"First Division, arrive!"
"Second Division, engage!"
"Third Division has also arrived!"
"Fourth Division, arriving!"
"Fifth Division as well!"
The Logistical Support and Medical Division entered the battlefield!!
Behind Naruto Uzumaki stood tens of thousands of shinobi from the Allied Shinobi Forces. They gathered behind him, moving in full accordance with his command.
The members of the Uchiha clan who existed within Naruto Uzumaki's body and consciousness had long since let go of their hatred toward Konoha. On this battlefield, where the future of the entire ninja world was the stake, they saw themselves as Naruto Uzumaki, sharing in that surging, burning resolve.
From someone who was once unacknowledged and had nothing, to the very core of the Allied Shinobi Forces, the one around whom the entire battle revolved. Even the Five Kage followed his orders without hesitation.
How much Naruto Uzumaki had given to reach this point, how his stubborn resolve had moved and united so many people, the Uchiha understood better than anyone.
Across from them stood Obito Uchiha.
"I will destroy this ninja world!"
"I'll stop you from destroying this ninja world!!"
Their wills clashed head-on. Though Obito Uchiha on the opposite side had yet to realize it, the three Obito within Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness already understood…
They had lost.
It was fate. A complete and utter defeat.
No matter how many times Obito Uchiha tried to shatter Naruto's conviction, to kill his belief—
With a single strike, the headquarters formed by the Allied Shinobi Forces' strategists was annihilated.
Shikamaru Nara and Ino Yamanaka, forced down their grief for their parents. Tears streamed down their faces, yet on this battlefield where everyone was suppressing their pain, they could not cry out loud.
The Ten-Tails' repeated attacks threw the Allied Shinobi Forces into chaos.
Wooden spikes from the Wood Release aimed straight at the last hope of the entire ninja world. As those spikes came flying toward him, the Uchiha—unable to move just like Naruto—stared with eyes wide open.
Sasuke: !!!
Obito: !!!
Time seemed to slow as the Uchiha stared fixedly ahead…
That Byakugan girl, just like she had after Pain, once again stepped in front of "them" without hesitation.
"Hinata-sama!"
The black-haired Byakugan boy found a flaw in the defense. With his arms spread wide, he still rushed toward certain death.
"Neji!!!"
"Naruto, your life isn't just your own. Every one of us is willing to die for you…"
"Why?! Why would you risk yourselves to save someone like me?!"
"Because you… called me a genius…"
Unaware of all this, Fourth Shinobi World War Sasuke stood there with a cold expression. No one could guess what he was thinking, but if Orochimaru and the others were present, they would know that Sasuke was extremely dangerous right now. He was angry. No one knew exactly why, but he was furious.
Obito was the same. Inside Naruto's consciousness, he clenched his fists tightly. If he could leave Naruto's mind, he would have already leapt in front of the masked man and beaten him senseless.
Naruto was crying, glaring furiously at Obito Uchiha across from him.
Those emotions spread to Sasuke, Obito, Itachi, Shisui, and every Uchiha present.
"Look, Naruto Uzumaki! Look at the corpses all around you!! Say it again! Say you'll never let your companions die right in front of your eyes!..!"
"You have no father and no mother! Your master, Jiraiya, is dead! Everyone who protects you will die as well! Keep opposing me, and everyone behind you will die!!"
Fourth War Sasuke's rage reached its absolute peak. He bitterly hated himself for listening to so much pointless nonsense from the First instead of rushing over sooner.
Child Sasuke ground his teeth so hard they let out creaking sounds.
As for Obito Uchiha across three eras, the complexity and fury in his heart couldn't possibly be described with just one or two sentences.
The members of the Uchiha clan were filled with anger, pain, and helplessness.
If only they had joined the war.
If only the Uchiha clan of the other world hadn't clashed so fiercely with Konoha...
Then they too could have fought on the battlefield of the Fourth Shinobi World War, for the honor of their clan, to protect Konoha, and to protect their comrades.
"Look, Naruto! This is the price of opposing me! Everyone who acknowledged you will die, just like Jiraiya, that Hyūga clan woman, and the ninja at your side! In the end, you'll still have nothing!"
"What awaits you at the very end is the place you know best and fear most—the hellish abyss of loneliness!!"
"...."
Emotions were suppressed to the breaking point.
The trigger for a desperate counterattack was—
"Snap."
Once again, it was that Hyūga clan girl.
At this moment, Child Sasuke's feelings were incredibly complicated. Part of him was grateful that she helped the dead-last at such a critical moment, but at the same time...
Where the hell did my grown-up self go?!!!
The dead-last is about to become someone else's!!
Poor Child Sasuke hadn't even clearly understood what love or friendship really were yet, but because of that kiss in the illusion and Naruto's later, baffling actions, he was guided straight down the wrong path...
Fourth War Sasuke: Nothing else needs to be said. Obito Uchiha really deserves to die.
The Nine-Tails showed everyone once again the scene of Naruto's birth, when his parents gave their lives for him and for the ninja world, finally awakening Naruto's fighting spirit.
In an instant, he transformed into Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
Child Sasuke grabbed Hinata Hyūga's hand with the unmistakable intensity of a love rival.
Fourth War Sasuke grabbed the Byakugan girl's hand with a feeling that could only be described as "yeah, right."
Obito from three eras grabbed the Hyūga main family's eldest daughter's hand with nothing but pure awkwardness.
Shisui and Itachi grabbed the hand of a little girl who, in the real world, was probably only five or six years old, feeling nothing but helplessness.
