NABC Page 388
Page 388
As if struck by lightning, the young Naruto jumped back a step.
His finger trembled as he pointed at Hinata, letting out a thunderous scream filled with shock and disbelief:
"This...isn't that Hinata?!"
His future wife...
It's Hinata, the shy yet brave young lady of the Hyuga clan who always secretly watched him when she was little, blushed whenever she spoke to him?!
This sudden "earth-shattering discovery" instantly dispelled all the tension and heaviness in the atmosphere.
Only the blond boy from a parallel world remained, caught in a state of immense confusion and self-doubt.
Chapter 409 Long Time No See! The Me of the Past!
Consciousness is like a traveler drowning in the deep sea, struggling to rise upwards.
The adult Naruto felt like he had a long and oppressive dream.
In his dream, he fought alongside his best friend Sasuke, enduring a fierce battle, and finally completely destroyed Isshiki Otsutsuki, protecting the peace of the ninja world.
However, the joy of victory was short-lived, quickly replaced by greater despair.
He witnessed his son Boruto being controlled by Momoshiki, becoming a new threat to the ninja world.
Faced with this outcome, Boruto did not hesitate to choose death, attempting to bring new life to the ninja world through his own demise.
This scene caused him immense pain.
Although Boruto miraculously survived, the unforgettable fear and heartache he experienced only strengthened his resolve to protect his son.
But the cruel irony of fate was far from over.
One day, his most trusted adopted son, Kawaki, the child to whom he poured the same love as Boruto, and tried to pull him out of his dark past.
Under the guise of "protection," they used a power he couldn't comprehend to forcibly seal him and his wife Hinata away.
In the moment before he was plunged into boundless darkness, he did not see the enemy's sinister smile.
Rather, it was Kawaki's eyes, filled with obsession, pain, and... self-righteous "love."
He struggled desperately and roared, but like a flying insect trapped in amber, he was powerless and could only watch helplessly as he and his beloved were swallowed up by eternal silence.
In the sealed void, time loses its meaning.
After an unknown amount of time, some indistinct sounds, like sunlight piercing through thick ice, intermittently entered his dormant consciousness.
A voice, a voice filled with the vicissitudes of life, sounded like Boruto: "Dad, stop spacing out. Why do you seem so surprised that your wife is my mom?"
Immediately following was a voice he knew all too well, yet it carried a hint of naivety and disbelief.
That was his own voice: "After all... Hinata is the young lady of the Hyuga clan... I'm just a poor boy in the village... How... How could this be..."
Boruto's voice was clearly speechless: "No way... you haven't noticed yet? Didn't Mom say so a long time ago? She's been watching you since you were very young."
Young Naruto's voice was filled with genuine confusion: "Huh? Really? When did you say that?"
Boruto's sigh, even through his mind, conveyed a sense of disappointment and frustration: "You... sigh! You're hopeless, really hopeless."
Then, a clear and lovely female voice asked curiously, "Oh? So, in Daddy's eyes, what was Mommy like before?"
Young Naruto seemed to think about it seriously for a moment, and then answered in a matter-of-fact tone: "Well... she's a girl who always hides far away and secretly watches me, but never says a word."
"Because I never sensed any murderous intent or malice from her, I didn't take any action to drive her away or anything."
Boruto: "..."
Young Naruto had no idea that anything was wrong with him.
This absurd yet strangely heartwarming conversation acted as the final catalyst, completely stirring up the dormant consciousness of the adult Naruto.
His longing for his son, his yearning for his wife, and the bittersweet realization of his "past self"...
A torrent of intense emotions surged forth, crashing against the barriers of the seal.
He could feel that control over his body was gradually returning.
His heavy eyelids felt like they were carrying a thousand pounds of weight, and he mustered all his willpower to fight against them.
Once, twice...
Finally, a faint ray of light pierced the darkness.
He slowly, with difficulty, opened his eyes.
What came into view was not the familiar ceiling of my home.
Instead, it had the hospital's characteristic white and slightly cold ceiling, with a faint smell of disinfectant in the air.
"The Seventh Generation!"
Almost the instant he opened his eyes, a voice filled with urgency, worry, and incredibly complex emotions rang in his ears.
Naruto turned his head slightly and saw Kawaki standing guard by the bedside.
The youth's face no longer held its previous stubbornness and coldness, but instead showed trepidation, regret, and a hint of relieved hope.
