"Dad?! Nii-san!"
They stare at Izuna with varied emotions.
"Woah! Let's hold on for now!"
Izuna immediately stops them.
"What will people think if I have an eighteen-year-old son and a thirty-two-year-old younger brother?"
Izuna rolls his eyes.
"You three being present here has already messed up the timeline."
"I… I see."
Tatsuya and Sasuke calm down. They look at their surroundings and turn their attention to Izuna.
"Phew! That was a close call."
Sasuke heaves a sigh of relief.
Hmm…
Izuna scrutinizes Tatsuya as the latter anxiously stands at the spot.
"You took your looks from me, but your hairs are after Mei. I will give you a score of 10 out of 10 for your handsome looks. As for you earlier performance, 5 points for your courage and 1 point for your foolish execution."
Ah!
"Well!"
Tatsuya scratches his head in embarrassment.
Izuna's expression turns stern, and he harshly rebukes Tatsuya.
"You fool! Do you think a Sage level Fuinjutsu formation is so easy to solve that any Tom, Dick, and Harry can crack it? Here! Take a look!"
Izuna waves his hand.
Shoom…
The Fuinjutsu formation around the house appears in front of them.
"Take a closer look at the Fuinjutsu seals and tell me, do you understand where you made a mistake? If not for me disabling the rest of the formation, I won't be bantering here with you."
Gulp…
Tatsuya gulps his saliva and inspects the seals.
His expression changes change from trepidation to fear, then to amazement and wonder, to finally that of relief.
"This sealing formation is really amazing. I… I only deciphered the outer layer."
Tatsuya lowers his head in shame as he stares at Izuna's toes; his face turns red in embarrassment.
Pfft… Haha…
Izuna cracks up at his expression and pats his head.
"I am not angry at you. It's just that I am ashamed of myself. I didn't teach you well."
'Also, I always wanted to say that catchphrase.'
Izuna shakes his head. He turns to Sasuke.
"There must be a valid reason for you three to be here."
Swoosh…
A portal appears behind the group and sucks them in.
Swoosh…
The portal opens in the new headquarters of In-Yō.
"Let's talk here. No one will disturb us here."
Hmm…
Izuna and Sasuke look around in surprise.
"Isn't this our headquarters?" Tatsuya wonders in surprise.
"I am also amazed that Nii-san created this place this early?"
Sasuke stares at the small dimension in wonder.
In the future, this place has become one of the most important strategic forts of the shinobi world. Although, this place currently looks desolate; in the future, it is gigantic enough to occupy an entire village.
"It's just empty husk for now. Let's sit and talk business."
Swish…
Izuna waves his hand and three chairs and a table appear in front of them.
"Now tell me the reason for your arrival in the past? I am sure you already know this, but Time Travel is for Immortals and Fools."
Izuna places his hand under his chin as his expression turns grave.
"And I am sure you both aren't immortals, so do the rest of the math yourself."
"Well!"
Sasuke and Tatsuya's faces turn red from embarrassment.
"Izuna Nii-san? It's not what you think it is? There is a very powerful enemy traveling through time to hunt Naruto…"
"Oh… you mean Urashiki Otsutsuki!"
"Yes!"
Sasuke nods his head.
"Wait!"
"You already knew about it." Tatsuya and Sasuke stare at him in amazement.
"Nii-san is as amazing as ever! He never fails to surprise us." Sasuke sighs in wonder.
'Well!! To be honest, I am that cool kid who read the story and already knows the spoilers.'
Izuna curiously stares at them.
'Though the story has changed a little due to the appearance of new characters. Still, I wonder just how powerful is this version of Urashiki and why my future self didn't interfere. I will hold my curiosity on this one or I might erase an entire timeline by mistake.'
Izuna makes a mental note.
"Alright! Alright! Don't reveal anything or the history might change."
Izuna prevents them from speaking further.
"Let's get to the matter at hand. Boruto would be fine. I already informed Tsunade of his condition. She will take care of him." Izuna assures them.
Hmm…
Adult Sasuke curiously stares at Izuna.
