"Oh my, my, my. Even though we have already indirectly confirmed the current time through various channels, suddenly arriving more than thirty years in the past is still something people are unwilling to believe."
Looking at the people coming and going along the street, as well as the old-fashioned style of their clothing, Kakashi Hatake took another bite of the sweet he had just bought from another small shop and sighed from the bottom of his heart.
"I have to say, Hanabi, you really are a little brave to the point of recklessness. Without even figuring out how you came to this era, you dared to run over and interfere in that battle that even I don't know how I endured back then."
"Honestly, I thought only Naruto would do something that foolish."
"I am very sorry. Because I acted recklessly without considering the consequences, I caused you, Lord Sixth, to return and get involved in these troublesome matters after you had already retired for so many years…"
Hanabi Hyuga, who was holding a turtle-shaped object in her arms, lowered her head and apologized with her face flushed red.
"It's all right. After all, you were accidentally caught in the aftermath of the battle between Sasuke and Otsutsuki Urashiki and swept into this era. Since you couldn't find a way back, it isn't strange that you first thought of integrating into this time."
Kakashi Hatake gently comforted the uneasy Hanabi Hyuga, then said with considerable emotion,
"But it seems the impact caused by a time traveler failing to properly clean up after herself is far greater than we expected. At least in my own memory, Kirigakure during this period was still an extremely closed-off and bloody village under Madara Uchiha's manipulation. It absolutely could not have held such a formal ceasefire summit with Konoha."
"So it really is because I said things I should not have said to someone who should not have survived?"
Hanabi Hyuga's expression immediately became even more dejected.
"No, that probably is not your fault, Hanabi."
Kakashi Hatake shook his head and said with extreme seriousness,
"That Rei Kaguya should be someone who did not exist in our world."
"Someone who did not exist!?"
Hanabi Hyuga's expression went blank.
"B-But he…"
"Listen to me first."
Kakashi Hatake dipped his finger into some water and simply wrote and drew on the table before them.
"First, I can confirm that in the battle arranged by Madara Uchiha, I never encountered any Kirigakure Anbu capable of using the Dead Bone Pulse. After all, with the rash and irritable personality of the Kaguya clan, any clan member who could become Anbu would basically be an elite among elites. If I truly had encountered one in that battle, it would be impossible for me to forget."
"Second, after Naruto and Sasuke found me because of this matter, I specially asked Mei Terumi, the former Mizukage of Kirigakure, to help investigate the clan registry confiscated from the exterminated Kaguya clan. There was indeed a clan member named Rei Kaguya recorded there, but neither his age nor strength matched the person you described, Hanabi."
At this point, Kakashi Hatake paused slightly.
Without changing expression, he lowered his left hand and used his body as cover to make a few simple tactical hand signs toward Hanabi Hyuga before continuing.
"Combining the fact that our world's history has not changed because of your actions with the information we gathered after arriving in this era, this place is different from the world Sasuke and Boruto traveled to while following Otsutsuki Urashiki. It is not the past of our world, but an era that is similar yet different from ours."
"Although I do not understand how this Otsutsuki treasure called Karasuki operates, my guess is that the reason we used this thing in Konoha yet appeared in the Land of Iron after arriving in this era should be inseparable from that Rei Kaguya who does not exist in our world."
"Is that so?"
While listening to Kakashi's analysis, Hanabi Hyuga lowered her head and quietly activated her Byakugan, looking toward the person who was openly standing on the street and staring at them without restraint.
"But I still feel that we can do something… Eh!?"
Hearing Hanabi Hyuga suddenly make a surprised sound, Kakashi Hatake's gaze sharpened. He immediately prepared himself to intercept with Purple Lightning.
But immediately after that, Hanabi Hyuga pulled him up from his seat.
With a bewildered expression, he was dragged along as she sprinted all the way toward the outskirts of the town.
"W-What happened!? Did you see something serious, Hanabi!?"
"The person Lord Sixth noticed who has been staring at us seems to be Lord Jiraiya…"
Hanabi Hyuga quickly leaped between buildings while speaking very nervously.
"Lord Jiraiya…"
Hearing that name, a dazed look flashed across Kakashi Hatake's face.
If it was Jiraiya, the one entrusted with prophecy by the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, then it would not be strange for him to find the two of them under the guidance of a prophecy.
"But if it is only Lord Jiraiya, there should be no need for us to flee in such a panic, right, Hanabi?"
Coming back to his senses, Kakashi lightly broke free from Hanabi Hyuga's grip and asked somewhat strangely.
"B-Because not far behind Lord Jiraiya, Rei Kaguya is also following, along with a red-haired person who has a pair of Rinnegan!"
Hanabi Hyuga somewhat flusteredly spoke a piece of news that made Kakashi Hatake's heart clench.
Red hair?
Rinnegan?
Nagato!?
No, why are those two together at this point?
Could it be that in this timeline, because of Rei Kaguya's existence, Obito was not rescued by Madara Uchiha, and instead Rei Kaguya became Madara Uchiha's successor?
Seeing the targets who seemed to be Kakashi Hatake and the Byakugan girl mentioned in the prophecy suddenly flee without warning, Jiraiya first froze.
But soon, he ignored his disguise and chased after them.
Jiraiya did not know why the two of them had suddenly chosen to run away. But the instant he saw them move with motions that carried a clear Konoha style, he became completely certain that they were the two people mentioned in the Great Toad Sage's prophecy.
Outside the small town, Rei Kaguya, who was hanging far behind Jiraiya by relying on his sensory ability after entering his sage-transformed state, opened his eyes and revealed a somewhat surprised expression.
"Hanabi Hyuga? And another chakra that feels a little familiar but I can't remember whose it is…"
"Did the Great Toad Sage call Jiraiya back that day so he could contact Hanabi Hyuga, this traveler moving backward through time?"
"You're reaching a little too far, old toad."
"But this time, I will definitely find a way to figure out how you people traveled through time and returned to the past. If I always let you come and go whenever you please, won't the shinobi world become a public restroom?"
While Rei Kaguya muttered inwardly, Nagato's Shadow Clone also opened his eyes and revealed an interested expression.
"Interesting."
"Did you discover something?"
Rei Kaguya turned toward Nagato, intending to hear what different information the other party had sensed with the Mind's Eye of the Kagura.
"That girl from the Hyuga clan. Her eyes are different from ordinary Byakugan. Within them is an even more mysterious and powerful force. But that power does not seem to have been stimulated because her body cannot bear it. It can only be used to interact with the strange chakra-reactive treasure in her hand…"
As he spoke, Nagato bit his finger, formed the seals for the Summoning Technique, and slapped his hand against the ground.
"Summoning Technique!"
Graaah—
A massive, ugly bird-shaped ninja beast appeared before Rei Kaguya and Nagato, opening its mouth and letting out a piercing cry.
"This is?"
"My summoning beast, Yatagarasu."
Nagato leaped onto Yatagarasu's head and said to Rei Kaguya,
"Chasing from the sky is faster than chasing on the ground. Besides, relatively speaking, fewer opponents will focus all their attention on guarding against aerial units."
"Tch. After I go back, I should consider developing a Wind Release ninjutsu that allows a person to move freely through the air."
Rei Kaguya used the Body Flicker Technique to appear beside Nagato and spoke somewhat unhappily.
"Then work hard."
Listening to Rei Kaguya's words, the smile on Nagato's face immediately became much richer.
While using the Mind's Eye of the Kagura to sense Hanabi Hyuga and Jiraiya's chakra, he controlled Yatagarasu and pursued in the direction they had fled.