Drop Some power stones! If you like the chapter! It helps to keep me motivated to upload more!đź’Žđź’Žđź’ŽÂ
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Akio searched for a long time but still couldn't find Sara—the girl who might be his daughter.
"Don't tell me… my future self actually took her back to his timeline?"
He shook his head.
"Probably not. Anyway, forget that for now. I can finally begin my grand time-travel plan."
Seeing that Minato and his team had already left to return to Konoha and report the mission, Akio smiled and stepped toward the sealing array.
"So, I need to channel this… along with the power of the Dragon Vein, into my body?"
He muttered to himself, forming hand seals in preparation for the procedure.
"Trying to go back to the past, are you?"
A voice spoke from just behind him—so close it startled Akio. His hand twitched, breaking the hand seal.
"Why are you still here?!"
The speaker was none other than Akio from the future. His form emerged from behind, flickering between a white, spectral blur and a solid body.
"With the power of the Six Paths, even time-space travel can be resisted," the future Akio said with a grin.
Akio raised an eyebrow.
"I was wondering where that queen went. Still in your pocket dimension, huh? What, you got more to say?"
Future Akio's smile turned sly—dangerously familiar. Akio's heart tensed. He knew that expression all too well…
"Not much else…" the future version began, then suddenly frowned.
"Can you be a little more alert? You're being watched by White Zetsu."
Akio's expression froze. He immediately expanded his sensory range—and sure enough, he detected a White Zetsu lurking two kilometers away.
"Where'd that White Zetsu come from? Is Akatsuki controlling him?"
Since Kaguya's defeat and Black Zetsu's demise, Akio hadn't paid any mind to White Zetsu. He assumed they were dormant. The thought that Akatsuki's current leader could still use them was unexpected.
Future Akio didn't reply. Instead, he simply raised his hand—and hurled a Tailed Beast Bomb.
Then something astonishing happened. The White Zetsu raised its arm and batted the Tailed Beast Bomb into the sky.
"What the hell is that thing?!" Akio's eyes nearly popped out.
"This guy…" Future Akio's expression turned grim. In a flash, he was right next to the mysterious Zetsu.
His right hand stretched forward—launching a bone projectile from his palm.
"All-Killing Ash Bones?" Akio muttered.
"So… by that point in time, I already had Kekkei Mōra."
Seeing the All-Killing Ash Bones unleashed, Akio felt slightly relieved. Even if this Zetsu was strange, there was no way it could withstand that technique.
And then—everything changed.
The Zetsu raised its hand and conjured a shakujo—the Sage's Six Paths staff—effortlessly parrying the bone attack. Then it spoke.
"You do not belong in this era."
Future Akio paused, then gave a light chuckle.
"Didn't think our first meeting would happen like this. Truth-Seeking Staff… the Sage of Six Paths… possessing a White Zetsu body, huh? You really think you can stop me?"
The Zetsu's form shifted, transforming into a replica of the Sage of Six Paths—wielding the Six Paths staff, cloaked in the Sage's robe.
His expression was stern.
"Do not defy the corrective force of time. This era is not yours."
From a distance, Akio stood in shock. The sudden appearance of the Sage of Six Paths had caught him completely off guard.
"Good thing my future self is here. If it were just me… I wouldn't stand a chance."
He exhaled in relief.
"Even with the flow of time trying to correct itself, you still can't stop me!"
Future Akio shouted and summoned a white bone weapon, slashing toward the Sage.
The Sage's eyes narrowed. He raised his staff and parried.
The clash of otherworldly powers—never meant to exist in the same space-time—rippled outward in a devastating wave. The ground beneath them cracked and collapsed, shockwaves tearing in all directions.
The Land of Rōran was utterly destroyed. Towers, buildings—everything—vanished in an instant.
Far away, Minato's team—dozens of kilometers from Rōran—was struck by the shockwave. Choza had to enter Super Multi-Size Mode just to shield the rest of the team.
At the Dragon Vein altar, Akio's face bulged with veins. Sage Mode had been activated. With arms spread wide, he formed a transparent barrier to shield the altar behind him. As for the rest of Rōran's civilians—well, they were on their own.
"Damn it. Just the residual shockwave from two kilometers away is forcing me to use everything except the Eight Gates!"
He hadn't realized that their earlier clash was only a test. Their second strike came soon after.
"Fifth Gate—Gate of Limit, Open!"
Akio panicked, pumping more power into the barrier.
After that blow, RĹŤran was completely erased from the map. Only the Dragon Vein altar behind him remained.
Even Choza, in his enlarged form, couldn't maintain his balance. Holding the rest of the team, he was sent tumbling through the air.
And that wasn't all. Hundreds of kilometers away, the Sand Village was swallowed in a massive sandstorm. Alarms and sensor warnings flared nonstop.
While the Sand Village took the brunt due to proximity, even the other major shinobi nations sensed the disturbance. The full shockwave didn't spread across the continent, but the pressure of that clash was felt throughout the ninja world.
"Heh… my future self is really something."
Even though Akio had opened five gates and was barely holding up, he was secretly thrilled. Just from those two moves, he could tell that in the future, he'd be strong enough to stand against a Six Paths-level enemy.
Granted, this "Sage of Six Paths" had only possessed a White Zetsu body—but even so, future Akio wasn't in perfect shape either. He still had to resist the temporal correction force.
"Still trying to stop me?"
Future Akio smiled faintly at the Sage of Six Paths.
"If I ramp things up any further, the entire ninja world might shatter."
The Sage shook his head.
"I've been observing you for quite some time. You say that… because this is the limit of your power, isn't it?"
Akio flinched from afar.
"What does he mean by observing me for quite some time?"
"Is that so? Then let's go another round!"
Future Akio roared and charged once more. The battle resumed.
Though Akio was struggling to block the shockwaves, he was in high spirits.
"Get him! Come on, future me, beat that old man senseless. Who knows how long he's been spying on me!"
And indeed—future Akio had the upper hand.
Using Needle-Haired Senbon, Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack, and All-Killing Ash Bones in succession, he chained them together seamlessly. The Sage, meanwhile, had only his Truth-Seeking Staff. Possessing White Zetsu limited his Rinnegan abilities, and he was clearly at a disadvantage.
"Watching my own future battle techniques in advance… not a bad deal."
Akio mused to himself.
"But that raises a question—why is my future self staying here in this timeline? Even willing to fight the Sage of Six Paths to do it?"
Akio knew his own temperament. He was someone who hated trouble.
For him to engage the Sage himself… there must be a very good reason.
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