The Ocular Power of the three-tomoe Rinnegan in Takuno's eyes perfectly blended with the vast energy of the Ryumyaku beneath his feet.
Under his control, a complex and profound technique formula rapidly took shape in the void, eventually transforming into an ouroboros mark radiating mysterious fluctuations, engraved upon the Ryumyaku.
The technique was complete, and the energy ripples gradually subsided.
Takuno found Sara and informed her of the arrangement that his "past self" would soon arrive here, asking her to handle the reception.
This sudden secret of time and space made Sara's eyes widen instantly, her face a mask of unbelievable shock.
"The past... you?" she murmured. Then, a mystery that had troubled her for a long time suddenly became clear.
"I see... no wonder you insisted back then that Rōran must 'perish' before the eyes of the world, even leaving traces in the history books.
In your perception from the 'past,' Rōran truly should have ceased to exist long ago, right?"
Although Sara couldn't completely grasp concepts like a "closed time loop," she understood one thing with absolute clarity.
If this man hadn't intervened during that all-consuming war years ago, allowing Rōran to escape like a cicada shedding its skin and continue living elsewhere...
...then her kingdom and her people would likely have been completely reduced to ashes in the flames of war. Even if some had luckily survived, it would probably only be a handful of people.
This kindness caused Sara's gaze toward Takuno to be filled with heartfelt gratitude and admiration.
At the same time, Sara was full of curiosity about the "past" Takuno who was about to arrive.
With the miraculous age-defying power of the Strength of a Hundred Seal, her appearance hadn't changed at all, let alone Takuno's. Sara was certain that his past self must also possess this same cold and handsome visage.
However, what she wanted to explore most was whether that Takuno, who had yet to experience the long baptism of time, was as unfathomable in temperament as he was now.
Thinking of this, a strange sense of joy welled up in Sara's heart.
She readily accepted Takuno's request: "I understand! Leave this matter to me!"
Her voice was light, and her eyes sparkled with a gleam of anticipation.
Takuno looked at Sara's cheerful appearance, a nearly imperceptible trace of confusion flickering between his brows.
What was there to be so happy about regarding receiving a visitor from the past, even if it was "himself"?
He didn't say much; as long as she was happy, it was fine.
He was actually quite aware of her attitude toward him, but he didn't care about such things.
He knew he was absolutely incapable of doing the same, so why should he demand that others 'love' him with all their heart?
To him, maintaining this relationship required only a simple bottom line.
It was enough that Sara and Rōran never betrayed him.
Otherwise... the Tenseigan's spirit sphere control could certainly make a few more appearances.
...
As time passed, Sara calculated in her heart that the agreed-upon date had arrived.
She gathered her thoughts and cast her gaze toward the distant ruins that carried the old glory of Rōran—the site of the Ancient Kingdom of Rōran.
She summoned her core subordinates, and the group set off on the journey to their former home.
For the people of Rōran today, these ruins were never a forbidden land where one had to hold their breath.
Takuno had never explicitly forbidden them from stepping onto this land; the only rule he set was simply to prohibit anyone from trying to repair the architectural remains that had collapsed in the wind, sand, and years.
Once, this was a holy land in the hearts of the Rōran survivors, a place where they placed their grief.
An endless stream of figures used to wander among the broken walls and debris.
However, as the new Rōran flourished under Queen Sara's leadership, life became increasingly prosperous and stable.
This ruin carrying the past was gradually replaced by new hope and the future, and the figures coming to reminisce became increasingly sparse.
Just as Sara, harboring a certain anticipation, led her subordinates deep into the ruins with light steps...
...far away on a high platform in the new city of Rōran, Takuno's gaze seemed to pierce through layers of spatial barriers, landing accurately on the figure racing toward Rōran at full speed—the "Takuno" of the past.
An indescribable curve quietly rose at the corner of his mouth, and a rare trace of sincere praise and relief appeared in his eyes.
In the long span of over a dozen years, as a "future person," he had never lent a helping hand to that struggling "past self."
This wasn't because he had no way at all to help the other.
In fact, he was fully capable of secretly exerting influence without disturbing the apparent flow of the river of history.
He had already verified this possibility, just as he had once, at some unknown moment in the past, quietly saved a Shinobi who was widely believed by the Shinobi World to have fallen.
That Shinobi was now living peacefully under the sun in Rōran, their life quiet and good, without causing a single ripple in time and space.
Therefore, as long as the technique was refined enough, making the help a "historical necessity" of which the "past" was entirely unaware was theoretically possible.
But Takuno chose to stand by and watch.
Because he didn't remember, nor did he believe, that his past success had ever received any favor from his future "self."
If he accepted such a gift from the future, a suffocating thought would follow him like a shadow.
Had all his past struggles, efforts, pain, and breakthroughs been written at the starting point by the invisible hand of fate?
Just because his future "self" was destined to come back and give that push? What would be the meaning of all that effort?
Wouldn't he have become a puppet already destined in the script of fate?
This feeling of "predestination" disgusted him to the extreme.
If the past Takuno's trajectory of fate was locked, then what about "him" standing at the heights of time right now?
Were his current thoughts and actions also being pulled by an invisible rope toward an already determined end?
If that were true, wouldn't all effort be in vain? After all, the final height was already destined.
Precisely because of this, when he clearly saw that without any intervention from the "future," his "past self"...
...had climbed to this height relying on his own will, wisdom, and unremitting effort, a sense of pure joy and pride welled up in his heart.
This was powerful proof that shattered the shackles of "predestination"!
All the power he possessed and the realm he had reached were by no means a destined fate, but something he, Takuno, had truly fought for with his own hands and his own blood and sweat!
However, a strange look suddenly crossed Takuno's face.
