Kakashi clenches his fists, his entire body drawn taut.
There's more going on here than just keeping watch over a potential enemy, and they need to find out what it is. But getting information from this crazed, ghostly man is like trying to walk through an abstract painting.
Kakashi has all manner of experience getting people to talk. Interrogation techniques are basic training for jōnin and required for all ANBU. However, in this case, they would likely all be useless. Jikken is someone that has been tortured before; more than that, his entire existence was based on sheer horror from what Kakashi understands. He can likely hold out for hours without revealing a thing. They don't have hours.
Of course, the other option is trying to puzzle out the information they want on their own and using what they know of Jikken to discover how close they are to the truth.
Kakashi reflects on his allies at the moment: himself, two prodigies and two knuckleheads that always manage to stumble on the right answer somehow.
Well, if figuring it out ourselves doesn't work, there's no choice but to resort to more intense interrogation techniques...
"Staying here doing nothing isn't an option, so we need to get to the bottom of the time phenomena," Kakashi announces.
"What do you think we've been trying to do?" Sasuke grumbles.
"Not like this. Now it counts," Kakashi says. "Here's what we know: the time bubble is covering an area of at least three kilometres at last check, and growing. Something's causing it, but we don't know what and he's not going to tell us. Probably the 'goddess' he was talking about. Likely another experiment. Maybe even one with a curse seal, that did something to her abilities the way Mumyōi's made him stronger."
"Obviously all of this is related to his assassination plans," Konohamaru adds.
"And he doesn't necessarily have to be there—wherever there is—for it to keep happening. Again, probably the 'goddess'."
"And maybe she's something that can be stopped," Sasuke adds, "because he said the...goddess, or whatever she is, says we have to be here. Maybe her ability is something we can interfere with?"
His eyes flit to Jikken who is observing them all calmly, while Boruto's shadow clones continue to bracket him on all sides. Without a formal order to stand down, the teleporter is still their prisoner.
Even if, at the moment, that doesn't feel like the case.
"So, the longer we're here, the better for him?" Naruto ponders, obviously trying to keep up with the deductions his friends are exchanging.
"All of us?" Boruto asks.
Everyone stares at him.
"What do you mean?" Konohamaru asks.
"Well, he doesn't seem to really care about people he has no use for," Boruto explains, glowering at Jikken, who is smiling now, almost as if this whole thing is entertaining. "He took Mitsuki for his plans, but he left you and me lying unconscious in a lab."
"If he really wanted us out of the way permanently he would have killed us or locked us in a cell or something, not tied us up with a rope," Konohamaru says, rubbing his chin in thought. "In fact—I think he forgot about us completely."
"You are immaterial," Jikken agrees conversationally.
"We were always going to escape, but he didn't care," Boruto continues. "And it's the same with Sarada. If she was a real threat to him, he would have made sure she was dead when he threw her off that cliff. It's like we're all just afterthoughts. But he just said he wants us here."
"But not all of us," Naruto suddenly understands. "He was talking to us. Me, Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei."
"Oh, listen to him, the loudmouth may have brains after all," the pale man whispers loudly to his ever-invisible inner audience.
"But why?" Naruto demands angrily. "Why do you care about us? We've never seen you before this."
"The door can't be opened properly. A strong wind blows it closed. There needs to be a stopper," Jikken tells him. "Something inconsistent, a tear in time, something out of place to keep it out of place."
Kakashi mentally parses that and offers, "A paradox."
"A paradox," Jikken sighs in delight. "He can't sustain it long enough to throw the line and the bait. Something must be taken out of place—someone. But the others weren't enough. Not important. Fleeting. Like goldfish. Never the right ones. But you—"
His cold eyes settle on Kakashi and his students hungrily.
"You three, and the girl. Together, the wind sang. The door is open and there's no closing it."
"Because they're important," Konohamaru gasps, gaping at Kakashi in horrified realisation. "You four are important, in ways we can't completely tell you, but...but it's enough that if you disappeared all those years ago, everything would change."
"Not just change," Boruto says, his own face looking horrified. "Dad and Mom told me stories. If you guys get stuck here, the whole world might unravel."
