Tobirama Senju strode over and fixed his eyes on Minato Namikaze, then turned sharply toward his own brother.
"Who are these people?!"
The Daimyo of the Land of Fire was about to arrive for a village meeting, and the entire village was in a frenzy preparing for it. Yet these two central figures were actually slacking off here?
If not for the current state of his combat strength, Tobirama would've slammed both of them into the ground out of sheer fury.
Hashirama didn't answer Tobirama's question. Instead, he asked, "Tobirama, have you ever taught the Flying Thunder God Technique to anyone else?"
Madara froze. From Hashirama's tone, was he implying that the blond man had used Tobirama's Flying Thunder God Technique when he disappeared with those kids earlier?!
Impossible.
Hashirama's younger brother was nothing like him. Tobirama was a man of terrifying depth and caution—he would never pass on his original ninjutsu to anyone. Absolutely not.
"What nonsense are you spouting, big brother!" Tobirama retorted exactly as expected. "Even you couldn't learn the Flying Thunder God! There's no way an outsider could!"
"But..." Hashirama glanced at the awkwardly smiling blond man nearby, then at Madara beside him, before continuing, "But I truly saw him use your Flying Thunder God Technique just now."
Tobirama Senju narrowed his eyes at Minato Namikaze...
Minato said, "This… is a long story."
"There's no time for long stories!" Tobirama snapped, spinning back toward his brother. "The Daimyo will be here any moment! Why are you still loafing around?! Hurry and get ready for the meeting!!"
Hashirama pointed toward Minato's group. "What about them?"
Tobirama said, "Call a few members of the Senju and Uchiha clans. Take them back and keep them under guard!!"
Most of the earlier conversation went over the heads of the young boys and girls, but they definitely recognized the name Uchiha. And Senju… wasn't that the surname of the First and Second Hokage?
Obito, as familiar as ever, blurted out to the white-haired man, "Hey, you from the Uchiha clan too?! Wow! I didn't know we Uchihas had white-haired members! Hahaha!"
Minato and young Kakashi instantly regretted not covering his mouth beforehand.
Tobirama nearly saw stars from sheer rage.
Madara and Hashirama were stunned silent.
This kid claims to be Uchiha? Is he messing with us?
Was he deliberately provoking Tobirama because he didn't like him?
Madara thought, I refuse to acknowledge an idiot like this as one of my clan.
Hashirama thought, How did my brother suddenly become an Uchiha? I've raised him for over twenty years!
Who in the Uchiha clan didn't recognize Clan Head Madara Uchiha? And who didn't know Tobirama Senju, once the second-in-command of their rival clan?
Wasn't this kid obviously joking?!!
Young Kakashi smacked Obito on the head. "Idiot! Didn't you hear him say his name is Tobirama?!"
The academically hopeless Obito grew even more confused. "Tobirama Uchiha? Never heard of him. Did we time-travel to another weird era again?"
Tobirama felt he had never suffered such humiliation in his entire life.
Young Kakashi was just as exasperated. "Tobirama Senju! The Second Hokage-sama!"
Obito: "!!!"
A memory hit him—yes, this face did appear in the portraits in the Hokage Building...
Naruto said, "No wonder this guy looks just like the Hokage Rock, dattebayo!"
After taking three deep breaths to steady himself, Tobirama Senju decided to ignore the hyperactive Uchiha and the blond kid beside him. He turned to the extremely cooperative Minato Namikaze.
"You're carrying chakra traces of Space-Time Ninjutsu. Whoever you are and wherever you come from doesn't matter right now. We have urgent business. Cooperate and come into the village without causing trouble."
Tobirama summoned his creature to call reinforcements. Moments later, several ninja wearing Uchiha and Senju clan attire appeared beside Minato's group, surrounding them.
Tobirama, Madara, and Hashirama were just about to leave...
Sasuke, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly spoke. "Hey."
All three men turned toward him.
Sasuke fixed his gaze on the man with the wild, spiky long hair and asked the question everyone else had been holding back.
"Are you really Madara? Madara Uchiha?!"
The Uchiha surrounding them were stunned. Seeing Sasuke dressed in Uchiha clan robes yet questioning whether their clan head was truly Madara left several of them bewildered.
Madara didn't get angry. He simply closed his eyes, then opened them again, revealing the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan in full.
"Is there anyone else in this world besides me who would dare call himself Madara Uchiha?"
That overwhelming aura—effortlessly domineering—made Sasuke swallow hard and fall silent.
They were soon escorted by members of the Senju and Uchiha clans into a tatami room deeper inside the village. The Uchiha were especially curious, as both Sasuke and Obito wore Uchiha robes.
"You two..." one Uchiha finally spoke.
He looked about the same age as Madara, with two high ponytails and a long, refined face. He was rather handsome.
"Sasuke Uchiha."
"I'm Obito Uchiha."
The young man nodded. "I am Hikaku Uchiha. Do you have anything that can prove your Uchiha lineage?"
Clan robes meant nothing—anyone could wear them. The only true proof of Uchiha blood was the Sharingan.
But the two boys looked no older than twelve or thirteen, and Hikaku didn't expect much.
What he didn't expect was that the moment he finished speaking, both boys activated their Sharingan at nearly the exact same time.
Sasuke's right eye held two tomoe, his left one tomoe.
Obito had two tomoe in each eye.
The surrounding Uchiha were instantly thrilled.
