Chapter 274 : Back To Konoha
Just before that, Mukade was reduced to ashes.
And the final puppet that was about to be reconstructed was completely destroyed.
The Thunder Prison dissipated along with Riku’s chakra.
Soon after, Minato Namikaze and the others reached Riku’s side.
With Mukade no longer absorbing the energy, the Dragon Vein had gone berserk.
Much like a Tailed Beast, the chakra of the Dragon Vein surged out of control.
The earth shook violently around them—tremors caused by the rampaging energy.
Standing beside the altar, Riku looked calmly at Minato.
Minato gave a small nod.
Riku formed hand seals with both hands and took out two kunai marked with the Flying Thunder God Formula from his ninja pouch.
Minato glanced at Riku and smiled. "Looks like you’ve truly mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique."
Riku’s sealing speed was incredible—more than forty hand seals for the Flying Thunder God’s space-time formula completed in the blink of an eye.
"Flying Thunder God’s Space-Time Seal."
In a flash, he teleported to the center of the Dragon Vein altar and thrust both kunai directly into the Dragon Vein’s eye.
Instantly, a multitude of intricate space-time markings burst from the kunai and spread outward in complex patterns.
Minato watched with admiration. "I know that sealing method, but I can’t perform it as well as you. In the Flying Thunder God Technique, your mastery surpasses mine."
Aburame Shiya and Akamichi Choza could both sense the power of Riku’s technique.
The ground stabilized.
The previously surging chakra began to recede.
At the same time, Riku formed a new set of seals and activated the Memory Dissolution Technique.
A wave of potent chakra burst forth from his body, and as the jutsu completed, memories began to fade.
Minato and his team... Sasha, who was still searching for her people... all of them started to forget.
The chakra of the Dragon Vein continued shrinking.
Minato and the others looked at Riku as their consciousness grew dim.
Riku glanced at Minato and smiled. "Too bad I didn’t get a chance to visit Tsunade in this timeline."
At this point, Tsunade would have been in her thirties.
The thought made Riku chuckle. "Would’ve been nice... oh well."
Though there was some regret, Riku understood he didn’t have the time to visit Konoha. Intervening any further might have irreversibly changed history.
And in that case, even memory erasure wouldn’t be enough to fix things.
This technique, in addition to using residual soul power, could also erase memories.
Minato kept smiling at Riku as his consciousness faded. "Konoha’s future is in good hands."
As Minato and the others vanished from the timeline, the chakra of the Dragon Vein also disappeared completely.
And Riku returned to his original time and space.
Only now, the two Flying Thunder God kunai used to seal the Dragon Vein were no longer Minato’s—they were Riku’s.
Temari was rushing toward the Dragon Vein just as its energy vanished.
She found Riku standing alone at the altar.
Rushing to his side, she asked curiously, "What happened?"
Riku sighed. "The Dragon Vein went out of control. Mukade traveled back in time, decades into the past. I followed him there—and killed him."
Temari’s eyes landed on the kunai embedded in the altar. "These kunai... why did they change?"
Riku nodded. "They’re mine now. Since I went to the past, I was the one who sealed the Dragon Vein in that timeline."
Temari asked, "Mukade is dead?"
Riku nodded again.
She didn’t press him about what happened in the past.
Clearly, the timeline hadn’t changed, which meant Riku had taken great care not to interfere.
Seeing Minato had been a strange experience. Minato was undoubtedly powerful, but when it came to the Flying Thunder God Technique, he was no longer on Riku’s level.
Riku had always theorized about his standing—but this confirmed it.
The space-time seal Riku had used was different from Minato’s. Once placed, it couldn’t be reopened the same way.
Removing the kunai was pointless.
As they left Loulan, Riku noticed the ruins looked different from when he first arrived—far more battered. Deep craters and gaping basins marred the earth.
Temari was stunned.
Riku explained casually, "Mukade created a puppet using the Dragon Vein’s chakra. It was powerful—on par with a Tailed Beast."
Temari’s jaw dropped. A Tailed Beast? That level of destruction was terrifying.
But it made sense. Only something with the destructive force of a Tailed Beast could have caused damage this extreme.
Two massive basins had formed—despite being partially covered by wind and sand, their scale was still visible.
It was easy to imagine how fierce the battle had been.
But thinking about it again... Riku had managed to suppress a fully transformed Naruto. So perhaps it wasn’t that surprising after all.
As they prepared to leave, a young girl wearing a veil approached.
She looked exactly like Sasha.
Seeing her, Riku smiled faintly.
Temari gave him a confused look. "What are you smiling at?"
Riku said nothing and walked past the girl.
The girl didn’t say anything either—but after passing Riku, she suddenly turned back and looked at his retreating figure.
Tilting her head slightly, she murmured, "That’s strange... why do I feel something special toward him? Maybe it’s my mother’s influence..."
—
Back in Sunagakure, Riku and Temari reported to Gaara and handed over their completed mission.
Afterward, Temari left.
Standing at the entrance of the village, she watched Riku’s back for a moment before quietly turning to go.
Just a few steps away, Riku activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and teleported straight to Konoha.
He appeared in the Hokage’s office just in time to see Tsunade send Sora flying with a single punch.
Sora slammed into the hallway wall. Tsunade had been about to storm out to yell at him—but she paused.
Naruto and the others turned around to see Riku arrive.
Tsunade smiled. "All done?"
Riku nodded. "Yeah. It went pretty smoothly."
Naruto rushed over. "Riku! I’ve mastered the Eight-Tails form!"
Riku gave an approving nod. "Not bad. But you still have to work hard to master the complete Nine-Tails form."
Naruto beamed. "I’m confident I can do it!"
Sakura stood silently beside them, smiling for reasons she didn’t fully understand.
She, Tsunade, and Naruto had all heard that Riku had gone to the Land of Wind to assist in capturing a rogue ninja.
But none of them had been worried.
In their minds, Riku’s strength was already unmatched in the entire ninja world.
He wouldn’t be in danger—and somehow, they all knew that.
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