Chapter 385: Deduction
Finally, they arrived at the wedding venue. Currently, many people were busy decorating the site. Under the arrangements of the reception ninja, the Raikage and the others checked into the hotel located within the venue.
"The wedding begins tomorrow. You are free to move about as you wish, provided you stay away from the restricted areas," the reception ninja informed them.
"Understood."
Nara Household.
Shikaku personally received the Kazekage, Gaara. Temari's face was bright red, making her look like a shy little girl. Even Shikamaru looked a bit embarrassed. He had just finished some work for Naruto's wedding, only to hear that the Kazekage was coming in person to discuss their future. It was indeed a bit bashful.
"The Nara family is ready. We will certainly give Temari a grand wedding," Shikaku Nara said with a smile. Shikamaru's mother poured tea for the group. They were very happy that Shikamaru was finally starting a family.
Gaara, who usually maintained a cold and distant expression, let out a smile. "Mm. We will be prepared on our end as well. I leave my sister in your hands, Shikamaru."
Although other high-ranking officials in the Hidden Sand had expressed their disapproval of Temari—a high-ranking Jonin—marrying into Konoha, they had to keep their mouths shut because the Kazekage himself strongly supported it.
Shikaku suggested, "Let's go talk outside and let these two have a chat."
"Mm."
The elders left, leaving only Shikamaru and Temari. The two glanced at each other and immediately looked away. However, Shikamaru was a clever man after all; plus, they had been together for quite some time. He quickly regained his composure. If he didn't step up now, he'd face a much tougher situation than his father later on.
"Temari..."
"Mm..." A shy little girl. Her blonde hair swayed gently, seemingly echoing her mood.
"Will you marry me?"
"Mm..."
The chirping of crickets and birds outside enhanced the romantic atmosphere.
Click!
Just as the two were immersed in their shy moment, a silent shutter sound echoed from the shadows.
"Hehehe. As one of the best 'ships' in the Hokage world, how could there not be a trace of Tobitake Tonbo?" Tonbo was hidden in the shadows, his camera capturing their current expressions.
He had received news earlier that the important figures of the two villages were forming a marital alliance. After sensing Gaara's arrival, he had made his preparations. Now that all the various couples were getting married, he was also ready to take a break. He wanted to capture all these moments. As for the issue of secret photography—as long as he didn't tell, who would know?
He was the number one paparazzi of the Shinobi world. Aside from researching ninjutsu, his only hobbies were teaching his children and keeping an eye on these familiar characters. These were kids he had watched grow up, after all. They were once characters he loved. Recording these moments was his passion.
However, Kara should be getting active soon, shouldn't they?
After taking the shots, Tonbo's mind drifted to other things. With the arrival of the new era, the opponents of that era would soon appear. Whether the establishment of the World Ninja Association would affect the future or not, Tonbo was prepared. Since Sasuke and the others had traveled back, he couldn't afford to be complacent.
Recently, neither his clones scattered across the globe nor his intelligence network had found any trace of Kara. Instead, they had discovered several Otsutsuki ruins.
"I didn't expect other Otsutsuki to have come here before Kaguya, and by the looks of it, none of them completed the harvest of the Shinobi world!"
Tonbo hadn't expected his Shadow Clones to find Otsutsuki ruins instead of Kara intel. Based on the architectural data, these ruins had existed for thousands of years. It seemed the Otsutsuki had appeared long before Kaguya. Why they didn't harvest the world remained a mystery. Perhaps they were resisted by the native power of the Shinobi world.
After all, before Kaguya arrived, natural energy existed, as did the Three Great Sage Regions. Tonbo speculated that there might have been more than just three Sage Regions back then. There were likely other races using natural energy that were wiped out while dealing with the Otsutsuki, leaving only the three we know.
Currently, while his main body researched Kaguya, his clones were collecting info on other Otsutsuki. The power of the ancient Shinobi world must have been formidable. Thinking about the future Shibai Otsutsuki, who supposedly possessed Almighty powers—could his death have been caused by the natives of the Shinobi world?
Unfortunately, he only had fragments of knowledge regarding the Boruto series. He couldn't make a more detailed deduction. But one thing was certain: the past power of the Shinobi world was not to be underestimated. Otherwise, why was there no chakra before Kaguya despite all these ruins? It must be that the God Tree was never successfully planted, preventing chakra from becoming widespread.
He also had doubts about entities like the Reaper, Jashin and Moryo. Why did they exist? He used to think they were created with Yin Release, but his perspective had changed. The more intelligence he gathered, the more suspicions he had about the history of the Shinobi world.
Orochimaru agreed with his theories. Orochimaru was the person who knew the most in the Shinobi world, and Tonbo had learned a lot from him—especially regarding his research on the Reaper and Reanimation Jutsu.
"But those are things for the future. For now, let's get some close-ups of these youngsters preparing for their weddings."
Tonbo looked at the photos in his camera. Now was the time to experience life, not to worry about what-ifs. There was no use worrying about things that hadn't happened yet. As long as he was preparing, it was enough.
Beyond Shikamaru and Naruto, he felt the weddings of the rest of the Konoha 11 were close. Even Orochimaru's child was almost ready. He wanted to laugh at that thought—Orochimaru was preparing to be both father and mother. That little guy named Mitsuki would definitely be stronger than in the original story. In fact, all the children of the future would be stronger. He had the confidence and the technology.
The Academy's Genjutsu Training System and other R&D projects would ensure the future ninja of Konoha received the most professional training—not like the old ways.
"Neji and Tenten, Shikamaru and Temari, Kiba and Tamaki... all these kids are getting married. Iruka, when are you finally going to let your teacher drink some wedding wine?"
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