The rest of the Uchiha clan all felt a similarly subtle and indescribable sensation.
I really want to cast my vote for my own Sasuke, but why is it that Gaara the Kazekage, the Hyūga main family's eldest daughter, the branch family's young master, and even ANBU Sai all seem worthy of a vote?
Why is it that Sasuke of the Uchiha clan is the only one constantly dragging his own score down?!
Help me...
This is way too hard to deal with...
...
In short, everyone was wrapped in Naruto's Tailed Beast cloak.
That sense of security and overwhelming power made the Uchiha within the illusion feel as if they, too, were fighting enemies on the battlefield.
It was precisely because of this strength and bond that, later on, after Naruto exhausted everything he had for everyone's sake, the entire Allied Shinobi Forces raised an Earth Release barrier to block the Ten-Tails.
Behind them, medical-nin with pink hair treated their wounds.
In front of them were tens of thousands of figures, standing with their backs turned, shielding him. The sensitive, emotionally attuned Uchiha were so moved they could no longer suppress their feelings.
Even knowing they weren't the real Naruto Uzumaki on the battlefield of the Fourth Shinobi World War, that feeling of risking everything for others and being protected in return by people willing to give their lives for you… who wouldn't be shaken by that?
A simple Earth Release, yet made stirring and powerful by the perfectly synchronized hand seals of the entire Allied Shinobi Forces.
Even though they couldn't truly protect Naruto Uzumaki, at this moment, even the Uchiha who existed within Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness formed that same seal.
Especially Obito Uchiha. Staring at his counterpart across the field, still the villain of the world, their expressions were solemn as they slowly completed the Earth Release hand seals, step by step.
"Clap—!"
The crisp sound of tens of thousands of palms striking echoed through the battlefield, and more than ten thousand earthen walls rose before Naruto Uzumaki.
Standing atop the Ten-Tails, Obito Uchiha could no longer tolerate the sight and immediately controlled the Ten-Tails to attack Naruto. Before such power, the earthen walls seemed to offer no defense at all.
Just when there seemed to be no way out…
The Edo Tensei Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, who had spoken with Sasuke earlier, made a dazzling entrance.
If handsomeness could be scored, then with this move alone, Minato Namikaze would probably earn a perfect ten from the Uchiha—assuming the maximum score was five.
Minato Namikaze said,
"Thank you for healing Naruto. Could it be… you're Naruto's girlfriend?"
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke: ...
Child Sasuke: ...
Back then, I couldn't be bothered to spare you a glance. Now that I actually want to see you, I have to line up all the way from Konoha to Sunagakure?!
Great. Another damn day of waiting in line.
Obito's expression turned awkward as he thought to himself that Minato-sensei really was just as naturally dense as ever.
What followed was a genuine miracle. The four Edo Tensei Hokage joined forces and unleashed the Four Red Yang Formation.
Then, at last, Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke made his entrance.
Konoha's Team 7, the new generation of the Three Sannin, reunited once more.
The battle that had once been experienced from Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke's perspective was now relived through Naruto Uzumaki's eyes.
The ending that hadn't been seen last time was finally revealed this time.
Susanoo clad the Nine-Tails.
Never before had purple and yellow complemented each other with such brilliance. Flawless, seamless perfection.
Kagutsuchi shattered Ten-Tails Obito's Sword of Nunoboko.
At the moment they saw their own defeat, the three Obito Uchiha from parallel worlds felt an indescribable sense of relief.
Immediately afterward, through the connection between chakra and the Sword of Nunoboko, they glimpsed the true dream buried deep within their hearts.
After countless twists and turns, standing together with Kakashi before Rin's grave, he asked Rin to watch over him as he became the Hokage and a hero of the ninja world, step by step realizing the ideal of "peace."
Young Obito: !!!
Rebellious Obito: !!!
Adult Obito: !!!
So this is…
The true dream hidden deep within my heart?!
Becoming the Hokage and protecting the village.
Fulfilling the promise made to Rin…
Not disgracing the honor of the Uchiha clan. Saving the world in the coolest way possible!!!
Rebellious Obito.
Adult Obito.
"And since that day… what exactly have we been doing?!"
What destroys a person isn't always a raging storm, but sometimes a beautiful picture.
Once, he cherished his comrades more than anything, swearing he would never abandon them. He had said that in the ninja world, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are scum among scum. If both sides are scum, then he would choose to save his comrades.
What has Obito Uchiha become now?
Naruto Uzumaki's existence was like light, driving away the darkness and exposing the Obito Uchiha who hid within it, wallowing in self-pity, until there was nowhere left to hide.
During the tug-of-war, the fingers of the three Obito that existed within Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness trembled uncontrollably.
His eyes, nasal cavity, and throat burned with the pain of tears held back by force.
As more and more companions gathered around Naruto Uzumaki, his face suddenly changed. It became the face of Konoha ninja Obito Uchiha, then Obito Uchiha wearing the Uchiha clan robes, and finally Obito Uchiha wearing the Hokage's hat.
In a peaceful world, complaining to Kakashi about paperwork that never seemed to end, the revered Hokage-sama of the new Team 7.
That beautiful scene was like flesh-eating maggots, gnawing away at the last trace of darkness deep within Ten-Tails Obito, as well as the Adult Obito and Rebellious Obito residing in Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness.
Collapse, wailing, regret—none of those words were enough to describe their state now.
Clearly already adults, yet at this moment they cried until their faces were completely crumpled, pitiful like someone abandoned by fate…
At this point, they still didn't know that the real breaking point—was actually still to come.
***
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