"You little brat!"
Kurama let out an enraged roar, simultaneously realizing that the other party had actually called him by name. He immediately turned his fierce gaze to Isobu.
"Isobu, you actually told your Jinchūriki my name?!"
Takeshi ignored Kurama's angry outburst and jumped down from Isobu's head, looking around for Kushina.
"It wasn't me who told him."
Isobu slowly shook his head, seemingly annoyed by Kurama's loud voice as well.
"If it wasn't you, then what, was it Sage of Six Paths?!"
Kurama, seeing Isobu still refusing to admit it, roared even more furiously.
"Kushina-san! Kushina-san, wake up!"
While the two Tailed Beasts argued, Takeshi finally found Kushina, wrapped in Kurama's chakra.
"You brat, don't even think about it!"
Kurama was furious. That little brat had not only ignored him but was now trying to wake Kushina right in front of him.
With one swipe of his claw, Kurama aimed to pierce Takeshi on the spot.
"Kurama, the blue-eyed boy from the prophecy has been born! The prophecy of the Sage of Six Paths has come true!"
Feeling the forceful gust from behind, Takeshi made no attempt to dodge. He simply stood there and let Kurama attack.
After all, this was the consciousness space. He couldn't really be killed by Kurama here.
"Nani?!"
Kurama halted his attack, turning a suspicious eye toward Isobu.
"You even told him that?!"
Isobu shook his head repeatedly, denying it.
Then he explained everything that had happened since his first encounter with Takeshi.
"That old man gave you a dream?"
Kurama let out a furious laugh. He didn't believe a word of it, thinking Isobu had been conned.
But after laughing, Kurama sensed something was wrong.
The truth about the Ten Tails and Kaguya—such highly classified matters—how could Takeshi have known them unless he heard it directly from a Tailed Beast?
But there was no time for Kurama to ponder it further. Outside, Minato had finally found an opportunity and began casting a sealing technique to suppress Kurama.
"Damn it! You were stalling for time!"
Kurama immediately felt his power being drained and let out an unwilling roar.
"Kurama..."
As Minato increased his strength, Kushina regained her consciousness within the spiritual space.
Countless chains erupted from the ground, binding Kurama tightly in place.
"Damn it! Kushina! And you, brat!"
Kurama's eyes burned with unwillingness and humiliation. Was he really going to be sealed again? Bound all over again?
"Kushina-san, don't call him 'Nine-Tails.' He has a name—Kurama."
Seeing how effortlessly Kushina subdued Kurama, Takeshi finally let out a sigh of relief.
This night had been far too intense.
Also... Sakumo, where the hell are your reinforcements? Why haven't they shown up even now?!
Grumbling in his heart, Takeshi had too much to say. In the end, it all came out as a single sigh.
"Sigh... Kurama, I really didn't lie to you. You can observe slowly inside Kushina-san's body. See for yourself whether the newborn Naruto is truly the Child of Prophecy spoken of by the Sage of Six Paths."
"You damn brat..."
Just as Kurama was about to gather a Tailed Beast Bomb in indignation, a massive hand formed of adamantine chains slapped it apart.
"Alright, Nine-Tails—no, Kurama—just behave and stay quietly sealed."
As Kushina's voice fell, the Tailed Beast Cloak around her body also vanished in the real world.
"It's finally over."
At that moment, Takeshi and Isobu left Kushina's consciousness space.
"Thanks to you, Isobu."
Takeshi patted Isobu's head, stretched lazily, and expressed his gratitude before preparing to dispel his Tailed Beast form.
A sudden roar of anger drew Takeshi and Isobu's attention.
"That voice... why does it sound like Sarutobi-sensei?"
Takeshi turned toward the sound and saw a large staff swinging straight down toward Isobu's head.
Clang!
"Huh?!"
...
"Sorry, sorry, I thought it was the Three-Tails going berserk... didn't expect it to be the Nine-Tails."
After understanding the situation, Hiruzen had an apologetic look on his face and smiled at Takeshi.
Takeshi, meanwhile, ignored the face that looked like a wrinkled chrysanthemum and was frantically comforting Isobu within the consciousness space.
"Don't be mad, Isobu. Look, my old sensei is out there apologizing to you."
"Hey, Isobu? Look at me, will you?"
"Didn't you say you like cute little boys? I'm heading to Kirigakure in a few days. I'll take you to meet a super adorable kid."
"No, wait, not just one—two! Doesn't that sound fun, Isobu?"
Isobu: ...
As Isobu swung its tail at Takeshi, he was immediately knocked out of the consciousness space.
"Naruto..."
Just as Takeshi was about to scold his former sensei for arriving late and hitting the wrong target, Kushina's voice drew everyone's attention.
Lying on a stretcher, Kushina gently caressed Naruto's face with eyes full of loving tears.
This was her and Minato's child.
Minato, who was holding Naruto nearby, also had a look of deep affection.
"Kushina, thank you. You've made me a father."
Watching this touching scene, Danzo turned away expressionlessly and led the Root ninja away.
"Thanks to you this time, Takeshi."
Before leaving, Hiruzen expressed his gratitude to Takeshi.
"Go back and rest for now. Once you've recovered, come back and give us a full report."
With that said, Hiruzen clutched his waist and staggered onto a stretcher.
Having taken a full punch from Susanoo, he had forced himself to come help. Only now could he finally relax—and he could no longer keep up the act of being fine.
"Tch. Old man, you're too reckless for your age."
A familiar voice suddenly rang out. Everyone turned toward the sound and saw Tsunade, carrying a pack, striding toward them with a teasing smile.
"Tsunade-san, you're back?"
Takeshi immediately waved and greeted her.
"Yeah, I heard about what happened from Katsuyu. Not bad, you did well. Tch... Old man, your injury's serious, huh?"
Tsunade casually tossed her pack to the nearby medic and began flipping Hiruzen over roughly, ignoring his pained expression as she inspected the wound.
"Wasn't Jiraiya in the village? Why didn't you have him deal with the enemy? Why'd you jump in yourself?"
After determining the extent of the injury, Tsunade started treating him while joking.
"Jiraiya? That guy... Huh? Wait, where is Jiraiya?!"
Gritting his teeth as his disciple treated him, Hiruzen was about to snap back, but suddenly remembered something critical.
That's right—where were Jiraiya and Sakumo?!