Chapter 287: Rōran Twenty Years Ago
Inside Ryūjin Jakka, Asuramaru watched as the overwhelming power of the Dragon Vein swallowed Naruto whole.
Purple chakra filled everything.
Then darkness.
When Naruto opened his eyes again, the first thing he saw was an old, damaged dome overhead.
Five large openings had been torn through the structure, allowing thin beams of sunlight to spill into the ruined chamber below.
Dust drifted through the light.
Then a voice reached him.
Soft.
Distant.
Singing.
"Flowers dance in beauty, passed down through the spiral…"
Naruto blinked.
He pushed himself up from the ground and looked around.
Broken stone.
Ancient walls.
No Yamato.
No Sakura.
No Sai.
Naruto frowned.
"Asuramaru."
"I'm listening."
"What happened while I was unconscious?"
Naruto studied the surrounding ruins.
"Is this still Rōran?"
Asuramaru answered calmly.
"Yes."
Naruto relaxed slightly.
Then Asuramaru continued.
"But this is Rōran from twenty years ago."
Naruto froze.
"What?"
"You were pulled through time by the Dragon Vein."
Naruto stared blankly ahead.
"Twenty years ago?"
He immediately looked around again, as though the ruined walls might somehow confirm what he had just heard.
Then another thought struck him.
"Can I get back?"
"Yes."
Naruto waited.
Asuramaru continued.
"The one who caused the disturbance must be dealt with."
"Mukade triggered the Dragon Vein and dragged you into this era."
"Defeat him and resolve what he started."
"Then you should be able to return to your original time."
Naruto exhaled.
"That's good."
Asuramaru added,
"But there's another problem."
Naruto frowned.
"What now?"
"You and Mukade did not arrive at exactly the same point in time."
Naruto's expression changed.
"What do you mean?"
"He came here years before you."
Naruto fell silent.
So Mukade had already been operating in this era for some time.
That made things more complicated.
Still, Naruto's mind had already wandered elsewhere.
Twenty years ago.
Konoha.
His parents.
Minato.
Kushina.
They should both be alive in this era.
Naruto's expression softened.
Could he go back to Konoha?
Could he see them?
Even once?
Asuramaru immediately sensed where his thoughts were heading.
"Don't."
Naruto stiffened.
Asuramaru continued.
"I strongly advise you not to involve yourself with people from this era unless necessary."
"History has already happened."
"If you interfere carelessly, there is no telling what might change."
Naruto looked down.
"Is it really that serious?"
"Yes."
The answer was immediate.
Naruto remained silent.
The idea of seeing Minato and Kushina had surfaced so naturally that giving it up hurt more than he expected.
For a moment, loneliness returned to his eyes.
Then Naruto took a slow breath.
He forced himself to let the thought go.
"The mission comes first."
He looked toward the source of the singing.
"We find Mukade."
"We deal with him."
"Then we go home."
Asuramaru said nothing more.
The song was still faintly audible.
Naruto followed it.
Soon, he spotted someone sitting on a large piece of fallen stone among the ruins.
A young girl.
Red hair framed her face.
Her clothing was simple.
She seemed completely absorbed in her song.
Naruto stepped toward her.
"Excuse me"
The girl looked up.
Her eyes widened.
Then she immediately stood and ran.
Naruto stopped.
"…Alright."
He scratched his cheek awkwardly.
"That went well."
With no better option, he followed her.
The girl disappeared into a passage.
Naruto entered after her.
At the far end, she stood waiting.
But she was no longer alone.
Two humanoid puppets stood in front of her.
Naruto's expression sharpened.
The girl raised one hand.
The puppets moved.
Both charged him.
"Wait."
Naruto lifted his hands slightly.
"You've misunderstood."
He backed up half a step.
"I'm not trying to hurt you."
One puppet swung.
Naruto dodged.
"I got lost."
The second attacked from the opposite side.
Naruto drew one of his three pronged kunai.
"I just wanted to ask for directions."
He stepped into the chamber.
The moment he crossed the entrance, something activated.
The two puppets abruptly fell apart.
Arms.
Legs.
Torso pieces.
They collapsed across the floor in a pile of scattered components.
Naruto blinked.
Then several heavy stone slabs dropped behind him.
Boom!
The passage was sealed.
Naruto looked back.
Then toward the empty chamber.
The red haired girl was already gone.
He sighed.
"She really doesn't like talking."
Still, the puppets had told him something useful.
Mukade was involved.
Puppets of this quality were unlikely to be scattered through Rōran by coincidence.
If Mukade had arrived in this era years earlier, then rather than leaving, he had almost certainly remained here.
And if he had stayed…
Then whatever scheme he was planning probably revolved around the Dragon Vein.
That simplified things.
Naruto looked upward.
Several holes were visible high in the dome.
He bent his knees.
Then leapt.
His body blurred upward.
A moment later, he passed through one of the openings.
Naruto landed outside.
Then stopped.
His eyes widened.
The Rōran he had seen in his own era was dead.
Ruins.
Sand.
Broken towers.
This Rōran was completely different.
