Naruto and the others entered the place where the Dragon Vein lay. It looked no different from before, only much cleaner. In the hollow below, water flowed, shimmering faintly with a purple glow under the reflection of the Dragon Vein's chakra.
Under the protection of the shinobi, Sara stepped forward to the Dragon Vein.
She recited the long-passed incantation under her breath, placing both hands on the mechanism that sealed the Dragon Vein.
The mechanism was like a sentient eye. After glancing at Sara, it blinked shut and merged together.
"I've closed the Dragon Vein."
"Excellent!" Kiyosuke leapt forward and said, "Minato, you go and seal the Dragon Vein. Leave the rest to me. Naruto, say your goodbyes to your father—it's time for us to head back."
"..."
After defeating Mukade, the technique inside him had reactivated, and those like Kiyosuke who had come from the future were bound to return to their own time.
Father and son locked eyes. Minato could clearly see the reluctance in Naruto's gaze. Smiling, he said,
"We'll meet again someday. Naruto, you've already become an outstanding ninja. Kiyosuke has raised you well."
Naruto's eyes stung. Pursing his lips, he muttered,
"Kiyosuke-san only ever dragged me around to freeload meals, never cooked for himself, snored when he slept, liked sneaking out to drink with Kakashi-sensei and the others, stayed out all night, and still hasn't gotten married... Even though I'm already grown up, he still worries about me..."
Minato gently ruffled his son's hair, then handed him a kunai.
"Keep this as a memento, my child."
"I'll treasure it."
Minato then approached the Dragon Vein, thrusting the kunai into the activation device. Instantly, sealing marks spread across the entire mechanism.
"Kiyosuke, do it!"
"Here I come!"
With a roar, Kiyosuke summoned endless flames. They surged into a colossal hand that seized Mukade's body, burning him. Even though the puppet felt no pain, sheer terror filled Mukade's eyes.
The crushing grip shattered his body. Kiyosuke unleashed overwhelming might, each blow more violent than the last, pulverizing the puppet's frame.
"Just one last strike!"
From the puppet's chest, the core that housed Mukade's transformed body was exposed. He stared at Kiyosuke in sheer horror.
"Fire Fist!!!"
The final strike came crashing down.
Boom!!!
Mukade's body vanished within the raging inferno.
Kiyosuke landed firmly on the ground. At that moment, a young Kakashi ran up with a boy and girl—none other than the long-missing Yamato and Sakura.
"That's... the Fourth?!" Yamato exclaimed in shock as he looked at Minato.
"Hello. I'm not Hokage just yet."
Minato scratched his head. So, that means I'll definitely become Hokage in the future?
That's great news!
"The Fourth? Isn't that Naruto's dad?!" Sakura gasped as she looked at Minato. Handsome! Even more handsome than Naruto!
Only Kiyosuke-sensei could stand on equal footing with someone like this!
Just then, their bodies began to glow faintly.
Kiyosuke said, "Mukade's been killed by me, so the technique's effect has ended. It's time for us to return."
Minato said, "Before that, I'll seal away our memories. As much as I don't want to, it's better not to remember this part—for the sake of the future."
But this was their future.
Kiyosuke shook his head.
"Minato, this is your future. For us, it's the past. These memories won't affect us, so don't use the Memory Sealing Technique on us. Let Naruto keep some memories of you too."
"I see."
Minato thought for a moment and agreed.
"Wait a second." Yamato suddenly spoke up. He walked to Kakashi and gave him a smack on the head.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me?!"
"That's for always bullying me later!" Yamato said with a satisfied grin.
What the heck—Yamato, you've changed! Weren't you supposed to be the honest one?
"Yamato, how could you do that?" Kiyosuke walked over and smacked Kakashi too.
"Ow! Why'd you hit me too?! Who even are you?!"
"Ahh, that felt good. That's for all the trouble you've caused me lately."
Minato twitched at the corners of his mouth. It seemed Kakashi would grow up to be a troublesome senior who liked bullying his juniors.
He noticed Naruto, Sasuke, and the others itching to join in.
Wham, wham, wham!
Kakashi crouched on the ground, his head covered in lumps. Naruto said gleefully,
"That's payback for always being late, for tricking us into skipping breakfast and starving, finally settled!"
"And for not taking missions seriously, reading dirty books all the time!"
"And for always lying to us!"
Looks like this kid will do plenty of outrageous things in the future...
The glow around them grew brighter.
Kiyosuke said his farewell.
"We'll meet again, Minato!"
"Goodbye, Dad! When you get back, hurry and marry Mom already!"
"See you!"
The group from the future vanished. Minato coughed lightly, then used a sealing technique to erase the memory of these events, leaving only fragments of important information. Everything about Kiyosuke and the others' arrival was sealed away completely.
...
Kiyosuke and the others returned to their own time. Naruto shouted,
"My dad is so cool!"
He pulled out the kunai Minato had given him and grinned.
"I want to be like Dad! I'll definitely become Hokage!"
"Do as you like. But don't mention today's events in your mission report. Just say Mukade was burned to ash by me, and leave it at that." Kiyosuke spoke firmly. Time travel was too terrifying a subject. To prevent anyone from attempting to exploit this power, he decided to keep it secret.
Yamato nodded.
"Right. Better to leave it unsaid. But, senpai, Mukade destroyed the Fourth's seal. Won't the Dragon Vein reopen?"
"Probably. Yamato, let's reinforce it together with a sealing technique."
He picked up the kunai Mukade had pulled out earlier and thrust it back into the Dragon Vein. Kiyosuke and Yamato layered a new seal over it. Though not as strong as Minato's, Kiyosuke added a safeguard—if anyone tried to break the seal, they'd be burned by flames.
Yamato set up a warning sign nearby. Kiyosuke nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. That'll do."
"Uh, senpai, what's the point of putting up a warning sign? Do you think it'll actually work?"
"It's for people who don't know what's going on. What if some kids come messing around? As for real villains—they won't care about signs or traps."
"Fair enough."
With that done, Kiyosuke led everyone out of Rōran and back to Konoha to report the mission.
Life returned to its normal course. Jiraiya, who had been wandering the world, came back to Konoha to take a break. He spent most of his time in the Hokage's office, his relationship with Tsunade tinged with ambiguity. Watching the two of them, Kiyosuke couldn't help but grow impatient.