I Didn't Expect to Meet This Way

Naruto and Sasuke had settled the turmoil caused by Shin Uchiha.

Just like in the original timeline, Shin Uchiha's clones and the children were brought back to Konoha and placed in the orphanage run by Kabuto as its director.

Sarada had confirmed that she was Sakura's biological daughter, her misunderstanding with Sasuke was resolved, and father and daughter were reunited.

The conclusion of the Shin Uchiha incident was a happy ending for all.

At the gates of Konoha, Sasuke was bidding farewell to his wife and daughter before continuing his journey to verify the hypothesis that the Otsutsuki threat had not disappeared.

"Dad, when will you come back next time?" Sarada asked reluctantly.

Seeing the glimmer of anticipation in Sarada's eyes, Sasuke's heart softened. He stepped forward, pulled Sarada into an embrace, then held her small shoulders, gazing at her tearful face, and said gently, "Don't make that face, Sarada."

Sarada bit her lip tightly, looking even more upset.

"Tap!" At that moment, Sasuke, imitating Itachi from years ago, extended two fingers and tapped her on the forehead.

"Huh?" Then, under Sarada's surprised gaze, he said softly, "See you next time~."

It had to be said, the Uchiha's signature forehead poke never failed to work.

It instantly scattered the gloom in Sarada's heart to the nine clouds.

"Ah!" Sarada touched her forehead, tears of joy spilling out, and turned to show off to her mother behind her!

"Mom! Dad just poked my forehead! I'm so happy!"

"Mhm." Sakura blushed and smiled, walking up to Sasuke and handing him the lovingly made bento box she'd prepared herself. "Here, it's a bento. Eat it while it's warm on the road..."

"Okay." Sasuke took the bento, and as he lowered his head, he saw Sakura's gaze—almost pulling threads!

Sakura knew Sasuke couldn't be forced to stay, so... she unleashed the Haruno Clan's heirloom 'gaze attack.' Legend had it that when her father went on business trips back in the day, her mother would see him off with such a burning look, and then... her father would be forced to stay an extra night.

After marriage, Sakura had learned this trick from her mother, practiced it in front of the mirror late at night many times, and finally pulled it off.

"...?" Sarada's little eyes darted back and forth between her dad and mom's faces, showing confusion.

She was still a child—how could she understand the exchange of glances between adults!

"Uh..." Under Sakura's expectant, shy gaze, Sasuke froze for a moment, then suddenly turned and walked away!

"Well, I'm off!"

Ah, did it fail? Her mom's trick always worked on her dad—was her skill just not enough?

Sakura was instantly dejected but not discouraged: "Damn it!! Next time, I'll collect with interest!!!"

In the original timeline, Sakura's 'next time' came half a month later.

On that trip, Sasuke would investigate Kaguya's castle. Inside that snow-filled shrine, he would find the secret scroll Kaguya left behind, engage in a skirmish with Momoshiki and Kinshiki, and during the fight, forcefully cut off Kinshiki's horn.

This would set the stage for the catastrophe during the Chunin Exams.

However, just days ago, Chen's actions at Konoha's Forbidden Ground had triggered a chain reaction, creating a divergence point right now!

"Sasuke, since you're back for once, spend some proper time with your family before you go."

Naruto, wearing the white Hokage cloak, leaned against the Konoha gate and called out to Sasuke as he passed by!

Sasuke paused, and seeing Naruto gesture with his eyes, he understood.

"Alright, I'll leave a bit later."

Hearing this, Sarada spun on the spot in joy, hopping. "Ah! Great~! Dad's not leaving~!"

Thank you so much, Boruto's dad, my most admired Lord Hokage!

Sakura's face was as serene as a refined lady's, but in truth, the cherry blossoms of her hometown were already blooming with exquisite tenderness.

Even the shadow of her punching their still-mortgaged house to rubble was cast to the nine clouds.

Sakura thought Naruto was helping her out, and felt grateful: "Naruto, nice~! After all these years of friendship! You still get me! I owe you one!"

Sasuke turned back and said, "Sakura, Sarada, go home and wait. I'll be back soon."

Sakura suppressed her blooming heart and said magnanimously, "Mm-hah~! Okay... no rush! You two haven't had a proper catch-up in ages! Go have some Ichiraku Ramen for old times' sake before coming home—it's not too late!"

