Nobita's Time Heist

The rumbling vibrations continued unabated. Shizuka gazed at him intently, as if she could hear her own heartbeat. Their eyes met, and after a brief silence, she spoke with an unyielding tone, "I'll go with you."

"Absolutely not!" Nobita refused to listen. "Listen to me, Shizuka, it's not actually that dangerous. With light adaptation, high temperatures and poisonous gases can't harm me. The Adventurer's Handkerchief allows me to stay connected in any environment, so you can contact me anytime. It's like a diving game; in ten minutes at most, I'll..."

"Snapped!"

Uncharacteristically, Shizuka didn't wait for him to finish speaking before grabbing his collar, revealing a side of herself she had never shown before. Her usually gentle eyes now seemed to be spitting fire.

"I! Will! Go! With! You!"

"..."

So close.

They were almost nose to nose. He had secretly fantasized about it before in the dead of night, but he never imagined it would happen under these circumstances. A mix of emotions welled up in Shizuka's eyes, making her breath quicken. For a moment, she couldn't think of what to say next.

Perhaps it goes without saying that such a tough stance is enough to silence a thousand words.

"I'm telling you, Nobita, that's not right of you," Gian said, giving him a hard pat on the shoulder. "You're really underestimating us, aren't you?"

"That's not what I meant," Da Xiong explained with a wry smile. "I meant that for a mission like this, there's no need for everyone to go together. It's just about stabbing the sword in; anyone can do that. It might even be easier for me to go alone."

"This isn't about the number of people, you know that in your heart." Fat Tiger rarely spoke in such a low-key tone. When his voice deepened, it showed that he was taking the matter at hand very seriously. "From the moment we decided to step into the demon realm, wasn't this a choice we all made together?"

"A true friend is someone who will share life and death with you, someone who will face everything with you. We're not three-year-olds anymore; what we should and shouldn't do is our own choice! I've chosen you, and even if it means going down to the very bottom of hell, we'll be there for you." Gian said resolutely, clenching his fist and exuding an imposing aura. "Right, Suneo?!"

"...Um...this..." Caught off guard, Xiaofu hesitated for a few seconds before finally nodding. "I think so too. The more people go down, the more we can look out for each other. If anything happens, the four of us can help each other out. It can't hurt."

"Wait a minute, what do you mean by four people..." Dekisugi said in a somewhat resentful tone, still sitting on the flying carpet, "It's one thing that you didn't include me before, but now that I'm right in front of you, you still didn't count me?"

"Hahaha! Xiaoshan, you're overthinking it. How could we deliberately leave you out?" Fat Tiger returned to his carefree self. "We need someone with a sharp mind to stay up there, so that if something really happens, they can figure out a way to get us out of trouble."

"Fat Tiger, they say you're stupid, but I think your brain is just as sharp as it seems."

……

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The support from his friends left Nobita speechless for a moment, and to his surprise, his nose even felt a little sore.

“Okay.” The situation was urgent, and he wasn’t one to be coy, so he nodded directly. “In that case, let’s all work together.”

Chapter 329: The Future is Past, Roots Have Taken Root

"Wait!"

……

Just as everyone was rubbing their hands together, ready to deliver the final blow to the Hundred-Eyed King, the Yamata no Orochi suddenly spoke, stopping them. Before this, he had always given everyone the impression of being calm and composed in the face of adversity. The long years had instilled in him a tranquil disposition, allowing him to maintain his strength in any situation. Even when he had almost had all his heads chopped off, he hadn't panicked much. Having such a millennium-old talisman in their ranks undoubtedly gave everyone a great sense of security.

This shout shattered this preconceived notion. The shout sounded extremely urgent, as if something unseen was urging it on, or as if it had been agonizing for a long time before finally making this decision at the last moment.

"Nobita Nobi, right?"

Da Xiong turned around and looked at him uncertainly. This question certainly didn't need an answer. He was just confused. At this point, what else did this giant snake intend to tell him?

"You are the leader of this small team. To be honest, I have never seen humans like you before... never. The Demon Slayer praised you highly, and I thought he was just bragging, but now it seems that it is not an exaggeration at all. You are indeed the man who successfully defeated the Great Tengu."

Several heads coiled around its back, just like the famous image of "the snake biting its own tail," as Yamata no Orochi bit its own incredibly thick, scale-covered tail.

Nobita was a little embarrassed because, strictly speaking, it wasn't him who killed the Great Tengu, but rather Hargunda who was standing nearby. However, he remained quietly seated on his broom, showing no intention of claiming credit, as if he were lost in thought, simply wanting to quietly watch how this drama would end.

