Uchiha Akira studied the man in his thirties standing before him, before shifting his gaze to the blond teenager beside him.
The boy appeared to be around twelve or thirteen, just a couple of years younger than Akira. Of course, at that age, a boy's physical development could vary greatly, which explained why there was such a noticeable height difference between them.
Noticing the boy's golden hair and blue eyes, which were just like Naruto Uzumaki's, Akira felt a surge of realization. He probed cautiously, "Are you... Boruto?" Hearing this, both strangers' expressions shifted dramatically.
The blond teen couldn't help but exclaim, "Who are you? How do you know me? That's impossible!"
"So it is him," Akira thought, his heart sinking.
To be honest, Akira had only been familiar with the original Naruto series before crossing over. As for Boruto, he had always considered it nothing but an unnecessary extension, a "sequel that ruins the original." He had only watched the movie out of curiosity and had a rough idea of the storyline. As for the anime? He didn't know much about it.
Yet, here Boruto was, appearing in Konoha at this time. How could this be possible?
What was even more confusing was that Akira and Hinata were currently getting along so well. Logically, Boruto shouldn't even exist in this timeline. Had he been cheated on? Or had Naruto somehow stolen Hinata away?
"Boruto, look! Something's not right with this Konoha!" Sasuke said, raising his head to look at the Hokage Rock, his expression one of disbelief.
Hearing his teacher's words, Boruto followed Sasuke's gaze.
The statues of the First, Second, Third, and Fourth Hokage all looked as they should—nothing unusual there.
But then, the Fifth Hokage...
"Who... Who is the Fifth Hokage?" Boruto stammered, his face twisting as if he'd seen a ghost when he saw the face of Fugaku Uchiha carved into the rock.
"Is this really Konoha? Why does it look completely different from the village I know?"
"The Fifth Hokage is Uchiha Fugaku," Sasuke said, his eyes widening in shock as he stared at the Hokage Rock. "He... he's my father..."
Sasuke and Boruto were completely dumbfounded.
What was going on here? They had traveled through time, and they had indeed arrived in Konoha. Judging by the timeline, this was during the reign of the Fifth Hokage.
But why was the Fifth Hokage not Tsunade?
This was completely different from the history they knew.
The one who was most stunned was Uchiha Sasuke himself. Wasn't his clan supposed to have been wiped out?
Yet the moment they arrived, he encountered a member of the Uchiha clan.
Then, seeing his father's face carved into the Hokage Rock, Sasuke was even more bewildered.
No wonder he could see Uchiha clan members freely roaming the village. It was because his father had become the Fifth Hokage!
But what in the world had happened to this timeline?
The First through Fourth Hokage were all as he remembered, so how had his father become the Fifth Hokage? Even Sasuke found his mind in turmoil, unable to make sense of things.
"I see, so they're not from the future, but rather from a parallel universe," Akira thought to himself. "That explains it. Naruto wouldn't betray me, and Hinata wouldn't fall for someone else!"
Although their exchange had been brief, Akira had deduced from their conversation that this was a matter of parallel universes.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have reacted with such shock upon seeing Fugaku as the Fifth Hokage.
"Two visitors from a future Konoha... Shall we talk?" Akira said after realizing who they were.
"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, trying to suppress his shock, his eyes fixed on Akira.
Indeed, this Konoha was strange—many things didn't make sense. But the Uchiha standing before them, with horns sprouting from his head—who exactly was he?
He could recognize Boruto at a glance and knew they had come from the future?
Logically, that shouldn't have been possible.
"I'm afraid this isn't a negotiation, I'm informing you as the Head of Konoha's Anbu," Akira said, not answering Sasuke directly but instead speaking with an air of authority.
Heading to Iwagakure to assist was indeed important.
But now, having encountered a version of Sasuke and Boruto who had traveled here from a parallel universe, Akira felt that these two were even more crucial.
"Alright, let's find a quiet place to talk," Sasuke said after a moment of silence. He understood that if this Uchiha before them was indeed the Head of Anbu, then a fight would cause too much commotion. So he nodded in agreement.
