Another Boy

"Android 18?"

"Sir, unable to connect."

He was still inside the High Tower of the Kingdom of Loulan, with the Dragon Vein right before him, yet Hyuga Mirai could no longer connect to Android 18. Without her control, the T1 Armor on his body was left with only an Artificial Auxiliary Intelligence, unable even to access the long-established data network.

"Did I travel through time? Byakugan!"

Hyuga Mirai activated his Byakugan. In an instant, everything within a ten-kilometer radius outside the High Tower came into view.

"Still Loulan. The only change is that the puppet technology Anrokuzan left behind has disappeared."

After examining the situation outside, Hyuga Mirai deactivated his Byakugan and turned to study the Dragon Vein seal behind him.

This time, he proceeded with extreme caution. He observed it carefully with his Byakugan for a long while before finally confirming every Sealing Rune on the Dragon Vein seal, including those on the Flying Thunder God Kunai.

"Time travel… The way back should also be connected to the Dragon Vein. The idea that a massive amount of energy alone could send someone through time doesn’t hold up. There must be something wrong with Loulan. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have sent people through time again and again."

Hyuga Mirai roughly understood how he could return. The Dragon Vein seal from before his journey through time had likely been repaired by the delayed Sealing Jutsu Namikaze Minato left behind. So long as someone destroyed the Dragon Vein seal in his original time and space, while Hyuga Mirai took control of the Dragon Vein here, the energy fluctuations between the two timelines could trigger a spacetime resonance, allowing him—someone who did not belong to this time and space—to leave.

"Then I’ll alter the Sealing Jutsu here first."

This Dragon Vein seal had to be under Hyuga Mirai’s control. Otherwise, if Android 18 destroyed the Dragon Vein seal on the other side and he failed to notice it here, things would be troublesome.

Sage Mode!

Blue Sage Face markings appeared around Hyuga Mirai’s eyes. He then placed one hand at the center of the Sealing Jutsu.

"Sealing Technique: Release!"

Under Hyuga Mirai’s control, the rectangular seal was quickly reshaped into a circle. Many of the Sealing Runes changed completely, and Hyuga Mirai also left behind a great deal of Sage Chakra.

This made things somewhat safer. Hyuga Mirai had altered ninety percent of the Sealing Jutsu Namikaze Minato left behind and left Sage Chakra behind as a Summoning Seal. As long as the Dragon Vein Energy showed any abnormal movement, it would break through the seal and trigger the Summoning Seal to bring him back.

Only after arranging this safeguard for his departure did Hyuga Mirai leave the High Tower of Loulan. He wanted to know what year this time and space was in, but the people outside did not dress all that differently. The gap from his own time and space should therefore be no more than thirty years.

He simply could not determine whether this was the past, the future, or a parallel universe. If it was on the same timeline, should he remain a spectator, or experience what it felt like to stir the timeline and trigger the Butterfly Effect?

Among the Ninja Villages of the Five Great Nations, Konoha had been established first. The other four Ninja Villages had followed suit, and they had all been founded around the same time. Therefore, he only needed to ask around in any major nation to determine what era this was.

He did not know much about Loulan’s history, and now that he could not contact Android 18, he could only leave first.

Having made up his mind, Hyuga Mirai used the Body Flicker Technique several times and left the capital of Loulan.

After reaching an uninhabited area, Hyuga Mirai directly summoned the T1 Armor through his wristwatch. Once it covered his entire body, he flew into the sky and headed toward the Land of Fire.

"There’s no way to replenish energy here. Once it runs out, I’ll have to use my own Chakra as fuel. From now on, I can only use it for flying and travel. In battle, I should stick to Gentle Fist or Sage Mode."

Konoha

After the Shinobi World War ended, Konoha needed to rapidly restore its strength. Besides funding from the Daimyo, Mission Commissions were the best way to rebuild a Ninja Village’s power.

They could earn funds while tempering ninja and increasing their experience.

