The Great Toad Sage gazed at Naruto suspended in midair, a gentle smile on his aged face.
"Bunta," he said slowly, "go outside and bring Gamatatsu in."
Naruto's eyes flickered. As expected, Gamabunta turned around and leapt away. A thunderous impact echoed from outside the hall, and moments later, a small orange toad covered in blue-green patterns hopped in.
"So," Naruto said calmly, looking down at the little toad now standing beneath the Great Toad Sage's altar, "what exactly is the purpose of luring me here?"
He smiled faintly.
"And while we're at it—what price do I need to pay to obtain the key to my seal?"
"You need not pay any price," the Great Toad Sage replied. "Because I have already foreseen the prophecy in which Gamatatsu enters your body."
As he finished speaking, the Great Toad Sage opened his wrinkled mouth and spat out a massive sheet of white paper. It landed in his palm and quickly shrank until it was no larger than a human hand.
"No price at all?"
Naruto's gaze sharpened. As someone familiar with the original canon, the sight before him stirred an uneasy recognition.
"Could this be…?"
Before the thought fully formed, the white paper floated up on its own, spinning gently before drifting toward Naruto.
"Three Great Sages," Naruto said coolly, raising two fingers to catch the paper, "you might as well speak plainly. I'm only a Shadow Clone, and I don't have much time. Maintaining this state consumes a lot of chakra."
He glanced down. One side of the paper was densely packed with sealing formulae, with a single character—'Sage' (仙)—written at the center.
Naruto chuckled, loosened his grip, and let the talisman drift back toward the altar. His eyes swept briefly over the silent White Snake Sage and Slug Sage on either side.
The Great Toad Sage nodded slightly, then tapped the armrest of his throne.
Rumble—!
From the center of the hall, a massive stone pillar erupted from the ground, rising until it reached the same height as the three sages' altar. At its top was a stone seat identical in form to theirs.
Naruto nodded in understanding. He guided the ice-formed chair beneath him toward the pillar. Once seated, the chair shattered into crystalline motes and vanished.
"This seat is interesting," Naruto remarked. "Feels much better now."
From this perspective, the Great Toad Sage and the Slug Sage—despite their enormous true forms—appeared more than ten times smaller to his eyes. Only the White Snake Sage still retained a human silhouette.
Naruto folded his hands lightly.
"Now then—would you care to explain what all these arrangements around me over the years were meant to accomplish?"
He turned slightly.
"And while we're at it, I'm curious—did the Slug Sage also make any secret moves?"
"You truly possess abilities similar to ours," the White Snake Sage said, exhaling smoke. "Gamamaru—will you explain, or shall I?"
"I will," the Great Toad Sage said.
"We are not your enemies. Everything we have done was in accordance with destiny's guidance. Katsuyu made no arrangements, because her proxy's connection with you was fated to end from the very beginning."
"Guidance of destiny?" Naruto laughed softly, eyes filled with mockery. "Let me guess—you're about to tell me I'm the Child of Prophecy?"
"You were," the Great Toad Sage replied evenly. "But you are no longer."
Naruto's smile didn't fade. "Then may I ask—who is the Child of Prophecy now?"
"When you detonated the explosive tags within the Hokage Monument," the Great Toad Sage said solemnly, "many fragments of the future suddenly became clear."
"The original fate has been broken. There is no longer a Child of Prophecy in this world."
Naruto sighed in exaggerated regret.
"What a shame. Then does that mean… this world has already lost all hope?"
"Yes," the Great Toad Sage answered gently. "This world truly has no hope left."
He smiled again.
"But in my dreams, I saw you create an entirely new world."
Naruto raised a brow. "You think I'm capable of something like that?"
His expression soon turned serious.
"State your purpose. Otherwise, I'm leaving."
"We wish to escape our current cage," the Great Toad Sage said.
As he spoke, the talisman drifted back toward Naruto. He then looked at Gamatatsu, who leapt up onto Naruto's pillar.
"You may take the key now. This Sage Talisman will allow you to recover from a near-death state after separating from the Nine-Tails—provided you have mastered senjutsu. And you will obtain senjutsu soon."
