In the Hokage's Office
The afternoon sun streamed through the large windows of the Hokage's office, casting long shadows across the cluttered desk where Jiraiya sat reviewing military preparations. The weight of temporary leadership pressed heavily on his shoulders as he coordinated the village's defenses and managed resources for the approaching war.
A sudden puff of smoke announced the arrival of a communication toad, its expression carrying an urgency that immediately caught Jiraiya's attention. The Toad Sage looked up from his paperwork, his instincts already warning him that something was amiss.
"Has Naruto gone to Rōran?" Jiraiya exclaimed, his voice carrying a mixture of disbelief and growing alarm as he processed the toad's report.
The implications hit him like a physical blow. He had specifically ordered Naruto to remain in the village, yet somehow the young ninja had managed to convince the toads to transport him to one of the most dangerous locations in the ninja world.
"He told me that this was a direct order from the Fourth Hokage," the communication toad replied, its tone defensive as it realized the magnitude of its mistake. The creature's large eyes showed genuine distress as it continued, "I only learned afterward that the Fourth Hokage was not in Konoha—that he was attending the Five Kage Summit."
The deception was simple but effective. Naruto had exploited the toads' loyalty and their natural assumption that orders claiming to come from Minato were legitimate. The communication network between Mount Myōboku and the human world relied heavily on trust, making it vulnerable to exactly this kind of manipulation.
"That kid is just causing trouble," Jiraiya muttered, his frustration evident as he ran his hands through his white hair. The situation was rapidly spiraling beyond his control, and every moment that passed increased the potential for disaster.
Standing beside him, Tsunade crossed her arms and fixed him with a pointed look. "Instead of complaining here, why don't you get to Rōran as quickly as possible to prevent Naruto from getting into serious trouble?"
Her words carried the sharp edge of practical wisdom that had made her an effective leader. Time spent lamenting the situation was time that could be better used taking action to resolve it.
Jiraiya nodded grimly, understanding that she was absolutely right. The communication toad quickly returned to Mount Myōboku to relay the urgent summons request, leaving Jiraiya alone with his mounting anxiety about what might be happening in the ancient ruins.
As he waited for the reverse summoning technique to activate, Jiraiya's expression grew increasingly serious. His lips twisted into a grimace as he voiced his deepest fear: "I'm afraid it might already be too late."
Years of experience had taught him that when dealing with forces as dangerous as the Dragon Vein, even small delays could result in catastrophic consequences. Naruto's headstrong nature, combined with his relative inexperience in handling such threats, created a volatile situation that could easily spiral beyond anyone's ability to control.
Deep beneath the ancient ruins, Naruto stared in horror at the sealed altar where the Dragon Vein's power was beginning to stir. The implications of what he was witnessing sent shock waves through his entire being.
"The seal has been broken?" he whispered, his voice barely audible above the growing rumble of awakening energy.
The impossibility of the situation overwhelmed him. This was a seal that his father and mother had created together, combining Minato's innovative spatial-temporal techniques with Kushina's mastery of traditional Uzumaki sealing arts. The barriers they had constructed should have been virtually unbreakable, capable of containing even the most powerful forces for centuries.
Yet somehow, impossibly, that protection was beginning to fail. The ancient power that had slumbered beneath Rōran for over a decade was stirring to wakefulness, and with it came the potential for devastation on a scale that defied comprehension.
But this was not the time for analysis or speculation about how such a thing could have happened. Naruto's horizontal pupils condensed with determination as he made the only choice available to him—he had to reach that altar and stop whatever process was unfolding, regardless of the obstacles in his path.
He launched himself toward the massive stone gate that separated him from the chamber beyond, his enhanced speed making his form blur with motion. In his focused determination to reach the Dragon Vein's source, he seemed to completely ignore Kimimaro's presence.
The reanimated warrior, bound by Mukade's commands to prevent any interference, immediately moved to intercept Naruto's charge. Kimimaro's body began to undergo a horrifying transformation as his flesh and blood started to writhe and shift beneath his skin.
