At this moment, Minato Namikaze from the scroll world suddenly realized...
Based on the speculation of his counterpart in the Kannabi Bridge parallel world, it seemed that every parallel world they reached held a small regret waiting for them to mend. And the regret in this parallel world appeared to be Iruka's words—
"Jiraiya-sama, Fourth Hokage-sama.
Right now, the hero stands before me.
I wish...you could witness this shining moment of Naruto Uzumaki.
See Naruto Uzumaki—he is so worthy of your pride."
...
"Minato-sama?!"
"What's happening?! The bodies of the First and Second Hokage over there are turning transparent too!"
The young Obito from the Kannabi Bridge world and the Adult Obito from the mission scroll world were also vanishing together.
"You guys...."
The masked Obito of this world was momentarily at a loss for words. Perhaps because the timelines of the two worlds were relatively close, the Adult Obito didn't know what else to say to his counterpart in this world either. Both were burdened by sin; it was merely a case of the pot calling the kettle black.
After a moment's thought, Young Obito spoke for his future self:
"Becoming Hokage might be impossible now, but it's never too late to atone. Think deeply about what kind of people Rin wanted to protect."
Continuing his time travel had allowed him to witness Naruto's growth, influencing Young Obito and reinforcing his conviction that there were no shortcuts on the path to peace.
"Don't forget why Rin kept forgiving our repeated tardiness."
Because she knew we could never resist helping those in need.
Adult Obito fell silent. His younger self's words always brought back those beautiful memories. Envy mingled with profound emotion. If only he could remain true to his original heart like Naruto, no matter the setbacks—then recalling these moments wouldn't feel so impossibly distant. Instead, it would likely fuel his determination to become Hokage and reshape the ninja world.
Young Obito:
"Rin, Minato-sensei's family, the Uchiha... all these regrets can be resolved with the Rinnegan. Atone properly, or else... beware of Rin looking down on you after her revival. And Kushina, once she's brought back..."
The thought of Kushina being resurrected made Young Obito's face turn pale. He waved his hand dismissively.
"You figure it out."
...
Meanwhile, as everyone watched the important figures slowly vanish within the white light, the earlier excitement gradually quieted.
Naruto stood up, staring at the Fourth Hokage fading away. In his panic, he still called out:
"Dad...!"
Minato Namikaze beckoned him with a wave.
Naruto leapt forward, his eyes vaguely hoping for some words, though he couldn't quite articulate what he expected.
"Naruto, how old are you now?" asked the Minato from the scroll world.
"Sixteen."
"Is that so? I'm sorry this world's version of me has owed you sixteen years of fatherly affection."
"It's okay...." Naruto sensed this wasn't the words he'd been waiting to hear. "Because I'm the Hokage's son, I can endure it."
His pouting expression as he turned away looked somewhat endearing. Yet at that moment, the Konohagakure villagers who had been so excited and worried for him felt an inexplicable pang of sadness.
Minato Namikaze's hand, gradually becoming transparent within the white light, gently rubbed Naruto's golden hair.
"We have to go now."
"The words you want to hear," he said with a hint of mischief to sixteen-year-old Naruto Uzumaki, "wait until the me and Kushina from this world return to you. Let them tell you then."
Given the current trajectory of this world, he could already foresee the near future. Though the Edo Tensei Reincarnation technique was notoriously difficult to master, where there's a will, there's a way—someone would inevitably learn it. And with the Rinnegan, certain regrets could surely be rectified.
"Still, seeing how remarkably you've grown in the future... it's truly heartening, Naruto."
His voice lingered in their ears, yet the speaker had vanished without a trace.
...
Several days later, thanks to Obito Uchiha's words, the Taka Team temporarily stationed in the Land of Waves received news...
"Sasuke, do something, will we just linger in this country forever?" Suigetsu leaned boredly on the table. "Though this city isn't bad—plentiful supplies make it a suitable place to pause and camp."
Abundant supplies...
That phrase made Sasuke Uchiha want to retort for a moment, to tell him that just three or four years ago, this place was a barren wasteland where people lived in misery, many selling themselves cheaply, and children were forced to beg on the streets.
This was his third time visiting this place.
The first time, the bridge wasn't even built yet when he arrived; it had just been completed when he left.
