Kaede Kitahara knew one thing for certain. In the original world of Naruto, he had never existed. He was an outsider.
No matter how hard he tried to avoid interfering with the storyline, the moment he was born, the butterfly effect had already begun. It was more than enough to split reality into two entirely different parallel timelines.
One continued along the original path.
The other veered off into completely unknown territory.
When he first reached that conclusion, he had been stunned. It was a possibility he had never even considered before.
It wasn't until he accidentally traveled back more than a decade and arrived in the ancient kingdom of Roran, where he met the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, that he finally confirmed his theory.
It also explained the things that had confused him before. For example, why Hatake Kakashi had picked up Hatake Kenjutsu again, or why Uchiha Sasuke had learned Chidori ahead of time.
Now it all made sense.
A brand-new timeline had branched off the moment he was born. That alone was enough to explain everything.
"I see." Namikaze Minato nodded slowly.
He had always been exceptionally gifted in space-time ninjutsu, so he understood better than most how mysterious and unfathomable time-space techniques could be. Their intricacies bordered on the miraculous.
"So you and I aren't on the same timeline," Kaede Kitahara said. "You don't have to worry about affecting my future. And I happen to know quite a lot. Anything you want to find out? Free spoilers."
He still hadn't gotten over the thrill of spilling secrets. In an environment like this, where nothing he said would affect his own timeline, he could spoil things without restraint.
For a moment, everyone exchanged looks, unsure what to say.
"For example, Jonin Namikaze… don't you want to know what your grandson and granddaughter are called? What they look like?"
Kaede Kitahara glanced at Namikaze Minato.
"Huh??"
The first person to freeze wasn't Minato.
It was Uzumaki Naruto.
He was only fifteen. Just a kid. The idea of marriage was already distant enough, but children?
Grandchildren?
How had it jumped that far ahead?
Minato, who had shown only mild curiosity about the future until now, suddenly perked up.
He would never live to see his own grandchildren born. If he could know in advance, even briefly, that would be more than enough.
Even if the memory would later be sealed away.
Knowing, even for a moment, was better than never knowing at all.
Even Akimichi Choza and Aburame Shibi leaned in with interest. Who didn't love a bit of juicy gossip?
"Go ahead," Minato said, forcing himself to stay calm.
"I'll just show you with the Transformation Technique." Kaede grinned. "Transformation!"
In a puff of smoke, he turned into a boy around twelve or thirteen years old. Short blond hair. Two whisker-like marks on each cheek. He looked uncannily like a mix of Uzumaki Naruto and Namikaze Minato.
"This is Naruto's eldest son, Uzumaki Boruto."
Kaede couldn't help sounding a little proud.
"He really does look like you, Minato," Akimichi Choza said.
Minato nodded. The resemblance was obvious. But that was only natural. Blood ran true through generations.
"Transformation. And this is Uzumaki Himawari!"
With another burst of smoke, Kaede shifted again, this time into a little girl only a few years old. She had dark blue hair and the same whisker-like markings as Boruto.
What shocked everyone wasn't her hair.
It was her eyes.
They weren't the bright blue inherited through Minato's line.
They were the Byakugan.
For people who had dealt with the Hyuga Clan for years, there was no mistaking it.
"Wait… why is it the Byakugan? Isn't it Sakura?"
Uzumaki Naruto blurted out, stunned. He might be slow sometimes, but he wasn't stupid. If his future wife were Sakura, there was no way his daughter would awaken the Byakugan.
Minato stared at Kaede in disbelief.
Poof.
Kaede returned to his original form.
"I never said your wife was Sakura."
"Ahhh!"
Naruto clutched his head, completely unable to accept it. The girl he'd chased for so many years… and they didn't even end up together?
He didn't know anymore whether he truly still loved Sakura, or if it had become some stubborn obsession. Maybe the two were so tangled together he couldn't tell them apart.
"Sakura is the girl you like?" Minato asked gently.
"Yeah." Naruto nodded repeatedly.
"Then… can I ask who he ends up marrying?" Minato said, looking back at Kaede.
Even Sara turned her head, curiosity written all over her face.
"His future wife is Hyuga Hinata," Kaede said bluntly. "The eldest daughter of Hyuga Hiashi, the future head of the Hyuga Clan."
Spoilers were addictive. Once you started, it was impossible to stop.
"What?!" Naruto's mind went blank.
Hyuga Hinata?
He knew her. They were classmates. But they barely talked. There wasn't much interaction at all.
How did she become his wife?
Truthfully, aside from Sakura, Naruto hadn't paid much attention to any other girls. Pretty typical for a hot-blooded shonen protagonist when it came to romance.
"You can stop fixating on Sakura," Kaede added with a mischievous grin. "She ends up marrying Uchiha Sasuke. They even have a daughter. Her name's Uchiha Sarada."
"Ahhh!"