Naruto: Fate System

When the three members of Akatsuki followed Pakura to meet the Queen of Rōran, Sēramu, they were led through ornate corridors adorned with ancient symbols.

At that moment, Shin's confusion was no less than that of Hanabi. In his memory, he distinctly recalled that the queen should have been long dead by this point.

In the movie version he remembered, Sēramu met her end almost at the very beginning. Calculating the timeline, it should have been right after the Second Ninja War had just ended.

But here she was, alive and well, seated on her throne.

Not only that, perhaps due to the protection of the Ryūmyaku, she looked remarkably youthful.

And Mukade was completely missing.

Shin had already sensed something was off.

Initially, he dismissed it, chalking it up to a butterfly effect caused by his transmigration. Unlike the Konoha crew, he had much better social tact. No matter how taken aback he was, he wasn't about to blurt it out in front of Sēramu.

The queen, for her part, was extremely courteous upon seeing Pakura.

"I assure you, the prior conflicts were mere misunderstandings," she said. "Rōran has no intention of opposing Suna."

This led everyone to believe the journey might be relatively smooth.

However, when questioned about the ninja who had fought Rasa in the desert days earlier, Sēramu hesitated. Her fingers tightened on the arm of her throne as she struggled to find the right words.

This only deepened Pakura's suspicion, and she concluded that it must have been one of Rasa's schemes.

"Sēramu-sama, were there or weren't there Konoha shinobi present? Can you not be honest with us even now?"

"Kazekage-sama, I promise you, I have no intention of deceiving you. It's just… this matter is so bizarre that I don't know how to explain it in a way you'd believe."

Pakura sneered. "How bizarre can it be?"

It wasn't until Konan noticed a figure falling outside the window and instinctively rushed out to save them that the truth finally began to unravel. Her paper wings spread wide as she dove through the window.

For a brief moment, Shin couldn't help but admit—this was indeed bizarre. He looked at the group of four across the tower and silently complained to himself.

Is this still the Rōran from the movie?

Mukade was nowhere to be seen, but in his place were four time travelers, each more high-profile than the last.

Sasuke, Hanabi, Gaara, and Boruto?!

Beside him, Pakura stood slack-jawed, unable to speak for a long while. Her only thought was: So there were Konoha shinobi sneaking into the desert?

After all, Hanabi's Byakugan and Sasuke's exposed Sharingan were unmistakable hallmarks of Konoha. Their dōjutsu marked them as clearly as any headband could.

And for Boruto's forehead protector? Boldly bearing the Konoha insignia for all to see.

But Gaara stood out the most—because he was the only one whose demeanor and swirling sand marked him as not from Konoha.

Pakura locked eyes on Gaara, focusing on his gourd and the silken sand floating around him.

"You, the red-haired one!"

"You're a Suna shinobi, aren't you? Are you the one who brought these Konoha shinobi into the desert?"

It was an understandable mistake. After all, who would immediately jump to time travel as an explanation? From a logical standpoint, suspecting an inside job was the far more reasonable conclusion.

Gaara instinctively wanted to deny it but Sasuke subtly tugged at his sleeve and gave a slight shake of his head. Their principle was to interfere with the past as little as possible to avoid altering history.

Faced with this dilemma, Gaara was at a loss. His eyes darted between Pakura's increasingly hostile stance and Sasuke's warning glance. How am I supposed to explain this?

The killing intent in Pakura's gaze was unmistakable.

"Yes, but I can explain. These Konoha shinobi are my friends. They mean no harm. This is all just a misunderstanding."

Pakura took a step forward, her hands forming seals, readying her signature technique. The temperature in the room rose dramatically.

Wow, from bad to worse in record time, Shin noted.

"A misunderstanding? If smuggling Konoha shinobi into the desert counts as a misunderstanding, then what qualifies as treason What's next? Are you going to sneak them into Suna and release a tailed beast to destroy the entire village?!"

To be fair, Gaara had unintentionally unleashed a tailed beast on the village as a child... His sand shield thickened instinctively, preparing for the inevitable attack.

