Scene: The Labyrinth of Chains – A Locked Dimension
A realm of impossibility.
Planets orbit around a chained sun.
The very laws of physics are shackled, nailed to cosmic laws by the Multiversal Chain—an ancient force that ensures no soul can be whole again once fragmented.
And in the center…
A child's cry echoes.
The girl with Ben's missing soul fragment kneels in a glowing cage of shifting timelines. Her hair is like his. Her eyes—once blank—now flicker with sparks of recognition.
She whispers:
"Why does the name Naruto… make me feel sad?"
Suddenly—
The sky splits.
A Rift opens.
And through it steps the Rift King.
Ben Arrives – In Full Power
Ben wears the crown now, not as a king of ego—but as a conqueror of time itself.
His armor is fused from every version of himself that failed, twisted into a suit of resilience.
The Chain Sentinels, cosmic wardens of the Labyrinth, rise to block him.
Twelve beings—each forged from a dying star, shaped by law.
One speaks:
"You were warned. The Fragment must remain divided. Reunification leads to Singularity Collapse."
Ben unsheathes the blade given to him by the Architect: Chrono-Edge—a sword that slices destiny itself.
"I didn't come here to obey laws," he says. "I came to break them."
The Battle Begins – Twelve vs One
Ben moves like a paradox unleashed.
He blinks forward—kicking through a thousand years of chained reality. His blade sings as it cuts through timelines:
A Sentinel is decapitated in a future that hasn't happened yet.
Another is turned inside out by a reversed gravity loop.
A third is frozen in the memory of its own creation—collapsing into a stardust scream.
But the Sentinels adapt.
They begin merging, forming the Chain Colossus—an omega construct built to contain gods.
It grabs Ben.
Crushes his ribs.
Throws him into a spiral of collapsing time.
Cutaway – Naruto & Team Voidstorm Assemble
Back in the Hidden Void Cavern, Naruto stands over a map of infinite branching timelines.
Beside him:
Sasuke, whose broken Rinnegan is still sensitive to time shifts.
Sakura, binding the last of the Rift Seals to protect their plane.
Ignara, fully manifested, her flames blue with worry.
Sasuke speaks.
"Ben's power is escalating beyond prediction."
Naruto lowers his head.
"He remembered me. But I wasn't part of what made him choose this path."
Ignara looks up sharply.
"Then what did?"
Naruto whispers:
"Love. And the rage born when love is lost."
They prepare a failsafe—a weapon built from Kokugen's fragment: The Soulmirror Dagger—capable of severing a bond even time can't rewrite.
Naruto hopes he never has to use it.
Back to the Labyrinth – Ben Breaks the Chains
Ben, bleeding, lifts his hand.
The Rift Crown pulses.
He chants:
"In every version of myself that failed…
In every shard I've lost…
I claim wholeness."
The Labyrinth trembles.
The chains shatter—one by one—as Ben pulls the fragment toward him.
The child cries out, not in fear—but in recognition.
"You're… me."
Ben kneels.
Touches her face.
"You were always me. I just forgot."
They merge—light and shadow. Child and king.
For the first time since the Rift consumed him…
Ben is whole.
But It Comes at a Cost
The Chain Colossus, in its death throes, activates its final protocol:
Singularity Initiation: Reality Unraveling in T-minus 72 hours.
The multiverse begins to fray.
Ben has what he wanted.
But now… everything might burn.
Final Scene – Obsidian's Domain
Obsidian laughs.
"He did it. He broke the chains."
The Heir turns, startled. "Then… we've lost?"
Obsidian shakes his head.
"No. We've won."
He reveals the truth to the Heir.
"The child fragment? It wasn't just his soul. It was the anchor to the next convergence point."
"Now that Ben holds it… he will be the one to collapse the multiverse."
[CHAPTER END | NEXT: Paradox Protocol – Naruto's Final Mission]