Evacuation

"...Wait."

Mai struggled to prop herself up on one elbow. Her body was still trembling slightly from the exertion of the battle, but she gritted her teeth, raised her head, and stared fixedly at Naruto's back as he prepared to leave. "What do you mean?"

Naruto stopped and glanced back. "I'm not going to kill you. Now that this mess is over, it's about time for me to leave too."

"...Are you serious?"

"You know what kind of person I am, right? Even if I lost to you this time, I still won't stop my plan. I won't give up on the path of unifying the Ninja World."

"Mm, unification sounds pretty good."

Naruto nodded. "Integrating scattered forces, avoiding internal strife, and focusing on the real threat—there's nothing wrong with that idea itself. It's just that I'm not interested. I don't want to be some leader of the Ninja World. So you can probably accomplish what I can't."

"...I have another question."

Satsuki, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke. She stepped forward from Naruto's side. "No matter how I look at it, you're Naruto from another world. Your gender is different, your experiences are different, but deep down, your essence should be the same as Naruto's. Why did your personality become like this? I'm not talking about doing anything for power. What made you decide to become who you are now?"

"...Who knows? Maybe I was just born this way."

"No, I don't believe that." Satsuki's voice was firm and utterly without hesitation. "Naruto couldn't possibly have been born like this. What kind of experiences could turn Naruto into what you are now?"

Mai did not answer. Satsuki's gaze moved away from her face and fell upon the black fragments scattered around her feet.

They were the