"SASUKE—"
The name had barely left Tenten's lips when the entire atmosphere turned incredibly violent.
Before she could even take her next breath, Tenten screamed in pure terror.
"Ahhhhh! No—!"
To her absolute horror, Hikaru's hand had already moved like a flash of lightning, his palm locking tightly around her throat. He lunged forward, slamming her back into the dirt as his face twisted with anger.
"Sasuke... Sasuke... Sasuke!!!" Hikaru shouted, his voice echoing fiercely through the empty street.
"In every single place, it is always Sasuke! Give me a break!!"
Tenten's eyes instantly began to flutter shut, her vision blurring as she started losing consciousness from the suffocating grip. She desperately clawed at his skin, using one hand to frantically try and pull Hikaru's heavy hand away from her throat.
With her other hand, she swung wildly, repeatedly hitting his face with everything she had left.
But Hikaru wasn't bothered by her struggles at all. He didn't even flinch as her fists struck his cheek. He just looked down at her fading eyes and muttered coldly, "Sorry, girl... wrong answer."
With her absolute last ounce of strength, Tenten stopped hitting him. She glared up at him through her tears, forcing a final, breathless whisper past her lips.
"I knew it... I knew it... you would be a traitor one day... Sasuke..."
The instant those bitter words came out of her mouth, Hikaru's eyes went completely wide with shock. His entire body froze. The sudden weight of her words struck him so hard that he instantly let go of her neck, pulling his hand back as if he had been burned.
Tenten collapsed back onto the ground, immediately clutching her bruised throat with both hands. She was gasping for air and started coughing violently, her chest heaving as she tried to breathe again.
For a second, the street was completely quiet except for her painful coughing.
Then, a low rumble started in Hikaru's chest. The shock vanished from his face, slowly replaced by a dark, twisted amusement.
He tilted his head back toward the sky, and a chilling smile spread across his face before he completely unleashed an evil, echoing laugh.
"MWAHAHAHA... HAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHA... HA!!"
His laughter rang out loudly against the broken buildings, sounding completely unhinged and cruel.
Hikaru slowly lowered his head, his chest still shaking from his dark amusement as he looked down at the shivering girl.
"Perfect... perfect!" he muttered, a twisted, sharp grin spreading across his face. "I knew it... I knew something was wrong from the very beginning."
He slowly turned his gaze toward the unconscious silver-haired shinobi lying in the dirt a few paces away.
"Kakashi... you gave me a perfect clue."
Hikaru placed his palm over his face, his shoulders trembling as he smiled evilly behind his fingers.
The pieces of the puzzle were finally crashing together in his mind, and his thoughts began to race furiously through the hidden truth.
'The kids from Tetsu no Kuni...' Hikaru thought, his eyes widening with a sudden, dark realization behind his hand.
'Yes... these are the kids! So that is how it all started, huh... It all connects now! He[1] ordered to change the timeline... so these fellow genin got teleported into Tetsu no Kuni first... then into Konoha during this same era of that Bastard[2]!... and then finally... into Hiruzen's era!
He dropped his hand from his face and looked back down at Tenten, who was still curled on the ground, coughing and struggling to catch her breath. A dangerous, cold calculation settled deep into his stare.
'The fact that this girl knows Sasuke... this completely confirms it...' he thought, his smile widening into a terrifying line. 'This confirms she[3] is one of them. He[4] is part of this timeline mess too.'
The pure brilliance of his own discovery was too much to hold in. He tilted his head back once more, letting out another loud, cruel laugh that echoed through the shattered commercial district. It was a loud, mocking sound filled with absolute triumph, showing just how much he enjoyed having all the control in his hands.
Once his laughter finally died down into a quiet chuckle, Hikaru stepped closer. He walked right up to the terrified kunoichi and casually sat down directly in front of her, crossing his legs on the dirty ground.
Tenten looked up at him through her blurry, tear-filled eyes. She shrank back as much as she could, her voice trembling and breaking as she cried out in pure desperation.
"Mister... Mister, I told you I don't know you!" she sobbed, clutching her bruised throat. "I don't know who you are, but you look exactly like Sasuke... It was... it was not my intention to offend you!"
Hikaru didn't look angry at all. He just kept smirking down at her, his eyes full of a mocking amusement. He leaned forward slightly, resting his elbow on his knee and propping his chin up in his hand as he stared at her face.
"Damn my memory..." Hikaru said casually, shaking his head with a lazy sigh.
