Obito: "!!!"
Young Kakashi: "!!!"
Naruto: "!!!"
Sasuke: "!!!"
Everyone hiding in the shadows froze in shock.
Even though Minato Namikaze and Adult Kakashi had sensed the masked man ahead of time, neither of them expected that after overhearing the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's due date, he would go out of his way to visit Rin Nohara's grave just to throw away the pink lilies Kakashi had offered her.
What was even more shocking—
The masked man did nothing else. He simply disappeared into the vortex of his right eye!!
He didn't even give Minato or young Kakashi the chance to rush out and engage him.
But there was no time to think.
Minato Namikaze, Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, and the others also began to fade away.
Their journey through this parallel world had come to an end.
No battles.
Only a single message delivered to the Fourth Hokage—that the masked man would appear on the night Naruto was born.
Obito was crushed with regret. Had he known things would end this way, he would've rushed out and said something to that clueless Kakashi! Told him to live well! Told him to dream, to chase that dream, to not spend his whole life trapped in a world of loneliness!!
But this kind of Space-Time Ninjutsu was never something they could control...
When they returned to their own world, time was still the night five days before the Chūnin Exams.
The others could still rest, but Adult Kakashi Hatake couldn't sleep at all...
Back then, the reason he and Minato-sensei had gone pale was because they'd sensed someone else hiding near the cemetery—someone just like them.
And the "good news" he had told Rin and Obito while completely out of it… was actually a top-secret Konoha matter—the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's delivery.
Which meant—
The question that had puzzled Minato before—how the masked man learned the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's delivery date, a secret known only to a handful—finally had an answer.
Adult Kakashi lay awake, turning over again and again. Every tick from the clock on the bedside table felt like torture.
Always quick to blame himself, always ready to shoulder responsibility, he couldn't deny what was right in front of him.
He kept replaying the moment he spoke to Rin, and the image of the masked man tossing aside the flowers at her grave!!!
Even if he hadn't meant to… wasn't the one who leaked the information him?
And judging from the masked man's behavior, the guy probably had a grudge against him.
Just like in the previous world, when Fugaku Uchiha had passed information to Minato-sensei—no one knew the exact reason, but the masked man clearly hated Konoha.
But Kakashi had made countless enemies ever since becoming a ninja. He had no way of guessing who the masked man really was.
Last night's time-travel, tonight's time-travel, and the reality of their own world, one that could no longer be changed—everything tangled together.
Obito in his final moments: "No matter what anyone says, you're the outstanding jōnin I acknowledge."
Rin in her final breath: "Ka… Kakashi…"
Minato-sensei's request: "Kakashi, I have a special mission for you. Protect Kushina and the Naruto she carries."
The Third Hokage's words: "Kakashi, I hope you can be Naruto's sensei."
Tick… tick… tick…
The night rain tapped against the window, each sound blending with the ticking clock, unbearably loud in the silence of the jōnin apartment.
Thud—
The alarm clock slammed into the wall across from his bed.
Moonlight filtered through the window, illuminating two framed photos on the sill…
One of Team Minato.
One of Team Kakashi.
Even as an adult, even as one of Konoha's finest and most exceptional shinobi, the young man sat on his bed, curled tightly into himself.
...
The next day, unsure how to face both his own teacher and his students, Kakashi arrived early at the Hokage Tower to request a solo mission from the Third Hokage—preferably one that would let him leave Konohagakure for a while.
The old man took a drag from his pipe, didn't ask why, and happened to have a suitable mission ready.
"Jiraiya has been traveling for years. Have him come back to see Minato and Naruto," the Third said. "I was planning to send someone at random to call him home, but since you're free, you can go."
"Yes, thank you."
As Kakashi turned to leave, Iruka Umino arrived with some documents, brushing past him.
Catching sight of the five-day mission scroll in Kakashi's hand, Iruka blurted out on instinct:
"Are you sure you're taking a mission now?! The Chūnin Exams are about to start! Not just Konoha—strong ninja from other villages will be coming too! This is Naruto and the others' first time participating! Aren't you going to give them a final round of intensive training to improve their chances and keep them safe?!"
Though Iruka normally refrained from criticizing someone with Kakashi Hatake's reputation as an elite jōnin, when it came to Naruto, he always worried too much. As someone who saw himself as that poor child's older brother or even parent, he feared Kakashi would focus more on the gifted Sasuke.
They were all his students. Iruka refused to hand them over only to see them treated unequally.
His tone ended up harsher than intended.
And just yesterday, the two of them had argued over whether the three kids should even be allowed to join the Chūnin Exams. Kakashi Hatake had been clearly unhappy, using his jōnin authority as pressure: "Listen well! They're my subordinates now—not your students!"
The Third took another drag, preparing to stop them.
But unexpectedly, Kakashi was nothing like his stern self from yesterday. He looked drained, slumped, almost bleak… even carrying a faint air of wounded grievance.
"Then I'll trouble you to look after them for a while."
Head lowered, the silver-haired masked ninja said this and walked off without giving Iruka a chance to respond.
Iruka Umino was left speechless, unsure whether he should be angry or apologetic.
"In that case," the Third Hokage said, "Iruka, keep an eye on Naruto and the others. Especially the written test of the first exam. For Naruto, that might be more dangerous than the next two stages."
"..."
Iruka accepted the assignment nervously.
Arriving early at the meeting point, he was surprised to find Naruto already there.
Seeing Iruka-sensei, Naruto thought it was a coincidence and greeted him happily.
