Regarding this point, Seiki indeed found it strange.
He had control over the Dragon Veins, so logically speaking, time travel shouldn't have occurred.
Moreover, this middle-aged version of Sasuke clearly came from a parallel world—the future version of what is known as the "Pillar" in some legends.
"Could it be that, by keeping the connection between two timelines open and being a variable myself, other parallel worlds can only travel back to my exact moment in time? If someone tries to go further back, they'd end up redirected into my timeline?"
He imagined it like two parallel rivers that suddenly shared a single channel. From that point onward, one stream only had an upstream, and the other only a downstream, much like the shape of "Ч" without its upper right segment.
Middle-aged Sasuke didn't notice Seiki's confusion and carefully explained, "We returned to the past using a time-travel artifact called the 'Li,' left behind by the Otsutsuki Clan deep in the ocean!"
Because both had experienced the Fourth Great Ninja War, he wasn't worried that Seiki wouldn't understand what Otsutsuki meant.
"A time-travel artifact called the 'Li'?" Seiki asked in surprise. "Something like the Sage of Six Paths' artifacts?"
Boruto took out a small pink turtle from his jacket. "Maybe even more incredible, because it's alive!"
"May I take a look?" Seiki curiously asked.
"Of course." Boruto handed the turtle to Seiki. "It's just that after we traveled through time, it fell into a hibernation."
"Sleeping, huh?" Seiki carefully examined the turtle in his hands before suddenly releasing a powerful surge of chakra from his body.
As if a traveler who had suffered from thirst for days in a desert had suddenly encountered nourishing rain, the little turtle greedily absorbed the surrounding chakra like a sponge soaking up water!
Soon, the turtle's limbs regained their energy, and it said, "Artifact Li, time-travel function activated. At your service!"
Boruto suddenly realized, "So it was just out of juice, huh!"
"A fascinating creation!" Seiki played with it a bit before returning the turtle. "Would you mind telling me exactly which part of the deep sea it was found in?"
Boruto awkwardly replied, "We ourselves don't even know where they found it!"
Middle-aged Sasuke added, "It seems only members of the Otsutsuki Clan can unlock its seal. Before Otsutsuki Urashiki broke the seal, none of us understood its purpose or thought much of its origin."
Seiki feigned surprise, "Otsutsuki Urashiki?"
Middle-aged Sasuke's expression turned solemn. "In our era, new members of the Otsutsuki Clan appeared again. Just like Obito and Madara Uchiha before them, they once again set their sights on Naruto!"
"However, their strength seems somewhat inferior compared to Madara Uchiha. After we defeated two of them, the remaining Otsutsuki decided to travel back in time to capture Naruto when he was still very weak!"
Seiki gave a strange look. "Are your and Naruto's powers still at the level they were after the Fourth Great Ninja War?"
Middle-aged Sasuke gave a bitter laugh. "Compared to back then, both of us have greatly declined in power. Especially me—I might have inherited Kakashi-sensei's weak constitution. These days, I can barely cast a few ninjutsu before running out of chakra!"
Seiki's lips twitched. Could it be that Sakura had wrung... information out of him?
Realizing his thoughts were drifting into inappropriate territory, Seiki quickly pushed them aside. "How did you manage to kill two of them, even though your powers have weakened?"
He had guessed these later Otsutsuki might be somewhat weaker, but he hadn't expected them to be this weak.
Those were three pure-blood Otsutsuki!
From Seiki's limited understanding, wasn't every Otsutsuki extremely powerful?
Forget Kaguya and Isshiki—even the two brothers, Hagoromo and his own sibling—and even Toneri who had undergone atavistic transformation, all possessed immense strength, casually crushing or slicing through the Moon as if it were a game!
So why were these three Otsutsuki so weak?
"Could something have happened to the Otsutsuki clan that weakened their power?" Seiki narrowed his eyes slightly. If that were truly the case, his plan to counterattack the Otsutsuki might actually have a chance of success!
"So our top priority is to capture Otsutsuki Urashiki alive and get intel on the Otsutsuki main family from him!"
Middle-aged Sasuke had no idea what Seiki was thinking. "Maybe they were just careless?" he offered.
Beside him, Boruto was unconvinced. "That guy Urashiki should still be pretty strong! He can freely switch between the Byakugan and the Rinnegan, possesses formidable spatial abilities, and seems to even involve time-based ninjutsu!"
"Oh? Time manipulation!" Seiki showed slight surprise. "That actually sounds similar to Itachi's ability!"
"Itachi? You mean his ability isn't—" Middle-aged Sasuke was first startled, then quickly realized, "Right! The Sharingan is the Eye of Mirror Vision. Since the process of awakening differs, of course the dojutsu abilities activated would also differ!"
"Itachi? My uncle's older brother?" Boruto mumbled to himself, then asked with eager expectation, "Lord Seiki, could you help us fight against Otsutsuki Urashiki together?"
Before middle-aged Sasuke could reprimand him, Seiki burst into laughter. "Of course! When I originally formed the Alliance, I already stated clearly—I will never allow anyone in the Alliance to be bullied by outsiders, not even if they're Otsutsuki!"
Boruto's eyes lit up with admiration. "Lord Seiki is amazing!"
"Balancing inner virtue and outer strength—that must be Lord Seiki's Ninja Way!" Middle-aged Sasuke thought to himself while raising his head to say, "I'm sorry for troubling Lord Seiki!"
"No, I should be thanking you instead. You've brought me the true examination question for the third test!" Seiki smiled.
"Actually using an Otsutsuki as an exam question!" Middle-aged Sasuke inwardly praised Seiki's boldness, when he then heard Seiki ask, "And your left hand..."
Middle-aged Sasuke looked somewhat embarrassed. "After you left back then, Naruto and I fought another battle due to ideological differences, and in the end, we each lost an arm!"
"Still as stubborn as ever!" Seiki sighed while shaking his head. He then said, "Stretch out your left hand. Let me heal it for you!"
"Heal it for me? Oh right, you do have the Yin-Yang Release Technique!" Middle-aged Sasuke suddenly realized, but then immediately shook his head again. "This severed hand is my atonement, a reminder for me to never forget the mistakes I've made before!"
"From Uncle's words, it sounds like Lord Seiki really has the ability to regenerate lost limbs!"
Boruto's heart lifted at first, but he quickly grew worried as he kept listening. "If you've made a mistake, then fix it! Isn't repairing your severed arm a better way to atone?"
Seiki laughed. "See? You're not even as level-headed as the younger generation. If we're about to face a powerful enemy, of course we should adjust ourselves to the best possible condition!"
"Or are you saying your overemotional nonsense is more important than the safety of the world?"
Since things had been said this plainly, middle-aged Sasuke could only stretch out his hand with a bitter smile. "Then I'd be grateful for your help, Lord Seiki."
With Seiki's current abilities, even without using the power of Truth-Seeking Balls, he could easily use the Yin-Yang Release to restore Sasuke's severed arm.
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