The moment Karura saw the familiar face before her…
She froze.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.
"I-Is…"
"…is it really you?"
"Yes."
"It's me."
"Uchiha Tensei… Isamu."
"Karura…"
"Welcome back."
Isamu nodded gently and opened his arms.
"Tian Qi!"
Karura rushed forward and embraced him tightly.
Being able to see him again…
Made every moment of those thousand years worthwhile.
The two held each other in silence.
"Karura…"
"I'm sorry."
"I made you wait for so long."
"I…"
She shook her head.
"You don't have to apologize."
"I chose this myself."
"As long as I can be with you again…"
"I would willingly wait another thousand years."
"Thank you… Karura."
At that moment…
No words could truly express what Isamu felt.
Everything in his heart…
Was reduced to a single phrase.
"Thank you."
"Why are you thanking me?"
"I already told you…"
"It was my choice."
"Tian Qi…"
"Over all these years, you…"
"Wait."
"Let's talk later."
"First…"
"I'll restore your real body."
"…Alright."
Karura nodded.
Only then did she realize her current body felt unnatural.
It wasn't truly her own.
She quietly stepped back.
The nine tomoe within Isamu's Rinnegan began rotating.
He clasped his hands together.
An enormous amount of chakra erupted from his body.
"Naraka Path."
The King of Hell emerged behind him.
The gigantic creature slowly opened its mouth.
Its enormous tongue shot forward…
Piercing straight through Isamu's chest.
"Urgh…"
A trace of pain appeared on his face.
He could clearly feel his chakra draining away at an incredible rate.
"Tian Qi!"
"Are you alright?!"
Karura instinctively rushed forward.
"Don't move."
"I'm fine."
"If you wish to obtain something…"
"You must pay an equal price."
"To restore your body…"
"I have to offer an enormous amount of chakra to the King of Hell."
"Don't worry."
"I'll be alright."
"…Okay."
"But don't force yourself."
Karura stopped.
She trusted him completely.
If Isamu said he was fine…
Then he was fine.
That trust…
Was unconditional.
The King of Hell withdrew its tongue.
Along with it…
It took away a massive quantity of Isamu's chakra.
The exchange…
Was complete.
"Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique!"
The Rinnegan blazed brilliantly.
The King of Hell spat out a glowing sphere of green light.
It floated into Karura's body.
White smoke poured from every crack left behind by the Edo Tensei.
The cracks gradually disappeared.
Her black eyes transformed…
Into brilliant blue-white Tenseigan.
The Edo Tensei contract vanished completely.
With the shackles removed…
Karura's true strength returned.
Mid–Six Paths level.
"This…"
"So this is a real body…"
She slowly clenched her fists.
She could feel warmth.
Breathing.
A heartbeat.
Everything.
"Amazing…"
"It really restored my flesh-and-blood body."
"It worked…"
Isamu let out a long breath.
"So reviving one Six Paths-level person consumes roughly one-tenth of my chakra…"
"It seems the cost depends on the strength of the person being revived."
"That explains Nagato."
"When he revived everyone in Konoha…"
"He paid with his own life."
"This technique truly is one that can cost its user everything."
Having used it himself…
He finally understood the true nature of the technique.
"Whew…"
"Finally…"
"It's done."
Karura immediately walked over.
She gently wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Are you alright?"
"I'm fine."
"I'm just not used to suddenly losing one-tenth of my chakra."
"This technique really does feel life-threatening."
"Tian Qi…"
"What exactly is this technique?"
"It actually restored my body."
"It's unbelievable."
"It's one of the Rinnegan's Outer Path abilities."
"A forbidden technique."
"It works by making a trade with the King of Hell."
"It's one of the Rinnegan's greatest powers."
As he explained…
Isamu sat cross-legged upon the stone bed.
He began restoring his depleted chakra.
"So it's a Rinnegan ability…"
"No wonder it's so miraculous."
She looked around.
"Tian Qi…"
"Where are we?"
"I can sense many people nearby."
"This…"
"Is the era where I now live."
"One thousand years after your time."
"The people here call this place…"
"…the Ninja World."
"It is a world ruled by shinobi."
"The world…"
"…a thousand years later…"
"So…"
"What you told me back then…"
"It was all true."
"I thought…"
She lowered her head awkwardly.
"You thought I was making excuses?"
"…Yes."
"I believed those were simply words you used to reject me."
"After Uncle passed away…"
"I searched for you many times."
"I searched the entire continent."
"But I never found you."
"I never imagined…"
"Everything you said…"
"…was true."
Her expression slowly dimmed.
After Isamu disappeared…
She had descended from the moon again and again.
Each journey began with hope.
Each ended in disappointment.
Even after death…
She continued believing his promise.
And today…
That thousand-year wait…
Had finally been rewarded.
"You must have suffered…"
"…waiting all those years."
Karura smiled gently.
"Suffered?"
"Not really."
"It wasn't suffering."
"It was simply…"
"…hard to endure."
"Actually…"
"I was quite happy while I was alive."
Isamu blinked.
Happy?
That wasn't the answer he had expected.
He carefully studied her expression.
She wasn't lying.
What's going on?
This is completely different from what I imagined.
Could it be…
She moved on?
Found someone else?
Lived happily with another man?
…Was I the fool all along?
As Isamu's thoughts spiraled wildly…
Karura calmly continued.
"At first…"
"Every day after returning to the moon felt unbearably lonely."
"But your promise kept me going."
"Then…"
"About three months later…"
"I discovered…"
"…I was pregnant."
"After ten long months…"
"I gave birth…"
"…to a pair of fraternal twins."
"With the children by my side…"
"I was actually very happy."
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