After effortlessly neutralizing both Yamato and Uzumaki Naruto, Byakuya turned his gaze toward Queen Sarah of Rouran.
"Now that no one will interfere..."
His voice was calm but cold, heavy with pressure that made the air feel suffocating.
"Hand over the method to control the Dragon Vein."
Queen Sarah, standing near the remnants of her shattered palace, trembled as Byakuya's Mangekyō Sharingan bore down on her. Fear gripped her heart.
"W-What are you going to do!? What will happen to my country!?"
To Sarah, this man—this Uchiha—was a demon in human form. He had slain her treacherous minister An Lushan with one strike, subdued two Leaf ninjas with ease, and now sought control of the most dangerous energy source in the land.
Byakuya stepped forward slowly, the red glow of his eyes flickering in the dust-filled light.
"I have no interest in ruling Rouran," he said flatly. "What I seek is the Dragon Vein. Grant me access, and your kingdom may become a protectorate of Sunagakure."
"Sunagakure…?" Sarah's expression shifted, a flicker of hope surfacing in her eyes. "You mean… we would be under the protection of the Sand?"
Rouran, long isolated in the desert, had no means to defend itself in the chaos of the shinobi world. Its location between major nations made it a vulnerable pawn on the battlefield of political power.
"Yes," Byakuya nodded, his tone unwavering. "Present yourself to the Kazekage and speak my name. I am Uchiha Byakuya."
Sarah's eyes widened in disbelief. "U-Uchiha Byakuya!? You… You're that Uchiha Byakuya? From Konohagakure!?"
Even in a land as distant as Rouran, Byakuya's reputation had reached them—his rebellion against the Hidden Leaf, the fall of the Sand's inner council, his infamous battle where he struck down the Raikage and challenged the entire Iwagakure army alone.
"You... you really exist..." Sarah murmured, overwhelmed by the aura of the man standing before her.
"No one dares impersonate me," Byakuya said simply.
Sarah's resistance melted away. She bowed respectfully. "If Lord Byakuya requires the Dragon Vein, then we, the people of Rouran, shall offer it. For our survival... and in gratitude for your mercy."
Satisfied, Byakuya stepped past her and entered the ancient control chamber beneath the palace, where the Dragon Vein pulsed beneath the earth like a heartbeat of time itself.
"Excellent. From this moment, your kingdom belongs to the Sand. Tell the Kazekage it was by my will."
"Thank you… Lord Byakuya," Sarah said with a bow, tears glimmering in her eyes. For the first time, her people might have a future.
Above ground, Yamato, still bound by living wood grown from Byakuya's own Mokuton, gritted his teeth.
"Uchiha Byakuya…? That name… But the only known survivors of the Uchiha clan were Itachi and Sasuke. Could another one have lived… or is this someone... else?"
His brow furrowed. The power this man wielded—Sharingan and Wood Release—should have been impossible.
Within the control chamber, Byakuya extended his hand toward the glowing seal of the Dragon Vein.
"So this is it… Temporal chakra. A form of energy that can alter time itself."
He could feel it now—chakra unlike anything else. Not elemental, not senjutsu, but something wholly different. Something that resonated with the very fabric of time.
"But to navigate time… I need an anchor," he muttered. "A tether… to a specific moment."
He turned, eyes gleaming with revelation.
"You two," he commanded, and vines of Mokuton responded instantly, dragging the unconscious Naruto and restrained Yamato toward him.
Yamato struggled. "What do you intend to do!? We're shinobi of Konoha! You can't—"
"Be silent," Byakuya said, silencing him with a glance.
"What happened to the Konoha ninja!? I am a Konoha ninja..."
Byakuya said calmly, his expression unreadable.
"You're a Konoha ninja too!? That's impossible!"
Yamato's eyes narrowed in disbelief.
"I've never seen you before, and I know every Jonin personally—especially one who supposedly possesses both the Sharingan and Mokuton..."
Byakuya remained silent for a moment, then spoke with a cool detachment.
"There are many things about the village... and about the Uchiha... that you don't know."
He didn't waste any more words. Placing his hands together in a complex seal sequence, he forcefully drove his chakra into the ground.
"Now, give me your coordinates."
Before Yamato could resist, roots from Mokuton burst from the earth, pinning both him and Naruto in place beside the Dragon Vein.
The ancient chakra beneath the ruins began to pulse violently. The crystal structure at the center of the vein lit up in a blinding blue.
"Whoosh… Boom!"
A tremendous column of pure chakra erupted into the sky—twisting, spiraling, and crackling with raw temporal energy. The spatial barrier began to fracture as the chakra surged outward in all directions, engulfing Naruto, Yamato, and Byakuya in its wake.
A flash. A shockwave. Then silence.
Their figures vanished completely, leaving no trace behind.
Meanwhile… In the Future Rouran Ruins
The kingdom of Rouran was nothing more than a collapsed husk of its former self, half-buried under sand and time.
High above, Sai rode a large ink eagle, scanning the area carefully. Sakura stood below in the ruins, eyes straining against the light of the desert sun.
"Sai! Did you find anything?!"
She called up to him, her voice filled with urgency.
The ink eagle descended. Sai's face was solemn as he replied:
"I've searched the entire perimeter. There's no trace of Naruto or Captain Yamato. Not even residual chakra."
Sakura clenched her fists.
"Damn it... Where did they go?..."
She stared into the sky where the Dragon Vein once flared, eyes full of worry.
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