At the border of the Land of Wind, near Sunagakure, lay the ruins of Roran.
According to Naruto's memories, beneath these ruins was sealed the Dragon Vein, a source of mysterious and immense power.
In the original events, during the Shippuden timeline, Naruto had come to this very place. Through the Dragon Vein, he traveled back in time and met his father, Namikaze Minato.
It could be called a fateful meeting across the flow of time.
Because of that, Naruto was deeply curious about the Dragon Vein's true power. Did it really have the ability to let one traverse time itself?
If one could travel through time, then would actions taken in the past affect the present?
Or… was the Dragon Vein's power merely a passage into parallel worlds?
With such questions in mind, Naruto arrived at the ruins. It didn't take him long to locate the place emanating strange fluctuations of chakra.
With his current strength, breaking the seal left behind by the Fourth Hokage wasn't much of a challenge.
The moment Naruto tore the seal open, the Dragon Vein's power burst free, and a pillar of light shot into the heavens.
A familiar feeling surged in Naruto's heart.
It was almost identical to the strange fluctuation that appeared when little Goku vanished.
Naruto's eyes fixed on the Dragon Vein, and his face lit up with excitement.
"I think I may have stumbled upon something incredible."
"That energy inside feels strange… as if countless different forces are all tangled together." From within the sealing space, Kakarot observed the light pillar and spoke. "Naruto, are you planning to go in?"
"True Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Naruto formed a clone. Patting its shoulder, he pointed toward the light.
"You go check it out."
If something happened, the shadow clone could disperse instantly and bring back any useful intel. Why not take advantage of that?
The clone thought to itself:
Sure, I'm not a real living being, but damn, the original you are one cruel bastard.
Despite the flood of complaints in its heart, the clone obeyed and stepped into the light pillar.
The instant it crossed the threshold, it vanished. At the same time, the towering column of light dispersed, as though the Dragon Vein had drained much of its energy and fallen into slumber once more.
Meanwhile, at Mount Myōboku, the Great Toad Sage suddenly opened his murky eyes. In front of the shocked gazes of Fukasaku, Shima, and Jiraiya—who had come seeking answers—he spoke slowly.
"The prophecy… has changed!"
His aura then fluctuated wildly, surging like a roller coaster. When it reached its peak, the Great Toad Sage opened his mouth again:
"Shima, Fukasaku… I leave Mount Myōboku in your care. From this moment forth—seal it away for one hundred years."
It was like the brilliance of a dying flame. The moment he finished speaking, his aura collapsed like a cliffside breaking away, plummeting until it grew frail and weak within mere seconds.
"Great Toad Sage! Great Toad Sage!"
The cries of the toads echoed, but the Great Toad Sage's life force had already faded away.
At that same moment, in another Mount Myōboku…
Another Great Toad Sage stirred from slumber, as though he had received some message. Slowly, he opened his murky eyes, and within them, he glimpsed fragments of the future. Without even realizing it himself, he made a prophecy to the young Jiraiya standing below.
"Jiraiya… one day, you will take on a disciple. And this disciple will be the Child of Prophecy. He will bring unprecedented change to this world. And you… you are the one who will guide that change."
"The Child of Prophecy's choice will bring about either unparalleled peace… or utter destruction."
Another timeline. The First Shinobi World War.
At that time, the Second Raikage, representing the Cloud, and the Second Hokage, representing Konoha, intended to sign a peace treaty to end the war.
But no one could have foreseen what happened at the crucial moment of the signing ceremony.
The Kinkaku Force, led by Kinkaku and Ginkaku, launched a betrayal. The Second Raikage was struck down on the spot.
The Konoha delegation was suddenly surrounded.
With Kinkaku, Ginkaku, and the Cloud's elite closing in—men armed with the treasured tools of the Sage of Six Paths—Konoha's fate hung on the edge of a blade.
As the leader of the delegation, Tobirama Senju looked gravely at the younger generation of Konoha who had accompanied him.
"If we clash head-on, our chances of survival are slim. One of us must stay behind to hold them off, so the others can escape back to the village."
"Who among you is willing to be the rearguard?"
To stay behind against the Cloud's elite, against Kinkaku and Ginkaku—it was certain death.
Shimura Danzō was locked in endless hesitation.
But young Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke without a second's pause:
"I'll do it. I'll stay."
"Good." Tobirama placed a hand on Hiruzen's shoulder. "Then I leave this task to you, Monkey. You must live on."
With that, he turned to the others.
"The rest of you—come with me!"
Tobirama led the group away swiftly, leaving Hiruzen alone to face the Cloud elites. Slowly, Hiruzen drew a kunai, ready to embrace death.
Yet another timeline.
This one aligned with the Shippuden era.
Here, Jiraiya had received a different prophecy from the Great Toad Sage.
In this world, Namikaze Minato did not become the Fourth Hokage. Instead, the man to inherit that title was a spiky-haired figure—Haruno Akira.
"An Uchiha uprising!"
A blood-curdling scream tore through the peaceful night. Uchiha clansmen, their eyes blood-red and gleaming with madness, charged into Konoha's markets and residential districts, unleashing chaos.
The village plunged into war. One after another, shinobi fell.
"You're the one controlling them!"
Kneeling on one knee, Itachi—then head of the Anbu—spoke through gritted teeth. Around him lay the corpses of countless Konoha elites.
Before him stood a man with a blood-stained blade, cold eyes, and merciless expression—Uchiha Shisui.
And behind Shisui, the true mastermind pulled back his hood, revealing his face.
"Why… why are you doing this, Sasuke?!" Itachi's eyes widened in disbelief. He couldn't comprehend why his younger brother would go so far.
"Why?"
Sasuke slowly opened his eyes—revealing nothing more than a simple pair of three-tomoe Sharingan. Yet with only those, he easily suppressed Itachi's Mangekyō. Neither Tsukuyomi nor Amaterasu had any effect.
Even Shisui, a fellow Mangekyō wielder, had fallen under his control, standing obediently at his side.
Sasuke burst into laughter, raising his voice to the sky.
"Clan? Konoha? None of that matters to me!"
"I only want to test the measure of my capacity."
"My foolish oni-chan!"
P.S.: This is not the exact "Road of the Ninja" universe, but one with a similar world structure.
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