Farewell, We Will Meet Again

After gaining his freedom, the Nine-Tails could finally move his body as he pleased. He stretched lazily and comfortably, then said to Kushina, "Although I hate the Fourth Hokage, and you're just so-so, Naruto and I get along quite well. I watched that brat grow up, too. Even if you hadn't said anything, I would have protected him. I, Kurama, am not some ungrateful tailed beast!"

Hearing the Nine-Tails' words, Kushina and Minato exchanged smiles. Only with the Nine-Tails protecting him could they truly rest easy. With the Nine-Tails' power, there were practically few beings in the ninja world capable of threatening Naruto's safety. They could leave without worry.

Well, there were few—but he would encounter them sooner or later!

"Then we'll leave him to you, Nine-Tails. We believe in you too!"

Minato and Kushina turned together to face Naruto. The family of three shared one final embrace.

Her eyes filled with deep reluctance, Kushina stroked Naruto's golden hair, so much like Minato's, and said unwillingly, "Naruto, your father's and my chakra are about to run out. Let Mom say a few last things to you."

"Make sure you eat properly, sleep more, and eat lots of vegetables so you can grow taller. Ramen may be delicious, but it isn't very nutritious, so eat less of it."

"Remember the Three Ninja Taboos. Never touch them. Don't drink before you come of age. And if you meet a lecherous old man with a full head of white hair, make sure you teach him a good lesson. Don't let him ruin Hidden Leaf's atmosphere."

"Make lots of friends in the village, and form bonds of your own. As for a girlfriend... Mom believes in your taste. You'll definitely find a beautiful and virtuous girlfriend. It's just a shame that Mom can't stay by your side and watch you grow up slowly. I can't cook for you, can't wait at home for you to return from school, and can't tell you, 'Welcome home.'"

"I can't watch you get married and have children. There are still so, so many things I want to tell you. Time really passes far too quickly. I truly hope we'll have another chance to meet again someday!"

By the end, Kushina could no longer control her emotions. Tears streamed down her face, while both their bodies gradually became transparent—a sign that their chakra was about to run out.

"I almost forgot about you, Minato. You should say a few words to Naruto too!" Only then did Kushina notice that Minato seemed never to have found a chance to speak.

"Naruto, as your father, what I want to say is the same as what your mother said. Grow up well. I hope you can become a free ninja. The two of us spent most of our lives striving for Hidden Leaf's development, yet in the end, we received such treatment. If you want freedom, don't let the fact that you're our child hold you back. Leave Hidden Leaf without hesitation."

"With the Nine-Tails' power, there will surely be a place for you in this vast ninja world. Over all these years, I missed so many of your birthdays. In the end, this is the only gift I can leave you—a belated sentence for all the ones I missed. Happy birthday!"

Minato poured every last bit of his remaining chakra into Naruto's mind. Naruto's brain was suddenly flooded with a massive amount of memories—these were Minato's insights into using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

"Use it well. This is also the bond between father and son!"

A son inheriting his father's work—this was something Minato had always wanted.

Very soon, Minato and Kushina's chakra was nearly gone, and their bodies were about to become completely transparent.

"I understand, Dad, Mom. I'll remember everything you said. Thank you for giving birth to me and bringing me into this world. You're wonderful parents, and as your son, I'm incredibly proud!"

Amid Naruto's sobs, Minato and Kushina smiled in satisfaction. With relieved expressions, they vanished completely.

In the vast sewer, only Naruto and Kurama remained.

With the seal completely removed, Kurama could now fully control this consciousness space.

Seeing Naruto so heartbroken, he made the surrounding space as warm as the sun, giving Naruto's heart a faint trace of warmth.

Naruto was depressed by his parents' departure, and his tears still would not stop falling.

Kurama seemed to transform into a giant fox as he said to Naruto, "It's okay, Naruto. Even though you lost your parents, don't you still have me? I'll be with you from now on. We're best friends!"

As he spoke, he wrapped Naruto in his nine tails. Feeling the gentle warmth radiating from Kurama's tails, Naruto relaxed somewhat.

"Thanks, Kurama. But too much happened today. I think I need to be alone for a while. I'll come see you later!"

Naruto forced down his grief and gave Kurama a gentle smile before leaving Kurama's consciousness space.

After Naruto left, Kurama seemed like an elderly man with an empty nest, instantly looking far lonelier. Lying on the ground, he could not help sighing. "Sigh... Naruto, I hope you can pull yourself together again!"

Returning from the consciousness space to his room, Naruto looked at the plain, simple surroundings and felt that something was missing—a sense of home.

He had originally thought that since he had merely been reborn here, he would not feel the loss of family so deeply.

But he had underestimated the influence of merging with the original Naruto. Or perhaps he had always been an emotional person.

To him, everyone in the world of Naruto was no longer merely a character from a manga or anime. After being reborn into this world, the people here had become so vivid and real that he naturally could no longer treat them like ordinary anime characters.

