"Aw, man, I'm out!"

Naruto and Sasuke turn away from each other, drawn by the complaint from the boy across the room. Boruto is glowering down at the canister in his hand, shaking it uselessly as if that will eke out a little more paint. There's at least a quarter of the circular ward that hasn't been drawn yet.

Naruto rolls his eyes and makes a scoffing noise, like how he sounds when Konohamaru messes up Kakuremino.

"Amateur," he mutters, digging into his own pockets. He unloads his slingshot and a packet of instant ramen before finding what he was looking for. "Hey, Shrimp, heads up!"

Something sails across the room and is deftly caught by a surprised Boruto. Examining it, his eyes widen in surprise to realise it is a thick tube of paint.

"You carry paint around with you?" Sasuke questions, incredulous.

"Never leave home without it," he replies, and then says, "You never know if an opportunity will present itself."

There's a weird double timber, and he realises that the other blond boy said the exact same thing as him. The two Uzumakis exchange glances, and identical, mischievous grins appear on both their faces.

Sasuke pinches the bridge of his nose. "You carry around paint, but you couldn't grab a few more bandages before leaving on this mission?"

"Well...you know. Priorities."

"What is wrong with you?"

"Okay, you're good to go," Konohamaru announces, cutting off the inevitable argument. Kakashi gets to his feet, examining the new, pink skin across his abdomen. It's tender and itchy, but at least the wounds are closed. "Do you need a few minutes to prep, or...?"

"No. It won't make a difference. We should do this now." Kakashi motions for Naruto, Sasuke and Boruto. "Everyone get back. I don't want you anywhere near my line of vision in order to avoid accidents."

"Don't need to tell me twice," Naruto chirps.

With everyone standing close behind him, Kakashi takes a deep breath and focusses. With his Sharingan open and directing all of his chakra on a single point in the distance, he wills the layers of reality to ebb away from one another.

He feels the air in front of him shift, and sees the air ripple like a heat mirage, a prelude to the doorway he means to open.

However, after several laborious seconds of concentration, nothing happens.

"It's not enough," he says, and the tension leaves his muscles. "Damn it."

"I have an idea," Konohamaru says after a pause moment. "I mean, it might not be a really good one, but if it helps, hey."

"What is it?" Kakashi asks, weary.

"Naruto and Sasuke."

"Huh?" Both boys adopt expressions of confusion, while Kakashi is sceptical. However, Boruto brightens.

"Yeah! When Dad and Uncle Sasuke work together, they can do anything! I've seen it!"

Again, Naruto and Sasuke exchange expressions as if to ask 'he's talking about us?'. Those expressions turn to even more comical surprise when Kakashi nods in agreement.

"I know they work well together," he says, "but that doesn't mean they can affect my ability to open Kamui." He considers again then says, "Sasuke, maybe. There's a distinct undertone in my chakra because of the Sharingan, it could perhaps sync with his for an added boost. But even with the chakra replenishing patches he's used, he still isn't fully recovered. I don't think it would be enough."

"I'd make it enough," Sasuke asserts, a little annoyed that his teacher is being so flippant about his perceived weakness.

"Not without calling on the curse seal again, and you've done that enough for one day," Kakashi declares. "We can't take any more unnecessary risks, and that's a big one."

"Curse seal?" Boruto asks, while Konohamaru whistles.

"Wow, I haven't heard about that in a while. You guys are far back. I mean, I knew you were when I saw..." his eyes linger on Sasuke, and then he coughs awkwardly. "Anyway. Back on topic. What I was going to say before is, Naruto would have to back up Sasuke by lending him chakra."

"That would be superfluous with the curse seal," Sasuke insists.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto demands, while Kakashi shakes his head and insists, "No."

"It's worth using if it gets the teleporter out and us one step closer to stopping what's going on." He carefully doesn't mention the missing girls, not wanting to appear as desperate as Naruto and Boruto.

"I said 'no', Sasuke. That's final."

Sasuke glares but doesn't push it again.

"It's better all around if Naruto helps, because he's...well," Konohamaru starts and then lamely finishes, "because he's Naruto."

"Right, because that explains everything," Sasuke sneers.

