Buzz!
Within the swirling void of the black hole, both energy and space were being directly transformed into nothingness. The fundamental laws of physics seemed to break down as matter, energy, and even the concept of existence itself were consumed by forces that operated beyond human comprehension.
The chaotic maelstrom continued to expand relentlessly, its influence reaching out to envelop Naruto with inexorable certainty. Despite all of his enhanced strength and speed granted by Sage Mode, despite his determination and warrior's instincts, he found himself completely powerless against this cosmic-level phenomenon.
At this moment, he couldn't even lift a finger to defend himself. All he could do was watch helplessly as the black hole—which emitted no detectable waves but contained within it the most terrifying power in existence—gradually swallowed him up completely.
The void seemed to drain away not just his physical strength, but his very life force. Naruto's consciousness began to gradually become dull and distant under the influence of forces that operated on a level far beyond anything he had ever encountered. It was as if the black hole was consuming not just his body, but his thoughts, memories, and very sense of self.
"Sorry, Mom and Dad," Naruto whispered in his heart as awareness began to slip away from him. "I've gotten into trouble again."
Even in these final moments, his thoughts turned to his family—to the disappointment they would feel when they learned that their son had disobeyed orders and ventured into danger alone, only to fail catastrophically in his mission. The weight of that guilt was almost worse than the physical dissolution he was experiencing.
Before his consciousness completely faded into darkness, Naruto's dimming vision caught sight of another black hole that had appeared in the center of the altar, directly in front of where Mukade had been standing. The mastermind behind this disaster had already been completely swallowed by the same forces that were now claiming Naruto.
"Will I die here?" The question echoed in Naruto's mind as the darkness finally claimed him completely.
Deep in the border region between the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth, where the historic Five Kage Summit was taking place, the assembled leaders continued their crucial discussions about the formation of the Ninja Alliance. The weight of their decisions would affect the entire ninja world, and every detail of their cooperation needed to be carefully planned and agreed upon.
Boom!
Suddenly, a wave of subtle vibrations rippled throughout the world, so faint that most people would never have noticed them. The tremors were felt across a remarkably wide area, yet few possessed the sensitivity or experience necessary to detect such minute disturbances in the fabric of reality itself.
Inside the meeting tent, Minato was deep in discussion with the four other Kage about the logistical details of forming their unprecedented alliance when something made him pause mid-sentence. His expression changed subtly as his enhanced spatial-temporal awareness detected something that others could not perceive.
"It's exactly the same as that time!" The voice of the Nine-Tailed Fox resonated clearly in his mind, carrying a note of recognition and concern that immediately put Minato on high alert.
"Yes," Minato responded silently, his mental voice grim with understanding.
This feeling was unmistakably identical to the slight spatial-temporal vibrations he had experienced more than twenty years ago, when he had first encountered the phenomenon of time-space distortion at the ruins of Rōran. The signature was so distinctive that there could be no mistake about what was happening.
The individuals responsible for causing this disruption in time and space were undoubtedly Naruto and Mukade, just as Minato had anticipated they would be. The pattern was repeating itself exactly as he remembered, though from a different perspective this time.
He had been the one to assign the toads from Mount Myōboku to monitor the situation at Rōran in the first place. Moreover, Minato had known with absolute certainty that these events would unfold exactly as they were happening now. So why hadn't he taken action to prevent them?
The answer lay in the complex nature of temporal mechanics and the dangerous consequences of interfering with established timelines. Minato had deliberately allowed Naruto to learn about Rōran because he already knew the ultimate outcome of these events.
Mukade would be stopped. The time-space anomaly would be corrected through natural forces. Naruto would survive his ordeal and return to his proper timeline, though not without gaining valuable experience and perspective from his journey.
Throughout his life, Minato had been very careful about changing things that he had foreknowledge of, particularly when it came to events involving temporal distortion. He understood better than most the dangers of interfering too extensively with the natural flow of time, especially regarding unknown variables and unpredictable outcomes.
This was particularly true when it came to Naruto's personal development and growth as both a ninja and an individual. Since Minato firmly believed that his son would play a crucial role in the upcoming war against Madara and his allies, it was essential not to interfere with Naruto's natural development or eliminate the unique unpredictability that made him such an effective force for change.
There was also a secondary strategic benefit to allowing these events to unfold naturally. This situation provided an ideal opportunity to permanently eliminate Mukade as a threat. According to Minato's memories of the previous timeline, during the upcoming war, if this dangerous individual was allowed to survive, the Edo Tensei techniques he commanded would prove to be extremely troublesome for the ninja alliance.
