Naruto: The Scarlet Ronin

Chapter 25: Chapter 25: The Gift



Chapter 25: The Gift

Dream World

The air shimmered like molten silver as Minato found himself floating on a fragmented piece of land suspended in an endless, starry void. The space around him pulsed faintly, resembling a living galaxy, with ripples of light distorting reality itself. It was unlike anything he had ever seen—a realm that defied the rules of the world he knew.

As Minato tried to make sense of his surroundings, a voice, smooth yet weighty with authority, echoed behind him.

"Hello, old friend."

Minato spun around, immediately dropping into a defensive stance, his sharp reflexes honed from years of training kicking in. Before him stood a man—no, a figure that radiated an aura beyond comprehension.

The man resembled Shinji Uzumaki but was older, more refined. His long white hair glistened as if woven from strands of moonlight, cascading past his shoulders and moving in an unseen breeze. His robes, pure white with gold and silver trim, seemed alive, their flowing patterns resembling constellations. A faint, luminous mark glowed on his forehead—an intricate crescent moon that pulsed with celestial energy. His eyes, deep silver swirls of cosmic power, bore into Minato with a mixture of warmth and sorrow.

Minato's mind raced. "Who are you, and why do you look like… him?" His voice was wary but steady.

The man gave a small, rueful smile. "I am Shinji Uzumaki, but not the one you know. I am what he becomes... in a future where things go horribly wrong. I've come to seek your help, Namikaze Minato."

Minato's breath caught. The calm, almost noble tone of this man felt at odds with the sheer gravity of his words. "What? How can you—how is this even possible?"

The future Shinji nodded, as if expecting the confusion. "Your disbelief is natural, but I have little time to explain. My presence here has already begun to unravel the timeline. Soon, I will cease to exist. My power delays it, but even I cannot defy the inevitable."

Minato's mind spun, but before he could process it all, Shinji raised a glowing hand. "Let me show you why I am here."

A sphere of yellow energy expanded from Shinji, enveloping them both. The stars and void melted away, replaced by a sudden, suffocating silence.

---

Earth, Future

The air was thick, choking with despair. The sky above was a sickly red, roiling with dark clouds that crackled with lightning. Beneath them stretched a wasteland—crumbling buildings, scorched earth, and silence that spoke of total annihilation.

Minato stared down in horror. "What is this place?"

Shinji's voice was heavy with guilt. "This... is Konoha. Or rather, what's left of it."

Minato's heart sank. His home, his village, was unrecognizable. He turned to Shinji, his voice trembling. "How? Why did this happen?"

Shinji's gaze remained fixed on the ruins below. "Because of me. Do you know how Uzushiogakure was destroyed?"

Minato hesitated. "The other great nations feared the Uzumaki Clan's power. They joined forces to annihilate them, plundering their secrets in the process."

Shinji scoffed bitterly. "That's what you were told. That's what they wanted you to believe. The truth is far more sinister." He turned, his eyes burning into Minato. "Do you truly believe Konoha, with its alliances and supposed values, could not have intervened? Why did they remain silent as my people were slaughtered?"

Minato opened his mouth to respond but faltered.

"Because," Shinji continued, "the truth is that Konoha was complicit in their silence. Hiruzen Sarutobi and his council chose politics over loyalty. They knew of the attack, but they did nothing. Worse still, hidden forces manipulated the entire event, using the other villages as pawns to achieve their goals."

Minato shook his head, unable to fully accept what he was hearing. "No... Konoha wouldn't do that. The war—"

"Do not parrot the lies you've been told!" Shinji's voice cracked with restrained fury. "You've been fed half-truths your entire life. If you doubt me, investigate for yourself when you return."

Shinji exhaled, his anger giving way to sorrow. "I was just a child when they came. I watched my parents die, sacrificing themselves to protect me. I hid beneath the corpses of my loved ones. I survived when I shouldn't have. Do you know what that does to a person, Minato? The hatred, the despair?"

Minato's chest tightened at the raw pain in Shinji's voice.

"Despite everything, my master helped me suppress that rage. But I never truly overcame it. And one day, that bottled hatred consumed me entirely. I became the architect of destruction—the end of the shinobi era and mankind."

Minato looked around at the desolation, his voice trembling. "What do you want me to do?"

Shinji turned to him, his expression solemn. "Stop me. Change the path I walked. Prevent me from becoming this."

"How?"

Shinji extended a scroll glowing faintly with intricate seals. "This contains knowledge and tools you will need." He then placed a hand on Minato's, leaving a burning mark—a seal unlike any Minato had ever seen. It pulsed with latent power.

"This seal will grant you the strength to face what's coming. To face me, if it comes to that."

Minato stared at the mark, awe and fear mixing in his chest. "What if I can't stop you?"

Shinji's voice softened. "Then you must end me."

---

Real World

Minato gasped as he woke, his chest heaving. The faint glow of dawn seeped through the curtains, but his room felt suffocatingly dark. He looked down at his hand, where the mark from his dream remained. Beside him lay the scroll, its seals glowing faintly.

"It was real," he whispered.

Sitting at his desk, Minato stared at the scroll, his mind churning with questions. He could no longer ignore the doubts gnawing at the edges of his belief in the village. For the first time in his life, he began to question everything he had been taught.

The ever-loyal Namikaze Minato had begun to change.

-----

To be continued...

(A/N): Sorry for the delay. I was busy and also thinking about what to write for this chapter so thats why it was late. So, anyways, want more chapters? Give more power stones.


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