"What are you doing?"
Adult Kakashi in the world of the mission scrolls noticed that Obito beside him had put his orange mask back on. Not only was it ugly, it also gave him an air of ridiculousness.
The Sixth Hokage Kakashi and the Seventh Hokage Naruto both tensed. That familiar feeling from the Fourth Shinobi World War was back again.
"I feel like there's some information I've overlooked. I need to put on the mask and think it through."
Kakashi was speechless.
Did he seriously put all his Wisdom Points into that mask?
Still, he had to admit that once Obito Uchiha put the mask back on and spoke with Madara Uchiha's voice, his earlier goofy aura vanished. He instantly gave off the presence of an elite villainous boss!
Madara Uchiha, who was very much alive yet had somehow had the rights to his own voice blatantly stolen, was naturally displeased.
The real Madara Uchiha and his younger brother Izuna Uchiha each took a swing at Obito. "Behave yourself!"
Masked Obito used his Intangibility Technique to evade their attacks while his mind raced.
"With a brain like yours, be careful you don't crash," Young Kakashi mocked mercilessly, immediately provoking Young Obito into arguing with him.
Rin stood between them trying to calm things down, while the Sixth Hokage Kakashi watched with genuine envy.
"My counterpart from another world once told me that beyond all parallel worlds, there exists an extremely unusual dimension. In that dimension, every one of us is a fictional character in a book, or rather, in a fantasy world."
Obito Uchiha's words sent a shock through everyone from Konoha's eightieth year.
Although they found it unbelievable and had countless questions they wanted to ask, Adult Obito raised a hand and stopped them before they could speak.
"Unfortunately, we were only chatting casually at the time, so I didn't learn much. But there was one thing we were certain about."
Adult Obito paused.
"As the Child of the Prophecy and the Protagonist of this entire fantasy world, Naruto's destiny determines the fate of the entire ninja world!"
Shikamaru, the Sixth Hokage Kakashi, the Seventh Hokage Naruto, and Sai felt as though they had been hit by one devastating blow after another. Each revelation was more shocking than the last!!
Adult Obito asked, "I don't know much about stories. Kakashi, under what circumstances would a plot make the Protagonist lose his main ability?"
Kakashi replied, "There are two possibilities. You could call one good news and the other bad news."
"Let's start with the good news. It's also the more likely possibility," he said. "When the existing abilities are no longer enough to deal with stronger enemies later in the story, the Protagonist needs to gain a new and even more powerful ability to fight those future enemies. Quite often, the plot first takes away the Protagonist's old ability before giving him a new one."
Before Adult Sasuke, Boruto, and Kawaki could even breathe a sigh of relief at this good news, Kakashi immediately added a caveat.
"However, the mission scroll has one strict condition. The Nine-Tails must not leave Naruto. That means this otherwise plausible theory doesn't hold up."
"!!!!"
Kawaki's heart sank.
The Sixth Hokage Kakashi felt the same, though he had long since learned not to show his emotions on his face.
He looked at Adult Kakashi. "So that leaves only the bad possibility, right?"
"Mm."
Adult Kakashi nodded.
"It's unlikely, but we still can't rule it out..."
Everyone held their breath and stared at Adult Kakashi.
Adult Sasuke asked, "What possibility is that, Kakashi?"
What other reason could there be to forcibly strip Naruto of the Nine-Tails and destroy the power of the Child of the Prophecy?!
The Sixth Hokage Kakashi spoke in a grave voice.
"To have someone else become the new Protagonist and replace Naruto."
Adult Sasuke: "!!!!"
Kurama: "!!!"
Kawaki: "Impossible!! No one can replace the Seventh Hokage!!!"
"That's only how you feel!" Shikamaru cursed. "Damn it! I never thought it would turn out like this!"
Sai said, "A fantasy world inside a story? Then wouldn't all the life and death in our ninja world be nothing more than entertainment for people in another world?"