He kept holding his chin, looking at her as if she were a puzzle he was trying to solve.
"You married that genius..." he continued smoothly, his voice completely calm now. "...and you had a brat named Rika."
Tenten's entire mind went completely blank. Her tearful eyes widened in sheer confusion, and for a second, she even forgot the pain in her throat. She stared at the strange man sitting cross-legged in front of her as if he had completely lost his mind.
'What is this fellow... is he mad?' Tenten thought, her mind spinning in absolute shock.
'How can... is he really talking to me about being married?! What is he even saying?!'
Before she could even process the bizarre words, Hikaru shook his head again, his smirk never fading.
"But I still can't remember your name..." he muttered, sounding genuinely annoyed at his own brain. He let out a sharp curse. "Fuck me."
Then, his casual tone vanished. His eyes locked onto hers with a sudden, sharp intensity that made her breath catch all over again. He leaned a little closer, his voice dropping into a low, demanding whisper.
"But tell me... where is he?"
Tenten swallowed hard, her chest tight with fear. She looked at him blankly, her voice coming out incredibly soft and small.
"Who...?" she asked softly.
Hikaru's smirk twisted into a cold, dangerous line.
"Of course..." he whispered, his eyes gleaming.
"...Sasuke..."
Hikaru's smirk was still twisted on his face as he waited for Tenten to answer. He kept his eyes locked on her trembling form, completely confident that he held all the cards.
But before Tenten could even open her mouth to speak, a freezing, familiar voice cut through the silent air from right behind Hikaru's back.
"Here I am—"
Hikaru's eyes went wide, but he didn't even have time to turn his head.
BAM—!!!
A brutal, incredibly powerful kick slammed violently right into Hikaru's side. The sheer force of the impact made a loud, echoing smash that rattled the entire street.
Hikaru was completely ripped off the ground from the unbelievable speed and power of the strike. He went flying backward at a terrifying speed, shooting down the road like a comet and instantly disappearing straight into a massive, thick cloud of dust and wood dust further down the district, completely hidden from view.
Tenten gasped and was shocked as she looked up.
Standing right where Hikaru had just been sitting was SASUKE. His dark cape rippled in the wind, his expression completely cold and fierce as his eyes stared sharply toward the blinding dust cloud where the enemy had been blasted away.
The shock of Sasuke's sudden, explosive entry completely froze the entire street, leaving everything in a breathless silence.
Tenten lay flat in the dirt, her heart hammering wildly against her ribs as she stared up at the dark cape fluttering right in front of her.
Her mind was spinning out of control, unable to process the sheer chaos of what had just happened in a single second.
'What... what just happened?' Tenten thought, her eyes wide with deep confusion and fear. 'Is he also here to kill me? And what was that... 'Here I am'? Don't tell me he is really...'
Sasuke stood just a few feet away from Tenten, his body completely still as the dust from his brutal kick began to settle around his boots. Slowly, deliberately, he turned around to look down at Tenten.
But before he could even utter a single word, a dark shadow shifted behind the trembling kunoichi.
Out of nowhere, the mysterious dark-haired woman appeared right over Tenten. Before Tenten could even twist her body away, the woman violently grabbed her, locking Tenten's hands behind her back in a painful, crushing grip.
"AHHHHH! LET ME GO!" Tenten screamed in pure panic, struggling against the
unbreakable hold as tears streamed down her face.
"Who... who the hell are you all?!"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed into a piercing, deadly glare. Without a single hint of hesitation, his hand moved to his hilt, and with a sharp, metallic ring, he drew his katana.
The polished blade flashed dangerously under the sunlight as he casually waved it through the air, pointing the razor-sharp tip directly toward the woman holding his friend.
His face was completely expressionless, but his voice carried a freezing, absolute promise of violence.
"Now—" Sasuke whispered, his dark eyes locking onto the Uchiha woman. "Time to deal with you..."
Sasuke didn't waste another second. With his katana drawn, his boots kicked off the dirt as he prepared to lunge forward and finish off the woman once and for all.
But just as he took his first step, a sudden, heavy shift happened in the air directly above him.
Three figures dropped from the sky at a blinding speed. Their faces and bodies were completely covered in thick, pitch-black shadows as they descended like silent hunters.
Before Sasuke could even raise his eyes or swing his blade to defend himself, the sheer, crushing weight of all three figures slammed violently right on top of him.
CRASH—!!!