Towering buildings rose across the city.
Huge structures stood packed together beneath the desert sun.
Bridges connected elevated sections.
The city stretched far beyond what Naruto had expected.
Prosperous.
Alive.
Naruto stared.
"So this is what Rōran looked like twenty years ago…"
Asuramaru interrupted.
"Stop sightseeing."
Naruto immediately became alert.
"What?"
"Puppets."
Several figures descended from surrounding rooftops.
Humanoid puppets.
Naruto counted them in a glance.
Their left arms shifted.
Mechanical openings appeared.
Then purple chakra gathered.
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
The puppets fired.
Several chakra blasts tore through the air.
Naruto moved.
Three pronged kunai flew from his hand.
Flash!
Golden light appeared.
Naruto vanished from the path of the first blast.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Flash!
He appeared beside one of the puppets.
His kunai moved.
Slash!
A chakra thread snapped.
The puppet immediately lost control.
Naruto disappeared again.
Flash!
Another thread was severed.
Then another.
Golden light flickered around the battlefield.
Within seconds, every puppet fell from the air.
They struck rooftops and streets below, lifeless.
Naruto landed.
He put away the kunai.
"That was fast."
Too fast.
He had barely arrived in the city and had already been attacked.
Mukade knew an intruder was here.
Possibly even knew exactly who Naruto was.
Naruto looked across the surrounding towers.
The enemy controlled the city.
Naruto knew almost nothing about the situation.
He was exposed.
Mukade was hidden.
That was a bad position.
Better to disappear first.
Gather information.
Then move.
Naruto vanished from the rooftop.
Not long afterward, he found himself overlooking a wide open plaza near the central district.
A crowd had gathered below.
They were cheering.
Naruto remained concealed in the shadows of a nearby building.
At first glance, everything looked normal.
Then he watched more carefully.
Something felt wrong.
The crowd was large.
But too many of the people below moved stiffly.
Too uniformly.
Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"Asuramaru."
"I noticed."
Naruto continued watching.
"Those are puppets."
Many of the cheering figures were not people at all.
Naruto's expression became serious.
"Why would Mukade fill the plaza with puppets just to make it look crowded?"
Another thought followed immediately.
"And where are the actual people of Rōran?"
The city was enormous.
Yet during the time Naruto had spent moving through it, he had seen surprisingly few civilians.
The atmosphere beneath the prosperity felt strangely hollow.
Then a large set of doors opened above the plaza.
Naruto looked up.
A balcony extended from the central building.
Three figures stepped out.
The person in the middle immediately caught Naruto's attention.
The red haired girl from earlier.
But now she looked completely different.
She wore elaborate ceremonial clothing.
Regal.
Formal.
The kind of clothing worn by royalty.
Two puppet guards stood beside her.
She approached the edge of the balcony.
The crowd below erupted in cheers.
The girl raised one hand and waved.
Then something happened.
One of the puppet guards moved.
A hand shoved her from behind.
The girl stumbled.
Her eyes widened.
The stone beneath the front edge of the balcony suddenly shattered.
Crack!
Her footing vanished.
She fell.
A scream tore from her throat.
Naruto's eyes widened.
Asuramaru's voice entered his mind.
"Mukade is on the roof."
Naruto looked up.
"Do you want to deal with him?"
Naruto did not answer.
He moved.
His feet struck the ground.
He shot from the shadows.
The falling girl had already closed her eyes.
Then Naruto caught her.
His arms wrapped securely around her before she could hit anything below.
He shifted his weight.
Flash!
A blur of movement.
Then another.
Naruto landed safely in a secluded corner away from the plaza.
The girl remained in his arms.
Her eyes were still tightly shut.
Naruto looked down at her.
"You're alright."
His voice was gentle.
"You're safe now."
The girl opened her eyes.
She found herself staring directly at Naruto.
Her face immediately turned red.
Then panic replaced embarrassment.
"You"
She swung her hand.
"Let go of me, you rude man!"
Naruto saw the slap coming.
He immediately released her and stepped back.
The girl dropped.
"Ah!"
She landed hard on the ground.
Silence.
Naruto stared.
The girl stared back from where she sat.
Her expression was completely blank.
Naruto raised his hands.
"You told me to let go."
The girl's face became even redder.
She quickly got back to her feet and straightened her clothes.
Then she lowered her head.
"I…"
She hesitated.
"I'm sorry."
Naruto said nothing.
The girl looked at him properly now.
"Thank you."
Her embarrassment faded, replaced by sincerity.
"You saved my life."
She placed one hand against her chest.
"My name is Sara."
Naruto waited.
Then she continued.
"I am the Queen of Rōran."
That confirmed it.
Naruto had already suspected she was important.
Now he finally understood how important.
He smiled slightly.
"You don't need to apologize."
Sara looked toward him.
Naruto continued.
"I didn't save you because I wanted anything."
"But there are some things I need to ask."
Sara nodded.
"You saved my life."
"If there is something you want to know, then ask."
Naruto's expression became serious.
He finally had a chance to learn what had happened to Rōran.
....