"At this moment, the life and death of billions of beings in the human and demon realms will depend on you. Having lived to my age, I originally did not expect miracles, but after seeing you, my thoughts have changed... Perhaps you really can save the world from collapse... Compared to that, my life, which has been barely surviving until now, is not so important."

Shuten-dōji seemed to have sensed something, and his expression suddenly turned to one of utter shock.

"I am the embodiment of all human suffering. As long as the calamities continue, I will be reborn here in an eight-hundred-year cycle. Don't worry about me, don't worry about anything... don't worry about me..."

"Sizzle—!!"

Several heads grabbed the tail and exerted force in different directions at the same time, tearing the thick and powerful tail apart like being torn apart by five horses!

This happened so suddenly and without warning that it startled everyone. Blood gushed out like a fountain, hissing like a gas leak, shooting dozens of meters high, like a rain of blood falling from the sky, creating a powerful visual impact. Even the surrounding rumbling apocalyptic scene seemed to be overshadowed in that instant.

A sword was stuck in the flesh at the tip of its tail.

It is about three feet long and made of black stone. The blade, body and hilt are made of one piece, without any trace of artificial carving or chiseling.

Clearly born from the blood of a giant serpent, this sword was surprisingly clean, untouched by a single drop of blood. Its entire body was pitch black, exuding an unfathomable depth, faithfully reflecting everything around it, as if it could suck in one's gaze and the sounds of the surroundings. Only at this moment did everyone realize once again that what stood before them was the very embodiment of this being, spanning countless myths and firmly holding a place in their native culture.

"Once... the Totsuka Sword, bestowed by the gods, clashed with it, and even its blade broke in one place, all because of this thing..."

The serpent's tone grew somber, its life force visibly fading. It and the sword shared an inexplicable destiny, seemingly bound by the death of one for the other to see the light of day again. Yet, the Kusanagi sword seemed to be reborn from this fate, its sharp aura emanating forth, like a beast awakened from a long slumber, becoming unstoppable.

"This sword has been named 'Ame no Kusanagi' by you humans. Now, Nobita, I am giving it to you..."

"Never fail the weighty trust placed in you by fate!"

"Thump—!!"

Its valley-like body abruptly plunged down, raising clouds of scorching dust, and then fell still. Having absorbed all of the serpent's life force, the Kusanagi sword seemed to have been refined in the blink of an eye. With its blade pointing downwards, it gleamed brightly, and even looking at it would cause one to be subtly stung by its sword aura.

"The Kusanagi Sword, the legendary 'Kusanagi Sword'?" Dekisugi's tone was conflicted. To him, this scene was still a bit too fantastical. "If everything recorded in the myths is true, the last person to draw it was Susanoo. His Totsuka Sword was a gift from the gods, but in terms of hardness, it was still inferior to the Kusanagi Sword. It can be said to be a true founding divine weapon."

"..."

We must not fail the trust placed in us by fate.

Looking at the giant serpent's lifeless body, Da Xiong couldn't help but sigh. He felt no excitement like someone who had just caught a prey; instead, the sight of this peerless weapon, capable of cutting through iron like mud, weighed heavily on his heart like a boulder. It silently reminded him just how important what was about to happen was to both worlds.

"bite---"

The thought had barely formed in his mind, not even translated into action, when it was detected by the sword. A melodious metallic tremor emanated from the dark blade of the Kusanagi Sword, which then vibrated rapidly, breaking free from the shackles of its withered flesh and blood, and soared into the air. In the instant it detached from the serpent's tail, the Yamata no Orochi's flesh lost its last vestige of vitality and began to disintegrate, resembling ashes from a fire. The sword, however, performed a 360-degree spin in the air, flying towards Nobita, and finally landing squarely in his right hand, hilt facing upwards, without the slightest deviation.

Upon first touch, the area between my thumb and forefinger felt icy cold. Despite its apparent weight, it felt surprisingly light and thin in my hand.

He tried swinging it in the air, and the sound of a sharp object cutting through the air was exceptionally clear, unlike ordinary steel. Nobita prided himself on being weak, yet he wielded the sword with remarkable ease. It was less that he was swinging the sword, and more that the Kusanagi sword was guiding his movements, giving him the feeling of a super-plus upgraded version of the famous sword, Denko-maru.

"The legendary sword of heroes..."

Looking down again, just as the Yamata no Orochi had predicted, the basic framework of the continent had collapsed. The Red Earth was like an overcooked molten chocolate cake, melting into a lava-like state, and the entire world was irreversibly "sinking." A portion of mass was detached from the earth, transforming into deadly poisonous gas, gradually rising and obscuring the last glimmer of light in the sky. It was predictable that in a few minutes, these toxic gases would engulf the entire sky.

