Boruto and Sasuke traveled for a while before finding a dense forest to stop.
Now that it was time to leave, Boruto felt a pang of reluctance. He never imagined that the younger version of his father could be so cool! He suddenly recalled what the adult version of his father had told him that very morning: "When I was your age, I was much more sensible!"
It's true! Boruto had seen with his own eyes how powerful and mature his 'little father' was at his age! He had even become the leader of the 'Root Organization.' Though, he'd never really heard of this Root Organization.
"Mr. Sasuke," Boruto looked up and asked curiously, "How come I've never heard of the Root Organization that the little father leads? Is it even more secretive than the Anbu?"
Sasuke glanced at him, momentarily unable to answer. If he told the whole truth, it would involve a lengthy explanation.
"It probably changed its name," Sasuke said dismissively. Then, he looked around and reminded Boruto, "Get the turtle out!"
"Oh! I almost forgot."
Boruto took the small turtle out of his pocket.
"You slept so soundly!" The small turtle, 'Karasuki' poked its head out of its shell, looking refreshed. "Are you two ready to go back?"
"Yes." Sasuke nodded slightly, his eyes fixed intently on the turtle as he voiced the question troubling him. "Karasuki, what exactly is the relationship between the world we came from and the world we are in now?"
? Boruto looked at Sasuke, confused. What does that mean?
Karasuki replied, "Naturally, it's a relationship between the past and the future. This is the past of your future."
Sasuke's brow furrowed tightly at this. He asked, "This world has changed a lot compared to my memories. Will the world we came from also change?"
"That is only natural," Karasuki said as a matter of course.
Sasuke's frown deepened. Will the world he returns to be completely unrecognizable?
"Mr. Sasuke, is something wrong?" Boruto sensed a bit of tension.
"No." Sasuke let out a breath. Since the change had already happened, he could only deal with it upon returning. If the future had changed, they would just have to try again until they found the correct timeline!
"Karasuki, can you take us back now?"
"Of course. There was so much energy released earlier, and I managed to absorb some of it. It's enough for quite a few time travels."
"Good." Hearing this, Sasuke felt somewhat relieved. "Then let's go back."
"Great!" Boruto jumped for joy. "When I get back, I'm going to learn Ninjutsu properly from Dad! Dad knows so much!"
"And... when I get back, I'm going to eat a Lightning Burger properly! No, I'm going to find a Godfather Burger; it's much tastier than a Lightning Burger..."
Boruto kept chattering on, and Sasuke listened beside him. He wondered whether he should tell Boruto what happened.
Forget it! Let Naruto worry about it!
A flash of light emanated from the turtle, instantly whisking the two away. They once again traveled through the same temporal tunnel, and the long journey through time took a while.
Throughout the trip, Boruto chattered excitedly, recounting every little detail he had discovered about his 'little father,' from his strength to his clothing, from his looks to his friends. Everything made Boruto happy.
This time-travel trip had been a pleasant surprise for Boruto, showing him another side of his father. The father who was usually exhausted from the demanding work of the Hokage—he was once this cool and handsome when he was little? It was like suddenly discovering that the cleaning lady at your company drives a luxury car and owns a dozen local buildings.
Boruto had discovered a whole new world!
Sasuke listened attentively, but a hint of worry was hard to conceal on his face.
Finally, with a flash of light, the two were back!
It was late at night in Konoha, on top of a building.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven!" Boruto counted the stone faces of the Hokage and cheered happily, "Mr. Sasuke, we're back!"
"Yes." Sasuke nodded slightly. He sensed the surroundings and, finding nothing out of the ordinary, his mood relaxed a bit.
"Boruto, Mr. Sasuke!"
Konohamaru emerged from behind the water tower and asked, "What are you doing here? Urashiki is invading the village. The situation is very urgent."
Hearing this, Sasuke and Boruto exchanged a knowing smile.
"We've already dealt with him!" Boruto chuckled.
Sasuke, too, let go of his worry, his expression softening a great deal, seemingly confirming they were back in their original world!
What followed was a flurry of activity. When things finally settled down, Boruto was already home resting, while Sasuke and Naruto met up.
The stars twinkled around them. Though late, Konoha still had a few lights shining.
