"Obito, how could you turn out like this?!"
"Why ally yourself with a person like him?!" Kakashi demanded, his voice filled with shock.
"Before you ask that question, you should think about why your own student defected from Konoha," Obito sneered. "Kakashi, you know better than anyone else exactly why Kanon fled Konoha, don't you?"
BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted as the Eight-Tails was sent flying by Kanon's Massive Rasengan. The immense pressure from her original body's Massive Rasengan subjected Killer B to an overwhelming strain, a force so absolute that it left him completely incapable of defending himself.
Compared to when they fought her shadow clones, a single strike from her true body was enough to completely shatter and disperse his Tailed Beast Bomb.
"Surrender quietly, Nine-Tails," Madara said, looking down at Naruto with a cold smirk.
"In your dreams, moron! I am the son of the Fourth Hokage!" Naruto barked back. "I'll never fall for your traps!"
"Is that so? The son of the Fourth Hokage... how truly grand." Standing beside Madara, Kanon offered Naruto a beautiful yet chilling smile.
To her, Naruto uttering those words was the ultimate mockery. The orphan of a hero, validated by the entire village, hailed as the hope of Konoha. Meanwhile, she had been born into the Uchiha, the daughter of the leader of Konoha's most prominent noble clan, yet what was her ultimate reward?
Her parents and clansmen were slaughtered by her own biological brother, her comrades were wiped out by Konoha, and she had been subjected to assassination and betrayal before even reaching adulthood.
"What a spectacular son of a hero," Kanon said, clapping her hands for Naruto.
"Kanon... you..." Naruto knew she was mocking him.
"Old man Madara, go handle the Eight-Tails. Leave the Nine-Tails to me." Kanon tossed the gunbai fan back to Madara and locked her icy glare onto Naruto.
"Still calling me an old man... what an insolent brat." Madara caught the gunbai and immediately charged toward the Eight-Tails.
In an instant, the center of the battlefield was cleared, leaving only Naruto and Kanon standing face-to-face.
Kanon's crimson Uchiha overcoat fluttered in the wind. Opposite her, Naruto stood enveloped in his Kurama Link Mode. Both of them had reached the absolute apex of the shinobi world, but this time, they were truly staking their lives on the line.
Staring at Naruto's intensely conflicted expression, Kanon chuckled with detached cruelty.
"What an ugly face you're making, Naruto."
"Aren't you the son of the Fourth Hokage? Then you should understand perfectly clear where you stand right now."
"I understand..." Naruto muttered, his heart heavy.
Kanon drew her Kusanagi Sword, twirling it into a graceful arc as pink markings of Sage Mode manifested around the corners of her eyes.
Naruto raised a kunai. No matter how difficult it was, and no matter how much he wished to avoid it, this battle was ultimately inevitable. This transcended right or wrong; it was their inescapable destiny.
Looking at Kanon's icy countenance now, Naruto couldn't help but remember the times she used to smile at him so warmly, wiping away his sweat and helping him tidy his home. The Kanon before his eyes had been the emotional pillar of his childhood, yet now they were locked in a mortal struggle.
"This is the end, Naruto." Kanon lunged forward with a swift slash. The impact instantly shattered Naruto's kunai, and she followed up immediately with a fierce kick.
As Naruto was sent flying backward, the crimson ribcage of her Susanoo slammed downward. Naruto managed to evade the devastating blow by utilizing a Nine-Tails chakra arm. A massive crater erupted where he had just stood, forcing him to scramble back several paces.
"Naruto! Look out!" the Nine-Tails roared in warning.
Sure enough, in that split second, Kanon had already closed the distance, appearing right in front of him. Naruto's sapphire-blue eyes locked directly onto Kanon's rose-patterned Mangekyō Sharingan.
The next moment, Naruto hacked up a mouthful of blood, his face contorted in sheer bewilderment. Kanon's Chidori had cleanly pierced through his abdomen.
"Son of a hero... is this all the strength you possess?"
Kanon delivered a brutal kick that sent Naruto careening through the air. As she withdrew her left hand, a Sage Art: Massive Rasenshuriken materialized in her palm. Without a shred of hesitation, she hurled the devastating projectile straight at the airborne Naruto.
A terrifying explosion followed, sending a colossal mushroom cloud billowing into the sky.
"Kanon! Don't kill the Nine-Tails!" Madara called out, a hint of urgency in his voice. He was genuinely concerned that Kanon might accidentally obliterate the Jinchuriki entirely.
"Relax, old man Madara. He's far too stubborn to die from just that."
"Step back, Kanon. Your methods are too dangerous. Go assist Obito; I will handle the Eight and Nine-Tails myself!" Madara stepped in front of Kanon, determined to prevent her lethal techniques from destroying their primary targets.
The moment Naruto dragged himself back up to his feet, Madara formed a single hand sign.
"This is Hashirama's Wood Dragon, which once bound my Nine-Tails."
Suddenly, a colossal Wood Dragon erupted from Madara's side, roaring through the air as it coiled aggressively toward Naruto.
The Eight-Tails dragged its battered body up, speaking softly to Guy who was perched on its nose. "Kanon and Madara are ridiculously strong..."
