In the alternate dimension, Manji narrowed his Byakugan slightly.
He had only been casually surveying the aftermath of the Nine-Tails Attack, confirming that the key events—the Tailed Beast's sealing, the sacrifice of Minato and his wife, and Naruto becoming a Jinchuriki—had all fallen into place according to the broad outline.
The souls of those killed in the Nine-Tails Attack were slowly drifting toward the Pure Land in a steady stream.
But the next second, his gaze suddenly stopped on a soul that should have been utterly unremarkable.
Iruka.
"Huh!? Wait, Iruka!?"
Manji went rigid. How had Iruka died?
In the original timeline, this child would survive the Night of the Nine-Tails and grow up to become Naruto's most important teacher—the person who, on that day, gave him his first taste of acceptance.
But now...
Manji looked through space and clearly saw that small corpse.
One of the Nine-Tails' rampaging tails had swept through a shelter on Konoha's outskirts, instantly crushing Iruka and his parents.
Blood and splintered wood flew everywhere. They had not even managed to cry out.
Their deaths had been swift and utterly without warning.
For the first time, Manji's expression visibly froze.
"..."
He remained silent for a few seconds, then slowly raised his hand, gently twirling the Six Paths Staff between his fingers.
"Iruka is dead."
"He clearly survived to the very end in the original story. And now? Even the most basic causal link—him teaching Naruto—has been erased outright."
A trace of genuine helplessness flashed in Manji's Byakugan.
Obito had cooperated with the overall plan, and the outcome of the Nine-Tails Attack had more or less matched, but the deviations in the details were already spreading like tiny cracks.
With Iruka dead, who would step forward when Naruto was at his loneliest?
Who would become