A/N: For some reason, this got way out of hand and had to be split into three parts :P (I'm currently working through the final touches of Part 2, which will be out in a week or so.) I couldn't stop writing so here I am!

Note: this is a semi-continuation of What Might Have Been so if you're confused, then the story there is your reference point. That being said, there's enough events and contents that it's a standalone story. It's also a continuation of chapter 5.


It was two years since that strange dream and, in all honesty, Boruto had not given it much thought. After all, sometimes dreams were just dreams and there was no real point in pondering on them for too long. Moreover, he had maintained the opinion, after hours of impassioned debate with Wasabi and Namida, that psychoanalytic dream interpreters were trashy frauds hell-bent on exploiting irrational fears and insecurities of bored middle-aged housewives (or house-husbands) for money. A slightly out of the ordinary encounter, possibly sliced out of a particularly potent past memory, was nothing worth worrying about. And so, pushing all doubts to the back of his head, convincing himself that all the kerfuffle about Sekai no Hashi (the inspiration probably came from riding trains with Sarada to the Gokage summit in the Land of Iron, yes it had to be) was nothing but nonsense. It had all been a dream, a meaningless trance.

It worked, more or less. Even if his doubts weren't completely wiped out, looking after his kids took up enough time to banish any prolonged contemplations.

Asami and Eriko were recently made genin. The former was placed on a team with Kagami (that awful boy) and Teuchi (someone must have loved ramen more than his father) and Sumire (whose children were, by that time, old enough to allow her to return to work) as their sensei, whilst the latter was placed with her best friend Kizumi and a party boy named Sake (people were most definitely getting creative with names) and under a sensei by the name of Kichirou (who was reportedly an amateur poet with an avid devotion to rivers and lakes and the sea.) Eriko had already completed a C-ranked mission and Asami was about to embark on her first in a day.

Itachi, in the meantime, 17 years of age, was already promoted to a jonin after a string of successful missions and ardent recommendations. During an unfortunate ambush as a chunin, he witnessed the death of a very dear friend and awakened his Mangekyo Sharingan. It was not a pleasant affair, for it was always heart-wrenching to see your loved ones die. After mustering the will to complete the mission - and being one of the three people to survive in a unit that was originally a dozen strong - Itachi immediately ran to his parents and, for the first time in ages, bawled like a helpless child. Boruto and Sarada, who had her share of the experience of loss back when Boruto 'died' in that other world and in the numerous times when she lost shinobi and kunoichi she cared about in various missions, made sure that they were there for him. He was always the most independent one out of the kids, never needing much attention, always on top of everything and even moving out of their house with 5 other friends a year ago - granted, he was also the oldest - but there were exceptional circumstances for everyone and Boruto understood that. Sarada even allowed Itachi to take a month's break to recuperate. His friends, bless them, also did their job in supporting him. Ultimately, the worst ended and Itachi resumed his usual composed, reservedly cheerful self. Word said that he had gotten himself a girlfriend.

Keisuke was now 10 years old, in the waning years of the Academy and still as mischevious and rambunctious as ever. He had, probably, if Boruto's suspicions were correct, defaced the Hokage monument, painting on the faces of his grandpa, great-grandpa and mother, drawing buck-teeth on Kakashi's mask, making Hashirama and Tobirama Senju look like drag queens and writing 'big tits' on Tsunade's forehead, which the old woman did not appreciate. And no punishment was sufficient enough to deter the kid to re-offend again. Granted, Keisuke was particularly good at not getting caught (the blame for Tsunade's statue was pinned on a fellow classmate, for example) maintaining a goody-two-shoes facade, only showing his true troublesome nature to his family and close friends. Shino-sensei reported to Boruto, during parents evening, that the kid was nothing like his sister Eriko. He topped the class, cleaned the room at the end of the day (more like using it as an opportunity to set up booby traps) and always spoke politely to the teachers. A load of horse-shit. Apparently, the boy was also quite good-looking, in the eyes of his female classmates, much like his maternal grandfather back in the day. Unlike Sasuke Uchiha, Keisuke Uchiha-Uzumaki had no qualms with their affections, often leveraging it to find extra prank mates because why not.

As frustrating as they were at times, his children made him swell with pride. They were his children, not anyone else's - and they've already come so far and they will go even further in life. The next generation always surpasses the current generation. Mostly, their morals were largely in the right place, barring flashes of mischief and delinquency here and there. Even Keisuke knew how to stand up to bullies, once coming to the rescue of a rather nerdy and skinny friend of his (Denki's kid) and telling three kids who were older and bigger and stronger to go away. When the boy walked home with a gigantic black eye, albeit also a wide smile on his face after managing to eventually dangle the three from a tree with a pranking string, Boruto gave him a fist bump and a hug.

~X~

"Dad! Asami is leaving soon!" Keisuke woke Boruto up, shaking his bed 5 in the morning.

The man got up, cursed, and briefly wondered just how the boy had managed to get up when the sky was still dark, but as soon as reality hit, he rushed downstairs to send his daughter away.

"Dad, I'll be fine, don't worry," Asami said, giggling. Perhaps she was amused at just how concerned he looked. "It's only a C-ranked mission and Eriko completed one already. I'll be fine."

"I don't like that boy in your time," Boruto groaned, shaking his head. "I'm not sure how I feel about you being away for five days."

"He's fine... Kagami and I get along well these days. And besides, Sumire is a really good sensei and she'll make sure nothing goes wrong," Asami explained calmly.

"How well?"

Asami sighed. Out of all the things, Boruto had to focus on Kagami.

"Pretty well."

"Oh no-"

"It's not like that, dad. Really, is that what you're most concerned about?"

"Just kidding!" Boruto gave her a wide, forced smile and a hug. He made a mental note to interrogate her when she comes back. "Good luck!"

Shutting the door, Boruto decided to go back to bed, where his wife was still sleeping soundly, owing to the fact that she had worked until 2. He needed some rest, most definitely. Keisuke was unlikely to go to bed immediately, given his hyperactive state, but Boruto trusted the boy to stay quiet enough to avoid disturbing him and Sarada.

It was strange that out of all his children, Keisuke was now the only one in the house. Eriko was at a sleepover with Jun, Itachi had already moved out and now Asami was on her first overnight mission. All of a sudden, Boruto wondered just how it would be when all of his kids were grown up and no longer needed his incessant care, when they no longer needed his homework help, when they no longer needed him to make them (healthy) lunch, when they all moved into their own homes and lived more independent lives, when he could finally return to work and resume his official shinobi career. It would be a massive emotional adjustment, needless to say. Just the thought of it made Boruto feel a little sad and, as to why, he could not come up with a cogent explanation.

