Morning in Konoha was dyed warm gold by the rising sun.
At the village entrance, Hokage Rock stood in silence, the faces of the First Hokage, Second Hokage, and Third Hokage solemn and steady as they overlooked this land that had endured war yet still thrived. In the streets and alleys, ninjas hurried past, children chased each other with kunai raised, and the scent of Q's BBQ drifted on the wind. Everything was the same as at the beginning of countless cycles, so peaceful it was as if the constancy of the Omni-Dimension, the blossoming of the Heart Cherry, and the symbiosis between Niansheng and Xunian had never existed.
No one remembered the Boundary Guardian's loneliness. No one remembered the light of the Heart Lock returning to its place. No one remembered Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki rushing across the Omni-Dimension, and even less did anyone remember that eternal world where Boundless stood beside them, living in symbiosis with the darkness.
The cycle crushed all memories beneath it and dragged the world back to its original starting point.
Uzumaki Naruto, an orphan of Konoha, was crouching beneath a utility pole at the village entrance, using his filthy little hands to smear graffiti over Hokage Rock. His blond hair stuck up in messy tufts, his cheeks were streaked with dirt, but a defiant light burned in his eyes—the light of someone isolated and ignored by the entire village, yet still desperately trying to be seen.
"Demon Fox! Stay away!"
The villagers passing by frowned and dodged him, fear and disgust hidden in their eyes as they waved their hands as if shooing away something filthy.
Naruto clenched his fists and flung the paint in his hand hard onto the ground, then stubbornly lifted his head. "I'm not the Demon Fox! I'm going