Chapter 129 — A Moment Rewritten
As Akira and the others walked down the mountain path, the sun was slowly setting in the west.
The sky was painted in warm shades of orange and crimson, and long shadows stretched across the forest floor.
The group walked together, talking casually.
By "group," it was mostly Obito, Rin, and Guy chatting loudly as usual.
Rin was the first to speak again, glancing back up toward the mountain.
"It's strange," she said thoughtfully. "That grave looked almost new… even though it should be very old."
Obito looked at her with confusion.
"Rin, what's strange about that?"
Rin tilted her head slightly as if trying to remember something.
"It's just that… the Sage of Six Paths existed around a thousand years ago, right?"
Guy nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes! The legendary founder of ninjutsu! A truly youthful historical figure!"
Rin continued slowly.
"If that language really existed before the Age of Chakra… then that grave should be even older than the Sage of Six Paths."
Suddenly—
Rin stopped walking.
Obito and Guy stopped too.
All three of them stood still for a brief moment, their eyes unfocused—almost dizzy, like people who had suddenly lost their balance.
Akira and Kakashi both noticed immediately.
They turned around.
"Rin?" Kakashi called.
But before he could say anything else, the three of them started walking again.
Just like that.
As if nothing had happened.
"…Next time we should bring food," Rin said cheerfully, continuing the conversation like before. "We could have a picnic near that big tree."
Obito nodded immediately.
"Yeah! The one with all those flowers around it!"
Guy struck a pose dramatically.
"A picnic filled with the spirit of youth! I approve!"
They continued chatting happily, completely normal.
But Akira and Kakashi had stopped walking.
Both of them stood there with shocked expressions.
Goosebumps ran down their arms.
Because they recognized those exact words.
It was the same conversation Rin, Obito, and Guy had been having before they reached the grave.
Word for word.
Akira felt a cold shiver run down his spine.
For a moment, he stared at their backs silently.
Then slowly, he forced himself to breathe and calmed down.
I see…
He understood what had happened.
Kakashi, however, was still staring at the three of them in disbelief.
He turned toward Akira and lowered his voice.
"What just happened?"
His eyes narrowed.
"Why are they saying the exact same things they said before we reached the grave?"
Akira glanced toward the mountain behind them—the place where the gravestone still stood, hidden beyond the trees.
Then he answered quietly.
"…Because they never saw it."
Kakashi frowned.
"What?"
Akira spoke even more softly.
"The moment we saw that grave… something interfered."
He looked at Kakashi seriously.
"Their memories were erased."
Kakashi's eye widened slightly.
"They don't remember going there," Akira continued. "To them, we never left the path."
Kakashi turned his head again and watched Obito, Rin, and Guy laughing ahead of them.
Completely unaware.
Completely normal.
"…But we remember," Kakashi said slowly.
Akira nodded once.
"Yes."
A quiet silence passed between them.
Kakashi's gaze drifted back toward the mountain.
"…That means someone or something didn't want them to know about that grave."
Akira didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked at the fading sunset behind the mountain.
Then he said softly,
"Or… someone wanted only us to remember."
The wind rustled through the trees.
Far behind them, on the mountain slope—
The ancient gravestone stood silently.
Waiting.