---Naruto's Mindscape---
The sewer vanished.
In a blink, the oppressive darkness, the dripping pipes, and the iron bars were gone.
They stood on a vast, endless plane of white. The "ground" beneath their feet was a perfect mirror, reflecting a sky that held no sun but radiated a soft, eternal light. It was a space of pure consciousness, constructed by Alaric's will within the seal's architecture.
Minato and Kushina were surprised at Alaric's sudden control over Naruto's mindscape.
Kurama was gone… or rather, his presence had been pushed to the background, a distant rumble of thunder on the horizon.
Here, there were only three.
Alaric stood with his hands in his pockets, his coat settled calmly around him. Opposite him stood the ghosts of the past… Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.
Minato looked around, his blue eyes scanning the horizon with the analytical speed of a Kage. He tested the "air," finding it clean but empty.
"Before you say anything," Kushina spoke first, her voice sharp but controlled. She took a step forward, her red hair settling around her shoulders. "How are you here while Naruto isn't?"
She looked at Alaric, her violet eyes narrowing. From what she saw, this man carried himself with a dignity and power that made him hard to categorize as an enemy. He didn't feel malicious. But her concern was singular.
"What did you do to him?"
Alaric saw the tremor in her hands, the way she leaned slightly toward Minato for support. He nodded respectfully.
"Your son, Naruto Uzumaki, is currently with me," Alaric explained, his voice calm and reassuring. "As of right now, we are flying toward Sunagakure to save his friend, the Godaime Kazekage. I just put him in a daze after asking for his consent to talk to the Kyuubi. He is safe. My summon is carrying him."
Both Minato and Kushina's eyes widened, a flicker of genuine shock passing between them.
"Friend?" Minato repeated, his voice low and strained with disbelief. "A Kazekage? You're telling us Naruto has befriended the leader of a Great Nation? Isn't he just about fifteen?"
The thought seemed almost too unreal to grasp. A Kazekage… the highest position a ninja could achieve in Suna. The realization stirred a deep, proud ache in both their chests. Their son had grown into someone remarkable, someone who could bridge the gap between villages. Konoha and Suna were allies, yes… but Naruto, being a friend to the Kazekage, is a feat.
"At such a young age?" Kushina whispered, covering her mouth. "How old is he now? Sixteen?"
Alaric nodded again. "That's right. Fifteen. It's hard to imagine, I know. But he's grown. He's strong. One of the strongest in his generation."
'Maybe...' Alaric added internally. 'I don't know about the others, but Haku is certainly stronger than Naruto… I bet my savings on that.'
Alaric smiled, softening his expression. "You guys must be dying to know about Naruto's life, huh?"
They were silent, but Alaric saw the hunger in their eyes… the desperate need to know the details of the years they had missed.
"I mean... you're all already dead," Alaric shrugged lightly. "But like... y'know. You're still parents."
Minato, his arm wrapped protectively around Kushina's waist, nodded almost eagerly. It was as if a piece of their shattered hearts had found something to hold onto. He couldn't speak the question out loud… Did Naruto hate them? Did he resent them for leaving him alone in a world that had cast him aside as a weapon? but the silence was thick with the fear of the answer.
"Sit," Alaric said, conjuring simple wooden chairs from the white void. "This might take a while."
For the next hour… in mindscape time, Alaric talked.
He told them everything. Not the sanitized version, but the truth.
He told them about the early years… the loneliness, the instant ramen, the pranks painted on the Hokage Monument. He told them about Iruka, the first person to acknowledge him. He told them about Team 7… Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. He described the Land of Waves, the Chunin Exams, the fight with Neji where he changed destiny, and the courage to fight the Jinchuriki Gaara despite still being a Genin.
He told them about Jiraiya taking him in.
And he told them the most important part.
"He knows," Alaric said softly. "Jiraiya told him. About you. About the sacrifice."
Minato tensed. Kushina held her breath.
"And?" Minato asked, his voice barely a whisper.
"He didn't hate you, as far as I heard from Hiruzen as Jiraiya gave him a report on that," Alaric said firmly. "He understood. I was told that he cried. He was angry for a bit. But he understood. Because he wants to be Hokage too. He knows that a Kage has to make decisions for the village, even if those decisions break their own heart."
Alaric looked at them.
"He's proud to be your son."
Kushina broke.
The dam that had held back sixteen years of grief finally shattered. She buried her face in Minato's chest, her shoulders shaking with violent sobs. Minato held her tight, tears streaming silently down his own face, resting his chin on her head.
"If only we could have been there..." Kushina choked out, her voice laced with the raw vulnerability of a mother who had never been allowed to nurture her child. "If only we could have raised him properly... cooked for him... scolded him..."
