"So… that's how it is."
At the dining table, Kaoru still felt a sense of unreality as she looked at Naruko beside her.
Because of the so-called Dragon Vein, Hyūga Hinata had come here.
Then Namikaze Minato and Uzumaki Kushina.
And now—even her own future, alternate-world daughter had appeared as well…
Who would be next?
Her and Kyusei's parents?
The God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama?
The Asura of the Ninja World, Uchiha Madara?
And that man—Hyakuzoku.
Just who was he?
Every time someone crossed worlds, it was because of him.
How terrifyingly powerful did he have to be for Konoha in every world to target him like this?
"Yes. Kakashi-sensei and I were caught in the Dragon Vein by Hyakuzoku's desperate counterattack when he was dying,"
Naruko explained softly.
"When we broke free of the Dragon Vein, we were already here."
Kaoru looked at Naruko, her gaze growing complicated.
From Naruko's reactions, she could already guess what the future looked like.
Naruko didn't recognize her.
And there was an unspoken distance between Naruko and Kyusei.
So that meant—
She and Kyusei… were dead?
Kaoru's eyes dimmed for a brief moment.
But she quickly forced herself to smile and picked up a spoon.
"Here, Naruko. Try this. It's my favorite dish."
She scooped a spoonful of tomato-and-egg stir-fry into Naruko's bowl.
Naruko was silent as she picked up a piece of egg with her chopsticks and put it into her mouth.
Sour.
Sweet.
Delicious.
It was the first time she had ever tasted food cooked by Kyusei.
Kyusei quietly watched Naruko as she ate.
He didn't understand.
Why was Naruko an orphan?
In her world, he was also male—so why was the Nine-Tails sealed inside Naruko?
And why had Kaoru died…?
Was fourteen-year-old Uchiha Obito really that strong?
Had twenty-four-year-old him really had the Nine-Tails torn out of his body?
Did the Sharingan truly hard-counter tailed beasts to that extent?
No matter how he thought about it, even if his future self had lived carelessly, with Kushina's—no, his—talent, his sealing techniques should have been unrivaled in the ninja world at that time.
Even if Kaoru had temporarily lost combat strength due to childbirth, was he really weaker than a fourteen-year-old Obito?
And on top of that, there had been Sarutobi Hiruzen—over fifty years old at the time.
Even with age weakening him, Hiruzen at sixty-nine had still managed to fight the reanimated First and Second Hokage and Orochimaru to mutual destruction using only his hands.
A fifty-seven-year-old Hiruzen should have been even stronger.
No matter how he looked at it, the outcome made no sense.
Inside Kyusei's body, the Nine-Tails stared intently at the blonde girl through Kyusei's eyes.
He could sense it.
Inside that human girl's body was another him.
A broken, incomplete version.
He had been forcibly split apart by an extremely powerful sealing technique—yin and yang divided.
Only the yang half of him existed inside Naruko.
And its strength was barely half of his peak.
Who could possibly divide the strongest tailed beast like that?
Was it… Kyusei?
Kyusei looked calmly at Naruko, but in truth, he was staring past her—
into the sewer-like cage where the other Nine-Tails resided.
He wanted to know.
He desperately wanted to know the truth behind this future that diverged yet still followed the original storyline.
This wasn't just curiosity anymore.
This was about his future.
He wanted to change it.
He didn't want to die.
He didn't want Kaoru to die.
He wanted to live.
To live together with Kaoru.
And among everyone present—
There was one existence who knew everything from beginning to end.
The Nine-Tails who knew the truth.
—
Outside the Hokage Tower, Hatake Sakumo glanced at Kakashi beside him, then at the night sky, and let out a soft laugh.
"What are you laughing about?"
Kakashi asked, looking at the father who was now younger than him.
"Even though I've already met people from other worlds,"
Sakumo said lightly,
"your appearance still feels… unreal."
"I see…"
Kakashi chuckled as well, his visible eye curving into a crescent.
"Then… want to grab a drink?"
Sakumo gave him a helpless look.
"Forget it. I still have to take care of you."
Kakashi was momentarily confused—then understood.
The you Sakumo referred to wasn't the thirty-year-old him.
It was the two-year-old Kakashi in this world.
"…Yeah. That can't be helped."
Sakumo rested a hand on Kakashi's shoulder, his gaze gentle.
"Kakashi, would you like to tell me about the years you've lived through?"
"If you don't mind."
Kakashi looked at that hand on his shoulder.
At thirty years old, he suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to cry.
His father's suicide after being falsely accused.
The death of comrades he trusted with his life.
The girl who loved him, dying by his own hand to protect the village.
His teacher sacrificing himself for Konoha.
All of it had crushed him, leaving him barely able to breathe.
He thought he had already let it all go.
But now—
Facing the man he had admired since childhood—
Kakashi wiped at the corner of his eye and smiled.
"…Alright."
—
Inside the sealing space.
"Brat, why should I help you?"
The Nine-Tails glared at Kyusei sitting on his snout, full of resistance.
"Come on, Little Nine, aren't you curious too?"
Kyusei said casually.
"Not to brag, but with my talent, who could rip you out of me when I'm in my twenties?"
The Nine-Tails snorted.
"Even if that happens, I'd just get a new jinchūriki."
"At least then I wouldn't have to see you anymore."
"You're just afraid of dying."
Kyusei's little scheme was obvious.
"Think about it, Little Nine,"
Kyusei continued, smiling.
"There are only a few ways in this world to extract a tailed beast."
"Other than my Uzumaki sealing techniques and some third-rate trash methods,"
"what kind of power could tear you out of me when I'm in my prime?"
He spoke lightly, but each word hit home.
The Nine-Tails' pupils shrank violently.
Mangekyō Sharingan.
He thought of that man.
The one who had once controlled him with those eyes and forced him to fight Senju Hashirama.
An overwhelming, irresistible power.
Would another like him appear in the future?
The Nine-Tails stared deeply at Kyusei, his voice low.
"…Fine."
"I'll communicate with the version of myself inside Uzumaki Naruko."
"But, brat—this is the only time I'll help you."
Kyusei smiled and gently rubbed the Nine-Tails' fur.
"Little Nine… someday, we'll truly become partners."
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