An Inch of Gold

27

"Oh, man," Naruto groans, rubbing the back of his head, "the was hard! Forget sleeping for a week when we get home, I'm sleeping for a month!"

"You..." Jikken begins, utterly frozen in his shock, hand still reaching out aimlessly.

Sakura promptly goes to her hands and knees and throws up. Kakashi sways out of the way, only narrowly missing the spray.

"Can we...never do this again?" she pants. "Please?"

Their grand entrance has caused a momentary lull, the air heavy with a confused tension and sense of expectation. Sasuke is glad for it, as it gives him a chance to find his fotting. Even if most of the chakra to fuel their escape from the other dimension came from Kakashi and Naruto, he still feels like he did after escaping the Forest of Death—tired, aching and with bruises in places he didn't know could bruise.

There's no time to rest, however; immediately he is analyzing the scene he and his teammates have ended up in. Yet another dank cavern somewhere, with more bulky computers and wires—another of Orochimaru's lairs?—and the air thick with the smell of blood and ozone. There's a strange, yellow wall of chakra all around them, and caught immobile in the middle, he sees his future self scowling vacantly into space.

No, not into space, he realizes, turning fractionally to one side. He's staring at her.

"Oh, gross," Sakura moans, unconsciously voicing his own reaction to this enemy they have heard so much about, "is that even a person?"

"How is this possible?" the skeletal, red-eyed woman in restraints snarls, fury rolling off of her in almost tangible waves. Sasuke can't help the physical shiver at the sight of another Sharingan—one that isn't his brother's—blazing at him with such hatred.

Except for all his crimes against Sasuke, Itachi's eyes have never been hateful; distant and criticizing—even empty—but never filled with hate.

"Actually, it's thanks to you," Kakashi replies through clenched teeth. His left eye is tightly shut, and Sasuke suspects he will not longer be able to call up the Sharingan today. "I guess you've been trying to open a portal from here, and it thinned the walls between dimensions just enough for us to tag along."

"Well, this just became a whole lot more complicated," a mild, unfamiliar voice remarks from beyond the wall of chakra. A pale boy stands beside Sarada and Boruto, looking remarkably composed in contrast to their shell-shock.

Mitsuki, I guess.

Boruto is unsurprisingly the first to recover.

"What the hell are you guys doing?!" he fumes. "You're going to get us all killed!"

"Hey! Shut up and be grateful!" Naruto shoots back, unrepentant. "We're here to kick some ass and show you how it's done—!"

Kakashi gives a sudden violent, wet cough and pitches forward.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cries. Her proximity to the ground allows her to sweep under him and catch him before he hits the ground. Sakura grunts with effort, lowering him to the ground. Blood blossoms across his mask, leaking from his eyes and nose.

The movement seems to free Jikken from whatever stupor was caused by Team 7's entrance.

"Returning was a mistake!" he snarls at them. "I will rip you from time!"

He charges at Naruto.

"Dad! Look out!"

But Naruto's reflexes have always been mediocre. It is Sasuke body that snaps into movement; he yanks his supply pack from his waist with one hand and tosses it forward.