"The entire moon?"
Naruto was stunned for a moment, finding it somewhat unbelievable.
But then he accepted this fact.
'Indeed, since they were lifeforms from the sea of stars, such a 'grand' seal was fitting.'
"So, the story about the Sage of Six Paths creating the moon is true? That means the one who defeated that Otsutsuki Clan member back then was the Sage of Six Paths, right?"
Legends about the Sage of Six Paths creating the moon had existed since ancient times. Even Naruto, who wasn't usually very attentive in class, had heard of them.
But back then, he only treated them as mythical stories.
Hearing this, the expression on Gaara's face suddenly became somewhat peculiar.
"...Put that way, it's not wrong. It was indeed your so-called [Sage of Six Paths] who, together with his brother, defeated that Otsutsuki Clan's member."
After saying this, before Naruto could react, they added another sentence.
"That is to say, their mother."
"?"
Seeing Naruto's shocked, incredulous expression, this Nature Will, who had always been expressionless, finally laughed for the first time.
Although the smile was fleeting.
"So you can make that kind of expression too? I thought you could guess everything."
"I told you, the Chakra in your world was born because of the Otsutsuki. Isn't it natural that the so-called [Sage of Six Paths] who founded Ninshu also has Otsutsuki Bloodline?"
"In other words... some of you Ninja have their blood flowing within you."
By the time they reached this point, most of Gaara's face had returned to their original human form, leaving only one eye looking at Naruto.
"Don't rush off yet, it's not too late to finish hearing this-"
Hearing this sudden major news, Naruto subconsciously reached out, pressed on Gaara's shoulders, and shook him a couple of times, only to be met with the Nature Will's laughter.
"Haha... The connection between me and him has already been severed by you..."
"I cannot remain for long. Even if I forcibly stay in this body, he will slowly be assimilated by nature, turning into a stone statue that can neither speak nor move."
Hearing this, Naruto remembered the stone statues of frogs in Mount Myoboku that resulted from failed Sage Mode Training.
'So the root of the problem was here.'
Gaara originally lacked both the talent and training to master Sage Mode. The reason he could maintain it for so long relied entirely on the Nature Will's 'remote control'.
Now that the 'connection' had been cut, they had no way to continue.
"If you want to know more... then personally enter Sage Mode... and come find me again."
After uttering this last sentence, Gaara's body completely returned to human form, and the horn on his head disappeared.
The Cursed Seal of Heaven previously left on his neck by Orochimaru also seemed to turn pale due to 'energy depletion', then completely vanished beneath the skin.
"...Like hell I will do that again."
Taking a swig of sake, Naruto pursed his lips, still not tempted by the other party's suggestion.
He already knew most of what he needed to know. He could ask about those gossipy details later, after things settled down.
"But... the Otsutsuki Clan, huh... it's getting more and more troublesome."
Even as he said this, Naruto's expression didn't show a hint of actual annoyance.
"Ugh... Where... am I?"
Just as Naruto finished the fight and started drinking his sake, Gaara, who had lost his memory for so many days, finally woke up.
The memories previously suppressed by the Nature Will quickly recovered like a tidal wave, causing a sharp pain in Gaara's head.
"Urgh... Ah!"
Watching Gaara clutching his head and rolling around, Naruto smacked his lips, then, as if guided by a ghost, offered his gourd of sake.
"Want a sip for the pain?"
Obviously, Gaara in this state was in no mood to respond to him.
And this scene was witnessed by Kousei, Karin, and the others who had rushed over.
The two girls, one big and one small, emerged from the left and right sides of the forest simultaneously.
They first looked at each other, then their gazes turned in unison towards the two figures in the clearing.
Their focus landed on the rolling Gaara… and the Naruto who was offering him alcohol.
"If I said his current state has nothing to do with me... would you believe it?"
For some reason, under Kousei's gaze, Naruto felt inexplicably nervous.
He subconsciously put the sake gourd away, then inconspicuously wiped his hands.
"Naruto-san, no matter what, you shouldn't give alcohol to a minor."
Karin's words thoroughly sank Naruto.
...
After the matter was more or less concluded, both parties' reinforcements finally arrived belatedly.
"Uzumaki Naruto, it really is you."
Unlike Zabuza's complicated expression, Haku looked much friendlier when he gazed at Naruto.
While bandaging Gaara's wounds, he smiled and nodded at Naruto.
However, Naruto didn't seem to care much about these two people's reactions, only nodding perfunctorily in response.
Right now, his attention was completely occupied by that small figure.
"Hey, Dark Circles, do you remember me?"
Kousei crouched beside Gaara, poking his forehead without any restraint. The spot where a horn had previously grown was now replaced again by the character for [Love].
-Incidentally, Kousei still couldn't read.
While she verbally expressed concern for Gaara's condition, she actually kept sneaking glances at Naruto behind her.
When her eyes met Naruto's, she would immediately turn her head back, deceiving herself, but her hand movements became a bit uncontrollable.
"Ouch… I remember, I remember! And I have a name too."
Gaara was poked until it hurt.
Based on his original personality, he would definitely be furious by now.
But he hadn't forgotten the experiences during his amnesia either.
It could be said that with Kousei, and the two accompanying babysitters by extension, he had also experienced a feeling of familial affection that he had never felt before.
It was something he hadn't felt since his own maternal uncle was killed...
The poor kid still didn't know that his older brother, sister, and the old woman from his village had almost worn out their shoes searching for him.
Even the recovered Gaara, with his memories and personality back, had a high tolerance threshold for Kousei's 'mischievous' actions.
Probably even if Kousei wanted to play 'horsey' with him now, he would reluctantly agree.
"Oh, oh, name... right... name?! Dark Circles, what's your name?"
Because Kousei's thoughts were mostly on her dad, her first half of the sentence was somewhat perfunctory, but she quickly caught on.
She looked at Gaara with a face full of surprise.
Just as Gaara was about to answer her, another voice cut in first.
"His name is Gaara. See, this character is [Love]."
Naruto reached out a finger and gently tapped the character on Gaara's forehead, eliciting a fierce expression from the One-Tail's Jinchuriki.
"Hey! Don't touch me randomly!"
Gaara didn't like Naruto.
And it wasn't just because, by the count, he had been thoroughly beaten by the other guy twice.
It was more because during his amnesia, he had been constantly chasing this guy's location.
That feeling of being controlled against his will reminded him of the times he followed his father's orders.
Smack!
Kousei's small hand directly slapped Gaara's forehead. The little girl said to Gaara with a serious expression.
"Dark Circles, D... Uzumaki Naruto-san just saved you! If it weren't for him, you'd still be controlled by that thing."
Kousei wanted to directly call out [Dad], but when the words reached her mouth, she swallowed them back.
She didn't know how to explain to this era's dad that she was actually from the future.
'What if Dad didn't believe me?'
'What if Dad thought Kousei was a lying child?'
The little girl was, after all, only four years old. Maybe she could usually rely on her innate bold personality to get by, but when she truly encountered certain worries, she was at a loss.
It was ultimately due to lack of life experience.
If only she had an elementary school graduation certificate, it wouldn't be this bad.