Chapter 739: Not the Future

"Tell me about your situation. How did you find me, and how did you get the police to release me?"

On a deserted path, Sasuke and Boruto walked side by side, speaking in low voices.

Without a doubt, before they had reunited, something must have happened on Boruto's end.

Otherwise, with Boruto's abilities, there's no way he could have found him locked up in the police department in just one day, or had the power to get the police to release him.

More likely, the two of them, master and student, would have ended up reuniting in prison.

"Well, Grandpa and Grandma helped out."

Boruto explained.

"The Fourth Hokage..."

Sasuke wore a thoughtful expression.

Of course he knew who Boruto's grandfather was.

"Yeah, Mr. Sasuke, you probably noticed too—this isn't our era. It's the past."

Boruto continued.

Sasuke nodded, signaling Boruto to keep talking.

"When I first traveled through time, I ran into Grandma Kushina. She was so sharp—she figured out right away I was a ninja from the future. I even felt like she already knew I was her grandson."

Sasuke frowned slightly, but didn't react much.

He had expected this outcome.

Boruto was just a kid who had only recently graduated, alone in this dangerous era. It was only natural for someone to notice his secret.

At least the one who found out Boruto's secret was his grandmother Kushina, not someone like Orochimaru or Danzo Shimura.

If it had been the latter, Boruto would have been in danger.

"Then I asked Grandma Kushina to help find you, and here we are."

Boruto said.

"Tell me in detail how you got exposed."

Sasuke thought for a moment, then said.

In his assumption, Boruto could easily be arrested as a spy, but time travel wouldn't be discovered so quickly.

Not that he trusted Boruto's ability to keep secrets, but the concept of time travel was too absurd. Even if Boruto went around telling people, hardly anyone would believe it.

"I was looking for you, Mr. Sasuke, all morning in the city. I got really hungry and wanted some Ra-men Burger, but I couldn't find any, so I accidentally said, 'There are no Ra-men Burgers in this era?' And Grandma Kushina overheard."

Boruto explained.

Sasuke:...

He was so dumbstruck he didn't know what to say.

"You probably exposed your abnormality while asking for directions. Then she followed you, confirmed your strangeness, and finally bluffed you with the ninja academy graduate thing, making you panic and confess."

Sasuke analyzed slowly.

Faced with an excellent ninja like Kushina, who had grown up in an era of war, Boruto was just a naive rookie, full of openings.

"At least you didn't spill all your information outright. That kept things from getting worse."

No one knew what consequences changing history would bring. Sasuke thought that as ninjas from the future, they should act cautiously.

"I didn't mention anything about you either, Mr. Sasuke."

Boruto said, puffing out his chest.

Actually, he thought his performance today wasn't bad. Sure, he got his identity exposed, but the result was good. If he hadn't been exposed, Sasuke would still be in prison, hungry.

"From now on, if there are other people around, don't call me Mr. Sasuke. Either just call me 'sensei' or call me 'Mr. Suigetsu.'"

Sasuke reminded him.

"Same for you, Mr. Sasuke—if there are others, remember to call me Mitsuki."

Boruto showed a rather excited expression.

He felt this was very interesting, giving him a sense of déjà vu from those movies about legendary ninjas on missions.

Then Boruto and Sasuke went together to eat Ichiraku Ramen.

After eating lunch, he still felt unsatisfied and wanted to eat another bowl.

"Mr. Sasuke, what do we do next?"

After the meal, Boruto asked.

"Wait."

Sasuke replied succinctly.

Boruto looked at Sasuke with a puzzled expression.

"Wait for the 'Kama' to finish charging, then wait for Urashiki Ōtsutsuki to appear, and bring Urashiki Ōtsutsuki back to our era."

Sasuke explained.

This was the safest method—to return everything to its starting point.

"What if Urashiki Ōtsutsuki comes before the 'Kama' finishes charging? That guy will definitely cause trouble in Konoha."

Boruto asked.

They could restrain their actions to avoid changing history, but Boruto didn't believe Urashiki Ōtsutsuki would show any regard for the future Konoha.

"Then stop him."

Sasuke replied.

At the moment, he didn't have a better plan either; he would just have to act according to the situation.

"Oh, right, Mr. Sasuke, we still need to go to the Hokage's office to see Grandpa—that's what we promised when we asked for help."

Boruto said, remembering something.

Actually, he hadn't met Minato Namikaze yet; it was Kushina who contacted Minato Namikaze for help.

"Then let's go. Don't call him the wrong name when we get there."

