Chapter 102: Knowledge about Future

Sarada studied the blond man standing in front of her. The more she watched him, the clearer it became that hiding pieces of the truth would only slow them down. He was the anchor. If anyone in this fractured timeline had a chance of stopping what was coming, it was him.

She drew a slow breath.

"In our timeline you defeated an alien being named Kaguya Ōtsutsuki," she began. "She was sealed. The world continued. In this timeline the same being fought you much earlier—before you had the strength you needed. She killed you. After that she grew without opposition. The power she gained was enough to destroy both this branch and the future we came from."

Kael’s expression did not change, but something cold settled behind his eyes. "When does she attack?"

Sarada hesitated only a moment. "Sometime from Two years from now."

Two years. Kael turned the number over in his mind. He was nowhere near the height of the original Naruto’s power. Two years was both an eternity and no time at all.

Himawari spoke quietly. "In our final hours she had already killed nearly everyone we knew. We used Eida’s ability—Omnipotence—and transferred ourselves into this timeline at the last possible second."

The word landed heavily. Omnipotence. Kael’s thoughts flickered toward the system, toward the hundred quests, toward the possibility of forcing a way home. A skill that could rewrite existence itself. If he possessed something like that...

Eida’s voice cut through the thought. "I can’t control it very well. It is a power that belongs to the Ōtsutsuki. Only one of them can use it freely."

Kael filed the information away. To claim that kind of power he would first have to become something he currently was not. For now the skill was useless to him.

He glanced at the unnatural trees still surrounding them. "Is this forest here because of your power?"

Eida nodded once. "Yes. When we transferred here the timeline of this region also changed meaning there was once forest here and my ability changed it somehow."

Kael said by looking at there leaf symbol band on there hand "And in the future you’re all from the Leaf."

"Yes," Sarada answered.

For the first time since arriving in this world, Kael felt the weight of not knowing what to do next. The system had always pushed him forward with clear, if twisted, objectives. This was different. Two timelines. An ancient monster scheduled to erase both. Four refugees from a dead future standing in a forest that should not exist.

"What’s the plan?" he asked.

Sarada’s shoulders shifted in a small, tired motion. "There is no plan. We escaped Kaguya and arrived here. Beyond that... we don’t know."

Kael looked at each of them in turn, then at Eida. "Then come to the Leaf village. We can use your ability to make people accept that you’re from the Leaf. It would give you cover."

Eida shook her head. "I’m not strong enough. Not after using Omnipotence."

"Then we do it another way."

Around them the shadow clones had already completed their quieter task. One by one they returned carrying the unconscious forms of the rest of the team—Sakura, Sasuke, Temari, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, and Kankurō. The clones laid them carefully on the mossy ground and waited for orders.

Kael gestured toward the still bodies. "At least wake them and make sure they understand you’re not the enemy. But first we clear this place. The Sand village won’t calm down while black clouds and a forest are sitting in the middle of their desert."

He stepped closer to Eida and held out his hand. "Absorb my chakra. It might be enough to restore you for now."

Eida hesitated only a second before taking it. The moment her fingers closed around his, the connection opened. Chakra surged—vast, continuous, far beyond what any ordinary shinobi could offer. Her eyes widened as the flood filled the empty reserves left by Omnipotence. Color returned to her face. Strength steadied her legs.

She released his hand, formed a single seal, and released the power outward.

The forest answered.

Trees blackened and crumbled into ash without flame or smoke. The dense canopy dissolved. The unnatural black clouds above tore apart and scattered on a sudden clean wind. Within moments the desert lay open again—sand, sky, and the distant shape of the Sand village walls under ordinary sunlight.

The effort cost her. Eida’s knees buckled. Kael caught her before she hit the ground by her waist and passed her carefully into Sumire’s arms.

He turned to Himawari and Sarada. The two women watched him with the wary attention of people who had already lost one world.

"I have some idea who you are from your appearance," Kael said. "I’m not going to say the names. It would only complicate the future you’re trying to protect. But you don’t belong out here in the wild. Come with me to Konoha. It is much safer than here."

Sarada studied him for a long moment. Whatever calculation she ran behind those dark eyes, the result was acceptance. She gave a short nod.

Around them the rest of the team began to stir, consciousness returning in slow waves. The black clouds were gone. The impossible forest was gone. Four travelers from a ruined future stood in the open desert beside the man who had become the hinge between two timelines.

Two years.

Kael looked toward the horizon where the Sand village waited, then farther still—toward the distant direction of Konoha.

The real work was only beginning.

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