The Rōran Ruins, the Land of Wind.
Ever since Obito Uchiha took the seed of the Dragon Vein's energy here, this place has been designated as a forbidden area and is guarded by ninjas from the Land of Wind.
There are twelve ninjas from the Land of Wind stationed here, divided into two squads, rotating every month. The days are filled with sandstorms, and the nights are eerily quiet.
The guard, wrapped in a gray windproof cloak, crouched behind the broken wall, only his eyes visible.
Another person was leaning against a stone pillar, sanding Kunai.
"You said the wind has gotten drier since the moon disappeared," the one crouching said, his voice muffled by his cloak. "Before, I could feel a little dampness at night, but now even my nostrils are dry."
"I'm used to it." The man polishing the Kunai didn't look up. "In the Land of Wind, we do it every year. But when the moon first disappeared, the village elders cried for days, saying half the sky had collapsed. But they're still alive and well now."
"Of course they're still alive. It's just that I heard there's been a lot of trouble at the beach. They can't even catch fish in the Land of Water." The person who was squatting shifted their position. "Do you think the person who made the moon disappear will get their comeuppance?"
"Shh." The person polishing the Kunai finally raised his head and glanced around. "Don't talk nonsense. That guy from the Land of Fire is the most taboo person in the Shinobi World right now. Do you think the Lord Kazekage doesn't want to care? And can he?"
The two fell silent. The wind blew in from outside the broken wall, carrying sand and dust that made their cloaks flutter loudly.
The person squatting down sighed, about to say something, when suddenly they saw a figure appear on the sand in the distance.
The man, dressed in a dark blue robe and wearing Spiral Mask, was walking slowly toward the ruins. There were no footprints.
The sand was spotless, as if the person had no weight at all.
"Someone's there!" the crouching man shouted, leaping up with his companion.
Twelve wind ninja emerged from their respective sentry posts, already clutching Kunai and Shuriken in their hands.
The captain, who was leading the group, blocked the entrance to the ruins and said in a deep voice, "This is a forbidden area of Land of Wind. Those who come here, stop!"
Obito didn't stop. He took two steps, then suddenly stopped, tilting his head slightly as if counting heads.
"Twelve," he said. "Exactly, not one less."
A vortex of Kamui opened up beneath the captain's feet. The captain reacted extremely quickly, leaping backward to create distance, but the vortex followed him, growing larger and larger.
He threw three Shuriken, Shuriken through Obito's body and embedded themselves in the ground. Obito remained standing there, like a cloud of intangible mist.
"It's useless," Obito said.
He raised his hand. Dozens of Chakra chains extended from the vortex, coiling outwards like tentacles.
The wind ninjas scattered and tried to escape, but the chains were too fast and too dense; the two at the front were pierced through.
The remaining people attempted to Hand Seals to counterattack, but the Ninjutsu passed through Obito's body, only exploding into a few clouds of dust behind him.
Obito was like a ghost in the wind, impossible to hit or catch. His chains pierced out one after another, and the wind ninjas fell one after another, blooming a patch of dark red flowers on the sand.
The last person turned to run, but Obito pinned his leg down from behind with a black rod.
The man screamed and fell to the ground. Obito walked up to him, squatted down, as if admiring something.
"You... you are Obito Uchiha!" the wind ninja asked, trembling.
"You guessed right, but there's no reward." Obito finished speaking, the Kamui vortex slowly unfolded from the man's feet, swallowing his entire left leg.
A scream ripped through the night. A moment later, Obito stood up, the vortex disappeared, and only half of his body remained on the spot.
Ban emerged from behind the sand dune.
He wore a dark red old battle armor, his long hair was tied up with straw rope, and his face was expressionless.
He walked past the twelve corpses as if they were twelve ordinary stones.
Obito stepped aside, bowed his head, and said, "It's all taken care of."
Ban ignored him and walked straight to the stone platform in the center of the ruins.
That was the altar of the Rōran Dragon Vein, its four sides engraved with intricate patterns, and a narrow groove in the center. Ban squatted down and brushed away the yellow sand covering the groove. The bottom of the groove gleamed with a very faint purple light, as if there was still a breath left.
"Let's begin," said Madara.
Obito retrieved a sealing scroll.
The moment the scroll was unfurled, purple Dragon Vein energy surged out from between the seals, like a raging fire that had been suppressed for too long.
One by one, the runes in the ruins lit up, and the patterns on the broken walls, like red-hot blood vessels, spread throughout the entire ancient city.
The ground began to shake, and the sand grains floated upwards, as if gravity had been sucked out.
" Lord Madara."
A shrill voice came from the shadows. A White Snake emerged from the shadows beneath the stone platform, coiling around Ban's feet. It raised its head, its forked tongue trembling slightly. " The Dragon Vein Platform still needs a little more time. Have you decided which era you wish to travel to?"
Madara didn't turn around. "What does the Snake Sage think?"
The White Snake chuckled softly, "This old woman dares not make the decision for you. However, young Shinsei is growing stronger and stronger."
If you go to a later era, the more fully he has matured, the more capable he will be of stopping you from doing anything. It's better to go to an era without Shinsei.
"There have been many eras without Shinsei," Madara said, "But what I want is more than just the absence of Shinsei."
"Oh?" The White Snake straightened up. "Then what you want is--"
" Hashirama," Madara said. He raised his head, gazing towards the direction where the Dragon Vein Platform was still unformed. The purple light reflected on his face, making it appear as if it had been sliced in two. "I want to go to an era where Hashirama is still alive. An era without Shinsei Senju, but with Hashirama Senju."
Obito stood to the side, his lips moving beneath the mask, and finally he asked the question.
" Lord Madara, what exactly do you want from Hashirama?"
Ban didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on the purple light.
Obito didn't ask any more questions.
The White Snake let out a few ambiguous laughs and slowly swam back into the shadows. The wind blew in from outside the ruins, carrying the stench of blood into everyone's nostrils.
The light from the platform rose higher and higher, bathing the entire Rōran Ruins in a purple-white glow.