Scene: Konoha, Dismantled Timeline Zone
The world is splintering.
Reality warps with every step Riftborne Prime takes. Trees rewind their growth. Buildings phase between different architectural eras. People glitch—aging forward and backward in seconds.
Naruto stands alone amid the chaos.
Before him, Ben—no, the creature that used to be Ben—towers with Void-Rift armor layered in paradox.
His voice is layered now. Multiple Bens.
Each from a different future.
Each broken in a different way.
"Naruto. You were always the variable. The flame that refused to die.
The Rift has decided—you will be deleted."
The Battle Begins – Reality Fractures
Naruto wastes no time.
He blinks forward, slicing a rift with Kokugen and sending a blade of chronal energy at Prime Ben's chest.
It barely scratches the armor—but it leaves a mark.
A memory.
Ben flinches.
A whisper of their past bleeds through: laughter beside a river. Training in the hidden Void Cavern. Their first victory.
Naruto sees it. There's still something human inside.
So he fights harder—not to kill—but to reach him.
Riftborne Prime Attacks
Ben retaliates with a horrifying jutsu.
Rift Shatter: Thousand Ends
Space cracks. A thousand versions of Naruto appear, each from a different doomed reality—some friends, some foes, some already dead.
They attack him.
Naruto is forced to face himself—a version who became Obsidian's heir, one who gave up on everything, one who killed Ben instead of saving him.
He stumbles.
"They are all you," Prime Ben whispers. "You think you're the exception, but you're the sum of your failures."
Cutaway – Tsunade's Retreat, Resistance Camp
Tsunade is wounded.
Sasuke stands bloodied, his Rinnegan cracked.
Sakura tries to heal, but the chakra fabric is thinning.
"We don't have long," she says.
Suddenly, a voice speaks from a nearby rift.
Ardyn.
His soul fragment flickers through.
"He's reaching the limit. If Naruto fails… this timeline collapses entirely."
Back to Naruto – The Forbidden Scroll
Naruto falls to one knee. Kokugen is nearly shattered.
Ben approaches—final strike incoming.
Naruto does what he swore he wouldn't.
He opens the crimson scroll.
It burns in his hands.
Ignara's voice echoes in his mind:
"This scroll gives you the power to invert any reality-defining rule… but the cost is steep."
"One thing you love… will die."
Naruto activates the scroll.
The world freezes.
Time Stops – The Bargain
Naruto enters the "Between Moment"—a place outside existence.
A Being of Balance appears. Not god. Not void. Just equilibrium.
"You choose to break the rule of 'Fixed Fate,'" it says. "Then name your sacrifice."
Naruto grits his teeth.
He whispers:
"My bond with Ben."
The Being nods.
"You will remember him. He will not remember you. And the part of him that still loves you… will die."
Naruto's hand trembles—but he signs the pact.
Back in Battle – The Shift
Time resumes.
Ben halts mid-strike—confused.
He drops his blade. His eyes stop glowing.
The Rift influence recedes slightly.
Naruto sheathes Kokugen and stands.
Ben looks at him with no recognition.
"Who… are you?"
Naruto forces a smile, even as his heart fractures.
"Just someone who refused to let you go."
Ben vanishes in a ripple of fractured light, teleported away by the scroll's final command—to a place where he'll be safe… for now.
Aftermath – The Price Paid
Naruto collapses.
His chakra reserves are burned out.
His mind is heavy with loss.
Tsunade and Sasuke find him hours later.
They ask about Ben.
Naruto just says:
"He's alive. That's enough… for now."
Final Scene – Obsidian's Domain
The Rift grows unstable. The Heir watches with narrowed eyes.
"He used the scroll," the Heir says.
Obsidian leans forward on his throne, intrigued.
"And paid the price I wanted him to."
He turns to the chained figure in his chamber—half-shadow, half-light.
"Wake the next catalyst.
It's time to test Naruto's new emptiness."
[CHAPTER END | NEXT: Memories That Never Were – The Man Who Forgot Naruto]