The ground cracked beneath the immense force, and a huge cloud of dust exploded into the air as Sasuke was forcefully pinned flat on his stomach against the dirt.
The three figures sat heavily on his back and legs, instantly locking his arms and shoulders down, completely taking away his ability to move.
In a split second, before the dust could even clear, three sharp weapons flashed through the air, stopping just a mere inch away from Sasuke's head and neck, trapping him completely.
Only now, as they held him totally helpless under their weapons, the shadows finally melted away, and their formal identities were revealed.
Sitting directly on top of Sasuke's upper back, pinning his shoulders dead center, was a tall man wearing the standard green Konoha flak jacket over a dark blue jumpsuit.
His spiky black hair stood up wildly in the shape of a star, and his face was marked with two distinct scars on his right cheek. In his hand, he held a sharp kunai, its pointed tip pressed firmly right beside Sasuke's face to keep his head pushed against the dirt. This was the brilliant strategist of Konoha,Nara Shikaku.
To the left side, locking down Sasuke's arm with an unbreakable, heavy grip, was a massive, broad-shouldered man. He wore a long, dark trench coat that dragged in the dirt, and his head was completely covered in a light grey cloth bandana wrapped tightly around his head.
His face was covered in deep, intimidating battle scars, and he held a second kunai dead-centered near Sasuke's neck. This was the head of the torture force, Morino Ibiki.
And right in front, sitting directly over Sasuke's lower back and legs with an absolute, terrifying authority, was a stern-faced man with long, jaw-length brown hair tied loosely at the back.
He was fully geared up for duty, wearing his green Konoha flak jacket over a high-collared dark shirt and matching pants.
In his hands, he held a long, polished katana, the sharp edge of the blade resting heavily against the back of Sasuke's neck.
Slowly, the man lowered his gaze. His eyes suddenly shifted from dark black into a piercing, blood-red color, the three-tomoe Sharingan spinning slowly and dangerously within his irises as he stared down at the trapped rogue. This was his very own father, Uchiha Fugaku.
Three elite ninja, holding down a single powerhouse in a perfect, deadly triangle, their eyes completely cold and unyielding.
Locked in the woman's tight grip from behind, Tenten could only stare in absolute, breathless shock. Her heart pounded furiously against her chest as she watched these three legendary figures appear out of nowhere, pinning Sasuke completely helpless to the ground.
Minato stepped fully into the clearing, his blue eyes sweeping over the entire chaotic scene. A specialized medical team instantly materialized right behind the Hokage's arrival, their white coats rushing forward into the dust to handle the casualties.
Minato's gaze lingered tightly on Sasuke for a split second before he turned his attention toward the broken pavement where Asuma lay bleeding.
"ASUMA—!!!"
A loud, roaring voice shattered the air as Gai dropped from the sky, crashing onto the pavement right beside his fallen comrade. His eyes were wide with absolute horror as he saw the deep, bleeding wounds cutting across Asuma's chest.
Two medical ninja landed right behind him, instantly rushing toward the unconscious Kurenai to lift her gently onto a soft stretcher.
Gai immediately dropped to his knees in the dirt, his hands shaking as he carefully slid his arms under Asuma's back and knees, lifting his heavy body with pure, careful strength.
"Hold on, my friend! Don't you dare close your eyes!" Gai screamed, his voice cracking with deep emotion as he held Asuma close. Tears were practically welling up in his fierce eyes.
"The springtime of your youth cannot end here! Stay with me!"
Asuma slowly cracked his eyelids open, a weak, painful cough shaking his chest as a tiny drop of blood ran down his chin. He looked up at Gai's worried face and let out a faint, breathless sigh.
"Finally..." Asuma muttered softly, his voice incredibly strained. "...someone came..."
Minato walked right up to them, his face completely serious as he looked down at the injured elite. He turned his head slightly, his voice carrying an absolute, commanding urgency to the medics.
"Hurry up and tend to Asuma's wounds immediately! Give Kurenai all the medical support she needs! Don't lose a single second!"
"Yes, Hokage-sama!" the medics replied in unison, quickly rushing over with medical kits and glowing green chakra to assist Gai.
With the rescue moving smoothly, Minato turned his head back toward the enemy side, and his eyes finally landed on the dark-haired woman standing under the shadow of a broken wall.
Minato's eyes narrowed slightly as a deep wave of suspicion hit him. 'What is she doing over here and...'
His sharp gaze shifted downward, landing directly on the terrified kunoichi trapped in the woman's grip. 'What is she doing with a kid, and who is she?'
