"Dad? Mom?"
In Konohagakure, Naruto stared at the two figures before him, utterly bewildered. To be honest, he was quite shaken. However, as a trained ninja, he managed to stay composed and observe carefully.
"Their aura... it's identical to the one I've felt inside myself from Dad and Mom."
Realizing this, Naruto seemed to grasp something. But still...
"Minamoto said before that the Reaper Death Seal couldn't summon souls using Edo Tensei, so how..."
Naruto's mind was filled with questions. Meanwhile, the two figures, having digested their Chakra memories, slowly opened their eyes.
"Naruto."
Minato Namikaze smiled, and Naruto instantly felt a familiar warmth return to him. But this time, it wasn't just within his subconscious—it was here, in the real world!
"Naruto..."
Kushina Uzumaki also smiled warmly, reaching out to touch Naruto's face.
"I've wanted to do this for so long. Finally, I can touch you."
Even though this was Edo Tensei, and the sensation wasn't as vivid as that of a living person, it was enough for Kushina. Although it was technically their first physical meeting, the Chakra memories they shared had filled all the gaps.
"Mom..."
Naruto pursed his lips, feeling a bittersweet joy. But deep down, he was overwhelmed with confusion.
"Dad, what's going on here? How did you..."
"It's a bit complicated, but Minamoto saved us."
Minato scratched the back of his head, then decided to explain seriously.
"He discovered the secret of the Reaper Death Seal, and so..."
Minato and Kushina began recounting the events—how Kitagawa Minamoto had uncovered the secrets of the Reaper Death Seal through the records of the Uzumaki clan, rescued Minato's soul, and finally summoned them along with others who were previously unsummonable.
"That guy..."
Though the explanation was brief, Naruto understood the immense effort involved. He hadn't realized how much Kitagawa Minamoto had silently done for him.
Suddenly, Naruto felt like he owed Minamoto far too much!
"He was the first to acknowledge me, the first to become my friend, he found Dad and Mom's Chakra, and now he's done this..."
Looking at his parents, no longer mere Chakra manifestations, but tangible beings he could truly touch and feel, Naruto couldn't help but feel a surge of joy, even if they were summoned through Edo Tensei.
Bang!
Out of nowhere, Kushina suddenly punched Naruto on the head!
"Ouch! That hurts!"
Naruto clutched his head, his face full of confusion as he looked at his mother.
"What now..."
"Back when I was inside you, I could hit you, but I couldn't feel anything."
Ignoring Minato's stunned expression, Kushina rubbed her fist, her flowing red hair beginning to sway behind her.
"But now, we can finally talk about how you sneaked off with Minamoto's copy of Make-Out Paradise!"
"..."
"Naruto, I never expected you to turn out like this."
"..."
"This time, I'm definitely going to teach you a lesson!"
Under the moonlight, Kakashi Hatake sat with his father, Sakumo Hatake. After their reunion, Kakashi had been recounting his life story, while Sakumo quietly listened.
"I never imagined that so much would happen after my death."
When Kakashi finished his story, Sakumo finally spoke with a hint of emotion.
"But I'm sorry... that my choices caused you so much pain over the years. I..."
"There's no need for that. Although the past was difficult, I've moved on now."
Kakashi shook his head, then smiled as he looked at his father.
"Actually, I used to wonder why someone like you, a hero known as the White Fang of Konohagakure, would choose to abandon a mission to save your comrades, even if it meant violating the village's important rules?"
As he spoke, Kakashi raised his head to gaze at the sky. The silver moon hung high, its light cascading over them, making the scene feel ethereal. Kakashi's mood seemed to lighten, his smile becoming more vivid.
"After all, if you hadn't done that, you wouldn't have been blamed by anyone, and you wouldn't have pushed yourself into despair."
"At the time, I couldn't accept it. But now, I think I understand a lot more."
"I met Obito, and he taught me many things, even though he's..."
"Then I met Minamoto. Even though he's unreliable at times, he's helped me understand so much more."
"As for the village, the circumstances back then, I don't want to dwell on them too much. All I know is..."
