Under Kakashi's trembling gaze, two figures slowly emerged hand in hand from the space-time vortex.
One was a handsome young man dressed entirely in white.
Beside him stood none other than the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, whose return Kakashi and the other ANBU had longed for day and night!
"Lady Tsunade!!!"
The ANBU cried out in shock.
Kakashi also stared at the two figures in astonishment, his Sharingan spinning wildly.
"This isn't genjutsu! This is real!" Kakashi murmured, his voice filled with disbelief.
After Tsunade and Uchiha Sora had vanished into the Dragon Vein's energy a year ago, Konoha and Kusagakure had poured immense manpower and resources into searching for them. Only after extensive research, combined with Orochimaru's conjecture, had they concluded that the two had likely become trapped in a space-time vortex.
Anyone who had studied the Summoning Technique knew full well how dangerous a space-time vortex could be. A single careless mistake could summon a terrifying monster from an otherworld, or leave the summoner trapped in endless space-time turbulence.
Although everyone in Konoha and Kusagakure was still searching for the two, they all knew that the chances of finding them were vanishingly small.
Almost zero!
The shock and joy Kakashi felt at that moment were impossible to put into words. He had even thought he was seeing a genjutsu.
As everyone stood stunned, a soft chuckle rang out. "Heh, I didn't expect anyone to be here to welcome us back!"
The speaker was, of course, Uchiha Sora.
Holding Tsunade's hand in one of his, he waved to Kakashi and the others with the other. "Kakashi, what are you all doing here?"
Only then did Kakashi and the others jolt as though waking from a dream, their eyes fixed on the pair.
Struggling to contain his excitement, Kakashi said, "Sora!