"She?" Naruto asked.
"The Council is well established and contains powerful people from different universes," said the stranger. "They watch over the worlds and make sure reality doesn't crumble apart. They often choose extremely knowledgeable beings to serve within their ranks. We, as Timekeepers, report to The Council. If interference is required, The Council arranges for personnel to step in and sort out the issue."
Naruto nodded. The explanation eased the weight on his shoulders. He didn't have to solve everything alone—he simply needed to investigate. If there was a problem, The Council would take the lead in resolving it.
"So I'll find instructions on how to report to The Council in the Time Scroll, yes?" Naruto asked.
"Yes," replied the stranger.
Naruto took a long breath. The air felt crisper, and then he heard something faint—a hum at first, then the lightest of thuds.
"Your world," he began, struggling to put into words what he was sensing, "a heartbeat?"
The stranger's eyes widened. "The interloping of worlds is unpredictable," he said quickly. "What is it? Whatever it is, it's a sign I must leave soon."
"I can hear it," Naruto said, his gaze fixed on some faraway point. The rhythm of it all. A voice, from things? And it all started from a— "a beating. A beating that carries a longing. Drums that have a will of their own. The desire to be free."
"We call it the Drums of Liberation," the stranger said, taking a step back. "I must leave now."
"This sound—no," Naruto faltered mid-speech. "This voice… it's latching onto my heart. What is this?"
"It is what I believe to be," the stranger considered, "the foundation of the world I come from. And by me being here, its will is spilling into yours."
He unsheathed his sword. A surge of red and black lightning tore across the clearing, waves of energy erupting from him as the epicenter. The leaves whipped and swirled in the violent current. He sheathed the blade, and with a blinding flash he was gone. "Goodbye, and good luck," he had said just before vanishing.
Naruto's heartbeat had synced to the rhythm he was hearing. As the flashing lights collapsed into nothingness, he felt the rhythm accelerating, building toward something. And just as the stranger disappeared, he saw it. A vision.
Everything changed after that. It was the reason he carried a worried expression on his face the next day—something Sakura had noticed immediately.