After clashing with the four of them for so long, the Kanon they had been fighting turned out to be nothing more than a Shadow Clone!
Seeing this, Naruto finally breathed a jagged sigh of relief.
"Do you understand now?! You don't stand a chance against enemies like this! Get back!" the Raikage barked at Naruto and Killer B.
"Hokage! Give us a hand here!" Killer B called out to Tsunade.
Tsunade moved, but instead of joining the Raikage, she positioned herself in front of him, shielding Naruto and Killer B.
"Granny..."
Tsunade looked at Naruto with a soft, affectionate gaze. The way he had just risked everything to protect his bond with Kanon reminded her deeply of Jiraiya and her younger brother, Nawaki.
"Hokage, I hope you have a damn good reason for this!" the Raikage snapped, his face contorting with frustration.
"Even if we killed Naruto now to delay the Nine-Tails' resurrection, I don't believe the next Jinchuriki would be able to control its power as perfectly as he does," Tsunade countered firmly.
"The four of us just pushed ourselves to the limit just to defeat a single Shadow Clone of Kanon Uchiha!"
"Since this war is destined to be a fight to the death, we should be meeting it head-on with everything we've got!"
Tsunade recalled the last words Kanon's clone had whispered to Naruto before vanishing.
"Yeah... we're best friends."
Perhaps Naruto was right. Perhaps he was the only one who could truly stop Kanon. If that was the case, the Five Kage would take care of stopping Madara.
"I'm letting Naruto pass!"
Hearing Tsunade's support, Naruto let out a determined grin. "Now that's the Hokage Granny I know!"
"Hokage, have you lost your mind too?!" the Raikage roared. "Every one of you... why are you so certain Naruto can do this?"
Suddenly, A and Killer B clashed in a Lightning Release: Lariat.
THOOM!
The Raikage stared in disbelief at Killer B. He had actually been blown back by his brother's Lariat.
"Because... you're someone special to me! We'll always be the ultimate tag-team!"
"Those are... the words I said to you at the Falls of Truth..." A lowered his head, his voice trailing off.
"That's right, Brother."
"My strength doesn't just come from the Tailed Beast. The things that lived in my heart before I became a Jinchuriki, once they start to shine, they're as massive as the sun. That's what matters most."
"You need to realize that that is the true source of power!"
"I believed I was the only one who could control the Eight-Tails. Naruto has his own suns inside him, too, and he has three of them!"
"Three suns?" Both Tsunade and Ay were taken aback.
"Yeah... maybe they really are like suns," Naruto muttered, scratching his head softly.
"Naruto Uzumaki, what are these three suns of yours?"
"My dad, my mom... and my best friend!"
"Your parents, the Fourth Hokage and Kushina Uzumaki, and that Kanon Uchiha girl?"
"But your parents died the moment you were born, and Kanon Uchiha has become our enemy!"
"Yeah, they did!" Naruto nodded.
Tsunade watched Naruto with a sense of pride. It was clear that something had happened while he was learning to control the Nine-Tails' chakra. Naruto had mentioned before that during the battle with Pain, when he was about to transform into the Nine-Tails, the seal's trigger activated and Minato appeared to save him.
Minato Namikaze wasn't a man who would die for nothing. And the bond between Kanon and Naruto, forged since childhood, was clearly what allowed Naruto to keep growing.
Naruto clenched his fist and pressed it against his chest.
"When I was gaining the Nine-Tails' power, Dad let me meet Mom. It was Kanon who helped me, too, which is why I can control this power today."
"They put their chakra inside me long ago. If the seal ever broke and I was in danger, Mom and Kanon would be there to help me!"
"For my sake... for my mom and my best friend!" Naruto flashed a brilliant, signature smile.
"I see..." Tsunade nodded.
Naruto continued:
"When I got this power, Dad told me about his fight with the masked man. That battle convinced him of two things."
"One: that masked man will bring disaster to this world. And two: the only one who can stop him is a Jinchuriki who has perfect control over the Nine-Tails' power—me!"
"Kanon's chakra fought alongside me to defeat the Nine-Tails. She's the reason I mastered this. She is my best friend!"
"Even if she's an enemy now, the person she was in the past still trusts me and helped me. I will be the one to end this war!"
"So Minato entrusted everything to you?"
"He believed he wasn't the Savior..."
"I don't know if Dad saw himself as a Savior, but my master told me that my dad was the Child of Prophecy, the Savior of this world!" Naruto declared.
"Did you forget what I just said? Minato, the 'Savior,' is dead!"
"Can you really say that wasn't a failure?!" A shouted.
"Dad did die. He and Mom died to seal the Nine-Tails, to protect Konoha from the attack, and to protect me."
"It was only for a moment, but in that moment, they gave me so much trust and so many hopes. I believe I can do it."
"They entrusted the task of saving the world to me!"
"And it wasn't just my parents! Kanon was the very first person to acknowledge me, the first to believe I could become Hokage!"
"Now that she's lost her way, I can't just stand by and watch her sink into the darkness!"
"Just like she encouraged me when we were kids, dreaming of that beautiful, peaceful flower field... I'm going to work my hardest for her dream and for the trust she placed in me!"
Hearing Naruto's cry, Tsunade finally stepped firmly in front of him.
"Raikage! If we kill Naruto just to stall the enemy, the Nine-Tails will eventually be taken anyway, and the world will end!"
"Only Naruto can control the Nine-Tails. Just as Minato believed, the bonds he carries are deeper than anyone else's. Letting Naruto go is the only way to protect the shinobi and the world!"
"I'm placing my bet on Naruto. What about you?!" Tsunade yelled.
Killer B chimed in.
"Me too! Bakayaro, Konoyaro!"
"I'm the 'fool' my brother always talks about. And wouldn't you know it, Naruto's a big fool too. But in the end, the only ones who make it through are the fools who don't care how hard or high the wall is!"
The Raikage sent B flying with a single punch. His Lightning Release Armor flared to life, sparks of electricity erupting around him.
"If you're going to stay this stubborn, then don't blame me for getting involved!" Tsunade roared.
But Naruto took a step forward, preparing to break through the Raikage's line.
"Here I come, Naruto! If you want to prove you have strength equal to Kanon's, then show me you can outrun my speed!"
"I'm carrying too many hopes and bonds to lose now!"
The moment Naruto bolted, the Raikage's fist swung downward.
Flash!
A golden blur flickered. The mountainside behind them shattered from the impact, but Naruto appeared standing right behind the Raikage!
"I promised Kanon I would become Hokage... so I absolutely will not fail here!"
The Raikage's Lightning Release Armor dissipated. He found himself remembering the time he fought Minato.
"I'm also carrying a lot on my shoulders, so I can't afford to fail."
Then, he remembered the scene during the Five Kage Summit when Kanon's speed had surpassed his for the first time.
"The new generation really is overtaking the old..." the Raikage sighed.
That speed... it was exactly like Minato's, Tsunade thought to herself.
"The Raikage pops was right. If I fail, I can't be a Savior!"
"So I won't fail! Just like my dad, and just like the person Kanon expected me to be."
"This is my answer to everyone who believed in me! This is what I learned from my dad, the Savior!"
Naruto looked back at the Raikage with an iron resolve.
"Hmph. I only attacked you with killing intent to be sure."
"You're the third person to ever dodge my fastest punch. It looks like the Savior really is alive, right inside your heart."
"Go, Naruto. Killer B!"
"Right!" Naruto and Killer B took off toward the battlefield as the morning sun began to rise behind them.