"Stop, Kankuro!"
A voice came from the tree nearby—it was Gaara. "You're embarrassing the village!"
The moment Naruto heard Kankuro speak, he had already scanned the area. As expected, Gaara was right there.
Kankuro's face was filled with fear. "G-Gaara, it's this kid—"
Gaara spoke impatiently, "Don't forget why we came all this way! If you keep whining, I'll kill you!"
Naruto was still the same kind-hearted person. He wanted to save Gaara from the darkness. In him, Naruto saw a reflection of himself.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. What's yours?"
Gaara dissolved into sand and reappeared beside Kankuro and Temari.
"I am Gaara of the Sand. You're strong—I look forward to fighting you." Naruto's speed had made Gaara feel threatened, but only powerful opponents could truly excite him.
Naruto looked into Gaara's cold eyes. "Then I'll see you at the Chunin Exams. Later!"
Naruto left with his three little followers and returned to Yang Tao's side.
"Looking cool, huh, Naruto?" Yang Tao teased, grinning like he was impressed.
Naruto's face turned red under his gaze. He hadn't forgotten how embarrassing this scene was in the original story—back then, he couldn't even handle Kankuro.
"N-no way, big bro!" Naruto gave his signature goofy smile, his face completely flushed.
Konohamaru, now fully recovered, cheered, "Boss Naruto, that was amazing!" Udon and Moegi also looked at Naruto with sparkling eyes, full of admiration.
Naruto felt even more embarrassed.
But deep down, he thought to himself, *Being admired like this feels great!*
"Alright, Konohamaru, you guys go play, but be careful—there are a lot of foreign ninja in the village. Stay safe!"
"Okay! See you later, Boss Naruto!"
Once Konohamaru and the others had left, Yang Tao turned to Naruto. "Alright, let's head home!"
Before long, the two of them arrived at Naruto's front door.
Naruto suddenly sensed someone inside the house.
"Wait a second, big bro! There's someone in there!" Naruto said, pulling out a shuriken, ready to defend himself.
Yang Tao didn't say anything.
At that moment, the door suddenly opened from the inside. Standing there was Kushina, looking at Naruto with a gentle smile.
"Welcome home, Naruto-kun!"
Clink~ Naruto's shuriken fell to the ground.
Naruto stood there, trembling, his eyes red, staring at Kushina in disbelief. His mind went completely blank.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
"M-Mom!" Naruto's voice cracked as he called out.
Kushina rushed forward and hugged him tightly, tears streaming down her face.
"Naruto, you've grown so much. I haven't been a good mother... You've suffered so much all these years!"
"Come on, Naruto, let's go home. Your dad is waiting for you!"
Naruto, still in shock, let Kushina pull him inside.
At some point, Zabuza, Kabuto, and Haku had appeared next to Yang Tao.
Yang Tao watched Naruto's reunion with his family and said with emotion, "It's really heartwarming, isn't it?"
Kabuto adjusted his glasses. "This is all thanks to you. Without you, the Fourth Hokage and his wife wouldn't have come back to life."
"Kabuto, do you have any wishes?"
Yang Tao's question made Kabuto freeze. To be honest, he had never thought about that before. He had always just focused on completing Orochimaru-sama's tasks as perfectly as possible.
"A wish…" For once, Kabuto looked lost.
"If you don't know yet, take your time to think about it! Tonight belongs to Naruto and his family. Let's go!"
With that, Yang Tao led the group back to their base in the Naruto world.
On the way, he suddenly received a message from Naruto: "Thank you!"
Yang Tao smiled, closed the chat, and didn't reply.
Feeling good, he turned to Kabuto and said, "Get in touch with Orochimaru. Ask him if he wants to watch some TV!"
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