ruri, but judging by this timeline, Uzumaki Mito herself belonged to that category of impure-blooded Uzumaki... because pure Uzumaki were actually pure Yūshin, and by process of elimination, Uzumaki Mito was not Yūshin.
After all, whether Yūshin existed in the world or not, there would always be Uzumaki Mito. This indicated that Uzumaki Mito's bloodline could only be traced back to the "Ōtsutsuki tag-along."
"Fine, fine, let's skip this topic... What's certain is that almost all clan members can sense a kinship from that lord's chakra that originates from the depths of their bloodline. This makes it impossible not to believe the old clan leader's story."
Uzumaki Ruri could have probed a few steps further to discover the truth, but she chose to stop there.
That so-called kinship—whether it originated from chakra, bloodline, White Zetsu, or the God Tree—was no longer clear. One could only explain it as fate's mysterious workings.
"For now, we can still treat all this as a story, but after conducting the summoning ritual... everything will be decided."
Compared to Uzumaki Ruri, Uzumaki Mito remained calmer. Now wasn't the time to get excited—wait a few more days, and everything would be settled.
"What about that lord?"
"He's still in the village, but seems to have plans for traveling abroad. Since the village's situation has stabilized, he's long had thoughts of resting."
"So at least the timing aspect matches?"
"...Yes."
"Then let's prepare early."
"Mm. Starting tomorrow, I'll collect the clan members' blood."
Summoning the ancestor required a summoning technique, which needed blood. But whose blood was closer to the ancestor's? Whose could better guarantee the summoning's success rate?
This was difficult to judge, considering so many years had passed.
So Uzumaki Mito decided to collect all the clan members' blood and mix it together... Even if everyone's bloodline was diluted, combining them should achieve high concentration.
Over the following days, Uzumaki Mito began quietly collecting clan members' blood. Meanwhile, the young version of Yūshin was preparing to leave Konoha, unaware that he had already fallen under the Uzumaki Clan's strict surveillance.
The Uzumaki Clan possessed exceptional sensory abilities across the board. Once they began working, it was virtually impossible to guard against them.
However, to avoid causing chaos, most Uzumaki Clan shinobi didn't know the truth—they merely followed orders... Only the old clan leader, Mito, and Ruri knew everything.
Considering the old clan leader was beyond recovery, in reality only Mito and Ruri grasped the complete picture.
Shortly after young Yūshin left Konoha—possibly while he was drinking and celebrating with the Land of Fire's daimyo Shimizu Kiyosuke, with the daimyo enthusiastically promoting his young daughter—the old Uzumaki clan leader Ashina passed away silently... In the end, he didn't live to witness that historic day.
The Uzumaki Clan held a grand funeral for this leader who had guided them out of wartime chaos, but no one knew that the new clan leader Uzumaki Mito, who presided over the funeral, wasn't thinking about the ceremony at all.
Several more days passed.
Bingwei (32), Wei (6), Nian (20)
In a secret underground space somewhere in Konoha, within the dark and spacious environment, only two breathing people remained, making everything seem particularly eerie.
Even more terrifying was the faint scent of blood lingering in the air.
Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Ruri used their clan members' blood as paint to draw a massive summoning technique array.
"Mito, shouldn't we have conducted the summoning earlier? If we had done it a few days sooner, perhaps the old clan leader could have witnessed the thousand-year prophecy's fulfillment."
After completing the technique array, Uzumaki Ruri wiped the sweat from her forehead and spoke thus... At this moment, she was actually somewhat nervous, and when people get nervous, they like to make conversation.
"The old clan leader has been unconscious since that day—what more could he know? Moreover, since it's a thousand-year prophecy, we'd better follow the prophecy exactly. Conducting the summoning one day before the appointed date is the most rigorous approach—otherwise, what if some variable occurs?"
"That's true. But Mito... right now, do you hope the summoning succeeds or fails?"
"Me? I can't say. According to the prophecy, tomorrow the Shinobi World will face a disaster, and we're summoning our ancestor precisely to resolve this disaster, so... I really can't say."
"That's like saying nothing... The technique array is complete—what are we waiting for? Form the seals and summon."
"Alright."
Uzumaki Mito attempted to form the seals, then...
No reaction whatsoever.
"Hm? Ruri, why don't you try?"