“Kawaki…” The adult Naruto opened his mouth, his voice dry and hoarse.
Immediately following was Boruto's voice, filled with joy and excitement.
He strode to the other side of the bed, his remaining left eye glistening with barely suppressed tears.
A small figure rushed to the bedside; it was a sunflower.
She held her father's hand tightly, her little face filled with lingering fear and the joy of having regained what she had lost.
Looking at his children gathered around the bed, the adult Naruto managed a weak smile.
That was the most genuine relief after going through so much hardship to see his family safe and sound: "Boruto... Himawari... you're all alright... that's so good..."
His gaze lingered on Boruto for a moment, and once he confirmed that Boruto was safe and sound, the biggest weight in his heart finally lifted.
At that moment, another voice rang out with a hearty laugh: "How could anything happen? Unless I die, no one can hurt them."
The adult Naruto looked in the direction of the sound and saw a blond boy standing at the foot of the bed who looked almost exactly like him when he was young.
The same blue eyes, the same mustache-like markings, the same radiant smile.
But his eyes now held a sharpness and composure he hadn't possessed in his youth, a sharpness that seemed to come from someone who had experienced the world.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment.
The adult Naruto looked at this living, breathing version of himself from the past, his eyes filled with disbelief, as if he were in another world.
Three years ago, he went back in time, and the scene of meeting his past self in the Snow Country flashed through his mind.
Young Naruto was also observing his future self.
The composure between his brows, the fine lines at the corners of his eyes, and the dignity and inclusiveness that the Hokage could not conceal even while lying in a hospital bed.
This is... the man who, after countless trials and tribulations, finally became the Seventh Hokage, protecting the entire village and even the entire ninja world.
After a brief silence, the smile on the adult Naruto's lips slowly widened.
It was a tired yet incredibly warm smile, carrying a sense of relief and world-weariness that came from seeing through everything.
He looked at the young Naruto and, in a gentle, low voice that had regained some strength, said softly:
"...Long time no see..."
"...my past self."
This greeting transcends the flow of time, connecting two souls from different times and spaces.
It is a feeling of nostalgia, a longing, and also a tacit understanding that only one can comprehend and that needs no words.
Inside the hospital room, sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the warmth of the reunion while also bidding farewell to the Seventh Hokage's official return.
Chapter 410 Children will grow up someday!
In the hospital ward, even the smell of disinfectant couldn't wash away the complex emotions of surviving a disaster.
The adult Naruto sat back on the hospital bed. Although his face was still a little pale, his azure eyes had regained their usual composure and insight.
He listened quietly as Boruto, young Naruto, and Kawaki, who occasionally chimed in, recounted the dramatic changes that had occurred in the three years since he was sealed away.
Boruto and Kawaki's identities were forcibly swapped by "Omnipotent," and he went from being the son of a hero to a traitor who murdered his own parents, suffering endless pursuit and contempt.
To protect Boruto, Sasuke Uchiha was corrupted by the power of the Divine Tree and turned into a prisoner within the giant tree.
The mysterious and powerful Tree People, especially their leader known as "Shi Luo," have arrived.
Its power is enough to destroy the heavens and the earth; even the young Naruto admitted that he could not contend with it.
The entire ninja world, beset by distorted perceptions and internal and external troubles, is already teetering on the brink of collapse...
Each and every incident weighed heavily on the heart of the adult Naruto, like a massive boulder.
His brows furrowed deeper and deeper, and his hands, resting on the blanket, unconsciously clenched into fists.
As Hokage, he was worried about the survival of the entire world;
As a close friend, he was heartbroken by what happened to his best friend Sasuke;
But as a father, what hurts him the most and is hardest to accept is everything Boruto has endured.
When he heard that Boruto was being framed for some unfounded crime because of this damned "identity swap," he was shocked.
He had been on the run for three years in despair and loneliness, and even had to face Kawaki, who was once as close as a brother, in a life-or-death struggle.
The adult Naruto's breathing became noticeably rapid.
He raised his head and looked sharply at Kawaki, who was standing by the bed with his head down, not daring to meet his gaze.
His voice trembled almost imperceptibly: "Change your identity...back. Immediately."
This is not a discussion, it is a demand.
He could not bear to see his son continue to suffer this injustice and humiliation.
Kawaki's body trembled, his head drooped even lower, and his voice was dry and filled with helplessness: "...I can't do it, Seventh Generation."
"This is... the effect of Ada's 'All-Around'."