[Chapter Size: 2900 Words.]
Konoha, 44.
...
...
A grand farewell party was organized at the Namikaze residence. Not only was the entire Namikaze family present, but also Team 7, Hanabi's team, Jiraiya, Tsunade, Sakumo, and many other people who took part in that farewell banquet.
The entire house had been decorated. While a huge rack of ribs was being roasted for everyone, there was sake and many other drinks available. That was the way they had found to finally say goodbye to Naruto and Yamato.
The blond couldn't hide his emotions. During the five months he had remained in that world, he had met many people in the Village, made new friends, and rebuilt the bonds with those he already knew from his own world.
Naruto already knew many of those people, and getting closer to them was even easier. After all, Naruto had always had a special way of connecting with people, especially those who had already left a mark on his life in the other universe.
Naruto and Yamato were still somewhat reserved, since they were the center of attention. Even so, they spoke with everyone. Naruto even gave a short speech to express his gratitude.
They ate, drank, and enjoyed the party until they couldn't anymore. At the end of the night, everyone began saying their goodbyes to Naruto. He even received a kiss from Runa Uzumaki, who ran away afterward, saying she had always wanted to do that and that they would never see each other again, so she gave him her first kiss.
Naruto was completely stunned. Although it wasn't Naruto's first kiss, it was certainly the first time a girl had kissed him. After all, he had kissed Sasuke only because someone pushed him at the Academy.
After Naruto recovered and tried to hide his embarrassment by laughing about what had happened in front of everyone, he would be leaving at dawn, and not everyone would be there at that moment. That was the final farewell.
To the Village, Naruto would be departing on a mission that would last for years and, perhaps, he would never officially return to Konoha according to the records. But everyone there knew he did not belong to that world. His true home was another universe, and it was time for him to return.
After that, everyone went to sleep. Naruto, however, remained deeply troubled in his bed. Kurama could sense it through the bond between them, but there was nothing he could do. He would never see the people he had met there again, but that was the natural order of things.
The following day, Minato's other wives also said their goodbyes to him and Yamato, wishing them good luck in their own world.
Naruto and Yamato also said goodbye to everyone and the children... Then, Minato teleported them to Rōran.
After informing the Queen that they would use the Chakra Vein Source to teleport to Naruto's world, she accepted without any objections. Everyone headed directly to the chamber where the source was located.
At that time, the one taking care of Rōran was Nawaki Senju himself as part of a mission. He had become extremely close to the princess.
She was the one who had proposed to Minato, although he had refused, saying that they would find another way to create an alliance between Rōran and Konoha. Nawaki, however, didn't seem to consider that possibility a bad outcome for them. The way they were together now, it was possible that Sara would become the new Lady Senju, and Minato would support them.
Now at the Source, everyone was gathered together, and Kushina insisted on accompanying them. Before their departure, she gave Naruto a long embrace.
"Now I'll prepare everything," Minato said. He approached the Source and placed both hands on its surface. Countless seals quickly spread throughout the entire area, enveloping the whole chamber.
A few moments later, everything was ready. "I'm going to open the passage to your world. Please, step into that circle. Once you're ready, I'll send you back."
"Thank you... for everything," Naruto said, unable to hold back his tears as he tied Konoha's forehead protector around his head once again, having kept it stored away during all the time he had spent in that Konoha.
"I also want to thank you for everything," Yamato said with a smile. He had also become much stronger thanks to the training he received from Tsuna, alongside the version of himself from that world, who was still just a child. It had been a strange experience, but also a rewarding one for Yamato.
Minato looked at them with a smile. "It was nothing, Naruto... Yamato. You are extraordinary people. I'm sure it'll be a pleasure to meet my son and a grown-up Yamato in a few years."
Beside him, Kushina could no longer hold back her tears. "Naruto... I'll wait every single day for the moment when I'll finally have a son like you. I couldn't ask for anyone better to call by that name..." she said through her tears.
"Thank you... Mom. Thank you both for being my parents during these past months. I couldn't have asked for anything better. You showed me what it means to have someone who takes care of you... something I'd never had until this point in my life."
As soon as Naruto finished speaking, the entire chamber began to shine intensely. Minato simply smiled.
"Good luck. Save your world, Naruto." Naruto and Yamato gave one final wave.
The next instant, the light engulfed the entire chamber, completely blinding everyone's vision. When the radiance faded, Naruto and Yamato were no longer there.
Kushina broke down in tears. Minato approached and gently embraced her.
"Don't worry. They're in the world where they belong. Naruto has a mission to fulfill. And I gave him a scroll with everything he needs to know..."
