An IF route?
Before anyone could fully process Jiraiya's fall, their attention was immediately drawn to this so-called IF route. It wasn't unfamiliar territory—there had already been a similar video before.
The one where Seventh Hokage Uzumaki Naruto had come to save the Fourth Hokage and his wife.
Could this one be the same?
A flicker of hope rose in everyone's hearts. If it were possible, then of course they wanted Jiraiya to be saved.
["Jiraiya-sensei… this time, I'll protect you."]
A new video appeared in the diary. Everyone tensed and opened it at once.
The moment it began, the scene picked up exactly where it had left off—Naraka Path launching a rocket-like punch straight at Jiraiya.
Even though they had already seen it once, their hearts still clenched.
Then, suddenly—
A hand shot out and smashed the attack aside.
"Reinforcements?" Deva Path spoke.
"Pervy Sage, this time, I've got your back!"
As Jiraiya's consciousness began to fade, he heard a voice by his ear—
Uzumaki Naruto.
A boy of about fifteen or sixteen appeared before them, fresh from the Fourth Great Ninja War.
"Uzumaki Naruto…"
Deva Path recognized him at once, though confusion flickered through his mind.
Why was he here?
Still, this saved him the trouble of tracking him down.
"Convenient. Saves me the effort of finding you."
"Toad Sage, get Pervy Sage somewhere safe. Leave the rest to me!"
In that instant, Uzumaki Naruto used Six Paths Yang Power to heal Jiraiya's injuries, pulling him back from the brink of death.
"Got it!"
Fukasaku responded immediately, dispelling the summoning.
"So it's another rescue scenario… but this isn't the same Naruto as last time."
Hatake Kakashi studied him closely. This Naruto looked only three or four years older than the current one, standing right at the threshold between adolescence and adulthood.
He was nothing like the older version they had seen before.
Sharper. Fiercer.
"Is this what Naruto looks like at his peak in the future?"
Kakashi's eyes held a trace of uncertainty.
"…Not from the same time period?"
Uchiha Itachi frowned.
If this had been the older Naruto from before, many things would have made sense. But this younger version…
Then a thought struck him.
The older Naruto and Sasuke had once used some kind of method to let their younger selves face a powerful enemy.
If that was possible…
Then wasn't it likely that this version of Naruto had arrived in the same way?
Had future Naruto—or Sasuke—mastered some form of time-space technique, allowing them to appear at different points in the timeline and alter the past?
Was that what this IF route really meant?
If so, would there be more such scenarios in the future?
And what kind of being could accomplish something like this?
What was their purpose?
For a moment, Itachi found himself drowning in even more questions than before.
"…That feeling… is that chakra? Such overwhelming vitality."
Tsunade's gaze locked onto Naruto.
When he used Six Paths Yang Power, she could clearly sense Jiraiya's life force surge from nothing back into existence.
It wasn't anywhere near its peak—but it was enough to keep him alive.
As a medical ninja, she was intimately familiar with changes in vitality.
"What kind of medical ninjutsu is this? There's no trace of any technique at all…"
She remembered the previous video.
That older Naruto had used the same method to save Uzumaki Kushina after the Nine-Tails had been extracted from her.
She had been on the verge of death, her life completely drained—
And yet, with a single touch, Naruto had infused her with boundless vitality, restoring her to the point where she could stand and speak again.
This life force… it reminded Tsunade of something she had once felt from her grandfather.
And yet, it was different.
Had some incredible new medical technique been developed in the future?
She didn't know.
But she wanted to.
"Being saved by your own student… I guess that makes sense."
Jiraiya watched the scene, his heart trembling slightly.
He had never imagined he would see something like this.
In the end, he really had raised an extraordinary disciple.
Even though his future self had clearly been prepared to die—to sacrifice himself for the sake of uncovering Pain's secrets—
If there was a chance to live, who would willingly choose death?
Still, one question lingered in his mind.
How had Naruto from the future appeared here… at exactly this critical moment?
"Naruto…"
Namikaze Minato looked on with pride.
But he noticed something else.
Though the age seemed similar, this Naruto was far stronger than the one he had encountered before.
The son he had met had already been powerful—but still within the realm of Kage Level.
This Naruto…
He was on a completely different level.
Even stronger than the version who had fought the Ten-Tails.
This had to be Naruto from a later point in time.
Watching different versions of his son appear through Kaede Kitahara's diary felt strangely surreal—like watching him grow up step by step.
Meanwhile, after Fukasaku dispelled the summoning, he returned to Mount Myoboku and immediately used reverse summoning to bring Jiraiya there.
"His heart should have already stopped. Finish him."
Deva Path's cold voice rang out.
But in the next moment, Naruto turned his head, his gaze icy.
"Go ahead. Try it."
"How ridiculous."
Deva Path leapt down, throwing a punch—
Only to be blocked instantly.
Naruto had entered Sage Mode in the blink of an eye.
"…Sage Mode? How is that possible?"
Even though it lasted only an instant, Jiraiya caught it.
Naruto's pupils had shifted into toad-like shapes—the unmistakable sign of Sage Mode.
But unlike Jiraiya's transformation, Naruto's changes were minimal.
That level of control meant one thing.
His mastery of Sage Mode had reached an incredibly advanced stage.
And the fact that he could enter it instantly…
Jiraiya felt a twinge of embarrassment.
He had needed to summon Fukasaku and Shima and buy time just to enter Sage Mode.
Compared to this…
"…So this is where his talent lies."
Jiraiya couldn't help but mutter.
All the reports he had seen about Naruto had painted him as hopelessly untalented.
He had failed even at basic Clone Technique.
Compared to his father, Namikaze Minato, who had excelled in every aspect, it had seemed almost ironic.
And yet, Kaede Kitahara's diary had made one thing clear—
Naruto would become the savior of the future.
Now, the contradiction finally made sense.
Naruto's talent didn't lie in conventional ninjutsu.
He had astonishing aptitude for Wind Release…
And an unparalleled gift for sage techniques—one that surpassed anyone Jiraiya had ever known.
Even Minato couldn't compare.
"Now that's more like it."
Tsunade clapped her hands.
This was the kind of sage technique she remembered.
Back when she was young, she had once seen her grandfather use something similar—effortless, immediate.
None of that drawn-out preparation.
If Jiraiya had heard her, he would probably have been speechless.
Clap your hands and it just works?
That wasn't normal.
Not even close.
"The real body isn't here, is it?"
Naruto said flatly.
This wasn't his first time facing the Six Paths of Pain.
And this time, he wasn't helpless.
"Out of my way!"
With a single motion, he flung the Six Paths aside, displaying overwhelming power.
"No need to hold back against them anymore."
Naruto spoke quietly.
In the next instant, he entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
"That… what is this feeling…"
Nagato, hidden behind the scenes, suddenly felt an indescribable pressure.
Because what Naruto had activated—
Was Six Paths Sage Mode, the state he had attained after the Fourth Great Ninja War.
In that state, he stood at Six Paths Level.
Although that power would later be taken back by the Sage of Six Paths, preventing him from ever reaching that peak again…
At this moment, he was far beyond even his future Sage Tailed Beast Mode.
That mode could at best reach the peak of Super Kage Level.
But Six Paths Sage Mode—
That was true Six Paths Level power.
A terrifying pressure unique to that realm erupted instantly.
Nagato's heart trembled.
Even those watching the diary felt as if the air itself had grown heavy, the sheer weight of that power making it hard to breathe.