Bang!
In Neji's vision, Kaguya's figure grew smaller and smaller. Before long, she fell out of the rift in space and time, landing on a hard stone slab.
With Neji's current strength, falling from a spatial rift wouldn't injure him. However, he had no intention of getting up. He just lay there, spacing out on the floor.
The two who had just been embracing were now separated, and it made him feel incredibly bad.
Especially thinking about his two children who would be born without a father, it made him feel even more lost and overwhelmed, falling into deep self-blame.
"No, now is not the time for sorrow," Neji got up and muttered to himself. "I must first figure out what happened."
Neji looked around.
This place looked like the inside of a house. It was a bit dim, as if no one had lived there for a long time. No, it should be abandoned, because he could faintly see some broken pillars, and there was a lot of dust on the floor.
"The layout and furnishings here look like a palace. The exit is... never mind, I've already found it."
In the incredibly dim house, only one spot was shining brightly. If this wasn't the exit, where else could it be?
Stepping out of the palace, he was greeted by fresh air. Steep cliffs surrounded the palace, with only a few small trees showing signs of vibrant life.
"This is... I see. This is the palace used by the Land of Demons to seal Moryo."
Neji looked at the dilapidated palace gate behind him, and it was impossible not to be shocked. The place where Moryo was sealed was actually a rift in space-time. He remembered visiting this place with Shion before. It was truly fortunate that the rift in space-time was not open then.
"Host has returned to the current space-time. System is resuming operation. Detected that the host engaged in a series of intimate actions with Ootsutsuki Kaguya. Issuing the following rewards:
[Yomotsu Hirasaka]
[Chakra Fruit Creation]
[Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan]
[Rinne Sharingan]
[Amenominaka]
[...]"
The system's sudden announcement made Neji's face darken as he was lost in thought about the past. Honestly, it was like his roommate starting to play an annoying earworm song right after he had fallen asleep. If only he could catch the system, Neji truly wanted to grind it into dust.
But Neji clearly wasn't in the mood for the system to introduce each item one by one. More importantly, he wanted to know what time it was. After all, no matter what method was used to travel through time, there would always be a time discrepancy. However, thanks to Kaguya's ocular power, this time discrepancy should not be too large.
With a slight step, the space in front of him automatically split open. When he reappeared, he was already in the Land of Fire.
"Neji! That's great! I knew you wouldn't die. I came over when I sensed that immense chakra suddenly appearing here."
Neji slowly made his way through the woods. Before long, Senju Tobirama and Minato appeared together before him. They had been searching for Neji for days. It was almost like a total mobilization of the ninja world. Seeing Neji safe and sound now finally lifted a heavy weight off their minds.
"Tobirama, Minato, I... I left, no, what time is it now?"
Neji stood before them with vacant eyes. After carefully choosing his words, he stammered.
"You've been missing for a full week. The ninja war started on the fifth day after you disappeared. We've been looking for you the entire time."
"Is that so? The Fourth Great Ninja War has indeed begun," Neji said listlessly.
"Huh? Neji, what's wrong?"
"No, it's nothing. Let's go back."
Neji's dejected and strange behavior confused the two. However, after exchanging glances, they didn't ask any further questions. Minato placed his hands on Tobirama and Neji's shoulders, and with a faint flash of golden light, the three of them disappeared from where they stood.
"Everyone, look who's back."
In Konoha's Hokage office, as soon as Tobirama appeared, he pulled Neji out from behind him, his stern face filled with a smile.
"Neji!!"
When Neji appeared before the Kage, everyone was startled. Terumi Mei and Konan, among others, excitedly rushed into Neji's arms. But Neji just smiled, patted their backs, and walked away alone.
Dejected, lost...
"What's wrong? He doesn't seem as excited as we thought..."
Neji's lack of spirit surprised the Kage, who had no idea what had happened.
Ignoring them, Neji was now lying on the roof of the Hokage building, staring blankly at the sky, unsure whether to be happy or sad.
Returning here again, seeing the people he cared about once more, he was undoubtedly happy. But thinking about Kaguya raising children alone for over a decade and his children's lives without a father made his heart ache.
Looking at the sky, his gaze seemed to pierce through everything, seeing the woman sealed on the moon, lonely and waiting for him for a thousand years. His expression became even more somber.
"Hahaha, spacing out here all by yourself? Well, add me to the count then."
Jiraiya, who had climbed onto the roof of the Hokage building at some unknown time, laughed heartily and lay down beside Neji, gulping down wine from a flask. This casual style was truly befitting of Jiraiya.
Looking at Jiraiya, whom he didn't interact with much, Neji didn't know why, but perhaps because Jiraiya was so optimistic, Neji decided to tell him his troubles in the form of a story.
He thought this optimist would give him some advice piece by piece. However, when Neji turned to ask Jiraiya, he found him petrified.
Alright, he had underestimated Jiraiya's intelligence. Judging by his current state, with his jaw almost dislocated and his dazed expression, Jiraiya must have known he was the protagonist. He looked like someone who had failed to master Sage Mode.
"Geez, boring," Neji sighed softly and stood up, walking towards the edge of the roof.
"Neji, I don't know what you've been through, but I think you could try looking for the Great Toad Sage." Just as Neji was about to leave, Jiraiya suddenly came to his senses and quickly said.
"Great Toad Sage?" Neji turned his head and looked at the distant sky, a flicker of light in his eyes.
The Great Toad Sage had appeared in this world before the Divine Tree descended upon the ninja world. In the original story, he had always paid attention to the Divine Tree and Kaguya. Consulting him might yield some results.
"I got it. I'll go take a trip then."
Just as Jiraiya was about to ask if Neji wanted him to accompany him, Neji opened up Yomotsu Hirasaka and disappeared from there.
Seeing this, Jiraiya's jaw dropped again, and he returned to his previous dazed state.