Following that, Akira arranged for them to use a secluded room in the Anbu headquarters, dismissing all other personnel and personally hosting Sasuke and Boruto.
"This place looks good. Now, I have a few questions for you," Sasuke said once they sat down.
Suddenly, Sasuke's hair rose up, revealing his left eye.
The left eye transformed into a Tomoe Rinnegan, while his right eye shifted into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
Akira felt a powerful Genjutsu acting upon him—Sasuke was clearly full of doubts and intended to use Genjutsu to control him to gather information.
However, Akira's own eyes transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he took a deep breath, activating Sage Mode from Ryūchi Cave, causing his chakra to surge dramatically.
"So, are we going to fight before having a proper conversation?" Akira said, blocking Sasuke's Sharingan Genjutsu.
"Mangekyō!" Seeing Akira's Sharingan, Sasuke's expression grew serious, and he withdrew his own Sharingan.
While the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan was theoretically a half-step superior to a regular Mangekyō, practically, their functionalities were no different—only that the Eternal Mangekyō didn't risk going blind from overuse.
Seeing that the other person also had the Mangekyō Sharingan, Sasuke knew it was unrealistic to try to control him with Genjutsu.
"My apologies. I was just curious; I had no intention of actually fighting," Sasuke said, his attitude easing.
The power that Akira had shown left Sasuke wary. Mangekyō Sharingan, chakra reserves on a Super Kage level, combined with Sage Mode—Sasuke was secretly astonished by Akira's strength.
It was hard to believe that such a young and powerful Uchiha existed in Konoha. Even in his younger days, Sasuke hadn't been this strong at this age. Who was this guy?
Everything about this Konoha seemed strange.
"Very well. I'm not unreasonable either."
"Since we agreed to talk, let's talk properly."
"I have many questions, and I'm sure you do too, so let's take turns, one question each," Akira proposed.
"Alright, I'll start," Sasuke nodded, accepting Akira's suggestion. He then asked his first question, "Who are you, and how do you know about us?"
"That's two questions. I'll answer the first one: My name is Uchiha Akira. I'm a member of the Uchiha clan and the Head of the Konoha Anbu," Akira answered.
He then posed his own question, "How did you two arrive in this timeline?"
In the original Boruto storyline, were there methods to travel through time or cross parallel universes?
Akira genuinely didn't know.
After all, his understanding of Boruto was really just surface-level.
"We came here using the abilities of Ōtsutsuki Urashiki," Sasuke answered after a brief silence. Following Akira's approach, he didn't fully disclose everything, only mentioning how they got here, without elaborating on Urashiki's background or purpose. Akira nodded slightly, inwardly astonished. As expected of the most powerful clan in the original story, the Ōtsutsuki even had the ability to traverse parallel universes?
"Now it's my turn. How did you know we existed?" Sasuke asked Akira.
"That's... not easy to answer," Akira replied, contemplating Sasuke's question.
He couldn't very well say that in his previous life, he had watched an anime where their lives were portrayed, could he? That everything they experienced was part of a fictional series?
After some thought, Akira said, "Let's just say it's an ability of mine. I can see fragments of both the past and future."
He glanced briefly at Boruto and added, "More specifically, fragments of potential futures."
"So, it's similar to the Great Toad Sage's abilities in Mount Myōboku?" Boruto asked.
As Naruto Uzumaki's son from another timeline, Boruto was evidently aware of the Great Toad Sage's prophetic abilities.
"Alright, let me ask another question then: Why did Ōtsutsuki Urashiki come to this timeline?" Akira asked.
At the same time, he realized that the figure in the Life Simulator with the golden Rinnegan must have been Urashiki Ōtsutsuki.
"His purpose is to travel back in time to find a young Naruto and take the Nine-Tails from him," Sasuke answered plainly.
Having said that, Sasuke followed up with another question, one he personally most wanted answered.
"My father... Lord Fugaku Uchiha, how did he become the Fifth Hokage?"
_________________
POWER STONE!!!
