Beginning

The background of the story
Boruto is dying.
Something has gone wrong in a battle Naruto barely understands.
The light flashes.
Boruto uses a technique that Naruto has never seen before.
He says she will send Naruto back.
Near.
Just enough.
Naruto tries to stop him.
It's too late.
The world is falling apart.
The beginning of history
Naruto opened his eyes.
Grass.
Cold night air.
He was lying on the ground.
For a few seconds he simply looked at the sky.
The moon seemed familiar to him.
Too familiar.
Naruto sat up slowly.
His body seemed... small.
He looked at his hands.
They were smaller.
Subtler.
"What the...
His voice sounded younger.
Naruto stood up slowly. His legs felt light. Too light.
Then he noticed something next to him.
Large scroll.
His heart sank.
"Can't be..."
He turned his head.
Glade.
The same trees.
The same training ground.
Naruto knew this place.
Memories came flooding back to him at once.
Iruka-sensei.
Exam at the academy.
Shadow clones.
Escape.
Scroll.
Naruto rubbed his face.
"…Seriously?"
He stood there, not moving.
The wind swayed the trees.
Nothing more.
Then Naruto exhaled.
"OK".
His voice was calm.
Too calm compared to the child he used to be.
He picked up the scroll.
Heavy.
Same as before.
Naruto looked at him for a few seconds.
He remembered everything.
Pain.
War.
Sasuke.
Akatsuki.
Kaguya.
Boruto.
The last moment.
Bloody Boruto.
Strange jutsu.
Naruto clenched his fist.
"...Idiotic child."
But he smiled slightly.
Then Naruto heard footsteps.
Behind him.
Slow.
Cautious.
Naruto didn't turn around right away.
He already knew who it was.
Mizuki.
Same as before.
Some things really haven't changed.
Naruto scratched the back of his head.
"…Just in time".
Then he turned around.
Mizuki came out into the clearing.
The same smile.
The same eyes.
Nothing has changed.
Naruto looked at him for a few seconds.
Then he sighed.
"Crap...
He slung the scroll over his shoulder.
"...I really don't want to do this again."
Mizuki frowned slightly.
Naruto looked at the moon again.
Then back to Mizuki.
"Let's just get this over with."
And for the first time since arriving in the past...
Naruto's eyes didn't look like the child Mizuki remembered.

Mizuki's smile faltered as if it had caught on something.

"Naruto," he said in a quiet voice, as if they were sharing a secret. "You actually did it. You stole it."

Naruto adjusted the scroll on his shoulder. At twelve years old, it was simply ridiculous. It was heavy. It smelled of old ink, dust, and trouble. The strap cut into his shoulder, causing it to burn.

He didn't like how easy it had become to end up here again.

"Yes," Naruto said. "I did it."

Mizuki stepped closer, her sandals brushing the grass. The clearing was illuminated by moonlight. The trees cast long shadows like hands.

"You know," Mizuki said, "Iruka-sensei will never accept you. No matter what you do."

Naruto stared at him.

His brain tried to do the old thing: get angry, make noise, prove something.

But the other part of him, the one that remembered the smoke from funeral incense and the destroyed villages, simply felt tired.

"I'm not in the mood for a speech," Naruto said.

Mizuki blinked. Just once. As if expecting a scream.

Naruto's fingers tightened around the scroll.

Boruto's face flashed through his mind: blood at the mouth, wide-eyed, stubborn, as if Naruto had raised him that way and then the universe had laughed at it.

"I'll send you back," Boruto said.

Near.

Just right.

Naruto swallowed and forced himself to keep his gaze on Mizuki.

"Give it back," Mizuki said. He continued to smile, but it wasn't warm, it was sharp. "You don't know what you're holding."

"Yes," Naruto answered silently. "More than you."

Mizuki's expression changed. A slight crease appeared at the corner of his mouth. He was trying to figure out if this was a trick.

Naruto shifted his weight, his bare ankles feeling light. Too light. Too young.

He didn't like it at all.

Mizuki's hand reached for his bag.

Naruto made the first move.

It wasn't a smart plan. It wasn't even a plan. Naruto was just being himself, only now his body was smaller, and he needed to be more precise.

He threw the scroll off his shoulder, and it fell to the grass with a dull thud. Then he lunged forward and slammed his forehead into Mizuki's.

Mizuki grunted and stumbled back, cursing and covering his nose with his hand.

Naruto shook his head, recovering from the blow. Stars flashed in his eyes.

"Ow," Naruto muttered. "I forgot how much that hurt."

Mizuki's gaze turned stern. "You little..."

A shuriken flew at Naruto's face.

Naruto fell and rolled, grass clinging to his cheek. He jumped to his knees and, without thinking, made the sign.

"Shadow Cloning Technique".

Chakra burst out of him like a broken hose. There was less of it than he remembered, and yet more, because his control had shifted. It no longer felt like a huge mess.

Three clones appeared.

Not hundreds.

Naruto frowned.

"…Hm."

The clones looked at him as if they were waiting.

Mizuki laughed, wiping his bleeding nose. "That's it? You can only do three?"

Naruto clicked his tongue. "Well, yeah, only three people are going to beat you up now."

The clones rushed at Mizuki, swiftly and clumsily. Mizuki struck one with a kunai, turned, and smashed another to smithereens.

Naruto rushed forward from the side.

Mizuki grabbed his wrist and twisted it. Pain shot through Naruto's arm.

"Still just a stupid brat," Mizuki hissed.

Naruto looked up at him.

He didn't say anything smart. He didn't say anything heroic.

He simply grabbed Mizuki's sleeve with his free hand and headbutted him again.

This time, Mizuki's grip weakened, more from surprise than from any injuries he had sustained.

Naruto pulled his hand away and jumped back.

