Chapter 306: Naruto and Boruto

"It's real, you know."

Seeing Naruto's expression, Natsuro couldn't help but smile knowingly. After all, this was exactly the reaction he'd expected when he brought Naruto here so abruptly.

"R-Really?"

Even though Natsuro had confirmed it, Naruto still couldn't fully believe it. He asked again, needing reassurance.

"It's true. We were just as shocked when we found out. And it's not just you, Sasuke met his grown-up self too, didn't he?" Natsuro said, pointing at Sasuke and the older Sasuke.

Naruto fell silent, glancing between Sasuke and the older version of him.

It was true. The older Sasuke definitely looked stronger than his current self, though also noticeably older and more worn.

If Sasuke could accept it… maybe he could too?

Eventually, Naruto gave in to reality and turned stiffly to look at Boruto.

And in that same moment, he saw Boruto studying him as well, eyes full of curiosity, probably wondering what his dad looked like as a kid.

Suddenly, Naruto felt his whole body tense up. He'd never been in a situation like this. What should he do? Was he supposed to call him "son"? Or…?

"S-s-so, uh… nice weather today, huh?" Naruto stammered, just as he was about to call him "son," his nerves got the better of him and he changed the subject mid-sentence, scratching his head awkwardly.

"Ah… yeah, the weather's really nice," Boruto replied, just as awkward, mirroring Naruto's mannerisms.

"A-ha-ha-ha…" The two stared at each other and laughed nervously.

Everyone else watching the scene couldn't help but feel it, they were definitely father and son. Despite the slight age gap, the resemblance was uncanny.

Naruto quickly scooted over to Natsuro, whispering in distress, "Natsuro… I-I really can't accept having such a big son all of a sudden…"

Meanwhile, Boruto turned to the older Sasuke and asked, "Mr. Sasuke, um… since we're not from the same timeline, can he really be considered my dad?"

Even Sasuke didn't have a good answer. Technically, from a bloodline perspective, this Naruto was the same as the one in their world. But it still didn't feel quite right.

If it were him… he probably wouldn't be able to say it either.

Natsuro, on the other hand, was still smiling, and Sasuke chuckled as he watched Naruto's helpless expression, it really was amusing.

Seeing that Naruto was genuinely struggling, Natsuro finally decided to step in."Actually, I never said you had to 'accept' him."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked.

"Think about it. It's not like Boruto's staying in this world forever, just for a few days. Just treat it as a sneak peek at what your future son will look like. And if you really can't handle it, you can just call him by name," Natsuro said, looking at Boruto.

"That's right. Just calling me Boruto is fine," Boruto nodded, then looked at Natsuro with a subtle plea in his eyes, wondering what he should call Naruto.

Clearly, he wasn't expecting any help from Sasuke. Like Naruto, he turned to him for guidance.

"Don't look at me," Natsuro said, raising an eyebrow. "There's no way you're just going to call Naruto by name. So just be honest and call him Dad. Your Naruto won't blame you for it."

Boruto deflated like a wilted flower, looking back at Naruto.

"H-hi, Boruto… It's a bit weird, but I guess we'll be spending the next few days together. Let's get along, okay?" Naruto said, finally managing to speak up.

"Y-yeah… I'll be in your care, Dad…" Boruto mumbled, his voice barely audible.

But even so, everyone in the room heard it.

Not just Natsuro and Sasuke, even the older Sasuke smirked quietly from the side.

The older Sasuke glanced at Natsuro, suspecting that this whole setup was intentional, but the result wasn't bad at all.

Naruto, meanwhile, stood there with wide eyes, that one word, "Dad," hit him like a cannonball straight to the heart.

His eyes suddenly began to shine. At that moment, he made a huge decision:

Even if it was just for a few days, he would be the best father he could possibly be.

"Natsuro! Do you still have anything to say? If not, I'm going to take Boruto out to explore the village! I bet he's never seen Konoha in this era!" Naruto exclaimed eagerly.

Natsuro was caught off guard by Naruto's sudden enthusiasm and sighed.

"Of course I still have something to say. You think I brought you here just to reunite with your son?"

"Hehe… anything else?" Naruto laughed sheepishly once he realized.

"Urashiki. Urashiki Ōtsutsuki. Didn't Sasuke already tell you that he's after your Nine-Tails chakra? Were you not paying attention?"

"Uh… I think I heard something about that… but I was too shocked about Boruto, so I didn't catch all of it…" Naruto scratched his head awkwardly.

Boruto looked at his younger father and suddenly felt that calling him "Dad" wasn't so hard after all. No matter what world it was, his dad was still the same old Naruto.

He also remembered what Naruto had just said, about showing him around the village, and his eyes lit up.

In his own world, Naruto was the Seventh Hokage, always busy, never having time for him. He never even had time to teach him ninjutsu, let alone go out shopping together…

Boruto looked at Naruto again. He might not be the exact same, but… he seemed pretty great too.

Natsuro re-explained the situation with Urashiki Ōtsutsuki.

"I'm not scared! Let him come, I'll show him the power of me and the Nine-Tails!" Naruto pumped his fist with confidence.

"And… do you know how to counter his fishing rod tool?" Natsuro asked calmly.

"Uh… just don't let it touch me, right?" Naruto said, clenching his fist and smacking it into his palm like he had just figured it out.

"…That's basically useless." Natsuro rolled his eyes.

"Well then, do you have any ideas?" Naruto shot back.

"I'm not a god. I don't know how that tool works either. All we can do is deal with it as it comes," Natsuro said frankly.