Neither Sasuke nor Naruto know what to make of this, and even Kakashi is staggered by the absolute certainty in the younger Uzumaki's voice. Jikken is gentle rocking himself back and forth now, as if swaying to a beat only he can hear.
"And you walked straight into my web, little flies. With every second, the wind is stronger— the paradox larger—"
"And that's why you have no need to try to escape," Kakashi concludes flatly.
"Because you're going to let me go," Jikken agrees, clapping his hands together once in delight. "Oh, it's a dilemma I see. Can't kill him, he might be the only one who can stop the wind, yes? Might speak to his goddess, you think. But can't watch him. You have to run. Run, run, run. Far away. Seek the little girl, if she isn't already dead. Run for your lives and hope, even if it's too late."
And now the sound he makes his nowhere near the whimpering, whimsical giggle from before. The laughter that wracks his body brings tears to his eyes and looks physically painful.
As Jikken's mirth washes over them, the Konoha shinobi aren't completely sure how to react.
Kakashi watches Konohamaru, whose grim expression probably reflects his own as both the jōnin try to plot out their next move.
The irony of the situation is not lost on him, however unappealing it is. Kakashi's earlier attempts to keep Sarada from speaking of any future-changing information were utterly in vain. The danger to the timeline is not Team 7 learning anything that will personally affect their future lives, but their mere presence within the time bubble itself.
Team 7 is sustaining the paradox, and as Jikken pointed out, there's nothing they can do about it from in here.
The longer we stay here, the more likely it is reality will rip itself apart.
Kakashi's immediate choices are limited. Stopping Jikken permanently could potentially make things worse, if he is the only one with enough knowledge or clout to end the temporal phenomenon. Trying to watch over him here, in a ward he will likely eventually escape if he gets one lucky break, is a race against time itself. Shadow clones are not a deterrent forever, even if Naruto and Boruto switch off to conserve chakra.
Letting the crazed man go brings up another dilemma.
Either pursue him wherever he intends to enact his final plans and try to stop him, thereby keeping the paradox alive and constantly getting stronger, or make a run for it. Find Sakura, wherever she is, and get back to Konoha.
Assuming the time distortion hasn't made it that far already.
All of which leaves the problem of Jikken and his machinations on the conscious of the next generation. Konohamaru may be a jōnin, and Boruto a genius, but it's more uncertainty than Kakashi is comfortable with.
And yet...
"Boruto," Kakashi says, the words tasting bitter on his tongue, "stand down."
"What?" the blond boy demands, and his voice echoes in stereo with Naruto.
"Kakashi-sensei, you can't be serious!" his student gasps. "You can't just let this guy go, he's a nutjob!"
"Yes. But it doesn't change the fact he's right. We have to let him go."
"This isn't a good idea," Konohamaru says, but there's a resigned note there; he's come to the same conclusion as Kakashi even as he tries to argue against it. "Letting him go means opening us up to attack. He might teleport away, and then come after us again at any point. For that matter, if there is a paradox being caused by you being here, imagine what would happen if he killed you."
"All it would take is one person," Boruto says with a scowl. "And right now, Aunt Sakura's enough of a question mark as it is."
"Normally, I'd agree," Kakashi says, tilting his head back to Jikken before addressing him, "but you don't really have the energy for it, do you? It's not just our role in the paradox that has kept you from escaping, it's that right now, you don't have enough chakra. It's one thing to blindside the unexpecting—even a jōnin, if they're unfamiliar with your techniques. But when there are two, who have seen you in action and one of them has a Sharingan? That will be harder." He narrows his eyes. "You could fight us, right now, but we're more than a match for you. Your odds aren't good, and you know it."
"I might still kill one of you," Jikken volunteers conversationally. "That would be enough to sustain the paradox."
"Even if you did, we'd come after you," Naruto declares. "You hurt one of my comrades and I'll kill you."
"And if you die," Sasuke says quietly, taking a step forward, "then you wouldn't get your revenge. Which I think you want more than anything right now. Even trying to take one of us out."
"You wouldn't be able to stop us from dealing with your goddess when we go after her, either," Boruto adds.
"You can't harm her! She's invincible!" the pale man snaps.
"So is this Orochimaru guy, but you've come up with a way around that, haven't you?"
