Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1858

Nursing a headache comparable to the one he would feel after forging a Zanpakuto, Vahn allowed Fenrir and Ryun to nurse him for the better part of five hours before finally extricating himself from the duo's embrace and picking up the previously discarded volume of Naruto.

Curious to see what effect, if any, his actions had on the events depicted in the Manga, Vahn began perusing the pages for any signs of change. To his surprise, he didn't even need to turn to the first page before he noticed the first change, the inclusion of himself as a 'mystery individual' within the character index.

Seeing a profile of himself, albeit veiled in shadow, Vahn couldn't help but crack a smile as a surreal feeling washed over him. He had often imagined himself within the worlds of countless anime and manga, but, without visiting the Records directly, he was powerless to 'actualize' these desires. Now, he not only possessed the power to enter these worlds directly, but the choices he made during his stay had an observable influence on the sequence of events depicted.

As part of his experiment, Vahn had acquired two identical copies of the Naruto manga as part of a bulk purchase. He wanted to see if his actions affected identical volumes, and, more importantly, he wanted to ascertain whether or not these changes would update retroactively in others of the same series.

Unfortunately, while the changes he had made were 'very' evident within the volume affected by his power, every other volume, including those purchased as part of the same set, remained completely unaffected. This wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it was a little disheartening to know he couldn't see what other impacts the changes he introduced had on the world. He could probably get around this by entering a digital copy of said manga, but that was something he would need to experiment with later.

As could be expected from 'actualizing' a fictional world, effectively turning it into a Sub-Realm, it took quite a bit of mental and spiritual energy. Everything within was basically given form through his power, and, unless he used [Existence Erasure], the previously fictional world functioned similarly to a Record he had yet to enter. It had a 'fixed' fate, and, though his actions could shape the flow of events, it appeared as little more than fiction from an outside perspective...

Shaking his head, Vahn placed the affected volume of Naruto in his Inventory before recycling the others. Then, much like when he entered his Realm, he allowed his consciousness to descend into his Soul Realm, the aptly named space that housed his Ego and linked him to his 'real' self outside the Record. This previously served as the 'central hub' that contained objects such as the Realm and the Little Garden, but, now that he had finally ascended to Tier 5, it had now become reminiscent of the Root System he had observed in the Nasuverse.

Though he had no form to speak of, Vahn was able to freely move about this space, a gentle smile spreading across his nonexistence face when he observed the nebulous sphere that represented his Realm. For reasons he couldn't fully understand, looking at it inspired feelings comparable to those he would experience when looking at his own children. It was like he was viewing an intrinsic part of himself, something he wanted to nourish and protect at all costs...

Resisting the temptation to extend his 'hand' and caress its surface, Vahn shifted his attention away from his Realm, this time directing his focus to a marble-sized sphere of white light. At a distance, it resembled a small star, one he could just reach out and casually grasp into the palm of his hand. As he got closer, however, the star began to grow exponentially in size, seemingly enveloping his non-existent body in a viscous membrane. Immediately after that, he found himself in the exact spot he had imagined, his intent loitering within the void as he observed the scene of Kushina punching the top of a young Naruto's head with a loving yet wrathful expression on her face...

With the changes he had introduced into the world, the incident involving the Nine-Tails destroying a part of Konoha never came to pass. As a result, Minato and Kushina both survived, and, though it hadn't exactly been smooth sailing, the former had managed to secure his position as Hokage after forcing Danzo to undergo the investigation of the Torture and Intelligence Division. This had been opposed by the former Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, but, as the current Hokage, the highest-ranking position in the village, Minato had every right to subject a suspected traitor to interrogation.

In the wake of Minato's actions, a rift had formed between the older generations of Konoha and the more progressive faction headed by the current Hokage. Hiruzen tried to act as a mediator between both sides, but, after Danzo's crimes were brought to light, combined with the fact he had allowed Orochimaru to escape, his status invariably fell among the Clans. In the end, he, alongside the other Elders of Konoha, became little more than Advisors without power. As for Minato, his position had improved considerably following the fall of Danzo, and, thanks to the tip offered by the 'mysterious man', the surviving Uzumaki had secured a small foothold among Konoha's Noble Clans.

Unfortunately, without the pressure provided by Danzo, tensions between Konoha and the other Hidden Villages had been steadily increasing. There was still a lot of enmity between each of the villages following the end of the Third Shinobi War, and, though Minato had tried to broker peace with the Cloud and Sand, the former's attempts at kidnapping the Hyuuga Heiress, Hinata Hyuuga, ruined any chance for peaceful coexistence. The final straw was the Cloud's attempt to accuse the Leaf Village of 'murdering' one of their envoys, willingly denying the existence of the kidnapping attempt.

