Six Paths Obito had the power to pin Minato down and restrain him with black rods or Truth-Seeking Orbs, just as he had done to the Edo Tobirama.
But he didn't.
As he had thought before, his former teacher was no longer an obstacle that needed to be erased.
Having reached this stage, Minato's existence or absence had no impact on his Eye of the Moon Plan, which had Rin as its sole core.
That lingering trace of the bond between master and student led him to choose merely to obstruct, rather than to kill.
Minato gritted his teeth, his pupils filled with frustration and a deep sense of powerlessness.
He knew better than anyone that in the face of Six Paths Obito's near-godlike power, his own speed was indeed "not worth mentioning."
He watched as the pitch-black curtain formed by the Truth-Seeking Orbs not only isolated him from Naruto but also began to wrap around and swallow him as if it were alive.
Minato understood that forcing a breakthrough would only result in both father and son being buried here.
"Naruto..."
A golden light flashed again. Just before the Truth-Seeking Orb curtain closed completely, Minato's figure disappeared from the spot with utter helplessness, forced to retreat from this center of despair.
The Truth-Seeking Orb curtain slowly retracted, re-condensing into spheres that floated beside Six Paths Obito.
Below, only Naruto remained, his chakra completely exhausted to the point where he couldn't even maintain his Nine-Tails Mode.
And Sasuke, whose Ocular Power was spent, was equally weak and exhausted.
They were like lambs to the slaughter, exposed under the cold gaze of Six Paths Obito, who looked down upon all living things.
Obito slowly raised his hand, his palm aimed at Naruto.
An invisible gravitational force began to pull at Naruto's body—more accurately, it was forcibly stripping away the half of the Nine-Tails chakra within him.
Naruto gave a pained groan, his body floating up uncontrollably as golden chakra motes began to dissipate from him.
"It's over, Nine-Tails," Obito's voice sounded like a final judgment.
"Your power will return to the Ten-Tails, to me. This twisted world will welcome its end and rebirth at my hands."
The remaining Shinobi of the Allied Shinobi Forces witnessed this scene, and despair submerged them like a tide.
Even the strongest Fourth Hokage was powerless, and even Naruto and Sasuke, who had created miracles, had fallen. Who else could stop this God of the Six Paths?
High in the sky, Takuno still leaned lazily against his throne, watching the process of Obito extracting the Nine-Tails with great interest.
So, in this lifetime where he existed, had Obito become the true ultimate winner?
Takuno floated high in the sky, his gaze locked onto the despairing scene below.
The power Six Paths Obito displayed had long since exceeded the understanding of the Shinobi of this era.
Hashirama and Madara, the two names that once made the Shinobi World tremble, appeared pale and powerless before Obito now.
He hadn't expected the Allied Shinobi Forces to achieve much in the first place, and now his judgment was being validated.
However, a trace of imperceptible interest quietly rippled in his heart.
Those named Naruto and Sasuke were the "protagonists" chosen by fate in this era.
Although Takuno didn't hold much expectation, deep down there was still a sliver of curiosity that even he himself hadn't noticed.
In such a desperate situation, could these two youths, favored by the lingering soul of the Sage of Six Paths, burst forth with brilliance beyond their limits and create a miracle capable of turning the tide?
He saw that struggling radiance. Naruto and Sasuke, under the ultimate resonance of chakra and will, actually managed to briefly break through the chasm between the mundane and the Six Paths!
The purple Susanoo blade, entwined with golden Senjutsu chakra, tore through the once-indestructible Truth-Seeking Orb barrier and even left a shocking wound on that monster-like Obito.
That could indeed be considered a faint light of a miracle.
Pity, it was only for an instant.
The gap in strength was like an insurmountable natural chasm.
"They struggled, and that's as far as it goes." Takuno sat leaning on his invisible throne, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the armrest, making a faint sound.
Naruto and Sasuke had indeed "struggled a bit," and that brief light had even given him a faint sense of expectation.
But reality was cruel. That bit of light, in the face of the absolute chasm of power, was like a firefly before the scorching sun, swallowed up in an instant.
A miracle did not happen, nor could it.
The gap in strength is an iron law that no bond of will or so-called "protagonist aura" can level.
Below, Obito's palm finally pressed against Naruto's abdomen.