His last clone attacked Mizuki's legs.

Mizuki fell heavily, cursed, and a moment later the clone, hiding under the kunai, turned into smoke.

Naruto stood there, breathing heavily.

Mizuki sat up, her gaze now filled with madness. The pretense was gone.

"You're dead," Mizuki said and threw a huge shuriken.

Naruto's body moved before his brain could finish the thought.

He rushed towards the huge scroll, grabbed it like a shield, and the shuriken pierced the thick rolled parchment with a deafening crunch.

The scroll was torn.

Naruto froze.

For half a second he remembered Iruka's face, that hurt look, that disappointment.

Then he remembered bigger things. Entire cities were collapsing. Friends were dying. The world was falling apart.

However, he grabbed the damaged scroll and ran away.

He didn't run like a Hokage. He ran like a child in sandals in the dark, tripping over roots, his breath hot and his heart pounding.

Mizuki was quickly chasing after him.

Pieces of the past flashed through Naruto's head like flashcards.

Iruka will find me.

I can't let Mizuki get to Iruka first.

And also, I can't believe I just tore a scroll, idiot!

He turned through the trees toward the old hut. He could picture it, even in the dark. He had been here before.

He reached the hut and threw the door open with such force that it slammed against the door frame with a crash.

It smelled of old wood and dust inside.

Naruto shoved the scroll into the corner.

He didn't sit down. He paced back and forth once, then stopped. His hands were shaking.

"This is stupid," he whispered. "This is really stupid."

He heard footsteps outside.

A shadow ran across the window.

Naruto's breath caught for a moment, and he half-expected Boruto to intervene. Half-expected him to smile and say he was fine.

Instead, Mizuki kicked the door open.

He stood in the doorway, illuminated by the moonlight, looking like the monster Naruto had already killed in his past life.

Mizuki raised the kunai.

"Do you think you can escape from me?" Mizuki asked.

Naruto's throat went dry.

His body wanted to fight. His brain wanted to talk. Neither of them had a good answer.

Then another voice cut through the night.

"Mizuki".

Iruka.

Iruka's voice sounded exactly as Naruto remembered it. Young. Firm. Tired, something Naruto hadn't understood as a child.

Mizuki tensed.

Iruka came into view, standing behind him, holding a shuriken and breathing heavily, as if he had run halfway through the forest.

His gaze darted towards Naruto.

Naruto's chest suddenly and sharply tightened.

I completely forgot how small Iruka looks when you're not small.

Iruka's gaze landed on the torn scroll in the corner, and then on Naruto's face. There was pain. Confusion. And anger.

"Why, Naruto?" Iruka asked quietly.

Naruto opened his mouth.

What was he supposed to say?

I am you, but later.

Your student, your idiot.

My son died and it brought me back to that night.

Instead, Naruto said the simplest thing his mouth could manage.

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto said in a hoarse voice, "don't listen to him."

Mizuki laughed. "Oh, he'll definitely listen. He deserves to know the truth about the Nine-Tails. About Naruto. About what the village really thinks."

Naruto felt a cold thorn run through him.

This part.

It was a turning point. The night that changed something in him. The night Iruka chose him.

Naruto took a step forward and then stopped.

If he changes it too much…

He didn't know what would happen. He didn't know if Boruto had sent him here to save Boruto, or someone else, or simply... to give Naruto a chance to try again in new hands.

Naruto swallowed.

Mizuki's voice rose, a mixture of cruelty and satisfaction in it. He pointed at Naruto.

"It's the fox demon! He killed your parents!"

Iruka winced.

Naruto felt it like a blow. Even though he'd heard it before. Even though he'd survived worse.

Because it was still Iruka.

And still at this moment.

Mizuki moved forward sharply, rushing at Iruka from the side, kunai flashing.

Naruto didn't hesitate.

He rushed forward.

He didn't have Kurama's cloak. He didn't have Sage Mode. He had nothing but a youthful body and ancient instincts.

He pushed Iruka.

The kunai hit Naruto's shoulder instead.

The pain is intense, fast and real.

Naruto hissed through his teeth, "Tch."

Iruka looked at him as if he couldn't comprehend what he saw.

Mizuki's eyes widened, then narrowed. "So you'll still protect him? Even after all this?"

Naruto clutched his shoulder, blood flowing between his fingers.

"Shut up," Naruto said.

It turned out much worse than he wanted. He didn't care.

Mizuki's anger exploded. He swung again, but missed his target.

Iruka moved to block…

Naruto grabbed Iruka by the vest and yanked him back sharply.

"Don't," Naruto barked. "He's trying to kill you, idiot."

Iruka blinked. "Naruto..."

Naruto pushed him against the door frame. "Just… stay here for a second."

Mizuki saw the right moment and rushed past Iruka, heading towards the scroll.

Naruto turned around and kicked Mizuki in the ribs.

The blow wasn't quite accurate. Naruto lost his balance due to the pain.

Mizuki groaned but didn't fall. He elbowed Naruto in the jaw.

Naruto tasted blood.

His head started ringing.

For a moment his vision blurred and the cabin tilted.

Mizuki grabbed the scroll with one hand.

Naruto grabbed the other end.

They pulled.

The scroll tore even more.

Naruto wanted to scream.

Not because of the scroll.

Because it was stupid. Because Boruto was gone. Because Naruto was here, fighting over a piece of paper like it was the most important thing in the world.

And perhaps that is how it was.

Iruka finally moved. He threw a shuriken, which deflected Mizuki's kunai.

Mizuki growled, "Traitor."

Iruka stepped forward, his jaw tensed. "Mizuki. Stop."

Mizuki stared at Iruka, then at Naruto, and then at the scroll.

He made a choice.

He let go of the scroll and jumped back, running out the door.

