For Sasuke, who was now thirty years old, to bring up this question, Akira didn't find it strange at all. In fact, he was surprised Sasuke hadn't asked sooner!
Had the once reckless and cool-headed boy finally matured?
Sasuke had initially focused on the bigger picture, and only now was he bringing up what mattered most to him personally.
"This is going to be a long story," Akira began.
"Then make it short," Sasuke responded, an urgent tone to his voice.
Indeed, Sasuke could see that this timeline wasn't his original one, but the majority of the circumstances seemed to be similar. Had the original tragedy of the Uchiha Clan's massacre really had another possible outcome? Sasuke needed to know.
"To put it simply, the Uchiha Clan staged a coup seven years ago—and it succeeded," Akira replied.
"A coup... and it succeeded!?" Sasuke was stunned, unable to believe his ears.
The plan for the Uchiha Clan to stage a coup was something the higher-ups of Konoha had known about, which was why they had sent his brother to wipe out the Uchiha Clan.
But now Akira was saying the coup had succeeded? How had that been possible?
Konoha knew it was coming; they surely must have been prepared. How had it worked out?
Sasuke had a thousand questions in his heart, but at that moment, he didn't even know where to begin.
"If you want to learn about the Uchiha coup, just ask anyone in the village. You don't need me to explain all the details," Akira said, seeing the look of shock and disbelief on Sasuke's face.
Sasuke nodded. If the coup had truly succeeded, then surely the villagers would remember the events from just seven years ago.
"So, do you have any more questions for me?" Sasuke asked, setting aside his shock for now.
It was Akira's turn to ask a question.
"Anything else I want to ask?" Akira pondered.
He realized he didn't have many questions left. Asking about Urashiki's abilities? There was no point in that. If they fought side by side, they would surely share information.
"I'll keep my questions for now," Akira said after thinking for a moment, deciding he had nothing pressing to ask.
With that, both sides had gotten what they wanted, and Akira didn't intend to restrict their movements in Konoha. They were free to explore.
Even though they were from a different timeline, Akira trusted that Sasuke and Boruto wouldn't have ill intentions toward Konoha.
Naturally, with Akira, the head of the Anbu, giving them his word, Sasuke and Boruto felt much more at ease walking around the village.
Akira even personally escorted the two of them out of the Anbu headquarters.
"Hey, Akira! I've developed a new jutsu recently..." At that moment, another voice called out unexpectedly—it was this timeline's younger Sasuke, often called "Second Sasuke" to differentiate between the two.
The Sasuke from the other timeline was in his early thirties, while this version, the Second Sasuke, was Akira's peer, a fifteen-year-old.
Seeing the younger version of himself, Sasuke felt a mix of emotions—mostly, he felt happy.
Although it wasn't himself, it was still another version of himself in this timeline.
Because his father had succeeded with the coup, this Sasuke hadn't needed to set off on a path of vengeance.
The feeling brought Sasuke great peace, as though some long-held regret had finally been soothed.
It was like when someone separated from their beloved due to circumstances, only to see that in a parallel world, another version of them ended up marrying that beloved and living happily together. It made them feel like their own regret had been alleviated, even just a little.
That's exactly how Sasuke felt now.
Looking at this version of himself—the Second Sasuke—he seemed much more full of life, more optimistic than Sasuke remembered himself being at that age.
This was something Sasuke had always yearned for but had never been able to achieve.
"Who's this guy, Akira?" The Second Sasuke approached, naturally noticing the older Sasuke, and asked in surprise.
"Oh, he's a friend of mine. He might be staying in Konoha for a while," Akira replied casually, unsure of how exactly to get the two to interact.
Akira quickly changed the topic, asking, "You said you developed a new jutsu? What kind of jutsu is it?"
"It's an incredible one—based on the Sharingan. It can see through any transformation technique!" The Second Sasuke grinned, easily distracted by Akira's question.
"Sasuke!" Another familiar voice called out at that moment. A blond figure appeared—it was Naruto, visibly angry.
