Before he could look back, invisible ripples of time and space suddenly spread out, vanishing along with the Dragon Vein that shot into the heavens.
After the utter silence, only the fierce wind blew. Once the dust settled, the towering structure that had bound the Dragon Vein had long since become ruins.
"Damn it, damn it! Damn Konoha brats! Do you know how much effort I put into this place? My dream of unifying the Ninja World!"
Kneeling weakly on the ground, Anrokuzan looked dazed, completely failing to notice a blond youth in orange descending from the sky and crashing heavily onto him.
"Ow! Where is this? Where's Captain Yamato? Where's that bastard Mukade?"
As several dark figures approached from afar, Namikaze Minato shifted his gaze and found the boy before him strangely familiar.
"Hua Yue isn't here. Judging by that forehead protector, you're a Konoha ninja too, aren't you? Don't worry, we're Konoha ninja as well. We were ordered to investigate the situation within the Country of Roran."
"Huh? Rōran? Come to think of it, I really was just at some ruins called Rōran. I'm Naruto Uzumaki. Have you seen Teacher Yamato?"
His consciousness was hazy, and a faint pain ran throughout his body. In his daze, several unfamiliar voices echoed beside his ears.
"Who is this brat? The pattern on his mask is a clan crest I've never seen before. Is he a spy?"
"Wait, the clan crest on his back is a Flame Fan! Is he one of our clan's children? Whose child is he?"
"That face... I've never seen this child before. Lock him in a cell for now. We'll decide after we investigate him thoroughly."
He felt the Three-Eyed Demon Fox Mask being lifted away, then unfamiliar faces pried open his eyelids. The long-haired