Hunting Plan
After Shisui and Sasuke left, the middle-aged Sasuke sat down and spoke coldly:
"You are not the Naruto I know, and Konoha's Fifth Hokage is not Jiraiya. This is not the past I remember."
He paused, then continued, "From the moment I saw Boruto, I knew you were from a different world. If Hinata and I had a child, he wouldn't be so naïve… Wait, if this is a different world, then my wife must be someone else."
At this, Naruto deliberately glanced at Boruto.
Boruto immediately interjected, sounding defensive, "My mother is Uzumaki Hinata, not anyone else!"
Naruto smirked. "Good. I like Hinata-chan quite a bit. I was actually on a date with her just now."
Seeing Boruto's agitation, Naruto decided not to tease him further. He pitied the boy—his future was tragic.
Even his identity as Naruto's son had been stripped away. He was now an adopted outcast, hunted by the entire shinobi world for a crime he did not commit.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged Sasuke remained cautious. According to the intel he had gathered, this Naruto had left Konoha on the night of the Uchiha massacre and went on to establish the Uzumaki Nation elsewhere. He was completely different from the Naruto he had grown up with.
The Naruto he remembered had been an optimistic idiot, chasing after the bonds he had lost. And back then, the girl Naruto had feelings for wasn't Hinata—it was his future wife, Sakura…
Seeing through Sasuke's thoughts, Naruto chuckled. "I've already learned some things about the future from Boruto. There must be a significant difference between me and the Naruto from your world."
"The key difference," Naruto continued, "is that our personalities diverged, which led to entirely different lives."
He deliberately concealed some details. Given his experiences, it would have been unnatural for him not to turn to darkness. If he hadn't, then either he had been placed under Kotoamatsukami at a young age or was influenced by Asura's chakra.
The middle-aged Sasuke remained silent. This Naruto was calm, confident, and powerful. His strength might not surpass Sasuke's own, but it was dangerously close—borderline on par with an Edo Tensei resurrection. Yet, he was still not the Naruto he knew.
Just then, Naruto pointed toward the distant Uzumaki Village and said with a slight smile, "In this world, do you still have any surviving clansmen or family members? The other Naruto never saved them."
Sasuke frowned. "At this point in time, my brother, Uchiha Itachi, is still alive."
Naruto shook his head. "I'm not talking about Itachi. I mean your mother, Mikoto Uchiha. Aunt Mikoto's cooking is amazing. Would you like to try it again?"
Sasuke fell silent. His emotional defenses were breaking down. Finally, he chuckled bitterly.
"If my mother were still alive… little Sasuke would have had a much happier childhood."
He didn't bring up Itachi. Given Naruto and Shisui's attitudes, it was clear that in this world, Itachi was still lurking within Akatsuki, secretly working to protect Konoha—never to be truly understood by them.
The atmosphere grew heavy, and Boruto, who had been silent, suddenly blurted out, "Mr. Sasuke, have you forgotten our mission? We traveled to the past to prevent Ōtsutsuki Urashiki from attacking my dad!"
Then he paused, realization dawning.
"Wait… I messed up. The turtle said revealing future events in the past could alter history."
Naruto shook his head. "This isn't your world's past. Even if something changes here, it won't affect your timeline. Besides, I already traveled back to the past two years ago using the Dragon Vein."
"You've gone back to the past before?" Sasuke's eyes widened.
Naruto nodded. "Yes. I traveled to the Third Great Ninja War, defeated a time-traveling ninja named An Lushan, and warned my father, the Fourth Hokage, about the future. But from what I observed afterward, that world was just another parallel timeline."
Boruto struggled to process the complexities of parallel worlds. After a moment, he asked, "So, no matter what happens in this era, it won't affect our world?"
"That's right. You can freely talk about the future without worrying about consequences."
Naruto then turned to Sasuke. This version of Sasuke might not be stronger than him, but he had invaluable knowledge of future techniques—something Naruto needed.
After a long pause, the middle-aged Sasuke finally spoke. "Since this won't affect the future, I can share some details. But at best, you can only use them for reference."
"In my world, you never defected—I did. Your teacher was Jiraiya, and under his guidance, you learned Sage Mode."
"There's an organization called Akatsuki operating in the shadows, collecting the Tailed Beasts. Its leaders are Jiraiya's former students, Konan and Nagato. There's also a masked man in their ranks—his real identity is Uchiha Obito. Eventually, they launch an attack on Konoha."
Naruto smiled. "I already know about Akatsuki and Obito. Nagato has abandoned the Tailed Beast Collection Plan after I convinced him otherwise, and I plan to deal with Obito soon."
Sasuke was momentarily shocked. If Akatsuki had abandoned the Moon's Eye Plan, then history in this world had already taken a drastically different course.
He continued, summarizing, "Afterward, the Fourth Great Ninja War breaks out. You and I work together to seal Ōtsutsuki Kaguya."
"But I never expected that, over a decade later, a new Ōtsutsuki would appear from beyond the stars. Boruto and I came to this world to stop Ōtsutsuki Urashiki—his target is the Nine-Tails sealed within you."
Sasuke glanced at Naruto, then sighed. "But looking at your power, I doubt Urashiki will be much of a threat to you…"
After recounting much of the future in one breath, Sasuke studied Naruto again, this time with a mix of admiration and curiosity.
He still couldn't comprehend how this thirteen-year-old Naruto had already reached a level of strength that rivaled his own. And yet, Sasuke from this world was so… competent.
Naruto, deep in thought, evaluated Urashiki's threat level.
From Sasuke's description, Urashiki wasn't that powerful—far weaker than the Ten-Tails Jinchūriki or Kaguya. At best, he was on par with Naruto's Kurama Sage Mode from his peak before time-traveling. If that were the case, then even Isshiki Ōtsutsuki might not be overwhelmingly strong—probably somewhere around the power level of the full Ten-Tails.
Snapping out of his musings, Naruto looked at Sasuke and smirked.
"Your arrival here wasn't entirely useless. You've given me valuable insights into the future—now I know how many crises the shinobi world will face."
Then, after a pause, he added, "But didn't you say Urashiki will appear in Konoha in three days?"
His smile widened.
"Are you interested in joining my plan?"
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "What plan?"
Naruto's grin turned sharp.
"The plan to hunt Ōtsutsuki!"
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