Chapter 149: Two Years Later 【25】
Chapter 149: Two Years Later 【25】
"Where's my older brother?!"
Kakashi Hatake paused, then immediately turned to Sara and asked.
Sara watched as everything below them vanished, and hearing Kakashi's voice, she sank to the ground beside him. Her voice trembled as she replied, "He... he jumped down..."
"What?!'
Kakashi's expression changed, and he looked towards the abyss below the stone platform. After a moment's assessment, he took a deep breath and leaped off the edge, his figure soon disappearing into the darkness.
After a while, Kakashi reappeared, his countenance grim. "There's nothing down there... So, what really happened?!"
Sara's voice shook as she explained, "He took the brunt of the dragon vein energy outburst. No human could possibly withstand such a massive surge of energy..."
"Impossible!" Kakashi immediately refuted in a low voice. "My older brother isn't dead. If what you say is true and he absorbed the dragon vein energy, he might have been sent to another time. With my brother's abilities, he'll find his way back eventually!"
Hearing Kakashi's words, Sara, who had already been crying, looked up at him again. Seeing the unwavering conviction in his eyes, the sadness in her heart was momentarily stemmed, and recalling Feng Ye's display of immense power earlier, she couldn't help but believe Kakashi.
Kakashi stood by the high platform, glancing down a few times before speaking in a somber tone, "You go handle the situation outside. I'll stay here and wait for my brother to return."
"..."
Sara fell silent for a moment. She wanted to say that she would stay and wait too, but thinking of the matters that needed her attention after An Luoshan's death, she grit her teeth and nodded, then quickly ran off.
After rescuing the people underground and regaining the trust of the Loulan people, Sara returned to the high platform. She found Kakashi sitting alone at the edge, gazing into the abyss below.
She sat down on the other side and also looked down.
...
Time flew by.
Kakashi did not wait for Feng Ye's return.
He remained at the stone platform above the dragon vein for three months, his mood growing increasingly despondent. Finally, one day, he quietly disappeared from that spot.
After discovering Kakashi's disappearance, Sara bit her lip. She looked into the abyss below but did not give up hope. Every day, after finishing her duties, she would return to this spot and wait.
Three months...
Four months...
Half a year...
A year...
In total, she waited for nearly two years.
During these two years, Feng Ye's disappearance caused a huge stir in the ninja world. Although the major ninja villages suspected that it might be a plot by Konoha and dared not make any rash moves, they eventually grew restless. After half a year, the previously stabilized ninja world was once again in turmoil.
And yet, Feng Ye still did not appear, even as the Third Great Ninja War raged on.
One day, a freelance ninja happened to enter Loulan and learned that Feng Ye and Kakashi had visited this place over a year ago. It was the last known location of Feng Ye, and this information soon spread throughout the ninja world.
As intelligence about Loulan circulated, the major ninja villages finally concluded that they had found the reason for Feng Ye's 'disappearance.'
As time passed,
The marker for Feng Ye's 'disappearance' gradually changed to 'death,' and the matter faded into the background. Meanwhile, the brilliant legacy of Feng Ye was eclipsed by that of the blond, golden-flash, Namikaze Minato.
In one battle, Namikaze Minato slew fifty jonin-level ninja from Iwagakure, stunning the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki. This battle completely turned the tide of the front line, and Namikaze Minato's name resounded throughout the ninja world!
The major ninja villages began to fear the power of Namikaze Minato, and the raging Third Great Ninja War finally began to calm once more.
People would occasionally sigh, remembering the Silver Flash.
Although Konoha and the other great ninja villages had not received definite news of the Silver Flash's death, his disappearance for two years without a trace meant that there was likely no coming back.
Slowly...
No one mentioned the name 'Silver Flash' anymore.
Although not yet forgotten by the ninja world, as time mercilessly marched on, it would inevitably become a thing of history, erased from the memories of the ninja world.
...
In a dim space, devoid of any sense of dimension, only the passage of time seemed to exist.
After devouring the dragon vein's energy, or rather, after leaping into the very heart of it, Feng Ye's consciousness arrived here.
The immense dragon vein energy that was seemingly absorbed into his body was, in truth, frantically compressed and condensed, transforming into a force that warped the very fabric of time.
Whoosh!!
This indescribable energy surged into the illusory clock within his consciousness realm, causing the golden radiance of the clock to shine with renewed brilliance.
Feng Ye observed that the mist shrouding the 'III' mark on the illusory clock was rapidly dissipating. What might have taken years or even decades to dispel was now rapidly fading away in mere moments until it completely vanished!
Buzz!
Just as the mist at the 'III' mark dissipated, revealing its radiance, the power drawn from the dragon vein, which warped space and time, seemed to be exhausted as well.
This space, devoid of any sense of dimension and shrouded in darkness, was like a torn curtain, revealing a new scene before Feng Ye's eyes.
...
Two years later, in Loulan...
Beneath the stone platform where the dragon vein lay...
Countless specks of light intertwined, eventually coalescing into the figure of Feng Ye, who slowly opened his eyes.
Realizing that he was falling through the air, Feng Ye quickly formed a hand seal with one hand, creating a shadow clone that pushed his body upward.
Swish!!
Feng Ye landed on the stone platform above the dragon vein.
Noticing that the platform and the surrounding tower showed no signs of damage or weathering, Feng Ye heaved a sigh of relief.
"Looks like I wasn't transported to a distant future..."
"But it seems I'm not in the same timeframe as before either."
Feng Ye pondered for a moment, his consciousness entering the illusory space, merging with the illusory clock for a brief moment. Soon, he gained insight into the specific changes that had occurred.
There was no spatial displacement.
He was still in the same world.
However, time had progressed by two years, and it was now the 47th year of Konoha's existence.
During the process of absorbing the dragon vein's energy, he had vanished from the timeline, and although it was only for a fleeting moment, the world had moved on by two years upon his return.
"It's like I was sealed away for two years and have now broken free of that seal..."
Feng Ye murmured, shaking his head as he marveled, "Time is truly a fearsome thing."
Fortunately, he had only skipped ahead by two years and not directly to the era of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
No major issues there.
However, it seemed that Kakashi was now technically older than him.
Hmm.
Well, he could just not tell him about it. After all, even with this two-year gap, Kakashi's physical age was still younger than his, and Kakashi was only twelve years old at the moment.
"Right..."
"Looks like the ability corresponding to the 'III' mark has been unlocked."
(End of Chapter)
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