"I'll be back," Mizuki spat. "And when I do, I'll make sure the village finally sees him for who he really is."

Then he disappeared into the trees.

Silence reigned in the cabin.

Naruto stood there, breathing heavily, holding the damaged scroll with both hands as if it was about to fall apart.

Iruka's shoulders slumped. He looked older in the moonlight.

He walked in slowly, keeping his eyes on Naruto's bloody shoulder.

"Naruto," Iruka said, now lowering his voice. "Why did you protect me?"

Naruto's mouth dropped open.

There were many answers competing for a place on this list.

Because you were the first adult who chose me over the village.

Because you saved me, and you have no idea how much.

Because if you die here, everything will break.

Because my son died and I can't do anything about it, so I'm clinging to the past with both hands like an idiot.

Naruto swallowed.

"I..." Naruto began.

Then he scratched the back of his head with his good hand, as he had done before. The gesture felt both natural and wrong.

"I don't know," he said.

Iruka's eyes narrowed slightly, as if he didn't believe him.

Naruto forced a smile that no longer suited his face.

"I mean," Naruto added, "I'm not going to let some bastard stab my teacher, right?"

Iruka stared at him.

For a few seconds nothing happened.

Then Iruka exhaled sharply, as if he had been holding his breath for a long time.

"You're hurt," Iruka said and came closer.

Naruto shrugged. "It's fine."

"This is not good."

Iruka reached into his bag and pulled out some bandages. His hands were steady. Professional.

Naruto watched as he wrapped a bandage around his shoulder.

It was supposed to be warm.

It was mostly like pressure, blood, and the sudden realization that Naruto was actually here and Boruto wasn't.

Iruka tied the blindfold and looked Naruto in the eyes.

"Naruto," he repeated more quietly. "Whoever you are… whatever is inside you… you will still remain you."

Naruto's breath caught.

He nodded quickly. Too quickly.

“Yes,” he said. “Of course.”

Iruka glanced at the scroll. "Did you learn it?"

Naruto looked at the torn parchment and hesitated.

"I..." Naruto began.

He had already learned this once.

But this body had no such significance.

He felt the difference. It was like he was trying to remember a song with missing notes.

Naruto exhaled.

"I can do it," he said. "Just not as much as I used to."

Iruka looked confused. "Like before?"

Naruto waved his hand dismissively. "Like... before. Tonight."

Iruka didn't insist. He simply nodded wearily.

Outside, the forest wind rustled the leaves. The bird let out a single cry and then fell silent.

Iruka stood up and gestured towards the door. "Come on. We need to get back."

Naruto picked up the scroll. It was heavier now, because it was torn, and because it mattered again.

He followed Iruka out of the hut.

They walked through the trees towards Konoha.

It was quiet.

Naruto continued to look at the lights of the village in the distance.

So close.

Still.

His thoughts continued to spin in the same vicious circle.

Boruto.

Then:

Not far. Just enough.

Naruto clenched his jaw.

He didn't know what "enough" meant.

But he will find out.

And if this time the world tries to take his child away from him again...

Naruto's hands tightened their grip on the scroll.

He quickened his pace, almost overtaking Iruka on the path.

Iruka shouted after him in irritation, "Naruto, slow down!"

Naruto didn't do that.

"I'm hungry," Naruto said, and it was both a lie and not a lie. "Let's go."

Iruka sighed and ran to keep up. "You're impossible to handle."

Naruto continued to move.

The night continued. As always, the village gates came into view.

Two guards. One leans on his spear, as if half asleep. The other pretends to be awake.

Naruto slowed down anyway because Iruka held out his hand and basically forced him to do it.

"Don't," Iruka muttered. "Just... don't make it worse."

Naruto wanted to say that I already did it, but he didn't.

He looked at the gate, trying not to examine every detail, as if it were sacred. The texture of the wood. The torch holders. The way the light fell on the stone.

It suddenly dawned on him that all this was new again. Fresh. Undamaged.

The guards straightened up when they saw Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei?" the one on the right asked. Then his gaze shifted to Naruto, and he frowned. "Naruto? What are you—"

"He's with me," Iruka quickly replied.

The guard's gaze darted to Naruto's bandaged shoulder.

“…What happened?” asked another, already more alert.

Naruto smiled. It didn't turn out very well.

"Training," he said.

Iruka gave him a look that said 'shut up', so Naruto kept quiet.

Iruka said quietly and formally, "There was an incident in the forest. Mizuki is involved. I'm taking Naruto to the Hokage."

This caused them to move. The guard on the right stepped aside, and the one on the left asked, "Do you need ANBU..."

"No," Iruka replied.

Naruto didn't look back. He didn't want to see if anyone was lurking in the shadows. He didn't want to see if Hiruzen was watching him from somewhere, like he had before.

They passed through the gate.

It smelled the same in Konoha.

Smoke from a campfire. Carts with food. Damp stones. The river, barely visible if the wind was favorable.

This almost made Naruto's chest hurt.

Iruka kept walking, as if trying to contain his anger so as not to fall apart. He was silent. Naruto was silent too. They simply walked through the streets.

A few latecomers glanced at them. Someone was carrying a crate. A pair of shinobi with their vests half-opened. A cat, who had been staring at Naruto for far too long, seemed to know something.

Naruto didn't take his eyes off the screen.

He could do it.

One night would have been enough for him.

He could do everything.

Then the stupid part of him whispered, 'What if Boruto still dies no matter what?' and Naruto suppressed the thought so hard that his head almost spun.

They reached the Hokage tower.

The building looked smaller than Naruto remembered, which was stupid because Naruto himself was smaller. Everything was the wrong size.

Iruka stopped at the entrance and addressed the jonin on duty. The jonin's gaze immediately sharpened when he heard "Mizuki."

Naruto heard that name and his hands tensed up on their own.

