"Scorpion!"
"Hurry up! Or we'll be dragged back into the chaos of the space-time rift!"
A furious roar echoed from within the oval-shaped portal of white light.
Silhouettes of figures were now clearly visible inside the glowing passage.
A young man clad in a white cloak adorned with black tomoe patterns on its collar, sleeves, and back stepped forward. His eyes glowed ominously with the eerie purple hue of the Rinnegan.
What was even more striking was his left Rinnegan, which bore six distinct black tomoe etched within it.
As Sōmi's shout rang out, the intense white light of the oval-shaped portal suddenly flared brighter, gradually expanding into a perfect circular form.
The white light slowly receded, leaving behind a deep, mysterious black radiance that seemed to stretch endlessly, as though the portal connected to the very depths of the cosmos.
"Ahhh!!"
A guttural scream of rage erupted from within.
The young man in the white, tomoe-patterned cloak finally emerged, his head breaking through the portal.
But what happened next was astonishing.
The man's once snow-white hair began to shatter like fragile glass, the white hue fading to reveal his original black hair beneath.
As his body fully exited the portal, the white cloak he wore seemed to age and disintegrate in an instant, turning to dust and ash before being sucked back into the passage.
When the man raised his head, it became apparent that his tomoe-patterned Rinnegan had also shattered into countless fragments, falling away and vanishing into the invisible winds that swirled back into the portal.
"Ahhh!!"
With a final, agonized cry, a release of pent-up emotion, three figures were ejected one after another from the circular portal.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
"Finally!"
"Damn it!"
"That cursed toad... blocking the way for so long..."
"I'm finally back!"
Their gasping breaths and shouts of frustration filled the air, like wanderers who had finally returned to their homeland after a long and arduous journey.
"Uh?!"
However, as the young man with black hair turned to look at his female companion, his expression froze in a mix of shock and excitement.
Because at that moment, they found themselves entirely unclothed.
If it had been just the two men, it might not have been such a big deal. But the presence of a beautiful young woman made the situation far more awkward.
Although the three of them had been close comrades in another time and space, this was the first time they had been so "openly exposed" to one another.
The woman, her delicate face showing no excessive panic, quickly crossed her long, smooth legs and used her hands to cover her "ample assets."
Yet, with his sharp gaze, the black-haired young man had already caught a glimpse of the full "white tiger" before she hid herself.
Suddenly.
At that moment, the circular portal flared with a blinding light, as if an overcharged bulb had reached its breaking point. With a soft "pop," the passage was compressed into a singularity and vanished without a trace.
Boom!
At the same time, the displaced waters of the lake, which had been held back by the portal's presence, came crashing down upon the three young figures.
Not long after.
Inside the lakeside cabin.
Now dressed in hastily found clothing, the trio curiously inspected the cabin's interior.
The place appeared to have been abandoned for quite some time. Though they managed to find garments, the musty smell of mildew clinging to them was far from pleasant. But for now, they had no choice but to make do.
"Scorpion, are you sure this was your grandmother's house?"
The black-haired young man, now with only a single Rinnegan in his right eye, asked in a deep voice.
"Yes, I'm absolutely sure!"
The red-haired youth beside him nodded confidently. His eyes, however, had transformed into Sharingan, each bearing three tomoe.
"The layer of dust here suggests that no one has lived here for at least one or two years..."
"And why would your grandmother move to live in a place like this?"
"How much time has passed since then...?"
The black-haired man murmured softly, his tone filled with doubt.
The room fell into a heavy silence for a moment. The black-haired man covered the empty socket of his left eye and spoke again:
"Scorpion. Konan."
"Do you feel it too?"
"The memories of that other time and space... they're fading quickly. Scene after scene is being replaced by a haze, as if an invisible hand is erasing images that were never meant to exist..."
"Even the power we gained there, and even our clothes, couldn't be brought back here..."
He paused, his remaining Rinnegan glowing faintly. "This Rinnegan, because it originated from this world, was the only thing I could retain."
Konan, who had been stealing glances at the black-haired man, seemed slightly flushed.
She was certain that during their "exposed" moment at the lake, the man's gaze had been particularly focused, as if conducting a scientific "double-slit experiment."
As the black-haired man brought up the fading memories, Konan adopted a thoughtful expression, her eyes gradually clouding with confusion.
After a moment, she nodded in agreement. "Sōmi is right."
"It's like a dream—one that lingers even after waking..."
However, Konan left unsaid another feeling she had.
Even if it was a dream, the emotions and bonds formed within it seemed to transcend time and space, carrying over into reality.
During those days, Konan's perception of Sōmi, once an "enemy," had undergone a complete transformation.
If she had to describe it, Sōmi seemed to embody the best qualities of Yahiko and Nagato combined. He possessed both a rational, lofty side and a cold, merciless side.
Scorpion, meanwhile, remained expressionless. Placing a hand to his forehead, he realized that the memories truly felt like fleeting illusions. Even using his Subconscious Sand Manipulation technique on himself, he could not stop the memories from slipping away.
"Let's go. We need to head out and assess the situation," Sōmi said, gesturing with one hand.
Yet, to his embarrassment, his body remained rooted in place.
The realization struck him: the vast, boundless power he had wielded in the "dream" world, which had allowed him to soar through the skies at will, was now gone.
The hollow, empty feeling within him left him with a profound sense of loss, like waking from a dream of wealth and comfort only to face the harsh reality of poverty.
After a long pause, the trio adjusted to their current state. Standing atop a golden cloud, they determined their direction and sped toward Sunagakure.
Sometime later, the tranquil lake surface emitted a sudden flash of golden light.
The light streaked across the sky, disappearing in an instant.
Much later, the lake erupted violently, as if a massive bomb had detonated at its bottom. The resulting waves surged outward, destroying the wooden cabin by the shore. The structure was torn apart, its fragments scattered across the water.
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