She looked up at Alaric, her eyes red and swollen.
"I... I just want to hold my baby..."
"There-there..." Minato tried to comfort her, rubbing her back, though his own voice was thick. "Naruto grew up to be strong, Kushina. He... he did it. He might not be a Kage yet… but soon, I know he'll achieve his dreams."
However, despite Minato's comfort, Kushina kept crying. Her tears wouldn't stop.
Alaric stood at a distance, feeling the weight of the moment pressing on him.
He saw Kassandra in her. He saw the pain of a mother separated from her child by duty and tragedy. Kushina died without even being able to feed Naruto. She only got to hold him for a few minutes total.
Alaric understood the weight of lost time. He understood the emptiness of knowing that no matter how powerful one was, there were things beyond control.
But what if there was a way back?
Alaric's eyes narrowed. He calculated. He assessed his chakra, his knowledge in how to release someone from the Reaper Death Seal, and the theories of Edo Tensei that he is sure he can improve.
"Umm..." Alaric paused, debating with himself. It was dangerous. It was forbidden.
But looking at them... he couldn't just leave these two brave souls as memories in a cage.
'But… is there actually such thing as forbidden for me?' He weighed his thoughts while looking at them. 'It's not like bringing back the Yellow Flash of the Leaf and the Red Hot-Blooded Habanero would destroy the future…'
"What if..." Alaric started, his voice cutting through the sound of weeping. "What if there's a way for the both of you to hold him? Physically? Outside of this mindscape?"
The words sank into the air like stones dropped in water, rippling with an impossible promise.
Kushina's breath hitched. She pulled away from Minato just enough to look at Alaric, her eyes wide with disbelief. "What do you mean? We can... hold him again?" Her voice trembled, caught between hope and terror.
Minato, too, felt a flicker of hope, but his logical mind kicked in instantly. "How? How can we do... Edo Tensei?"
Silence.
Minato's face darkened. "So it is Edo Tensei... But there's a reason why it's a Kinjutsu. It requires a living sacrifice. A vessel. We would never agree to that. Not for anything."
"…There'll be no sacrifices involved," Alaric met Minato's gaze, unflinching. "I won't use a living person to perform this jutsu. No one will have to die. It's not the traditional Edo Tensei."
"Since you're both well versed into Fuinjutsu, I guess I can tell you some parts of my plan," He raised a hand, golden chakra flickering at his fingertips.
"I will find your original bodies… be it skeletons or ashes. And I will use an ability of mine regenerate those skeletons to your original bodies fifteen years ago. Use an upgraded version of Edo Tensei to bind you without the enslavement tag. I have theory that I can revive you guys to actual humans, like your old selves… or original selves, right before you guys died. I am confident I can do it but I might require some time."
Minato remained silent, a deep doubt still rooted in his chest. Tampering with life and death was a slippery slope.
"I can't explain all the details right now," Alaric said, sensing the hesitation. "But I promise you, I will not use anyone else for this. It will only be the two of you... just as you were before. I can make it happen. Although I might need a little time to search for your bodies, I'm confident Orochimaru took your body into hiding… but that's fine."
Kushina's eyes never wavered from Alaric. Her voice, though softer now, held a quiet intensity that could move mountains.
"If you're sure..." she whispered. "If it's really us... and there's no sacrifice..."
She swallowed hard, wiping her eyes again.
"Then yes. I want to see him. I want to hold him. Even for a minute."
Minato looked at Kushina. He saw the pain, the raw yearning. He knew there was no other choice he could make as a husband.
"When?" Minato asked quietly, his voice steady. "When will you be able to do it?"
"I can't give a time for that," Alaric sighed, then yawned, breaking the tension. "A day from now, a week, a month, a year... I don't know. The matter of actually reviving someone without consequences is very advanced... even for me. I need to find the right materials and code the complex seals."
"...Okay," Minato slowly nodded his head. He looked Alaric in the eye. "But may I ask why?"
"Hm?" Alaric raised a brow.
"If this does happen, you're granting us a favor we can't repay," Minato replied. "We're strangers. We're dead. Why go this far for us?"
"..."
"..."
Alaric looked at Kushina, then back at Minato. His expression softened, losing its usual arrogant edge.
"My wife... had a son, a very, very long time ago. He was her first baby... but she separated herself from him to protect him. She spent centuries alone, in pain, thinking she was a danger to him."
He gestured toward Kushina.
"When I look at your wife, Kushina... I think about the pain my wife must've felt. All those years, yearning to hold her son."
He paused, then sighed.
"I'm more so doing this for Kushina than for you and Naruto... no offense."
