The desert wind carried fine sand through the damaged dome and into the underground palace. Neji stood outside the cavern, the fading purple currents of energy reflected in his Byakugan.
He felt the Jade Jue against his chest begin to heat up. Looking down, he saw that the Jade Jue reforged by the Sage of Six Paths was emitting a gentle azure glow, its surface covered in intricate spacetime runes.
"We're going back," Neji murmured, his voice echoing through the empty underground palace. He turned and hurried toward the exit, each step stirring up wisps of sand. As he passed through the dim corridor, he noticed that the ancient murals on the walls were fading, as if some unseen force were quietly erasing the traces they had left in this time and space.
Pushing open the hidden stone door, Neji narrowed his eyes against the blinding sunlight. Raising a hand to shield them, he saw Tsunade leaning against a broken stone pillar, her golden hair drifting in the wind.
Shizune and Xiao Xi were seated in the shade not far away, organizing their medical scrolls.
"Sensei!" Neji's voice made all three look up at once. "The Jade Jue has started charging. It's time for us to go."
Tsunade straightened up, mottled sunlight falling across her face. "We're finally getting out of this damned place." She brushed the sand from her clothes with a somewhat languid motion, but Neji caught the flicker of exhaustion in her eyes.
There had been gains on this journey, but there had also been losses. Gain and loss had always been in balance.
Shizune quickly packed away the scrolls, while Xiao Xi hopped over to Neji like an agile rabbit. "Young master, are we going back?" Her eyes sparkled as her fingers unconsciously tugged at his