Sasuke and Naruto stood on the roof of the Hokage's office, and Sasuke recounted his mission experience to Naruto.
After confirming that Urashiki Ōtsutsuki was dead, Naruto let out a relieved breath.
"Even though I didn't see it, I believe you."
"Hm."
This honesty brought a slight smile to Sasuke's face. Thinking of his concern before returning, he added, "I thought I might never be able to return to this world!"
Hearing this, Naruto recalled Sasuke's whole ordeal. "What was that world like?" Naruto was curious.
"It was very different from our world," Sasuke recounted in a low voice. He looked at the scattered lights of Konoha, deeply moved. He had nearly not made it back, nearly not seen his familiar Naruto, Sakura, his daughter, and everyone else.
Recalling Naruto's curiosity, he selected a few points to highlight the differences. "The me in that world chose not to become a rogue ninja!"
"He didn't?"
Imagining this possibility, a bright smile appeared on Naruto's face. "That's fantastic!"
What would a world where Sasuke didn't become a rogue ninja be like? Naruto couldn't imagine, but it must be beautiful!
Sasuke suddenly remembered something and warned, "Oh, right, Naruto, the young Naruto in that world seemed even stronger than you, the adult Naruto!"
"Nani (What)?"
Even though the words came from Sasuke's mouth, Naruto found it hard to believe.
"Twelve years old?" Naruto confirmed again.
"Yes."
Sasuke nodded softly, a smile appearing on his face, like cracking ice—a rare sight. He had confirmed it himself: in that world, the younger Sasuke, though he had made progress, was far weaker than the current adult Sasuke. But the young Naruto was different; the changes were far too many!
"Much stronger. It's almost unbelievable!"
Sasuke briefly described the newspaper articles he had seen, the intelligence he had gathered, and his own speculations: various elemental Kekkei Genkai (Bloodline Limits) Jutsu, seemingly endless Chakra, Taijutsu that could beat a Tailed Beast, Senjutsu (Sage Techniques), and a level of Fūinjutsu (Sealing Techniques) that could seal space itself, and so on.
"Could the other me really be that strong? At just twelve years old!" Naruto was incredulous. Was the other him a monster?
In contrast...
Naruto looked down at his own hands. He began to suspect that there was something he hadn't unlocked in himself. Otherwise, how could two Narutos be so vastly different?
Fortunately, Naruto's heart was broad. After only a brief period of existential doubt, he brightened up again.
"That's wonderful! That world must be very peaceful, right?" he said with genuine sincerity. If he had possessed such immense power at the age of twelve, so many past regrets, failures, and even people, would have been saved. The Third Hokage, the Ero-Sennin, Nagato, Neji, Obito...
That's truly wonderful!
'Peaceful?'
Having lived through years of darkness, Sasuke saw the world in a completely different way than Naruto. He didn't know about other things, but the look in the eyes of that young Naruto didn't belong to someone content with peace.
He might actually start a revolution more terrifying than anything in this world!
Having said his piece, Sasuke prepared to depart. Before leaving, he warned Naruto, "Be careful, Boruto seems to have mistaken that younger Naruto for you and is clamoring to learn Ninjutsu from you!"
"Ah?" Naruto covered his head. Why did that sound so troublesome!
The next day.
Boruto woke up early, eager to find his father, but ran into his mother in the living room. Seeing his mom, Boruto suddenly thought of the younger version of his mom he had met, and a unique sense of novelty filled him.
"Mom!" Boruto went up and asked curiously, "Dad is so popular, how did you manage to get him to marry you?"
Based on everything Boruto had witnessed, he simply couldn't figure out how his mother had managed to win his father's favor among so many people. After all, his real father was so outstanding, so different!
"Oh?"
Hinata's cheeks instantly flushed crimson. Then, she began to tell the story of her and Naruto—the story of what happened on the moon.
"Wow, so that's what happened!" Boruto clicked his tongue in amazement. He had never considered that people could even exist on the moon!
Turning his head, Boruto saw the large scroll he had placed on the cabinet. He suddenly remembered that this was the gift the 'little father' had given him. He had opened it yesterday and found over a thousand kinds of Ninjutsu inside, each described as incredibly powerful. The sheer excitement had kept Boruto up late last night.
