Avoiding the adults, Naruto quietly patted Sasuke on the shoulder and motioned for him to follow.
"What do you want?" Sasuke asked reluctantly.
Things were different now.
The entire Uchiha Clan had been revived, and Naruto's mother, Kushina, asked Sasuke almost every day to help look after Naruto.
As a result, Sasuke had become even more conscious of maintaining his image. The moment he saw Naruto's mischievous little expression, he knew that the dead last was planning trouble again.
Sasuke sighed inwardly. He had no desire to go home and be reprimanded by his father or lectured by his mother.
"Why are you so reluctant?"
"Because I don't want to do it. Go ask Obito." Sasuke pointed toward Young Obito, indicating that one dead last should go play pranks with another instead of dragging a top student like him into it.
"You're the only one who can do this!"
Naruto pointed toward the statues of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha at the Valley of the End, both forming the Seal of Confrontation.
"Let's turn that into a Seal of Reconciliation."
Turn the Seal of Confrontation into a Seal of Reconciliation?
Those were statues!
"During our fight here in that other parallel world, didn't we make First Hokage-sama and Old Man Madara's statues look as though they were forming the Seal of Reconciliation? Of course, this time we won't blow off one of each other's arms."
"With the Chidori and Rasengan at our current level?"
Sasuke had no idea what kind of craftsman the Second Hokage had hired, but that stone looked exceptionally solid.
"It'll be fine. Kurama will lend us his chakra."
"You still haven't opened his seal. Can you even do that?"
"Then I'll open it now!"
"!!!"
What?!
Sasuke looked even more shocked than he had when Naruto first suggested the prank.
"You colossal idiot! Don't make it sound so simple! He's still the strongest Tailed Beast! What happens if he's only trying to trick you into breaking the seal?"
[This is exactly why I hate the Uchiha!]
Deep within Naruto's mind, the Nine-Tails unhappily slammed his tail against the floor. He clearly did not get along with anyone from Indra's lineage.
When it came to complaining about the Uchiha, he could probably talk to the Second Hokage for an entire day and night.
Naruto gave Kurama an apologetic grin inside the cage while continuing to explain things to Sasuke outside.
"Don't say that, Sasuke. Kurama experienced the life of 'Naruto Uzumaki' from another parallel world just like I did. He stopped being so prejudiced against humans a long time ago."
[Who said I'm not prejudiced against humans?! I'm only willing to place a little trust in you and the Old Man of the Six Paths!]
"Fine, fine. Whatever you say. There's no need to get so angry."
[Hmph.]
This time, Pain had not attacked the village. Naruto had not been driven to utter despair after mastering Senjutsu, nor had the Nine-Tails' chakra forced him toward the seal.
Naruto Uzumaki, who had just celebrated his thirteenth birthday, used his own chakra to cling to the dark-gold cage that had accompanied him for thirteen years and walked upward, one step at a time.
When he finally grasped the corner of the sealing tag, he even flashed the Nine-Tails a broad grin.
The Nine-Tails became a little embarrassed. He twitched his ears and turned his face away.
Naruto slowly tore off the sealing tag that had protected him for thirteen years.
The chakra his dad and mom had left inside him all those years ago should still be there.
Although the mission scroll had already revived both of his parents, Naruto still felt a little excited.
After all, that chakra contained the wills of his father and mother from back then, along with their love and blessings for him.
Pat.
A hand landed on Naruto's shoulder.
It was the chakra Minato Namikaze had left behind.
Since Minato did not need to repair the seal this time, another slender hand wearing a bracelet immediately came to rest on Naruto's other shoulder.
Naruto did not turn around at once.
He had noticed something strange in Kurama's expression.
Reflected in Kurama's enormous, shocked eyes, Naruto saw that the owners of the hands on his shoulders were neither the Fourth Hokage from his memories nor Kannabi Bridge Minato.
Instead...
The figure standing behind him wore white robes similar to those of Grandpa Six Paths, and his hair was as pure white as Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's.
Six Paths Minato?!!
He looked very similar to the Six Paths Minato that Kannabi Bridge Minato had transformed into during their previous prank.
A single horn grew from his forehead. It seemed that every member of the Ōtsutsuki Clan had a differently shaped horn.
Because of that horn, Six Paths Minato's Rinnegan had not appeared in the center of his forehead. Instead, a pair of compound eyes had formed beneath the outer corners of his normal eyes.
The upper eyes were ordinary purple Rinnegan, while the lower eyes were scarlet Rinne Sharingan.
With an appearance like that, it was no wonder even the Nine-Tails was gaping in stunned silence.
Six Paths Minato's hand rested on Naruto's left shoulder.
The person whose hand rested on his right shoulder was...
Ōtsutsuki Kushina?
Unlike Six Paths Minato, Kushina still had long red hair, and her complexion looked more human than his.
However, her eyes had become purple Rinnegan. A crimson Rinne Sharingan rested in the center of her forehead, with horns growing from both sides.
Naruto was completely dumbfounded by their appearance.
