"It actually worked—"
The Seventh Hokage Naruto's shadow clone landed, reflexively entering Sage Mode the moment his feet touched down.
After all, it was an unknown space-time ninjutsu, and even though he wasn't really suspecting Link of lying, he was prepared for a fight. But a second later, he sensed many familiar yet unfamiliar chakras and, somewhat dazed, murmured to himself.
"Swoosh!"
Right away, the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, appeared before the two of them.
His sensory skill needed no explanation. Moments earlier, he'd casually planted a Flying Raijin seal in the vicinity. Once he felt that familiar chakra mingled with another powerful one, he rushed over at once.
(They're father and son, but they don't look all that similar…)
Link glanced back and forth. Minato was the more classically handsome type. If not for his gentle, masculine aura, he could almost pass for someone like Haku.
Meanwhile, adult Naruto gave off a more "hardy" vibe—exuding confidence and spirit.
Biggest difference lay in their sense of style. Naruto, even as an adult, still liked his orange jacket. Not exactly ugly, but… pretty plain, especially compared to Minato's style.
And funnily enough, the "son" here was actually older than his dad.
Naruto nearly shouted "Father!" The most painful regret he carried, besides losing his mentor Jiraiya, was never having his parents at his wedding.
(Another arrival?)
Minato pulled his wandering thoughts back. "You two… you're back again for what?"
"Basically, I just dropped by, I guess." Link pulled out a Funa-tsū scroll and glanced aside.
"Now can you believe me, Naruto?"
Naruto (the shadow clone) steadied his swirling emotions and nodded. "All right. Take me home."
After all, he was only a shadow clone. For something this important, his real self needed to be the one making decisions.
As Link was activating the technique, he abruptly recalled something and spoke directly: "Oh, by the way, in this world, Aunt Kushina just had the Nine-Tails extracted. I was only able to do a simple bit of healing, so I'm guessing she's not dead yet, but I doubt she'll last 'til morning."
He paused. "I'd need more chakra to save Aunt Kushina."
Immediately, Minato's eyes grew sharp.
Naruto put a hand on Link's shoulder—though he was clearly worried, he said, "Bring my real body here first."
And with that, the Funa-tsū activated. They disappeared in the swirling vortex.
(He really does look so much like Kushina… He's using Sage Mode, and he's called 'Naruto.' There's that familiar cloak…)
Minato stared after the spot in a slight daze. It sounded like the two strangers had let slip quite a bit of intel in their conversation, and while he couldn't piece it all together, he sensed it was something strange indeed.
So instead of immediately returning to his severely injured wife—who was now with their newborn baby—he stayed put, silently waiting for a short while.
Sure enough, the familiar spiral reappeared, and the pair dropped back in.
"Fourth Hokage," said the now-arrived 'real' Naruto in a somewhat awkward tone, "please, take us to see, um, the injured woman."
He evidently didn't know how to refer to these unknown versions of his parents.
Minato said nothing, just gave a silent nod. "Follow me."
He refrained from using Flying Raijin. Possibly wanting to slow down and accommodate these strangers, he even reduced his usual running speed… only to realize the adult Naruto still kept pace with him effortlessly—even when Minato stealthily sped up more and more, until he was going full speed. Naruto never fell behind.
(Incredible…)
Shortly, they reached Konoha Hospital. Under the watchful eyes of the Anbu, they entered a private ward.
"Click—"
The pale-faced Kushina lay in bed, looking down at the dozing infant beside her. At the sound of footsteps, she raised her head, placed a finger to her lips in a soft "hush," and beckoned them quietly.
She seemed just like a bedridden mother at a glance, but in reality she was critically close to death. Losing her Tailed Beast would normally kill a Jinchūriki on the spot, and only the Uzumaki clan's resilience kept her barely alive.
"Naruto, lend me your chakra," Link said after the adult Naruto set him down, speaking in a low voice.
Then Link began to glow.
Unlike with his old "battery" Utakata, Naruto in his final form could supply enough chakra to energize an entire Shinobi Alliance—powering one person was child's play.
Given it was so quiet in the ward, even small sounds were magnified. The baby cracked open his eyes, glimpsed that shining little figure, and…
"Wahh!"
Both Kushina and Minato were first-time parents, momentarily confused by the crying. They froze for a second before rushing to pick him up—but the "adult Naruto" was already cradling the baby gently, face soft with a comforting smile, humming a lullaby. Within moments, the baby fell back asleep.
(After all, 'final-chapter Naruto' is a father of two.)
(So much chakra—there's no way I'll use it all up…)
Link felt deeply moved. Finally, after more than a month on the run, here was an almost-limitless supply of energy. Watching Naruto soothe the baby, Link stepped forward and poured all that newly gained chakra into a Fine Malady Extraction technique.
As the wave of enormous chakra was unleashed, the originally slow-acting healing technique underwent a qualitative change. Instead of gradually alleviating symptoms, it healed everything in an instant. The near-dead Kushina, battered from childbirth and Tailed Beast extraction, was suddenly perfectly well.
"Wha—?!" She let out a startled exclamation. Gone was the organ failure from losing the beast; the childbirth pains vanished, too. She felt ready to get out of bed right now.
Visibly, her face turned rosy, her weak breathing switched to strong and steady.
(Remarkable!)
Even this final-chapter Naruto was impressed. Usually someone who lost their Tailed Beast would be impossible to heal so quickly, no matter how advanced your Yin-Yang Release. This was insane.
Letting go of her hand, Link quietly left the ward, giving her space to reunite with her family.
Surprisingly, the final-chapter Naruto came out not long after, seating himself next to Link in the corridor and saying softly, "Thank you."
"Seeing you so calm and collected is kind of strange," Link teased with a smile.
The young Naruto Link remembered had always been a bit brash. Even Naruto in Link's main world, who trained under Jiraiya for ages, remained somewhat stubborn. Such calm maturity… it was almost hard to believe he was Naruto at all.
"So… in another world, you and I are friends?" The adult Naruto chuckled mildly, acknowledging his own growth.
Link hesitated a moment, and after a month of running around aimlessly, he finally felt ready to speak openly:
"Yeah. We…"
He paused, then quietly concluded,
"We're friends."
~~~
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