This was what a real psychological shadow looked like.
"How is that even possible…"
Uzumaki Naruto simply couldn't believe it. Or rather, he didn't want to.
And yet, Kaede Kitahara seemed to know far too much—and all of it concerned the future. That meant… it might actually be real.
When he read that his future son had cheated during the Chunin Exams using Scientific Ninja Tools, Naruto couldn't help frowning.
Scientific Ninja Tools were essentially amplifiers of combat power. He had seen similar things before, even as a child. Back during the Chunin Exams, the shinobi from Otogakure under Orochimaru had used comparable tools.
There was nothing inherently wrong with tools.
But in the hands of a child who didn't understand restraint, they could easily lead to disaster.
Especially now, in an era of prolonged peace. Compared to their generation, the current one lacked real combat experience. If they became dependent on these tools, the future quality of shinobi would be difficult to imagine.
When Naruto saw that in the future, his son Uzumaki Boruto and Uchiha Sarada would reach Super Kage Level at just fifteen or sixteen—
And that Sarada's Mangekyō Sharingan could even create artificial black holes—
Even Naruto was stunned.
What kind of absurd power was that?
It was terrifying.
He kept reading, watching his mission in the Land of Waves, and seeing Kakashi-sensei switch to swordsmanship. That was when he became certain of something.
The timeline Kaede Kitahara came from might belong to the past.
But his world… was definitely not the same as Naruto's.
Too many things didn't match.
For example, Kitahara claimed in his diary that he had met Naruto when he was young, and that they had even gotten along well.
Yet Naruto had no memory of that at all.
And Kakashi-sensei had long since abandoned the blade, walking a completely different path.
Clearly, those details didn't align with what was recorded in the diary.
The idea of parallel worlds might sound ridiculous.
But for Naruto, it was entirely acceptable.
After everything he had seen in his life, one more strange phenomenon didn't feel out of place.
That explanation resolved many of his doubts.
Like the battle between Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke. Naruto had heard about it afterward, but he had never witnessed it himself. At the time, he had been intercepted by Uchiha Obito at the edge of the battlefield and hadn't managed to catch up to Sasuke.
He also saw, with his own eyes this time, how Jiraiya had died at the hands of his former student, Pain. Even though Naruto had resolved to let go of hatred, seeing his teacher's death still left a heavy ache in his chest.
Back then, he hadn't been able to save him.
That regret had stayed with him ever since.
He even saw the battle between his father, Namikaze Minato, and Obito on the night of his birth.
In the end, it was all internal conflict.
Students killing their teacher's teacher.
What puzzled him even more were the later "what-if" scenarios—things he had never seen or even imagined.
A version of himself as the Seventh Hokage returning to the moment of his birth to save his parents, pulling off an incredible feat.
Another version of himself, clearly from shortly after the Fourth Great Ninja War, appearing on the battlefield between Jiraiya and Nagato, rescuing him at the last possible moment.
None of those were things he had ever done.
That only made the idea of parallel worlds more convincing.
Otherwise, there was no way to explain the videos.
He had seen them.
But he had never done those things.
"If only that were real…"
Naruto let out a quiet sigh. His life had been filled with hardship and regret. Even the chance to fix a small piece of it would have been a rare comfort.
Then the next part of the diary made his expression harden instantly.
He saw mention of the Otsutsuki.
As someone who had fought in the Fourth Great Ninja War, Naruto naturally knew some things about the Otsutsuki Clan—but only a little. Most of what he knew had come from the Sage of Six Paths.
And even the Sage himself hadn't known much.
So far, the only true Otsutsuki they had ever defeated was Otsutsuki Kaguya.
Otsutsuki Toneri, despite the name and his strength, was only a descendant of Otsutsuki Hamura, not a true member of the clan. Now, he was atoning on the moon, keeping watch over the world.
And in all these years, no other Otsutsuki had appeared.
Naruto had gradually lowered his guard.
After all, Kaguya had arrived a thousand years ago and had been sealed for a thousand years. The clan she had feared so deeply had never shown up.
Maybe they never would.
He had never said it out loud, but the thought had crossed his mind.