~X~

Keisuke was sitting alone in the common room. It was still dark outside and both his parents were sound asleep. He was feeling, in all honesty, rather bored and lonely, which he rarely ever felt.

It was weird being up so early; Keisuke would very much like to go back to sleep. Yet he could not do it. Recently, Keisuke had found it much harder to fall asleep - it was as if he had contracted insomnia, but not really. It was mainly the fact that he would get glimpses of weird visions whenever his eyes shut.

A thousand steps. Red lanterns scurrying across the purple sky. Purple sky. Delicious blue fruit. Sizzling green firecrackers. Explosions everywhere. Blinding white light. Screams. Cries for help. Blood. Maniacal laughing. A hooded figure hushing him up. And then silence.

It was always the same strange visions and Keisuke was sick of them. It had been a week since they started. He wished they would go away, but they just won't. Keisuke wouldn't say that he was afraid, just incredibly frustrated.

Okay, maybe he was a little apprehensive. Having the same dream for seven consecutive nights was definitely not normal. Still, what could he do? Whenever Keisuke tried to bring it up to his parents, he fell short of words, became struck by an inexplicable mental block. It was as if some supernatural force was deliberately preventing him from saying what needed to be said.

His siblings were gone from the house too. Granted, Eriko would be back tomorrow and Itachi did not live too far away with his buddies, but still. As of now, the present, there was no one for him to talk to.

Stretching his feet across the sofa, Keisuke sighed and yawned. He wasn't not tired, no, not at all. He had plenty of time to kill, plenty of time to wander around the house and plan his next prank for the day! Oh yes, that would take quite the time. That would be very nice.

Then, tomorrow, he would speak to Eriko when she returned. Out of all his siblings, she was the one he was closest to. Itachi was ever the responsible brother, but he was seven years older. Asami had her moments of fun, yet she was quite tame most of the time. Personality-wise, Eriko and Keisuke were most similar and compatible. She was always willing to join him in his pranks - like finally dying grandpa Naruto's hair blue when he dozed off in the afternoon - albeit not always the most subtle person. Both of them had a mischevious streak, yet Eriko was all out in the open, while Keisuke preferred to be a little more sneaky. Dealing with angry adults was far too troublesome. Anyhow, she would definitely see his sleep-deprived state and conclude that something was wrong.

He was feeling rather tired. Maybe he would just curl up on the sofa and forgo all the pranking planning after all.

~X~

"Boruto..." Sarada murmured when it was 7 in the morning.

"Sarada, it's 7 in the morning..." Boruto responded, turning towards her.

"Have you checked on Keisuke...?"

"Go back to sleep, it's still 7..." Boruto moaned.

"Mmmm..."

She was barely awake and Boruto, too, was fighting against his eyelids from crashing down.

That she looked absolutely gorgeous when sleeping was the first thing that occurred to Boruto's mind. The second thing was that he should probably check on Keisuke sometime next hour. The third thing was that he really wanted to go back to sleep. The fourth thing was that he really, really wanted to have some fun with Sarada once she was properly awake. Preferably if Keisuke falls sound asleep, but otherwise, Boruto was sure Mitsuki would be happy to take care of the boy for a while.

It wasn't every day when it was just them.

~X~

Keisuke awoke to the smell of bacon and the sound of pans frying. It was a Sunday noon - the only day of the week when mother took a break from work - and both of his parents were cooking brunch. It was rather nice, filling him with a sense of warmth as he continued to snuggle on the coach.

"I'm home!" Eriko bellowed as she ran towards them, crashing onto Keisuke.

"Eriko! Your brother is still sleeping!" Sarada chided.

"It's okay," Keisuke said groggily as he shook his head and pushed his sister away, "I'm awake anyway."

"Your mother and I have made you guys bacon and egg sandwiches!" Boruto announced.

"Yum yum yum! I love those!" Eriko grinned and jumped into her father's arms.

"We also made some chocolate cake for later in the day," Sarada said, smiling. "I also brought back some prawn crisps from a work trip. I'm sure you guys will like it!"

His mother looked radiant, Keisuke thought, like a little bit of rest had completely refreshed her. She was usually rather stressed.

"I love chocolate!" Eriko declared. "Oh and, mum and dad, can I take Keisuke to Itachi's place later in the day? They're making hotpot in their place and Itachi's already asked us if we wanted to come."

Boruto and Sarada looked at each other, then back at Eriko and Keisuke, then back at each other again. Boruto hid a barely concealed smirk and said, "Why, of course! Your mother and I will have a lot of fun tonight, just the two of us."

Sarada gave her husband a slight dig. None of the two kids really understood what it meant.

Sunday family brunches were always Keisuke's favorite. As the family laughed together and as Eriko recounted stories from last night, Keisuke's woes faded into the background.

~X~

Itachi Uchiha-Uzumaki scrubbed the tables for the seventh time this week as Kenji yawned and apologized for the umpteenth time. His friend was still positively inebriated from an ill-conceived 4 am escapade with his girlfriend.

" 'Tachi... I'm so, so, so sorry! I'll help next time... Man 'Tachi... I love you so much!" The guy then walked up to Itachi and enveloped Itachi in a bone-crushing hug. "You are the most amazing flatmate ever. Seriously, I would totally date you if I was into men!"

Mildly embarrassed, Itachi gave Kenji a polite nod and continued cleaning up their place. Kenji, though worlds apart with him in terms of personality, had been his best friend ever since the Academy. Itachi would do anything (okay maybe not anything) for him; this was no large matter.

Out of the five - formerly six - inhabitants of their flat, Itachi was definitely one of the more responsible ones. Hana, the only girl of the group, was fairly good at tidying up after herself but lacked the patience to deal with Kenji and Riku's filthy party-goer antics. Sora had recently quit being a shinobi, embarking on a musical career as a professional saxophonist after deciding that missions bored him (something Itachi could never understand) and was rarely ever back home, often spending the night out at some jazz club, even though he did assist Itachi whenever he could. Yuuto was... gone. It was a painful experience to lose him, the mourning was difficult, but Itachi had finally come to terms with it. According to his father, the dead did not simply disappear but left for another plane of existence. Boruto Uzumaki, backed by his mother, insisted that he had died and come back to life and seen it all. Perhaps Yuuto was there too, having a good time.

