Author's Note: As usual, unedited until I can get to it.
"No," Kakashi says, cold suffusing his entire body. This—after everything—is too much to believe. "He's dead. I watched him die, right after he…"
Right after he gave me his eye…
His students are watching him with surprised and curiosity, while their future selves have expressions on their faces like they know exactly what he is thinking of. He must tell them the full story one day, because that's the only way…it can't be the other thing that they're implying.
But Future Sakura's eyes soften sympathetically, and Future Naruto looks troubled, and Future Sasuke's face remains serious. It is to him that Kakashi looks for confirmation. He would not make light or lie about something to do with the Sharingan; Kakashi knows that much, even now.
Questions explode in his mind, and his heart clenches, the first thought ripping through him one of guilt: did he leave Obito to die? Did he let Rin transplant his eye and leave him crushed and dying, without even a proper burial?
"Naruto…" Hinata says, warningly, the veins on her forehead thickening as she continues to stare into the distance. The future Hokage winces.
"We don't have time for this," he declares. "Long story short, Kakashi-sensei, Obito didn't die in the war like you thought, but he was saved by Madara Uchiha—yeah, that Madara Uchiha. And he messed up his head a bunch and turned him into an international criminal mastermind calling himself Tobi, and he's responsible for pretty much every bad thing that happened in Konoha ever. But then you guys reunited, you got through to him, and he switched sides and helped all of us save the world."
There's beat a loaded silence.
Future Sasuke's right eye twitches, and Hinata sighs.
"Naruto…" Future Sakura growls through gritted teeth, clenching a fist. "You're supposed to be an adult now! You're not supposed to just reveal information like that, especially at a time like this!"
"Uh…sorry…"
"Wow, you really never change, do you?" Sakura says to Naruto.
"Tch," Sasuke nods his head in agreement.
"Oi!"
"At any rate," Future Sasuke says, "Kamui presents a problem to us, if Tobi is currently using it. Whatever time he is in, whether it's yours or even a little further on. If he sees anyone in there who shouldn't be, he might start investigating, which we can't allow." He levels a meaningful stare at Kakashi. "Beyond that difficulty, this information has nothing to do with the current you. Put it out of your mind."
And oh, the irony of his one-track minded student telling him to put something out of his mind!
Kakashi is tempted to ignore the directive, but at that moment Hinata murmurs, "Three minutes."
Time is too short for what he wants to know, and every word is another second wasted. If they survive this, if he still wants to know—if he can handle knowing, even for the short time he can remember it, he will ask. But for now, he cannot afford to divide his focus. His students—present and future—are depending on him.
"Then Kamui will have to be an absolute last resort," he says, because even a gambit with a high percentage of failure and possibility of running into…someone who shouldn't be there is better than outright failure.
Future Naruto says. "Then I've got a plan!"
"I hope it's better than your last one," Boruto grumbles. "That got you frozen in time, remember?"
"Oi! Show your father some respect!"
"When you earn it."
"Both of you knock it off! This is not the time!"
Kakashi half-expects it to be Future-Sakura intervening, but to his absolute shock, Hinata has turned to bear down on her husband and son, her chakra flaring in warning and a vein in her temple throbbing which has nothing to do with her Byakugan. Instantly, Future Naruto and Boruto shrink.
"Scary…"
Naruto's jaw drops. Holy crap. Who knew Hinata had it in her?
"R-right!" Future Naruto swallows, and refocuses. "Okay, here's what we do—Hinata, keep watching that wave. Let me know when it's within thirty seconds of reaching us." His wife nods, back to her former calm. "Sasuke will look for Sarada, and Sakura and I will back him up. Kakashi-sensei, you be at the ready with Kamui and Konohamaru will help you get everyone else through. But like you said, it's a last resort."
"But what if you get trapped here?" Boruto asks.
"Are you telling me you expect the legendary Team 7 to fail?" his father demands. "We'll deal with it."
Sasuke and Sakura exchange surprised glances.
Legendary?
"What about us?" Naruto interrupts, missing the byplay. "What can we do?"
"Whatever you did to help Kakashi bring you here if he's can't himself. He's not as weakened as he was before, so using that ability shouldn't cause as much damage as before but…just in case, stay close to him," Future Naruto tells him. "Boruto, Mitsuki—you too."
His son and his past self groan in unison, but neither argues, perhaps sensing the immense danger and knowing they don't have the requisite skills to combat it.
"This is so bogus," Naruto mutters to himself. "I can't believe after everything we have to just…stand here."
"Can you manipulate the time-space continuum?" Kakashi challenges, eyes pinned to the future Team 7. "No? Then keep quiet."