However, as Naruto walked over, his eyes were drawn to Boruto. He stared at Boruto intently.
"Is that... my father? My father at such a young age?" Boruto looked at Naruto. The feeling was odd.
It wasn't like looking at his father—it felt more like looking at an older brother.
"Did the Uchiha Clan never face a massacre? And Naruto and I ended up being close friends?" Sasuke observed Naruto and the Second Sasuke, a nostalgic smile appearing on his face.
Although Sasuke had only just arrived in this version of Konoha, and although it was entirely different from the one he remembered, it seemed to match the life he had always dreamed of.
"Golden hair, blue eyes, and he even looks like me!" Naruto examined Boruto, mumbling to himself.
Eventually, Naruto seemed to forget about his quarrel with Sasuke, leaning in close to Akira and whispering, "Akira, who is this kid? Could he be my dad's secret child from somewhere?"
"Idiot!" The Second Sasuke rolled his eyes at Naruto's comment and retorted, "Did you forget? Your parents died the day you were born, sealing the Nine-Tails. How could you have a younger brother?"
"Oh, right!" Naruto had long grown used to Sasuke's scolding. After thinking about it, he realized Sasuke was right.
If there had been an illegitimate child, it would have been an older sibling, not a younger one.
But still, this kid looked just like him. Naruto found it hard to believe there was no blood relation.
"His name is Uzumaki—uh, Namikaze Boruto. He might be related to you," Akira said, knowing that claiming no relation would be hard to swallow. There had to be an explanation.
"A relative, huh? Namikaze Boruto? I thought so..." Naruto's eyes lit up, a big smile spreading across his face.
Although the villagers had treated Naruto well over the years, he had always been alone in Konoha.
Having a relative—even a distant one—made Naruto very happy.
Now he wouldn't be alone anymore.
"Boruto, do you have a place to stay? If not, you can stay with me!" Naruto said excitedly.
"Uh..." Boruto was certainly interested in staying with his father, but he was on a mission. He turned to look at Sasuke.
He clearly wanted Sasuke to stay with him, fearing he might slip up if he stayed alone with his father.
"Go ahead. I'll be staying with the Uchiha Clan for a while," Sasuke replied, pretending not to understand Boruto's silent plea.
Boruto worried about accidentally revealing too much to Naruto? If Naruto had that kind of subtlety, he wouldn't be Naruto at all—Sasuke wasn't the least bit concerned.
Instead, he was quite curious about the current state of the Uchiha Clan.
If the coup had succeeded, what would the Uchiha district look like now?
Besides, with Akira aware of his identity and holding the position of Anbu Chief, surely he had some sway within the Uchiha Clan. With Akira covering for him, staying there for a few days shouldn't be an issue.
"Alright then!" Akira nodded in agreement when Sasuke expressed his desire to stay with the Uchiha Clan.
And so, Sasuke followed Akira to the Uchiha district.
As for Boruto, he went home with Naruto.
Following his father, Boruto stole glances at Naruto, finding it a fascinating experience.
He was curious—what was his father's daily life like?
They hadn't gone far when a young girl approached, holding a beautifully wrapped gift box. She had pure Byakugan eyes and looked gentle as water.
"Mother!" Boruto recognized her instantly, even though she looked much younger than he remembered. It was Hinata Hyuga—his mother.
So, at this point, had his father and mother already started dating?
"Hey, Hinata. What's that?" Naruto greeted her.
"Hello, Naruto-kun. This is a gift I prepared for Akira. His fifteenth birthday is coming up, and I'm sure he's forgotten all about it," Hinata said, returning the greeting.
"Oh, then you should head to the Uchiha district—he went home," Naruto reminded her.
"Thank you!" Hinata smiled, turning to head toward the Uchiha district.
"Uh..." Boruto was left dumbfounded. He had assumed his parents were already a couple and thought Hinata's gift was for Naruto.
But seeing their casual conversation left him utterly stunned.
What was going on?
Had his father been replaced?
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POWER STONE!!!
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Note: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 300+ at patreon.com/Emik01.