Naruto: The Forest's Chosen (Mori Mori No Mi)

Gurgle, gurgle—

Bubbles rose gently to the surface of the barrier surrounding the Wet Bone Forest.

The Slug Sage had been waiting.

Upon seeing the bubbles, it extended part of the barrier, linking it with them.

Nami and Robin's legs went weak again.

Three massive Sea Kings hovered near the outer edge of the barrier.

They were so large, it was impossible not to notice them.

Naruto reached out, and a giant hand formed from seawater gently patted the Sea Kings' heads.

Then, he led the girls back into the Wet Bone Forest.

"Naruto-sama~!"

A soft voice echoed—it was the slug.

"It… it spoke?!"

"It really talked?!"

Nami and Robin's minds, though stronger than most, were still overwhelmed.

Even more so when they realized the Slug Sage's true size dwarfed even the Sea Kings.

"Is that... a Den Den Mushi?"

Upon hearing the question, the slug split a tenth of its body off, which morphed into a humanoid form and stood atop its original mass.

The tiny slug riding on Naruto's shoulder also slithered down.

"I'm not a Den Den Mushi~"

"My name is Slug, and I am the master of the Wet Bone Forest."

Nami and Robin instinctively stepped back. The sheer presence of something so massive was terrifying.

"I'll need to step away briefly," Naruto said. "Maintaining this barrier drains too much energy, and it hasn't yet been fully attuned to this world."

"Slug, I'll tap into the Dragon Vein's power to keep it going."

"Soon, this place will become a passage linking the Shinobi World and the world over there."

He turned to the humanoid Slug.

"If you don't want to be disturbed, you can relocate the entire Wet Bone Forest after the Dragon Vein connects with the barrier."

The slug sage shook its head. "Naruto-sama, unlike the other three sacred places, the Wet Bone Forest is unique."

"This location can serve as a stable channel between the two worlds."

"I see… in that case, we'll leave it here," Naruto nodded.

Then he turned to the others.

"Wait here for a bit."

The Wet Bone Forest had been here before.

Which was why Yomi could more easily pinpoint its coordinates compared to Ryosaka.

"Naruto~"

"Take me with you?" Hancock pleaded.

Naruto shook his head. "It won't take long. I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?!"

Hancock's breathing quickened.

"That's too long…"

She clutched her chest slightly, as though in pain.

Mei Terumi blinked in surprise.

Ten minutes… was that really too much?

"This girl's serious," she muttered, stepping forward to gently loop her arm around Hancock's.

"Come now. We'll just chat while Naruto's gone. He'll be back in no time."

Hancock shook her head furiously. "I don't wanna~"

Still acting spoiled, huh?

Naruto stepped closer, cupping her face with both hands.

Baji—

Hancock's head swayed as her dizziness washed over her, the pain in her heart melting away.

Mei Terumi blinked—then chuckled.

"Knew you had your ways."

Nami and Robin stepped up, curious.

"What kind of ninjutsu is that?" Nami asked, glancing between Hancock and Naruto.

"Some kind of genjutsu?"

Mei Terumi smiled slyly. "You could try it yourself."

Naruto ignored their chatter and turned back to the Slug Sage.

"Slug, I'll leave it to you. If you detect an unfamiliar force interfering with the barrier, don't resist it."

As he finished speaking, the Yomi Hirasaka portal opened behind him.

Coordinates: Land of Wind – Rōran.

"Be careful~" Mei Terumi called after him.

Naruto offered her a confident smile before stepping through.

Buzz—

The portal closed behind him.

He now stood in the ruins of Rōran.

"Going back in time… is bound to change a lot of things," he muttered.

"There's a good chance I'll run into Dad from the past."

"…I'll just wipe his memory afterward."

With that, Naruto turned toward the Dragon Vein's seal array.

"Did the centipede pass through already?"

"Maybe it sensed danger and fled when the Shinobi World began changing."

