The Ninja from the Future?

"Is this Rōran? I never imagined there'd be such a prosperous city in the middle of the desert." Seeing the towering buildings and the bustling streets, which far surpassed Konoha's, Hyuga Hana covered her mouth in astonishment.

"It really is amazing, but what does this have to do with the moon? Genichi, didn't you say we might be able to go to the moon if things worked out this time?" Mikoto Uchiha asked.

Genichi smiled faintly. "Don't rush. Just wait a little longer."

Some time ago, Konoha's Intelligence Department had brought back information about Rōran. Rumor had it that the mysterious minister Anrokuzan was secretly building a terrifying weapon behind the queen's back.

After learning of Anrokuzan's plot, Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi had assigned Genichi to investigate further, protect the Queen of Roran, and thwart Anrokuzan's plans.

"Lord Hokage, carrying out a mission inside the Land of Wind would be too dangerous for those children. I've decided to bring Hyuga Hana and Mikoto Uchiha with me. That way, even if we're surrounded by Sand Ninja, we can retreat calmly using Magnet Release to fly."

"Heh, of course. That's no problem."

In the original timeline, in Konoha's sixty-sixth year, Naruto accepted a mission from Tsunade. Led by Yamato, he tracked down the rogue ninja Mukade alongside Sakura and Sai.

In the end, he activated the Dragon Vein's power in Rōran and traveled back in time, where he met the young Minato Namikaze and carried out a mission with him.

Even if the Third Hokage hadn't said anything, Genichi—who was extremely interested in time travel—wouldn't have let this opportunity pass him by.

Would he run into Naruto's team from the original story?

Or would his future self show up directly, crossing time to deliver him a power-up?

The celebration was underway when, all of a sudden, Her Majesty the Queen on the high platform seemed to be shoved from behind. She stumbled forward, and at that very moment, the railing—which had fallen into disrepair—gave way, sending her tumbling off the platform.

Sensing a blond kid rushing toward them, Genichi stopped Hana and Mikoto from intervening.

"That's a Konoha Forehead Protector. Why would there be a Konoha ninja here?" Hana asked, puzzled, as she recognized the figure.

"Looks like we've got parallel worlds crossing over. Man, things are tough when there's no old man around to pass on his powers."

Genichi thought this to himself, then said, "Don't rush. Let's watch a little longer. Hana, follow these energy conduits and find where the Dragon Vein's energy is most concentrated."

"How can this be?" Hana exclaimed as she activated her Byakugan and examined the area. "None of these people are human!"

"If they're not people, then what are they?" Mikoto asked, confused.

"They're all puppets. Puppet strings are attached to them—they're being controlled by someone," Hana explained.

"I found it. These conduits all lead to the base of that tower."

"Anrokuzan probably made them, but there's no need to hurry. Let's go check out the Dragon Vein first." Genichi left a shadow clone to follow Naruto, then headed toward the Tower of Thousand, where the Dragon Vein lay.

Naruto held Princess Sara, her reddish-brown hair spilling over his arm, and smiled reassuringly. "You're safe now."

"Smack! Smack!" "Ow, that hurts."

Still shaken after falling from the platform, Sara looked up to find a strange man holding her. She instinctively slapped him twice, then elbowed Naruto to the ground. "Let go of me, you insolent fool!"

"What are you doing? I just saved you!" Naruto protested helplessly, one hand touching the mark on his face.

Sara finally came to her senses. She thanked Naruto politely, but inwardly grumbled, What a rude guy.

"I heard everyone calling you Her Majesty the Queen. Do you know where we are? Have you heard of Mukade or somewhere called Rōran?" Naruto asked hurriedly. He'd not only lost track of his mission target but had also been separated from his companions.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Of course this is Rōran," Sara said.

"Huh? But Rōran was supposed to be in ruins. I was just..." Naruto scratched his head, thoroughly confused.

"Please don't say such strange things. Rōran is a town I inherited from my mother, and it means more to me than my own life." Sara interrupted Naruto, looking upset.

Watching the two kids argue back and forth, Genichi's shadow clone didn't interfere. The priority now was to keep things as they were and give the main body time to study the Dragon Vein.

Inside the Tower of Thousand

Genichi thought it over carefully and decided not to seal the Dragon Vein right away. He turned to the two women beside him with a mysterious smile. "We've learned enough. Let's go. We shouldn't keep the Queen of Roran waiting.

Don't be too surprised by what happens next!"

Genichi and the others then approached Sara and Naruto, identified themselves as Konoha Ninja, and explained, "We received word that Anrokuzan has been secretly harming Rōran's people and the previous queen. He intends to seize the Dragon Vein's power and conquer the Ninja World."

Genichi took Sara straight to the surviving people of Rōran and showed her the human puppets he'd taken apart along the way as evidence.

"Impossible! Minister Anrokuzan has always been devoted to Rōran. How could he do such a thing?"

Listening to the people's laments, Sara could see the truth with her own eyes. Someone had indeed tried to take her life. Tears welled in her eyes as she struggled to accept it.

Naruto was confused, too. "Big brother, are you also a Konoha ninja? I've never seen you before."

"This is the first time I've seen you, too. Earlier, I sensed another ninja over there wearing a Konoha Forehead Protector. Did he come with you?" Genichi asked. He'd sensed Yamato's location.

