"Thunder Breathing, First Form: Thunderclap and Flash, Thirty-Two Fold…"
With a soft exhale, the air filled with minute sparks of lightning. Before the last word had even left his lips, Uchiha Nagi transformed into a streak of golden lightning and shot forward.
At that exact moment, the blondie found himself in danger. As the puppets attacked Yukihime and Kimimaro, they ran into trouble. Yukihime was an ordinary person, and Kimimaro, having no experience fighting puppets, didn't realize they were essentially indestructible and became locked in a difficult battle.
The blondie immediately stopped fleeing and turned back to help fight the puppets. But the puppets played by no rules of honor. The ones behind them fired a massive volley of poisoned needles and kunai, blanketing the area where he stood.
This is bad! I can't dodge! If I do, they'll get hit!
The blond kid didn't know that Kimimaro possessed the Shikotsumyaku and was completely unafraid of physical attacks. He only felt that he had carelessly led the enemy to them and had a duty to protect them. He stood in front of them, preparing to use his Shadow Clones as a shield against the wave of shuriken.
At that moment, a three-pronged kunai embedded itself in the ground before him. Then, the blondie witnessed an incredible sight.
A flash of yellow light leaped past him, and with a series of clangs, all the kunai and shuriken were knocked out of the air.
On the other side, Uchiha Nagi, who had transformed into golden lightning, moved with the speed of a golden flash himself, severing the chakra threads of every single puppet.
Without the control of the chakra threads, the dense army of several hundred puppets fell from the sky like dumplings being dropped into a pot.
"Kimimaro, are you alright?" Uchiha Nagi asked, appearing before him.
"Sensei, we're fine," Kimimaro replied, nodding and holding his bone sword. He had become increasingly familiar with the Water Breathing swordsmanship during this time, wielding it with ease. The style was a perfect match for his water affinity, a trait likely developed from the Kaguya clan living in the Land of Water for generations.
"Uh, Kimimaro, I feel like I've seen you somewhere before. Ah! The Sharingan! You're from the Uchiha clan?!" The blondie had only seen Kimimaro once before, and it was an adult version. What's more, he didn't think Kimimaro had even introduced himself at the time. But the Sharingan, he recognized easily. It was the same eye as his best friend's.
"I'm sorry, everyone. I thought you were the ones controlling the puppets. It was a misunderstanding, so I ran over here…" The blondie was quick to admit his mistake, a good kid at heart. "But, mister, who are you? I don't remember Sasuke saying he had any other clansmen."
Just then, a gentle male voice spoke. It was another, taller blondie, wearing a mask.
"If I'm not mistaken, you must be from the future. So don't be too surprised. This is not the era you belong to."
"Huh? A Konoha headband! Are you also a Konoha ninja? Hello, my name is Uzumaki Naruto!" The blondie scratched his head, letting his guard down and stating his name as soon as he saw someone from his own village.
"That's right. When we arrived, the Land of Rōran had already been destroyed, buried in ruins. So this must be a past era," Uchiha Nagi said calmly. At the same time, his eyes were fixed unwaveringly on Minato Namikaze. This was the man who was faster than the Second Hokage, a man who could slit his throat in a moment of carelessness. Facing him, he couldn't let his guard down for even an instant.
Hidden in the shadows with him were three others. Uchiha Nagi was very familiar with the chakra of one of them, a short individual—Kakashi Hatake.
Minato Namikaze was puzzled by this Uchiha who was so wary of him.
"Ah! The past? The future? How is that possible? Then right now I'm…" The blondie kept scratching his hair. For a simple-minded person, the concept of time travel was just too complicated.
"Ah, forget it. I won't think about it anymore. Uh, misters, have you seen Captain Yamato? He fell in here with me, but we got separated. I don't know where he is…" Naruto scratched his head, giving up on thinking.
"Sorry, I haven't seen him. I have a mission to complete. We'll part ways here," Minato said with a faint smile, and then vanished in a flash.
Uchiha Nagi narrowed his eyes. The Flying Thunder God…
In the instant he vanished, Nagi had an idea and copied the technique with the Mangekyo Sharingan hidden under his bangs.
However, just copying it wasn't enough to use it. The Flying Thunder God required coordinates, and Uchiha Nagi had yet to create his own custom Flying Thunder God kunai. He had no desire to use the same formula as Minato. What if one day, Minato Namikaze or Tobirama Senju suddenly appeared where his kunai was?
But how to modify the formula? What a headache…
"Hey, why did he run off? Isn't he a Konoha ninja like me? Wouldn't it be better if we all stuck together and looked out for each other?" Naruto asked, scratching his head in confusion.