This thought only made his expression more strained, beads of sweat forming on his forehead—though whether from stress or Pakura's heat was hard to tell.

It was at this point that the group realized just how tricky this era was. The ongoing war was at its peak, and any misunderstanding could make them enemies of the entire shinobi world.

Seeing Gaara struggling to respond, Hanabi whispered, "Just bluff your way out of it. Mention someone familiar to ease her doubts. Isn't the Kazekage of this era your father?"

Sasuke wanted to interject, having noticed earlier that something seemed off about Rasa when they briefly clashed in the desert.

But before he could speak, Gaara had already answered, "You've got it wrong. I haven't betrayed my village. I can accompany you back to meet the Kazekage and clear this up."

Pakura fell silent, her expression unreadable.

Sasuke and Hanabi relaxed slightly, thinking the explanation had worked.

But Shin sighed inwardly. The heat in the room had become almost unbearable. They've just made everything so much worse.

This isn't going to end well.

After a long pause, Pakura finally spoke, "The Kazekage you're referring to… You don't mean Rasa, do you?"

Gaara hesitated before nodding. Despite his strained relationship with Rasa, he saw no other choice. But saying that his biggest goal had once been to kill Rasa would have been better than this response.

In terms of provoking Pakura, Gaara couldn't have chosen better words.

The next moment, Pakura unleashed her technique without hesitation.

"Die, traitor!"

This will be messy, Shin thought as he watched Gaara's sand rise up to meet the attack.

The sand barrier hardened instantly under the intense heat, turning to glass where the fireballs struck.

Gaara's eyes widened as he realized his usual defense might be a liability against this opponent. Behind him, Sasuke's hand moved to his sword while Hanabi dropped into the Gentle Fist stance. And Boruto merely stood there.

Shin could only sigh again as chaos broke out.

After Gaara and Pakura clashed, Sasuke and the others naturally couldn't stand by idly.

But the next moment, Shin stepped forward in an instant. No matter the circumstances, Pakura was still an ally of Akatsuki.

He had crucial information to confirm. For this, he was willing to risk facing Sasuke, who had surpassed Kage-level strength.

"Please, stand down. All of you."

He blocked Sasuke and Hanabi, though he didn't force his way through and used an excuse. His stance was non-threatening but firm, carefully calculated to avoid provoking a fight while maintaining control of the situation.

"This is an internal matter of Suna. If you interfere rashly, everything will change entirely. Don't forget, Suna and Konoha are still in a state of war."

Hearing this, Sasuke and Hanabi hesitated and stopped. They're cautious. Good.

Boruto, in a hurry, pulled off his forehead protector and hid it behind him, foolishly playing dumb as he asked with an innocent expression. "How do you know we're Konoha shinobi?"

At this, not only did Shin chuckle, but even Sasuke and Hanabi couldn't help but laugh at his naivety.

"Byakugan and Sharingan—as far as I know, there's nowhere else in the world where these dōjutsu coexist," Shin explained with a smile.

Sēramu behind him chimed in, "Besides, when you arrived, you introduced yourselves as Konoha shinobi. I've already told our friends from Ame about this."

Boruto's face flushed red, and he wished he could find a hole to crawl into from embarrassment.

Fortunately, Sasuke remained calm. Hearing this, he extracted a key piece of information. "You're from the Land of Rain?"

Until now, they had subconsciously assumed these were all Suna shinobi.

But to their surprise, that wasn't the case. Upon learning they were from the Land of Rain, Sasuke glanced at the paper-winged girl who had just saved Sara.

The Land of Rain... paper wings... Akatsuki?

This reaction didn't escape Shin's keen observation. He watched as the pieces came together in Sasuke's mind, noting every subtle change in his posture.

"Yes, we're from the Land of Rain. I am Shin. Haven't you heard of me?"

This information was critical.

It would help Shin determine whether the four before him had traveled from a parallel timeline of Boruto or from the future of this current timeline. The difference would shape every move he made from this point forward.

