Paradox

In a blur, three figures appeared before them, all of whom Kaguya recognized as Minato Namikaze, Shibi Aburame, and Choza Akimichi from not long ago.

Minato Namikaze stepped forward, his eyes scanning the surroundings with a serious expression. "What happened here?"

"We saw a giant emerge from the ground and fight with the monster puppet. They ended up destroying each other," Kaguya shrugged. "Probably guardians of the Dragon Veins."

Kaguya lied with a straight face.

"And where is Sara?" Minato asked as he carefully examined the ruins around them.

"Sara?" Kaguya was momentarily taken aback, then cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She suddenly remembered that she had left Sara in a corner of the tower and hadn't thought about her since. She had completely forgotten about her during the recent series of battles.

Had the young girl been killed in the explosions? If that were true, Kaguya would be in serious trouble.

"Mother, there is a living presence over there," Black Zetsu's eyelashes fluttered as he pointed to the distant ruins.

Kaguya hurried over, moving the debris aside, and indeed saw a girl's figure. It was Sara. She was lucky to have been trapped in a crevice under a wall, narrowly escaping being crushed. She was still unconscious, but her chest rose and fell, indicating she was alive.

Minato lifted Sara from the rubble and handed her to Choza, his eyes turning to Black Zetsu beside Kaguya. "And this is?"

"This is a little girl I happened to meet here," Kaguya said, holding Black Zetsu's hand and smiling.

"Is that so?" Minato carefully scrutinized Black Zetsu. "I seem to have heard her call you 'Mother'."

"Her family has already passed away," Kaguya sighed, "and when she saw me, she felt that I resembled her mother, so she called me that."

To confirm Kaguya's words, Black Zetsu leaned against her, hugging her waist affectionately.

"I see," Minato glanced at Kaguya but didn't pursue the matter further.

At that moment, the space began to ripple like a stone dropped into a still lake, creating concentric waves. Ordinary people couldn't see it, nor could they feel the power of the space. Only Kaguya and Black Zetsu could sense it, indicating that this space was on the verge of collapsing.

Minato furrowed his brow, a detail that didn't escape Kaguya. It seemed this man, who frequently used space-time ninjutsu, had also sensed something was amiss.

"Let's go," Kaguya said softly, holding Black Zetsu's hand.

Black Zetsu nodded gently, looking very happy. Her clear, watery eyes revealed a cute smile. Mother had never been so affectionate towards her, and now seeing Mother like this made her very happy.

Kaguya extended her finger and made a cutting motion in the air, creating a dark spatial rift. With the Rinne Sharingan now awakened, she could use abilities that were previously beyond her reach, including manipulating space.

"What is this?" Minato immediately sensed the spatial power, staring at Kaguya in shock. He hadn't expected the girl before him to have such control over space. Was she deliberately hiding her power?

"Sorry, but we need to go now," Kaguya waved at him, smiling. "Goodbye."

It was time to leave; Kaguya had no time to waste on idle talk. If they didn't leave now, they might not make it back.

Just as Kaguya finished speaking, she took Black Zetsu's small hand, lightly tapped her toes, and jumped into the spatial rift. The rift slowly shrank and eventually disappeared, leaving Minato Namikaze and the others standing in shock, staring at each other. Who exactly was this girl?

The space was vast and void, like a giant black hole, dark and empty. Traveling through it felt suffocating, but luckily it didn't last long. Soon, a door of light appeared before them, seemingly an exit. Kaguya gently held Black Zetsu's hand and entered the light.

However, when Kaguya and Black Zetsu emerged from the space, they were stunned by the person they saw.

"Minato Namikaze," Kaguya exclaimed, her eyes widening, "How are you here? Aren't you dead?"

Minato was equally surprised, "Why shouldn't I be here? We just met a moment ago."

"We just met?" Kaguya's mind was in a whirl.

"Yes," Minato said, scratching his head, "You opened a spatial rift and went through it, but you came back out shortly after."

"What?"

Kaguya rushed over, grabbing Minato's shoulders anxiously, "Are you saying we're still twenty years in the past?"

"Twenty years in the past?" Minato was puzzled for a moment, then realization dawned, "So you really are from the future."

"That's not what I'm asking. Answer my question!" Kaguya was nearly frantic, shaking Minato's shoulders vigorously.

If she couldn't go back, what would she do? If history changed, would she cease to exist?

"Well," Minato was dizzy from the shaking, especially since it was a beautiful girl doing it. He awkwardly waved his hand, "It seems you really are still twenty years in the past."

Kaguya was momentarily lost in despair.

Damn it, is this a joke? If I can't go back, what do I do? What if I change history and disappear?

At that moment, Black Zetsu tugged on Kaguya's sleeve, bringing her back to her senses. She looked at Black Zetsu in confusion.

"Mother, don't worry too much," Black Zetsu said softly, smiling gently, "Although we are twenty years in the past, this isn't our timeline. It's a parallel space."

"Oh," Kaguya said, somewhat understanding.

"The Dragon Veins here has been destroyed. If this were our original world, we would have already disappeared," Black Zetsu's soft, pleasant voice sounded even cuter with her serious analysis, "Because we entered here through the Dragon Veins. Now that it's gone, we can't come here from twenty years later, which means..."

"Which means this is a paradox," Kaguya's eyes lit up, "So we won't disappear."

"That's right," Black Zetsu's eyes curved into crescent moons as she smiled sweetly.