Naruto: Fate System

The scorching desert wind whipped around them as they made their way through the endless dunes.

On the way to Suna, even Konan couldn't help but voice her frustration about Pakura.

"That woman couldn't even maintain her confident act for three days," Konan said, brushing sand from her cloak. "She talked so big when we parted ways, but here we are, barely a few days later, and she's already begging for help."

Shin smiled faintly as he listened.

She left the rest unsaid, but he could easily read her thoughts: she probably regretted giving Sasori to Pakura in the first place.

The desert sun beat down mercilessly, making everyone's temper shorter than usual.

To be fair, Pakura had enjoyed a brief moment of glory upon her return.

The intelligence team had recently reported to Shin about Pakura's first day back in Suna. According to them, she had made quite an entrance—what they called a Queen's Return.

When he first heard this, he had leaned back thoughtfully, wondering if Pakura had somehow pulled off something extraordinary, like those tales of a nobody rising to become a legend overnight.

But he had given her too much credit.

Instead of becoming the next Kazekage as she'd hoped after capturing the Third Kazekage's killer, she had only managed to secure the position of Interim Kazekage.

And now, it seemed she was struggling to maintain even that temporary authority. The sand villagers weren't as easily impressed as she'd hoped.

This outcome hadn't surprised Shin much. From the moment they had parted ways, he had sensed that Pakura's return to the village wouldn't go smoothly. She lacked too many essential qualities—the ruthlessness to crush opponents, the charisma to win allies, the wisdom to see through deception.

Having Sasori's support might restore her reputation, but it wasn't enough to completely turn things in her favor.

Still, Shin had lent Sasori to Pakura without hesitation.

Because, for him, this result was perfect.

He didn't need Suna to have a strong, dominant new Kazekage who could act like a returning queen. Nor did he want Pakura to be crushed into a corner, fleeing in panic. Either extreme would be too simple, too clean.

The scenario he most wanted to see was exactly this: a stalemate, dragging Suna into endless internal conflict.

The village would waste its strength fighting itself, becoming weaker by the day. Ideally, this conflict would last until he had dealt with Konoha and had free time to handle them slowly.

In Shin's eyes, Suna was undoubtedly the weakest link among the Five Great Ninja Villages—a breakthrough point he couldn't afford to waste. The village's own nature worked against it—isolated, divided, desperate for strength yet unable to unite.

Thus, he was more than happy to fan the flames of chaos in Suna.

When he received the distress signal, he rushed over immediately. Kakuzu had been left behind to guard their base, though he'd grumbled about missing potential bounties.

Unfortunately, Pakura was unaware of his intentions and even expressed her gratitude upon their meeting. "Thank you, Shin. I didn't expect you to still be willing to help me. I truly misunderstood you before. I'm very grateful."

As soon as they met, she bowed deeply at a ninety-degree angle to Shin. The sight would have been comical if it wasn't so pathetic.

Sora, watching this, rolled her eyes and seemed ready to make some sarcastic remarks in her high-pitched tone.

But Shin quickly shoved a small fish snack into her mouth, silencing her instantly. Not now, cat. Bite it. Don't talk.

It left the little cat beside him utterly amazed, her eyes widening as she chewed the unexpected treat.

The last thing he needed was the sharp-tongued feline ruining his carefully crafted moment.

Acting as if nothing had happened, he continued his conversation with Pakura. "Tell me, what's the situation now?"

Pakura then began to explain, "Rasa claimed that a group of Konoha ninjas had recently taken over an oasis city nearby, driving out the surrounding Suna residents."

"He said he couldn't continue mining gold in the desert because of it and demanded the village's help to deal with the issue."

"I don't have enough manpower at the moment, so I had no choice but to seek your assistance. Once the matter is resolved, I'll pay you with the gold Rasa mines!"

By the time Pakura finished, her tone was gritting with anger. It was clear she intended to mercilessly exploit Rasa after resolving the issue.

This time, Shin had come along with Konan and Nagato, as well as Nagato's three Pain puppets.

"Konoha ninjas appearing in this desert? Not even the dead would believe it," Nagato said.