Jikken's face twitches angrily at the name, but for a wonder, he does nothing more than clench his fists tightly.
"Looks like it isn't just us that need to make a decision," Kakashi remarks with false lightness in his words.
Again, tense silence fills the ruined cavern, as each party waits to see what the enemy will decide.
Eventually, Jikken lowers his head.
"Mutually assured destruction," the pale man mutters. "It doesn't matter. Even if they leave now, there is no chance to escape before the goddess opens the door. The terms of truce are accepted."
"If I see you even twitch at any of my people, your life is forfeit," Kakashi warns him. Jikken nods once in acceptance. It's as good as their going to get. "Alright. Let him go."
He nods at Boruto, who dispels his jutsu. His clones stand down, and with slow, careful steps Jikken moves out of the warded circle. He is always careful to keep his eyes on the Konoha shinobi, while they in turn close ranks to ensure no one leave their backs vulnerable.
They might have just agreed on a wary truce, but to suggest they trust him is going too far.
With a final frustrated, hateful look, he disappears.
"Let's move," Kakashi orders almost immediately, indicating for everyone to head for the only remaining tunnel out of the cavern. "I think it will be more difficult to find his way back to us if he doesn't know where we are."
"Which wouldn't be a problem if you hadn't let him go," Naruto grumbles.
"That isn't the problem right now."
"What the hell are you talking about? We don't even know where he went!"
"I know where he went."
"Wait—what?"
"Remember what I said earlier? I told you I left a chakra trace on him. Those a permanent. I know exactly where he's going."
"Wah! Then why the hell didn't you say so earlier?!"
"Because revealing your plans to the enemy is stupid?" Sasuke suggests. "Did you pay attention in any class at the Academy?"
"Not everything in life is about what you learn at the Academy, asshole."
"This was."
"All this still doesn't leave us with a definite location," Konohamaru protests. "Maybe he already knows about the trace. Or maybe he might figure it out and lead you in a different direction completely from where you want to go."
"Maybe not me," Kakashi corrects, giving the younger (older) man a significant look.
"Meaning?" Boruto prompts.
"Meaning it's not Kakashi who's going to track this guy down," Konohamaru says. "It's going to be my team. And you guys are going to head back to where you came from. Or rather, when you came from."
Naruto's face turns red with anger. "Are you kidding me? That's the stupidest plan ever!"
"It's logical," Sasuke allows, although his frown suggests he isn't any more pleased with the notion than Naruto is. "Once we get out of these tunnels and get our bearings, Kakashi can figure out where Jikken went. Then we split up. You guys take him out, we get out of this time bubble."
"Even allowing for unknown factors, it's probably the best option," Boruto concedes.
"It's still completely stupid! You're just two people!" Naruto cries.
"Mitsuki's already there. Once we save him, I bet he'll want to kick this guy's ass for whatever he's got planned!"
"If he hasn't been turned into body parts!" Naruto rages. "And what about Sarada! You still have to find out where she is!"
"Mitsuki is fine! He has to be, and Sarada...she's...I bet she's with Aunt Sakura," Boruto says, though his uncertainty is evident.
"And Konohamaru? He's been poisoned and looking worse every second."
"Thanks, Boss," the jōnin says dryly.
"Well...well it's what we've got!" Boruto snaps. "And who knows, maybe Dad and Uncle Sasuke are already on their way here! Maybe they'll beat us there!"
"It's still a huge risk!"
"And it's part of the job not to make decisions based on personal feelings," Sasuke interjects.
"Are you seriously going along with this?" Naruto demands, rounding on his teammate.
"We both know Sakura. And I assume it's the same for Sarada," the Uchiha boy says with forced neutrality. "If they heard us arguing about letting the world get destroyed or going after them, what do you think they'd say?"
"Sarada would punch me," Boruto mumbles.
Naruto is still unimpressed. "It still boils down to us leaving behind our comrades, something I swore I'd never do!"
The unrelenting expressions on both Naruto and Sasuke's face make Kakashi's heart ache; this is the exact same argument he had with Obito the day his friend died. He's always seen the parallels between himself and Sasuke, but watching it unfold once more is not just eerie—it's painful.
