Rōran Ancient Ruins

After resting in the Land of Demons for nearly three days, Issui's injuries gradually healed. Under Shion's careful care these past few days, Issui had gained a little weight and his face had become a bit chubby, which made him feel a bit overwhelmed with happiness.

Although he longed to stay in the Land of Demons, he had his own mission and many things to do. Today, he specifically came to say goodbye to Shion.

"Shion... I'm leaving..." Issui uttered only a few simple words to Shion's face, and then he couldn't continue.

"Can't you... stay a few more days?" Shion looked at Issui with a hint of resentment. Really, she had to leave just in time; couldn't she stay a little longer?

"No... we can't... you know, we all have our own missions. I have my own beloved village and companions, and you have your own country to govern. Right now is a time of turmoil in the Shinobi World. I'm afraid another great war is about to break out. Once this period is over, we can be together and won't have to worry about this or that anymore..." Issui said quietly, his voice a little weak. He felt like he was being a little heartless.

"Hmph, always making excuses for yourself, I don't believe it..." Shion pouted her cute little lips.

"Sigh..." Issui was speechless. When a woman gets serious, no one can stop her. This little girl, how come I never noticed she had this kind of personality before? Can love really turn a woman like this? Really...

"Hehe... just kidding. Go ahead, I'll wait for you, forever..." Shion smiled, kissed Yishui on the Issui, pushed him away, and turned to walk towards her palace. Her body trembled slightly; the feeling of being heartbroken so soon after falling in love was truly unbearable, so very unbearable...

"I love you, Shion, truly, forever..." Issui shouted loudly to the girl walking slowly ahead. What an understanding girl. Actually, he really liked her, truly, not for any other reason, just for love.

"..." Shion stretched out her hand and waved it towards the sky, a sweet smile playing on her lips. She hoped that next time they met, Issui, she would still say she loved him. And of course, she would still love him, for a lifetime, forever...

"..."

With Issui smile, Yishui turned and walked outside, leaving the main hall of the Land of Demons. This tender farewell would be forever etched in his heart; it was a unique goodbye between him and Shion, a secret between the two of them...

After leaving the Land of Demons, Issui didn't immediately head to Konoha. Instead, he headed towards the Land of Wind, intending to visit the Rōran Ancient Ruins to see if he could travel back in time. If he could indeed return to the time of the Third Shinobi World War in the Hokage World, he could interact with the Fourth and many other powerful figures. At that time, Konoha was teeming with strong individuals; the Eight Colors of Konoha should have been present.

Issui discovered that he truly had an inextricable connection with the ruins of the Land of Wind. His previous trip to the underground ruins had been incredibly rewarding, unlocking the fourth stage of his Eye of Heaven and allowing him to travel freely in another world. His battles with numerous experts from that world greatly enhanced his combat experience.

Along the way, Issui carefully evaded the scouts of the Land of Wind's reconnaissance ninja force. He did not want to alert the ninjas of the Land of Wind, as this was merely his personal secret operation, and he did not want to expose his whereabouts.

Upon arriving at the Rōran Ruins, Issui immediately found the altar that sealed the dragon Dragon Vein. The Flying Thunder God, unique to the Fourth, was inserted on it. Issui did not rashly try to pull it out. Instead, he concentrated his Chakra in his hands and trembled as he grasped it with both hands.

"The seal is broken!!!"

Issui poured his own Chakra into it, causing a fierce collision with the power within the Flying Thunder God. The mass of Mukade's Chakra was no match for that of the Fourth Chakra, and it could only be broken by absorbing the energy cube. However, Issui was different; with his current Chakra mass, he could completely rival that of the Fourth Chakra. All he needed to do was neutralize his power.

"Zheng... Yin..."

The instant the Flying Thunder God Formula Kunai was pulled out by Issui, the immense power sealed within the entire Dragon Vein was unleashed. A massive surge of Dragon Vein energy swept out, enveloping Issui's entire body...

"Ah..."

The immense power of the dragon Dragon Vein actually entered his body through his Issui, rapidly destroying his physical life functions...

What's going on? Issui struggled to move her body, but could only shift slightly. It was as if her body was nailed to the spot. What was happening? What could be the reason? Was she going to die like this? Damn it, she couldn't move, there was no way to escape! What should she do?

Perhaps sensing the invasion of the Dragon Vein Kekkei Genkai, the third eye on Issui's forehead opened automatically, revealing an extremely dark light. All the Dragon Vein power was guided into the vertical eye. Upon closer inspection, one would notice that the eyeball within the vertical eye was black—extremely strange. According to the left-right evolutionary order of the Eye of Heaven stages, the final Eye of Heaven should be black: White, Flame, Frost, Dust, Wind, Thunder, Black. Logically, the next evolutionary stage should be the Wind Stage. So what's with this suddenly opened black eye...?

