Chapter 523: Normal, Just a Parallel World

"Tuan Cang, calm down."

Lian Ye noticed that Tuan Cang's expression was off and instinctively comforted him.

Although he didn't understand why his good brother was like this, he still soothed him out of instinct.

It might be that the feng shui of this timeline is off, affecting his good brother's judgment.

He thought that to himself.

"Lian Ye, I'm fine; let's go find the Hokage to learn the situation."

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang's gaze fell on the Fifth Hokage stone statue on the Hokage Rock, his eyebrows slightly raised.

Gangshou, of course.

He had assumed Lian Ye's disciples were uninterested in the Hokage, but didn't expect Gangshou to become the Fifth Hokage.

But that's convenient; we can ask that girl to learn about Konoha's situation…

Tuan Cang was eager to know who the terrorists that attacked Konoha Village actually were.

When they return to the original time, they can nip the danger in the cradle.

Whoever it is, they must not threaten the Village!

Lian Ye saw Tuan Cang return to normal and couldn't help but sigh in relief.

It's good that his good brother hasn't changed.

The two inquired along the way and finally arrived at the hastily erected Muye Yiyuan.

It was said that during the enemy's invasion of Konoha, overusing slugs for treatment caused chakra depletion and resulted in coma.

"Where is Gangshou?"

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang entered the hospital, and his aura immediately marked him as an important figure.

The present Medical Ninja looked at Tuan Cang and Lian Ye in surprise.

They didn't understand when the Village had such a figure.

They even dared to address the Hokage by name.

"May I ask who you are?"

A Medical Ninja stepped forward and asked tentatively.

Although they didn't know Zhi Cun Tuan Zang, seeing his aura and his way of addressing the Hokage made it clear he wasn't a simple character.

Lian Ye stood behind Tuan Cang, intending to say nothing.

Leaving this to his good brother was fine, and he also wanted to see this timeline's Xiao Gangshou.

Wait, Gangshou's age is far greater than his.

"You don't need to know who I am; just take me to Gangshou."

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang had no intention of revealing his identity; who knows if explaining it would alter the past.

To be safe, it's best not to disclose anything; even if he must speak, he can only inform a few individuals.

"Um…" the Medical Ninja hesitated.

Their identities were still unclear, and taking them to the Hokage on impulse would definitely be procedurally wrong.

If the two turned out to be assassins, he would be hard to absolve himself.

At that moment, Lian Ye produced the token representing the Hokage Advisor.

"Is this useful?"

The Medical Ninja saw the token clearly and immediately nodded solemnly.

"You two, please follow me!"

Lian Ye's face showed surprise as he leaned to Tuan Cang's ear and whispered, "I didn't expect the Hokage Advisor title to be so handy in this timeline."

He had thought such a thing was useless, only holding a try-it-out attitude, but it actually worked!

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang: "..."

In reality, the Medical Ninja didn't know the two at all, but seeing the Hokage Advisor token dispelled his doubts.

The identities of the Village's higher-ups aren't transparent; not everyone claims to know them.

It could be that they were appointed during the tenure of the Third Generation Sir…

After all, the current acting Hokage was formerly the Hokage Advisor.

"We've arrived; the Hokage is inside."

The Medical Ninja led them to the doorway, and Lian Ye pushed the door open and walked in.

"Who are you?"

Kato Shizune, who was bedside, saw the two burst in and immediately stood up to question them.

This is the room where Lady Gangshou is recuperating, and these two guys came in without even knocking.

Looks like the visitors aren't friendly!

"Don't be nervous; we mean no harm."

Lian Ye said this while looking at the pale Gangshou on the sickbed.

There was no life‑threatening danger, just chakra depletion that caused a brief coma.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here!"

Shizune didn't relax her guard because of Lian Ye's words; if anything seemed off, she would immediately call for help.

"I came here only to understand what happened to the Village and why it turned out like this."

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang said in a deep voice, his high‑ranking aura instantly left Shizune dumbfounded.

How can this person resemble the Hokage even more than Lady Gangshou?

Under Tuan Cang's overwhelming aura, Shizune subconsciously recounted the Akatsuki and Pain invasion of Konoha.

By the time she caught up, I was stunned myself.

Why did I just tell them all this?

Lian Ye had already known what happened in the Village, and his face showed little expression.

In contrast, Tuan Cang frowned; the Akatsuki's plan to collect Tailed Beasts sounded exactly like Madara Uchiha's "Moon's Eye" scheme!

His intuition told him that Madara's hand was definitely in this!

"Since Gangshou fell into a coma, who will be in charge of the Village's reconstruction?" Zhi Cun Tuan Zang asked again.

"It is Lord Zhi Cun Tuan Zang… he is the Village's acting Hokage, but he went to the Five Kage Summit convened by the Raikage yesterday, so he's not in the Village now…"

Silent realized the two weren't villains, so he revealed everything he knew.

Perhaps they were Gangshou's contingency.

"I… Tuan Cang, acting Hokage?!"

Zhi Cun Tuan Zang's expression turned odd at the words.

It seems that my counterpart in this timeline isn't entirely useless.

At least he managed to become acting Hokage; there's some hope of becoming permanent.

Lian Ye's eyes lit up; the story had reached the Five Kage Summit era.

So the episode where Sasuke Uchiha walks the old man shouldn't be happening soon?

If I recall correctly, Sasuke caused a ruckus at the Five Kage Summit and then chased Tuan Cang.

There was originally a 50‑50 chance, but Uchiha Obito's pressure nearby caused Tuan Cang's stress to skyrocket.

He could only resort to a mutual‑destruction tactic, which ended up sealing a large bridge.

Lian Ye really wants to join this bustle.

Anyway, the Fifth Kage only set out yesterday, and at their travel speed it will take at least two or three days.

He can definitely make it in time!

He'll take his good brother Tuan Cang to watch this timeline's Tuan Cang being forced to walk with a youngster.

Tsk tsk, just thinking about it is amusing.

Whether to lend a hand then will depend on good brother Tuan Cang's choice.

At this moment, Tuan Cang still doesn't know Lian Ye's inner thoughts.

Instead, he learns about the Village's recent events from Quiet Fragrance.

Including, but not limited to, the Third Hokage's governance plan, the Fourth Hokage's cause of death, and other various aspects.

Of course, Silent wasn't clear on some matters, he only gave a rough explanation.

After hearing her explanation, Tuan Cang fell straight into a daze.

This timeline differs greatly from the one they came from.

He subconsciously looked at Lian Ye, but found his friend's face lacked a shocked expression, as if he had known all along.

"Normal, it's a parallel timeline."

Lian Ye had no explanation, just tossed out a random excuse to brush it off.

Tuan Cang: "……"

Although, it sounds somewhat reasonable.

Minor discrepancies in a parallel timeline should be normal, right?