"I know, Minato... but it still hurts," she murmured, wiping away her tears.
"Our son will be like him. Don't worry," Minato said, and Kushina smiled wistfully.
"I can't wait to have our Naruto. I want to hold him while he's still a baby, watch him grow up, and see him become the same boy we lived with over these past months."
After getting to know Naruto, Kushina longed even more to have her own son. At that moment, she even regretted having decided to wait until after their wedding, knowing they wouldn't have a child until after the coming war.
The two of them left the chamber. There was nothing more they could do there. They knew that Naruto and Yamato had safely returned to the other world. Whatever changes they would make in that universe could never be known to them, no matter how curious Minato was.
Meanwhile...
In a place that had once been a great underground chamber of Rōran, but was now completely destroyed after decades of abandonment following the city's destruction during the war, an enormous pillar began to glow as it came back to life.
A bird took flight to escape the intense burst of light. Outside, Sakura desperately tried to reach the two of them, but Sai prevented her from getting any closer.
"Naruto!" she shouted.
The enormous pillar continued shining for a few moments until the light slowly began to fade.
At that moment, Sai approached on the ink bird he had created from one of his drawings. He and Sakura managed to make out two people standing right at the center of the pillar.
Sai and Sakura stared in complete astonishment.
Those certainly weren't the same clothes they had been wearing before. But what drew the most attention was Naruto's hair. Where there had once been blond strands, his hair was now red. In addition, his physique had changed completely. He looked taller, more muscular, and far more imposing.
Naruto and Yamato remained conscious. Unlike what would happen during a normal journey through time, both of them had endured the entire pressure of the crossing without losing consciousness.
As they regained awareness of their surroundings, they saw Sakura and Sai approaching on the ink bird. The two landed and walked toward them with expressions filled with curiosity and concern.
But above all, caution. Even Yamato looked different.
"Naruto! Captain Yamato! What happened?" Sakura exclaimed immediately.
Sai also stepped forward, his expression curious and confused.
Naruto and Yamato heard Sakura's voice and exchanged a brief glance before smiling faintly.
"Hey... hey! What's going on here?" Sakura asked, already growing impatient at the two's reaction.
Naruto turned his eyes toward her and took a deep breath. "Hello, Sakura... It's been a while." His voice was different. More mature, calm, and composed.
"What do you mean, 'It's been a while'? You only stepped into that light for a second and came right back! And why do you look so different? Actually... why are you taller?"
Sakura simply couldn't believe it. Naruto had really grown. Besides the difference in height, his physique was far more developed, making it obvious that his body had changed considerably.
Naruto simply smiled calmly. "I think we should talk about that later, once we get back to the Village. What do you think, Captain Yamato?"
Yamato rested a hand on his chin for a few moments before nodding. "I think that's for the best. That way, we can inform the Hokage about everything all at once instead of repeating the same story several times. Besides... He asked us to open this scroll in the Hokage's presence..." he said while looking at the scroll in Naruto's hand, the one Minato had said was also a way to protect their world. Naruto didn't know how, but he would open it when the time was right.
In any case, there was no point in explaining everything there only to have to tell the entire story again in Tsunade's office.
Even so, Yamato was, in a way, traumatized by the Tsunade of the other world's daughter. How would the Hokage react upon learning all of that? Would she be as terrifying as her daughter from that other world?
Yamato didn't know. Even so, he needed to meet with her and report everything they had witnessed in the other world, especially his newfound strength and Naruto's changes.
Yamato didn't know why, but after meeting Tsunade's daughter and undergoing her brutal training, he was somewhat apprehensive about even meeting Lady Tsunade.
"Hey! Hey! Aren't you going to tell us what happened?!" Sakura complained again, noticing that neither of them seemed willing to answer at that moment.
"We'll talk about it later, Sakura. Be a little patient," Naruto replied.
Even his tone of voice was completely different from usual. In any case... it left both Sakura and Sai completely bewildered. Naruto would never speak to her like that.
"You!" Sakura wanted to shout, but Naruto ignored her.
"Let me see if I can still sense anything..." Naruto murmured, closing his eyes.
"Hey, and Mukade..." Sai spoke this time. "What happened to him? Shouldn't we be going after him? Where is he?" he asked, taking a step forward.
Yamato merely shook his head. "He was destroyed. There's nothing left that can be recovered from him. In any case, he certainly won't be a problem anymore. And we'll talk about it in the Hokage's office," he explained, despite the obvious confusion still visible on Sai's face.