Naruto, on the other hand, notices the way that the two jōnin are looking at him right now—Konohamaru knowing and Kakashi with dawning comprehension—and realises what they are referring to.

Because he has the power of the Nine-Tails behind him, he has more of a chance of supplying a virtually unending fount of chakra.

If the asshole fox helps.

Keep making comments like that and I won't, the demon snarls at him.

Naruto doesn't reply, however, his thoughts more concerned with the fact that Konohamaru will know about him in the future. The demon within him is something he hasn't even told his teammates, who are the people he cares about most in the world, but he's going to tell Konohamaru?

Maybe it's just something that everyone gets to know when they hit a certain age, Naruto theorizes with a little bitterness. Like everyone else in the world is entitled to knowing about his life and what was done to him.

Except...

He notices that Boruto is utterly unsurprised.

So maybe in the future everyone knows about me and is...actually alright with it?

The idea is a little jarring, even as it fills him with a light, giddy kind of warmth. There's nothing Naruto has dreamed of more in his life than people looking at him and seeing him, not the demon bonded to his soul. And from Konohamaru's behaviour, it seems knowing the truth didn't change how he sees Naruto.

And Boruto might be an annoying brat, but the contempt he has for Naruto doesn't seem to have anything to do with the Nine Tails.

Meanwhile, Sasuke...

Sasuke just looks confused.

Because he doesn't know any of this, Naruto reminds himself, and grins. It's always fun to know something that Sasuke doesn't.

"Okay, yeah, I can do it, no sweat," he brags, striking what he thinks is a cool-guy pose – chin jutted out and examining his nails. He peeks at Sasuke from the corner of his eye to see how his teammate takes this.

Sasuke refuses to look at him.

"We still have a problem," he tells them instead. "Kakashi said Naruto couldn't help before when he wanted to help Sakura summon Bull. I figured it was because his control is so poor—"

"Hey!"

"—but clearly that's not the case if you want him to do it now. So, what's changed?"

"You mean other than the fact you're jealous I'm about the save the day again?"

"Don't be stupid."

"It was partially to do with poor chakra control," Kakashi admits, and Naruto's shoulders slump, "but that's something I'm trained to handle. Sakura isn't. Also, based on the amount of chakra he can produce, Naruto might have summoned a giant dog that either crushed us all or blew up Sakura."

"Which would be bad," Boruto chips in helpfully.

Sasuke frowns at Naruto, trying to figure out at what point it became a universally accepted truth that his dead-last teammate is stronger than him. It annoys him, confirming doubts he's been keeping secret for weeks now.

"Well, it's worth a try," Kakashi says, while Sasuke clenches his fists. "If we create a chakra circuit, it might work."

"A what?"

"Like chakra sharing, only on a grander scale. It's a jōnin level technique that allows the users to distribute their different chakra abilities into a uniform bridge of power."

"That way, no one blows up, right?" Boruto asks.

"Exactly."

"Aw, man, I was right," Naruto complains. "I'm just a giant battery to you people!"

"Are you saying your afraid?" Sasuke challenges.

"Hah!" Naruto snorts. "I laugh in the face of danger!"

"In this case I think danger's laughing harder," Boruto snorts.

"It should create the exact chakra, and in the exact amount we need, to bring the teleporter out," Kakashi concludes.

"And Boruto and I will be ready to know him out if he tries anything," Konohamaru adds.

"Which definitely won't be a problem since I've done such an awesome job with the wards," Boruto brags.

"Thanks to me," Naruto interjects. "Looks like there's still a few things your old man can teach you!"

Boruto makes a face. "Don't say stuff like that. It's bad enough when you're old, but right now it sounds way lame."

"Hey, you're way lame!"

"Let's just do this already, so they'll shut up," Sasuke says, trudging over. "Tell me what to do."

"It still might not work," Kakashi warns him, as Naruto hurries over as well, not wanting to be outdone by Sasuke. "And even if it does, remember, this guy's tricky."

"So we won't leave him any openings," Konohamaru declares.