But Sasuke, instead of maintaining his aloof façade, suddenly snaps.
"It's not just comrades I'm leaving behind!" he snarls. "They're going to be my family, and if we don't save everything else, then there's no point! If I'm the powerful shinobi that everyone says I will be in the future, then I know that my future self is also probably on the way to stop whatever's going on right now. Especially if that damned toad brat got through. And if I'm on my way, you're probably stumbling along after me, ten times as annoying as usual and bitching about your idiot kid being in trouble!"
"Watch who you're calling "idiot"!" Boruto snaps.
"So yes," Sasuke says, calming a little, "I say we find Sakura and get the hell out of here, so that these morons can go save the world and trust that our future selves will find Sarada! Because she's not dead!"
"How is it he can feel confidence in us yet insult us in the same breath?" Konohamaru complains.
Naruto, however, simply pouts and crosses his arms. His anger dissipates as quickly as it built.
"I wouldn't be stumbling..." he mumbles, sulking a little.
But he gives in.
Kakashi's apprehension lessens, replaced with pleasant surprise. It's very rare that Naruto gives in so easily, but then it's also rare for Sasuke to speak so passionately about something. Both boys obviously recognize the seriousness of their predicament, if they can put their personal foibles aside in the heat of the moment.
Especially over so unpleasant a matter.
This decision goes against what Kakashi himself believes—a hard won lesson—but Sasuke is right. If Sakura knew they were even discussing this, she would never forgive them. And from what he's learned of Sarada in her short time with them, she would be just as insistent.
Neither girl wants to be a burden or hold their teammates back, and a decision to sacrifice everything else for their well-being would be just that.
The Konoha shinobi all consider each other, as if trying to make sure that everyone is on the same page; it's a decision that has to be unanimous, despite the general reluctance. It's a hard decision to discuss sacrificing a teammate – possibly two, if they don't act swiftly.
"Alright," Kakashi says. "Let's get out of these tunnels and get to work."
"How exactly are we supposed to do that?" Boruto wants to know. "You guys have been trying for ages, and Konohamaru-sensei and I couldn't find a way out."
"We'll just have to fast-track the search," Naruto says, resigned and still not entirely in agreement with their plan. Still, he forms the hand signs for his multi shadow clone jutsu. "I can search ahead of us while we walk. And if there is no exit, well, we'll just have to make one!"
There's a puff of smoke and then the cavern is filled with dozens upon dozens of Naruto's doppelgangers.
It's not the first time Kakashi has seen Naruto create an army of himself, but it never fails to impress. Sasuke on the other hand—
"You couldn't do this before?" he mutters as several of the clones charge ahead into the tunnels.
"Hey, shut up! We were busy dealing with your family drama!"
"And I'll say it again, there's something wrong with your priorities!"
So much for getting along...
"Are they still like this?" Kakashi asks Konohamaru, as they watch the two genin yell at each other, while Boruto's head moves from side to side as if he's watching a tennis match.
"Well..." Konohamaru begins, looking uncomfortable.
ナルト
"And—PUSH!"
There's a loud chorus of shouting and cursing, and the wave of orange clad bodies surges forward, throwing their weight against a deceptively old, decrepit looking door. Meanwhile, the rest of the Konoha shinobi stand back and watch Naruto's dogged assault. Sasuke is reluctant to acknowledge it, but the dead weight's ability to check out several possible exits at once has significantly cut down the time spent wandering aimlessly.
There's a splintering sound, and then there's a rush of clean smelling air from somewhere near the front of the queue of Narutos.
"We're through!" one of them yells, and there are several cheers before all the doppelgangers disappear.
"Nice one, boss," Konohamaru compliments as they all hurry out of the tunnel and into the moonlit night. The exit is overgrown, covered in dirt and moss and hidden in the overhang of several stones.
"Careful Big Bro, your hero-worship is showing," Boruto disdains, but it's with more teasing approval than malice.
"Hey, don't pretend you're not happy to be out of there," Konohamaru replies, not taking his student's criticism to heart. Evidentially, it's regular behaviour for them. Even so, Sasuke must admit the future jōnin has a point. The underground base was claustrophobic, and if he never sees another tunnel in his life, it will be too soon. "And you're supposed to call me 'sensei'!"
