At the border of Sunagakure in the Land of Wind, lay the ruins of the Roran Kingdom.
According to Naruto's memories, sealed beneath these ruins was the Ryumyaku, a leyline possessing mystical power.
In the original timeline, during the Shippuden era, Naruto had come to this sealed leyline and traveled through time to meet his father, Minato.
It was a meeting across time itself.
Thus, Naruto was intensely curious about the leyline's power. He wondered if it truly held the ability to traverse time.
If he could travel through time, would actions taken in the past affect the present?
Or did the leyline's power merely offer travel to parallel worlds?
Holding these questions, Naruto arrived at the ruins. It didn't take long to find the exact spot radiating a strange chakra shift.
With Naruto's current abilities, breaking the seal left by the Fourth Hokage wasn't difficult.
Naruto tore the seal away.
The moment the seal broke, the leyline's power erupted. A brilliant pillar of light shot skyward.
Then, a familiar sensation washed over Naruto.
This feeling was extremely similar to the shift that occurred when Goku vanished.
Staring intently at the leyline, Naruto's face lit up with surprise. "I think I've discovered something incredible."
"The energy inside is strange," Goku said from within the Seal Space, watching the light pillar. "It feels like countless different energies are mixed together. Are you going in, Naruto?"
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
A clone poofed into existence beside him. Naruto slapped the clone's shoulder and pointed at the light pillar.
"You go check it out."
If something went wrong, the shadow clone could be dispelled, and it would still bring back useful intel. There was no downside.
The clone thought, 'I'm not a real person, but you are truly something else.'
Though a thousand complaints bubbled inside, the clone obediently stepped into the pillar of light.
The moment the shadow clone entered the light, he vanished instantly. The towering pillar of light dissipated as well, as if the leyline had expended a massive amount of energy and fallen dormant.
At the same time, within Mount Myoboku, the Great Toad Sage suddenly opened his muddy eyes from his rest. Under the astonished gazes of the two toad sages, Shima and Fukasaku, and Jiraiya, who had come seeking guidance, he spoke slowly.
"The Prophecy... has changed!"
Then, his chakra levels fluctuated uncontrollably, spiking and dropping like a rollercoaster. When it peaked, the Great Toad Sage spoke again. "Shima, Fukasaku, I leave Mount Myoboku to you. From this moment, seal the mountain for a hundred years."
It was as if a final surge of life passed through him. After uttering these words, his presence plummeted precipitously, growing faint within mere seconds.
"Great Toad Sage! Great Toad Sage!"
Amid the cries of the toads of Myoboku, the Great Toad Sage's presence vanished completely.
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Meanwhile, in another Mount Myoboku, within another timeline in parallel world.
Another Great Toad Sage seemed to receive some information, awakening from his slumber. He slowly opened his eyes, and within their murky depths, he seemed to glimpse the shape of the future. Without even realizing it, he uttered a prophecy to the young Jiraiya standing below.
"Jiraiya, you will one day take a disciple. This disciple of yours will be the Child of Prophecy, destined to bring about unprecedented great change to the world. And you... you are the one who will guide this change."
"The choices made by the Child of Prophecy will bring either unprecedented peace to the world... or utter destruction."
Another time, another place: The First Shinobi World War.
The Second Raikage, representing Kumogakure, and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, representing Konoha, were about to sign a peace treaty to end the war. However, at the critical moment of the signing ceremony, the Gold and Silver Brothers of Kumogakure led a special forces unit in a surprise attack, launching a rebellion. The Second Raikage was killed on the spot.
The Konoha delegation found themselves surrounded.
Ginkaku and Kinkaku closed in steadily, this was a critical moment for the Konoha shinobi.
As the leader of the Konoha delegation, Tobirama Senju looked at the younger generation who had accompanied him and said gravely, "Our chances of survival in a direct fight are too slim. One of us must stay behind as a rearguard to give the others a chance to escape."
"Is anyone willing to stay behind?"
The special unit consisted of Kumo's elite, and Ginkaku and Kinkaku were second only to the Raikage. They even wielded the Treasured Tools of the Sage of Six Paths. Whoever stayed behind would almost certainly die.
The young Danzo Shimura sank into hesitation.
But the young Hiruzen Sarutobi spoke without hesitation, "Leave the rearguard to me Sensei. I will make you proud"
"Good." Tobirama patted Hiruzen's shoulder, sneakily taking strand of hair. "Then the rearguard is yours, Monkey. I am already proud of you, we will meet again."
He turned to the others. "The rest of you, follow me!"
Tobirama led the others away swiftly, leaving Hiruzen alone to face the Kumo elites. Hiruzen slowly drew a kunai, ready to die.
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Another timeline.
This era corresponds to the events of 'Shippuden'.
In this timeline, Jiraiya received a different prophecy from the Great Toad Sage. Minato Namikaze did not become the Fourth Hokage, instead, a man with a starfish-shaped hairstyle, Kizashi Haruno, took the title.
"The Uchiha have launched a rebellion!"
A piercing scream tore through the peaceful night. Countless Uchiha clansmen, eyes blood-red and gleaming with a predatory light, charged wildly into Konoha's downtown and residential areas, wreaking havoc.
Konoha was instantly engulfed in battle. Shinobi fell one after another.
"You're controlling them!" Itachi, the Anbu Commander, knelt on the ground, surrounded by fallen Konoha elites. Before him stood Shisui Uchiha, holding a bloodstained tanto, his expression cold.
Behind Shisui, the culprit slowly removed his hood, revealing his face.
"Why... Sasuke!" Itachi stared in disbelief. He couldn't understand why his younger brother would do such a thing.
"Why?"
Sasuke slowly opened his eyes, revealing an ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan. Despite being only three tomoe, it easily suppressed Itachi's Mangekyo, neither Tsukuyomi nor Amaterasu had any effect.
Even Shisui, another Mangekyo wielder, had been effortlessly controlled and now knelt at Sasuke's feet.
"Hahahaha!" Sasuke laughed wildly toward the sky. "Clan? Konoha? None of that matters."
"I only wanted to test my capacity."
"My foolish older brother!"
(A/N: Not Road to Ninja, but a similar alternate-world setting.)
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