Fractured

Meeting

Code's movement seemed pretty consistent, Sasuke observed. After tailing him for several minutes, he didn't seem to be showing signs of changing direction or heading toward the village. Good. Sort of.

There was still the issue of who Code was pursuing, which was possibly more of an issue than Code attempting to infiltrate the village. He wished now more than ever that he had his Rinnegan so he could transport Code to a different time-space and deal with him there away from the village and away from his targets. But it was pointless to dwell on something that couldn't happen.

Sasuke could see Code move his hand towards his face again, but from behind Sasuke was unable to tell what Code was saying. Code's accomplice was still an issue, too. Sasuke's lips downturned slightly as he planted his foot into a limb and launched through the air. The edge of his cloak caught on a twig and pulled, ripping the edge slightly. No matter.

Just then, Sasuke caught sight of another chakra signature on the far edges of his periphery. It was there for but a moment and then vanished. Sasuke's brow furrowed. Odd. The signature had been so far on the edges of his vision and appeared so briefly that he didn't get a read on who it was. Either way, Sasuke had never witnessed a chakra signature appear and disappear like that except when observing those entering or exiting space-time jutsu.

The only people capable of using space-time jutsu, or their equivalent—like with Code's claw marks—were himself, those of the Otsutsuki clan, Kawaki, Boruto, and Code. He had eyes on Code, and all Otsutsuki were currently dead or dormant. Kawaki had lost his Karma. That left Boruto as the only possibility for space-time travel.

Dammit.

Is that how he had gotten out? Perhaps he left a clone at home and transported outside of the village, bypassing the village sensory net. As far as he knew, though, Boruto had an almost non-existent grasp on the space-time capabilities of his Karma. He had only used it a couple of times without direct aid from Kawaki. The first time he had used it by himself was a fluke when desperately trying to drag Isshiki away from the village. The second time Kawaki had basically forced Boruto into opening another portal home by yelling at him. Surely the sensory unit would have said something if Boruto were practicing space-time jutsu in his spare time. Sasuke couldn't sense spacial disturbances after losing his Rinnegan, but Boruto would have had to be pretty stealthy to practice something like without anyone noticing.

Up ahead, Code stopped moving. Sasuke came to a halt and ducked behind a tree, peaking from behind to observe. Code didn't turn fully around, but he spoke into his hand briefly before putting his hand to his ear. He stood there for a few moments before continuing west. If Code had been communicating via radio, at least Sasuke could pick up on the conversation, but Code's ability made that next to impossible.

Sasuke emerged from his hiding spot soon after and continued his pursuit. Code must not have any sensory abilities of his own if he hadn't picked up on Sasuke's tail. That much, at least, Sasuke had to his advantage. Code spoke into his hand again then placed his hand on his ear. Shortly after, Code switched trajectories and began traveling in a northwestern direction instead. Sasuke came to a stop. If Code had changed course after speaking to his accomplice, what information was the accomplice providing that influenced Code's direction? Sasuke already assumed the accomplice was a sensory type, considering they had sent Code after some specific target. But they hadn't informed Code of Sasuke's tail, at the very least. Or perhaps they were aware of Sasuke and they were purposefully leading him away from the village. Sasuke tried to piece these bits of information together, but he was unable to determine what kind of sensory abilities the accomplice might have. It was too inconsistent. Sasuke couldn't help but think, once again, of how troublesome this whole scenario was.