"Huh? Could it be Yamato-senpai?" Naruto vaguely remembered Yamato-senpai rushing forward just before they were swallowed by the pillar of light.

Once Sara had finally regained some of her composure, Genichi encouraged her. "There should still be some survivors in this city. Now that you know Anrokuzan's true nature, you need to pull yourself together as the Queen of Roran. Your people are waiting for you to save them."

At last, Sara steeled herself and resolved to fulfill her duties as queen.

The group went to the gates of Rōran, where they found Yamato unconscious.

"Naruto! Are you all right?" Yamato asked with concern when he came to and saw Naruto. Then he looked at the others. "And who are you? Why are you wearing Konoha Forehead Protectors?"

"Us? We're Konoha Ninja, of course. Heh, looks like something interesting has happened." Genichi knew the whole story and had no intention of explaining it all slowly. Now that everyone was here, he asked directly, "How many years has it been since Konoha was founded?"

"Of course it's been forty-six years," Mikoto answered at once, while Hana seemed lost in thought.

"What do you mean, forty-six years? Isn't this Konoha's sixty-sixth year?" Naruto shouted.

After a brief exchange of information, Yamato realized that the Second Shinobi World War had ended only recently, and the Third Shinobi World War hadn't yet begun.

"Don't say anything more, Naruto!" To avoid leaking too much information and changing the future in unpredictable ways, Yamato forcibly stopped Naruto from continuing.

"Yamato, right? I don't think there's any need to be so nervous." Genichi explained the concept of parallel worlds. "We probably come from different Ninja Worlds.

Time travel by itself is practically impossible. Think about it: if you traveled back in time and killed your ancestor when he was young, would you still exist? If you didn't exist, how could your ancestor have died?"

Yamato listened, deep in thought. Naruto looked utterly shocked. "I don't know what you're talking about, but are we not in our original world? What if we can't get back? Sasuke! Sakura!"

"Don't worry. Here comes the real culprit." Genichi had barely finished speaking.

Genichi and the others hadn't tried to hide their tracks. After seeing them gathered together, Mukade decided to bring all his forces to bear and finish them off in one fell swoop.

He transformed into a monster that looked a little like a centipede and a little like a spider, then charged at them with his puppet army. "A queen who refuses to obey has no reason to live. And you Konoha Ninja will be buried here alongside Sara!"

Wood Style: Great Forest Technique! Yamato transformed his right hand into several wooden branches and tried to bind Mukade, but the blades on the puppet's legs cut through them.

Mukade claimed to be the greatest puppeteer in the Ninja World, but setting aside the Dragon Vein's near-limitless energy, he was only a decent puppeteer of elite jonin level.

Genichi didn't waste words. With a thought, he sent a vast cloud of Iron Sand sweeping out, into the puppets' inner mechanisms. As it dismantled them, it drew their core—Mukade—closer.

A Contract Seal severed Mukade's connection to the Dragon Vein, preventing him from recovering again. Then another Sealing Jutsu restricted his ability to control chakra.

"Is this Wood Style?" Hana and Mikoto exclaimed in astonishment.

"This is Magnet Release? Amazing." Yamato marveled, though he was also confused. Why would a Konoha ninja have Magnet Release? He'd never heard of that before.

"That was awesome, Big Brother Genichi! So that was Mukade? You beat him in one go. Does that mean I can go home now?" Naruto exclaimed excitedly.

"You should be able to get back once we reach the Dragon Vein's core and reinforce the seal," Genichi explained. "By the way, Yamato, you just used Wood Style, right? Are you a member of the Senju Clan, or were you the product of a Wood Style Experiment?"

Yamato thought it over. The Wood Style Experiment was a secret, but this Konoha ninja clearly knew about it—and they weren't even from the same Ninja World—so he replied, "It was a human experiment to create Wood Style. I was the only one who survived."

"Do you remember where you lived before the experiment?" Genichi asked.

Under Genichi's influence, Orochimaru hadn't conducted human experiments. Where Yamato was in this world was a question, too. It was clear that Yamato had some affinity for Wood Style. Genichi had no intention of letting this useful hand at planting trees and building houses get away.

"Heh, I don't know." Sensing a strange hostility, Yamato didn't want to answer. Besides, he really had forgotten a lot about his life before the experiment.

Hana had heard a little about it while working with Orochimaru, but Mikoto was utterly shocked to learn the village was secretly experimenting on the First's body. She hadn't imagined the village could be so dark inside.

At last, the group reached the depths of the Tower of Thousand, where the Dragon Vein's core lay. The Dragon Vein was a chakra crystal formed from vast amounts of Natural Energy gathered in the earth's veins, and it possessed special space-time properties.

Who in the world was most likely to master the power of the Dragon Vein? The Queen of Roran?

Of course not. The answer was Chiba Genichi.

Among those who studied Natural Energy, he was the best at Sealing Jutsu. Among Sealing Jutsu masters, he was the most skilled with Natural Energy.

He also had some talent for space-time techniques. Although he'd only recently begun learning the Flying Thunder God Technique, that was more than enough here.

Next, all he had to do was use the Flying Thunder God Mark together with the Four-Symbols Seal to restrain the power spilling from the Dragon Vein, then kill Mukade, who had fused the space-time seal into his body. That would send Naruto and Yamato back and bring this incident to a complete end.

But could things really be that simple?