Amenosubaruboshinomikoto: Ryūgū—collided head-on with True Several Thousand Hands, the massive shockwave distorting the entire alternate dimension.
The space, already unstable to begin with, now began to collapse piece by piece under the impact of such overwhelming force.
"Hahahahaha! Yes, this is it! This is what real battle feels like!"
Madara Uchiha let out a crazed laugh, completely oblivious to the danger surrounding him.
Watching him, Mirai couldn't help but feel speechless. This guy really was a hopeless battle maniac.
If not for Mirai working to stabilize the space, everyone present—except for himself—would have been torn to shreds by the chaotic spatial turbulence.
After a while, the surging energy finally subsided. Hashirama Senju coughed up a mouthful of blood and dropped to his knees, looking drained and exhausted.
In the past, Hashirama had always been able to suppress Madara. But now that Madara wielded dual Rinnegan, his power was undeniably greater.
Not to mention, Urashiki Ōtsutsuki's fishing basket was further amplifying Madara's strength.
Given all that, it was no surprise Hashirama had been seriously wounded.
"Hashirama, are you alright?"
Seeing the unstoppable grin on Madara's face, Hashirama could only sigh in resignation.
"Madara, you always know how to make things difficult for me."
From what he'd observed earlier, there was no way Urashiki himself possessed that kind of overwhelming power.
He must have been leeching chakra from Madara to unleash such terrifying attacks.
"Wait, where's Urashiki?"
Madara glanced around but quickly realized Urashiki had vanished.
"Mirai, where's that Ōtsutsuki bastard?" he asked.
Mirai replied flatly, "The moment the explosion started, he used space-time ninjutsu to escape."
"Hmph! Coward," Madara scoffed disdainfully.
So much for the so-called Ōtsutsuki Clan—nothing but a bunch of jokes.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Hashirama said, "Mirai, did we cause you trouble?"
If he and Madara hadn't gotten carried away wanting to battle an Ōtsutsuki, Mirai probably could have captured Urashiki before he had a chance to flee.
Mirai chuckled. "It's fine. I left a mark on Urashiki. No matter where he runs, even to the ends of the Earth, he won't escape my detection."
"Anyway, this pocket dimension's about to collapse. Let's head back first."
Mirai wasn't worried about Urashiki at all.
Just a trash-tier Ōtsutsuki who hadn't even reached the Six Paths level—no threat whatsoever. Did he think this was Boruto or something?
The only reason Mirai hadn't taken action himself was because he wanted to see how Madara and Hashirama would handle an Ōtsutsuki.
Back when he watched the anime, he'd often been annoyed watching characters like Sasuke and Boruto acting ridiculously overpowered.
If it were Shippuden, there's no way these small fries would have been so arrogant!
And now, reality matched his expectations.
Though it looked like Urashiki had gained the upper hand today, that was only because of an information gap.
Next time they crossed paths, Hashirama and Madara would probably beat Urashiki until he cried for his ancestors.
"Feels good to make up for regrets from my past life," Mirai thought with a satisfied smile.
After bringing Madara and Hashirama back to Konoha, he settled in to quietly wait.
He still needed Urashiki to accomplish one more thing for him.
...
"Damn it! How can there be such powerful natives on this planet?"
"I almost died back there..."
Urashiki Ōtsutsuki clutched his chest, still rattled from the encounter.
Those two he'd fought were strong enough already, but the one who hadn't even made a move—the one just standing there watching—was even more terrifying.
He could tear open space and drag them into an alternate dimension in an instant.
That level of ability was simply beyond Urashiki's comprehension.
"I need to gather more intel on this planet."
Thinking quickly, Urashiki grabbed a random passerby in Konoha and rifled through their memories.
Although it was just basic information, it was enough for him to get a general sense of the ninja world.
"As I thought... that man is terrifyingly strong."
"If I'm right, then even Kinshiki and Momoshiki must have already met terrible ends."
Urashiki felt a surge of relief.
If the chaotic energy clash hadn't caused the alternate dimension to collapse, he probably wouldn't have escaped alive.
Still, despite recognizing Mirai's power, Urashiki wasn't too worried.
Natives were still just natives. A handful of bugs with a bit of power could never hope to shake the foundation of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
To carry out his plan, however, he needed to find a certain artifact first.
Sensing carefully, Urashiki traveled to a remote part of the ocean.
Before long, he found what he was looking for beneath the waves: a treasure shaped like a giant turtle.
Karasuki.
"With this, my plan can finally move forward."
Karasuki was a sacred tool of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, once brought to the ninja world by Isshiki Ōtsutsuki. It possessed the power to traverse time.
Without wasting a moment, Urashiki poured his chakra into the artifact.
The next instant, Karasuki spoke: "Lord Urashiki, what are your orders?"
"Take me back forty years," Urashiki commanded.
According to the memories he'd extracted, back then Mirai Uchiha was just a student at the Ninja Academy.
He couldn't deal with the Mirai of today—but he could travel back and eliminate him as a child.
If he killed Mirai before he had the chance to grow strong, the timeline would be permanently altered.
Mirai would cease to exist.
"This is the true power of the Ōtsutsuki Clan," Urashiki sneered. "These pitiful natives could never comprehend it."
With a self-satisfied snort, he stepped into the time tunnel alongside Karasuki.
...
Meanwhile, back in Konoha, Mirai Uchiha opened his eyes.
"Finally... I've been waiting for this."
He smiled faintly.
He hadn't killed Urashiki outright like he did with Momoshiki because he needed him to find Karasuki.
Otherwise, even with his strength, locating the artifact buried deep in the ocean would have been nearly impossible.
Now, sensing the shift in the mark he'd left on Urashiki, he knew the time-travel process had begun.
"So, let's see... what point in time will you choose to make your move?"
With a soft hum, Mirai vanished without a trace.
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
Fanfic is finished on Patreon (476 chapters in total.)
Patreon(.)com/Jixo (for only $4.50, read this entire fanfic)