Chapter 290

Shortly after Riku left, Sakura arrived at the Hokage’s office.

Seeing Tsunade staring out the window, Sakura glanced around and noticed Riku was no longer there.

"Lady Tsunade, isn’t Riku here?" she asked curiously.

Tsunade turned to face her and replied calmly, "He went to investigate the Nine Tails inside Sora."

Sakura stepped closer. "The Nine Tails inside Sora? Didn’t his father seal it already?"

Tsunade’s expression grew solemn. "It’s not that simple. If it were just the portion his father sealed, it wouldn’t be enough to make Sora a complete Jinchūriki of the Nine Tails. According to Riku’s investigation, something else is going on."

"The Nine Tails inside Sora’s body has been artificially modified. And only someone with the Rinnegan could accomplish that."

"Not the Rinnegan belonging to the leader of the Akatsuki. Which means... there’s someone else—or possibly more than one person—in the ninja world who possesses the Rinnegan."

Sakura’s eyes widened as the gravity of the situation sank in. She understood how terrifying the Rinnegan was.

Both Tsunade and Riku had spoken to her before about it—the so-called Eyes of the Sage of Six Paths, said to surpass even the Mangekyō Sharingan in power.

These were the eyes believed to have shaped the world itself. Knowing the Akatsuki leader possessed them was bad enough. But the idea that another Rinnegan user might exist in secret was terrifying.

And if that was true... could Riku really handle it alone?

"Lady Tsunade, did he go by himself?"

Tsunade looked at Sakura and asked in return, "Who do you think could help him? In all of Konoha—or even the entire shinobi world—who wouldn’t just get in his way?"

Sakura understood, but she couldn’t accept it. She didn’t want Riku to shoulder the danger alone.

"But still... he should at least have some backup."

Tsunade sighed. "There’s no one in Konoha who can assist him. Anyone who goes with him would only slow him down. Alone, he can fight freely."

Sakura fell silent. She’d wanted to follow Riku. But deep down, she knew she wasn’t strong enough—not yet.

Even if she went, she wouldn’t be a help. She’d only be a liability.

Even Tsunade herself likely wouldn’t be able to assist Riku in that battle.

Sitting back in her chair, Tsunade sighed again. "Only he can investigate this. Konoha has no one else who can provide meaningful support."

Sakura felt helpless. She remembered when Riku had defeated Sasori. She thought of the Land of Waves. It was always Riku who stepped in at the end and pulled them through.

She couldn’t even keep up with him—let alone walk beside him. Even keeping up with his shadow felt impossible.

Meanwhile, the Akatsuki had also learned about Sora.

Even Nagato himself was confused—how could Sora manifest the full Nine Tails?

Forget whether his body could even withstand such chakra. By all known accounts, the Nine Tails’ power sealed inside him shouldn’t have allowed anything beyond the Six Tails form.

A complete transformation into the full Nine Tails should have been impossible.

Back in Konoha, Sakura remained silent as she looked at Tsunade.

Just as Tsunade had said, was there truly no one in the village who could stand beside Riku?

If their enemy really had the Rinnegan, then yes... they’d only be a burden.

Someone else Riku would have to protect.

After leaving Konoha, Riku followed the chakra he had sensed from Sora, heading toward an uncertain destination.

To his surprise, that trail led toward the Land of Lightning.

At the same time, and unbeknownst to him, several unfamiliar figures had entered Konoha.

Given that the village wasn’t entirely closed off, it wasn’t strange for outsiders to pass through. As long as they weren’t powerful shinobi, they couldn’t breach the village’s protective barriers undetected.

But these four strangers—though subtle—had already drawn the attention of Konoha’s ANBU.

Tsunade was immediately notified.

She frowned as she listened to the ANBU’s report.

Sakura was still in the Hokage’s office. The incident with Sora had only recently been resolved. Fortunately, Sora’s transformation into the Nine Tails hadn’t caused any lasting damage to Konoha.

Within just a few days, the village had returned to normal.

Tsunade thought for a moment, then asked, "You’re sure the four haven’t made any contact with others?"

"And they’re all shinobi?"

The ANBU nodded. "Yes, Lady Tsunade."

Tsunade stood and turned to Sakura. "Let’s go take a look."

With capable strangers wandering the village and Riku away, Tsunade felt an added sense of pressure.

Sakura nodded seriously. "Yes, ma’am."

The two left the Hokage building and walked into the streets.

With guidance from the ANBU, they soon spotted four people wandering through the village.

But as Tsunade laid eyes on them—she froze.

Among the four, two caught her attention immediately.

Those two froze as well when they saw Tsunade and Sakura approaching.

And then—out of instinct—both of them called out, "Mom..."

Tsunade’s brows furrowed sharply.

The two quickly shut their mouths, realizing they’d said too much. The two people standing beside them—one with dark hair, the other with blond hair—also looked uneasy.

Tsunade was shaken. Her instincts screamed at her, but she refused to believe it.

Sakura stood stunned beside her.

Because among those four... one boy and one girl bore an uncanny resemblance to Riku and Tsunade themselves.

Tsunade approached them with a serious look. "You’re not from Konoha."

She took in their appearance again—especially the boy and girl. They looked around the same age as one of the younger boys in the group. But the tall one—he stood nearly 1.7 meters tall, far taller than the spiky blond kid next to him.

The oldest man among them stepped forward and spoke.

"We’re traveling performers," he said, and then threw a small orb into the sky.

It exploded into colorful fireworks.

But Tsunade didn’t buy it for a second.

Those two... they looked far too much like her.

And Tsunade hadn’t forgotten what Riku had told her after completing the Dragon Vein mission.

He had spoken of time travel.

And now, these two strangers had called her "Mom" upon first sight.

It wasn’t a joke. Not a prank.

It was possible—no, likely—that they were Riku and Tsunade’s children, come from the future via the Dragon Vein.

Because of what Riku had shared with her, Tsunade wasn’t unfamiliar with the bizarre and unexplained mysteries of the shinobi world.

She turned to the other two. One of them bore a striking resemblance to Sasuke Uchiha. The blond kid looked like a mirror of Naruto Uzumaki.

Tsunade didn’t voice what she was thinking.

Instead, she asked calmly, "Why are you in the village?"

The boy and girl—the ones who looked like Riku and Tsunade—were holding back tears as they stared at her.

These four were, in truth, future versions of familiar faces.

Sasuke Uchiha, sent back in time along with Boruto Uzumaki and the two children of Riku and Tsunade: a son and daughter named—now retconned for canon alignment—

Shinrai (信頼, "Trust") and Tsukiko (月子, "Child of the Moon").

Representing strength born of trust, and clarity in the darkness.

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