Unlike Hiruzen, Minato wasn't the type to sell out his own people when the fault clearly lay with the other party. It was inconceivable to him that anyone would want him to condemn an innocent man, much less a father trying to protect his daughter, to die for the sake of a 'peace' someone else had compromised. He knew what would have happened to Hinata if the Cloud managed to capture her, so, rather than punish one of his own for doing what any sensible person would have, he made the incident known to the public and began preparing for war.

In the end, the Cloud issued a statement attempting to absolve themself of any and all wrongdoing by claiming that the Leaf Village was fabricating the kidnapping incident to cover up the fact they had murdered an envoy sent to secure peace. They tried presenting Minato as a blood-thirsty killer who had built his reputation through war, and, in an attempt to secure his position, now resorted to warmongering in lieu of diplomacy...

Fortunately, despite their bluster and posturing, most of the villages, their Kage included, greatly feared Minato. He had made a name for himself by killing more than a thousand elite shinobi over the course of a single battle. This was a feat achieved without any assistance from allied forces, so, from that moment onward, 'flee on sight' orders were issued to every shinobi. Those who ignored this order were virtually guaranteed to meet their end, and, during the later stages of the War, even the current Raikage and his Elite Unit had suffered a defeat at Minato's hands. For this reason, they dared not openly attack the Leaf Village, as, at least for the time being, Minato was, inarguably, the most deadly shinobi among the Five Great Nations...

Though it was different from when he was in his actual Realm, Vahn was made aware of everything that had taken place within his personalized version of Naruto thanks to his [Actualization] Innate. It provided him a limited form of omniscience, and, most importantly, allowed him to view the Flow of Fate, much like he had in the Nasuverse. Unlike the aforementioned, however, he could now see the fate of the entire world, and, if he really wanted to, his instincts told him he could alter the flow with nothing more than his intent.

Deciding he would put this to the test, Vahn allowed himself to become one with the surrounding currents, each frozen in time. This was the true source of his limited omniscience, and, by becoming one with the ebb and flow of fate, he effectively learned 'everything' about the current state of the world. He could even sense the amount of influence each individual had on the larger flow of fate, and, by altering it ever-so-slightly, he could drastically influence the course of the entire world...

Feeling his reserves of mental and spiritual energy draining at a remarkable rate, Vahn didn't idle within the larger flow of fate for too long. He just tweaked a few things in an attempt to inhibit the onset of war before attaching his intent to the currents flowing around Naruto. This allowed him to peer into the boy's future, and, though he couldn't remove every setback, as pain and loss were a natural part of life, he could at least guarantee a favorable outcome. This version of Naruto might not be his son, but, for a number of reasons, Vahn felt compelled to extend his hand to the vibrant, clear-eyed, youth...

With similar intentions, Vahn tweaked the fates of several other characters in the timeless world before setting the events he had orchestrated into motion. This included curing Itachi of his illness, obliterating the stone monument of the Uchiha, arranging a fated meeting between Tsunade and Fuu, reinforcing the seal on Shukaku, and, though it was a little petty of him, he set Orochimaru on a path that resulted in him greatly offending Nagato. This resulted in him having his soul pulled out by the latter, effectively removing any influence he had on the timeline once Jiraiya subsequently investigates the disappearance of his former friend.

Vahn couldn't be certain that everything would go as he orchestrated, largely due to the need to maintain 'balance', but, at the very least, he had made a concerted effort to improve things. His last action within the Sub-Realm was to place numerous household objects into his Inventory, curious to learn whether or not they could be removed. His intuition told him this was impossible, but, as someone who constantly perpetuated the belief that 'nothing was impossible', there was merit in trying. He might not be able to achieve it now, but, once he figured out how to reconcile the Laws of his Fictional Sub-Realms with those of the outside world, there would be nothing to prevent him from 'borrowing' even heaven-defying objects from among the countless worlds included within his Internal Reality...

As that thought crossed his mind, Vahn couldn't help but consider the possibility of connecting his Realm to the countless worlds that would invariably come to exist within his Internal Reality. Each had been given form through him, and, though there were bound to be a number of restrictions, there was no reason why it shouldn't work. Rather, now that he had reached Tier 5, he should be able to superimpose his Realm onto reality. He had already confirmed the viability of this feat while he was still a Tier 4, so, now that he had become a legitimate Tier 5, the only thing that could prevent him from influencing external reality were Axis Users and Gods with greater authority than his own...

Realizing the implications contained within this line of thinking, Vahn allowed his consciousness to return to the outside world. Not even a single second had passed since the time of his immersion, but, as could be expected, his brain felt like it had turned to goo. This required him to recuperate in the Little Garden for more than three days, a sensible choice considering the absolute bedlam that occurred once he successfully created a 'bridge' between the Emerald Grove and a facility that had been prepared by Da Vinci in anticipation for this day...

(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Advent of the Self-Insert God...','RIP Orochimaru...','The ultimate Cliff-sama...')