Naruto, my father's name is Uchiha Madara.

Page 475

Everything within a radius of several kilometers disappeared.

The mountains, rivers, forests, and even the remnants of battles have all vanished.

The earth seemed to be repeatedly kneaded and crushed by an invisible giant hand.

All that remains is a cratered, broken landscape, resembling the surface of the moon.

Only the small, relatively intact patch of land beneath Naruto and Sasuke's feet symbolizes the final spot where they stood.

As the instigators of this devastating attack, Naruto and Sasuke, supporting each other, slowly slumped to the ground from their barely standing positions.

Both of them were ashen-faced, drenched in sweat, their chests heaving violently, each breath accompanied by excruciating pain.

The complete depletion of their chakra left their bodies feeling hollowed out, making even moving a finger extremely difficult.

They could only sit shoulder to shoulder, barely maintaining their posture with the support of each other's bodies.

It greedily absorbed the thin natural energy in the air, trying to recover even the slightest bit of its strength.

In the center of that destroyed area, at the edge of a huge, bottomless crater, Obito Uchiha lay quietly.

His white Six Paths Robe was tattered, and the staff and Truth-Seeking Jewel that symbolized the power of the Six Paths had long since disappeared.

In order to save his life from the devastating attack of the "Buddha on the Top".

He exhausted all the power of the Ten-Tails Jinchuriki, and even overdrawn his own power.

At this moment, he couldn't even move his neck.

He could only stare blankly at the beautiful starry sky with his eyes, which had lost all their luster.

We lost completely.

He was defeated by a junior whom he regarded as an ant.

He was defeated by the very real constraints and power he had been trying to deny.

At this moment, he was so weak that he was like any Chunin from the Allied Forces.

Even a low-ranking ninja could easily end his life.

Just then, the space around Obito twisted strangely, like ripples on the surface of water.

Wearing a tattered Jonin vest and a mask, Kakashi Hatake silently stepped out of the Kamui dimension.

His condition was also poor; his chakra was greatly depleted, and his eyes were constantly bleeding tears from overuse of the Mangekyou Sharingan.

But his eyes were extremely firm.

His right hand gripped a kunai tightly, its dazzling lightning chakra emitting the sound of a thousand birds chirping in unison.

The Raiche has already condensed on it.

The electric light illuminated his complex expression as he looked down at Obito, who lay motionless on the ground, his voice low and hoarse:

"I'm sorry, Naruto, Sasuke."

Kakashi didn't turn around, but his words clearly reached the ears of the two behind him: "Let me, his unworthy friend, see him off on this final journey."

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance, both seeing a hint of relief and tacit approval in each other's eyes.

This is a decades-long feud between Kakashi and Obito, and it should be resolved by them themselves.

The two remained silent, focusing even more intently on their own recovery, leaving this final stage to their former best friends.

Kakashi crouched down, the edge of his Lightning Blade only inches from Obito's heart.

Looking into Obito's empty eyes, he finally asked the question that had been buried in his heart for over a decade, a question like a poisonous thorn:

"Can you tell me why? Obito... why did you, who used to say 'those who don't follow the rules are trash, but those who don't cherish their comrades are even worse than trash,' become like this today?"

Obito's gaze remained fixed on the sky, as if someone he cared about existed in that starry expanse.

He was silent for a moment before replying in an almost nihilistic tone: "...At this point, is there any point in saying anything? No matter what we say, it won't change anything."

"Could it be..."

Kakashi's voice trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly: "Is it because of me? Is it because I failed to protect Rin?"

Obito's lips twitched, revealing a bitter, self-deprecating smile: "This... is only one of the reasons. But, heh, do you feel this is your fault, Kakashi?"

He paused, then revealed the buried truth: "Because... I know very well that it was Lin herself who deliberately ran into your Raikiri."

Kakashi's pupils contracted sharply, and his hand holding the kunai trembled slightly.

Obito's words reminded him once again of how Rin, when he was fighting with the enemy, deliberately ran into his Lightning Blade while he was attacking the enemy, all for the sake of the village's safety.

Obito continued, his voice filled with endless weariness and emptiness: "I investigated after Rin died. At that time, the Three-Tails was already sealed in her body, just waiting to return to the village."