"Shin?" When Sasuke and Hanabi both showed confused expressions, Shin's tense heart relaxed significantly. No recognition at all. Not even a flicker of familiarity. Or just good at hiding...

While not 100% certain, it was highly likely that these individuals were from a parallel timeline.

Not to boast, but if they were from the future of the current timeline, even if he ultimately failed, there was no way Konoha shinobi wouldn't recognize his name. His plans would ensure that much, at least.

Even if he couldn't escape the convergence of the timeline, he was confident he'd make his mark on the shinobi world with a final act.

But now, their reactions showed nothing but pure bewilderment. Their confusion was genuine—too genuine to be faked, even by skilled shinobi.

So, the individuals before him likely belonged to another storyline.

"In that case, your identities truly are mysterious," he casually said, while simultaneously contemplating his next move.

Just then, Sara, who had been saved by Konan, finally regained her composure.

When she heard her mother say the people from Ame had come to help them, she stood up and shouted, "You're from Akatsuki, right? Don't be deceived by them! They're bad! They want to seal away the Ryūmyaku!"

The situation was getting increasingly complicated with each passing moment.

"Akatsuki? Isn't that the group mentioned in the textbooks—"

Before he could finish, Hanabi quickly covered Boruto's mouth. "Don't reveal too much!" The young ninja struggled against his aunt's grip, but sensitive information had already reached unwanted ears.

This was enough to catch Konan and Nagato's attention.

"Konoha's textbooks mention us?"

The growing number of slip-ups was becoming increasingly difficult to cover, and Sasuke's usually stoic expression was faltering a bit.

"Please don't misunderstand. We mean no harm. Sealing the Ryūmyaku is necessary."

However, Shin keenly grasped the contradictions in the situation — these individuals' experience differed from the events of the movie.

They hadn't even won the trust of the locals. The hostility in Sara's eyes made that clear enough. In the original movie, Konoha represented absolute justice, with Naruto and Sara enduring hardships together.

But it was clear that these people weren't any closer to the Ryūmyaku than his own side.

This could be an opportunity.

"No matter how dangerous it is, why should Konoha be the one to take responsibility? Is Konoha the world's police force? Who gave you the right to handle everything?"

One statement silenced Sasuke completely. He keenly felt the restrictions of the current timeline.

In his era, Konoha's intervention in the ninja world's affairs was a given. But now, the circumstances were entirely different.

"And what about you? Why is Ame interfering here?" Hanabi retorted.

Shin chuckled softly, "This is the Land of Wind's territory. We're here at the Kazekage's invitation to resolve disputes. Is that reason sufficient?" His words fell like perfectly placed shuriken, each one finding its mark.

Hanabi, too, was rendered speechless. Her Byakugan deactivated as she took an unconscious step back.

"So, please 'return' to your own world. You're not welcome here." He deliberately emphasized the word "return," hoping they would catch the hint.

But he had no idea that Sasuke and the others' time travel medium was already out of power.

"That won't do, Shin. We must borrow and seal the Ryūmyaku. You'll understand in the future—it's all for the proper continuation of history." Sasuke said calmly.

Shin's gaze darkened.

Unwilling to retreat? Where is the problem? What is their true purpose?

He suddenly felt frustrated about not having watched Boruto. The gaps in his knowledge were becoming dangerous liabilities.

If reasoning failed, should he provoke them into leaving?

"What does 'proper continuation' even mean? Who decides what's proper? If fate demanded the annihilation of your family, would you still willingly offer the blade to your enemy to preserve that fate?"

For the first time, Boruto saw his calm and composed teacher reveal a terrifyingly grim expression. The young ninja took an involuntary step back, never having seen such darkness in Sasuke's eyes.

Even Hanabi seemed shaken by the immense killing intent he momentarily emitted.

Shouldn't he be mature by now? Perhaps I pushed too far..., Shin thought.

"Who exactly are you? And what do you know?"

At this moment, Shin discreetly signaled his allies: prepare to retreat and avoid any battles that might destroy Rōran.

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