The others are taking turns shining adaptive lamps on each other to ensure they can survive in such a harsh environment.

"..." Nobita looked at them from the side, his glasses reflecting light slightly, making it impossible to see his expression.

"Is what I'm about to do written in your prophecy?"

Hargunda gave him a meaningful look and smiled, "Are you asking whether the choice you're about to make is the right one?"

“My answer is completely irrelevant, Ping Tianqi.”

"The future has already taken root in the past."

Chapter 330: My whole world is already behind me

"Boom——————!"

A scorching wind howled past, carrying a constant stream of particles that repeatedly pelted my cheeks. Despite being exposed to adapted lighting, I couldn't escape the phantom pain.

The further down you go, the narrower the view becomes. Da Xiong had seen a sky like this once before, millions of years ago—the meteorite that changed the fate of the Earth crashed into the ground, creating towering waves on the land.

A portion of the continental shelf's mass was ejected directly into the atmosphere, forming billowing clouds that replaced cloud cover, shrouding the entire planet and triggering a catastrophe known as the Great Ice Age. This catastrophe wiped out the dinosaurs that then dominated the Earth. Two different timelines witnessed this meteorite impact, and ultimately, only a small number of the ancient dinosaur's descendants were saved.

"We're still 5 kilometers from the ground." Dekisugi's voice came from the adventurer's handkerchief, as calm and composed as ever. In this situation, it was undoubtedly a shot in the arm for his companions. "The strong energy source is to your lower left. Adjust your flight angle."

……

"Rumble————"

Burning dust particles rubbed against each other, generating incredibly thick and terrifying lightning bolts. It's hard to imagine that such a spectacle could be seen less than 5 kilometers above the ground.

Thunder and fire appeared together, accompanied by explosions that seemed to come from both near and far, as if they had crossed that taboo line and entered another world.

Beneath the blanket of smoke and dust, the vibrations in the air never ceased, and as they ventured deeper, an even more "spectacular" scene unfolded: the earth resembled a giant, melted pudding, and looking down from its center, an endless void seemed to swallow everything whole. Starlight and radiation intermittently spewed from the opening, constantly expanding its domain and absorbing more and more molten earth and rock. From this funnel-shaped, bottomless abyss, long, echoing sounds like the roar of whales could be heard from time to time.

"If you didn't know what was going on here, this scene would have been quite artistic."

Faced with immense pressure, everyone reacts differently, and this is when their resilience becomes apparent. Xiao Fu, who spoke first, was naturally the one among them with relatively weaker stress tolerance: "To be honest, please don't mind me... after this job is done, shouldn't we all stop and rest?"

"I agree."

To Xiaofu's surprise, it was actually Gian who was the first to express his approval. When he said this, he was still worried that everyone might think he was backing out again, especially Gian, who was known as the radical in the team and was always the one who rushed to the front whenever something happened.

“If we count the days, we’ve been out there for at least four months since we set off for the Atlantic Ocean, right?” His reason was surprisingly ordinary: “I miss my parents. And Fatty, I wonder how they are doing.”

"Especially for those few months, it was all about traveling, traveling, and traveling non-stop. I hardly ever had a proper shower." Once she started talking, Shizuka couldn't help but complain, "Ah~~ ah~~ I miss my bathroom and hot water at home so much..."

"In that case, how about we go on a hot spring trip together when we get back?" Suneo reverted to his usual rich young master demeanor, laughing and joking. "My dad has connections in Gunma Prefecture, he can arrange for us to go to Kusatsu Onsen. Let's just take the bullet train, enjoy the scenery along the way, and Gunma Prefecture also has Mount Tanigawa to climb. After climbing the mountain, we can go to the hot springs, soak comfortably for a day, and really enjoy ourselves."

"There should be karaoke over there, right?" Fat Tiger was already eager to try it out, licking his lips and a smile appearing on his face. "Speaking of which, I mentioned it last time in the desert, it seems like it's been a long time since my last concert..."

"Ah!" Suneo, sensing the situation was turning sour, quickly changed the subject. "Where's Nobita? What's he planning to do when he gets back? He can't just stay home and lie around like usual, can he?"

"..."

Nobita was silent for a while, seemingly thinking about how to answer the question. After a moment, he glanced at the increasingly obvious light source below before speaking, "I... don't have anything I want to do. Just do what you usually do."

"Huh? No?" Xiaofu found this answer unbelievable. "I've been watching you come all this way and I'm exhausted just watching you. Don't you want to relax a bit?"

