"Honestly… even after confirming the time through every indirect channel possible, dropping into thirty-plus years ago still feels unreal."
Hatake Kakashi took another bite of the sweet he'd bought from a nearby stall, then sighed from the heart.
"Hyūga Hanabi… you're brave to the point of recklessness. You jumped into a battle I don't even know how I survived back then without understanding how you got here."
Hanabi—holding a turtle-shaped device against her chest—lowered her head, face burning.
"I'm sorry. My impulsiveness dragged you back into trouble after you've been retired for so many years, Sixth Hokage-sama…"
"It's fine," Kakashi said gently. "You were swept into this era by the aftermath of Sasuke fighting Ōtsutsuki Urashiki. Without a way home, trying to blend in makes sense."
He glanced toward the distant summit direction.
"But the ripple effect from someone traveling through time without cleaning up properly… is bigger than we thought."
"In my memories, Kirigakure at this point was still closed and bloody under Uchiha Madara's shadow. There's no way it should be holding a formal peace summit with Konoha."
Hanabi's face fell. "So… is it because I said something I shouldn't have to someone who wasn't supposed to survive…?"
"No," Kakashi said firmly. "That's not it."
He leaned forward and began drawing on the tabletop with a wet fingertip.
"That boy—Kaguya Ren—shouldn't exist in our world."
Hanabi froze. "He… doesn't exist?"
"Listen." Kakashi's tone stayed calm, but the seriousness underneath was unmistakable.
"First: in that battle Madara arranged, I never encountered a Mist ANBU who could use the Shikotsumyaku. Kaguya clan ANBU are elite among elites. If I'd fought someone like that, I wouldn't have forgotten."
"Second: after Naruto and Sasuke came to me about the situation, I asked the former Mizukage, Terumi Mei, to help check the confiscated Kaguya clan genealogies. There was a clan member named Kaguya Ren, but neither the age nor ability matched what you described."
Kakashi paused—then, under the cover of his body, lowered his left hand and casually made a few subtle tactical signs.
Then he continued.
"Combine that with the fact that our history didn't change despite Hanabi's actions, and what we've learned since arriving… and it looks like this isn't our world's past."
"It's an era that looks similar—but isn't the same."
Hanabi listened, then lowered her head and quietly activated her Byakugan, focusing on someone staring at them shamelessly from the street.
"Still… I feel like we can do something—huh?!"
Kakashi's eyes sharpened instantly, purple lightning ready to form—
But Hanabi suddenly yanked him up and dragged him into motion, sprinting toward the edge of town.
"H-Hey—what is it? Did you see something dangerous?"
"The one staring at us…" Hanabi said, breath tight as she leapt across rooftops, "I think it's Jiraiya-sama!"
Kakashi went still for half a beat.
Jiraiya, the one entrusted with the Great Toad Sage's prophecy… finding them wasn't strange.
"But if it's only Jiraiya-sama," Kakashi said, forcing himself to keep pace, "why are we running like this?"
"B-Because behind him…" Hanabi's voice shook, "not far behind—Kaguya Ren is there too. And a red-haired man with the Rinnegan!"
Kakashi's heart clenched.
Red hair. Rinnegan.
Nagato.
—Wait. Why are those two already connected in this era?
Does this timeline's difference mean Obito wasn't saved by Madara… and instead Kaguya Ren became Madara's successor?
Behind them, seeing the targets suddenly flee without warning, Jiraiya hesitated only a moment before abandoning his disguise and giving chase.
He didn't know why they ran—but the instant he saw their movement style, unmistakably Konoha in its rhythm, he became certain.
These were the two the prophecy meant.
And outside the town, high above—
Kaguya Ren, trailing Jiraiya by sensing alone, opened his eyes and smiled faintly.
"Hyūga Hanabi… and another chakra that feels familiar, but I can't place it."
"The Great Toad Sage summoned Jiraiya that day… to push him toward this time traveler?"
His gaze cooled.
"That old toad's reach is longer than I thought."
"But this time… I'll find out how you're traveling through time."
"If you can come and go whenever you like, what does this world become—some public latrine?"
Next to him, Nagato's shadow clone also opened his eyes, interest brightening.
"Interesting."
Kaguya Ren glanced over. "What did you find?"
"That Hyūga girl… her eyes aren't normal Byakugan," Nagato said, voice low and focused. "There's something deeper. Stronger. But her body can't bear it, so it isn't awakened."
He looked toward the turtle-shaped object clutched in her arms.
"It only seems to interact with that strange tool that carries chakra."
Then he bit his thumb and slammed his palm down.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Croak—!
A massive, ugly bird-like summon appeared, screeching harshly.
"That is…?"
"My summon: the Yata Bird." Nagato jumped onto its head. "From the air, we're faster—and most people don't watch the sky as carefully."
Kaguya Ren flicked his tongue, annoyed.
"Then when I get back, I'll develop a Wind Release that lets me move freely in the air."
"You can work hard on that."
Nagato's smile deepened, and the Yata Bird launched upward, chasing after Jiraiya and the fleeing pair.
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