Chapter 77: Ahead of Schedule (Second Update)
After seeing Mei and Sara off from Rōran, Kakashi immediately used the system to return to the normal timeline.
He was just in time to block the attack from the person in front of him.
Another Kekkei Genkai? Is a special bloodline so worthless these days?
A weak but delighted voice came from his shoulder.
"Kakashi! You're finally back! I knew you wouldn't die!"
"If I died that easily, I would've been dead long ago."
Pakura was very interested in the person who had blocked her Scorch Release. It seemed he was an acquaintance of this orange-haired girl.
"Are you also a member of the Rōran resistance?"
"Resistance? Hmm..."
He didn't mind having another identity. He had already experienced being the Prince of Rōran; the title of a mere resistance member was a small matter.
'Lightning Release: Lightning Clone.'
He created a clone with five Mega-Joules of energy, while his main body carried Mei away from the battlefield to search for Sara.
The wind and sand were picking up. A severe sandstorm was likely on its way. Before that, there were many things to do.
The girl on his shoulder, feeling a long-lost sense of security, closed her eyes to rest. She didn't care how undignified the position was; exhausted to her very core, she actually fell asleep just like that.
Feeling the girl's breathing on his back, he noted she was much weaker than before, her skin cold and clammy. She was probably sick. He would feed her some recovery potions when she woke up.
A lightning clone could hold off even the Kazekage for half a day. Kakashi didn't believe it couldn't handle this Scorch Release user. The top priority now was to evacuate the people here. It would be too late once the sandstorm arrived.
Pinpointing Sara's location with his senses, Kakashi dashed off with the girl on his shoulder, heading straight for the center of the battle between the resistance and the Sand-nin.
To call it a battle was an overstatement; it was more like a one-sided escape for the Rōran resistance. Most of its members were ordinary people, with very few having any combat ability. The weapons they held were a motley collection—some had proper swords and clubs, but abnormally, some were even using brooms. It set a new low for the combat effectiveness of a resistance force. No discipline, no strength, no weapons.
It would be a miracle if such a rabble could defeat the Sand-nin.
He didn't know how the future Sara had managed to hold on until that time. From what Kakashi observed now, it wouldn't take three days for the morale of this resistance to hit rock bottom, leading to their surrender.
He also noticed another point. In the future Queen of Rōran's account, some of the survivors were saved by him. But now, they had already saved themselves. This meant that the future had already changed. That world could only be considered a parallel future branch, not his own true future.
This discovery was a relief for Kakashi. This way, he could change his own fate of dying.
'Lightning Release: Earth Runner!'
A wide-range Lightning Release, its damage was insufficient, but it was just right for dispersing the Sand-nin. Lightning surged into the earth, quickly striking at the enemies' feet.
"Sara!"
Kakashi spotted the brilliant red hair at a glance. The younger version of Sara didn't look too different from her adult self, so much so that for a moment, the young man didn't realize he wasn't the Prince of Rōran right now.
"Kakashi?!?!"
"I'm not dead. Let's go, now."
He lifted Sara onto his shoulder in the same way he had carried Mei, but he was met with the latter's red-faced resistance.
"You insolent man! I have to command their retreat here!"
"What retreat? A sandstorm is coming! The Sand-nin aren't the threat, the weather is!"
The queen, kicking her legs and struggling fiercely on his shoulder, made Kakashi consider whether he should knock her out first before taking her away.
He rejected this crude idea and put the Queen of Rōran down. The first thing the girl did upon landing was to straighten her clothes. She pointed at Kakashi's nose, trying for a long time to think of a curse word, but could only give up in frustration.
"You go to the underground city first. I'll evacuate them. You don't know ninjutsu and you can't kill. Just talking is useless."
"I am their queen! I have an obligation to command them!"
"I really don't know what to say to you."
Her attitude towards her people was worlds apart from her self seven years later. Time truly could smooth out a person's rough edges, turning them into the very thing they hated most.
"There are too many people, you won't have time to evacuate them."
'Earth Release: Connected Earth-Style Wall!'
A ninjutsu improved from the Earth-Style Wall created a square enclosure around the fleeing people. The sun above was blocked by the final earthen wall.
"Hey!! Everyone, flee to the underground city! The Sand-nin will catch up in less than ten minutes. You won't be able to escape then!"
This sentence sped up the people's escape. There were some instances of trampling, but fortunately, the physical constitution of ordinary people in the Naruto world was not bad, and no deaths occurred.
Kakashi took out three bottles of green potion. These were all intermediate-level potions he had exchanged for when he had the time. He shook them a few times.
"Later, dilute these potions with water and give them to the wounded. Use them sparingly."
Suspiciously, she took the green potions from the silver-haired boy. No matter how she looked at them, they seemed like poison. Moreover, the boy's attitude towards her was completely different from before he disappeared. The perceptive girl could clearly feel that he no longer had that initial guardedness towards her.
"Are these really effective?"
"This is what I gave you to drink when you were injured before."
Remembering how quickly her wounds had healed, Sara no longer hesitated and immediately put them in her waist pouch.
"Can we go to the underground city now?"
"Mhm."
The moment the Queen of Rōran agreed, she found herself hoisted onto his shoulder again. A look of shame appeared on her face. She had never been carried on someone's shoulder in her entire life. She was a queen, after all. Couldn't he be a little gentler?
The reason Kakashi carried her instead of holding her was that he found it much more convenient for movement, and his speed was faster. There was no other meaning to it.
Arriving at the underground city—or rather, the supply storage room, as the intricate underground city of the future did not yet exist—the young man first put the Queen of Rōran down, then gently placed Mei to the side, trying not to disturb her sleep.
This differential treatment made Sara a little uncomfortable.
"Is there a ventilation shaft in here?"
"Yes."
The strategic supply storage room, now crowded with several thousand people, was so noisy that the two had to shout to hear each other.
'Raikiri!'
Screech! An explosion rang out. The entrance to the storage room was blasted shut, and the other entrance was completely sealed.
Kakashi's combat strategy was very clear. After the previous battles, he was already prepared to persuade Sara to abandon Rōran.
Unless time could be turned back to before the conflict with the Sand, the fall of Rōran was only a matter of time. And what Kakashi had to do was to bring that day forward by seven years.
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