Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these few days, Zaydas did not receive any missions and spent his time training with Hinata, while a clone accompanied Pakura in the Sand Village, investigating those who had betrayed her.
Today would be quite a memorable day. It was expected that Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi would return from their mission that day.
At the top of the Third Hokage's statue, Zaydas was eating a ham sandwich and drinking milk tea while thinking: "It's almost time. It will be interesting to see Kakashi's reaction, especially..."
Another thing—he had already infiltrated a clone beside Sasuke. For now, he hadn't tried to make him aware of his mother, Mikoto.
Another thing—after Orochimaru's death, Sasuke was practically alone at the base, unaware that both Orochimaru and Kabuto had died.
Of course, there was a chance that Orochimaru could revive, but it would take time, as the part of his soul present in the Cursed Seal was unaware of his death. Only if some extraordinary coincidence occurred, allowing his resurrection, could he return. Otherwise, he would continue "hibernating" within the Cursed Seal.
Pushing aside these tedious thoughts, he smiled upon seeing Hinata arrive at the training field.
Tossing the last piece of his sandwich into the air, he caught it in his mouth, chewing as he propelled himself in a single movement, crossing the entire village to reach the training field.
Landing a little earlier, he walked toward the training field and saw Hinata beginning to stretch.
When she saw him, a smile blossomed on her face. "You're early."
"Mhm, you too." He smiled back. "By the way, good morning."
"Good morning," she replied, looking down.
When she looked back up at him, she smiled again, but this time her smile was even more beautiful and adorable at the same time.
"Is it wrong for me to want to kidnap her, take her home, and adore her a lot?" he thought, jokingly.
Joining her, Zaydas began stretching as well.
Then, they assumed their combat stances.
Even though they were about to fight each other, the joy in their eyes was evident. Hinata's eyes shone even brighter as she faced him, ready to attack.
Unlike three days ago, when she created two lion heads made of chakra, they were now incredibly realistic and seamless.
Additionally, she had learned a sliding technique from Zaydas. With a simple sliding motion, she moved over 100 meters in an instant. To her, this movement was absolute, catching her opponent off guard before they could even notice she had moved.
However, although it was incredible, it wouldn't work against Zaydas, who had taught her the technique, since he himself used the same movement. The two met in the middle of the distance, exchanging quick blows, sliding back, advancing again, attacking, and retreating.
It seemed simple, but it all happened so fast that it created the false impression of multiple copies of them. However, it was merely their afterimages while shockwaves exploded with each clash.
Due to the manifestation of chakra in the form of lion heads, the afterimages of their attacks created a fantastic visual effect, worthy of a spectacle for the eyes—the kind that many would pay just to watch.
When their attacks clashed, the sound of two boards slamming together echoed loudly, and the compressed air between their hands "exploded," causing destruction wherever the impact reached.
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"We're almost there, dattebayo~!" Naruto said cheerfully.
Behind him, Sakura and Kakashi walked calmly.
By the way, Kakashi no longer had both of his eyes covered. After all, with the restoration of his original eye and no longer suffering the chakra drain from keeping the Sharingan exposed, there was no need to continue with his previous style.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, "why do I feel like you've gotten stronger since you lost your Sharingan?"
This question made Naruto stop walking and move back, stepping to Kakashi's other side, waiting for his response.
"Yes, yes, I noticed that too," Naruto said. "Wasn't the Sharingan supposed to make you stronger? Why does it feel like the opposite?"
Of course, Kakashi understood this better than anyone. Hearing their question, he smiled with his eyes. "Well, you're not wrong to think I'm stronger now compared to before. While the Sharingan had its advantages, it wasn't entirely compatible with me and drained a lot of my chakra."
"In short, your attacks became more powerful since you don't have to worry about the Sharingan's chakra drain, and your movements are smoother," Sakura said.
"Yes, something like that," Kakashi agreed. "And..."
He didn't finish his sentence because, in his peripheral vision, he saw someone who shocked him so much that his eyes widened in disbelief.
"What's wrong, Kakashi-sensei?"
Noticing his strange reaction, Sakura and Naruto followed his gaze. They saw four people in front of the village gates, but they could only recognize two of them—the other two were unfamiliar. However, seeing the crimson-haired woman crying at the sight of them was confusing, to say the least.
Even the girl who looked no older than eighteen was crying as she stared in their direction.
"Who are they?" Sakura and Naruto murmured.
"R-Rin and... Kushina-sama?"
Kakashi's trembling voice as he murmured that name took the two by surprise.
Naruto, looking at the crimson-haired woman, felt a strange sensation and a tightness in his chest. Seeing her cry, his throat closed, and he felt like he might break into tears at any moment.
"Kakashi!!" Calling out his name, Rin ran toward him.
On the other hand, Kakashi, who felt that this was a genjutsu, became cautious. He even tried to cancel the 'genjutsu,' but when nothing happened, he was left lost and confused.
"Is this real? Were Rin and Kushina-sama revived?"
Perhaps the existence of a being capable of swapping his eye and restoring his original one made him believe in this small possibility—especially since the "Edo Tensei" existed, and he knew a little about it. But still, it was hard to believe, and he felt like his eyes were playing tricks on him.
However, before he could convince himself of anything, Rin jumped into his arms.
Kakashi didn't hesitate. Although he felt it could be a trap, he still caught her in his embrace.
"R-Rin, is it really you?" Kakashi's eyes were almost popping out. There was a subtle hint of guilt in his eyes as he pulled away slightly, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking into her eyes.
Rin, who seemed to notice this, gave a shy smile, looking down for a moment before meeting his gaze again. She said, "Yes, it's me. I don't know who did it, but a few days ago, a being revived not only me but also Kushina-sama, Mito-sama, Izumi-chan, and Mikoto-sama."
"So it's real… that really is Kushina-sama…" Kakashi murmured.
"Don't look at me like that. You know I don't blame you because you're not at fault for what happened," Rin suddenly said.
For the first time, Naruto and Sakura saw a Kakashi who looked awkward—even embarrassed.
"Is this really the Kakashi-sensei I know?" Sakura murmured.
Naruto said nothing. His gaze was fixed on the woman with long crimson hair.
Sakura, feeling lost, noticed Naruto's expression and also looked at Kushina.
"Why does she seem strangely familiar to me?" Sakura wondered to herself.
"Kushina, don't just stand there. Go to him," Tsunade encouraged her with a loving look as she spoke. The truth was, even though her grandmother now appeared younger than her, Tsunade—who had lost her entire family—felt like having Mito back was a breath of fresh air. She didn't show it, but she was truly happy.
With Tsunade giving her a little push, Kushina stepped forward and stopped in front of Naruto, still with tears in her eyes.
But it was clear that she was very afraid. Yes, afraid. After all, she knew about the treatment Naruto had received and also how Minato had been selfish in choosing him to bear the burden of having the Kyuubi inside him. After all, she herself had shared this burden to the point of having to give up on her dream of becoming a ninja.
She also knew that if it weren't for Tsunade, Naruto would have suffered the same fate since those old bastards wanted to restrict him from leaving the village.
"Naruto…" she murmured his name as she stood a few steps away.
"You know my name…" he said. "Who are you?"
"Naruto, I am your mother—Dattebane."
She closed her eyes, but they widened in surprise when she was suddenly embraced.
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