Naruto was joining forces with his companions to hunt down the Sand Village renegade ninja Mukade, surrounding him at the ruins of ancient Rōran.
Mukade carried out a series of mysterious operations and opened up a gigantic pillar of energy.
Naruto rushed straight down without a second thought, and when he woke up, he found himself in a mysterious underground space.
A mysterious voice suddenly rang out: "Child of destiny, I have finally met you!"
Although Naruto wasn't very sharp, he still had the necessary vigilance of a ninja.
"Who?!"
"I am the Daoist!"
Naruto looked up and saw a young man with a full head of silvery-white hair sitting cross-legged in midair.
Dragon horns grew from his head, his eyes contained purple ripples, a monk's staff floated before him, and he wore white robes covered in magatama patterns.
It was Kairen.
This was Kairen's shadow clone.
He had long known Naruto would descend here, so he split off a shadow clone to play the part and put on a mystical show.
"The Daoist?" Naruto was puzzled.
He had only heard of the Sage of Six Paths, never of any Daoist.
So he immediately asked: "Who is the Daoist? And what is this place?"
Kairen's shadow clone spouted nonsense:
"At the very beginning, at the dawn of chaos, there was a red cloud that heard the voice of heaven and earth and thus gained sentience, enlightening the myriad beings and earning merit, cultivating for ten thousand years and thus being called the Daoist."
After Kairen delivered that string of archaic prose, Naruto was instantly stunned.
He was a little shocked: "With such a big background, why haven't I heard of you?"
Kairen's shadow clone smiled: "The incarnations of immortals are countless—male and female, old and young. The Six Paths is merely one of my titles. Have you heard of it?"
Kairen's shadow clone wasn't afraid of blowing his own trumpet, directly claiming the fame of the Six Paths for himself.
Sure enough, the moment he said it, Naruto felt his scalp go numb.
"Ding!"
"Uzumaki Naruto patted your butt and felt 1000 shock!"
Worthy of the protagonist—emotional fluctuations bring back so much experience… the shadow clone thought to himself.
"The Sage of Six Paths—are you saying you are the Sage of Six Paths?!"
The shadow clone revealed those ripple-patterned Rinnegan, exuding a mysterious aura.
"That's right!"
Nine-Tails: (‧_‧?)
This was a Nine-Tails from the future, not yet exploited by Kairen, a fox spirit occupying Naruto's guts.
The Nine-Tails observed every move Naruto made outside.
Hearing Kairen's shadow clone claim to be the Sage of Six Paths, the Nine-Tails became excited and stared closely at Kairen's shadow clone.
Rinnegan, the garments of Ninshū, the monk's staff behind him.
Everything matched except the appearance—too young, and the horns were different.
Forget it, who would dare impersonate the Sage of Six Paths anyway?
"Old man, save me! Save me!"
The Nine-Tails shouted loudly inside Naruto's belly.
It wanted to jailbreak!
Kairen's shadow clone heard the Nine-Tails' cry, and then… there was no then.
...
In the past, Naruto was a slacker at school and didn't even know many famous figures.
But since following Jiraiya, he had roughly learned some secrets of the ninja world, including the most revered god of the ninjas—the Sage of Six Paths.
Naruto's single-celled brain didn't stay shocked for long, and a stream of questions rushed toward the shadow clone.
"Where is this place? Why did I appear here? And do you have business with me?"
The shadow clone answered one by one, the Rinnegan gazing at Naruto with mystery.
"You reversed time and space because of the powerful energy of Dragon Vein chakra. You have returned to the past; this is Rōran of the past."
Naruto murmured softly: "The past… I traveled to the past!"
"Yes!"
Naruto suddenly clutched his head, somewhat at a loss: "What should I do? I don't want to go back to the past—I haven't confessed to Sakura yet!"
The shadow clone tapped Naruto with the staff: "Stop shouting for now, listen to me—you can still go back!"
Naruto looked at the shadow clone with pleading eyes: "How can I go back?"
The shadow clone said: "The time chaos here is merely the collapse of the Dragon Vein's energy. I will resolve it. Before that…"
"Uzumaki Naruto, having come to this spacetime, do you want to meet your… father?"
Naruto suddenly froze: "My father? I have a father?"
The shadow clone looked at him strangely—did he think he popped out of a rock?
He wasn't black, how could he not have a father?
