After roughly organizing his thoughts about what he should say when meeting Kimimaro, Hoshiyomi suddenly noticed the atmosphere around him felt… strange.
Curious, he lowered his head and found Reiichi staring at him blankly.
To be honest, in both of Hoshiyomi's lifetimes, he had never seen such a complicated expression on someone's face.
If Reiichi's expression could be broken down like a pie chart, it would probably be:
30% sympathy
30% melancholy
40% disbelief
Being stared at like that made Hoshiyomi feel inexplicably uncomfortable. He couldn't help but ask:
"Reiichi, what's wrong? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"N–Nothing… We're almost at the research team's camp. Uncle, you can stay there for the night, and tomorrow we'll head back to Konoha."
Reiichi quickly turned his head away, trying desperately not to look at him — afraid that if he did, he might start crying.
Uncle Hoshiyomi is just too pitiful…
And honestly… he wasn't mentally prepared to suddenly accept having a god-grandfather.
...
That night, Hoshiyomi stayed with Reiichi at the Ryūmyaku investigation team's campsite. Hoshiyomi didn't care much about the accommodations — what bothered him was the way the researchers stared at him like he was a giant panda on display.
Even more awkward was a man named Morishita Yūsuke, who kept trying to pluck Hoshiyomi's hair for "research purposes."
Barely surviving the night, Hoshiyomi dragged Reiichi out of camp before dawn, leaving behind a group of eager researchers who got up early hoping to study the time-traveling visitor, only to find him already gone.
The two traveled extremely fast, returning to Konoha in just a little more than a day.
When they finally arrived outside the village, Hoshiyomi was stunned.
This era's Konoha was completely different from the one he knew — the level of technology was so high that for a moment, he felt like he'd been thrown back into the modern world.
Even the village gate alone was shocking. It was equipped with a facial-recognition system — something that, in his previous life, had only just begun popular use.
Seeing it in this world's Konoha left him amazed.
Reiichi noticed and grinned proudly:
"Cool, right, Uncle? Dad came up with the idea! He asked Orochimaru-senpai to develop it. Thanks to this, entry and exit for villagers has become way more efficient."
They passed through the gates smoothly under Reiichi's lead. The gate guards even bowed respectfully to him — showing clearly that Reiichi had quite a high status in modern Konoha.
Which made sense — he was the son of this world's monstrously powerful Kimimaro, and ridiculously strong himself. Of course people respected him far more than Boruto ever was.
As Hoshiyomi was thinking that, he suddenly heard someone calling from a distance:
"Hey! Reiichi! Long time no see! We heard you had a mission at the Rōran ruins. How'd it go?"
Hoshiyomi looked up and saw a three-person shinobi squad waving.
In the center was a blond kid in a black jacket, flanked by a black-haired girl with red-rimmed glasses and a boy in a blue-and-white kimono.
Twelve or thirteen years old.
Their outfits were unmistakable.
Even without watching Boruto, Hoshiyomi could immediately recognize them —
Uzumaki Boruto, Uchiha Sarada, and Mitsuki — the main trio of Boruto's generation.
Reiichi ran toward them happily.
"Long time no see! I heard the Chūnin Exams are coming up soon. Are you three ready?"
Boruto puffed out his chest confidently:
"Of course! For the great Boruto-sama, this kind of exam is nothing! Just watch, Reiichi — I'm gonna surpass you real soon!"
Sarada adjusted her glasses and stabbed him verbally without hesitation:
"Reiichi is already a jōnin at our age. Someone here only just graduated recently."
(And Boruto took 10 psychic damage.)
Sarada glanced up while speaking and noticed the man standing behind Reiichi, examining them.
"So, Reiichi… who's that uncle behind you?"
Reiichi turned, took a look at Hoshiyomi, and smiled.
"For now it's still a secret. I have to report back to Uncle Naruto and get approval before I can tell you guys."
Boruto snorted at that.
"Hmph, whatever. If you won't say it, then don't. Come on, Sarada — we still have special training to do."
With that, he dragged Sarada and Mitsuki away. The two could only smile apologetically at Reiichi and Hoshiyomi before leaving with him.
Watching Boruto leave, Hoshiyomi raised an eyebrow.
With that kind of attitude… yeah, there's a reason early Boruto in the anime got so much hate.
Noticing Hoshiyomi's expression, Reiichi explained:
"Boruto is Uncle Naruto's kid. He may act like that, but he's actually just a tsundere. Deep down he's not a bad guy."
Hoshiyomi didn't care much about Boruto. What he really wanted was to meet Naruto, Sasuke, and this world's version of Kimimaro. Reiichi clearly noticed this and smiled:
"Let's keep going. I'll take you to see Uncle Naruto first — I need to report my mission anyway. After that, I'll bring you to see my dad."
With that, he hopped up onto the rooftops. The villagers nearby didn't even react — they just glanced at him and went back to their business, clearly used to such things.
Hoshiyomi looked toward the distant Hokage building, feeling a growing sense of anticipation, and followed Reiichi in that direction.
"Come in."
A slightly mature voice came from inside the office. Hearing it, Reiichi glanced back at Hoshiyomi with a smile, then pushed the Hokage's office door open.
"Uncle Naruto, I'm here to report my mission."
"Ah, Reiichi. Did you find the mysterious man the Rōran expedition team asked you to meet?"
Before Naruto even finished speaking, Hoshiyomi stepped into the room.
Naruto and Hoshiyomi looked each other up and down, neither speaking immediately.
Hoshiyomi stared at Naruto's short golden hair, finding it oddly strange — this version of Naruto felt different from the noisy, hyperactive one he had always imagined.
But then again, Naruto was already well into his thirties now, so it made sense.
Another notable difference was his arms. Because this world had Kimimaro, the final battle between Naruto and Sasuke never happened.
So neither of them lost an arm.
Naruto's hands were unbandaged and perfectly intact.
After observing for a moment, Hoshiyomi didn't show any particular reaction. He simply stepped forward, extended his hand politely, and said:
"Gekko Hoshiyomi."
On the other side, Naruto was also examining him. The moment Naruto saw Hoshiyomi, Kurama in his mind opened an eye. After inspecting Hoshiyomi briefly, the Nine-Tails said:
"This guy's strong. You'd better be careful.
But for now, I'm not sensing any hostility."
Hearing Kurama's report, Naruto didn't comment. He simply extended his own hand, grasped Hoshiyomi's, and smiled:
"I am the Seventh Hokage, Uzumaki Naruto. Pleased to meet you."