Ripples in the Water

As Haruto made his way back to his room, his thoughts wandered again, but this time, they drifted toward Shizune. A small smile crept across his face. He'd take her fishing one day, definitely. The idea of them sitting by a quiet lake, away from the chaos of their lives as shinobi, felt strangely comforting. He imagined her laughing, struggling to bait the hook, and making some sarcastic comment about how simplistic it was. But beneath that smile, a thought lingered—Would this change her future?

In the anime, Shizune had her own path, defined by her relationship with Tsunade and her role in the medical world. But Haruto wondered if the choices he made—small ones, like taking her fishing or spending more time with her—might pull her away from that path. What if these little changes became ripples that eventually altered her trajectory completely?

What else was different from the anime?

His smile faded as he began to think more deeply. He wasn't just a passive observer in this world; his very presence had the power to change things. He was already starting to see cracks in the timeline he once thought was set in stone. Shuisi, for example—by all accounts, Shuisi should have been born years after Kakashi, yet here he was, the same age as Haruto and Kakashi. It didn't make sense.

Then there was Sakumo Hatake, the White Fang. In the original timeline, Sakumo had died about a year ago, but here he was, alive and well, pushing Haruto and his team through grueling training sessions. His death was supposed to be a turning point for Kakashi, a tragedy that shaped his future. Should Sakumo still die? If Haruto didn't interfere, would things play out as they were supposed to?

The questions mounted as Haruto went further down the rabbit hole. He could no longer rely on the anime as a strict guide. His existence here was throwing off the natural order of things, and each choice he made seemed to twist the future further away from what he remembered. What would be next? Who else might live—or die—because of him?

And then there was Daichi. Haruto hadn't fully allowed himself to face it yet, but the thought was always there, gnawing at him. Could he really let Daichi die if it meant preserving the timeline he remembered? Did the future even matter more than the people standing by him now?

For the first time since arriving in this world, Haruto didn't know the answers. He had always been a "walk forward" kind of person—control what you could, and don't waste time on what you couldn't. But now, for the first time, he found himself truly questioning the world around him.

As he reached his room, Haruto took a deep breath. No matter how different things became, no matter how many ripples he caused, he would still move forward. That was the only thing he could be certain of.