Sasuke nodded in reminder.

They were ninjas who didn't belong to this era. Even if Minato Namikaze dispatched an entire squad of ANBU to keep an eye on them, Sasuke wouldn't be surprised.

"Yes, Teacher Mizutsuki."

Boruto chuckled, feeling very much looking forward to the upcoming meeting.

Since Minato Namikaze had given prior notice, the two encountered no obstruction and walked all the way to the door of the Hokage's office.

Knock knock.

Sasuke knocked on the wooden door of the office.

"Come in."

A gentle male voice came from inside the office.

After receiving permission, Sasuke opened the office's wooden door and walked in together with Boruto.

Boruto finally saw his grandfather alive, whom he had never seen before.

The dazzling golden hair and the gentle smile that seemed to dispel the darkness—all of this made Boruto's heart surge with excitement.

"He's so cool—way cooler than that stinky dad who's never home."

Boruto gave Minato Namikaze a thumbs-up while giving Naruto a thumbs-down.

"There really is some resemblance."

As Boruto observed Minato Namikaze, Minato Namikaze was also appraising Boruto.

Kushina had said that Boruto might be Muyue's son, and looking at him now, Minato Namikaze felt the probability wasn't small.

After all, his "son" had already time-traveled once before; this time should have nothing to do with him.

"You're the Mitsuki that Kushina mentioned, aren't you?"

Minato Namikaze broke the silence, showing a gentle smile as he looked at Boruto and asked.

"Mm-hmm."

Boruto nodded with a smile.

"I'm Suigetsu."

Before Minato Namikaze could ask, Sasuke introduced himself proactively.

"What kind of incident caused you to time-travel to our era?"

Minato Namikaze asked.

According to experience, time travel can be either active or passive.

For example, Naruto Uzumaki: the first time he was passively transported, and the second time he actively triggered the power of the Dragon Vein to travel.

Based on Boruto's behavior, Minato Namikaze tentatively concluded that they had been passively transported.

Boruto looked at Sasuke.

"It's not easy to explain. In short, a very troublesome enemy caused all this."

Sasuke said in a deep voice.

He intended to reveal the existence of Urashiki Ōtsutsuki.

There were only two of them, he and Boruto. Even if Urashiki Ōtsutsuki had traveled here, they would have a hard time finding him immediately.

Therefore, he wanted to rely on Konoha's powerful intelligence network.

Sasuke didn't want to cause too much impact on the past, but compared to Urashiki Ōtsutsuki causing destruction in the past, having the intelligence ninjas go on one extra mission would definitely be better.

"Caused by an enemy? So that enemy also traveled here?"

Minato Namikaze's expression became a bit more serious.

Boruto might be a ninja from the future, so this enemy was likely a formidable foe they would need to face in the future.

"That's right. Within the next month, he could appear in this world at any time."

"Could you introduce this enemy in detail?"

"His name is Urashiki Ōtsutsuki. He is a heinous criminal, and his strength is extremely formidable. If any ninja discovers his trail, please do not act rashly. It would be best to inform us first."

Sasuke said with a serious expression.

"Ōtsutsuki!"

Minato Namikaze's mind shook; thousands of thoughts instantly arose in his heart.

"What is the relationship between this Urashiki Ōtsutsuki and Kaguya Ōtsutsuki?"

"Is Urashiki Ōtsutsuki's strength as great as Kaguya's?"

It wasn't that Minato Namikaze was making a fuss; it was just that this surname was truly frightening.

Even Mugetsu had publicly declared that he was inferior to Kaguya Ōtsutsuki and that it was necessary to unite the power of the ninja world to deal with Kaguya Ōtsutsuki when she later broke the seal.

Just one Kaguya Ōtsutsuki required the united power of the ninja world just to possibly deal with her; adding another Ōtsutsuki of the same strength would be unthinkable.

Fortunately, Minato Namikaze was also experienced and had seen much, so despite being extremely shocked inside, his facial expression didn't change much, and Sasuke didn't notice anything.

"Suigetsu, do you mean you can handle Urashiki Ōtsutsuki?"

Minato Namikaze asked without changing his expression.

"It would be very difficult for me to defeat him, but it would also be hard for him to defeat me."

Sasuke replied.

Once his chakra recovered to its peak, even if he couldn't defeat Urashiki Ōtsutsuki, he could prevent the other from easily causing chaos.

"I see."

Minato Namikaze felt a bit more at ease.