"Nii-san! Since when did you know of our arrival?"
'Way before you were born. I can't say that, can I?'
"I sensed some disturbance in the temporal and spatial coordinates earlier. So, I hid my presence and arrived near the disturbance. There I saw you three hopping out of the temporal field. You three must have used some sort of artifact to protect yourself or else the temporal laws might have already deaged you to dust." Izuna states the facts.
"Yes, we used an Otsutsuki artifact."
Sasuke forks out Karasuki from his storage.
Hmm…
Izuna examines the turtle-shaped artifact.
"Master Izuna! I am Karasuki, a device meant for temporal shifts."
Karasuki trembles a little upon noticing Izuna's gaze.
'Huh! Am I seeing things, or is it just a figment of my imagination? Why is this artifact shaking upon noticing me? It's a relic of the past and a prized artifact of Otsutsuki. It might be my imagination.'
"So, you used this artifact to travel through time? It sure requires a lot of chakra."
Mm…
Sasuke nods his head.
"Nii-san?! If you noticed us the very instance we arrived here, that means you…"
"Ah Yes! Yes! Don't mind the small stuff. I already knew what I should know." Izuna waves his hand.
"For now! You both should return to your inn and relax. The temporal shift took a toll on your body. I will settle you tomorrow. And here…"
Izuna takes out a stack of Ryo and passes it to Tatsuya.
"That's 300,000 Ryo. It should be enough to last you for a month. If not, you can ask me for more, but in the future, I will cut this from your pocket money."
"Please don't." Tatsuya pales.
Haha…
"I was joking." Izuna waves his hand.
"I knew it." Tatsuya has a deadpan expression.
Sasuke stares at their antics and rolls his eyes.
'Like Father, like son!"
Whoosh…
Tatsuya and Sasuke flicker towards the inn.
"Sasuke! Wait!"
Izuna stops Sasuke.
"Is something wrong, Nii-san?"
Adult Sasuke turns to Izuna.
"Yes! Out of the three time-travelers, you are the sole person whose past self is present here. So, don't interact with your past self, or else it will create a paradox and it might erase one of you from the timeline. You know the rest of the details."
"Yes!" Adult Sasuke solemnly nods his head.
"Also, I can still see that you haven't completely mastered your Rinnegan yet. Seems like you have been slacking in your training. Come to the training ground 4 tomorrow at sharp 7 am. Understood!"
"Yes!" Sasuke straightens his back.
"Good! Go and have some rest for now." Izuna waves his hand and dismisses him.
Whoosh…
Sasuke flickers away.
Hmm…
'I got some clues about the future from their presence here. I can only speculate about it in my mind. Even my thinking of this matter will drastically affect the future. Fuck! Time travel is such a pain in the ass.'
"For now, I want to sleep. I will think about it later."
Yawn…
-------------
Back at the inn,
Tatsuya pays the money for a night and returns to his room. He sits on his bed and takes out a picture of Izuna and Mei with a ten-year-old kid in their arms.
The kid looks exactly like Izuna's past self. Izuna's features are a bit more prominent. He still has his young appearance, but his body is a little bulky and his muscles are evenly toned. Mei is still tall and slender but there are some slight changes in her personality which are apparent from her posture. She is gently hugging Tatsuya and there is motherly love in her gaze.
Sob…
Tatsuya wipes tears from his eyes and pockets the picture.
"After ten years, I finally got to meet you. Even if it is your past self! You are still that strict and grumpy father of mine. Though I prefer this past self-more!"
Tatsuya complains a little.
He takes out a small diary and writes about his encounter with Izuna.
"Mother! I will write about all of my adventures with father. When I return you can read them any time you want."
After finishing his writing, he stores the diary in his storage scroll as a small heart shape box rolls out in front of him.
"How silly of me! I even forgot to pass Aunt Ayaka's present to dad."
He places the box on the table.
"I will pass it to him in the morning."
Sigh…
Sasuke sighs to himself as he witnesses Tatsuya from the opposite room.
"Nii-san! Wherever you are, please return home. Your family is waiting for you at home."