"Indeed. When we first learned about it, we had a hard time accepting it too," Minato Namikaze said. "But right now, the problem in front of us is more important."
Shikamaru Nara forced himself to calm down.
"Then what we need to do next is find the person who's supposed to replace Naruto as the Protagonist..."
Before he could finish, Boruto Uzumaki suddenly erupted.
"No way!!"
Everyone turned toward him. Even the Seventh Hokage Naruto stared at his son in confusion.
"Dad is the Protagonist of this world! Why should some random jerk from who-knows-where get to replace him?!!! I'll never accept that!!!"
"Boruto!"
The Seventh Hokage Naruto had Sasuke and Madara move everyone's consciousness out of Kurama's deepest mental space and back into the burger joint.
After everything they had just heard, nobody was really in the mood to eat or drink anymore.
Naruto reprimanded his son. "There's nothing wrong with someone taking my place and continuing to protect the Ninja World. And what's gotten into you lately? You've been way too aggressive when you talk."
If Boruto Uzumaki knew more curse words, he probably would have used something even harsher. Once again, the Seventh Hokage found himself worrying about how he was raising his son.
He complained to Minato Namikaze, "Dad, even though I can stay by Boruto's side, I have no idea how I'm supposed to get along with my son or teach him properly. I barely had any chances to spend time with you guys, and every time we did, everything was so rushed."
After saying that, he ruffled Young Naruto's hair.
"I'm seriously jealous of you."
Young Naruto knew that his counterpart in this world had lived an even harder life. He shook his head and muttered, "Who pats his own head like that, dattebayo?"
Hearing this, Minato also felt guilty on behalf of his counterpart in this world.
"If the me in this world had discovered earlier that Obito was still alive, maybe none of this would ever have happened."
"..."
The Sixth Hokage lowered his eyes. How could he not wish that had been possible?
"Alright, let's get back to the issue at hand," Shikamaru said. "Stop interrupting me."
After grumbling, the Hokage's strategist wore an irritated expression.
"I am the Seventh Hokage's strategist, after all, and I'm Naruto's friend. Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, and I are all still a long way from retirement."
Boruto asked, "Uncle Shikamaru, you mean..."
"You cut me off before I could finish," Shikamaru Nara said. "I tried looking back over everything we've gone through so far as though all of us were characters in a story, with Naruto as the Protagonist."
"The Will of Fire lives on from generation to generation. Wherever the leaves of Konoha dance, the fire will burn. Its light will continue to illuminate the village and allow new leaves to sprout."
"That was something the Third Hokage once taught us at the Ninja Academy."
Thinking of the Third Hokage reminded Shikamaru of his own mentor, Sarutobi Asuma, the man he had only called "Sensei" after his death.
"Sooner or later, we'll end up like them. We'll carve our names onto the Memorial Stone so the next generation can raise tomorrow's sun."
He paused.
"But to be fair, I don't have much confidence in the younger generation right now, so I'd better stick around for a few more years."
There was another half to what Shikamaru wanted to say, but he left it unspoken. Everyone present understood anyway.
According to the tradition of the Will of Fire, supporting the next generation almost always came at the cost of sacrificing the previous one.
Just like Jiraiya in this world. In order to guide Naruto forward, he had made his own choice as the teacher of the Child of the Prophecy.
The Seventh Hokage Naruto lowered his eyes...
Their growth had been built upon the sacrifices of generation after generation of remarkable shinobi. Jiraiya, Asuma, the Third Hokage, the Fourth Hokage, Obito Uchiha, and many others had all given their lives.
Shikamaru's implication was clear. He did not need to say it aloud for everyone to understand.
Naruto had been the Protagonist of the previous story. If a new Protagonist was meant to grow, then the first person the plot would sacrifice for that purpose was Naruto!
Boruto looked anxiously at his dad, terrified that Naruto might someday die for some stranger from who-knows-where.
"Don't worry. Sasuke and I are strong. We're not going to be defeated that easily."