"Sizzle..."

A powerful force surged into his body, Issui increasingly felt as if space and time had stopped progressing. It was as if all the secrets of the world had opened a door for him, and transcending time and space was no longer a problem. He seemed to see Xiao Nan's face before he traveled through time; he seemed to see the entire universe beyond outer space; he seemed to see the birth of the world...

But that illusory feeling vanished in an instant. The power of the entire Dragon Vein was instantly absorbed by the vertical eye on his forehead. Everything that had just happened felt like a dream—too unreal, too illusory, too baseless...

"Buzz..."

Issui felt a wave of dizziness wash over her, her consciousness gradually fading. So sleepy, so wanting to sleep... Well, then, I'll just sleep...

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the leaves of the trees, casting sparse, oblique rays upon a handsome boy in the woods. The boy seemed to sense the warmth of the sunlight, his tightly closed eyes slightly relaxing...

"My head is spinning. Where am I? Wasn't I in the ruins of Rōran? How did I end up in this forest? Really, was everything before just a dream, a dream about being in the Rōran Ruins? No, no, this information..."

Suddenly Issui felt as if his head was about to split open as a flood of information rushed in. In an instant, he understood everything. It turned out that after he absorbed the power of the Dragon Vein, his Eye of Heaven had unexpectedly unlocked the final stage of its dark power. After sorting through this power, he identified two abilities: Annihilating Light, which creates a black hole that devours everything, absorbing attacks with more than ten times its own power and converting them into its own, then reflecting them back. It has a one-second cooldown.

Distorting Light: Distorts all attacks and instantly teleports the user in front of the attacker; upon being attacked, it can also distort time for up to three seconds, disrupting the order of events and allowing the user to travel back to the past or into the future. One-second cooldown.

Although he hadn't mastered all the abilities of the Black Stage, just these two abilities alone were enough to make Issui drool. These were simply incredibly overpowered abilities! The first ability was practically invincible, able to deflect attacks from those ten times stronger than himself. Damn, could someone ten times stronger than oneself even exist? Using their own techniques against them was practically equivalent to immortality.

The second one is even more powerful. It twists the attack, instantly reaching the enemy. That's outrageous! After the enemy launches an attack, you twist it and instantly arrive beside them when they're exhausted, launching your own attack. Nobody can withstand that! And even after being injured, you can twist the attack for three seconds! That's time Ninjutsu! Ninjutsu even more advanced than space-time manipulation! With that, what's there to fear? As long as you don't die, even if you're severely injured, you can go back in time and instantly heal all your wounds.

Although these two abilities are incredibly powerful and abnormal, their cooldown time instantly cooled down Issui overheated mind. The more powerful an ability is, the more it is restricted by the user. In a battle against a strong opponent, these abilities can only be used once or twice at most. After all, a powerful opponent will not wait for the cooldown time of your Secret Technique to pass before attacking. A lot can happen in a second.

There is no ability in this world that is absolutely without flaws. Although these two Secret Techniques are incredibly powerful, their biggest limitation is time. After all, if they were used infinitely without the limitation of time, even the legendary ninja progenitor, the Sage of the Path, would not be able to harm Issui single hair on their head.

After a moment of excitement, Issui finally began to properly examine the place he was in. Dense forests were common in the Hokage World, but he had no idea where this place was. It seemed he would have to ask someone...

After walking for a long Issui without finding any trace of human habitation, they reluctantly stopped their search.

Just then, a rustling sound came from nearby.

"Teacher, what mission are we going on this time? I heard that our Land of Fire is going to war with the Land of Wind, is that true?"

"Hmm, Lin knows very well? It seems she did her research and gather information carefully before setting off. What a diligent and good girl..."

"No, I just... I just..."

"..."

Issui could make out was the voice of a girl talking to a man. The girl's voice was very soft and lovely, and the man's voice was also magnetic. It was generally clear that they were a teenage girl and a man in his twenties.

"Who...?" Suddenly, a Kunai shot towards Issui.

"Bump..."

Issui used Substitution Technique to dodge the attack and stood on a tree to observe the strangers who were attacking.

Four figures, one large and three small, darted out from the woods. Gazing at the wooden stakes on the ground Kunai by kunai, the four of them cautiously formed a swastika-shaped formation, back to back, scouting their surroundings.