The impact of the Rasengan shattering the wall still lingered deep in Naruto's arm. From the wide chamber where Tsubaki's body had collapsed, Naruto ran deeper into the facility. Dust fell from the ceiling. The ground trembled beneath his feet. The entire structure groaned as if it might crumble at any moment. (Koharu, where are you?) He turned down a corridor. Then another. Torchlight flickered, casting dancing shadows. An iron door on the right. He kicked it. It wouldn't budge. A wooden door on the left. He kicked through it. A dark room. Empty. Next. The next room. That's when he saw it—a heavy door deep to the right. Naruto threw his entire body at it. The rusted hinges shrieked, and the door flew inward. It was dark. A single torch stuck in the wall cast weak light. A dirt floor. A low ceiling. And—— White hair against the wall. It was Koharu. Both hands were chained to the wall. She was collapsed on the floor. Her face was pale. Her lips were dry. Only the silver earring in her right ear caught the torchlight, glinting faintly. Naruto's feet stopped. Just for a moment. Then he rushed forward at full speed. He dropped to his knees. Koharu's face lifted. Gold and blue heterochromatic eyes met his gaze directly. In that instant——tears spilled from Koharu's eyes. "[crying]……I knew you would come" Her voice was small and hoarse. But she said it clearly. Naruto's throat tightened. He tried to say something. But the words wouldn't come. What came out instead was—— "[serious]Are you okay? Have you been eating?" Koharu's eyes blinked. With tears glistening in her eyes, Koharu stared at him. "[sarcastic]……Are you asking that now?" "[scared]Ah, no, I mean, if you're hungry you won't have strength, and……" "[gentle]……Thank you. But please, the chains first" Right. Naruto placed both hands on the chains. Red chakra seeped hotly from deep within his right arm. The heat of the seal coursed through him. He concentrated power in his palms. Clang. The metal shrieked——and with a sharp snap, the chains tore free from both wrists. In that instant. A deep explosion echoed through the entire facility. Then another. And another. Sand poured down from the ceiling like a waterfall. The torch went out. The sound of something collapsing came from another direction. The tremors beneath his feet intensified dramatically. (Explosive tags. Kodachi activated them.) Naruto grabbed Koharu's arm and tried to pull her up. Her legs wavered. She hadn't been given much water for two days. She couldn't stand. "[serious]Hold on" He pulled her arm and offered his back. Koharu slowly clung to Naruto's back. Her thin arms wrapped around his shoulders. He could hear her slightly trembling breath near his ear. Her light body warmth transferred to his back. (She's warm.) The moment he thought that, stones from the ceiling fell with a grinding sound, and Naruto ran while shielding his head. This wasn't the time for that. They reached the corridor. Flames were crawling up the walls. The path they'd come from was half-collapsed. "[serious]The right passage has a thin presence" From his back, Koharu spoke as if squeezing out the words. "[serious]Can you sense it? In your current state?" "[serious]This much is manageable" Koharu's "sensing ability"——the power to intuitively perceive foreign presences within others' bodies——was functioning even now. Naruto didn't hesitate and turned right. A beam from the collapsing ceiling fell directly in front of them. Naruto kicked with all his might while running. The beam flew and embedded itself in the wall. Fragments struck his cheek and shoulder. Hot. He thought blood came, but he couldn't stop. Flames spread. Smoke descended from above. Sand fell with each tremor of the ground. Still, he ran. He just ran. Koharu's body warmth remained on his back. That warmth kept Naruto's legs moving. ——And then. A figure stood in the passage ahead. Naruto stopped. It was Kodachi. 180 centimeters tall. Black hair with red mesh streaks cut short. Pale gray eyes. A Kage-Nui tattoo carved into the back of his left hand. His usual expressionless face was gone. Deep exhaustion shadowed his eyes. His tightly clenched mouth trembled slightly. Something hidden beneath the mask was laid bare tonight. "[cold]I cannot let you escape" His voice was quiet. Not a shout. That made it heavier. "[cold]My family was killed by the Nine-Tails. My father, my mother, my sister——all of them. As long as you smile, I cannot forgive you" He readied a kunai and stepped forward. Naruto lowered Koharu to a safe spot against the wall. "[serious]Don't move" He stepped forward. Kodachi was fast. A barrage combining ninja sword techniques and taijutsu came at him. A kunai grazed his arm. It cut. Blood flowed. He twisted his body to avoid the next thrust, but the following attack came from the side, and a heavy impact ran through his flank. "——" Still, Naruto didn't fall. He braced himself. He met Kodachi's eyes directly. (Those eyes——not anger. He's been grieving. For twelve years, constantly.) "[serious]Kodachi!" He shouted while fighting. "[serious]I don't think my existence killed your family! When the Nine-Tails was sealed, I was still a baby!" Kodachi's attacking hand dulled for just an instant. Just one moment. "[serious]But——your sadness is real. I understand that. That's why I will never go berserk. I'll control the Nine-Tails. That's my promise as Uzumaki Naruto!!" Kodachi's feet stopped. His pale gray eyes looked at Naruto. In that moment——a larger explosion than before echoed from deep within the facility. The ceiling was coming down. A massive stone beam groaned above Kodachi's head. Naruto concentrated all his chakra into his right arm. It was red. It was hot. But——his eyes remained blue. His pupils hadn't turned red. He was maintaining control. He was controlling it. Chakra spun at high speed in his palm. Compressed. Formed into