He looked down at Naruto, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Why do you keep standing back up?"
"What exactly are you fighting for?"
"For your comrades? Or for this world?"
"Listen to me. One day, your comrades will betray you. In this world, love inevitably distorts into hatred. You should already know this better than anyone."
"The people of your village and Sasuke have both betrayed you in the past, and the love you held for Jiraiya only bred hatred within you. You are exactly like me."
"The accumulation of pain will eventually change you. And now, you are about to endure even greater agony."
"Even so... do you still dare to claim that you will never change?"
Hearing Obito's lecture, Kanon, who was sitting atop the God Tree, felt utterly speechless. Crossing her arms as she surveyed the battlefield, she realized with absolute certainty that Obito's version of the Infinite Tsukuyomi was doomed to fail.
To waver at a critical moment like this... what a piece of trash. She couldn't afford to stake her own desires and Konin's expectations on a failure like him.
With that thought, Kanon glanced toward Madara in the distance. At that exact moment, Madara looked back at her. Their eyes met, and in an instant, a mutual understanding passed between them.
Obito continued, his voice echoing across the wasteland, "Perhaps your current comrades will betray you again, and the Allied Forces will plunge right back into war."
"Furthermore, you have no way of knowing whether you can even defeat me."
"Fighting for a world like this has long since lost all meaning."
"In just a few minutes, this world will meet its end!"
"Why do you insist on fighting at all costs?!"
Obito's Sharingan spun violently as he roared down at Naruto.
"Because... that's my ninja way!"
"I never go back on my word! That's my ninja way!"
In that definitive moment, Naruto pushed himself back to his feet. Beside him, Sasuke and Jugo stood up in unison.
Obito's expression turned completely dark. No matter how many words he spoke, he could not chip away at Naruto's resolve. If that was the case...
"I told you... it's time for you to sleep."
Sasuke stepped up to Naruto's side, his voice cool and focused. "Let's take him down with the next move, Naruto."
"Right!" Naruto replied, his body erupting back into the brilliant golden shroud of Tailed Beast Sage Mode. Neither of them had the slightest intention of backing down.
Suddenly, Sasuke's purple Susanoo materialized, draping itself perfectly over Naruto's Nine-Tails form. It was the very technique Madara had once unleashed upon the world: Majestic Attire: Susanoo.
"If you want to sleep, wait until tomorrow! Dreams are something you have to grab with your own two hands!"
Looking at the titanic entity Naruto and Sasuke had formed, Obito's expression remained unchanged on the surface, but deep within his soul, his heart was deeply shaken.
Why? Why is it that no matter how many times Naruto is brought down by despair, he can always stand right back up?
The ethereal violet armor completely encased the Nine-Tails. Watching from afar, Hashirama's jaw dropped in sheer astonishment.
"That's—!"
"Is this how it felt when Madara used it in the past?!" Sasuke gave a cold smirk.
The armored Nine-Tails brandished a colossal violet greatsword, planting its feet firmly as it locked its gaze onto Obito.
Obito floated slowly into the sky. The Truth-Seeking Balls in his hand shifted and molded together, forming a blade forged from the soul, the Sword of Nunoboko. This was one of his ultimate killing techniques, a divine weapon whose strength was entirely dictated by the conviction of its wielder's heart.
As his figure ascended into the high heavens, he looked down coldly at Naruto and Sasuke.
"At this stage, anything you do is completely futile."
"Look up. Through the opening at the very top... what do you see?"
Inside the Kamui dimension, Kakashi clutched his eye. At this exact moment, his vision was perfectly synchronized with Obito's, just as it had been so many times before.
The sights Obito beheld and the words he spoke resonated directly within Kakashi's mind. Through Obito's eyes, Kakashi saw the moon gradually turning a sinister crimson. The moment for the initialization of the Infinite Tsukuyomi was drawing dangerously close.
"The dream of the moon will completely fill the gaping, hellish void within me."
"The moment has finally arrived!"
"This blade is the sacred sword of the Sage of Six Paths, the Sword of Nunoboko. You no longer have any chance of victory."
"This is a sword of the soul, driven by the absolute will of the Sage himself."
"The Sage used this very sword to shape this world."
Listening to Obito's grand speech, Kanon kept her arms crossed, remaining comfortably seated on the God Tree without the slightest intention of intervening. Since the Sword of Nunoboko was a weapon powered entirely by the user's resolve, Obito had already lost.
She was done helping him. Obito was nothing more than a pawn from the start, and now that his convictions were crumbling, there was no point in managing him anymore. She would simply watch and wait for the inevitable conclusion.
Kanon stretched lazily, then shifted to lie on her side right on the branch of the God Tree. Propping her face up with one hand, she yawned as she watched Madara in the distance and Obito preparing to clash with Naruto and Sasuke.