He placed his hand on the sealing formation, sensing the flow of chakra beneath.

He traced it downward, following the channel into the underground chamber.

"This power… it really is natural energy. The Dragon Vein's essence is pure Senjutsu Chakra."

"The plan works. If I channel this into the Wet Bone Forest's barrier, everything will hold together."

"But I'll need to regulate the flow—cut it at the right point."

"This is like severing a dragon at its weakest point…"

"I'll also need to set up a teleportation seal underground. If the flow isn't stabilized, the transfer to the Wet Bone Forest will drain too much energy."

He glanced off into the distance, toward the ancient ruins of Rōran.

"It'll take time for the barrier to synchronize with the Dragon Vein Chakra…"

"Might as well deal with the situation in the Land of Water first."

He released the ninja sword from the array without drawing it—removing the seal, not breaking it.

There was one more thing to do here.

The Lost Tower. The Lost Past.

In the distance, a figure slowly approached.

Long crimson hair.

Lavender eyes.

There was no mistaking her—Sara, Queen of Rōran.

As she walked toward Naruto, the desert winds swept around them, carrying sand across the ruins.

Though much had changed in the Land of Wind, this place had remained untouched by time.

The Rōran Ruins still stood.

"…Thanks," Naruto said softly.

Sara shook her head, walking to the edge of the deep pit.

"The seal up above is the first," she said. "The second one… the true source of the Dragon Vein Chakra… is below."

Naruto nodded slightly.

He had sensed it earlier.

"It's been almost twenty years... I think. I can't remember clearly anymore."

"As for the remaining people of Rōran, I relocated them to Sunagakure shortly after I learned Konoha would be hosting the Chūnin Exams, and with the ninja world starting to shift."

"I'm the only one left here."

With that, "Sara" bowed deeply to Naruto.

"My true self..."

"Please bring back the real Sara."

After her words, the wooden clone of White Zetsu—disguised as Sara—stepped forward, placed her hand gently on Naruto's shoulder…

Then, her form began to shift.

In a moment visible to the naked eye, she transformed—her body darkening into bark-like wood.

Slowly, she turned into a tree.

A lone tree standing amidst the ruins of Rōran, rooted in the desert sand.

Naruto reached out and infused a trace of his original power into the tree's core.

The power in the wooden clone had long been depleted. By now, it was little more than ordinary wood.

If he had arrived earlier, perhaps he could have absorbed it back into himself.

He stared at the tree for a moment, then tapped the ground with his toes and slowly floated upward—

Soaring into the abyss.

As the power settled into the tree, countless roots unfurled, spreading to cover the open chasm below.

The exposed heart of the Dragon Vein—the "seven-inch" weak point—was now sealed.

Underground, Naruto descended into the ancient palace where four great statues stood solemnly.

A three-pronged kunai was embedded in a stone shaped like an eye.

Sealing formulas filled the surrounding walls and floor in dense, intricate script.

He approached the kunai, formed hand seals, and activated it.

The kunai slowly rose into the air, glowing softly, then floated into Naruto's open hand.

Instantly, the sealing jutsu carved into the earth began to pulse.

A deep violet chakra burst forth—

Surging like a tidal wind.

Boom! Boom! —!!!

The underground structure shook violently.

All the sealed buildings fractured under the pressure.

The Dragon Vein Chakra had gone berserk.

Purple light flooded the entire palace.

Naruto transformed his body into chakra elements and dispatched a few wood clones to maintain control.

Then, stepping calmly into the epicenter of the eruption, he faced the ascending beam of dragon chakra.

He glanced back—the wooden clones had already stabilized the surge.

He nodded to himself and fully stepped into the radiant vortex of chakra.

Buzz——

As the Dragon Vein Chakra soared, the space around him began to twist.

A unique spatial fluctuation stirred the air.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. Is this the distortion of time and space reversal...?

He slowly closed his eyes as the temporal shift overtook him.

A while passed.