His siblings were coming over tonight for hotpot and Itachi was feeling pretty excited. Ever since moving out, Itachi hadn't spent as much time with them as before. He missed them. Eriko, much like Kenji actually, always lit up the room she was in with her loud mouth. Keisuke can be quite funny too, albeit rather naughty. Riku and Hana insisted that Itachi was just being overly suspicious and that his younger brother was a perfectly behaved, cute, adorable little child.

"Rise and shine Riku!" Hana bellowed as she dragged Riku into the common room. "The sun is high in the sky and you are as high as a kite!"

"Riku, whatever you are smoking, just don't do it here... please?" Itachi asked politely. "My siblings are coming over tonight and, you know, maybe they shouldn't get exposed to-"

"No worries Itachi! I do it in my room alone! Don't worry Itachi! Heck, I won't even do it tonight!" Riku responded enthusiastically. "I'll also make matcha tiramisu for them! Matcha tiramisu!"

Riku had always liked Itachi's siblings. Being an only child himself, Itachi suspected he was also rather envious. Either way, he loved doting on Asami, Eriko and Keisuke. Once, he took them to a games arcade with Itachi and paid for all of them as if it were nothing.

"I hear Sora's not doing anything tonight too! His jazz gig got moved to next Friday and we might even get him to play for us," Hana said as she grinned. "Yoko and I are watching him play next Friday. You should take Suzumi with you. It'll be a nice double-date."

"Sure thing. I mean, I don't really have anything to do on Friday." Itachi shrugged as he dusted off the curtains. He was almost done with the chores

"Yo Itachi! The mail is here and there's one for you!" Keisuke spun around and delivered a letter to Itachi.

It was marked with a sign of the Hokage's office, though Itachi suspected that the letter itself was written and commissioned by more lower-level officials. His mother, in all likelihood, probably never saw it. Excitement pumped through him as he speculated about its contents.

"I got promoted!" He gasped. "I'm going to be made a special jonin!"

"YESSSSSS!" Kenji, still drunk as hell, embraced Itachi tightly. Riku and Hana then piled onto both of them.

"I always know you'd make it, Itachi," Riku said. "You're definitely as good as some of the special jonins out there. Oh man, when are you going to have your own little genins running around?"

"A while later... I suspect..." Itachi coughed, trying to break free.

"Now we're definitely going on that double date with our girlfriends," Hana remarked, ecstatic. "And I'll tell Sora to play some extra celebratory music tonight when he comes back."

"I'm coming!" Kenji declared.

"Me too! Leaving without us... hmphhh!" Riku concurred.

Itachi laughed as Hana shook her head in disapproval.

~X~

Shrieks penetrated the air. A woman calling, calling a name she could not recognize.

She dodged green firecrackers (green firecrackers?) and scuttled all the way to the nearest tavern.

"What's the matter, little boy?" A wizened old man (was he a man?) grinned at her through crooked teeth.

I'm not a boy, she was just about to say, but frowned. Maybe she was a boy now. Something wasn't right.

"Well?" The old man asked.

"I- I'm sorry for disturbing you..." She started stuttering. It was nerve wrecking, talking to strangers. She wasn't her sister, nor her brothers. She never felt completely comfortable talking to someone unless she really got to know them.

"Little kids shouldn't be around this area. It's where all the bad stuff happens," he whispered menacingly.

"Kakko? Where are you? Kakko?! KAKKO!" A woman rushed in. Purple skin, sandy red hair tied into a bun. She picked him up and apologized to the old man.

"That your boy?"

"Yes. Kakko has been a bit of a naughty kid. Say sorry Kakko."

"Sorry."

Darkness hit.

An ancient, characterless, dull, dead voice whispering.

The time has come. When Sekai no Hashi is breached and destroyed, the fabric of this reality will be torn and worlds will collapse onto themselves. This dimension cannot handle it alone. It must poach its heroes from elsewhere.

"What?" She murmured in a weak voice. She had absolutely no idea what was going on. She was, after all, only Asami Uchiha-Uzumaki.

Oh no, it won't be you, child. You are merely the seer, the messenger.

"ASAMI!" Kagami's voice jostled her awake.

It was the middle of the day. A day after she first embarked on her C-rank mission. They were assigned to the Land of Grass as escorts for a daughter of a minor aristocrat. There were no serious, life-threatening threats by the look so far. Nonetheless, Sumire-sensei had reminded everyone to remain vigilant.

Asami had no idea what just happened.

"You fainted," Kagami explained. "It might be the heat, who knows? You looked pretty bad. Here, have some water." He gave her his water bottle.

"Strange," Asami said. "I saw things."

"What, like psychedelic visions?" Kagami frowned.

"Yeah." Asami nodded. "Something something Sekai no Hashi? And something really weird about the fabric of reality and dimensions. I don't know."

Kagami laughed. "You're such an interesting girl. I mean, if it really bothers you, talk to Sumire-sensei about it? She might know a thing or two."

Asami sighed. "Maybe it's nothing after all."

"Better stay on the safe side of things," said Kagami. "You know what, I'll accompany you to her. Teuchi and her are escorting the client, who's currently going on a bit of a shopping spree at a mall nearby."

"Oh," Asami remarked. "And you?"

"Someone had to stay behind to see that you were fine. And for a while, I thought you were fine. Then your eyes were open and blank, there were strange veins fusing with your sharingan, and you were shaking a lot. So I woke you up," Kagami recounted. "Your welcome." He winked.

"Let's go find Sumire-sensei then," Asami said as she got up. "The mission must go on. And thank you, Kagami. You really didn't... it was very kind of you."

"My pleasure."

~X~

Mitsuki is your regular cool, still single, godfather that gradually evolved into the go-to babysitter for your parents. Kakashi would be the other one.

Mitsuki lived in a pretty awesome place, Keisuke thought. There were heaps and heaps of video games. Also, Mitsuki didn't mind buying junk food, chips and fries abound. Coming from the Uchiha-Uzumaki household, where friend stuff was banned, Keisuke really appreciated them.

At the moment, they were playing Jump!, a game that involved two rabbits that needed to hop around an obstacle course whilst collecting points. It was a narrow scoreboard, with Keisuke possessing the slight edge.

"You're beating me," Mitsuki remarked with a chuckle, "You'd be giving your dad a run for his money."

"I beat him last time. Him, Eriko and Itachi," Keisuke mentioned with slight pride. Sure, it was just video games, a virtual example of success and something not translated into concrete material reality, but still. It felt nice to win.