Pakura sighed. "Exactly. Suna and Konoha's battle lines have already advanced into the Land of Fire. The distance between the two is separated by the Land of Rivers, at least 500 kilometers away."

"If Konoha ninjas really managed to cross enemy lines and reach this desert, the security of Suna would need reevaluation." She laughed bitterly. "We might as well invite them to tea in the Kazekage's office."

Pakura was convinced that Rasa was just making excuses to shirk work.

Even Nagato, meeting her for the first time, agreed. Yet, Shin's expression turned thoughtful. Something's not right here. This feels... familiar.

"What's the name of this oasis city?" he asked.

Pakura answered truthfully, "It's called Rōran."

"Rōran?" Hearing the name, Shin was startled.

A memory surfaced—The Lost Tower.

Rōran was an independent city in the desert that thrived on its access to Ryūmyaku—a source of power capable of bending space and time.

In the movie, Naruto had traveled back in time using this energy, encountering his father in the past.

"Let's take a look first. Pakura, on the way, tell me more about your current situation in Suna. We're allies, after all. Maybe I can help you with something."

Pakura began opening up. She guessed that Shin was extracting intelligence but what else could she do? She really needed his help.

In the future, Suna's covert operatives would never imagine that their village's vital secrets had been leaked through the words of their Interim Kazekage herself.

She simply thought Shin could help her out of her situation.

As Shin strolled leisurely, planning how to deepen Suna's turmoil, he had no idea what awaited him in Rōran.

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In The Lost Tower, the ones who traveled through the Ryūmyaku were Mukade, and Naruto and Yamato.

But now, none of these three were present.

Instead, in the queen's chambers in Rōran stood a woman with Byakugan, her pale eyes scanning the ancient walls with growing concern.

Beside her, a one-armed man gripped his sword. A red-haired man in a red cloak with a gourd on his back stood perfectly still, arms crossed, while a loudmouthed blonde boy paced restlessly across the ornate floor.

If Shin were to see this, he would immediately recognize them.

In the one-armed man's hand was a turtle-shaped artifact—the key to their time travel. Its surface was dull and lifeless, no longer glowing with the power that had brought them here.

"The energy for time travel is depleted. According to reconnaissance, we're in the wrong time period."

"Naruto probably hasn't even been born yet, and Urashiki isn't here either. We've arrived in the wrong era. And now, this artifact's power is completely spent."

The blond boy clutched his head in despair. "How could this happen? Is there really no way to save Dad?"

The woman pondered aloud, her Byakugan active and scanning the surroundings, "Could the disruption in time be related to the Ryūmyaku?"

"Ryūmyaku…"

At the mention of this, everyone turned to the red-haired man in unison. After all, he was the Kazekage, and this was his land.

To their surprise, he simply spread his hands and helplessly said, "I don't know either."

By the time he became Kazekage, Rōran had already been destroyed.

"If you cared about your village's history even one-tenth as much as you care about Naruto, you wouldn't be this clueless," the woman muttered softly from the side.

The reason they had embarked on this time-travel adventure was to save Naruto from a grave danger.

Their enemy, Urashiki, admitted he couldn't defeat the current Naruto, so he decided to cheat by traveling to the past. His plan was to extract the Nine-Tails from young Naruto's body.

A rather dishonorable tactic, to say the least.

The one-armed man and the blond boy had decided to follow him to the past to stop him. By coincidence or similar deduction, two others arrived at the same moment with identical intent.

Upon arriving in this timeline, the blond boy turned to the red-haired man and couldn't help but say, "Uncle Gaara, you care more about my dad than my mom does."

"Boruto, at times like these, I wish you could understand just how much your father means to all of us," Gaara replied quietly, his eyes distant with memories.

How do I explain to a child what it means to be saved from the darkness?

As the Kazekage, he rushed to Konoha the moment he heard the news and joined them in this time-travel journey without hesitation.

But Gaara couldn't deny his lack of knowledge about Rōran was a failing. He turned away, pretending nothing had happened.

