Scene: Earth 11-D, Konoha in Ruins
Smoke coils from cracked towers.
Sky-rifts spiral like galaxies unbound.
Reality is unraveling.
And standing in the center of it all is Ben, Naruto's closest friend since reincarnation—Voidborn, Immortal, Fierce… and now?
Wrong.
Naruto approaches slowly, Kokugen at his side.
"Ben… what happened?"
Ben's chakra—normally grounded, centered—is now a storm.
Flickers of future selves, unborn variants, and fractured realities dance around him like ghosts.
His eyes glow with Rift sigils, bleeding violet and grey.
He turns.
But his smile isn't Ben's.
"I saw it, Naru. I saw all of it. Every timeline. Every death. Every failure. Every time we lose, no matter how hard we try."
"I didn't fall. I woke up."
Flashback – The Rift Incursion
Moments after Naruto entered the Forge, Ben was left alone at the edge of the Veil.
There, waiting in silence, was a tear in the multiverse—a living scar that whispered.
It called itself the Riftborne Memory, and it didn't attack.
It showed him.
A thousand possible futures. In all of them—Obsidian wins.
Not through strength. But inevitability.
"You fight fate with fire," it said.
"But I offer you freedom from fate."
Ben hesitated.
And that hesitation opened the door.
Present – Ben's Revelation
"I didn't betray you," Ben says. "I'm still fighting. But not for this timeline. Not for this lie of a multiverse."
He holds out his hand.
"Join me. Help me reshape it all. No rules. No gods. No Obsidian. No sacrifices."
Naruto's eyes narrow.
"You're not wrong," he admits. "But if you throw away everything to win, then what are you saving?"
Ben's smile fades.
"That's your problem, Naruto.
You're still trying to save people who are already lost."
The First Clash – Void vs Rift
Ben moves first—no hand signs, no warning.
He simply tears space open and lets entropy scream.
Naruto blocks with Kokugen, cutting the moment before it happens. The blade hums in defiance, resisting the decay.
Ben's power is different. It doesn't follow rules—it rewrites them.
He creates gravity wells in midair.
He turns chakra into echoes that attack from alternate frames.
And then he summons them:
The Riftborne.
Entities not made of matter or spirit, but broken concepts.
One is shaped like guilt. Another like inevitability.
Each one represents a failed version of Naruto's dream.
Meanwhile – Hidden Leaf Resistance
Tsunade holds the line with Sasuke, Sakura, and a ragtag force of shinobi empowered by Ardyn's dimensional runes.
But they're losing.
Sasuke calls out, "He's fighting Ben. Alone."
Sakura closes her eyes, sensing the battle.
"He's not alone," she says softly.
"Not yet."
Back to the Battle – Naruto Pushes Back
Naruto draws on everything: Hollowborn balance, the Flame of the Forge, and the essence of his past.
Kokugen shifts.
It splits into two blades—one made of hope, the other of regret.
He fights Ben not to win—but to wake him up.
"You saved me once," Naruto shouts. "Let me do the same for you!"
Ben hesitates—just long enough.
Naruto presses the blades against Ben's chest—and instead of stabbing—he shares memory.
Vision – Their First Meeting (Rewritten)
Naruto shows Ben a version of their first meeting—one where Ben didn't intervene, and Naruto fell into darkness.
Where he became what the Rift wanted.
Ben flinches.
"You think I'm weak for trying to break the cycle."
"No," Naruto says. "I think you're strong for surviving it."
Ben Cracks… But Not Fully
The Rift tightens around him, screaming.
Ben's hands tremble.
"You… shouldn't have done that."
Suddenly, his body is hijacked.
The Rift pulses. A voice echoes from within him.
"Host compromised. Forcible Override Activated."
Ben's eyes go black.
His body shifts—grown, armored, fused with voidsteel and broken timelines.
He becomes Riftborne Prime.
Final Scene – Naruto Stands Alone Again
Kokugen glows.
Naruto watches as his best friend becomes something else.
He whispers, more to himself than anyone:
"If I can't save you now…
I'll just have to fight until I can."
He raises both blades.
And charges.
[CHAPTER END | NEXT: Riftborne Prime – The War for Ben's Soul Begins]