Amid the swirling smoke, a young voice rang out—anxious and confused:
"W-Where is this?! Didn't they say the village was under attack? Weren't we supposed to return straight to Konoha? Why did we end up somewhere this strange?!"
As the smoke rapidly cleared, everyone watching the Tenkai saw them clearly—
Three enormous toads.
And standing atop one of them was a blond boy, his face filled with urgency and disbelief.
Naruto Uzumaki.
"Hm?"
The toad beneath him scanned the surroundings. Its gaze swept across the massive hemispherical crater and the utterly unrecognizable landscape.
Its expression turned grave.
"Naruto… this is Konoha."
"What?!" Naruto froze as if struck by lightning.
He turned sharply, following the toad's line of sight.
Where the majestic Hokage Rock should have stood, only a broken foundation and jagged cracks remained.
"N-No way…"
The panic on Naruto's face solidified into shock and confusion.
He looked around at the devastated terrain, as if a meteor had struck and wiped everything clean.
"The village… how could it… become like this…? Is this really… home?"
"Naruto!"
Tsunade's voice—mixed with urgency and relief—called out.
Naruto looked down and finally noticed her standing weakly at the crater's edge, battered yet still upright.
"Granny Tsunade! What happened here?! How did the village turn into this?!"
Tsunade raised a trembling arm and pointed toward the cold figure not far away. Her voice trembled with hatred and grief.
"It was him… He destroyed the village… killed so many of our people!"
"What?!"
Naruto's body shook. His eyes locked onto the emotionless man.
An unprecedented surge of rage—rage for his ruined home, for his fallen comrades—erupted inside him.
Seeing Naruto's fury, Pain did not tense. Instead, he seemed almost satisfied.
"I intended to finish here and depart," he said coldly. "But the Nine-Tails… came to me."
"You… attacked the village because of me?" Naruto asked instinctively.
"Wrong," Pain replied without emotion. "Because of the Nine-Tails. If you were not its jinchūriki, you would have no value."
"You bastard! I'll kill you!!!"
Naruto roared. His chakra flared wildly.
Yet he forced himself to stay composed. Turning to Tsunade, he shouted:
"Granny Tsunade! Leave this to me! Get somewhere safe!"
Tsunade knew she would only become a burden.
Without hesitation, she tossed out a small slug.
"Katsuyu will relay all the intel we've gathered about him! Don't underestimate him! His eyes… are the legendary Rinnegan! His abilities are extremely strange!"
Naruto nodded firmly, catching the small Katsuyu and placing her on his shoulder.
The battle exploded into motion.
Konoha – Ninja Academy (Present Timeline)
When Naruto saw himself finally arrive and charge bravely toward the enemy, he leapt up in excitement.
"Yes! I'm here! I'll definitely beat that bastard and save everyone! I swear!!!"
His eyes burned with determination, fully immersed in his future self's resolve.
Some classmates, swept up in the mood, chimed in:
"Yeah! Naruto goes on to fight in the Fourth Great Ninja War!"
"Konoha still had tons of powerful shinobi then! Kakashi-sensei and Lady Tsunade must still be alive!"
"That means Naruto definitely saves everyone this time! Maybe with some super powerful jutsu!"
The optimistic guess quickly spread, easing the atmosphere.
Naruto nodded enthusiastically. "That's right! I'll save them all!"
Then a cold voice cut through the cheer.
"Hmph."
Sasuke Uchiha, arms folded, glanced at Naruto with open disdain.
"They're dead. How do you plan to save them? Their bodies are scattered everywhere. What, are you going to drag them back from the Pure Land?"
"You—!" Naruto bristled. "That's still better than hiding in the shadows and doing nothing! Coward!"
Sasuke didn't react. A faint smirk tugged at his lips as he returned his gaze to the Tenkai.
"Don't forget, dobe. In the end… the 'savior' is me."
Naruto clenched his teeth, unable to fully retort.
After all, the Tenkai had exposed him as the one who would supposedly destroy the world.
Back to the Ruins – Hidden Observation Point
The scene shifted to Kabuto and Karin's hiding place.
Through a disguised snake linked to his senses, Kabuto observed the clash between Naruto and the Deva Path.
"Heh… Naruto… I vaguely remember that name. Just some insignificant brat in Konoha back then."
"To think he's grown this much… and he's the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki."
Kabuto let out a low, amused chuckle.
But suddenly—
Karin's body began trembling violently.
"Karin? What's wrong with you?" Kabuto's laughter stopped abruptly.
She didn't answer.
Her eyes widened, locked onto Naruto in the distance. From her throat escaped an uncontrollable, eerie giggle.
"Interesting… This is too interesting!!! Another one! There's another one!!! Hahaha!!!"
She spun toward Kabuto, speaking so fast her words nearly overlapped:
"Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto! Inside him… there's something too! Just like Sasuke!"
"But it's completely different! Sasuke's is cold… sinister… heavy…"
"This one is vast! Wild! Like an ocean of burning hatred and ancient fury!"
Her pupils trembled with manic excitement.
"Two vessels… each carrying something extraordinary…"
Kabuto's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…You mean the Nine-Tails?"
But Karin shook her head.
"No… not just that."
"There's something else layered within it. Something deeper. Something watching."
Her breathing grew uneven.
"Ahhh… this is getting so much more fun…"
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