Naruto: The Forest's Chosen (Mori Mori No Mi)

Naruto didn't argue with Menma's words.

He simply nodded, silently agreeing.

Menma slowly raised his hand and pressed it against his chest.

Naruto made no move to stop him.

Puff—

Chakra surged. Menma's hand cut through his own chest like a blade.

Thump... thump...

He reached in and slowly pulled out his heart.

Warm blood splashed across the ground.

Crimson ran from the corners of his lips, but there was a faint smile on his face.

He offered the still-beating heart to Naruto.

Space distorted—spiraling fluctuations swallowed the heart whole.

Menma stared at his blood-soaked hands, his vision blurring.

He looked past Naruto, toward the Hidden Leaf.

A golden flash appeared in the distance—and trailing behind it, a red figure.

Then his gaze rose, locking onto the moon above.

No longer the crimson Sharingan moon it once was,

Now it looked... real.

Moonlight poured down gently, scattering across the world.

In a daze, Menma saw a figure standing in the moonlight.

It looked familiar.

But he couldn't remember who it was.

Not his parents.

Another figure appeared.

He saw himself—

A younger self, carefree and innocent.

Then another version—

Thin, abandoned, hated by so many. Lost. Confused. Helpless.

Menma closed his eyes and murmured,

"…I… won… heh…"

In that moment, his body began to shine with golden light.

Heartless, his form dissolved into countless glittering specks—

Each one drifting and merging into Naruto.

A moment later, Menma was gone.

No body.

Not even a trace of his soul remained.

The Limited Tsukuyomi world began to reject Naruto's presence.

But just as quickly—

The repulsion vanished. Completely.

Only the power of the Space-Time Ninja Tool , lingered.

If he wanted to return again, he'd need the divine strength of Kamui.

Naruto turned his head toward the two figures approaching from the village.

At his feet lay a three-pronged kunai.

Kushina stood silently, her gaze low and expression solemn.

Minato held her gently, his eyes fixed on Naruto.

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

He walked toward them with that same familiar smile on his face.

Kushina looked up—her heart stirred by his presence.

Minato's expression softened. He stepped forward, pulling Naruto and Kushina into a quiet embrace.

"It's okay now. Let's go home and eat."

Minato's voice was warm as he patted both their backs.

"Let's go."

As the three turned and walked away, white paper fluttered in the air—

Slowly taking the form of Konan.

Not far behind, Tendō Yahiko approached silently.

"Uchiha Itachi is dead."

Konan didn't respond to that.

Instead, she simply said:

"Mission accomplished."

"Take Akatsuki back with you. I have something I still need to confirm."

With those words, she dissolved into thousands of paper sheets and disappeared.

Night fell, and the world slumbered peacefully.

Naruto gently lifted the quilt.

He plucked the small ajisai flower still pinned to Ino's forehead and set it quietly on the table.

Squeak—

Fully dressed, he stepped outside.

"Are you going back?"

Minato and Kushina were sitting on rocking chairs beneath the moonlight.

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah. There's still stuff to handle in the real world."

"When will you be back?" Kushina asked softly.

"Any time. Or… if you two want to come out and see the real world for yourselves, you can do that too."

Minato and Kushina exchanged glances, then chuckled.

"Got it~"

Naruto smiled and tapped the tip of his foot against the ground—rising lightly into the air.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

"Don't worry," Minato said, comforting her. "Just think of it as our kid heading out on a mission."

Kushina leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I'm not worried… I just wonder what it's like in another world?"

Minato replied in a gentle whisper:

"He'll be just like you—kind and strong."

Kushina let out a faint laugh.

"Mm... I wonder if Naruto has a lot of girls out there?"

Minato fell silent.

"Well?" she nudged.

"Who do you think he learned that from?"

Minato still didn't answer.

...

"You haven't changed much."

Naruto stopped mid-air, glancing down at the figure that had appeared below—Konan.

"Next time I return, I'll give you the answer."

"Or maybe... let the other me tell you everything."

With that, Naruto turned and soared upward.

Konan didn't reply. She simply watched as his figure faded into the sky.

"Another me…"

By now, Naruto had already ascended thousands of meters into the sky.

He no longer suppressed the power of Rii space-time ninja tool.

Brilliant white light began to emanate from his body.

"Kamui."

Buzz—

Just before leaving, his eyes shifted—becoming the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

Space began to spiral and distort.

"Fusion complete."

As the words left his mouth, Naruto vanished.

A familiar dark tunnel formed in the void.

He closed his eyes, feeling his body shift and morph.

Back in the real world—

Once the Sage of the Six Paths severed the connection to the Limited Tsukuyomi, he immediately retracted his projection.

The Pure Land was now completely isolated from the Shinobi World.

At that moment, Naruto sensed it—

The separation of the Pure Land had caused a surge in natural energy across the Shinobi World.

It had grown even more vibrant and active.

While traveling within the space-time tool, he heard a faint voice.

"Naruto-sama~!!"

Naruto's brow furrowed.

"Where is that voice coming from?"

He opened his eyes slowly.

All around him was darkness.

"Still traveling through space-time..."

