Chapter 126: Another Year! Boruto: Boruto and Sasuke Descend upon the Empire!

Chapter 126: Another Year! Boruto: Boruto and Sasuke Descend upon the Empire!

That's possible... After all, in anime and manga, the characters who appear later in the story are usually stronger. It's understandable to hide some old and powerful characters to build suspense for future plot developments.

Senju Tianren did not doubt the other party's claim of being a member of the Otsutsuki clan, despite the absence of a Byakugan or horns! In the story centered on Naruto and Sasuke, these features are signature traits of the Otsutsuki. Lacking both the Byakugan and horns? An Otsutsuki? Preposterous!

"Twenty-two years ago... Becoming an Emperor... So, you are a recent ruler. No wonder you are held in high regard.

But from your stance... Are you planning to refuse my offer?"

Yishi responded with a faint smile, his expression calm.

"I should be the one saying that to you. Join the Empire, and I will offer you a favorable treatment. What do you say?"

Senju Tianren's expression remained neutral.

"Oh? So, you are a proud one. Since you refuse... then... die!"

As Yishi's words landed, he moved like lightning, darting in front of Senju Tianren. His right leg swept across, aiming downward, and landed a heavy blow on Senju Tianren's right shoulder.

BOOM!!!

A terrifying explosion of power ensued.

The air ruptured, and the ground within hundreds of meters of Senju Tianren erupted, sending shards of rocks flying in all directions.

Yet, Senju Tianren himself remained unmoved, much to Yishi's surprise.

"You refused me... and dared to attack me again... Though I pay no heed to an ant's provocation, the dignity of an emperor shall not be insulted. Farewell, unknown ant."

As Senju Tianren's words rang out, a fist the size of Yishi's head smashed toward him.

In an instant, Yishi's pupils contracted violently as he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis! He wanted to dodge, but it was too late.

His spatial abilities were sealed!

He wanted to activate his final stance, but it was also too late! All he could do was watch the fist approaching.

Countless scenes flashed through his mind—memories from the Otsutsuki clan's home planet, his arrival in the ninja world with Kaguya, and his current state, barely surviving after being severely injured by Kaguya's sneak attack.

Why am I thinking of these things?

A strange thought crossed his mind.

Senju Tianren's fist had already slammed into his head!

BOOOOOM!!!!!!

Yishi's body disintegrated like paper in a flame, turning into ashes. The remaining force of Senju Tianren's punch continued to spread backward.

The earth seemed to have met an invisible giant hand, constantly pushing it, and even the clouds in the sky were parted by the impact.

The terrifying power lasted for a long time.

Until it finally dissipated.

In front of Senju Tianren, a massive gully had formed.

This fan-shaped trench was at least a hundred meters deep and stretched for an unknown distance—perhaps tens or even hundreds of thousands of meters, possibly even a million... Its end was not in sight.

Even the clouds in the sky had been completely torn apart!

Just this one attack! Heaven and earth were obliterated!

Senju Tianren slowly retracted his fist and turned his gaze back to the large tree in front of him.

He did not feel much curiosity about this unknown individual.

At the same time.

In a certain underground space.

Yishi, who had been reborn through the wedge, stood there with a blank expression. It took a while before he regained his senses:

"I... died?

What a terrifying inferior being... Although I don't understand what happened... for now, I should lie low.

The remaining chakra I have will sustain my survival for a long time... It's better to be alive than dead... Damn... If I had used my full strength from the beginning, the outcome would definitely be different... I was careless..."

Yishi's thoughts trailed off, and he could only meekly curl up.

Yellow Springs.

The Sage of the Six Paths had witnessed the entire battle between Yishi and Senju Tianren, and his eyelids twitched uncontrollably:

"That attack... was truly outrageous. It was no weaker than the previous one... But the key is... it was too casual, as if every one of his attacks could achieve such a result..."

"Surrender, old friend," the Old Toad said again.

"Perhaps... you are right. Resistance is futile in the face of absolute power..."

The Sage of the Six Paths felt a sense of powerlessness like never before.

The next moment, his figure disappeared from Yellow Springs and appeared before Senju Tianren.

Senju Tianren looked at the Sage of the Six Paths before him, his eyebrows furrowed, and he lowered his arms, which had been crossed over his chest.

This action startled the Sage of the Six Paths, and he quickly waved his hands, saying:

"Emperor from another world, hold your attack! I have come here to surrender."

