Chapter 292

He didn't want little Sakura to follow him—doing so would disrupt the space-time continuum and affect the future.

Sitting next to Shinrai, Boruto whispered, "Your mom is so fierce, Shinrai. And how is she still so young? Based on her age, she should be in her fifties by now, right?"

Shinrai smiled and replied, "I think it's because of my father. His Rinnegan allows her to stay young forever."

"That's why she could leave us even in her fifties."

"Now her physical age is in her twenties."

Boruto, however, was more interested in Riku.

Was this legendary man truly as powerful as the stories said?

The world had fallen into crisis multiple times, and every time, it was Riku who stepped forward to end the war. He was admired not only in the Hidden Leaf but also by the other Four Great Ninja Villages—respected even more than Naruto himself.

It was a shame. If Riku were still in the Hidden Leaf, Boruto would've loved to meet him in person.

Tsukiko also smiled. "It's really exciting to think we might get the chance to meet our father."

She was beautiful, powerful, and carried herself with a grace that made her extremely popular in the village. Many had pursued her romantically, but her standards were sky-high—she was searching for a man like her father.

That single requirement was enough to drive off every suitor.

To match the feats of a man like Riku? That was something only a god could do.

Unlike many children who resented parents that had disappeared from their lives, both Shinrai and Tsukiko deeply respected theirs. Even though they didn't know exactly where their parents had gone, they believed they had left to restore order and bring peace to the world.

So instead of feeling abandoned, they admired their parents—and followed in their footsteps, striving to become worthy of them.

Meanwhile, little Sakura, watching them whisper among themselves, furrowed her brows.

The more she looked at Shinrai and Tsukiko, the more they reminded her of Riku and Tsunade.

But why did the features of Riku and Tsunade seem to blend so seamlessly in them?

Both of them had inherited traits from the two—Shinrai and Tsukiko each looked like a softened fusion of Riku and Tsunade.

And as she looked over at the quiet boy sitting nearby, she couldn't help but think—he looked so much like Sasuke, only more mature.

And Boruto? He looked eerily similar to Naruto—blonde hair, the same speech patterns, even that signature catchphrase.

These four were unusual in every way.

Sakura watched them all with guarded eyes.

—

Elsewhere, Riku had followed a trace of chakra to the outskirts of the Land of Lightning, near the Hidden Cloud Village.

He hadn't found any signs of the Rinnegan user he was pursuing—but instead stumbled across members of the Akatsuki extracting the Two-Tails from Yugito Nii.

In a mountain valley not far from the village, Riku activated his sensory abilities.

Within a 200-kilometer radius, everything was within his detection range.

But just as he honed in on a strange chakra signature, he frowned.

"I warned her. I gave her such important information… How did she still get captured?"

Moments later, his senses pinpointed Yugito Nii, several kilometers away—her tailed beast chakra being forcefully extracted.

With narrowed eyes, Riku vanished.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared inside the Akatsuki's cave, just as the extraction ritual neared its end.

Yugito Nii was suspended mid-air, her chakra being drained by the Gedo Statue.

His sudden appearance stunned everyone.

Even Nagato and the others were caught off guard. "Riku?!"

Ignoring them, Riku locked eyes with Yugito, who was on the verge of losing all her tailed beast chakra.

A sharp blade of lightning erupted from Riku's hand.

"Zzzzt—"

With a single strike, he severed the link between Yugito and the Gedo Statue.

The ritual was halted instantly.

Riku soared through the air, catching Yugito before she fell, and without so much as a glance at Hidan or Kakuzu, vanished from the cave.

Everyone stood frozen.

"Did he… did he just steal the Two-Tails Jinchūriki right in front of us?" Hidan muttered, eyes wide.

Kakuzu's expression darkened. "That was Riku. His space-time ninjutsu is dangerous. And his speed… even worse."

Hidan roared, "That bastard stole our prize! I had to die once to catch her, and now he just swoops in?! I'm getting her back!"

As he moved to leave, Kakuzu grabbed his arm. "Don't be stupid. With his power, if you even see him, you'll be dead before you blink."

Hidan wasn't truly immortal—just resistant to death through his curse technique. If his body was destroyed or couldn't be nourished, he would die like anyone else.

"If you fight Riku," Kakuzu continued, "you'll be blown apart before you lay eyes on him. And his sealing jutsu is terrifying. If he uses it on you, it might erase even your 'immortality.'"

Hidan gritted his teeth, but stayed still.

In truth, in front of Riku, his supposed immortality was more of a curse than an advantage. Riku's Lightning and Fire Style techniques were devastating—if Hidan were reduced to ashes, not even he could recover.

Nagato frowned, still trying to understand why Riku had appeared here of all places.

Uchiha Itachi remained silent, equally surprised by Riku's presence.

Deidara and Kisame, whose chakra projections were present via a special ninjutsu, immediately tensed when they saw Riku.

Even though they weren't physically present in the cave, just seeing him unsettled them.

After all, Sasori had died by Riku's hand—his final puppet, imbued with the power of a tailed beast, was still overwhelmed and sealed.

Kisame himself had once fought Riku and had been seriously injured. In pure taijutsu or ninjutsu, he stood no chance against him.

Though Nagato had never fought Riku directly, he knew of his strength—and wasn't confident he could defeat him.

Watching Hidan seethe, Nagato spoke.

"Enough. We got most of the chakra we needed. It's sufficient."

The Gedo Statue's second eye had already opened.

Only a quarter of the Two-Tails' chakra had been saved by Riku. That amount was enough to keep Yugito alive, but her strength would be greatly diminished.

And for the Akatsuki's purposes, the remaining chakra would suffice.

For now.

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