"Well, well. You haven't forgotten who we are, have you, dattebane?"
The hand on Naruto's right shoulder raised one finger and poked his cheek.
That playful voice and mischievous behavior could only belong to Kushina Uzumaki.
"Mom?! Dad too?!" It took Naruto a long moment to recover. "Why do you both look like this?! You look just like Grandpa Six Paths and Obito Ōtsutsuki when he suddenly came to our world!"
Minato smiled. "Is it difficult to accept?"
"That's not it! You just completely confused me! Why does Mom look like someone from the Six Paths or the Ōtsutsuki Clan too, instead of only Dad?!"
"Hmm..." Kushina tapped her chin. "That's difficult to explain in only a few words."
[You are not the Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze of this world. You are consciousnesses that traveled here through chakra.]
The Nine-Tails spoke cautiously.
He was apparently so wary of members of the Ōtsutsuki Clan that all the fur on his body looked ready to stand on end.
"Oh my, you look rather cute like that~"
Kushina's comment made the Nine-Tails bare his teeth in displeasure.
Minato affectionately ruffled Naruto's hair and smiled.
"I sealed the cause and effect surrounding us inside your consciousness. Once you've resolved every incident, the seal will break automatically. Everything you want to know is inside."
"Once I've resolved every incident..."
Naruto repeated it to himself several times before finally understanding.
"The mission scrolls?!"
Six Paths Minato nodded slightly.
"Things have deviated somewhat from what we expected, but our original intention was to ensure that you would find happiness afterward."
Kushina pulled the dazed Naruto into her arms.
"No matter what happened in the past, what happens now, or what may happen in the future, you must always live according to your own will, Naruto."
"Live according to my own will...?"
Naruto did not understand what she meant.
However, he instinctively sensed that it was connected to the cause and effect his father had sealed away.
He did not receive an answer at that moment.
He only knew that to uncover the truth, they needed to complete all the SSS-rank missions and assemble "that thing."
The compass.
That was the mission scroll's true ultimate reward.
The two figures disappeared, but Naruto could still feel the lingering warmth of their embrace and the hand stroking his head.
When he returned to his senses, he had already torn off the sealing tag.
The Nine-Tails stepped out of the dark-gold cage. Like any feline or canine, he stretched his front legs, extended each hind leg in turn, gave an enormous stretch, then shook his ears and ruffled the fur across his entire body.
[It really is more comfortable without the cage.]
"Wait, Kurama. Those people just now were..."
Naruto felt as though he had briefly dozed off and dreamed for two or three minutes.
The Nine-Tails looked thoughtful.
He had witnessed what happened, and there truly was a new seal deep within Naruto's mind.
The seal even contained the power of the Six Paths.
[Minato Namikaze is neither a descendant of the Senju nor a member of the Uchiha Clan. Even I cannot explain why he possesses the power of the Six Paths. It seems we can only learn the truth by breaking the seal he left behind.]
"Naruto!"
Sasuke had been standing beside Naruto. When Naruto failed to respond for so long after removing the Nine-Tails' seal, Sasuke grew worried that something had gone wrong.
He used his Mangekyō Sharingan to force his way into the deepest part of Naruto's mind and check on him and the Nine-Tails.
"Sasuke?"
Naruto was still somewhat confused, but one look at Sasuke's eyes told him that he had forced his way inside with the Sharingan.
The moment Sasuke saw that no sealed cage stood between Naruto and the Nine-Tails, he immediately pulled Naruto behind him.
He fixed the Nine-Tails with an intense stare through his Mangekyō Sharingan, as though the slightest suspicious movement would send black flames surging toward him.
[Ah, this is so irritating! This is why I hate those arrogant little brats carrying Indra's chakra!]
The Nine-Tails grumbled, threw a mass of chakra at each of them, and kicked them both out of his rented room.
After being thrown out with Sasuke, Naruto rubbed his short blond hair and complained, "I'm supposed to be the landlord here, you know?"
Still, rent was certainly a wonderful thing.
Naruto could feel so much chakra surging through his body that it seemed ready to overflow, and he could barely contain his excitement.
Sasuke also felt as though his eyes had been enchanted. He could probably use Amaterasu ten times in a row without becoming tired.
Even he had to admit, "As expected of the Nine-Tails."
"Of course! Kurama is Grandpa Six Paths' favorite Tailed Beast~"
By now, Naruto had mastered the special technique required to deal with both Kurama and people like Sasuke.
Simply put, he had grasped the essence of coaxing a tsundere.
A single sentence made the Nine-Tails puff out his little chest and snort proudly through his black nose.
He looked so pleased with himself that even Sasuke Uchiha could not bear to watch.
Naruto temporarily set aside his confusion over Six Paths Minato and Ōtsutsuki Kushina, then joined Sasuke in focusing on their prank.
Sasuke still had no idea how Naruto had talked him into joining.
After considering it carefully, he concluded that the words "You're the only one who can do this" had played a decisive role.
The two carefully avoided everyone's notice and made their way to the tops of Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju's statues...