The second time, he had just finished off Orochimaru, taken control of Hebi, and gained the power for revenge. Seeing this bridge named the 'Naruto Bridge'—meaning the Bridge of Courage—he felt an unexpected sense of relief.
He remembered making a bet with Suigetsu back then, wagering whether he could complete the mission without killing anyone and seize Zabuza's Kubikiribōchō.
His original intention, of course, was to avoid disrupting this hard-won peace and prosperity of the nation.
Sasuke thought back to his naive belief then: that by killing Orochimaru, the man who murdered the Third Hokage, and then killing Itachi Uchiha, he could atone for his sins and return to Naruto and the others, reviving the Uchiha clan.
But who could have imagined...
Now, on his third visit here, having killed Itachi and learned the truth about him, his perspective had changed completely.
The masked men's words forced him to ponder deeply: How did Itachi truly view him, the clan, the village, and the very survival system of the ninja world?
Sixteen-year-old Sasuke Uchiha sat slumped, his eyes dark and profoundly still. He appeared utterly detached, devoid of anger, stripped of sorrow.
This worried Jūgo, Suigetsu, and Karin immensely. No matter when, all six of them kept watch over him, fearing something might happen.
"Give me some kind of reaction, okay? Sasuke? Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-chan?" Suigetsu hated boredom the most.
Just then, Jūgo and Kōrin's voices came from outside.
Jūgo: "Sasuke, news has come from Konoha."
Karin, impatient as ever, cut Jūgo off mid-sentence and dumped the information all at once onto Sasuke:
"Pain has been defeated! Konoha borrowed quite a few people from the Land of Waves. Apparently, Pain went over and destroyed a lot of the village's buildings. They'll all need to be rebuilt."
"..." Sasuke showed no outward reaction, but inside, his mind was racing.
Akatsuki's objective was the nine Tailed Beasts. That monstrous fox once seen within Naruto's body was also one of their targets. It made perfect sense they'd send someone after it.
This thought naturally led him to recall how Itachi had received Akatsuki's orders to capture Naruto all those years ago.
Yet it wasn't until recently that he learned from the masked man...
Crack...
His brother had warned those restless souls in Konoha, making it clear that even though the Third Hokage was dead, Itachi Uchiha still lived.
Therefore, no one could lay a finger on his younger brother.
"Brother..."
These thoughts only deepened Sasuke Uchiha's gloom and despair. He had intended to make revenge against Konoha the driving force of his future life, but the words spoken by that man who had abandoned them here that day seemed to strip him of any will to act. Now, Sasuke Uchiha was left only with confusion, unsure of how to proceed.
"...Sasuke."
Jūgo had received intelligence via messenger bird—information even Karin didn't possess.
"Naruto Uzumaki defeated Pain. The masked men of Akatsuki have offered their surrender to Konoha. And it's said that the Pain we knew was actually Nagato—a man who used his Rinnegan to control the corpses of his deceased comrades, fulfilling their final wishes."
Such trivial matters held no interest for Sasuke now.
Jūgo continued, "Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko—the true form of Pain—were all disciples of Jiraiya, one of the Sannin. That makes them fellow students of the Fourth Hokage and Naruto Uzumaki."
At the mention of Naruto Uzumaki's name, Sasuke showed a slight flicker of reaction.
"Was it Naruto Uzumaki who defeated Pain?"
Jūgo nodded. "He seems to have become famous throughout Konoha and the ninja world. Not only did he defeat Pain, but he also persuaded him to resurrect all the Konoha ninjas they had killed."
Jūgo described to Sasuke the events of that day as relayed by the bird. Sasuke could picture the scene in his mind: that guy grinning foolishly amidst the crowd.
"I heard Jiraiya, who originally died at Pain's hands, was also revived. And Pain's original host, that guy named Yahiko, is now leading Nagato and Konan to transform Akatsuki back into the organization it once was—one that genuinely pursued world peace through negotiation."
"It seems Kakashi Hatake has been revived too, along with several Hokage from other worlds."
At this mention, Karin's expression grew slightly uneasy. She had something she wanted to tell Sasuke, but unlike her usual declarations of affection, she felt it wasn't something she should say while he was so low. Yet, she couldn't quite hold back.