Eventually, it was the woman who recalled something after much thought and said, "The Ryūmyaku… I think I've heard of it. It was mentioned in Konoha's S-rank mission archives."

"There are two S-rank missions related to it. The first was when the Fourth Hokage sealed the Ryūmyaku—this must have been years ago. The second was when Naruto came here to capture a rogue ninja. But that's a future event and hasn't happened yet in this timeline."

"Hanabi," the one-armed man said, "what else do those archives say about the Fourth Hokage's mission?"

The woman shook her head, troubled. "I don't remember the specific reports."

However, she added, "Both mission reports end with the note that the Ryūmyaku was completely sealed."

The one-armed man appeared deep in thought.

"If both the Fourth Hokage and Naruto concluded it needed sealing, then maybe… it really does have something to do with time and space."

"Sasuke-sensei," Boruto said anxiously, "if both my dad and grandfather dealt with this power, shouldn't we be extra careful?"

"We will be," the one-armed man assured his student before turning to Hanabi. "What else did you find out?"

"Here's more evidence: I asked some locals, and they said no foreign shinobi have been seen here in the last few years. But I remember the S-rank archives mentioning that the Fourth Hokage came to Rōran between the Second and Third Great Ninja Wars to seal the Ryūmyaku."

She paused, frowning. "But something else doesn't add up. According to those records, Queen Sēramu died during that incident, yet she's alive and ruling Rōran now."

At this, everyone's expressions darkened. They now knew the current timeline was set during the Third Great Ninja War.

"So, history has already been altered?" Boruto asked grimly.

Their mission was to stop Urashiki from changing history. But history seemed to have already shifted without their knowledge, leaving them deeply unsettled.

"No, this timeline could be before Rōran's demise," Sasuke corrected. "But the Ryūmyaku must be sealed immediately. We can't allow it to disrupt the future any further."

At this point, he couldn't help but think that the Fourth Hokage must have had similar intentions. This strengthened his resolve.

But no one anticipated the shockwaves his words would create.

The next moment, he sensed something amiss.

"Come out," he said calmly, activating his Sharingan to dispel a genjutsu crafted with Ryūmyaku's energy.

This revealed a panicked red-haired girl hiding nearby, her body still partially shrouded in the dissipating illusion.

She spun toward them. "You traitors! Just a few days ago, my mother saved you in the desert, and now you're planning to seal our Ryūmyaku? You're all liars!"

Her accusations rendered the group speechless.

"It's to preserve the correct timeline and save the shinobi world!" Boruto exclaimed, taking a step forward.

"You're saving the shinobi world? What about us? What about Rōran?" she shouted. "I heard what you said—my mother shouldn't even be alive in your 'correct' history! Who gave you the right to decide our fate? To decide she should die?"

Hanabi involuntarily shuddered, unable to respond. After all, she was the one who had asked that question, causing the girl's trust in them to collapse.

In their quest to preserve history, they had inadvertently ignored the personal costs to others. Her anguished cry struck a nerve in everyone present.

"You hypocrites!" she shouted before running off in tears, her feet carrying her toward the highest tower of Rōran.

Although they could have easily caught up with her, Sasuke, Hanabi, and Gaara hesitated, shaken by her words.

Was the history they sought to protect just?

Only Boruto, unable to dwell on such complexities, chased after her.

"Stop! Don't run! Wait!" Damn! Why can't she understand we're trying to help?

She ran in panic but tripped, her foot catching on an uneven stone at the tower's edge.

"Ahhh!"

Sasuke moved to activate his Amenotejikara, ready to save her. But before he could act, a figure with paper wings swooped in, catching the girl mid-air.

They landed safely on the other side of the tower, where Nagato, and Pakura stood alongside Rōran's queen, Sēramu. The paper wings dissolved into a shower of sheets that drifted around them as they watched the Konoha group from afar.

"Sara, are you okay?" Sēramu asked, cradling the girl.

She then turned to Pakura, her voice carrying across the gap between the towers. "Kazekage-sama, Rōran has no quarrel with Suna. The rogue shinobi you seek are right before you."

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