As Naruto's perception expanded further, the classical buildings of the yet-undestroyed Kingdom of Roran were reflected in his mind.
These were dome-shaped structures rarely seen in the shinobi world, their style somewhat similar to certain countries on the high seas.
Looking around, the underground plaza, though still quite spacious, appeared much 'newer' than the place they had come from.
'So exactly how many years in the past have I arrived?'
Looking up at the skylight not yet buried by ruins, it was still daytime outside.
He approached the multi-layered mechanical door that was still functioning properly.
Without Sasuke to clear the way this time, Naruto had to resort to the most primitive method of breaking through.
Boom—
The entire door panel, along with the mechanical mechanisms behind it, was forcibly 'ripped' out by sheer brute force.
Naruto might not be that clever, but he has brute strength.
Just as Naruto was about to step out, he seemed to remember something and pressed his fingers into the wall.
The thick stone wall was no different from tofu under Naruto's fingers, easily marked with deep grooves.
[If you can't find me, gather at Konoha. -Naruto]
"Hmm... that should do it."
Satisfied, Naruto stepped out, not forgetting to forcibly 'close' the door with his strength before leaving.
Perhaps because of this, the damaged mechanisms prevented the forcibly reinserted door from operating, forcing later visitors to find alternative ways to enter.
Ascending the stairs to the surface, Naruto finally saw with his own eyes what Roran looked like before its destruction.
Looking at the people's clothing, it seemed vastly different from what he knew.
'According to Queen Sara, Roran was destroyed about fifteen years ago, meaning this was at least fifteen years in the past.'
'Then the Jinchuriki-'
Thinking of this, Naruto's clever little brain immediately started working.
He silently flew to the top of a building, ensured no one saw him, then sat down to immerse his mind into the seal space.
Entering the familiar seal space.
Kurama seemed completely unaware, sound asleep behind the iron bars.
"This guy, how can he still sleep at a time like this? So lacking in sense of crisis."
Naruto muttered while approaching the gate.
"Hmm..."
Naruto looked at the drooling giant fox, pondered for about two seconds.
The next moment, two giant hands formed from Earth Attribute Chakra rose from the ground on the other side of the bars.
One hand went around the Nine-Tails' nape, lifting its upper body.
Just as Kurama was about to wake from the sudden movement, the other hand slapped across the fox's face.
The force sent Kurama tumbling two full circles on the ground.
"Who! Who dares attack me!!"
The fox climbed up dazedly, then saw Naruto standing opposite the bars, arms crossed, looking completely innocent.
"Hey! You brat... couldn't you wake me up properly!"
After regaining his senses, Kurama's tone unconsciously softened a bit.
He had witnessed Naruto gradually achieve 'superhuman' levels step by step, and the memory of Naruto devouring the Zero-Tails and such was still vivid.
To say he wasn't intimidated would be a lie.
"Alright, alright, time to work after waking up."
Naruto unabashedly knocked on the bars, not caring if the fox might swipe at him through the gate.
"I remember B saying you Tailed Beasts can communicate remotely through some kind of mental connection, right?"
"Quick, check what time period we're in now?"
Still groggy from sleep and not fully understanding the situation, Kurama muttered in a low voice perfectly audible to Naruto.
"What time period? How baffling... what?"
The last word was almost shouted.
"What happened?"
Kurama looked shocked, snapping out of the 'communication state', his tone a mix of disbelief and slight panic.
"All the Tailed Beasts... are gone."
In his perception, from the One-Tail to the Eight-Tails, including the 'present-time Nine-Tails' that might have existed, were all gone.
"I can't sense anything... Hey! Naruto! What happened!"
So shocked that he lost control, Kurama directly called Naruto by name.
But Naruto's expression was equally grave.
"It seems… we're still in the 'downstream'. This is troublesome."
He then explained everything that had happened, including the possibility of the masked man using the Ryumyaku to return to the past, and began considering how to travel further 'upstream' in time.
'Wait... if he remembered correctly, the Royalty of Roran in this era should also possess the ability to control the Ryumyaku, right?'
...
While Naruto faced his troubles, the situation on the other side wasn't going smoothly either.
With Kousei and Jiraiya, the moment the little girl jumped into the Ryumyaku and made contact, the turtle-shaped device in her bag 'awakened'.
It absorbed a portion of the surging Ryumyaku's Chakra.
At that moment, the little girl's thought was to follow her father back to the past. Perhaps this thought took effect, and the turtle device emitted the same light as before.
This light, carrying space-time fluctuations, directly interfered with the Ryumyaku's operation, causing everyone traveling through the 'space-time tunnel' to deviate to different temporal nodes.
Kousei and Jiraiya, likely because Jiraiya managed to hold onto the little girl at the critical moment, were considered a single entity and sent to the same era.
When they woke up, they found themselves in a primitive forest.
No desert, no ancient Kingdom of Roran, and certainly no trace of Naruto.
Turning to Karin's situation.
Both she and Sasuke, affected by the Space-Time interference fluctuations, weren't sent to the 'upstream' timeline but experienced 'lateral drift'.
Karin and Sasuke were each sent to a place very familiar to them… yet with a slight sense of incongruity.
Konoha Village.
Or rather, Konoha Village from different worldlines.
The Konoha Village Karin arrived at had seven faces carved on the Hokage Rock!
"What... is this?"
She looked incredulously at the seven faces, 'Weren't there only four the last time I was here?'
'Even including the recently appointed head of that Hyuga Clan, it should only be five.'
And the fifth face wasn't that of a middle-aged man, but a somewhat familiar woman.
After a moment's thought, Karin recalled the woman's identity from her memory.
'Tsunade-san!'
The person she and Naruto encountered at the Tanzaku Street, the legendary Sannin alongside Jiraiya.
The next one she also recognized.
It was 'Hatake Kakashi', who had led the team to deliver information earlier. The fact that he wore a mask even on his carved face was too distinctive.
Looking further...
"This! This is... Naruto-san!?"
Looking at the Hokage Rock representing the Seventh Hokage's position, Karin was dumbfounded.
Now, let's look at Sasuke, who was sent to another worldline.
His level of shock was no less than Karin's.
Unlike Karin, who was transported outside the village, Sasuke directly 'airdropped' into the Uchiha Clan's compound.
The Uchiha Clan's compound, not yet massacred.
There were still only four faces on the Hokage Rock.
This meant the timeline should be at least before Year 55 of Konoha Calendar.
But that wasn't important.
At this moment, Sasuke had no mind to focus on such things.
Because right in front of him stood two black-haired girls, one older, one younger, examining him with wary eyes.
"Who are you? Why have I never seen you in the clan compound before?"
The older girl spoke warning words in a gentle voice, with tear-trough-like marks on both sides of her cheeks.
These marks were all too familiar to Sasuke.
"Uchiha... Itachi?"