White bone structures pierced through his flesh like emerging spears, extending outward to cover his body in a grotesque armor of living calcium. The bone formations were not merely protective—they were weapons, each one honed to razor sharpness and designed to inflict maximum damage.
Spike-like bone projections emerged from Kimimaro's palms, which he gripped as improvised weapons. The Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit allowed him to manipulate his skeletal structure at will, turning his very body into an arsenal of deadly implements.
"Get out of my way!" Naruto shouted, his voice carrying the enhanced power and authority that came with Sage Mode transformation.
The orange markings around his eyes seemed to glow with inner fire as the natural energy flowing through his body responded to his emotional intensity. The two distinctive hair strands in front of his forehead moved as if touched by an invisible wind, defying the still air of the underground chamber.
Naruto's fist shot forward with devastating force, enhanced by the perfect harmony of natural energy, physical strength, and unwavering determination. The punch carried with it all of his frustration at being sidelined, all of his fear for what might happen if the Dragon Vein's power was unleashed, and all of his desperate need to prove himself capable of handling threats of this magnitude.
Bang!
The impact was tremendous. Kimimaro, despite his bone armor and considerable combat experience, was blasted backward by the force of Naruto's Sage-enhanced strike. His body flew through the air and crashed directly into the stone gate behind him with bone-crushing force.
The bone structures extending from Kimimaro's chest cracked and shattered under the impact, while his ribcage caved inward from the tremendous pressure. His entire form seemed to break apart, with paper-like fragments flying from the cracks in his reanimated body.
"What!?" Naruto exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise as he witnessed something completely unexpected.
The sight of paper fragments emerging from Kimimaro's wounds immediately told Naruto that something was fundamentally wrong with his opponent. Living beings didn't bleed paper scraps when injured—this was something else entirely.
"Could this be the Edo Tensei that Dad mentioned?" Naruto murmured, his mind racing to process the implications of what he was seeing.
His father had briefed him on the theoretical aspects of the Reincarnation of the Impure World technique, explaining how it could bind the souls of the deceased to specially prepared bodies, granting them a form of twisted immortality in service to the caster.
Even as Naruto watched, Kimimaro's broken form began to regenerate with horrifying efficiency. The injuries that should have been fatal were healing rapidly as the paper fragments swirled back together, reconstructing damaged tissue and broken bones with mechanical precision.
The reanimated dead possessed bodies that were essentially immortal, making conventional combat largely meaningless. Physical attacks, no matter how powerful, could only cause temporary damage that would heal within moments. The only effective way to neutralize such opponents was through sealing techniques that could bind their souls and prevent regeneration.
Unfortunately, Naruto had not yet learned any sealing techniques of sufficient complexity to handle an Edo Tensei opponent. His training had focused primarily on combat applications of chakra and nature transformation, leaving him poorly equipped to deal with this particular type of enemy.
As Kimimaro's form fully restored itself, his expression showed a hint of newfound respect for his opponent's abilities. The casual ease with which Naruto had shattered his bone armor and inflicted massive damage was genuinely impressive, even by the standards of someone who had faced some of the strongest fighters of his generation.
Rather than attempting another direct physical assault, Kimimaro stepped backward and began forming hand seals with practiced efficiency. His tactical assessment had shifted—Naruto's strength in Sage Mode made close-quarters combat an unwise approach.
Naruto's expression immediately grew tense as his enhanced senses detected the massive chakra mobilization taking place within Kimimaro's reanimated form. The amount of energy being gathered was staggering, suggesting that whatever technique was being prepared would be devastating in scope and power.
Just as Naruto prepared to retreat and assess the situation, Kimimaro completed his hand seal sequence. The reanimated warrior suddenly dropped into a crouch and pressed both palms against the stone floor of the underground chamber.
"Dance of the Early Fern!" Kimimaro declared, his voice carrying an emotionless quality that made the technique seem even more menacing.
