By the time Shinju and his group reached the underground site, it seemed they were already too late.
The rogue from Sunagakure known as Mukade was standing atop a strange stone platform, his face twisted with madness.
The platform was semicircular, covered in strange runes that seemed to be sealing something terrifying within it.
Shinju frowned as he studied the inscriptions on the stone altar—they looked oddly familiar.
Not far away, Mukade spotted the group of shinobi wearing Konoha headbands and laughed arrogantly.
"So, you're the Konoha ninja Sunagakure sent for backup? Too bad you came too late! ( ´▽` )"
"I'm about to pull out the seal from this ruin and absorb the power of the Dragon Vein beneath the ancient city of Rōran!"
"When that happens, I'll gain the strength to unify the Five Great Nations!"
As he spoke, Mukade stretched out his rough hands toward the kunai embedded in the stone platform.
Suddenly, Shinju's eyes sharpened as he focused on that very kunai.
Wait a second… that kunai lodged in the center of the sealing array—it looked exactly like his custom-made one.
(≖╻≖;)
Even the Flying Thunder God shuriken mark on it was identical!
Though his heart was filled with confusion, Shinju decided to test it out.
"Swish!"
He activated the Flying Thunder God Technique and instantly teleported to grab the kunai.
Unfortunately, at that very moment—just an instant before Shinju's move—Mukade had already pulled the kunai out from the sealing platform!
"BOOM——!!!"
The ground quaked violently!
The earth around the altar began to collapse as a torrent of chakra condensed into a surge of purple light, erupting upward from beneath the ground—forming a massive pillar that pierced the sky!
Bathed in the blinding light, Shinju's consciousness began to blur.
That's when he realized—the inscriptions on the altar were part of a space-time sealing technique!
Nearby, Yamato, Naruto, and the others looked on in horror.
ヽ( ຶ▮ ຶ)ﾉ!!!
Seeing Shinju caught in danger, Naruto didn't hesitate—he bolted forward without thinking!
Yamato's arm instantly turned into wood and wrapped around him, restraining him.
"Naruto! Calm down!"
Naruto shouted back, "Shinju's body is disappearing! How can I just stand here and do nothing?!"
Sai spoke up calmly, "If even Shinju couldn't handle this, what difference would you make going in? It'd be suicide. ←_←"
As harsh as Sai's words were, they were true.
Having traveled across the world with Shinju for years, Naruto knew just how strong he was. Slowly, he began to calm down.
"Fine... we'll wait for him then."
...
A faint singing voice drifted in his ears—distant yet near. It was clearly a girl's voice, soft and beautiful.
Amid that melody, Shinju groaned and shook his groggy head, slowly opening his eyes.
Light streamed down through cracks in the cavern ceiling, shining directly onto his face.
The singing stopped abruptly.
A girl stared at the rising figure before her, eyes wide with fear.
"Who are you? Why are you here? There was no one here just a moment ago!"
"You're an intru—"
Before she could finish, her gaze met Shinju's.
In that instant—she was captivated.
Those eyes were impossibly beautiful, like the first rays of sunlight glittering across the sea—warm, calm, and impossible to look away from.
Shinju blinked in confusion at the girl frozen before him.
"You are...?"
"Sara," she replied softly. Her voice was melodious.
"Where is this place?"
Rubbing his temples, Shinju asked uncertainly.
His last memory was being engulfed by that torrent of chakra.
"Rōran," the girl replied, puzzled by the question.
He didn't even know where he was—and yet he was sleeping here?
But the moment Shinju heard that word, his mind went blank. ∑(✘Д✘๑)
Rōran?!
In both his former life and the current shinobi world, Rōran had long since vanished!
"I'm serious," Shinju said, his expression turning grave.
The girl's face also hardened. "This is Rōran. I'm its queen. How could I not know that? (ー_ー)!!"
"Gulp~"
Shinju swallowed, a bold suspicion forming in his mind.
Could it be… that broken space-time seal had sent him back decades—or even centuries?!
Unwilling to believe it, Shinju leapt upward through the cracks in the cave ceiling.
When he landed outside, he was greeted by a sprawling city full of towering sand-colored structures—high, intricate, and alive with motion.
Judging from the ground layout and architectural style, this truly looked like Rōran before its fall.
Once he confirmed that, Shinju's expression shifted dramatically. (꒪⌓꒪)
If he'd really come to this era… could he even go back?
He did understand a bit of space-time ninjutsu, but traveling through time freely would probably take years of mastery.
The girl looked up at him and asked softly, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Shinju replied, trying to appear calm.
If he studied space-time ninjutsu for a few more years, he'd surely find a way back.
But just as he answered her, a chill shot through him—a sudden sense of danger!
Not far away, a strange puppet appeared!
It floated in the air, its arms shaped like claws, with hollow barrels at the center—like cannons!
The instant Shinju spotted it, the puppet raised both arms, purple chakra condensing at its muzzles.
"BOOM!"
A blazing beam of violet light shot straight toward Shinju's position!
"Swish!!"
Shinju reacted instantly, dodging sideways as his hands flashed through seals.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
He exhaled a surge of wind-style chakra—an invisible, razor-sharp wind blade shot toward the puppet!
"Whoosh!"
"Crack!"
Before the force of his wind jutsu, the massive puppet crumbled like clay—split cleanly in half!
"This puppet..."
As Shinju prepared to step forward and inspect it, a sudden "whirring" sound echoed through the sky.
He looked up—dozens more of those strange puppets were descending toward him!
Years of battle experience kicked in instantly. Shinju began dodging and forming hand seals with one hand at high speed.
"Swish, swish, swish—"
"Fire Release—"
Before he could finish the technique's name, several figures appeared, moving rapidly around him.
Thinking the puppets' reinforcements had arrived, Shinju pivoted to unleash his fire-style jutsu, but the moment he saw their outfits, he froze mid-action and swallowed the chakra gathering in his throat.
Because every single one of them was dressed as a Konoha ninja!
"Choza-san?"
Shinju stared in disbelief at one of them.
It was none other than Akimichi Chōza—Chōji's father!
Except… the man before him looked far younger than the one Shinju remembered!
Were these Konoha's reinforcements?
Or...
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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