A forgotten detail quietly surfaced in his mind.
He remembered; it seemed... he hadn't stayed entirely out of it.
In that distant past, out of curiosity about the boundaries of the laws of time, he had once made a reckless "attempt."
He had tried to slightly disturb the past to see what would happen.
The result was, unsurprisingly... he messed up.
Worse still, when he automatically activated the power of "Toki-Mayumi" in an attempt to forcibly correct the error, because his own strength was not yet sufficient, he had accidentally and forcibly drained a portion of spiritual energy from that "past self."
This unexpected "drain" undoubtedly made his younger self, who was already in a difficult and painful situation, even physically weaker...
"...Tsk." Takuno subconsciously let out a soft snort, carrying a hint of self-deprecation.
If it weren't for that "experiment" and the accidental energy drain...
At this moment, he suddenly realized something. No wonder no matter how much his constitution transformed, his spiritual energy could always keep up.
But this point wasn't important; after all, since he couldn't control Yin Release at the time, the use for spiritual energy wasn't that great.
Even for other Ninjutsu that indirectly utilized Yin Release, the remaining amount was definitely enough.
He shook his head slightly, dispelling the thought.
Oh well, this insignificant "twist" was ultimately just a negligible ripple in the river of fate.
It could never have stopped "his" path of power transformation after obtaining the Chimera Technique.
He had still tenaciously walked through it in his own way.
Finally, the past 'Takuno' arrived at Rōran and was seen by the people of Rōran.
Takuno's gaze fell upon his past "self."
He looked at the other's unmoved expression, yet he knew his own surprise at the time; it was just that this surprise only stayed in his heart for an instant before he understood the reason.
The passage of over a decade had left the deepest mark on him only through his constantly rising strength.
State of mind? Belief? He had no doubt that even if the "Takuno" before him were to immediately possess all his current power, they would inevitably embark on this same path when faced with the same choices.
The past "Takuno" discerned the trajectory of fate. With steady steps, he followed the guards directly to the core area and, with Sara's assistance, began to activate the technique capable of traveling through time and space.
"Buzz!"
A low and grand humming sound came from deep underground, as if the earth were awakening.
Visible golden energy streams gushed out, violently entangling with the vast Ryumyaku power deep within the ley lines.
Space began to warp, and the power of "Toki-Mayumi" was drawn out by this violent energy storm, forming a brilliant and dazzling pillar of light that shot straight into the sky!
In the center of this massive energy storm capable of tearing through the void, the figure of the past "Takuno" became blurred, eventually disappearing completely before the eyes of Takuno and Sara.
The storm gradually subsided, leaving only energy ripples in the air that had yet to settle.
Just as the storm calmed, Takuno himself finally arrived silently beside his wife, Sara.
Sara's gaze returned from the area where the energy had raged, turning to her husband beside her.
She let out a soft breath, patted her chest as if relieved, and said with a smile on her face, "Husband, that really gave me a fright just now.
If it weren't for seeing those completely different robes, just looking at that face and that personality—if I didn't know you couldn't possibly do such a thing...
...I almost thought you had intentionally transformed your appearance and run over to play a trick on me."
Her gaze lingered on her husband's calm face.
"Mhm," Takuno responded, his gaze seemingly piercing through the barriers of time and space to land on the self who wanted to try the secrets of space-time. "I think so too."
Sara leaned against his side, looking at the empty ground, curiosity showing in her eyes.
She pondered for a moment and asked softly, "Will he... come back again? To this point in time?"
She was, of course, referring to the young "Takuno" who had just disappeared.
"No," Takuno's answer was concise and certain. "His journey has only just begun. He will continue forward and eventually... meet the teenage you. Everything after that will be just like the years you've experienced in your memories."
"Is that so..." Sara nodded thoughtfully.
Regarding these profound powers involving time-space, Ryumyaku, the past, and the future, she admitted she knew very little and had no intention of delving into their principles.
To her, being too obsessed with understanding these existences that surpassed common sense might instead disturb her current peace.
That level of power—manipulating time-space and harnessing Ryumyaku—was a realm she could almost never reach in her entire life.
It was also at this moment, looking at her husband's seemingly eternally calm profile, that a sudden realization surged in Sara's heart.
She seemed to finally understand why her husband, Takuno, could possess such powerful strength that all living beings looked up to.
If as early as over a decade ago, that younger version of him already possessed such tough willpower and clear goals...
...then Sara had every reason to believe that Takuno, as a person, had never changed his original heart and persistence from even earlier, or perhaps from the very beginning.
An existence that could always stick to his own path like a rock during long periods of loneliness unimaginable to ordinary people, pursuing the peak of power and realm without distraction...
...how could such a person not be powerful?
Sara's gaze fell gently on her husband, and she sighed inwardly.
Perhaps the heavens are fair after all?
It gave Takuno such a pure heart for seeking ultimate power, yet like an invisible exchange, it quietly stripped away other emotional branches from his life.
However, this melancholy soon dissolved in Sara's heart.
She shook her head slightly, brushing away that faint trace of disappointment.
Fortunately, she didn't mind these things much.
If there was any small expectation left, it was probably... hoping to soon welcome a child belonging to the two of them.
"Husband, can we have a child now?" Sara suddenly asked.
She suddenly realized that when Takuno said it wasn't the time before, perhaps it really wasn't the time, and isn't now exactly a very special point in time?
Perhaps that time has already arrived now?
"No rush, soon," Takuno glanced at Sara, thought for a moment, and gave her some hope.
Sara's eyes lit up, then she looked at Takuno with a bit of suspicion and asked cautiously, "A timeframe?"
Takuno calculated the time and said, "Just... a few years."
Sara's face instantly stiffened. Whose idea of 'soon' was a few years?