"All that the White Snake and I have done was for today's meeting—to cooperate with you, and secure a place for our clans in the world you will one day create."
"A cage… senjutsu… cooperation…"
Naruto pondered in silence. Connecting this with his future plans—and his ties to Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave—several long-standing mysteries finally aligned.
The senjutsu the Great Toad Sage referred to clearly wasn't something the Three Great Sage Lands would teach him.
Combined with what Naruto already knew, it was obvious: he would obtain senjutsu from Hashirama Senju later on.
That realization answered many lingering questions.
They had all been secretly guiding events toward the Konoha Crush. While some of Mount Myōboku's actions through Jiraiya still didn't quite add up, Ryūchi Cave had unquestionably deliberately sent Orochimaru back to Konoha.
After a moment, Naruto rested one hand on the stone seat.
"Explain why you had Jiraiya seal the Dragon Vein and the demon Mōryō—and why he removed the Tsuchigumo Clan's forbidden technique."
"I acted in accordance with destiny's revelation," the Great Toad Sage replied.
"If Jiraiya had not driven off Mukade and sealed the Dragon Vein, you would never have entered that special time fissure. Without entering it, you would have lost the chance to claim the Dragon Vein's chakra."
"Sealing Mōryō was also because I saw you take its power in the future."
"As for the Tsuchigumo Clan—you misunderstand. Their clan possesses no senjutsu-related forbidden techniques. They relied entirely on a bead carved from the roots of the God Tree a thousand years ago to absorb natural energy."
"If you had touched that bead prematurely, it would have awakened another force within you."
"And awakening that force too early would have alerted the schemer who has always lurked behind the shinobi world. If he noticed you, everything afterward would become unpredictable."
"In truth, you would have understood eventually. We never changed anything—everything we did already existed in the future fragments I saw."
Naruto frowned. "Are you saying that this meeting itself was inevitable on the timeline?"
"Yes," the Great Toad Sage replied softly. "My prophecies have never been wrong."
"But as far as I know," Naruto said slowly, "all of you are immortal beings."
He met the Slug Sage's gaze.
"Immortals don't usually form such deep attachments to their clans. Especially you, Slug Sage. I'm curious—how do you even define your 'clan'?"
"My people are always with me," Katsuyu said gently, her antennae swaying. "After the catastrophe a thousand years ago, we were forced into a single collective body. But if we can truly leave Shikkotsu Forest, we can begin anew."
"Is that so?" Naruto smiled. "Then the problem is—you haven't offered me anything."
"Mount Myōboku and Ryūchi Cave have both actively assisted my plans. Even if the prophecy of me creating a new world comes true, I don't see any foundation for cooperating with Shikkotsu Forest."
"You will need Shikkotsu Forest's power," the White Snake Sage said, puffing her pipe.
"We each see different fragments of time. Gamamaru only saw you create a new world—he did not see that you would need the immense natural energy our Three Great Sage Lands have preserved for millennia."
"I see," Naruto said thoughtfully. "So none of you saw the final ending."
He glanced at the Great Toad Sage.
"Yet somehow, I get the feeling you still aren't telling the whole truth."
"You said you saw me create a new world. Everything you've done was to reach this meeting and seek cooperation. You even handed over the seal key as proof of sincerity."
"But if everything is already predetermined—why negotiate at all?"
"That can only mean one thing."
Naruto's eyes sharpened.
"In the future you saw—you never entered the world I created. Isn't that right?"
"Yes," the Great Toad Sage admitted. "I only saw you and your nine companions create a new world."
"But strangely, that world looked exactly like the one before the great catastrophe a thousand years ago—before the God Tree descended."
"The White Snake saw a future where the shinobi world was reduced to scorched earth. Katsuyu saw you using some kind of weapon to absorb the natural energy of all Three Sage Lands."
"Putting those fragments together, I believe you first destroyed the world—then, like that man long ago, recreated it."
"Destroy the world… then recreate it…"
Naruto laughed softly.
"And what if I refuse to cooperate?"
"We sincerely hope you reconsider," the Great Toad Sage said. "We do not wish to become your enemies."
"And there is something else you should know," he added quietly.
"In all the futures we saw, the one maintaining the current order of the world never made a move."
