"So anyway, that's the whole story." Kurama, looking thoroughly annoyed, finished explaining everything to Naruto before asking, "What are you going to do?"
Naruto thought for a moment. "Even if this world's Konohagakure isn't my Konohagakure, I still want to protect it."
"Knew you'd say that." Kurama nodded. "Just so you know, though, I'm not coming out. You're handling this on your own."
Just thinking about the other version of himself made Kurama's skin crawl.
Naruto tilted his head in confusion.
Seeing that all-too-familiar movement, Kurama's expression darkened instantly. "Get lost! Out! Now!"
With that, he kicked Naruto out of his mindscape.
Naruto sat up in his room, completely baffled. "Did Kurama's brain break again?"
Oh well, it's not like this was the first time.
After lunch, Naruto told Minato and Kushina he was heading out. It was only after he repeatedly promised not to get into a fight that Kushina finally let him go.
He wandered aimlessly through the streets for a while when, all of a sudden, something felt… off.
No hostility… none at all.
Usually, whenever he walked through the village, he could feel countless waves of malice from all directions. They weren't powerful—mostly just insults and glares—but they were always there, constantly pressing down on his mind.
But now, they were gone.
It was quiet. The world felt like it had come to a stop. The ever-present hostility had vanished.
And in its place, he could even sense… kindness, from time to time.
It was a strange feeling. Unfamiliar.
But… comfortable.
As that thought crossed his mind, Sasuke appeared beside him.
Naruto rested his hands behind his head, looking at the bustling streets in a daze. "If I could stay here forever… that'd be nice."
Sasuke glanced at him. "You can stay. I wouldn't mind."
Naruto chuckled. "Nah. If I stayed, wouldn't that mean giving up on my dream?"
"Haven't you already achieved it?" Sasuke smirked.
"No." Naruto shook his head, his expression serious. "My dream is to become Hokage—to earn everyone's acknowledgment. But if I stay in this world, where no one hates me… then why would I need their recognition? Why would I need to become Hokage?"
"Aren't you trying to protect them?" Sasuke looked up at the sky.
"That's not the same thing." Naruto shrugged. "Even if they don't acknowledge me, I'll still protect them. That's exactly why I *have* to become Hokage. Don't get it twisted."
"Is that so?" Sasuke didn't seem to care much.
Naruto turned his head and suddenly paused. "Weird… You seem like you're in a really good mood today."
Sasuke had a relaxed smile on his face as he looked back at Naruto. "You're right. I finally figured something out… and now, I feel at ease."
"I don't mind listening." Naruto shrugged.
"Heh." Sasuke shook his head with a faint smile. "I just realized… no matter what I choose, my father, my mother, my brother… they would support me either way. I don't need to struggle over these things, because… they don't care about all that. What they truly care about…"
"…is me."
The midday sun shone down on Sasuke's face, lighting up his entire figure.
With a soft smile, he continued, "What they want is for me to do what *I* want to do, not just what I think I should do for them. Because no matter what I choose in the future… I will always be someone they're proud of."
His voice was light—not just in tone, but in feeling.
As if a heavy burden had finally been lifted from his shoulders.
And in its place, he could see them—three gentle smiles.
His father, Uchiha Fugaku.
His mother, Uchiha Mikoto.
His brother, Uchiha Itachi.
Their smiles were filled with warmth.
Naruto was momentarily dazed, then his smile became unbelievably bright.
He reached out his hand toward Sasuke. "Then congratulations, you've found your answer."
"Yeah." Sasuke also reached out and shook Naruto's hand. "Our promise can continue, Naruto."
When you can't become Hokage, Naruto, I will take your place. I will become Hokage, protect you, protect Konohagakure, and protect the pride the Uchiha left for me, so that what happened to the Uchiha will never happen again in Konohagakure.
And when you become Hokage, Naruto, you will protect the village and the people you want to protect. Meanwhile, I will stand behind you, protecting you, so that Konohagakure will never lose its Hokage—the one willing to give their life to protect them.
Naruto could feel Sasuke's resolve, and his smile under the sunlight felt even warmer than the midday sun.
Kurama looked disgusted. "Homo energy is everywhere."
"But before that, Naruto, we need to figure out how to leave this world and return to Konohagakure," Sasuke said seriously. "The situation in Konohagakure might not be great right now."
Leaving this place and returning to where they belonged.
"But how?" Naruto looked up at the sky with a helpless expression. "We don't even know how we got here in the first place."
After saying that, Naruto turned to Kurama in his mind. "Kurama, do you know how we can leave?"
Kurama shook his head.
In the original movie storyline, there was a similar situation, but back then, Naruto defeated Obito and returned to his world—like the Infinite Tsukuyomi was automatically undone after completing a mission.
But now? He had no clue what was going on.
They couldn't possibly need to defeat this world's Naruto and Sasuke to go back, right?
"Well, there is one thing you could try," Kurama thought for a moment before saying, "The Rinnegan and the power of the Tailed Beasts can break even the Infinite Tsukuyomi, so in theory, it should also work on this Limited Tsukuyomi. If you both form the 'Rat' hand seal together, you *should* be able to break this jutsu… probably?"
Kurama didn't sound very sure.
Naruto relayed Kurama's idea to Sasuke. Sasuke nodded, thought for a moment, then looked at Naruto. "Wanna try now?"
Naruto shook his head. "I want to save this world's Konohagakure first."
"You're just going to ignore *our* Konohagakure?" Sasuke asked, amused.
"They're both Konohagakure, and both need saving," Naruto said without hesitation. "Whether this world is an illusion or a real one, I can't just stand by and do nothing when danger is coming."
Sasuke shrugged. "Then I'll go with you. No way I'm letting you run off and act cool alone."
"Hah, then you better keep up. If you fall behind, I'm not waiting for you." Naruto reached out his right hand, smiling under the sunlight as he looked at Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't say anything. He just smiled and bumped his left fist against Naruto's.
"If you two keep this up, not getting married is going to be pretty hard to explain," Kurama said, looking troubled.
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