Kushina widened her eyes at the story. Minato raised his brows, then smiled, a genuine, warm expression. They felt the sincerity.
"Thank you," Minato said.
"Don't thank me yet," Alaric waved his hand. "I still have to modify the seal so Naruto can access the rent money easier."
The surroundings vanished and it was now back to the sewers, Kurama's eyes shining red behind the bars. He turned back to the gate. He worked quickly, adjusting the flow rates, synchronizing the chakra wavelengths.
Seeing that his purpose there was finished, Alaric stepped back.
"See you soon," Alaric said.
The world dissolved into white.
---The Skies Above The Land of Wind---
Naruto blinked.
One moment he was listening to Alaric, the next he was waking up from a daydream. He felt... different.
There was a warmth in his stomach that hadn't been there before. He felt sad, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, yet simultaneously thankful. A deep sense of love washed over him, though he couldn't place the source.
"We're here," Alaric's voice broke his confusion.
Naruto looked down.
Below them, the endless desert of the Land of Wind stretched out like a golden ocean. And rising from the sands, situated in a circular crater of cliffs, was Sunagakure.
Emberis banked, preparing to land.
"Whoa!" Naruto shouted, eager to hop off. "Let's go!"
The rest of Team 7 sighed, but they were tense. They could see the commotion below.
---Sunagakure - Main Entrance---
The village was on high alert. Full lockdown.
When the sentries on the walls saw a gigantic, flame-wreathed bird dropping from the sky, panic erupted.
"Enemy attack!"
"It's another bomber! Look at the hair, it's blond! It might be him again!!!"
"Man the ballistae! Wind squad, ready!"
Shinobi ran left and right, prepping defenses.
Suddenly, a single figure dropped from the bird before it landed.
"Hold fire!" Kankuro, who was stationed as the commander of the defense force, shouted. He squinted through his binoculars. "Wait... that orange... is that...?"
Naruto landed with a heavy thud in the sand, creating a small dust cloud. He stood up, grinning.
"Yo! Is Kankuro here!?"
Kankuro lowered his hand, signaling the men to stand down. He jumped down from the wall, landing in front of Naruto.
"Naruto?" Kankuro asked, disbelief coloring his tone.
He noticed the changes. Naruto was taller, sharper. His face had lost the roundness of childhood.
"Yeah, it's me!" Naruto beamed. "We brought backup!"
WHOOOOSH.
Emberis landed behind Naruto, the sheer displacement of air pushing the Sand shinobi back. The bird vanished in a puff of smoke as Alaric dismissed him, depositing the rest of the team on the ground.
Kakashi, Sasuke, Sakura, Haku, and Alaric walked forward.
Kankuro's eyes scanned them.
Sasuke looked different… more controlled, his outfit was a little traditional but refined. Sakura looked like a an actual Kunoichi now.
But Haku...
Kankuro stared at the ice-user. He remembered the Chunin Exams. He remembered how Haku had dismantled a Tailed Beast transformation with a giant hammer of ice.
Now, Haku looked even more dangerous. He wore the confidence of a predator who didn't need to roar. He looked elegant, mature, and absolutely lethal.
Kankuro gulped softly. 'With him here... maybe we have a chance.'
"What direction did they take Gaara?" Naruto asked immediately, his voice dropping all humor.
"...Towards there," Kankuro pointed north, toward the river country border. "I tracked them as far as I could before I was... intercepted. They have a puppet master. Sasori."
"Puppet master?" Kakashi stepped forward. "Let's set up a brief plan. We need to move before the trail goes cold."
Haku stepped up beside Kakashi. "I can take point on tracking if the trail is physical. If it's chakra-based, I can assist."
Kankuro nodded, leading them toward the command tent to brief them on the enemy capabilities.
Alaric hung back.
He watched Haku interact with the Kage-level threats and the Jonin commanders. Haku wasn't shrinking away; he was leading, offering tactical insights that made Kakashi nod in agreement.
Alaric smiled.
He took one final drag from his cigar.
'My work here is done for now,' Alaric thought.
SWISH.
He disappeared in a flash that acted as a flashbang, blinding the nearby Sand shinobi for a second. By the time they blinked the spots away, he was gone.
Team 7 and Haku knew he had left. They didn't pause. They had a mission.
However, they didn't know that Alaric wasn't gone.
High in the sky, protected by a stealth seal, Alaric floated on a cushion of wind. He watched them move out, running across the desert sands.
'I think I've been observing too much lately,' Alaric mused, unsealing a new cigar. 'Well... it's fun. It's like watching a movie where I wrote half the script.'
He leaned back against the air.
'Now... let's see how they handle the Akatsuki.'
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