Might Duy. Might Guy.
That surname was exceedingly rare in Konoha.
Without even thinking about it, anyone could tell they were father and son. That legendary Eight Inner Gates technique had to be the forbidden art Might Duy once used as a mere Konoha genin—raging through the battlefield, killing four of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and crippling the remaining three. One battle was all it took for him to become a legend.
"This moment right now is when the Green Beast of Konoha makes his move!!"
"Eight Inner Gates! Seventh Gate—Gate of Wonder, open!!"
Boom—!!!
"!!!!"
The power that erupted forth was overwhelming.
It wasn't just the Uchiha clan members whose minds were shaken. Even Madara Uchiha himself on the battlefield was stunned.
Who was it that said Might Guy was dead last?
Naruto Uzumaki. Obito Uchiha. Might Guy.
Konoha's so-called underdogs? Not a single one of them was someone to take lightly.
"When you're ready to die to protect what matters most, when you carry on Konoha's Will of Fire and burn yourself to nurture new buds—that is the peak of youth!!"
"Eight Inner Gates Formation—full release!"
At that instant, the Uchiha ninja finally realized just how deeply Konoha had hidden its true strength.
There was no Kekkei Genkai, no great clan inheritance passed down through generations. And yet, the resolve to protect the future allowed this man—who looked utterly ordinary at first glance—to grow strong enough to stand against gods.
Not to mention the rest. How could people like them, who had long shut themselves off, blinded by the Sharingan, clan glory, power, and authority, truly contend with an entire village or even the ninja world itself?
And…
While things weren't all beautiful, calling Konoha completely beyond saving was far from the truth. After all, in this Shinobi World War and throughout Naruto's life, they had already experienced countless bonds they themselves had chosen to ignore.
Evening Elephant
Under the strategy laid out by the Edo Tensei Fourth Hokage, the already deranged Madara Uchiha was kicked straight back down to the ground.
Night Guy.
It was nothing more than taijutsu, yet it forcibly twisted space and time itself, achieving what was considered the most difficult and talent-demanding feat among all ninjutsu—space–time ninjutsu.
At this moment, silent witnesses.
Who would still dare say he had no talent to be a ninja?
Back in the real world, hadn't that kid come to the clan grounds with Kakashi just a few days ago? But at the time, relations between the clan and Konoha were strained. Since both of them were clearly aligned with Konoha, no one even bothered to be polite. Faces were cold, and the looks they received were filled with suspicion.
Before entering the illusion, who could have known that kid was Might Duy's son?
They didn't even know his name. And because of Obito's eyes, the clan had always despised Kakashi, along with anyone who was close to him…
Now that they finally understood Kakashi was nothing more than one of the sacrifices born from internal power struggles within their own clan, their past behavior felt unbearably childish and humiliating.
And the root of it all was Black Zetsu, along with their former clan leader…
Madara Uchiha.
The Red Dragon roared with overwhelming might. The man who had kicked Madara Uchiha to the brink of death was nothing more than a Konoha ninja who had been mocked since childhood, a dead last who couldn't even learn ordinary ninjutsu.
If this hadn't happened right before their eyes, which of these Uchiha would have dared to believe it?
Obito Uchiha, spanning three different eras, was completely shaken.
He had thought he was finally strong enough, that he would never again be suppressed by someone like Might Guy.
Turns out the truth was simple. The other side just hadn't shown his real strength yet.
What did this feel like?
Like thinking you'd finally reached the top—only to realize your opponent was a top-tier monster playing in the beginner league.
Seen that way, losing to Might Guy during the Chūnin Exams back then didn't feel unjust at all.
To force Madara Uchiha to suffer such a devastating loss, no matter how you looked at it, deserved a sincere praise. Well done!!
...
Elsewhere.
The Sage of Six Paths reflected on his own failure. He had not noticed the looming threat in advance, failed to guide his eldest son onto the right path, and had naively used chakra, leading to the birth of ninjas in the ages that followed.
"This time, I will face Indra and Ashura directly, and divide my power in two, entrusting it to you…"
"Shukaku."
"Matatabi."
"Isobu."
"Son Goku."
