章 14: PART 3.
"I hope I'm not being a pretty annoying old man right now."
"Don't worry about it, it's all good."
Kakashi flashed a sorrowful smile with his one eye visible. It was the fourth time that the Jōnin had shown him that more relaxed side. Realizing this provided a little comfort to the second King.
Saturo had been peeking through the ugly curtains. He made sure that the outside was completely lonely before giving his approval to the room that they were required to use as a meeting point.
Standing, and after asking Kakashi to take a seat for proper dialogue, without the presence of the young men, he began without interruption the explanation of his discomfort.
"I want to be honest with you." He said. "Because I see that you're being honest with me."
"If it's not too much of a nuisance."
"Not at all." Saturus shook his head softly. "The last time I talked about these things was many years ago. The first king was alive, and back then he hardly knew anything about it."
The second King's mind began to work at a rapid pace, but without any hurry. Anyone who observed him would think that he was not an old fool. He had the appearance of a wise, strong, and serene old man, but he would surely have a limit of intelligence for others.
But that was not entirely true. Saturus did not exercise his mind too much because he did not see the need to do so. However, at that moment, the gears in his mind began to turn, unlocking memories and connecting with each other. The second King remembered everything.
"He told me about forbidden techniques. Here we specialize in stamps that manipulate physics and other elements. It takes a lot of wisdom and patience to master them. That's why the people here are very valuable in times of war, and the first king decided to keep them hidden."
"Can these techniques perform summons?"
"Yes, just like any other." Saturo replied. "Here, those who have a creature contract are especially highlighted. They must have a strong connection for the animal to recognize this place and be summoned."
"I understand." Kakashi pondered for a few moments. "What impresses here is not the techniques themselves, but the people who can master them."
"Exactly." The second King folded his arms under his long sleeves. "There is a limit to the techniques allowed. Those that are kept in the underground library can only be known to the King."
For a few moments, as the clock ticked in the hallway resounded constantly, Kakashi took his time to reflect. Saturus expected the ninja to vouch for him.
It was when Kakashi looked up that Saturo felt an inner relief.
"Are you suggesting that the King is the wisest person in Trozani?" Kakashi asked.
"You're not far from the truth." The old man confirmed. "We could say yes. Here, the term "wise" refers to those who have strong spiritual control and are in harmony with the earth beneath their feet. They remain on the sidelines of the problems and follow a difficult path, where the options are numerous."
"I understand." Kakashi replied.
"The King here is similar, with the difference that he does not judge between 'Good' and 'Evil.'" Saturo revealed, raising his index finger. He moved his arm delicately, as if he were in tune with nature. "You should stay away from outside opinions, follow a flexible and non-judgmental path. They must be impartial and not be carried away by emotions."
When he finished his words, Saturo clenched his fist tightly and slapped the table dryly. His face showed a stern expression, although it was not unusual for him. Only those who knew him well or understood his ideals could perceive the contrast between his expression and his true heart.
"That is why the scriptures are kept under the knowledge of the king." Kakashi analyzed. "If he's king, it's because he's suitable for not using the techniques for anything else, whether good or bad."
"Exactly. There have been problems here, even if they are considered normal." Saturo replied. "From time to time, our ninjas couldn't get out because most of our routes intersected with those of the hidden villages, putting our secret at risk. We could solve this by creating another road with a barrier similar to the one already erected on all routes, but doing so would not only expand our territory, but also take land away from people or living beings who already use it. That, as insignificant as it may seem, is unfair."
"I had no idea that the position carried so much responsibility." Kakashi commented. Somewhat embarrassed by what he was about to say, he leaned forward. "Seeing how you are, it seems to me that the most difficult thing is to keep you away from others."
From the other side of the table, in front of Kakashi, Saturo wrinkled his face even more as he looked at the table. Despite his initial reluctance, he was remembering outrageous moments involving the elders around him.
"You're right, there's no reason to deny it." The old man said with a resigned sigh, almost sliding into his seat. "I doubt they know. Only I know that place, not even my ninjas know."
"And what do you think will happen if something happens to you? Do you have anyone in mind who would benefit from your fake involvement in Konoha?" Kakashi asked.
