Quite a few people could tell that the older Sasuke was somewhat tempted by Uchiha Itachi's proposal. However, after weighing it carefully, he ultimately chose to refuse.
It was clear that he had grown into a strong-willed shinobi. Even under these circumstances, he was still able to let reason overcome emotion.
That, however, led everyone to a troubling speculation. In the older Sasuke's world, the fate of Konohagakure's Uchiha Clan was probably not a good one.
At the very least, Sasuke had certainly lost his family. Otherwise, he would never have been tempted by Itachi's offer.
Because of chakra, shinobi tended to be emotionally intense, and this was especially true for the Uchiha. Family occupied an exceptionally important place in their hearts.
Itachi, Shisui, and Fugaku all understood this.
If not for Makoto's intervention and the fact that the Fourth Hokage was still alive, then with the prejudice that Hiruzen's faction held toward the Uchiha Clan, their clan's fate would probably have been no different from the one in the older Sasuke's world.
"Um... Sasuke," Fugaku asked, "how is the Uchiha Clan in your world now?"
The older Sasuke looked at his father, whose stern and rigid demeanor was exactly as he remembered.
"Sorry. It has nothing to do with this world, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't ask any further."
Fugaku let out a sigh.
"I see. Understood."
Seeing that things would only become more difficult for the older Sasuke if this continued, Minato asked: "Sasuke, would it be convenient for you to tell us the purpose of your visit here?"
"I've already explained that to this Jōnin Higashino Makoto. Besides, Fourth Hokage, are you sure you want to drag so many unrelated people into this?"
"Sounds like it's something serious. My apologies. I wasn't thinking."
Makoto spoke up.
"Alright, everyone, go get some rest. Minato-senpai and I can handle this matter. Also, everything you've seen today is confidential, so please keep it to yourselves."
Everyone present was a shinobi. Naturally, they understood the importance of confidentiality and had no objections.
"Makoto, are you sure you don't need our help?" Shisui asked.
"No need, Shisui. It's not like a Shinobi Alliance is marching on Konoha. There's nothing to worry about."
"Alright then. We'll head back first."
Mikoto still couldn't help but feel heartache for this son from another world.
"Sasuke, after your mission is over, remember to come home for a visit."
The older Sasuke didn't dare look at her again, but he still responded.
"Yeah. I will."
The younger Sasuke was extremely unhappy about this, but he was mature enough not to throw a tantrum.
After all, that guy would eventually leave.
His mother and brother belonged to him forever. No one could take them away.
Once no one else continued questioning the older Sasuke, Sakura suddenly ran up to him.
"You're Sasuke too, right? I want to ask something. In your world... am I doing okay?"
"I'm alive."
"Um... um... who do I end up marrying?"
That was the true objective of this love-struck little girl's question.
The older Sasuke wasn't particularly eager to answer.
Sakura really was a good woman, but he himself had never been a competent husband. Because of his desire for atonement, he spent most of his time away from Konoha.
Sakura had practically become a single mother, having to earn a living while raising their daughter on her own.
But that was merely how things had developed in his world.
Judging from appearances, the Sasuke of this world would almost certainly not walk down the same miserable path.
While asking her question, Sakura's eyes had secretly drifted toward the younger Sasuke.
The older Sasuke understood.
The Sakura of this world hadn't changed either.
But with entirely different life paths ahead of them, whether the two would end up together was anyone's guess.
So in the end, he simply said: "In my world, Sakura got her wish."
"Ahhh~!"
The little pink-haired girl, who had looked somewhat gloomy during his brief silence, instantly let out a squeal. Her face turned bright red, and she covered it before running away.
The younger Sasuke looked completely bewildered.
Mikoto wore a warm, aunt-like smile.
Itachi, meanwhile, remained calm. He felt that different worlds would naturally produce different outcomes, so the older Sasuke's words couldn't necessarily be taken as fact.
Fugaku had no objections either.
The Uchiha Clan had never forbidden marrying outside the clan, and Sakura was Makoto's disciple. She was certainly qualified to become his daughter-in-law.
The moment she saw that the older Sasuke was willing to reveal a little information, Kushina grew anxious.
"Hey, hey, what about our family? Who's Boruto's mother?"
The older Sasuke replied: "Sorry. Even if I told you, it wouldn't mean anything. Just let things take their natural course."
Kushina refused to give up. Grabbing Boruto by the shoulders, she continued: "Boruto is such a good boy. Tell Grandma, who is your mother?"
Boruto: "..."
What would be the point of saying it?
With this world being so completely different, whether he could even be born successfully was still a huge question mark.