Sometimes, Keisuke would experience bouts of insecurity. After all, all his siblings were talented people, especially Itachi, who was just doing ridiculously well, being a new special jonin and all. All of them, in Keisuke's opinion, had tried hard and overcame personal flaws or external obstacles. They achieved things. Their existence was purposeful, with Itachi as the responsible one, Asami as the caring and considerate one and Eriko was the fun and hyperactive one. Next to them, Keisuke felt a bit redundant - like his parents had him as an afterthought. (He winced and chided himself for that view. His parents loved him so much and gave him so much in life.) Still, he would ask himself from time to time, just what was his purpose?

Sure, he was good at being sneaky at times, pulling pranks and not getting caught. He even put up a facade of being a (relatively) good student. Still, being able to lie and deceive and being a troublesome kid really wasn't something to brag about. Keisuke knew that much. He wasn't really bad at anything, per se. Yet, too often, he felt like a jack of all trades and master of none.

It was weird that he should feel all of this. By all aspects, he should be more than content with a comfortable life as the youngest son of the current Hokage. He knew his feelings were petty and stupid - that's why he never said anything.

"Keisuke!" Mitsuki interrupted his stream of thoughts. "I'm going out to buy lunch for us. What are your preferences?"

"Hmm... fried chicken," Keisuke finally decided. "With red chilly pepper. And a strawberry milkshake."

"Looking to make the best you can with me?" Mitsuki laughed.

Keisuke grinned and gave a thumbs up.

When Mitsuki had left, Keisuke stretched himself and got up. He always liked wandering around Mitsuki's place. It was a nice, minimalist, flat. Plain colours were abound. It had a great library too, which contained shelves and shelves of books - a lot of them confidential and, erm, unsavoury too - that he somehow forgot to hide from plain sight, something Sarada would never permit

Sliding open the doors, Keisuke entered the place and gazed at the shelves with wonder. It sounded weird, something he would never admit to anyone, but he loved the smell of books. They elicited a certain excitement from him, especially the old ones.

There were wooden ladders that one would use to access the higher shelves. They made creaking sounds when one stepped on them - Keisuke had tried that before.

He loved climbing these shelves. It was easier now that he was older and taller. Mitsuki never minded it whenever he did it, always appearing rather amused. Some of his best memories (when he was three or four) were made traversing through the top shelves, dusting off old surfaces and peeking into large tomes that he could not yet understand.

An unrecognisable sound resonated through his ears as he reached the top shelf and scoured through its contents. Keisuke would even describe it as eerie, a bit sad even. It was like the cry of an otherworldly creature. Most definitely, it did not belong here in uncle Mitsuki's library.

Was it someone? Was it wise of him to reveal himself?

Keisuke elected to stay silent and wait it out.

Scratch that: it was getting creepy and he was getting out of the room. And then he would rush to uncle Mitsuki and tell the man everything.

Black spots appeared before his eyes. Keisuke felt a little faint. Screams echoed through the place, even though Keisuke was pretty sure this house was situated in a very safe neighbourhood. Explosions - no, he had to be hallucinating. This was getting really weird.

Then, out of the blue, Keisuke felt himself getting dragged somewhere against his will. He tried to hold tightly onto the shelf, yet the gravity was irresistible. He was paralyzed from head to toe. Dread rose through him. This had to be a very strong opponent, one that he probably couldn't fight against, so this meant trouble.

He fell.

Fully expecting to crash into the ground and break his skull, end up in the hospital and resign himself to hours and hours of criticism by his parents, Keisuke, instead, saw himself being enveloped by a vortex. Blinding green light took away his sight temporarily and, unable to control his emotions, he began screaming wildly.

~X~

It had been 26 years since Sasuke Uchiha abdicated as the Hokage of the Continent, 26 years since the establishment of the Continental Republic, 26 years since his self-imposed exile.

He had seen so much, been through so much. He had witnessed civilizations collapse, burning themselves out with their own restlessness and aggression; he had seen life taking form and watched lives coalesce into settlements, villages, towns, metropolises; he had traversed solitary wastelands for months and months on foot; he had descended into dens of sin and debauchery; he had been in wretched warzones, where the blade was the only reliable currency.

In the midst of all of this, Sasuke Uchiha was not sure whether he felt any wiser, any less lost. The pain of it all, his past life in his own world, it had all been blurred, numbed - but it was not completely gone. It never will lave. Somewhere deep down, the hurt will always remain.

He was an old man now, being slightly over sixty. His hair was a mix of black and silver. There were wrinkles on his once alabaster-like face. His cheeks were hollowed, his bone structure more pronounced. He had not aged too badly, but he was no longer a young (or even middle-aged) shinobi who could not see an end to his own mortality. Someday, he would pass away on a piece of foreign land. Alone, surrounded by strangers.

Out of all the places he had set foot in, Sekai no Hashi was by far the most interesting. Only a quarter of the size of the moon, a juncture between worlds, a cosmopolitan commercial hub, a hotbed of unrest, crime and inequality, a place that knows no night and day, a vortex of endless possibilities. One would certainly never get bored being in Sekai no Hashi. Plus, they did serve cuisine from Konoha, even though its authenticity was dubitable.

Taking one look at his old headband - in all the years of wandering, Sasuke had never parted with it and perhaps it was all due to sentimentality - he teleported to the bridge between worlds, the juncture of a million lands, where the skyline was purple and the people were from everywhere.

~X~

Moaning, Keisuke got up and rubbed his head. He had passed out near the corner of a dark and dingy alleyway. Thankfully, no one was around to take advantage of him or laugh at him. (Or sell him into slavery, bless his luck. Father loved to warn him about dangerous human traffickers, much to his mother's exasperation that Boruto was merely being paranoid.)

The skyline was purple. Weird. There were red lanterns floating in the sky everywhere.

Perplexed, Keisuke started running, rushing down the main street.

Where was he?

"Watch where you're going kid!" A tall, bulky creature grunted. It was most definitely not human. Being bulky, its eyes were a terrifying, sickening yellow. Keisuke almost fell onto the ground upon the impact but managed to steady himself.

Collecting his calm, Keisuke approached what appeared to be an old convenient store. It was dank and musty from all the sweat of its perspiring customers, which was, quite frankly, a bit disgusting. Still, the shopkeeper, an old lady with so many wrinkles Keisuke thought her skin would fall off, seemed friendly enough for conversation.

"Hello," Keisuke addressed her as he ventured towards the counter.

"Well hi little boy," she answered with raspy, weather-beaten voice.

"I'm a bit lost," Keisuke said as he cut straight to the point. "I was wondering, could you give me some directions?"

