The fire in the distance crackled, sending a shower of sparks into the dark sky of Kusagakure.
Namikaze Minato sat in the grass beside Sasuke. Even without his famous white and red Hokage haori, the man radiated a natural authority.
He was twenty-eight years old, his bright blonde hair spiky and wild, catching the orange glow of the flames. He wore a simple dark blue, high-collared shirt. Without his forehead protector, he looked less like a Hokage and more like a lost soul.
Beside him, the thirty-year-old Sasuke looked into Minato's calm, blue eyes for a long moment before closing his own. A sharp smirk pulled at his lips.
"What's that look for?" Minato asked, sounding genuinely confused.
Sasuke let out a long, heavy sigh and looked back up at the stars. "I was just thinking... what would happen if Hikaru found the 'other' me? The young one who has no clue what's coming? He'd kill him before the kid could even blink."
Minato's face went grim. The soft expression he usually wore vanished, replaced by the cold seriousness of a leader. "No.." he said firmly.
Minato turned his head to look at him. "If you were in this timeline right now, Hikaru would have killed your other self already and you might have not been alive till now. The fact that he hasn't means you haven't even been born yet."
Sasuke grunted, shifting his weight. "I guess that makes a little sense. For once." He paused, looking at Minato with a judgmental stare. "Are you even in your right mind right now?"
Minato blinked, startled. "Wh—Why are you asking that?"
Sasuke ignored him, his eyes narrowing. "Do you remember anything? At all?"
"About what?" Minato frowned, looking lost.
"About what you did back in the village!" Sasuke snapped, his voice rising in annoyance. "Think you dobe! Remember the trouble you caused!"
Minato's eyes widened as a realization hit him. He rubbed the back of his head, looking lost. "Oh... that. Honestly, I don't really remember the details..."
"Useless..." Sasuke muttered, rolling his eyes so hard it almost hurt.
"Now, now, isn't this a touching scene?"
A strange laugh echoed from the shadows behind them. Both Sasuke and Minato turned their heads.
Standing a few feet away was a man who seemed to blend into the darkness itself. He wore a simple grey-and-black kimono, his skin as pale as a ghost and his eyes long and snake-like.
"Now what do you want? Orochimaru." Sasuke asked, his voice flat.
"Nothing at all.." Orochimaru replied, his tongue flicking out briefly in a way that would make anyone else shiver. "I'm just glad your entire chakra didn't get absorbed during the jump. It would have been such a waste if you had died."
Sasuke smirked, his eyes flashing. "Hmph...Dont tell me, you wanted me dead?"
Orochimaru let out another dry, creepy chuckle. "You know me better than that, Sasuke-kun. I prefer my loved ones alive and... interesting."
The air felt heavy with the presence of the legendary Sannin, but the tension was suddenly shattered.
"HEY! ARE YOU THREE GOING TO GOSSIP ALL NIGHT OR ARE YOU GOING TO EAT? THE FISH IS READY!"
A woman's voice screamed from the campfire, loud enough to wake the dead.
Minato stood up with a heavy sigh, patting the dust and grass off his pants.
"Yare-yare." Minato muttered. He looked over at Orochimaru, his playful side vanishing.
"Where did you last sense Hikaru's chakra? We should move at dawn to hunt him down."
"No."
The voice was cold and practical. It came from a man sitting by the fire, his posture perfect. He looked like a genius who had already played out the next hundred moves in his head.
Minato turned, surprised. "Why not?"
The man stood up. His eyes were sharp, analyzing everything. "We don't need to waste our chakra or risk revealing our identities in a place like this. Moving without a plan is how fools die."
Sasuke nodded slowly. "Exactly. We need a strategy. We need to analyze Hikaru's powers and wait for the right opening. That's the only hope we have."
"Hmph! Mmmph-mmph!"
Everyone turned to look at the fifth person. He was currently shoving a giant piece of roasted fish into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like a squirrel.
"MMPH-NN-GRRRPH!
GULP.
SH-SHRR-NRR!"
Minato tilted his head, his face a mask of deep concentration. "I think... he's saying the salt is perfect? Or is it about the wind direction?"
"He's saying we're all idiots." the genius snapped, his arms crossed tightly over his chest.
He didn't even look at the fish-eater; he just glared into the fire, his eyebrow twitching with every wet chewing sound. "And he's right. Because only idiots would sit here trying to translate the mutterings of a man who can't even wait ten seconds to swallow."
The man with the fish finally managed a massive, painful-looking swallow. He let out a loud, satisfied "AH!" and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, leaving a bit of the food.
"I said..." he huffed, pointing a half-eaten fish skeleton at the group, "...that you all worry too much! If that bastard wants a piece of us, let him come. I'll send him flying into the next village over before he can even finish a hand sign!"
Orochimaru's yellow eyes gleamed in the firelight. He let out a soft, dry chuckle that made the grass seem to shiver. "Such confidence. It's almost charming... in a very loud, annoying sort of way."