"Ah? You talk such a big game, but in the end, you still rely on me?"
Uzumaki Ruri complained verbally, but her hands moved swiftly. Just as she completed the seal sequence, with a puff of rising smoke, a square, ancient coffin appeared at the center of the summoning technique array.
"This... isn't right. Why is it a coffin? Has the ancestor already died?"
Uzumaki Ruri was somewhat bewildered. She turned to look at Uzumaki Mito, then lowered her voice to ask:
"Does this count as success or failure?"
She felt uncertain, so she didn't dare speak loudly.
However, before Uzumaki Mito could respond, faint creaking sounds reached both women's ears, followed by the dry scraping of wood against wood.
The coffin lid was being lifted, gradually shifting toward the left side.
Massive amounts of cold air instantly poured from the coffin, immediately lowering the underground space's temperature while causing the busy, anxious, and sweat-drenched Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Ruri to shiver involuntarily.
After the coffin lid was lifted halfway, the movement stopped again, and the underground space returned to silence.
No one knew how much time passed. Just as both ladies were about to lose patience, a weak voice emerged from within the coffin:
"Give me... a... a can of Red Bull..."
The usually bold and brash Uzumaki Ruri was nearly in tears for some reason. She didn't dare turn around completely, only slightly tilted her head and continued asking Mito:
"W-what does that mean?"
Uzumaki Mito sighed. She didn't respond to Ruri immediately, instead quickly walking to the coffin's side. After confirming the situation inside, she finally spoke:
"Probably just confused from sleep."
Yūshin lay in the coffin, gaunt and withered, his open eyes vacant and lifeless—the very picture of severe senile dementia.
The old popsicle preservation method also had its limits. As time progressed, the price paid to maintain life grew ever greater. Even though Yūshin was remarkably resilient, after a thousand years, he had become extremely desiccated.
Uzumaki Mito barely recognized Yūshin's appearance. After confirming he was still alive, she couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief... The bizarre events had been resolved—everything the old clan leader said was true.
Their efforts over these days hadn't been in vain.
Mito and Ruri worked together to move the heavy coffin lid, then carefully helped Yūshin sit up.
"The ancestor's chakra is somewhat overexhausted. Ruri, help me..."
Mito and Ruri supported Yūshin's shoulders from both sides, channeling some of their chakra into this withered body.
After a while, Yūshin felt himself come back to life, like drought-stricken earth finally receiving spring rain after years of aridity.
Blood began flowing, his chest began beating, his mind began clearing—Yūshin no longer needed Red Bull.
He exhaled deeply, then tried moving his stiff limbs... Yes, he had come back to life, but only just barely.
Next, he blinked hard and looked toward Uzumaki Ruri and Uzumaki Mito respectively.
Mm, you're correct, but you're not.
Then Yūshin's gaze moved downward, focusing on Uzumaki Mito's abdomen. Though his eyes were dim with age, he instantly saw through the illusion.
His vision penetrated the Eight Trigrams Seal, seeing the massive orange figure imprisoned within the cage.
"Hey, hello there."
The Nine-Tails, who had been sleeping soundly, sensed this chakra and froze for a moment before finally seeming to remember something.
"You are... it's you..."
The Nine-Tails began growing restless, but Yūshin's chakra had already withdrawn.
"Ancestor..."
Uzumaki Mito sensed the Nine-Tails' agitation and immediately formed seals to control it.
"Sorry, just greeted the Nine-Tails."
"Ahem, don't call me ancestor. Let's just keep things simple between us—yes, simple."
With Uzumaki Ruri's support, Yūshin stepped out of the coffin.
At this moment, he was thin and gaunt, wearing traditional Ōtsutsuki attire—white long hair, white long beard, white long robe, with a brown hemp cord tied around his waist. He bore no chaotic tomoe markings, only a pale sun-and-moon symbol directly below the collar on his back.
Or more precisely, this was a yin-yang symbol.
This appearance still looked quite distinguished—even more sage-like than the Sage of Six Paths... There was no helping it; objectively speaking, Yūshin had lived far longer than the Sage of Six Paths.
Uh, of course, if Yūshin had opened his mouth upon awakening not to ask for Red Bull but to express concern for the Shinobi World's safety, that would have been even better.
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