"Honestly... every single one of them turns out like this," Kanon murmured helplessly.
Suddenly, the surviving members of the Konoha cohorts felt a voice echoing within their minds. It was Naruto's voice.
"Hey! Everyone! This is..." Kiba muttered under his breath.
"Tenten... this is..."
"Let's go, Lee!" Tenten shouted.
The rest of the peers received Naruto's psychic call, and the telepathic resonance even slipped into Kanon's mind.
Indeed, even at this point, Naruto still viewed her as one of their peers, a comrade who had once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with them.
Yet Kanon didn't budge an inch. She had long ceased to care.
Obito soared downward, his voice booming, "My will reigns supreme over yours. No matter how much you struggle, it is meaningless."
"The power of the Sage will stop you!"
Looking at the Sword of Nunoboko in Obito's grasp, Naruto spoke with a tone of heavy concentration.
"Kanon doesn't seem to have any intention of stepping in."
"Sasuke, let's focus everything into a single strike."
"We might only get one small opening."
Behind the armored Nine-Tails, massive Rasengan spheres began to coalesce near its tails.
Sensing the buildup of chakra, Obito bellowed at Naruto, "And I will use this sword to erase this world entirely!"
But the only response he received was a ferocious, earth-shattering roar from the Nine-Tails. Obito's expression fractured into sudden disbelief.
From the sky above, every single living member of the Konoha peers leapt down in perfect unison.
At that exact moment, the foundations of Obito's heart began to crumble. He realized that even if people initially mock or turn away from someone, when they see that person putting in twice the effort of anyone else, they will subconsciously reach out a hand to help them.
And when a person's heart is completely filled to the brim by his comrades, he becomes absolutely invincible! That was the true power of bonds.
The young shinobi landed safely within the Nine-Tails' protective tails. Instantly, the golden Nine-Tails Chakra Mode cloaks manifested over their bodies.
"I'm leaving the Rasengan to everyone! We have to smash through his defense!" Naruto's voice echoed, instilling an immediate understanding in all of them.
Even Rock Lee, a taijutsu specialist who couldn't mold ninjutsu chakra naturally, found himself forming a perfect Rasengan under the influence of Naruto's shroud.
Watching everyone charge toward Obito with Rasengan in hand, Sakura offered a gratified nod, her eyes turning inexplicably misty.
In that spectacular microsecond, Naruto and Sasuke thrust forward simultaneously, the massive sword of the Majestic Attire Susanoo piercing straight through the spikes of the Truth-Seeking Balls.
Obito raised the Sword of Nunoboko to meet the strike, but as he stared into Naruto's unyielding eyes, his heart suffered a catastrophic collapse.
Why? Why does he stand up every single time? Why does he refuse to succumb to despair?
In that fleeting split second, an alternate reality flashed vividly through Obito's mind.
It was a vision of him returning to Konoha alongside Kakashi. In that dream world, everything was beautiful, except Rin was no longer there.
In that vision, he wore his jonin flak jacket and cried his eyes out in front of Rin's memorial, with Kakashi standing somberly by his side.
All of his old peers were there. Anko Mitarashi, Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, Asuma Sarutobi. The very pillars of the current Konoha were his classmates and friends back then.
The illusionary version of himself gazed up at the Hokage Rock, staring intently at the carved faces of the First, Second, and Third Hokage.
With the support of his comrades, that version of Obito gradually stepped out of the darkness, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder alongside the people of the Konoha.
And in that vision, his own face was carved into the stone cliff. He had achieved his dream of becoming the Hokage.
Crack.
The Sword of Nunoboko collided with Naruto and Sasuke's Susanoo chakra blade, but the divine weapon of the soul began to splinter and shatter!
My mind... why am I seeing images like this?! Obito screamed internally.
Sitting atop the God Tree, Kanon slowly sat up from her relaxed posture.
"His heart has completely wavered," Konin's voice echoed from within her inner consciousness.
"To think that at this absolute eleventh hour, this fool actually feels regret," Kanon murmured softly.
"It is only human nature. Human emotions are intrinsically complex, governed by countless desires and inherent contradictions. To truly appreciate a human, one must comprehend both their beauty and their ugliness."
"This is the definitive proof of existence. You understand the complexity of human nature as well, don't you?"
Listening to Konin's words, Kanon nodded subtly. Life was ultimately a passing dream, and human nature was fundamentally fickle. No single individual ever truly possessed the power to force the entire world to bend to their meticulously crafted design.
But just as Kanon reached that conclusion, Konin added in a soft, whispering tone:
"Except for you..."
Kanon blinked, thoroughly perplexed. "Except for me? What do you mean by that?!"
"Nothing," Konin replied quietly.
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NOTE: This fic has been completely translated. If you want to read the whole story head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]