Naruto was not entirely happy with his abyssal python form. Deep down, he had hoped to transform into an eastern Divine Dragon. After all, he had been Chinese in both his previous lives, and he had an innate longing for Divine Dragons.
Naruto withdrew his dragon source power and returned to human form, muttering, "I'd better avoid using this transformation. It's disgusting. No wonder I never saw Sasuke use the Sacred Dragon Transformation after he reached the fourth stage. So the fourth stage turns you into a snake. Gross."
Naruto was being a little unfair to Sasuke. Sasuke's Heaven-Swallowing Python form targeted souls, unlike Naruto's abyssal python, which targeted the physical body. After mastering the fourth transformation, Sasuke had joined Naruto in fighting Thanatos. Thanatos was the Death God, and most of his attacks targeted the soul. His own soul was also far stronger than Sasuke's. If Sasuke had used that transformation against Thanatos, not only would he have failed to hurt him, but Thanatos might well have killed him instead. That was why Sasuke had never used it during their battle.
Naruto walked out of the cave and spotted Jiraiya, Young Sasuke, and Boruto. Young Sasuke looked familiar, but Naruto did not recognize him. As for Boruto, Naruto felt something special about him that he could not explain. He only thought the boy looked remarkably like him. Could he be Minato's illegitimate son, born behind Kushina's back? Naruto thought wickedly.
Seeing Naruto emerge, Jiraiya smiled. "Naruto, you're out. How did it go?"
Naruto grinned. "Heh, I did it. I broke through the third transformation and reached the fourth."
Hearing that Naruto had broken through the third transformation, Jiraiya felt genuinely happy for him. He smiled and asked, "That's good. Shall we head back to the village now?"
The mention