Chapter 201: Time Paradox?
As the caravan continued forward, Naruto and the others gradually noticed that the howling of the wind and sand outside was fading away.
Suddenly, Sasuke, who had been resting with his eyes closed, opened them and looked at Naruto.
"Did you notice?"
"Yeah."
Naruto nodded.
"We've entered some kind of barrier."
He turned toward Sara.
"We've already passed through that wall of sandstorms, haven't we? Are we almost there?"
"We've alre—"
As if confirming Naruto's guess, Sara had barely begun to answer when the caravan suddenly came to a stop.
A series of rustling noises echoed from outside, accompanied by several youthful voices shouting:
"Stop! Inspection!"
One of the caravan drivers immediately called out,
"It's us—"
"I know it's you, Uncle! But those are the Chief's orders! Anyone entering has to be inspected!"
"...That's Tarō's voice. That child is always so stubborn..."
Sara sighed helplessly.
"Forget it. Let's get off."
Because of the harsh environment of the Land of Wind, the merchant wagons had been built without windows to keep out the sandstorms.
Only after stepping outside did Naruto finally see the strange landscape surrounding them.
Ancient ruins stretched endlessly in every direction.
Countless weathered stone structures stood like a forest of crumbling buildings, their broken walls and towering remnants reaching toward the sky.
Naruto looked around and could see people moving among the ruins in the distance.
Many areas had makeshift clotheslines, temporary tents, and other signs that people had been living here for quite some time.
But what drew Naruto's attention the most...
Was the enormous purple barrier overhead.
Visible to the naked eye, it resembled an upside-down bowl covering the entire expanse of ruins, perfectly enveloping everything beneath it.
"It's actually... this huge?"
Naruto couldn't help exclaiming.
Kurama's voice echoed inside him.
"It doesn't merely isolate the inside from the outside. It also blocks surveillance and detects intruders while keeping out the sandstorms and other harsh environmental conditions."
"In other words, even though this place sits in the open desert of the Land of Wind, it's still barely suitable for human habitation."
"Maintaining a barrier of this scale isn't easy. It requires an enormous amount of chakra..."
"...It's that, isn't it?"
Following the direction of the barrier's center, Naruto saw a massive pillar of violet light rising from the heart of the ruins.
Even without trying to sense it, the sheer density of chakra was overwhelming.
It was the first time Naruto had ever witnessed such an immense amount of chakra with his own eyes.
Yet it was obvious that this colossal chakra pillar was continuously supplying energy to the barrier.
"What incredible chakra..."
Kurama gazed through Naruto's eyes.
"So it really is the Dragon Vein's chakra... I see..."
"Just as Sara said, after the Uchiha clan that Minato sent here settled in this place, they must have discovered the notes left behind by Anrokuzan regarding both his puppet techniques and his research into the Dragon Vein's chakra. Then they adapted all of it for their own use..."
"Anrokuzan..."
Minato murmured through the chakra link.
"So that's the rogue ninja Mukade who wanted to obtain the Dragon Vein's power."
"I still remember carrying out the mission to pursue him, but the memories of the period when he disguised himself as the Rōran minister Anrokuzan are still sealed."
"I never imagined he possessed barrier techniques of this level."
"He's certainly not someone to underestimate."
Through Kurama's chakra link, Minato carefully observed the barrier.
Although he could only see it through Naruto's perspective and senses, even he was astonished by how powerful it was.
"Your memories are still sealed?"
Kurama asked.
"You're not going to undo them?"
Minato smiled wryly.
"Lord Kurama... have you forgotten that I'm only a fragment of chakra?"
"The sealed memories belong to my real body."
"There's no way this chakra fragment can access that part of my memories."
Kurama froze.
He really had forgotten that.
Over time, he had almost gotten used to treating this mass of Minato's chakra as though it were Minato himself.
His ears twitched.
Then he suddenly looked at Minato.
"There's something I'd like to confirm with you."
"Please."
"What do you understand about... time?"
"...Hm?"
"Time?"
Apparently caught off guard by the sudden question, Minato looked at Kurama in confusion.
Kurama continued calmly.
"Sara previously had all memories of the future sealed away by your sealing technique."
"You said it was to prevent people in the past from remembering the future and changing history."
"But now the Uchiha clan has obtained the research notes left behind by Mukade, who traveled from the future into the past."
"If the past is supposed to be fixed..."
"...then now that Sara's seal has been accidentally broken and she has met Naruto ahead of time..."
"...and with this place now becoming the Uchiha clan's home..."
"...will that future Mukade still return to Rōran and become Anrokuzan?"
"And will Naruto still need to travel back in time someday and meet her?"
Kurama's enormous eyes remained fixed on Minato.
Although his tone sounded calm, this question was extremely important to him.
"...I'm not completely certain."
Minato answered after a brief silence.
"But at the moment..."
"I believe the answer is no."
Kurama was genuinely surprised.
He had expected Minato to give an ambiguous answer.
"I think that even if Naruto truly does travel back in time someday..."
"...his experiences will be completely different from the ones Sara remembers."
"But if that's the case..."
Kurama frowned.
"If future Naruto never travels back to meet Sara..."
"...wouldn't that event simply cease to exist?"
"At first, I thought so too."
Minato nodded.
"That's precisely why I placed sealing formulas on Naruto and the others to lock away those memories."
"But now..."
"It seems that facts which have already occurred don't disappear simply because the future changes."
He spoke with complete certainty.
"Why?"
"Because of you, Lord Kurama."
"...Me?"
"You also possess memories from the future."
"You've already changed many events that originally happened in the past."
"And yet..."
"You still retain those memories."
"That alone is the greatest proof."
"Because of your existence, I believe we've already confirmed that changing the past doesn't alter the future that has already been experienced."
Those words instantly enlightened Kurama.
Indeed.
The life he was living now was no longer the same one contained within his original memories.
The moment he chose to change young Naruto's fate...
The past had already diverged completely.
Yet despite all those changes...
Kurama still retained every memory from that future.
Those memories themselves had never changed.
If altering the past truly erased events that had already happened, then theoretically...
The Kurama standing here now—one who possessed memories of the future—
Should no longer exist.
"So..."
Kurama muttered quietly,
"Even if someone returns to the past and changes history..."
"...it still won't affect events that have already been experienced?"
It was as though one of his previous ideas had finally been confirmed.
However, he said nothing further.
Instead, he silently accepted Minato's conclusion.
After all...
Just as Minato had said...
The greatest piece of evidence supporting this theory was Kurama's own existence.
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