"Surrender?"

Senju Tianren's expression changed:

"You don't plan to resist me?"

"Resist? Emperor from another world, you jest... With your strength, how could I possibly resist?"

The Sage of the Six Paths offered an embarrassed smile. "Oh? Is that so?"

Senju Tianren frowned, pondering the situation. In his original world, the Sage of the Six Paths had resisted him and was ultimately killed. But now, this Sage of the Six Paths from the ninja world had surrendered without a fight.

Could it be because I'm too strong? he wondered. The previous Sage of the Six Paths had resisted because he thought he had a chance of winning. But this Sage of the Six Paths has witnessed my strength and realizes he has no chance, so he surrenders.

Seems like this old guy isn't as foolish as he seems. He knows when to yield. Good!

"I understand," Senju Tianren said, his expression softening. "Then you may step down for now. Wait for the fruit to mature, and then you and I will return to the Empire together."

The Sage of the Six Paths looked surprised. "You... agree?"

After all, leaving him, a remnant of the ninja world, alive could be considered a potential danger. Senju Tianren had prepared himself to make some sacrifices or distribute his power to the Sage's people, yet the Sage had accepted so easily?

"Of course," Senju Tianren explained. "Our enemy is the extraterrestrial Otsutsuki clan. With you joining us, we gain an additional source of strength. I have no reason to refuse."

"The extraterrestrial Otsutsuki... You mean Mother's clan?" The Sage of the Six Paths clarified.

"Yes, I've received information that there are still quite a few Otsutsuki hiding in the ninja world... It's just strange that even after I absorbed the chakra of the ninja world, those Otsutsuki are still able to restrain themselves... Could it be that they're currently not in the ninja world but on the moon or some other planet?" Senju Tianren mused.

"There are more Otsutsuki?" The Sage of the Six Paths' heart skipped a beat at this news.

The presence of other Otsutsuki was indeed alarming, and he wondered how they compared to Mother in her prime. If there were many of them, and they were all as powerful...

Even Senju Tianren's current display of strength might be in danger.

After all, Mother's power had already been divided between him and Feather Robe. If not for that division of power, even Senju Tianren might not have been able to defeat Mother so easily.

This was the belief of the Sage of the Six Paths, evolved from Mother's power in her prime.

His expression turned solemn as he spoke, "So that's the reason... No wonder Your Majesty wants to gather the people of the two worlds together, to unite against the Otsutsuki. I understand... For the sake of our own world, I will also contribute a portion of my power."

"I'm glad you see it that way," Senju Tianren said. "Now, let's quietly wait for the fruit to mature... and be on guard for any possible sneak attacks."

Time passed, and day turned into night.

The energy of the entire ninja world had been exhausted, leaving the land parched and cracked, the forests and grasslands withered, and the air thin and depleted of oxygen and other energies.

Finally, the modified Divine Tree had absorbed all the energy of the ninja world and bore a gigantic fruit, dozens of meters in diameter.

Senju Tianren carried this massive fruit, accompanied by the Sage of the Six Paths, back to the Empire. With a mighty squeeze, he crushed the fruit.

Instantly, a verdant green energy spread throughout the Empire.

Grass and trees became denser and taller, flowers more vibrant and lush. Birds and beasts healed from their wounds, their fur and feathers smooth and shiny, and they consumed more food.

All the people of the Empire felt a sense of lightness and ease throughout their bodies, and their martial arts training accelerated.

The Empire now possessed the chakra, spiritual energy, and other energies of two worlds.

This meant that the training speed of basic martial artists and ninja cultivators would double! The discovery filled everyone with elation.

Inspired, they trained harder than ever, determined to make the Empire even more prosperous and powerful.

Time flew by, and before they knew it, a year had passed.

In the outskirts of the Imperial Capital...

Two figures suddenly appeared.

One had hair that brushed his ears, a black cloak, and a Kusanagi sword in his hand. The other had golden hair, blue eyes, and a forehead protector of the Hidden Leaf Village.

They were none other than Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Boruto from Boruto: Naruto Next Generations! They furrowed their brows as they surveyed their surroundings, then turned their attention to the fan in their hands.

"Warning! Warning! Time displacement greatly deviates from target coordinates!" the fan-turtle squawked.