But when he learned that Iruka-sensei would be teaching them for the next five days, Naruto immediately panicked.
Not for any complicated reason—he'd simply forgotten to mention something very important yesterday. His mission scroll had somehow generated an S-rank mission!!
Up until now, the highest-level mission they'd completed was A-rank. They'd always made a fuss about wanting the Hokage to give them an S-rank mission, but actually receiving one had Naruto feeling very overwhelmed.
He'd gotten up early just to talk to Kakashi-sensei about it. And Kakashi still wasn't here.
Seeing Naruto's disappointed expression, Iruka snapped, "You brat!" His temper flared up on the spot.
This kid hadn't even made a name for himself yet, and he was already forgetting his Academy teacher!
Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno soon arrived. Seeing Naruto already there with Iruka Umino waiting nearby, they both paused in surprise.
Sakura: "Don't tell me Kakashi-sensei is still upset about yesterday…"
Unlike the oblivious Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke both suspected Kakashi was taking all the blame on himself.
"Yesterday's what?" Naruto asked, just as confused as Iruka.
After thinking for a bit, he guessed it was because the masked man had thrown away the flowers he'd meant to give Rin.
Sasuke nearly wanted to crack open his skull to figure out whether this unpredictable guy was a genius or an idiot. Sometimes Naruto noticed things even Sasuke hadn't considered, yet other times he failed to grasp the most basic points.
Mentioning "problems" made Naruto go pale. He grabbed Sasuke and blurted out that he'd taken an S-rank mission!
Sasuke: "!!"
He knew Naruto meant the mission scroll.
But this matter…
They weren't sure if they could tell Iruka.
Iruka, for his part, assumed the S-rank business was just kids fooling around. But since they didn't want to talk about it, he wouldn't pry as long as they weren't doing anything dangerous.
"Good morning."
Minato Namikaze approached them in full ANBU gear.
"Da—" Naruto almost called him Dad but held back because Iruka was standing beside him.
Minato had long since gotten used to the strange situation: being twenty-one years old yet first being called "brother" by twelve-year-old Naruto, then later "Dad."
This time, the masked ANBU wasn't alone.
Behind him stood Kakashi Hatake, Rin Nohara, and Obito Uchiha—each looking about Naruto's age.
Incidentally, Minato had never suspected Kakashi of leaking Kushina's due date. But during this time-travel journey, he discovered something crucial: the masked man was probably still growing.
During the Nine-Tails attack, he had only thought the masked man seemed shorter than expected—maybe naturally small like Karatachi Yagura. But the recent journey revealed that when he appeared in the parallel world a short while earlier, the masked man looked even younger than he had during the Nine-Tails incident.
Subtle, but clear enough for a ninja's eyes and deductive skill.
Minato Namikaze even concluded that the masked boy might be at the age when males hit their fastest growth spurt.
Meanwhile, Iruka still didn't recognize Rin Nohara or Obito Uchiha, but the silver-haired masked youth among them looked very familiar.
And with the entire village buzzing about Kakashi supposedly hiding a secret lover in the old Hatake estate…
Iruka Umino couldn't suppress his curiosity. He looked at the silver-haired masked youth and asked...
"This… this isn't Kakashi-san's… right?"
Minato was just about to nod—he'd never intended to hide it—when Iruka added,
"...son, isn't he?"
Pffft—
Obito Uchiha burst out laughing and was immediately punched by Young Kakashi.
The sharp-tongued Young Kakashi wasted no time mocking Iruka for having something wrong with his head.
Minato removed his ANBU mask and explained that he was the Fourth Hokage of their world.
Iruka went completely still.
It felt like just recently he'd poured out Naruto's hardships to this "ANBU who'd been away from the village for years," mixing in his own distress and a bit of anger. He'd just been venting and hoping someone else would acknowledge Naruto's effort.
Who could've guessed that the person he'd been confiding in was actually the kid's parent—and that he'd been coaxed into spilling absolutely everything…
Iruka truly didn't know what to say anymore.
He wasn't even sure whether Naruto and this young Fourth Hokage had acknowledged each other yet.
Minato avoided the topic entirely and instead asked Naruto about his mission scroll.
Feeling that this wasn't something he should overhear, Iruka offered to stand by from a distance.
Minato didn't stop him and simply nodded with a smile.
"How'd you know I got a new mission?" Naruto asked, eyeing this father who somehow looked younger than Iruka-sensei.
Minato said, "These past few days, I've been studying the scrolls. I still can't break the seals further in, but I can sense the slight space-time fluctuations that appear whenever a new mission unlocks."
He continued, "Also, when we compared everything so far, we found that your scroll and Obito's are almost matched pairs."
"Matched pairs?"
"Except for that SSS-rank mission where the two of you had opposing objectives, the rest tend to appear around the same time. So when Obito's scroll registered a new mission, I wondered if yours might have done the same," Minato explained.
Naruto took out his mission scroll and handed it to Minato.
"It's an S-rank mission," Naruto said. "I have to lead at least seventy examinees through the first stage of the Chūnin Exams."
"......"
Sasuke and Sakura both stiffened.
Naruto, who was always scraping the bottom of the rankings, could barely get through the exam himself—and now he was supposed to lead seventy examinees to pass?
Yeah, right.
This mission might actually be harder than the SSS-rank one.
Sasuke snorted and looked at Obito Uchiha. "And you? What rank is yours?"
"Still A-rank......"
Obito glanced nervously at Sasuke. Apparently, his mission might have something to do with him?!
...
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