"Boom--!"
The entire underground temple shook violently, cracks on the rock wall spread rapidly, and sand and stone fell.
In the center of the Dragon Vein spring, the originally slowly flowing Chakra suddenly surged out like an out-of-control torrent. The blue energy raged crazily in the air, with strong spatial distortion and fluctuations.
"This Chakra riot... is several times stronger than before!" Tsunade stabilized his body, his face turned slightly pale.
Sara looked at the scene in front of her in horror. She had never seen Dragon Vein show such a terrible state of loss of control, and she couldn't help but feel deep despair in her heart.
"If we don't stop it, the entire Rōran will be torn apart by this force!" Sara's voice trembled slightly.
However, the moment she finished speaking--
"Buzz--!"
A deep blue beam of light rose into the sky, and the entire temple was instantly engulfed in blue light!
Shinichi's pupils suddenly shrank, and his Mangekyō Sharingan clearly captured the changes that occurred inside Dragon Vein Chakra - at the energy core, space cracks were tearing apart reality, and twisted time and space cracks emerged in the air, as if leading to the unknown past and future!
"... This is, Time Gate?" Shinichi's pupils narrowed, and the memory of Minato Namikaze's time traveling through Dragon Vein flashed through his mind.
Tsunade noticed the change in his expression and frowned. "Shinichi! What exactly did you find?"
"The core of Dragon Vein is in an extremely unstable state of time and space!" Shinichi's eyes flashed with a hint of firmness in his tone, "If I can control this Chakra, we may be able to use this to peek into the truth of time and space!"
"Wait, you mean... we can travel through time and space through Dragon Vein?!" Tsunade's eyes suddenly trembled, and a turmoil arose in his heart.
"That's right!" Shinichi smiled slightly, his eyes filled with the excitement of challenging the unknown.
But the moment he finished speaking--
"Click--!"
The space rift suddenly expanded, and a huge Chakra storm swept in, swallowing up Shinichi and Tsunade in an instant!
Space-Time Rift, an unknown journey
Shinichi felt as if his body was being pulled by an irresistible force, and his vision was distorted in an instant, as if he was traveling between countless fragments of time and space.
The surrounding scene changed rapidly, and he saw the past of Rōran--
The ancient kingdom, the once bustling streets, the laughter of the people, and even the warm scene of Sara being held in his mother's arms when he was young.
But the next moment, the scene changed--
It's Rōran in the future. Ruins are everywhere, yellow sand has swallowed everything, leaving only the dilapidated palace swaying in the wind...
"Sure enough...Rōran's fate has been determined by time." Shinichi murmured.
At this moment, a vague figure appeared in the rift in time and space.
It was a blond man, wearing Konoha Jonin Vest, with firm and gentle eyes.
Minato Namikaze!
Shinichi's pupils shrank suddenly. Although Minato's figure was extremely blurry, he instantly recognized the future Hokage!
"Minato Namikaze... He also traveled to this time and space?" Shinichi's heart was shaken.
The figure of Minato seemed to have noticed something. His eyes penetrated time and space and looked at Shinichi. The corner of his mouth slightly raised, revealing a gentle smile.
"Teacher Shinichi... I didn't expect that we would meet at the intersection of time and space."
"You..." Shinichi was about to speak when the space storm tore his consciousness apart again!
Boom!!
The whole world was spinning, and Shinichi felt as if he had been thrown into the endless void, completely losing control of his body!
Warm sunshine fell on the earth, and the breeze blew gently, carrying a faint fragrance of green grass.
Shinichi slowly opened his eyes, feeling the soft light filtering through his eyelids, and heard bursts of noisy market noise, the laughter of children, the cries of vendors, and the sound of forged iron knocking in the distance, intertwined into a vibrant melody.
There are still memories from before in his mind -
The out-of-control Dragon Vein, the blue light pillar that swept everything, the twisted space-time rift... In the end, he only remembered that he was swallowed by an irresistible force, and then his consciousness completely fell into darkness.
"... I'm still alive?" He murmured, slowly stood up, squinted his eyes and looked around.
The first thing you see is a familiar yet unfamiliar Konoha.
The wooden houses are scattered in an orderly manner, with strings of wind chimes hanging from the eaves, making crisp tinkling sounds in the breeze. People are coming and going on the streets, and villagers in simple kimonos are busy, some are carrying buckets, and some are placing goods in their shops.
Warm sunshine fell on the earth, and the breeze blew gently, carrying a faint fragrance of green grass.
Shinichi slowly opened his eyes and frowned slightly. His consciousness had not yet fully recovered, but his ears were already filled with the noisy noise of the city.
He could hear the laughter of children, the enthusiastic shouts of vendors, and the crisp echo of hammering metal in the blacksmith shop in the distance.
The air is mixed with the smell of charcoal fire smoke, the aroma of barbecue, and the unique faint fragrance of Konoha's falling cherry blossom petals.
He narrowed his eyes, slowly stood up, and looked around -
The first thing you see is a familiar yet unfamiliar Konoha.
The houses on both sides of the street were scattered in an orderly manner, but they were taller than the Konoha he remembered, and the architectural style was more modern. There were even some lighting devices installed on some roofs.
The shops along the street were more prosperous than before, with a dazzling array of goods filling the shelves. The passers-by were wearing different clothes, some even wearing exotic clothes that he had never seen before.