"I don't think I've ever been so happy to see my dad's shadow clones."
"Why wouldn't you be happy to see my shadow clones?" Naruto demands. "I probably taught you how to make shadow clones. A little respect for an artist!"
Boruto's response is cut off by an unexpected rumble of the ground. Everyone glances up to see Kakashi, his hand still bent to shape the Ox and Tiger symbols. A wall of earth rises up and blocks the hidden exit.
"No sense in leaving it open," he says as the dust settles. "There could be others like Mumyōi who survived. We'll send someone to investigate it once this is all over."
Assuming we survive...
"And on that note," Konohamaru agrees, "We've got to get a move on. Let's figure out where we are. Then you tell us what direction Jikken went in."
Kakashi nods and digs into his pack, removing the map he and his team used at the beginning of their mission.
It feels like it was months ago instead of barely a day.
The chart itself is a little worse for the wear, ripped in some places where blade claws nicked it, and stained with his blood in others. But it's still legible, at least to him and Sasuke. Kakashi places it flat against the floor, while Konohamaru holds a glow stick overhead so everyone can see.
The chakra signature flickers in his head every so often, probably whenever Jikken makes a jump, but it seems to be doggedly heading in the same direction. Glancing at the stars, and making a few quick calculations, Kakashi points to a spot near the edge of the circumference he drew earlier. "This is where we are and this—"
"Wait, how do you know?" Naruto asks.
Kakashi frowns at him.
"Didn't they teach you to use stars to find your position back at the Academy?" The boy shakes his head, and even Konohamaru and Boruto appear confused. "Sasuke?"
"...my brother," the kid murmurs, looking as if he would rather swallow a razor blade than admit that.
Kakashi sighs. "In my day, they taught kids a lot more at the Academy. You guys really are rookies..."
"Yeah, well, anyone that says, 'in my day' is old and needs to retire!" Naruto shoots back.
Kakashi doesn't dignify that with a response, instead trailing his finger down the map in a north-easterly path. "This is where Jikken is headed."
"Then that's where we're headed," Konohamaru declares, straightening up.
"Wait, hold on! Bad idea!" Naruto protests.
"He's right," Sasuke says, earning surprised glances from his teammates. "You should at least wait until the chakra signature stays in one place for a while before taking off. Then Kakashi will be able to have a more accurate read."
"Yeah, the guy could totally change directions once you guys go looking for him!"
"We don't have the luxury of time," Kakashi reminds them. "Jikken could start initiating the final stage of whatever he intends to do the minute he arrives. Then, we'll be wasting out time waiting for him to settle in, when we could be getting out of here. And while Konohamaru and his team could be stopping him."
"He's faster than we are, remember?" Boruto adds.
Naruto scowls and crosses his arms. "I still say it's a stupid idea to split up, no matter what that ghost guy says about it. There's nothing but forest out that way."
"Just like there was nothing but forest around here until Sarada showed us to Orochimaru's base," Sasuke interjects flatly. "For all we know, there could be another one, hidden by more genjutsu wards. You might not necessarily be able to see those without a Sharingan."
"Geez, Sasuke for once would you back me up on someth—oh. Wait. You are, aren't you?" Naruto stops himself mid yell, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"Shocking, isn't it?" his teammate counters dryly. He addresses Konohamaru and Boruto. "We want to get going as soon as possible too, but it's stupid to base our decisions on guesswork only. There has to be something more concrete."
"I have a feeling that's not really an option anymore," Kakashi says with forced levity. Everyone turns to him. "Has anyone else noticed how quiet it is around here?"
They all go silent, and for the first time Sasuke notices that there is utter silence in the forest. Even the ever-present sound of crickets is gone.
"Animals have been known to predict natural disasters," he notes quietly. "They'll flee an area that's about to be devastated by an earthquake or a tsunami."
"Hey, what's that?" Naruto asks, pointing at something in the distance.
A few hundred metres away, something bright as begun to peek through the trees. It's unexpected in the dense forest, and so without exchanging words, the Konoha shinobi take off to investigate. Creeping slowly forward, in case it's the enemy or some other danger, the five of them fan out to surround whatever is causing the light.
