Silence had returned after the flashback. Sakura stood still, her eyes red from emotion, staring at Naruto.
"Why did you do it, Naruto? Why Mikoto? Why Izumi? You didn't even know them…"
He slowly lifted his gaze to meet hers.
"Because they weren't meant to die."
She frowned, confused.
"You… you knew what Itachi was going to do?"
Naruto nodded.
"I saw it. My Shinkugan allows me to read the threads of destiny. I saw the moment they were going to die. Izumi's scream. Mikoto's tears. And Itachi's broken eyes as he killed them."
Sakura stepped closer, listening as if even breathing might break the moment.
Naruto continued:
"I could've looked away. Told myself it wasn't my place. That it was the burden of the clan. But I'm not that kind of person."
He placed his hand over his heart.
"What I am… doesn't allow me to accept injustice when I have the power to stop it."
Sakura whispered:
"But why them, specifically? Why not others?"
Naruto looked up, as if seeing something far beyond.
"Because they were anchors. If Mikoto died, Sasuke would fall deeper into darkness. If Izumi died, the last thread of empathy in Itachi's heart would snap. And if both were gone… Konoha would lose any hope of reconciliation with the Uchiha legacy."
He closed his eyes.
"I didn't just save two women. I saved… the future."
Sakura remained silent. She felt that what he was saying was beyond her full understanding.
Naruto went on:
"The Infinite Dimension taught me that the world is a web of knots. Certain people are major knots. If you cut them… everything changes. Mikoto and Izumi were some of those."
He lowered his voice.
"And… Mikoto was one of the few people in this village who didn't look at me with fear or hatred. She used to smile at me, sometimes, when I passed her on the street. It may sound silly… but gestures like that, for me, were a light in the darkness."
Sakura looked at him with tenderness.
"You wanted to return what she gave you."
Naruto smiled—sadly.
"I didn't want that light to go out."
He stood and walked slowly toward the window.
"The world thinks I'm a mistake. A burden. The host of a demon. But I'm… far more than that."
He turned his head toward her.
"You want to know why I save people—even those I don't know? Because I can. And those who can change things… don't have the right to stay silent."
Sakura stood up as well.
"So you'll keep fighting… for everyone?"
Naruto hesitated.
"Not for everyone. Just for those who can't fight for themselves."
He looked into her eyes.
"And for those… I'm beginning to want to protect."
As they continued talking, a gentle light began to shimmer around Sakura. Naruto narrowed his eyes.
"This chakra… it's not yours."
Sakura looked confused. She raised her hands. Luminous patterns appeared around her wrists.
Then, a soft voice echoed through the air. A feminine, crystalline voice.
> "Child with the open heart, you have been seen. Heard. The oath is ready."
A pale pink summoning circle appeared beneath her feet, pulsing with purity.
A winged figure slowly descended—a fairy with silver hair, jade-colored eyes, and an aura of healing that felt almost divine.
"I am Elyanë, spirit of healing from the Emerald Forest. Your soul has called to me. Do you accept our pact, Sakura Haruno?"
Sakura, trembling, felt a tear roll down her cheek.
"Yes."
The fairy approached and placed a single finger on her forehead. A burst of green light filled the room.
And in that moment, Sakura felt something she had never known before: inner peace, communion, and the power to heal with energy from beyond this world.
Naruto whispered:
"You just took your first step… into the Infinite."
As the light from Sakura's summoning slowly faded around her, a warm breeze swept through the room. Elyanë, the healing fairy, was still floating in the air, her gaze gently fixed on Naruto.
She bowed her head slowly.
"The wind speaks to me… and the roots of the Infinite tremble in your presence."
Naruto slowly raised his hand.
"I hear you as well, Emerald Spirit."
Sakura blinked.
"You… you can understand her?"
Naruto gave a small nod.
"She speaks the original tongue of the spirits—the language taught by the dragons of the Infinite."
Sakura's eyes widened.
"You know… the dragons?"
Naruto knelt down and placed one hand on the ground. He closed his eyes.
A circle of shifting runes appeared. A powerful, ancient, and benevolent aura rose like a sacred whisper.
> "Answer my call… Awaken, Shiryū."
A flash of silver split the air. In a burst of celestial energy, a small dragon—no more than five feet long—with bluish, glowing scales and amber eyes like twin miniature suns, appeared, hovering above the circle.
Its voice sounded childlike, yet imbued with ageless wisdom.
"I have returned… Master of the Infinite."
Sakura took a small step back, eyes wide.
"He… he called you Master?"
The little dragon slowly descended and curled around Naruto's shoulders with an almost brotherly familiarity.
"Naruto is no ordinary human, summoner. He is the bridge-child—the one who unites the real and the Infinite. The one the Ancients call: Ar'Talan-Shen, Master of the Eternal Heart."
Elyanë, the fairy, bowed in turn, with infinite grace.
"In your presence, Naruto Uzumaki, the laws of nature fall silent. The dimensions listen. You are the Master of the Infinite."
Sakura covered her mouth with her hand, overwhelmed.
Naruto, calm, looked at the fairy and the dragon.
"I didn't choose that title."
Shiryū replied softly:
"No… but it chose you."
Sakura fell to her knees, tears in her eyes. Too much. Too many revelations. And yet… deep in her heart, a gentle warmth.
Naruto knelt in front of her.
"You don't have to understand it all right now. I'm still me."
She looked up, her eyes filled with tears—but also with admiration and tenderness.
"No. You're… so much more."
She reached out and touched his cheek.
"And I want to get to know every part of you—even the ones that make dimensions tremble."