Future Sasuke places himself directly in front of the spot where Sarada disappeared and braces himself against the ground with one knee. It's as if he is getting ready to spring at a moment's notice. His former teammates take up positions behind him—Sakura on his right, Naruto on his left—half-turned inward and half-facing the same direction. Their hands rest on his shoulders.
"Sasuke? Sakura?" Future Naruto asks.
"Ready when you are," Future Sakura says.
Future Sasuke doesn't say anything. Instead, he activates his Rinnegan, and a crackling seam of appears in the open air, and then widens into a portal. Unlike Teisoko's however it is just a swirling vortex of energy, with no window through to another place…or time.
Because he doesn't know where he going, Kakashi realises.
On Future Sasuke's right side, his wife focusses as well, and the thick black design they saw earlier returns, spiderwebbing across her face and down her neck and arm.
It's the same as before, Sasuke realizes, watching his future self wince as if he's suddenly experiencing a strong electric shock. She's stabilizing him?. But I don't understand…how?
Future Sasuke growls with effort, and sweat breaks out on his forehead. Through some supreme effort, a tiny burst of colour grows through the middle. Slowly, it grows, like a hole in a piece of fabric being widened through wear.
"A bit harder than just jumping through dimensions, huh?" Future Naruto jokes, and then closes his eyes in concentration. When he opens them, they have become orange slits. A beat later, his entire form erupts into a flaming pyre of light.
"What—?!" Naruto cries.
"No way…" Sasuke chokes.
"…Naruto?" Sakura squeaks out.
Even Kakashi is gazing at the future Naruto in mild disbelief; he expected something like this, of course, but seeing it first hand is something else entirely.
I knew a jinchūriki that was in sync with the Tailed Beast was a powerful force, but this…
"It's not that impressive," Boruto says casually, but his eyes light in excitement at the sight of his father. "Uncle Sasuke is way cooler…"
The past version of the man in question is too amazed by the sight in front of him to hear the comment. Raw power radiates from around the adult Team 7, the force of it lifting dust and debris into the air, and sending a hot wind barrelling through the tiny cavern.
"As expected from them," Mitsuki remarks with the air of an uninvolved observer, "a flawless collaboration technique."
Their chakra…! Sasuke thinks with awe.
Three columns of power, roaring like bonfires in front of him. He expected it from his future self—he's seen the older version of him do inexplicable things today, a testament to how strong he will be one day. And with Naruto—now that he knows the secret, that his endless supply of chakra comes from the Nine-Tails within him—this tower of light, while shocking, at least makes sense.
But Sakura…
That I never expected.
"Yosh! We're through!" Future Naruto yells in triumph.
"Celebrate when we have Sarada!" Future Sakura snaps.
"Ah, sorry, Sakura…"
"Stop talking…Naruto," Future Sasuke says. "It's skewing…my concentration."
"Then I guess your concentration sucks, doesn't it?"
They're…they're bantering?! Sakura wonders in shock. Who are these people?
"Two minutes," Hinata warns.
"Okay, I'm going to try to find Kakashi-sensei's marker," Naruto says. "Sasuke, get ready!"
Future Sasuke doesn't reply, his every focus concentrated on keeping the window open. Inside the portal, they get a glimpse of a grassy field, reeds whispering in the wind. Nothing.
"Next!" Future Naruto shouts, and the scene changes.
A grey, distant shoreline—"Next!"—a dark forest, with a giant red spider looming in front of them, pincers twitching angrily—"Next!"—A vicious thunderstorm, hail the size of fists scarring the landscape—"Next!"—A rush of water that bursts out, drenching all of them, before it closes quickly. "Next!"
The bottom or a river? Sakura wonders.
They are flipping through the windows so fast, burrowing further into the myriad dimensions, that eventually it becomes too dizzying to get a look at what's beyond the windows.
"I don't get it," Sakura murmurs. "I thought it was just a portal in time. But these can't all be the same location in different time periods. The terrain is completely different!"
"It's no longer just time that's displaced, remember?" Hinata reminds her. "Nothing is where it is supposed to be."
"Then how are they gonna find Sarada?" Naruto demands. "A tiny marker like Kakashi left on her must be like…like looking for a needle in a haystack!"
"You should have more faith in yourself, Naruto," she says softly.
He makes a face.
He can't believe Hinata is the one telling him such a thing.
Future Sasuke makes a sudden noise of pain, his balance wavering a moment.