"Not even you have a plan?" Naruto frowned. In his mind, there wasn't a problem Natsuro couldn't solve.

But now… Natsuro had admitted he wasn't sure either.Naruto realized this situation might be a lot more serious than he thought.

"Forget it. Just remember, if you ever run into Urashiki, and you're losing, call on the Nine-Tails. And whatever you do, don't leave the village. I'll take care of the rest," Natsuro said.

As long as Naruto stayed within the village and used Nine-Tails' chakra, he would sense it and use the Flying Thunder God Technique to teleport to him immediately.

Naruto and Sasuke both understood this.

Natsuro still wasn't sure of Urashiki's true strength.But with the Ōtsutsuki name, he was undoubtedly dangerous, so they had to be cautious.

"Alright." Naruto nodded, then glanced at Boruto and the older Sasuke. He clenched his fists.

Then he looked back at Natsuro and said, "Hey… Natsuro, can I be the one to deal with Urashiki? I want to protect Boruto myself."

"…!" Boruto turned to look at Naruto again. He might still be a kid, but in that moment, he felt like he was staring at the grown-up version of his father.

Natsuro looked at Naruto's serious expression, thought for a moment, then nodded.

"Fine. If you're capable. But your safety comes first, if I see that you're losing, I'll intervene."

Urashiki likely wasn't weak, but he also didn't seem overwhelmingly strong, after all, Boruto and the older Sasuke were still alive.That alone suggested Urashiki wasn't an absolute powerhouse.

So, letting Naruto take the lead wasn't impossible.As long as Naruto avoided having his chakra stolen by the tool, he stood a good chance.And if anything went wrong, Natsuro would be there.

"Got it. Then, can I go show Boruto around the village now?" Naruto asked.

"Go, go." Natsuro waved him off.

Naruto grinned and waved at Boruto.

Boruto glanced at the older Sasuke.

Seeing everything unfold, the older Sasuke nodded at him, and Boruto excitedly followed Naruto out of the office.

After they left, Older Sasuke looked at Natsuro and asked,"Are you sure this is okay?"

"Don't worry. I'm not sure what Naruto's strength was like in your world during this period, but here, he's not weak. At the very least, taking on you as you are now… shouldn't be a problem," Natsuro said, glancing at the older Sasuke with a slightly awkward expression.

Older Sasuke's face changed instantly. He felt like he was being underestimated. But then, recalling how easily this timeline's younger version of himself had captured him earlier… he could only let out a bitter smile.

Being underestimated… maybe he deserved it.

At this point, older Sasuke also considered that, judging from the strength of this world's Sasuke, Naruto shouldn't be much weaker. So even when facing Urashiki Ōtsutsuki, it shouldn't be so easy for Urashiki to succeed.

Still, thinking about Naruto's ever-reckless personality… he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy.

But then, older Sasuke looked at Natsuro and Sasuke, both of whom seemed calm and unbothered.He suddenly felt like he was being more anxious than the people actually involved. Why was he so worked up when they weren't?

Natsuro then turned to Sasuke and said, "Since Boruto has Naruto to accompany him, then adult you can hang out with your younger self. I'm sure you two have a lot to talk about."

"Got it," Sasuke nodded. Older Sasuke didn't refuse. He knew he wouldn't be allowed to act alone anyway so being supervised by his younger self wasn't the worst outcome.

The two Sasukes soon left the office.

Natsuro leaned back in his chair, letting his mind wander again.

To be honest, he hadn't expected the future versions of Sasuke and Boruto to arrive in this era. After all, he'd never even watched Boruto.

But what he didn't know was, even if he had seen it, he would still be surprised. Because in the original timeline, the moment they traveled to was not this one.

"Ōtsutsuki, huh…" he muttered, a slight frown on his face. Even if this Urashiki wasn't especially powerful, the fact that he existed at all meant there were likely more Ōtsutsuki out there.

Before this, he had assumed the Ōtsutsuki clan was just hanging out on the moon or something but now… clearly, that wasn't the case.

"Bloodlines…" he murmured with a sigh. No matter how you looked at it, the Ōtsutsuki clan had the most powerful bloodline in the world.

Which meant that the strongest Ōtsutsuki might be far beyond anything he had imagined.

In other words, their future enemies could become more and more dangerous… more and more troublesome…

He kind of regretted not watching Boruto now. But then again, when he transmigrated, Boruto hadn't even aired much yet and given how manga tends to go, early villains are rarely that strong anyway.

So… even if he had watched it, it probably wouldn't have helped much.

Natsuro sighed. It's the same conclusion as always, only strength matters. No matter what comes, he'd deal with it when it did, and besides, Boruto was already a teenager, right? That likely meant there were still many years before the full-scale Ōtsutsuki invasion happened.

He had time. Time to grow stronger. Maybe, just maybe, he'd be the one to lead Konoha in an attack on the Ōtsutsuki clan.

Natsuro shook his head at the thought. He was getting way ahead of himself again, it was better to focus on practical matters.

For instance, the arrival of Sasuke and Boruto from the future had reminded him of something, wasn't there a Naruto movie that also involved time travel? Something about a mission in Rōran?

He wasn't sure if that event would happen in this world too, but… He'd ask Shikaku to keep an eye out for it, just in case.

As he was in thought, Shikaku returned to the office, and the usual calm atmosphere returned to the Hokage's room.

Meanwhile, Naruto was walking through Konoha with Boruto, showing him around.

As they strolled and chatted, Naruto, curious but also a bit nervous, finally asked:

"Boruto… who's your mom?"

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Currently on Chapter 361 - Despair In The Face of The Ten Tails