Chapter 295: When Did You Pry Tsunade Away?

After sending Yugito back to the Hidden Cloud Village, Riku continued his search across the shinobi world, but the chakra signature he had been tracking disappeared after reaching the Land of Lightning.

He searched for a long time but still couldn’t locate it.

After two more fruitless days, Riku finally stopped.

In a quiet forest, he sat cross-legged beneath a towering tree, staring intently ahead as he entered Sage Mode.

In an instant, mysterious runes formed a mask on Riku’s face. At that moment, it was as if the entire earth connected with him. Natural energy from the surroundings surged into his body.

All living beings across the land seemed tied to him by invisible threads.

Then, Riku’s eyes snapped open. He had found it.

On a mountain outside of Konohagakure, Ōtsutsuki Urashiki suddenly trembled. “Damn it… how did he detect me?”

The next moment, Riku appeared before Urashiki.

Just now, he had used a powerful Sage Mode detection technique. Though incredibly effective, the jutsu consumed a tremendous amount of chakra—even someone like Riku could only use it while fully immersed in Sage Mode.

That was why he had been reluctant to use it from the start.

Too much chakra drain.

Seeing Urashiki, Riku frowned. “You’re from the Ōtsutsuki clan?”

Urashiki held his fishing rod tightly, clearly nervous. He was well aware of Riku’s strength—stronger even than the Sage of Six Paths, with a massive chakra pool. Urashiki never dared target Riku directly; he could only harvest chakra from Jinchūriki.

But even with all his precautions, Riku had still found him.

Before Urashiki could respond, Sasuke, Boruto, Shinrai, and Tsukiko appeared beside Riku.

Sasuke froze for a moment when he saw Riku’s face—it was familiar.

But in this timeline, Riku wasn’t known by that name.

Shinrai and Tsukiko looked at the man before them, overwhelmed with emotion.

They almost called out Father.

But they restrained themselves, worried it might alter the future.

Even without them speaking, Riku’s gaze sharpened as he looked at the two. “Why do they feel so similar to my chakra?”

He recognized Sasuke and Boruto, but he didn’t know the abilities of these two new individuals—Shinrai and Tsukiko. Still, the resemblance was uncanny, especially the boy.

He looked exactly like Riku had at that age.

Not only that—they both bore the Strength of a Hundred Seal on their foreheads, and their chakra felt like his.

Riku didn’t think they were his children, though. He assumed they were clones created using his DNA—maybe from a future where technology had advanced enough to make that possible.

Soon after, Tsunade and Sakura also arrived at the scene.

Even Jiraiya was with them—he had returned to the village.

Jiraiya approached, already having guessed Sasuke’s identity. When he laid eyes on Riku, his expression turned serious.

So… Tsunade’s lover was this man?

Jiraiya had realized from seeing Sasuke and Boruto that they came from another timeline. So did Shinrai and Tsukiko.

And the resemblance between those two and Riku and Tsunade was impossible to ignore.

As a master of intelligence, Jiraiya could easily deduce their origins—just as he had figured out who Sasuke and Boruto were.

Meanwhile, Urashiki frowned as more and more people arrived. He wanted to leave immediately.

The ones he feared most here were Riku and Sasuke.

He began forming the hand seals to activate his Rinnegan and open a dimensional portal to escape—

But Riku raised his hand.

A massive cage of time and space formed within a few hundred meters.

A space-time barrier seal locked everything down.

Urashiki quickly discovered he couldn’t activate his teleportation.

He stared at Riku in shock. “As expected from the man they call a god… This jutsu is terrifying. You actually blocked off time and space?”

Sasuke, Boruto, Shinrai, and Tsukiko all stood stunned.

Especially the younger ones—Boruto, Shinrai, and Tsukiko.

Though the history books in Konoha mentioned Riku and his jutsu—his mastery of Lightning Style, Wood Style, and the Rinnegan—there was no record of this terrifying technique that could lock down space-time itself.

Apparently, Riku hadn’t used it often.

Shinrai and Tsukiko looked up at him with awe.

They were seeing their father for the first time—and he was even stronger than they had imagined.

No wonder he had been able to save the world. With power like this, the Ōtsutsuki clan wouldn’t have stood a chance had he been around during their rise.

Tsunade stepped beside Riku and stared across at Urashiki. “So you’re the one they call Ōtsutsuki Urashiki.”

Unable to use his teleportation, Urashiki scowled. “Tsunade… Riku’s—”

Before he could finish, a surge of purple-gold lightning erupted from Riku’s body.

Urashiki scoffed. Lightning Release didn’t scare him—he had the Rinnegan and could absorb chakra effortlessly.

He reached out to absorb it—

But the moment the lightning hit his body—

BOOM!

Urashiki was sent flying dozens of meters away.

The surrounding area was scorched. Trees turned to ash. The earth was torn apart by the violent surge of energy.

Tsunade smiled as she looked at Riku.

She knew exactly why he had attacked just now.

What Riku didn’t realize was that both Jiraiya and Sakura had already deduced the nature of his relationship with Tsunade.

At that moment, Tsunade gently took Riku’s hand.

Riku stiffened, glancing toward her with a silent warning.

But Tsunade only smiled and said, “Actually… Jiraiya and Sakura already guessed.”

Riku had been away searching in the Land of Lightning and wasn’t up to date on Shinrai and Tsukiko’s presence.

Seeing Tsunade’s bold gesture, Shinrai and Tsukiko beamed.

If the relationship between their parents remained intact, they wouldn’t have to worry about fading from existence.

They looked on, quietly overjoyed.

Finally… all four of them were together in the same time and space.

Jiraiya walked up to Riku and punched him lightly in the chest, scowling. “You bastard… When did you steal Tsunade from me?”

Sakura also stepped forward, visibly disappointed.

Riku frowned, but in the end, he could only sigh. “Since you’ve all figured it out, there’s nothing left to say. Yes, Tsunade is my woman.”

Tsunade felt warmth bloom in her chest at those words.

Even though she already knew he’d say that in the future… hearing it now still meant everything.

She grasped Riku’s hand with both of hers.

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