"Wait a minute!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed. He punched his own left palm, as if an imaginary lightbulb had just lit up brightly above his spiky head.
Hearing that exclamation, Shion's heart, which had just started beating normally, instantly stopped again. The veins around his eyes twitched slightly. He swallowed hard, absolutely terrified to hear what other absurd conclusion was about to come out of the mouth of this idiot boy who couldn't read the room.
"I suddenly remembered something!" Naruto's blue eyes sparkled brightly, pointing at Shion enthusiastically. "Mom... I mean, the Mom from my future timeline told me before this mission! She said, because this involves the Ryumyaku chakra, there was a high chance I would be thrown across time into the past!"
Naruto nodded to himself, crossing his arms over his chest with a wide smile, as if greatly admiring his (rarely) strong memory capacity. "So that's how it is! Those weird clothes... You must be my Mom when she was a teenager!"
Shion exhaled a long breath, letting the hot desert air fill his lungs. A slight sense of relief washed over him. 'Thank goodness... at least my future self isn't that stupid and still thought of my present self by giving him an early warning,' Shion thought.
But... wait a minute?!
Shion's mind suddenly spun rapidly. If this kid called him 'Mom' so naturally and affectionately, that meant the future Shion had cared for and raised him!
'Why hasn't my future self defected from Konoha or run to the ends of the earth yet?! And more importantly... why did I just accept being called "Mom" by this "Child of Destiny"?! Is my sanity in the future completely shattered?!' High-level panic once again seized Shion.
There was one fatal question he had to confirm immediately before he truly went insane.
"I-I have an important question!" Shion's voice trembled slightly; he stepped forward and stared intently into the teenager's blue eyes. "Your name is... Naruto, right?"
"Yeah! Of course! You once told me that my Dad gave me this awesome name!" Naruto answered with a wide grin, proudly rubbing his nose.
Shion's face grew even paler. He clutched the sleeve of his Miko outfit with trembling hands. "Then... am I... am I your biological mother?" he asked with intense fear, almost like someone waiting for a death sentence.
'Please say no... For the sake of my sanity as a man, please say no... I beg you! Don't tell me that bastard System in the future actually genetically modified my body to the point where I could give birth! And don't tell me I eventually surrendered to Minato's charm and married him!!' Shion screamed hysterically in his mind, imaginary tears streaming down his soul.
Naruto tilted his head, his wide smile fading slightly, replaced by a softer and somewhat melancholic expression.
"Unfortunately no..." Naruto answered quietly, his voice now sounding much more mature than before. "Mom never told me who my real biological parents were. Your future self only always told me that they were great heroes who died to protect the village..."
Naruto then looked up, gazing at Shion with his pair of clear, sincere blue eyes. His warm smile bloomed once more. "But don't worry! Even so, I never cared about that. To me, you are my real parent! You're the one who raised me, right?"
Hearing that absolute confirmation, Shion's knees nearly gave out. He let out another incredibly long sigh of relief, as if a rocky mountain had just been lifted from his shoulders.
'Thank goodness...' Shion closed his eyes for a moment. 'Thank you Sage of Six Paths, thank you Allah, Jesus, Buddha, Zeus, and all the holy entities from my previous life that I can't name one by one because there are so many...'
At least his biological pride was still safe. At least he didn't actually turn into a genuine woman capable of getting pregnant, and most importantly, he didn't end up marrying Minato Namikaze! He only adopted this child. That was a heroic act that was still acceptable to his masculine logic!
However... as that ridiculous panic subsided, Shion's analytical instincts as a shinobi who knew the flow of history began to take over. His mind caught onto a bizarre piece of information. Very bizarre.
Shion opened his eyes, looking at Naruto with a furrowed brow. "Wait... You said you don't know who your biological parents are?"
"Yeah..." Naruto scratched the back of his head, pouting slightly. "I've asked a lot of times, but Mom would always just pat my head and say it wasn't the right time to tell me the truth."
The desert wind roared past the steel balcony, causing a screeching metallic groan, as if accompanying the horror slowly creeping up into Shion's chest.
Shion pondered that innocent answer deeply. His brain pieced together the puzzle fragments of the timeline.
Naruto was adopted by him. Naruto didn't know who his biological parents were. His biological parents died as heroes to protect Konoha.