A human life was short.
It wouldn't be strange if he never encountered them again.
But Kitahara's diary shattered that assumption in an instant.
It stated clearly—the Otsutsuki had arrived.
During his time as Hokage.
And there had been battles.
Worse still, there was an organization even more powerful than the Akatsuki lurking in the shadows.
Kara.
Its leader was a genuine Otsutsuki—Otsutsuki Isshiki.
That was a serious problem.
Naruto had fought Kaguya personally. He knew exactly how terrifying a true Otsutsuki's power was—far beyond anything Toneri had shown.
Yet when Kitahara described Isshiki, he used a word that made Naruto's scalp tingle.
Invincible.
And then he saw it.
In the future, Isshiki had beaten both him and Sasuke.
Even at their peak, fighting together, they had been completely overpowered.
Only then did Naruto truly grasp the severity of the situation.
After the Fourth Great Ninja War, after defeating Obito, Madara, and Kaguya, and then overcoming Toneri two years later, he had grown… complacent.
Or perhaps it was more accurate to say he believed the world had finally entered an era of peace.
He hadn't stopped training entirely.
But like Kakashi before the story began, he had only maintained his strength rather than pushing forward.
During the war, he had briefly reached a godlike state through Six Paths Yang Power.
After the battle ended, that power had been taken back.
He had never reached that level again.
Neither he nor Sasuke had truly pursued it.
Partly because breaking from Super Kage Level into Six Paths Level was incredibly difficult.
Partly because daily responsibilities left no time for dedicated training.
After all, not everyone could live like Goku.
But now, the sudden appearance of Isshiki was a harsh wake-up call.
He was far from invincible.
He needed to carve out time to train—no matter what.
The last time he and Sasuke together had faced someone like this… it had been Kaguya.
Then Naruto read further.
Something had happened to him in the future.
Konoha had even been forced to urgently appoint an Eighth Hokage.
The last time something like that had happened was during Pain's invasion, when the village had been devastated and Danzo had been hastily installed as Hokage.
Even if Danzo had been killed midway by Sasuke and only counted as half a Hokage, the comparison still made one thing clear.
The future crisis would be just as severe—if not worse.
"Even I can't handle it…?"
Naruto stared at the diary and let out a long breath.
He even began to suspect that Boruto being hunted and becoming Otsutsuki Boruto was directly tied to whatever had happened to him.
For the first time, a deep sense of crisis took root in his heart.
Even with his and Sasuke's strength reigning supreme in the shinobi world, something could still go wrong.
The future was far more dangerous than he had imagined.
Of course, he didn't accept everything blindly.
He still didn't understand what this diary was, or why it had appeared before him.
He didn't know who Kaede Kitahara was—friend or foe.
He didn't know whether the diary might be misleading him.
But one thing was certain.
He needed to get stronger.
No matter what, increasing his strength was the safest choice.
The problem was… he had already reached his limit.
At present, the most he could access was Sage Tailed Beast Mode.
In that state, he had already reached the peak of what past Hokage had achieved.
But returning to the level he once held with Six Paths Yang Power was another matter entirely.
Kitahara's diary referred to that realm as Six Paths Level.
It was a level that stood far beyond ordinary shinobi.
And Naruto had no clear path to reach it again.
"No matter what, I should call Sasuke back first."
After thinking it over, Naruto made his decision.
For something this serious, he needed to discuss it with Sasuke.
At present, the only person truly qualified to stand beside him in this matter was Uchiha Sasuke.
Even though Sasuke spent most of his time traveling, rarely even seeing his own daughter—and had once nearly attacked her by mistake—they still maintained a reliable way to contact each other.
More importantly, Sasuke could use space-time ninjutsu and return at any moment.
Just like that time when a falling meteor had been dealt with—Sasuke had sensed something wrong and rushed back to Konoha to handle it.
Naruto immediately called for the Anbu outside the door.
"Look into whether there's a family named Kitahara in the village. Also check if there's a shinobi named Kaede Kitahara—he should be around forty years old."
"Yes."
The Anbu captain accepted the order and departed at once.