Konoha Year 41. February.
The Kingdom of Loulan welcomed a very unusual visitor.
A young woman clad in newly modified, exceptionally ornate light armor strode past rows of guards and entered the B1 level—a public leisure park designed for the elderly and children.
At that moment, a blond boy sat stiffly on the artificially laid green lawn, both hands raised.
Dozens of gun barrels—shaped suspiciously like P229-type pistols—were aimed squarely at Uzumaki Naruto's forehead.
"D-Don't shoot! I'm not a bad guy!"
"Whether you're bad or not isn't for you to decide," Mako said, hands on her hips.
"Come with us."
"Y-Yes…" Naruto thought miserably. I was chasing Mukade—how did I end up in a kids' park?!
Under the wary stares of nearby children, he followed the guards toward the first-floor passage.
Soon after, climbing the spiral staircase of the towering structure, Naruto emerged into bright daylight.
The sudden glare made him squint.
"So bright…"
When his vision cleared, he froze.
Traffic lights.
Crosswalks.
Roads.
Compact cars.
Bicycles.
Motorcycles.
Where the heck did they drag me to?!
A shove from behind snapped him back to reality, and he continued walking behind Mako.
"Hey—yeah, it's me. I know, I know. I'm getting off work now. I'll be back soon. Stop rushing me."
Naruto glanced at a man talking to a box in his hand and stared blankly. He couldn't help pointing.
"Uh… why is that guy talking to a box?"
Mako paused, turned to look, then sighed.
"Country bumpkin."
"That's a mobile phone. Also called a cellphone."
"Huh? What's it for?"
"Long-distance communication. Now move. Prisoners don't ask this many questions."
She stopped at a traffic light. A man in a kimono stood nearby, hands behind his back, waiting for the green light.
Naruto, bored out of his mind, glanced at the young man beside him—then noticed the sword at his waist.
"…Uncle Taidō?"
Taidō: "?"
He lowered his head and looked at Naruto. Mako immediately turned around.
"You know this criminal?"
The previously calm young man waved his hands frantically.
"N-No! I don't know him!"
Then Taidō leaned toward Naruto.
"Kid, don't shout names randomly.
Yes, my name is Taidō—but I don't know you. Don't drag me into your crimes."
"It really is you, Uncle Taidō! Save me!! I'm Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!"
Taidō's face stiffened.
An icy pressure surged from the front.
Naruto finally realized something was very wrong.
The cool, sharp-featured woman had become a glacial knight.
"So you're a Konoha ninja," Mako said coldly.
"That explains it."
"Cuff him. Straight to prison."
"EH?!"
Click—
Naruto's right hand was locked into Loulan's latest Chakra Restraint Handcuffs (Type A)—capable of sealing jōnin-level chakra and physical strength for over three days.
Moments later, Naruto was thrown into the men's prison, his face pale as death.
"Did Konoha… get into a conflict with this country or something…?"
"That doesn't make sense. I was fighting Mukade in the old Loulan… why is it like this now…?"
"The old Loulan?"
A voice came from the neighboring cell.
"From the way you speak… are you also a Konoha ninja?"
"Yeah! Yeah! Who are you?" Naruto asked, leaning against the wall.
Six months ago, the cells here were iron-bar partitions. Now they were solid concrete—Naruto couldn't see who was next door.
"Cough… I'm Namikaze Minato of Konoha."
Minato, around Naruto's age but clearly more mature, sounded equally helpless.
Recently, he had arrived in Loulan with Hatake Kakashi, Akimichi Chōza, and Aburame Shibi—three jōnin and one genin—tasked with investigating a missing Konoha squad.
They had found them.
But they couldn't leave.
So there was no point hiding identities anymore.
"Namikaze Minato… that name sounds familiar," Naruto said.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Ever heard of me?"
"Uh… a shinobi from the Uzumaki Clan?" Minato scratched his head awkwardly.
"Sorry, I don't think I have."
"Say—did you come to Loulan on a mission from the Third Hokage too?"
"The Third Grandpa?!" Naruto shouted.
"But the Third Grandpa is already dead! Wait—don't tell me this is the past?!"
"The Hokage… died?"
"Who's spouting nonsense?!"
"Just because I'm locked up doesn't mean I won't punch you during dinner!"
"…What idiot said that," Kakashi muttered from another cell.
"…When are they going to let us out? We've been locked up for three days already."
"Don't count on it."
Across the way, a shinobi wearing a Hidden Rain forehead protector sneered.
If Kaito were here, he would recognize him immediately—Kiyame, an old opponent from the Second Great Ninja War.
"Loulan is hiding a terrifying secret," Kiyame said.
"We're probably going to become test subjects."
"T-Test subjects?!"
On the right, Umino Iruka's senior, Shiranui Genma, grabbed the bars in panic.
"Hey, don't joke around! My girlfriend is still waiting in Konoha!"
"Blame yourself," Kiyame mocked.
"You broke Loulan's rules. Used chakra openly.
And you were exposed as disguised Konoha ninja."
"…Damn it. I finally became a squad-leading jōnin, not even a year in, and I'm about to die?!"
"…I wonder if my best friend will pass the Chūnin Exams this year."
"Your best friend?" Kakashi twitched beneath his mask.
"…Don't tell me it's that guy—White Star."
"Yes, him. Disappeared for four years, suddenly came back, and missed last year's exams…"
"Hah. Guess I won't get to watch him fail again."
"???"
"Are you really friends?"
Clang—clang—clang.
Cell bells rang. Automatic locks disengaged.
"Meal time."
"You'll perform labor reform this afternoon. Work hard."
"Labor reform?" Naruto asked, following the others out.
He turned to the cheerful-looking blond beside him.
Minato sighed.
"Pedaling generators or hauling heavy materials."
"Eh?!"
In the labor cafeteria, after hearing the situation, Naruto revealed the truth:
He was from the future.
He had traveled back in time to stop Mukade from using the Dragon Vein sealed by the Fourth Hokage.
"Mukade?" Kakashi paused mid-bite.
"That guy died ages ago."
"Well… he tried assassinating the Loulan Queen a year ago," Minato explained,
"and was killed by the leader of White Cross."
"White Cross? What's that?" Naruto asked.
Minato, Chōza, and Shibi exchanged looks and sighed.
"If you don't know that organization," Minato said seriously,
"then Mukade truly did come from a different future—just like you."
"Our timelines aren't the same."
Naruto stared.
"…What's a timeline?"
The entire table broke into cold sweat.
Minato continued.
"After Mukade's rebellion, White Cross formally stationed itself in Loulan."
"Their true leader—the All-Powerful Lord, also called the Dean or The Surgeon—became a top minister."
"Since then, Loulan has advanced at an absurd pace."
He described:
Over twenty assassination attempts against the All-Powerful Lord—all failures
His bounty rising from 180 million ryō to 300 million ryō
The invention of mobile phones, threatening ninja intelligence systems
Multiple nations sending elite squads to erase Loulan
Naruto swallowed hard.
"Then what happened?"
"All annihilated," Minato said grimly.
"By one person."
"…One?"
"Yes. The All-Powerful Lord alone."
"Against nearly a thousand Iwagakure shinobi."
"The battle lasted only an instant."
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