"Ahhh! It spoke!" Boruto exclaimed, holding up the pink turtle in surprise.

Beside him, the one-armed Sasuke from Boruto narrowed his eyes, fixing his gaze on the pink turtle.

"The current location is inconsistent with the time displacement target set by Otsutsuki Urashi," the pink turtle explained.

"You're talking about time travel?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"Then where have we ended up now?"

"The past... But due to a significant deviation in the time displacement, we've arrived in the era when Tsunade was the Fifth Hokage of Konoha." The pink turtle explained.

"The Fifth Hokage...?" Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed further.

"Is that for real?" Boruto asked, sounding incredulous.

"Indeed." The pink turtle confirmed.

"Then where is Urashi? If we've deviated from the coordinates, has he traveled to another time?" Boruto asked.

"Urashi set the time displacement coordinates to target Naruto Uzumaki's childhood. However, due to an operational error during the spatial movement, the era we've arrived in is slightly later than the intended target." The pink turtle elaborated.

"Slightly later?" Boruto asked.

"Undoubtedly... Urashi's target is Naruto." Sasuke affirmed.

"Huh?" Boruto exclaimed, surprised.

"He mentioned harvesting the chakra of the Scourge of Konoha, which means he originally planned to go after a young Naruto.

Fortunately, we arrived here first." Sasuke added.

"He's got his eyes on Dad when he was little..." Boruto's eyes narrowed, his expression turning sharp.

"Anyway... as long as we find Dad before Urashi and protect him, we'll be fine, right?"

"That's right."

Sasuke nodded in agreement.

"As travelers from the future, allow me to convey some important points to you..." The pink turtle interjected.

"Hey! What are you anyway? Are you Urashi's partner?"

Boruto interrupted, sounding annoyed at the pink turtle's sudden interjections.

"I am a temporal artifact named Plow, and I do not possess the concept of a companion as you understand it, so I have no vested interests with Urashi."

My mission is to execute time displacement and convey necessary precautions."

"What are these precautions?" Sasuke inquired.

"Firstly, you must not reveal your origins from the future to anyone from the past.

Especially refrain from interfering with those who are closely related to you."

"What if our identities are exposed or we interfere?"

"It could have a significant impact on the future. To put it bluntly, every action you take in the past could potentially alter the future.

Therefore, I implore you to act with caution.

Please consider the possibility that people or objects from the future may cease to exist because of your actions and plan accordingly."

Hearing this, both Boruto and Sasuke's expressions turned slightly more solemn.

It seemed that they would have to be extra cautious going forward!

The two of them jumped onto the tallest tree nearby to get a better view and orient themselves, intending to locate Konoha. However, the sight that greeted them left them stunned.

What kind of world was this?

Above the clouds, a massive fortress loomed, floating in the void.

Below, steel skyscrapers towered, mechanical puppet birds flew, and people dressed in peculiar clothing soared through the sky.

"What place is this, Uncle Sasuke? Could there have been such a developed city during Granny Tsunade's time? Why does it feel even more prosperous than Konoha?"

Boruto asked, bewildered by the advanced state of the world from just a decade or so ago.

Sasuke was equally bewildered by this unexpected sight. He blinked, then lowered his head to grab the pink turtle, Li, by its shell and pulled open its eyes, directing it towards the distant city as he asked:

"What's going on? I don't recall there being anything like this during Tsunade's era."

"Unable to comprehend... Running diagnostics... Error... Error... Temporal coordinates error, please verify the timeline manually..."

The pink turtle, Li, responded, equally perplexed.

"Tch! You're really unreliable, you stinky turtle." Boruto grumbled, then continued, "Anyway, Dad should still exist in this world, right? Will Urashi show up in a few days as well?"

"Affirmative. Naruto Uzumaki does exist in this world, and that fact remains unchanged. Urashi will also arrive in a few days." Li confirmed.

"In that case... Uncle Sasuke, let's go investigate and gather some intelligence. Meanwhile, we need to find our way to Konoha and protect Dad!" Boruto suggested.

"That's our only option. This time, our goal is to protect Naruto at all costs.

The people from the past won't stand a chance against an opponent like Urashi... unless... never mind, that's simply impossible."

Sasuke's thoughts drifted to the power he had gained from the Six Paths during the Fourth Great Ninja War, and he sighed inwardly, shaking his head to dispel those unnecessary thoughts.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end