Just as several shuriken were about to pierce the unconscious Obito Uchiha, two figures—one gold, one silver—suddenly appeared, each wielding a kunai to deflect the shuriken fired by Sasuke.
"!!!!"
Before they could even make out the two figures' faces, Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura instantly stepped in front of the client, forming a protective manji-shaped battle formation.
Meanwhile, their Jōnin instructor, Kakashi Hatake, completely froze the moment he caught sight of those two figures…
With just a single glance, Kakashi—standing closest to his three students—reacted far slower than even Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura.
It was as if time had stopped. As if the world had lost its color.
For one breathless second, his heart refused to beat.
Taking advantage of the distraction, the Kirigakure ANBU operative whisked the not-actually-dead Zabuza away with the Body Flicker Technique.
Kakashi didn't even look at them. His gaze remained locked on the two distant silhouettes.
"Sensei?!"
His lips quivered, the voice that escaped barely above a whisper. His eyes were filled with nothing but shock and disbelief.
His trembling hand rose toward his face, index and middle fingers extended while the rest curled inward—a single-handed "Ram" seal.
Kakashi muttered, "Release!"
Sakura and the others watched as he used the genjutsu-dispelling seal, then glanced again at the blond figure in the distance.
"He's wearing a Konoha forehead protector, dressed in a standard Konoha jōnin uniform… but that face…"
Naruto rubbed his chin, feeling his guard slip now that the stranger looked like a Konoha ninja.
After thinking it over for a few seconds, he pointed straight at Minato Namikaze and blurted out:
"Hey, dude! You look just like the Fourth Hokage, dattebayo!!"
Young Kakashi stiffened when he heard the blond brat call Minato-sensei the Fourth Hokage.
If this really was the future, then judging from Minato-sensei's outstanding achievements in the Third Shinobi World War… it wasn't impossible that the Third Hokage would step down and pass the mantle to him.
"Minato-sensei!" he exclaimed, even more thrilled than Minato himself. "Congratulations!"
Minato looked helpless.
Not only was he not the Hokage yet—even if he was destined to become one, this accidental meeting with future Kakashi and his students might very well distort that future entirely.
Across from him, the older Kakashi had tried "Genjutsu Release" three times with no effect, finally forced to accept the truth.
His eyes widened, trembling with disbelief as he stared fixedly at Minato Namikaze. Even his body shook slightly under the weight of the realization.
—Is this… reality?
—Is that truly Minato-sensei?!
Minato said, "Sorry. Because we appeared, those two managed to escape. But it seems we'll still need to seal each other's memories later."
Kakashi's lips tightened beneath his mask as he gave a faint shake of his head.
Whether he didn't care about Zabuza's escape or was instinctively rejecting the idea of having his memory sealed—no one could tell.
Sasuke, cautious as always, wasn't about to believe he would randomly encounter the Fourth Hokage—a man who had died years ago. And having never seen the Fourth Hokage in person, he also couldn't rule out the possibility of an enemy impersonation—one executed so perfectly it bordered on impossible.
"Who are you?! And what are you hiding behind you?!" he demanded.
The younger Kakashi frowned.
A sharp-tongued genius like him had never been questioned like this by a fellow Konoha ninja his age.
He immediately snapped back at Sasuke, "Don't you know to introduce yourself before asking someone else's name?! How did your sensei—future me—teach you?!"
Sasuke might not have been worshipped by every student in the Academy, but he was undeniably among the top. As an elite of the Uchiha Clan, his pride absolutely refused to let anyone step on it!
"Hiding your head while showing your tail! And you expect others to state their names first?!"
The words "You're not worthy" weren't spoken outright, but they were unmistakably present in Sasuke's tone.
Two gifted young ninja from entirely different eras glared each other down, tempers flaring, sparks ready to ignite.
Minato let out a helpless sigh, patting Kakashi on the shoulder with a soft, calming smile.
He then addressed the sharp-tongued black-haired boy with a friendly but composed expression. "Behind me is another one of my disciples."
Minato Namikaze stepped aside, revealing Obito Uchiha lying unconscious on the ground.
"He suddenly fainted and fell from the tree. Sorry for causing trouble."
The moment the older Kakashi caught sight of that familiar deep-blue tracksuit, his pupils shrank violently.
Decades of standing before the Memorial Stone in silent repentance.
The comrade whose remains were never found.
The boy who died on the Kannabi Bridge mission while saving him—before he ever got the chance to fulfill his own dreams…
"Obito?!!"
The older Kakashi's voice cracked as he called out the name of the boy on the ground.
But even more explosive than Kakashi's reaction…was someone else's.
The instant Sasuke spotted the red-and-white fan crest embroidered proudly on the back of that deep-blue tracksuit, he went rigid.
Sasuke Uchiha threw his voice like a blade at the blond man and the silver-haired boy beside him:
"Uchiha?!!! Why is that person wearing Uchiha clan attire?!!!"