A thought could change in the blink of an eye.
While the two philosophical youths, Shisui Uchiha and Itachi Uchiha, were still turning over the mastermind behind those mission scrolls—and what they wanted—
The whole world was down to just a handful of living people—
Naruto Uzumaki, Obito Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Kakashi Hatake, Obito Uchiha.
Inside Princess Kaguya's Gravity World, they could barely move at all...
"All-Killing Ash Bones."
One of Kaguya's sure-kill techniques.
It resembled the black chakra rods used by Obito Uchiha, Pain, and Madara Uchiha, but its lethality was thousands of times greater. Anything pierced by the All-Killing Ash Bones would instantly crumble into ash and vanish without a trace.
As the two bone spikes shot toward "them" again—toward "him" and Sasuke beside him—the Uchiha inside Naruto Uzumaki's consciousness felt their skin crawl.
If either Naruto or Sasuke died, then this world was finished.
After living through sixteen years of Naruto Uzumaki's life, there was no way they were letting it end here!
Fourth Shinobi War Sasuke knew exactly what would happen next, and he wasn't the least bit tense.
Out of the corner of their eyes, the three parallel-world Obito could see their own selves charging this way, forcing their bodies forward with heavy, desperate steps.
They had to...
Make it in time!!
Whoosh—!
Maybe it was because every thought had locked onto Obito Uchiha in that sliver of peripheral vision.
In the next instant, the three parallel-world Obito felt their awareness peel away from Naruto Uzumaki and snap onto Obito Uchiha instead?!
What the hell?!
The view that had held Kaguya straight ahead, Sasuke on the right, and Obito Uchiha rushing in from the left—
Suddenly became Obito Uchiha looking at Kakashi Hatake across the way, sprinting toward Naruto Uzumaki with everything he had?!
Make it!
Make it, make it, make it!
That surge of consciousness belonging to "Obito Uchiha" smashed through the three parallel-world Obito.
Naruto and Sasuke were in the middle. Kakashi was far ahead. And from another direction, Kaguya's All-Killing Ash Bones were already closing in on Naruto and Sasuke!
Instinct took over, and he threw his hand out toward them.
Right now, inside one Obito Uchiha, there were four Obito Uchiha's consciousnesses. Other than one desperate need—make it in time—they didn't have the focus left to think about anything else.
The distance was still too far. The All-Killing Ash Bones were already...
Already...
Was there really no way?!
Snap—
All at once, a hand clamped down on the hand he'd reached out.
All four Obito consciousnesses snapped their focus to it.
He went blank with shock.
"Rin—?!!!"
Fourth Shinobi World War Obito / Adult Obito / Rebellious Obito / Young Obito all stared, eyes wide, at Rin's back.
It was just like twenty years ago… or more than ten years ago… back in the ordinary days of Team Minato. He'd been in the middle of arguing with Kakashi when Rin suddenly rushed over and grabbed his hand and Kakashi's at the same time.
"You're still..."
Here, with us?!!
Obito Uchiha—who'd thrown himself in front like a human shield—was completely stunned.
But the moment the All-Killing Ash Bones pierced him, he still couldn't accept Kakashi dying like this. With a strained, breathy, "Don't come bother us," he used Kamui to warp away the All-Killing Ash Bones that were about to skewer him.
Rin...
(Rin.)
This time, in another world, stay with me. Just the two of us.
(Just like Naruto said… only now, after taking off the mask and returning to being Obito Uchiha of Team Minato, can I see the road under my feet again… and see you.)
Kakashi is in the way. Let's leave him here.
(That idiot Kakashi...)
(But—anyway, he shouldn't be going to the Pure Land this soon!)
"Obito, you..."
"Kakashi, don't you dare show up too early!"
Adult Obito: Only Naruto and Sasuke can save the world, but they're only sixteen or seventeen. They still need Kakashi to hold up the next era for them.
The pain of death swept through Obito Uchiha across several different parallel worlds.
And yet, all of them understood: for Obito Uchiha, this was the best ending he could have.
It wasn't enough to make up for his sins, not even close. But at least, like Jiraiya, he was dying for the sake of a new era.
What Adult Obito and Rebellious Obito hadn't expected was this—Naruto Uzumaki actually wanted to save him?!
In that instant, after living through sixteen years of Naruto Uzumaki's life, they didn't even know how to put what they were feeling into words.
It was like being told, bluntly and unmistakably, what would have happened if the Obito Uchiha of his youth had held fast to who he was—what a brilliant ninja he could have become, what kind of Hokage he might have been.
It was as if Naruto Uzumaki's life had fulfilled their real dream for them.
Even Rebellious Obito and Adult Obito no longer had any regrets.
They even found themselves thinking that if they died here too… maybe that wouldn't be such a bad choice.
"This is a waste of effort, Naruto Uzumaki," Black Zetsu mocked. "He's beyond saving. He'll just wither up and die like trash."
"Why would you help someone like that? You were enemies."
"He got your parents killed! He's slaughtered countless companions! And your teacher Jiraiya's death—wasn't that connected to the Akatsuki he created with Nagato?"