Kakashi is the first to step through the trees to investigate, and when he does, he realises he expected anything but this.
Several feet away from him, a large tree appears to have been bisected by a mirror or a window. Whatever it is, it's not solid, nor is it stationary. The air around it seems to be moving, almost like a pair of lungs inhaling.
The window itself, opens into a completely other world.
Hot, humid air blasts from inside, turning to steam in the coolness of the night where Kakashi and the others stand. In the distance, the mountains and hills that are now covered in forests, instead rumble and spout lava. There are sounds from inside the portal, made by creatures Kakashi knows he's never heard in his life.
"What the hell is going on?" Sasuke asks, the bright, scorching sun from the other world reflecting in his eyes.
"No idea," Boruto says.
"I think it's the past," Naruto says, earning surprised glances from everyone else. Noticing the attention on him, he complains, "Hey, I can say smart stuff too!"
"No, you can't," Sasuke and Boruto chorus, and then exchange bemused glances. Boruto looks ridiculously pleased, while Sasuke is mildly disturbed.
"Why do you think it's the past?" Kakashi asks, carefully avoiding another argument.
"Sakura said before that this place used to have volcanoes. And unlike someone, I listen when she talks."
"Tch."
"So, what, you think that's, like, ancient Konoha?" Boruto wants to know. "That's messed up."
"This whole day is messed up..."
"Hey, look! There's another one," Naruto notices, and begins to wander off to investigate another of the strange windows. This one casts eerie silver light from it, brighter than the moonlight above them. It's almost like sun-glare on snow, but without the warmth.
This time, the vista looks utterly identical to the world that Naruto and his team stand in. Except for one thing.
Gargantuan, tentacle-like tree roots split through the ground, towering high into the sky. Although they have no branches, there is a texture to them that doesn't make sense. Thousands of growths, almost like cocoons, hang from the bark. High above all of these, the moon gleams with an unnatural glow, more like sunlight, and Naruto imagines that in the centre he can see...is that a Sharingan?
The longer he stares into that world, the more his mind begins to go blank.
In the back of his head, the fox is snarling at him, and it feels like he's trying to throw himself against the locked cage inside of Naruto.
On the other side of the window, the ground begins to rumble, and a root shoots up through the earth. It heads for Naruto, but as his awareness fades he can think of no reason to move.
There's a flickering image, like a dream, that begins to take over Naruto's awareness, and a heaviness fills him like sleep.
"Naruto!" someone yells, but it's coming from inside him and not from his teammates. He imagines serious blue eyes and the rippling sound of cloth in the wind.
"Get him out of there!"
"Close it! And don't look!"
"You idiot!" someone yells, and then something hard and solid ploughs into Naruto's jaw, the force of it throwing him away from the beguiling window.
Immediately his wits return to him, just in time to watch Sasuke, eyes clenched tight, duck a kunai that Kakashi throws at the portal. The minute the weapon crosses the portal, it ripples out of existence, the strange light and creepy roots disappearing as well.
"Nice job, dead last," Sasuke disparages. "You almost became plant food."
"Yeah, well...you're plant food," Naruto retorts lamely. He really, really hates having to be saved by Sasuke...
His teammate turns to the others and demands, "What the hell was that?"
"Trust me, you don't want to know," Konohamaru replies darkly, and it's the grimmest anyone can remember seeing him. He looks utterly haunted.
"Something from your past, I take it?" Kakashi suggests.
"And your future."
"Is that the thing you were worried about before? When Jikken mentioned a goddess?"
But Konohamaru doesn't answer beyond his lips thinning.
Something really bad then. I'm sort of glad I don't need to know just yet...
Out loud, Kakashi says, "It appears time is becoming more distorted. It's opening up on places beyond just these two eras that have converged."
"Then it's definitely time to go," Konohamaru insists. "We can't afford to wait on certainty."
Kakashi nods in agreement. Sometimes, there's no such thing in this line of work.
Konohamaru turns to Naruto and offers him a grin; it's only slightly tense, considering the circumstances. "Well, it was great seeing you again, Boss. It's nice to see you when you're not so busy. And count on me, hey? We're going to beat this thing! As your Number One Apprentice, I promise you that!"
