Chapter 407

In the event that Kurotsuchi truly activated some method of traversing space-time, intending to return to the "future," Mizunuki Ryosuke would certainly not let her slip away just like that.

At that moment, his Ice Clone would directly use Mahapadma to freeze space-time, terminating the space-time ninjutsu Kurotsuchi had initiated.

Even if Kurotsuchi possessed ninjutsu capable of traversing time, one must not forget that Mizunuki Ryosuke had mastered a ninjutsu capable of freezing time—Mahapadma!

Therefore, once Kurotsuchi fell into Mizunuki Ryosuke's hands, the idea of wanting to return was nothing more than a pipe dream.

At this moment, Mizunuki Ryosuke’s strategy of "letting the prey go only to catch it" had clearly succeeded.

Right now, an ice-blue orb of light, radiating a chilling arc of energy, appeared in the Ice Clone's hand. Wisps of cold air, sufficient to cause distortions in time, continuously drifted from the Ice Clone's hand.

At any instant, should any space-time fluctuations appear beside Kurotsuchi, Mizunuki Ryosuke could flash to her side at any time and use Mahapadma to freeze the space-time surrounding her.

Following Kurotsuchi’s lengthy hand seals, her hand speed grew faster and faster; the number of seals had already reached nearly a hundred!

This was an extremely astonishing number! It was hard to imagine what kind of ninjutsu required such a complex prelude for preparation.

Finally, Kurotsuchi completed the last seal, a trace of anxiety and joy appearing in her eyes.

When she had first arrived here, she had attempted this several times, but all had ended in failure.

Yet Kurotsuchi did not lose heart, instead attributing it all to the possibility that some glitch had occurred at the "other end" of space-time, which was why she could not return.

Regarding the trust of the person on the "other side," she felt it wouldn't be long; once they resolved the problem over there, she might be able to go back.

Without a doubt, success or failure hinged on this one move.

A mysterious fluctuation bloomed from Kurotsuchi’s body; this was the aura unique to space-time. Was she about to succeed!

Her emotions were stirred; it seemed that in the next moment, she could directly "go home."

Outside the room, Mizunuki Ryosuke’s Ice Clone had already prepared the Body Flicker Technique, ready to activate it at any moment to reach Kurotsuchi’s side.

Then

Then there was no then.

The space-time aura flashed and vanished, as if it had never existed at all.

Kurotsuchi stood blankly in place, the hope in her eyes instantly turning into bewilderment and helplessness.

Failed again.

This failure made Kurotsuchi shudder.

A "truly terrifying" possibility emerged in the depths of Kurotsuchi’s heart; thinking of this, her delicate body began to tremble continuously.

Seemingly unable to accept the facts, Kurotsuchi repeated the previous process as if in denial.

Failure, failure, and failure again.

Finally, Kurotsuchi collapsed to the ground, weak all over, her face like a doll that had lost its vitality.

She feebly pulled a round glass pendant from her neck; inside the round glass pendant, a faint deep-purple energy lingered.

But it was almost visible to the naked eye that the deep-purple energy within the pendant had grown so thin it was nearly invisible.

Kurotsuchi recalled what her father had said to her before she left, and a trace of terror appeared in her eyes.

She couldn't go back.

This time, she was truly unable to go back.

Such was the reality; no matter how desperate Kurotsuchi felt inside, no matter how she prayed to the heavens, reality was just that—it would not change in the slightest because of her inner wishes.

Leaving the desperate girl aside.

Outside the room, Mizunuki Ryosuke’s Ice Clone shook its head gently and dissipated the ice-blue arc of light in its hand.

Although he did not know which part had gone wrong, it now appeared that Kurotsuchi’s plan to return had completely failed.

As a master-level developer of ninjutsu, especially one capable of creating an ultimate forbidden technique involving the realm of time like Mahapadma.

Mizunuki Ryosuke’s research and attainments in ninjutsu were naturally far beyond the reach of ordinary people. By deconstructing Kurotsuchi’s lengthy hand seals, Mizunuki Ryosuke had roughly analyzed the effect of her technique.

Rather than saying Kurotsuchi was performing a "space-time traversal" ninjutsu, it was more like a complex communication and positioning ritual; its effect should have been to trigger some mechanism, allowing her to sense the "space-time" where the girl belonged.

That is to say, in the "future," there was still a group of people waiting to receive the girl.

At this moment, the girl was like an "anchor" cast from a ship into the ocean; only by relying on the chain could she return to the ship once more.

And clearly, Kurotsuchi’s failure to perform the technique indicated that perhaps the ship carrying the girl in the "future" had now "capsized."

This also indirectly proved that Mizunuki Ryosuke’s guess was not wrong.

Following this line of thought, Mizunuki Ryosuke suddenly understood something, a thoughtful smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Sure enough, all of this was arranged by "himself."

Given the steadiness of "Mizunuki Ryosuke," since he had already set the goal of "controlling the ninja world," how could he sit by and watch events occur that used space-time travel to change the past?

Perhaps Kurotsuchi appearing in this space-time was a "gift" his future self had deliberately left for him...

In an unknown time, at a secret base of the Rock Village.

Everything here was stained with a layer of ice-blue halo; under this frigid glow, everything was frozen.

Even time and space had ceased their flow and fluctuations under this icy light.

Mizunuki Ryosuke looked at the man opposite him—a disheveled, decadent-looking middle-aged man—a trace of emotion appearing in his eyes.

It had been many years, and he had not expected that the once high-spirited and honest Rock Village youth would turn into this sloppy, rotund man.

In contrast, Mizunuki Ryosuke’s face remained exceptionally handsome; time seemed to have frozen on his face, keeping him exactly as he appeared in the middle-aged man’s memory.

Ryosuke did not say much, ignoring the middle-aged man who was already slumped on the ground in a sorry state, and simply stepped aside, revealing the scene behind him.

At this moment, a woman with charming allure, filled with the aura of a mature woman, revealed herself.

She looked to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

Her pretty short black hair added a touch of cuteness to her charm; her gentle willow-leaf eyebrows and round apricot eyes had gained a hint of softness and mature appeal under the polishing of time.

Her curvaceous figure was enough to outshine ninety-nine percent of women, especially her pair of perfectly curved, impossibly long black-stockinged legs, which elevated the charm of this mature woman even further.

"Father, I'm back..."

The long-legged beauty spoke slowly in a gentle voice, her tone carrying a hint of emotion, her beautiful eyes filled with complexity.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man slumped on the ground opened his mouth, wanting to make a sound, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not utter a single word.

He looked at the stunning woman in disbelief, his eyes locked tightly onto her face.

This was not because the middle-aged man was lusting after her beauty, but because there was another reason.

This face, he was so familiar with it that it was carved into his heart, impossible to forget; so familiar that, at any time, he could recognize her at a glance.

Because, this was his daughter!!!

"Kurotsuchi."

The man whispered in disbelief, calling out her name.

And this, too, completely revealed the identity of this middle-aged man.

He was the son of the Third Tsuchikage Onoki, the former pride of the Rock Village—Kitsuchi!