"Kokuo."
"Saiken."
"Chomei."
"Gyuki."
"Kurama."
"The blue-eyed youth who once played with the tailed beasts in Gamamaru's dream, the Child of Prophecy, has finally appeared. Whether he changes the world, leading it to peace or to destruction, you will witness it yourselves."
Over there, Naruto Uzumaki had finally finished listening to the old man recount the past and was preparing to accept what he offered…
No, to accept the power he offered.
Here, Might Guy had already burned away every last trace of his youth. Like fallen leaves drifting in the chill of late autumn, he lay withered and spent, quietly waiting to be buried in the earth, becoming nourishment for new green leaves yet to sprout.
Such a death was the most honorable ending a ninja could ask for.
The Truth-Seeking Ball flew in, about to bring his life to an end.
What the Uchihas never expected was that, at this very moment, their consciousness would once again merge into one.
Inside Naruto Uzumaki's body, as he felt that seemingly omnipotent power surge through him, he lifted his leg and kicked Madara Uchiha's Truth-Seeking Ball straight away.
"Son!"
"Yeah."
"Senjutsu: Lava Release Rasenshuriken!!"
!!!!
What?!
The power that condensed in his hand in an instant made Itachi Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Obito Uchiha, and the others freeze as if they'd forgotten how to breathe.
It wasn't just the power of the Six Paths. All nine tailed beasts had willingly followed Naruto Uzumaki, becoming his bonds and his strength.
Shisui: This is seriously insane. If the guys from Iwagakure found out right now, they'd be so jealous they'd cry and drool at the same time.
Itachi: So Naruto really is Sasuke's younger brother… If I think about it that way, does that mean I suddenly have two outstanding younger brothers?
Young Obito: Damn it, my ranking just dropped another spot! As expected of Minato-sensei's son! Wait, is the Sage of Six Paths trying to steal a son from Minato-sensei and Brother Fugaku too?
Rebellious Obito, Adult Obito: That's terrifyingly strong. The combined power of the Sage of Six Paths and the tailed beasts… he casually cut down that tree with a single strike.
Fugaku Uchiha remained silent, shock written plainly across his face, his expression growing heavy.
Did anyone still remember that Naruto and Sasuke were only genin, and that Obito was just a chunin?
The clan head's focus was a little strange, but it seemed the Fourth Shinobi World War might finally be coming to an end.
However…
Madara Uchiha absorbed the severed God Tree, gaining an overwhelming amount of chakra, something even Naruto and Sasuke fighting together couldn't easily contend with.
Adult Obito: He still has one Rinnegan. It's with me! Kakashi!!
His consciousness couldn't reach the battlefield. Just as he'd predicted, Kakashi was forcibly robbed of one eye. Madara Uchiha used Kamui to enter Obito's Kamui dimension and dragged him out.
"No wonder you developed thoughts of betraying me. You actually managed to break free from my control."
Hearing Madara Uchiha's words, the surrounding Uchihas were stunned into silence.
But the three Obito Uchiha from parallel worlds had already more or less guessed it. Madara Uchiha was about to reveal a truth that would drag them into an endless cycle of despair.
"In the Kamui dimension, I deliberately let Kakashi pierce my heart with Raikiri. I gambled that I could break free from your control and remove the sealing curse on my heart."
After hearing Obito's words, Madara Uchiha let out a pleased laugh.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Nothing. I'm just laughing at fate. Who would've thought you'd use the exact same method as that little girl to remove the seal on your heart?"
"That little girl…"
"Back then, in order to make you useful to me, I had Kirigakure capture that girl. I planned to turn her into the Three-Tails' jinchuriki, so you'd witness her destroying Konoha with your own eyes, and finally give up on this hopeless world."
From Naruto Uzumaki's perspective, everyone could clearly see it.
On Obito Uchiha's face, controlled by Madara, shock, disbelief, and absolute despair all surfaced at once.
