"Kushina, don't worry. Hirohiko will be fine..."
"I know... but..."
"Don't worry. Hirohiko is a kind, strong child. He won't..."
"But... I'm still worried..."
Fragmented voices kept ringing through his gradually awakening consciousness.
That was... Teacher Kushina...
And Teacher Minato? Were they safe now? As his consciousness gradually cleared, he immediately recognized whose voices those fragmented words belonged to.
Were they worried about me? It's okay now, Teacher Kushina. It's okay. I've already woken up, and I don't feel any pain anymore.
What mattered now were Chiba and Yukina. How were they?
Were they okay? As his consciousness fully awakened, those were the first thoughts that came to him.
"Mm!"
Then, as those thoughts flashed through his mind, the boy gave a soft groan and slowly opened his eyes.
What came into view was a sky full of stars, a round moon, and the vast open heavens.
"Hirohiko, you're awake?"
Then, that open sky was instantly filled by a beautiful face.
"Teacher Kushina..."
Hirohiko, having opened his eyes, looked at the face that nearly occupied his entire field of vision. Still somewhat dazed, he called out softly.
"Where are we?"
Then, those words slipped from his mouth.
"Do you feel anything wrong anywhere? Any pain or discomfort?"
However, his question received no answer. Instead, another voice interrupted him. At the same time, the beautiful face in his vision clearly pulled back, and as it did, Hirohiko felt his shoulders tighten as someone helped him sit up.
Pain?
Discomfort? Hm? Wait, what's going on?
Why does my body feel so light? And when did my Chakra recover?
Not only was there no pain, it seemed that even my external and internal injuries had healed. Not only had they healed, my Chakra had recovered to around eighty... no, ninety percent! What happened?