The reason Kairen wanted to lead Naruto away was simple: he would be the hero, and he would court the queen.
As for compensation, let Naruto meet his old man, then?
As for the mother, forget it!
As the stepfather-to-be, Kairen expressed that he could only help this much.
Naruto remained silent in his heart for a long time, then suddenly looked at the shadow clone with a very serious gaze.
"I really… can meet my own father?"
The shadow clone nodded: "You can. If you want, then follow me! This era will definitely leave you utterly astonished!"
A Shadow Clone rested one hand on Naruto's shoulder, then activated Flying Thunder God and left Rōran.
After they left, a stream of information flowed into Kairen's mind.
Kairen wiped his mouth and smiled faintly.
There was nothing surprising about meeting an anime protagonist; besides, he wasn't a girl, and he liked men even less.
It just made him feel a bit sentimental.
In his previous life, he loved Naruto while chasing anime, but now…
He preferred Naruto's wife!
One has to admit people really change—boys like hot-blooded heroics, adults like chasing yellow stuff.
Sara glanced at Kairen strangely: "Why are you smiling for no reason?"
Kairen's eyes turned to Sara, shining like starlight.
"Because being with Her Majesty makes me feel wonderful."
The flirtation in Kairen's tone had not the slightest concealment, bluntly discarding all notions of rank.
Sara's heart fluttered wildly, and she quickly averted her gaze from Kairen.
Kairen smiled and unconsciously took Sara's hand.
He chased Wolon and Fenchu out of her arms, letting the two walk on their own so they wouldn't delay their master's flirting.
"Mm~(′д｀σ)σ"
Wolon shot Kairen a look of contempt.
Held by Kairen's big hand, Sara felt shy and couldn't help trying to pull free, even pushing him:
"Kairen, you're my guard, don't be so presumptuous."
Kairen explained, "Isn't this better for protecting you?"
"I—"
Sara wanted to say something, but in the end couldn't get it out.
Perhaps Kairen's scent was too fresh; one whiff lifted her mood, and she instinctively wanted to draw closer.
After holding hands for a while, Sara gradually grew accustomed to the feeling of standing beside Kairen, and her words became more and more frequent.
"What is it like outside?"
Kairen replied, "A mess—everyone's fighting. Either I hit you, or you hit me."
Sara's tone carried a hint of worry: "Is it that unstable outside? No wonder Anrokuzan said we should develop Rōran's armed forces?"
Kairen smiled: "It really is unstable outside, unlike here—a peaceful paradise."
Hearing Kairen praise Rōran, Sara lightly curved her lips and asked him,
"Do you also think Rōran is very beautiful?"
"I think the most beautiful is you!"
Another sweet line from Kairen made Sara's heart flutter again.
Isn't the love between men and women in storybooks just like this?
Kairen carefully observed Sara's expression.
Two sentences and she was moved—this queen seems quite simple!
But that's normal.
Judging by Sara's life trajectory, her childhood was spent under her mother's care; after her mother was assassinated by Mukade, Sara's life became lonely.
With no companions around, she often kept company with novels.
Naturally she longed for the love between men and women in stories, even secretly craving a romance.
Simply put, a silly girl, a silly girl easily deceived by outsiders.
Kairen rubbed Sara's little head: "You're really too naive. If I were a bad guy, wouldn't you be eaten up and taken away?"
Sara brushed off Kairen's hand and brought out the bearing of the Queen of Rōran.
"Kairen, you must respect me. I am your queen."
"Alright, alright, I respect you on top."
"That's more like it!"
...
Land of Grass.
Another romantic encounter, but the heroine usually came looking for Minato; Jiraiya could only watch.
Yet Minato didn't cherish it—every time he drove Jiraiya mad.
You've got such a handsome face and you don't flirt; just peel it off and give it to me!
That day, Jiraiya was going to train Minato in a project.
"Minato, we have new training!"
Minato perked up: "Sensei, what is it?"
Jiraiya took out a mask and tossed it to Minato: "Put it on."
Minato did so, then asked strangely, "What kind of training is this?"
Jiraiya spoke at length: "As a Nin, you must merge your aura with your surroundings—only then are you a true Nin."
"Oh?" Minato half-understood.
...
Before long, a fresh young woman carrying a bamboo basket passed by the two.
Minato sighed inwardly: here it comes.
Every moment was like this—they almost always ran into a fairly good-looking woman.