Saturo looked at Kakashi with a raised eyebrow. He wanted to answer him, but he wasn't sure if the insistent thought was just a mere annoyance at how unpleasant each of the old men who always accompanied him was. He didn't have a specific face to point to.
"Jojo, if that happens, then I'd give one of my ninjas that information!" The king let out a brief laugh.
Still, smiling under his serene expression, he softened his tone of voice, as if he was proud to talk about his ninjas.
"Who knows what would happen if they discovered that detail. I would quickly send one of my ninjas to destroy that place with everything inside. And maybe... with something that can protect everyone who wishes to leave."
Kakashi watched the face of the wise old man. He recognized a resigned man, surrendered to failure, when he saw it.
When Kakashi was young, he had witnessed the same thing before his father ended up coldly lying on the floor of his house. Every man who lost the reason to fight for his own would have that end.
Sometimes, Kakashi wondered if he could have done something back then. But the truth was clear to the Kakashi of today. He was just a child back then, and now he was a man who was barely aware of the existence of this place.
The King of Trozani had surrendered, but he did not shout it because he did not see it fair to leave the people who trust him in the hands of selfish people, capable of starving the citizens.
The matter itself was quite serious. An underground library with forbidden techniques that endanger all the villages that do not know this place. Konoha would not have time to warn Tsuna if Kakashi sent the message at this time.
Someone seemed to be studying the king's steps to involve him in external lawsuits that would take away his crown. If that's the case, it means that the possibility that the library's existence has been leaked in some way.
If so, who would be able?
Got it, here's the review with the changes to the narration and dialogue:
Saturo had made it clear moments ago that he was the only one who knew that place. Not even his own Ninjas were aware. The mention of sharing that information had only come up in case of an emergency in Trozani. He didn't seem to be someone who would reveal secrets lightly.
Kakashi, adjusting his thoughts, decided to address the topic that had recently come up.
"Saturo-sama, you mentioned a skill, a forbidden technique similar to the one that appeared in Konoha."
"Exactly."
Kakashi paused, adding to Saturo's intrigue.
"What would motivate someone to use this technique? We know that the main target seems to be you. But I don't understand why he's so worried about that ability. Is it that dangerous?"
The delay in Saturo's response further unsettled Kakashi. The King's frown, as fleeting as it was intense, was enough to increase the gravity of the situation in the Ninja's mind.
If anyone had managed to carry out that forbidden technique, it meant that they had gained access to Trozani's underground library. This very thought filled Kakashi with uneasiness and determination.
He would not allow anything to overwhelm him. He was used to standing his ground in the midst of uncertainty. But acting clearly without knowing all the details was not something he did lightly, unless he was faced with a major problem.
Now he was alone, facing the King of an unknown city.
"I understand you wanted more details... But honestly, there aren't enough details that can discredit the possibility that this is the technique I have in mind."
Saturo sank into his seat, showing a man of good judgment and rule, now lost in a growing truth. It was hard to deny reality when it was so clearly displayed in front of him.
At this, Kakashi opted for silence, demonstrating his attention and concern.
"I want you to listen to me carefully, Kakashi-dono." The second King asked, hardening his gaze until it seemed as if an icy fog emanated. "This ability is not a game, nor is it something that can be disabled like a simple switch. Many things are hidden behind it, and you have to be very careful and understanding, no matter how unknown it may be."
"Understanding of the unknown?" Kakashi asked. "Does that technique invoke strange creatures? Something dangerous?"
In Saturo's eyes, the darkness of the legends of his ancient people was reflected. Trozani's beginnings were little more than land and water, with a few tiny houses that could barely hold five people at most. Saturo strove to immerse Kakashi in the context of his land, unearthing stories buried deep in the collective memory.
He had never had the opportunity to free himself from that weight before. Since the death of the first king, Saturus had felt limited in his ability to speak with complete sincerity.
Although he trusted the Ninjas in the city, he hid a lot of things because he felt it wasn't appropriate to burden them with unnecessary worries. After all, he was the king, and his responsibility was to maintain order in the souls and bodies of his citizens.
