Chapter 83 — Disturbance of the Dragon Vein (Future Timeline)
Year 93 of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Morning sunlight filtered through the Hokage Office window, scattering golden light across the room stacked with mission reports and scrolls.
Behind the desk sat Naruto Uzumaki, the Seventh Hokage, scribbling his signature on a mission report—his expression somewhere between tired and content.
The door slid open without a knock.
Sasuke Uchiha stepped in, his cloak fluttering slightly from the breeze outside. His single, visible eye was sharp and alert.
"Naruto," Sasuke said, his voice calm but sharp. "There's something you need to see. I've detected a chakra disturbance near the Dragon Vein in Rōran."
Naruto froze mid-signature.
The name Rōran stirred memories he hadn't visited in years, memories of failure and confusion.
"Rōran…" he muttered, leaning back in his chair. "That's the place where Mukade showed up. I remember… me, Sakura, Sai, and Captain Yamato went after him. He was trying to control the Dragon Vein's chakra."
He stared at the ceiling, recalling the blinding light that had erupted from the underground ruins long ago.
"I was just about to charge in, but Captain Yamato grabbed me back before the light hit me. He disappeared right after… we never found him. The mission was recorded as a failure."
Naruto's voice trailed off, the easy contentment replaced by the heavy burden of the past. His blue eyes turned serious—that same kind of seriousness that once made the whole room quiet.
"Sasuke… you think this has something to do with that? Is someone else trying to weaponize the Vein?"
Sasuke folded his arms, his expression unreadable, his gaze fixed on the corner of the ceiling.
"Maybe. But I suspect something else entirely. The Dragon Vein isn't just a chakra reservoir—it's connected to the earth's very life force. That kind of power could attract the Ōtsutsuki."
Naruto straightened instantly, his chair scraping loudly across the floor.
"You mean they might be after it—to make another chakra fruit?!"
Sasuke nodded slowly.
"The God Tree feeds on the planet's energy... and the Dragon Vein is practically the earth's main artery. If an Ōtsutsuki found a way to tap into it, it could destroy the balance of chakra in this world. It's a temporal nexus now, not just a source of power."
Naruto slammed his hand on the desk, shattering the stillness of the office.
"Then we don't have time to sit around!"
He stood up, already forming hand seals as his vibrant, Kyūbi-laced chakra flared, making the papers on the desk ruffle.
"Shikamaru!" he called out.
The door opened again, and Shikamaru Nara, his aide, appeared with his usual tired face, a scroll tucked under his arm.
"Yeah, what now, Lord Hokage? I just sorted those trade agreements."
Naruto turned to him with his old fiery grin, a familiar confidence burning in his eyes.
"I'm leaving the village to you for now! Sasuke and I are heading to Rōran—there's a serious situation with the Dragon Vein! Priority Alpha."
Shikamaru sighed, rubbing his temple and bracing for the paperwork deluge.
"Troublesome as ever… just don't destroy another country while you're at it."
Naruto laughed, giving a confident thumbs-up.
"No promises!"
Sasuke gave a quiet hn in the background, his expression unchanging as he formed his own seals.
Naruto then stepped forward, touching Sasuke's shoulder. His eyes glowed faintly gold as the mark of the Flying Thunder God pulsed beneath his palm—a seal long left by his father. He was using a marker from an old supply run Minato had made near the ruins decades ago.
"Let's go, Sasuke! We'll start from the marker Dad left near Rōran's ruins."
In a flash of blinding golden light and a sharp crack of displaced air, both vanished.
The air cracked and then fell silent—leaving the Hokage's office still, except for the whisper of papers fluttering in their wake.
Far away, in the heart of the desert, the ancient Dragon Vein stirred again, its pulse echoing through the sands—an omen of time twisting once more.