Kanon followed his gaze toward Obito, whose Sword of Nunoboko was currently fracturing more and more by the second.
"The Infinite Tsukuyomi hasn't even begun, yet this guy has already cast it on himself," Kanon said, throwing her hands up in a touch of helpless amusement.
Evidently, Obito's lack of resolve had caused the Sword of Nunoboko to shatter in an instant.
At that exact moment, Naruto and Sasuke's Majestic Attire: Susanoo unleashed a sweeping slash, carving a massive wound into Obito. Behind him, the chakra of the Tailed Beasts began to erupt and spill forth from his body.
Naruto, however, was not about to give Obito any breathing room. Seeing the chakra of the nine Tailed Beasts surging out, the Nine-Tails looked on with a complex expression; Naruto had truly made him see him in a whole new light.
The Nine-Tails roared at the top of his lungs, "Go, Naruto!"
Naruto immediately understood. Pointing directly at Obito, he yelled, "Now's the time!"
From the Nine-Tails' tails, the latent chakra of the nine Tailed Beasts flew out, resonating powerfully with the corresponding Tailed Beast chakra within Obito.
"You should know what to do next, Naruto!"
"The usual! A game of tug-of-war! Keep pulling, and drag the Tailed Beasts' chakra right out of him!" the Nine-Tails bellowed.
Right then, Gaara flew in on a cloud of sand. He had done far too little in this war so far, and with the expectations of the deceased past Kazekage weighing on him, he refused to give up.
"I was the one who once coexisted with the One-Tails, let me handle him!" Gaara's sand enveloped Shukaku, violently wrenching the beast toward his side.
"Gaara!" Naruto shouted with a delighted grin.
On the other flank, Killer B charged forward as well, determined to pull the Eight-Tails' chakra back into alignment.
"B-otchan!" Seeing Killer Bee join the fray, Naruto felt even more reassured.
"Pull with everything you've got! If we pull this off, that guy will be left with nothing but the empty shell of the Ten-Tails!"
"The God Tree won't be able to bloom!" the Nine-Tails bellowed.
Obito grit his teeth, fully aware of how dire the situation had become. Sure enough, the God Tree had completely stopped growing.
The four reincarnated Hokage could all see that the God Tree was currently out of control. If they were going to strike, it had to be now!
Shikamaru chose this moment to project his voice to the entire Allied Forces through Ino's telepathy, swiftly relaying strategic commands to the shinobi ranks.
Meanwhile, Obito remained suspended in the air, locked in a fierce, gridlocked tug-of-war against the Jinchuriki, but his mind had been entirely swallowed by his memories.
It was a vision of his childhood, of the precious time he had spent with Rin. Back then, he had proudly told Rin that he would definitely become the Hokage and save the world in the coolest way possible.
Rin had cheered for Obito with a radiant smile, completely believing that he would become the Hokage, eager to see him save the world.
"It's a promise, Obito! You absolutely have to let me see you become the Hokage and look incredibly cool saving the world!"
Rin's words echoed deeply within Obito's heart, causing his withered, tranquil soul to surge with violent waves of emotion once more.
Through this mirror of the soul, Naruto somehow bore witness to this very scene, peering directly into Obito's memories.
Concurrently, Kanon had begun to use her own Tsuyukomi to peer into Obito's mind. Since Obito was entirely consumed by the tug-of-war, he had absolutely no spare energy to block her out.
It was a montage of the Minato Squad's past. As a boy, Obito had desperately wanted to steal a kiss from Rin, only to be met by Kakashi's deadpan, fish-eyed stare, which instantly ruined any romantic mood he had tried to conjure.
Gradually, Obito, Rin, and Kakashi grew up together, executing missions as a team, the defining chapters of Obito's youth.
Then came the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, where a dying Obito gifted his left eye to Kakashi.
Watching this memory play out, tears streamed down Naruto's face. In this moment, he was actually weeping for his enemy, perhaps this was the true mutual understanding that Jiraiya had always searched for.
The scene that followed struck Naruto's heart like a twisting blade. Obito watched with his own eyes as Kakashi's hand pierced through Rin's heart, a tragedy that forced Obito's Sharingan to mature from a two-tomoe directly into the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Yet truth be told, witnessing this sequence caused Naruto to instantly think of Kanon, the six-year-old girl who had wept uncontrollably while cradling the corpses of her parents, her own Sharingan awakening from a single tomoe straight into the Mangekyo.
Naruto felt his chest tighten violently, as though he himself were re-enduring the agonizing pain of losing those closest to him.
He thought of his own parents, he thought of Kanon, and he thought of everyone he deeply cared about.
The agonizing pain of loss was something he understood completely now. It felt like a freezing blade slowly plunging into the heart, suffocating the soul until breathing became impossible.
Finally, beneath a crimson, blood-soaked moon, surrounded by a macabre expanse of blood and corpses, Obito wept in absolute agony within a sea of the slain, cradling the lifeless body of Rin.
Obito's body trembled violently, his face a mask of dried tears and profound, bottomless despair.
Rin had been his entire universe, the one person he could never let go of in his heart. And now, she lay silently in his arms, never to breathe again.
If the shinobi world destroys my only light, then I will destroy this entire shinobi world!
Those words gradually took shape within Naruto's mind.
