Just as Natsuro's figure disappeared...
Inside the Hokage's office in Konoha, Natsuro's Sage Mode Spiritual Clone suddenly froze, then abruptly stood up.
"Lord Hokage, did something happen?" Shikaku was startled by Natsuro's sudden movement.
Natsuro didn't reply. Instead, he walked over to the window, closed his eyes, and began sensing. After a long while, he frowned. Even focusing all his attention on sensing, he still couldn't locate his original body.
If it weren't for the clone knowing that the real Natsuro had gone on the Rōran mission, and had likely traveled through time, he might have thought the original had died...
Fortunately, this was a Sage Mode Spiritual Clone rather than an ordinary shadow clone. A normal shadow clone would have already been forcibly dispelled.
Because the spiritual clone was backed by a fragment of Natsuro's soul, it could draw natural energy to replenish chakra endlessly, and it didn't lack mental energy either.
"Did he sense a Flying Thunder God mark in that space...?" The clone pondered where the original Natsuro had ended up.
One thing was certain, the original hadn't simply gone back into this world's past.
Even if it was the past, it must have been a past where Natsuro couldn't leave any traces. But... was there really such a time?
After all, a Flying Thunder God mark implied that he should have ended up somewhere after the Second Hokage invented the technique.
And during that era, there shouldn't have been anyone strong enough to stop him from leaving a mark.
Meaning... He probably hadn't gone into the past.
The clone nodded to himself. No wonder he hadn't sensed any traces of the original left behind, because he never left any.
But if not the past, then where? The future? That seemed unlikely too...
At this point, the clone turned to Shikaku and said,
"Shikaku, you'll temporarily take over all Hokage duties. I need to go into seclusion for a while."
"Huh?" Shikaku was completely stunned.
Natsuro quickly wrote and stamped an official order, handing it to Shikaku before the man could react, and then vanished from the office.
Leaving Shikaku standing there, dumbfounded.
He looked down at the document and the Hokage's official seal and couldn't help but laugh bitterly.
Only someone like Natsuro would casually hand over the entire authority of the Hokage like this...
Still, knowing Natsuro's strength, even if he wanted to rebel, he wouldn't stand a chance.
The paperwork would be tedious, though. After thinking for a moment, Shikaku's eyes lit up. He could summon Shikamaru! It was about time anyway. Shikaku had heard before that Natsuro intended to have Shikamaru become one of his secretaries once he matured.
Well, now was as good a time as any.
Meanwhile, the clone used Flying Thunder God to teleport to Rōran. He found a good spot, sat down cross-legged, and started focusing his senses, trying to reestablish a connection with the original.
But even so, he couldn't sense anything.
The clone sighed but remained patient, keeping his sensing abilities stretched to the limit.
At that moment, Natsuro opened his eyes and looked at Umbreon that had quietly followed him.
"You don't have to come with me. Just wait at home."
But Umbreon shook its head, then hopped onto his shoulder and lay down, refusing to leave.
Natsuro shook his head helplessly. Fine. It didn't matter. At least he wouldn't have to worry about feeding it.
Suddenly. He froze.
Because he faintly sensed the original.
Though he couldn't make direct contact, he could feel the presence.
Why now?
The clone opened his eyes and looked at Umbreon. He remembered that even Urashiki's time-traveling tool, the plough, had been wary of it...
So it's because of you?
He ran a few experiments. And finally confirmed, with Umbreon's help, he could indeed sense the original.
Holding the little creature in his hands, the clone asked softly,
"So what exactly are you?"
Umbreon simply nuzzled his palm, looking back at him with innocent curiosity. 'Didn't you create me?'
The clone smiled bitterly. On the surface, that was true, but could someone like him really create such a miraculous being?
Not only did Umbreon have time-space abilities, but it could also help him sense someone who had crossed through time...
But there was no point asking further. He buried the question in his heart once again.
Since he could now sense the original thanks to Umbreon, there was no need to stay in Rōran.
The clone teleported to the Shikkotsu Forest, sat down like usual, and began meditating, not to cultivate, but to grasp this rare sensation tied to space and time.
This was the clearest feeling of space-time he had ever experienced.
He had to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
....
Meanwhile, the real Natsuro...
The blinding light had disappeared.
Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself in front of a special Flying Thunder God kunai, hanging on the wall.
