The so called "shelter" did not mean digging a hole underground and hiding there so everything would be fine.
Just looking up at the sky made it clear that the light of the sun and the stars was growing dim. As the world's power was being drained, the stars in the universe were going out one by one, and the gravity that kept galaxies running was also changing.
When that time came, the moon, planets, the extinguished sun, and many planets flying wildly in gravitational turbulence would crash into each other like billiard balls, bang bang bang.
So the location of the shelter was chosen to be Kaguya's legacy... the independent space of Amenominaka.
Of course, an independent space alone was not enough to resist the draining of the Calamity Divine Tree.
The Human Alliance collected a large number of items from parallel worlds and carried out collision experiments.
According to the laws of space and time, when identical items or people collided, they would produce enormous annihilation energy.
This was a higher dimensional power that even Dio Over Heaven could not avoid.
The Research Institute extracted the energy produced after the collisions and mixed it into the defensive barrier, forming a defensive network that isolated them from the outside world, thereby resisting the erosion of the Calamity Divine Tree.
Of course, saying "resist" was meant to calm ordinary people. Those who truly took part in the plan all knew that replacing "resist" with "buy time" would be more accurate.
To maintain the defensive barrier powered by annihilation energy, a large number of parallel world items had to be consumed every single moment. With the current stockpile of supplies, how long could they last?
And when the items were used up, would they just wait for death, or would they… consume living people?
Every choice was incredibly difficult.
They had merely changed from being cooked over a big fire to being slowly stewed over a small one.
But no matter how hard the road was, they still had to walk it.
———
The personnel transfer work lasted for five days.
The sun had already become extremely dim and tiny. From afar, it looked like a faint ring of light and could no longer illuminate the earth.
Since most people had completed the relocation, the towns were empty and silent.
Mei Terumi sat alone on the rooftop of the already empty Kirigakure building.
Because there was no sun, the outdoor temperature was very low. She wrapped herself in a blanket, with a bottle of beer by her side and a bucket in front of her.
Crackle!
A sparkler was lit.
Golden sparks scattered in all directions, lighting up Mei Terumi's face. This sparkler had been bought a few months ago when she and Ryosuke attended the Water Garden Festival.
A woman's intuition told her that this time, she might not be able to watch the fireworks festival with Ryosuke either.
Just in case, she bought a bundle. But she did not expect…
That she would not even have a chance to use the sparklers.
Mei Terumi glanced at her watch. Her work had ended, and she had a short break.
In three hours, the portal from the ninja world to the shelter would close. She did not want to bring the sparklers into Kaguya's other space.
"Fireworks should bloom under the starry sky. That's how they make sense."
While she was lost in thought, the first sparkler burned out.
Mei Terumi took a sip of beer, pulled the blanket tighter around herself, and lit the second one.
———
In the empty, dark city, a few candles could occasionally be seen lit.
Not everyone could choose to leave their hometown just to "stay alive." Some people chose to remain in the place where they had lived their whole lives.
Rei's eyes were red.
"You… really won't leave with us?"
Sword Grandpa smiled and waved his hand.
"I'm not leaving. Home is pretty good."
After a long silence, seeing they could not persuade him, Sasuke and Rei finally respected Sword Grandpa's decision. They stepped forward and gave him a hug.
Sword Grandpa's rough and strong hands patted their backs.
"Live well."
They let go and left Sword Grandpa's old house.
The snow outside was very deep. One step would sink past their calves.
The two walked through the snow, making crunching sounds. Neither of them spoke. They just walked forward silently.
Listening to the crunching outside, Sword Grandpa pulled down some cured meat hanging from the beam, stir fried two small dishes for himself, steamed a pot of rice, and took out a bottle of treasured liquor.
After eating and drinking his fill and washing the dishes,
he added some firewood to the stove. The room became warm and cozy. He found a comfortable position on the bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
At the moment he fell into deep sleep...
His heartbeat stopped.
He died.
———
Tsunade from this world sat quietly in front of the remains of the Slug Sage.
She still could not accept the Slug Sage's death.
You could say the Slug Sage was not good at fighting.
But when it came to survival ability… honestly, even if you added Kars and Ryosuke together, these two Ultimate Life Forms might not live as well as the Slug Sage.
"Is it really dead?" Tsunade asked.
"It's not death. It's nonexistence."
The gentle voice of the Slug Sage from the sub world appeared behind Tsunade.
"You also tried cultivating the Past Projection. You should know that as long as someone sets an anchor point, they can become each other's audience."
"Because the main world and sub world merged, I can see two rivers."
"One of them violated the rules and forcibly interfered with another's fate. Under the washing of time, the riverbed that represented 'self' completely shattered."
"The me of this world lost its past."
"If a person no longer has the cause from when they came, how can there be the present result?"
"The Slug Sage of this world did not die. It never appeared. After some more time, when the fragments of time left on the riverbed are washed away, your memories of it will completely disappear."
"As for Ryosuke…"
The Slug Sage from the sub world sighed softly. "I cannot see clearly."
Judging from Ryosuke's river of time...
He might be alive, but being alive also seemed unlikely.
The Slug Sage still could not bring herself to say such contradictory words.
"The time is about up. Let's go."
Tsunade responded and took one last look at the dried body of the Slug Sage before standing up and walking into the portal.
———
Mei Terumi hugged her knees and stared blankly as the last sparkler burned out.
As the flame went out, her world fell into darkness.
So cold.
So dark.
So quiet.
So… sad.
She did not know what she was sad about. Or rather, there were too many things worth being sad about, like a couch that had not been cleaned for a week, worn clothes piled up and tangled together, impossible to separate.
A tear slid down her cheek.
Mei Terumi rarely cried. In the past she was a ninja. Later she was the Mizukage. After that she took on many duties in the Human Federation.
She should be strong, and she had to be strong.
But in this darkness, maybe she could allow herself to be a little weak.
Crackle!
The sparkler that had just gone out lit up again.
Sparklers that had been left for a few months and gotten damp sometimes had this problem.
Mei Terumi hurriedly wiped away her tears, afraid someone might see.
But tears are strange. It is easy to hold them back, and easy to cry. But if you stop halfway and try to force them back, it is too hard.
She kept wiping until... A hand landed on her face and gently wiped away her tears.
Mei Terumi slowly raised her head.
Under the golden light of the shining sparkler, she saw a familiar face.
"I'm back." Ryosuke said.
[T/N: T-2 Days.]