The strain is getting to him, Kakashi realises, taking a step forward. He doesn't know what he's going to do, but—
Red chakra suddenly bubbles forward, spreading from Future Naruto to the man kneeling before him. Switching hands, his left now braced on Future Sasuke's shoulder, he reaches out with his right to take hold of Sakura's. The chakra engulfs her as well, travelling down her hand to meet Sasuke's right shoulder.
It's a chakra circuit…but that red energy! I've seen that before…
"What's he doing?" Sakura asks.
"That's the Nine Tails Healing Cloak," Konohamaru explains. "It replenishes chakra and heals the physical body at a constant rate."
"And he has is dispersed around all three of them," Kakashi realises, "so there will be absolutely no break in the stream of chakra keeping the portal open."
Konohamaru nods. "Any faltering at this juncture would be fatal to the space-time user."
"Sasuke…" Sakura murmurs, clenching her fists to her heart as she watches the adult version of him strain.
Sasuke's eyes flick to hers, noting the anguished worry there, and he glances back to the sight in front of them. His hand drifts to one side, and catches hold of hers. He hears her gasp—can sense her looking at him in surprise—but he keeps his eyes rivetted on the windows that open and close almost faster than his Sharingan can catch sight of.
It's just to make sure when the time comes, she doesn't go running to help him.
Because that's exactly the type of thing she would do, too.
"Next!" A battlefield rages before them, men and women in samurai gear. "Next!" A bunch of buildings crumble and shake, men in Suna headgear flitting past. "Next!" A volcano erupts in the distance, lava rushing toward them—
"Oi! Sasuke! Go back to that last one!" Future Naruto shouts. "I've got a beat on her!"
Future Sasuke strains further, snarling in effort. The window retracts before a spurt of molten rock and burst through, and then it's back to the buildings. People flee in the distance, and something huge and slides by.
No…not sliding. Slithering, Kakashi realises, eyes widening. This is…Konoha! From that day…!
If she landed there in the middle of such a dangerous time, she might end up dead. Or worse, she could change something not meant to be changed.
Future Naruto nods at the wall in front of him in the distance. "It's faint, but her trail goes that way!"
"There must be another seam," Future Sakura says. "Sasuke, can you…?"
"Don't ask…useless questions," her husband mutters through gritted teeth, and for the first time since they met, Sasuke can see that some part of him still remains in the contradictory person before him.
Despite his confident words, blood is seeping down his face, and not just from his eyes. From his mouth and nose, and even his ears, trails of red trail across his cheeks.
"Blood vessels," Kakashi says with dismay.
"The strain of moving through time as well as space is too much for his body, even with Naruto's energy keeping him going," Konohamaru agrees grimly.
None of it's any use if he boils his brain before he makes it through! Sasuke thinks, gritting his teeth. Is this how I finally die?
"One minute," Hinata cries, urgent.
At that moment, Future Sakura gives a yell and tightens her grip on her husband's shoulder, as well as Future Naruto's arm. The black ribbons stretch beyond her, encircling the bodies of both Naruto and Sasuke. A faint blue light sizzles across her skin.
The energy…reminds me of Gai's, Kakashi thinks. But it's not a variation of the Eight Gates. So what…?
"Uh oh," Konohamaru says. "Is that what I think it is?"
"Yes," Hinata says quietly, her fists clenching. "It's the jutsu she developed. The one Tsunade forbade her from ever using again."
Sakura glances up, eyes wide. "Why?"
"It ties the life force of the user to the person they are healing," Konohamaru explains. "In the case of serious wounds, exsanguination or even the possibility of brain death, the healer's body functions as an extension. A sort of bypass."
"So, if Naruto or Sasuke put more strain on their bodies than they can handle," Kakashi says, thinking of burst blood vessels or even inner organs, "she keeps them functioning."
"More than that. She takes on the damage."
At his words, the blood seems to stop trailing from Future Sasuke's face, but similar trails begin to appear on Future Sakura's.
"The drawback is it can't be maintained for more than a few minutes because of the harm it does to the healer—even one with Sōzō Saisei. And even with her drawing on Naruto's chakra like she is—" The ribbons connecting Future Sakura's arm to Future Naruto's seem to constrict, "—even her body has a limit. And if she dies, the way they're all connected, they die too."
"What?!" Naruto demands, whipping his head back and forth between the future Team 7 and Konohamaru. "But if that's true, why would she use such a dangerous jutsu, if it's just going to kill them all!"
And why would they go along with it? Sasuke wonders.
A memory needles at him, a day long ago, with Naruto tied to a post and bento boxes spilled on the ground. Lightning crashing and Kakashi sensei looming over them, and Sakura terrified, but insistent.
"The three of us are one!"
