"Tsuna, it's been so long since I met you, and I missed you greatly," said Edward with a brilliant smile as he walked into the research room. "Did you miss me too?"

"What's wrong with you?" asked Tsunade, who was looking at a document from a hologram floating before her.

"I think I articulate myself well," replied Edward. "How is the research? Did you finish?"

"It's only been a few days."

Edward paused as he realized he was not gone for long. However, because of how much happened, it felt like decades since he last saw her.

"Well, I experienced a lot."

"Oh, what happened?" she was intrigued for him to say such a thing. So, Edward explained his short voyage to her.

"So, you're saying a group of God-like creatures and artifacts are acting like parasites and absorbing my world's energy?" she asked with a frown.

"Huh? I guess I am."

Tsunade had a dangerous look in her eyes.

Edward gave her a look, "Are you thinking of dealing with these Lord Gods and God Space?"

"I'm not that stupid."

"Good. Even in my world, it's impossible to deal with these people–let alone this weak universe. From my analysis, unless you reach the highest realm of Tier 16, there is no way to remove all these Lord Gods from a universe."

"So high?"

"Yes. Well, technically, I and some other people can do it at Tier 12. However, the core issue is how to survive the revenge of these people."

"I see." Tsundae did not have any desire to deal with any Lord God. She only felt uncomfortable that some unknown being was harming her universe. However, considering she would be leaving soon, it made no sense to care about such a thing.

"Did you meet another version of myself?" she asked.

"I did."

"Well, how was I, no, she?"

"The same as the Fourth Great Ninja War. The only difference was there were many reincarnators following you because of your beauty."

"Beauty?" she asked with sarcastic eyes and tones.

"Yes, beauty," replied Edward with no shame.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"Whatever," replied Tsunade. Then, she asked with a serious face, "Are you leaving soon?"

"Huh? How did you know?"

"I have a feeling."

"Yes," nodded Edward. "The world is rejecting me. Plus, my ride will arrive soon."

Tsunade became quiet, "Will I ever see this place again?"

"I will steal this timeline and conserve it in a special dimension that trains members of my Shadow Squad. So, you can come to see it whenever you please."

Tsunade nodded but did not say anything else.

"Have you thought about it?"

"I have."

"And?"

"I haven't made a decision."

"Is it because of my other wives?"

"This is a factor, but not the only one."

"I see," nodded Edward. "We will have until they arrive for you to make a decision."

"And how long is that?"

Edward did not immediately answer but called Morgana and checked.

"A maximum of six months and a minimum of 3 months."

"This can be said to be a long time, it can also be said to be a short time," Tsunade replied.

Edward nodded before deciding to change the topic, "How is your apprentice?"

"Sakura? Well, so far, she hasn't fully displayed her Chakra Control talent due to the short time. However, her intelligence and learning ability has begun to shine."

Edward nodded as he was not surprised. Sakura has always been the most studious and intelligent of Team 7. And such quality will allow her to thrive in the Empire–even if she chooses to become a Mana Arcanist instead of a Chakra Arcanist.

Edward chatted with her for a while before heading to his research team and summoning all his clones. He then synchronized his memories with them. And, as expected, their reaction was not positive.

"So, we did all this research in vain?" asked Clone 1. Future Edward basically finished all the clone's research, making them feel their work was in vain.

"No, it was not in vain," quickly explained Edward. "If not for your hard work, he would never finish them so quickly."

Edward knew for a fact his future self would never do all the research by himself but also use clones.

"Even then, it feels like we did all this work in vain," uttered Clone 4.

"I would like to make it into the record, if I could revolt, I would," added Clone 7.

"Whatever, I'm only happy I don't have to work anymore," said Clone 3. The clones loved research and learning new knowledge. However, they instinctively reject doing it when their main body orders it since, most of the time, he only want to be lazy.

"There is no need to react like this," explained Edward. "Plus, we still have some work to finish by ourselves, followed by new research."

"I knew it," complained Clone 2. "So, what is it this time?"

"We need to continue our research on Izanagi and the Creation of All Things."

Izanagi is a life-saving method and also a great way to learn reality-bending magic. Meanwhile, Sage of Six Paths Creation of All Things is an excellent way to study the Creation Aspect of Void Energy, thus furthering the Empire's path of mastering this highest form of energy.

"Next is the Destruction and Curse Rule. My future self left a little information on these two authorities, and we must continue our research," continued Edward.

"Then, there is the Ultimate Magic Body. Although we cannot finish it before returning home, there is no need to stop the research.

"Finally, someone needs to continue the research on Magic Domain and the Soul Flame."

The clones discussed amongst themselves before choosing which project to tackle. Then, clone 1 asked, "What about you? What are you going to do?"

"Really? Are you not going to flirt with Tsuna?"

"When I'm done, of course, I will,' replied Edward, making the clones roll their eyes before leaving. While alone, Edward said:

"Morgana, we need to update some protocols and plan ahead."

"Oh, what do you have in mind?"

"Firstly, we need a backup World Gate in case a similar accident occurs."

"There was a backup and more than one, but I used them when escaping from the Floating City."

"I'm aware. I'm referring to a World Gate stored in the Soul Dimension as a backup vehicle."

"We tried before to place the World Gate in the Soul Dimension. However, the spatial-temporal field emanated from it would cause catastrophic damage to the place–even if sealed.

"However, the issue might be dealt with if we placed it in the fourth layer."

"That was my exact thinking," nodded Edward.

"What else?"

"The automatic repair system of the Floating City needs to be upgraded," continued Edward. The city will fix itself after damage, but Edward felt the process was too slow; it's because of this that he had to wait for a ride from him.

"The current technology is the limit we have," added Morgana.

"It used to be," countered Edward. "But now, we have more knowledge and can upgrade it."

"Do you want to use void energy?" asked Morgana.

"Correct. We now have more control over the different characteristics of Void Energy. We will place a system in the city to use the Space-Time Characteristic to revert the city to its former self after destruction.

"We can also add the use of the Creation Characteristic to recreate the city to the desired shape and fix it."

Morgana took a moment to do some calculations, "it's possible. The best idea would be to use Izanagi to instantly reverse the damage. Unfortunately."

"True," nodded Edward. "Lastly, we need a better homing system."

The Floating City is designed to return to him if he is separated. But Edward felt the current system was not up to the level he would like.

"Any ideas?" she asked.

"None so far, but we can begin the preparatory work on it."

"As you wish."

He then dismissed her before continuing with his own thing.