[The white screen lights up.]
[Konoha Year 48 — The Nine-Tails' Attack.]
The screen broadcasts the events in sequence to the entire shinobi world—
The masked man placing an explosive tag on baby Naruto.
The Fourth Hokage using Flying Thunder God: Second Step to strike down the masked man.
The dying words of father and mother.
Naruto growing up under the cold stares, insults, and rejection of Konoha's villagers.
Finally—
The Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
(The truth behind it is not revealed.)
[Kushina Uzumaki: Naruto… why did my child have to suffer like that?! We gave our lives for Konoha's peace! Is this how you treat our son?!]
Across Konoha, not a single villager dared to breathe too loudly.
Although after the Third Hokage's decree they no longer openly bullied Naruto, before that order… they had been no different from what the screen showed.
[Minato Namikaze: Calm down, Kushina.]
[Kushina Uzumaki: Calm down?! How can I calm down?! Naruto… say something!]
[Naruto Uzumaki: Mmmph—!]
[Xiao V: Ahaha, sorry! I forgot to lift the restraint.]
The camera abruptly shifted—
Naruto and Sasuke were still locked together, eyes rolled upward from the prolonged kiss.
Silence fell across the entire shinobi world.
…Do kids these days really play this wild?
[Kushina Uzumaki: …]
[Minato Namikaze: …]
[Fugaku Uchiha: …]
[Mikoto Uchiha: …]
[Itachi Uchiha: …]
[Various Uchiha Clan Members: ?]
[Inabi Uchiha: Itachi! You dare show yourself here?!]
[Yashiro Uchiha: You heartless traitor!]
The Uchiha clan immediately turned on Itachi with accusations.
[Itachi Uchiha: What a narrow-minded clan.]
[Izuna Uchiha: Itachi Uchiha! If I were alive, I'd kill you myself!]
[Madara Uchiha: Enough, Izuna. This is a parallel world, not ours.]
Though Madara had once turned his back on the clan, he would not let his younger brother lose his composure.
Only then did the shinobi world remember—
This was a parallel timeline.
Some villages had been tempted to mock Konoha over the Fourth Hokage's son, but now it felt premature.
[Ōnoki: Hmph. In this world, the Uchiha clan hasn't been reduced to just two survivors like in that one… but still—]
[Fourth Raikage (A): Not many left.]
[Rasa: Heh. Konoha remains frightening.]
[Ōnoki: I refuse to believe Itachi wiped out his entire clan alone without Konoha's involvement.]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: Ahem. Do not jump to conclusions. And Konoha's internal affairs are not for other villages to meddle in.]
[Ōnoki: …]
Ōnoki and the Fourth Raikage exchanged puzzled looks.
Since when did Hiruzen become so firm?
[Kushina Uzumaki: Forget that for now. Naruto—did you grow up the same way as on the screen?]
Naruto was about to answer—
When the frame suddenly turned red.
[Konoha Year 48 — The Nine-Tails' Attack.]
The early scenes replayed identically.
But when it reached Naruto's childhood—
The scene shifted.
Shiranui Clan Compound.
Shiranui Nagi sat cross-legged, following the instructions on a chakra refinement scroll given to him by his cousin, Genma Shiranui.
[Minato Namikaze: Hmm? Is this where the difference begins? Is that boy from your clan, Genma?]
[Genma Shiranui: Yes, Lord Fourth. He's my cousin.]
Inside the Academy classroom, all eyes turned toward Nagi.
Especially the girls.
"Ah—so Nagi's actually that handsome?"
"Right? I never noticed before!"
"His eyes are so beautiful!"
…
[Orochimaru: Hehehe… how interesting.]
[Ōnoki: I don't recall this boy appearing in the parallel world footage. And earlier, he was sitting beside Naruto in the classroom—yet he wasn't present in the other timeline's class.]
The older generation's observational skills were razor-sharp.
[Madara Uchiha: Hm? So this brat is the point of divergence between the two worlds?]
The scene continued.
Nagi focused intently on refining chakra while Genma watched nearby.
Suddenly—
Nagi's body emitted a brilliant aqua-blue light.
[Deidara: Whoa! The kid turned into light!]
[Ōnoki: Deidara?]
[Kurotsuchi: Big Brother Deidara? Where are you?]
[Deidara: Heh, old man and Kurotsuchi, huh? I'm out pursuing true art!]
[Sasori: Shut up, Deidara.]
[Chiyo: Hm?]
The screen shifted again—
Inside Nagi's mindscape.
He looked around in confusion, surrounded by a vast blue space.
A streak of light appeared before him, gathering into human form.
As the glow faded—
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, stood before him.
Tobirama scanned the surroundings, frowning slightly.
"Impure World Reincarnation? …No. This isn't that. Where is this place?"
Nagi stared blankly at him. The man seemed strangely familiar—almost as if he saw him every day.
Tobirama's gaze softened slightly at the sight of the boy's white hair.
"Child. What place is this?"
"I… don't know."
"Do you know how you entered it?"
Though young, Nagi remained cautious.
"…And you are?"
"I am the Second Hokage of Konohagakure."
The livestream exploded.
[Hashirama Senju: Nani?! Tobirama, you're inside that boy?! How did that happen?!]
[Tobirama Senju: Brother, be quiet. I'll let the livestream explain.]
[Madara Uchiha: Hmph. Another one of your unsightly forbidden techniques, no doubt.]
[Hashirama Senju: But Tobirama… we're already dead. We shouldn't interfere with the living world.]
[Tobirama Senju: Enough! And you, Madara Uchiha—you have no right to lecture me.]
[Hashirama Senju: …]
[Madara Uchiha: …]
Back in the mindscape—
Realization dawned on Nagi.
That was why the man looked so familiar—
The Second Hokage's Stone Monument stood prominently in the village.
He quickly explained that he had been refining chakra when everything went dark, and he had inexplicably arrived here.
Tobirama analyzed the situation calmly.
As the creator of numerous soul-related techniques, he immediately recognized similarities to a subconscious mental space.
Based on Nagi's description, Tobirama deduced—
When he perished fighting the Gold and Silver Brothers, the power of the Sage of Six Paths' treasured tools must have left his soul in an unstable, drifting state.
When Nagi refined chakra, he had inadvertently drawn Tobirama's lingering soul into his mind—
Somewhat akin to the Spirit Transformation Technique.
Truly worthy of being called a master of ninjutsu. Tobirama had already pieced together most of the truth.
"What year is it in Konoha?"
"Lord Second, it is the spring of Year 54."
Tobirama paused.
"So many years have passed… Who is Hokage now?"
"The Third Hokage, Lord Hiruzen."
Tobirama's expression stiffened.
"What?! Hiruzen has been Hokage for that long?!"