Naruto: Multiversal Shadows

Disclaimer: This story is 100% AI-generated fanfiction based on the Naruto universe. Characters, settings, and lore belong to Masashi Kishimoto. No copyright infringement intended.

Training Ground 3 – Dawn

The morning mist clung to the grass like frost as Naruto squared off against Sasuke. The scar on his cheek throbbed in time with his heartbeat, a dull, insistent reminder of the shattered mirror and the golden-eyed reflection that haunted him.

"You look like hell," Sasuke said, spinning a kunai lazily. "Sure you're up for this, deadlast?"

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Shut your mouth and fight."

He lunged first, fists swinging. Sasuke sidestepped effortlessly, landing a sharp jab to Naruto's ribs. Pain flared, but Naruto barely registered it—his vision was already swimming with phantom ash.

"Pathetic," Sasuke sneered, kicking Naruto's legs out from under him. "You're even weaker than yesterday."

"Weak?!" Naruto spat blood, scrambling to his feet. The scar ignited, golden light bleeding into his veins. "I'll show you weak!"

He charged again, chakra surging wildly. This time, his fist connected—but as it grazed Sasuke's jaw, the world ripped.

The Frozen Wastes – Unknown Mountains

Cold.

It hit Naruto like a kunai to the chest. One moment, he was in the humid training ground; the next, he was knee-deep in snow, a blizzard howling around him.

"What the—?!" Sasuke staggered nearby, his breath frosting in the air. "Where the hell are we?!"

Naruto clutched his scar, now glowing like a branding iron. "I… I didn't mean to—"

"You did this?!" Sasuke grabbed him by the collar, Sharingan flaring. "Teleport us back. NOW."

"I can't!" Naruto shoved him off, panic rising. "I don't even know how it works!"

The wind screamed, drowning Sasuke's curses. Through the whiteout, jagged ice pillars loomed, their surfaces etched with the spiral-and-crescent symbol.

"We need shelter," Sasuke growled, pulling his hood up. "Follow me."

The Blizzard's Wrath

They trudged for hours, the cold gnawing through their clothes. Naruto's scar pulsed erratically, its warmth the only thing keeping his fingers from freezing.

"Sasuke… wait up!" Naruto stumbled, snow filling his boots. "We need to rest!"

"Rest here and you die," Sasuke snapped, not slowing. "This is your mess. Fix it."

"I'm trying!" Naruto's voice cracked. "But I can't—!"

A thunderous crack split the air. Above them, an avalanche roared down the mountainside.

"MOVE!" Sasuke yanked Naruto behind an ice pillar as snow and debris crashed around them. When the rumble faded, their path forward was buried.

"We're trapped," Naruto whispered.

Sasuke stared into the storm, jaw clenched. "Not 'we.'"

"What?"

"You're a liability," Sasuke said coldly, tightening his headband. "I'll find shelter alone. Try not to die before I get back."

"You're leaving me?!"

"Would you rather slow me down?" Sasuke's Sharingan flashed, sharp and merciless. "This is your power, Naruto. Your problem."

He vanished into the white, leaving Naruto alone with the screaming wind.

The Ice Pillars

Naruto collapsed against the nearest pillar, his breath shallow. The spiral symbol glowed faintly under his touch, its grooves humming with ancient chakra.

"Minato… you bastard…" he muttered, slumping into the snow. "Why'd you… do this to me…?"

The cold seeped into his bones. Memories flickered—Kakashi dissolving into ash, Mizuki's hollow laughter, the golden-eyed reflection in the mirror. You're running out of time.

"Not… yet…" He forced himself up, following the pillars deeper into the storm. Each one pulsed as he passed, the symbols brightening as if recognizing his scar.

A shadow moved ahead—a hunched figure cloaked in furs, trudging toward him.

"H-Hey!" Naruto croaked, waving weakly. "Help…!"

The figure turned. Beneath the hood was a face like Tobirama Senju's—but aged, weathered, and framed by hair as white as the snow. His eyes, red as the Sharingan but dulled with time, narrowed.

"A ghost…?" the old man rasped. "No… you're worse."

Naruto's legs gave out. "Please…"

The world faded to black as the hermit caught him, muttering, "The bridge has come at last."

The Hermit's Cave

Naruto awoke to the smell of burning pine. Firelight danced on walls lined with scrolls, their contents written in a script older than Konoha. The hermit crouched nearby, stirring a pot of stew.

"You're… Tobirama Senju," Naruto said hoarsely. "But… you're dead."

"In your world, perhaps," the hermit said, ladling stew into a chipped bowl. "Here, I am the last. The others perished when the golden hunger devoured the chakra of this land."

"Golden hunger…?"

The hermit pointed to Naruto's scar. "You bear its mark. The Ōtsutsuki's curse."

"Ōtsutsuki?!" Naruto sat up, wincing. "What's that got to do with me?!"

"They are voids," the hermit said, handing him the bowl. "Creatures that consume worlds. Your father's folly bridged our realities, and now they hunt you. Your chakra… it drips across the rifts."

Naruto's hands shook. "How do I stop them?"

The hermit's gaze fell to the spiral symbol carved into the cave floor. "You cannot. The bridge must burn."

"Burn…?"

"Sacrifice yourself," the hermit said flatly. "Sever the connection before they cross."

Silence hung heavy. Somewhere, the wind wailed like a mourner.

"No," Naruto said at last, fists clenching. "I'll find another way. I'll protect everyone!"

The hermit laughed—a bitter, broken sound. "Spoken like a true ghost."

The Blizzard's Secret

As night deepened, the hermit shuffled to the cave entrance, staring into the storm. "They're close. The symbols glow brighter when they near a rift."

Naruto joined him. The ice pillars now blazed with golden light, the spiral-and-crescent marks twisting like living things.

"What happens when they arrive?"

"They'll devour this world," the hermit said. "Then yours."

A low hum vibrated through the cave. Naruto's scar flared in response, searing his skin.

"They're here," the hermit whispered.

Outside, the blizzard parted. A figure descended from the sky—tall, bone-pale, with golden eyes that pierced the storm. Six spectral tails coiled behind it, each tipped with a swirling spiral.

"Little bridge," it purred, voice echoing in Naruto's mind. "You led us right to the feast."

The hermit shoved Naruto back. "Run. Now."

"But—!"

"RUN!"

Naruto stumbled into the snow as the cave collapsed behind him, the hermit's final roar swallowed by the avalanche.

Naruto fled, the beast's laughter echoing in his skull. Ahead, Sasuke stood at the edge of a cliff, Sharingan fixed on a rift swirling with golden light. "Took you long enough," he said coldly. "Now fix this."