Turning to his father, Kakashi smiled, his visible eye curving into a crescent moon shape.
"A father who breaks the rules to protect everyone—I'm proud of you!"
Sakumo stared at his son, momentarily stunned. He had worried about how this reunion might unfold, but he hadn't expected this outcome. For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
"Thank you..."
After a while, he finally smiled. He knew that at this moment, Kakashi had forgiven him. They had finally reconciled—something Sakumo had been anxious about since being summoned through Edo Tensei. Now it seemed everything had been resolved.
"Alright, Kakashi, don't waste time with this old man anymore."
Suddenly, Sakumo chuckled and shook his head.
"Although I died young, I'm still old by now. Your teammates are waiting for you—don't keep them waiting too long."
"Hmm..."
Kakashi's gaze shifted to the house below. He seemed to see the brown-haired girl inside, frozen in time like a relic of the past. Yet now, everything was different from back then...
"Well..."
While dreams were being fulfilled in Konohagakure, Kitagawa Minamoto's situation on the moon was far more awkward.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's reaction was even more intense than he had anticipated. Her Chakra erupted violently, her long white hair billowing without wind. The nine-tomoe Rinnegan on her forehead opened wide, working in tandem with her Byakugan to scan her surroundings.
"How sharp..."
Minamoto pursed his lips, surprised that his mere Chakra probing had been detected by her. Amused, he couldn't help but chuckle. The Rabbit Goddess seemed genuinely startled.
"Then again, it's not entirely unexpected. After ambushing Isshiki, she's been on guard against the Ōtsutsuki's arrival. And I..."
Minamoto was a legitimate Ōtsutsuki, his purity certified by both Isshiki and Urashiki. So even his Chakra alone was enough to provoke a reaction from Kaguya.
"Oh well, it makes no difference."
Minamoto decided not to overthink it. Since they were bound to meet eventually, the timing hardly mattered.
As he pondered, his Chakra projection continued to condense, his consciousness delving deeper. Under Kaguya's watchful gaze, his Chakra gradually coalesced, and moments later, he appeared before her!
"So it really is you."
Seeing the white-clad man with dragon-like horns before her, Kaguya's expression grew even more grim.
"You've finally come. It seems Hagoromo and Hamura have failed after all."
"..."
Minamoto hesitated, unsure how to respond. After all, he had never met those two—he had only sensed Hamura's presence briefly. Still, he didn't intend to answer her directly, as he had plenty of questions himself.
"You care about them? By the way, your Chakra does resemble theirs quite a bit."
"They are my children."
Kaguya's tone turned melancholic, before she spoke with cold disdain.
"I told them before—they were too naive. Believing that those weaklings, mere ants, could handle you lot... how pathetic."
"Oh?"
Minamoto raised an eyebrow, curious about the relationship between the Rabbit Goddess and the Sage of Six Paths. In his memories, the Sage brothers had been "turned" by the Great Toad, eventually opposing Kaguya and sealing her for thousands of years.
But when she escaped her seal and saw Naruto and Sasuke, she activated the traditional Fire Shadow ability of "failing to recognize her own descendants," before finally breaking into tears.
"Could their conflict truly have been one of ideals?"
Minamoto pondered silently, then smiled as he spoke.
"Is that so? But you seem to have lost. This doesn't look like the outcome one would expect after you ambushed Isshiki and obtained the fruit."
"The words of the defeated are meaningless."
Kaguya shook her head, unwilling to elaborate. Instead, she raised another question.
"What happened to Hagoromo and Hamura? They are Ōtsutsuki too, and clan rules dictate..."
"But you didn't follow those rules either."
Minamoto shook his head, continuing with deliberate vagueness.
"So what's the point of bringing that up now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kaguya's face turned even paler. She seemed to be spiraling toward an extreme conclusion, tears slowly welling in her eyes.
Her Byakugan filled with murderous intent as she stared at Minamoto, as if trying to burn his image into her memory. Under her gaze, Minamoto felt an eerie chill run down his spine!
"This woman... in terms of bloodline development, she's probably far beyond me..."
