.
Ryoichi returned to the climbing tower, and this time it was a lot easier with Time Style Jutsu: Haste.
Ryoichi didn't even had to use the Sage mode till the 199th floor.
The owner of the 199th floor was a cunning one, he didn't decarded Ryoichi's existence like other floor owners and had studied Ryoichi's fighting style deeply. The cunning man brought out a high-tech full-body armour that could absorb the physical force and redirect it like Vibranium. The armour had Ryoichi's unbelievable speed completely useless so Ryoichi had to resort to Ninjutsu, but since without Senjutsu, it wasn't potent enough Ryoichi had to use it.
After an hour long intense battle Ryoichi was able to beat the 199th floor's owner, finally getting access to floor 200th
Reaching the 200th floor, Ryoichi got to know that it didn't have any owner since no one had ever managed to conquer the floor, not even some of the people from the list of history's strongest.
And the reason for that is the projection of his Future self that made the tower. For several centuries many tried their luck to defeat the projection of the man known as the strongest to ever walk the Universe but to no avail they all lost without knowing how.
Ryoichi also found an official list of the Top 10 strongest being alongside their Battle Power on the entrance of the 200th floor.
The list goes—
——
[1-Heavenly Demon(999,999)
2-Dragon Sage God(999,999)
3-Ōtsutsuki Patriarch, Kōritenshi Patriarch, The Wanderer(999,999)
4-Phoenix Sage, Sage of Six Paths, Senju Tsunade(900,000)
5-Senju Ayame, Senju Ryoichi, Uzumaki, Naruto, Uzumaki Boruto(850,000)
6-Ōtsutsuki's Three Branch head, Kōritenshi Two Grand Elders, Uchiha Sasuke, Senju Aina(800,000~850,000)
7-Rock Sage, Leviathan Sage, Basilisk Sage, Griffin Sage(800,000)
8- Uchiha Itachi, Heavenly Demon's Shadow(750,000)
9-Three Heavenly Guardians(700,000)
10-Third Alliance Leader: Rai, Uchiha Sarada, Uchiha Baki, Senju Yorichi(680,000)]
——
Looking at the tablet, Ryoichi recognised most of the names, and some of those names surprised Ryoichi like Itachi's for example.
Ryoichi knew the guy died due to his chronic injury and never reached his potential, and now the only way Ryoichi could see Itachi avoiding his inevitable end was if his future self took pity on Itachi since his chronic conditions is similar to his own in his previous life.
But who is Ryoichi kidding, he is not someone who takes pity for something like that or takes pity for any matter.
Ryoichi put Itachi's sorry ass back in his mind and focused on other names which caught his interest. Seeing his Heavenly Demon tittle, Ryoichi could guess the identity of the Three Heavenly Guardians, and Heavenly Demon's Shadow.
The Identity of the Top 5 was a no-brainer for him as most of them were the leader of their faction, and Ryoichi had read about them in historical records. The only one Ryoichi didn't have information about was the one called The Wonderer.
From what little information he had on that being is that he likes to travel around the Universe and enjoy the culture of different settlements. The only reason he was on the strongest list was due to him fighting the Ōtsutsuki Patriarch to a standstill without getting even a scratch.
The other thing that piqued Ryoichi's curiosity was the same Battle Power of the Top 3 rank despite them having different ranks.
Checking the reason for that on the database of the 200th floor, Ryoichi found the reason. That being 999,999 BP was the ceiling of the Universe. And the reason they rank differently on the list despite having the same BP was that the Top 3 have fought with each other and have laid down a proper ranking between them.
The Dragon Sage God with his impenetrable scales and domineering breath has defeated both the Otsutsuki and Koritenshi Patriarchs while Ryoichi's future self has broken through that defence and nearly killed the Majestic Dragon.
It amazed Ryoichi quite a bit, reminding him about the Xianxia world again where having a similar level of Cultivation doesn't mean equal strength. Many factors, such as talent, foundation, technique, and bloodline can affect the BP of a cultivator.
Ryoichi put his amusing thoughts back as he prepared to enter the arena. He exited the tunnel and found the arena similar to the previous level but for except one difference, that there were no spectators occupying the empty audience seats.
Before Ryoichi could think any further the seals surrounding the area lit, alerting him to ready-up. Ryoichi felt the spacetime around him shift as a bright light engulfed the whole arena, blinded him alongside.
When he opened his eyes back again Ryoichi found himself in a huge throne room.
