Nobunaga opened his eyes.
Moonlight leaked in through the crack in the window, a thin line falling across his face.
"What a truly long dream."
He lay there, staring at the ceiling.
Something was spinning within his eye sockets.
Hot, like two balls of fire.
He blinked, and the two fires settled, turning into something heavier, sinking to the depths of his eyes.
Mangekyo Sharingan.
The ability of his left eye was Intangibility. It allowed his body to switch between the physical and the ethereal, letting any attack pass through him as if passing through a mist.
The ability of his right eye was Tsukuyomi. It dragged people into a mental world of his own weaving, where time, space, and all rules were his to command.
Both abilities were the most practical when on the brink of life and death.
Now, he had already reached the strength of a Jonin.
He only needed to develop steadily for two or three years to easily step over the threshold of Kage-level.
As for Beyond Kage-level, he would at least need to reach adulthood.
This body's age was too young.
But Nobunaga wasn't thinking about the issue of strength right now.
Instead, he thought of Gaara, Kankuro, Sasori, and Temari.
Those images swirled in his mind, making his head ache.
Twenty years of memories.
It wasn't a dream; it was twenty years truly lived in a parallel dimension.
Those days on the Training Ground, those birthday nights, those moments of fighting side by side, and those people who fell one by one.
Kankuro. Gaara. Sasori. Rasa.
So many people.
He had survived; they had not.
Nobunaga closed his eyes.
The two fires in his eye sockets were still burning, making them feel hot.
But he didn't open his eyes, just lying there, letting those images continue to swirl in the darkness.
It was very quiet outside the window.
Konoha's nights were different from Sunagakure's.
Sunagakure's nights had the sound of the wind, the faint tapping of sand against the window, and the occasional sound of flutes from afar.
Konoha's nights had nothing but the occasional chirping of insects and the faint barking of dogs in the distance.
It was too quiet.
So quiet that he was somewhat unaccustomed to it.
Half an hour later.
Nobunaga opened his eyes, stood up, and walked to the window.
Outside the window were the streets of Konoha, with moonlight dyeing the rooftops silver.
There were lights in the distance; it was the Anbu on night watch patrol.
Further away was the Hokage Rock, where the heads of the Past Hokage looked like four silent giants under the moonlight.
He looked at those heads and suddenly thought of Rasa.
Rasa didn't have a statue yet. When he died, the war hadn't ended, and no one had the time to carve a statue for him.
What about later?
Nobunaga didn't know. When he died, the war still hadn't ended.
When he died, Temari should have already been sent away by Chiyo.
...
On the other side.
Mei Terumī walked on the path away.
Moonlight fell on the streets of Konoha, her footsteps echoing one by one on the bluestone slabs.
As she walked, she stopped.
She raised her hand and pressed it against her heart; at that spot, a flood of emotions suddenly overflowed.
She began to recall what had just happened.
She had held a blade against Nobunaga's heart. She had spoken harsh words, threatened Nobunaga, and even threatened to kill that little girl named Hinata.
But Nobunaga said, "You wouldn't do that to me."
He even walked forward against the tip of the blade, pulled her into an embrace, and kissed her.
And then, for some inexplicable reason, she had left.
Mei Terumī suddenly stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening.
"Why did I just leave like that?"
She had finally caught him with great difficulty.
And then she was sent away with just a hug and a kiss?
Mei Terumī stood there, the more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong.
Those fifteen years of emotional memories surged up.
Love and hate swirled in her mind, making her head ache.
"Why?"
Mei Terumī lowered her head, looking at her hand.
That hand had just been holding the blade, its tip against his heart.
Just one inch further, and she could have pierced his heart.
Why hadn't she done it?
Because he asked, "How have you been lately?"
Because he said, "You wouldn't do that to me"?
Because he walked forward against the tip of the blade?
Or was it because she herself—didn't want to stab him?
She remembered the look in Nobunaga's eyes as he walked toward the blade's tip.
Those eyes looked at her, as calm as if he were speaking about the most ordinary thing.
It was as if he had known all along that she wouldn't stab him. As if he had known all along that she would soften.
As if he had known all along that those fifteen years of memories were more than just hate to her.
Mei Terumī's hand tightened.
"Yes, he knew all along!"
From the moment he knocked on the door, Nobunaga was gambling.
Gambling that she would soften, unable to strike, and that those fifteen years of memories would make her hesitate.
And Nobunaga won the gamble.
Mei Terumī looked up at the moon above.
The moonlight was very bright.
The corners of her mouth twitched.
"You want to win again?"
Then she turned around.
And dashed back.
Her clothes fluttered in the night wind. Her reddish-brown hair flew behind her.
The ninja sword swayed gently at her waist, the bandages on the hilt fluttering in the wind.
She ran past the corner, past the Training Ground, and past the registration desk where long lines had formed during the day.
The faster she ran, the angrier she became, and the more she felt she had been incredibly stupid just now.
"This time, I'm definitely going to stab you," she said to herself.
...
Inside the room.
Nobunaga, who had not yet recovered from the Dream Simulation, turned his head to look in another direction.
That was the direction of Sunagakure.
It was far away, invisible.
But he seemed able to see through those eyes, across the layers of time and space, to that place eternally shrouded in wind and sand.
The people there remembered that Nobunaga was their Kazekage.
And those who had died were all there.
Before Kankuro's grave, that little bird should still be there. Sasori had placed it. After Sasori died, he wondered if anyone helped him place it.
Before Gaara's grave, a handful of sand should be placed. Temari placed it. Every time she went to see him, she would bring a handful of fresh sand.
Nobunaga stood there, moonlight shining in from behind, casting his shadow onto the floor.
Then he felt it.
"Hmm? Something's wrong!"
Chakra. A familiar Chakra. Reddish-brown, cold and damp with mist, like an undercurrent in the deep sea.
It was rushing toward him at an incredible speed.
Mei Terumī.
She's back?
Nobunaga's pupils constricted sharply. Those two fires instantly flared up in his eye sockets, and the Mangekyo Sharingan activated automatically.
Without a second thought, he directly activated Intangibility.
His body became transparent in an instant.
At the very moment he phased.
With a "bang."
The door was kicked open.
The wooden door flew straight in, smashed against the wall, and broke in two.
Moonlight poured in from the doorway, illuminating a slender figure.
"Nobunaga!"
Mei Terumī strode inside.
Her reddish-brown hair flew behind her, and her emerald eyes shone terrifyingly bright in the dim light.
She held that ninja sword in her hand, the blade still shimmering with moonlight.
Her breathing was somewhat hurried, her chest heaving slightly; she had clearly run all the way here.
She stood at the door, her gaze sweeping across the room.
The bed. The table. The window. The clutter in the corner.
It was empty. There was nothing.
Mei Terumī's brow furrowed. She walked in, her steps light but each one planting firmly.
She walked to the bed and pulled back the covers.
Nothing was there.
She crouched down and took a look under the bed.
Nothing was there.
Finally, she walked to the window, pushed it open, and looked outside.
The alley was empty, with only moonlight falling on the bluestone slabs.
She stood there, holding the blade, silent for a few seconds.
"He certainly ran fast."
Her voice echoed in the room.
Then she turned around and walked out.
Reaching the door, she stopped and looked back at the room.
"Nobunaga. You can't run away."
After saying that, she stepped into the night.
The sound of her footsteps gradually faded away.