Kakashi gives a quick explanation of the process. It's rather similar to how he talked Sakura and Sasuke through it earlier, however in this case the boys don't need to sync their chakra together. Instead, they stand on either side of Kakashi, hands on his shoulder, waiting for the order to send as much chakra his way as possible.

With his students on either side of him, Kakashi once again focusses all his attention on the air over the center of the ward circle.

A shiver of fear and anticipation moves through his body as both the boys begin to focus on channelling their chakra through him. Though Kakashi is able to direct the combined power through all three of them, the boys' chakra signatures have suddenly flared up, as intense as the glares he knows they are shooting at one another.

Their constant rivalry, which today's adventure has conveniently shoved out of precedence, resurges now from where it always simmers beneath the surface.

"Concentrate," Kakashi orders, blood dripping down from his eye to saturate his mask. There is no time for them to fight out their grievances with one another today, and he has even less inclination or ability to play referee. "All of our chakra needs to be moving as one."

The intensity of their chakra signatures levels out, and he exhales in relief.

I really hope they don't accidentally blow me up after all...

At first, it seems as if there is a hole in the air before them. Beyond that, nothing happens.

There is a small chance the ghost might not be nearby or might choose not to come out. If that's the case, they must close the portal and try again—or Kakashi will have to travel through himself and somehow bring the teleporter back.

He's never had to bring back anything, however, and he doesn't know if even the combined chakra of himself, Naruto and Sasuke will do much.

Both boys are now panting, sweat dripping down their faces, jaws clenched in effort. He knows neither one will give in until one—or both—of them pass out.

Thankfully, it doesn't come to that.

The world ripples around them once more, and then suddenly the familiar pale, marked figure leaps into existence from the other dimension.

Kakashi's eye snaps shut and the portal closes. He stumbles back, hand falling from where it kept Naruto and Sasuke's chakra in sync. The boys collapse towards each other as well, out of breath, but holding each other up at first. Seconds later they notice and hastily pull away.

The teleporter, meanwhile, uses this brief lapse to glance around and then he disappears—

Only to reappear a second later at the edge of the ward.

They held!

Kakashi is not the only one relieved.

Realising he is still trapped, the teleporter tries to execute several attempts at escape, disappearing and reappearing in rapid succession within the warded perimeter. When this proves fruitless, he pauses, fathomless eyes taking in the wards surrounding him, and then he tries to cross it on foot.

"Sorry!" Boruto says, as three clones of him surround the circular ward on all sides. "You won't be getting away from me this time!"

"Insipient child!" the man snaps and settles into the beginnings of a lunge.

Only to freeze when there is a sudden whirring of gears and muffled pop!

A long, dark shadow stretches across the cave floor, attaching itself to the teleporter and to Konohamaru, who brandishes his Kote with a grin.

"Well, you can't say he didn't tell you," he points out jovially.

"Everyone, spread out and make sure we've got eyes on him from every angle," Kakashi orders.

The teleporter works his jaw furiously, and then abruptly, calms. He watches everyone surround him with a vague expression, head tilted to one side like a bird. Naruto tries not to shudder at the feel of those dead eyes focussing on him, and hoping that his father never had eyes like this.

He is relieved when the penetrating gaze leaves him, but it's short lived once Naruto sees that unwavering attention fall on Boruto.

"You two look alike," he comments dimly. "Curious."

He draws out the last word, with the terrifying interest of someone used to dissecting objects or people he finds curious.

"Never mind that," Kakashi orders. "We have questions for you. Starting with who you are."

Everyone expects addled mumbling or evasiveness, but the man in front of them appears to have adopted his more lucid personality.

"I am Jikken," he says gravely. "How do you do?"

Alright, maybe not totally lucid...

"Why have you been attacking us?" Kakashi asks.

"And what did you do with Mitsuki?!" Boruto yells.

The man—Jikken—blinks. "What is a mitt-suki?"

"That's my teammate, you creep! The pale kid that was with us and who you thought was the Snake Sannin!"

Naruto and Sasuke perk up at this, because that's not exactly an identity mistake many people would make.

"Oh, yes, him," Jikken muses out loud, as if he really did forget.

"Where did you take him?!"

"To see the goddess, of course."