The ground in front of Kimimaro immediately began to fracture and split as his chakra infused the earth itself with his bone-manipulation abilities. Massive white bone spurs, each one several meters in length and sharp enough to pierce steel, began erupting from the floor in rapid succession.
The bone forest grew with terrifying speed, each spike emerging with enough force to shatter stone and impale anything in its path. The underground chamber, which had seemed spacious moments before, was rapidly being filled with a maze of deadly protrusions.
Naruto found himself in constant retreat as the bone spikes continued to emerge from the ground around him. The confined nature of the underground space worked against him—there was limited room to maneuver, and the growing forest of bone spears was steadily eliminating his options for evasion.
With the ground becoming increasingly impassable, Naruto had no choice but to take to the air. He launched himself upward, using his enhanced physical capabilities to clear the immediate danger zone.
But even as he gained altitude, the bone spurs—now several meters in length—began extending upward to follow his movement. Kimimaro's technique was designed to eliminate three-dimensional escape routes, creating a killing field that would be nearly impossible to survive through conventional evasion.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
However, as Naruto soared through the air, his hands moved through a familiar sequence of hand seals. In an instant, hundreds of shadow clones materialized around him, floating in mid-air in coordinated formations.
Each group of clones immediately began the process of creating one of Naruto's most devastating techniques. Azure chakra light began to shine brilliantly in their palms, the energy so intense that it illuminated the entire underground chamber with its radiance.
"Sage Art: Ultra-Big Ball Rasengan Multi-Barrage!" Naruto declared, his voice echoing with the combined power of all his clones.
Dozens of shadow clones, each wielding a massive Rasengan enhanced by Sage Mode energy, launched simultaneous attacks against the rising bone forest. The spinning spheres of chakra, each one containing enough force to level a small building, collided with the upward-growing bone spikes in a devastating display of raw power.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The violent forces unleashed by the collision were tremendous. The bone forest that Kimimaro had created with such effort was systematically destroyed by the even more brutal power of Naruto's enhanced technique. Fragments of shattered bone and waves of chakra energy filled the air as the two opposing forces met and canceled each other out.
In the midst of the smoke and debris, Naruto suddenly appeared directly in front of Kimimaro, a fully-formed Rasengan spinning in his palm. The speed of his movement had been so great that he seemed to materialize out of nowhere.
"Sage Art: Big Ball Rasengan!" he shouted, driving the technique directly into Kimimaro's chest.
The concentrated hurricane of chakra exploded against Kimimaro's torso, creating a small tornado of destructive force that swept the reanimated warrior backward. The azure energy formed visible shockwaves that radiated outward from the point of impact, and Kimimaro's form was launched directly into the massive stone gate with devastating force.
Boom!
The ancient barrier, which had stood for over a decade as the final protection for the Dragon Vein's chamber, shattered completely under the impact. Stone fragments rained down as the gate collapsed, creating an opening large enough for Naruto to pass through.
Without hesitation, Naruto followed up on his advantage and rushed directly into the chamber beyond, leaving Kimimaro's broken form to regenerate among the rubble.
Inside the Dragon Vein's inner sanctum, Mukade heard the tremendous noise of the battle and turned his attention toward the source of the disturbance. His eyes immediately locked onto the paper fragments floating through the dust—clear evidence that Kimimaro had been severely damaged in the encounter.
The fact that his reanimated guardian had been defeated so quickly was both impressive and concerning. Most of Kimimaro's body had been destroyed by Naruto's Sage Mode techniques, and even with the enhanced regeneration capabilities of Edo Tensei, it would take considerable time for him to recover sufficiently to continue fighting.
Naruto's figure landed directly at one end of the stone bridge that connected the chamber entrance to the central altar, his eyes immediately focusing on the scene unfolding before him. What he saw filled him with a combination of horror and desperate urgency.
At the sealed altar, Uzumaki Ashina was continuously changing his hand seals with mechanical precision. The elderly Uzumaki clan master, bound by the Edo Tensei technique and stripped of his free will, was systematically dismantling the protective barriers that had contained the Dragon Vein's power for over a decade.
