As a former member of Team 7, Sasuke understood his teacher far too well.
Lazy, habitually late, yet unfailingly reliable at critical moments—those were the labels that defined Kakashi Hatake.
But the Kakashi of this spacetime gave him a distinctly different feeling… one that was deeply unfamiliar.
That effortless composure, that absolute sense of control—even compared to the Kakashi at the height of his strength in Sasuke's memories, this version felt sharper, more unfathomable.
Just what exactly had gone wrong in this spacetime?
"Mr. Sasuke? Why aren't you eating? The noodles are going to get soggy."
Boruto's voice snapped Sasuke out of his thoughts.
"I'm not hungry."
Sasuke set down his chopsticks, reached beneath his gray cloak, and placed a few coins of this era onto the counter.
"Eat faster," he said in a low voice. "Naruto has probably shaken off those women by now. We need to head over immediately and keep watch."
"Got it, got it…"
Boruto hurriedly finished the freshly served ramen in just a few mouthfuls, then glanced back somewhat regretfully at Teuchi. "Boss, the ramen was amazing! I'll definitely come back next time!"
"You're welcome anytime!" Teuchi waved enthusiastically.
Sasuke led Boruto away, weaving smoothly through Konoha's narrow alleys and leaping across rooftops, carefully avoiding the Military Police patrols.
Before long, Sasuke located the apartment building where Naruto lived.
The two of them settled into position on a nearby rooftop.
From there, Naruto's window was clearly visible.
At the moment, it was pitch-black—evidently, Naruto hadn't returned yet.
"Mr. Sasuke, are we really just going to wait here?" Boruto crouched in the shadows at the edge of the roof, propping his chin on his hands in boredom. "What if Ōtsutsuki Urashiki doesn't show up? And what if my dad—I mean, that idiot Naruto—doesn't come home tonight?"
"We don't know exactly which day, or which moment, Urashiki traveled to." Adult Sasuke kept his gaze fixed on the dark window across from them, his voice low and steady in the night breeze. "He possesses space-time abilities. He could appear anywhere, at any time."
"Since we can't track him proactively, guarding his target is the simplest—and most reliable—method."
"As for Naruto…"
Sasuke paused. A trace of complicated emotion flickered through his eyes, one he himself didn't notice.
It was an understanding born from the Uchiha Sasuke of the past, for that equally lonely 'dead last' who had endured the village's cold stares alongside him.
"He has nowhere else to go." Sasuke's voice softened, becoming faint. "Even if he wanders around until midnight, he'll eventually return to that rundown apartment."
"He always does."
"Oh…" Boruto nodded, only half understanding.
He had grown up in a warm home, surrounded by his parents and sister. It was difficult for him to imagine that his father—the man who always smiled and overflowed with energy—had been so alone at the same age.
Boruto stopped complaining. He forced himself to stay alert, staring at the darkened window.
The sky slowly deepened into night.
Time passed.
Just as Boruto's eyelids began to droop and sleep threatened to take over—
Adult Sasuke, who had remained vigilant the entire time, suddenly narrowed his eyes and snapped his head toward the pitch-black shadow behind them.
"Who's there?!"
His right hand moved instantly, gripping the hilt as the Kusanagi Sword slid half an inch from its scabbard with a sharp metallic ring.
But what emerged from the darkness wasn't Ōtsutsuki Urashiki's hateful laughter.
Instead, it was a helpless sigh.
"Catching cold drafts in a place like this, in the middle of the night…"
A lazy voice drifted out from the shadows.
"You two 'traveling performers'—what exactly are you doing, spying on my good-for-nothing subordinate?"
Adult Sasuke's heart clenched violently.
With senses honed through countless battles on the edge of death, he hadn't detected a single fluctuation of chakra, nor the slightest hint of a presence.
Not even a trace.
That was impossible.
Something was wrong—very wrong.
Sasuke spun around at once, instinctively positioning himself in front of Boruto.
Moonlight spilled through the clouds, illuminating the figure in the shadows.
The silver-haired man they had briefly encountered earlier at the street corner now sat quietly on the roof ridge behind them.
"When did you—" Boruto's drowsiness vanished completely in shock.
"Probably around the time you were eating ramen at Ichiraku." Kakashi casually brushed dust from his pants.
At those words, Adult Sasuke's expression darkened instantly.
Since the ramen shop?
That meant this man had not only seen through their disguise, but had followed them across most of Konoha without Sasuke noticing even once.
This level of presence concealment was far beyond conventional ninjutsu.
Facing that overwhelming, unfamiliar pressure, Sasuke took a slow breath, deliberately pushed the Kusanagi Sword back into its sheath, and spoke in a deep voice:
"Believe it or not, we have absolutely no ill intentions toward Naruto or this village. As for why we're here… I'm sorry, but I can't explain that."
"Oh? No ill intentions?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow, his tone sharpening. "Squatting on rooftops in the dead of night like thieves makes that hard to believe."
He pointed toward the silent street below. "If I shout right now, Konoha's patrol squads will surround this place immediately."
"Then I'm afraid the two of you would have plenty of time to explain yourselves… in an Anbu interrogation room."
The moment Boruto heard "patrol squads" and "interrogation room," panic flashed across his face.
If they were detained by Konoha, they'd be powerless to act when Ōtsutsuki Urashiki appeared—and history would spiral out of control.
"Wait! Don't call anyone!" Boruto leaned out from behind Sasuke and blurted out without thinking. "Someone is after Naruto! And he's extremely dangerous! That's why we're hiding here—we really are here to protect him!"
"Boruto! Shut up!" Sasuke barked sharply, but it was already too late.
The words had spilled out like beans from a broken sack.
Kakashi looked between the grim-faced Adult Sasuke and the flustered Boruto, a trace of calculation flashing through his eyes.
From the probing encounter at the street corner, to the gradual pressure, the silent tailing, and finally the threat of patrol squads—every step had been deliberate.
All of it was meant to completely shatter the psychological defenses of these two "people from the future," giving him leverage for what came next.
"Oh? Protecting him?" Kakashi's expression lost some of its usual laziness.
He rubbed his chin, his gaze lingering briefly on Boruto's face—on the two whisker-like marks—before speaking slowly:
"From the way you talk, you don't just know that someone is coming for him. You even know exactly who the target is."
Leaning forward slightly, Kakashi looked down at them, a chilling scrutiny creeping into his voice.
"So… do you know Naruto?"
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