Sasuke and Boruto stood behind a tree, watching Uchiha Hikaru, Itachi, and the others disappear into the distance until their figures vanished entirely.
Finally, Boruto reached into his ninja tool pouch and pulled out the small pink turtle—Plow.
The tiny creature poked its head and limbs out from its shell, stretched contentedly, and inhaled the fresh forest air. Its entire body seemed to relax, energized by the world around it.
"Your business here is complete. Are you ready to return to your original time and space?" Plow stared up at Sasuke and Boruto with eyes like tiny green beads.
"Urashiki has been dealt with. The crisis is over," Sasuke replied calmly. "It's time to go back."
"Have you recovered your chakra?"
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the sight of the energetic little turtle hopping around in Boruto's palm.
He hadn't expected it to recover so quickly.
Plow nodded. "I absorbed the chakra you both released during training, as well as the residual chakra from your battles against those powerful shinobi."
"Now, I'll return you to your original timeline."
With that, Plow retracted its limbs and head into its shell. The small turtle began to levitate from Boruto's palm. The intricate, glowing patterns etched into its shell lit up with a soft white light. The surrounding space distorted and fractured into a swirl of color.
Time travel had begun again.
As they floated in the kaleidoscopic space, Plow's spinning slowed, and it slumped back into Boruto's hand, visibly fatigued.
Boruto looked down at it and felt a strange heaviness settle in his chest.
"…Don't you want to do something for yourself?"
Plow tilted its tiny head in confusion, eyes blinking.
"Something for myself? I don't understand. I was created by the Ōtsutsuki Clan using ocular power and special materials. My purpose is to help the one who possesses me travel through time."
"Now that Urashiki is dead and I belong to you, I simply follow your orders."
Sasuke let out a silent breath.
What a miserable existence…
A life created only to fulfill orders. A creature with no will of its own. No choice. No freedom.
Boruto's expression hardened. He clenched his fists around Plow.
"Then here's my order."
"After you send us back, you're free. Do whatever you want. No more orders. No more masters."
Plow stared blankly for a moment, as if trying to compute Boruto's words. Then, it slowly nodded.
"Understood. Once I complete this task, I will begin my own journey. I will… explore."
…
A blinding white light erupted again, filling the dimensional pocket.
Sasuke and Boruto instinctively shut their eyes.
When they opened them—
Konoha.
The village was bathed in moonlight. Shadow Rock loomed large in the distance, serene and majestic.
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven… Uncle Kakashi and Dad's faces are all there!"
"Master, we're back!"
Boruto beamed, his voice full of joy.
"These streets… They feel like home."
He jumped in place, grinning ear to ear, then turned to Sasuke.
"Master, I'm heading home first. Gotta tell Mom I'm okay."
He raised his hand in a dramatic flourish—forefinger and thumb pressed to his forehead, flicking them out like a cool pose—and disappeared across the rooftops.
Sasuke watched him vanish with a faint smile, then turned toward the Hokage Building. On the rooftop, he saw a familiar silhouette standing quietly beneath the stars.
He headed straight for it.
"Sasuke. How's Boruto?"
Naruto stood with both hands resting on the railing, gazing up at the summer night sky. His voice was quiet, filled with a tinge of worry.
"He's fine," Sasuke replied. "Probably already home, telling Hinata he's safe."
Naruto's shoulders relaxed at that, a relieved sigh escaping his lips.
"Good… That kid's just like me when I was younger. Always running off and worrying everyone. Thanks for looking after him."
He turned slightly. "So? What did you think of this time-travel mission?"
Sasuke's eyes flickered, thoughtful.
"…It was strange. Boruto and I didn't just travel to the past—we went to a past that doesn't belong to us."
"Huh?" Naruto tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
"I mean what I said. In that world's past, Tsunade became Hokage when we were only eight or nine. The Uchiha Clan… was never wiped out."
Naruto's eyes widened in disbelief.
"And in that timeline… I have a family. A real one. It's peaceful, loving—normal."
"All of it… made possible by a man named Uchiha Hikaru."
"In that world, he's the strongest shinobi alive. Even the reincarnated Madara was defeated by him."
"And under his leadership, the Five Great Nations formed a new alliance—the Ninja Association. Their mission? To improve the quality of life for everyone in the shinobi world."
As Sasuke spoke, something ignited in Naruto's eyes—a boyish wonder, raw curiosity, the unshakable drive to explore the unknown.
"Seriously? That amazing?"
"If I ever get the chance, I want to visit that world myself!"
"But I guess I'll have to wait until the Eighth Hokage takes over before I get a break…"
Sasuke gave him a sidelong glance.
"You say that, but let's be honest—you'll never stop. You keep complaining about how tiring it is to be Hokage, but you never miss a single day of work."
"Besides… that turtle, Plow, has already left. Who knows when we'll get another opportunity?"
He paused.
"Though… Uchiha Hikaru seems to have a strong understanding of space-time techniques. He's crossed dimensions before. Maybe someday… he'll come here himself."
Naruto clenched his fist, fire burning in his gut.
"Hell yeah! Then I've gotta work even harder! I'll make our Konoha even more prosperous than theirs!"
"When they visit, they'll be blown away!"
…
Late at night, in the Uchiha Clan compound—in Uchiha Hikaru's home.
He lay sprawled across the bed, with Sword and Saya on either side. Both girls clung to him tightly, faces flushed and hair disheveled, their breathing soft and deep as they slept. The air was thick with warmth, with intimacy, with exhaustion.
They had clearly just shared another… "battle."
Hikaru was trapped beneath them, his arms pinned under their heads like living pillows. He couldn't move at all—completely immobilized.
He sighed helplessly, staring at the ceiling.
Then, out of nowhere—a blinding flash of white lit up the room, and a small pink turtle dropped from the air and landed right on his chest with a plop.
Hikaru blinked.
"…What the hell?"
The tiny turtle tilted its head once… then slumped over, limbs spread, completely limp.
It didn't move.
"…The hell is this? Did it just die?"
He narrowed his eyes at the antique-looking turtle, puzzled and annoyed.
Still lying flat, still pinned down by two gorgeous, unconscious kunoichi, and now with a turtle passed out on his chest…
Hikaru closed his eyes.
"…I swear, if this is some new summons, I'm gonna kill Orochimaru."
-------
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