Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 108 Preparation Time for Both Sides

In the dead of night, two figures sneaked out of the old-fashioned apartment building and only stopped when they plunged into the dense forest near the Uchiha compound.

"That's enough."

Sasuke called for a stop, and Boruto obediently stopped as well, pulling a pink turtle huddled in its shell from his pocket.

"Mr. Sasuke, it's like this, completely unresponsive." Boruto shook the turtle up and down several times, but it still didn't react at all.

“According to what this turtle said before, its time travel requires a lot of chakra, so the way to awaken it should also be by inputting chakra.” Sasuke took the turtle from Boruto. “However, we don’t know when Urashiki will arrive, so we must reserve the power to deal with unexpected situations.”

"I will inject half of my own chakra into it and see if I can awaken it."

The turtle doesn't reject any type of chakra, but although the two of them possessed far more chakra than ordinary ninjas, they still couldn't match the level of a tailed beast. They struggled for a long time, but couldn't get the turtle to stick its head out.

Naruto was casually leaning against the window, gazing into the distance in the night. He had a clear view of Sasuke and Boruto's hard work. He couldn't help but chuckle; thankfully, no one else was home.

What does it mean to have seen someone from the future?

[Literal meaning.]

"...Unbelievable...Is this something a human could do?"

They used a magical artifact from outer space.

[Alien?! Noble Phantasm??]

Even though they were miles apart, Naruto could guess that Tobirama on the other end of the communication was bursting with curiosity and planning to drop everything to see what was going on.

In my perception, their forms were shrouded in some kind of ripple. I'm familiar with spatial fluctuations; as for the other, it's most likely a fluctuation in time. After contacting us, the stable ripples suddenly shifted. While it wasn't enough to directly drag them into the rift, there was still that risk.

"…Time travel does indeed have many limitations. Is it someone you know who has come? You don't want them to be in danger."

It's Sasuke who's here.

"Oh—I see. I'm not that clueless."

"...Don't you even ask them why they came?"

"But you can handle anything related to Uchiha Sasuke, can't you? Why should I bother? After they leave, send me the data you've collected."

What data?

Never mind, never mind.

Naruto and Tobirama tacitly remained silent about the future visit. After all, Naruto had already observed the abnormality of the ripples. If they were to actually lead someone into the chaotic and disordered rifts, not only would the Uchiha gang go crazy, but Naruto would certainly be no less so. It was better to avoid trouble.

Naruto was actually quite curious about the fluctuations emanating from Sasuke and Boruto. Such a stable fluctuation in spacetime at the same point was unprecedented, so he couldn't help but take a second look, wondering how the anomalies within the ripples had appeared. They hadn't reacted at all while so many people had passed by on the street, so why did they suddenly become responsive as soon as he approached them?

Does anomaly only occur when they interact with the world?

Just to be on the safe side, Naruto canceled his plans to go out tomorrow and instead decided to go to the training ground to conduct an experiment.

Destroying objects should also count as establishing a connection, right? He needs to figure out the threshold for anomalies, ensure their safety, and then consider other things. As for whether Urashiki will appear in this world, he thinks he will, because the ripples on that turtle's body are exactly the same as Sasuke and Boruto's, and Urashiki, who has followed the same path as them, will definitely appear.

We've fought many Otsutsuki before. This one's ability seems to be a brief reversal of time? It's troublesome, but not too much of a problem. It's time to let these guys, who think they can just run wild because of their strong bodies, experience the fear of death. Even an Otsutsuki would die if their head were cut off.

The next morning, Naruto knocked on the door next door, pretended not to know anything about Sasuke's unauthorized actions, and then invited Boruto to have breakfast at his place.

Breakfast was ramen, his favorite food. But it wasn't the instant kind; he cooked it himself. Boruto was shocked for the second time that his father could cook when he was a child, and then, finding the flavor too bland, he adjusted it himself.

Naruto stared at the bowl of bright red noodle soup, feeling a slight chill run down his spine. This incredibly stimulating flavor was definitely not for an "old man" like him. But because of Boruto's expectant gaze, he ate it anyway, then gulped down two bottles of milk before recovering.

If he were twenty or thirty years younger, he might have liked this flavor...

"I'm planning to go to the training grounds today, what about you?" Naruto didn't forget his plans for the day, even after being struck by the hobbies of the young people.

This decision didn't quite meet Boruto's expectations. He muttered to himself, "Honestly, I wanted to see my mom and uncles and aunts when they were little."

"What are you saying?" Naruto clearly heard it, but he ignored it.

Is this something you can just say casually, kid? You're playing the role of a street performer in this era!

"I was actually quite curious about how ninjas are trained! Let's go together!" Boruto quickly changed his tune and tried to get away with a silly grin.

"Tsk, he must be your son, he looks so much like him." Kurama couldn't resist making a sarcastic remark after seeing the same silly grin. Every time Naruto smiled like that, it meant he was trying to hide something.

"That's another version of me from another world." Naruto's attitude didn't soften because of Boruto's arrival. He clearly remembered how much suffering the world had brought to this child. If becoming his child meant enduring pain, then perhaps...

"I almost forgot, there's another hidden danger with Boruto. If we have enough time, perhaps we can try to resolve it."

Any hidden danger that could make Naruto frown must be something serious. Kurama sat up straight and asked, "What kind of hidden danger?"

"Momoshiki Otsutsuki, before he died, placed the 'Karma' seal used for resurrection on Boruto. This state is similar to soul possession? At the same time, he completely compressed his own data into the Karma seal. As the Karma seal slowly releases, it will change the possessed person's physique, transforming him into Momoshiki's former appearance, thus fully resurrecting him. If I activate my senses to the maximum, I can indeed see a shadow on him."

Nine-Lama's hair stood on end, and he shuddered at the thought. "What kind of bizarre ability is this? Not content with just possessing another body, it wants to completely transform one person into another?"

Naruto's eyes suddenly lit up. "Wait, didn't Orochimaru change bodies? But it's said that he has to materialize and spit out his original body every time he reincarnates, which is a weird and creepy sight... Moreover, his strength after possessing a body is unstable and depends entirely on the compatibility between the vessel and himself, so it can't be used as a reference."

"Momoshiki Otsutsuki's power can still be used in the future, but his will will never help our world. If only we could separate him from Karma. Indeed, techniques that can be manipulated directly at the soul level are extremely rare."

“Speaking of possession, there does seem to be such a thing.” Kurama racked his brains and said, “That was hundreds of years ago. An arrogant human transformed his soul into a spirit and poured it into my body, trying to possess a tailed beast. Of course, he was swallowed whole by me.”

...Um, isn't that a bit too bold...?

"Do you still remember how that spell was cast?"

"Hmm... Don't rush me, I'm thinking about it!"