A Vast Conspiracy

[In the Shinobi World, outside Iwagakure, Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had barely tumbled out of the Space-Time Passage when they found themselves surrounded by villagers kneeling in dense ranks.]

[Ōnoki, Kurotsuchi, and the others hurried forward. Before they could ask a question, it happened.]

[Humm!]

[An indescribable fear rising from the depths of the soul swept across the entire Shinobi World!]

[In an instant, heaven and earth lost their color!]

[The sun hanging high overhead seemed to be snuffed out by an invisible giant hand!]

[This was no gradual dimming like an eclipse. Without warning, complete, heart-stopping, absolute darkness descended!]

[Daylight became an endless night blacker than the deepest midnight! Even the temperature seemed to plummet.]

["What's happening?!"]

["Why did the sky go dark?!"]

["The sun! The sun's gone!"]

["Is this the end of the world?!"]

[Panic spread like a plague through Iwagakure and across the entire Shinobi World.]

[People screamed in terror, and children burst into tears. Ninjas tried to light torches, only to find that the strange darkness seemed to swallow most of their firelight. It illuminated only a tiny area around them, unable to reach any farther.]

[For seven minutes, the entire world lay in deathly, absolute darkness, as though the whole planet had been dragged into the abyss of another dimension.]

[In Naruto Uzumaki's home in Konoha, Boruto Uzumaki and Haimā were arguing fiercely over the outcome of a duel.]

[In the courtyard, Himawari and Klee were chasing a few Explosive Butterflies Klee had created, their faint Chakra light flickering.]

[Then utter darkness suddenly swallowed everything.]

["What's going on?" The cards fell from Boruto's hand.]

[Haimā frowned at the sky, which had turned black in an instant.]

[Himawari instinctively gripped Klee's hand. She felt the little girl trembling.]

["Mm..." A faint, stifled sob reached her.]