Chapter 426: Erasing Memories
"About twenty years. Don't let my current appearance fool you; I'm already thirty-three years old."
Adult Naruto landed on the ground, and Simba immediately reverted to his small, golden retriever puppy form, scurrying to Naruto's feet with a "whoosh" and affectionately rubbing against his pant leg.
It was still safer to follow Naruto!
Adult Naruto couldn't reach down to pet Simba's head, so he simply ignored him.
He looked straight ahead at Uchiha Madara, who was mounted on a skeletal horse and observing him deeply with those Rinnegan eyes.
"Interesting, how very interesting."
Madara muttered to himself, a near-fanatical light flickering in his Rinnegan.
"In just twenty years, your transformation has been earth-shattering. Moreover, the feeling you give me is very special. You don't seem like an ordinary powerhouse; instead, you have a bit of..."
He seemed to be searching for the right adjective. Finally, he thought of the old man he had seen not long ago.
"You are very much like the 'Six Paths Sage'."
"It doesn't matter; you won't remember it soon anyway."
Golden chains pierced through Madara's back into his heart, sealing his Chakra.
"Is this... the Adamantine Sealing Chains?"
Madara instantly recognized the technique attacking him.
"So cool!"
Watching from the side, Uzumaki Yuji couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, his eyes shining.
"Dad can actually manifest this technique directly outside his body?"
In reality, this move just used a bit of sleight of hand; the chains still materialized from Naruto's back.
Adult Naruto extended his right hand.
"Memory Seal."
Following Naruto's words, countless fine, complex black runes, resembling a swarm of living tadpoles, emerged from the void in front of his palm.
These runes were not physical objects, but were composed of highly condensed Yin Release Chakra.
As if possessed of life, they intertwined and circled in the air before turning into a torrent of black runes that surged toward the center of Madara's brow.
The black runes stained the depths of his consciousness like ink.
Memories related to Naruto, Yuji, and Simba were like pencil marks erased by an eraser—rapidly blurring and finally vanishing.
After sealing Madara's memories, he finally turned around to look at Senju Hashirama, who had been standing silently to the side, witnessing everything.
"First Hokage."
Senju Hashirama looked at the mature and powerful junior Hokage before him, then glanced at Uchiha Madara slumped over the skeletal horse nearby, a complex expression appearing on his face.
He understood Naruto's reason for doing this: to avoid any unpredictable disturbances to the future timeline that might result from this mission.
He didn't ask further questions, simply nodding solemnly, his eyes clear and open.
"I understand."
Without needing another word, Hashirama took a step forward of his own accord, closing his eyes slightly and relaxing his Soul's defenses to show his willingness to cooperate.
A flicker of apology passed through adult Naruto's eyes, but he knew this was necessary.
Just like when Sasuke and Boruto from another world left after visiting his younger self.
He raised his hand again, and the same black runes began to condense.
"Forgive me, First Hokage."
Half an hour later.
Led by adult Naruto, Uzumaki Yuji and Simba left the area where Hashirama and Madara had resumed their battle.
They traveled through a thicker gray-white mist that seemed to contain endless sorrow and silence, arriving before a great yellow river.
Yuji had seen this river before; it was here that he had saved Kato Dan.
Kato Dan was one of the key figures in history textbooks, so he remembered that face very clearly.
"This is the Yellow Springs, the boundary separating the outskirts of the Pure Land from its core area."
Naruto introduced the region to Yuji.
"The Souls of the dead from the Ninja World must cross the Yellow Springs to reach the Pure Land. Living people who try to force their way across will have their Physical Bodies corroded, while the dead who try to return will have their Souls corroded. If you hadn't helped Kato Dan, he likely would have perished here completely."
"In other words, I changed history?"
Naruto patted his son's head.
"Your arrival may seem like an accident, but at this moment in this timeline, it is an established fact."
"Your actions, your choices—including helping Kato Dan—are all links that constitute this period of 'history'. Perhaps on 'that' timeline where you didn't intervene, Kato Dan's attempt failed."
"But on this timeline 'with you', his success is part of this history. This is also the timeline in my memory."
"I sealed the memories of Madara and the First Hokage because in my memory, they had no idea we were ever here. Even though we've traveled through time, we must try our best not to change history."
Yuji nodded with a half-understanding, and then he thought of something.
"Dad, I've been wanting to ask you something."
"Go ahead."
"Did you give Shinachiku extra lessons before?"
They were all sons of the same father, yet Shinachiku was so popular with girls, while the other brothers were just average.
Naruto saw through his son's thoughts. He didn't answer directly, but instead spoke of his own experiences.
"Your old man was very popular with girls in school. Young girls simply like boys who are handsome or powerful."
"However, before I defeated Sasuke in our second year, I was a complete nobody."
"You all are similar in terms of strength, but he worked harder on his academic studies than you guys. People tend to like those who are more outstanding."
Was Shinachiku handsome?
Of course he was, but his other brothers were roughly on par with him.
In terms of combat strength, Shinachiku was actually at the bottom among the brothers.
Meanwhile, the powerful Taichi, Yun, and Yuji had to suppress their true strength.
Their power definitely exceeded that of an average Elite Jonin, but their academic levels weren't as high as Shinachiku's.
Therefore, Shinachiku was the one who appeared more outstanding on the surface.
"Dad, you're not just trying to make me study harder, are you? Are you tricking me?"
With past examples fresh in his mind, he knew his dad loved to tease them.
"How could I? With your little brains, my only expectation is that you don't end up illiterate. If you want to show off in front of a girl you like, then study hard."
In the Ninja World, there was no such thing as 'puppy love'.
Yuji curled his lip.
"Dad's using reverse psychology again."
"Hahaha, how is this reverse psychology? Papa just hopes you can be yourselves."
Naruto laughed loudly as he ruffled his son's red hair; it actually felt quite nice.
Father and son crossed the Yellow Springs.
The passage connecting the Yellow Springs to the human world is called Yomotsu Hirasaka, also known as Izanami Slope.
This was also the place where the Six Paths Sage's control over the Pure Land was at its loosest.
The number of people dying every day was countless; only a few could be noticed by the Six Paths Sage.
By passing through here, they could return to the Ninja World.
Upon arriving, Naruto used his Truth-Seeking Balls to form a sphere, shielding the two people and the dog.
"I can't delete the Six Paths Sage's memories of you. That old man can't beat me, but I have no way to erase his memories. And if I were to kill him, the timeline would have problems."
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