Minamoto marveled silently. He knew that Kaguya, having consumed the fruit, was a statistical monster. Among all the Ōtsutsuki, each with their unique abilities, only she and Isshiki had demonstrated such overwhelming pressure.
Although...
Like Urashiki, she seemed to be in a state of "high stats, low skill."
Even so, when Sasuke and Naruto, who had transcended to Six Paths level, faced her, they were overwhelmed under Black Zetsu's misguided direction. And that wasn't even her at full power, as she hadn't fully reclaimed all her Chakra.
This alone showed how formidable she was, despite her lackluster combat skills.
The other Ōtsutsuki had faced Sasuke and Naruto after they had lost their "ultimate Yin Release" and "ultimate Yang Release." Except for Isshiki, the others had been repeatedly defeated, ending up with two dead and one sealed with a Kāma.
Isshiki, meanwhile, had pushed the duo to their absolute limits. If not for his limited lifespan, and Naruto sacrificing Kurama to enter Baryon Mode and engage in a battle of attrition...
"Those two would have been finished!"
Kaguya and Isshiki—one was the statistical ceiling, the other was the combat ceiling. Yet one was naive, and the other short-lived...
"Don't look at me like that."
While these thoughts raced through Minamoto's mind, his outward demeanor remained casual.
"The moment you made your move, many things were already determined, weren't they?"
Kaguya remained silent, her gaze still fixed on Minamoto.
"Why not tell me about your original plan? We have time before the seal opens anyway."
Minamoto tilted his head, curious.
"I'm intrigued about how you ended up opposing each other, and even helping us in the process."
"..."
Kaguya continued her silence. After what seemed like an eternity, she appeared to reach a decision and spoke coldly.
"The biggest difference between me and them is that I trust myself more."
As she spoke, Kaguya's Chakra grew even more intense, its powerful force reverberating throughout the space.
"As Ōtsutsuki, the entire universe is our pasture. I understand the power of the Ōtsutsuki well."
"Lower beings cannot match us. Their ultimate fate is to become part of the fruit's energy, perishing along with their planet."
"I discovered that these lower beings have unlimited desires, but the cruel reality of their weakness prevents them from fulfilling these desires."
"So I planned an equal exchange—letting them obtain everything they wanted in their dreams."
"Power, wealth, desire, and even the deepest longings of their hearts—I could satisfy them all."
"In return, I needed their bodies, their Chakra, to forge them into weapons and soldiers, so that..."
At this point, Kaguya paused, staring silently at Minamoto. The answer was implicit.
"But Hagoromo and Hamura were different. They had never encountered your kind, didn't understand everything about the Ōtsutsuki, which led to their unrealistic fantasies."
"Yet your actions have been somewhat unexpected too."
Minamoto tilted his head, continuing with curious amusement.
"You consumed the fruit, yet you lost. And you actually considered negotiating with lower beings. How interesting."
"I was once a guardian, my mission was to sacrifice myself to feed the Ten-Tails."
Kaguya's tone remained detached, but her power had gathered to its peak.
"I know that feeling, and understand that anger and resentment. I thought it better to trade with them instead. As for Hamura and Hagoromo..."
Her gaze grew colder, her Chakra reaching its zenith. Pure energy reverberated throughout the sealed space, which seemed to warp under the pressure of her Chakra. The destructive force threatened to annihilate everything.
"Although they came through blessing, and despite many unpleasant events, still..."
"They remain my children!"
"You all deserve to die!"
Her voice turned ice-cold, her white hair whipping wildly with the surging Chakra. Her gaze was filled with killing intent; she was clearly prepared for a desperate battle.
"I see..."
Minamoto seemed lost in thought. After a moment, he smiled casually.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki, though I have another name as well..."
"I am... Kitagawa Minamoto..."
...
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
📚 BOOK COMPLETED ON PATREON!📚
This story has reached its conclusion on my Patreon!
🔥 Full story available now
💎 Exclusive bonus content & early access to new books
👉 Join my Patreon community today!
[✨ patreon.com/GoldenLong]
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━