Nobunaga was running.
He was running very fast.
But the direction he was running was not out of the village, nor was it toward safety, because at this moment, there was no safe place in Konoha.
However, the place Nobunaga was heading first was deep into the ruins.
There, Shukaku's roar shook the heavens and the earth.
There, three children were present.
Temari. Kankuro. Gaara.
In another world, he had taught them for twenty years.
He had watched them grow up, watched them learn to smile, learn to stand in front of others, and watched them fall one by one.
Nobunaga didn't even know why he was heading over there.
The wind whipped past his ears, very sharp.
He knew he shouldn't run that way. It was too dangerous.
Shukaku was on a rampage, Konoha was in chaos, and Mei Terumī was still chasing him from behind.
But he couldn't control himself.
Those images kept spinning in his head.
Ahead, the ruins drew closer and closer.
Shukaku's silhouette became clearer and clearer.
That massive tanuki was roaring, its giant claws slamming into the ground, each strike making the earth tremble.
And beneath Shukaku—
Nobunaga saw them.
And Sasuke, who stood opposite them.
Chidori erupted in his palm, the lightning dazzlingly bright.
His eyes were fixed on Temari, as if looking at prey.
"Move," Sasuke said.
Temari did not speak.
"I said move." Sasuke took a step forward. "I don't want to kill a woman."
Temari smiled, a very cold smile:
"You think you can beat me?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
He raised his hand higher. The chirping of the Chidori became increasingly shrill, like ten thousand birds screeching at once.
"Then let's try."
He charged.
Nobunaga's pupils constricted suddenly.
He didn't think too much.
The Mangekyo Sharingan activated instantly.
The hexagram spun.
Genjutsu.
Sasuke's body suddenly stiffened.
The Chidori was still erupting in his hand, the lightning light still flickering, but his entire being was frozen as if fixed in place, motionless.
His eyes were open, but there was no light within them.
Nobunaga stood in the shadows of the ruins, maintaining that posture.
He had intended to secretly use Genjutsu to entrance Sasuke and the other two, then leave.
He didn't want to be discovered.
He didn't want to get too involved.
He didn't want—
Then he saw something he shouldn't have seen.
Temari raised her hand.
Chakra condensed in her palm.
Rotating.
Compressing.
Taking shape.
A blue sphere of light slowly rotated in her palm.
Rasengan.
Nobunaga's breath hitched.
He froze on the spot.
"Rasengan! What the hell?"
That was the Rasengan.
The Rasengan he had taught.
In another world, on the Training Ground of the Hidden Sand Village, he had personally taught it to her.
"Teacher, this technique is so hard." Back then, Temari was only in her teens, holding that crooked Rasengan with a face full of sweat.
"Practice more," he had said.
She practiced countless times. Practiced until she could form a perfect Rasengan with one hand. Practiced until the Rasengan became one of her signature Ninjutsu.
That was something he had left for her.
In this world, it should be impossible for her to know it.
Unless—
She, like Mei Terumī, had woken up with memories of the other world.
Nobunaga froze in place.
"System, you're screwing me over again!"
He immediately turned around and left at once.
The next moment.
Temari looked at Sasuke's stiffened body, startled for a moment.
Then she turned her head, her gaze scanning the surroundings.
It landed on Nobunaga.
Just one glance.
Nobunaga thought he had hidden himself well. In the shadows of the ruins, amidst the chaotic battlefield, no one would notice him.
But Temari's gaze stopped.
She saw those red eyes, that spinning hexagram.
Across the ruins, the dust, and the distance between two worlds.
There was too much in those eyes.
Shock. Recognition. Disbelief.
And—
The glimmer of tears.
It was just a flash. She didn't let the tears fall.
But the way she looked at him reminded Nobunaga of the end of the other world.
She had stood at the village entrance, watching him leave.
"Temari, I will always be there."
He hadn't come back.
She had waited a lifetime.
Nobunaga turned and ran.
Since Temari and the others were fine, he could rest easy; Mei Terumī was still chasing from behind, and he couldn't afford to lure that trouble over.
Once the situation in Konoha stabilized and Mei Terumī and the others left, he would secretly contact Temari.
Mei Terumī was the Mizukage; she couldn't leave the village for long. Especially since the current situation in the Hidden Mist Village was not yet completely stable.
She would have to go back sooner or later.
He would be safe then.
Nobunaga ran at lightning speed.
Behind him, Temari's voice rang out.
"Is it you?"
The voice carried surprise and joy.
Nobunaga didn't look back, nor did he hear it.
He just kept running.
Running into the ruins.
Running into the chaos.
And then—
A yellow flash of a figure appeared out of thin air in front of him.
Nobunaga slammed on the brakes.
He almost crashed into it.
"Minato Namikaze! No way, right?"
Nobunaga looked up.
But it was Temari standing in front of him.
Looking at him.
Those eyes held tears, smiles, and so many, many things.
"Teacher."
Her voice was very soft. So soft it was as if she were afraid of disturbing something.
But that word hit Nobunaga's heart like a hammer.
Nobunaga was dazed.
He widened his eyes, looking at Temari.
How did she get over here?
Just a moment ago she was over there, at least several hundred meters away—
Flying Thunder God?
He hadn't taught her that move!
"You..." Nobunaga's voice was a bit dry, "Who are you?"
Temari was stunned for a moment, then she smiled.
That smile was exactly the same as in the other world.
"I'm Temari, Teacher, but you..."
She took a step forward, looking him up and down:
"How did you become such a small little thing?"
She reached out.
It landed on top of Nobunaga's head.
She gave it a pat.
"So cute."
Nobunaga froze.
Strictly speaking, the current Temari was fifteen, while Nobunaga was twelve.
In his past life, that was really the difference between a third-year middle schooler and a sixth-grade elementary student.
He tilted his head back, looking at Temari.
Temari looked down at him.
Those eyes held tears, smiles, and so many things he couldn't put into words.
"But..." Temari said softly, "Your eyes, your aura, I will always remember them. They are things I could never forget in a lifetime."
Nobunaga opened his mouth.
He wanted to say many things.
He wanted to say sorry, I shouldn't have deceived you at the end.
He wanted to say I missed you very much.
He wanted to say that in that world, you were the last thing on my mind.
But nothing came out.
Because Mei Terumī was still chasing from behind.
"Temari."
He said, "Can you take me and run far away first? I've run into a group of very, very bad people right now, and I'll likely get you involved."
Before he could finish, Temari suddenly smiled.
That smile was different from before.
It was still the same face, the same eyes. But beneath the smile, something had changed.
Like an undercurrent beneath the ice.
"Teacher."
Her voice suddenly changed.
It wasn't the trembling of a reunion like before, but a very light, soft voice that made one's spine chill.
"No need to run."
She reached out, her fingertips lightly resting on Nobunaga's shoulder.
"I'll take you to a place."
Before Nobunaga could react, space had already distorted.