a sphere. The Rasengan howled in Naruto's hand. "[angry]Get out of the way———!!" Boom!!! The falling beam, Kodachi's attack, everything was blown away. A shockwave tore through the passage. Dust exploded outward. Kodachi's body flew backward and sank into the accumulated rubble. Silence. For just a moment, it was quiet. "[serious]This way, come now!!" Kakashi's voice flew from beyond the crumbling wall. Naruto returned to Koharu. He took the arm of Koharu, who was sitting with her back against the wall. "[serious]One more time, I'm asking" Koharu nodded. She clung to Naruto's back. They stepped over rubble. A crack in the crumbling wall. Narrow. He squeezed his body through sideways. He could feel Koharu holding her breath. ——Outside air rushed in all at once. It was dawn. The eastern sky was beginning to turn red. The roofs of the Leaf Village glowed faintly in that color. The humid morning air of late summer. The moment Naruto's feet touched the ground——his entire body was struck by a pain like electricity. Burns. The backlash of the Nine-Tails' chakra came all at once. From his back to his arms, to the tips of his legs. A burning pain ran beneath his skin, and his knees buckled. His body collapsed before he could fully lower Koharu to the ground. "[surprised]Naruto!" Koharu instinctively grabbed Naruto's arm with both hands. Despite her weakness, she was trying with all her strength to support him. Koharu's arms trembled. Her legs wavered. Yet she didn't let go. Sakura ran over. Pink hair. Medical chakra glowed in both hands. Green light. "[serious]No broken bones. Just severe chakra depletion. It's okay to move" Kakashi stood nearby. He glanced once toward the passage where Kodachi had fallen, then immediately returned his gaze to Naruto. Naruto, still on his knees, took a deep breath. The air tasted good. The dawn sky spread before him. Red, vast, stretching endlessly. Koharu stood beside Naruto, gripping his hand tightly with both of hers, not letting go. For a while, neither said anything. Then Koharu spoke softly, but clearly. "[gentle]Thank you. ……You're not a monster. You're more human than anyone" Something hot spread through Naruto's eyes. He had no words to return. He opened his mouth, but before the words could form, a tear spilled down his cheek. Koharu looked away. Her cheeks seemed to flush slightly. But she didn't release his hand. (Why……why does it feel like this……) The center of his chest grew warm. Even with the pain, even with his chakra completely depleted. Naruto simply looked up at the dawn sky. --- The Anbu entered the facility. Tsubaki, bound with rope, was led away in silence. Her deep purple long hair was disheveled. The sword wound on her left cheek was starkly visible in the morning light. Her crimson eyes looked somewhere distant, not at the Anbu escorting her. As if repeating to herself until the end: the mission must be completed——that was how she appeared. Another Anbu squad began digging through the rubble. "[serious]Confirm survival!" An arm was visible in the gap between stones. It was Kodachi. His right arm had lacerations. Blood came from his forehead. But he was breathing. He was alive. Just before being placed on a stretcher, Kodachi's eyes turned toward Naruto. Only once. Not anger. Not hatred. ……They wavered. Something moved in the depths of those eyes. The words Naruto had spoken——my promise——had cracked something frozen for twelve years. He hadn't repented. But something was definitely wavering. Kodachi opened his mouth, then closed it. He was carried away on the stretcher. Tsunade arrived shortly after. The presence of the Fifth Hokage was, honestly, still intimidating. Blonde hair tied in two sections, short in stature but sharp-eyed. She surveyed the entire facility, briefly confirmed something with Kakashi, then walked toward Naruto. "[serious]Can you stand" "[serious]……Yeah, somehow" "[serious]Come to the hospital later. We need to check your chakra levels" With just that, she entered the facility. She didn't show emotion on her face, but it was clear she cared about Naruto. One of the Anbu approached Tsunade quickly. He was carrying something. A bundle of old documents. They appeared to have been recovered from Tsubaki's belongings. The Anbu held out one sheet to Tsunade. Kakashi looked from the side as well. ——Kakashi's face froze for a moment. Without a word, he handed the document to Tsunade. A deep crease formed between Tsunade's eyebrows. "[serious]……Koharu" Tsunade called Koharu. Koharu slowly stood and approached. The moment she was shown the document——her hand stopped. A seal pressed in the corner of the document. A circular shape with thin lines intersecting. The exact same crest carved into the jade magatama hanging from Koharu's neck. "[surprised]……This" "[serious]Have you seen it somewhere before" Koharu's gold and blue heterochromatic eyes stared intently at the seal. "[serious]……I feel like I've seen it somewhere. But my memories won't return" The text of the document was written in old characters that Naruto couldn't read. Kakashi looked silently at Tsunade. Tsunade was also silent. The severity of their expressions told him this wasn't a simple matter. On the wall of the conference room deep in the facility, there was text left behind by Murakumo, who had escaped. An Anbu read it aloud. "[cold]——The day the seal collapses will surely come. When it does, the Leaf Village will end" Naruto heard those words from a distance. He quietly clenched his fist. His body wouldn't move. His chakra was empty, and the burning pain from the backlash still remained. But——it wouldn't disappear. It couldn't disappear. The eastern sky spread red. The light of dawn began to dye the Leaf Village. Koharu stood quietly beside Naruto. The document still weighed on her mind; her expression was slightly clouded. Naruto looked at Koharu's profile. Her