Minato opened his mouth, about to call out a stern, "Umm..." to demand an explanation, but his words were instantly cut short by a frantic voice shouting from across the dirt.
"YONDAIME-SAMA!"
Minato quickly turned around and saw another medical ninja rushing toward him, looking completely bewildered. "Sir, a kid is with Hatake Kakashi-kun! What is to be done of him?"
Minato's brows furrowed in deep surprise as he turned his body around, his eyes scanning the rubble until they locked onto a tiny, bright figure crouching over the silver-haired elite. 'A kid...?'
The medic ninja continued quickly, his voice shaking slightly with amazement. "But surprisingly, sir... he is using Medical Ninjutsu!"
Minato's breath caught, a wave of shock completely washing over his calm face. 'Such a young kid... performing medical ninjutsu?!'
A few feet away, the small boy was completely blocking out the entire world around him. His little brows were furrowed tight with pure concentration as a soft, glowing green chakra coated his tiny palms, pressing down desperately against Kakashi's unmoving chest.
Resting directly on top of Kakashi's stomach was a small, blue-and-white slug, its slimy skin glowing with a matching medical chakra.
It was none other than Katsuyu, the slug.
"Release... release... release... release..." the boy muttered continuously, his tiny voice trembling under the intense pressure.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, which were already turning a little watery with frustrating tears. 'I'm sure Kaa-san told me the easiest way to release a genjutsu is by healing...' he thought frantically, his chest heaving as he pushed more power into his small hands.
'Ahhhh, why isn't it happening?! Is it because I don't have an excellent control on my chakra to perform medical ninjutsu?!'
There were actually two miniature clones of Katsuyu present in the district. One was sitting directly on top of Kakashi, helping pump healing chakra into his system, while the second tiny slug rested quietly on the right shoulder of the young boy himself.
This particular clone looked incredibly unique. Tied neatly around her soft, white-and-blue body was a beautiful, tiny necklace made of shining pearls and delicate pink seashells, with a bright, polished golden star resting perfectly right in the middle of her chest.
Feeling the boy's rising panic, the gentle, accessorized slug on his shoulder muttered softly, "Don't worry... I'm sure he'll be okay. You should rest now, I'll finish the rest."
Minato watched the small boy from a short distance, a soft expression crossing his face as he noticed the child's trembling, exhausted hands. He turned slightly toward the medical ninja who had run up to him.
"Please, let him be..." Minato said softly, keeping his voice gentle. "If we scare the kid, he will run away."
The Hokage then looked back at the young boy, lowering his voice to a quiet whisper. 'He could be one of those Tetsu no Kuni kids... but why heal Kakashi?'
Shaking his head slightly, Minato turned around to look back at the rogue laying flat on the ground, firmly held down by the three Konoha elites.
"Well—" Minato muttered to himself, his blue eyes narrowing. "That question will be answered when Kakashi wakes up."
With his decision made, the Hokage stepped forward, his white haori coat swaying slightly as he closed the distance. He bent down, lowering his face to look directly into Sasuke's eyes.
Sasuke strained his neck, glaring upward with a fierce, unyielding look.
For a long moment, their eyes locked. Then, Minato slowly stood back up to his full height, his expression turning completely cold and commanding.
"Seal up his eyes right now!"
Shikaku tightened his grip on Sasuke's shoulders, pressing him down firmly against the dirt. "All right. Don't move a single inch."
Instead of wrapping it himself, Ibiki handed the thick, purple-labeled sealing cloth over to Fugaku. The Uchiha leader nodded silently, his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning with a deadly light as he raised the fabric. But just as Fugaku's hands moved to cover his vision, Sasuke shouted out desperately.
"Wait!! I have an important piece of information!"
Ibiki let out a dark, cold chuckle from the side, completely unmoved by the plea. "It's alright. Either way, we will take all the information which you know out of you—first normally..."
The massive torture expert leaned in closer, sliding his sharp kunai even nearer to Sasuke's skin until the cold metal was practically brushing his neck. "...then by force."
Fugaku didn't hesitate any longer. He brought the dark chakra-suppressing cloth down, the sealing formulas glowing brightly as it came really close, just a mere millimeter away from touching Sasuke's face.
Suddenly, Sasuke snapped both of his eyes wide open.
A sharp, agonizing pressure ruptured within his eyes, and in an instant, dark red blood came rushing out of his eyes, trailing heavily down his cheeks like gruesome tears.
