"You know that?"
Naruto, whose brain ran on a single track with zero filter, immediately blurted out the answer without thinking twice.
"Because this isn't your world anymore.
In this timeline, the Nine-Tails jinchūriki is Kushina Uzumaki. I saw her just a few days ago.
There's no way another Nine-Tails jinchūriki could suddenly appear—especially one only carrying half the Nine-Tails!"
"What?!" ×2
Both Yamato and Naruto were genuinely shocked this time. Even Naruto's usually straightforward mind short-circuited for a moment.
"What year is it in your world right now? Who's the Hokage?"
"Konoha Year 63. The Fifth Hokage—Lady Tsunade!"
Taiichi deliberately made a weird face, like he was constipated, and muttered under his breath, "Sensei actually became the Fifth…"
He quickly straightened his expression and continued, "In this world, it's still Konoha Year 48. The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, is still in power."
Yamato and Naruto looked at each other, clearly doubtful.
"This is Roran. If you don't believe me, you can quietly go out and ask around. It's not hard to verify."
"Roran…? But Roran is supposed to be nothing but ruins by now!"
Naruto looked around wildly, unable to connect this thriving city with the ruined wasteland he remembered.
Without another word, Yamato created a shadow clone, muttered a quick "Excuse me" to Taiichi, and flickered away. He was clearly going to verify the information himself.
Taiichi didn't stop him. If anything, he looked approving. That's what a proper shinobi does. Unlike Naruto, who seemed far too trusting.
He glanced at the still somewhat dazed blond. This guy really believes people way too easily.
"I heard you call Lady Tsunade 'sensei' earlier," Yamato said carefully once his clone left. "But as far as I know, Lady Tsunade doesn't have any male students."
"Oh? So you really haven't heard of me at all?"
Both of them shook their heads.
This was the second time Taiichi had asked. Yamato was starting to realize that in this world, Taiichi must be someone important.
"So you didn't just travel back in time," Taiichi said, a sharp glint in his eyes. "You crossed into a completely different timeline. That's… very interesting."
Even he hadn't expected this. In the original story, Naruto had only gone back in time. But the Dragon Veins apparently allowed travel along both the horizontal axis of time and the vertical axis of parallel timelines.
This opened up far more possibilities than he'd imagined.
About half an hour later, Yamato's expression suddenly changed. A complicated look appeared on his usually stoic face.
Taiichi caught it immediately and smiled. "Your clone got answers? I wasn't lying, was I?"
Yamato nodded slowly, still looking stunned.
He hadn't believed Taiichi at first. Even when the man explained everything so confidently, Yamato had only pretended to go along with it—partly because Taiichi was overwhelmingly strong, and partly because he didn't know his intentions yet.
But now his shadow clone had spent time exploring the entire city and confirmed every single detail Taiichi had given them. He had no choice but to believe it.
And that raised even more questions.
What were they supposed to do now? Should they still complete their mission? Could they even return to their original timeline?
Yamato's confusion didn't affect Naruto at all. His mind was still completely focused on the mission.
"Big brother Taiichi! Since we time-traveled, does that mean Mukade came through too? He got pulled in before we did!"
Taiichi's eyebrow twitched. He looked at Naruto, who was only slightly taller than him, and decided not to mention that he was actually younger.
"Probably. If it's convenient, tell me about your mission. Maybe we can find a way for you to get back while we're handling things here."
Those words snapped Yamato out of his daze. They had been dragged here by the Dragon Veins. The only way back was probably through the same power.
He put a hand on Naruto's shoulder to stop him from speaking and answered himself.
"Our mission is to capture the rogue ninja from Sunagakure—Mukade—"
Taiichi listened quietly without interrupting. Only after Yamato finished did he speak.
"Konoha is actually helping Sunagakure hunt down a rogue ninja? The future relationship between the two villages must be pretty good."
Yamato could only laugh awkwardly. He knew that in this era, Konoha and Sunagakure had probably just finished a war. The two sides definitely weren't on friendly terms yet.
Naruto, meanwhile, looked completely lost.
"Alright," Taiichi said. "Let's head back to the palace first and meet up with my teammates. I already have a lead on your target, and it's probably connected to our mission too."
"Sounds good! I bet meeting the past versions of our Konoha comrades will be super interesting!"
Taiichi didn't explain further. He simply gestured for them to follow and started walking toward Roran.
His sensory perception had already picked up An Lushan's chakra signature moving toward the Dragon Veins.
He needed to bring Naruto and Yamato back so they could pool information.
At the same time, he was genuinely curious about how Naruto would react when he saw a much younger version of his sensei, Kakashi.
When Taiichi returned to the palace with Yamato and a wide-eyed, constantly looking-around Naruto, the atmosphere in the side chamber instantly froze.
Kakashi and Rin were standing guard beside Queen Seramu.
At the sound of footsteps, all three looked up.
"Captain Taiichi, you're back—"
Kakashi's voice cut off abruptly. His sharp gaze locked onto the two people behind Taiichi, especially the blond boy with spiky hair and bright blue eyes.
He didn't recognize him… but something about that face felt strangely familiar.
Naruto, on the other hand, froze the moment he saw Kakashi's face. It was like he'd been struck by lightning.
He pointed at Kakashi with a trembling finger, mouth hanging open so wide he could've fit an egg inside. It took him several seconds to finally explode.
"Th—that's—Kakashi-sensei?! Waaaaah!! Why are you so small?! No wait—that's you when you were a kid?!"
