With the end of the Chunin Exams, Sand Shinobi #1 completed his week of special training with Rock Lee and Might Guy, then returned to Sunagakure alongside the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
Ōnoki departed with his granddaughter, Kurotsuchi, and the other Iwa-nin.
The Raikage, Killer Bee, and their group also left the village. However, Omoi, Karui, and Samui remained behind to escort Naruto and Jiraiya to the Hidden Cloud Village when the time came.
Only Mei Terumi chose to stay in Konoha, stating her desire to personally study Konoha's administrative systems. She was currently trying to find a reason to move into Uchiha Hikaru's residence.
Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, and Uchiha Hikaru began conducting personal experiments in the Forest of Death, hoping to develop a new ninjutsu suitable for the modern shinobi world.
However, in that same moment, a white light flashed across the skies above Konoha, and two figures—one tall, one short—appeared atop the roof of a residential house.
The taller figure wore a black cloak, with black hair falling to the nape of his neck. The boy beside him wore a black tracksuit with a kunai holster strapped to his right leg. A red spiral adorned the back of his jacket, and a black Konoha forehead protector rested proudly on his blond head.
A gust of dry summer wind blew across the rooftops. Boruto squinted up at the massive cliffside monument in front of him.
"Huh? There are fewer faces on the Hokage Rock!"
"Not only are Dad's and Grandma Tsunade's missing—but Uncle Kakashi's too! Even Grandma Tsunade's is gone!"
"And… the street's completely different."
His surprise quickly turned to thoughtful analysis as he examined his surroundings.
Squatting down, he picked up a small turtle with a pink, white, and blue shell.
Standing beside him, Sasuke frowned as he recalled Urashiki's last words before they were cast into the strange rift.
"Before we entered that distorted space… that bastard said..."
[I have to harvest the fox's chakra.]
"As expected."
Boruto looked up, confused, holding the turtle.
"Huh?"
Suddenly, a broadcast-like voice came from the turtle's mouth.
"Warning! Warning! Time shift has significantly deviated from the target coordinates."
"WAAH! What the hell?! This thing can talk?!"
Sasuke knelt down beside him, trying to make sense of the strange turtle's words.
"This is not the time node originally designated by Lord Ōtsutsuki Urashiki for time displacement."
Sasuke's expression turned grim. The situation—and the turtle's confirmation—proved his suspicions were correct, however absurd they seemed.
"This means… we've landed in Konoha's past," Sasuke muttered.
Boruto's eyes widened in disbelief.
"The past?"
The turtle, bobbing its pink and white head, answered matter-of-factly.
"Yes. We are currently in the time when Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, is in charge of the village."
Sasuke looked up again at the Hokage Rock, frowning. Something felt off.
Tsunade should've just ascended to the position. The monument shouldn't be finished yet…
Boruto stared down at the turtle, brows furrowed.
"The past…?"
"Correct," the turtle replied confidently. "Past!"
Sasuke shook his head. At that point in time, he had already left Konoha to pursue Orochimaru. His memories of that period were fuzzy. Perhaps he remembered wrong—maybe this was one or two years after his departure. It would explain the finished monument.
Boruto then asked the most pressing question.
"So… where's Urashiki now?"
"You said we were off track. That means… Urashiki went to a different time?"
The turtle slowly turned its head toward Sasuke and answered mechanically.
"Lord Urashiki has shifted the target point to Uzumaki Naruto's childhood."
"However, due to unknown spatial-temporal disturbances, operational error led us to arrive at a different time coordinate."
"Lord Urashiki, having been separated from us, is expected to arrive here within a few days."
"A few days?!"
Boruto repeated the words nervously.
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
"So Urashiki really is targeting Naruto."
"He mentioned the fox back then—meaning he wants to extract Kurama's chakra from Naruto before he matures."
"Good thing we landed before he did."
Boruto's face clouded with concern.
"He's really after my dad when he was just a kid…"
"Then all we have to do is find him first and protect him, right?"
"Exactly," Sasuke affirmed. That was their only option.
The small turtle finally introduced itself and reminded them of the rules of time travel: any actions taken in the past could affect the future—classic butterfly effect.
Sasuke's expression darkened. This was the part that worried him the most. He had never imagined that such a ridiculous scenario would happen to him, yet here they were.
Tampering with the present could mean their future no longer exists—or changes beyond recognition.
This mission had to be carried out as covertly as possible.
If he were alone, it might be manageable—but with Boruto...
He's too impulsive, Sasuke thought grimly.
Boruto, unfazed, clenched his right fist and grinned.
"Piece of cake!"
"This is getting exciting! I never thought I'd get to visit Konoha before I was even born!"
Sasuke sighed, shaking his head in exasperation.
Could you not be so excited? That excitement is what's going to get us in trouble...
Soon after, the two of them donned casual clothing and strolled into the heart of Konoha.
Boruto couldn't stop complaining about their outfits, muttering that they looked out-of-date and lame.
Sasuke offered no defense, brushing off his whining.
Suddenly, Boruto stopped dead in his tracks, staring at something with wide eyes.
"Wait—Ichiraku Ramen used to be this small?!"
His exclamation drew the attention of several villagers nearby, their expressions turning displeased.
"This kid's so rude. What do you mean 'small'? It's always been this size!"
"You rich kids think you're above everything. Too good for the food we eat, huh?"
"Pfft. Probably some noble's brat. Bet he's never even tasted ramen this good."
Their muttering struck something deep in Boruto—a truth he'd tried to ignore.
The pain of being the Hokage's son—the second generation…
Sasuke gave a helpless sigh. He knew this would happen.
"All right, forget that. Our main goal is to find Naruto, as soon as possible."
Just then, a group of Konoha Military Police passed by in formation.
Leading them was Uchiha #1, who stepped forward and halted in front of Sasuke and Boruto.
"You two are tourists visiting the Ninja Association, right? Don't stand in the middle of the street. The sidewalks are clearly marked. Violate that rule again and you'll be fined."
…
…
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