From that simple piece of information, a brutally heartbreaking conclusion struck Shion's logic. That meant... his future self still couldn't prevent the tragedy of the Nine-Tails Attack. That meant, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki would still die in the future!
'What is the reason?!' Shion's mind was in turmoil, his eyes beginning to well up with tears without him realizing it.
'I am already here! I know the future! Is it because my abilities aren't strong enough to fight Obito?! Or is it because... if I try to kill Obito early right now, history will correct itself and spawn a new enemy that is far stronger and unpredictable?!'
Shion bit his lower lip hard. The time paradox ensnared his thoughts. If he changed history too drastically, the world might be destroyed. But if he let it be, he would have to watch the people around him die.
'Why?! Where did I go wrong?! Is my existence in this world completely meaningless other than to be a joke for the System?!'
Imagining that one day he would have to stand helplessly, witnessing Minato's tragic death, Shion's chest tightened incredibly. A sharp pain pierced his heart. His beautiful facial expression was now filled with profound grief, a sorrow for a future that hadn't happened yet, but was surely inevitable.
Naruto, who possessed an extraordinary emotional sensitivity in reading the suffering of others, immediately noticed the change in his 'Mother's' facial expression. Seeing the young woman before him suddenly look so shattered and sad, Naruto's instincts moved faster than his thoughts.
The blond teenager stepped forward, closing the distance between them. Without the slightest hesitation, he pulled Shion's slender body into an embrace.
"W-what are you doing?!" Shion exclaimed in shock, his eyes widening. His body tensed up. He was completely unaccustomed to physical contact this intimate, especially with a teenage boy whose body was even taller than his.
However, Naruto did not let go. The hug felt strong, warm, and highly protective.
"Mom always hugs me when I'm feeling sad or want to cry..." Naruto answered with a gentle, trembling voice near Shion's ear. The teenager smiled, a smile as warm as the morning sun piercing the cold of the night. "...So, if Mom is the one who's sad right now, it should be okay for me to hug Mom, right?"
Hearing words so sincere and pure, Shion's mental defenses crumbled. His identity crisis, his masculine ego, and his fear of the future seemed to evaporate, swept away by the warmth of Naruto's chakra.
Shion fell silent. His panting breath slowly calmed. He stopped struggling, released the tension in his shoulders, and finally let Naruto pull his head to rest comfortably against the blond teenager's chest.
Amidst the noisy roar of the Roran Kingdom's steam engines and the harsh desert wind, Shion closed his eyes, finding a strange sliver of peace in the embrace of the son of the man whose death he could not prevent.
After letting the warmth of that embrace calm the storm of despair in his chest, Shion cleared his throat softly.
Awkwardly, he patted Naruto's back and gently pushed the blond teenager's shoulders to release their hug. His masculine pride still demanded boundaries for physical contact, especially with a teenage boy taller than him.
"Alright, that's enough for the emotional session," Shion said, turning away his face, which was slightly flushed from awkwardness, trying to return to professional Kunoichi mode. He looked at Naruto seriously. "Considering my future self knew you would be thrown into this era, did 'I' leave a message or a clue for me?"
Hearing that question, Naruto's blue eyes immediately widened. He punched his own palm.
"Ah, that's right! I almost forgot!" Naruto exclaimed. His right hand immediately reached into the ninja tool pouch on his left thigh, then pulled out a small parchment scroll tied with a silk ribbon. "Mom gave me this right before I left. She said, if I really did get thrown into the past and met you, I had to give this scroll directly to you."
Shion accepted the small scroll. As he untied the ribbon and unrolled the parchment, his eyebrow twitched seeing the lines of ink inside.
The handwriting was incredibly neat, elegantly flowing, and exceptionally beautiful... too feminine and graceful for handwriting that used to belong to a straight man.
Suppressing the bad feeling creeping back up his neck, Shion read the contents of the letter in his heart.
[To my past self.
If you are reading this letter, you must have already met Naruto.
I know exactly what is churning in your head and what you want to ask. Let me explain.
When I met Naruto during this Roran Mission, the Naruto I met was the Naruto from the original (Canon) timeline. A future where the anomaly known as 'Hyuga Shion' never existed, or at least, in that kid's timeline, 'we' had long since rotted away on the battlefield of the Third Shinobi World War.