Momentarily forgetting his thoughts about the coffee on the table, Saturo took a sip of the already cold tea. He briefly enjoyed the bitter taste in his mouth before diving into the forbidden topic.
"At the dawn of the village of Mirage, a library was erected to preserve each and every one of the techniques documented by its inhabitants. Some were harmless, such as methods to prolong longevity or to regenerate important cells in the human body.
At first, the intention was noble. It was believed that these techniques could be used in the future by later generations to strengthen and expand our lands, extending peace even to villages that were unaware of our existence.
Everything was going well, until I was sixteen. At that time, I was given many gifts. Things that, at the time, I considered simple necessary annoyances, but that I would now value as treasures. High-quality fishing rods, books that recounted the legends of extraordinarily powerful ninjas; and I even got my first pet, a fox that would live to be fifteen.
The incredible became majestic back then. The fox was a gift from my good brother, Katori. With his coming of age just reached, he thought it would be an excellent idea to give me a long-lived fox, a companion for my journey to wisdom.
I, in my youthful naivety, believed that by sharing my happiness I could be a pure and dignified person before those around me. But he was completely wrong.
Faced with the envy of the elders with my beloved fox, without realizing it, I unleashed a storm of machinations. This storm brought with it waves of thoughts and occurrences, but it was one day, specifically about ten months later, that the largest wave in the sea crashed into all of us.
The library was overflowing with documents. Despite his young age, the number of talented people in the village continued to increase and everything was duly recorded. Personally, I wrote many of these documents, since most of those considered intelligent did not know how to write, and I always accepted the job with respect.
One night, while I was doing the night repairs in the library, I discovered next to my fox a room hidden behind the oldest and dustiest shelves. It was as if he was facing a challenge to the gods themselves. Men and women congregated there every night to add who knows what into a gigantic scroll, large enough to cover the entire large dining room just by unrolling it.
As the nights passed, my naïve thought that I was contributing to a useful and thriving skill faded. It was when I heard the word "genocide" that my cowardice took over, and I ran to the humble abode of my good brother, Katori.
Anyone who knew my brother would know that no one could match him. He was intelligent and had the ability to learn any technique just by knowing it through writing. I learned to read and write thanks to him, since, despite the wealth of our family, I never had access to a basic education.
Thanks to my brother, I understood the seriousness of what was discussed in that clandestine meeting. They planned to exterminate everyone and use their blood to carry out a dark purpose inscribed on the scroll. If I hadn't understood the meaning of the thousand and one words used in that place, the story would have been different.
Katori acted without hesitation. One by one, he eliminated them, although it was difficult for him to look them in the eye. The bonds were extremely important to him, and it pained him to believe that these people were trying to destroy the paradise they had created together.
The parchment was covered with incomprehensible words, as well as scribbles and seals whose function was a mystery. Katori-sama explained to me that some of them were in distant languages, coming from places beyond the mountains of the continent.
It was discovered that the intention of these people was to perform an act of rewinding. However, it was a task that required the collaboration of multiple individuals, and it was clear that Katori-sama would not agree to carry it out.
To begin the process, they had to meticulously document everything on the parchment, from its coating to the paper, impregnating it with enough Chakra to enhance its power. This Chakra had accumulated over the years.
It was necessary to capture all life on the parchment, with detail even in the most trivial aspects. In order to activate the high-energy seal that would make it a surreal instrument, they had to make a pact with the largest seal in the entire scroll, located at its center and surrounded by over a million words.
The blood used for the covenant with the seal was to be from a person of the proper age specified on the scroll. For example, if they intended to go back to the day before, they had to find a baby born that day and make him participate in the pact.
Although the safest option was to go back just a few days, the decision made was the riskiest: to rewind a decade ago, to the fateful night when the village of those responsible for the scroll was massacred by the serpent demon.
That night, women, children and men seeking to protect their families lost their lives. The survivors desperately longed to go back in time to avoid that tragedy.
However, manipulating time came with great risk. I was the only one informed of it by Katori-sama, who entrusted me with the task of protecting the scroll forever.
