Naruto gently clenched his fist, trying to sense the so-called [Kama] belonging to the Otsutsuki Clan.
But even with his incredibly sharp Observation Haki, he couldn't detect the slightest feedback from the pattern.
It was as if Kaguya had truly died, and her abilities, memories, and personality had been completely digested by Naruto.
Before Naruto could continue his research, a familiar sound from his surroundings interrupted his thoughts.
"You are called Uzumaki Naruto, correct?"
Naruto looked up and saw the Nine Tailed Beasts sitting obediently around him, quietly watching.
The one who had spoken was a familiar face to Naruto, Kurama, who currently wore a strange expression inside him.
"Uzumaki Naruto, may we call you that?"
Seeing Naruto hadn't responded, Kurama, acting as the representative of the Nine Tailed Beasts, spoke again.
His tone of voice was far more pleasant than the Kurama inside Naruto… at least he didn't get easily excited or act tsundere.
"Oh... oh, yes, of course. What is it?"
Naruto nodded upon hearing this, then looked at the Nine Tailed Beasts before him with curiosity.
This was his first time truly seeing the so-called Tailed Beasts, and the Nine-Tails, the being that had influenced his entire childhood, was right there in front of him.
After organizing his thoughts a bit, Kurama still spoke quite amiably about his thoughts.
"Uzumaki Naruto, first of all, we must thank you for your contribution to protecting this world."
To be honest, even the Kurama inside Naruto's body, hearing these words now, couldn't imagine why the other version of himself outside could say such things.
But then he understood.
When they were absorbed into the Ten-Tails earlier, the Nine Tailed Beasts clearly still possessed self-awareness. They must have witnessed the entire battle.
They didn't know about the Otsutsuki clan, but they had heard about Kaguya from their creator, the Sage of Six Paths.
The Sage had described her like this:
'She created Chakra, but also brought disaster. She is the Progenitor of Chakra.'
And the one who could completely defeat the legendary Progenitor of Chakra, saving this world in an unknown way, was undoubtedly the person mentioned in the Sage's prophecy... right?
Looking at Naruto's eyes, which had returned to their sky blue color, the Nine Tailed Beasts simultaneously recalled the prophecy left by the Sage of Six Paths.
'The blue-eyed youth…'
Looking at that physique that even from a Tailed Beast's perspective seemed incredibly powerful...
Well... couldn't he still be considered a youth?
At least Naruto's face didn't look that old.
After swallowing Kaguya, he had even gained the ability to further control his physical state, as demonstrated when he transformed back from his Otsutsuki form.
At this moment, the Kurama inside Naruto fell silent.
To be honest, no one present could claim to understand Naruto better than he did.
Apart from the first twenty-plus years in the sealed space, he had witnessed every action and decision Naruto made since then.
Without a doubt, both in heart and ability, Naruto matched the [Child of the Prophecy] Sage of Six Paths had spoken of.
Hearing Kurama's solemn thanks, Naruto actually felt a bit uncomfortable.
"Ah... it's nothing really... I wasn't actually trying to save the world or anything."
"Hmm... This was just personal business."
Speaking up to this point, Naruto finally remembered what he had forgotten.
The blood-red Rinnegan quickly opened on his forehead according to his will, and then he somewhat clumsily used Kaguya's ability, [Amenominaka].
Instantly, the strange scene of the Core Dimension was replaced by the battlefield that had been turned into a grand canyon.
The moon hanging high in the sky still bore the pattern of the Rinnegan, though it wasn't currently using the Infinite Tsukuyomi.
As Naruto led everyone and the Tailed Beasts out of the Core Dimension, the Moon Eye was actively dissolved by Naruto.
Perhaps it was due to genuine lack of proficiency, or maybe because he lacked the full support of the Nine Tailed Beasts' Chakra, Naruto broke out in a slight sweat on his forehead just from these two simple operations.
He might not have sweated this much even when brutally beating Madara earlier.
"Dad!"
At this moment, Kousei, who had been missing and hiding who-knows-where, suddenly appeared. Ignoring Naruto's current appearance, she directly jumped onto his back.
Actually, Kousei had wanted to do this earlier, but there hadn't been time for her to act spoiled during the battle.
In Naruto's view, he had only not seen his daughter for a day or two, but in Kousei's eyes, it had been a full seven years since she last saw her father.
Although she had seen that familiar face in many similar-yet-different worlds, no version of Naruto could give her the unique sense of security that only her real dad could provide.
Sensing the emotions Kousei was conveying, Naruto swallowed the words he had originally intended to say.
He reached out and gently held his daughter in front of him, then softly patted Kousei's back.
Given the current size difference, Naruto performing this action didn't seem awkward at all.
"It's okay. We were always going to meet again."
It was at this moment that everyone except the Nine Tailed Beasts began to emit specks of starlight… Naruto included.
After those specks of starlight appeared, their bodies began to turn transparent, as if they might vanish at any moment.
"Is this... the Ryumyaku 'returning' us?"
Jiraiya murmured in disbelief.
'We had stayed in another world for several years without any issue before, so why suddenly now-'
He paused for a moment, then his gaze fell upon Obito, who lay completely lifeless on the ground.
This guy had been lying quietly on the original battlefield like a piece of charcoal until just now, staring vacantly at the moon in the sky.
And after Naruto completely dissolved the Moon Eye, the last bit of power sustaining Obito dissipated.
This utterly wicked individual didn't receive his own 'redemption' like his counterparts in other worlds, nor did he provoke Naruto's violent side, making him abandon his principles to vent his deep hatred upon him.
He was like a clown, forgotten by everyone.
He ended his manipulated and worthless life, waiting like rotting wood for a 'miracle', for the Moon Eye to once again send him to that world to meet Rin.
That false yet beautiful world.
As the main culprit behind the temporal distortion, Obito might have died pathetically, but he was indeed the key node in the Ryumyaku's reversal of time.
Perhaps this was why everyone was being forcibly returned to their original timeline by the Ryumyaku's power.
Kousei looked at the turtle device in her hand. She was confident she could use this device to resist the pulling force, but she didn't. Instead, she glanced far away in a certain direction.
A direction where nothing existed.
"Kousei? What are you looking at?"
"Nothing, Dad. Nothing at all."
The Nine Tailed Beasts, who had just been freed, looked bewildered as everyone turned transparent and began to fade, unsure what to do.
They thought Naruto and the others were about to die from exhaustion.
Seeming to understand their concern, Naruto smiled and waved at them.
"Don't worry, we're just returning to our own time."
"We'll meet again in the future. Let's get along well then, okay?"
As he said this, Naruto gave a meaningful glance at Kurama.
"Oh! Of course!"
The Kurama of this era seemed quite friendly toward Naruto, who had been confirmed as the Child of the Prophecy, even saying this with a smile.
Meanwhile, the Kurama inside Naruto covered his face with his paw, not wanting to say anything.
'Wait, why don't I have this memory?'
Just as he was filled with confusion, everyone's figures finally completely dissipated from this timeline.