"Three months?"
After hearing Tsunade's words, Mirai Uchiha also showed signs of surprise.
In other words...
The Dragon Veins had not taken him back to the time point before his journey through time, but instead brought him three months forward.
"It seems relying on the Dragon Veins to travel through time isn't that reliable."
Mirai muttered to himself.
He had actually considered using the power of the Dragon Veins to return to the past before.
But judging from this experience, there were just too many unpredictable factors involved.
Fortunately, this time he was only displaced by three months. If it had been three years or even thirty, wouldn't the ninja world have been thrown into chaos?
Thinking about this, Mirai couldn't help but feel relieved and let out a sigh of relief.
This kind of risky action definitely needed to be minimized in the future.
Seeing that Mirai hadn't responded for quite some time, Tsunade finally lost her patience slightly and asked angrily, "Hey! Are you even listening to what we're saying?!"
This guy had simply disappeared without a trace for three whole months, not even leaving behind a single message.
They had used all their resources across the Shen Kingdom but still couldn't find any clues about Mirai's whereabouts.
Everyone was deeply worried.
After all…
They had heard directly from Mirai about the Otsutsuki Clan.
Who else could possibly make Mirai disappear like this?
Hearing the concern hidden within Tsunade's tone, Mirai snapped back to reality and hurried to explain, "I went to take care of something extremely important, and encountered some unexpected issues, which caused my delay."
"There's no need to worry though — I'm the strongest now."
Kurenai Yuhi immediately rushed over and hugged Mirai tightly, sobbing quietly, "How could we not worry?"
"Mirai, I haven't eaten properly or slept well these past few days at all."
Hearing Kurenai's soft, almost teasing complaint, warmth filled Mirai's heart.
He gently patted her head and whispered softly, "Don't worry, tonight I'll make sure you sleep like a baby."
"Mm..."
Once Kurenai released him, Mirai pulled Sāra forward in front of everyone.
"Let me introduce — this is Sāra."
"The queen of the Loulan Kingdom."
Upon hearing Mirai's introduction, Tsunade and the others looked shocked.
"The Queen of Loulan?"
"Do you mean the ancient kingdom of Loulan that vanished?"
Looking at their confused gazes, Mirai then explained everything that happened inside the Dragon Veins.
Only after this did they understand — Mirai had disappeared for three whole months simply because of a small misalignment in the Dragon Vein's transmission.
The power of time really was terrifying indeed.
Rin Nohara tugged at Mirai Uchiha's arm and whispered, "Mirai, can you promise not to do anything this reckless again?"
"For you, it might only have been a few days, but everyone else has been worried for over three months—each day seemed endless..."
Konan, Mikoto Uchiha, Princess Linxia, and others didn't speak either, but they also stared at him with concerned expressions.
Feeling their emotions, Mirai Uchiha dropped his joking attitude and replied seriously, "Don't worry. If I'm not one hundred percent sure, I won't try something like that again."
You never know what you've got 'til it's gone.
After calming the girls down, Mirai personally created Shadow Clones to prepare a large table full of delicious dishes.
Partly to welcome Queen Sāra, and partly to express his apologies to Tsunade and others.
Of course, the team-building activity after the banquet was Mirai's secret ace up his sleeve.
Mirai was confident that even if Tsunade and the others held huge grudges, those grievances would vanish after the team-building session.
A sleepless night passed——
The next day around noon, Mirai set off toward Salei's new home together with Queen Sāra.
Walking through Konoha's streets, Sāra constantly gasped in amazement.
Everything about Konoha seemed far too advanced for her.
Seeing Sāra's expression, Mirai softly chuckled. "Sāra, you're a queen now—you should maintain royal decorum."
Sāra let out a soft humph. "I'm not some queen anymore. Now, I have only one identity—I'm your wife."
With that, she turned her eyes back toward the many fascinating things lining both sides of the street.
What a beautiful world this future truly is.
When they arrived at the settlement, Salei and the others were repairing their houses.
Although Konoha had provided land for them to settle on, they still needed to build the homes themselves.
After all…
Nobody could just clap their hands together and create a villa like Mirai did.
Right now, seeing Mirai and Sāra approach, Salei and others immediately ran over excitedly.
Seeing Sāra, Salei and Yako couldn't help saying, "Your Majesty Sāra, we haven't seen you in ten years, yet you remain as youthful and beautiful as ever."
Sāra, however, stood frozen, staring at Salei and Yako, momentarily stunned.
In her memory, they had only parted ways one single day ago.
Yet upon meeting again, Salei and Yako had already become middle-aged men and women…
No wonder Tsunade and the others looked so shocked when she first returned yesterday.
The power of time truly was terrifying.
Seeing that Queen Sara remained silent, Mirai Uchiha spoke up and asked, "How is it? Are you comfortable living here?"
Salei said with a smile, "Of course we're comfortable."
"This is the best place we've ever seen."
Queen Sara finally snapped out of her daze and curiously asked, "Salei, Yako, can you tell us what happened after I left?"
Yako nodded and continued, "Ever since you and Lady Mirai left that day, the Dragon Veins stopped functioning."
"All of Loulan's facilities ceased to function properly, but fortunately, Lady Mirai had left us enough Gold Dust."
"We gave some Gold Dust to those companions who wished to go their separate ways, then led the rest to form a caravan, traveling across various nations."
"Along the way, we heard many rumors about Lady Mirai. Many comrades therefore doubted Lady Mirai's promise and chose to leave..."
"So we endured nearly ten years of wandering, but thankfully, we managed to persevere until today."
After hearing Yako's account, Queen Sara solemnly said, "Salei, Yako, you've both worked hard these years."
Salei and Yako hurriedly bowed. "Your Majesty Sara, you've already given us the greatest compensation."
"As long as you are willing, we still wish to be your subjects."
Looking into Salei's and others' expectant gazes, Queen Sara smiled and gently took Mirai Uchiha's arm. "Let the past remain in the past. From now on, there will be no more Loulan, nor any queen. We shall all be citizens of Shen Nation."
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