He was babbling, yanking at his own blond hair in excitement. The silver-haired boy with the mask in front of him looked exactly like a younger version of the Kakashi he knew.
Yamato was also completely stunned. He had expected Taiichi to introduce them to some Konoha shinobi, but he hadn't expected Kakashi.
This was way too familiar.
Still, he quickly noticed something off. The Kakashi of this era should already have a Sharingan in his left eye. But looking closely… he didn't.
Queen Seramu watched the chaotic scene with complete bewilderment, especially when the blond boy started calling the small silver-haired shinobi "sensei." Her head was spinning.
Taiichi watched the dramatic, almost comedic reactions—especially Naruto's ghost-seeing expression—and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
He cleared his throat and broke the silence.
"Alright, everyone calm down. Your Majesty, these two are… well, 'future' comrades from Konoha. This is Naruto Uzumaki and Yamato."
He then turned to the other side.
"Kakashi, Rin—this is Naruto and Yamato. They were pulled here from another timeline through the Dragon Veins."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the shocked and curious expressions.
"As for why Naruto recognizes Kakashi… that would be the Kakashi from their timeline."
He looked directly at Kakashi. The younger man's visible eye instantly sharpened, burning with a desperate, hopeful light.
Kakashi's voice trembled with urgency as he stepped forward.
"Naruto! Obito—Uchiha Obito! In your time… what happened to him? Is he still alive?!"
This was his deepest pain and obsession. Seeing someone from the future had given him a fragile thread of hope.
Naruto blinked, completely thrown off by the sudden intensity.
"Obito? Who's that? Never heard of him."
Yamato's face changed immediately. He clearly understood the weight of that name.
He stepped forward and placed a hand on Kakashi's shoulder, his voice low and heavy.
"Kakashi-senpai… According to the records, Uchiha Obito died during the Third Great Ninja War… during the Kannabi Bridge mission. He sacrificed himself to protect you."
"S-sacrifice?!" Kakashi looked like he'd been struck.
But then his expression shifted.
No. Obito didn't die. Not in their timeline. He only faked his death.
Rin had already covered her mouth, tears silently falling.
Naruto looked between the devastated younger Kakashi and the crying Rin, completely lost. He had no idea why one name could cause such a strong reaction.
Taiichi sighed softly.
He walked over to Rin and gently patted her shoulder.
"Kakashi. Rin. Calm down. I already told you—Naruto and Captain Yamato come from a different timeline than ours.
Think of it like a river splitting into separate branches. They share the same source, but the path and the scenery along the way can be completely different.
In their river, Obito may have died at Kannabi Bridge. But in our river—"
Taiichi's voice became firm and certain.
"Obito is definitely still alive. So don't let another timeline's history bind you. Their past doesn't have to be our future. Do you understand?"
He turned to Naruto and Yamato, his tone carrying a clear warning.
"Likewise, Naruto, Captain Yamato—you shouldn't ask too many questions about this world either.
Interfering with different timelines carries unknown risks. Knowing too much about the 'future' or 'past' could bring unpredictable consequences for both of you… and for the stability of time itself.
Right now, we only need to focus on the mission in front of us—or rather, the man who became Roran's minister, An Lushan… and your target, the rogue ninja Mukade!"
Taiichi's words were both a reminder and a warning. When two timelines intersected, it was best to minimize unnecessary interference.
Rin wiped her tears. Taiichi was right—at least in this timeline, Obito was still alive.
Naruto looked like he only half-understood the complicated talk about "different timelines" and "time stability," but the name "Mukade" snapped him back to focus.
"Mukade! That bastard really is here! Big brother Taiichi, do you know where he is? Take me to him! I'm gonna punch him into next week!"
Yamato also pulled himself together and nodded at Taiichi.
"Taiichi-senpai is right. Our top priority is Mukade. He stole the village's forbidden techniques and is trying to use the Dragon Veins. We have to stop him."
Taiichi looked at the group, now refocused, and nodded. He turned to Queen Seramu, who was still processing everything, and explained what he had discovered outside—along with his suspicion that An Lushan was actually Mukade.
"Your Majesty, if you don't believe me, we can call An Lushan here and confront him directly. Though… I doubt we'll be able to find him right now."
Queen Seramu took a deep breath and forced down the storm of confusion in her heart. Time travelers, different timelines—this was all far beyond anything she had ever imagined.
But when it came to An Lushan being the mastermind, she still found it hard to accept.
Still, as Taiichi said, it was easy to verify. She immediately summoned a servant and ordered them to bring An Lushan to her.
The hall fell into silence as everyone processed their own thoughts.
Ten minutes passed. Then half an hour. The servant still hadn't returned.
Nearly an hour later, the servant finally came running back in a panic.
"Your Majesty, we searched everywhere, but there's no sign of the minister. The guards said that after he left your chambers this morning, no one has seen him since."
"…You may go."
After the servant left, Queen Seramu collapsed weakly into her chair. The man she had trusted most had turned out to be the greatest traitor. As queen, how was she supposed to face this?
But she was still the queen. After only a few minutes, she forced herself to stand, her expression resolute despite her exhaustion.
"I understand now. If the servants can't find him, then there's only one place he could be. Everyone from Konoha—please come with me."
She began walking toward a hidden passage deep within the palace, her steps heavy but determined.
Taiichi looked at the others, his gaze sharp.
"Kakashi. Rin. Naruto. Yamato. Let's go. We'll have our answer soon enough."
Everyone answered in unison.
"Yes!"