In the Hidden Sand's Jonin Class headquarters, over a dozen elite Jonin gathered today, including Baki. These individuals were high-ranking officials typically responsible for critical departments like the Medical Corps and the Intelligence Division.
However, as it was Shiraishi's first day as the Commander of the Jonin Class, the core members had assembled to await their young leader.
Most of the Jonin present belonged to the "Three Sand Styles" lineages, with a few coming from commoner backgrounds.
Nevertheless, regardless of their faction, they looked toward Shiraishi with eyes full of awe and reverence. After a series of legendary battles, Shiraishi had firmly established his status; no one in the room dared to question his authority.
Entering the hall, Shiraishi sat down and bypassed all formalities. He immediately picked up a stack of documents and began his work.
First on the agenda was the promotion list for Jonin and Chunin. Among them, Mai Hoshino, Bizen Nagase, and Ryoji Morimoto were eligible for promotion to Special Jonin, while Shikasa and Maki were officially promoted to Jonin.
Beyond Shiraishi's inner circle, a large number of Chunin and Genin who participated in the battles at Kikyo Mountain, the Land of Rivers, and the Revelation Mountains were granted promotions.
War, it seemed, remained the fastest ladder for advancement. Because the village's standing army had plummeted from 28,000 to roughly 12,000 during the conflict, over a thousand promotions were approved to stabilize the hierarchy.
After finalizing the lists, Shiraishi assigned duties. Shikasa was appointed Vice-Commander of the Puppet Brigade to assist in daily operations.
Maki was assigned to the Barrier Division to maintain the village's external defenses. This wasn't favoritism; Maki's sealing and sensory abilities were now top-tier in the village, making the placement logical.
Mai Hoshino and the others were sent to the Intelligence Department for a year of training before they would be assigned to lead new Genin squads at the Academy.
Once the routine work was settled, the head of Intelligence handed a specialized report to Shiraishi. "We have received shared intelligence from the Leaf regarding the Dragon Vein of the Kingdom of Roran and abnormal movements of a puppet army."
Roran?
Shiraishi frowned, picking up the file to examine the details.
The so-called Dragon Vein(Ryūmyaku) was a massive energy core deep within the Earth's crust, possessing infinite chakra.
It had the power to interfere with space and time. While "true" time travel was theoretically impossible, the Dragon Vein could project consciousness or matter across parallel dimensions or timeline shifts.
Built atop this vein, the Kingdom of Roran had been ruled by queens who mastered this power for generations.
Roran's history was ancient, predating even the Five Great Nations. However, as the Land of Wind weakened over the years, the once-peaceful Roran began to harbor ambitions.
Their Minister, Anrokuzan, appeared to be moving in the shadows, pushing for a secret plan to combine the puppet legions with the Dragon Vein's power to crush the Five Great Nations.
Because Roran was situated near the borders of both Wind and Fire, and the Leaf's lands were exceptionally fertile, Anrokuzan's war preparations were aimed directly at Konoha.
Since the Leaf was currently embroiled in the Third Shinobi World War with the Mist and Stone, they sent a formal request, hoping the Sand would handle the matter on their behalf.
In the original timeline, due to the Sand's crushing defeat at Kikyo Mountain, they had lost their voice in regional affairs, leading the Leaf to send Minato Namikaze and his team to handle Roran directly.
In this timeline, however, the Leaf respected the Sand's newfound dominance and deferred the mission to them.
"What are your thoughts?" Shiraishi asked, setting the papers down.
"Roran exists within the Land of Wind; it is a nation within a nation. Peaceful coexistence was fine in the past, but if they are developing a puppet army, we must deliver a devastating blow," one Jonin stated.
"Strip Roran of its military power and seal the Dragon Vein," added another. The consensus was clear: no Great Power would allow a small neighbor to grow fangs.
They advocated for dismantling Roran's military and integrating the territory fully into the Land of Wind.
Shiraishi, deeply interested in the nature of the Dragon Vein, made the final decision. "Very well. I will lead the team personally. The squad will include Shikasa and Arashi Arakawa. We will head to Roran immediately for investigation."
The senior Jonin were surprised that Shiraishi would deploy himself, but they didn't object. The trio was, in many ways, perfectly suited for a puppet-related mission.
In a potential future of a parallel world, the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, would summon Team 7—Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sai, and Captain Yamato—to execute a mission in the ruins of Roran.
There, a rogue Sand ninja named Mukade would flee to the past, seeking to unseal the Dragon Vein. His interference would cause a massive burst of light at the seal, reversing the flow of time.
Naruto, chasing Mukade, would be sucked into the energy, leading to a distortion of history.
Mukade, having arrived in Shiraishi's timeline six years "too early," hadn't initially noticed anything was wrong. He had spent his time hiding in Roran, focused on developing his puppet army.
It wasn't until the news of the Sand's overwhelming victory against the Mist reached him that the time-traveling traitor became confused.
As a former Sand ninja, Mukade knew the village's history. Where did this 'Black Mist Shiraishi' come from?
Had his arrival changed history so much that the Third Shinobi World War was following a completely different path? The Sand had actually crushed both the Leaf and the Mist?
Meanwhile, in the towers of Roran, Naruto Uzumaki began to stir. Upon waking, the first thing he heard was a beautiful, haunting song. The woman singing was the current Queen of Roran, Sara.
"Excuse me?" Naruto called out.
Hearing the voice of a strange man, Queen Sara quickly turned and fled...
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