Postwar

The deepest layer of the tailed beasts' consciousness.

"...Just as I promised Kurama, if I have the ability, I'll definitely free all of you from your seals. What do you think?"

Naruto sat atop the Nine-Tails' head and asked Shukaku across from him.

"Sounds pretty interesting." Shukaku stroked his chin with his claws, speaking with evident interest.

"Kurama, your Jinchuriki is pretty interesting."

"Of course he is. Whose Jinchuriki do you think he is?" Kurama snorted disdainfully.

"Then let's leave it at that for now." Naruto nodded slightly. "The two of you should get to know each other better. Strictly speaking, you're both victims."

"Tch!" Shukaku turned his head aside.

"Let's go, Kurama!" Naruto smiled faintly and said no more.

This was the deepest part of the tailed beasts' minds. During the second exam, Kurama and Shukaku had communicated through this place.

This mental space was also one of the foundations Naruto intended to use to build Dragonborn.

The ability to communicate regardless of distance alone gave Naruto full confidence that he could establish Dragonborn.

Of course, using this mental space was far from easy.

It was simple enough for the tailed beasts. This was originally where they communicated, so entering it posed no difficulty.

But for Jinchuriki, it was quite a challenge.

The challenge could be difficult or simple, depending on one thing—complete, unreserved trust in each other.

This space was the deepest part of the tailed beasts' minds, the deepest part of their souls. Without deep feelings between them, even if the tailed beasts wanted to bring someone in, that person could not enter.

But that suited Naruto perfectly. It could serve as a standard for selection.

First, if someone shared a deep bond with a tailed beast, then no matter how poor their natural talent was, their strength would not be too lacking.

Second, and more importantly, it was a matter of ideals. If their ideals could not align, then even if an organization was forcibly created, it would merely be a disorganized mob, a mob fighting for itself.

Those capable of forming friendships with tailed beasts naturally leaned toward Dragonborn's ideals.

Outside.

Naruto opened his eyes and said to Gaara, "When you have time, try talking to Shukaku more. More than anyone else, the two of you are close."

If Gaara could not form a friendship with Shukaku, then Dragonborn, which had not even been established yet, could be declared bankrupt.

But Naruto believed in Gaara. He believed his own judgment would not be wrong.

Gaara possessed the potential of an asura.

"I understand." Gaara nodded slightly.

Since he had made his decision, no matter how difficult the road ahead became, he would walk it to the end.

"Your teammates are coming." Sensing two chakra signatures gradually approaching from nearby, Naruto suddenly said, "I hope it won't be too long before we meet again."

He did not mention the mental space.

A friendship built on interests was not something he wished to see.

A violent gust swept through, and Naruto vanished into the yellow sands.

Just as Gaara was still pondering what Naruto's words before leaving had meant, Temari and Kankuro rushed over from afar. Seeing that he still had all his limbs, they both breathed sighs of relief.

"Let's go!" Without another word, the two of them hoisted him up.

If Konoha's ninja caught up with them, whether they could escape would still be uncertain.

Temari especially had nearly been crushed to death by some tree or a larger rock if Kankuro had not saved her.

Feeling the breeze brush past his ears and recalling their earlier conversation, Gaara softly said:

"Thank you, Temari, Kankuro..."

"..." Temari and Kankuro looked at each other, both seeing astonishment in the other's eyes.

"...It's nothing. We're family," Temari said.

"You're not dead, are you?" Naruto yanked Shikamaru out from where he was stuck among the branches and woke him.

"Not... not dead yet!" Shikamaru said weakly.

"Good." Naruto helped him over to a patch of shade. "I'll go find the others."

After the battle ended, Naruto suddenly discovered that he could clearly sense everyone else's chakra.

He did not know whether it was due to a deeper fusion with the Nine-Tails' chakra or something else.

His mind was like a radar, able to accurately detect chakra sources across a considerable range. As for exactly how large that range was, he did not yet have a clear idea.

But one thing was certain: finding a few people within this area was incredibly easy.

Kiba with half his body buried in mud, Lee hanging from a tree, Sasuke lying atop a pile of trees, unable to move...

"So, did we succeed or fail this mission?" Kiba asked weakly as he leaned against a rock.

"Leave that for the village to decide." Naruto tore off his tattered upper clothes in one pull.

"Hiss, don't you feel pain?"

The others stared at him in disbelief. They had all been within the blast's range, so how was he the only one acting as though nothing had happened?

"I'm fine." Naruto felt rather fortunate as well. If his injuries had been any worse, this Shadow Clone might not have been able to hold itself together, and Shikamaru and the others would have suffered for it.

As for pain, he had died so many times in his previous life that he could not count them on his fingers. After dying so often, he had come to one conclusion:

As long as it was not fatal, it was a minor injury.

Besides, this body was only a Shadow Clone. Even dying was no big deal.

"Yo, looks like it's over."

The group looked up to see Kakashi, covered in wounds, standing atop a huge boulder and watching them with smiling eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei, how's the situation in the village?" Shikamaru asked.

"It's over. Don't worry." Kakashi smiled.

"You all did well." He looked toward the battlefield in the distance.

They had been able to clearly sense the commotion from this battle even all the way back in Konoha.

"Kakashi-sensei, I bear the primary responsibility for letting the Sunagakure team escape." Shikamaru rose to his feet. He was the squad leader for this operation, so he should bear the responsibility.

"No, you performed excellently." Kakashi shook his head.

Even jonin would not have come away unscathed from a battle of this level. How could he demand too much from a group of children?

"It happened too suddenly, so I couldn't bring any Medical Ninja with me. Sorry about that," Kakashi apologized.

"Kid, I apologize for my reckless judgment in the past. You value your companions and protect them better than anyone." Kakashi walked up to Naruto and bowed deeply.

Everyone watched the scene in confusion. Shikamaru, who knew something of the grudge between the two, merely smiled in understanding.

"It's fine." Naruto shook his head. He had weathered so many storms; such a small matter was not worth keeping in mind.

"Come on, let's head back to the village!"

Kakashi slowly crouched down in front of him.

Naruto looked at his back with a baffled expression and edged away slightly.

Did he look like someone who could not walk?

"Compared to me, Sasuke probably needs help more." Naruto pointed at Sasuke, who had already lost the ability to move.

When Naruto found Sasuke, strange black markings covered most of his body, and his chakra had felt extremely dark and obscure.

If Naruto had not transferred some chakra to him in time, Sasuke might already have been dead.

"Oh, is that so?" Kakashi scratched his head with a smile, then turned and carried his beloved student onto his back.

The group slowly made their way toward Konoha.

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