So, knowing that and driven by the resolve to change a tragic future, I acted as I pleased. I 'changed the future' of this timeline without thinking about the consequences.
By the way, I'm writing this not to forbid you or lecture you. Do whatever you think is the best and right thing to do at the time.
But remember one warning from me: the one you truly need to watch out for isn't the masked Uchiha who is the shadow mastermind, nor is it the wrinkled old man who donated his original eyes to the Uzumaki kid from Amegakure. The true enemy you must be most wary of is the 'filial child', that black slime will be the deadliest thorn.
That is all the important input from the future Shion for the current teenage Shion who is undergoing an identity crisis...
Please take good care of 'our child', okay! (^^)
It's a shame that sweet, noisy kid isn't the biological child born from our love with Minato... hehe.]
Shion stood frozen stiff. His eyes stopped blinking. The strong desert wind blowing on the steel balcony seemed to no longer be felt by his body.
'What do you mean "Hehe?!"' Shion snapped internally with a scream volume that could part the seas, his Byakugan veins nearly popping out from shock. He massaged his forehead which was suddenly throbbing intensely.
'Have I truly lost my mind in the future?! Have I completely surrendered to reality and been brainwashed by this damn System to the point where I'm enjoying the hallucinatory fantasy of being Minato Namikaze's lawful wife?! It's a shame he's not our biological child?! OURS?! Why did you surrender the rest of your manhood so easily, you useless future self of mine!!'
It seemed that being in this crazy world for years had caused his future self to suffer from a permanent mental disorder and identity crisis!
"Mom? What's in the letter? Are there any clues on how to defeat Mukade?" Naruto asked innocently, trying to peek at the scroll in Shion's hand.
"None of your business!" Shion snapped quickly, immediately rolling the parchment back up with a panicked movement. He panted for a moment, neutralizing his emotions. "Now, turn around. Face the wall and close your eyes."
Naruto frowned in bewilderment. "Eh? Why?"
"Just do it! Don't you dare peek or I'll seal your chakra points!" Shion threatened fiercely.
Though confused, Naruto, who was used to obeying his 'Mom', quickly turned around, faced the pillar wall, and closed his eyes tightly with both hands.
Seeing the teenager had turned his back, Shion with a quick, reluctant, and thoroughly embarrassed motion lifted the hem of his Miko outfit's shorts slightly. He reached into his Zettai Ryouiki area and shoved the cursed letter scroll into his 'Pocket Dimension'. The scroll vanished instantly, swallowed by the magical void behind his clothes.
After making sure his clothes were neat again, Shion patted Naruto's shoulder. "Done. You can turn around."
Naruto turned around and blinked at Shion's now empty hands. "Where did the scroll go? Where did you keep it?"
"Don't ask too many questions about a Kunoichi's secret storage space," Shion cut in sharply, his face still radiating a murderous aura to hide his embarrassment. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Let's get back to the original topic. Your main goal in coming to this era, besides chasing that criminal named Mukade, is to protect Queen Roran, right?"
Naruto nodded firmly, his face turning serious again. "Right! I have to ensure Queen Sara's safety and stop Mukade from trying to absorb the power of the Ryumyaku!"
"Alright, then let's do it together," Shion said, letting out a long sigh. He stared at the giant tower in the middle of the city radiating purple light. "Besides, the mission given to me by the Hokage isn't much different. I was assigned to investigate the anomaly of Roran's development and protect the stability of this region."
Hearing the invitation to cooperate, Naruto's pair of blue eyes immediately sparkled brightly like a puppy that had just been given a large bone. His enthusiasm exploded instantly.
"Yossha!!" Naruto shouted in glee, jumping into the air with his fist punching the sky. "A joint mission between Mother and Son! We're definitely gonna beat that damn Mukade to a pulp, Dattebayo!!"
Naruto's shrill voice echoed very loudly, bouncing off the metal walls of the balcony to create an ear-piercing echo.
Shion winced, narrowing his eyes and massaging his temples with both hands. The barrage of overflowing emotions, the identity crisis, the facts of the future, and now the hyperactive shouting from this 'son' of his truly made his head feel like it was going to split open.
"Please..." Shion growled through gritted teeth, glaring sharply at Naruto who was still grinning widely. "...don't be so loud, my head still hurts a lot…"