Staring at the fragile, broken silhouette of Obito as he desperately held Rin in despair, Naruto felt his own soul weeping.
He wanted to walk over and offer comfort to this man who had once been overwhelmingly powerful, yet was now as fragile and vulnerable as a child.
Sensing Naruto's straying emotions, the Nine-Tails sharply warned, "Your chakra is currently linked with his, so his inner thoughts are leaking directly into your mind. Don't let yourself be swayed by him!"
Obito grit his teeth as his three-tomoe Sharingan began to spin violently, a clear sign that his memories were being systematically breached by the Tsukuyomi.
Witnessing Obito's memories, Kanon remained entirely silent. A tragedy of this magnitude was a pain she could intimately comprehend.
But in the next instant, Obito let out a furious roar: "Do not underestimate the power of the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, who stands on equal footing with the Sage of Six Paths!"
Suddenly, a violent counter-pull erupted. Sasuke's Susanoo hand immediately clamped down, seizing the Ten-Tails' chakra as well.
Naruto snapped his head around to look at Sasuke, thoroughly surprised.
"Focus, Naruto! Keep pulling!"
Right on cue, the rest of their Konoha peers arrived at the scene. Looking at Naruto, they offered determined smiles and shouted:
"Naruto, you're the one who asked us for help! Let us fight alongside you until the very end!"
"Everyone..." Naruto gasped, a wave of joy washing over him.
But an even greater surprise was yet to come. Everyone looked up to see the entire Allied Shinobi Forces descending upon the front lines of the battlefield, all stepping up to join Naruto in the massive tug-of-war.
Staring at the sheer volume of people descending to aid him, Obito couldn't help but ask himself internally: Is this what a heart filled by comrades looks like?
With the God Tree effectively halted, the reanimated Hokage were freed up to act. Minato flashed directly to the scene, his Nine-Tails Mode flare erupting as he called out to the crowd: "Everyone, please grab hold of my chakra!"
From behind Minato, a massive torrent of chakra surged forth, shaping itself into nine brilliant golden threads.
"Alright, everyone! On my count of three, we pull together!" Naruto roared.
The Allied Forces braced themselves, preparing to wrench the chakra free. The sheer collective power of their unified front caused Obito's pupils to shrink in shock. Could it be... that there is actually still hope for this shinobi world?
Staring at the scene unfolding below him, Obito's body began to shake violently. At this exact moment, his foundations were utterly shattered.
He had once firmly believed that the shinobi world offered nothing but betrayal, despair, agony, and endless warfare, entirely devoid of any light.
Yet right now, looking at the Allied Shinobi Forces and Naruto pulling together as one, unity, hope, and the promise of a future materialized vividly right before his eyes.
In his mind's eye, Obito stood entirely isolated within a vast, desolate void. Conversely, Naruto stood surrounded by a sea of comrades, with an unbreakable line of allies permanently supporting his back.
Whether it was Konoha or the other four Great Shinobi Villages, every single one of them had become Naruto's comrade.
Obito looked behind himself. There was no one there. No, a young girl was gradually walking toward him, her long black hair cascading like silk, looking just like Rin used to. She was clad in a crimson Uchiha trench coat.
Yet that very silhouette had been pushed further and further away by his past actions, leaving her unable to ever stand behind his back. She was drifting away from him entirely. Ultimately, the girl in the crimson Uchiha coat overlapped with Rin's image, both of them standing on Naruto's side, gazing back at him with serene, indifferent eyes.
Staring at Naruto across the divide, Obito was forcefully reminded of the illusionary version of himself.
And that idealized version of himself was currently standing right behind Naruto, aligned shoulder-to-shoulder with Kakashi and the boy.
In that beautiful dream, he had successfully become the Hokage, surrounded by Naruto, Kanon, Sasuke, and Sakura. It was an incredibly warm, perfect world, even if Rin was not in it.
I... I actually...
Am I regretting this?
Obito murmured to himself deep within his soul.
Right at that second, Naruto stepped forward, locking his gaze directly onto Obito.
"You once said, 'I am no one, and I don't want to be anyone,' didn't you...?" Naruto said softly.
"Shut up! Stop invading my mind!"
Naruto completely ignored Obito's protests, continuing in a gentle, firm tone:
"But the truth is, you're exactly like me. You wanted to become the Hokage, didn't you?"
"If things had been just a little different, maybe I would have been the one chasing after your back."
"Because I admire the Hokage..."
Before Naruto could even finish, Obito cut him off fiercely.
"That is a past I have long since discarded, along with my naive, foolish self! A useless thing like that..."
"Then why am I able to see it?! What is the point of putting up a front to hide who you are?!"
"You were once Kakashi-sensei's friend! You were my dad's subordinate! You're an Uchiha, just like Sasuke and Kanon!"
"You're a senior who shared the exact same dream as me, and you were a ninja of Konoha!"
"What exactly are you trying to say?! What do you want from me?!" Obito roared in frustration.
"Just like the Third Old Man used to say, the Hokage isn't just a title or a position, it's a will, a spirit! The Will of Fire still burns inside your heart!"
"What I'm saying is... you are Obito Uchiha! You're the Obito Uchiha who admired the Will of Fire and wanted to become the Hokage!"
"I told you! I'm definitely going to tear off your mask!"
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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]