Naruto finally opened his eyes after a few moments. "I found a Flying Thunder God seal left by my father near the Village," he said.
Yamato nodded, satisfied. Naruto didn't have perfect mastery of the Flying Thunder God Technique. He wasted nearly three times as much chakra to perform a teleportation, and he still had a long way to go, because he was much slower compared to the two Minatos he had met. Even so, after a few seconds of concentration, he could travel through the seals, which was a great accomplishment, and his chakra reserves were large enough to allow him to do so...
Sai and Sakura remained completely confused.
"Can someone tell me what exactly is going on here?" Sakura asked, making her trademark irritated expression.
"I already told you, Sakura. We'll explain everything in front of the Hokage so we won't have to tell the same story twice." Sakura looked at Naruto in disbelief and anger.
He had never spoken to her like that. His tone was firm, calm, and at the same time carried an authority she had never seen in him before.
In truth, Naruto simply ignored her reaction. After everything he had been through, acting the way he used to no longer made any sense. Besides, he himself had spent months advising the Obito of that other world to emotionally move on from a girl who loved someone else. He had the same problem in this world, and he had also decided to move forward.
"I want everyone to hold my hands." Despite Sai's and Sakura's hesitation, everyone obeyed.
Sakura, however, decided to squeeze Naruto's hand with all her strength, hoping to get some kind of reaction out of him. To her surprise, nothing happened. Even using enough force to injure an ordinary person, Naruto remained completely calm.
He didn't even show any sign of pain. He simply smiled at Sakura, as if he had understood exactly what she was trying to do.
"You're being rather rude, Sakura. Anyone else would have had the bones in their hand crushed," Naruto said in a mildly admonishing tone.
Sakura became even more irritated. She increased her grip, reaching a level where she imagined even the strongest people's bones would be crushed.
Even so... Naruto didn't show the slightest reaction. His expression didn't change, nor did his bones seem to give way.
It was as if his body had become far more resilient than before. That only made Sakura even more curious.
How could someone step into that light for just a second and come back completely different?! His hair, his body, his voice, his demeanor... everything had changed. Sai looked at Naruto with the same expression.
While her mind was flooded with one question after another, Naruto activated the Flying Thunder God Technique after concentrating for four seconds.
Before any of them realized it, the entire landscape around them disappeared. They were no longer among the ruins left behind by the war in Rōran.
They now stood on the outskirts of Konoha, atop an old ruined house located on elevated ground, from where the entire Village could be seen in the distance.
"It looks like this was one of my father's hideouts..." Naruto murmured.
"Wait... you mentioned your father earlier too. What happened? How did we end up here? What did you do, Naruto?" Sai asked immediately.
Despite his curiosity about their sudden teleportation to Konoha, his first question stood out even more. He knew Naruto had never spoken about his father, as if he had never even known the man's name, yet now he had mentioned him for the second time...
Naruto simply replied calmly. "This is the Flying Thunder God Technique. My father was the only person in the world capable of using it. I learned it from..." He cut himself off and shook his head. "Forget it. We'll explain everything at Granny's office."
In any case, the technique had worked. In the other world, Minato had used the very seal created to imprison Kurama—or what remained of him—to track the chakra of the Minato from this world, Naruto's biological father, allowing him to identify the exact chakra signature present within his Flying Thunder God seals.
No other user would have been capable of doing that. Naruto, however, was a special case. Besides being the Fourth Hokage's son, he also possessed a sensitivity to chakra that practically no one else could have, except for the Minato of the other world himself. He too could distribute chakra the way Naruto did, despite not having Kurama sealed inside him, using specially made chakra storage seals as batteries for everyone.
Thanks to identifying the chakra of the Minato from this world, Naruto was able to locate some of the old seals left behind by the Fourth Hokage at various locations throughout the Land of Fire and along its borders.
This one where they had arrived still existed, a seal located very close to Konoha. Although most of them had been removed over the years, Naruto had been fortunate enough to find that one.
"But since you asked who my father was..." Naruto flashed a wide smile before pointing toward one of the statues carved into the Hokage Monument. "He was the Fourth Hokage."
He then turned to Yamato. "Now let's head to Konoha. Let's see how Granny is going to deal with this whole mess."
"Of course," Yamato replied with a smile.
Sakura and Sai could only stare at the two of them in complete shock. What surprised them the most was the fact that Naruto seemed to be naturally leading the mission, far more than Captain Yamato himself.
Neither of them understood what had happened. Even so, they simply followed Naruto, determined to finally uncover the whole truth.
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