Naruto, born from the world of his parents.

"call."

At the Hokage's residence, Minato Namikaze appeared silently from a fold in space.

He held his breath, walked to the bedroom door, listened to his wife's even breathing inside, breathed a sigh of relief, and went to his son's room.

Looking at Naruto sleeping peacefully, Minato couldn't help but smile.

Not sleeping all night did not affect his spirits; his golden hair still radiated warmth like the sun.

With the blessing of the Nine-Tailed Fox within his body, countless natural energies continuously repaired the wounds on his body.

Beneath that pristine white divine robe, Minato's seemingly intact body was already covered with countless scars.

"That's really dangerous."

Even though he couldn't help but feel a little scared when he thought about what had just happened.

However, thinking of Naruto sitting by the river, Minato smiled with immense satisfaction.

"Thank you."

He murmured to himself, a phrase that Minato had uttered more than once over the years for the soul that had suddenly entered his body only to be devoured by him.

But this time it was more sincere than ever before. After all, if this soul hadn't enhanced his talent in space-time ninjutsu, Minato might have really lost Naruto this time.

"Fortunately, I've found a way."

"Wait a little longer, Naruto, Dad will be here to take you home soon."

Looking at the sleeping Naruto, Minato murmured softly. Suddenly, he was startled and turned around as if sensing something. A bright red figure rushed into his eyes.

…………

"Hey, Naruto!"

Upon hearing Sasuke's voice, Naruto quickly pulled down his sleeve and turned to look at Sasuke.

"You bastard, you actually tricked me with a shadow clone!"

Sasuke angrily punched Naruto lightly in the chest, and Naruto, seeing Sasuke's unhappy face, subconsciously raised his hand and ruffled his hair, just like he remembered his father: "Sorry, Sasuke, I just ran into some things that I needed to deal with."

This perfectly natural reaction caused Sasuke's slight unhappiness to suddenly dissipate for some reason. He looked at Naruto, who had a face full of apology, and turned his head away: "Hmph, then you'll have to continue helping me become stronger."

Looking at Sasuke, who was completely different from the Sasuke in his memories of the two worlds, Naruto smiled. Compared to the Sasuke in his own world and the taciturn Sasuke in this body's memories, he preferred the somewhat childlike Sasuke in front of him.

"Okay, we're partners."

Sasuke was happy to hear this answer.

Sometimes the connections between people are incredibly wonderful.

Even though I've only spent less than ten days with this Naruto, without realizing it, this warm and reliable Naruto has gradually replaced the image of Itachi in my fond memories.

Sasuke was aware of this, but he didn't resent it. On the contrary, because his strength improved almost dramatically when he was with Naruto, he cherished this bond even more.

At the same time, he became more and more comfortable around Naruto.

After exchanging a few words with Naruto, Sasuke seemed to remember something and suddenly said, "Oh, right, Naruto, Kakashi-sensei told us to meet at the village entrance."

"Meet up?"

"They said there was some kind of mission."

A hint of surprise flashed in Naruto's eyes.

"Task?"

As the son of the Hokage, although by the time Naruto graduated, the mission assignment system, an important system that supported the existence of ninjas in the old era, had gradually become history.

However, through various scroll records, Naruto still gained some understanding of the mission delegation system of the old era.

Generally speaking, ninjas like Naruto and Sasuke, who have just graduated from the Ninja Academy, usually only encounter the lowest-level D-rank missions.

This includes, but is not limited to, various chores such as finding cats, cleaning, and clearing river channels. These tasks are generally completed near the village and represent the ninja's adaptation period.

Most C-level missions take place around the village and are somewhat dangerous, with occasional escort missions that take you outside the village.

The next level up, B-rank missions, are beyond the reach of low-ranking ninjas like them.

"So it's a C-rank mission?"

Naruto was somewhat puzzled, but more interested. After all, he was still a boy, and although he was calm, he couldn't shake off his restless nature.

At the same time, he was also very curious about this world that was so similar to his own, so when he heard that he could leave the village, Naruto became unusually excited.

Where is Kakashi-sensei?

"It's right at the village entrance. I'll let Sakura go ahead first, then I'll come find you."

Naruto nodded, then suddenly laughed: "Sasuke, let's have a match?"

"What?"

"Whoever gets to the village entrance first has to buy ramen for a week!"

As soon as he uttered the words, Naruto had already disappeared. Sasuke, who was stunned in place, didn't react until he heard Naruto's words. He exclaimed, "Too cunning!" and hurriedly followed after him.

The two hurried to the village entrance, with Sasuke arriving just one step behind Naruto.

Seeing Sasuke catching up, Naruto smiled broadly: "Looks like my luck is pretty good."

That smile undoubtedly provoked Sasuke: "You bastard!!! You're cheating!"

Hahahaha.

Naruto smiled and walked up to Kakashi without responding, bowing slightly: "Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi, who was reading a book, glanced at Naruto. Seeing that all three members of the team had arrived, he didn't say anything more and gave the order to "go" before heading out of the village.

Naruto had anticipated Kakashi's coldness, after all, he had intentionally or unintentionally neglected Sakura during his training with Sasuke, which was understandable to displease his teacher who cared most about the bond between comrades.

However, even if he had to do it all over again, Naruto would still choose the same path.

He didn't say much, just greeted Sakura who was chattering away with Sasuke, and then followed her.

Sakura was naturally unaware of the somewhat tense atmosphere within the team, or rather, even if she had, she wouldn't have cared; as long as Sasuke was there, that was enough for her.

Sasuke, after meeting other people, reverted to his arrogant and aloof demeanor.

The four members of the team each had their own agendas, which made the target they were escorting somewhat unhappy.

The bespectacled old man, Tazuna, stepped forward and shouted, "Hey, hey, hey, I don't think I've decided yet whether I'll let you escort me!"

"Can these three brats really escort me safely to the Land of Waves?"

But no one paid any attention to him. Watching the group of people walk further and further away, Tazna spat angrily, but still followed them.

But the further they walked, the more agitated the old man, who was highly respected in the village but met with indifference in Konoha, became, chattering and pointing incessantly along the way.

Perhaps Sasuke was getting annoyed, because he suddenly stopped, turned around, and stared intently at Tazuna: "Quiet."

"You little brat!"

Tazuna was about to unleash a torrent of abuse when Sasuke interrupted him with an icy voice: "I told you to shut up. All you need to know is that you will be safely returned to your hometown. That's enough, understand?"

Sasuke's imposing aura immediately intimidated Tazuna. After a moment, he finally spoke in a low voice, "Tch, pretentious brat. Anyone can talk big."

But in the end, he didn't dare to say it aloud.

In the forest, the wind rustles through the leaves, making a sound much like sleeves brushing against the trees.