"Oh no, my lie has been exposed! How embarrassing…"
Seeing Rin's solemn and serious expression, Ishikawa instantly sobered and thought, This is bad.
He had previously claimed that the two worlds were interconnected, existing within the same time-space. Yet now, two distinctly broken White Fang blades stood as undeniable proof of his deception.
It was a resounding slap in the face—awkward, humiliating, and dangerous.
Ishikawa had always expected that his lie might one day be exposed and had prepared contingency measures. But he hadn't thought it would happen so quickly, not even lasting until the true beginning of the plot. The abruptness caught him off guard.
So—should he seize this chance to admit his earlier words were wrong? After all, no one could really explain the workings of the Time-Space Room. At worst, he could say he guessed incorrectly. Rin, most likely, wouldn't expose him.
But… was that really safe?
If it became clear that the two time-spaces did not influence one another, then, given Rin's upright nature, she might directly report the matter to Minato Namikaze—or even to Hiruzen Sarutobi. At that point, everything could spiral out of control.
Faced with the interests of entire worlds, Ishikawa had every reason to believe he and Rin would be reduced to mere tools—bridges between two realities.
And worse—this might trigger the Akatsuki or even Kara far earlier than expected, twisting the ending entirely.
No. For the sake of his own survival, he had to stay cautious and find a way to salvage the situation.
"Huh? Why would it be different? Miss Rin, what exactly happened to your White Fang short blade? Tell me everything in detail."
The turmoil in his heart lasted only an instant, but outwardly Ishikawa spoke with urgency, taking the initiative.
"Well, it was during the Chunin Exams…" Seeing Ishikawa's anxious expression, Rin didn't hesitate and immediately explained how she had shattered White Fang with the Rasengan.
"Eh? Could it be!!"
"What is it? Did you think of something??" Rin's heart fluttered at the sight of Ishikawa's look of shock, and she pressed him for an answer.
Please, let it not be something terrible…
"First, I need to make one thing clear to you, Miss Rin." Ishikawa's expression hardened, his tone grave. The seriousness in his voice made Rin's breathing hitch, her entire body tense.
"First: In the information I received, there was no mention of you breaking White Fang's short blade. In addition, you weren't promoted to Chunin in this exam."
"According to the history I know, you were supposed to become a Chunin alongside Obito in the next Chunin Exams. And the White Fang short blade—its true breaking took place at Kannabi Bridge."
"Look, this is how my White Fang short blade broke. Kakashi-sensei himself told me this."
"As for why this situation has occurred, I can think of only two possibilities…"
"One: If there had been no influence from me and the Time-Space Room, you wouldn't have been able to learn the Rasengan, and this incident would never have happened. Now that it has happened, the only explanation is that you changed the past."
"Of course, it's theoretically possible that the White Fang broke twice. But that possibility is negligible. Without me, how could you have learned Rasengan?"
"Second: Another possibility stems from this. That is, because of the Time-Space connection, what should have been a single flowing river of time and space is gradually diverging."
"But this divergence isn't yet complete. Instead, it's tangled, intertwined—a single line where you are within me, and I am within you."
"Although the breaking of White Fang was an accident caused by you, it may also serve as a correction of history. Simply put, its destruction was destined."
"And what puzzles me most is this: despite having the Red Eye and knowledge of the future plot, you do not appear in my world at all."
"Therefore, only two explanations remain. Either you never changed your fate and died in the past… or our worlds are slowly diverging, evolving into two independent realities."
"Though our strength cannot yet confirm this theory, it is no stranger than the existence of the Time-Space Room itself."
"But no matter which possibility it is, for the sake of our lives and our future, the safest course of action is not to act rashly. We must verify and test things step by step, avoiding greater trouble!"
"After all, any decision the two of us make will affect the direction of two Konohas—two entire worlds. Wars between nations are already terrifying enough. If a war at the world level were to break out, we would both be condemned as sinners in our respective worlds."
"Who knows—it might even lead to the outright destruction of both worlds!!"
"Fate… truly something inexplicable, profound, and mysterious."
As Ishikawa spoke, he watched Rin's widening eyes and deliberately mixed in both warning and reassurance—a carrot and stick approach.
Given the current situation, clinging stubbornly to the idea of a single world-line would only insult Rin Nohara's intelligence. With the Red Eye, she could easily expose flaws in any experiment.
And Ishikawa understood his own position well. He had no intention of conducting reckless tests that could bring trouble upon himself. Instead, he would simply go with the flow—buying time, reshaping the narrative, and at the same time giving Rin a sense of direction and purpose.
"So… when can we actually confirm whether the two worlds have diverged and become independent? If things continue like this, we'll be completely constrained. How are we supposed to change fate??" After a long silence, Rin finally processed Ishikawa's words and asked, her beautiful eyes sparkling with a strange light as she blinked at him.
How does this guy think? She herself hadn't considered so much—or so deeply. Was this the limitation of her own era? Or Ishikawa's extraordinary strategic vision?
"At the very least, don't act rashly until those tragedies have been changed. No matter how the world shifts, your primary goal must remain altering the fate of the Minato team. Only then should we worry about other matters…" Ishikawa said firmly, his eyes burning with conviction.
His plan was clear—delay things until Konoha Year 48. By then, he would be qualified to face the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, directly. Compared to the Third Hokage, Sarutobi, Ishikawa preferred speaking with Minato himself. With Kakashi by his side, he and Rin would no longer risk becoming mere tools of communication between worlds.
More importantly, Obito was already targeted by Madara. Changing his fate would inevitably involve countless variables, and for now, Ishikawa had no intention of letting Obito learn about the Time-Space secret.
"Change those tragedies first? …Ishikawa, I agree with you." After a moment of thought, Rin Nohara nodded decisively.
Ishikawa was right. No matter how the world shifted, her foremost mission was still to change the fate of the Minato team. Everything else could wait. By the time Minato-sensei became Hokage, she would also have far greater freedom to act and speak than she did now.
"Then, Miss Rin, please hand that broken blade to me. In return, I'll copy a Lightning Release secret technique from the Raikage and give it to young Kakashi."
Seeing Rin's agreement, Ishikawa smiled and pointed to the broken White Fang blade, dropping an astonishing proposal.
Two White Fang blades—melted together—could become one long sword. As for the Chakra short blade, he could simply sell it. In Konoha, it was worth hundreds of thousands of ryō.
At the same time, he could cultivate young Kakashi by gifting him a Lightning Release technique. It never hurts to have a capable helper in the future.
After all, a ninja also needed to understand human relationships and the value of goodwill.