August 1st, 2010, 5:00 pm
Toneri opened a portal to Earth, stepping through from the moon's desolate surface into a bustling cityscape. The swirling vortex of energy shimmered in the alleyway, two piercing blue eyes appearing first, followed by a being with pale, smooth skin that seemed to emit a soft glow. Toneri's form-fitting kimono fluttered lightly as he hovered a few feet above the ground. As the portal closed behind him, he took a moment to adjust to his surroundings.
"Hmm, too much pollution in the air. How nauseating," he muttered, his gaze sweeping the alley.
'This place is nothing like the moon or happy harbor,' he thought, noticing stray cats rummaging through dumpsters and discarded newspapers littering the ground. He picked up a newspaper and scanned the date: August 1st.
"Two weeks?" he murmured, slightly shocked. 'It felt like only a few hours passed. Time in that void must flow differently, similar to the Dragon Palace. It Could also be that time doesn't exist in that place at all, it would make sense seeing as it exists a space between realms!'
The noise of the city brought his attention back to his immediate surroundings. He decided it was best to blend in and gather information. Forming a handsign, he used Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Technique) and transformed into the image of a young Kakashi Hatake—spiky silver hair, with black eyes visible, and his face uncovered. Toneri chuckled, admiring his new look, borrowing the face of Naruto's sensei.
"This should do quite nicely," he said, and with another thought, he altered his attire to casual wear—dark jeans, a plain t-shirt, and a light jacket. Blending into the crowd, he walked out of the alley, looking around with curiosity at the towering buildings and busy streets.
'This world is so different from back home, much more lively and bigger,' he thought. 'Using Sage Mode here would be annoying with all the smoke, noise and smell. The pollution needing to be filtered out first.'
As he wandered, he noticed various peculiarities of the city, from street performers to vendors selling hot dogs, 'oh let's get some of these.' Moving close to order for some he realized he had no currency on him, so using the Banbutsu sozo (Creation of All Things technique), he created some money. Spotting a dollar bill with a kid who was in front of him waiting to get done hotdogs as well, he created a sizable sum of a few hundred dollars in his pocket.
Toneri toured the city for over an hour while drinking a smoothie, marveling at the vastness and diversity of New York as he found himself wandering around from stall to stall buying anything that caught his interest like a child. He eventually found himself outside a theater showcasing a cartoon about a blue cat and an orange mouse called "Tom and Jerry." Intrigued, he mused, 'Do they really watch this cat chase around a harmless mouse all day?' He decided to see for himself and bought a ticket and popcorn for himself, using his conjured money.
Entering the theater, he noticed multiple couples, even elderly ones, eager to watch the cartoon. He took his seat, popcorn in hand, and found the snack delicious which of course didn't last in his hand as he quickly finished it before the show could even start. An elderly couple next to him, seeing his empty bucket, offered him theirs with warm smiles.
"Thank you," Toneri said politely, accepting the offer.
"No problem, young man," the elderly woman replied. "Enjoy the show."
Toneri settled in, watching the antics of Tom and Jerry unfold on the screen. He found himself chuckling at the clever ways the mouse evaded the cat. The old couple beside him laughed heartily, and Toneri couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth in their company.
"Do you come here often?" Toneri asked them during a quieter moment in the cartoon.
"Oh, every week," the elderly man replied. "We've been fans of Tom and Jerry since we were young."
"It's our little tradition," the woman added with a smile.
The show ended at 8:35 pm, and as Toneri exited the theater, he had a single thought: 'That mouse isn't so harmless after all. Where do they keep pulling all those random items from? Hmm, could they have a personal space or a pocket dimension?'
The elderly couple waved goodbye to him, and he responded warmly, appreciating the simple kindness they had shown him.
Continuing his exploration, Toneri roamed the streets of New York, lost in his thoughts. He suddenly stopped in his tracks, sensing something unusual. Looking in a random direction, he felt a peculiar sensation and turned to walk towards it, which happened to be the direction of the old couple from the theater.
---
The scene shifted to the old couple, who appeared to be getting mugged. The old man was trying to calm down the mugger, a nervous young man wearing a black mask that covered his entire face.
"You don't have to do this, son. We will give you what we have," the old man said gently.
"Shut up and give me your wallet and her purse!" the mugger demanded, his voice agitated as he looked around erratically.
The old woman, very scared, immediately started to take off her necklace and jewelry. The old man tried to comfort her, saying, "It'll be okay, Eleanor."
Eleanor's hands were shaking as she handed over her jewelry. The old man carefully took out his wallet, making sure not to spook the mugger, and also removed his watch. As he did so, the mugger stepped forward and shoved him down. Eleanor rushed to her husband and called out his name.
"George!"
The mugger pointed his gun at them aggressively, taking all their stuff. Eleanor was trembling in fear, while George tried to stay calm.
"You've got what you want, son. Please, let me and my wife go," George pleaded.
"Shut it, old man," the mugger snarled.
"Please, my boy, don't do this," George begged, his voice filled with dread.
"Don't call me your boy!" the mugger shouted, his outburst frightening Eleanor even more.
George continued to beg, but the mugger rummaged through the purse, looking back at them with suspicion.
"Is that it? Hey, old man, you aren't holding out on me, are you?" he demanded.
"We don't have much—" George began, but the mugger cut him off, shouting, "You're lying, aren't you?" He pointed the gun at Eleanor.
Bang!
The bullet left the gun with a deafening roar. George instinctively tried to shield Eleanor with his body, but suddenly, the surroundings took on a pale blue color, and the bullet slowed to a halt midair. The mugger froze in place, his expression showing gritted teeth and his motion halted. The purse fell from his hand, spilling its contents, but the items also froze midair.
The old couple, too, appeared to be frozen, their faces locked in expressions of despair and fear, with George partially covering Eleanor. Time itself seemed to have come to a standstill. Even the smoke and sparks from the gunshot, as well as the random little animals like rats and flies that had scattered due to the noise, were frozen midair.
From behind the mugger, a figure suddenly appeared and walked past him and the midair bullet, coming to stand in front of the old couple. It was Toneri, still in his Kakashi disguise, holding a pack of donuts in his left hand and a half-eaten donut in his right taking a bite. His eyes shone with a dangerous blue light from his Tenseigan due to the activation of Hyakaisenyo (Hundred Worlds and Thousand Factors) which he used to freeze and stop time.
Toneri's eyes pulsed as a single green chakra orb manifested in front of him. He looked at the bullet midair before flicking it away, changing its trajectory. He then turned his gaze to the frozen mugger and said, "BEGONE."
The orb touched the mugger, and in a flash of light, he was reduced to black soot on the ground.
Time resumed, and the flash of light disoriented the couple. They looked around, seeing no one except for the burnt mark on the ground where the mugger once stood. All their belongings were back to how they were before, the purse and wallet intact, as if nothing had happened. They were alone once more, safe and unharmed.