Naruto: Multiversal Shadows.

The Cavern of Whispers

The rebels' hideout hummed with tension, the air thick with the scent of damp earth and desperation. Alternate Sakura slammed a rusted kunai into the war table, her ice claw casting jagged shadows over the map of Zabuza's tower. "The tower's core drains chakra from the rifts. Destroy it, and his empire crumbles."

Naruto leaned against the cavern wall, his translucent hands tucked under his arms. The golden eye above the bridge haunted him—Ōtsutsuki, watching, waiting.

"How?" Sasuke hissed, clutching his poisoned arm. Black veins snaked toward his shoulder, the ice shard in his pocket pulsing like a second heart. "Even Kakashi couldn't pierce Haku's defenses."

"Haku's ice-mirror scrolls," Alternate Sakura said, her voice cold. "They're in the tower's vault. Use them to overload the core."

"Steal his own jutsu?" Sakura frowned. "That's suicide."

"It's justice," Alternate Sakura snapped.

"It's genius," Sasuke countered, Sharingan gleaming. "We take his power. Turn it against him."

Naruto's scar flared. "We're not Zabuza. We don't steal people's souls!"

"Says the boy made of stardust," Alternate Sakura sneered. "Your morals won't melt the tower."

The Poisoned Pact

Sasuke cornered Alternate Sakura in the tunnels, the ice shard burning his palm. "Where's the vault?"

"Why ask me?" She eyed the shard. "You've already chosen your path."

"The scrolls," he demanded. "Now."

She smirked, tracing the spiral brand on her chest. "West wing. Guarded by Haku's pets."

Flashback:

*Sasuke stood in the Uchiha archives, the ice shard's whispers seeping into his mind. "Key and lock… blood opens the path." He sliced his palm, dripping blood onto the shard. The micro-scrolls glowed: "Claim the mirrors. Claim power."

"I'll get them," Sasuke said, turning to leave.

"Sasuke—!" Sakura grabbed his arm. "This isn't you."

"Isn't it?" He shook her off, black veins crawling toward his neck. "Watch me."

Naruto's Mistake

Naruto paced the cavern, the scar's pull magnetic. Zabuza's tower… the core… the rifts…

"Stop," Kakashi warned. "You're not ready."

"I'm tired of waiting!" Naruto's chakra flared gold.

The world twisted.

He materialized in a sterile, icy chamber—walls lined with scrolls, floor etched with spirals. The vault.

"Idiot!" Alternate Sakura's voice crackled through a rebel earpiece. "You triggered the seals!"

Alarms wailed. Ice golems clawed from the walls, their eyes glowing with Haku's chakra.

The Lockdown

"Naruto, move!" Kakashi's voice echoed as the team stormed the tower.

Naruto dodged a golem's fist, phasing through a mirror. "I didn't mean to—!"

"Intent doesn't matter," Alternate Sakura snarled, slicing through a golem. "Survive now. Apologize later."

Sasuke lunged for the scrolls, shattering a glass case. "Got them!"

Haku's laugh echoed. "Thieves in a house of mirrors… how quaint."

The floor collapsed, plunging them into a glacial pit.

Zabuza's Gaze

In the tower's zenith, Zabuza stirred. The spiral symbol on his blade pulsed as he sensed the disruption.

"Bridge between realms…" He licked his lips. "Finally, you knock."

On the cavern's surface, the golden eye dilated—a portal swirling open.

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Naruto stood frozen as the ice golems converged, their fists raised. Behind them, Zabuza's shadow loomed on the wall, his voice a growl:

"Welcome to the end, little bridge."