Minato Namikaze swept his hand back and forth over the Seventh Hokage's head twice.
Then he frowned slightly, only to find everyone else staring at him in confusion.
"Fourth Hokage, is there something there that the rest of us can't see?"
With the Second Hokage's sharp mind, he connected it to the fact that Minato Namikaze could sense the mission scrolls and quickly arrived at an answer.
Minato Namikaze asked, "You can't see the line passing through my hand?"
He had already noticed a line above this world's Naruto during the battle, but they had been fighting Isshiki Ōtsutsuki at the time, so he hadn't had a chance to mention it.
"A line?" Uncle Sasuke brushed his bangs aside and stared at the spot above Naruto's head with his purple Rinnegan.
"My Rinnegan can't see anything."
Afraid this might be some scheme of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, Shikamaru, the Hokage's strategist, immediately grew tense and came up with plans A, B, C, D, E, F, G, and countless other contingencies.
"Don't get so worked up. As the Hokage's adviser, you need to stay calmer than that." The Second Hokage began instructing him on the spot. "The Fourth can sense the mission scrolls. If even the Rinnegan can't see this line, yet he can, then it's far more likely that the line is connected to the mission scrolls. For example, it may be related to that SS-rank mission we just mentioned."
"Dad can sense the mission scrolls? Why?" the Seventh Hokage asked in confusion.
Young Naruto said, "Because the ones giving us missions through the mission scrolls might be Dad and Mom from another world."
He remembered the Six Paths Minato and Ōtsutsuki Kushina he had seen when Kurama's seal was released. Deep down, he felt an increasing urgency to uncover the truth.
And the only way to learn that truth was to complete every mission in the mission scrolls and assemble the compass.
Shikamaru Nara said, "So the big boss is the Fourth Hokage from another world. In that case, the SS-rank mission, 'Make a non-combustible object burn,' could, in a sense, be guidance from that other Fourth Hokage? Is that a reasonable interpretation?"
The Second Hokage nodded and looked at Minato Namikaze.
"Tell us more about the line you saw."
"Mm-hmm." Izuna Uchiha seemed to enjoy chiming in whenever Tobirama finished speaking. Half joking, he asked, "Don't tell me it's a red thread?"
Young Sasuke immediately shot back, "Don't joke around at a time like this. You've got a red thread above your head too, connecting you to the Second Hokage."
"Pfft."
Everyone else desperately wanted to laugh.
Izuna Uchiha was so furious he practically stopped getting oxygen to his brain.
Tobirama Senju remained perfectly calm. "Could it be something like the chakra threads used in the Puppet Technique?"
"No." Minato shook his head. "The line is simply floating above Naruto's head. It has two colors, and it's a little hard to describe."
Yamanaka Inojin suggested, "Then why not draw it? If you need paper and a brush, I have some."
"Oh, right! That's a great idea!" Hashirama Senju urged the Fourth Hokage to draw the line, which even the Rinnegan couldn't see, on the scroll Inojin had provided.
Minato took the scroll, pulled out the brush stored in its center, and dipped it into the ink at the other end.
He looked up and studied the Seventh Hokage Naruto with such concentration that Naruto began wondering if his dad was about to draw his portrait.
The children eating burgers at another table didn't interrupt them and instead chatted quietly among themselves.
This was a rare opportunity. They had far too many things they wanted to ask the Seventh Hokage-sama about his younger days.
Naruto also asked about Kawaki's ability to transform his arm.
"Cyborgs. Simply put, abilities that ordinary humans don't possess are implanted into their bodies, turning them into superhuman and highly useful tools, much like scientific ninja tools."
A mature man's gravelly voice came from the entrance.
The Seventh Hokage Naruto looked over. "Amado. Sai."
Yamanaka Inojin blinked. "Dad?"
While Kawaki had rushed ahead to confirm the Seventh Hokage-sama's safety, Sai had taken care of several necessary matters before bringing Amado, Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's scientist, to Thunder Burger.
Hearing this strange old man call Kawaki a "useful tool," Young Naruto immediately took a strong dislike to him.
"Who are you, old man? What's so strange about having other powers implanted into your body? As far as I'm concerned, it's no different from Obito's Wood Release or the Cursed Seal Orochimaru once put on Uncle Sasuke."
Uncle Sasuke...
Uncle Sasuke was so devastated by the way he addressed him that he nearly shut down on the spot.
Uncle Naruto strongly agreed with his younger self. "Exactly, Amado. From now on, stop calling Kawaki a scientific ninja tool or a tool of any kind. He's no longer Isshiki Ōtsutsuki's Kāma. From now on, his only identity is as my, Naruto Uzumaki's, disciple. Right, Kawaki?"
"Huh?" Kawaki awkwardly turned his head aside. "D-do whatever you want."
That awkward little act thoroughly amused his sensei, the Seventh Hokage Naruto.
"Ah! And you still say you're nothing like Sasuke! You're totally alike! Even that tsundere attitude!"
"Are you asking for a beating?! Dead last!"
"I told you not to call me dead last in front of the kids! I'm a Hokage now. I've got an image to maintain."
"Hmph!"
Akimichi Chōchō leaned toward Sarada. "Hey, Sarada. Don't you think the Seventh Hokage-sama and Sasuke-san arguing looks exactly like you and Boruto?"