As his seal techniques evolved and changed, the complex array of sealing formulas that originally covered the altar began to gradually shrink and weaken. Each hand sign brought him closer to completely unraveling the masterwork that Minato and Kushina had created together.
Buzz!
In the center of the altar, a faint purple light was beginning to emanate from what appeared to be a structure resembling a massive dragon's eye. The energy was subtle at first, but it was growing stronger with each passing moment as the sealing barriers continued to weaken.
Under normal circumstances, if Uzumaki Ashina had been acting of his own free will and with full awareness of what he was doing, the seal that Minato and Kushina had placed more than ten years ago would have been broken long ago. His mastery of sealing techniques was legendary even among the Uzumaki clan, and few barriers could have withstood his expertise for long.
However, the Edo Tensei technique that controlled him also limited his cognitive abilities. The reanimated Ashina lacked the subtle understanding and intuitive grasp that had made him such a formidable sealing master in life. He was forced to work methodically, relying on raw technical knowledge rather than the inspired insights that had defined his greatest achievements.
More critically, he was unable to recognize the sophisticated modifications that Minato had made to traditional Uzumaki sealing techniques. The Fourth Hokage's spatial-temporal expertise had allowed him to create hybrid barriers that combined conventional sealing methods with advanced space-time manipulation, creating a containment system that was far more complex than its surface appearance suggested.
"Stop!" Naruto shouted desperately, his voice carrying all of his fear and determination as he launched himself onto the stone bridge.
His enhanced speed carried him forward with tremendous velocity as he raced toward the altar, every instinct screaming at him that he was running out of time. The purple light emanating from the dragon's eye was growing stronger by the second, and he could feel the immense power stirring beneath the ancient structure.
"It's too late," Mukade replied, his voice carrying a note of smug satisfaction as he watched Naruto's desperate approach.
The corners of his mouth turned upward in a sly smile as he observed the final moments of Ashina's work. All of his careful planning and preparation was about to bear fruit, and not even the son of the Fourth Hokage could prevent his ultimate victory.
On the altar, the sealing ceremony finally reached its conclusion. The last of the protective barriers retracted and disappeared completely, consumed by the growing lavender light that now pulsed from the dragon's eye structure.
Rumble!
The sealed altar began to tremble with increasing intensity as the ancient mechanisms that had contained the Dragon Vein's power for so long finally released their hold. The very foundations of the underground chamber shook as forces beyond mortal comprehension began to stir.
Then, with a sound like the roar of an awakening god, the structure in the center of the altar—which had indeed been closed like a dragon's eye—gradually began to open.
Bang!
The moment the dragon's eye fully opened, a thick beam of purple light rushed out from its depths and began to expand rapidly in all directions. The energy was raw and primal, carrying with it the accumulated power of centuries of natural chakra flow through the earth's deepest channels.
At this moment, the entire ancient kingdom of Rōran seemed to shake and tremble. Above ground, the ruins that had stood for over a decade began to crack and shift as the unleashed energy pulsed through the earth itself.
"Hahaha!" Mukade's laughter echoed throughout the chamber as he witnessed the culmination of his plans. "The power of the Dragon Vein is finally mine!"
His triumph was complete. After years of research and preparation, the legendary power source that had once fueled an entire civilization was within his grasp. With this energy at his disposal, he would be able to achieve goals that had previously been impossible.
"Damn it!" Naruto cursed silently, his heart sinking as he realized that he had indeed been just a moment too late.
Despite all of his speed and determination, despite the power of Sage Mode and his desperate rush to reach the altar, he had failed to prevent the catastrophe from unfolding. The Dragon Vein was awakening, and with it came the potential for destruction on a scale that he could barely comprehend.
"No..." he whispered, preparing to launch himself toward the altar to engage Mukade directly.
But just as he was about to rush forward and attempt to deal with the mastermind behind this disaster, Naruto's enhanced senses suddenly detected something that made his blood run cold. The Dragon Vein power that was being released from its long confinement was not flowing in the controlled manner that Mukade had expected.
