Konoha Year 79 (Boruto Era).
At the Archaeology Research Institute in the Hidden Leaf Village, two figures arrived at high speed.
The guards at the entrance were already dead.
Inside the institute, a pale figure stood before a central artifact, his palm glowing with a sinister green light. Under his touch, the artifact transformed into a turtle.
This was the Ōtsutsuki Clan's treasure—Karasuki.
Ōtsutsuki Urashiki intended to travel back to the past to capture Uzumaki Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, before he could grow into the powerhouse he was today.
The two newcomers, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Boruto, didn't hesitate. Seeing the glowing Karasuki, they charged straight into the light.
However, neither of them noticed that a third person had followed them into the temporal tunnel.
Thud.
Carrying a large satchel, Senya landed firmly on the ground. A single drop of rain splashed onto the top of his head.
"I'm back? No... wait, that's right."
Senya looked around, confirming that he hadn't just returned to Amegakure, but specifically to the Amegakure of the past.
Senya was a transmigrator, but he had originally arrived in the Hidden Rain Village during the Boruto era. At that time, the entire Land of Rain was a wasteland of ruins and decay, choked by trash and toxic gas. It had effectively become the garbage dump for the Five Great Shinobi Nations.
The desolation of the Hidden Rain stood in agonizing contrast to the prosperity of the Hidden Leaf.
Unfortunately, none of the villagers in that era knew that the Nanadaime Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto, had once personally promised the village's leader that he would bring them prosperity and peace.
The former leader, Nagato, had chosen to believe in that promise. He had sacrificed his own life to revive the people of the Leaf and break the cycle of hatred, entrusting the future of his village to Naruto.
And this—this ruin—was the result.
Due to his unique nature and the fact that he had revealed the truth of the Seventh Hokage's broken promise to the villagers, the refugees of the Hidden Rain came to see Senya as their last hope. They had pooled every scrap of resources they had left to fund his journey to the Land of Fire.
After arriving in the Hidden Leaf, Senya kept a low profile until the day he encountered a certain blonde kid asking where he could buy a copy of Icha Icha Paradise. He knew then that the time-travel event was imminent.
That led to the scene moments ago.
Fully prepared, Senya had successfully returned to the shinobi world of the past.
The moment he stepped into Karasuki's wake, a mysterious power within him was triggered by the Ōtsutsuki Space–Time Ninjutsu.
In that fleeting instant: Time Erasure!
In the world of erased time, not even Uchiha Sasuke could perceive a hidden passenger following them through the temporal corridor. Furthermore, the erasure caused a slight deviation in his exit point.
But that didn't matter now.
Sasuke and Boruto would deal with Urashiki, use Genjutsu to wipe the memories of anyone involved, and return to the future thinking they hadn't changed a thing. They would never even notice Senya's presence.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not a spy," Senya said suddenly.
At that exact moment, a massive, burly hand was reaching out to grab him from behind. Upon hearing his voice, the hand froze.
"Then who are you?" a cold, questioning voice demanded from the shadows.
Senya knew that the moment he set foot in the village, he would be detected by Pain's Rain Tiger at Will Technique. Thus, he had activated the power he awakened through contact with the Ōtsutsuki treasure—Time Erasure. Because the ability felt so familiar, he had dubbed it King Crimson.
Using a derivative of the ability to see a few dozen seconds into the future, Senya had predicted the Preta Path appearing behind him.
"I am the leader of the future Hidden Rain Village. I've come to see the current leader, 'Pain'—or should I say, Nagato."
Senya spoke without hesitation. He stood up and looked toward the tallest structure in the village—the tower where Nagato's true body remained hidden.
Hearing this, Nagato, seated in his mechanical walker at the top of the administration building, opened his eyes in shock.
"Is the intruder a problem?" Konan asked, her voice calm and composed.
Senya had "suddenly" appeared within the village's perimeter. To Nagato, who sensed everything through his rain, this was no different from Jiraiya's infiltration via a toad. He had recognized the newcomer as a "high-level threat," which was why he had immediately dispatched the Six Paths of Pain to intercept him.
"He claims to be the future leader of the Hidden Rain... and he wants to see me. He even knows my name," Nagato said, his expression grim.
"Could it be another one like 'Madara'?" Konan was immediately on guard. She stepped toward the edge of the tower, a pair of white wings made of paper unfolding from her back. "I'll go test him."
The moment she spotted Senya, Konan felt something was off.
Senya was standing in the rain, his right hand raised awkwardly in the air as if waiting for something. Meanwhile, the Preta Path was standing a distance away. This meant the intruder had moved his position abruptly.
Why?
Konan descended, her suspicion growing. However, as she reached a certain height, her face suddenly went dark. she halted mid-air, drifted slightly to the right, and then gracefully touched down in front of him.
She realized that if she had continued her original trajectory, she would have landed directly in his raised hand. It was absurd.
The man was clearly a master—he had predicted her landing point with terrifying precision.
On the other hand, he seems to have a few screws loose, Konan mentally concluded.
After leading Senya to a secluded area in the lower levels of the tower, Konan prepared to interrogate him. Before she could speak, Senya reached for a sealing scroll at his waist and unsealed a pile of items.
Most were photographs. Others were tattered pieces of paper covered in handwriting.
"These are photos of the Hidden Rain's future," Senya explained, "and these are the words the future villagers wanted to say to you."
He had planned this from the moment he decided to head for the Leaf. He wouldn't come back without proof.
Konan knelt down and picked up the photos. Her pupils contracted as she looked through them. The images were harrowing. The buildings in the photos were clearly the very structures of Amegakure, but in a state of horrific ruin. She recognized the streets, the pipes, the apartment blocks...
Even so, she remained skeptical. She wondered if this was some elaborate lie concocted to stop Akatsuki's plans. But when she picked up the weathered letters and read their contents, that suspicion evaporated.
"Where did these letters come from?" Konan looked up at him.
"I planned my return to this era carefully," Senya replied calmly. "Naturally, I had to prepare proof. I told the villagers about the rituals for the dead—that if they wanted to speak to those who passed, they should write their words on paper and I would burn them. So, they wrote down their truest feelings and gave them to me, asking me to 'burn' them during the ritual."
Konan fell silent for a long moment. Finally, she told him to pack his things and led him to the highest level of the tower.
Nagato was surprised to see Konan bringing the intruder directly to him, but he trusted her judgment implicitly.
Konan stepped forward and handed one of the letters to Nagato.
As Nagato's eyes scanned the page, his pupils shrank into tiny pinpricks.