Konohamaru freezes, and even Boruto seems taken aback by this. Kakashi, Naruto and Sasuke have no idea what he means, but based on their comrades palpable worry, it's nothing good.

"What goddess?" Konohamaru asks, voice barely above a whisper.

Jikken's mouth slowly pulls into a chilling, mad smile and continues to consider the warding circle around him. He is ostensibly evaluating the strength of the symbols and the potential threat of Boruto's shadow clones, as if he hasn't just delivered some kind of bombshell.

Still gathered behind Kakashi, everyone radiates some degree of tension. The words are mystifying, bordering on troubling to Kakashi—tales of gods in shinobi lore rarely end well—but his students are merely confused. Konohamaru and Boruto, on the other hand, seem downright anxious.

"There's no way," Konohamaru murmurs, voice a whisper but cracking in disbelief. "There's just no possible way...!"

Kakashi glances to the side, just in time to see Boruto nodding, quickly, like he's trying to convince himself of the very same sentiment.

"What are you talking about?" Kakashi asks, under his breath.

But Konohamaru simply shakes his head. Either he is too overcome with disbelief, or knows it's not the time for the explanation.

"Your device is ingenious," Jikken remarks mildly, eyes flitting back to the Kore on Konohamaru's wrist; it's the only movement he's currently capable of. "The future is truly a marvelous place. Perfect and happy. You all think nothing can touch you." His eyes harden and a palpable rage radiates off of him. "They're all unaware of the crimes. Crimes forgotten and buried. Things that must be said." His tone shifts to calm again. "Your false Kagemane will not last long. All I need to do is wait for that chakra to run out. Then, the only thing you have to ensnare me with are a child's shadow clones."

"That's not the only thing," Sasuke ventures, Sharingan active and spinning, daring the enemy to make a wrong mood.

"Perhaps," Jikken allows, almost uncaring. "You ought to save your chakra."

"There are other ways to keep you here if necessary," Kakashi assures him, and Naruto shivers a little. Despite his worry for them, he is suddenly very glad that the girls aren't here to see this. He often forgets that Kakashi was ANBU and has no qualms about using lethal measures of gaining information.

Sasuke, on the other hand, is annoyed that their enemy is lecturing him on preserving his chakra. He might be mad, but in his lucid moments, Jikken shows himself to be very intelligent. It would be wrong to underestimate him. Direct interrogation probably won't work in this case.

Kakashi feels the same.

"You know about the Nara technique," he points out. "Considering it's only used for assassinations, people outside of Konoha shouldn't know about it."

"The Nara are an old and distinguished clan," Jikken recites, a slightly mocking note to his words. "I lived in a hovel near them. Too busy with their important, official matters to notice a child starving outside their front door. Such were the advisors to the Hokage." He notices something and a bitter smile appears on his face. "Oh, this surprises them, does it? Their beloved village, not perfect? The lies they've been told..."

Indeed, Boruto and Konohamaru shift uncomfortably at this, but Naruto and Sasuke aren't as taken aback. Both were orphans, and in different ways, both grew up seeing a darker side of the village than most people did. Even Kakashi has experienced some facets of this.

If you don't fit a certain mold, often you fall through the cracks.

"Wait—you lived in Konoha?" Naruto demands. "But Kakashi-sensei, I thought you said he was a clone? Didn't you say Orochi—"

"DON'T SAY IT!" Jikken explodes, pale face turning a mottled puce. The insane look in his eyes returns, and his entire body shakes as he fights against the shadow holding him. "MONSTERS DON'T GET NAMES!" His voice lowers into a growl. "Deceptive, coward, sneak, LIAR! He saw a poor child on the street, lonely, unwanted—all the boy wanted was to be a shinobi, and there was no way. He climbed trees outside the Academy, stared through the window, just to learn...not enough money, his parents didn't care," Jikken mutters, almost whispering angrily to himself. "When the snake man came, he promised food, and training. A gift. Happy day, happy day, happy day... LIES!"

Insanity is not something that the assembled genin have ever encountered, and Kakashi can tell they are all confused by the shifting moods of their quarry. Konohamaru, too, looks slightly unsettled, though he remains in control. Cornering an enemy who is so out of touch with reality and sense can be unpredictable. In a way, it might be more dangerous than his ability to teleport. The best thing is to allow him his stage to speak, and take cues from what topics he reacts to.