Two possibilities. One is that Sasuke's strength is very great, already on par with the Sage of Six Paths, and the other is that this Urashiki Ōtsutsuki's strength is not as terrifying as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's.

But either possibility is good news for the ninja world.

Then Minato Namikaze asked a few more questions, and Sasuke selectively answered some of them.

"We must respect history. The cost of changing history is something no one can bear."

Sasuke shook his head and said.

If not for Boruto having already been exposed, he would choose to lie low in Konoha, minimizing contact with past ninjas as much as possible, to avoid changes in the future.

"Hmm."

Minato Namikaze did not force it and stopped at a reasonable point.

He could understand Sasuke's thinking; otherwise, Minato Namikaze would not have wanted to seal the memories of Obito and the others earlier.

"They should all be ninjas from the future, not ninjas from a parallel world."

Minato Namikaze deduced in his heart.

Because of Boruto's uncooperativeness, Kushina could not determine whether Boruto had traveled from the future or from a parallel world like Naruto Uzumaki.

After talking with Sasuke, based on Sasuke's behavior, Minato Namikaze thought it more likely that they came from the future.

Of course, Minato Namikaze could not make a direct judgment, because the case of Naruto Uzumaki proved that parallel worlds are extremely similar and misjudgment is easy.

He still needed to verify through various indirect inquiries.

"I hope I'm not interrupting?"

At that moment, Kushina opened the office door and walked into the Hokage's office.

Now Minato Namikaze had already finished work, but stayed until now because of Boruto and Sasuke, so Kushina did not knock.

"No, we just finished talking."

Minato Namikaze laughed.

"Didn't you bring Naruto?"

"I did, he's downstairs pestering someone to tell him a story."

Kushina replied.

"Dad."

Hearing his father's name, Boruto showed a curious expression.

Judging by the appearances of Minato Namikaze and Kushina, his father should currently be a small child.

Naruto always said he was disobedient and not as sensible as Naruto was when young. This time, Boruto wanted to see what Naruto was really like as a child.

"Naruto?"

Sasuke didn't notice anything at first, but after thinking carefully, his expression turned puzzled.

He remembered that Naruto was an orphan. Naruto's parents, Minato Namikaze and Kushina, should have died on the day he was born.

Even if this day was the day of Minato and Kushina's death, that would not be right.

From what Kushina said, Naruto could even speak.

"Little Mitsuki, would you like to go downstairs and see Naruto?"

Kushina said with a smile, inviting Boruto.

"Sure."

Boruto immediately agreed.

Just taking a look, surely it wouldn't have any effect.

Sasuke followed without making a sound.

They all walked to the first floor.

"Dad, Mom."

Naruto heard footsteps and turned to look, just in time to see Kushina and Minato Namikaze coming down the stairs. He dashed toward them and rushed into his family's embrace.

"Dad's so small!"

Boruto looked at Naruto, who was only three years old, and exclaimed inwardly.

"It really is Naruto..."

Sasuke suddenly had countless questions in his mind.

"Fifth Hokage-sama."

Just then, a Konoha ninja happened to pass by and greeted Minato Namikaze with a respectful expression.

"Fifth Hokage? How could he get that wrong? Shouldn't it be Fourth Hokage?"

Boruto grumbled. Even he, someone who skipped class every day, knew that Minato Namikaze was the Fourth Hokage.

Minato Namikaze and Kushina both quickly looked at Boruto.

Sasuke also had some conjectures in his mind.

"He didn't call me wrong. I am the Fifth Hokage."

Minato Namikaze shook his head and said.

This was why he had not made a hasty judgment. Information gaps could create all kinds of misunderstandings, and more communication was needed to make accurate judgments.

"But I saw only four stone statues on the Hokage Rock, didn't I?"

Boruto said with a confused look.

He had seen very clearly—there were only four stone statues on the Hokage Rock, and the last one was Minato Namikaze.

Could one of the statues have turned invisible? And if Minato Namikaze was the Fifth Hokage, then who was the Fourth?

"That's because my stone statue hasn't been repaired yet. You must have mistaken Muyue's statue for mine. Muyue is the Fourth Hokage."

Minato Namikaze explained.

Establishing a super department that could mobilize the entire ninja world was not simple. Ever since Muyue founded the Ninja World Alliance, the entire ninja world had become busy.

As one of Muyue's bases and the strongest ninja village in the ninja world, Konoha undertook important responsibilities.

Additionally, Minato Namikaze didn't care much about things like stone statues, so the construction work progressed slowly.

"What about Shimura Danzo?"

Sasuke asked with flickering eyes.