"Those two guests from the future… are preparing to head back."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow slightly, a trace of understanding flashing through his eyes.
"So the charging is finally complete…"
He murmured to himself and stepped forward, following behind Tsunade.
A few minutes later, in the top-secret underground medical room.
As the heavy iron door slowly swung open, the atmosphere inside felt subtly tense.
Beside the hospital bed, adult Sasuke had already removed his hospital gown and changed into a clean gray robe. The Kusanagi Sword once again hung at his waist. Though his face still carried the faint pallor of someone recovering from severe injuries, the depth and sharpness had fully returned to his gaze.
Boruto stood nearby, excitement written all over his face as he held an ancient treasure shaped like a turtle in his arms—Karasuki, the Ōtsutsuki Clan's time-traveling tool.
When Tsunade and Kakashi entered, adult Sasuke gave a slight nod in greeting.
"It seems you've recovered well."
Tsunade's eyes swept over Sasuke before settling on the turtle-like artifact in Boruto's hands, which was emitting a faint fluorescent glow.
"That thing you call 'Karasuki'… has it absorbed enough energy?" she asked in a low voice.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Adult Sasuke answered calmly. His gaze lingered on Kakashi for a brief moment before returning to Tsunade.
"Thank you for your care and protection over these past few days. Now that Ōtsutsuki Urashiki has been dealt with and Karasuki has resumed operation, it's time for us to leave this era and return to the future where we belong."
With that, adult Sasuke bowed solemnly to Tsunade, his tone filled with sincere gratitude.
"Lady Tsunade, your medical ninjutsu saved my life. I will never forget this kindness. Although Konoha in this era will still face many hardships, with you here—and with Kakashi—I believe every challenge can be overcome."
Boruto leaned forward as well, scratching the back of his head as he spoke with a mix of excitement and reluctance.
"Yeah! Thank you, Fifth Hokage-sama!
And Uncle Kakashi, you were seriously awesome when you sent that alien flying! When I get back, I'll— I'll definitely remember this adventure forever!"
Seeing the two of them, a rare softness flickered across Tsunade's usually stern expression, though it was quickly masked by her authority as Hokage.
She snorted lightly and waved her hand.
"That's enough sentimentality. Since you still have an Ōtsutsuki crisis waiting for you in the future, hurry back to your own era. Don't waste Konoha's medical resources."
Kakashi waved casually.
"Safe travels, then. Though after a fight like that, I hope your 'little turtle' hasn't broken down."
"Don't worry, Uncle Kakashi! Karasuki's super reliable!"
Boruto thumped his chest confidently.
He placed Karasuki on the ground, took a deep breath, formed hand seals, and slowly poured chakra into the ancient artifact.
A soft blue glow spread across Karasuki's surface. The turtle's head slowly extended, and a mechanical voice echoed through the room.
"Charging complete. Preparing to initiate space-time jump sequence. Locking onto original space-time coordinates…"
Hearing this, both Boruto and adult Sasuke let out sighs of relief.
But in the very next second—
"Beep—! Warning! Warning!"
The gentle blue light abruptly began to flicker violently, transforming into an intensely piercing red glow.
"Detected extreme unknown deviation in the historical trajectory of the current space-time.
Space-time causality has produced massive turbulence.
Unable to locate original space-time coordinates."
"Eh?! What's going on?!"
Boruto froze, his confidence collapsing instantly as he crouched down and frantically patted the turtle.
"Hey, Karasuki! Are you broken or something?!"
"All functions are operating normally," Karasuki replied, its voice tinged with almost human helplessness.
"However, due to changes in this space-time, recalculating and retrieving the correct coordinates will require additional time. Until then, the space-time jump function will remain forcibly locked."
As the words ended, the red light faded completely, and Karasuki returned to looking like an ordinary, lifeless object.
A suffocating silence filled the medical room.
Adult Sasuke suddenly lifted his head, his gaze locking firmly onto Kakashi standing off to the side.
He understood all too well what this so-called "variable" was.
It wasn't merely the death of Ōtsutsuki Urashiki—it was this silver-haired man who had completely diverged from the original course of history.
"It seems you're stranded in this era."
Tsunade broke the silence, rubbing her brow. Though she wasn't well-versed in space-time ninjutsu, the situation was obvious enough.
"Since you can't leave, you'll have to stay here for the time being."
Regaining her decisiveness as Hokage, Tsunade quickly issued orders.
"I'll arrange a secret residence for you in a secluded area of the village. However, to avoid unnecessary trouble, from now on, whenever you step outside, you must use Transformation Jutsu to completely change your appearance. Under no circumstances can you reveal your true faces."
"Understood. Thank you for taking us in, Hokage-sama."
Adult Sasuke lowered his head slightly.
Tsunade nodded and was about to leave when Sasuke suddenly spoke again.
"Hokage-sama."
His voice was low, as if he had just made an extremely difficult decision.
"I want to… leave Konoha for a while. There's someone I need to see."
Tsunade's steps came to an abrupt halt.
Leaning against the wall, Kakashi's eye curved slightly, a look of understanding flashing through his gaze.
Someone to see… At this point in time, the only person future Sasuke would risk everything to see is probably the man who carried all the darkness—Uchiha Itachi.
Kakashi thought silently.
Tsunade turned around, her brows knitting tightly as she stared sharply at Sasuke.
"Leave the village to see someone?
Didn't you just warn us about changing history and the Butterfly Effect? And now that it's your turn, you're not afraid anymore?"
Faced with Tsunade's relentless questioning, Sasuke fell silent.
Under the shadow of his bangs, complex emotions churned in his eyes—pain, longing, and a faint trace of hope.
Since history in this space-time had already been altered beyond recognition by Kakashi… and since history itself might possess the ability to self-correct… then perhaps, just this once, he could be selfish and see that man—even if only from afar.
"…I'll be careful."
After a long pause, Sasuke exhaled slowly, offering an assurance that barely counted as one.
"I only want to confirm something. I won't interfere with his actions, and I won't reveal my identity."
Seeing the resolve in Sasuke's eyes, Tsunade let out a cold snort and ultimately didn't stop him.
"Do as you like. Just don't cause trouble for Konoha. Remember—your existence right now is Konoha's highest-level secret."
"Since Sasuke is heading out for a while…"
Kakashi spoke up at just the right moment. He walked over to Boruto, placed a hand on the blond boy's head, and ruffled his hair.
"Then this kid can stick with me. Team 7 has just started taking on regular missions anyway. Let him experience what real ninja missions were like in our era—so he doesn't spend all day running around causing chaos."
"Eh?!"
Boruto, who had been feeling dejected over being unable to return to the future, instantly lit up. He shouted excitedly,
"Really, Uncle Kakashi?! I get to go on missions with my dad?!"