"Twenty years in the future?" Nao sat up, her straight shoulders glowing warmly under the soft light, and strands of her long black hair fell casually over them.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"Are you serious?" She blinked in disbelief, her wide eyes looking at Naruto, "Are you saying that you are going to take me to twenty years later, to travel... through time?"
"Yes."
"Why?" Nao, trying to grasp the situation, thought of several possibilities but still felt confused. "Isn't it good here? We could find a safe place and grow old together."
Hearing this, Naruto felt a bit guilty. If they could indeed spend their lives together, even facing the hardships, that would be enough. But the issue was, he couldn't stay… he had to return. The Ryumyaku was on the verge of collapsing.
He had come from twenty years in the future, originally just to retrieve a specific piece of information, and once that was done, he was supposed to go back. Now, his only thought was to bring Nao with him, back to the twenty years in the future.
His real base wasn't here, and staying in this war-torn era didn't make sense. For Naruto, this time was nothing but a fleeting dream, and only by returning would he feel grounded.
But for Nao, traveling to the future twenty years ahead would also feel like a dream. She couldn't even begin to imagine what the world twenty years from now would look like.
Friends, family, comrades, even enemies… everything she knew would change. The passage of twenty years was quick, and she feared one thing most of all.
"Are you from twenty years in the future?" She asked.
"Yes."
"So, what are you like twenty years from now?" Nao asked nervously, "Are you… married? How many?"
Naruto: "…"
This question made him feel unusually guilty, 'I definitely wasn't married. But how many? Well, answering honestly would definitely lead to trouble.'
'If I say none, it wouldn't seem very believable either.'
"Well. I'm still the same as I am now. As for being married, no, I'm not." Naruto explained, "But… well… there are a few."
Nao's smile faded, and she pursed her lower lip, it is unknown what she was thinking. She gave Naruto a long look that made him feel even more uneasy.
"Cough." He tried to say something else to fill the awkward silence, but he suddenly heard Nao burst out laughing.
"Why are you so flustered?"
"Well... anyone would feel flustered. I feel pretty scummy for it." Naruto scratched his head, feeling a little embarrassed, "I've had a streak of bad luck lately, and if I lie, I'll feel even worse."
"Hehe, I'm not mad." Nao said softly as she leaned in to hug him. In a quiet voice, she added, "Meeting you during a time like this is already lucky enough."
"If I were another girl, I think I'd fall for you too. But what I'm worried about is that, if I go to the future with you, I'll turn into an old woman."
"By then, you'd be surrounded by young girls, and I really wouldn't know what to do."
"That won't happen. However you are now, you'll still be the same when we go to the future." Naruto reassured her, his eyebrows relaxing, "Your body won't change, so you can rest assured about that."
"But are you really sure you want to come with me? Your family and friends are all here. If you come with me..."
Naruto hesitated mid-sentence. He remembered the Ido's Prophecy from the system reward that he hadn't used yet. According to its effect, the power of the great demon Ido can be used to rewrite reality and break the limitations.
In theory, taking someone through time was possible, but the rest depended on Nao's choice. After all, time only moves forward.
"I'm really reluctant to leave them behind." Nao admitted. "Tell me, what is it like twenty years from now?" She tugged at Naruto's hand with a bright smile on her face.
"Twenty years in the future, huh? Well…" Naruto leaned on the edge of the bed, thought for a while and said, "Sandaime is dead."
Nao: "…"
She stared at him with speechless expression, 'Was this guy holding some kind of grudge against Sandaime? Of all the things to mention about the future, he chose this.'
After a moment of silence, she asked again, "What else?"
"Well, let's see... The Godaime Hokage is Tsunade-sama, and then Kakashi after her."
"Kakashi?" Nao finally reacted and looked at Naruto in surprise.
"Why? Do you know him?" Naruto asked casually, not really concerned.
"Yeah... Everyone knows about the genius Kakashi, but he doesn't know me, but he knows one of my sisters."
"Sister? Is she your blood relative?" Naruto's sharp instincts picked up on something unusual. Nao looked very similar to Nohara Rin, except that she didn't have camouflage on her faces like Rin.
"No, she's a younger member of our clan, Nohara Rin." After Nao finished speaking, she saw that Naruto looked strange, so she couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Naruto muttered, lost in thought. The point in time he had traveled back to was very close to the battle at Kannabi Bridge.
'Since Nao mentioned Rin so naturally, it meant that Minato Team was still alive and well.'
'At this moment, Danzo and his Root were being investigated within Konoha, but nothing had changed in the future, meaning there was likely a turning point that would give Danzo a reprieve from the trouble he was facing.'
'Turning point? ...War!'
Naruto's heart skipped a beat, 'Was it the Sunagakure attacking the Land of Fire, or the Battle of Kannabi Bridge?'
'If a war broke out in Konoha, the higher-ups would be forced to pause their investigation into Danzo. Root was still an active spearhead on the battlefield, so the village would need Danzo.'
'If that's the case, everything makes perfect sense.'
Nao looked at Naruto and saw that he didn't look like he was alright. However, since Naruto wasn't going to say anything, she decided not to pry. She simply nestled in his arms, and her mind started wandering again.
But her body really couldn't take it anymore, so after thinking about it, she ultimately dismissed the idea of pushing things any further.
Naruto didn't dwell on it for long and pulled her into his embrace, effectively ending the conversation there.
As the night deepened, they regained their strength and engaged in a 'thorough discussion' about Konoha's current situation.
After a long and intense 'conversation' through the night, they finally reached a conclusion.
"Plak, plak, plak!!"
Naruto vigorously chopped some cucumbers into pieces, smashing them and mixing them with various sauces. He quickly cracked an egg and cooked a slice of meat, and breakfast was ready.
With a clatter, the plate was pushed in front of Nao.
She lay listlessly on the table, glancing at the breakfast before letting out a faint sigh and said, "You're doing this so early in the morning, why don't you let me sleep a little longer?"
"Eat breakfast first. Um... are you going to work today?" Naruto suddenly remembered that today might be a workday and glanced at the clock.
There was still time before work started. If she finished breakfast quickly and headed out, she'd still have time before starting her work at the Konoha Hospital.
"We're about to travel to the future, so why bother with work?" Nao seemed to be taking it all in stride. She propped up her battered body and sat up, picking at the breakfast on the plate.
"By the way, we never finished yesterday's conversation. What's the future like?" She asked.
"You'll find out when you get there," Naruto replied nonchalantly, sitting down and popping the fried egg into his mouth. After swallowing, he continued, "At least there is no war, but it's not entirely safe either. There are always some people who are trying to destroy the world."
"Huh?" The more Nao listened, the more confused she became, 'There is no war, but some people are trying about destroying the world. What kind of situation was that? So was the future dangerous or not?'
"I'm actually fine with going, and I'm not too opposed to the future." She thought for a moment and said, "As long as I don't turn into an old auntie, I can accept it."
"Actually, there's something else I'd like to know."
"What is it?"
"Who are those girls around you in the future?" Nao asked, giggling at herself as she did. "I'm not jealous or anything, I'm just curious to know whose daughters you've harmed."
"Uh…"