Chapter 82: What the Hell Is the "Sasuke Paradox"?
"How did you come to this era? Is that something you can talk about?"
"There's nothing I can't say. Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Boruto were chasing an Ōtsutsuki. He activated a tool called Karasaki that can travel through time, and I followed them in."
"Sasuke-kun, huh…"
Orochimaru pondered briefly, then looked up at Shiromo.
"Let me give an example. You returned to this era because of Sasuke. If you were to kill Sasuke, what would happen?"
"If the future Sasuke dies, then the cause of you 'following Sasuke through time' would no longer exist, and thus the effect of 'killing Sasuke' would also disappear."
"But if you never 'killed Sasuke,' then the condition of 'following Sasuke through time' is satisfied again…"
"That creates a closed-loop paradox."
Orochimaru spoke with utmost seriousness, but Shiromo listened with a dark expression on his face.
The Sasuke Paradox, huh?
It seemed that a few casual remarks earlier were nowhere near enough to immediately shake Orochimaru's obsession with Sasuke.
"Then why does it have to be killing Sasuke? If you don't kill him, wouldn't everything be fine?"
Hanabi raised her hand, just like a student answering a question in class.
Orochimaru-sensei answered in a very "kind" tone.
"This is just an example. Even if we don't talk about killing Sasuke, as long as you make even a slight change to the past, the future will undergo drastic changes."
At this point, Orochimaru turned to Shiromo.
"Shiromo-kun, your goal is to change the future in order to deal with that 'Ōtsutsuki,' correct? Then according to this logic, your method is inherently contradictory."
"The moment you return to the past, the past becomes your future, and the future becomes your past."
After finishing, Orochimaru simply waited for Shiromo's response.
Shiromo didn't seem to be lying, but reason and logic still forced Orochimaru to harbor doubts.
"Actually, the paradox you mentioned is very easy to resolve. I have two conclusions here, both of which have already been proven wrong, that can be used to handle paradoxes."
"Oh?"
Orochimaru was a little surprised.
"The first theory is parallel worlds. What people call 'returning to the past' is actually just traveling to a parallel world that is almost identical to the past of the original world."
"Any actions taken in that world wouldn't affect the original world, so naturally, no paradox would arise."
"Hiss…"
Upon hearing this theory, Orochimaru frowned slightly and sucked in a breath.
It did seem to work without issue.
"You say this theory is wrong. You mean…?"
Orochimaru asked.
"In the deserts of the Land of Wind, there's a place called Rōran. Namikaze Minato once encountered visitors from an abnormal time-space there. By sealing his memories, the future wasn't affected, but evidence of a time loop was still left behind."
What Shiromo referred to, whether it was the chakra blade from the future in the Lost Tower, or Boruto and Sasuke returning to the past, with Boruto's single shout of 'Thunder Rail' inspiring Denki's father to create the Thunder Rail in the future, all demonstrated a time loop, not parallel worlds. At the very least, there was no possibility of a parallel world equal to the main timeline existing.
As for artificially created low-level illusion worlds like the Limited Tsukuyomi, when a Sakura from such a world entered reality, she would suffer mental instability and memory loss due to originating from a lower-order world.
"I see. Then what about the second theory?"
Orochimaru nodded, acknowledging Shiromo's explanation.
Regarding Rōran, Orochimaru had no doubts.
This kind of information was far too easy to verify; lying about it would be meaningless.
In truth, just the existence of this theory was enough to overturn Orochimaru's earlier doubts. Still, driven by his thirst for knowledge, he very much wanted to hear the second theory.
"The second one is actually just a hypothesis."
"If matter and energy all have a smallest unit, then all motion and change must occur in discrete jumps, not continuously."
"Like a movie, at its core, it's just countless still images playing in sequence. Going back to the past would be like editing one of those frames."
This theory could also resolve the 'Sasuke Paradox,' but it could likewise be refuted by the earlier Rōran example Shiromo had given.
"My head itches. It feels like I'm about to grow a brain."
Karin grabbed her head, feeling a headache coming on.
Among everyone present, it seemed she was the only one who hadn't understood a single word.
Her current reaction was like when Madara mocked Naruto's Shadow Clones as motley crew, and Naruto was left confused about what "motley crew" even meant.
She was suffering from a lack of education.
"You've said all this just to prove that Orochimaru's idea is wrong. You still haven't explained the logical issue, what exactly gives you the right to change the future?"
Tsunade finally spoke up.
"I don't know. But I'm certain that I can do it."
Shiromo slowly stood up and brushed off his pants.
He had never tried to directly transplant the "scientific theories" of his original world into this one. What he brought over was only a corresponding way of thinking.
Each universe having different fundamental physical laws was perfectly normal.
One universe might only be able to develop technology, while another might be able to cultivate immortality.
The ninja world had chakra, natural energy, divine techniques (Shinjutsu) , clearly distinct from his original world.
Forcing direct analogies would be no different from carving marks on a boat to find a lost sword.
And those who truly understood, or even tried to understand, the essence of this world were exceedingly rare across the entire ninja world.
That was why, in the Boruto era, Shiromo had sought out Yakushi Kabuto, and why he had now come to Orochimaru.
"Can you help me with something? I'll prove it to you."
Shiromo walked over to Tsunade.
"Oh? How?"
The corners of Tsunade's mouth lifted.
"Stand behind me. Pick any moment you like and launch an attack."
Shiromo found a spot and turned his back to her.
"Fine. You asked for it yourself!"
At the thought of being able to hit Shiromo, Tsunade's eyes instantly lit up. She stood up and cracked her knuckles.
"Tsunade, wait!"
Seeing Tsunade stride over behind Shiromo, clearly about to strike, Orochimaru hurriedly stopped her.
"Shiromo-kun, you should explain the principle behind your proof first. If you explain it afterward, we might miss many details."
Orochimaru wiped cold sweat from his forehead.
Did Shiromo and Tsunade have some personal grudge?
Why did Tsunade look so eager to beat Shiromo up?
"That's fine."
"I possess an ability: time erasure. From it, I can derive the power to see scenes from the near future."
"Under normal circumstances, once I see a future scene, the only way I can change fate is to use time erasure, to erase the unfavorable segment of the future, thereby changing the outcome."
"But in reality, that isn't how it works."
"I can easily change events that have already been predetermined. I can completely deviate from the future path shown by my ability…"
"Got it."
Boom!
The moment Shiromo finished speaking, Tsunade bent her waist, gathered power, and launched a punch straight at his lower back.
However…
"Huh?"
Tsunade frowned as she looked at the forest ahead that had been obliterated by the shockwave of her punch. Then she turned around and looked at Shiromo behind her, completely unharmed.
(End of this chapter)