But what made Shinichi's pupils shrink the most was--
When he raised his head, his eyes swept over Hokage Rock in the distance. On the cliff that symbolized the history of Konoha, there were actually carved the head of Tsunade, and the statue of Hokage of Fourth Hokage Minato Namikaze!
"No, this is not our time."
Shinichi's heart suddenly shrank, and an indescribable feeling of uneasiness quickly spread throughout his body.
He lowered his head suddenly and looked at his palm. It was still his familiar body, without any signs of aging or change.
"The flow of time is not speeding up... then..."
He raised his head and looked at the bustling village again, frowning slightly, and a terrible guess emerged in his heart -
"We traveled to the future?"
Or, what's even more frightening may be--
"Is this a completely different parallel time and space?"
"Well... I feel dizzy..."
Just when Shinichi was trying to clarify the situation, a familiar voice came from behind.
The voice was a bit confused and tired, as if he had just woken up from a deep sleep.
He quickly turned around and saw Tsunade sitting on the stone steps nearby, holding his forehead with one hand and supporting the ground with the other, as if he had just recovered from the dizziness caused by time and space travel.
Her long golden hair was casually draped over her shoulders, fluttering gently in the breeze. Her purple pupils shrank slightly, and there was a trace of confusion on her face, apparently confused by the surrounding environment.
Tsunade slowly opened his eyes and saw the surrounding street scene at the first glance.
Her eyes swept across the street, seeing wooden buildings that were more modern than they remembered, seeing the crowds of people passing by on the bustling streets, and seeing the towering Hokage Building in the distance... Her whole body froze slightly, her pupils suddenly shrank, and her expression suddenly changed.
"Wait, this is--Konoha?" There was a hint of disbelief in her tone.
She stood up and looked around, her eyes rapidly scanning everything around her.
The streets were busier than Konoha she remembered, with dense crowds and numerous shops. There were even some modern facilities that were not of their time, such as sound transmission equipment, hanging lighting techniques, etc.
The entire village looked more like a stable and powerful ninja nation, not just one of the Five Great Shinobi Villagess she was familiar with.
But what really shocked her was the towering Hokage Rock in the distance.
When her eyes stayed on Hokage Rock, her breathing suddenly froze and her steps trembled slightly.
She saw a statue of herself.
It was a tall and towering sculpture, depicting her majestic and firm face. Every hair and every notch appeared lifelike, as if announcing the era of her rule Konoha.
Tsunade's pupils suddenly contracted, her throat was slightly dry, and her heart was filled with turmoil.
"How is it possible..." She murmured in a low voice, her eyes flashing with shock, confusion, and a trace of indescribable complex emotions.
Her fists clenched subconsciously, and her nails dug deeply into her palms. She tried to hide her emotions, but her slightly trembling fingers still revealed her inner fluctuations.
"Shinichi..." Tsunade stood up slowly and looked at him solemnly, "This is not our time."
Shinichi was silent for a moment, his eyes also stayed on Hokage Rock, and then nodded slowly. "That's right."
They were originally supposed to be at the core of Dragon Vein, and Chakra and Essence of Dragon Vein contained an energy that could distort time and space.
Minato Namikaze once used the power of Dragon Vein to travel through time, and now, they have become the next 'time travelers'.
"So... how many years into the future have we traveled to?" Tsunade whispered, his voice slowing down unconsciously, with a hint of hesitation and uneasiness.
Shinichi raised his head and stared deeply at the familiar and unfamiliar statues on Hokage Rock. He slowly said, "Tsunade Your statue has been engraved on it... at least, it should be decades later."
Tsunade took a deep breath, closed her eyes slightly, and forced herself to calm down. But even so, her heart was still unable to calm down.
She never thought that one day she would "witness" her future in this way.
Decades...? Complex emotions surged in her heart.
This means that she not only successfully became Hokage, but also left an indelible mark in history. But the question is - who is Hokage now?
She slowly opened her eyes, her purple pupils looking sharper than ever before, and turned to Shinichi.
"Then... who is Hokage now?"
Shinichi did not answer, his eyes stayed on the towering Hokage Building in the distance.
Although the building is still standing there, it is larger in size and has a slightly different architectural style than the Hokage Building they are familiar with. It has obviously been expanded and renovated over the decades.
Shinichi narrowed his eyes, his gaze was deep, as if he was thinking about something.
He was silent for a moment, then smiled softly, with a playful curve at the corner of his mouth.
"You'll know if you go and see it?" He said slowly, his eyes locked in the direction of Hokage Building, "Maybe... the current Hokage is you in the future?"
Tsunade heard this, raised his eyebrows, and twitched the corners of his mouth.
"Don't make such a joke, I have no interest in being Hokage." She snorted, her tone still strong, but a complicated light shone in her amber eyes.
Shinichi chuckled, with a hint of teasing flashing in his eyes. "If it were really you, would you give yourself a compensation first?"
Tsunade rolled his eyes, but did not refute.
"Let's go." Shinichi stopped joking and changed his tone to become serious, "No matter what, we have to go to Hokage Building to find out the situation."
Tsunade nodded, adjusted his mood, took steps, and walked in the direction of Hokage Building with Shinichi.
Their steps are steady and their eyes are determined--
No matter what kind of future they face, they must witness it with their own eyes and find a way to return to their original world.
The afterglow of Setting Sun reflected on the backs of the two people, and the golden light fell on the streets of Konoha, as if witnessing a wave that was about to make waves.
The unknown future is about to unfold slowly in front of them...