"Huh? Not really. I don't think my personality is that similar to the Seventh Hokage-sama's."
"It's the vibe, the vibe." The chubby, dark-skinned girl hugged herself and spoke in an exaggeratedly sweet voice. "That super romantic atmosphere where not even life or death could ever tear the two of them apart~"
"Pfft! Boruto and I aren't like that!"
"Pfft! Sarada and I aren't like that!"
The two kids immediately protested.
The Seventh Hokage Naruto and Sasuke Uchiha exchanged a glance, marveling at how much times had changed. They could barely understand what the kids were talking about anymore.
Even so, why did it somehow feel a little strange?
"Hey, Sasuke. What does 'romantic' mean?"
"Don't know. Stop talking nonsense and get back to the point."
"Oh, right."
Naruto turned to Amado and told him that they had already dealt with Isshiki.
Amado let out a breath of relief. "You really should thank these unexpected reinforcements."
He looked at Madara Uchiha, Hashirama Senju, and the others, all of whom were obviously anything but ordinary, then addressed the Seventh Hokage and his strategist Shikamaru.
"I calculated your odds of defeating Isshiki Ōtsutsuki..."
"How high?" Shikamaru asked, suppressing his temper.
Amado replied, "Less than twenty percent. Even if you somehow managed a narrow victory, there was an overwhelming chance it would depend on hidden trump cards held by certain people among you. Of course, Kawaki was also one of those final trump cards."
"Bang!"
Shikamaru slammed one foot onto the table in front of Amado. Veins bulged across his forehead as he grabbed the man by the collar.
"So you fucking sent Naruto out there to risk his life with less than a twenty percent chance of winning?!!"
Young Naruto jumped in fright.
W-was this really what Shikamaru was like when he grew up...?
Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and the others who knew Shikamaru well were genuinely stunned.
Amado calmly faced the furious Shikamaru Nara.
"You managed to save the entire Ninja World from legendary enemies like Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, Madara Uchiha, and Obito Uchiha. Compared to calculated probabilities, I'd rather believe in the unexpected results you people are capable of producing."
He had no idea that several of the very "big bosses" he had just mentioned were sitting directly across from him.
Yet when Amado spoke, it almost felt as though he could see straight through the Seventh Hokage, Boruto Uzumaki, and Kawaki.
That unsettling feeling of being completely seen through made everyone uncomfortable.
Minato Namikaze, who had been busy drawing the line above the Seventh Hokage's head, finally finished his masterpiece and looked up.
"Everyone, take a look. This is the line I can see."
He held up the scroll for everyone.
Tobirama Senju, Madara Uchiha, Izuna Uchiha, and everyone else present fell silent.
"Your talent for both drawing and naming is in the negatives."
The Second Hokage did not mince words.
Minato Namikaze looked at his drawing, visibly hurt.
"I'll admit I'm probably not very good at drawing, but the names I come up with are pretty good."
Everyone else: "..."
Like hell they believed that.
What the hell was that thing on the scroll?!!
A row of little black tadpoles on the left wagging their tails, and a row of little white tadpoles on the right shaking their heads?
Tadpole tug-of-war?
Weren't there a few too few black tadpoles?
Judging by the proportions, the left and right sides seemed to be about three to seven.
"It's definitely a little abstract, but I think I can make sense of it." Sai looked at the Fourth Hokage. "Do you mind if I make a few adjustments?"
"Go ahead. The line really is difficult to describe."
Sai took the brush and began adding to the Fourth Hokage's drawing.
Minato Namikaze stood beside him, describing exactly what the line looked like.
Once Sai finished, the drawing finally stopped looking quite so bizarre.
Even then, Naruto and the others still couldn't see what was unusual about the line itself.
"Hey, Boruto." Shikadai Nara stared at it. "Don't you think this looks a lot like..."
He stopped halfway through, while Boruto nodded.
"Yeah. It really does."
Yamanaka Inojin, Iwabee Yuino, and Denki Kaminarimon crowded around and agreed that Shikadai Nara had a point.
That prompted Naruto and Sasuke from the mission scroll group to come over as well.
Hashirama and Madara raised their eyebrows.
"Say it clearly. What does it look like?"
Boruto pulled his game console out of his ninja pouch.
The flashy game animation looked quite novel to those separated from his era by decades, or even nearly a century.
Once he entered the game and reached the point where he could control the Protagonist, Boruto pointed at the bar above the character's head.
"This is the character's HP. It's also called a health bar."
"A health bar?"
Boruto casually found an enemy and started fighting it.
Every time the enemy struck the Protagonist and "-20" appeared beside him, the previously full health bar above the Protagonist's head dropped a little.
It gradually formed a pattern similar to the line floating above the Seventh Hokage Naruto's head.
Minato Namikaze, Hashirama Senju, and the others had never played video games, much less seen anything like this. That was why they had interpreted it as two different colors of tadpoles playing tug-of-war!
But once they heard the explanation about a health bar and realized that Naruto's was down to only thirty percent, Minato Namikaze and the others immediately turned grim.
Making a non-combustible object burn.
The health bar above the Seventh Hokage Naruto's head.
What exactly was the connection between the two?
***
…
If you'd like to support my work and unlock advanced chapters, you can follow me on p-@-treon.
[email protected]/PinkSnake (100 Chapters Ahead).
You can also follow as a free member to read a few advanced chapters.
***