"Why are you doing this?!" Naka shrieked, his voice cracking with exhaustion. "Your dōjutsu isn't infinite! You will go blind!"
Uchiha Naori paused briefly as she thought, 'Naka is right. At this rate, I won't be able to stop him. What should I do? The Izanagi… Minakanushi can even reverse the effect of Izanagi. The Space and time… is this how it works? And now with the effect of Uzume…'
As she continuously manipulated reality through her eyes, a sudden, brilliant epiphany struck her. She began to grasp the true, essence of her dōjutsu's space-time manipulation.
"You are right, Naka. My dōjutsu isn't infinite," Naori replied, her lips curving into a soft, tired smile. "But I cannot simply give up on you, can I?"
Once more, she purposely dropped her sword into the sand and extended an open hand toward him.
"!" Naka trembled violently, his mind reeling from the deja vu. "SHUT UP!!! Don't get in my way, Naori!"
He lunged forward, sprinting blindly. His heavy boots trampled over a patch of vivid purple flowers in his path, scattering their petals into the wind.
This time, however, Naori smoothly evaded his sword strike. Refusing to engage, she fell back into a defensive retreat. Naka pursued her relentlessly, unleashing a barrage of kunai. The flying blades sliced cleanly through a cloud of fluttering blue butterflies that drifted across the battlefield. Through it all, Naori kept her gaze fixed forward, her crimson eyes quietly observing every single one of Naka's frantic movements and actions.
"It is not too late to turn back right now!" she called out, bridging the distance. "If you still have the will, take my hand!"
Once again, she reached out.
"Hmph! I won't be fooled by your tricks! Your dōjutsu must be running on empty!"
Yet, Naori's expression remained calm. She stepped closer, her hand drawing nearer to his face.
Naka's pupils trembled in sheer panic as cold sweat rolled down his forehead. 'Just what the hell are you trying to do?!'
Desperate to end, Naka raised his sword and ruthlessly struck her down. But instead of blood, Naori's figure dissolved into a violent puff of smoke, leaving behind shattered wooden logs.
"A Substitution?!"
Naori materialized a few paces away, her sword now drawn and held firmly. "If you still refuse to listen, then I am prepared to fight you as well."
"Hmph! You should have done that from the very beginning!"
The two Uchiha clashed, their blades screaming as they passed each other in a silver flash.
"KUECKK??!!!!"
Naka grunted in sudden, agonizing pain as a deep laceration tore across his back. Before he could fall, his physical form dissolved like a shimmering mirage.
Izanagi!
Materializing a few meters away, Naka crossed his arms, a cocky smirk returning to his lips. "Sneaking up behind me? Nice try! But as long as I have Izanagi, you cannot defeat me! I will end this shortly!"
"Sneaking up behind me, nice work! But as long as I have Izanagi, you cannot beat me! I will end this shortly!"
Naka was absolutely certain that Naori could no longer reverse time. His right eye had already turned completely blind—shuttered in darkness just like it had during the previous loops. But he didn't care. As long as he possessed Kamimusubi, no one could contend with the Uchiha clan.
Then, Naori dropped her sword to the ground.
"?!!"
Naka froze. 'What?' This was the exact behavioral pattern Naori displayed right before a time reversal. Yet, his right eye remained blind from Izanagi, and neither of their physical positions had reverted.
It was then that he noticed the surrounding scenery. He was stepping on the exact same patch of purple flowers. The exact same blue butterflies were fluttering across his vision.
Frantic, Naka lunged at her. Out of pure instinct, he slashed her down, only for her body to explode into smoke and wooden logs once more. Naka's entire frame began to tremble uncontrollably as a chilling realization washed over him.
"Ba... Bakana! (Impossible!) My right eye already went blind to cast Izanagi! There was no sign of a time reversal!"
Naori appeared directly behind him, her voice a stern lecture. "Your Izanagi and your arrogance will not save you, Naka."
"SHUT UP!!"
Driven by pure madness, Naka clashed with her again, only to find himself cornered and forced to expend yet another Izanagi. Once more, he materialized a short distance away. Once more, Naori dropped her sword and extended her hand. Naka leaped forward. then he reclaimed his lost light, stepped on the same purple flowers, tore through the same groups of blue butterflies, only to clash and be slain from his blind spot. And once more, another eye was claimed by darkness.
Naka materialized away from her again, but the confidence had entirely drained from his face.
"WHAT IS GOING ON?!" he roared, his voice echoing across the desert.
Naori dropped her sword. He looked down; he was standing on the purple flowers. Blue butterflies danced across his vision. In a fit of hysteria, Naka violently swiped his sword through the air to scatter the insects, watching helplessly as Naori approached him with an open hand.
"What is this?! Why do you keep stopping me, Naori?!" Naka wept, his voice cracking with immense frustration. "You know what my eyes can do! Kamimusubi can lead our clan to the pinnacle of this world!"
"At what cost Naka?"
"Cost?! Are you worried that I will turn blind? Hah! If the Uchiha can reclaim our true strength and dominate the Senju and the entire world, what is wrong with losing my sight?! Only I can save our clan from this quagmire!"
Naori shook her head in deep sorrow.
"Wake up, Uchiha Naka! Remember Fukashi-sama's words. Do not lose yourself in a moment of reckless excitement. Do not drown yourself in power!"
"What are you talking about?! I have never been more clear-headed in my entire life!"
"Open your eyes and look at reality!" Naori shouted. "I have never beaten you in kenjutsu a single day in my life! Yet just now, you were forced to rely on Izanagi just to survive a clash with me! If I hadn't been actively containing this domain, you would have already died from raw chakra depletion!"
"!!!"
"Please, Naka," she whispered, her eyes pleading. "Return to yourself. Grab onto my hand and come back to us."
Naka's pupils shook out of focus, caught in a violent vortex of hesitation, grief, and wariness.
"But... it's too late for me..." he choked out, staring at his trembling hands. "I... I killed them..."
"Even so," Naori insisted, stepping even closer until her outstretched hand was inches from his. "Take my hand. Accept the reality of what you've done, and face the future ahead of you. We can always work together to fix it."
Naka stared blankly at her open palm. His mind fractured, the illusions of grandeur melting away to leave only a broken, terrified boy. He closed his eyes, throwing his head back as he unleashed a guttural, agonizing roar that tore from the depths of his soul.
"UWAHHHH!!!!!"
Naori instinctively took a sharp step back, bracing for a strike. But Naka's sword never came for her.
Instead, he violently drove the blade straight down into the earth, collapsing heavily onto his knees before her.
"I won't... I won't rely on these eyes anymore," Naka wept, his shoulders heaving. "Let's go home... together."
Reaching out with what little strength he had left, Naka firmly grasped Naori's hand.
The moment their fingers locked, the entire loop violently shattered, illuminating the universe in a blinding, ethereal white light. Naka instinctively covered his face. When he finally opened his eyes, the surreal world of butterflies and flowers was gone. He was standing on the bloodied desert sand, mere inches away from the lifeless bodies of Arashi and the four jonin he had slaughtered.
"This…"
"Naka..." Naori whispered.
Before he could speak, she leaned forward, her body going completely limp as she fell into his arms, passing out from sheer exhaustion.
"Naori?! What is going on?" Naka panicked, holding her tight.
He looked up. The sky had already bled into a deep, bruised crimson as the sun settled beneath the horizon.
"It's Izanami," a deep voice informed him.
Naka spun his head around. Fukashi was standing just a few paces behind them, his expression incredibly solemn.