Chapter Two

"Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura, are you there, can you hear me?" Naruto shouted at the top of his lungs.

He had regained a bit of strength, so walking wasn't as difficult anymore. However, his super-developed senses were still failing him. After hours of wandering around, he still couldn't find his teammates. If he had survived the explosion and the strange phenomenon that had nullified the Mugen Tsukiyomi, taking Madara and Black Zetsu with it, then they must have survived too. It was imperative; they couldn't leave him alone in this chaos.

As he turned a corner, Naruto suddenly drew a kunai at lightning speed and threw it at a potential attacker.

"Dobe, what's gotten into you, throwing kunai at me like that? Can't you even sense my chakra?" grumbled Sasuke, a bit irritated.

"Sasuke, is that you? Where are the others? I've been walking for hours; you're the first person I've encountered."

"They're fine, Dobe. You were the only one missing; we've been searching for you for hours."

"I see, the explosion must have carried me farther than I thought," said Naruto.

"I guess," replied Sasuke. "But enough chatter, I suppose you've noticed that something is wrong. We need to get back to the others as quickly as possible; we're only waiting for you to decide what to do."

"If that's the case, no need to delay. But first, are there any casualties in our camp?" Naruto asked as he began to follow Sasuke, who had already started running.

"Besides Madara and Zetsu, everyone seems to be alive. Even the point of detonation is intact."

"I see," replied Naruto, shaken by the whole story.

The run to their destination was in complete silence. Wasting energy on conversation was utterly unnecessary. As they got closer to their goal, Naruto's frown deepened. Something was wrong with his perception; it was almost itching at his senses.

"Sasuke, what's really going on?" Naruto asked.

"To be honest, I don't know, but it seems we're no longer in our world."

"But we're still in the same place, the land, the environment, the chakra, everything is the same."

"That's the catch. It seems we've been transported, along with the entire continent."

"And how do you know that?"

"Tsss. Sometimes you're so dense. The moon, the stars, the gravity, everything is different," said Sasuke. "With your perception, you should have noticed something, right?"

"I should have, but when I woke up, I had no energy, and conserving the little I had seemed best."

"I suppose you're right. Being closest to the explosion must have had more of an impact on you than on us," admitted Sasuke.

Five minutes later, they arrived where the others were waiting for them. Despite the absence of notorious enemies, the seriousness on his companions' faces made Naruto really uneasy.

"Hey guys, why are you all so gloomy?" Naruto asked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Because the situation is dire, Naruto," said Kakashi with a somber look.

"Indeed," retorted Kurama, who had just appeared. "Madara and Black Zetsu have mysteriously disappeared. We Bijus have returned just like that."

"And the strangest thing," Minato interjected this time, "the Edo Tensei has been undone, and we are indeed alive, in addition to being in an unidentified location."

"I see," replied Naruto somberly. "What are we going to do now?" At this point, he didn't even have the energy to be surprised. His father, who had recently lost an arm, now had both arms and a really fresh face.

"Since you're here, your cloning ability coupled with Kurama's chakra will allow us to scour every inch of land to find everyone. We're going to need everyone," replied Minato.

"If whatever transported us is here, we need to gather our forces as quickly as possible, as well as those of all the other countries. Without wanting to alarm, the danger may be greater than Madara," concluded Hashirama with a serious face.

New York, May 2007.

For a city that had just experienced such a horrifying event, the streets were rather crowded. An outsider might have called the residents fearless, but a local would say it was more hysteria and paranoia that had gripped the people. With globalization and the internet, it was impossible to hide from the public that a landmass had emerged from the ocean without warning, resulting from the inexplicable phenomenon that occurred yesterday morning.

As a result, despite a strong military presence on every corner, people rushed into stores, taking whatever they could, with brawls breaking out everywhere. Looters, anarchists, and conspiracy theorists of all kinds were having a field day. For them, it was a godsend.

The financial world was not faring any better. The stock market had crashed so fast it was astounding. Capital had melted away like snow in the sun. Overnight, many people found themselves penniless.

Looking at the madness that had gripped the city below, Tony couldn't help but sigh. Usually carefree, he was now deadly serious. He had just attended a meeting with the Department of Defense, and to say the least, the situation seemed quite catastrophic.