"And you know this, but you still stubbornly want to bring her back."

"But...whatever the reason, whatever the truth..."

Obito's voice finally choked with emotion: "Rin... she's gone. What truth, what world, what's left for me to cherish?"

Kakashi closed his eyes, his expression contorted in pain beneath the mask.

“So…” Kakashi’s voice was extremely dry.

"Ha ha……"

Obito suddenly chuckled, his laughter filled with self-abandon: "At this point, all of these are just excuses."

"Kakashi, do it. Kill me, and the tailed beasts inside me will break free from their seal."

"You will become the hero who ends this war and saves the tailed beasts... This is my last... insignificant 'compensation'."

Kakashi took a deep breath and opened his eyes.

The confusion and pain in his eyes were replaced by determination.

The light of Raicher blazed brightly once more.

He knew that someone had to end all of this.

For the sake of the ninja world, and also to completely liberate this soul from suffering.

"Farewell, Obito."

Without further hesitation, he gripped his kunai tightly and stabbed it fiercely into Obito's heart!

"If you won't do it, then I will!"

However, at this critical moment, a cold, hoarse voice suddenly rang out!

"Earth Release: Earth Spear!"

A sharp earthen spear suddenly emerged from the ground beneath Kakashi's feet, forcing him to jump backward.

At the same time, a dark, shadowy figure shot out from the ground at an astonishing speed.

A jet-black hand, with a "plop," stabbed into Obito's chest!

"Black Zetsu?!"

Kakashi was shocked and furious. He forcefully broke free from the mud beneath his feet, raised his Lightning Blade again, and thrust it straight at the dark figure!

But just as Kakashi was about to strike Black Zetsu, a sharp whooshing sound came from the sky!

A huge Uchiha fan, bearing the Uchiha clan crest, spun down like a meteorite.

With a loud clang, it acted like the strongest shield, precisely blocking Kakashi's Lightning Blade!

The violent lightning power collided with the unique chakra absorption ability contained in the fan, sparking dazzling sparks.

Because of this interruption, Kakashi's attack was forced to stop, and he could only watch helplessly as Black Zetsu's arm sank even deeper into Obito's body.

Kakashi was forced to take a few steps back, looking warily in the direction from which the fan had come.

A tall figure descended from the sky with an unrestrained and wild aura.

It crashed heavily beside the Uchiha fan like a meteorite falling, with one foot casually resting on the fan's handle.

Layered red armor, long black hair, and those domineering Rinnegan eyes with ripples all around!

It was the same Madara Uchiha (Edo Tensei) that Naruto had sealed away with the combined power of Madara Uchiha (soul) and Hashirama Senju (soul)!

"Spotted?! How did you..."

Naruto struggled to stand up, but his weak body caused him to fall back down, his face filled with disbelief.

He and Sasuke sealed Madara away with their own hands!

Edo Madara slowly raised his head, his Rinnegan sweeping over the disheveled group of people present.

Finally, the gaze fell on Naruto and Sasuke, a sarcastic and playful smile curving his lips.

"How did you get out?"

Ban's voice, with its distinctive magnetic tone, sounded as if he were stating something trivial: "Isn't this a very simple matter?"

"You don't actually think that a hastily set-up seal can really trap me, Uchiha Madara, forever, do you?"

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze seemingly penetrating the ground and looking towards a certain spot.

"What's more... there was a 'helpful' assistant who quietly loosened the restraints for me a little bit underground."

His gaze finally settled on Black Zetsu, whose hand was still embedded in Obito's chest.

The atmosphere on the battlefield instantly shifted from the tragic grandeur of the final battle to a deeper, colder despair.

Chapter 495 Recovering the Tailed Beasts

The reappearance of Madara Uchiha was like throwing a boulder into a volcano that was about to subside.

In an instant, the battlefield was pushed back from the brink of victory into an abyss of unfathomable despair.

Naruto and Sasuke stood back to back, breathing heavily.

He tried to squeeze out the last bit of chakra from his body.

But the excruciating physical pain and extreme emptiness ruthlessly proclaimed their limits.

Let alone fighting, just staying conscious and supporting his body was already a struggle.

At this moment, they could only watch helplessly as that red, nightmarish figure appeared.