Parents

Little Naruto felt very excited. Subconsciously, he understood that the nine figures behind him seemed to have signed some kind of Summoning Contract with him.

For Little Naruto, having any new companion is an incredibly joyful and happy thing.

He had been alone since childhood, so every time he gained a new companion, every time someone was willing to stand by his side, he felt as if someone had lit a lamp in his heart, one by one, illuminating all the dark corners.

Little Naruto wanted to try out the Summoning Contract he had obtained, but he noticed that Little Sasuke Little Naruto a little anxious.

Little Sasuke's greatest desire right now is to see his parents, the image that has appeared countless times in his dreams, only to leave him with his pillow covered in tears upon waking—a wish he thought he could never fulfill in this lifetime, which is now about to become a reality.

He didn't want to waste any more time, didn't want to hear any more unnecessary words, and didn't want to wait another second.

The next moment, the nine Face-Beast floated up from their respective positions, and then one by one they transformed into a stream of energy and flew back into Little Naruto's body.

"Um... let's go then!"

Little Naruto's gaze shifted to Satsuki, and his face flushed again. "Thank you! Big Satsuki! I... I promise I won't let you down in the future!"

"Yes. I believe you."

Little Naruto blushed and thanked Satsuki, Satsuki responded with utmost tenderness—a tenderness that wasn't just politeness, but came from the bottom of his heart.

This warmed Little Naruto's heart, but also left him feeling somewhat lost.

Unlike Sakura... Sakura was very mean to him, calling him an "idiot" all the time and punching him on the head all the time.

The woman in front of him was exactly his ideal type; she was so gentle, so considerate, and so patient with him.

But... the other person is already married. Thinking of this, Little Naruto felt a pang of sadness. With this sense of loss, he followed the group towards the direction where the four resurrected people were.

"Oh right, the other me."

Big Naruto broke the silence, "Have you already become Jiraiya's student?"

"Pervy Sage?"

Little Naruto's lips curled down slightly. "I guess so... Even though he's a lecherous and indecent guy who's always peeping into the women's bathroom, he's still pretty strong... But why do you respect that guy so much?"

Little Naruto asked curiously. Jiraiya had taught him Summoning Jutsu and the Rasengan. Those things were indeed very powerful, and he really wanted to try to respect that Pervy Sage.

But every time he saw Jiraiya flirting with women on the street, every time he saw him drunk and passed out on the roadside, every time he saw him lecherously peeping at women taking a bath and then being chased and beaten, he couldn't bring himself to respect him.

"... It might be a personality issue."

"However, what I want to say is, in the future, do not let Jiraiya-sensei go out of the village Jiraiya to spy on Rain Village."

"... Huh?"

"Probably in three years. But with our intervention, it's hard to say. That will be the moment of Jiraiya- sensei's death in the original timeline."

"What?!"

Little Naruto's voice suddenly rose, "The Pervy Sage will die?!"

"I absolutely will not allow that to happen!"

Then, Little Naruto started talking non-stop, his mouth like a wound-up toy, constantly asking questions.

He asked Big Naruto Jiraiya when, where, who killed, and how Jiraiya died, whether there was any way to save him, what preparations needed to be made, whether it was necessary to go to Rain Village beforehand to find the enemy, and whether...

He asked one question after another, and before one question was even finished, the next one had already popped out of his mouth, his face full of urgency and anxiety.

Little Naruto looks down on Jiraiya, but if Jiraiya is really in danger, Little Naruto is definitely the one who's most anxious.

He's the kind of person who would absolutely disregard everything and risk his life to rush over, the kind of person who would get angry at anyone who tries to stop him. His disdain is genuine, and so is his worry.

... Could this be considered a form of tsundere (a person's haughty or arrogant demeanor)?

"Dad! Mom!"

Little Sasuke's steps faltered the moment he uttered those two words. He stared intently at the two faces he thought he would never see again in his life, faces whose outlines he could only vaguely see in his dreams, and whose pillows were covered in tears when he woke up.

His mind was blank; he couldn't think of anything, and didn't want to think of anything. Only one thought was pounding wildly in his chest: faster, faster.

During the inquiry, the group had already reached their destination.

Fugaku Uchiha and Minato Namikaze stood together, talking, while their eyes scanned the surrounding environment, trying to find some clues in the unfamiliar scenery.

