"I'm not from this world… and my name isn't Menma. I'm sorry… I lied to you."
Uzumaki Naruto forced the words out, enduring the pain in his body.
"What are you even talking about?"
Uzumaki Kushina frowned, completely confused.
Ever since coming back from their mission, something about this son of hers had felt off.
"My real father is the Fourth Hokage, and my mom is the jinchūriki of the Nine-Tails. In my world… they both died protecting everyone, protecting the village… protecting me."
Naruto said it all, calmly and without hesitation. He had decided he wouldn't lie to himself anymore.
The people in front of him loved him, that much was clear.
But the one they loved… was Uzumaki Menma.
Not him.
Not Uzumaki Naruto.
"Menma, please… don't go."
Kushina reached out to him, her voice tightening.
Naruto pulled free from her grasp before speaking again.
"I'm leaving."
He reached into his pack and took out the cloak that belonged to his father—the Fourth Hokage. Turning back, he smiled faintly.
"Because I'm the son of two heroes."
"Good, Naruto. You didn't disgrace me or your mother."
Watching the scene, Namikaze Minato felt a surge of pride.
Naruto had wavered, but in the end, he had found his way back to himself.
That alone made Minato deeply happy.
Watching his son grow, change, and become stronger step by step, seeing him gradually turn into the powerful figure of the future…
There was nothing more gratifying than that.
"If only Minato could see Naruto like this…"
Jiraiya let out a quiet sigh. Even in the original timeline, he himself had never seen Naruto at this stage.
It was a shame.
Thankfully, through Kaede Kitahara's diary, that regret had been filled in.
"Is that really Naruto?"
Uchiha Sasuke couldn't help but marvel. Compared to the loud, reckless guy standing beside him now, the Naruto in the video felt like a completely different person.
"…Sensei?"
Hatake Kakashi's eyes narrowed unconsciously.
The moment Naruto put on the Fourth Hokage's cloak, Kakashi almost thought he was seeing his teacher again.
The same build. The same blond hair. Everything felt eerily familiar.
Then he shook his head slightly, realizing it couldn't be.
"Nicely done, Naruto…"
Kakashi murmured under his breath.
—
The scene shifted.
Sakura was bound high up on a cliffside temple, suspended over the void.
"This place is…"
She gradually came to her senses, her expression changing.
"It's another reality created by Limited Tsukuyomi."
Uchiha Obito's voice sounded beside her.
"In the original world, this place is called the training grounds. Jiraiya and the Fourth Hokage used to train here."
Outside the scene, both Jiraiya and Minato nodded.
That was indeed one of their old training spots.
But for Jiraiya, it had been years since he last visited. By now, it should have long since fallen into ruin.
A place like that needed constant upkeep. Without it, decay was inevitable.
Minato had been gone for twelve years, and Jiraiya himself had spent a long time away from the village. There was no reason for anyone to maintain it anymore.
Earlier in the video, Naruto had even passed by the place and seen how dilapidated it had become.
"But this Uchiha Kenji is completely intangible… Is it because this is a genjutsu world, so his real body can't enter?"
Jiraiya narrowed his eyes, thinking it through. Obito had said this was a reality derived from that technique, but it didn't quite feel like a true world.
"Still, it looks like someone's been using this place as a base."
There was a hint of nostalgia in Obito's voice. He had once trained here as Minato's student.
"What exactly are you after?"
Sakura turned toward him, her gaze sharp.
"You'll understand soon enough," Obito replied calmly. "When that time comes, you should thank me. You won't see something like this a second time."
"I finally found you, Madara!"
Naruto's voice rang out from the distance as he rushed in.
"I'm going to beat you… and go back to my world!"
Faced with Naruto's fierce momentum, Obito simply spoke without emotion.
"Unfortunately for you, I'm not your opponent."
The moment he finished speaking, Uzumaki Menma appeared.
With a single move, he forced Naruto back, landing lightly with one foot on the railing, his posture brimming with confidence.
"Hand over the Scroll of the Red Moon."
"I refuse. Let Sakura go first!"
Naruto shot back.
"Then I'll just kill you and take it myself."
Menma's voice was cold. "No matter what, I'm going to kill you. The aura you give off disgusts me. I won't let you live—not with that kind of presence."
