Narration – Within the Hollowborn
There was no pain.
No fear.
Only memory.
Not of this life—but of every life.
Naruto Uzumaki stands within his own soul—and he sees them.
Thousands of versions of himself.
Each one marked by pain. Loss. Sacrifice.
One died saving Hinata.
One killed Sasuke and never forgave himself.
One ruled the ninja world as a tyrant.
And one… was not Naruto at all.
It was the Hollowborn.
A being shaped in Naruto's image but born of void, time, and soul fragments. A convergence of all potential. All possibilities. Locked in a vessel too small for its truth.
And now…
"You remember, don't you?"
"You remember what they took from us."
Outside – Reality Cracks
As Naruto floats mid-air, his body wrapped in the cloak of the Hollowborn, the entire world begins to destabilize.
Golden-silver chakra pours from his back like wings made of galaxies. A black sun forms behind his head—like a halo of null light.
Villagers look up in awe.
Sasuke and Sakura freeze mid-battle.
Even Dark Gwen falters, shielding herself from the blast of transcendent pressure.
Ben yells, "This isn't just power! He's rewriting the laws of this world!"
Lyra's eyes widen. "He's becoming a fixed point in time."
Ardyn watches… silent.
Inside Naruto's Mind – The Confrontation
Naruto and the Hollowborn stand face to face.
"You're me," Naruto says.
"No," the Hollowborn answers. "You are me. I'm what comes next. I'm what comes when love isn't enough. When destiny fails. When peace is just an illusion."
Naruto clenches his fists. "That's not who I am."
The Hollowborn smiles.
"Yet you came here, didn't you? You let him in. The Void Prince. He carries my echo. Don't you wonder why?"
Naruto hesitates.
"I… I don't…"
But he does.
And the Hollowborn steps forward.
"Let me take the pain. Let me become what you couldn't.
Let me finish this."
Reality – Time Stops
Everyone freezes—except Ardyn.
He steps forward through the frozen moment, walking up to Naruto, whose eyes are now split between gold and black.
"You hear him," Ardyn says softly. "The voice. The Hollowborn."
Naruto nods, barely.
Ardyn places a hand on his shoulder.
"He's not your enemy.
He's your other half.
But if you let him take over, you'll never be you again."
Naruto swallows hard. "Then what do I do?"
Ardyn looks up at the sky—where Dark Gwen gathers her energy to strike again.
"You choose.
Not what you were born to be—
but what you want to become."
Above – Gwen's Final Move
Time resumes.
Dark Gwen screams as she summons a Reality Slicer—a condensed blade of raw multiversal paradox.
She hurls it toward Naruto.
"BE UNMADE!"
Naruto – Awakening True Balance
Just before impact, Naruto raises both hands.
One glows gold. The other, void-black.
And between them, a new force pulses—Unity.
Not light. Not darkness.
Self.
He catches the blade—and shatters it into cosmic dust.
Naruto floats downward, now stabilized, his chakra cloak a swirling storm of yin and yang.
"I am Naruto," he says.
"But I remember who I could've been.
And I choose to be both."
Dark Gwen Retreats
She snarls, retreating through a collapsing rift.
"You've delayed it, Void Prince," she spits.
"But the Hollowborn cannot be caged forever."
She vanishes.
Ardyn exhales, watching the skies settle.
Ben slaps his back. "You didn't kill him. I'm honestly shocked."
Ardyn answers, eyes still locked on Naruto.
"He's not ready to die.
And now… he might be the only one who can save me."
Final Scene – In the Depths of the Obsidian Cradle
Obsidian Ardyn stares at a sealed pod, watching a second Hollowborn stir inside.
Sakura (Black Tree) steps up.
"He's stabilizing. Earth 11-D didn't fracture."
Obsidian grins.
"Good. That means his birth will be even more meaningful."
He presses a void rune to the glass.
"The game's begun."
[CHAPTER END | NEXT: Echoes of Self – Training the Hollowborn Vessel]