And their targets seemed all aimed at him.
Jiraiya combed his hair with a comb, even put on hair gel, striking a handsome pose.
He even whistled at the woman, his face full of lechery.
The woman with the bamboo basket treated Jiraiya like air and walked straight to Minato's side.
"Sir, would you like to buy medicine?"
Jiraiya roared in fury inside.
You didn't even look at what he's like and you're already striking up a conversation—can't you see such a big handsome guy right here?
In a dark corner,
Naruto stared at Jiraiya's face in a daze for a long time.
"Perverted Sage, he's much younger."
"This is Konoha Year 50. You'll be born in a year. Of course Jiraiya of this era is young!"
Naruto continued watching Jiraiya pestering the woman relentlessly and laughed, "Perverted Sage is still as perverted as ever! And the one beside him?"
"Your father!"
Naruto clenched his fists,
his blue eyes fixed on the blond youth wearing a mask.
Just from that head of blond hair, their relationship was clearly not shallow.
As if a fusion of bloodlines surged from his body, Naruto wanted to see that man's face clearly.
The Shadow Clone patted Naruto's shoulder: "Go! But don't mention the future, and don't ask them about the present—that's the law of time and space. Break it and you'll be squatting in jail."
Naruto nodded: "Got it!"
The Shadow Clone released the concealment barrier around them, then vanished without a trace.
"Remember, your time is limited—get to know your blood kin well!"
Once the Shadow Clone's concealment was lifted, Minato's excellent perception immediately noticed Naruto.
His azure eyes looked left, meeting another pair of azure eyes.
The two stood silent for a long time, as if something were brewing in the air.
Minato felt those eyes were inexplicably familiar, like family.
Naruto felt the same.
The young woman beside them was puzzled. She had been paid 1,000,000 ryō to seduce Minato.
After success it would double; after fussing for half a day she hadn't even seen his face, making her doubt her looks.
Then she saw her target staring blankly at a blond youth.
She immediately understood: "So he's a pervert, no wonder this mission is so hard. I'm out, bye~"
Jiraiya frantically tried to stop her: "Miss, wait! Wait! I'll raise it—2000 ryō a night, no more!"
His attempt only got one sentence in reply: "Dream on!"
Jiraiya fumed.
He turned his head and looked at Minato, who was observing.
Following his line of sight, he was immediately astonished: "Such a handsome guy!"
...
After Kairen and Sara held hands and strolled around Rōran City for a while, Sara had to return to the palace.
She replied, "There will be a grand parade later; I must meet my people."
To this, Kairen had only two words: silly girl.
After wandering so long, hadn't she noticed the Rōran people standing around were puppets?
No wonder she was completely controlled by Mukade—so her brain doesn't work well.
But that's fine; it makes things easier for Kairen to operate.
Kairen decided to test the lower limit of Sara's IQ: "The desert is cold at night—how about I warm your bed for you tonight?"
Sara tugged at Kairen's hand skin, proving she wasn't stupid enough to throw herself at him in one night.
"You ill-intentioned outsider, I'll have you arrested!"
Kairen burst into laughter: "Haha…"
Suddenly he scooped Sara up in a princess carry.
"I've set my sights on your country—I'm going to seize Rōran, and I'm going to seize you too!"
In Kairen's arms, Sara kept kicking her black-stockinged long legs.
"Let me go, you really are a rogue named Kairen."
"Now that you've noticed, it's already too late!"
With a light leap, Kairen sprang a hundred meters high, easily weaving among Rōran's tall buildings.
"Mm~ -_-||"
Wolon and Fenchu watched Kairen and Sara's retreating backs in silence for a long time.
This damn master forgets the two of them again when flirting.
Just like last time in the Land of Demons.
...
It was Sara's first time darting through Rōran City at such speed; the shadows flying backward behind her made her realize she wasn't dreaming.
Sara wrapped both arms around Kairen's neck, quietly inhaling the fresh scent on him.
"Kairen, are you a Nin?"
Only Nins have such extraordinary power, and only Nins can come alone across the great desert to here.
Kairen's words were full of bravado: "I'm not a Nin—I am the demon-subduing lord from the heavens."
Before long, Kairen delivered Sara to her palace.
Sara pushed the eager Kairen out of her boudoir, scolding him: "Careful or I'll call for people!"
Kairen replied: "Careful or I'll lose all shame!"