Sasuke's eyes widen. Is this really…how far that goes…?
"We're close," Future Naruto says, panting. "Almost…there…"
His teammates are breathing hard as well, although in Future Sakura's case, there is a wet rasp to it, like blood is filling her lungs.
She's not going to make it! Sakura worries.
"Naruto! Thirty seconds!" Hinata cries, and then orders, "Kakashi-sensei—open Kamui. We need to get the children out of here!"
He nods and braces himself, summoning up whatever chakra he needs and trying not to think of the fact he's leaving his students future selves to die in such a display of self-sacrifice.
Future Naruto yells. "There!"
Future Sasuke gives a wordless yell of effort then, one echoed by his wife, and the vortex pulses inward, like a pupil constricting, and then dilates outward. The energy becomes blinding, and for an eternal moment, sound and sensation vanishes, and everything is obscured by violet light.
ナルト
Sarada watches the kunai's downward path as if in slow motion, her eyes capturing every incremental movement as she tries to regain mastery over her limbs. Realising there's no other option, she summons up a genjutsu at the last second.
It isn't enough to stop her, only slow her down a little, but the momentary lapse is enough to give Sarada the chance to inch away.
The kunai slams into the dirt centimetres from her ear.
That was close!
And it's not over.
Teisoko rallies right away, not allowing the miss with the kunai to be the end. Pulling back to gain momentum, she slams her foot downward, intending to crush Sarada's face with her heel.
This time, Sarada finds the strength the roll out from under her, scraping knees against hard packed earth in her quest to get upright. She doesn't know where they landed, but it's just a matter of time before Teisoko has the strength to move through time again.
Have to knock her out beforehand! There are only so many times I can jump after her!
Both of them recovered, they charge once more.
Sarada, her arms stretched out behind her back, uses one hand to make signs, calling up two more Shadow Clones. They run ahead of her, zigzagging in front of one and another on their way to Teisoko, drawing her attention.
As the other girl disperses them with two targeted kicks, Sarada throws herself forward, intending to capitalize on the moment before Teisoko gets her bearings. Chakra gathers in her fist and she throws it down, intending to cave in her opponent's skull.
Teisoko is thrown backward, but not from the blow; at the last moment, she catches the movement and bends herself backward, flipping over. Her feet barely touch the floor before she's darting back at Sarada, who uses the momentum from her missing punch to spin herself around, pivoting on her left foot and kicking at the other girl's face. Teisoko catches it her foot, and Sarada folds in the air, whipping her right her left foot forward for a second blow.
Blocking, Teisoko ducks, and then kicks upward, the ball of her foot knocking into Sarada's side.
Sarada chokes, pain radiating through her body, and she falls in a heap on the ground. Blood spills over her lips and she struggles to breathe.
Broken rib…or two…
If she didn't have one before, she definitely has one now.
"Your eagerness will be the end of you," Teisoko tells her, her teeth bared in a smile. "What was it you said before? 'I just need to hit you once and you're done'?"
She's right. She might not have my brute strength or chakra control, but she doesn't need that to be dangerous. Focus!
Teisoko makes another beeline for her and Sarada winces, for the moment unable to summon the strength she needs to meet the blow. Instead, she grabs a handful of shuriken and whips them at the oncoming enemy, aiming for the eyes and heart.
Somehow, Teisoko slips between the incoming blades, tucks and rolls as she lands, and then jumps forward to smash her knee into the side of Sarada's head.
Again, she goes skidding across the ground, stars spinning in her eyes and around her head, and it's a struggle to stand.
Teisoko smirks at her.
She waves a hand, opening a window beside her.
I don't think so!
Sarada's fingers flare out, streams of wire gleaming in the air. With a quick movement of her wrist, the wires swirl around Teisoko's right arm. Just before pulling it taught, Sarada manoeuvres her left art into the loops, slamming their forearms and wrists together.
The force of it sends them both through the next portal.
"Try leaving me behind now," she growls, glaring at the girl now so far within her range. Teisoko gives an angry curse, and tries to shoulder at Sarada, bringing her free hand around to swipe at her with a kunai. Sarada catches it with her own, deflecting.
The girls tumble to the ground, rolling over and over, each trying to get the upper hand, scraping knees to get upright again. Twice Teisoko reverses her kunai, catching it on a finger, and tries to make hand signs with her free hand, and Sarada is barely able to stop her with punishing swipes of her blade.
Of course she knows one-handed signing—because nothing's ever easy, is it?!
Of course, that goes two ways, doesn't it? Sarada should be able to do that, but she is hesitant. Teisoko is faster than her, if Sarada left an opening even for a second—
Portals open and close all around them as they struggle, and they move through them almost as an afterthought.