The Seventh Hokage Naruto ruffled his son's hair and flashed a broad, toothy grin, but that only made Boruto and everyone else from this world even more worried...
"Come on, don't make the mood so gloomy! Haven't all the Hokages and powerful Uchiha from the other world come here to help us? Isshiki Ōtsutsuki has already been defeated too. Shouldn't we celebrate and show everyone around the future Konoha?"
Naruto had only meant to lighten the mood, but Boruto suddenly slammed his hand on the table and shot to his feet.
"How can you not be nervous at all!!! Every enemy goes after you! One day you're going to get yourself killed and won't even know what hit you!!"
After venting his anger, Boruto turned and stormed out of the burger joint, leaving the atmosphere even more awkward than before.
Young Naruto instinctively reached out to stop him, but then awkwardly lowered his hand.
Sarada and Mitsuki, his teammates, apologized on Boruto's behalf and hurried after him to bring him back.
The atmosphere in the burger joint grew so awkward that even the Seventh Hokage wanted to curl his toes into the floor...
"This is your family matter, so it isn't my place to comment, but..."
Everyone assumed the Second Hokage was about to launch into his usual lecture. Instead, the man who seemed every bit as cold as his Water Release suddenly made a dry joke.
"Is your son called Boruto Uchiha?"
Pfft.
"Tobirama Senju!!! Why do you assume every brat with a bad personality must be an Uchiha?! The only living male Uchiha left in this world is Sasuke Uchiha! What, are you expecting Sasuke to have Naruto's child, or Naruto to have his?!!"
Pfft, pfft.
"What sort of filthy nonsense are you imagining? I was referring to that brat Orochimaru's genetic engineering."
The faint curl of the Second Hokage's lips was filled with contempt for Izuna Uchiha's intelligence.
"Unless the Uchiha possess some unknown ability I'm unaware of? Hmm. I hadn't considered that."
"You...!!"
Smack.
Just as Izuna was about to start arguing, Tobirama Senju shoved something into his mouth.
"Cool off. It's sweet."
The milky-white substance melted in Izuna Uchiha's mouth. The sweetness suited his tastes perfectly, while the icy chill slid pleasantly down his throat.
Izuna Uchiha, who had been ready to argue with Tobirama a moment ago, now held the treat and started eating it bite by bite.
"What is this? It's good!"
"Ice cream."
"What about this black stuff?"
"If your Sharingan isn't colorblind, you should be able to tell that it's dark brown. Chocolate sauce."
"Oh. Go buy me one of those green ones next. I want to try it."
"Finish this one first."
Madara Uchiha: "..."
The Demon King of the Ninja World could no longer stay calm!
Forget about Tobirama telling Hashirama to behave earlier. When exactly had Izuna been tamed?!!
"Hahahaha." Hashirama tried to reassure Madara. "It's because you guys haven't been taking missions lately, so you don't have any income. You've been spending Tobirama's money the whole time."
Cakes and wagashi that had been rare luxuries during the Warring States Period could be bought all over Konoha's shopping district in the sixtieth year. The glossy black ninneko was always strutting over with its tail held high to relay Izuna's latest orders.
Madara Uchiha: "..."
He wanted to slam his head straight into the table!!
He had been far too careless!!!
Boruto Uchiha...
Whether or not the Second Hokage found the whole thing awkward, the Seventh Hokage and Sasuke Uchiha certainly did.
The Genin looked up at the stern, imposing face carved into the Hokage Rock and asked the Seventh Hokage, "Is the Second Hokage-sama really that kind of person?"
Hokage Naruto nodded. "He was like that during the Fourth Shinobi World War too. He looks really hard to get along with, but he's actually nothing like that. He even helped me lead the attack against Obito when he was the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki."
Young Naruto seriously considered the possibility of Orochimaru creating a son for him and Sasuke.
No, no. He really couldn't imagine himself and Sasuke raising a child together.
***
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