A few days later.
Heiyan opened the space-time gate once more and stepped through it, bringing his three students with him into the stream of ninja history.
This time, however, instead of heading to an event already recorded in history, he was heading toward the very beginning of the time stream—the exact moment he'd agreed upon with Tsunade-sama.
Along the way, Heiyan saw numerous scenes flash by on the river of time.
He witnessed Sasuke defecting from Konoha and running to Orochimaru, while Naruto and others' pursuit plan ultimately ended in failure.
He saw events three years later—Akatsuki's grand entrance, with Sasori of the Red Sand, Deidara, Kakuzu, and Hidan. A series of breathtaking battles accompanied bloodshed and death.
He also saw Sasuke killing Orochimaru, finally confronting his former master, and witnessed Deidara's final artistic act against Sasuke—the Big Bang Self-Destruction.
He watched as Jiraiya infiltrated Ame Village to gather intelligence, only to be ambushed by the Six Paths of Pain. He was tragically killed—but not before managing to send back crucial information at the cost of his life.
There was also the confrontation between Itachi Uchiha and his younger brother Sasuke at Naka Shrine, ending in mutual slaughter.
All these events had occurred in the original timeline.
Huh?
Suddenly, Heiyan noticed an image different from his memories.
Nagato and Obito, having suffered a crushing defeat in the parallel world, returned without sufficient strength to attack Konoha and make "the world feel pain."
Taking advantage of Nagato's weakened state after losing the Six Paths and the destruction of the bodies of the Six Paths of Pain, Obito directly launched a surprise attack, eliminating both Nagato and Konan, seizing the Rinnegan.
Obito became the sole leader of Akatsuki.
Later, just like in the original timeline, he found Sasuke, convinced him to join Akatsuki, and seek revenge on Konoha. With Taka team minus Karin, Sasuke headed to Raikage Gorge, engaging in a fierce battle with Eight-Tails B and emerging victorious.
The incident enraged Akagakure, and the Fourth Raikage fell into fury, immediately taking action.
The ninja world was on the brink of descending into chaos.
Inside Konoha, in a hidden room, the chamber was completely empty except for a glass case at its center that held a finely crafted kunai.
If someone leaned closer, they would see the four words [Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain] (a reference to Sun Tzu's military strategy) engraved clearly upon the weapon.
This kunai was the very gift Heiyan presented to Naruto Uzumaki, who had crossed timelines from the original world when they met in the ancient Kingdom of Loulan.
At that time, the two had even made a vow—to settle their score upon next meeting.
Now, Heiyan had come to fulfill this promise.
Zzzrrrrk…
Within the secret chamber, space suddenly twisted violently in swirling vortexes, and Heiyan's figure materialized.
After passing through the space-time portal, he first settled his three disciples outside, instructing them to wait for his word. Then, following the Flying Thunder God formula inscribed upon the kunai, he teleported straight into this hidden room.
"Who are you?! State your name!"
Several Anbu ninja rushed in from the door, swords drawn against Heiyan. From their voices, it was not difficult to sense their shock.
After all, this was Konoha's most heavily guarded secret chamber, a location personally entrusted by Fifth Hokage Tsunade-sama herself, demanding utmost vigilance.
Should she discover that someone had easily breached this sanctum, she would undoubtedly fly into a furious rage.
"I mean no harm. You should rest for a while."
Heiyan smiled, and an intense surge of ocular power radiated from his eyes. As soon as he finished speaking, several Anbu ninja collapsed and fell asleep.
He casually picked up a nearby kunai, then pushed open the door to the hidden room, heading toward the Hokage Tower.
At this moment, inside the Hokage's office.
After waking up, Tsunade was suddenly flooded with a torrent of new memories.
She saw herself with a man who had flowing white hair, sharing many unforgettable moments together—his name was Heiyan.
Tsunade understood immediately.
So Heiyan hadn't lied to her after all.
Ever since she had last parted ways with her lover, after over three long years, she had received these memories spanning across timelines. This meant one thing—he would soon cross the river of time and arrive here.
Knock knock knock.
Then came a series of knocks at the door, followed by approaching footsteps. An Anbu ninja entered hastily and dropped to one knee before Tsunade:
"Hokage-sama, an envoy sent by the Fourth Raikage from Kumogakure is waiting outside. He says it's urgent business concerning Konoha. Shall I bring him in?"
Oh?
Upon hearing this, Tsunade reluctantly pushed her longing thoughts of Heiyan aside for now. Her brows slightly furrowed as she hesitated briefly before giving instructions,
"Let him in."
Clack, clack, clack.
As footsteps echoed, under Tsunade's watchful gaze, a young woman walked in from outside.
It was a short-haired blonde woman with unusually fair skin and a stunning figure, rivalling even Tsunade's impressive curves.
Tsunade was somewhat taken aback. This was the first time she'd seen a woman whose chest matched hers—she couldn't help but steal a couple extra glances.
"Hokage-sama, my name is Samui. I am Secretary to the Fourth Raikage."
The blonde kunoichi Samui bowed respectfully to Tsunade and got straight to the point: "During his seclusion and training in Raikage Gorge, our village's Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, B, was attacked by your village's missing-nin Uchiha Sasuke. He remains missing in action with no word on his condition."
What?
Tsunade blinked in surprise. Uchiha Sasuke?
Although Sasuke had been a rogue ninja from Konoha for over three years, judging by their tone just now, clearly this was a visit intended to confront and blame them. Moreover, Sasuke attacking the Eight-Tails host—that information itself revealed much that deeply concerned Tsunade.
"We have solid evidence that Sasuke has joined Akatsuki, acting on orders from its leader with the goal of capturing the Eight-Tails. I'm sure Hokage-sama is already quite familiar with this group."
Carefully observing Tsunade's reaction, Samui continued, "In fact, all Five Great Ninja Villages are now threatened by Akatsuki. Therefore, in this time of grave crisis, Raikage-sama has sent me here to Konoha, hoping to invite Hokage-sama to travel to Kumogakure and attend an emergency meeting of the Five Kages in order to discuss collective countermeasures."
A Five Kage Summit?
It had been so long since she'd heard that term. Was this truly the real intention behind the Fourth Raikage's messenger?
Tsunade interlocked her fingers and rested her chin on them, deep in thought.
"It's been a tiring journey for you, Samui of Kumogakure. Tsunade-sama will depart shortly for the venue of the Five Kage Summit."
Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice came from behind Samui.
Huh?
Samui noticed that Tsunade's entire expression had frozen, as if her soul had been stolen. She blankly stared at the office door.
Who is it?
She quickly turned around and immediately saw a young man—flowing white hair, a pair of horns atop his head, clad in a robe adorned with tomoe patterns.
Heiyan has arrived.
Equally stunned was the Anbu guarding the door. Just now, they had only blinked and he had already walked into the office.
"Protect the Hokage!"
After regaining their senses, the Anbu immediately rushed into the room and surrounded him.
"Stop!"
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