"It's about time. You should head back."
The crimson figure looked at Naruto and suddenly spoke.
"Huh? Didn't I just get here?" Naruto froze. "And who are you?"
"I told you, you won't remember anything that happens here, so stop asking... right, of course you'd ask. You've already forgotten what I told you."
The crimson figure seemed a little troubled and scratched the back of his head.
"What do you mean?" Naruto tilted his head, looking completely lost.
"Forget it. You're going to forget anyway, so why bother explaining? I've already given you what you need. Go back and figure it out yourself."
The crimson figure thought for a moment, then decided to throw caution to the wind. "I paid a huge price to give you this choice. This is for dealing with the Nine..."
But at that very moment, the crimson figure abruptly vanished.
"Hey, don't disappear halfway through a sentence! And who are you?"
Startled, Naruto hurriedly stood and looked around. Those strange, stuttering images still surrounded him, but almost in the next instant, confusion filled his face. "Huh? Where am I? Why am I here?"
Just then, an incredibly familiar voice sounded in Naruto's ears.
"...Have you snapped out of it yet, Naruto?"
It was Kurama's voice, weak and weary, as though he had called out thousands of times and grown numb to it!
"Kurama? What's wrong?"
Naruto hurriedly called back.
"Have you snapped out of it yet, Naru... huh? Naruto?"
The Nine-Tails, who had been calling out mechanically, suddenly jolted.
"Yeah, it's me. Weren't you calling me?"
Naruto was thoroughly confused.
"You finally snapped out of it, kid? Hey, what happened?"
"I..." Naruto scratched the back of his head, looking blank. "Did something happen?"
Mount Myōboku.
"Patriarch, Little Naruto still hasn't woken up. Has something really