Noticing Sara being caught, Kakashi finally exhaled in relief and landed beside Kaede.
Though the figure was blurry, the speed of that move left no doubt, it had to be Kaede acting.
Only now did Kakashi have the chance to really look at the ninja opposite him, and to his surprise, this ninja wore a Konoha forehead protector. A Konoha ninja!
Elsewhere,
Because the Ryūmyaku's energy distorted time and space, Naruto, having come from the future, watched as Sara was saved by others and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness..."
But even as he relaxed, a flicker of tension returned to his gaze.
That speed,
So fast!
At this point in time, Naruto only had a half-developed Rasengan shuriken, hadn't mastered Sage Mode yet, and hadn't gained the experience from battling the Six Paths of Pain. His power didn't reach the level of an elite ninja (Kage level).
Of course, if he unleashed the Nine-Tails' power, that would be a different story. Full Nine-Tails mode would push him into the super-Kage tier. If he unleashed Ashura's chakra too, and stirred the Six Paths Sage, he might even reach Six Paths-level power on the spot.
But from Kaede's perspective, Naruto's scariest skill was one of the ninja world's greatest techniques: Mouth Jutsu.
Even Nagato, the clear boss who kept Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, and Sasori all in check, once fell victim to Mouth Jutsu, surrendering his life and even reviving enemies he'd killed before. It was even more useful than some of the other divine powers!
Whoosh!
Kaede landed in a corridor of a tall building.
The girl in his arms had already closed her eyes in fear, but sensing she was unharmed, she carefully opened them again.
"...Ah."
When Sara recognized Kaede's face, she froze briefly. After a few seconds, cheeks flushing, she stammered, "L-let me go."
Tsk!
Seeing her reaction, Kaede clicked his tongue. Normally, in the original story, Naruto would have slapped her twice right there, but with him, her reaction changed instantly.
Is it really true that a difference in appearance changes how the plot unfolds?
Sigh.
Looks like there's one more girl who's after him now.
Maybe he should start wearing a mask like Kakashi does?
"Th-thank you for saving me... Oh, by the way, who are you?!"
Once Kaede set her down, Sara didn't dare meet his gaze directly, instead looking away nervously to thank him, before suddenly remembering to ask.
Kaede looked at her calmly. "I'm a ninja from Konoha. I heard there were some incidents in this town and was sent here to investigate."
"I see..." Sara nodded and was about to say everything was fine here when two figures swooped in from the distance and landed nearby.
It was Kakashi and Naruto, the two who had just exchanged a brief clash midair.
Kakashi tilted his thumb at Naruto and said, "Big brother, this guy says he's from Konoha, but I've never seen him before."
Naruto glanced at Kakashi, displeased. "I haven't seen you two either. So, what's really going on? Are you also on a mission here?"
That question triggered an immediate reaction.
Kakashi's expression darkened, and he swiftly pressed a kunai to Naruto's throat, his voice low and serious: "You're not a Konoha ninja!"
How could a Konoha ninja not recognize Kaede?
Not just Konoha, probably no ninja from the Five Great Nations would fail to recognize Kaede's identity. Only isolated, rogue ninjas scattered in the civilian world might not know him.
"What are you talking about? I think you guys aren't Konoha ninjas!" Naruto retorted, eyes narrowing as he stared at the kunai near his neck.
Kaede shook his head, speaking calmly, "Let him go, Kakashi. He is a Konoha ninja, but not a 'current' Konoha ninja."
"Huh?"
Kakashi blinked, momentarily confused by Kaede's words. Still, he obeyed and stepped back two paces, releasing Naruto.
Naruto touched his neck and suddenly realized something. His eyes widened as he looked at Kakashi, "You're Kakashi?"
No wonder... this guy really does look like Kakashi-sensei, just a lot younger.
"What's wrong?" Kakashi frowned.
Kaede made a hand gesture telling Kakashi to stay quiet, then slowly explained, "Looks like the intelligence was right. The Ryūmyaku energy really did warp time and space. This guy should be from the future... By the way, it's currently the 45th year of Konoha."
"Forty-fifth year of Konoha?"
Naruto was puzzled by the first part, but the last sentence shocked him. "Isn't it year 64?"
Naruto still hadn't fully grasped the situation, but Kakashi's expression gradually shifted to one of realization. He looked at Naruto and asked, "What's your relationship to Kakashi?"
"Kakashi is my Sensei..." Naruto replied, still a bit dazed.
Kakashi's face fell immediately. "What?! You're my student? How did I end up with such a dumb student in the future?!"
From Kakashi's perspective, Naruto's slow understanding made him question his own judgment in the future.
Naruto was completely bewildered by Kakashi's words.
Only after Kakashi weakly explained for a long time did Naruto finally get the gist. Then he turned to Kaede, surprised, "Does Kakashi-sensei have an older brother? I've never heard of him before."
"Hm?"
Kakashi was stunned by Naruto's question and his expression darkened.
Even if Naruto wasn't his student, Kakashi should have heard of Kaede. Could it be that something happened to him, and he disappeared from the world twenty years later?
"Stop asking about the future, Kakashi," Kaede interrupted, noticing Kakashi's gaze. "Knowing too much could cause major disruptions in the timeline."
Naruto coming from the future not knowing Kaede could mean one of two things:
Either Kaede disappeared before Naruto was even born, so Naruto never heard of him, which was unlikely.
Because even if he vanished now, it was rare for Naruto to have no knowledge of him twenty years later.
The more likely possibility was that Naruto's future belonged to a parallel timeline created by the Ryūmyaku's energy warping, one where everything developed normally but without Kaede's presence.
That was Kaede's guess.
The reason was simple.
The 'Illusory Clock' merged with his consciousness and was unique, there were no duplicates. If time was a ruler, the Illusory Clock was like a blade outside the ruler that could carve marks on it but didn't exist inside it.
Only one such 'blade' existed.
This understanding came from Kaede's years of experience with the Illusory Clock.
Naruto watched Kakashi suspiciously from the side, his gaze growing more intense until he couldn't help but laugh, "Kakashi-sensei this young... pfft... hahahaha..."
"Shut up. Don't call me sensei, or I'll start acting dumb too," Kakashi rolled his eyes.
After laughing for a while, Naruto composed himself and said, "Right, we should work together from now on. That 'Mukade' ninja is dangerous. You probably can't handle him yet."
Kakashi was probably only about ten years old right now, and his older brother was likely a little older, but Naruto had never heard the name before. He probably wasn't a Jōnin in the village.
Right now, Kaede is the strongest here.
It was his turn to lead the team!
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