The golden, violent Nine-Tails chakra, as if pulled by an invisible massive force, began to be continuously stripped and sucked from Naruto's body, flowing into Obito's body.
The atmosphere of the entire battlefield froze to the freezing point, and only complete despair and numbness remained on the faces of the Allied Shinobi Forces Shinobi.
Their last light of hope was extinguished.
Takuno quietly watched the process of extraction and fusion, his Six-Tomoe Rinnegan as deep as ever.
Obito was completing the final piece of his Ten-Tails Jinchuriki puzzle, advancing toward that "perfect" form.
Obito now seemed truly poised to become the first winner to reach the finish line in this long game.
"Only... does winning this step really mean it's over?" A subtle, inscrutable curve hooked at the corner of Takuno's mouth.
The world in his eyes was far more complex than anyone else could see.
Obito's "victory" might just be the beginning of a path toward another, even larger vortex.
According to his original expectations, this position was clearly reserved for Madara.
But if it was Obito, Takuno didn't really care; the ones who should care would be Black Zetsu or... Kaguya.
And on Six Paths Obito's side.
Sasuke's eyes were nearly bursting, and the power of his right eye's Rinnegan was ready to be unleashed.
He stared fixedly at Six Paths Obito floating in the air, and at Naruto in Obito's hand, who had lost consciousness while the half of the Nine-Tails chakra inside him was being forcibly extracted.
A surge of reckless determination flooded his heart. Enduring his body's intense pain and chakra exhaustion, he intended to squeeze out his Ocular Power once more.
To activate the Rinnegan technique he had recently acquired that could summon invisible shadows: Limbo: Border Jail.
"Don't even think about it!" Six Paths Obito's cold voice sounded like a judgment; he didn't even fully turn his head to look in Sasuke's direction.
Sasuke's intentions had nowhere to hide before him.
Obito's free left hand waved casually, and an irresistible repulsive force suddenly erupted!
"Shinra Tensei!"
The invisible massive force accurately crushed toward Sasuke's position.
Sasuke, already at the end of his rope after exhausting his power in that final strike, was fundamentally unable to resist this terrifying Six Paths-level power.
The repulsive force pressed down like an invisible mountain. Before he could even let out a groan, he was slammed hard into the ground, dust and rubble flying everywhere, and he fell completely unconscious.
The moment Sasuke fell, the action in Six Paths Obito's hand was also complete.
The last bit of Nine-Tails chakra belonging to Naruto was completely stripped and absorbed.
The perfect Six Paths aura belonging to the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki on Obito seemed to become even more harmonious and profound, as if the last piece of the puzzle had been filled.
He coldly let go, and Naruto, having lost all his strength like a broken doll, fell straight down from the heights.
"Naruto!" In the distance, Minato's heart nearly jumped out of his chest.
He had been searching for any slight chance to save his son.
The moment Obito let go, that dazzling Yellow Flash once again pierced through the desperate battlefield!
"Swish!"
The golden light flashed and vanished in an instant.
Minato's figure accurately appeared in the trajectory of Naruto's fall, steadily catching his son's body, which was slowly losing its life force.
Without a moment's pause, his other hand shot out like lightning, grabbing the collar of Sasuke, who was unconscious on the ground nearby.
The Flying Thunder God Jutsu Formula activated once more!
"Shua!"
The golden light reappeared. Minato, holding Naruto and carrying Sasuke, had already appeared in a safe zone hundreds of meters away from Six Paths Obito.
He gently laid Naruto down and quickly checked his condition while warily looking toward the figure high in the sky emitting a terrifying pressure.
The complete disappearance of the Nine-Tails within his son caused Minato's heart to sink to rock bottom.
Six Paths Obito floated in mid-air, watching Minato's figure vanish instantly with Naruto and Sasuke in the flash of the Flying Thunder God Technique.
There was no ripple in his eyes, only a cold indifference.
"Heh, run then, Minato-sensei..."
Obito's low voice echoed across the open battlefield, clearly reaching the ears of every Shinobi of the Allied Shinobi Forces who was holding their breath in despair.
It also penetrated space, falling into the heart of the father who was fleeing with the children.
His gaze swept over Tobirama, pinned down by black rods and unable to move, over the place where Naruto and Sasuke, unconscious from chakra exhaustion, had disappeared, and finally fixed on the direction in the void where Minato might have gone.