The chaotic flow of time and space settled.

Then, a soft, melodic voice drifted into his ears.

"The rising sun~ The rising sun~

Fanatical hearts~

The dragon vein that must be protected~

A flash of white blade—look to the sky~"

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and looked up.

He found himself inside a tall tower.

Five round holes pierced the ceiling above, letting sunlight pour in.

"The sands are chaos~

The radiant sun in full bloom~

Follow the swirl~"

Naruto turned toward the source of the voice.

There, sitting on a crumbled section of the ruins, was a girl gazing up at the light.

Tears glistened at the corners of her lavender eyes.

Long red hair flowed behind her.

"...Sara."

Naruto's voice was soft.

Sara jerked her head toward him.

Tears streamed down her cheeks—but she said nothing.

She turned and ran.

Naruto didn't chase her.

He looked around and murmured, "This point in time... We've finally arrived."

After Sara left through the upper exit, Naruto made his way toward it as well.

Suddenly, two puppets appeared—humanoid constructs clad in black, their limbs controlled by threads of Dragon Vein chakra.

The moment they detected Naruto, they launched several kunai at him.

A pulse of violet energy shimmered before him—forming a chakra barrier.

As the kunai crossed the barrier, they lost all momentum and dropped to the ground.

The puppets charged forward, but as soon as they passed through the barrier and reached Naruto—

They collapsed into heaps of parts.

Their movements ceased entirely.

The exit behind them sealed shut.

Naruto stood there silently.

"...Still the same little girl who refuses to grow up."

Naruto shook his head, then looked upward and began to ascend toward the ceiling.

Crackling——

From each of the five circular openings above, steel pillars extended downward.

Their outermost layer was made of reinforced glass.

Naruto gazed up—just as the glass shattered and disintegrated on its own, clearing his path.

He rose out of the underground chamber and emerged once more into the heart of Rōran.

Above, the sun blazed down over the ruins.

As he surveyed the area, the ancient buildings of Rōran came into view—structures steeped in a medieval style. Though grand in their own right, they couldn't compare to the architectural sophistication of modern-day Konoha.

"A centipede…?"

Naruto muttered as he spotted a collapsed puppet nearby.

"This could be a good specimen to bring back. Great-Grandfather would probably find it interesting."

He paused, then added, "Though if I convert it into something akin to Sasori's puppet form… it doesn't matter. I can extract the core essence of its chakra, inject it into one of White Zetsu's bodies, and preserve it."

Turning toward the buildings, Naruto walked into the city proper.

Despite the desolation, there were still traces of remarkable technology—systems and mechanisms lost to time but worth studying.

Just then, three puppets burst into view, skittering across the rooftops.

Trailing behind them were glowing purple chakra threads.

These threads were not ordinary—they were infused with Dragon Vein chakra, thin yet potent. They ran through conduits connected to a massive pipeline that extended across Rōran.

At the end of the pipeline stood the tallest structure in the city—a central control tower capped with a spherical dome.

That dome was etched with intricate fūinjutsu seals.

Whoosh—!

The moment the three puppets detected Naruto's presence—

They launched a barrage of kunai toward him.

At the same time, their arms transformed into mechanical weaponry—blades, chains, and even energy cannons sprang forth.

Boom—!

One puppet raised its right arm, revealing a chakra cannon. A beam of purple light blasted forward.

But the moment these attacks reached Naruto—

They all fizzled out harmlessly.

He stood unscathed.

"So this is Dragon Vein chakra repurposed for combat, huh?"

Whoosh whoosh whoosh—!

A swirling orb of purple energy began forming in Naruto's palm.

It was infused with the essence of the Dragon Vein—a Dragon Vein Chakra Rasengan.

Buzz buzz buzz——

Immediately after, he added wind-nature transformation.

The sphere expanded, sharp wind currents slicing the air around him.

Dragon Vein Chakra: Rasenshuriken.

…

TN:

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