____________
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 300+ at patreon.com/Emik01.
For Sasuke, who was now thirty years old, to bring up this question, Akira didn't find it strange at all. In fact, he was surprised Sasuke hadn't asked sooner!
Had the once reckless and cool-headed boy finally matured?
Sasuke had initially focused on the bigger picture, and only now was he bringing up what mattered most to him personally.
"This is going to be a long story," Akira began.
"Then make it short," Sasuke responded, an urgent tone to his voice.
Indeed, Sasuke could see that this timeline wasn't his original one, but the majority of the circumstances seemed to be similar. Had the original tragedy of the Uchiha Clan's massacre really had another possible outcome? Sasuke needed to know.
"To put it simply, the Uchiha Clan staged a coup seven years ago—and it succeeded," Akira replied.
"A coup... and it succeeded!?" Sasuke was stunned, unable to believe his ears.
The plan for the Uchiha Clan to stage a coup was something the higher-ups of Konoha had known about, which was why they had sent his brother to wipe out the Uchiha Clan.
But now Akira was saying the coup had succeeded? How had that been possible?
Konoha knew it was coming; they surely must have been prepared. How had it worked out?
Sasuke had a thousand questions in his heart, but at that moment, he didn't even know where to begin.
"If you want to learn about the Uchiha coup, just ask anyone in the village. You don't need me to explain all the details," Akira said, seeing the look of shock and disbelief on Sasuke's face.
Sasuke nodded. If the coup had truly succeeded, then surely the villagers would remember the events from just seven years ago.
"So, do you have any more questions for me?" Sasuke asked, setting aside his shock for now.
It was Akira's turn to ask a question.
"Anything else I want to ask?" Akira pondered.
He realized he didn't have many questions left. Asking about Urashiki's abilities? There was no point in that. If they fought side by side, they would surely share information.
"I'll keep my questions for now," Akira said after thinking for a moment, deciding he had nothing pressing to ask.
With that, both sides had gotten what they wanted, and Akira didn't intend to restrict their movements in Konoha. They were free to explore.
Even though they were from a different timeline, Akira trusted that Sasuke and Boruto wouldn't have ill intentions toward Konoha.
Naturally, with Akira, the head of the Anbu, giving them his word, Sasuke and Boruto felt much more at ease walking around the village.
Akira even personally escorted the two of them out of the Anbu headquarters.
"Hey, Akira! I've developed a new jutsu recently..." At that moment, another voice called out unexpectedly—it was this timeline's younger Sasuke, often called "Second Sasuke" to differentiate between the two.
The Sasuke from the other timeline was in his early thirties, while this version, the Second Sasuke, was Akira's peer, a fifteen-year-old.
Seeing the younger version of himself, Sasuke felt a mix of emotions—mostly, he felt happy.
Although it wasn't himself, it was still another version of himself in this timeline.
Because his father had succeeded with the coup, this Sasuke hadn't needed to set off on a path of vengeance.
The feeling brought Sasuke great peace, as though some long-held regret had finally been soothed.
It was like when someone separated from their beloved due to circumstances, only to see that in a parallel world, another version of them ended up marrying that beloved and living happily together. It made them feel like their own regret had been alleviated, even just a little.
That's exactly how Sasuke felt now.
Looking at this version of himself—the Second Sasuke—he seemed much more full of life, more optimistic than Sasuke remembered himself being at that age.
This was something Sasuke had always yearned for but had never been able to achieve.
"Who's this guy, Akira?" The Second Sasuke approached, naturally noticing the older Sasuke, and asked in surprise.
"Oh, he's a friend of mine. He might be staying in Konoha for a while," Akira replied casually, unsure of how exactly to get the two to interact.
Akira quickly changed the topic, asking, "You said you developed a new jutsu? What kind of jutsu is it?"
"It's an incredible one—based on the Sharingan. It can see through any transformation technique!" The Second Sasuke grinned, easily distracted by Akira's question.
"Sasuke!" Another familiar voice called out at that moment. A blond figure appeared—it was Naruto, visibly angry.