"That's right. You must have already guessed it. It was her. I never expected that after all these years, you would end up just like her, using Kakashi's Raikiri to remove the cursed seal I placed on your hearts…"
Earlier, when Naruto and Sasuke used Susanoo clad in the Nine-Tails to sever the Ten-Tails Obito's Sword of Nunoboko, the Uchiha clan caught fragments of Obito's dreams through the intermingling of Naruto's chakra and Obito's chakra. When those scenes were pieced together with Rin Nohara's gravestone and Madara Uchiha's words, the hidden meaning became clear…
Obito had always believed that Kakashi killed Rin.
But the truth was…
Fully aware of the conditions required to awaken the Uchiha Sharingan, and of what the Uchiha clan's so-called "possession by evil" truly meant, Madara Uchiha had exploited Obito Uchiha. He twisted Obito's love for Konoha and for the world, shattered his faith in the Hokage title—and used the little girl named Rin Nohara as nothing more than a pawn.
She had likely been only thirteen or fourteen at the time, yet for the sake of saving the village, she chose sacrifice without hesitation.
'So… that's the truth…'
'The reason the Konoha higher-ups guarded against the Uchiha was because Obito Uchiha once controlled the Nine-Tails to attack the village, which led to the death of the Fourth Hokage. And the reason Obito did that was because Madara Uchiha exploited the flaws in Uchiha emotions, killed the companion most important to him in Konoha, and bound him completely…'
'In the end, the root of all this evil actually came from within our own Uchiha clan!!'
'Damn it… bastards!! How can we possibly still have the right to keep blaming Konoha?!'
'We were the ones who pushed all the blame onto others back then…'
'It's just… too shameful…'
Those who learned the truth couldn't help but hate Black Zetsu, resent Madara Uchiha, and resent Obito Uchiha. All their former dissatisfaction toward Konoha's higher-ups and its villagers now felt like knives pressing into the softest part of their own emotional flaws, repeatedly exposing their weakness.
"Why?! Why did you choose me?!"
"Because you were gentle. Because you were kind to this world. Because you wanted to become Hokage. That's exactly why I wanted to break you, to watch you fall."
What goes around comes around. Heaven spares no one.
Not long ago, Obito Uchiha had tried to force Naruto down the same path as himself and Madara by slaughtering the Allied Shinobi Forces.
That shout from back then—
"Look at this, Naruto Uzumaki! Can you still say you won't let your comrades die right in front of you?! Say it again! I dare you to say it again!!"
—now felt like a cruel joke.
It turned out he was the real fool, living inside someone else's scheme, manipulated like a puppet…
"If you're also a Uchiha, you should know that once our clan loses something, our emotions flip one hundred and eighty degrees. The kinder someone was, the more extreme they become after losing love, isn't that right?"
Those words sounded strangely familiar.
Wasn't that almost a direct copy of what the Second Hokage once said?
The Hokage the Uchiha clan had hated most were the Second Hokage, the so-called Third Hokage and the Third Hokage's advisory group.
And yet now, those very same words came from the mouth of their former clan leader.
Whether it was irony or bitter reflection, no one could say.
Obito Uchiha's face was twisted in pain. His will could no longer support any resistance against Black Zetsu. Labeled a willful child by Black Zetsu, he wandered deep within his own heart, confessing his sins to everyone, reduced to a pitiful wretch so low it was almost contemptible.
Hearing Black Zetsu's words, the three Obito Uchiha from parallel worlds felt only sorrow. Not even the slightest urge to refute him arose.
Because that was exactly what they were…
After learning the truth, every second of every moment became torment.
Still, the same saying applied.
What goes around comes around. Heaven spares no one.
By this point, the Uchiha clan members watching Madara Uchiha realized that even he did not yet know the true truth.
In Black Zetsu's words, he was nothing more than a pitiful creature as well.
Someone who could treat Tengai Shinsei as if it were falling rain was probably only Madara Uchiha.
"Shine upon the earth… Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Taking advantage of the moment when Naruto and Sasuke were holding him back, he cast Infinite Tsukuyomi, turning everyone into cocoons hanging from the God Tree.
The entire world was left with only the caster, Madara Uchiha, the four members of Team 7, and the four Hokage revived through Edo Tensei.
"It's all over."
"Pfft—"
"It's not over yet. And you're not a savior."
"Black… Zetsu…?!"
***
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