"That only makes them worth fighting," Guy replied flatly, before coughing up another mouthful of blood.
"You really love pushing yourself to the brink, don't you," the Eight-Tails muttered helplessly.
Watching the Wood Dragon hurtle toward him, Naruto wiped the blood from his mouth. He had to admit that Kanon was powerful, infamously stronger than he had ever anticipated. Yet, as he watched the beast close in, his chakra flared violently.
"I won't hold back against Jinchuriki corpses either, because you're already dead!"
The Wood Dragon immediately wrapped itself around Naruto's full Tailed Beast transformation, constricting him tightly.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield...
BOOM!
A Jinchuriki's Tailed Beast Bomb was fired directly at Kanon, but it passed harmlessly through her form. The intangibility of her Flower Realm had activated. Simultaneously, while standing within the path of the explosion, Kanon's hands flew into a sequence of seals.
"Earth Release: Moving Earth Core!"
In an instant, the ground beneath the Eight-Tails split in two, rising up from both sides to crush the massive beast and Might Guy between them.
Might Guy leapt into the air, unleashing a volley of powerful punches that shattered the encroaching stone walls into dust. But Kanon's onslaught was far from over; a Rasengan Fire Dance sailed through the air, detonating squarely against the Eight-Tails' face.
A blinding flash of light consumed the area, blowing both the Eight-Tails and Might Guy backward. The Eight-Tails bore the full brunt of the cataclysmic impact. Letting out an agonized shriek, its colossal form plowed a deep trench into the earth as it skidded hundreds of meters away.
"I told you to hold back!" Madara barked loudly.
"Don't worry, it takes more than that to kill the Eight-Tails."
At the exact same time...
CLANG!
The sharp ring of a kunai clashing against a giant shuriken echoed across the clearing. Obito and Kakashi broke away from their clash, separating by dozens of meters.
"Why... why would you ally yourself with a man like Madara?!" Kakashi's voice trembled with emotion, but Obito remained entirely indifferent.
"I have nothing to say to you. All that remains is this final battle!"
Using his Kamui, Obito unleashed a barrage of massive shuriken from his eye, sending them hurtling straight toward Kakashi.
"Earth Release: Mud Wall!"
A stone barricade rose to intercept the attack, but the sheer force of the massive shuriken ripped cleanly through it. Phasing effortlessly through the collapsing stone structure, Obito materialized on the other side. A massive shuriken was already driven deep into Kakashi's knee.
Staring at the face of his childhood friend, Kakashi asked in a broken whisper, "Why?"
"Shut your mouth, you trash who can only run his mouth."
With a sudden activation of Kamui, Kakashi was warped directly into the Kamui dimension. However, to Kakashi, who possessed the matching Sharingan, being sealed inside the pocket dimension was largely ineffective. Kakashi opened his left eye, revealing the exact same Mangekyō pattern as Obito's, and manifested right back into reality in front of him.
"The same eyes... as expected, you found your way out."
"Obito, how did you become like this... does it have to do with Rin?"
But the only response Kakashi received was a brutal knee strike to his chest, reopening his old scars.
Across the split battlefield, Naruto found himself heavily constrained by the Wood Dragon, his chakra being continuously siphoned away. On the other side, Might Guy was sent flying hundreds of meters by a single punch from Kanon, who followed up by slamming a Massive Rasengan squarely into the Eight-Tails' face. Her strength was simply too overwhelming, leaving the two completely unable to break away and assist Naruto.
Thus, the battlefield was severed into three distinct zones: Madara facing Naruto, Kanon suppressing the Eight-Tails and Might Guy, and Kakashi locked in a fateful duel against Obito.
Right now, Kakashi was on his knees, gasping for breath.
Obito looked down at him icily. "I told you, trash should just keep their mouths shut. Die."
Hearing Obito's words, Kakashi plummeted into a well of profound self-loathing. "I failed to keep my promise to you... You're right, I am trash... But you were a hero of Konoha. There was no need for you to turn into this..."
Obito merely laughed in a fit of absolute rage. "Hahaha! This is reality! Whether it's the side entrusting or the side being entrusted... every shinobi who survives in this world eventually turns into trash. You and I are perfect examples, Kakashi."
Hearing Obito's declaration, Kanon glanced toward the Eight-Tails, who was currently pinned down under her Gate of the Great God, and then toward Naruto, who remained ensnared by the Wood Dragon. Madara walked over to her side.
"You even know how to use the Gate of the Great God?"
Kanon offered no reply. Madara simply let out a cold chuckle and continued, "Kanon, you also find these people to be in the way, don't you? This shinobi world will soon meet its destruction. To ensure these two can enjoy themselves to the fullest in the short time remaining, we should tidy up this battlefield first."
Behind Madara, a majestic blue Susanoo materialized. At the same time, the pink markings of Sage Mode sharpened around Kanon's eyes.
"You're right," Kanon agreed smoothly. "Let's clear the field first."
Obito stared down at the half-kneeling Kakashi, raising a kunai as he spoke with complete detachment: "No one can escape the cycle of this world creating trash. That is why I will remake this world."