In the original timeline, when Mukade had been defeated during their previous encounter, he had attempted to self-destruct and activate the Dragon Vein's power in a desperate bid to destroy everyone present. Only the combined efforts of Minato and Kushina had prevented that catastrophe, and they had managed to transport him to a remote location above the ocean, where his fate had remained uncertain.
This time, however, the uncontrolled release of the Dragon Vein's power would serve to resolve that uncertainty once and for all.
Therefore, when Minato sensed the familiar spatial-temporal disturbance, he knew that it was time for him to take action. His objectives were twofold: first, to ensure that Naruto, who would eventually return from his temporal displacement, emerged from the experience safely; and second, to confirm whether Mukade had finally been eliminated as a threat.
Standing up from his seat with the fluid grace that characterized all of his movements, Minato looked at the assembled Kage with an expression of polite regret. "Everyone, I suddenly have an urgent matter that requires my immediate attention. I will need to be away for a short while."
The four Kage were visibly surprised by this unexpected development. The timing seemed particularly unfortunate, given that they were in the middle of crucial negotiations that would determine the structure and leadership of their alliance.
Tsuchikage Ohnoki, his aged face creased with concern, spoke up first. "Hokage, what exactly is happening? Is there some threat that we should be aware of?"
Minato had already formulated a response that would provide the other Kage with essential information while maintaining operational security. Now that the alliance had just been formed, keeping important secrets from his new partners would create exactly the kind of barriers to cooperation that could undermine their efforts against Madara.
"Among Madara's known accomplices," Minato explained carefully, "there are individuals who will use the Edo Tensei technique to supplement their combat forces during the war against our five great ninja nations."
He paused to let this information sink in before continuing. "I have established certain contingency measures to deal with these threats, and one of those situations now requires my personal intervention."
Ohnoki's expression grew thoughtful as he processed the implications of what Minato was telling them. The prospect of facing an army of reanimated legendary warriors was genuinely terrifying, and any opportunity to eliminate such threats before the main conflict began was invaluable.
"Then you had better act quickly," Ohnoki said after a moment of consideration. "Time is a luxury we cannot afford to waste."
The other three Kage nodded their agreement, understanding that if Minato's assessment was accurate, even a small delay could have catastrophic consequences for their war effort. The elimination of enemy assets before the main conflict began was always preferable to facing them on the battlefield.
"Understood," Minato replied with a slight nod of acknowledgment.
In the next instant, his figure simply vanished from the tent, leaving behind only the faintest trace of spatial distortion to mark his departure. The speed and seamlessness of his teleportation left even the other Kage, who were accustomed to high-level ninja techniques, momentarily impressed.
Although Minato had personally experienced the effects of temporal-spatial anomalies during his earlier encounter with the Dragon Vein, he still could not claim to fully understand the true nature of these incredible forces. The mechanics of time-space distortion operated according to principles that seemed to transcend normal human comprehension.
However, based on his previous experience and careful observation of the patterns involved, he had developed a working theory about how the correction process functioned. When he had sent Naruto back to the future—which was now the present—the temporal forces involved seemed to automatically correct themselves to a point in time not long after the original anomaly had occurred.
This meant that Naruto would likely emerge from his temporal displacement at approximately the same time and location where the distortion had originally taken place. More importantly for Minato's current mission, it meant that Mukade would also be subject to the same corrective forces.
Therefore, Minato's primary destination was the location above the ocean where he had transported Mukade during their previous encounter. In preparation for exactly this possibility, he had placed a Flying Thunder God marker at that location immediately after Madara's declaration of war against the ninja world.
Boom!
The unleashed power of the Dragon Vein continued to cause massive disruptions throughout the ancient ruins of Rōran, sending shock waves through both the underground chambers and the surface structures above. The very foundations of the archaeological site trembled as forces that had been contained for over a decade were suddenly released without proper control or containment.
At this chaotic moment, Jiraiya materialized at the edge of the ruins, having been transported there by the reverse summoning technique of Mount Myōboku. The Toad Sage's arrival was perfectly timed, though he found himself immediately challenged by the unstable conditions surrounding him.
"What in the world is happening here?" Jiraiya demanded, bending his body slightly to maintain his balance as the ground continued to shake beneath his feet.
He turned to the communication toad that had summoned him, hoping for some explanation of the catastrophic events unfolding around them. Unfortunately, the toad could only shake its head helplessly, indicating that it was just as confused by the situation as he was.
"It's probably that Naruto causing trouble again," Jiraiya muttered with a mixture of exasperation and grudging admiration. Despite his frustration with Naruto's disobedience, he couldn't help but be impressed by the scale of whatever the young ninja had managed to get himself involved in.
