When it came down to it, the Dragon Vein was something made of chakra. As long as there was chakra, it could recover.
Clatter!
Several chains sprouted from behind Aoba, once again binding the Dragon Vein tightly.
The weakened Dragon Vein was already unable to resist.
"Sara, I need to seal the Dragon Vein again."
Aoba raised his hand and patted Sara, who was still clinging tightly to him.
"Will I interfere with Teacher?"
Sara lifted her eyes, pitiful and teary, "If it'll affect you, I'll let go right now."
Aoba thought about how he would be leaving soon. Since this girl wanted to hug him, he would let her hold on a while longer.
"No."
Aoba hugged Sara back, then looked at Seramu,"I'll seal the Dragon Vein again first."
"Mm."
Seramu nodded with a complicated expression. It seemed he had already found a way to return.
Aoba carried the Dragon Vein and flew toward the Dragon Vein's forbidden grounds.
That body, dozens of kilometers long, was once more forcefully stuffed into the seal of the forbidden grounds.
Then he rearranged the sealing array.
But it wasn't over yet.
Aoba once again drew upon the Dragon Vein chakra inside him.
And within the sealing space that had enveloped all of Roran—
Time began to reverse.
The entire sealed space was like someone had pressed the rewind button.
Collapsed buildings, shattered streets, all restored to their original state.
As if the great battle between Aoba and the Dragon Vein just now had been nothing more than a dream, and nothing had ever happened.
At last, the sealing space quietly shrank, covering over the original Dragon Vein seal.
This was a seal that only he could open. At this moment, time truly formed a complete loop.
Outside Roran, the residents who had been celebrating went on with their festivities as though nothing had happened.
"Sara, it's over now, you can let go."
Aoba patted Sara, who was still clinging to him.
"No. Teacher, you're about to leave, and then you'll never come back, right?"
Sara didn't let go. Instead, she hugged even tighter.
"?"
Aoba was stunned for a moment, then smiled, "Didn't I promise you I'd come back?"
Sara bit her lip, "Teacher, I already know. You're going to the future. If that's the case, then you definitely won't return, right?"
Aoba's expression showed some surprise, "Sara, how do you know?"
"I told her."
Seramu had returned to the forbidden grounds, her expression complicated.
Aoba had not disappointed her.
The Dragon Vein had once again calmed, and Roran hadn't suffered any destruction.
"You're leaving now?"
Aoba nodded, "Just now inside the Dragon Vein, I found the way back to the future."
"Teacher, such an important thing, why didn't you tell me?"
Sara buried her face in his chest. He could feel that the front of his clothes was already soaked with her tears.
Aoba couldn't help but sigh lightly, "If I told you, what were you planning to do? Were you going to come with me?"
"I…"
Sara instinctively wanted to say yes, but Aoba interrupted her.
"Were you planning to leave your mother here alone?"
Sara froze, slowly lifting her head to look toward Seramu.
Seramu only gave her a gentle smile, "Sara, no matter what choice you make, Mother will support you."
"Mom…"
Sara instantly felt torn.
Buzz!
But at that moment, both their bodies suddenly shone with a faint, glimmering light.
"Hm?"
Aoba and Sara both revealed startled expressions.
"Looks like there's no choice in the matter."
Seramu instead showed a relieved smile.
She now understood why Sara would follow along into the future.
It must have been because, when Sara connected with the Dragon Vein to pull Aoba out of its belly, something had been affected.
And since things had reached this point, she couldn't change anything.
"Mom…"
Sara still wanted to say more, but Seramu had already run forward to them.
She hugged them both tightly in her arms. Tears welled up and spilled down her cheeks, yet she smiled as she bid them farewell.
"Aoba, Sara… see you in twenty years…"
The scene before their eyes grew hazy. Aoba once again appeared upon that great river, only this time Sara was by his side.
At this moment, Sara had already fallen asleep.
The two of them were wrapped inside a bubble and carried along with the current of the river.
———
Twenty years later, Dragon Vein forbidden grounds—
After the Dragon Vein's power had weakened greatly, the purple chakra pillar likewise slowly dimmed, then vanished.
And in its place, two figures stood where the light had disappeared.
An Aoba who was a size older… and Sara, asleep in his arms.
Returning to reality, Aoba's thoughts cleared from the haze.
He instinctively suppressed the dizziness.
"Aoba! Huh? Aoba, why did you suddenly grow up?"
Yakumo and the others, seeing Aoba appear again, first showed expressions of relief.
But immediately after, they quickly turned bewildered.
Because the Aoba before their eyes seemed noticeably older than before.
"Yakumo…"
Aoba, seeing Yakumo and the others after three years apart, also felt his eyes sting with emotion.
But before he could properly greet them, a fuller, softer figure pressed against him.
Seeing this Aoba, Seramu's tears could no longer be held back.
This was a side of her she hadn't shown the last time she saw Aoba.
Because back then, though he was Aoba, he wasn't the Aoba she had known.
Only this one, was the Aoba who had lived with her for three years, the one who had supported her to keep moving forward.
Seramu clung tightly around Aoba's neck, her tears soaking his collar, crying uncontrollably.
Aoba could fully understand her feelings.
For him and Sara, it had only been a short separation. But for Seramu, it had been a true twenty years.
Just as it was for him facing Yakumo and the others.
Letting Seramu vent her emotions in his arms for a while, Aoba only patted her back, comforting her.
"Seramu, I brought Sara back to you."
"Mm…"
Seramu released her arms, lowered her head, and looked at her daughter.
She wiped her tears, then took her from Aoba's arms.
Looking at her daughter, still looking the same as twenty years ago, sleeping soundly, she laughed through her tears and pinched her cheek.
"Still able to sleep through this, really such a heartless girl."
Seeing this, Aoba smiled as well, then turned to the four still dazed nearby.
He stepped forward and pulled Yakumo, Hinata, and Temari into his embrace together, his own eyes glistening faintly.
"I missed you all so much."
"Ah?"
The three of them were still dazed.
They were still caught up in their surprise at his sudden growth.
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