It was late at night.
The thick darkness enveloped Konoha. Apart from a few lights in the commercial district and the streetlights attracting insects on the roads, the entire village had fallen asleep.
In the large villa, bright moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating Naruto lying on the bed.
He lay flat, his breathing even, clearly asleep.
Suddenly, Naruto's eyes snapped open.
"He's here," Naruto whispered.
These last few days, to prevent the alien named Ōtsutsuki Urashiki from ambushing his home, he had been sleeping with both eyes 'open.'
One eye was responsible for standing guard, and the other was responsible for the lookout.
He didn't dare sleep for a moment!
He had even dragged Kurama out of the training grounds within his own body.
He usually had a sealing jutsu that restricted Kurama's external perception, but these days, he had removed all restrictions, constantly live-streaming his life to the Nine-Tails.
He did this so Kurama could act as his lookout.
It was to prevent his home from being 'stolen' by the alien if he genuinely fell asleep.
With this double insurance, Naruto didn't believe the one called Ōtsutsuki Urashiki could sneak up on him at night.
He was this cautious because he knew nothing about Ōtsutsuki Urashiki.
That's why he was so vigilant.
Who knew what methods this alien, who didn't exist in the system's database, possessed?
If he really died, wouldn't all these years of leveling up his 'account' be wasted?
Though he appeared carefree during the day, his alert level had actually been maxed out the entire time.
That's just how naturally cautious he was!
But well.
He hadn't waited for the Ōtsutsuki yet, but Sasuke had come first.
Naruto lay back down, listening carefully to the conversation between the two.
Meanwhile, a few rooms down...
"Knock, knock. Boruto! Boruto!" Sasuke gently knocked on the window, waking the sleeping Boruto.
Boruto awoke reluctantly, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he recognized the figure outside the window.
"Huh? Sasuke-sensei?"
Seeing that it was Sasuke, he got out of bed and opened the window from the inside. "Where have you been these past few days?" Boruto asked, slightly confused.
Sasuke had no time for pleasantries. A question had been lingering in his mind for two days, and he couldn't rest until he got an answer.
"Is that turtle still with you?"
"Of course."
Boruto was still slightly confused, his brain not fully awake yet.
"Get it out quickly!"
Though Sasuke's face was as expressionless as ever, even Boruto could sense the urgency in his voice.
"Oh, okay, okay."
Boruto hurriedly fetched the turtle, Taras.
Looking at the turtle, which was shrunken listlessly inside its shell, Sasuke called its name a couple of times. When the turtle didn't react, he looked up at Boruto. "Has it been like this the whole time?"
Boruto scratched his head, looking helpless. "Since it retreated into its shell that day, it hasn't come out again."
Sasuke frowned deeply.
It seemed that confirming things with Taras would be difficult. It would be hard to verify his suspicions.
Sasuke remained silent, his eyes flickering with thought.
After days of investigation, he had discovered that this world was drastically and irreconcilably different from the Shinobi World in his memory.
But all these changes had occurred before they arrived.
Sasuke wanted to ask Taras if this was still their fault. If they returned to their original world, would the future world change as well?
Beyond that, Sasuke had many, many other doubts.
These past few days, since he couldn't go too far from Konoha, he could only investigate within the village. Precisely because of this, he found too many differences in this familiar place. Tracing the source, Sasuke realized that all the changes had begun a few years ago.
Around the time the Old Godfather Hamburger shop opened.
He had investigated the hamburger shop thoroughly and found nothing suspicious other than the fact that the food tasted very good.
There was only one other possibility—that the gray-haired Old Godfather, the one who kept running people over, had managed to evade his eye!
But... that was completely impossible!
Could it be...
Sasuke was lost in thought for a moment.
"Sasuke-sensei... what exactly is wrong?" Boruto was now fully awake.
Sasuke dismissed his scattered thoughts, glancing at Boruto. The golden-blond hair and the strangely beautiful, reflecting blue pupils under the moonlight reminded him of Naruto.
If it were Naruto, they could definitely have a conversation.
"Nothing."
Finally, he avoided Boruto's gaze and looked out the window.
Sasuke decided not to explain everything to Boruto. After all, these matters were too far removed from Boruto. He wasn't even born yet and wasn't familiar with this place.
"By the way," Sasuke turned back, "You've been spending so much time with Naruto these past few days. Have you learned anything about him?"
He had been busy investigating and hadn't paid much attention to Naruto.
Hearing this, Boruto was no longer sleepy.
"Sasuke-sensei, Father never told me he was so cool when he was young! Not only that, I had no idea he was so amazing and knew so many ninjutsu..." Boruto excitedly described his observations of Naruto over the past two days.
Sasuke listened silently.
The more he listened, the more shocked he became.
After reading that newspaper article, he had an expectation of Naruto's strength, but he hadn't realized that was merely the tip of Naruto's iceberg.
After Boruto finished, Sasuke looked intently at his expression and asked, "It seems you've revealed pretty much everything about our origins, haven't you?"
"Well..."
Boruto awkwardly scratched his head, looking down guiltily, afraid to meet Sasuke's eyes.
After a moment, seeing Sasuke still staring at him, Boruto could only cheekily stick out his tongue and explain, "I couldn't help it! My dad is too amazing. He just looked at me and saw right through me."
