Naruto: Sasuke Uchiha Returns from Soul Society

But he did not panic, and silently kept his mind focused.

I don't know how much time passed.

It might be a moment, or it might be several minutes.

The nauseating dizziness finally began to subside slowly.

Immediately afterwards, the ground beneath my feet gave way, and the feeling of gravity returned.

With a muffled thud, Sasuke felt his feet sink into something soft, and after a slight sway, he regained his balance.

As far as the eye could see, there was an endless expanse of yellow sand, and the hot wind, carrying coarse dust, rushed towards us.

"Is it still a desert...?"

Sasuke muttered to himself, then looked up and gazed around blankly.

Yoruichi has disappeared, and Orochimaru and Kabuto have also vanished without a trace.

Just as he had predicted, the power of the dragon vein was strong but extremely unstable. The landing point of the teleportation was not fixed, and even time and space could be deviated.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed slightly as he made his judgment.

He snapped out of his reverie and refocused his attention on the present moment.

Since it's still all yellow sand, it's most likely still within the territory of the Land of Wind.

He dusted himself off, stood up, and looked ahead.

The next second, a look of surprise appeared in his pupils.

At the edge of that desolate desert, a city suddenly stood tall.

Towering towers rise one after another, their spires piercing the sky. Magnificent and exquisite buildings stand like mirages on this desolate desert.

Its prosperity and magnificence even far surpassed those of Konoha.

However, the Land of Wind is barren and simply does not have the financial resources to build a city of such scale.

Moreover, this architectural style...

Spires, domes, and those unique decorative patterns...

A strong sense of familiarity welled up inside me.

Isn't this the same ruin he was in before?

Loulan.

Sasuke uttered the name in a low voice.

That's right, this is Loulan, the legendary neutral land that prospered because of its wealth.

But......

How could a country that has collapsed, been destroyed, and is now nothing but ruins suddenly appear before you intact?

Could it be an illusion?

Sasuke immediately dismissed the idea; his Sharingan was enough to see through most illusions in the world, and everything before him was undeniably real.

Therefore, there is only one possibility left.

"Was I transported back to the past by the Dragon Vein?" A hint of understanding flashed in Sasuke's eyes.

So, what exactly is this point in time?

Was it on the eve of Loulan's destruction? Or in the distant past?

Sasuke didn't dwell on this question for too long; if he wanted to know the answer, he just needed to go in and take a look.

Its immense pupil power instantly spread out, scanning everything around it.

A moment later, Sasuke's gaze suddenly sharpened, looking in a direction far away from the city of Loulan.

He sensed several streams of chakra in that direction.

Moreover, he was very familiar with the auras of two of them; they belonged to Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi.

Besides these two streams of chakra, there was an even more powerful spiritual pressure that was extremely noticeable.

Are you all here?

Sasuke murmured softly, and the worries in his heart dissipated.

Although their locations were somewhat scattered, the fact that their presence was still present indicated that they had not encountered any misfortune during that spacetime turbulence.

With that thought in mind, he started walking in that direction.

..........

Loulan Kingdom, a quiet room within a city.

The young maid straightened her clothes outside the door and knocked cautiously.

"Enter."

A languid female voice came from inside the room.

The maid pushed open the door and entered, bowing her head respectfully.

"Lord Yoruichi."

"The guards in the city just reported that they have found the black-haired young ninja with two swords at his waist, the one you predicted, at the western entrance to the desert."

Behind the gauze curtain, the woman who had been lying on the bed in a daze, suddenly opened her eyes, a glint of shrewdness flashing in her cat-like pupils.

"is it?"

Yoruichi sat up abruptly, casually straightening her slightly disheveled clothes. "You've finally arrived."

Where is he now?

“We followed your instructions and did not have any conflict with him; we simply identified ourselves.”

The maid bowed her head and reported truthfully, "Although that lord seemed somewhat aloof, he did not refuse and has now been led to the council hall."

"In addition..." the maid added, "we have also sent people to inform Lord Orochimaru and Lord Kabuto."

"very good."

Yoruichi got off the bed, stretched, and stepped barefoot onto the soft carpet.

"Well done, go and collect your reward."

She grabbed a coat from a nearby rack, put it on, and strode out of the room.

As we walked through the corridors and across the courtyard, our footsteps echoed in the empty hallways.

She pushed open the heavy mahogany door.

Afternoon sunlight streamed into the room through the huge French windows, and in the center of the interplay of light and shadow, a young man dressed in a black robe sat quietly, enveloped in a golden halo.

Hearing the door open, the boy slowly turned around.

Eyes facing each other.

Yoruichi looked at that familiar, cold face, and a surge of joy welled up in her heart.

She grinned, revealing a bright smile, and strode forward.

"Yo, Sasuke, long time no see."

"Long time no see?" Sasuke frowned.

In his perception, the spacetime turbulence had just happened, at most an hour or two had passed.

But judging from Yoruichi's appearance and the luxurious clothing she was wearing, which was clearly in the style of this place...

It seems that, just as he initially thought, the power of the dragon vein not only distorted space, but also caused a serious deviation in time.

Just then, a series of unhurried footsteps came from the side door of the council chamber.

"Sasuke-kun, it seems you've arrived as well."

Orochimaru, accompanied by Kabuto, slowly walked out and greeted them hoarsely, "Long time no see."

Sasuke raised his hand, gesturing for them to come and sit down.

When did you arrive?

The three sat around a huge mahogany round table. After the maid respectfully served tea, she withdrew.

Yoruichi picked up her teacup, gently blew on the steam, and began to reminisce in her eyes.

"If we calculate according to the time in this world, I have been here for a full six years."

Six years?!

Even Sasuke was slightly surprised when he heard the number.

Although he anticipated that the spacetime turbulence might cause a misalignment of the timeline, he thought the error would be at most a few months, or even a few days.

Unexpectedly, the time span was as long as six years.

He instinctively looked at Orochimaru.

“We haven’t been here that long.” Orochimaru shrugged, a hint of helplessness flashing in his snake-like eyes. “Kabuto and I only arrived here about a month ago.”

"Is the difference really that big?"

Sasuke frowned and looked at Yoruichi, asking in a deep voice, "What exactly happened during that time?"

"Actually, it's not complicated at all."

Yoruichi was silent for a moment, seemingly organizing her memories, before she began to narrate.

Six years ago, when she fell from the turbulent flow of time and space, she found herself lying in this desert.

At that time, Loulan was just a small oasis town that had only recently been established deep in the desert.

Despite its advantageous geographical location, it is constantly harassed by bandits and wandering ninjas from the surrounding area, and is in danger of being destroyed at any time.

"I didn't initially plan to stay long."

Yoruichi's fingers gently caressed the rim of the teacup. "I searched the entire Loulan Kingdom for a long time, but no matter how I searched, I couldn't find you, nor could I find that snake-faced man."

At this point, she glanced at Orochimaru and continued, "Combined with what you said earlier, I realized that perhaps due to the influence of the Dragon Vein's power, we have been thrown onto different timelines."