At this point, Minato had not yet taken off his mask, so Naruto didn't know he was the man carved into the Hokage Rock. And Minato didn't know that this blondie was his future son; the tall blondie wasn't even married yet.
"They must have a more important mission. Hmph. That Third Hokage is up to no good…" Uchiha Nagi sneered.
Hearing this, Naruto was instantly displeased. How could he insult Grandpa Third?
"Hey, hey, you with the red eyes, don't go too far! Grandpa Third is the Hokage, after all! You're from Konoha too, how can you talk about him like that?" Naruto said, dissatisfied. Although he used to call him "Old Man Third," he had respected him greatly after his death.
"First, this is the territory of the Land of Wind. Although the Land of Rōran is an independent small country, it is located within the borders of the Land of Wind. Second, this land is fertile and has always been the Land of Wind's largest source of grain imports. Although Konoha and Sunagakure are currently at peace, for the Third Hokage to send an elite team here, he's clearly up to no good."
Uchiha Nagi finished and held up a second finger. "Second, I am not a Konoha ninja."
"Ah, you…" Naruto was at a loss, taking out a kunai. It was only then that he remembered: the Uchiha clan had been massacred. The one who lived, Itachi, was a rogue ninja. Sasuke, too, was a rogue ninja. That meant the man before him was also…
Uchiha Nagi smiled and turned to Yukihime and Kimimaro. "Let's go."
He then left under Naruto's wary gaze. He had no grudge against Naruto, so there was no need to kill him. Besides, Naruto had the Nine-Tails inside him; killing him might cause some unforeseen complications. Most importantly, in his perception, someone was still watching him from the shadows. It was Minato Namikaze. He hadn't gone far.
He always assumed the worst, especially when it came to the Third Hokage.
Why would Rōran, a country in the desert, ask Konoha for help instead of Sunagakure? Was it just because it was a time of peace?
No, the truth was likely that the old schemer, the Third Hokage, had sent Minato Namikaze here to seal or destroy the Ryumyaku in order to cripple Sunagakure's war potential. As long as the Ryumyaku was destroyed or sealed, this pearl of the desert would no longer be able to supply the Land of Wind with grain, and Sunagakure's ability to wage war would be greatly diminished.
Otherwise, why did Minato never seek out Queen Sara of Rōran during the entire process? Why didn't he even try to find the client who issued the mission? Was that normal? Moreover, the queen here had been secretly killed by Mukade long ago and turned into a human puppet. So who was it that went to Konoha to issue the mission?
In short, don't be fooled by Minato's righteous appearance. At his core, he was still a ninja who put Konoha's interests first.
So, even if Detective Uchiha Nagi's reasoning wasn't entirely correct, it was probably not far from the truth.
Sealing…
Uchiha Nagi frowned in thought. When the seal was first set, it should have been very strong. Powered by the Ryumyaku, no one should have been able to break it. But after more than a decade, the seal Minato had set had weakened, and the formulaic kunai had rusted, which was why Yukihime was able to pull it out so easily.
But now Naruto was here too. Three people from three different timelines gathered together. This could be a parallel world.
There were many parallel worlds, after all. Later on, there was even that Boruto thing, where the power levels were a complete mess. Sometimes the Rinnegan was weaker than a two-tomoe Sharingan, and other times it was terrifyingly powerful. Boruto also had all sorts of fancy eyes. If he came here, he would probably be taught a harsh lesson.
Pushing these various thoughts aside, he then walked over to the puppet army and sealed the puppets into a scroll. With no puppeteer nearby to reattach the chakra threads, they were just lumps of iron. Their individual combat power was not strong, but their strength was in their numbers. After watching them a few times, Uchiha Nagi had learned how to use the Puppet Technique himself.
"Sensei, where are we going now?" Kimimaro asked, looking around, a little lost.
"If I'm not mistaken, the Ryumyaku's power was sealed for too long. When Yukihime pulled out the sealing kunai, the energy inside erupted and caused us to travel through time. There's a time limit to our stay in this era. When the time is up, the Ryumyaku's power will slowly push us out, and we will naturally return to our own world," Uchiha Nagi explained.
"Even if we do nothing, as the Ryumyaku's power that brought us here slowly dissipates, we will return to our own time. But one thing is certain: if we die here, we are really dead. Our bodies will automatically travel back to our own world. So you must be careful here. Prioritize your own safety."
The power of time has a repulsive nature; it will slowly expel foreign invaders.
Yukihime suddenly asked with interest, "Hey, does that mean that in the current Land of Wind, there's another my father and mother?"
Uchiha Nagi nodded. "Yes. And not only that, there's also another me…"
Kakashi doesn't have his Sharingan yet…
That means the war hasn't started yet. Obito hasn't turned to the dark side. Rin is still alive…