"Sharingan!"
"They really are children of the Uchiha clan!"
"Hey, you guys—go get them some water." Hikaku turned to Sasuke and Obito. "Are you hungry? Do you need someone to prepare food for you?"
Now that they were confirmed as clan members, their treatment changed immediately.
Sasuke and Obito declined.
Hikaku had cushions brought for them so they could sit comfortably on the tatami floor.
Not to be outdone, the Senju clan members spoke up. "What about the others? Any from the Senju clan?"
Minato Namikaze gave an awkward smile—clearly, the answer was no.
"First, tell us your names. And why did you suddenly appear in our clan's land—in our village?"
The alliance between the clans was still fresh, and many people hadn't yet adjusted their way of thinking. Instead of saying "our village," the Senju and Uchiha still defaulted to "our clan" or "our territory."
Having traveled through so many worlds, Minato had mostly accepted the situation. Naruto and Obito's mission scrolls seemed designed to change their destinies—turning time travel into an A-rank mission reward for them.
He answered, "I am Minato Namikaze, teacher of these children. As for why we appeared here... that's a bit complicated. Simply put, while using Space-Time Ninjutsu, we accidentally arrived in this era. We're people from the future."
"People from the future?!"
Hikaku and the others turned toward Sasuke and Obito with expressions of even greater shock.
They had assumed these boys were simply descendants from afar returning to reclaim their clan heritage. They never imagined that...this kind of 'returning to one's roots' wasn't a journey across distance—but across time itself.
"You're Sasuke Uchiha, right? Which ancestor does your line descend from?"
"My father is Fugaku Uchiha. My ancestor is Takano Uchiha."
"Takano?!"
An Uchiha man behind Hikaku Uchiha rushed forward, eyes bright. "You said your ancestor is Takano Uchiha?!"
Hikaku Uchiha was startled by his clan brother's sudden excitement. "Myōgi, you know this Takano Uchiha?"
He himself had never heard that name mentioned within the clan.
"Takano! Takano Uchiha!" Myōgi was so excited he even activated his Sharingan. "Takano is the name the clan head chose for my future child! Only the clan head knew—if it's a boy, the name would be Takano; if it's a girl, Miyuki!"
Sasuke Uchiha froze.
Being stared at like someone's future descendant left him completely confused.
Then came the barrage of soul-piercing questions...
"How is the Uchiha clan doing in the future?"
"And the village? The village turns out fine, right?"
Sasuke Uchiha pressed his lips together, unable to answer immediately.
The conflict churning inside him was obvious.
Minato Namikaze had anticipated this exact situation when they were first brought here. Revealing the future now could easily tear apart this newly founded village before it ever stabilized.
Sasuke Uchiha…
Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno looked at him.
This was something no one could answer in his place.
"Alright, we'll take over from here."
Hashirama Senju's voice came from outside the tatami room.
He slid open the paper door, flanked by Madara Uchiha and Tobirama Senju—both dressed formally in their clan attire for their meeting with the daimyō.
Tobirama Senju's expression was composed. Madara Uchiha's was distinctly sour—he clearly hated political gatherings.
Members of both the Senju and Uchiha clans bowed to their respective clan heads, then exited the room. Hashirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, and Tobirama Senju sat casually before Minato Namikaze.
Hashirama Senju laughed heartily.
"Tobirama says you might be from another time and space. Let me introduce myself first."
According to Tobirama Senju's analysis on the way back, these visitors likely came from the future. That was why they had rushed to conclude the meeting with the daimyō—before these newcomers accidentally revealed anything that could disrupt their era.
"I am Hashirama Senju, head of the Senju clan."
He gestured toward Madara Uchiha.
"This is my friend, Madara Uchiha, head of the Uchiha clan."
Then he looked to Tobirama Senju.
"And my younger brother, Tobirama Senju."
Madara Uchiha's gaze remained fixed on the two young Uchiha sitting across from him, silent and intense.
Tobirama Senju spoke.
"You seem to know at least something about us. Before we proceed, introduce yourselves."
Minato Namikaze steadied his breath, bowed respectfully to the young First and Second Hokage seated before him, and adopted a formal tone.
"I am Minato Namikaze, a shinobi of Konohagakure—the ninja village founded by all of you. I am also the jōnin instructor of these three children—"
He looked toward Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara.
"Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha, and Rin Nohara."
"We were on a critical mission during the Third Great Ninja War, but due to the effects of a Space-Time Ninjutsu, we were sent into the future."
"And these three children," Minato Namikaze gestured toward Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno, "are Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sakura Haruno—all encountered in the future we arrived at."
Within the group were not only members of the Uchiha clan, but also Uzumaki, Hatake, Nohara, and Haruno.
"Oh! A child of the Uzumaki clan!"
Hashirama Senju's gaze toward Naruto Uzumaki softened even more as he felt the boy's chakra.
"Hmm… definitely the chakra of the Uzumaki clan."
"Not just that," Tobirama Senju said with a frown, eyes locked on Naruto Uzumaki.
"Release your chakra."
Facing the stern command, Naruto Uzumaki glanced at his dad.
Minato Namikaze gave him a reassuring nod.
Naruto Uzumaki focused, releasing his chakra…
The tail...
The expressions of Tobirama Senju, Hashirama Senju, and Madara Uchiha shifted instantly.
Hidden beneath the Uzumaki chakra was—A tailed beast.