He waited for the voice to return.

But it never did.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the Shinobi World sky—

A mass of spirits descended.

Their target: a small village.

In under five minutes, they had massacred nearly everyone.

Only a handful of survivors remained.

A young girl fell to her knees before a statue of Naruto, bowing deeply with clasped hands.

"Naruto-sama… please, save us!"

The attack had happened so fast, even the distress signal the village sent out reached too late.

Nearby shinobi couldn't arrive in time.

"Only one left."

A cold, lifeless voice echoed like it came from the depths of Yomi itself.

"Uzumaki Naruto!!!"

A young boy screamed the name in agony.

Buzz—

Naruto's eyes snapped open.

In that instant, divine energy descended upon the statue.

Crack—

The statue trembled violently.

Buzz—

Then, the spirits were pulled toward it—

Devoured in an instant by the statue's awakened power.

"The Sage of Six Paths... severing the remnants of the Pure Land?"

The statue's eyes slowly shut, now glowing faintly with divine light.

Using the power of the spirits and gods, it summoned back the souls of the villagers who had perished.

"Wandering souls have no home. Left alone, they'll become twisted like those monsters."

"I understand… Then, all of you, enter the statue. When I return, I'll rebuild the Pure Land."

"And those who were slain by spirits during this time… revive them."

With that, the statue stilled, returning to its peaceful pose—

As if nothing had happened.

The boy could only stare, wide-eyed.

Naruto's divine aura had faded.

Only the statue remained.

But the power of faith surrounding it continued to grow.

From this moment on—

The god of the shinobi world had changed.

And there was only one name left.

Buzz—

Seabed.

Naruto emerged from the time-space tunnel.

The distortion created by the Rii had now reset.

The seabed around him was pitch black—

But the darkness had no effect on Naruto's vision.

He could see everything clearly.

Around him, several coated ships drifted.

But there were more fragments than whole vessels.

This region was overrun with Sea Kings—

A terrifying number of them lurking in the gloom.

Combined with the black depths of the ocean, it was a natural fortress of death.

A glowing circular bubble shimmered around Naruto—

Formed the moment he exited the time tunnel.

GRRRRR—!!

A deep, unnatural voice echoed through the waters.

A colossal Sea King charged toward him.

Naruto didn't even turn to look.

The next instant, a crushing ocean current slammed into the creature, freezing it mid-motion.

"Fish-Man Island should be right beneath me."

No hesitation.

Naruto began his descent.

But the Sea King behind him wasn't so lucky.

Its body spasmed. Its heart stopped.

Terror filled its enormous eyes.

It stared at Naruto's vanishing silhouette in sheer dread.

It couldn't comprehend—

How could such a small human radiate pressure like that?

FWOOOSH—

At that moment, the seawater itself seemed to come alive, swirling violently—

Desperately forcing its way into the Sea King's gills.

Caught off guard, the Sea King thrashed wildly in retreat—but the seawater itself had locked tightly around its body, refusing to let go.

These sea kings, once feared as the tyrants of the deep, now found themselves restrained—by the very ocean that had once obeyed them.

Invisible currents surged with unnatural force, ramming into the Sea King's gills.

In just a few breaths, the pressure became unbearable.

The creature convulsed.

Then—

SPLASH!

A violent bloom of red spread through the water.

GRAAAH—!!

The mighty Sea King—one of the rulers of the abyss—had drowned.

Slain by seawater in the sea.

The surrounding sea kings froze, having witnessed the unthinkable.

Their gazes shifted toward the small, descending figure—Naruto.

In silence, they swam away, filled with primal fear.

Meanwhile, Naruto had already spotted the massive air bubble that encased Fish-Man Island.

As he approached, a figure darted into view.

Her upper body was human—delicate arms, short green hair, a pretty face—but her lower half ended in a graceful fish tail.

She wore a black vest, and at the moment, she seemed flustered, swimming frantically toward Naruto.

She must have thought he was in danger.

But as she neared, her eyes widened in shock.

She floated in front of him—staring.

"Boji!" she exclaimed instinctively as her head passed through the edge of Naruto's protective air bubble.

Naruto made no attempt to stop her.

The mermaid panicked.

"Eh? I—my head went in! That means… isn't this bubble about to burst?!"

But in the next second, her expression turned from panic to pure disbelief.

Her entire body had entered the air bubble safely.

"What?! It didn't pop?!"

And she wasn't the only one.

Several little mermaid girls, each with different-colored tails and hats on their heads, followed behind her. They slipped into the bubble one after another—yet it remained perfectly intact.

Inside, they gawked at the strange human in front of them.

Their wide eyes sparkled with curiosity.

"You… this bubble… did you really come down here like this?"

The green-haired mermaid—Camie—sat at the bottom of the air bubble, dumbfounded.

Naruto took a moment to glance over them all.

At the junction of her pink tail and slim waist, the shimmering scales glistened clearly in the light.

Several of the smaller mermaid girls reached out hesitantly.

They poked at Naruto's legs with their tiny fingers.

"Waaah~ it's real!"

"It's really a human~!"

Their adorable faces lit up with awe and wonder.

...

TN:

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