Mizuki's out there somewhere. Or not. Depends on how quickly things have changed.

Iruka was already leading Naruto up the stairs.

The hallway leading to the Hokage's office was quiet. The silence of late night, when every footstep seemed louder than it should be.

Naruto heard the rustling of papers in the office before they even reached the door.

Iruka knocked once.

"Come in," Hiruzen said.

Iruka opened the door.

The Third Hokage sat at his desk, pipe in hand. He looked up, and his eyes landed on Naruto with the same tenderness.

For a moment, Naruto froze.

He remembered Hiruzen - old, tired and dead.

Now he was old, tired, but full of life.

Something strange happened in Naruto's throat. He swallowed with difficulty.

Hiruzen's gaze dropped to Naruto's shoulder. Then to the scroll.

His expression tightened slightly.

"Naruto," he said. "Iruka. Sit down."

Iruka bowed quickly and stepped forward. Naruto didn't bow. He merely nodded lazily, then realized what he'd done and stopped caring.

They sat down. Naruto stood half-sitting, as if about to run away.

Hiruzen didn't waste any time.

"Iruka," he said, "report."

"That's what Iruka did. It's simple. Mizuki's trick. Theft. Clash. Naruto's wounds. Shadow clones..." Iruka froze, glancing at Naruto as if he didn't understand what he saw.

Hiruzen listened, his expression barely changing, but Naruto could tell when the old man tensed. It was visible in his eyes, not his lips.

When Iruka finished speaking, Hiruzen looked at Naruto again.

"Naruto," he replied calmly. "Did you take the scroll?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes."

"Have you read this?"

Naruto nodded again.

"Have you learned your lesson from this?"

Naruto opened his mouth.

He could lie. He could say no. He could say yes.

He could say, "I already know a thousand jutsu, and I was Hokage," and watch the world explode.

Instead, he said, “I learned the shadow cloning technique.”

Hiruzen's eyebrows rose. "You did it."

Naruto shrugged as if it meant nothing. As if it wasn't the basis of his entire life.

"Show me," Hiruzen said.

Iruka tensed. "Lord Hokage... he's hurt."

"It could be one clone," Hiruzen said, still watching Naruto. "If he can."

Naruto looked at the floor for half a second.

His hands clenched. The seal felt too small. His fingers were no longer accustomed to it. Everything felt a little awkward.

Shadow clone.

He pushed the chakra out.

It happened faster than he expected. Too fast, as if his body craved it. It surged and tried to break free from his control.

"Shadow Cloning Technique!"

A cloud of smoke appeared.

Naruto sat next to him, blinking as if he was born irritated.

The clone looked at Hiruzen and immediately smirked.

"Hey, old man!" it said.

Naruto's real face twitched.

Iruka looked at him as if he had been slapped in the face.

Hiruzen's eyes widened slightly, then softened again.

“…So it’s true,” Hiruzen muttered.

Naruto instantly threw the clone away. It burst.

He didn't like hearing himself say those words. They sounded too natural.

Hiruzen leaned back, forgetting about the pipe for a moment.

"This jutsu is forbidden because it distributes chakra evenly between bodies," Hiruzen said slowly, mostly for Iruka's benefit. "For most shinobi, it's suicide."

Naruto stared at Hiruzen. He wanted to say, "Yes, I know." He wanted to say, "I've abused this so much that it's become part of my identity."

He just shrugged again. "It seems I'm not the typical shinobi."

Iruka looked uneasily from Naruto to Hiruzen.

Hiruzen's gaze lingered on Naruto longer than it should have.

Naruto forced himself not to look away.

Finally, Hiruzen sighed, and this sigh seemed to come from the distant future.

"Mizuki," Hiruzen said, his voice growing colder. "Where is he now?"

Iruka shook his head. "He ran off after... after the clones."

Naruto said, "He'll run to Orochimaru."

Iruka and Hiruzen froze.

Iruka blinked. "What?"

Hiruzen didn't move, but Naruto noticed the slightest movement. The name struck him like a needle.

"Orochimaru?" Hiruzen repeated cautiously.

Naruto realized what he said too late.

His brain tried to turn back time by force of will. It didn't work.

"I mean," Naruto said quickly, then slowed his voice because the rush only made things worse, "that's what people like Mizuki do. ​​He's a nasty guy. He'll turn to someone worse."

Iruka stared at him. "You just said a specific name."

Naruto scratched the back of his head.

"A lucky guess," he said.

Hiruzen's gaze never left him.

"Explain," Hiruzen said quietly, but it was the kind of words that made everyone in the room obey.

Naruto's jaw clenched.

He could have played dumb and maybe gotten away with it. Maybe.

But he remembered Boruto's blood, and he remembered Boruto's words about it being "not far." He remembered the flash of light and the world being torn apart.

He didn't have time to be careful forever.

Naruto leaned forward slightly.

"Old man," Naruto said, and Iruka winced at the disrespect, "there's something wrong with me."

Hiruzen didn't interrupt.

Naruto continued because if he stopped, he would never start again.

"I know something," Naruto said. "Things I'm not supposed to know. I remember... something else."

Iruka's eyes narrowed. "You mean..."

"I mean," Naruto interrupted sharply, then took a deep breath, "I'm not crazy. I don't think so."

Hiruzen watched him for a long time.

Then he quietly asked: “What do you remember?”

Images flashed through Naruto's mind as if someone was throwing kunai at his skull.

Sasuke's return. The Valley of the End. Jiraiya's blood. Pain's eyes. Kurama's hatred transforming into something else. War. Madara. Kaguya. Boruto's small hand clutching his sleeve when he was little.

He didn't say anything like that.

Instead, he said the most important thing.

"I remember Mizuki," Naruto said. "I remember that night. And I remember what happened next."

