From the moment Naruto was pierced by the blade, the battle entered garbage time.
Madara suppressed his killing intent toward Shin and watched coldly.
Naruto's injury caused Kurama's chakra mode to collapse.
The golden fox head protecting Sarada dispersed.
Shin sneered and pressed the attack.
"Sarada!!!"
Driven by panic for his daughter, Sasuke threw himself forward as a human shield.
Shuriken pierced his back solidly.
He cried out in shock and pain,
"My… my mobility has been—!"
Shin's right eye glowed as he mocked,
"Peace prevents humanity from evolving. You're the perfect example."
"And those who stop evolving… are destined for extinction."
Boom!
Sakura Haruno, who had been chasing from Konoha, descended from the sky.
Her fist smashed into Shin's chest.
"Look at what you've done to my husband and daughter, you bastard!!"
"Ughhhh—!!"
Shin screamed as he was sent flying.
That punch ruptured his organs.
Akira commented quietly,
"That's Sakura Haruno. You've probably seen her. She's Sasuke's wife now."
Madara's gaze didn't waver.
Side characters shining couldn't make up for protagonists collapsing.
And in his eyes, that straightforward attack wasn't anything special.
Sakura's forceful entry reversed the battle.
Naruto pulled the blade from his abdomen and summoned Kurama's chakra.
As his wound healed, two golden chakra arms emerged and grabbed Shin and his clone.
Sasuke also pulled the kunai from his back and began exchanging familiar banter with Sakura.
Like a long-separated couple.
His relaxed demeanor showed he had already grasped Shin's ability.
The situation rebounded.
Everything moved toward recovery.
But it was too late.
No matter how many excuses they made.
No matter how much they tried to redeem themselves afterward.
Nothing could erase that fatal, low-level mistake in Madara's eyes.
They were still alive only because their opponent was weak.
If it had been him…
They would have died ten times over.
With a sense of loss, Madara said,
"Their combat instincts have declined beyond saving."
"At thirty, a ninja should be entering their prime."
"Yet they left their peak in youth and slid downhill ever since."
"That Shin may be trash, but one thing he said was right."
"Peace hinders evolution."
"And stagnation leads to extinction."
A white, one-eyed creature suddenly descended beside Shin.
A black vortex opened in its eye, swallowing Shin, his clone, and Sakura.
Naruto and Sasuke exclaimed,
"Space-time ninjutsu?!"
Akira glanced at Madara.
"Do you still want to keep watching?"
What followed would unfold like dominoes.
Sakura would heal Shin in his base, surrounded by clones.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sarada would visit Orochimaru to investigate Shin's past.
Sasuke would later restore his Rinnegan power, activate Perfect Susanoo, and raid the base.
Shin would be betrayed by his own clones and meet a miserable end.
"No need," Madara replied.
"I've already tasted this rotten dish once. I've no desire to chew it again."
Akira said,
"Then you believe now that what I showed you was the definite future without my interference."
Madara looked sideways at Akira.
"I have a question."
"Did you ever try telling Naruto and Sasuke about the future?"
"You said you wanted like-minded comrades."
"As war heroes, they'd be the best candidates."
Akira shook his head and smiled helplessly.
Watching Naruto walk away with Sasuke and Sarada, he said,
"Do you know how many times I tried?"
"I lowered myself as much as I could."
"But in the end, I couldn't even meet the Hokage openly."
Madara asked,
"But you could've used stronger methods, couldn't you?"
"Maybe."
Akira recalled Shikamaru's "test" three years ago.
"Your words and actions are too suspicious. I can't trust you."
"If you want to prove yourself, seal your chakra, enter confinement, and let the Yamanaka clan verify you."
Nara Shikamaru…
I can guess your motives.
But unfortunately—
I'm not so desperate that I'd kneel to Konoha.
Any healthy cooperation is built on respect.
Lowering my stance doesn't mean you get to trample me.
This was what Akira told Madara.
"Prejudice in people's hearts is like a mountain."
"Being taught by reality is always more effective than being taught by words."
"Naruto and Sasuke need a brutal lesson to truly reflect."
"And the root problem isn't just peace."
"It's the system."
After a long silence…
Madara finally asked what mattered most to him.
"Then why did you choose me?"
"You know I once tried to drag this world into the abyss."
"Wait a moment."
Akira checked his watch.
7:49 PM.
"The timing should be about right."
"I need to retrieve… that thing first."
Whoosh!
A black vortex spun.
They appeared in a shattered nest.
Bloodstains, shuriken, and battle marks littered the ground.
Naruto and Sasuke's fight with Shin had just ended.
They had already left.
Akira dug beneath broken rocks and found the remains of a white creature.
The vessel that carried Shin's space-time eye.
Because of its odd appearance, fans nicknamed it "Uchiha Plankton."
In the later battle, Sarada had smashed it—and the teleporting eye—with one punch.
Madara immediately understood.
"You're going to reverse time and restore it?"
He recalled Akira's earlier use of Umotoryu.
Rewinding an entire area.
Restoring everything within it.
"But if you do that, the girl who destroyed it will be rewound too."
"Then Sasuke and Naruto will sense it instantly."
"You plan to fight them here?"
Akira smiled lightly.
"Fighting here is fine."
"But my appearance fee is expensive."
"I wonder if they can afford it."
Madara was surprised.
Naruto and Sasuke were rusty.
But once they regained form, they were still formidable.
Their fight against Momoshiki proved it.
And Akira…
Clearly had confidence against them.
He'd hidden himself well.
Akira returned to the point.
"Umotoryu doesn't only rewind areas."
"It can target specific objects."
"It just needs an extra step."
"Like placing your hand on the target."
"Then rewinding only it."
He squatted and pressed his hand to the corpse.
"Like this."
Before Madara's astonished eyes, Akira's right eye glowed crimson.
——Umotoryu!