Chapter 363: Planet Herka
The ninja world lay covered in snow, engulfed in a deathly silence.
On the snowy plains stood a dozen snow huts built from snow bricks.
In the battle between the Ninja Allied Forces and Akshia, the allied forces were almost entirely wiped out—each of them turned into an ice sculpture. Only Obito and Sasuke managed to return alive.
"...What about Boruto from the future? Is there any news of him?"
Upon hearing that Sasuke had survived, Naruto's heavy heart eased a little. But then he suddenly realized that he hadn't heard a word about Boruto from the future.
"No idea. We haven't received any information about him."
Obito shook his head as he spoke. By now, he had lost all hope that the future Boruto might still be alive.
"...Future Boruto has disappeared."
"Who's there?!"
Naruto and Obito turned around simultaneously, wary expressions on their faces as they stared at the newcomers—Gray Wolf, Red Wolf, SpongeBob, and Patrick Star.
"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Naruto eyed the S.H.I.E.L.D. members before him. Although everyone except Gray Wolf—who was actually Orochimaru—was an undercover operative, S.H.I.E.L.D. possessed the technology to control them, so Naruto remained highly vigilant.
"Relax, Naruto. We're here to cooperate."
Jiraiya stepped forward. Even with Jiraiya vouching for them, Naruto didn't lower his guard.
"What do you mean Boruto from the future disappeared?"
Obito looked toward Orochimaru and asked.
Orochimaru pressed a button on his wristband, which projected a screen showing footage of future Boruto.
Inside one of Orochimaru's secret bio-labs, future Boruto had just finished destroying the facility. Suddenly, his body began to blur, and then gradually turned into glowing particles and vanished.
"What's going on?"
Naruto asked.
"My guess is that the future has changed..."
Orochimaru explained.
Future Boruto came from a timeline ravaged by a bio-crisis. If that crisis never happens in the future, then naturally, future Boruto would cease to exist.
Orochimaru tossed out a universal capsule, which transformed into a sleek, high-tech building.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s goal is to create an absolutely peaceful world through force. Akshia stands in the way of that, which is why S.H.I.E.L.D. has decided to cooperate with you."
After listening to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s reason for cooperating, and finding it reasonably convincing, everyone chose to set aside their past grievances and join forces to defeat the immediate threat.
"Naruto, now that you're back, does that mean you've mastered Super Saiyan Mode?"
Obito asked Naruto.
"Yeah. In fact, I've reached the third stage of Super Saiyan Mode," Naruto replied.
The group regained some confidence upon hearing this.
"But even so, I still don't think I can defeat Akshia."
"Akshia's true form is a royal elf from Planet Cecilia, skilled in ice-style ninjutsu...," Orochimaru explained. "We'll need to fight an elf with another elf."
"But how do we obtain an elf?"
Naruto asked.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. possesses an elf inheritance left behind by the second and last Guardian Deity of Planet Herka—the legendary King of Lightning, Lei Yi."
Orochimaru suddenly revealed. This intel had come from Shunhi.
"Guardian Deity of Planet Herka?"
Everyone present murmured the name. Just the title alone suggested a being on par with Akshia.
"Unfortunately, none of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents were chosen. So I've decided to let you try instead."
As Orochimaru spoke, he took out a Thunder Stone. When touched, those chosen by the stone would elicit a reaction. As expected, the one selected was Uchiha Sasuke.
Underground in the Land of Water.
"We'll use the Flying Thunder God teleportation array to send you to Planet Herka to receive the inheritance," Orochimaru said as he entered the coordinates. "However, teleporting a living person creates extreme pressure—it could very well crush you into paste."
"Hold on! Why didn't you mention that earlier?!"
Naruto immediately panicked upon learning that Sasuke might be in danger.
"It's fine, Naruto."
Sasuke spoke calmly as he stepped onto the teleportation platform.
"I'm ready, Sasuke."
"Yeah."
Sasuke nodded and summoned his Susanoo. As Orochimaru pressed the start button, a pitch-black vortex appeared above Sasuke, pulling him in with tremendous force.
As he was dragged into the vortex, the skeletal frame of Susanoo surrounding Sasuke began to crack.
"Orochimaru, stop it! Sasuke's Susanoo can't hold on much longer!"
Naruto shouted in alarm.
"Sorry. Once it starts, it can't be stopped."
Orochimaru replied.
"Naruto, calm down."
Obito hurriedly held him back.
Planet Herka.
A planet of advanced mechanical civilization that was destroyed by its own overdevelopment and creation of giant robots. It was also the birthplace of once-legendary infinite energy.
Lying on the ground, Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. He felt a pounding headache and a tightness in his chest. The headache came from the aftereffects of the teleportation, while the tightness was due to a group of electric mice sprawled on his chest.
Delicate and nimble Bibi Mice, fond of sweets, capable of discharging electricity when angry. They live in dark environments, causing their eyes to degenerate while their sense of smell evolved.
"What are these? I've never seen ninja beasts like this..."
Sasuke picked up one of the Bibi Mice and stared at it.
Startled by Sasuke's sudden movement, the mouse released a faint electric shock, sending a mild sting through Sasuke's palm.
Taking the chance, the Bibi Mouse leapt from his hand and quickly scampered away.
Sasuke didn't bother chasing after it—he had more important things to do.
After surveying the area, Sasuke pulled out the glowing Thunder Stone from his cloak. The closer he got to Lei Yi's inheritance, the brighter it shone.
Though curious about his surroundings, Sasuke didn't waste time exploring. His priority was finding Lei Yi's legacy.
Third Layer of Planet Herka.
"All I have to do is unleash my strongest lightning-style jutsu at the lake's surface..." Sasuke recalled Orochimaru's instructions as he formed hand seals. "Lightning Style: Kirin!"
Thunderclouds gathered in the sky as peals of thunder echoed. At last, a lightning-formed Kirin struck the surface of the lake.
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