Kuro: Minato, you guys aren't dead?!

Naruto seemed to understand something, and the light in his eyes dimmed slightly in an instant:

"Are you... leaving?"

Meeting his reluctant gaze, she nodded calmly.

"I see."

Naruto lowered his head somewhat dejectedly and didn't say anything more.

Seeing Naruto's unusually dejected expression, he almost instinctively reached out and gently ruffled Naruto's short, golden hair.

There's no need for that expression. One day, I will see you again.

"Knowing that you're happy now is enough."

Hearing Koko's words, Naruto's mood inexplicably became even more depressed.

Even though she didn't have a strong impression of the person in front of her, after only a short time together, she had unknowingly opened her heart to him...

That feeling was just like when I first told my parents about myself.

Thinking of this, Naruto couldn't help but feel a deep, indescribable sense of reluctance welling up from the bottom of his heart.

As if suddenly remembering something, he blurted out the question:

"Speaking of which, I haven't asked you yet. What's your name?"

Hearing Naruto's question, Koko remained silent for a moment, then spoke in a low voice:

My name is...

As the sound of knocking faded, his childlike figure began to slowly grow and change under the moonlight, transforming from a boy's tender outline into a tall and robust young man.

With fair skin and a tall, straight figure, his long black hair was casually tied into a small braid at the back of his head, with a few stray strands falling across his forehead, giving his handsome face a touch of innate, unruly roguish charm.

Koko looked down at Naruto, the smile on his lips appearing exceptionally gentle under the full moon's glow.

At this moment, Naruto's entire gaze was drawn to his eyes.

Those were a pair of scarlet eyes, and within their deep pupils, Mangekyo of immense power was slowly rotating.

"... Uchiha Kuro, this is my name."

Looking at Naruto before him, Naruto was gradually closing his eyes and falling into a deep sleep under the influence of the Mangekyō Sharingan, his tone carried a hint of bitterness and helplessness:

"Although it might disappoint you, I'm sorry to say, but I'm just that kind of untrustworthy person."

He muttered to himself as he activated the Mangekyo Dōjutsu in his right eye.

Inari God, has been activated!

"Remember this lesson, Naruto... Don't walk alone at night anymore."

The moment the Dōjutsu was activated, Naruto's Chakra was displayed before his eyes without reservation.

That vast, pure Chakra, brimming with vibrant life force, undoubtedly demonstrates Naruto's powerful bloodline as a descendant of the Uzumaki Clan!

Mixed within that was an even larger, more violent Chakra, glowing with a blinding red light.

"... The Nine-Tails 'Chakra?"

Kou instantly recognized the source of the Chakra, a thoughtful look flashing in his eyes:

"If we collect all the Chakra of the Nine Tailed Beasts, is it possible to try to cultivate a prototype of the Ten-Tails within our bodies?"

"The Nine Tailed Beasts were originally separated from the Ten-Tails by the Sage of Six Paths. If there's a way to re-fuse their Chakra, it might be possible to create a miniature Ten-Tails out of thin air... who knows..."

After all, he could see the Ten-Tails ' hull— the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path —at any time at the Akatsuki's base.

While pondering this audacious idea in his mind, Koko continued to urge the Inari God, probing deeper into Naruto's body with his senses.

Then, he sensed it.

Deep within that area, enveloped by layers of Nine-Tails Chakra, there seemed to be two extremely subtle forces that belonged neither to Naruto nor to the Nine-Tails.

Kou's brows furrowed slightly, and a hint of doubt flashed in his eyes.

These two forces felt very familiar to him, yet they were not unlike the trace of Asura Chakra he had absorbed from the Great Ori Cutter.

Could there be an unknown, undiscovered power hidden within Naruto?

With this in mind, Kou could no longer suppress his curiosity, and immediately activated his eye power, probing his consciousness into Naruto's inner world...

"Let me see what it is..."

He whispered to himself, then sensed that his consciousness had passed through the crimson barrier made of the Nine-Tails Chakra and was slowly descending into a strange space he had never set foot in before.

After a long while, he slowly opened his eyes.

What comes into view is a vast space spread out by a soft halo of blue and white light.

Boundless and serene, it's like standing atop a mountain peak above a sea of clouds, giving one an unconscious sense of tranquility as if gently enveloped.

