Namikaze Kirito let out a low chuckle at the younger Orochimaru's reaction.
Then he turned his head toward the older Orochimaru beside him and said with a faint smirk, "So... when you were younger, were you really that loyal?"
Future Orochimaru gave a small, amused smile as he looked at his younger self.
"Perhaps," he said calmly, "back then, I hadn't yet completely lost faith in Sarutobi Hiruzen."
"...What?"
The younger Orochimaru heard every word clearly, and his eyes narrowed at once.
There was too much hidden in that short exchange.
When I was younger.
Disappointed in Sarutobi Hiruzen.
With his mind, it didn't take much to piece things together.
To avoid any further confusion—especially from Jiraiya—the future Orochimaru dropped his disguise as a middle-aged man and returned to his original appearance.
The moment that familiar face was revealed, everyone present was visibly shaken.
At first, many of them had still held doubts about Namikaze Kirito truly being Minato's son from the future. But now, with two Orochimarus standing in front of them at the same time, disbelief was becoming harder and harder to cling to.
After all, seeing one Orochimaru was already enough to make people tense.
Seeing two at once was another matter entirely.
For a brief moment, the room fell silent.
Then the younger Orochimaru suddenly laughed.
"How interesting," he said, staring straight at the older version of himself. "So that's what I become?"
There was no fear in his voice. Only curiosity. Excitement, even.
With Orochimaru's intellect, guessing the truth was not difficult.
Appearance could be altered. Age could be disguised. Even one's aura could be suppressed or distorted to some degree.
But to someone like Orochimaru—someone obsessed with the body, the soul, and every secret hidden within human flesh—there were some things that could never truly be mistaken.
He knew himself.
And the moment he saw that face... he understood.
That was his future self.
His gaze then shifted toward Namikaze Kirito.
If his guess was correct, then in the future... he had become this young man's subordinate.
It was not a difficult conclusion to reach.
The way the older him stood. The subtle respect in his posture. The ease with which the two spoke to one another.
All of it pointed to the same answer.
Somehow, somewhere in the future, this boy had subdued him... and made him willingly follow.
That was what truly made things interesting.
"... Orochimaru?"
Even now, Sarutobi Hiruzen still found it hard to fully accept what he was seeing.
If this really was the future Orochimaru, and if he had truly ended up standing beside Minato's son...
Then what exactly had happened in the years ahead?
Because Orochimaru had not yet defected at this point in time, the only explanation Hiruzen could instinctively come up with was simple:
Namikaze Kirito had become Hokage in the future.
After all, who else could possibly command the loyalty of one of the Sannin?
Hearing Hiruzen call out to him, the future Orochimaru stepped forward.
He completely ignored Jiraiya and even his younger self. His eyes rested only on his former teacher.
"Sensei," he said, his tone calm, almost nostalgic, "it really has been a long time since I last saw your face."
A faint, chilling smile curved at his lips.
"Seeing you again like this makes me want to study you properly. After all... when you died, not even a corpse was left behind. That was rather disappointing."
The moment those words fell, Hiruzen's expression changed.
The seriousness in his eyes deepened at once.
At this point, he could no longer dismiss any of this.
If the man before him truly came from the future, then what he said had to be something that actually happened.
No corpse left behind...?
What kind of battle had he fought?
What kind of enemy had forced him into such an end?
And more importantly...
What kind of future had led Orochimaru to stand here like this?
Hiruzen did not want to continue down that line of thought.
So he changed the subject immediately.
"Orochimaru," he said in a low voice, "what is the purpose of your visit?"
Future Orochimaru looked at him and gave a light shrug.
"Nothing too serious, Sensei. We arrived here by accident." He glanced around lazily. "Since we were already here, we thought we might as well take a look at Konoha as it was in this era."
While Orochimaru and Hiruzen were speaking, Minato and Kushina had already moved to Kirito's side.
Kushina slowly reached out, her hand trembling ever so slightly as she touched his face.
Her voice, when it came, was softer than anyone expected.
"Are you... really our child?"
Kirito looked at her, and the warmth in his eyes was impossible to hide.
"Yes," he said gently. "Father. Mother."
"Kiri... Kirito..."
The next moment, Kushina pulled him into a tight embrace.
Joy flooded her face without restraint.
She had never imagined that the child she would have in the future would already be this grown... or this extraordinary.
A son who could suppress the Nine-Tails.
A son who could stand here so calmly in front of all these people.
As a mother, how could she not feel proud?
Minato, however, remained quiet.
His brows were furrowed, and the look in his eyes was far more complicated.
Noticing that, Kushina immediately turned and punched him without hesitation.
"Minato!" she snapped. "This is our future son! Why are you standing there with that face?"
The moment the words left her mouth, Kushina's own cheeks flushed red.
After all, they were not even married yet.
And suddenly, a child old enough to call them Father and Mother had appeared right in front of them.
Even for Kushina, that was a lot to process.
Minato let out a helpless smile.
"Kushina, calm down," he said. "Of course I'm happy. He's our son. How could I not be?"
His gaze returned to Kirito, growing serious again.
"But that's exactly why this is a problem."
Kushina blinked. "...Huh?"
Minato took a slow breath before continuing.
"Kirito just revealed his identity. If he truly came from the future, then even a small change here could affect everything that happens later."
His voice became heavier with each word.
"A tiny deviation could alter the entire flow of events."
Then, after a brief pause, he said the part that weighed on him most.
"In the worst case... even our child might never be born."
Minato's mind worked quickly, always seeing further ahead than most.
He understood all too well how dangerous it was to interfere with the future.
One small event could trigger another. Then another after that.
And before anyone realized it, the future they knew could be gone.
If that happened... what would become of Kirito?
Would he disappear?
Would his very existence be erased?
This was not something Minato could laugh off.
Hearing him speak so seriously, even Kushina's expression turned anxious.
"Then... what do we do?" she asked quickly. "Should we use a sealing technique and erase our memories of this?"
It was not a foolish suggestion.
If they forgot everything, then perhaps the future could remain untouched.
As a member of the Uzumaki clan, Kushina certainly had the means to attempt something like that.
Minato gave a slow nod.
"That may be the safest option," he admitted. "But if we do it, then everyone who knows about this would have to—"
"It's fine, Father."
Before Minato could finish, Kirito interrupted him.
Minato turned to look at him.
Kirito's expression was calm, completely unshaken.
"The history of the shinobi world isn't that easy to change," he said.
As he spoke, he lifted his eyes toward the window.
Outside, the sky had already gone dark, and scattered stars shimmered faintly across the night.
If this timeline truly had the power to overwrite the future...
If these events were actually capable of altering history itself...
Then there should have been a reaction already.
Especially after he had openly revealed his identity.
But there was nothing.
No sense of anything descending to correct the flow of fate.
That alone told him enough.
No matter what happened here, it would not overwrite the future he came from.
This was not a single fixed timeline.
It was a parallel world.
Kirito lowered his gaze and looked back at Minato and Kushina.
"So you don't need to worry," he said quietly. "Nothing that happens here will erase me."
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