The team moved back to the small town where they had stayed last night, a journey of a few hours.
They would likely reach around 1 or 2 AM in the morning.
Even at that midnight hour, many inns were still open.
While they were traveling back, everyone was talking about their views on the incident they had witnessed at Loran City.
After all, that ancient city was part of the Land of Wind, and it was known by the ninjas of the village, though not for anything aside from Loran being a prosperous place.
This was the first time they had ever seen Loran City, but by their luck, the day they came for a mission there turned out to be the day the city was destroyed and turned to ruins.
Kaiji hadn't focused on other's views; however, his mind and gaze lingered on the figure of Mukade, who was still asking about how powerful puppetry was, almost admiring that Puppet made by his future self.
Kaiji had been thinking was it all part of canon?
Like, was this all supposed to have happened?
Aside from him now, no one else knew about the time travel that had taken place at Loran City.
While thinking, another thought came to his mind: How time travel even works in the Naruto verse.
Everyone traveling reached the town.
Even though it was midnight, they still managed to get two rooms.
While lying down, Kaiji thought about time travel and its effects in the Shinobi world.
Minato and others, plus future Naruto, all had their memories erased so that nothing would change in the timeline.
However, did time travel really work like this?
Time travel, after all, is canon in the anime as well, when Sasuke and Boruto went back in time.
Even if Kaiji knew that the Lost Tower Arc was non-canon in the anime, this wasn't the case for him now.
There was no such thing called canon and non-canon for him anymore.
This was his reality now.
If he were to die this time, it would be permanent.
This was no longer just an anime for him, but his new reality.
What happened at Loran City might drastically change things in the future, he knew.
For instance, there was no proof if Sunagakure ever sent any team in the movie events, or if a younger Mukade was part of it.
But for him, currently, this thing was reality, not a non-canon event of anime.
"But question is, does time travel works exactly as Minato said, changing things in past changes future making new reality," Kaiji mused, contemplating the theory.
"Maybe it's true, but which future? Of the past or the one that already about to happen?"
He recalled an example and muttered, "Bruce Banner in Avengers Endgame said that if you go in past and kill Thanos, it wouldn't change the fact that half world is already fucked up by Thanos.
If that's how it's work here than erasing memories or not wouldn't actually effect any future but rather the future of past, means new branch timeline creates."
Even though this didn't much matter currently, Kaiji was curious what changes his presence alone could make, as he isn't the original Kaiji, whose fate was unknown.
Rather, he is someone else who actually shouldn't exist here, but he did.
And if what Minato said is correct, then Kaiji should already have ceased to exist so no change happens, but nothing like that had happened to him.
"This means this world's time Didn't work on 'Grandfather Paradox' but leans more towards Bruce Banner's explanation," he concluded internally.
Grandfather Paradox is a time travel theory that states if you go back and kill your grandfather, this prevents your own birth, creating a logical contradiction.
But from what Kaiji understood, this theory didn't work here.
This meant if everyone at the Ley Line didn't get their memories erased, this wouldn't lead to a new reality for future Naruto.
Rather, it would rewrite the current reality where Minato knew about his son, and both Chōza and Shibi also knew that Minato will be the future Fourth Hokage.
Kaiji then relaxed and drifted to sleep.
Though he wasn't much worried, the idea of getting ceased to exist was terrifying.
But now he knew that he actually existed in a new branch timeline.
This meant aside from this timeline, there was no other Kaiji with a transmigrated soul who existed.
The original storyline of Naruto, where everything happens, was another branch, and the one Kaiji lived was another; they weren't the same.
"That means I can change major events of story drastically If I want or If I can?" He muttered.
He hasn't thought of changing anything major aside from not dying so early in this lifetime.
However now he is more on peace that even if he were to change even main story events nothing actually would happen to him because of changed events.
Though if someone major character like Madar or Obito or anyone kills him in that process would be different matter.
...
Next day, the team woke up around 9 AM, as they all had slept late.
While Kaiji was still asleep, Pakura sent Misa to wake him up, as they needed to complete their mission today.
"Wake up, Kaiji-san." Misa came to Kaiji's room.
Though they didn't get separate rooms; rather, all shinobi got one, while all kunoichi got another.
Kaiji rubbed his eyes and mumbled, still half-asleep, "Why are you bothering me? I am still sleeping?"
Misa said, still shaking him gently, "We need to go to Mission, sun is already up in sky."
Kaiji slowly got up and then looked towards Misa.
"Misa Senpai," he said with a straight face but eyes half open, "If sun is up then, what am I supposed to do? Dance?"
"..."
Misa was momentarily dumbfounded by Kaiji's unproductive response, staring blanking at him.
•••