However, looking at this space, which was completely different from the dark and damp Nine-Tails's sealed cage in his memory, the confusion in his eyes did not dissipate, but instead deepened.

"The cage that seals the Nine-Tails shouldn't look like this!"

Looking at the unfamiliar space before him, his heart sank.

The space before him was so different from the scenes he knew from the original timeline that it caused that vague unease in his heart to begin to spread silently again.

"What exactly is going on? What happened to Naruto...?"

"Who let you in, Uchiha Clan brat?!"

Just as Kou looked around and fell into deep thought, a deafening roar of a wild beast suddenly exploded from not far away without warning.

Knock! He turned around abruptly in response to the sound, and what came into view was a huge golden prison door that seemed to connect the entire space and the heavens.

Inside that cell door, a colossal, bright orange creature pressed its hideous face tightly against the gap in the bars.

Nine enormous tails, blotting out the sky, lashed wildly behind it, and its beastly eyes, filled with hatred, stared intently at Kou's eyes, filled with murderous intent.

"Those eyes! Those eyes!! Damn it... Uchiha!!"

The Nine-Tails- Tailed Fox roared angrily, suddenly raising its claw, which was larger than the entire body of the creature, and slammed it wildly towards the prison door.

Kouchi stared expressionlessly at the colossal beast before him, and just as its giant claw was about to touch the prison door, he met the eyes of the Nine-Tails.

Two clear Mangekyo patterns suddenly appeared in the Nine-Tails Fox's beastly eyes, which were originally filled with killing intent and hatred.

The giant claw, carrying terrifying power, froze in mid-air, its massive body momentarily still, unable to move forward an inch no matter how much it struggled.

"Quiet down, you beast who can't see the situation."

"Make sure you're breathing on the right person before you do it! I don't owe you anything, and I'm not going to tolerate your bad habit!"

If you keep breathing on me, I'll turn you into cat treats and feed you to my cook!

Kou spoke coldly, then temporarily shifted his gaze away from the Nine-Tails, which was still desperately trying to break free of control but to no avail.

While the allure of the Nine-Tails Chakra is undeniable, the most pressing matter at hand is to uncover the true source of those two strange powers.

After all, now that he possesses the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, he can obtain the Tailed Beast Chakra whenever he wants.

However, just as Kou was about to turn around and continue searching for the two forces in this space, a gentle, almost unreal, voice suddenly came from behind him.

"To think they could control the Nine-Tails so easily... those eyes, they must be the Mangekyō Sharingan."

You've really gotten stronger, knock.

The moment he heard that gentle voice, Kou froze on the spot.

The calmness and composure that had been in those Mangekyō Sharingan had completely vanished at that moment.

"How... how is this possible?"

Knock almost instinctively drew his gaze to the massive prison door that sealed the Nine-Tails Fox.

The talisman representing the foundation of the seal was still perfectly affixed to the center of the cell door. Logically speaking, the figure he thought he would never see again in this life should never appear in this space again!

"Hey, Kou! What are you pretending to be so profound for! Turn around right now and let us see what you look like now!"

Just as his mind was in complete chaos, a familiar, brighter female voice came from the same direction, carrying a hint of impatience and complaint:

"Oh, right, you really need to explain to us what happened when you used Genjutsu on our Naruto!"

And why did you leave Konoha, and why did you join that Akatsuki...?

Ah! In short, we have a ton of questions for you, so be prepared!

Hearing the two familiar voices behind him, voices he thought he would never hear again in his life, he froze on the spot, not knowing what to do.

All of this happened so suddenly that he had no time to think about the current situation.

Kou's breathing had become rapid and disordered without her realizing it, and then she suddenly turned her head away.

Where the blue-white halo intertwined with the soft light of the sky, a man and a woman stood side by side behind Kou.

The blond youth wearing the Hokage robe was gently holding the hand of the red-haired woman beside him.

Minato looked at the black-haired youth before him, whose eyes were filled with disbelief. A warm smile, exactly the same as the one he remembered, slowly bloomed on that still-young face.

"Long time no see, knock."

He gazed at that familiar blond figure, at that gentle, smiling face he thought he would never see again in his life.

Those Mangekyō Sharingan, capable of seeing through every flaw in an instant, were now filled with shock that he couldn't suppress.

"Really...?"

Looking at Minato Kushina across from him, he subconsciously murmured:

"You, you guys... you're not dead?!"