It was a violation of the natural order of the world, an action that was not intended for humans or any living being. The manipulation of time was not fair even to the God who dwelt in the heavens.
To go back so many years in time, they had to exhaustively detail the era to which they wanted to return. After spending many nights of their lives on this task, they would carry out an elaborate summoning ritual.
By invoking the back in time, they would not simply be erased and forgotten by those who remained in the present timeline. Instead, its disappearance would condemn this timeline to imminent cataclysm.
Katori-sama understood this because of her deep knowledge in the sealing writings. He realized that when they spoke of "genocide," they were not merely referring to condemning ourselves to death at their hands, but that the whole world would suffer the consequences of their selfishness.
Time repudiates the unforgivable acts of us, the pawns. Therefore, in exchange for complying with the whim of trying again, it will condemn us to the exhaustion of preparing the parchment, only to find ourselves insufficient at the time of summoning.
When we finally reach the desired time and this timeline has been wiped off the map, the person who traveled will be useless. Not only will she be mentally exhausted, but her body will face difficulties surviving in that time.
Those of the future are useless in the past. That is why the present exists, to maintain order between the two and to adequately transmit the knowledge of the past to the people of the future. We have time to think and reflect, but those of the future who are trapped in the past will not even be able to walk.
Those who travel in covenant making are destined to fade away when they encounter their own self. The marked and dragged are able to survive, but they will always feel as if they are walking on broken glass.
However, those who arrive unexpectedly, that possibility has never been seen before, as the intervention of both times. Not even Katori-sama was able to theorize about that possibility. Many people would be injured and many others would lose their lives.
And part of that technique is to drag without empathy everything that crosses their path, including people who did not agree and were not marked. Anything that crosses the gates of time," Katori-sama explained to me. — will be consumed by the thirst for energy, and the person's life will be extinguished until their irises lose all their brilliance.
That's the Rewind Jutsu. The punishment of the father time to the people who dared to write on a piece of paper the plans to intervene in his imposed order."
A chill clung to Kakashi's shoulders, no sound able to shake him out of the brief trance that had reigned in his head.
As Saturo concluded with the story of that mysterious technique, Kakashi's eyes hardly seemed to have a name. They were just two basins, incredulous at what they imagined.
The possibilities of what he pondered in his mind insistently grew stronger and stronger.
Kakashi had been stunned by the grand old man's testimony. Just now, in front of him and with a more than convincing presence to demonstrate the certainty of what he was telling, the second King of Trozani had told him the story of a powerful technique.
The technique that played with time. A technique capable of sending people back in time.
"Saturo-sama... yes in Konoha people have fallen from portals..." Hatake articulated, his face darkening. "Does it mean that the Rewind technique has already been activated?"
Saturo's imperturbable face showed no signs of change.
It couldn't be possible. Kakashi believed, like many others in Konoha, that going back in time was directly impossible. The idea lacked grounds to explain its viability. Nor was there anyone to put their theories into play and create a prototype that would sow doubt in their minds.
But now, Kakashi, who remained cautious and away from the first impression, was dumbfounded. Trozani's very existence was proof of the incredible. A city that did not exist, trapped in time.
Silence reigned for a few long minutes, until Kakashi took the initiative. The King himself was looking forward to it, as he was not willing to reveal it if the Konoha Ninja did not believe his words.
"Whatever passes through the gates of time will be consumed by the thirst for energy." Konoha's Jōnin quoted. His one eye opened with a rather discreet disbelief. "The people who fell were already dead, and the trash we found in the vicinity was practically torn to shreds."
"Uh." With a sound, the King agreed with his testimony.
"Portals are only opened if the technique is activated. And if all is well for the time being, it could mean..."
"I understand the difficulty you have in believing in it, but you have to accept it no matter how hard it is." Saturo finally told him. "All those dead people who fell in your village, all the garbage, remains, abnormalities and so on, come from a time other than ours. Although I am terrified to say it in my own words, the only explanation I have to defend the fact that we are still alive is because the technique was activated in another time."
"Someone from the future opened the forbidden scroll."
週次パワーステータス
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