"Mom, I'm going to find Dad to learn Ninjutsu now!"
With that, Boruto grabbed the scroll and ran out.
Boruto searched the village for a long time until he finally found Naruto in the forest.
"Dad~" Boruto ran over breathlessly. "I finally found you."
"Eh? Boruto?" Naruto turned around. "What are you doing here?"
Boruto walked over curiously and saw the gravestone in front of his father. There was the character 'Shi' (Master) engraved on it. Boruto immediately understood. "Is this Jiraiya's grave?"
"Yes, it is." Naruto recalled his conversation with Sasuke yesterday and felt a little happy inside, In the other world, the Ero-Sennin probably didn't die!
Naruto looked at his son. "What do you think of the Ero-Sennin?"
"A bit perverted and completely irresponsible. Oh, right, and he loves collecting material the most! It's hard to believe he's one of the legendary Sannin (Three Ninjas)."
"Hahahaha..." Naruto laughed happily. Allowing his son to meet his master—though impossible in reality—had been achieved through time travel!
"Right, what did you need me for?" Naruto noticed the massive scroll strapped to Boruto's back.
"Dad!" Boruto's large eyes shone, staring at Naruto with immense admiration. "Hurry up and teach me Ninjutsu! There are so many Ninjutsu in here. I'm going to learn every single one of them!"
"Eh?" Naruto suddenly remembered Sasuke's warning, and an unpleasant premonition rose in his heart.
"Here you go!" Boruto handed the scroll to Naruto and said expectantly, "Look, where should we start?"
Naruto wanted to refuse. He knew his own Ninjutsu repertoire was quite limited. However, the look of adoration on Boruto's face made it impossible for Naruto to say no.
Naruto opened the scroll. It's just Ninjutsu! Aren't they all just variations of the elemental releases? I'm proficient in all five nature types; there's nothing I can't teach. Naruto muttered this to himself as he opened the scroll.
I, Naruto Uzumaki! No matter what, I won't disappoint Boruto!
However, once the scroll was fully open and Naruto clearly saw its contents, his face went blank, his eyes widening in astonishment, then shrinking to tiny green dots due to his distress.
Dust Release, Blaze Release, Storm Release, Wood Release, Ice Release...W-what kind of Jutsu are these? There are barely any that I know!
Noticing the difficulty on Naruto's face, Boruto said understandingly, "How about we start with the one where you looked particularly cool?"
"Which one?" Naruto's bewildered eyes peeked out from behind the scroll.
"That one!" Boruto suddenly grew very excited talking about it. That one! He had seen it live—that scene, that incredibly cool, laser-like Blaze Release that shot through the sky and pierced the heavens—it had left an indelible impression on his young mind. That terrifying move was too cool!
So, he mimicked his 'little father's' hand sign, clasping his hands together, and coolly chanted, "Sage Art: Blaze Release: Distant Fire!"
After the demonstration, his large blue eyes gazed eagerly at Naruto. "What do you think? Just this one, Dad! Please!"
"Uh..." Naruto scratched his head helplessly. Boruto hadn't begged him like this since he was little and before he became 'rebellious' after starting at the Academy. This moment deeply moved Naruto. If he could, he would teach Boruto even if it meant overcoming every difficulty.
But Ninjutsu was like math: if you didn't know it, you didn't know it!
Naruto was at a loss for how to explain it to Boruto. Finally, scratching his head, he said a little sheepishly, his voice low, "I think I forgot that move, son."
"Forgot?" Boruto was instantly disappointed. Such a cool move! He planned to learn it the moment he got back, but Dad forgot?
"Then..." Boruto asked, still hopeful. "Lightning Release: Rasengan?"
"Uh... I forgot that one too." Naruto's head sank lower. He regretted being so boastful earlier.
"Lightning Release: Light Sword?"
"Forgot that one too."
"Then..."
After asking about over a dozen powerful Ninjutsu he thought would be suitable for him, Boruto discovered his father couldn't do a single one.
Boruto was filled with suspicion. This Dad... seems a bit too weak!
"Dad, why don't you know anything?"
Naruto's head sank even lower.
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