Iruka's face tensed. "Naruto..."

"And," Naruto added, unable to contain himself, "I remember Orochimaru. He didn't disappear. He's… out there somewhere."

Hiruzen's fingers tightened on the pipe.

Iruka looked genuinely confused. He looked at Hiruzen as if asking, "Is this guy delusional? Is this the Nine-Tails? Or something else?"

Naruto swallowed.

He forced himself to say the next part.

"I don't have time to explain everything in detail," Naruto said. "But you must trust me enough to act. Mizuki isn't just a traitor. He's a symptom."

Silence.

Somewhere a clock was ticking. It was irritating Naruto to no end.

Finally, Hiruzen spoke.

"I'm instructing ANBU to begin searching for Mizuki immediately," he said. "And I will investigate any mention of Orochimaru's influence."

Iruka exhaled, relief, disappointment, and fear evident in his voice.

Naruto nodded once.

It wasn't enough. But at least it was something.

Hiruzen's gaze softened again, and it made Naruto feel uneasy. It was like being looked at by someone who already knew how your story ended.

"Naruto," Hiruzen said softly, "you're exhausted. And wounded."

Naruto barely held back a laugh. Exhausted wasn't the right word. He felt like a rope pulled through a fire.

"I'm fine," Naruto replied automatically.

Hiruzen ignored it.

"Iruka," Hiruzen said, "take Naruto home. Make sure he gets the help he needs. We'll talk again tomorrow."

Iruka hesitated. "Lord Hokage… after tonight, I don't think it's safe for him to be alone."

Hiruzen's gaze slid over Naruto's stomach, through his clothes, through the seals. Naruto felt it like a hand in his ribs.

"That happened extremely rarely," Hiruzen said.

Naruto's fingers tightened.

He hated this part. The one where the adults made the decisions and he was just an object being manipulated.

Then Hiruzen added, "Iruka. Stay with him tonight."

Iruka blinked. "Me?"

"You've already risked your life for him," Hiruzen said. "If Naruto trusts anyone now, it'll be you."

Naruto opened his mouth to object.

But the truth was, he didn't want to go back to that apartment alone. He didn't want to sit in the dark and listen to the villagers breathe as if they didn't care.

He fell silent again.

Iruka looked at Naruto. Naruto looked away.

"Got it," Iruka finally said quietly.

Hiruzen nodded once, ending the conversation.

Iruka stood up. Naruto stood up too, a little too quickly, and his shoulder hurt. He hissed and pretended not to hear.

They left the office.

In the hallway, Iruka didn't speak right away. They descended the stairs, the same stairs Naruto had climbed hundreds of times in his past life, shouting about missions, ramen, and how he would become Hokage.

Now he just walked.

Outside, the night air hit them again.

Iruka looked at Naruto's face as if trying to find the same boy he knew hidden behind the strange calm.

"You're coming to my house," Iruka said.

Naruto frowned. "Why?"

"Because your apartment is a mess," Iruka said. Then, more honestly, he added, "And because I never let you out of my sight."

Naruto wanted to object. But he didn't. He simply shrugged.

“Okay,” he said.

They were walking through Konoha again, the streets quieter now. The lantern swayed slightly in the wind. Somewhere inside a house, someone was laughing. It sounded normal. It sounded unfair.

They approached Iruka's building. He unlocked the door and gestured for Naruto to enter.

The apartment was small. Clean. A few stacks of papers on a low table. A kettle. Two cups. A spare futon, rolled up against the wall.

Naruto stood in the hallway like a stray dog ​​that had been lured inside and didn't know what to do with it.

Iruka kicked off his sandals and looked back.

"Shoes," he said.

Naruto blinked. Then he took them off. He lined them up neatly, without thinking. It made him stop. Young Naruto wouldn't have done that.

Iruka noticed this.

He didn't comment. He simply walked over to the kettle.

"You said you were hungry," Iruka replied.

Naruto felt a groan in his stomach, as if he was offended.

"...Yes," Naruto admitted.

Iruka put water on the stove. Then he opened the cabinet and pulled out some instant noodles. Not Ichiraku, but close enough.

Naruto looked at him as if it was a movie he had forgotten existed.

A few minutes passed. The kettle began to steam.

Iruka handed Naruto a cup.

"Sit down," he said.

Naruto sat on the floor near the table.

Iruka sat down opposite him, slowing his pace.

They ate.

Nothing special. Just noodles. Naruto burned his mouth because he didn't wait. Iruka told him he was an idiot. Naruto, with his mouth full, said, "Shut up." Iruka rolled his eyes.

Time passed.

After some time, Iruka put the empty cup aside.

"Naruto," he said.

Naruto froze, his chopsticks almost to his mouth.

Iruka's voice became quieter now. "I'll ask you again."

Naruto swallowed the bite.

Iruka leaned forward slightly. "What happened to you?"

Naruto stared at the noodles.

He could tell the truth. The whole truth. He could say, "My son is dead," and watch Iruka's face twist, because Iruka didn't even know Boruto existed.

Naruto's hands clenched around the chopstick chain so tightly it hurt.

"I... got hit," Naruto said.

Iruka's eyes narrowed. "With what?"

Naruto raised his head.

"Because of something I don't understand," Naruto said, and it was true. "Someone used a jutsu. Someone I care about. And it… brought me here."

Iruka stared at him, skepticism evident in his gaze, but he struggled with the fact that he'd seen Naruto perform the forbidden jutsu with ease, and the fact that Naruto, judging from his voice, wasn't lying for fun.

"I sent you here," Iruka repeated.

Naruto nodded once.

Iruka's gaze fell on Naruto's hands. Smaller hands. A bandaged shoulder. The body of a child, but the weariness of an adult in his eyes.