Minato and Kushina's feelings had been especially sincere, and he had been moved by them to some extent. Sometimes, reason controlled emotions and led to rational thoughts.

Yet his body still reacted on its own, beyond his control.

They had only just left, but Naruto already could not help missing them.

Their final smiles were deeply etched into Naruto's mind. He could tell that beneath those smiles lay deep regret. Since I came to this world, I won't let those regrets happen!

Naruto silently made up his mind. He would definitely revive his father and mother, reunite their family, let them watch him marry and have children, and live happy lives together.

However, every resurrection ninjutsu in the original story came with major restrictions. He had to become even stronger before he could perfectly revive his father and mother.

Thinking of this, Naruto could not help reviewing the resurrection ninjutsu that had appeared in the original story.

First was the one everyone knew best of all—the dream-fulfilling master technique, the Impure World Reincarnation.

Impure World Reincarnation: Created by the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and later developed further by Orochimaru and Kabuto Yakushi. This ninjutsu could summon the souls of deceased ninja back into the world and restore them in physical form. Those revived possessed limitless chakra and immortal bodies, but they would be controlled by the caster.

Even among the forbidden techniques invented by the Second Hokage, this one was incredibly outrageous. The revived not only possessed limitless chakra, but even immortal bodies. Aside from being unable to feel bodily warmth, it was nearly perfect in every other respect. But for Naruto, this technique could be utilized, though he would never use it to revive his parents. If he was going to revive them, he would revive them completely!

Next was the Reincarnation Technique.

Reincarnation Technique: A ninjutsu secretly developed by Sand Country. Using all of the caster's chakra as a medium, it transferred life force to the target. If used on the dead, the caster's chakra would transform the deceased's soul until the caster died.

In the original story, after Gaara had Shukaku extracted by the Akatsuki and lost his tailed beast, he ultimately died in battle. Granny Chiyo once used this technique to revive Gaara.

Then there was the resurrection technique Naruto considered the most perfect: the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.

Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique: A forbidden technique of the Sage of Six Paths, usable only by those who possessed the Rinnegan. After it was used, the light of heavenly life would shine around the deceased targets and revive them. Once revived, the dead would have flesh, blood, and consciousness just as they had in life, without requiring living people as sacrifices for the technique.

This one was truly impressive. After all, it was a ninjutsu inherent to the Rinnegan. However, it had many inconsistencies in the original story. Nagato had once used this move to revive many people who died in Hidden Leaf. Obito had also used it under Black Zetsu's control to revive Madara Uchiha. Yet the conditions and costs changed in both instances, so Naruto did not know the exact details of this technique. Once he awakened the Rinnegan, he could study it himself.

The Box of Ultimate Bliss from the movie.

Box of Ultimate Bliss: Appearing in the movie Blood Prison, it could grant one wish to whoever opened it and could revive the dead, but those revived would already have changed.

There was no need to even think about this one. He could ignore it outright—it was useless.

Next, the Earth Release: Reincarnation Technique.

Earth Release: Reincarnation Technique: Appearing in an anime-original storyline, it used a corpse as a medium and completely reconstructed the dead person's body with earth to revive them as the caster's puppet. The revived dead would be exactly the same as before in appearance, physical ability, and chakra quantity.

This was simply a weakened version of the Impure World Reincarnation, and the revived person was only a puppet. Useless.

Earth Release: Ultimate Creation Technique: Soil of the Dead. The name sounded impressive.

Earth Release: Ultimate Creation Technique: Soil of the Dead: Known as Earth Release's ultimate resurrection technique, it first required soil filled with the aura of corpses, then used that soil to revive the corpses within it as the caster's puppets.

This technique had three drawbacks. The first was that preparing such soil took a great deal of time, though space-time ninjutsu could solve that problem.

The second was that the corpses' movement patterns were overly simplistic and easily seen through. Furthermore, their bodies were constructed from earth particles and the like, so they could be dealt with in a single blow.

As for the third drawback, however many corpses had been in the soil was the maximum number of corpses that could be revived. Moreover, each revived corpse could only be revived once.

The verdict was that it sounded impressive, but in reality, it was still inferior to the Impure World Reincarnation.

The last one, and perhaps the most difficult, was Yin–Yang Release!

Yin–Yang Release: Those who gained the power of the Sage of Six Paths could use Yin–Yang Release. Yin–Yang Release could create all things. After Might Guy opened the Eight Gates, he should have certainly died, but Naruto saved him with Yang Release.

If Yin–Yang Release could be developed to its limit, it was entirely possible to revive people anew.

Among all these methods, Naruto felt that the most likely and safest one was still the Outer Path: Samsara of Heavenly Life Technique.

However, this move required the Rinnegan. But with Naruto's bloodline, it was not impossible for him to cultivate a pair of Rinnegan on his own!

Dad, Mom, wait for me. I will definitely revive you completely. When that time comes, our family can be reunited!

We will meet again!

Naruto lay on his bed and thought for a long time. Finally, he pulled the blanket over himself and fell into a deep sleep.