He moved instantly, launching his attack.
Naruto tried to fight back, but a strange, ominous unease kept surging through his body.
"Your existence pisses me off. Your chakra too."
Menma leapt down, landing on the surface of the lake beneath the cave, his gaze locked onto Naruto with open hostility.
Something about Naruto—bright, straightforward, alive—made his skin crawl.
Seeing someone who looked exactly like him only made that hatred worse.
"So let's settle this quickly. Nine Masked Beasts!"
In an instant, he summoned nine massive summoned beasts.
"I'll tear you apart!"
Just as Naruto felt the Nine-Tails within him begin to stir, unease rising in his chest, several chakra threads suddenly shot out and yanked him aside, pulling him out of the path of one of the beasts.
Only then did he notice who had saved him.
Not far away, nine figures stood silently.
Members of the Akatsuki.
"More reinforcements…?"
Naruto's expression hardened.
Dealing with Menma alone was already difficult enough.
And now Akatsuki had shown up.
He had fought several of them before. He knew exactly how terrifying they were.
Any one of them was a formidable opponent.
"Stand down. We're here on the Hokage's orders."
Uchiha Itachi spoke calmly from the front.
"She asked us to assist you," Deidara added.
As they spoke, they launched attacks toward the Nine Masked Beasts.
"Akatsuki… working as mercenaries?"
Menma immediately recognized them.
"This is insane… Akatsuki are actually on my side."
Naruto couldn't decide whether to be shocked or thrilled.
Having the powerful members of Akatsuki as allies… it was a completely new feeling.
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
Menma snarled, his expression darkening as he turned and headed deeper into the cave.
On the cliff above, Itachi had already rescued Sakura.
"So this is another distortion of this world…"
Obito looked at Itachi, his tone a mix of disbelief and irony.
"The Hokage actually sought help from Akatsuki."
Itachi remained unfazed.
"Your body seems immune to physical attacks," he said evenly. "But that doesn't mean you're untouchable."
As he spoke, his Sharingan flared to life.
Seeing that, Obito immediately decided to withdraw.
"If you put your mind to it, even flames could burn me, huh? You're as troublesome as ever."
With that, he slipped into space and vanished.
Outside, the Akatsuki members had already dealt with the Nine Masked Beasts one by one.
Watching all of this, everyone reading the diary sat frozen, stunned beyond words.
Through Kaede Kitahara's account, they all knew that Akatsuki was a powerful enemy they would have to face in the future.
And yet now, that same enemy had become an ally.
Or at the very least, they had become neutral—a mercenary group taking on jobs.
Even that felt unbelievable.
"A… ally? Akatsuki? That's just ridiculous."
Tsunade couldn't help but voice her disbelief.
And yet, if Akatsuki really were on their side… it actually felt reassuring.
They were just too strong.
A single Kage Level fighter could handle nearly any mission in the world.
Now imagine several of them working together.
"Akatsuki… working for Konoha?"
Uchiha Itachi watched his counterpart leading the group, his expression turning slightly complicated.
Akatsuki was a mercenary organization. They had even been hired by other nations before—Iwagakure, for example, had employed them in war.
But Konoha had never done that.
And as for himself…
The idea that he had replaced Nagato as Akatsuki's leader was almost absurd.
"And those unfamiliar faces… are they other Akatsuki members who haven't appeared yet?"
Hatake Kakashi studied the scene thoughtfully.
So far, the known members included Nagato as the Six Paths of Pain, Konan, Uchiha Itachi, Hoshigaki Kisame, Kakuzu, Hidan, Uchiha Kenji, and in the future, Uchiha Sasuke.
But now, there were more.
A blond boy with a ponytail who kept shouting about art being an explosion.
And a red-haired youth skilled in puppet techniques.
That one, Kakashi recognized.
Sasori of the Red Sand.
The grandson of Sunagakure's elder advisor Chiyo.
His parents had died at the hands of Kakashi's own father—the White Fang of Konoha, Hatake Sakumo.
Of course, Sakumo had killed many people. The deaths of a councilor's son and daughter-in-law weren't particularly special.
What mattered was Sasori's strength.
His talent.
He had been known as a once-in-a-generation genius in Sunagakure, rising to jonin at a young age.
In many ways…
He was Sunagakure's version of Kakashi.