Iruka asked, "Is this the Nine-Tails?"

Naruto flinched slightly.

"No," Naruto quickly replied. Then, since it seemed wrong to leave it that way, he added, "Not like that. He… he doesn't do that."

Iruka blinked at the words. "Him?"

Naruto froze again.

Crap.

Iruka noticed it. Of course he did. He was a teacher. He had a knack for noticing the smallest, stupid details.

"Naruto," Iruka asked cautiously, "why did you say 'he'?"

Naruto stared at Iruka.

His brain quickly calculated. If he told Iruka too much, he might die sooner. If he didn't tell him anything, they would waste time. If he ran away, he would be alone and ruin everything.

Naruto exhaled through his nose.

"Because I've already talked to him," Naruto said bluntly. "Earlier. Not tonight. Later. Some… other time."

Iruka froze.

Naruto quickly added, "He's not my friend right now. Don't panic."

Iruka's jaw tensed. "How can I not panic?"

Naruto shrugged.

Iruka suddenly stood up and began pacing back and forth. Slowly, back and forth, as if trying to hide his panic without showing it.

"This is madness," Iruka muttered. "This…"

Naruto watched him. He waited.

Iruka stopped and looked at Naruto again, as if he had made some kind of decision.

"If what you say is true," Iruka said, "then you're… how… older?"

Naruto didn't answer.

Iruka's face twisted. "How much older is he?"

Naruto hesitated.

He chose a number that seemed both safe and unsafe at the same time.

"Enough," Naruto said.

Iruka looked at him irritably. "That's not an answer."

Naruto looked down.

"I'm not trying to be annoying," Naruto said. "It's just… if I start talking, I won't stop. And there's something… I'm not allowed to talk about yet."

Iruka's expression softened slightly, then turned stern again, because he couldn't afford to be soft.

"Then tell me this," Iruka said. "Are we in danger? Right now?"

Naruto's answer came quickly.

"Yes."

Iruka's gaze sharpened. "From Mizuki?"

Naruto shook his head. "For many reasons. Mizuki just… arrived early."

Iruka rubbed his face with one hand. He suddenly looked older than his age.

He walked over to the futon and unrolled it, moving very comfortably. Then he grabbed the blanket and threw it at Naruto.

Naruto noticed this.

"Sleep," Iruka said.

Naruto blinked. "What?"

"You're injured, you're talking nonsense, and your body is still like a child's," Iruka barked. "You go to sleep."

Naruto opened his mouth.

Iruka pointed a finger at him. "Don't argue. I'll knock you out myself."

Naruto fell silent.

He lay down on the futon because he didn't really have a better plan.

The blanket smelled of soap, paper and Iruka.

Iruka blew out the lamp. The light in the room dimmed, and moonlight spilled across the floor.

Iruka sat by the door, leaning his back against the wall, as if he was on guard duty.

For a while, Naruto just lay there and listened.

He heard Iruka's breathing.

He heard the building settle.

He heard distant footsteps outside, and then silence.

Naruto's eyes remained open.

His thoughts kept returning to Boruto's face, as if it were a punishment.

Not far. Just enough.

Naruto whispered, barely audible, mostly to himself.

"That's all you need, you little brat..."

Iruka's voice came quietly from the darkness.

"What did you say?"

Naruto tensed.

"Nothing," Naruto said.

Pause.

Then Iruka didn't show any ill feelings: "Try to get some sleep anyway."

Naruto stared at the ceiling.

He didn't sleep for a long time.

After all, perhaps he had lost his way.

And when it happened, it was not a peaceful event.

He saw a white light.

He saw the earth becoming clogged.

He saw Boruto reach out to him with trembling hands.

And then he woke up, sighing heavily, sat up too quickly, and his shoulder hurt terribly.

Iruka was instantly on the spot, kunai in hand.

"What-"

Naruto raised both hands. "It's okay. Just a dream."

Iruka didn't lower the kunai right away.

Naruto's breathing slowed and he rubbed his face vigorously.

Outside the window the sky was beginning to turn gray. Morning was approaching.

Iruka looked towards the window.

“…It’s almost time,” Iruka said, as if he didn’t want to admit that the night was over.

Naruto swung his legs off the futon.

He felt an empty feeling in his stomach again, and not just from hunger.

He stood up.

"I have to go," Naruto said.

Iruka frowned. "Where?"

Naruto didn't have a clear answer. He had too many.

He thought of Sasuke, small, angry, and alone.

He thought of Danzo, the shadow that stood behind everything that was happening.

He remembered Orochimaru's smile.

He thought about the little girl with pink hair who would grow up to be a medic who had saved his life more than once.

He thought about the masked man. The real one. The one he didn't understand until it was too late.

Naruto clenched his fists.

"I need to make sure nothing happens," Naruto said.

Iruka stood in front of him. "Naruto. Slow down. Tell me what you're doing."

Naruto looked up at him.

His thoughts were simple and sharp.

If I wait, I will lose people.

"I will train," Naruto said.

Iruka blinked. "Train?"

Naruto nodded and was already heading towards the door.

"Yes," Naruto said. "Because I'm weak right now."

Iruka grabbed his sleeve. "You're bleeding through the bandage."

Naruto looked down. It was true. The red spot grew larger.

He hated it. He hated being in this body. He hated the limitations.

"I'll be careful," Naruto said, which was probably a lie.

Iruka's grip tightened.

Naruto met his gaze.

"Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, his words sounding strange and heavy. "I need you to trust me. At least for today."

Iruka looked at him for a long time.

Then he let go.

"Then I'll go with you," Iruka said.

Naruto frowned. "No."

"Yes."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest again, but Iruka now had that same look. That same stubborn teacher's look. The same one that wouldn't budge even if Naruto screamed so loudly.

Naruto sighed.

