As they leaped across the rooftops, the older Sasuke carefully observed Konoha.
Unlike when viewing it from above, now that he was deep inside the village, surrounded by Konoha's countless residents on the streets, that sense of incongruity seemed to have disappeared once again.
The older Sasuke found himself recapturing the feeling he had back when he first graduated and walked through Konoha's streets.
Only Boruto continued curiously looking around at everything.
This was what Konoha had looked like twenty years ago. The urban area had not yet expanded, making it seem rather outdated, lacking the modern feel of neon-lit skyscrapers everywhere.
The terrain was also higher.
After all, the Konoha Boruto came from had been rebuilt almost entirely on top of a massive crater.
Before long, Team 7 led the two of them into the forest behind the Hokage Rock. Walking along the stone-paved path beneath the trees, they could see a large complex of buildings standing quietly at the foot of the mountain in the distance.
In their timeline, there was no forest behind the Hokage Rock.
That entire area had long since been covered by a vast expanse of high-rise buildings.
It was a residential district established after Konoha repeatedly expanded in size.
Boruto didn't notice anything unusual in the forest, but Sasuke did.
This entire region was covered by an extremely powerful barrier. Ordinary people would probably find it nearly impossible to break in.
As they approached the dojo, Sasuke and Boruto spotted a figure standing at the edge of the plaza, seemingly waiting for their arrival.
He was tall and young-looking, appearing only around twenty years old. His aura was mysterious, yet at the same time completely ordinary. There wasn't the slightest chakra fluctuation coming from him. He didn't look like a shinobi at all.
As for his appearance...
The older Sasuke's assessment was simple:
This man was no less handsome than himself.
Makoto looked at the authentic, thoroughly worn-down Optimus Prime and the pineapple-headed boy whose face was full of innocence. Memories that had lain dormant for two or three decades gradually resurfaced.
The Konoha of this world had already been changed beyond recognition by him.
Even Naruto's personality had changed thanks to a good family upbringing.
Many iconic scenes from the original timeline could never happen here.
Yet somehow, one day he was still able to see the middle-aged Sasuke from the original timeline, as well as the son of the hot-blooded Naruto.
Of course, the Seventh Hokage, now a father, was no longer the idiot he had been as a child.
The problem was that he was too earnest, eventually becoming a tool known as the Hokage.
In his previous life, Makoto had watched Naruto when he was still young.
As for Boruto, he had only learned about some of the general plot and memes online.
For example, the one about things that couldn't burn.
He resisted the urge to throw a Fire Release jutsu at Boruto just to verify whether the kid was actually flammable.
"Welcome, guests from afar. I am Higashino Makoto, the master of this dojo."
'Higashino Makoto...'
The older Sasuke repeated the name in his mind, certain he had never heard it before.
"How did you discover us?"
"Konoha's barrier system has spatial intrusion alerts. Didn't you know?"
Sasuke and Boruto didn't know a damn thing about that.
The Konoha they came from didn't have such a convenient feature.
"Why did you have us come here?"
"Weren't you the ones who illegally entered Konoha? That's the question I should be asking you. The ANBU already questioned you earlier. Don't you have anything to say for yourselves?"
The older Sasuke shook his head.
"Sorry. I can't tell you our purpose. But please rest assured—we absolutely won't threaten Konoha's security."
Makoto smiled.
"If you were me, would you believe that? I'd suggest being a little more honest. Mutual trust starts with honesty."
The older Sasuke glanced at Naruto beside him and considered their current situation.
In the end, he made his decision.
"We're here to protect him."
"???"
Naruto pointed at himself.
"Protect me? But I'm just a genin of Konoha. And why should I believe you?"
Boruto immediately panicked.
"My sensei isn't lying! You're in danger right now. In a few days, a super terrifying guy is going to come and steal the Nine-Tails inside you!"
Naruto's expression changed.
He turned toward Makoto.
The younger Sasuke and Sakura looked completely bewildered.
Something wasn't right.
Wasn't Konoha's Nine-Tails jinchūriki Naruto's mother?
That wasn't exactly a secret in Konoha—or even across the shinobi world.
After all, the Nine-Tails Incident had shaken the entire shinobi world back then. Konoha had never tried to suppress the spread of information, so the identity of Konoha's jinchūriki was basically public knowledge.
Makoto laughed.
"I don't know whether what this kid is saying is true, but you've gotten one thing wrong."
"Who said the Nine-Tails is inside Naruto?"
