The Third Hokage turned his head—
And immediately saw the two brothers standing there.
Both spoke at the same time:
"We forgot to tell you… We're already ninja of Morenin Village.
From today onward, we'll follow Shigeo."
Hearing this, Hashirama looked toward Hiruzen and gently shook his head.
He had always known that Tobirama kept wary of the Uchiha, but he never expected that by Hiruzen's generation, things would reach the point of wiping out the entire clan.
This truly was a case of using any means necessary to achieve a goal.
Hiruzen's fists clenched tightly.
Under Orochimaru's Edo Tensei control, he charged forward toward Madara.
Past events… right or wrong… were blurred beyond clarity now.
And this was no time to settle old debts.
Regret weighed heavily in Hiruzen's chest.
He had indeed made mistakes—
Especially concerning the Uchiha.
If back then he had simply sat down with the clan and listened properly, perhaps their annihilation would never have happened.
Sixty percent of the blame lay on him.
He had believed that secret could be buried forever—
But now, those two brothers had openly declared their stance, had investigated the truth thoroughly, and had spoken it aloud.
As expected, paper cannot cover fire.
What kind of person he would be remembered as in Konoha's history…
Many already knew the answer in their hearts.
On the battlefield, the Gedo Mazo rampaged wildly.
Bijūdama after Bijūdama detonated across the land.
The Yin half of Kurama inside Naruto was seized,
The Eight-Tails was chained to the statue as well.
And everything was unfolding exactly as Shigeo had foreseen.
He could have prevented all of it.
But he wanted to meet Ōtsutsuki Kaguya.
So he allowed it to proceed.
Yet in the midst of this controlled outcome, there was one thing he would absolutely not permit—
Anyone dying.
And indeed—
No one did.
Every Bijūdama he redirected into the open sea, where massive explosions triggered towering tsunamis, but not a single ninja's life was lost—
Ninjas were too strong to fall to that alone.
The earth quaked.
The power of the tailed beasts was overwhelming.
The Gedo Mazo began absorbing from the One-Tail onward.
As wave after wave of chakra poured into it, its form began to shift and distort.
On the other side of the battlefield, Madara clashed fiercely with Hashirama, Tobirama, and Hiruzen—
Susanoo, Mokuton: Shin Sūsenju, sealing techniques—
A continuous dazzling storm of jutsu erupted, too rapid for ordinary eyes to follow.
Meanwhile, to save Naruto, Minato sealed the Yang half of Kurama into his son.
Naruto grimaced in pain, but even then he didn't stop his "Talk-no-Jutsu":
"I know it! You're also someone from Konoha.
Your loved ones, your friends… they wouldn't want to see you like this!"
"Enough nonsense! Prepare to die!"
Obito's only thought now was to quickly bloom the Divine Tree and activate Mugen Tsukuyomi.
Only then could he see Rin again.
Obito charged forward.
Minato, Jiraiya, and Kakashi all struck together to intercept him.
Three top-class shinobi attacking at once—
If Obito didn't use his space-time warp, he would be annihilated instantly.
And even if he did warp, Kakashi had already figured out the angle of his escape—
There was nowhere for him to run.
Under Minato's sealing arts, Jiraiya's pursuit, and Kakashi's relentless offense, Obito was slashed across the chest and collapsed onto the ground.
"Did we… win?"
Someone in the Allied Forces whispered, staring at Obito's fallen body.
"I don't know… This whole battle has already gone beyond anything we can understand."
And it was true.
Every time they thought victory had been achieved, a new enemy appeared—
One stronger than the last.
No one dared assume anything now.
All they could do was watch in terrified silence.
"Rin…"
Obito's fist clenched—
And suddenly, his body flickered ethereally and vanished.
Elsewhere, the Gedo Mazo rained destruction across the battlefield.
Shigeo slammed down Senpō: Myōjinmon (Sage Art: Shintai Enlightenment Gate) to suppress it—
But the monster let out a deafening roar.
Its body twisted horribly, wrenching itself free from the gates.
With one tremendous leap, it shot into the sky—
And transformed.
It became a floating white sphere.
Everyone stared in confusion.
Inside Shigeo, the small Ten-Tails fragment stirred restlessly—
It felt the presence of the Divine Tree.
The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki had been born.
Obito, newly transformed, hovered high above the battlefield, glowing with white radiance.
Nine tomoe markings spread across his chest.
One eye was a Sharingan.
The other was a Rinnegan.
Behind him, several leaf-shaped appendages spread open, each tipped with red flame.
The Ten-Tails Jinchūriki looked down upon the world—
And laughed loudly.
"Who can defeat me now?!"
His voice shook the heavens.
A colossal wave of chakra blasted outward, flattening the battlefield.
"What's happening?! What is this?!"
Kakashi stared, unable to comprehend the scene.
Shigeo explained:
"Obito has become the Jinchūriki of the Jūbi—the Ten-Tails."
"The Ten-Tails? What's that?"
Jiraiya asked, bewildered.
Shigeo didn't have time to answer.
He charged straight upward.
"Senpō: Myōjinmon!!"
Giant crimson torii gates rained from the sky—
One.
Two.
Three.
Four—
Obito resisted with brute force.
Every Myōjinmon shattered against his body.
"Shigeo, don't tell me you truly believe a technique like this can still harm someone like me."
Obito's voice thundered with arrogance.
"I tell you this—
I am already a god.
No one can hurt me."
The fact that he broke free from Myōjinmon left the Konoha Four Hokage shaken.
The four resurrected Hokage rushed him—
Earth Release, Lightning Release, Wind Release—
Every jutsu they hurled was useless.
Worse—
Even their Edo Tensei bodies were being battered into pieces, limbs and chunks of flesh blown off before they could regenerate.
Itachi stepped forward.
Susanoo flared into existence—
And Sasuke followed right behind him, their two Susanoo advancing together.
Their combined assault actually forced Obito back several steps.
But only for a moment.
The next second, Obito unleashed Yin-Yang Release.
A blast struck their Susanoo, and the Yin-Yang chakra transformed into chains—
Binding Itachi's Susanoo tight.
Sasuke roared and rushed forward with his Perfect Susanoo.
Obito lifted his other hand—
Another set of Yin-Yang chains materialized.
Three Uchiha clashing in the sky—
A storm of radiant eyes, titanic avatars, and black-white chakra—
It was a sight magnificent and terrifying enough to steal the breath of everyone present.
So this was the power of the Uchiha clan…
Truly overwhelming.
(End of Chapter)
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