However, as Naruto walked over, his eyes were drawn to Boruto. He stared at Boruto intently.
"Is that... my father? My father at such a young age?" Boruto looked at Naruto. The feeling was odd.
It wasn't like looking at his father—it felt more like looking at an older brother.
"Did the Uchiha Clan never face a massacre? And Naruto and I ended up being close friends?" Sasuke observed Naruto and the Second Sasuke, a nostalgic smile appearing on his face.
Although Sasuke had only just arrived in this version of Konoha, and although it was entirely different from the one he remembered, it seemed to match the life he had always dreamed of.
"Golden hair, blue eyes, and he even looks like me!" Naruto examined Boruto, mumbling to himself.
Eventually, Naruto seemed to forget about his quarrel with Sasuke, leaning in close to Akira and whispering, "Akira, who is this kid? Could he be my dad's secret child from somewhere?"
"Idiot!" The Second Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's comment and retorted, "Did you forget? Your parents died the day you were born, sealing the Nine-Tails. How could you have a younger brother?"
"Oh, right!" Naruto had long grown used to Sasuke's scolding. After thinking about it, he realized Sasuke was right.
If there had been an illegitimate child, it would have been an older sibling, not a younger one.
But still, this kid looked just like him. Naruto found it hard to believe there was no blood relation.
"His name is Uzumaki—uh, Namikaze Boruto. He might be related to you," Akira said, knowing that claiming no relation would be hard to swallow. There had to be an explanation.
"A relative, huh? Namikaze Boruto? I thought so..." Naruto's eyes lit up, a big smile spreading across his face.
Although the villagers had treated Naruto well over the years, he had always been alone in Konoha.
Having a relative—even a distant one—made Naruto very happy.
Now he wouldn't be alone anymore.
"Boruto, do you have a place to stay? If not, you can stay with me!" Naruto said excitedly.
"Uh..." Boruto was certainly interested in staying with his father, but he was on a mission. He turned to look at Sasuke.
He clearly wanted Sasuke to stay with him, fearing he might slip up if he stayed alone with his father.
"Go ahead. I'll be staying with the Uchiha Clan for a while," Sasuke replied, pretending not to understand Boruto's silent plea.
Boruto worried about accidentally revealing too much to Naruto? If Naruto had that kind of subtlety, he wouldn't be Naruto at all—Sasuke wasn't the least bit concerned.
Instead, he was quite curious about the current state of the Uchiha Clan.
If the coup had succeeded, what would the Uchiha district look like now?
Besides, with Akira aware of his identity and holding the position of Anbu Chief, surely he had some sway within the Uchiha Clan. With Akira covering for him, staying there for a few days shouldn't be an issue.
"Alright then!" Akira nodded in agreement when Sasuke expressed his desire to stay with the Uchiha Clan.
And so, Sasuke followed Akira to the Uchiha district.
As for Boruto, he went home with Naruto.
Following his father, Boruto stole glances at Naruto, finding it a fascinating experience.
He was curious—what was his father's daily life like?
They hadn't gone far when a young girl approached, holding a beautifully wrapped gift box. She had pure Byakugan eyes and looked gentle as water.
"Mother!" Boruto recognized her instantly, even though she looked much younger than he remembered. It was Hinata Hyuga—his mother.
So, at this point, had his father and mother already started dating?
"Hey, Hinata. What's that?" Naruto greeted her.
"Hello, Naruto-kun. This is a gift I prepared for Akira. His fifteenth birthday is coming up, and I'm sure he's forgotten all about it," Hinata said, returning the greeting.
"Oh, then you should head to the Uchiha district—he went home," Naruto reminded her.
"Thank you!" Hinata smiled, turning to head toward the Uchiha district.
"Uh..." Boruto was left dumbfounded. He had assumed his parents were already a couple and thought Hinata's gift was for Naruto.
But seeing their casual conversation left him utterly stunned.
What was going on?
Had his father been replaced?
_________________
POWER STONE!!!
____________
Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 300+ at patreon.com/Emik01.
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