"You are 1,500 meters from the ground. The source of the radioactive energy is located to your lower right. Be careful to avoid the energy leakage that is about to occur."

Dekisugi listened quietly on the other end of the signal without interrupting, like a machine that precisely keeps time. His sudden outburst brought the atmosphere in the team back to the cold reality.

"If I had to say, there are a few things that I care about."

Nobita calculated the time and counted on his fingers, saying, "Usually after the New Year's Eve festival, there's a lot of trash on the back mountain, right? Some of it is non-biodegradable and very harmful to the environment. So, I'd appreciate it if you could help me clean it up."

"Also, next to the telephone pole next to the open space, Fat Tiger planted a few small flowers, right? I just watered them before I left, I wonder how they are now."

"And also, winter is over, and spring is just around the corner. A slow-moving swallow that looks a lot like me will pass through the town of Tsukimidai. Suneo's comic books will also fly back around this time, so if you have time, remember to keep an eye on them for me."

"besides……"

"Wait a minute, Nobita, what does this mean?" Shizuka quickly sensed something was wrong, frowned, and asked, "What have you been saying since just now? Why are you asking us for help? You can do these things yourself when you get back!"

……

"One kilometer left."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

“My answer is utterly irrelevant, Ping Tianqi.” A mysterious smile flashed through his mind, and those deep eyes seemed to have seen right through him. “The future has already taken root in the past.”

……

"Sorry, Shizuka... I can't do it." Nobita silently pulled the [Superpower Hat] from his pocket, casually removed the bamboo copter from his head, placed it on his back, and put on the somewhat comical-looking hat. The whole movement was fluid and effortless, as if he had rehearsed it countless times in his mind.

As childhood friends who grew up together, before Gian and Suneo could even process what was happening, Shizuka immediately realized what he was about to do. Shocked, she instantly reached into her pocket, trying to pull out some gadget to salvage the situation. However, when it came to skill in using gadgets, she was no match for Nobita, her childhood friend.

Vision begins to blur, a sign that you are about to be teleported.

In the final moments, she saw Nobita's relieved smile, a smile that finally brought him peace of mind.

"you……!!!"

The next instant, the surrounding scenery abruptly changed, and the three were forcibly teleported back to the flying carpet they had come from. Gian stood there stunned for a long while before realizing what had happened. He was instantly enraged, and roared at the chaotic dust that had descended to Earth, "Nobita, you bastard—!!!"

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Nothing was conveyed; even the angry questions were torn to shreds by the howling wind.

In the deep cave, Nobita raised his head with relief, took one last look at the sky that never saw the light of day, steadied himself, cast aside all his worries, and plunged headlong into the abyss where darkness reigned!

Chapter 331: Starlight and Sword

"------"

The resounding, powerful landing of a superhero was drowned out by the roar of overflowing energy.

Passing through layers of highly radiant fog, Nobita is greeted by a sea of ​​light large enough to engulf everything.

In this pure energy storm that was constantly escaping outwards, everything was destined for annihilation. He wasn't sure if he had actually touched the ground; if he hadn't adjusted to the light, he probably would have been reduced to ashes the moment he came into contact with the radiation.

"Gian must be furious right now, and so is Shizuka. They might even want to come down again. Suneo and Kosuke will definitely try to persuade them..."

They had dealt with many crises together before, but this one was far more extensive and had far more severe consequences than any of the previous ones. They had to defuse a massive bomb capable of destroying the Earth, and no one could predict the consequences of the slightest mistake. Regardless of his friends' plans, Nobita didn't want them to be involved in such unknown danger, so he made his choice early on. This was one of the few times Nobita hadn't respected their opinions, but even so, he still made the choice. In his heart, nothing was more important than the safety of their lives.

If they come out unharmed, they must return to their respective homes unharmed. If Doraemon were here, he would definitely make the same choice.

However, after spending so much time together, Da Xiong knew his childhood friends all too well. In this respect, they were just as stubborn as he was. If he was determined to send them back, they would be determined to stand with him through thick and thin. If they dragged it out any longer, they might launch another attack, which could easily make things worse.

"Now, it's just you and me..."

Having roughly adapted to the intense light, Nobita opened his eyes and, at the center of the light and blazing currents, saw his enemy, barely clinging to life. At that moment, he resembled a dehydrated sea cucumber, roasted until all moisture was gone, leaving only a drooping skin. Though boasting of "a hundred eyes," he actually had at most a few dozen, perched on his dry, brittle skin, half-closed, except for the central vertical pupil, which remained wide open, excitedly radiating energy.

"boom----!!!"

An endless force scorched the earth, and every moment the horizon would silently sink a few meters.