Time did not exist in the Anti-Gate; only growth.Two weeks in the mortal world had felt like years in this place where the Sage and the Monarch bent space to their will.
Naruto stood at the center of the dark-gold plain, sweatless, breath even, the twin hearts in his chest beating in perfect rhythm. Around him floated the nine motes of chakra that once belonged to the tailed beasts—each a miniature sun of different color, pulsing with slow life.
Kushina watched from the edge of the field, arms folded, pride in her eyes. "Look at him, Minato. He doesn't even wobble anymore."
Minato smiled faintly. "He's learned to move without wasting a single motion. He's already faster than I was at his age."
Kurama yawned from his place near Naruto's feet, his nine tails fanning lazily. "And cockier, too."
Naruto grinned without turning. "You love it."
Kushina cupped her hands around her mouth. "Oi, brat! Show us what you've been working on!"
He took a breath and raised his palm. Blue light rippled outward—then red, then gold—each layer folding over the other until chakra itself solidified, forming translucent armor across his skin. Lines of lightning danced through it, followed by waves of flame and mist. In seconds, five distinct hues pulsed over his body: Twin Armor, the fusion of the elemental styles he had spent weeks mastering.
Hagoromo's staff struck once, a note of approval. "You have learned the conversation between the elements. Few reach harmony; fewer sustain it."
Naruto deactivated the armor, letting it dissolve into the air. "It's like music," he said, smiling. "Every chakra nature has a rhythm. You just have to listen."
Minato nodded. "And you've learned to conduct it."
Next came his hand signs—fluid, precise. Lightning crackled along his arm; the air folded. In a blink he vanished and reappeared behind Hagoromo, kunai gleaming with a new seal pattern."Flying Thunder God, version two," Naruto said proudly. "Your seal, Dad, but tuned to chakra signatures instead of locations."
Kushina wiped her eyes. "You even sound like him."
The Sage looked on, expression unreadable but gentle. "You have absorbed much. Swordsmanship, taijutsu, ninjutsu, sealing, creation—all flow within you now. You carry the blood of Uzumaki, Yamakaze, Senju, even the remnant spark of my brother Hamura Ōtsutsuki. You are heir to more legacies than any mortal before you."
Naruto turned to him. "And to you, too. You and Ashborn both."
The air thickened, shadows moving like tides as Ashborn stepped forward. "You have trained in the light long enough. Now you will learn to rule the dark."
He gestured toward the nine orbs circling them. The bijū's energy flared, each one trembling as if at the edge of fading. Kurama watched, solemn.
"They will not last," the Monarch said. "Their chakra has served its purpose. Unless you bind them, they will scatter."
Naruto's hands clenched. "They've been used enough. They deserve peace, not chains."
"Peace," Ashborn said quietly, "can be existence. Bind them not as tools—but as kin. Give them form, memory, voice. Shadows, not prisoners."
Hagoromo nodded. "A new kind of bond. Not bijū and host. Brothers."
Naruto looked at Kurama. The fox lifted his head, eyes deep with something like pride. "Do it, kit. Better to live as your brother than die as mist."
Naruto breathed in. The Black Heart inside him pulsed. One by one, the orbs of chakra drifted toward him—Shukaku's sandy gold, Matatabi's azure flame, Isobu's ocean green, Son Gokū's molten red, Kokuō's silver, Saiken's pearl, Chōmei's indigo, Gyūki's obsidian, and Kurama's own crimson sun.
He pressed his palms together. "I won't enslave you. I'll share with you."
Shadow poured from his feet, curling up his arms. The lights sank into it, not trapped but woven, each chakra thread forming a shape—a great fox, a cat, a turtle, a gorilla, a horse, a slug, a beetle, an ox, a tanuki. Nine figures of living dusk stood before him, their forms flickering between body and outline.
Naruto smiled softly. "Brothers, huh?"
They bowed their heads as one. Kurama spoke first. "Brothers."
Ashborn's eyes glimmered. "Nine Generals for the Shadow Monarch. Each will keep their will, their voice. Together you are a legion."
The air vibrated with quiet power. Naruto could feel them within him—not as weight, but as heartbeat. Each had its own rhythm, each pulse a different strength.
Hagoromo stepped forward. "The cycle that began with me ends with you. The beasts are no longer fragments of my chakra. They are your shadows—unique and free."
Kushina wiped at her cheeks again. "You did it, Naruto. You gave them life instead of stealing it."
Naruto turned to his mother, smiling. "Guess I learned from the best."
Minato placed a hand on his shoulder. "What will you do now?"
Naruto's face hardened with quiet resolve. "I made a promise. To you, to Grandpa Ashina, to all of them. I'm going to rebuild the Uzumaki clan. I'll find our people, wherever they are. I'll make a home where no one gets left alone again."
Ashina—glowing faintly beside Kushina—nodded. "Then you'll need the red whirlpool once more. When you reach Uzushiogakure, call my name. The sea will answer."
Naruto bowed deeply. "I will."
He turned to Hagoromo and Ashborn. "Thank you—for everything."
The Sage's eyes shone with old affection. "The world will test you, Naruto Uzumaki. But you have already passed the hardest trial."
Ashborn's voice followed, low and final. "The dome above your land will dissolve. Your path is open. Go, king of shadow and heir of light."
The world of the Anti-Gate trembled. The golden veins dimmed; the black pillars melted into mist. Naruto felt gravity return, air thicken, heartbeat quicken.He looked one last time at the faces around him—his parents smiling, Kurama's tails waving lazily, Ashina's proud nod, Hashirama's broad grin, Hagoromo's calm blessing, Ashborn's unreadable gaze.
"See you soon," Naruto whispered.
And then he fell—light to dark, void to sky.
He awoke in the real world. The great dome that had covered the Valley of the End was gone, dissolved into clear air. Grass had grown over the cracks left by the blast. The river flowed quietly between the stone giants.
Naruto stood, stretching. His body hummed with controlled power. No hatred. No noise. Just strength.He glanced at the horizon where the Hidden Leaf lay and exhaled.
"One last chance," he murmured. "Let's see if they've learned."
Behind him, nine shadows rose and melted into the light.
He began walking toward Konoha.