"We are bound by our respective barriers and cannot stop you—but he is different."
"Even if we didn't see him act, he doesn't need to appear through the piece beside you."
"After all, he was the first to spread chakra and teach humans how to refine it. And now, someone in this era has already recreated the Rinnegan."
Naruto exhaled slowly.
"Congratulations," he said dryly. "You've successfully frightened me."
He stood.
"But I'm only a Shadow Clone. I can't make any promises. This decision is for my real body."
"You may take the key and the Sage Talisman now," the Great Toad Sage said, eyes glinting. "Please don't doubt our sincerity."
"In that case…"
Naruto reached out and caught the Sage Talisman, then extended his other arm toward Gamatatsu with a smile.
"Come on."
Gamatatsu froze, sweat bursting from his head. He turned to the Great Toad Sage.
"Great… Great Elder?"
"Go," the Great Toad Sage said calmly.
"Yes!"
Gamatatsu leapt onto Naruto's arm.
In that instant, Naruto activated Flying Thunder God.
Land of Snow
The scenery shifted.
Naruto and Gamatatsu appeared in a vast, open facility.
"Please wait," Naruto said. "My real body will arrive shortly."
He placed the Sage Talisman onto a stone platform.
Poof!
The Shadow Clone dispersed into smoke.
Before Gamatatsu could react, another Naruto appeared beside the platform.
"That's the toad!"
"Careful—!"
Inside the seal, Kurama went berserk the moment he saw Gamatatsu. His nine tails lashed wildly, sending Isobu, Son Gokū, and Chōmei flying into the darkest depths of the seal space.
Gamatatsu unfurled his scroll-like body, revealing the Eight Trigrams Seal Key.
Naruto removed his Konoha forehead protector, stepped forward, and raised his right hand. Pale-blue chakra gathered at his fingertips—but he paused.
"When did you leave Jiraiya?" Naruto asked softly.
"When…?" Gamatatsu replied reflexively. "Seven years ago. One night, the Great Elder suddenly summoned me away from Jiraiya."
Slap!
Naruto pressed his hand into the square frame of the seal.
"Thank you," he said with a smile. "That was an honest answer."
Gamatatsu froze.
Naruto stepped back. His body expanded rapidly—within a second, he became a giant nearly six meters tall.
"So," Naruto said, looming over the toad, "isn't it time to be archived?"
"Uh—y-yes," Gamatatsu stammered. "You… you just need to open your mouth."
Naruto smiled and opened wide.
"Come on."
Eyes shut tight, Gamatatsu shot straight into Naruto's mouth.
"Interesting," Naruto muttered, smacking his lips. "Linked to my abdominal seal the moment it entered—and it already fled inside."
He turned inward.
"Time to unlock it."
Seal Space
Naruto appeared before Kurama. Isobu and Son Gokū were distant, while Chōmei hovered above.
"Everyone ready?" Naruto asked.
"Been waiting!"
"Finally!"
"Hurry up already!"
"Shut up!"
Kurama roared, then grinned and extended his fist.
"Let's begin."
Naruto bumped fists with him, briefly recounting everything that happened at Mount Myōboku.
Then he pulled open his jacket, revealing the Eight Trigrams Seal.
Chakra gathered at his fingertips again. The key's sealing patterns spread from his palm up his arm.
He reached forward—grasped something unseen—and twisted.
Click. Click.
The seal shifted. From the massive gate came the unmistakable sound of unlocking. Moments later, a hollow opening remained where the lock had been.
Naruto turned toward the gate.
He could feel it now—complete control over the seal space.
And another presence.
An unfamiliar, turbulent chakra.
The other tailed beasts sensed it too.
Son Gokū took a step—then froze. Isobu stiffened. Chōmei collapsed onto the water's surface.
Kurama's eyes widened.
In the next instant, his consciousness vanished into the Mirror World.
The seal space transformed violently. The gate and the water disappeared. Light flooded everything.
A flash of vivid red entered Naruto's vision.
"Naruto…"
Author's Note:
I was deeply moved by Naruto meeting Kushina in the original story. I already struggled writing the father–son reunion earlier, and as someone who grew up without parents, I honestly don't know how to properly write a mother–son reunion.
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