"Is that so?"
Sasuke saw no sign of regret on Boruto's grinning face, but compared to what he had investigated, this no longer mattered.
Having asked what he needed to know, Sasuke turned to leave.
"Sasuke-sensei, where are you going?" Boruto asked, leaning out the window.
Sasuke stopped and looked back at him, the moon illuminating him with an air of mystery.
"Don't worry, I will observe and protect you in secret."
With that, he turned and left, as if having made a certain resolution.
After watching Sasuke's retreating figure, the easy-going Boruto shook his head and lay back down to sleep.
However, the moment Sasuke left, he was stopped by a figure he knew all too well.
"Sasu-gay!"
Naruto smiled broadly, examining the older Sasuke before him.
He was actually quite familiar with this Sasuke, having already 'battered' him many times in the duel arena. Seeing the real person was only the first or second time.
"Naruto..."
Sasuke also stared at the figure before him—a figure so familiar from his memories.
Golden-blond hair, blue eyes.
Similar, very similar!
But when their eyes met, Sasuke immediately discerned that the Naruto before him was not the Naruto he knew.
As a close friend, Sasuke was extremely familiar with Naruto. The Naruto in his memory was the hardworking Naruto, the persistent Naruto, and the struggling Naruto. He always saw the flame of 'never giving up' in those eyes. 'I never go back on my word' was Naruto's nindō, his unwavering commitment.
But...
In these eyes, Sasuke saw only confidence.
A restrained confidence radiating from within!
No, Sasuke felt something was still missing!
Right, the loudness!
The young Naruto would shout about everything he did to attract attention. It was his unique way of externalizing his loneliness, letting everyone know what he was doing.
This Naruto didn't have that; all Sasuke saw was a sense of calm detachment.
He didn't seem to be desperately seeking recognition like the Naruto he knew.
Seeing the familiar figure of Naruto, Sasuke had a multitude of things he wanted to say, but his inner voice cautioned him:
This is not the Naruto you know! This is a stranger!
In the end, he remained silent, not saying a word!
Naruto chuckled softly. "Are you just going to leave without even saying hello?"
Sasuke remained silent.
"I can tell you don't really want to communicate with your old friend here," Naruto said again.
That brat Boruto only had snippets of information, but this older Sasuke knew much more. Naruto was eager to extract some intelligence from him.
However, seeing Sasuke's demeanor, he knew his plan was likely to fail.
He considered using a Genjutsu, but the opponent was Sasuke, who possessed the Rinnegan and the Mangekyō Sharingan. It would be difficult to output enough visual prowess in his base form. He'd probably have to switch to the Sharingan to achieve his goal.
In that case...
"Forget it," Naruto sighed internally.
His mind quickly changed course, and Naruto gave him an amused look, teasing, "What's wrong? Did you suddenly go mute when you saw me? With an enemy ahead, you should at least give me some information on Ōtsutsuki Urashiki, right?"
Sasuke pondered for a moment.
He felt Naruto had decent strength. While he might not be as strong as himself, he was definitely an asset.
So, he spoke in a measured tone: "Urashiki is an existence from outside the Shinobi World. His eyes are very special. They start as a Byakugan, but he can transform them into a Rinnegan..."
After Sasuke's explanation, Naruto finally gained some understanding of Ōtsutsuki Urashiki.
Urashiki possessed Byakugan, Rinnegan, and other eye techniques. He also had unique abilities like spatial movement, and strange tools like a fishing hook and a fishing basket. Furthermore, there were potentially unknown abilities and an unknown special state!
After listening, Naruto had only one feeling: This Ōtsutsuki Urashiki... doesn't seem simple!
Based on Sasuke's description, he actually felt that the opponent would be quite difficult to deal with. He might even be killed if he wasn't careful.
After all, this was an existence that transcended the 'System Version.' Who knew if the opponent had overpowered attributes? Or some ultimate trump card? Or a unique mechanism?
Like, killing him just by staring at him?
The unknown is the greatest enemy!
As expected of an alien!
As expected of an alien race that has begun interstellar migration!
Fortunately, the opponent's strength was still within the known power system. If all aliens were like the Singer in The Three-Body Problem, launching a dimensional strike, who could survive that?
Naruto decided: Stay steady first.
After the exchange, Sasuke left.
He didn't look back.
Naruto felt that perhaps Sasuke had spent too much time with the Naruto from the other world, and his feelings for Naruto had faded? Why else would he be so heartless?
"Whatever, time to go back to sleep!"
The night passed without incident.
The next day, as the sky was barely starting to lighten, Naruto did not get up.
He waited until the sun was high and the sky was completely bright before dragging Boruto out to a spot outside the village.
Since trouble was brewing, Naruto didn't dare stay with his friends. If any of them were to accidentally die, even having all the Ōtsutsuki pay for it wouldn't be enough.
On a patch of green land outside the village, Naruto and Boruto began their training for the day.
"Come on, today we'll continue with your Rasengan training!"
"Right!"
Boruto was full of fighting spirit, being instructed by such an amazing father!
Huh?
Naruto suddenly looked up at a spot in the sky.
Sensing the anomaly, Boruto also looked in the direction of Naruto's gaze.
"I finally found you! Nine-Tails Jinchūriki!" a mocking voice echoed.
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