Naruto blinked… or at least he thought he did. The darkness around him felt soft, like a thick fog that stretched infinitely. He could hear a faint hum — not the sound of the wind, not even of the world he knew. It was… nothing and everything at once.
"Where… am I?" he whispered, his voice echoing strangely.
Suddenly, a warm light appeared in the distance. It pulsed gently, like a heartbeat. Naruto's steps felt heavy and light at the same time, as if gravity had forgotten him.
From the glow, figures emerged. At first, they were blurry, but the shapes slowly became familiar… too familiar.
"Minato? Kushina?" Naruto's voice cracked.
"Yes, Naruto," his father said, smiling, just like in his memories, yet somehow different. "You've come a long way."
Kushina stepped forward, her hand reaching out. "We're proud of you, my son." Her voice trembled, filled with the warmth Naruto had always craved.
Naruto's chest tightened. "I… I'm not dead, am I?"
"You're not," Minato answered. "You're in a place between worlds, where time doesn't work as it does in your world. Here, you can face what you've lost, what you fear, and what you carry in your heart."
Before he could respond, another figure appeared — Jiraiya, his sensei. "Heh… so you finally got stuck in the in-between, huh?" he said, his usual grin uneven, more ethereal. "Don't worry, Naruto. You've got the guts to handle this… but it won't be easy."
Naruto's mind spun. So this is… some kind of dream? But it felt too real. The emotions, the voices, the warmth of his parents… he could feel it all, more intensely than any memory.
"Why am I here?" Naruto asked. "What is this place?"
"It's a world shaped by your own consciousness," Jiraiya said. "You're not alive like you used to be, but you're not dead either. You have a chance to face the things you've never faced… and to find the answers you've been running from."
Naruto's eyes drifted to the horizon. Shapes of other figures, memories, and shadows flickered. Somewhere, he thought he could see Hinata, faint and glowing, standing far away.
"Then… I have to go to her," he whispered. "I have to… make sure she's safe."
Minato placed a hand on his shoulder. "You will, Naruto. But first… you must understand yourself. Only then will you truly know how to protect the ones you love."
As the light pulsed around him, Naruto took a deep breath. He didn't know how long he'd be here, or if he could return to the living world. But one thing was clear: this journey had already