"Don't worry," Obito's voice carried a strange calmness, yet contained an unquestionable absolute will.
"Your worries, your pain, are all proof of this hellish real world. But this will eventually end."
He slightly raised his hand, and a Truth-Seeking Orb floated above his palm, emitting a faint glow.
"When the light of the 'Eye of the Moon' shrouds the entire Shinobi World, when the dream of the Infinite Tsukuyomi becomes the only reality... in that perfect world where there is only beauty, no loss, and no pain," Obito's voice carried a trace of almost imperceptible, twisted tenderness.
"You will see a perfectly intact Naruto Namikaze. A Naruto forever full of sunshine and smiles."
He paused for a moment, as if imagining that illusory image. A complex light flashed in his Rinnegan, but it was immediately covered by a deeper coldness.
"That is the world I want to create. A world where Rin exists, a world where... all tragedies are redeemed.
And your struggles at this moment are but necessary steps toward that perfect world."
Obito no longer paid attention to Minato's departure, nor did he care about the rescued Naruto and Sasuke.
In his eyes, they were already shadows of the old era destined to be replaced by the new world.
Six Paths Obito's gaze pierced through the smoke-filled battlefield, across the ruined land and the despairing Allied Forces, finally fixing on that cold moon in the sky.
His hands instantly formed a profound seal before his chest.
Rumble!!!
The earth let out an overburdened wail. In the center of the battlefield, not far from the remnants of the Allied Forces, the ground bulged and tore as if boiling.
Immediately following, an indescribable giant tree broke through the soil. Its roots, like coiled dragons, instantly plunged deep into the earth, frantically absorbing the chakra of the entire battlefield and even the energy of the ley lines.
This tree was unimaginably massive; its trunk was as thick as a mountain, piercing the clouds. Its lush foliage unfolded in an instant, blotting out the sky and sun, completely shrouding the already dim battlefield in deep shadow.
The bark presented a weird dark gold hue, with energy veins flowing like lava on its surface, emitting a heart-palpitating, terrifying pressure.
It was precisely the origin of chakra in legend—the God Tree!
The pure and ancient chakra pressure emitted by the God Tree caused the chakra in everyone's bodies to stagnate and tremble, even more suffocating than facing the Ten-Tails and Six Paths Obito.
"Has it already reached this step?" Madara's expression was more solemn than ever before.
He instantly understood Obito's purpose in looking at the moon; this tree was the ultimate medium to activate the "Infinite Tsukuyomi," projecting the illusion onto the moon and shrouding the entire world.
There was truly only one final step left before the twisted "perfect world" Six Paths Obito wanted to realize.
At this moment, his eyes were complex; he pursued power, but now that the God Tree was controlled by Obito, the situation had completely escaped his expectations.
The Edo Tobirama furrowed his brows, rapidly thinking of a countermeasure, but facing this level of power, even he felt powerless.
Minato's figure flashed in the golden light of the Flying Thunder God, accurately landing beside Itachi.
He gently laid down the unconscious and weak Sasuke.
"Itachi, I'm leaving Sasuke to you." Minato's voice was low and urgent, carrying an unquestionable resolve.
The tips of his golden hair appeared somewhat dim under the eerie light emitted by the God Tree's roots, but those azure eyes burned with a more determined light than ever before.
Itachi silently took his brother, looking at Sasuke's pale face and closed eyes. A trace of complexity flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure and nodded to Minato.
"Understood."
Minato did not stay for a second, activating the Flying Thunder God again.
In a flash of golden light, he appeared at another coordinate point—the location where The Collector was.
This mysterious being still leaned lazily on his temporary mount made of rock, as if the earth-shaking changes on the battlefield below and the terrifying sight of the God Tree blotting out the sky were nothing more than intermission entertainment.
Minato landed steadily, holding tightly in his arms his son, Naruto, who had also lost consciousness and whose life fire was like a candle in the wind.
Naruto's golden hair had lost its former luster. After the Nine-Tails chakra was extracted, his body had become exceptionally cold and fragile, and the flush representing vitality on his skin had completely disappeared.
If not for Minato's chakra barely maintaining his son's last thread of life, the consequences would be unthinkable.
Minato took a deep breath, suppressing the surging fear and anxiety in his heart, and carefully placed Naruto on the ground in front of Takuno.
Minato's azure eyes were now surging with unprecedented anxiety and determination.