"...Okay," Naruto said. "But you'll slow me down."

Iruka snorted. "You can barely lift your arm."

Naruto grumbled and pulled on his jacket.

They left the apartment together.

The morning air was cold and clear.

People began to appear on the streets. Shopkeepers. The first shinobi. A boy with a basket of vegetables who glanced at Naruto and then hurried away.

Naruto didn't care.

He walked quickly.

Iruka walked next to him.

"Where are we going?" Iruka asked.

Naruto didn't answer right away.

Without thinking, he turned toward the training grounds near the Academy. His feet knew the way. It was irritating.

But halfway there he stopped.

He looked at the Academy building in the distance.

He could almost imagine himself running around causing chaos. He could almost hear the angry shouts.

He could almost imagine Sasuke sitting alone on the swing outside, pretending not to care.

Naruto's heart sank.

Iruka noticed. "Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head vigorously.

"No," he said more to himself. "Not yet."

He gave up the Academy.

Iruka followed him, confused.

Naruto headed towards the outskirts of the village, towards the quieter training fields where fewer people were watching him.

He needed space.

He needed to test his chakra. His speed. His strength.

He needed to understand how much of him was left.

And he had to start moving the pieces, even if he didn't know the whole board.

Because somewhere out there, in the future that was once his present, Boruto was still falling.

And Naruto was returned just far enough away.

He was tired of waiting to find out what it meant.

Iruka followed him past the last rows of houses, into the thinner morning, where mist hung low over the grass.

Naruto chose a training field at random. Just dirt, a few old posts, and felled trees left to rot.

He stretched his shoulder and immediately regretted it.

“See?” Iruka asked.

Naruto ignored him. "I need clones."

"You can't even..."

Naruto bit his tongue, but still made a hand sign and, as usual, poured in chakra.

It turned out wrong. Too thin. Too scattered.

The three shadow clones burst and staggered as if drunk.

One of them fell face down and disappeared without a trace.

Naruto stared at the two on the left.

“…That’s a shame,” he muttered.

Iruka's expression softened slightly, as if he wanted to say it was all fine, but he didn't. He simply observed. Practical.

Naruto tried again. Again. Again.

By the time the sun peeked out from behind the trees, there were already about ten of them. Sweaty, shivering, but still there.

He sent them running. One to punch a pole. Another to run in circles. Two to climb trees. The rest to practice basic skills he hadn't mastered in years.

Iruka sat on a stump, looking like a man trying to decide whether he should drag his student home or pretend everything was okay.

Naruto's clones disappeared one by one. Memories washed over him in short flashes.

Too much at once.

He grabbed his head and sat up abruptly.

Iruka came quickly. "Naruto."

"I'm fine," Naruto said, which was probably still a lie.

Iruka dropped to his knees. "Then tell me what you're running from."

Naruto looked past him, at the village wall in the distance.

"I'm not running," he said. "I'm trying to move forward."

Iruka's eyes narrowed. "Ahead of what?"

Naruto swallowed.

He could have said "Boruto." He could have said "my son died." He could have said "I watched the world shatter like glass."

But Iruka would either think he was crazy, or worse, believe him and bear the burden too.

Naruto stood up.

"Bad people," Naruto said. "People I didn't expect to see."

Iruka didn't smile. "Name at least one."

Naruto's mouth dropped open.

Danzo.

If he said it now, it would spread. It would hurt Hiruzen. It might push Danzo to move earlier. Naruto didn't know. Naruto hated not knowing.

He fell silent.

Iruka sighed as if he'd been doing this for a thousand years. "Okay. Then we'll do this properly. We'll inform the Hokage."

Naruto's first impulse was to refuse.

His second instinct was to express his refusal louder.

Instead, he said, "Okay. But we don't tell him everything."

Iruka stared at him.

Naruto didn't look away until Iruka finally nodded.

They walked back through the village. It was busier now. Children ran past with lunchboxes. A dog barked. Someone was arguing about the price of fish. It was ordinary life. Naruto felt both sick and relieved.

The Hokage's office smelled the same. Paper, smoke, and old wood.

Hiruzen looked up from the table and smiled as if he hadn't felt tired in years.

"Iruka. Naruto. It's still early."

Naruto bowed out of habit, then realized that it was unnecessary to do so, and remained at the withers anyway, because it was easier that way.

Iruka did most of the talking. He kept it simple. He said Naruto was attacked in the forest by Mizuki, who took the forbidden scroll and returned it. He said Naruto was acting strange, but at the same time he seemed serious, focused, and scared.

After these last words, Hiruzen's gaze darted towards Naruto.

Naruto straightened up. "Old man. I need you to listen. Mizuki wasn't alone."

Hiruzen's expression changed slightly. Not surprise. More like a sharper edge.

Naruto quickly continued, not having time to think it all through. "There are bigger problems. People inside the village. I don't have proof yet. But if we wait for proof, people will die."

Silence.

Iruka looked like he wanted to cut the conversation off. But he didn't.

Hiruzen tapped the ash on the tray. "You speak as if you've seen war."

Naruto's breath caught.

"Yes," Naruto said, and left it at that. Not a lie, but not the whole truth either.

Hiruzen watched him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "I'll increase surveillance. I'll interrogate Mizuki using Yamanaka's methods. And I'll have ANBU covertly track his recent movements."

Naruto leaned forward. "And Uchiha."

Iruka winced.

Hiruzen's gaze froze. "What about them?"

Naruto squeezed his knees tightly. A simple thought: if I miss this moment, I'll lose everything.

"Don't let them get isolated," Naruto said. "Don't let them get cornered. Especially Itachi."

Iruka looked at them as if he had a headache.

Hiruzen's voice was quiet. "Naruto... why are you saying this?"

Naruto's answer was gruff, "Because I'm tired of funerals."

