Chapter 340: Temporal Mirage
Everything had been consistent before—so why had the ninja world suddenly changed so drastically?
The current timeline had completely deviated from the progression of other parallel worlds that were once in sync.
The Sage of Six Paths realized that something major had gone wrong in his world.
For hundreds of years, this world had developed just like many other parallel timelines—even matching the fifty most advanced ones perfectly.
But now, such dramatic change could only mean something—or someone—had gone off script.
He continued examining the memories of souls who had entered the Pure Land in the past few decades.
Soon, two pieces of information caught his attention:
The first was the unprecedented joint execution attempt by all Five Kage against a man named Li Yao—allegedly someone capable of continuous body-hopping and reincarnation.
This person did not exist in any other parallel world.
The second—someone had annihilated the Daimyō family of the Land of Water.
The complete eradication of a Daimyō clan!
That, too, had never happened in any parallel world.
The Sage's expression grew solemn. The Daimyō system was something he had subtly influenced into existence—to keep the number of shinobi balanced and under control.
But someone had dared to wipe out a Daimyō bloodline.
Recalling that the Five Great Daimyō Houses had pressured the Hidden Villages into attacking Li Yao, the Sage started to piece things together.
"Was it Black Zetsu?"
"No… it's not him."
The Sage shook his head. Li Yao wasn't Black Zetsu—he was certain of that. And though records claimed Li Yao had died…
He hadn't sensed Li Yao's soul in the Pure Land.
Unless someone's soul had been sealed or completely erased, all chakra-bearing souls—regardless of strength—would be absorbed by the Pure Land upon death.
But Li Yao's soul was nowhere to be found.
That could only mean he hadn't died.
After all, the reports said he was killed by Dust Release—not a soul-sealing technique.
Not just him—Ōnoki, the Third Tsuchikage; the Third Kazekage; and the Third Mizukage too.
The Sage scanned again. None of their souls had arrived.
Three major Kage dead, yet no souls?
There could be only one explanation:
Not only had their bodies been destroyed, their souls had been annihilated—wiped from existence.
"Someone is hunting the souls of powerful shinobi."
"But who?"
The Sage continued his search. He had a strong feeling that whoever was behind these soul assassinations was also the reason the world had changed so drastically.
But no matter how deeply he delved into the memories of recently deceased souls, he couldn't identify anyone suspicious.
Or rather—only one name stood out: Li Yao.
But Li Yao was supposed to be dead… unless he had reincarnated into someone else.
Was he the one who eradicated the Daimyō House?
Could he be one of the altered Fourth Kazekage or Fourth Tsuchikage?
Or perhaps the child from Ryūchidō who suddenly awakened Wood Release in Konoha?
The Sage narrowed his eyes, countless possibilities churning in his mind. There were many suspects, but no certainty.
Still, if Li Yao truly was the cause…
No—whoever it was, the Sage needed to prepare.
He would no longer slumber. The long-awaited day of chakra unification was near. This time, he had to succeed.
"If I can't find clues in this world, I'll search the others."
He quickly formed a plan: he would observe other parallel worlds through dreams to track figures whose presence was changing his own world. From there, he could trace the threads.
While the Sage of Six Paths examined the multiverse...
Back in Loran.
A month passed. The Ryūmyaku became increasingly unstable—at times solid, at others flickering, like the mirage Li Yao had once seen in the desert. Even its chakra was often undetectable.
Li Yao knew—the Ryūmyaku was disappearing.
But he didn't stop. He continued immersing himself in the Ryūmyaku's changing chakra.
Although it had been turbulent due to spacetime distortion, this volatility allowed him to perceive even more chakra properties.
Combined with the past two years of research, he now understood over 90% of the Ryūmyaku chakra's nature—an extraordinary gain.
BOOM!
One day, the entire city of Loran shook violently. The ground split open, and an invisible tremor surged from deep beneath the Ryūmyaku.
Li Yao jumped to the edge of the massive crater.
Below, the Ryūmyaku chakra had completely turned to illusion—its properties now imperceptible.
With no physical chakra, the buildings—once linked to the Ryūmyaku by Mukade—began to collapse from the unstable feedback.
BOOM!
The infrastructure supporting the Ryūmyaku finally gave way. Boulders rained into the pit, but they no longer affected the now-fading Ryūmyaku.
Chakra and spacetime rippled together.
Only Li Yao could sense it.
Floating above the devastation, a circular slashing barrier protected him. Falling debris disintegrated harmlessly around him.
As he absorbed the spacetime tremor, Li Yao combined it with the Ryūmyaku's chakra and condensed a new, personal form: Ryūmyaku Spacetime Chakra.
POP!
BOOM!
Suddenly, the entire city of Loran collapsed inward as if detonated—reduced to ruins.
The Ryūmyaku vanished entirely. The pool was gone. From the wreckage, Li Yao, surrounded by his protective barrier, emerged into the open sky.
Facing the rising sun, the corners of his mouth curled upward—then stretched into a grin.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I did it!"
He burst into laughter as deep violet chakra exploded from his body.
The surrounding spacetime shuddered violently.
Invisible waves of temporal force rippled outward, and Li Yao's body blurred—he looked like a desert mirage. Although still in this world, he felt as though he existed in another dimension.
This was his newly developed spacetime jutsu: Temporal Mirage—a technique born from his Ryūmyaku Spacetime Chakra. Its true potential would soon be seen.
Whoosh!
Li Yao teleported directly to the rogue clone's location. The encircling shadow clones continued bombarding the black hole shield with Black Hole Space techniques.
Li Yao flew in. The Black Hole Orbs from the shadow clones passed right through him without effect—as though he were in Black Hole Spatial Mode.
But he wasn't.
This was something even more advanced—akin to Obito's Kamui intangibility, but surpassing it.
Li Yao's body now existed in another spacetime entirely—like Madara's Limbo clones from the Rinnegan: untouchable, invisible, and yet able to influence the real world.
(END CHAPTER)
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