"Oh... a young boy from Terra. We don't see many people from Terra here. You're all quite a reclusive bunch," the old woman chuckled. "I'm guessing you're looking for the hotel where your family is staying? Well, most of them are clustered near the Grand Avenue. It's quite densely packed over there, but it's prime location. You're in the Shinju neighbourhood. We're a bit far from the central metropolis, but you'll get there by going down the Million Step Street and then taking the fast tram."

Keisuke could not fathom a single coherent thought from her string of words. Just what in the name of Hashirama Senju's polka-dotted undies is she talking about?

"One warning though, on your way there, through Million Step Street, you might encounter some dangerous areas. The Middlings are quite crime-ridden. Be sure to stay vigilant."

Keisuke still had no idea what she was speaking of. Still, he nodded politely, thanked her and wished her well as he left the shop.

~X~

Everything was burning, consumed by a merciless, blazing inferno.

Kakko could feel the heat crawling towards his skin. Then he imagined it ripping his skin off and then searing his flesh until it was cooked. The thought made him shudder as he rushed towards the window. It was two-stories above ground level. If he jumped, there was still a small chance he would serve, albeit perhaps with a broken leg. The dilemma made him pause briefly.

Everything he knew was gone. The small flat he lived in since he was an infant, his possessions and his dearest mother, who was shot in the head by the people who attacked them. His brother, merely a happy and carefree toddler, was not spared from the brutality of the deplorable savages. Wincing at the sight of his splattered head, smashed against the wall, Kakko had kept quiet, concealed himself and secretly made his way towards the window as they set his place aflame. They did not know he was loss made him so numb; he had not had time to process it. The hurt had not yet hit him, still falling in the realm of the intangible.

He had to live. He had to survive. His mother's desperate gaze was carved into his mind, imprinting itself on his very soul. He would not forget it. Run, she seemed to say, please, Kakko, please make it out alive. It was his fault that she was dead, for the Ravagers had traced him down for stealing their bioweapon two years ago, but he would not disappoint her last wish. He would not.

He. Would. Not.

Three, two, one.

And then he jumped.

What happened next was all so quick. Kakko was about to crash into the ground, break his legs and consign himself to paralysis for the rest of his life (and maybe eventually get caught and killed by the attackers) when a hooded figure swept him up.

The last thing he remembered before fainting was a pair of purple eyes with concentric rings.

~X~

"Where is he?!" Boruto suppressed the urge to scream at his best friend, deciding to shake Mitsuki furiously instead. He knew it wasn't entirely Mitsuki's fault. Nonetheless, it was dusk and the boy still hadn't returned. He had every right to feel worried and panicked when Mitsuki, flushed and gripped with consternation, informed him that Keisuke had simply disappeared.

He felt Sarada wrap her arms around him from behind, gently urging him to stay calm. Though he could tell she was shaking, quivering on the inside. He knew her too well. Still, years of being the Hachidaime Hokage had taught her how to maintain a mask of tranquility. Crisis management 101.

"Mitsuki," Sarada inquired, "When was the last time you saw Keisuke."

"Before lunch." Mitsuki's head hung low. The guy felt awful and, under normal circumstances, Boruto would feel bad for his previous behavior and end up apologising. "We were playing games, we were feeling hungry, so I decided to go out and get some food for us. When I came back, he was gone. I tried looking for him. I searched all around the house and then all around the village. I activated my Sage Mode. All was to no avail. His chakra had simply... vanished."

"Vanished..." Sarada repeated his words with a murmur. She furrowed her brows, folded her arms and closed her eyes. "Boruto, Mitsuki, do you guys remember the time when we... vanished?"

"That one time when we ended up at that alternate dimension? Of course I do," Mitsuki replied.

"Do you guys think something similar could have happened to our Keisuke?"

The words our Keisuke made Boruto's heart wince. He was their boy, their mischevious little son.

"Possibly," Boruto muttered. "Possibly."

"Right, there's no time to grieve or feel at loss. Mitsuki, please don't blame yourself for anything. You've done what you could. Boruto," Sarada said as he gazed at her husband and he could tell that she was holding back tears and wanted to simply hold her tight, "I'll ask Karin to look out for Keisuke's chakra signature. I'll ask dad to use his Rinnegan. I'll ask Nanadaime if the Kyuubi could sense anything."

"My library," Mitsuki blurted out suddenly as if he had just remembered something important. "Keisuke loves it there. I mean, he would go there clandestinely when he thought I didn't know and traverse through the shelves looking for interesting books. I didn't mind him doing it anyway. My guess is that after I went out to buy friend chicken - we'll talk about this later - he probably went inside again. Sarada, you should go there and use your Mangekyo to see."

Sarada nodded and made her way towards the library, with Boruto and Mitsuki following her.

Boruto knew that his wife had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan precisely the day he had died in that alternate dimension, yet she did not fully realise it until they were on a mission when they were 15. They were asked to solve the murder of the Tsubaki Conglomerate's young heir. When arriving at the crime scene, Sarada immediately felt her eyes hurt and saw exactly what had happened. It had been his servant, jealous of his affections towards and relationship with a young maid. Being able to look into the past of a specific location, it turns out, was one of Sarada's abilities, with the others being her lilac Susanoo and Amaterasu.

Sarada shut her eyes and then activated her Mangekyo Sharingan.

And then she was in a trance. This normally happened when she gazed into the past. Boruto was used to it (even though he was a little freaked out at first.)

"I was right!" Sarada gasped, clasping her mouth. "Boruto, Mitsuki, he got... he got sucked into a vortex while climbing shelves. I don't know where he went, but he's still alive, somewhere."

Boruto was silent, deep in contemplation. He recalled the dream he had two years ago, buried in the depths of his consciousness. Could it be telling him something? He was not sure. He would have to give it some more thought before he said anything important. "Let's go Sarada," Boruto whispered into his wife's ear. "Goodbye Mitsuki."

"Mitsuki, take care," Sarada said. "We'll let you know about any new developments." She walked towards Mitsuki and gave him a hug, nudging Boruto to do the same.

~X~

Boruto was still short of words when they got back and, from years of experience of dealing with her husband, Sarada knew something was wrong. It was as if he was suffocating from secrets.

When they entered the living room, now empty as Eriko was at Jun's house for dinner, they felt a positively oppressive silence reign over them. Sighing, Sarada sat down and opened her bag of paperwork left over from the day, beginning the night's labour, all while hoping that Boruto would confess to her just what was bugging him.