The sudden, violent surge of chakra was so intense that it caught the elites completely off guard.
"MINATO—!!" Shikaku screamed in pure shock, his usual calm cracking instantly.
"HOKAGE-SAMA—!" Ibiki shouted at the exact same time, his grip tightening as the air turned dangerously heavy.
They shouted in absolute panic, their voices echoing through the ruined street as the blood trickled down the rogue's face.
Hearing the sudden, panicked shouts of his elite men, Minato's eyes snapped wide open.
"What's the matter?!"
But before anyone could answer, a sudden, intense wave of heat brushed against the Hokage's back. He felt something rapidly burning.
"THE HAORI!!! YONDAIME!!!" Fugaku screamed at the top of his lungs, his three-tomoe Sharingan shaking in absolute disbelief.
Minato quickly looked down over his shoulder toward his white coat, and his breath caught.
Dark, black flames were suddenly crawling up the fabric, hungrily swallowing the red flame patterns at a terrifying speed.
Acting on pure instinct, Minato ripped the burning haori off his shoulders and threw it away onto the dirt, watching the black fire consume the legendary cloth in seconds.
Down in the dirt, Ibiki's face twisted into an expression of pure, scarred rage. With a growl, his massive hand brutally grabbed Sasuke by the back of his neck, hoisting his head up from the ground before violently slamming it back down into the dirt!
BANG—!!!
"YOU BASTARD!!!"Shikaku screamed, his face completely losing its usual calm as he pressed his weight down on Sasuke's shoulders. "You dare threaten the Hokage?!"
Minato stood tall, his blue eyes darkening with a rare, burning anger as he stared at his ruined coat. Beside him, Fugaku was completely paralyzed with shock, his mind racing as he stared at the dark fire.
'A black flame... those are rare... I mean my first time...' A sudden, chilling realization hit the Uchiha leader. 'Don't tell me... Mangekyo...?'
Snapping out of his daze, Fugaku glared down fiercely. "Ibiki, hold him up!"
"Hey, wait!" Shikaku cut in, his sharp mind trying to piece the chaos together. "These black flames... did those come from his eyes?!"
Minato's voice was deathly quiet. "Yes."
Fugaku's expression turned grim. "Oi, Ibiki! Hold his eyes! Don't let him look at anything!"
"Don't you dare try that!!!" Sasuke shouted fiercely, his voice vibrating with a terrifying confidence as blood continued to stream down his cheeks. He glared at them through the dirt, a deadly smirk on his face.
"You've seen the Hokage's haori, right? Next, I'll put these flames around my whole body. They won't burn me, but you guys will be turned to ashes in a second!"
The absolute threat of the unquenchable black fire made everyone freeze. Realizing the extreme danger, Shikaku, Ibiki, and Fugaku suddenly leaped backward, letting go of the rogue and leaving Sasuke free on the ground.
Fugaku landed a few feet away, clicking his tongue in deep frustration. "Tchhh!!!"
He stared intensely at Sasuke's bleeding face, a strange, nagging feeling twisting in his chest. 'This one looks familiar... Where have I seen him...?'
Before the tension could snap into another fight, Minato stepped forward, his anger completely controlled now as he looked down at the bleeding Uchiha.
"I know you won't harm us..."
Sasuke slowly pushed himself up from the dirt, sitting up completely as he wiped a trail of blood from his cheek. He looked up at the Hokage, his dark eyes challenging. "And why do you think that?"
Minato looked back at him, his voice calm, firm, and carrying the heavy authority of a true leader.
"Tell me your demands. Why are you doing this? And what's that information? In exchange for it..."
" What do you want —?"
---
⚡NEXT CHAPTER⚡
A battlefield filled with questions.
A child surrounded by secrets.
A mystery no one can explain.
Just when everyone believes they've reached the truth...
something impossible appears.
The past refuses to stay silent.
And the greatest shock...
hasn't even begun.
👉Chapter 45: Another Piece of the Puzzle.
SNEAK PEEK LINES 💬
'Seriously? Calling a dangerous, black-flame-wielding rogue by a cute nickname like that?'
"I never knew a miniature clone could attack with that much speed and lethal force..."
---
—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
---
[1] Note: 'He' refers to a specific someone who ordered to change the timeline.
[2] Note: 'Bastard' refers to Namikaze Minato
[3] Note: 'She' refers to Tenten
[4] Note: 'He' refers to Sasuke