Naruto: Passerby and Returnee

Chapter 107 The Chain Reaction Triggered by Hot Pot

A fierce battle for food has begun at Vortex House.

First, Jiraiya used a feint, then Boruto used clones to cheat, but in the end, Sasuke emerged victorious. Naruto, who was most enthusiastic about cooking the hot pot, was particularly biased, always giving Sasuke extra portions of whatever Sasuke liked. Because the portions were so generous, all four of them ate until their stomachs were bulging. Boruto and Jiraiya sprawled unceremoniously in their chairs, while Naruto only paused briefly before raising his hands to form hand seals.

However, another large hand completely covered his two fingers that were about to overlap, and that deep and gentle adult voice that he once knew so well said, "Let me do it. Creating a clone will also consume energy."

Naruto's mind drifted away. Nine busy years had stretched his perception of time infinitely; his two identities had forced him to live a double life. The long passage of time was enough for the figures of his deceased friends to gradually be replaced by their grown-up forms, but upon seeing the grown-up Sasuke, he suddenly understood clearly how much of a failure he had been in the past. He had promised to be Sasuke's destiny, but he couldn't see the same happiness in the older Sasuke as in the younger Sasuke.

"Let's go together." Naruto knew that Sasuke wouldn't give up easily, and Naruto didn't want to bring up the missing arm at all, so he simply went along with Sasuke's wishes.

One person cleared the table, the other washed the dishes; they worked together quite well. Sasuke noticed two sets of bowls and chopsticks with the clan crest on the dish rack and finally couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. But he still asked questions cautiously, as if afraid of crossing a line.

Do you usually eat with your neighbors? I saw the same pattern over there.

"Yeah, we both live alone, so it's nice to share a life together." Naruto was lost in thought, only managing not to drop the dishes thanks to muscle memory; his answer was practically subconscious.

These words somehow triggered Sasuke, causing a sharp pain to spread from his chest. But Naruto knew that this was not from his emotions, but rather a synesthetic sensation he felt after habitually focusing on Sasuke.

Naruto paused for a moment, then quickly continued washing the dishes as if nothing had happened. The heavy heartache was something he couldn't ignore, but facing the grown-up Sasuke, he couldn't be as natural as when comforting the younger Sasuke. It was as if something was stuck in his throat, preventing him from making a sound.

"Oh? You're the Toad Sage?"

"Hmm~ Isn't he handsome?"

"...You can't tell at all..."

"Huh? How can such a tasteless child not appreciate the heroic figure of the hermit of Mount Myōboku!"

"So, where is your heroic spirit now!"

The noise from the dining table slightly eased the silence here. Naruto was racking his brains, not knowing how to comfort Sasuke, who was practically a stranger, and was sweating profusely when he suddenly heard Sasuke say in a very soft voice:

"...That's fine."

How could Sasuke describe his feelings when he said those words? The pain persisted, but it was merely the lingering ache of old wounds, nothing more. The worst was over; he had long been prepared to be a guardian. However, when he saw the traces of two people living together in the two houses, when he noticed the natural smile on Naruto's face as he answered, he suddenly understood what he had missed. The scene he had imagined in his dreams had become reality; it was possible. He had so many opportunities to grasp the light, yet this was the future he was faced with.

It's too late, too late...

"Oh right, even though it's only early autumn, you should still prepare a light blanket." Naruto thought of a reason to change the subject, little did he know that he was actually still going back to the topic, "Sasuke has blankets for all four seasons under his bed. You can go find one of the right thickness. I've already put them away."

"I understand, thank you." Sasuke wiped his hands, picked up the gloves on the table, turned and left without pausing for even a second.

The moment the door closed, both sides simultaneously unleashed a ninjutsu.

"Sasuke-san? Why use a barrier?" Boruto asked curiously.

Sasuke checked the integrity of the barrier and said with unusual calmness, "Boruto, there's something I just confirmed, and I have to tell you now. Be prepared."

"Ugh?"

Jiraiya pricked up his ears to listen to the sounds from the other side of the wall, and his playful expression vanished instantly. "Naruto, these two give me a strange feeling, you must have noticed it too."

"Ah."

"When you let Sasuke go, you should have made things clear to him, right? About using kidnapping to cover up your defection."

"Of course it's been explained clearly. There's no need to doubt the lecherous immortal anymore; it's basically confirmed now."

"This world is not our past."

"They do not come from our future."

"Hey!!"

"As expected..."

Jiraiya stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment, then asked, "Should we lay our cards on the table?"

Naruto's gaze remained fixed on the wall separating them. His eyes couldn't see through things, but his senses could. He had been paying attention to what was happening on the other side of the wall, and of course, he had "heard" their conversation.

"What do you mean this isn't our past?" Boruto tried to understand, since going back to the past was already beyond his comprehension.

Sasuke appeared calm, but the hidden pain in his heart never disappeared. He analyzed everything in the present as if he were analyzing his past self. "In my memory, I didn't live next door to Naruto. Naruto rarely cooked and usually ate instant noodles instead of rice."

"He has a mischievous personality. When assigned a task he considers unimportant, he will always complain and will never accept it peacefully."

“I can confirm that he is not…your father’s past.” He is not my Naruto.

"To figure out the current situation, we'd better try to wake up that turtle. If Urashiki appears in a different world than this, then our Naruto will be in great danger."

So he had already noticed something was wrong? It wasn't for nothing that he tried so hard to probe.

“No rush. Now that we’ve noticed something’s wrong, they’ll notice too. After all, that’s Sasuke.” Naruto was worried about Sasuke’s condition but had great faith in his abilities. “Now that they’re alone in a strange world, they’re bound to be suspicious of everything around them. Let’s not provoke them any further.”

Jiraiya thought it over and over and felt it made a lot of sense. "...That's true. If it were me, I probably would have made my move the moment you called out your name."

Naruto was speechless. He turned and looked Jiraiya up and down, saying, "Even if you were reduced to ashes, I would still recognize you. Can you really disguise yourself?"

"Idiot! It was just an analogy!"