"Changed the face of the boy," Jikken continues, eyes staring into the distance at something none of them can actually see. "So many needles and knives." He shudders. "Make the outside match the inside, to match to borrowed powers." He stares hard at Naruto. "Eyes like yours. And hair. Never good enough! Never strong enough, fast enough!"

He is breathing hard now, apparently falling apart in front of them.

And then, with an abruptness that feels jarring to the gathered shinobi, he appears to shake himself back into sense.

"There are many books on the Nara in this place," he says conversationally, as sober as if nothing of consequence just happened. It's as if a screen has passed over him, and a different person speaks now. Calm and collect, no sign of the mania from before. "Other clans as well. Like the Uchiha." Now he looks at Sasuke. "The girl was also an Uchiha, yes? Curious, I thought they all died. Except for two. She's not the other, is she?"

The question might be asked in innocence, but Kakashi recognizes a counter-interrogation tactic when he hears one. He also recognizes topics that press his students' buttons, and rather than give Sasuke the opportunity to react to mention of his brother, he interrupts.

"What does it matter to you who she is? You tried to kill her. Twice."

"They see too much," Jikken dismisses. "Can't have interference. We both agree on that, at least. Not the other, though. Pluck out the eyes, cut off the head of the snake, the body will die." He giggles, and if he could move he would probably nod to himself. "Yes."

Not for the first time today Kakashi finds himself at odds for what to do.

The man they have, for all intents and purposes, trapped, is clearly completely and utterly insane. Any mental stability he seems to have is fleeting, and even then, it comes and goes so swiftly it might as well be nonexistent. Jikken's emotions turn from savage one moment, to detached and neutral the next.

A coping mechanism, most likely.

Given what Kakashi knows of Orochimaru's experiments, both the reports he has read in the past and his own encounters with them, it's understandable. There are only a few options open to a survivor of mental and physical torture. In Mumyōi's case, he embraced his baser, more destructive and violent urges. However, he was likely a murderer before he became a test subject. This man, this ghostly reminder trapped before them, who so closely resembles Minato Namikaze but lacks all of his warmth, is an utterly different story.

On the heels of that thought, Kakashi shifts his attention to Naruto for a second, attempting to gauge how the boy is taking all of this. The Uzumaki boy stares at Jikken, completely tense and eyes riveted on the man with the same focus that is usually associated with Sasuke. Naruto's attention is almost desperate, taking in every detail and trying to figure out what parts of their opponent resemble his father, and what parts are the result of experimentation.

Naruto's stomach rolls and he can't help wanting to throw up.

He wonders who has it worse: himself or his teacher.

He has nothing else to compare his father to; no memories, only barely noticed pictures in history books and a face carved into a cliff. But Kakashi, he actually knew him. With an excellent memory and a Sharingan that can throw the differences into agonizing relief, it must be even harder for Kakashi to look on Jikken now and just see a perversion of the face he is so familiar with.

Beyond superficial looks, the most sickening thing in all of this is the obvious lack of sanity in the pitiful man before them.

"That doesn't make sense," Konohamaru counters. "You attacked us before you even knew Sarada had a Sharingan."

Jikken ignores him, lowering his voice and speaking in a harsh whisper. It's as if there is someone there none of them can see. "Must get back to work, it's coming close to the time. Yes, but they don't know their part—do you think they're the right ones this time? Yes, of course. Just look at the boy. No question—"

"What boy?" Naruto demands.

"Apologies, did you say something?" Jikken replies, blinking owlishly as sense returns to him.

"This is going to take forever," Sasuke grumbles.

Aside from Jikken's mental state, there is something off about the guy. Savage one moment, but he still hasn't yet made any actual lethal moves against them. He's even said himself he didn't kill Boruto and Konohamaru's teammate, but brought him somewhere. And from what Sarada mentioned, even when he tries to attack, he shows some kind of guilt afterward.

It's like going after people who haven't done anything to him is something he's fighting himself on.