It really was Minato Namikaze's mark.
Just then, a faint voice called out, "Who are you?"
The voice was weak but oddly familiar. Natsuro turned around...
And his pupils shrank sharply.
Standing there, holding a kunai in trembling hands, was a woman with fiery red hair.
Kushina?! Natsuro gasped.
He never imagined he would end up in Kushina's house.
And judging by her condition, battered, barely able to stand, it was obvious she had been attacked.
Behind her. An infant, swaddled in cloth.
That was... Naruto.
Meaning the current time was!
Kushina heard Natsuro mutter her name and grew even more wary.He knew her name, meaning he had come prepared.
But how had he appeared here, out of thin air?
A space-time jutsu?
Kushina gritted her teeth and asked hoarsely, "Are you with that guy?!"
Trying to buy time, she kept calling out for Minato in her heart, praying her husband would come soon.
But she knew with the Nine-Tails loose, it wouldn't be easy for Minato to break free.
She could only rely on herself now.
Still, why? The enemy had already extracted the Nine-Tails from her. Why were they still targeting her and Naruto?
"Which guy are you talking about?" Natsuro asked, pretending to be confused.
"If you're not with him, then why are you here?" Kushina didn't believe him, but she was relieved that he wasn't immediately attacking.
She hoped to stall for as long as possible.
"Well... if I said I got lost, would you believe me?" Natsuro thought for a moment and answered earnestly.
Kushina was speechless. Got lost?
But technically, it was true, Natsuro had gotten lost in time-space.
After a long pause, Kushina cautiously replied, "This is the Hidden Leaf Village. The Fourth Hokage's house. Even if you're lost, you shouldn't be here!"
"I see. So you're the Fourth Hokage's wife... And that baby is his son."
Natsuro spoke casually, then added, "Looks like something's gone terribly wrong, if even the Hokage's wife ended up in this state."
He took a step forward, and effortlessly scooped baby Naruto into his arms.
Kushina's eyes widened in horror. She turned around and shouted, "Put him down!!"
The wailing cries of the baby filled the room.
Natsuro frowned, recalling how to soothe a crying infant, and gently patted Naruto's back. He looked at Kushina and said calmly, "I'm just holding him because he's cute. Besides, if I really wanted to kill you, do you think anyone here could stop me?"
Kushina froze.
Thinking back to the opponent's overwhelming speed just now, she fell silent.
It was true, in her current state, there was no way she could stop Natsuro.
So Kushina began to think, maybe this man really wasn't an ally of the masked man?
But at the same time, could she believe the story about being "lost"?
That was hard to accept.
"How cute." Very quickly, Natsuro had soothed little Naruto back to sleep.
"So, what exactly is your goal?" Kushina couldn't help but ask.
Though this man didn't seem like an enemy, it was impossible to fully trust a stranger who had appeared out of nowhere.
"My goal? …I don't really have one, for now." Natsuro thought seriously.
Because truthfully, he wasn't sure what to do.
Given his personality, now that he had arrived at this point in time, there was no way he would simply stand by.
He would definitely change something, even ensuring that Minato and Kushina didn't have to die.
But that would cause huge ripples.
The future would be completely different.
So... why did he hesitate?
Images of adult Sasuke and Boruto flashed through Natsuro's mind.
Maybe this isn't my world after all?
He closed his eyes and tried to connect to his spiritual clone.
But, he failed.
Even the connection between his main soul and the clone's soul fragment had been severed.
Thinking about it carefully, maybe it wasn't surprising.
In the anime, adult Sasuke and Boruto had also messed up time-space when they fought Urashiki.
And Natsuro had used a space-time jutsu while traveling through the rift.
A distortion happening was reasonable.
Kushina watched Natsuro stand there with his eyes closed, as if sensing something.
Now that his attention wasn't on her, she instinctively gripped her kunai tighter, but ultimately didn't strike.
With the speed he showed earlier, she knew. If she failed, the consequences would be disastrous.She couldn't risk her own life and she absolutely couldn't risk Naruto's life.
It was better to maintain the status quo. This man didn't seem to want to harm them. She had to stall until Minato finished his battle with the Nine-Tails.
Natsuro opened his eyes again.
Though he hadn't reestablished contact with his clone, he could sense the Nine-Tails' rampant chakra.