And so, Sakura and Sarada, mother and daughter, went home full of joy to wait for Sasuke.

Watching their retreating figures, Sasuke hung the bento at his waist, turned around, and dropped his smile.

If you think this book is good, to avoid not finding it next time, please remember to add it to your bookshelf.

Naruto calling him back at this juncture must mean something important.

"What happened?"

Naruto reached into his robe and pulled out a file made of kraft paper.

"Last night, the Forbidden Ground was attacked. Madara's remains were taken. It was done by someone named Uchiha Chen. This is the info Shikamaru compiled on him."

Hearing this, Sasuke's brow furrowed deeply.

"We just dealt with Shin Uchiha, and now there's another Uchiha Chen. What's going on lately—a limited-time Uchiha comeback?"

He delivered an unusually sharp quip, took the file with his one hand, and used his teeth to untie the thin string sealing the opening.

Naruto said calmly, "He's not a big deal. I'd say he's less than Shin. I wasn't going to bother you with it, but Shikamaru thought we should play it safe. How about we discuss a solution over some Ichiraku Ramen?"

Sasuke opened the file, pulling out the pages and spreading them apart.

The first half was background information on Chen that Shikamaru had investigated. The second half consisted of letters Chen had written in his early years.

Sasuke's expression remained blank as his Sharingan swept across page after page.

Until... he reached the letter that revealed information about 'Ōtsutsuki Isshiki' and the 'Kara' organization. His face suddenly changed, and he gripped the edges of the paper tightly!

Naruto asked, "What's wrong?"

Sasuke pulled that page out, read it carefully word by word, then showed it to Naruto.

"What's this about? Something this big—why wasn't it mentioned in any of the reports?"

Naruto said, "Ah, about that, actually I only just learned of this letter's existence myself. Shikamaru theorizes that what's written in this letter was carefully fabricated by Uchiha Chen, and he has pretty solid reasoning for it too."

"Remember that small meeting you called with the Five Kage years ago? Based on Kaguya cultivating the White Zetsu soldiers, you hypothesized that there were other Ōtsutsuki lurking on this land. The Five Kage and their trusted aides all knew about it. Who knows if someone slipped up and let the intel leak out, which Chen then used to spin a story."

Sasuke's gaze deepened. "That possibility certainly can't be ruled out."

Naruto said, "I think what's most worth paying attention to right now is why Chen took Madara's body. But with your Sealing Spell of the Coffin as a safeguard, he won't have an easy time succeeding."

"Zzzt!" Sasuke's Rinnegan spun with light. Suddenly, his expression shifted drastically. "!!!"

"What's wrong?"

"Looks like we won't be having Ichiraku Ramen after all."

"What do you mean?"

"The Sealing Spell of the Coffin has been erased—along with the Rinnegan spatial marker I left on it!"

"Hey, you serious?!"

Sasuke crushed the kraft paper file in his hand, deforming it. "A Rinnegan spatial marker, just like your father the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God mark, can't be removed by ordinary means."

"There are only two possibilities for it being erased: either Uchiha Chen can use Yin-Yang Release, or he has some other method we don't know about."

Naruto's face darkened. "This is no joke!"

Sasuke weighed the situation rationally. "Madara's body has likely seen the light of day again. If it were just being used to extract intelligence material, that would be one thing—because the most dangerous thing about Madara, his Rinnegan, dissipated long ago when Kaguya was resealed. What's dangerous is if he's used for Impure World Reincarnation."

"After the war, the scrolls for that technique were all destroyed! Aside from Orochimaru and Kabuto, no one else in the world should know it!"

"Kabuto is the head of Konoha's orphanage, right under our noses."

"Orochimaru—we just saw him earlier today. He was very cooperative, telling us all about Shin Uchiha's background!"

Sasuke's gaze turned dark. "Chen has ties to the underground black market, and Orochimaru is connected to that world too. Getting leads on Chen should start with Orochimaru as the breakthrough!"

"Whoosh!" Black Flames ignited the kraft paper and letters in his hand, the ashes scattering into the night air.

"Shwoosh!" The black Space Gate of the Rinnegan spun open.

"Naruto, you might not be going home tonight."

"Yeah, I already left a Shadow Clone to man the office!"

"Hopefully... in the end, this is all a false alarm."

Looking at the figure standing upright in the coffin before him... Madara let out a sigh thick with emotion.

"Never thought I'd meet you like this... Obito."