Seven Days later
Akira, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Nagato now stood at the edge of Rōran—or rather, what remained of it.
The ancient city that once towered with golden pillars and time-warping monuments was long gone.
Now, it was just a vast, lonely stretch of sun-burnt desert, broken only by cracked stone slabs buried beneath shifting dunes.
No one lived here.
Though the Wind Country itself had changed massively.
Thanks to Yamato's efforts—and Orochimaru's less-crazy-than-usual schemes—a miracle had occurred.
Instead of torturing people into trees like in the old world, Orochimaru had cooperated with Akira to create Wood-Release Elemental Seals.
Weak compared to true Wood-Release, yes.
But spread across the land, implanted into volunteers and clones, they were enough to push life into the desert.
And then came Akira's insane contribution:
One hundred thousand White Zetsu turned into one hundred thousand enormous trees.
Wasteful? Maybe.
Effective? Absolutely.
Cities sprouted around the new forests.
Wind Country was no longer a dead wasteland; it finally breathed again.
But Rōran…
Rōran remained untouched.
The reason was simple: space-time chakra turbulence.
It pulsed through the ground like an invisible storm, constantly shifting, twisting, distorting.
Any permanent structure would crumble. Any settlement would vanish.
Even chakra signatures could be scrambled.
Akira took a step forward, feeling the space-time distortions brushing against his skin like cold wind.
He exhaled slowly.
"Alright," he said, turning to the other three. "Before we begin… I'll activate my Mangekyō ability: Kūkai no Kago — The Cage of Empty Space."
Kakashi nodded, expression calm behind his mask.
Sasuke folded his arms. "The technique freezes space around the target?"
Akira nodded.
In his previous Simulation he was scattered and separated from rest of team in Space-time chakra.
This time he didn't want this to occur again and he didn't want to take any risk,
He opened his eyes wide.
Mangekyō patterns spun sharply.
Kūkai no Kago— Cage of Empty space
And with Akira as the centre the space froze covering Kakashi, Itachi and Sasuke into it.
As soon as Akira used his Mangekyo ability, the space-time chakra around his started fluctuating and enveloped the group in it and just like that the four of them disappeared from their original timeline.
---
Unknown Timeline – Year XXYA
The world snapped back into focus.
When Akira, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Nagato opened their eyes, they found themselves in Rōran again—but not the one they had left.
The sand mountains surrounding them were twisted into unfamiliar shapes, as if time had casually rearranged the desert while they were gone.
The four exchanged quiet looks.
"…This is Rōran," Sasuke murmured, scanning the dunes. "But the terrain is wrong."
They spent several minutes surveying the surroundings, searching for any clue of what era they had landed in.
Nothing. No ruins. No towers. No markers. Only shifting sand and unstable air.
Akira clicked his tongue.
"Well, good thing I came prepared."
He pulled out a pair of binoculars infused with chakra-lensing seals.
Activating them, he swept the horizon, sensing for any chakra fluctuations.
A faint pulse answered back.
Akira's eyes sharpened. "Found someone."
Without wasting a moment, he kicked off the ground—rising into the air effortlessly.
Nagato followed, floating beside him with practiced ease.
Kakashi and Sasuke remained on the ground.
They stared upward… and sighed in perfect synchronization.
Kakashi muttered, "Show-offs."
Sasuke scowled. "If this is a timeline where I can't fly, I'm leaving."
Still, they ran across the sand with impressive speed, kicking up dust clouds behind them.
Within minutes, the group arrived at the source of the chakra signature.
A lone Iwagakure Jōnin stood in the desert, wearing the distinct flak jacket and rocky motif of the Stone ninja but his forehead protector was different from any that they had known.
It had 'Shinobi' written on it.
He had already sensed their presence and was on high alert.
But the moment the four surrounded him—Akira and Nagato hovering above, Sasuke and Kakashi appearing from both sides—the man froze.
Confusion washed across his face.
Then disbelief.
Then… insult.
"You… White Zetsu idiots," he spat. "You have no brain at all! You could have transformed into anyone, but you chose Sasuke Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, and—Nagato?!"
He pointed at Nagato, baffled.
"And why is he still alive?! And why does he look like… that?!"
He didn't wait for answers.
He slammed his hands together.
Earth Release: Power Bullet Technique!
Multiple stone bullets erupted from the ground, shooting straight toward Akira.
Not the fiercest attack, but fueled by panic and absolute psychological terror even though he knew that they were White Zetsu.
Because—
Sasuke Uchiha: the man who attacked the Five Kage.
Nagato: the man who blew up Konoha.
Kakashi: the copy ninja feared even by Jōnin.
His brain refused to believe they were real, so he attacked the "weakest-looking" one.
Akira didn't even blink.
He and Nagato raised a single hand at the same time.
A ripple of gravitational power spread out.
Shinra Tensei
The bullets dissolved into dust.
Then—
Preta path—Chakra Absorption
All the floating debris, the remaining chakra, and even the Jōnin's second jutsu forming in his hands were absorbed instantly into Akira's Rinnegan.
The Iwa ninja froze.
His eyes widened in horror.
Human Path : Absorption Soul Technique
Akira landed on the ground and used his Rinnegan ability to absorb the memory and know the current situation of the Ninja world though he had a few guesses.
A few seconds later, the Iwa-ninja died.
Akira on the other hand fully confirmed the current situation.
---