Separated from Naruto's consciousness, the Obito Uchiha from the other worlds couldn't know what Naruto was feeling right now.
But the hands behind him, desperately trying to save his life, never loosened their grip.
The Young Obito who was closest to Naruto thought...
Naruto probably wasn't forgiving him, and it wasn't that he didn't hate him either.
It was that Naruto was holding tight to his principle—say it, do it—and trying to cut hatred off at the root.
If you keep telling everyone else to sever their hatred, but you yourself cling to it and can't let go, then wouldn't that make you the biggest hypocrite of all?
But...
He hadn't become the final boss of the Fourth Shinobi World War yet.
Hearing Black Zetsu's words, the three other parallel-world Obito—Young Obito, Rebellious Obito, and Adult Obito—were so furious they wanted to tear his mouth apart.
"Obito Uchiha is hated by both sides—enemy and ally alike. How pathetic. He's about to die, and when he does, not a single comrade or family member will cry for him."
"His death won't leave even a trace behind. He'll be left forever alone in this world Mother created, reduced to a helpless handful of ash. Heeheehee~"
They could feel it—somewhere inside the Obito Uchiha from another parallel world, there was still sorrow, still pain. Black Zetsu's words made their fists tighten on instinct.
But the fact remained: they'd been used by a despicable creature like Black Zetsu. There was no way to argue back.
"How tragic, Obito Uchiha. The real you is already dead, your dream will never come true, and along the way you killed your own mentor, slaughtered your own clan, used your clan's younger generation, and drove them into a dead end."
"A person like you… even in the Pure Land, you wouldn't be able to face them, would you?"
"What a worthless fool."
Young Obito remembered a parallel world they had traveled to long ago.
He'd once overheard a conversation between Minato-sensei and Kushina. Kushina had said she admired Obito's character, and that if she ever had a son, she hoped he'd be like Obito.
All that sincere praise—those memories he used to treasure—turned into the bitterest irony the moment he learned he was the masked man.
Naruto Uzumaki, just as Kushina and Minato-sensei had hoped, became an outstanding ninja… a hero who would save the ninja world.
And him…
At least, the version of him in that other world had become exactly what Black Zetsu sneered—a good-for-nothing piece of trash.
After he died, how was he supposed to face Kushina and Minato-sensei in the Pure Land? How was he supposed to face Fugaku Uchiha, Mikoto, Itachi Uchiha, and the entire Uchiha Clan?
Black Zetsu's taunts enraged Naruto. Hearing Naruto behind him trying to defend him, the wills of the multiple Obito Uchiha sharing one body felt something loosen, just a little—as if a sliver of absolution had been granted.
But…
"Yes. I really am the useless trash you say I am. But at least… dying like this is the most fitting ending for me."
"Thank you, Naruto. But this is where it ends."
"Fighting you is what finally woke me up. Looking at you now… it's like I'm seeing the old me, and I can't help regretting everything."
Adult Obito could feel his body falling apart, the pain spreading as if it were tearing through every part of him. His mouth kept moving, spilling final words on its own, but in his mind—alongside the regret—there was still a stubborn refusal to accept it.
"Looking at you now, I remember…"
"Back when I was still a kid, I must've imagined becoming Hokage countless times. Saving the world in a cool way, becoming the hero who brought peace to the world… that excitement, that anxiety—feelings I could never quite put into words."
Because of what Fourth Shinobi War Obito was feeling, scenes rose up in the minds of the three parallel-world Obito Uchiha: comrades gathered around him, finally becoming Hokage, changing the ninja world.
Stacks and stacks of paperwork… when am I ever going to finish all this?
—Well, you're the Hokage, aren't you?
—Ugh… Kakashi, you really don't hold back. Sending me this much again… are you trying to kill me?
—Stop whining. Compared to fighting and killing on the battlefield, this bit of paperwork is nothing.
—Haha, fair point.
A peaceful village. Villagers who no longer held prejudice against one another. The ninja world finally stepping into an era of stability.
A satisfactory "answer sheet," to be brought back to the Pure Land a hundred years from now—handed to Rin, to Grandma, and to the parents whose faces he could no longer recall.
And then, to hear them praise him...
To call him a truly remarkable Hokage.
"Naruto."
At the final moment, the Uchiha—still existing within Naruto Uzumaki—heard that former dead last from their clan speak his last words.
"You have to become Hokage!"
"Ah!!"
Too many emotions slammed together inside the Uchiha. Just like Naruto always said—say it, do it. It wasn't that he didn't hate, and it wasn't that he held no grudges, but on his side, he would cut hatred off.
Even after Black Zetsu humiliated the Obito who had just died, Naruto sliced him free from Kaguya and declared:
"Obito, who set his sights on becoming Hokage, is the coolest!!"
Yet the three Obito—Young Obito, Rebellious Obito, and Adult Obito—still hadn't returned to Naruto's consciousness even after dying, and they were completely stunned.
This pink space is...
"Rin?!!"
Adult Obito and Rebellious Obito froze, utterly dumbstruck.
Why?!
Why was Rin inside his consciousness?!
"I've always… been watching you..."
"Obito."
What?!