They were trying to figure out their situation: why were they suddenly here? Where was this place? Fugaku remembered that he had died long ago, on the night of the massacre of his clan, by his own son's sword.

Minato also remembered that he had died long ago, on the night of the Nine-Tails Rebellion. Their bodies were warm, their heartbeats were real, and their breathing was free.

This doesn't look like Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation). What's going on?

Mikoto Uchiha and Kushina Uzumaki stood slightly behind, their faces completely blank. They had no idea where they were or what had happened.

But in their eyes, there was a clear, undisguised longing and yearning.

Little Sasuke's call immediately attracted Mikoto Uchiha. Her body stiffened abruptly, and her gaze, as if drawn by a magnet, locked onto the boy running towards her.

The boy was much taller than she remembered, and the features of his face had changed from round to angular. He was her youngest son, the last person she couldn't let go of before she died.

And in the instant he rushed into his mother's arms, Little Sasuke realized that he was perhaps more vulnerable than he had imagined.

He was just thinking about controlling his emotions, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of Naruto, and trying to act more mature and calm, like a grown-up man who doesn't need his mother's worry.

But now, all of that is out of his mind. He only has one thing on his mind: to hug the family he thought he would never see again.

Mikoto Uchiha didn't ask any questions. She simply opened her arms and hugged her youngest son, who had rushed into her embrace and was crying incessantly, very tightly.

Little Naruto was a little dumbfounded.

He didn't quite understand this feeling—the feeling of having once possessed something, then losing it, thinking he would never see it again, only to suddenly have it back.

He had never had parents, never experienced the pain of loss, and never felt the joy of reunion.

So Sasuke can cry like this too?

Little Naruto thought to himself that Sasuke was proud, strong, and the kind of person who would never bow his head, admit defeat, or show weakness in front of others, no matter what happened.

But now, the proud Sasuke is crying like a child, crying so pitifully and so vulnerablely. But Little Naruto doesn't want to laugh at him; instead, he feels a sense of anxious and helpless heartache.

Little Naruto stepped forward, as if to do something. Perhaps he wanted to pat Sasuke on the shoulder, or perhaps he just wanted to stand beside him and let Sasuke know he wasn't alone. His foot had just lifted, not yet touching the ground.

Then he felt two gazes.

One was from the Fourth Hokage, a hero whose face was carved on the Hokage Rock. The other was from a red-haired woman who looked very young and beautiful. His gaze moved from the woman to the Fourth Hokage, and then back again. The expression on his face changed from blank to confused, and from confused to guilty.

Little Naruto was a little confused as to why such an important person was looking at him with such a strange gaze.

He thought about it carefully, and realized he couldn't recall ever offending the Fourth Hokage.

... Could something like a soul really exist? Little Naruto suddenly remembered something. When he was a child, in order to attract other people's attention and to make those who ignored him take a second look at him, he often did some outrageous things.

The Hokage Rock is one of them, and among the four portraits, the Fourth Hokage is his favorite to graffiti.

"Who are you..."

Minato Namikaze's voice trembled as he stared intently at Little Naruto. He raised his hand, then lowered it, then raised it again, then lowered it again.

But Naruto felt he couldn't lose face. He secretly cheered himself up, telling himself, "You are Uzumaki Naruto, you are the man who will become Hokage." So, he decided to introduce himself first, since the other party was also the Hokage, and he should show proper courtesy.

He puffed out his chest, mimicking Jiraiya's entrance pose, and began to speak.

"Ahem... Listen carefully to what I have to say."

"I was born in Konoha Village, in the Land of Fire, right here in Ichiraku Ramen. My surname is Uzumaki, and my given name is Naruto. People call me—"

Little Naruto stopped abruptly at this point.

It wasn't because he was stuck, but because an embrace was so tight he couldn't breathe.

The red-haired woman suddenly rushed in front of him, so fast that he didn't even see her shadow.

She wrapped her arms tightly around his body, holding him completely in her embrace.

Little Naruto was surprised and tried to struggle. His body moved instinctively, and his arms tried to pull out of the embrace—then, an incredibly loving voice came from above his head.

"Naruto... my child..."

That was an emotion that Little Naruto had never heard before, nor had he ever felt in anyone's voice—an emotion that wanted to pour all his love into it.

"I've always... really wanted to see you."

(The scene where the parents meet has already been described, so I won't go into detail.)