Chapter 286: Child of Prophecy
"Sasuke? Since everyone in Konoha found the 'Karasuki' that brought us back through time, did they find Sasuke too!?"
The moment Rei Kaguya finished speaking, a mature male voice came from the other side of the communication device, making Minato Namikaze freeze for a moment.
Faced with the other party's urgent question, Rei only waved at him with some disdain and said irritably, "Enough, enough, Naruto Uzumaki. Even you, the guy who completely passed out while traveling through time, managed to arrive in this era safe and sound. So stop worrying about Sasuke Uchiha, who is countless times better than you at space-time ninjutsu and has even experienced time travel before."
The moment those words came out, everyone on Konoha's side froze.
Then, almost at the same time, their gazes turned toward Sasuke Uchiha, who had never expected Rei Kaguya to suddenly cue his name and was currently standing there with a completely blank expression.
"W-What happened? Why is everyone looking at me…"
Faced with everyone's incomparably strange gazes, Sasuke Uchiha lost his usual confidence and social boldness. At a loss, he hid behind Itachi Uchiha.
As the person who understood the most about Rei Kaguya knowing the future, Itachi first comfortingly rubbed his younger brother's head, then spoke to Rei through the communication device.
"Lord Mizukage, do you mean… that unknown Uchiha Naruto saved on our side is actually Sasuke from the future?"
"Black clothes, black hair, one severed arm, one eye an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and the other a Rinne Sharingan—if that matches, then yes, it is him."
Rei nodded, casually throwing out a long string of terms that made everyone in Konoha's brows twitch violently.
"But since he was picked up by Namikaze Naruto, just let him stay in Konoha for a while first. He can answer some of your questions about the future while he is there."
"You do not intend to come meet him personally, Lord Mizukage?" Minato Namikaze frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled by the indifferent attitude Rei was showing.
"There is no need for that. This Seventh Hokage beside me does not know any less intelligence than Sasuke Uchiha. There is no need for me to deliberately go find an Uchiha who may not necessarily be able to chat with me properly."
Rei glanced at Naruto Uzumaki beside him, who had breathed a long sigh of relief, then continued with words that left Naruto frozen on the spot.
"Besides, the arrival of these two Children of Prophecy, who determined the fate of the world on their original worldline, is not merely a matter between Kirigakure and Konoha. I plan to have Nagato and Akatsuki prepare an additional Dawn Conference, so the representatives and leaders of every nation and force in the shinobi world can understand and participate in this incident."
"A Dawn Conference…?"
Minato showed a somewhat surprised expression.
"I thought that, when facing a major event where the power of small nations would find it difficult to participate, Lord Mizukage, you would choose to convene a Five Kage Summit to resolve the problem as quickly as possible."
"In the end, this is a major matter involving the rise and fall of the entire shinobi world. Letting them listen a little, then do what they can—provide intelligence, wave a flag, cheer from the sidelines—is still better than letting them assume that all major matters should simply be handed to the Five Kage to solve."
Rei shrugged, waved at everyone on Konoha's side, and said casually, "All right, let us stop here for today. The Seventh Hokage here looks like he has a stomach full of questions waiting for me to answer. Lord Hokage, you should also play the family card properly with that adult version of Sasuke Uchiha and let the Uchiha clan talk to him."
After he finished speaking, the communication from Kirigakure's side was unilaterally cut off.
After everyone on Konoha's side savored the final sentence Rei had left behind, they all turned their gazes toward little Sasuke's favorite older brother—
Itachi Uchiha.
…
Kirigakure. Mizukage's office.
Rei Kaguya ended his exchange of intelligence with Konoha's side while yawning, then turned his head to look at the excited Naruto Uzumaki.
He picked up a menu from his desk, handed it to him, and asked with relaxed ease, "Take a look and see if there is anything you want to eat. Although you woke up thanks to the bit of chakra I had the Nine-Tails send into you, your body still needs plenty of nutrition to make up for the loss of qi and blood caused by your previous injuries."
"Is now really the time to talk about such a relaxed topic, Fourth Mizukage?"
Naruto Uzumaki accepted the menu Rei handed him, then asked the man before him—who, based on appearance alone, already looked like a pure-blooded member of the Otsutsuki clan—with a complicated expression.
"I just want you to relax a little. Stop showing that worried expression."
Rei moved his body around and casually commented, "That kind of expression does not suit you. At least, that is what I think."
"Sorry. I cannot do that."
Naruto looked at the unfamiliar names of dishes on the menu, as well as their respective high prices, and slowly shook his head.
"Whenever I think about how Sasuke and I were sent to this era, leaving Boruto and Kawaki to face the dangerous people of Kara by themselves, there is no way I can relax."
"So the world on your side has already become so fragile that, once it loses the protection of you and Sasuke Uchiha, it will fall apart and explode completely in a short time, Naruto Uzumaki?"
Rei turned his face slightly and looked at the frowning Naruto with a hint of pity in his eyes, then sighed softly.
"No. It has not reached such a terrible point…"
Naruto quickly shook his head and refuted him very seriously.
"It is just that, as Hokage and as a father, whenever I think of Boruto having to deal with Momoshiki Otsutsuki's erosion inside him while also finding a way to stop Kawaki from being taken over by Isshiki Otsutsuki, and even needing to explain my and Sasuke's disappearance to the villagers, to Hinata, Sakura, and the others, then calm them down…
"I cannot help wanting to return to their side immediately and tell them I am fine."
"Even if you went back, what could you do with that broken-down body of yours?"
Rei looked at Naruto's exhausted face, which no longer held that bright sunny look, then shook his head and walked to his side. He patted Naruto on the shoulder and said, "First recover from the injuries you suffered in battle. Then find a way to reawaken the Nine-Tails inside you after it burned itself out. After that, you can think about everything else, Child of Prophecy."
"But…"
"No buts."
Rei grabbed Naruto Uzumaki's left hand, who still wanted to act stubborn and force himself, and dragged him toward Kirigakure's brightly lit and still flourishing night market.
At the same time, he said unhurriedly, "There is no need to worry that, after you return from this era, the future will already have undergone irreversible, world-shaking changes… Last time, when Kakashi Hatake and Hanabi Hyuga came to this era, that was almost ten years ago. But based on the information they revealed, and your current appearance, less than half a year should have passed on your side."
"A time-flow difference of twenty times is enough for you and Sasuke Uchiha to recover properly in this era, gain something that will ensure the order of your era no longer depends entirely on the strength of only you two, and then return to defeat those Otsutsuki and their running dogs who dared violate the territory of the shinobi world, one by one."