Her husband appeared very hesitant to initiate conversation, fidgeting and restlessly walking up and down the space. Unable to stand his attitude any longer, Sarada questioned, "Is something bothering you? Is there something you'd like to be telling me but are not 100% sure whether to do so?"

Boruto mumbled a few indecipherable grunts. Usually, this indicated that he was struggling with articulation.

"Boruto," Sarada emphasized her husband's name, loudly and clearly. The sound reverberated through the entire room.

"Sekai no Hashi," Boruto finally said. "Two years ago, I had the weirdest dream ever."

Sarada paused writing and got up, facing her husband with confusion.

"There is the slight possibility that we're not the only world with sentient and intelligent species, though we're one of the few where knowledge and usage of chakra were well developed," Boruto speculated from memory. "Sekai no Hashi is a special place, reported a juncture between worlds. But there's more to the dream. I was... not myself there."

"What do you mean?" Sarada pressed him.

"Well, first things first, I was in the body of a boy - well not a human boy - named Kakko. Secondly, it's not from this dimenson. It's set in the alternate dimension we were in all these years ago, to be precise. I know because I saw your dad in there - well, not your dad, but you know... Yeah, so basically I was in that body and carried a scroll to him and then I fainted and woke up. It was really strange. But I've been thinking, maybe that dream was a way of foretelling Keisuke's disappearance? I'm not too sure how that would work, but -"

"Sumire's Nue!" Sarada exclaimed as the creature flew into their room, interjecting Boruto's stream of thought. "Sorry for the interrupt, continue speaking..."

"No, no," Boruto said, "This must be something important too." He retrieved a scroll from the creature and began reading it. "Asami has fainted earlier the day and received strange visions of a place with purple sky, explosions and - no. No way, Asami is having visions of Sekai no Hashi."

"What's the matter?" Sarada was really worried this time. It appeared that Keisuke was not the only child of hers who was affected. "Is Asami okay? Is their mission going fine?"

"Yes. It's an escort mission so she doesn't get off until the end of this week. That being said, according to Sumire, it's not a very dangerous one so Asami would most likely be safe," Boruto said, trying to reassure himself.

"Oh my - I'm calling Itachi and Eriko to see if they're fine," Sarada declared as she rushed towards the home phone. "I'll be back in a moment."

Boruto sunked into himself as his wife departed the room. He felt so helpless. Was this how his own father felt all these years ago when he, too, was stuck in the other world? Was there nothing he could do?

No. Technically no. There was still a sliver of possibility that he could travel to the other place. He did it once, didn't he? Sure, the mysterious scroll had reportedly vanished, but there had to be other methods, right?

Right?

~X~

He stretched his fingertips and then kicked his legs. The first thing he noticed was that he was not paralysed or injured anywhere.

His eyes fluttered open and he was in a dark place. There was no source of natural light, only the artificial shine of an odd lamp that Kakko only saw in some quaint exhibition of foreign goods. His bed was rather plain and he realised that there was a desk in the corner of the room, where a figure, still obscured, was furiously scribbling down something.

"Excuse me?" Kakko got up and immediately felt a little reticent. The events of before were slowly hitting him and he did not know what to do, being on the verge of collapsing onto himself. Tears were beginning to well up in his eyes; they burned.

The man on the far corner seemed to notice his movement and made his way towards Kakko.

"You've awakened, Kakko." The light was still not directly shining on his face.

"Have we met." Kakko backed away defensively.

"In a way, yes," was the ambivalent response.

Kakko did not know whether to scream or sigh in relief.

"You can call me Sasuke." The figure reached out a gloved hand as a friendly gesture. However, his voice, in its graveness, intimidated Kakko. It did not belong to an ordinary man. "Though I hear that some here call me the Wanderer."

Power. Sadness. Sorrow. Remorse. Kakko could taste it, even though it was displayed in the far distance. He craved it as a hungry urchin craves scraps of bacon, sensing it, feeling it, hoping to bask in it when circumstances become fortuitous. The Wanderer exuded all these things too.

The Wanderer. That name was indeed familiar. It was who the old scientist begged him to take the scroll to all these years ago after all. Somehow, Kakko could not remember actually meeting the Wanderer. Yet he had a premonition that the mission in stopping the Ravagers would end in victory. Now, Kakko wished none of that happened. Guilt gnawing on his insides, dissolving his intestines in asinine acid, he scorned fate for placing that old man in his way. If only he had minded his own business, stayed out of it all. Whatever deity that crafted this distasteful world, he didn't care, he cursed its name regardless. Whatever racial war, insurgency that would have started had that scroll fell into the wrong hands, he would rather it did. If only, if only his mother and brother - oh, Juni, sweet, unknowing, innocent Juni who never ended up suffering because of the swiftness in which his breath was taken away... - if only they were still alive and breathing and laughing around the dinner table.

If only.

Which brings things to the Wanderer again. Like all children who had grown up in the dingey, hopeless, dour outskirts of the Metropolis, Kakko had heard tales of the Wanderer. Human, from Terra, supposedly, but, at the same time, also a deity. He had defeated the dragon, previously thought as invincible, below Sekai no Hashi's plane of existence, a creature that many had believed would end up destroying their state of existence too. He had tamed wildfires with a far fiercer inferno of his own. The fires of hell, reportedly, black as night. He had revived the dead, apparently, in a faraway land when the only heir to a precarious kingdom on the verge of civil war was brutally assassinated in a calculated plot to instigate conflict. Some said that he was once a sovereign of some sorts - much like the Sovereign that reigned over Sekai no Hashi - only much more competent, much more terrifying. Less of a bumbling bubblehead and more of a somber overlord. Less of a desperate seeker for acceptance and love, and more of an iron-fisted king who had no qualms about being loathed.

The Wanderer, was, in some ways, the key to everything.

"Mister." Kakko breathed before he spoke again. "Mister, would you please revive my mother?"

The Wanderer paused. He did not answer Kakko's request. Perhaps luck was not in Kakko's favour.

"Mister," Kakko repeated again. "They... they say you can bring back the dead. It's not fair, mister... Wanderer-"

"Call me Sasuke," the Wanderer said with a grimace. "That epithet is so very alienating."

"Mister Sasuke-"

"Well, I suppose it's better than Mister..."