Hiruzen didn't ask any more questions.

He stood up, walked around the table and, like before, placed his hand on Naruto's head.

For a moment, Naruto hated it—his small size, the way he was treated like a child—and then his eyes lit up anyway.

"I don't know what burden you bear," Hiruzen said. "But I hear you."

Naruto swallowed hard and nodded.

That's all. No dramatic vow. No big scene. The old man simply decided to take the child seriously.

Outside, Iruka let out a breath as if he'd been holding it in the whole time. "You just told the Hokage to keep an eye on the Uchiha."

Naruto shrugged. "Yeah."

Iruka rubbed his face. "And he obeyed."

Naruto went. "Okay."

Days turned into weeks.

Naruto trained. A lot. Too much.

Iruka yelled at him for not sleeping. Naruto slept anyway, sometimes with his face buried in the table. He ate whatever was cheap. One time, he stole dumplings and later apologized because he got caught.

He joined the Academy and acted like a child when necessary because it was easier than having everyone staring at him.

But he watched what was happening.

He noticed that the shadows of the ANBU fighters on the rooftops began to change more frequently.

He noticed that agents of the organization "Root" - he did not call them that out loud - began to be interrupted, redirected, detained.

One day, he saw Itachi at the market, carrying a bag for an elderly woman. Calm. Polite. Not yet cornered.

Naruto didn't talk to him. Not then. Naruto wasn't that brave in his child's body. He just kept walking and pretended his eyes weren't watering.

Mizuki disappeared. Quietly.

One night, Iruka returned home with a bloody sleeve and a gloomy expression on his face.

"What?" Naruto asked, already standing up.

Iruka shook his head. "ANBU operation. Internal. You were right about... something."

Naruto's stomach turned over. "Did anyone die?"

Iruka hesitated. "Not this time."

Naruto sat back down as if his knees had buckled.

Not this time.

It wasn't a perfect solution. It wasn't a clear timeline. Naruto didn't even know if timelines worked at all. He hated thinking about it.

But the village didn't split apart that month. The Uchiha compound didn't plunge into darkness. People continued to live.

Then, one boring day, Naruto found himself alone on the training field again, throwing kunai at a pole and missing because his arm was tired.

He sat down on the ground.

There was something strange in the air.

It was as if the whole world held its breath.

A white beam of light flashed across the edge of his vision.

Naruto froze.

A chill ran through his chest.

He looked down at his hands.

For a second, they weren't hands. They were older. Wounded. Larger. And then they were small again.

He swallowed.

"Hey," he said to nowhere. "Is that all?"

There is no answer.

The light flashed once, like a heartbeat.

Naruto's mind flashed again to Boruto—blood, a smirk, trembling hands—and this time it wasn't just pain. There was something else underneath. A stubborn warmth.

Just right.

Naruto stood up quickly. "Okay," he said, his voice shaking. "Okay, I did it. I moved. I didn't wait."

He didn't know who he was talking to. To fate. To chakra. To his son. To his own.

The light returned, became brighter, and the training field became blurred.

Naruto's last clear thought was simple and stupid.

I hope this little brat sees this.

Then the world collapsed.

He opened his eyes and saw a ceiling he didn't recognize at first.

It was a hospital ceiling. Modern. Clean.

He sat up too quickly and pain shot through his ribs.

The nurse screamed. Someone ran.

Naruto blinked.

His hands became big again.

He looked at his chest. Bandages. Old scars. Fresh bruises. The body of a grown man.

He exhaled in a trembling voice.

The door swung open with difficulty.

Hinata burst in like a storm, her hair disheveled and her eyes red, and stopped as if she couldn't trust her own sight.

Naruto's mouth opened and for a second nothing came out.

Then he stupidly said, "Hey."

Hinata crossed the room and lightly punched him on the shoulder, then clung to him as if she'd never let go. Her voice was quiet and broken. "Don't ever do that again."

Naruto let out a single chuckle, like a wet laugh. "Yeah. I'll try."

There are footsteps behind her. Heavy, fast.

A fair-haired boy flew into the room - taller than Naruto remembered, older, alive.

Boruto.

He had scratches on his face, a bandage on his arm, and an expression on his face as if he had been angry for several days and had finally let it all out.

He stared at Naruto.

Naruto stared back.

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Boruto then slowly approached, as if afraid that Naruto would disappear again, and asked in a hoarse voice, "Did it work?"

Naruto swallowed. "Yes."

Boruto's jaw trembled. He quickly looked away, wiping his face as if it were sweat. "Okay."

Naruto reached out, grabbed his son by the back of his jacket, and pulled him toward him, awkwardly and too forcefully.

Boruto let it happen. Then he grabbed Naruto tightly by the back.

They didn't say anything smart.

There was no time for that.

Outside the room, someone was talking about the battle, about the rift, about how Naruto had only been absent from their world for a few minutes, not years.

Naruto didn't care at that moment.

He looked at Boruto over Hinata's shoulder.

"You sent me back," Naruto said quietly.

Boruto nodded. "I didn't know if you'd come back."

Naruto's thoughts were brief. He was a child. He was still a child. He shouldn't have done this.

Naruto took a deep breath. "You have no right to die in front of me."

Boruto snorted and tried to feign irritation. "You have no right to disappear either, idiot."

Naruto snorted. "Honestly."

A perfect ending wasn't waiting for them. Naruto knew that. He'd learned that the hard way.

But Boruto was here.

The village was located here.

And somewhere in the past, which may have been rewritten or merely borrowed, people were still alive because Naruto finally moved at the right moment.

Naruto laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes for a second.

"Just right," he muttered.

Boruto heard it anyway.

Boruto's voice was quiet, "Yes. Just right."

And this time, when Naruto opened his eyes, the light was gone.

END