Before he could look back, invisible ripples of time and space suddenly spread outward, vanishing along with the Dragon Vein that shot into the sky.
After an utterly silent moment, only the howling wind remained. As the dust dispersed, the towering structure that had bound the Dragon Vein had already become rubble.
"Damn it, damn it! Damn Konoha brat! This Lord put so much effort into this place—my dream of unifying the Ninja World!"
Kneeling weakly on the ground, Anrokuzan looked dazed, completely failing to notice an orange-clad, blond-haired young man falling from the sky and crashing down hard on top of him.
"Ow! Where am I? 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.
"Huayue isn't here. Judging by that forehead protector, are you a Konoha ninja too? 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 ruins called Rōran. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Have you seen Teacher Yamato?"
His consciousness was hazy, and a dull pain ran through his entire body. In his daze, several unfamiliar voices echoed by his ears.
"Who's this brat? The pattern on his mask is a family crest I've never seen before. Is he a spy?"
"Wait, the crest on the back of this guy's clothes is a Fire Fan! Is he one of the clan's children? Whose kid is he?"
"This face... I've never seen this child before. Lock him in the dungeon for now. We'll decide after questioning him thoroughly."
He felt the Three-Eyed Demon Fox Mask being lifted away. An unfamiliar face pried open his eyelids, and the long-haired