Chapter 56: Witness the World!
Roran, an ancient city-state hidden within the vast deserts of the Land of Wind, stood as a testament to a bygone era. Its towering spires and intricate architecture set it apart from any other settlement in the shinobi world.
The sight alone was enough to intrigue anyone familiar with the practicality demanded by the harsh desert environment. These structures should not exist here—too grand, too urbanized, too unnatural.
The secret of this anomaly lay beneath the sands. Roran's queen wielded a unique power to manipulate the Dragon Vein, an immense reservoir of earth-bound energy buried deep underground. This ability allowed her to draw forth the land's energy and mold it to the city's needs.
As Kagami surveyed the sprawling towers of Roran, Sasori unfurled an ancient scroll, his voice cold and measured.
"It seems the Queen of Roran has forsaken the ancestral laws."
Kagami turned, his keen eyes catching the tension in Sasori's movements.
"You have intel I don't? Care to elaborate?"
Sasori hesitated for a moment before speaking, his words deliberate and laced with bitterness.
"My father… was a member of the Roran royal family."
---
Kagami raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued.
"You? But aren't you Chiyo's grandson? Doesn't that make your father the son of the First Kazekage?"
Sasori's expression darkened.
"My father was a redhead. The First Kazekage and Lady Chiyo had black and violet hair respectively. My mother was their child. My father… married into the family."
Kagami nodded thoughtfully, piecing together the familial intricacies.
"So, what's this? A long-lost prince's quest to reclaim his kingdom?"
Sasori's face twisted into a grimace, his puppet-like features straining against the irony.
"The Roran royal line only bestows the ability to control the Dragon Vein upon its women—what they call the 'Royal Vein.' I was never a contender for the throne."
His tone grew colder.
"All I seek here are resources. I'll turn my so-called kin into puppets if that's what it takes to fulfill my goals."
Kagami smirked, his voice casual yet cutting.
"Your goal is revenge against Sakumo Hatake, isn't it?"
The puppet master's silence was answer enough.
"Then you better make it worth watching," Kagami teased.
---
Sasori dismissed Kagami's taunts and redirected the conversation.
"The Dragon Vein, if that's what you're after, is impossible to harness. Many have tried; none have succeeded. The most anyone's managed is sealing it away."
Kagami's lips curled into a confident smile.
"Just because others failed doesn't mean I will."
That unwavering self-assurance made Sasori pause. For a fleeting moment, doubt crept into his thoughts, but he quickly dismissed it.
"Let's see how far you get," Sasori muttered, clutching his scroll tightly.
---
Kagami, however, wasn't merely chasing power. He had a deeper purpose for coming to Roran, one rooted in the very fabric of time and space.
Years ago, an incident tied to the Dragon Vein had led to the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, encountering a future version of Naruto Uzumaki. That meeting held significance far beyond what anyone in the present could comprehend.
The Dragon Vein possessed a mysterious connection to time itself. Kagami needed to confirm something crucial.
Would Naruto appear?
Would a glimpse of the future show him whether this world was the original Naruto timeline?
If it was, had his presence already altered the course of history?
And if this world was entirely separate... what did that mean for everything he sought to achieve?
---
"Let's wait for the festival to start," Kagami said, a cryptic smile tugging at his lips.
---
Days passed, and Roran's festival preparations reached their climax.
Under the cover of night, Kagami sat atop a high tower with Sasori, a simple meal in hand.
"Even with your strength," Sasori remarked, his voice tinged with disdain, "you still indulge in such mundane things as eating and sleeping. What a waste."
"I don't like interruptions during meals," Kagami replied coldly. "Eating and sleeping are among the few joys of being human. Don't take them away from me."
He shot Sasori a sidelong glance.
"And your crude puppet body doesn't exactly scream perfection, does it?"
---
On the morning of the festival, the city came alive with the sound of drums and cheers.
Kagami and Sasori observed from a hidden vantage point, their sharp eyes scanning the crowd.
Sasori's keen senses picked up on something disturbing.
"Those aren't real people," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "They're puppets. All of them."
---
A young woman with crimson hair emerged onto a high balcony, surrounded by the lifeless puppets masquerading as celebrants. She was the Queen of Roran.
According to the timeline, this was the moment when Naruto was supposed to arrive and save her.
Kagami's heart raced as he scanned the area, his chakra senses stretched to their limit.
But he felt nothing—no sign of Naruto, no trace of the Nine-Tails' chakra.
---
The Queen stepped forward, and the balcony beneath her crumbled. She plummeted, her scream cutting through the festival's fanfare.
Kagami's hand flicked almost lazily, a kunai sailing through the air and pinning her robes to a beam just before she hit the ground.
Sasori glanced at Kagami, catching the eerie gleam in his crimson eyes.
"You're excited," Sasori noted, his voice cautious.
Kagami's smile widened, his joy impossible to contain.
"No Naruto. No predetermined future. The world is mine to shape."
Turning to Sasori, he chuckled darkly.
"Do you realize what this means?"
"This," he gestured to the city below, to the vast desert, to the very fabric of their existence,
"This is the moment where everything begins anew."
Sasori remained silent, the weight of Kagami's declaration sinking in.
Kagami's voice dropped, a rare hint of emotion breaking through his usually cold demeanor.
"No chains. No fate. No certainty."
He laughed, the sound echoing through the desert night like a storm breaking.
"Chaos is the only truth worth living for."
"You, Sasori of the Red Sand, have just witnessed the birth of an untethered world."
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