Sasuke didn't move. He kept his back to the group, his eyes fixed on the dark shadows of the trees. "He's a fool!" Sasuke said, his voice cold and flat.
"Hikaru isn't someone you just 'send flying.' If you underestimate him, you'll be dead before you even touch the ground."
The fish-eater let out a laugh, completely unbothered by the Black Devil's warning.
"Yeah, yeah. You and your Uchiha talks. You've been saying that since we got here!"
"And you've been eating since we got here." the 'genius' muttered under his breath. "The only thing you've successfully 'hunted' today is a single fish."
Minato let out a nervous laugh, trying to keep the peace. "Now, now, let's not fight. We're all on the same side. We need to focus on—"
"Focus on what?" the genius interrupted, his sharp eyes finally turning toward Minato. "On how you somehow managed to get us labeled as 'assassins' before we even stepped foot in a village? Or how Sasuke here is having a staring contest with a tree?"
Sasuke's jaw tightened. "I'm not staring!! I'm sensing."
"You're sulking," the genius corrected.
"There's a difference."
Kawaki, the fish-eater waved his fish skeleton in the air again. "Who cares! The fish is great, the fire is warm, and we're the strongest shinobis in history. Let's just eat and worry about the world-ending Uchiha tomorrow!"
Orochimaru's smirk widened, his eyes flickering from Sasuke to Minato. "I suppose even a broken clock is right twice a day. Though I do wonder... which one of us will Hikaru try to kill first?"
Sasuke, the genius, and Kawaki all opened their mouths at once, sparks practically flying between their glares. They were a second away from a full-blown argument that would have probably shook the forest.
"SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU!"
The scream ripped through the trees, silencing even the crickets. Everyone froze.
Yamanaka Ino stood by the fire, her hands on her hips and her eyes flashing with pure fury.
She looked like she was ready to use Shintenshin no Jutsu just to force them to be quiet.
"Do you think this is a camping trip?!" she shouted, pointing a finger at each of them.
"We are in a timeline that isn't ours, being hunted by a man who wants us dead, and you're acting like children fighting over a candy! Get a hold of yourselves! If we don't finish our purpose here and get back, there won't be a Shinobi World left to return to!"
The silence that followed was heavy. Minato slowly tightened his hand into a fist, his gaze falling to the ground. The weight of her words hit home—the fight wasn't just their lives; it was the entire future.
Orochimaru broke the long silence. He leaned forward, his pale skin reflecting the orange flames until he looked like a demon rising from the dark. A thin, needle-like smile pulled at his face, and he let out a soft, wet chuckle that made the very air feel cold.
"Well... since my question remains unanswered... no matter." he whispered, his golden eyes darting between Minato and Sasuke with a hungry light.
"I suppose the silence is an answer of its own. Though, let's be honest... we all know whose heart Hikaru-kun wishes to stop first. I can almost feel the pulse of his hatred from here. It's... wonderful"
Ino shivered, her hands trembling as she pointed a finger at him. "Enough! Enough of that, Orochimaru-sama! We aren't here for your sick games."
The Sannin only widened his smirk, his tongue flicking out to brush his upper lip.
"Games? No, Ino. I am simply admiring the situation. One wrong step in this era and we become ghosts in a history that never happened. Truly, this chaos is the only thing that makes life worth living."
Ino let out a long, exhausted sigh and rubbed her forehead.
She walked over to Sasuke, her boots crunching on the dry grass. "Sasuke-kun, look at me. You have to be serious. We cannot complete this mission if you are lost in your own head while the others are at each other's throats..."
"...If the 'Black Devil' falls, we all fall with you too."
Sasuke looked at her, his black eyes reflecting the dying sparks of the fire. For a split second, the cold mask of the 'Black Devil' slipped, revealing the weight of a man who had carried too many burdens. He gave a sharp, single nod. "I understand. You're right."
Ino turned back to the others, her voice returning to the sharp authority of a squad leader. "Listen well! Everyone rests tonight. No more movement, no more bickering. We form our strategy at dawn. That is an order!"
Kawaki let out a loud, mocking laugh. He
laid back onto the grass, tossing his wooden fish stick into the dark grass with a flick of his wrist. "Finally. I was trying to close my eyes before this useless talk started. Now I'm the one to blame? Whatever. This whole 'savior' mission is a waste of my time."
Ino's eyebrow frowned, her temper increasing. "Kawaki, I swear to—!"
"I truly despise this fool!" a cold, sharp voice interrupted.
Standing beside Ino was the Genius, Hyuga Neji. The dark kimono he wore seemed to swallow the light, making the bright white of his; Byakugan look like two glowing moons. The veins around his forehead were pulsing with pressure. He looked at Kawaki as if he were a particularly foul-smelling rogue.
Kawaki didn't even sit up. He just stared at Neji's pale eyes with a look of pure mock. "I wasn't talking to you, 'White Eyes.' Go stare at some chakra points and leave me alone."
Neji took a sharp, predatory step forward, his fingers curling into the move of the Gentle Fist. "You lack the discipline of a shinobi. Perhaps a few blocked tenketsu points would teach you the respect you were never taught."