Instead, it was becoming wild and chaotic, like a dam bursting and releasing a flood that could not be contained or directed. The energy was building toward something far more dangerous than a simple power transfer.
The seal that had contained the Dragon Vein had been placed by Minato and Kushina working in perfect harmony. While Kushina had provided the traditional Uzumaki sealing expertise, Minato had enhanced and modified those techniques using his mastery of spatial-temporal manipulation.
Under Mukade's manipulation, Uzumaki Ashina—who possessed only a fraction of his living consciousness and awareness—had been unable to perceive the subtle differences in the modified seal structure. His reanimated mind could not grasp the sophisticated integration of space-time techniques with conventional sealing methods.
So while he had been able to break the seal through brute force application of traditional unsealing techniques, he had done so without understanding the delicate balance that Minato's modifications had created. The result was not a controlled release of power, but a catastrophic rupture that was causing the Dragon Vein's energy to run completely wild.
Bang! Bang!
The energy beam that was emitting the dark purple light began to tremble and fluctuate wildly. What had started as a steady stream of power suddenly began to expand and contract erratically, like a living thing in the throes of agony.
Mukade, who had positioned himself close to the source of the Dragon Vein in order to absorb its power directly, suddenly realized that something was terribly wrong. The energy patterns he was witnessing bore no resemblance to the controlled release he had expected.
But his proximity to the power source, which should have been an advantage, now became a deadly liability. Before he could react or retreat to a safer distance, he was caught in the expanding wave of chaotic energy.
The spreading force swept him up like a leaf in a hurricane, and his form disappeared into the growing maelstrom of purple light. His screams were lost in the roar of unleashed power as the Dragon Vein's energy began to consume everything in its vicinity.
Seeing the rapidly expanding danger, Naruto immediately began backing away from the altar. His Sage Mode senses were screaming warnings as he detected the incredible instability of the energy patterns surrounding him.
Boom! Boom!
However, the stone bridge beneath his feet was already beginning to collapse under the impact of the chaotic energy waves. The ancient stonework, which had withstood the test of time for over a decade, crumbled like sand in the face of forces that defied natural law.
Naruto, who had temporarily lost his footing and ability to maneuver, found himself unable to escape the expanding zone of destruction. The purple light reached out like grasping tentacles, and he too was swept away by the growing maelstrom of Dragon Vein energy.
Amidst the vast ocean of energy that now filled the underground chamber, Naruto struggled to maintain consciousness and control. The power surrounding him was unlike anything he had ever experienced—raw, primal, and completely beyond human comprehension.
He could feel his body being buffeted by forces that seemed to tear at the very fabric of his being. The Dragon Vein's energy was not merely powerful—it was fundamentally alien, operating according to principles that his mind could not fully grasp.
Through sheer force of will, Naruto managed to open his eyes and observe his surroundings. What he saw filled him with a terror that went beyond physical fear and touched something primal in his soul.
Buzz!
Within the dense purple energy that surrounded him, strange fluctuations were beginning to manifest. The space around him started to twist and distort, as if reality itself was being bent and reshaped by the incredible forces at work.
The twisted space began to spread and expand, creating ripples and distortions that grew larger and more pronounced with each passing moment. What had started as subtle warping of the air gradually transformed into something far more ominous.
The distortions continued to grow and intensify until they coalesced into a massive black hole—a rent in the fabric of space-time itself. The void seemed to pull at everything around it with irresistible force, drawing matter and energy into its depths.
Under the thorough explosion of the Dragon Vein's power, the stability of time and space within the energy beam had become completely chaotic. The ancient forces that had been contained for so long were now tearing holes in the very foundations of reality.
Naruto felt himself being pulled inexorably toward the growing void, his body no longer under his own control. As he was drawn into the swirling darkness, he couldn't help but wonder if this was how his story would end—not in glorious battle against a clear enemy, but lost in the chaos of forces beyond anyone's ability to control or understand.