[I get it now. The Funa-tsū doesn't lock onto events—it locks onto people.]
Standing atop a rock, Link finally realized the flaw in his previous thinking.
After traveling through more than ten worlds, he finally understood how the Funa-tsū Technique's "fuzzy search" actually worked.
"Post–Fourth Great Ninja War" contained far too many variables—anyone who participated in the war, anyone who lived or died because of it. When he thought of "the war," too many people and moments came to mind. Naturally, this caused deviations in the teleportation.
Especially since the Funa-tsū Technique seemed deeply linked to his spiritual energy, tapping into his memories of the entire Naruto manga. As a result, he always ended up in times that were emotionally resonant to him.
Second-world Madara had been thinking of Nagato, someone who could use Rinne Rebirth, so he ended up at the start of Shippuden. That seemed to check out.
But why had the mistakenly summoned Tobirama ended up at the Kannabi Bridge incident?
Was it because space-time ninjutsu made him think of Obito? But did he really know that the masked man was Obito at that point?
Link wasn't sure.
He pulled out a scroll and sealed away the dismembered Nine-Tails like pieces of meat.
Looking off to the side, he noticed the masked man (Obito) hesitating in the distance. Instantly, his shadows moved.
Obito was fuming—he'd just helped the Nine-Tails break free, and now this mysterious brat came out of nowhere. One of the kid's shadows wielded a massive scapel and, in just a few slashes, carved up the howling Nine-Tails into segments.
It happened so fast it was terrifying.
Swoosh!
Link landed beside the collapsed Kushina Uzumaki and pressed a hand to her abdomen, casting Delicate Illness Extraction.
Without his "battery" (Utakata), Link couldn't fully save a Jinchūriki who'd lost their Tailed Beast. Still, the Uzumaki clan's vitality was freakishly strong. He used up only about a fifth of his chakra to stabilize her condition.
Though honestly, she'd probably still die.
"You don't… have to feel bad about this—"
Kushina looked at the child's slightly downcast eyes and offered a faint, grateful smile. "Thank you."
In the distance, Obito rushed over. But halfway through, a shadow rose to stop him—only to miss as he phased through with Kamui.
"Apologies," Link said, directing a shadow to carry Kushina aside. He simply stood in place, not resisting at all.
Obito felt a twinge of doubt but still trusted Kamui's superiority. He reached for Link's arm, intending to warp him into the Kamui dimension.
[I win—]
Suddenly, Link's arm dropped, dodging Obito's grasp. Simultaneously, Link's other hand landed squarely on Obito's chest.
[This chakra… Eight Gates?!]
Before Obito could even think, the moment he was touched, his body lost control and slammed straight downward—
THUD!
He headbutted the rock so hard it shattered—along with his mask.
"!"
Link tried to gouge Obito's eye out—but missed. The moment of physical contact caused only brief materialization. Even disrupted by Body Pathway Derangement, Obito's body still managed to warp away using Kamui.
Too bad. If he'd succeeded, he'd have left with a pair of Kamui eyes—well worth the trip.
An Eight Gates shadow leapt over, carrying a bundle of scrolls. Link dismissed his clone, grabbed a new Funa-tsū scroll, and didn't even acknowledge Minato, who'd just yanked Kushina out of a shadow's hands. Instead, he recalled all his shadows, activated the technique, and said softly:
"Goodbye, Aunt Kushina."
[If we're targeting people, then why not aim for Naruto from the manga's final chapter—the one with the prosthetic arm?]
The technique finished. He vanished into the swirling vortex.
…
Tap—
Landing lightly, Link looked around at the Konoha streets beneath his feet—and smiled for the first time in over a month.
It looked like… he'd finally made it.
The Hokage Rock had seven faces.
"I," came a childish voice nearby, "hate Hokage the most!"
Boruto Uzumaki.
Link's smile widened. Perfect. This was the ending scene from the original manga.
Thud!
A grown-up, Seventh Hokage Naruto, holding a child in one arm, landed beside him, eyes serious.
"Who are you?"
He side-eyed the shadows stretching beneath Link and spreading across the ground atop the Hokage Rock. As he gathered chakra, he said sternly:
"I don't know what you're doing, but I need you to stop."
"Naruto, I need your help."
Link cut straight to the point and retracted all the shadows.
This was the full-fledged, adult Six Paths Naruto. Since Link had never read Boruto, he could only teleport to the timeline of the original manga. But still—this grown Naruto had far more power than he did during the Kaguya seal, even if the Sage of Six Paths blessing had faded. Among Six Paths–level fighters, he was top-tier.
Naruto looked stunned. The name and tone, paired with Link's childish appearance, made his seriousness crack. He smiled. "Which village are you from, kid?"
He'd sensed chakra. And that strange jutsu—definitely a ninja.
"I'm from another world. We're facing a threat from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, so I came here to ask you and Sasuke for help." Link spoke earnestly.
Naruto initially thought it was a joke. But that name—Kaguya Ōtsutsuki—was known only to Team 7. And Naruto could tell Link wasn't lying. His face grew solemn.
"Boruto—"
"Tch."
Boruto scowled, shook off his dad's hand, and ran off, hopping up to a nearby rooftop.
"BORUTO! You're still on cleanup duty for the Hokage Rock!"
"Shut up!" the boy shouted back and vanished.
Naruto sighed helplessly, then turned to Link. "Sorry, I can't believe something like that right away."
"And this 'alternate world' stuff…" He scratched his head. "That's just too much to take in all of a sudden."
Even as an adult, he was still a bit slow on the uptake.
"That's fine. I can prove it."
Link was calm. He even took the chance to apply another dose of Delicate Illness Extraction on himself.
After all, he'd just used Eight Gates to fight Obito, opening up to the Fifth Gate. Even with all his training and shadow jutsu shielding him from full damage, the residual pain caused lingering strain across his body. The extraction jutsu helped ease that immensely.
This post-manga Konoha, or rather, the entire ninja world, was in true peacetime—so peaceful they couldn't even sell ninja tools. Wasting a little chakra didn't matter at all.
~~~
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