Minato said, "Alright, Kushina. Take Naruto and Karin home. Sasuke is right—it's best to let things take their natural course. Knowing in advance might even produce the opposite effect."
Kushina: "..."
I just want to know who my future daughter-in-law is ahead of time. Is that really so wrong?
...
Inside one of the dojo's training chambers, Makoto, Minato, the older Sasuke, and Boruto gathered together.
The older Sasuke began his explanation.
"The reason we came here really is to protect Naruto. A terrifying enemy will arrive before long to steal the Nine-Tails from Naruto's body."
"His name is Ōtsutsuki Urashiki. He's not from the shinobi world—he comes from beyond it. His clan feeds on chakra, and since the tailed beasts are massive concentrations of chakra, they are their targets."
"From beyond the world?" Minato asked.
"An alien," Makoto explained.
Since intelligent life had evolved on the shinobi world's planet, it was only natural that other planets in the universe could produce intelligent life as well, provided the conditions were suitable.
Minato was not particularly surprised.
"How strong is Urashiki?"
"Very strong. The Ōtsutsuki Clan is the source of chakra in the shinobi world. Ordinary ninjutsu is ineffective against them. Only taijutsu, senjutsu, and fūinjutsu can truly affect them."
Hearing that, Minato felt somewhat reassured.
He specialized in senjutsu and sealing techniques; he was not an ordinary shinobi.
At the same time, from the fact that the clan was the source of chakra in the shinobi world, he quickly realized that the hidden truth behind his own world was probably connected to the Ōtsutsuki Clan as well.
Minato asked curiously, "From the moment you arrived in Konoha until now, you haven't had any opportunity to investigate anything. Yet you've been completely certain that the Nine-Tails is inside Naruto. In your world, is Naruto the jinchūriki as well?"
"That's right. Isn't it the same in this world?"
The older Sasuke pointed at his eyes.
"My eyes are somewhat special. The moment I saw Naruto, I knew."
"Though what interests me is that Naruto's mother also seems to have the Nine-Tails sealed inside her."
Naturally, that was the result of Makoto's Two Forms Seal.
In addition, several years ago the Nine-Tails had willingly made a deal with Makoto. Since it had become much more cooperative, it had lent Kushina quite a bit of chakra as well.
As a result, she appeared very similar to a Nine-Tails jinchūriki and could briefly unleash tremendous combat power.
The downside was that it couldn't last long. It was more appearance than substance.
"Wait, what?" Boruto exclaimed. "So not only is Dad the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki, Grandma is too?"
Minato smiled.
"When Kushina was giving birth, we encountered a rather unusual enemy. That's why things ended up this way."
Faced with a question from his grandson from another world, Minato neither confirmed nor denied it.
"The Nine-Tails Incident?" the older Sasuke said. "That happened here too?"
"So the Nine-Tails Incident occurred in your world as well?" Minato asked. "What was the outcome?"
The older Sasuke did not answer directly.
"Naruto grew up an orphan."
"I see..."
Minato sighed softly.
"Then the Naruto of your world must have had a very difficult childhood. But seeing that Boruto has already grown up so much, I suppose Naruto is doing alright now?"
Minato couldn't help thinking back.
If Makoto hadn't preserved Kushina's life with his sealing techniques back then, he really might have resorted to the final option—sealing the Nine-Tails into Naruto and then following Kushina into the Pure Land himself.
Had events unfolded that way, everything would have become exactly like the older Sasuke's world.
Almost immediately, Minato reached a conclusion.
It seemed that Makoto's existence was what had caused the two worlds to diverge and head toward different futures.
"Dad is the Seventh Hokage now," Boruto said.
"The Hokage, huh?"
Minato smiled.
"Then I can rest easy."
"There's no need to dwell on unrelated matters," the older Sasuke said. "In short, our objective this time is to eliminate Urashiki and protect Naruto. Once that's done, we'll leave."
Minato nodded.
"The information about Naruto's mother is public knowledge. Most people believe she's the only Nine-Tails jinchūriki. What if Urashiki changes his target?"
After thinking for a moment, the older Sasuke replied: "That's unlikely. Urashiki is extremely confident—arrogant, even. He views the people of the shinobi world as inferior lifeforms."
"I believe that after arriving, he won't bother gathering intelligence through others. He'll simply begin searching for Naruto immediately."
"I see."
Minato turned toward Makoto.
"Then starting tomorrow, take Team Seven on missions around the outskirts of Konoha."
"We can't allow the battlefield to be inside the village. Whatever happens, we need to deal with this threat outside."
"If the enemy does the unexpected and shifts his target to Kushina, I'll send up a signal immediately and call for your support."
"No problem!" Makoto replied.