Does her Sharingan get stronger as we go back in time? Sarada wonders. Or is she summoning the strength from somewhere else?
Countless battlefields pass by them as they continue their struggle. They wrestle with one another through a ferocious gale of sleet and hail, their feet sliding against the slippery ground with no means grabbing hold, all the while trying to push the other one into a precarious position.
It comes to a head the time after they land in the middle of a river, and are nearly drowned before Teisoko opens a portal.
They tumble out onto a hard, dry surface, and Sarada has a brief impression of a cliff behind her and the sun setting in the distance, when pain sears through her arm.
Teisoko has used the moment of recovery from the river to slice her kunai deeply into Sarada's arm, tearing it upwards; the wire holding them together snaps, and the other girl emits a triumphant laugh.
But through her pain, Sarada sees an opening.
With her own kunai, she slices upward, sending blood spraying and Teisoko screaming to the ground. Blood drips down the left side of her face where her eye used to be.
That's one down…do I have it in me to get the other one, after all of this? Sarada wonders, panting.
They stay like that for a spell, both gasping for breath and sense, and trying to recover, to see through the pain. Sarada's left arm is useless, the tendons cut; Teisoko's vision reduced by half.
She looks up, rage and hatred blazing from her one remaining eye. "Little half-breed bitch."
And she vaults forward, right hand gripping her bloodied kunai with white-knuckled fingers.
Sarada's eyes widen and she tries to prepare for the attack, but Teisoko is too close within her range. There's no time to reach for another kunai, no time to dodge. Good for Teisoko, bad for her—except…except there could be a way!
Only one thing left, then.
Summoning all remaining chakra into her right hand, she throws herself forward as well. Teisoko has left one opening, one that she won't be able to do anything about until it's too late.
"Sha…nnaro!" Sarada bites out, more a gasp than a battle cry at this point, and lets her fist fly.
Skin parts, bone and muscle split aside, and a liquid heat passes over her hand. At the same time, searing pain punches into Sarada's abdomen, and blood coats the back of her throat and her mouth.
They are both stationary for a moment, staring at one another.
Teisoko's expression—a twisted, triumphant smile—is frozen on her face, and her hand remains tightly clasped around the kunai sticking out of Sarada's abdomen. Blood drips heavily onto the ground between them.
But it's not all Sarada's.
The same red substance coats her entire forearm, all the way to her hand—which has burst through Teisoko's chest completely and come out the other end. Her fingers shake, clenched in a grasping motion as her brain tries to register what just happened.
Teisoko's remaining eye is dull in death, and as her body slumps forward, Sarada uses her left hand to push the body away. She shudders at the feel of her skin passing through internal organs and bone. Then, carefully, with movements that feel far too slow to her, she pries the cooling fingers from around the kunai in her gut.
The body slides onto the floor and doesn't move again.
I…I did it…? She blinks down at Teisoko's unmoving form, scarce able to believe it. I did! But…not without a cost…
Her knees suddenly feel a lot weaker, and she wants to sit down, but can't get her muscles to cooperated. She staggers back, her upper body feeling heavier than ever, forcing her backward, and she can't regain her balance.
She falls backward, and has a fleeting impression of the edge of the cliff, and then she's plummeting downward.
This is exactly how everything started, Sarada reflect as her eyes drift closed. I was falling…
She smiles to herself.
After all of if, everything turned out for the best. She was able to learn more about her parents, just as she always wished. She was able to see the legendary Team 7 in action—and though they were utterly foolish and far less impressive than they are in her time, they always had that…spark.
She's thankful she got to see it, even if it was all fleeting.
With Teisoko gone, history is safe, which means it shouldn't be hard for them to get everything back to the way it's supposed to be. Papa will see to that, she knows.
They'll be sad about her death—Mama especially—but because of Sarada, they will have a future. They will have the option of healing from it one day, so she can't regret that.
After all of it…the people most precious to her will be alright.
つづく
*ducks head* Please don't kill me! This is the last big cliff-hanger, I promise!
Anyhow, hopefully I managed to convey the 'Genin-Team-7-Watching-Future-Selves-Be-Awesome' angle that a lot of people were hoping to see. Also, Sakura's jutsu is one of my own invention, and I'll probably go into deeper depth explaining it in a different story. As to why hers and Naruto's healing abilities weren't enough on their own, none of them are entirely built for time-travel, even Sasuke. The strain of moving through one time—let alone as many as they did here—is supremely taxing, so they definitely needed to pool their talents on this one.
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