So, the Nine-Tails was already wreaking havoc inside Konoha.
Natsuro thought for a moment, then approached Kushina.
"What are you doing?"
Kushina stepped back, but Natsuro reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.
Just as Kushina was about to resist, she felt a surge of powerful life energy from where his hand touched.
"This is…"
Kushina's eyes widened.
He's healing me?
But this wasn't normal medical ninjutsu, she actually felt her failing body improve a little.
Her feelings grew complicated.
Even though she still didn't completely trust Natsuro, she was far less defensive than before.
She said, "I don't know who you are, but… thank you for helping me. Still, there's no need to waste your effort. No matter how skilled you are, you can't fix what's wrong with me."
Natsuro frowned.
He could tell, even though he was using Sage Arts and Yang Release to pump life force into her, Kushina's body had a gaping hole.
It was like trying to fill a broken barrel with water. He could only delay her death, not prevent it.
This was because his control of Yang Release hadn't reached the level of Six Paths Naruto.
If it had, if he could create an entirely new eye for Kakashi like Naruto did.
He would probably be able to patch Kushina's wound completely.
Seeing this, Natsuro slowly stopped the healing.
Still, in response to her earlier words, he raised an eyebrow, "What if I could heal you?"
"Impossible," Kushina replied bluntly.
"My problem isn't a disease. If I weren't an Uzumaki with naturally strong life force, I'd already be dead."
"Tch. You're right. But you know what? I suddenly feel like trying to make the impossible… possible." Natsuro laughed.
"..."Kushina sighed internally.
This man is seriously stubborn.
Could the loss of a tailed beast really be healed?
Of course not.
"Let's go out and take a look. It's pretty noisy out there."
Without waiting for her agreement, Natsuro walked outside.
Kushina bit her lip, but could only follow him.
Because Naruto was still in his arms!
As they stepped outside, Kushina noticed her body had improved even more.
It was probably the lingering effect of Natsuro's earlier healing.
If it had been any other kind of illness, maybe… maybe he could have saved her.
But this…
They climbed to the top of a tall building.
From here, they could see the Nine-Tails, rampaging near the village gate.
The entire area near the entrance to Konoha was devastated. Buildings shattered, ground torn apart.
And the Nine-Tails was slowly pushing deeper into the village.
The only reason it was moving so slowly was because one Konoha ninja after another was throwing themselves at it, desperately trying to delay its advance.
"Damn it!" Kushina gritted her teeth in fury.
Her husband, Minato, was Konoha's Fourth Hokage.
But their village was being ravaged by the very beast she had once contained.
"So it's the Nine-Tails…
Where's your husband?" Natsuro asked casually.
He wasn't clear on the fine details of the Nine-Tails' Attack.
He only knew Tobi had caused it.
"Minato should still be fighting the masked man right now," Kushina answered, worry filling her heart.
That masked man was no ordinary opponent. He had space-time ninjutsu, an intimate knowledge of Konoha's secrets... Even knowing that a jinchūriki's seal weakened during childbirth!
All she could do was pray for Minato's swift victory, and the village's salvation.
"I see." Natsuro nodded, then spotted something.
.....
Far away....
A younger, stronger Hiruzen Sarutobi had appeared. He had summoned Enma, the Monkey King, and was using Enma's transformed staff to push the Nine-Tails out of the village.
"That's the Third Hokage," Kushina muttered.
But there was no happiness on her face.
If this had been the younger Hiruzen, maybe he could've temporarily suppressed the Nine-Tails.
But now?
Even just pushing the Nine-Tails out of the village had left Hiruzen kneeling and gasping for breath.
The Nine-Tails, furious at being expelled, opened its massive jaws.
Within its mouth, black and blue chakra condensed.
"That's… a Tailed Beast Bomb! No, this is bad!!" Kushina's voice trembled with despair.
"Don't give up so easily." Natsuro said lightly, glancing toward the Hokage Rock.
There, at that very moment, a figure appeared.
Golden-blonde hair. White ceremonial cloak, rimmed with red flames.
It was Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage.
Minato had also spotted them.
In sights was Natsuro holding a baby, standing beside a battered Kushina.
Impossible! Minato's mind reeled.
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Currently on Chapter 373 - Madara and The Despair He Invokes...