Three years later.
Konoha Orphanage.
"nma, here's your dinner for tonight. Don't be picky, okay?" Nono was distributing food to the children one by one, assisted by a few older kids, including the bespectacled Kabuto.
"Mm." The three-year-old nma, wearing slightly oversized clothes, accepted the plate with an expressionless face.
"You kid, rember to say thank you! You must be polite!" Nono scolded him gently, her tone still warm despite her annoyance.
"Thank you, Director." nma sighed and bowed slightly to Nono.
After all, she was his foster mother who fed and housed him. Though her nagging was tireso, nma still felt a faint warmth in his heart.
Kabuto, who was helping nearby, also said with a smile, "Go eat, nma."
Three years had passed since nma erged from the Limited Tsukuyomi World, and he still hadn't fully adjusted, constantly fearing that this world might also be an illusion.
This lingering trauma continued to tornt him.
Staring at Kabuto, who was now acting so kindly toward the younger orphans, nma couldn't help but feel a stark contrast with the cold, scheming spy Kabuto from his mories.
'I spent fifteen years in the Limited Tsukuyomi World, and many of my mories of the original work have faded. When exactly was Yakushi Kabuto taken by Danzo? When did Yakushi Nono die?'
To nma, those fifteen years didn't feel like a dream but rather like real, lived experiences… so much so that he now found himself overthinking everything.
On the other side, Kabuto felt slightly unnerved by nma's intense gaze, unsure what his usually quiet younger brother was pondering this ti.
Compared to the other orphans, nma had always been reserved. Even as a baby, he rarely cried or fussed. While other children were still wetting their beds, nma was already helping take care of them.
His only quirk was his reclusive nature and the strange way he looked at everyone.
nma carried his plate to a random table and sat down. When the other orphans around saw nma coming, they instinctively shifted slightly away.
It wasn't that they were ostracizing him… it was just that being around nma made them feel uneasy. In the past, so kids had tried to play with him, only to be rejected. After enough attempts, they simply stopped trying.
nma had long grown accustod to solitude. Even in the Limited Tsukuyomi World, his instinctive detachnt had created a barrier between him and his peers… even his parents in that world.
Moreover, nma knew that Nono and Kabuto would soon be recruited by Root. Danzo might even select so orphans from the facility to undergo Root's brutal training… or worse, human experints.
Therefore, he has to get stronger as soon as possible!
He had no intention of being chosen by Danzo, the Bla Kage, to join the Root.
"nma." Just as he was deep in thought, a soft voice called out to him side.
nma didn't need to turn his head to know it was Kabuto.
Carrying his own plate, Kabuto sat down beside nma, effortlessly slipping into the role of an older brother. He picked up a piece of at from his own plate and placed it onto nma's.
"Huh?" nma turned to him in surprise.
"You always finish your food so quickly. Are you growing and getting hungrier? Here, I'll share so with you." Adjusting his glasses, Kabuto mimicked Nono's gentle tone and deanor as he spoke to nma.
Then, he transferred half of the at from his plate to nma's.
Looking at the extra pieces of at now on his plate, nma felt an odd sense of unreality.
When he watched [Naruto] in his previous life, Kabuto was already the [Spy], Yakushi Kabuto, who was good at disguise, cold and insidious.
However, in the [Limited Tsukuyomi World], he hadn't encountered Kabuto at all, nor had he ever heard Nono's na.
If the [Limited Tsukuyomi World] was truly a parallel dinsion, as many online theories suggested, then both should have existed there.
But there was another theory that the [Limited Tsukuyomi World] was constructed based on the caster's and the target's perceptions, aning it wouldn't include anything beyond their knowledge.
This is also the reason why nma suffered a ntal breakdown in that world.
Knowing that he was in the fake [Limited Tsukuyomi World].
The gentle family life with Kushina and Minato, the reversed personalities of Konoha 12… every sense in his body scread that this world is real.
But with no Uchiha Madara, no Sage of Six Paths, it ant this false world had no past or future!
Uzumaki nma couldn't tell, he truly couldn't tell!
"Why are you so kind to ?" nma lowered his head, his voice trembling.
He was terrified that this world might also be a false world.
In his mories, Kabuto should have been a cunning, deceitful, and cold-hearted enemy.
But now, he acted like an older brother, caring for his physical growth.
"We're brothers, aren't we? Helping each other is only natural." Kabuto's childish voice carried a hint of confusion.
In the orphanage, everyone was family, and they were supposed to support one another… that was the philosophy Nono had always instilled in them.
"If I were in trouble, nma will help too, right?" Kabuto smiled at nma, his eyes narrowing.
Under the influence of Nono, Kabuto cared deeply for the children in the orphanage, because this is his ho.
'Is it difficult...' nma thought of the future and fate of Nono and Kabuto.
In this world, he had lost his family and was abandoned by Obito at the orphanage. Nono and the children here had beco his new family.
For three years, no one had co to investigate the extra orphan from the night of the Nine-Tails Rampage, which likely ant the Third Hokage didn't know Kushina had given birth to twins.
He had maintained a distant and solitary deanor, keeping others at arm's length, all to avoid altering the developnt of the original work.
However, this cautious mindset, so fearful of causing a butterfly effect, began to waver under Kabuto's kindness.
'At worst, I'll just treat this as a second fake world.' nma relaxed his mind and looked up at Kabuto with determination: "I'll help solve any trouble you face."
Having spent these three years in the orphanage, nma wasn't entirely sure about the state of the outside world.
But for the kindness Nono had shown him by taking him in, and for this al Kabuto had shared with him, he didn't mind changing the future of Nono and Kabuto.
Kabuto was montarily taken aback by nma's seriousness but soon smiled again.
"Director, Danzo-sama is here to see you." A woman from the orphanage suddenly approached Nono, who had been watching the children eat.
When she heard this na, the gentle smile on Nono's face instantly stiffened.
"Ah, please watch the children. Make sure they go to bed early after dinner," Nono instructed before turning to leave the dining hall.
The dozens of other children who were eating did not notice anything unusual, only Kabuto and nma sensed sothing was wrong.
Kabuto set down his plate and quietly followed.
nma watched Kabuto's small figure disappear from the dining hall, then picked up his chopsticks and devoured the remaining pieces of at in large bites.
He is still growing, and to refine more Chakra, his energy consumption was enormous.
Because nma felt sothing was draining the Chakra he worked so hard to produce, rendering his efforts futile all these years.
nma had a vague suspicion.
It seed he had brought sothing out from the [Limited Tsukuyomi World].
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