"Where is Naruto now?" he asked the communication toad, hoping to get some indication of his student's current location and condition.
The toad shook its head again, its expression showing genuine regret. "Naruto moved too quickly for me to follow. I lost track of him shortly after he entered the ruins."
"This is really troublesome," Jiraiya sighed, running his hand through his white hair in a gesture of frustration. After offering a brief apology to the communication toad for the difficult situation, he launched himself directly toward the center of Rōran, where the most intense energy disturbances were clearly originating.
Deep beneath the surface, in the chamber where the Dragon Vein's power had been unleashed, the chaotic forces that had threatened to tear apart the very fabric of reality were beginning to stabilize.
Buzz!
The expansion of the deep purple light waves that had been emitting such tremendous energy came to an abrupt halt as the disturbances in space and time gradually began to subside. The cosmic forces that had been running wild were slowly being brought back under control by natural corrective mechanisms that operated beyond human understanding.
Then, under the influence of some form of temporal reversal, the chaotic energy began to be gradually drawn back toward its source. The purple light that had filled the entire chamber started to contract and consolidate, flowing back toward the altar like a tide returning to the sea.
As the last of the energy retracted completely onto the altar, a figure suddenly materialized within the diminishing light and then landed heavily on the stone steps not far from the central platform.
Naruto stood on the stairs in a daze, his expression completely stunned and his mind struggling to process what had just happened to him. His normally bright blue eyes were slightly red and puffy, with obvious tear tracks marking his cheeks—evidence of some profound emotional experience that had occurred during his temporal displacement.
"What... what's wrong with me?" Naruto murmured to himself as awareness gradually returned to his consciousness.
He noticed the physical evidence of his emotional state and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, trying to clear away the moisture that had gathered there. Something had obviously happened during his journey through time and space, though the memories of exactly what were already beginning to fade like a half-remembered dream.
At this moment, a warmth that seemed to come from nowhere was flowing through Naruto's heart—a feeling of comfort and reassurance that he couldn't quite identify or explain. It was as if he had been embraced by someone who cared deeply about him, though he couldn't remember when or where such an encounter might have taken place.
Far from the ruins of Rōran, above the surface of a calm ocean, a sudden surge of deep purple light erupted from the depths. When the temporal energy reached the surface, it caused small waves to spread outward in concentric circles from the point of emergence.
The waves swept across the water's surface, and within the fading light, a figure covered in blood appeared floating on the sea. The form was barely recognizable as human, so extensive were the injuries that covered every visible part of his body.
Cough!
Mukade drew a ragged breath, his already severe wounds causing him to cough up a large mouthful of blood that turned the surrounding seawater red. With blood seeping from his pores and mixing with the ocean around him, the water's surface gradually became filled with the metallic smell of spilled life.
"Damn it!" he gasped, his voice barely more than a hoarse whisper.
Even in his current state of near-total physical collapse, Mukade seemed to care nothing for the pain wracking his body. Instead, his attention was focused entirely on the bitter rage and frustration that consumed his thoughts, and he let out a hoarse roar of fury that echoed across the empty ocean.
Mukade had never imagined that despite all of his careful planning, despite having traveled through time and space to gain advance knowledge of future events, despite predicting so many variables and preparing contingencies for numerous scenarios, he would still fail so completely and catastrophically.
During his confrontation with that man—even when Minato had been just a teenager—Mukade had felt like nothing more than a foolish child playing games far beyond his understanding. The gap in their abilities had been so vast that all of his preparations and advantages had proven meaningless.
However, it seemed that Namikaze Minato, who had shared the same temporal displacement experience, had used his foreknowledge to change many things about the timeline. The man who had defeated him so easily possessed an understanding of future events that made him virtually impossible to outmaneuver.
Mukade refused to accept such a humiliating defeat!
With his current physical condition, Mukade had virtually no ability to move or defend himself. If he had not been one of Orochimaru's experimental subjects, enhanced through forbidden biological modifications, he would have died long ago from the devastating injuries inflicted by Minato's Rasengan attacks.
Suddenly, through his pain-clouded awareness, Mukade vaguely sensed some unusual movement in the water around him. With tremendous effort, he managed to turn his head just enough to make visual contact with his surroundings.
What he saw made his blood run even colder than the ocean water that surrounded him.
A pair of brilliant blue eyes filled with unmistakable killing intent were staring directly at him with the focused attention of a predator that had finally cornered its prey.
"You have undergone extensive human body modification," a familiar voice observed with clinical detachment, "but you are still alive. Interesting."
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