"Hey, hey, it's not broken, is it? What do we do?"
"What do we do, Sasuke Oji San?"
Boruto anxiously fiddled with the artifact known as the "Plow," but no matter what he tried, it remained completely unresponsive. Panic crept into his voice.
"Hey, hey, Boruto, what did you just call him?" At that moment, Naruto finally snapped out of his daze. His eyes widened in shock as he glanced back and forth between Boruto and the older, battle-worn Sasuke.
"You dense idiot, have you still not figured it out? They're from the future." Jiraiya let out an exasperated sigh before smacking Naruto on the head.
"Ow! Pervy Sage, what was that for?! Wait… What did you just say? They're from the future?" Naruto, still rubbing his head, froze as the words sank in. His eyes widened further, his disbelief now in full force.
"Who are you, really?" Despite Naruto's sudden outburst, the older Sasuke remained unfazed. His sharp gaze was already locked onto Jiang Chen and Jiang Xi.
"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I can take you back." Jiang Chen's lips curled into a slight smile.
"What do I need to do?" The older Sasuke took a deep breath. He didn't bother with unnecessary questions; his tone was steady and serious.
"Nothing. If you want to return, I can take you away at any time. I can even give you a glimpse of your future. Would you like that?" Jiang Chen chuckled and shook his head.
At his words, the older Sasuke fell silent, lost in thought.
A long pause.
"Thank you."
Though he still had countless doubts and unanswered questions, the urgency of returning home outweighed everything else.
"Go and make your preparations. Say your farewells to those you wish to see. I will wait for you here tomorrow." Jiang Chen's voice was calm yet firm as he spoke.
The older Sasuke gave a small nod.
With a casual wave of his hand, Jiang Chen and Jiang Xi vanished in an instant.
The moment they disappeared, Naruto rushed forward, his curiosity burning. His words tumbled out in an unstoppable torrent as he bombarded the older Sasuke with questions.
It took a long time for Naruto's excitement to subside.
Eventually, the older Sasuke departed. He headed toward the borders of the Land of Fire.
Only on the following day did he return.
When he and Boruto arrived, Jiang Chen and Jiang Xi were already waiting for them.
"Are you ready? It's time to leave." Jiang Chen's gaze swept over the older Sasuke and Boruto as he asked this.
"Well then… farewell!" Jiraiya grinned as he spoke.
"Boruto!" Naruto called out, the reluctance in his voice impossible to hide.
"Stupid old man!" Boruto waved, while the older Sasuke gave the faintest nod.
SPLASH!
As the goodbyes were spoken, Jiang Chen stepped forward. In that instant, the sound of rushing water filled the air, and a vast, shimmering river of time materialized, flowing endlessly across the sky.
Images began to take shape.
They weren't just visions— these were glimpses of the entire world.
The moment middle-aged Sasuke saw them, his pupils contracted.
Boruto's eyes widened in shock.
"That's—! That's Sasuke Oji San! And over there… that's stupid old man! Wait… Dad's actually that strong?!" Boruto's excitement erupted as he waved his arms in disbelief.
"What is that?" Middle-aged Sasuke's sharp gaze locked onto a particular scene.
It was a strange realm. It bore a resemblance to Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki's dimension.
But something was different. In this place, he saw himself, Naruto, and another mysterious figure.
Within the fractured images, a battle was raging.
"Well?"
"These are echoes of the future. And right now, your power is far from enough to confront that future. Overconfidence won't bring balance." Jiang Chen spoke in a steady voice with an unreadable expression on his face.
In his past life, he had never understood Naruto and Sasuke's choices in Boruto's timeline.
One had refused to restore his lost arm in some self-imposed atonement, while the other, out of an idealistic pursuit of the Bijū's freedom, had allowed his own strength to stagnate— perhaps even deteriorate— over the years.
The result?
When a truly fearsome force emerged in the ninja world, neither of them stood a chance against it, and they were the most powerful Nijas at the time.
"Who is that?" Middle-aged Sasuke's voice was low, his expression dark.
His gaze remained fixed on the scene before him— a moment frozen in time where this unknown enemy had shattered his Perfect Susanoo and obliterated Naruto's full Bijū transformation with nothing more than two kicks.
"That's Ōtsutsuki Isshiki."
"You already know that the Ōtsutsuki operate in pairs. Even Ōtsutsuki Urashiki had a partner, though he didn't last long. Do you really think Kaguya was any different?"
Jiang Chen spoke leisurely, his tone carrying a quiet weight.
"Wait… Are you saying that Ōtsutsuki Isshiki was Kaguya's partner?" Middle-aged Sasuke's breath hitched. He couldn't hide the shock in his voice.
"Exactly."
"Ages ago, he descended upon this world alongside Kaguya, intending to cultivate the Divine Tree. But during their time on Earth, Kaguya turned on him— ambushed him— and left him gravely wounded.
"To survive, Isshiki was forced to take refuge within Jigen's body, using him as a mere vessel. From there, he built the Kara organization to search for a more suitable host."
"And one more thing— Ōtsutsuki Isshiki wasn't just Kaguya's equal."
"He was her superior."
Jiang Chen delivered the words with an unsettling calm, watching as middle-aged Sasuke processed the revelation.
"What?" A rare crack formed in Sasuke's usually cold demeanor.
Having clashed with the likes of Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki and Kinshiki, he knew the difference between an ordinary Ōtsutsuki and one of their higher-ranked elites.
For Isshiki to be Kaguya's superior…
The implications were staggering.
As the weight of this knowledge settled over him, the ethereal river had already begun to surge forward.
"Hold on tight and don't lose your footing. Falling off now would be… problematic." Jiang Chen chuckled lightly as he spoke, allowing the previous conversation to fade. In the next instant, the space-time around them began to ripple violently.
…
Boruto's Timeline.
The Chunin Exams had just concluded and the Ōtsutsuki invasion had ended.
Beyond the walls of Konoha…
SPLASH!
A shimmering, spectral river materialized from thin air, stretching endlessly across the sky.
BOOM!
BOOM!
As the celestial river appeared, the hidden Dragon Vein beneath the Land of Wind trembled violently.
In the next heartbeat, it surged upward, seamlessly merging with the flowing currents of the illusory river.
Within its depths, four figures emerged, carried forward by the relentless tide of time.
"Whoosh!"
A figure materialized in an instant.
Middle-aged Naruto, draped in the robe of the Seventh Hokage, stood firm, his expression serious.
But the moment the four figures fully emerged, Naruto exhaled, releasing a quiet sigh of relief.
(To Be Continued…)
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