"Mister Sasuke, can you please bring back my mother and brother. I should have died yesterday - not them. I-"

"Yet you didn't," the Wanderer uttered his words with a merciless bluntness, sweeping away Kakko's hopes. "The ability to bring back the dead is no small matter. It's extremely taxing and, not to mention, doesn't always end in the ideal way. Given that their bodies perished in the fire, moreover, I-"

"Then at least teach me some of your abilities," Kakko found himself declare boldly, drawing on a hitherto unknown reservoir of strength. He felt braver, more assertive. "They took away everything from me. My home, my means of living, the people I love. I need to become strong enough to face them... and kill them."

He felt the Wanderer quiver, albeit only mildly. There was shock etched into the man's old and wizened face. His eyes became unrecognisable.

Hatred. Vengeance. Kakko suddenly felt grander, less inhibited. It was like he'd been imbued with an ancient source of power. Raw, untended and hungry to break out and unleash havoc.

"Please, Sasuke," Kakko said, "Please." He had forgotten the formalities.

He was met with silence and, quite possibly, unfeeling indifference.

"There will be no point, child," Sasuke finally said, "I've already killed them all. The ones who attacked your places - and the remaining stump of the once ubiquitous militia known as the Ravagers. I wasn't alone of course, for I had help from Sekai no Hashi's police department."

"Oh." It should have made him jump with joy, it should have made him immersed with euphoric ecstasy. Yet all Kakko experienced was a painful hollowness. It was his right! Revenge was his right! And, inexplicably, it was denied from him. He could not hide his baffling disappointment.

Sasuke seemed to have noticed his reaction. Sighing, the man shut his eyes and held Kakko's small hands in his ragged palms.

"Kakko... I can understand how you feel-"

"No, you can't!" Kakko did not know where all the rage was coming from.

"Kakko."

The air around Sasuke became very heavy. Kakko felt his name reverberate throughout the small room.

"I should have been the one to avenge my mother and brother-"

"Kakko, listen to me, Kakko, if there's one thing I should have learned from the wretched life I lived, it's that revenge is the banalest form of self-appeasement, the most meaningless way to reconcile yourself with tragedy."

Sasuke took a deep breath. Sensing that the man was about to say something very important, Kakko stopped with his own emotional turbulence - for just a second. He had a feeling that he needed to listen to the old, hardened man in front of him. He needed to listen carefully in life, even if this was the last time he did such a thing.

"I was like you, once upon a time. Years ago, far far away, in what you guys call Terra, a planet very much isolated from the rest of the universe, in the village of Konohagakure, my whole clan was wiped out, by my very own brother, the person who I respected and loved so much. He killed everyone I cared about, wiped everything I cared about off the face of the earth - pardon my, uh, provinciality in that phrase."

"That's fine. I know the small-mentality of people of Terra." Kakko gave a small smile. He tried to grin in the face of it all.

"He wanted me to hate him and he succeeded. He wanted me to dedicate my life to avenging my family and he succeeded. He wanted me to turn my back on everything else, all the other bonds I could have forged, all the happiness I could have had, all the possibilities my life could have taken, and he succeeded. I became a shell of a person, hell-bent on murdering him and restoring honor to my family. Yet, when I finally did it, things did not quite go as planned. I did not feel satisfied. I felt empty. What's more is that it turns out he had committed the massacre on orders from conspiring Village Elders, who feared the presence and power of my clan. He had begged them, begged them hard, that I be the only one to be spared. So I needed more revenge and I decided to destroy Konoha. All the ties I had cut, I made sure the severing was permanent. And... and... when it... when I finally saw my brother again, a zombie resurrected to fight the rest of the Shinobi World, all he could say was that he was sorry and he loved me. He tried to make me understand that there was more to hatred and revenge, he tried to make me realising the true meaning of the shinobi spirit and the Will of Fire. I thought I had understood him, I thought I knew what he would have wanted and set out to become Hokage. I..."

Sasuke was a little lost for words. Kakko could not blame him.

"I, long story short, I killed my best friend and united the scattered countries of the continent into one. I became the Hokage that everyone feared, that everyone loathed. I thought I had it all, but I was proven wrong again. Misguided, self-righteous, still unable to free myself from the yoke of hatred and revenge, I could only ever be wrong. It took a mysterious intervention from the fates to save me, to save my village, to save the rest of the Continent. A boy from another world. He was Boruto Uzumaki, the otherwise son of my best friend Naruto Uzumaki..."

The name sounded familiar, Kakko thought, strangely familiar.

"Boruto tried to show me, time and time again, that there was an alternative to the perpetual cycle of hatred. He tried to make me see the light. He very nearly did not succeed. But, hey, I wouldn't be here talking to you if he didn't, right?"

Kakko did not know what to say. He still felt sad, sorrowful, angry even. But he did not know what to say in front of the man, who had clearly experienced so many vicissitudes in life.

"I..."

"But I will train you," Sasuke declared abruptly. "The Ravagers are gone but the trouble is far from over. The Ravagers were only part of the game, a game that the Intouchables have initiated. You will need to keep yourself safe – and, bear this in mind, you will not be left alone."

"Yes, Mister Sasuke." Kakko nodded. " I will do my best to learn."

"Eat some food. Training will start in an hour."

~X~

Miraculously, Keisuke had gotten lost again. He had initially planned on adhering to that old lady's advice and make his way towards Grand Avenue, the supposed epicenter of Sekai no Hashi's vibrant economy. Yet after several paths and turns and some very salivating blue fruit, Keisuke found himself in a rundown neighbourhood still enveloped in the doldrum's of last year's seasonal downturn. An empty orchard situated right next to a textiles mill. The fallen leaves crunched under his feet as he felt the hot winds, laced by the heat of the nearest star, sweep through him.

There was an eerie charm to this place. Like a snippet out of a storybook, not that Keisuke had any in being a prince or a princess or a knight or any of that. There was also a desolated, dilapidated flair surrounding it all. It was as if the movie had ended and yet the set had been left there, dying and decaying. Yet Keisuke was in love with it all, for no reason whatsoever. He felt drawn towards sad places. It was beautiful in all its wretched splendor.

He dashed towards the rusty swing and happily swung up and down, savouring the scenery before him. He half expected someone, some curious, fun-loving kid to come join him. But he did not mind having the place for his own.

Sure, at the Academy, Keisuke Uzumaki-Uchiha was known as the vivacious kid for whom socialising seemed like second-nature. Heck, if he'd be honest, he'd say that he was probably one of the most popular kids of the class. Maybe it came with being the Hokage's son, maybe it was his popularity (popularity begets further popularity, after all), maybe it was because he was fairly smart and people wanted to copy off his work, maybe it was because he was an all-around goofball who knew how to have fun, there were all sorts of possibilities, not that he particularly cared. Witnessing people suck up to you solely because of the status your family afforded you was not the nicest thing in the world, but so long as one can distinguish one's genuine companions everyone else, there's no harm. Keisuke had a pretty good idea on it all. Heck, he wouldn't mind if, when the time came, he only had one or two true friends, as callous as it sounded. He wouldn't mind it. He wouldn't mind it at all.

