Naruto: The Nine-Tails' Legacy

Breathing heavily from the exhaustion, Sasuke slowly exhaled and steadied his breathing before lowering Sakura from his back.

His movements were surprisingly gentle.

He was also mindful of her condition.

Sakura had truly suffered along the way.

Her pink hair stood completely on end.

Her body was nearly numb from the constant electrical stimulation.

Pain, exhaustion, and paralysis were all piling up at once.

Sasuke could easily tell how difficult it had been for her.

After all, he had noticed halfway through the journey that the girl on his back had been silently crying from the pain the entire time.

Yet she hadn't complained once.

Not a single word.

Afraid of distracting him.

Sasuke had no idea Sakura had essentially hypnotized herself.

Feeling a trace of guilt, he carefully laid her flat on the ground.

Tears still streamed from her eyes as she shakily raised a trembling hand numbed by electricity.

"We have to... wait for a boat... over there..."

"There's no need for a boat."

"You... should rest."

Sasuke tried to soften his tone.

Just a little.

Because right now he needed to recover as quickly as possible.

After speaking, he offered no further explanation.

Instead, he sat cross-legged where he was and began restoring his chakra while silently calculating the time.

Roughly three minutes later—

The next ten-minute interval arrived.

Naruto appeared beside him.

Sasuke immediately looked toward the sea.

"...That bridge."

Following his gaze, Naruto instantly understood.

He walked over and placed a hand on Sakura.

Then looked up at Sasuke.

"I'll take her back to the village first."

"Be careful."

"I... can still help..."

Sakura muttered weakly.

Her eyes remained fixed on the distant sea.

But Sasuke had already risen.

Now that Naruto was here, there was no reason for him to stay.

Without needing to worry about anyone else, he activated Lightning Release: Lightning Flash once more.

Gathering chakra into his legs, he stepped directly onto the ocean surface.

Boom!

Lightning chakra erupted.

Sasuke transformed into a streak of lightning racing across the sea.

The tremendous force of his acceleration even split the water beneath him.

The sight deeply imprinted itself into Sakura's mind.

Even though she couldn't clearly see his figure—

She could tell at a glance.

He was far faster than before.

Much faster than when he had been carrying her.

I was holding him back...?

The realization struck her like a hammer.

The mental pressure she had been suppressing all this time finally began to crack.

Fatigue.

Pain.

Exhaustion.

Everything surged back at once.

Her consciousness started to blur.

Whoosh.

In the next instant, her vision flashed.

The scenery around her completely changed.

"Naruto-kun... Sakura is...?"

Inside Konoha Hospital, Hinata immediately turned around after hearing the disturbance behind her.

She had been speaking with medical staff regarding Kiba's condition.

"She's reached her limit too."

Naruto gently placed Sakura on a bench in the hallway before turning toward Hinata.

"I... I..."

"Don't push yourself."

"Your injuries aren't serious, but your physical condition is already severely exhausted."

Working together with the medical staff, Hinata quickly arranged treatment for Sakura before looking back at Naruto.

"I need to contact their families as soon as possible."

"Kiba is already in emergency care. His life isn't in danger for now."

"Akamaru is actually the bigger concern."

"The doctors said members of the Inuzuka Clan understand ninja dog treatment better than they do."

"Is there anything you need me to do?"

"No."

Hinata shook her head.

"Leave everything here to me."

"You should go do what you need to do."

After giving Naruto a small nod, Hinata immediately turned away.

She carefully discussed Sakura's condition with the medical staff, gave additional instructions, and then hurried off to contact their families.

Naruto watched her departing figure.

For a moment, he froze.

Then he seemed to understand what Hinata wanted to tell him.

Quietly, he answered:

"Yeah."

"So this is what Sakura was like when she was younger?"

"Or is it just because Sasuke isn't around?"

Inside Naruto's mindscape, Kurama and Minato had practically become two retired old men spending their days chatting.

"You know her too, Kurama?"

Minato asked curiously.

"Know her?"

Kurama snorted.

"Far more than that."

"In the future I experienced, Sakura was one of Naruto's original teammates."

"She also became Sasuke's wife."

"Really?"

Minato looked genuinely surprised.

"At that age she was just as obsessed with Sasuke as she is now."

"But... back then Naruto liked her too."

Kurama scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"How should I put it..."

"Because of my influence, a lot of people kept their distance from Naruto or outright hated him."

"But Sakura was different."

"She wasn't especially fond of him."

"But she never looked at him with hostility either."

As soon as the topic shifted to the old Team Seven, Kurama suddenly became talkative.

Every detail of Naruto's past seemed etched into his memory.

Why does this sound so familiar?

Listening to Kurama's description, Minato couldn't help but think of his own old team.

Obito.

Rin.

The similarities were hard to ignore.

Then Minato noticed something else.

A smile appeared on his face.

Kurama always says he can't remember certain things clearly anymore.

Yet every memory involving Naruto becomes more detailed each time he talks about it.

And so Minato listened quietly as Kurama recounted stories of the old Team Seven.

They also discussed the current mission in the Land of Waves.

Their conclusion was the same:

Do not interfere.

Let Naruto handle it himself.

It wasn't because they didn't understand Naruto's feelings.

Quite the opposite.

They understood them perfectly.

Even the pure white space of Naruto's inner world had begun to distort slightly.

That alone revealed the depth of his anger.

They could clearly see his emotional state.

But both of them had lived through far too much.

Situations like this would happen again.

And again.

And again.

Especially after learning certain details, Minato had already realized that something about this situation felt suspicious.

More importantly—

Both Minato and Kurama believed that Naruto was fully capable of handling this himself.

He didn't need them stepping in.

Over the years, Minato felt he had already made most of the preparations he could.

Now all that remained was waiting for Jiraiya's response.

And for Kurama to solve the issue of the Shinigami as confidently as he kept claiming he would.

Kurama felt much the same.

Though he never openly said it, he had clearly begun preparing for events to unfold naturally.

"Oh right."

Kurama suddenly remembered something.

"That new technique you mentioned before."

"The one you said you hadn't fully figured out yet."

"You still remember that?"

Minato looked surprised.

"Hmph."

"Why wouldn't I?"

"Don't tell me you were making it up?"

"No, no."

Minato laughed awkwardly.

"I've already figured it out."

"It's actually a technique perfectly suited for Naruto."

"I'm planning to teach it to him soon."

"The only problem is the name."

"..."

Kurama stared at him.

Then deadpanned:

"How about letting Naruto name it himself?"

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