On the other hand, even if he is fighting with some kind of second self, that doesn't completely excuse him. Or make him any less dangerous. Even if one side of him has no need to harm them, the other might. And if that part of him decides that he wants them all dead, the warding and shadow clones won't be a problem. That's a cause for concern, because it means maybe he's just waiting for something else to happens. And if that's the case, that small shred of intelligence is more than Sasuke is comfortable with.

A strong opponent with serious mental issues is not a good thing.

"You know what? I'm sick of this!" Boruto declares impatiently. "How about we get back to what really matters? Like my teammate! What do you mean, you brought Mitsuki to the goddess? What goddess? If you killed him, I swear, I'm going to—!"

"Kill him?" Jikken questions. "Why would I kill him? That would be counterproductive."

"You said you wanted to pluck out his eyes!"

"A body does not need eyes to function. In point of fact, eyesight is a superfluous sense in many cases. And the staring..." Jikken shudders, and in his manic voice mumbles. "Hollow, hollow, hollow. Like the dead..." He chuckles again. "His eyes remain. She doesn't like it when I take the eyes." Something like genuine fear replaces his mania. "She was angry when I spoke of it. If they hadn't tripped the wards, I would have been punished."

Another barely contained shudder.

"By who?" Konohamaru questions. "The goddess?"

They expect more fearful mutterings, but instead a truly serene demeanour falls over the pale man.

"She is benevolent and good. The saviour," he whispers, reverent. Then the reverence becomes hatred. "He destroyed her—ruined her! Twisted and distorted, made me watch! I died—over and over I died, but then I lived again! All because of her favour!" Hatred becomes thoughtfulness again. "Who else but a goddess can do that? Only she can offer a constant reprieve from death. Made the boy stronger, made him able to run, to escape."

"Mitsuki?" Boruto questions.

"I think he's talking about himself," Sasuke realises.

"You mean he was brought back to life over and over?" Naruto shudders. "Man, I was right about zombies."

Naruto might be attempting to deflect the situation with humour, but his disgust and apprehension are evident. Kakashi has to give his team points for keeping up with the narrative; even he has had trouble with what Jikken is saying. His story is disjointed and confusing, and barely meaningful without a lot of reading between the lines.

What he does understand is even more disconcerting than the imagery Jikken has provided them with.

In a way, Jikken is a prime example of what might have happened to Kakashi's former subordinate, Tenzō, if the boy hadn't been abandoned by Orochimaru. It seems the Sannin's experiments didn't end with trying to replicate the First Hokage's Mokuton; based on his appearance, and the abilities, Jikken was meant to be a grotesque recreation of the Lord Fourth.

Possibly even the Second Hokage, now that I think of it. He's got the same unyielding quality to him that I've heard Tobirama Senju was known for. Though I think Lord Second was probably less insane...

Whatever the original intent of the experiment, something happened which involved him dying and being brought back. In which case, Kakashi thinks Kabuto was probably involved. Only very strong medical ninjutsu could do that. Or...

Or this mysterious goddess he's talking about. Maybe a combination of both. In any case, the repeated resurrection process has completely addled his brains. Maybe to the point that Orochimaru thought he was a lost cause?

Kakashi feels a red hot swell of anger course through him.

He has often felt an ongoing, growing hatred toward the former Konohanin, not least of all because of his interest in Sasuke. Kakashi's protégé sometimes feels more like a kid brother, and the idea of someone wanting to interfere with him makes him overprotective. Especially if that man is the type of person who is known for abducting children from their homes and running experiments on them.

Experiments which were apparently not limited to granting secret abilities, but also altering DNA and physical looks.

There's enough mental trauma in being experimented upon, but to look in the mirror every day and see a face that isn't your own? No wonder he's so dissociative.

"How did you get away?" Boruto asks.

"Time skipped. She made time skip. The boy ran away—escaped. Hid. The place was locked up. He didn't return, and so I came back," Jikken whispers. "Had to. Had to save her, or he would ruin her. But she was gone. Dead eyes, no soul." He moans here, and then that manic gleam returns. "But the boy watched the experiments. Knew the one who killed him over and over. Enough times, I knew how to do it. She was a discarded husk, left here when he couldn't make her do any more. Failed experiment. But I knew." He giggles. "And she knew, too. That I would return, that I would save her. She would only change time for me, not him. Nurse her back to health, the boy became a willing servant. Because we'll fix it, you see?"