"No!" He slipped on the floor. He would have to be a little more careful.

There was a hut on the other end of the orchid. It looked comfortable enough. Keisuke was feeling rather tired and decided that it would be a good idea to rest in their a bit. It seemed uninhabited, though if it were, Keisuke would politely apologise to its owner and climb the tree next to it, relaxing on top of that instead. Always have a Plan B.

Initially, his worries appeared unfounded, however, as it seemed entirely deserted. The interiors were plain, with only a small, hard sofa and a table with some chairs surrounding it. There was also a small basket of an unrecognisable species of beige-coloured vegetables, which looked rather out of place. Except it wasn't really that out of place.

No, Keisuke began to understand, overwhelmed by self-awareness, that he was the one who was out of place in all of this. He was far from home, in an alien land - and alien in a land, quite literally.

And he was nowhere near going home. Here he was, being an utter moron (pardon the language), swinging on swings in some abandoned garden and exploring uninhabited houses for no particular reason. There was no focus in his activities whatsoever; he was stung by the plague of procrastination, which had temporarily shoved aside all feelings of fear, which were slowly returning again.

"Idiot!" He shouted at himself, shaking his head furiously and jumping off the softa where he had previously lodged himself.

Itachi would never had gotten into this state, far away from his own planet (it was crazy, too crazy for Keisuke to fathom, for he was not sure whether extraterrestrial life forms really existed on a scale like this, given that Momoshiki, Kinshiki and Toneri Ootsusuki were the only ones he really heard about) and not doing a single thing about it. Heck, Itachi would never had wandered around uncle Mitsuki's place like a sneaky little -

There were footsteps underneath him, faint but detectable by those whose senses were more sharpened by shinobi training.

Keisuke held his breath, got down to his knees and then pressed his ear against the ground. There were huddled voices, indecipherable, but getting louder. They must have heard his cursing a while ago.

This could be a hiding place, maybe even a secret lair for some nefarious organisation, for all Keisuke knew. The boy chided himself for his naivety and lack of awareness. Granted, it may have been paranoia and maybe the people beneath him were merely throwing illegal sex parties (the knowledge was courtesy to some of uncle Mitsuki's... books) or engaging in weird religious rituals, but still. If there was one thing Boruto was good it, it was instilling a sense of perpetual paranoia in Keisuke. It was mostly unintentional, but still. Telling your kids that they could get kidnapped all the time isn't exactly the best way to make them feel secure.

The footsteps were getting louder, closer. It was when Keisuke heard the voices, still mildly muffled, scream, "Get the intruder!", that he realised it would be best if he started running.

They only caught sight of him once he already sprinted out of the courtyard and was well on his way down the Million Step Street, not too far away from the Midlings that the old lady had warned about, in fact. Which sounded bad. Although, in all honesty, Keisuke was a bit glad that amidst all the panic, that he had finally figured out how to amplify his speed using chakra and sustain it in long-term. A small consolation of an achievement, perhaps.

Someone threw a small grenade his way and he evaded it, rushing forwards with harder fervour. They weren't too near for him to engage them yet - and he was not sure whether it was prudent for him to do so. A small premonition told him that help was near, albeit Keisuke had a mixed record when it came to his sixth-sense in life. Once, last year, in fact, he had mistakenly gotten the impression that Kakashi would tolerate his presence on a Saturday night after he got tired of being in the house. He was duly scarred. It transpired that seventy-year-olds still lived very vibrant... nightlives. Boruto was livid afterward.

Someone threw another grenade. This time, it exploded a bit earlier and, realising that he was about to get blown into smithereens, Keisuke quickly weaved a few hand signs to conjure the only water-styled jutsu he really knew, the Water Cannon Attack, which subdued the fire and put a good distance between him and the attack.

"Firestyle: Fireball Jutsu!" It was the only other jutsu Keisuke knew. It blew back a string of other attacks.

He kept running, running, running.

He was drastically outnumbered.

He froze.

His whole body felt dead.

That was when he realised that he was placed under a trance. Some strange weapon had managed to immobilise him in midair. He could not even struggle for release.

Just as he was about to resign himself to whatever misfortunes lay ahead, he felt light again. He fell to the ground, face first, which hurt a lot.

Then, as he looked up, he was taken aback. Never had he imagine to meet his maternal grandfather in such a place.

He shuddered a little at the sight of a man's slip throat, the flesh viscerally curving out and flowing with blood. He had never taken another life, not yet at least - and no, flies don't count.

"Shinra Tensei!"

The remaining attackers were pushed back by a force of gravity.

Before Keisuke had any time to recuperate, his grandpa grabbed him and hoisted him on the back.

"Hold tightly," Sasuke said.

"Alright, gramps."

Keisuke felt relief wash over him. Here, in this unfamiliar land, he had finally encountered a member of his own family. Perhaps his parents figured out what had happened and sent Sasuke, who was able to travel between worlds, to rescue him. What Keisuke did not see with Sasuke's stunned expression.

Nor did he notice the fact that for the first time in his life, his eyes bled red as rubies.

~X~

The kid had called him 'gramps.' What's more, the kid had strongly resembled himself when he was still at the Academy. But it was when the kid - out of the trauma of witnessing another creature's slit throat - activated his own Sharingan that Sasuke's worst fears have been confirmed.

Something similar had happened 26 years ago, when some mysterious force sent Boruto Uzumaki over to this world. And now, it appears, judging from the kid's whiskered face and raven hair, that Boruto's son - and his grandson - was beamed across the dimensions.

Something was wrong. The Intouchables. They had to be behind this. They were up to something, concocting a threat far more grave than anything anyone had ever experienced. So far, his readings, the trails he had been given and the people he had interrogated had given him faint, ominous ideas.

Still, amidst all the worry and troubles, Sasuke felt a little warm on the inside as the boy faithfully clung onto him and waited to be delivered to safety.


A/N: I sincerely hoped that you guys enjoyed this and it would be really nice if you guys could leave a few reviews/ comments on this chapter.

Also, I'd like to say that this collection goes back and forth during time. Once I'm done with this story, I'd probably move onto Boruto and Sarada's first child :D