Outside, Sasuke and Hinata both frowned deeply. Naruto had remained in this state for far too long, yet nothing about him seemed to change.
Their worry grew heavier by the minute.
"I have to go in and see what happened to him," Sasuke said, his voice low and firm.
"I am coming too," Hinata added quickly.
"Alright." Sasuke gave Hinata a brief glance and nodded. The pattern in his Mangekyo Sharingan shifted into a six-pointed star. "Mind Link."
Hinata's Byakugan rippled and transformed into the same six-pointed Mangekyo pattern. Together, the two stepped into Naruto's inner world.
Inside the seal space, where warm and gentle light shimmered like a protective veil, Naruto sat on the floor with Minato and Kushina.
The earlier tears of shock and joy had faded. What remained was a rare calmness and a warmth that wrapped around the three of them like a long-awaited embrace.
Kushina's lips curved into a playful, youthful smile, a brightness that softened the sorrow she had carried for so long. In that moment she looked just like her younger self.
"Mom!" Naruto's eyes widened even more with curiosity. "What were you like when you were little?"
He had learned bits and pieces from Jiraiya, but those stories were mostly about Minato. Jiraiya didn't talk much about Kushina.
Naruto couldn't picture what the young version of this warm, powerful, beautiful woman would be like.
"Me?" Kushina thumped her chest proudly. "I was the famous Red Hot-Blooded Pepper of the Leaf Academy. All thanks to this red hair."
Her tone carried both pride and the faint sting of old grievances. "When I first came to the Leaf, those brats kept trying to bully me. They said my hair made me look like a tomato. Hmph."
Her eyes sharpened, as if she had stepped straight back into her childhood. "And unlike your dad, I wasn't the quiet, gentle type. Anyone who dared call me a tomato, or pulled my hair..."
Kushina clenched her fist. "I beat them so hard they had to crawl home picking up their teeth. Once, a guy who was even bigger than your dad at the time pushed me too far. I threw him halfway down the street. The academy medics were shocked."
She retold the stories like small victories from long ago. Naruto could not stop grinning.
Minato added with a gentle smile, "That was when I first noticed her. She had floored a group of older students who mocked her, and she stood in the middle of the training field with that fiery red hair blazing in the sunlight."
"She planted her hands on her hips and told them, 'Call me a tomato again and I'll skewer you like candied fruit.'" Minato laughed softly. "Even though she was mad, she overflowed with life. That spirit of hers, that fierce determination, drew me in completely."
His eyes slid to Kushina with unmistakable affection, causing her to blush.
Kushina lightly smacked his arm. "Why are you saying all this... Anyway," she turned to Naruto. Her expression softened. "Do you know what happened after that? There was this stubborn boy who was brilliant in theory, admired by every teacher, yet he gathered up his courage and came to challenge me of all people, saying he wanted to help me improve my taijutsu."
She mimicked Minato's earnest younger voice, making Naruto laugh so hard he nearly fell over.
"And then? What happened?" Naruto urged.
"And then?" Kushina smirked mischievously. "Of course I gave him a good beating. Your dad's taijutsu was awful back then. I flipped him to the ground so many times he practically lived in the dirt."
Minato scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
Naruto remembered Jiraiya telling him tales of his father's youth. Not long after graduating, Minato was already strong enough to defeat a team of enemy ninja who tried to kidnap Kushina.
Well, looks like his dad improved fast thanks to Mom's rather intense training methods.
Naruto glanced at Minato, who winked at him with an amused smile.
Just then, the light of the seal space rippled slightly.
Both Minato and Naruto turned their heads at the same moment.
Minato sighed softly, equal parts understanding and mildly inconvenienced. "Looks like two little guests have arrived."
As he spoke, two familiar figures took shape.
Sasuke and Hinata emerged with tension and concern written across their faces.
But the moment they saw the scene before them, their expressions froze.
They had expected Naruto to be trapped in pain, or perhaps locked in combat within his own consciousness.
Instead, they found him sitting peacefully in warm golden light.
Beside him stood a gentle blond man with a soft smile and a beautiful red-haired woman radiating fierce affection.
Naruto himself wore a smile so pure it could light up the whole space.
Not a simple, gentle smile.
A smile born from the deepest part of his heart, overflowing with warmth, safety, and belonging.
He held Kushina's hand affectionately while Minato rested a comforting hand on his head.
The atmosphere was serene and tender, the kind of familial bond so profound even intruders could feel its power.
Every worry and fear in Sasuke and Hinata dissolved instantly, replaced by the overwhelming impact of this reunion fourteen years overdue.
Sasuke stared at Naruto's radiant face, his hand slowly unclenching. His rigid posture eased, and the corners of his lips faintly lifted.
He finally understood why Naruto had gone quiet.
And for the first time, he felt clearly that the deepest wound in Naruto's heart was finally being healed by the warmest remedy imaginable.
Sasuke had known parental love, however briefly.
Naruto had never known any of it.
"You two are...?" Kushina asked, tilting her head curiously at the newcomers.
"This is Uchiha Sasuke, my brother. And this is Hyuga Hinata, uh... pretty much my girlfriend," Naruto said proudly, getting up to introduce them.
"Sasuke, Hinata, these are my father and mother."
Minato and Kushina shared a startled look, surprise lighting up both their eyes.
"Girlfriend?"
Kushina's tear-bright blue eyes flew wide open. Her gaze instantly snapped to Hinata.
Only moments ago she had been overwhelmed by the emotional weight of reunion, but now something bright and utterly delighted sparked inside her.
"Oh my!" Kushina squealed, slapping her thigh in excitement.
She practically launched herself to her feet. One second she was reminiscing about the past, the next she appeared right in front of Hinata with such speed even Minato chuckled.
Hinata was completely stunned.