"And I'll make sure he doesn't get himself killed doing something stupid," Boruto adds.
The jōnin sniffs at that, and addresses Kakashi. "It's good to see you too, Lord Sixth."
"You really don't have to call me that," Kakashi replies, offering him his hand.
Konohamaru takes it and gives it a firm shake. Then, he presses his pack into Kakashi's hand. "Here. All of the extra healing supplies we have. You guys need it more than we do, and if this fight is going to be as intense as I think it is, we won't have time to benefit. And if you run into Sarada—"
"When," Boruto and Sasuke chorus. This time the look they exchange is of shared, stubborn confidence.
"When," Konohamaru corrects himself. "When you run into her, give her everything she'll need to keep going. And take her with you to the edge of the bubble."
"Yeah, don't send her after us," Boruto says. "She'll try to help, and she's hurt. If she gets killed, Uncle Sasuke will set me on fire."
"That's the least he'll do," Konohamaru agrees darkly. He nods at Naruto and Sasuke. "Watch out for yourselves. And don't look into those portals. You never know what you're going to see, or what might jump out and kill you."
"Avoid the death windows, got it," Naruto says, wincing as he rubs the growing bruise on his jaw.
He turns his attention to Boruto—his future kid—and tries to think up something clever to say. This is goodbye before they even really had a chance to talk, and he doesn't know if he's sad about it or kind of relieved.
"So you guys are actually going to do this?" he asks, and winces at how lame it sounds.
"No choice. Gotta save the world," Boruto says. "It's kind of the family business, if you know what I mean."
He smirks and holds out his fist. Naruto blinks, then grins.
"Not even a little," he answers, tapping his knuckles against the other boy's.
Boruto looks like he's considering attempting the same type of farewell with Sasuke but thinks better of it. Instead, says, "Hey, Uncle Sasuke, don't worry about Sarada. She beat up an army of clones once and won her first match in the Exams in under three seconds. She's tough, and if it wasn't for me, she'd already be a chūnin."
Sasuke nods once, the words having a surprising comforting effect.
"As expected from an Uchiha," he says stiffly.
"You're so lame," Naruto tells him, and then stage whispers to everyone else, "He's totally proud of her, he just can't admit it because he has a giant stick up his—"
"You two should go," Kakashi says. "Good luck."
"Luck's got nothing to do with it, I run on skill only," Konohamaru boasts. No one remarks on the false note in his bravado. With final looks exchanged all around, Boruto and Konohamaru disappear into the shadows of the forest.
"Right," Kakashi says, nodding down at the map. "The shortest distance between here and the edge of the time-bubble is due north. We'll head that way."
"No."
Kakashi and Naruto look up at Sasuke in surprise.
"According to the map, there's a river heading south. We should follow that."
"We can't do that. It will take us the longest amount of time to get out."
"It's also the only river that has it's origin around here. Maybe it came from underground," Sasuke reasons. "If we're lucky, the girls ended up that way."
"We can find Sakura and Sarada," Naruto realises.
Before Kakashi can provide a logical argument against it, or even attempt to overrule, Sasuke continues, "There's no point to us leaving this place if Sakura isn't with us. Last time I checked, she's part of the potential paradox we're causing. If we left now and she's not out with us, we might as well just go back to fight alongside Konohamaru and Boruto."
"Which is still an option," Naruto pipes up hopefully.
Kakashi is silent a spell, studying each of his students in turn before sighing. Neither option is the wisest one, but he knows which one his heart is telling him to go for.
"Fine," he agrees, cracking another glow stick for their journey. "But we move fast. And cursory search only. We don't have the option of more."
"Right."
Kakashi rolls up the map, and the three of them set off in unison.
"Watch out for those portals," he reminds them, taking the lead while Naruto and Sasuke flank him.
They travel in silence for several minutes before Naruto is tempted to break it. Something has been nagging at him since back at the cave, he's just never had a chance to bring it up.
"Hey, Sasuke..."
"What?"
"I was just thinking. Boruto's kind of protective, you know?"
"..."
"Do you think our kids—?"
"Finish that sentence and I will shove my fist down your throat."
つづく
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