Ino quickly grabbed Neji's arm, her boots digging into the dirt to hold him back. "Neji-san, stop! Don't let him anger you. He isn't worth your chakra!"
Sasuke stared at Orochimaru in his eye. The Sannin was already watching him, his head tilted at an unnatural, snake-like angle. He understood exactly what Sasuke was hinting at.
"Kawaki-kun." Orochimaru called out, his voice a low, unusual command. "Come. Since you are so restless, why don't you follow me? I have something interesting to show you. Something that only concerns you. Or would you rather stay here and let the Hyuga strike you down?"
He didn't wait for a reply. Orochimaru's hand shot out, grabbing a resisting Kawaki by the hand and dragging him toward the thick shadows of the trees.
"Hey! Let go! Get your cold hands off me, you freak!" Kawaki shouted, struggling against the Sannin's iron grip. But Orochimaru just chuckled, his laughter fading into the darkness as he led the man away from the fire.
Once the shouting died down, Neji turned his gaze to Sasuke. The fury in his Byakugan was like cold fire.
"Why is he even here, Sasuke?" Neji asked, his voice low and dangerous. "Why is that idiot part of this? He is a liability we cannot afford him in a situation like this."
Sasuke simply shrugged, his face returning to the expression of a man who had seen too much. "I have no answer for you, Neji. But in this time... he is what we have."
---
Got it 😏 — keeping your tone, your chaos, your suspense… just polishing it so it hits harder and reads smoother 👇
---
A MESSAGE TO THE READERS !!📢
Author's Note — 🤯
My dear readers… 😌
Your author has returned once again to clear your overthinking minds.
Because WOW—
some of you must have really turned into full-time detectives 🕵️♂️
First question you all screamed:
"WHY IS HE 28 AND HE'S 30?? WHAT IS GOING ON??"
Relax 😭
Fine… I might reveal a little.
If you keep supporting this story…
you'll see that Sasuke (yes, the genin one 👀) will eventually step into… another timeline.
A timeline where… ☀️ and Sasuke grow up together.
Yeah.
Let that sit in your brain for a second.
So obviously… things are not exactly "normal" anymore.
Now PAY ATTENTION to this line:
"What would happen if Hikaru found the 'other' me?"
And NO—
he is NOT talking about "mini Sasuke" or "genin Sasuke" 😭
Use your brains a little—
He doesn't even fully know where he is right now,
so how would he confirm his other versions are here?
What he's actually talking about is:
👉 Hikaru has entered this timeline (the Yondaime era)
👉 And his target is the Sasuke of this era
So what does that mean?
Yes.
Our 30-year-old "Black Devil" didn't just come here for sightseeing 😏
He came here because if this Sasuke
(who is not born yet as Naruto of this era is still in his mother's tummy-- if you guys noticed it 😌)
dies... he dies too.
…But yeah—
details? explanations?
✨ CLASSIFIED. ✨
Next confusion:
"What did Minato do in the village???"
Ohhh you must have noticed that 👀
But listen carefully—
They are NOT talking about this village.
They are talking about their own timeline.
And whatever happened there?
🙂
You're not ready for it yet.
So once again—
✨ CLASSIFIED. ✨
Now let's talk about something you SHOULD be happy about:
The group reveal 😏
Yes, yes… calm down.
We officially have:
Minato
Sasuke
Orochimaru
Ino
Neji
Kawaki
👉 This is a group.
Like I hinted before—
Sasuke didn't come alone.
But here's the REAL breakdown (don't miss this):
Minato & Orochimaru → belong to their era (the original of.... ☀️ era where Sasuke's group entered)
Sasuke, Ino, Neji → came from another timeline which we know
Kawaki…
Yeah 🙃
Kawaki is the only one who doesn't fit.
Imposter vibes? 😏
Don't ask questions.
Because—
✨ CLASSIFIED. ✨
And lastly…
PLEASE tell me you all noticed this—
👉 The chemistry between Orochimaru and Sasuke 😭
Don't lie.
You saw it.
You felt it.
And trust me…
it's only going to grow from here.
Alright, that's enough spoilers for today 😌
If I say anything more, I might accidentally ruin my own plot.
So for now—
Stay confused.
Stay curious.
And keep reading.
Because things are about to get a LOT worse 😈
—Your very calm and definitely not evil author ✨
⚡ NEXT CHAPTER ⚡
Laughter fades… but something still feels wrong.
A tasteless meal.
A forgotten detail.
A decision that could expose them all.
As tensions rise within the group, a deeper crack begins to show—one that even trust can't cover.
And when the truth finally surfaces…
it won't come from the present.
It comes from what they saw four days ago.
What did they witness… that made even them hesitate?
👉Chapter 14: Fish Bones and Buried Truths
SNEAK PEEK LINES 💬
"Entering Konoha without a plan is too dangerous for us right now."
"I told you to get your cold, slimy hands off me! Stay back!"
---
—With love, one forehead poke away from collapse,
Sakura Shinomiya 💫
---