Other than A-rank and S-rank missions, most missions came from merchants or nobles in the Land of Fire and several surrounding small countries.

Konoha had the greatest reputation. It had been on the winning side in several Shinobi World Wars, so after the war, it attracted commissions from many merchants. Even people from small countries far from Konoha would travel thousands of miles to commission Konoha rather than choose nearby Suna-nin or Iwa-nin.

When Hyuga Mirai arrived at a town near Konoha, he happened to encounter a merchant caravan intending to head to Konoha to place a commission. He used a hypnotic suggestion on one of them and followed the caravan toward Konoha.

Along the way, he learned quite a bit of useful information.

Year 51 of Konoha. Only a few months have passed since the time and space the Dragon Vein brought me from…

Moreover, this world contained absolutely no traces he had left behind. There was no news whatsoever of either the Uzumaki Company or the Hundred Herbs Company.

A parallel time and space!

If this is a parallel time and space, then why would Uzumaki Naruto of this world’s future bear such hostility toward me? Logically, he shouldn’t even have heard my name, unless…

Hyuga Mirai did not have the personality of the Uchiha Dance King. Perhaps because he had grown accustomed to keeping a low profile, he did not enjoy drawing attention.

Developing in secret, then crushing his enemies with absolute power before they could react—that was his style.

If Uzumaki Naruto truly was his enemy, then with Uzumaki Naruto’s impulsive personality, Hyuga Mirai absolutely would not let him live one second longer.

However, Hyuga Mirai already had a suspicion. Once he reached Konoha, he should understand.

Because he had been injected with Hashirama cells, combined with Hyuga Mirai’s somewhat unusual appetite, his growth had been remarkably perfect. Though he was only thirteen years old, his nearly perfectly optimized genes and ample Nutrient Solution had rapidly developed his body to a state close to its physical peak.

He did not look like a teenager, but a young man.

Combined with a few disguise techniques and the use of Sealing Jutsu to conceal the Chakra in his body, even with two Sensor Ninja guarding Konoha’s gates, they could not detect anything suspicious about Hyuga Mirai.

After the caravan owner presented the documents, the group entered Konoha without any trouble.

Once inside, Hyuga Mirai naturally bade the caravan owner farewell at the entrance of a ramen shop. He then left the caravan and joined the line for ramen.

After spending an hour queuing for and eating ramen, Hyuga Mirai began wandering around the village at will.

"The buildings are exactly the same. Even the placement of some of the bricks and stones is identical."

Hyuga Mirai was extremely familiar with this place. When he had been six or seven, he had already been able to avoid both his clansmen and the village Anbu while finding many suitable training grounds. Wandering around the village without being discovered was no challenge for him now.

"There…"

Hyuga Mirai activated his Byakugan once more, then slowly headed toward the dense forest at the edge of the village.

This was not a good training ground. From Hyuga Mirai’s perspective, it was not secluded enough, too close to the village, and near the Uchiha Compound. Such an environment was hardly suitable for a Hyuga clansman.

bang!

bang!

bang!

A series of dull thuds came from the woods, much like fists striking a wooden post. When Hyuga Mirai drew closer, he saw a teenage boy relentlessly attacking a tree with his fists and palms.

Judging by his appearance, he had been training for quite some time. His practice clothes were soaked through with sweat, and though it had been over an hour since noon, the lunch box beside him looked untouched.

Crack!

Hyuga Mirai deliberately snapped a branch underfoot, immediately drawing the attention of the boy in the midst of training.

"Who’s there!?"

The boy striking the tree spun around sharply, his guard fully raised as he spotted Hyuga Mirai.

"Sorry, sorry. I’m with the Daishi Trading Company. I wanted to take a look around Konoha and accidentally wandered over here. Did I interrupt you?"

Hyuga Mirai flawlessly played the part of someone caught peeking by accident. His superb acting immediately convinced the boy before him of his identity.