As a supplier of high-tech weapons, he had access to classified information. Thus, he could boast of being one of the few civilians to have seen the first satellite images of the said continent. It was both fascinating and frightening. As the adventurous man he was, fascination prevailed for him. The first observations showed it was a rather atypical place in terms of biome. The habitats were all just as original if the snapshots were to be believed.

But as Tony Stark, such basic things weren't enough to pique his curiosity. What interested him was this gigantic turtle bathing off the coast of the continent, or that animal resembling a slug of an utterly scandalous size.

At these thoughts, a smirk formed on Tony's lips. If people knew what had been discovered just from a few satellite images, they would have gone completely mad. When planes make reconnaissance flights, and the military begins ground exploration, as well as the press, it's going to be epic, Tony thought, rubbing his hands in excitement.

This would be a good time to buy a major media outlet, Tony thought, laughing.

"Pepper, I think I just had a stroke of genius."

...

It had been almost a week since the future of Earth had been turned upside down. Fury didn't quite know how to proceed. Given the scale of the thing, investigating incognito for the moment wasn't really possible. Anyway, this continent X was as large as Europe. SHIELD didn't have the resources to explore such a vast area alone, no country did anyway. That's why, apart from satellite mapping, nothing had been attempted yet.

Pooling resources, logistics, paperwork, and especially the method of proceeding (largely due to fear) were still delaying the first contact.

Although this continent represented a significant danger to Earth, Fury had no choice but to send a small undercover squad to carry out their mission, which was to protect the planet.

"Let's hope their military forces are in line with what we've seen so far. Otherwise, it would be unfortunate," Fury monologued.

Shinobi Continent

It had been a week since they had landed in this world. Despite the disappearance of Madara and Zetsu, or Obito's surrender, the tension in the air was palpable. A new summit was organized to determine what to do. Besides the war belligerents, nearly all the continent's representatives (thanks to Tobirama and Minato, and the summons) were present. Even the summons had joined the meeting.

Neutrality in the face of an unknown world was simply not pertinent.

As the last war had proven, the shinobi had far more power than one could imagine. The threats they had to face to protect the world were inconceivable to ordinary mortals.

Thus, by tacit acceptance, the course of action was left to those who had power, real power. Indeed, for this extraordinary summit, the daimyos were relegated to the background, dealing with strictly civil matters.

The return of the first four Hokages, and the fact that the Tailed Beasts were no longer considered weapons, played a major role in establishing this new status quo.

As the head of the Shinobi Alliance, the Raikage presided over the meeting.

"So, according to your report, the locals have gigantic ships, which are currently staying far from our coasts," A repeated.

"Yes, Lord Raikage."

"Shouldn't we go meet them as a gesture of goodwill?" Mei Terumi proposed.

"I don't think that's a good idea. I doubt they speak our language, and we know nothing of their customs," Mifune warned.

"Indeed," Tobirama retorted. "Our presence is undoubtedly a shock to them. If we make the first move, they might take it as an aggression."

"And what would be the best course of action?" asked the Kage of Kusa.

"I propose that we observe," Minato intervened.

"Can you elaborate, Fourth?" A asked.

"Let them come to us. The periphery of the continent is dotted with islands. We will station shinobi disguised as civilians there to gather as much information as possible. They will undoubtedly come armed; it will be a good way to study and learn."

"Your idea has merit. But such an operation requires many personnel. We lost many shinobi during the war," A replied.

"We can compensate for that with clones from Naruto and the First Hokage. Their reputation in this field is well established."

"Combined with our mastery of senjutsu, it should work," Hashirama agreed.

"I would like to make a proposal," Orochimaru suddenly.

Orochimaru's speech instantly cooled the atmosphere. The participants' gazes oscillated between disgust, anger, weariness, and exasperation, which delighted Orochimaru, who savored their dismay with a broad smile on his lips.

"Since we are going to observe them, why not test them by sending a few small surprises to see what they are capable of?"

"What are you insinuating, Orochimaru?" A intervened, his chakra starting to boil with rage.

"No need to get excited," replied the Snake Sannin, not the least bit moved. "They know nothing of our fauna or flora. The continent is dotted with forests. Why not send them a few animals, under control of course, to test them?"

"This idea has merit. Elaborate, please," Onoki intervened.

"Of course, Lord Tsuchikage. First of all, we will need to…"