"Fix what?" Konohamaru asks.

"It's for the greater good," the madman tells them, matter of fact once more. "Really, no cause to harm anyone else. The greatest good is served, is it not?"

"What's the greatest good?" Sasuke asks.

"Why, killing the Snake Man, of course," Jikken rolls his eyes. "Haven't you been listening to a word I've said?"

No one knows exactly how to react to Jikken's statement. For several seconds as they try to process, both the remnants of Team 7 and Team Konohamaru are still.

Naturally, it's Naruto that breaks that silence.

"That's kind of overkill, don't you think?" he asks.

"Yeah," Boruto agrees. "Usually when people try to assassinate other people, they hire shinobi or just do it themselves. They don't really...bend time and space to do it, you know?"

"Which is a matter I would like to know more about," Kakashi interrupts, frowning at Jikken. "How have you done this? Or should I say, how did this goddess of yours do it?"

"I've been trying to destroy him for years," Jikken says conversationally, as if he hasn't heard Kakashi. "What he did to the boy and the goddess...there must be punishment. But it has never been possible. Snakes are smart. A step ahead, he was always a step ahead. And the Knife-Man – " He gives a hiss of disgust. "Standing there, never could see his eyes—bright lights on glass while he sliced, and sliced, and sliced..." He shudders, mood shifting back to calm. "And, of course, the brainless volunteers to the cause. I believe you've met them already."

His eyes linger on the still healing wounds that Kakashi's ripped flak jacket cannot hide.

"You didn't answer the question," Sasuke points out.

Jikken giggles.

"How do you kill the unkillable?" he queries in a sing-song, that has the hair on the back of Naruto's beck stand on end. "How to stop a creature that can no longer die? Hm?"

"Find a time when he could," Kakashi guesses, eyes widening in realisation. "You're trying to go back in time to before the Snake Sannin had mastered his ability to shed his body at will."

"A child. A helpless, weak child," Jikken hums happily. "Apropos, no? Go far enough back, there will be no resistance. Long before all he touched turned to rot and poison."

"But you reached into the future," Konohamaru says. "You're not from our time, you'd have recognized the Kote right away if you were. Oro—" Jikken growls, and Konohamaru quickly catches himself. "I mean, the Sannin, wouldn't be an easy opponent these days."

"Miscalculations, missteps—acceptable in the pursuit of the greater good," the white-faced man says flatly. "Once perfected, the goddess will open the door to the correct time and he will be nothing but a dream for the universe."

The assembled Konoha shinobi exchange glances, each of them showing different degrees of conflict.

Considering what Orochimaru has done, Naruto can't exactly fault their opponent for his plan. They're talking about the man that killed the Third Hokage, infected Naruto's best friend with a dangerous curse seal and tried to blackmail Granny Tsunade using her dead brother and lover as collateral. There's no way the man is what you would call an innocent target.

But still, the lengths to which this Jikken guy has gone to, with his mysterious (and creepy sounding) "goddess", are way too dangerous. He's done all of this without a care to the people he might be harming, or the fact that he might tear apart reality.

My life occasionally sucks, but it's still mine, and a better option than whatever might happen if this guy manages to pull off his little vendetta...

Sasuke, too, is torn upon hearing Jikken's motives.

On the one hand, he hates Orochimaru for placing the curse seal upon him—granting him an opportunity to touch power, but without truly wielding it. Despite giving him more potential, he is dependent and limited, two feelings he dislikes more than any other. On the other hand, to have someone as powerful as Orochimaru be destroyed, when he still might have information the village might benefit from?

Or rather, information Sasuke might benefit from to become more powerful and defeat Itachi.

Kakashi is wary.

There is a certain unscrupulous logic to what Jikken is proposing, but it's a dangerous and mad plan, including far too many factors and producing even more unknown outcomes. After so many years away from the village, Orochimaru has suddenly appeared in Konoha several times in the past few months, suggesting the village's future might involve him. Based on the behaviour of Konohamaru and his team, it might be even more than Kakashi himself can imagine.

