Rōran's tower crumbled within the purple light.
Shin-chan's body was swept up by the Dragon Vein's chakra, tumbling through the cracks of space-time.
Everything around him spun at incredible speed—the desert, the towers, the purple pillar of light, and the collapsing buildings. Every scene was like a shattered mirror, its fragments whistling past him.
Then everything stopped.
The dizzying sensation of the world spinning struck him again. In the next instant, his feet landed on solid ground.
He raised his head.
Rōran's tower still stood before him, the purple light covering it gradually fading away.
The power of the Dragon Vein seemed to have stabilised again. The chakra that had surged from the cracks was slowly flowing back.
"I'm back?"
Shin-chan looked down at his hands.
His fingertips were no longer glowing, and the sensation of being pulled by the power of space-time had completely disappeared.
He tried sensing the surrounding space. The coordinates of his Flying Thunder God formulas began appearing one after another.
"I really am back." Shin-chan breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately began rummaging through his ninja tool pouch.
Empty.
All the specially made Senju chocolate sticks labelled Shin-chan's Personal Supply had been left behind in that era.
"They should still be edible after more than thirty years, right?" Shin-chan sighed regretfully. "Uncle Tobirama got lucky."
Just then, he heard a faint sound behind him.
Shin-chan turned around.
A blond young man stood not far away, wearing Konoha's standard jōnin combat uniform.
"Minato-nii?"
"Shin-chan?"
They spoke at the same time, then both froze.
"Why are you here?"
"I should be asking you that." Minato walked over. "Aren't you supposed to be in the Land of Rain?"
"That's a really difficult question to answer." Shin-chan scratched his head. "Minato-nii, do you believe in time travel?"
"Time travel?" Minato seemed to understand.
"Yeah. You go whoosh and end up several decades in the past, then go whoosh again and come back." Shin-chan made a whooshing gesture with his finger. "I even learned a ninjutsu about squeezing chocolate sauce along the way."
Squeezing chocolate sauce?
Minato's expression went from confusion to helplessness, then finally became a resigned smile that said he was already used to this.
"No matter where you went, what matters is that you returned safely."
"I stayed with the Senju family for a long time. Uncle Tobirama taught me ninjutsu, and Uncle Hashirama planned a food street with me..."
"Wait." Minato placed a hand on Shin-chan's shoulder. "Did you say you met the First and Second Hokage?"
"Mm."
"Lord Senju Hashirama and Lord Senju Tobirama?"
"Mm."
Minato fell silent.
He knew about the Dragon Vein's power. It was an energy network capable of connecting the past and future of the ninja world.
"It seems you had quite an eventful experience."
"Super eventful." Shin-chan nodded. "I learned Water Style: Severing Wave, Genjutsu: Bringer-of-Darkness Technique, and several other Water Style ninjutsu. Uncle Tobirama said my talent shouldn't be wasted, so I had to train every afternoon."
Minato walked closer. "Let me check whether you're injured."
"I'm not injured." Shin-chan raised both arms so Minato could inspect him. "Uncle Tobirama looks scary, but he's actually really thoughtful. He always prepared medicine and chocolate sticks beside the training ground."
Minato reached out and gently ruffled Shin-chan's hair.
"I'm glad you're alright."
Shin-chan suddenly remembered something, and his face fell.
"I saved so many special chocolate sticks at the Senju residence. Every one of them had a label saying, 'Shin-chan's Personal Supply.' But they all disappeared when I travelled back."
Looking at Shin-chan's expression, which practically screamed, All my strategic supplies are gone, Minato couldn't help laughing.
"I'll buy you some."
"Really?"
"Really." Minato looked around at the surrounding ruins. "But before that, we need to deal with the situation here. The Dragon Vein's power has stabilised, but its seal still needs to be reinforced. Otherwise, something like this may happen again."
"I'll help."
Shin-chan began setting up the sealing nodes.
As Minato watched his back, he suddenly remembered the feeling he had experienced earlier while watching that blond boy leave.
Fate had made him send one person away, then brought another one back.
"Shin-chan."
"Mm?"
"What were Lord First and Lord Second... like?"
Shin-chan stopped and thought about it.
"Uncle Hashirama was super interesting. When he heard I was creating the Chocolate Stick Alliance, he was the first person to sign up."
Minato imagined the First Hokage raising his hand to join an organisation called the Chocolate Stick Alliance. The corners of his mouth unconsciously lifted.
"What about Lord Second?"
"Uncle Tobirama?" Shin-chan tilted his head. "He looks really scary, always frowns, and speaks coldly. But he's actually super nice. He was really patient when teaching me ninjutsu and even prepared red bean dango as rewards."
Shin-chan paused, then added, "Oh, right. He still owes me twelve chocolate sticks."
Minato froze. "The Second Hokage... owes you chocolate sticks?"
"Yeah. I got a reward every time I learned a ninjutsu. I learned a lot of them, but he still hasn't paid me the rest."
Minato fell silent.
In his understanding, the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, had been a stern and rational man.
But the Tobirama in Shin-chan's stories was someone who prepared snacks as rewards and owed a debt in chocolate sticks.
"Uncle Tobirama was actually pretty lonely." Shin-chan lowered his head. "He worked every day and never rested, so I took him fishing. He was really happy when he caught his first fish."
Minato smiled.
He suddenly felt that perhaps Shin-chan being sent to that era had not been an accident.
The child had brought more than chocolate sticks and ramen with him.
He had brought something even more important.
Something Hashirama and Tobirama's generation had lacked most.
Not strength, ninjutsu, or strategy.
But the knowledge of how to live like ordinary people once peace had finally arrived.
"Shin-chan."
"Mm?"
"Do you think... Lord First and Lord Second were happy?"
Shin-chan stopped what he was doing.
He thought for a moment, then nodded seriously.
"Uncle Hashirama was really happy while planning the food street. He said he wanted everyone in the village to be able to eat delicious food." Shin-chan smiled. "Uncle Tobirama said he wanted to build a fishing platform. It didn't need to be large—just big enough for two or three people to sit."
Minato looked into Shin-chan's eyes.
He suddenly understood something.
Why the First and Second Hokage had been willing to spend so much time with this child from the future.
Because Shin-chan possessed something that had been exceptionally rare in their era.
That thing was called the future.
It was what a child raised in an age of peace was supposed to look like.
"Alright." Minato stood up. "The preparations are nearly complete. Leave the rest to me."
Shin-chan stepped aside and watched Minato form hand seals.
The patterns of a sealing technique spread across the ground, sealing the Dragon Vein layer by layer.
~~~
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