Boruto: "..."
The older Sasuke: "..."
Boruto had completely bought it.
But Sasuke didn't believe it for a second.
He had the Rinnegan. He had fought the Nine-Tails, imprisoned it, and even tamed it. More importantly, he had spent years as Naruto's closest friend.
Although Naruto's personality had changed in this timeline, the chakra he carried felt exactly the same. There was no doubt that he was a jinchūriki.
As for this team leader jōnin named Higashino Makoto, his ability to lie with a straight face was no different from Kakashi's. One look was enough to tell he was the type who loved fooling people.
Still, Sasuke didn't expose him.
"Is that so? In that case, even better. The one coming for the Nine-Tails doesn't know that. We can use it to mislead him."
Naruto asked, "Who is this super terrifying guy?"
The younger Sasuke snorted.
"Hmph. Naruto, are you scared? Don't worry. I'll protect you."
Naruto rolled his eyes.
"You're so full of yourself, Sasuke. Who needs your protection? Beat me first, then we'll talk."
The older Sasuke said, "His name is Ōtsutsuki Urashiki. He's not from this world."
A mysterious smile appeared on Makoto's face.
"Aren't the two of you the same? By the way, you still haven't introduced yourselves."
"My name is Boruto."
The older Sasuke replied, "Sorry. It's not convenient for me to reveal my name. And using a fake name would be pointless."
Makoto said, "Actually, your concerns are unnecessary. You've already noticed how different Konoha is, haven't you? Is this really the place you think it is?"
The older Sasuke: "..."
Had the other man figured out his identity and origins?
If so, then this jōnin named Higashino Makoto might know far more than he did.
Mysterious.
That was the only impression Makoto gave him.
Like the Konoha before him, this person—who didn't exist in his timeline—was shrouded in a dense fog.
Makoto shrugged.
"Well, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I'll believe your story for the time being. Since the enemy won't arrive for another few days, the two of you can stay here until then. No objections?"
The older Sasuke nodded.
"Then we'll be in your care."
"Not at all. It'll liven the place up a bit. Come with me."
As they crossed the plaza and entered the courtyard, the older Sasuke glanced up at the signboard overhead.
True Sage Dojo.
He pondered the meaning of the name.
In the shinobi world, those capable of using Sage Mode never called themselves sages.
As far as he knew, only the rulers of the Three Great Sage Regions referred to themselves that way.
He couldn't help speculating about Higashino Makoto's true strength.
As if hearing his thoughts, Makoto grinned.
"So? Pretty impressive name for a dojo, isn't it?"
The older Sasuke: "..."
Whether it sounded impressive or not, he couldn't say.
But shameless? Definitely.
Still, he was already a middle-aged man and a mature shinobi. He kept those thoughts to himself.
After entering the courtyard, Makoto called out, "Honoka, we've got guests. Make lunch for two more people. Oh, wait—make that five more. Naruto and the others are here too."
Honoka poked her head out of a room and glanced over.
"Got it."
Boruto thought to himself, Her hair looks just like Grandma's in those photos.
The eyelid of the older Sasuke's exposed right eye twitched slightly.
He recognized Honoka as a member of the Uzumaki Clan, but in his own timeline he had never seen her before.
Sakura blinked.
"Huh? Sensei, are we involved too?"
"Not really. But something very interesting might happen this afternoon. It concerns Sasuke. If you're not interested, you can always go home."
The moment she heard it involved Sasuke, Sakura perked up.
"Since it's about a teammate, I should be concerned. I'll go help Honoka-oneesan with lunch first."
The older Sasuke and the younger Sasuke: "..."
Watching Sakura run off with a flushed face, both of them suddenly felt a bad premonition.
Finally, Makoto looked at Boruto.
"Kid, let me borrow your toy for some research. I'll give it back before you leave."
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from sight.
Boruto blinked.
"Huh? Toy? What toy?"
The older Sasuke suddenly realized.
"Idiot. Karasuki."
Boruto immediately reached into his ninja pouch.
Sure enough, it was completely empty.
"Oh no, Sensei! Karasuki's gone!"
The older Sasuke didn't answer.
The mystery in his heart had only deepened.
For someone to take it without even him noticing, it had to be some kind of special jutsu.
Combined with the instant disappearance just now, it meant that this jōnin named Higashino Makoto was a master of freely manipulating space-time.
Just like the members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan.
Things were becoming more and more troublesome.
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