Destroying him before he grows up to become a threat might be potentially more problematic than Jikken thinks.

Konohamaru is on the same page as him.

"As much as the old snake scares the crap out of me, you can't kill him," he tells the pale man within the wards. "The legendary Sannin are an integral part of our heritage. And Orochi—I mean, the Snake Sannin, his relationship with the village is complicated. There are matters he's part of-important battles and trials—and a just a bunch of stuff, hey? If it weren't for him, there's, uh, certain people who would destroy the village instead of saving it! So him dying now, that would change everything!"

Kakashi is likely the only one to notice the way Konohamaru's eye flit to Sasuke, and he feels something in his stomach drop. From the sound of it, his student's future is not going to be an easy one. It's less of a surprise to him, however, than the news that Orochimaru will still be alive in the future.

"That's not certain!" Jikken snaps. "The world existed before him, yes it did! People will survive, soldier on—think how many who he killed might be equally, if not more able to help? Equal and opposite reactions, when one doors is closed, another opens, such is the way of the universe!"

"And so to get this perfect universe of yours without this Snake Man, you hurt everyone in your path?" Boruto interrupts with a shout. "That's bull! How about instead of us trying to defend one nutcase from another, you tell us what taking Mitsuki has to do with your crazy scheme? Cuz I don't care about your childhood trauma, I care about my friend! And he's not your Snake Guy, so if you hurt him—"

"Of course he is not him," Jikken rolls his eyes. "Upon further experimentation, that was clear."

"Experimentation?" Boruto repeats, his entire body going stiff. "I thought you said you didn't hurt him?"

"No long-lasting physical damage was sustained by the juvenile," Jikken confirms. "As I said before, it would be counterproductive." His smiles, eyes wild with mad glee. "The key, you see? The blood is the key! Unexpected, but part of the plan. The goddess provides gifts. Only to the most patient, the most faithful. She saw that mistakes were being made—one foot then, another then, another now, another..." He shakes his head. "Throwing darts in the wind. One never knows where they'll end up. But blood calls to blood. Like to like, Like bait for a fish. The right amount and..." He sighs. "The path is set, the door will open, and he will be brought through."

"And then you'll kill him," Sasuke finishes.

"Just so," Jikken says with a nod.

"I don't get it," Naruto mutters under his breath. "What does blood have to do with it?"

"It could have to do with blood types," Konohamaru replies quietly. "Some jutsu are entirely dependent on certain blood types."

"And you're saying Mitsuki has one of those?" Boruto challenges.

Jikken cocks his head to one side, ignoring the interchange. "Where are the others, do you think? The little girl with the pretty hair. Dead, perhaps?"

"Sakura's alive!" Naruto snaps.

"And Sarada," Boruto insists.

"Perhaps. Perhaps, but I don't think so," Jikken sings again. "Ah, well, so tragic. So young. But perhaps, for the best."

"Shut up," Sasuke growls.

"He will save their lives when he kills the snake—"

"Quiet," Kakashi says all of a sudden, and the harshness in his voice is surprises. Everyone stares at him in surprise.

"What is it, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asks.

"Rambling aside, he's talking too easily," Konohamaru interrupts. "Right?"

"Yes, there's that," Kakashi agrees. "And there's the fact that the shadow binding jutsu faded about three minutes ago." Everyone startles, noting that the jōnin is correct. Jikken is standing casually in the circle, untethered and looking utterly unbothered. "He noticed this before, but didn't try to escape again."

"Why should I?" Jikken wonders.

"You tried before," Naruto says.

"Of course I did, you all seemed so keen to keep me here." He lowers his voice. "They would have thought it was suspicious, if he didn't try to look like he was escaping. They have to stay. The goddess says they have to stay, and so he'll answer the questions. It's fun to watch their faces."

He giggles again.

つづく

_____

Comments and constructive criticism are much appreciated, and very motivating! For more information about supporting my original, non-fandom related works, you're welcome to check out my tumblr (Typewriter Ninjutsu)

栗