Chapter 3: The Gathering Storm
Boruto Uzumaki's pen clattered to the desk.
For a moment, the Hokage's office was silent except for the faint hum of the ceiling fan.
Sarada looked up from the mission reports, her Sharingan flickering on instinct.
"Boruto? What's wrong?"
Boruto didn't answer immediately. His hands were on the desk, gripping it hard enough for the wood to creak.
He could feel it — a weight pressing down on the world, a slow, suffocating pressure that tightened with every heartbeat.
He swallowed hard. "…Something's coming."
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Sarada stood, moving closer. "Something like what?"
He turned his eyes to her — and even without her Sharingan, she could see the flicker of fear behind his usual calm.
"Not like anything we've fought before. Old. Ancient. And it's looking right at us."
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Before she could respond, the door burst open.
A chunin in flak armor saluted, breathless. "Lord Hokage! Multiple dimensional tears appearing over the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Lightning! Sensors say… the chakra signatures aren't human!"
Boruto and Sarada exchanged a glance.
Boruto's jaw tightened. "Sound the full alert. Get every Kage on the line."
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Kage Council — Emergency Meeting
The round holographic table in Konoha's war room shimmered with the faces of the other Kage.
Gaara of the Sand. Darui of the Clouds. Chōjūrō of the Mist. Kurotsuchi of the Stone.
Gaara spoke first, voice low and steady. "Our sensors confirm similar rifts above our own territories. White figures… humanoid, but radiating an energy consistent with Otsutsuki readings."
Darui scowled. "Didn't we finish them off decades ago?"
Kurotsuchi crossed her arms. "Looks like one of them missed the memo."
Boruto cut in, his voice grim. "It's not just another clan member. This one… feels different. Stronger. And it's bringing an army."
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From the shadows at the back of the room, another voice joined in.
"That's because it's not just a survivor."
Every head turned.
Naruto Uzumaki — older, lines deeper around his eyes, but still radiating the same unshakable presence — stepped forward. Sasuke followed, his expression unreadable, cloak brushing the floor.
"It's their progenitor," Naruto continued. "The one who started the clan in the first place."
Sasuke's voice was cold. "If he's here, then he's already decided our world is next."
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The silence that followed was heavy.
Gaara broke it. "…Then we have no choice. We fight."
Boruto nodded. "All villages, all forces. This will be our last stand if we don't stop him here."
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The Gathering
Over the next twenty-four hours, the shinobi world moved like a single organism.
Chakra messengers darted across skies, relay seals lit up on every battlefield, summoning every able-bodied shinobi above chūnin rank.
From the deserts of the Sand to the forests of the Leaf, from the icy waters of the Mist to the jagged peaks of the Stone, they came.
An army unlike any seen since the Fourth Great Ninja War.
The training fields outside Konoha became a sea of color — forehead protectors from every nation, banners fluttering in the wind.
Weapons clashed in warm-up drills. Chakra flared like hundreds of tiny suns.
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Boruto stood at the front, scanning the crowd.
Beside him, Sarada adjusted her gloves, and Kawaki cracked his knuckles.
Behind them, Naruto and Sasuke stood side-by-side again for the first time in years.
Naruto grinned faintly. "Feels like old times, eh, Sasuke?"
Sasuke's lips twitched. "…You talk too much."
Boruto smirked. "Glad to see some things never change."
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The Sky Breaks
The air grew colder.
Every sensor in the crowd flinched at once.
Above the army, the sky split open. Not a crack, not a hole — it peeled away, revealing a churning void of colors and shadows.
From it, they came.
The first ranks were pale figures clad in flowing white, their horns jagged, their eyes empty.
Each one carried the unmistakable chakra of the Otsutsuki.
But they did not breathe.
They did not speak.
They were shadows — warriors pulled from the memories of the dead, given shape by Shukuyomi's power.
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And then, he appeared.
Shukuyomi Ōtsutsuki stepped through the rift as if gravity meant nothing.
Silver hair, twin Rinne-Sharingan burning, robes shifting like they were woven from the night sky.
The sheer weight of his chakra made even veteran jonin drop to one knee.
Naruto's voice was low. "…It's him."
Sasuke's hand tightened on his sword. "No mistakes. Not against this one."
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Shukuyomi's gaze swept over the gathered army. His voice was calm — almost gentle — but carried across the field like a blade to the throat.
"So… this is the world that killed my children."
His eyes narrowed. "I will see it drown in silence."
He raised one hand.
The shadows moved.
And the war began.
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