The wind had changed.
Naruto noticed it first. Not the direction or the temperature, but the feeling. The ruins weren't just silent anymore—they were watching. Every broken wall, every shattered pillar… it felt like they were stepping into something that didn't want them there.
"Sasuke," Naruto said quietly, "we're not alone."
Sasuke didn't answer immediately. His Sharingan had already activated, scanning the area, tracing every flicker of chakra in the air. For a moment, there was nothing.
Then—
"I know."
A voice.
Not distant. Not hidden.
Right in front of them.
Naruto's head snapped up. "Show yourself!"
The air in front of them warped slightly, like heat rising from the ground. Then, slowly, a figure stepped out from nothingness.
White hair.
Sharp eyes glowing faintly red.
A dark cloak that moved even though the wind had stopped.
Naruto's breath caught for half a second. This is him.
Sasuke's grip tightened on his sword. His voice dropped. "Raizen."
The name hung heavy.
Raizen Uchiha stood there, calm… almost too calm. Like none of this surprised him.
"So," Raizen said, his tone flat, "you made it this far."
Naruto took a step forward immediately. "You're Raizen, right? The one who erased everything. The nations, the memories—"
"Yes."
No hesitation. No denial.
Naruto blinked. "...That was quick."
"I don't waste time lying," Raizen replied.
Sasuke stepped slightly in front of Naruto, eyes locked onto Raizen. "Then answer properly. Why?"
A pause.
For the first time, Raizen's expression shifted—not weakness, not regret… something heavier.
"You wouldn't understand."
Naruto frowned. "Try us."
Raizen looked at him, really looked this time. Something flickered in his eyes, like he was comparing Naruto to someone else… or something from the past.
"I fought a war that never existed," Raizen said. "Against something your world wasn't ready for. I won… but the cost didn't end there."
Sasuke's voice cut in, sharp. "So you decided to erase history? Kill entire nations and pretend it never happened?"
Raizen's gaze shifted to him. Colder now.
"They were already dead."
Silence.
Naruto's fists clenched. "That doesn't give you the right—"
"It wasn't about right." Raizen's voice hardened. "It was about survival."
The ground beneath them trembled slightly, as if reacting to his words.
"You think your peace is real?" Raizen continued. "It's built on a lie. A fragile one. If the truth of that war came out—if he returned—everything you know would collapse in days."
Naruto stepped forward again, refusing to back down. "Then we deal with it! That's what we've always done!"
Raizen shook his head once. "No. You fight enemies you can see. This isn't the same."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Shibai."
For the first time—
Raizen didn't respond immediately.
That was enough.
"So it's true," Sasuke said quietly. "Everything traces back to him."
Naruto looked between them. "Then stop talking in circles and explain it properly!"
Raizen exhaled slowly, like he was deciding something.
"You weren't supposed to find this place," he said. "And you weren't supposed to find me."
Naruto scoffed. "Too late for that."
Raizen ignored the comment. "I erased the nations because they turned on me. After I ended the war, after I stopped Shibai's apostle… they feared what I had become."
Sasuke's voice dropped. "So they tried to eliminate you."
"Yes."
"And the Uchiha?" Sasuke pressed.
A brief pause.
"They were a risk."
Naruto's eyes widened. "You mean—"
"I erased them from the equation," Raizen said coldly. "Memories, influence… everything."
Sasuke's grip on his sword tightened so hard it almost trembled.
"You don't get to decide that."
Raizen met his gaze without flinching. "I already did."
For a second, the air between them turned sharp.
Naruto stepped in before it snapped. "Enough. We're not here to argue about the past. If Shibai's still a threat, then we work together. Simple."
Raizen almost laughed.
"Work together?" he repeated. "You don't even understand what you're stepping into."
"Then make us understand!" Naruto shot back.
Silence again.
Longer this time.
Then—
A ripple tore through the sky above them.
Not clouds. Not chakra.
Something else.
Sasuke's head snapped upward instantly. "What is that—"
Raizen's expression changed.
Not fear.
But recognition.
"…Too late."
The air split open like fabric being torn apart. A dark crack formed overhead, pulsing with unnatural energy. From within it, a presence leaked out—heavy, suffocating.
Naruto felt it immediately. His instincts screamed.
"This… this isn't normal chakra…"
Sasuke's Sharingan spun faster. "It's not chakra at all."
Raizen stepped forward, placing himself between them and the rift.
"Now you see the problem," he said quietly.
From the crack, a figure began to descend.
Not fully visible.
Not human.
But its presence alone made the ground tremble.
A voice echoed, layered and distorted.
"Raizen… you never learn."
Naruto clenched his fists. "Who the hell is that?!"
Raizen didn't look back.
"…An apostle."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Of Shibai."
The figure's shape twisted slightly, as if reality itself struggled to contain it.
"You erased their memories… yet you couldn't erase us."
Raizen's hand moved to his sword.
"Stay back," he said.
Naruto stepped forward anyway. "Not happening."
Sasuke moved beside him, silent but ready.
Raizen glanced at them for a brief second.
"…You'll die."
Naruto smirked. "Yeah, heard that one before."
Sasuke didn't speak, but his stance said enough.
Raizen looked at them… and for the first time, there was something different in his eyes.
Not annoyance.
Not indifference.
Recognition.
"…Then don't get in my way."
The ground cracked beneath his feet as his chakra surged—dark, dense, overwhelming. The air warped around him, shadows twisting like living things.
Above them, the apostle fully emerged.
And without another word—
The fight began.