Flying Thunder God.
A blur passed before his eyes, and the sound of wind in his ears stopped abruptly.
By the time their vision recovered, they were no longer in Konoha.
Surrounding them was a desolate wilderness. In the distance were cliffs and wind-eroded rock pillars. The sky was vast, and the stars were bright.
Nobunaga's heart sank a little.
"Where is this?" he asked.
Temari did not answer.
She stood before him, her back to the moonlight, her expression hard to discern.
But her eyes were very bright.
Abnormally bright.
"Teacher."
She spoke, her voice still so soft.
"Come back to Sunagakure with me."
Nobunaga froze for a moment.
Return to Sunagakure?
He did indeed want to visit Sunagakure, but not now.
He still had unfinished business—matters concerning Mei Terumī, the Sandaime, and Jiraiya—
"Temari, I..."
"I wasn't asking you."
Temari interrupted him.
Her tone was very calm. So calm it was as if she were saying the weather was nice today.
But Nobunaga heard something wrong.
It was too calm.
So calm that it seemed like she was deliberately suppressing something.
"Temari?"
She took a step forward.
The moonlight fell on her face, and Nobunaga finally saw her expression clearly.
She was smiling.
The corners of her mouth were curved, her eyes were curved, just like before.
But that smile did not reach her eyes.
In the depths of her eyes, there was only something very deep and very heavy.
Like a vortex.
"Teacher, do you know?"
She tilted her head, her voice still so soft.
"After you died, I waited for a long time."
Nobunaga's Adam's apple bobbed.
"A very, very long time."
She reached out, her fingers running through Nobunaga's hair, gently brushing it.
"I thought you would come back. You said you would always be there."
"Temari..."
"But you didn't."
Her finger stopped behind his ear, her fingertip slightly cold.
"Later I thought, it's okay. If you don't come back, I'll go find you. But the people of Konoha said you were dead."
I was unwilling to accept it, so I continued to lead the Sand ninja in resistance.
Do you still remember Minato Namikaze?
One of his hands was crippled by you, yet the Third Hokage actually let him succeed him.
As a result, Konoha fell into internal strife, and the major hidden Villages revolted one after another.
In the end, it was me!
I conquered the entire Ninja World!
I unified the Five Great Nations!
Everyone calls me the Lord of the Ninja World!"
She laughed.
That smile was very sweet.
"But do you know? None of that matters."
"What matters is—I couldn't find you."
Nobunaga's heart felt as if it were being squeezed by something.
"Fifty years, I searched for fifty years."
I used countless forbidden techniques and scoured all the ancient texts. Even with Edo Tensei, I couldn't summon you."
She lowered her head, her forehead resting against the top of Nobunaga's head.
"Thank the heavens for taking pity on me, thank you."
Her voice began to tremble, carrying a sob.
"It let me come here."
Nobunaga opened his mouth, not knowing what to say. These few short sentences brought him too much information.
To think he had been constantly worrying about Temari, constantly blaming himself for not protecting the Village, and brooding over it.
It turns out you are the Child of Prophecy!
Temari raised her head and looked into his eyes.
In those eyes, the smile had completely vanished.
Only that deep, heavy thing remained.
"So, Teacher."
Her voice suddenly became very soft, so soft it was like she was talking in her sleep.
"Come with me."
"Don't worry about Konoha. Don't worry about the Mizukage. Don't worry about anyone."
"I'll take you back to Sunagakure. I'll hide you away. No one will be able to find you."
Her hand slid from behind Nobunaga's ear to his cheek, cupping his face.
"This time, it's my turn to protect you. For a lifetime."
Nobunaga's pupils contracted slightly.
He looked at her.
Looking at this fifteen-year-old face. Looking at that quiet, burning, spine-chilling thing in those eyes.
He suddenly understood.
This wasn't the Temari he knew.
Or rather—this wasn't entirely her.
The Temari he knew was the girl who stood behind him and said with a smile, "Teacher, I'll always be here."
But the person before him was the one who had waited for him for a lifetime, conquered the entire Ninja World, and would even use forbidden techniques to find him—
The Kazekage.
The Lord of the Ninja World.
A powerhouse who had lived alone for too many years.
"Temari," Nobunaga's voice was a bit hoarse, "You..."
"Are you unwilling?"
She tilted her head, her tone suddenly becoming very soft, incredibly soft.
"If Teacher is unwilling..."
She smiled.
"Then there's no other way."
Her fingers tightened, gripping the back of Nobunaga's head.
"I'll just have to use force."
Space distorted once again.
Nobunaga only felt a blur before his eyes, his body being pulled down by a force.
Damn it—
This is the second stage of Flying Thunder God.
She was going to take him directly back to Sunagakure.
At that very instant—
An orange-red light struck from the side, precisely cutting into the node of the spatial distortion.
Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique.
The spatial distortion was forcibly interrupted.
Nobunaga and Temari both fell from mid-air.
Temari stumbled as she landed. She turned her head, and the soft look in her eyes instantly turned into killing intent.
Mei Terumī stood ten meters away.
Her auburn hair fluttered in the night wind, and her emerald eyes reflected the moonlight.
There were several new tears in her clothes, and her hair was a bit disheveled; she had clearly pursued them at breakneck speed.
But she stood there with steady breathing, her blade already unsheathed.
"Space-time Ninjutsu, Flying Thunder God."
Mei Terumī's voice was very cold.
Cold as a blade.
"There are two people I hate the most."
She looked at Temari.
"One is Nobunaga."
Then her gaze shifted to Temari, a complex emotion churning in the depths of her eyes.
"And the other—is anyone who can use Flying Thunder God."
Nobunaga was stunned for a moment.
He suddenly remembered.
In that world, back when Minato Namikaze was still alive.
Mei Terumī had already begun researching the weaknesses of space-time Ninjutsu.
It wasn't for any other reason.
It was so that the next time she encountered it, she wouldn't be so powerless.
But in the end, she never expected that the person she always wanted to protect would actually stand on Minato Namikaze's side and strike at her.
"Little girl."
Mei Terumī looked at Temari, the tip of her blade slightly raised.
"Where are you taking him?"
Temari stood in front of Nobunaga, her broken Giant Folding Fan unfolding once more.
"None of your business."
"None of my business?"
Mei Terumī laughed.
That smile was cold enough to freeze.
"Do you know how many years I waited to find him?"
"How many years?"
Temari's voice was also very cold.
"I've waited longer than you."
The two women locked eyes.
The night wind blew across the wilderness, kicking up dust and debris.
Nobunaga stood in the middle, his back drenched in cold sweat.
He finally realized one thing—
Mei Terumī was chasing him because of hatred.
Temari was looking for him because of an obsession.
One was a grudge for a killed spouse.
The other was an intense desire for control.
Neither was someone to be trifled with.
"Um..."
As soon as Nobunaga spoke, two gazes swept over him simultaneously.
One was icy cold.
The other was gentle but brooked no argument.
He shut his mouth.
Mei Terumī withdrew her gaze and looked at Temari.
"Step aside."
"No."
"Then I'll kill you too."
"You can try."
Temari raised her hand, her Chakra surging once again.
Sage Mode.
Golden light overflowed from her body, and the orange markings around her eyes were particularly striking under the moonlight.
Chakra also began to condense on Mei Terumī's blade.
Boiling Release and Lava Release flickered alternately.