The grandeur of the majestic throne was indescribable but what elevated it to a celestial heights was the ethereal projection of a mesmerizing figure surrounded by a tremendous aura.
Cascading brown main framed the projection's head, adorned with golden eyes that held the warmth of precious sunlit hues, complementing his caramel-toned skin that exuded an ethereal radiance.
The ornate intricacies of the throne that was there to show its grandeur was dimmed in the presence of its host.
The projection, with its regal air, seemed to be a seamless fusion of tangible and intangible, an embodiment of majestic grace that transcended the confines of reality.
As the handsome projection occupied the throne, a sublime resonance echoed through the surroundings, leaving an indelible impression of beauty and grandeur that lingered in the hearts and minds of those fortunate enough to witness this extraordinary convergence of the tangible and the transcendental.
"Were you expecting to fight your future self's projection to gauge his strength?" Said Future Ryoichi's projection with a face that shows no emotions, but unlike Ryoichi's emotionless or cold expression, the projection's calm expression didn't look unnatural. It looked the expression of someone who can't be fazed, someone who has seen everything and have grown beyond them.
"If that is the case then you're dreaming. As you are right now, you won't even know how you lost, even with the Temporal Perception open." The projection continued.
Ryoichi looked at the calm face of his future projection and questioned. "You knew I was coming?"
"Yes" came a simple reply.
"Then you made this…" Ryoichi paused as his eyes roamed around the throne room before he continued. "…lab for me…"
"Not really." The projection replied offhandedly.
"Then why did you leave a piece of your soul here…?"
"Two reasons to be honest, first, to trackback this Universe if needed, after all the Omniverse is infinite. And second to help the humans if they ever needed."
Ryoichi nearly scoffed at the end of projection's sentence. "You want me to believe that my future self cut a small piece of his soul in case humanity needs protection.
The projection's face turned completely serious as he replied. "He did."
Ryoichi looked at the serious face of the projection as he was unable to wrap his head around the fact his future self did such a selfless act.
"So how did you cross over to another Universe?" Ryoichi questioned, changing the subject.
"You will meet him…"
"Who?"
"The one who reincarnated us, he gave me an offer I couldn't resist, especially when I was kind of lost after Tsunade's and my little Ayame's death. I had nothing else in this Universe. I was already an Immortal, had reached the ceiling of this Universe and no matter how much I tried I couldn't break past it."
The projection's words made Ryoichi silent as his brain contemplated.
The one who reincarnated him? Ryoichi had thought about the topic the longest, and to this day he can't think of logical answers.
"So you know why we were reincarnated?" "Yes."
"Can you tell me?"
"No. You will know when you meet him."
The projection declined Ryoichi's request flatly, making him frown. Ryoichi asked a few more times but the projection declined every time.
"By the way, you should leave this timeline quickly lest you want to get captured by your descendants and have all your memories of future erased." The projection suddenly warned Ryoichi as he handed him a device similar to Aina's time machine.
"And…" The projection continued. "…even that Fuin-seal inside your body won't help you with preventing."
"They can remove it even with all the precautions I placed on it?" Ryoichi questioned making the projection chuckle.
"Honestly It was a genius idea to place a seal that records everything and shows it to you in case you lose consciousness or someone messes with your memory. It was also pretty smart of my younger self to install a function inside the seal that monitors the Chakra of the body every second so no other Chakra can interact with the seal even if that Chakra came from your clone or future self."
"Yeah, I made that so In case I met my future self he wouldn't be able to completely wipe my memories like the protagonist from that Harry Potter Fanfic."
"Ahh yeah, Quinn West… I still hate that author for abandoning the Knb Fanfic, but anyway, although that seal is pretty good, the technology has advanced too much, and they will be able to tamper with it with some difficulty"
"I can't say I'm disappointed… I will leave as fast as I can after I complete the study of science advancement."
The projection shook his head at Ryoichi's words and replied.
"Don't be greedy, if you get caught it won't be pretty. Time travelling without authorisation is a 9th tier crime only below 10th tier."
"…Then you help me, give me my future self's last records…"
"You won't be getting anything else from me, I already gave you whatever you needed so it's time for you to leave."
The projection said and before Ryoichi could reply anything he waved his hand, teleporting Ryoichi with a bright flash.
The projection looked at the location where Ryoichi was standing before he too stood and disappeared.
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[AN: If you want to read more go to my Patr*on/41_Claws. There are 10+ advance unedited chapters on it…]
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