Hinata raised her hand as well. Seeing Naruto so broken and on the verge of losing his resolve, she remembered what Kanon had once told her:
"Because in this cruel, dark shinobi world, you guys are the only faith I have left."
At this very moment, her faith was Naruto. How could Hinata stand by and watch his spirit wither away?
Naruto caught Hinata's palm strike, lifting his head to glare defiantly at Obito.
"The only one who has absolutely nobody acknowledging them is you, Obito!"
"The people standing by my side have always acknowledged me!"
Naruto pushed himself back to his feet, the memories of when they were six years old, sitting together at the edge of the cliff, flashing through his mind.
"Do you really believe I'll become Hokage?"
"Of course I believe in you! And I'll always be cheering you on!"
That conversation reverberated in Naruto's mind, along with the final words Kanon's chakra had spoken to him within his inner world before fading away:
"Keep going, Naruto. Let me see how awesome you look when you become the Hokage!"
It was precisely because Kanon's words still resonated deeply within him that he remained completely unmoved by Obito's psychological warfare! Compared to Obito, Naruto would always choose to trust Kanon's voice.
Indeed, at that exact moment, Kanon turned a detached gaze toward Obito and said smoothly, "You're just projecting because you can't endure your own loneliness. Spouting nonsense like that while I'm standing right here will only serve to steel his resolve."
Sure enough, within Naruto's subconscious, the Nine-Tails roared at him: "Your life isn't just your own! Aside from Neji, there's also the version of Kanon from your dreams! And don't you dare forget about me!"
Naruto nodded resolutely, shouting back at Kurama, "I refuse to abandon my comrades, no matter what!"
"But Neji is..."
"Say one more whiny word and see what happens! Keep it up and I'll beat you to a pulp and take over your body myself, you idiot!" the Nine-Tails barked.
"Neji just died right in front of your eyes, and you've already forgotten all of this?!"
In that instant, visions of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki, materialized before Naruto's eyes.
"The moment you were born, your parents did the exact same thing Neji did!"
"They even sealed me, their sworn enemy, inside your body!"
"From the very second you entered this world, your life has been inextricably linked to two other lives!"
Madara and Kanon looked past Obito with indifferent expressions. Neither of their convictions would ever waver; the only one constantly second-guessing himself was Obito. However, Madara could also see that the dynamic between Kanon and Naruto was a striking reflection of his own past with Hashirama.
Predictably, Obito raised his hand and bellowed at Naruto, "Enough!"
Instantly, a myriad of wooden appendages formed a dense canopy over the Ten-Tails.
"Don't be so impatient. Acting recklessly like this will not only injure the Ten-Tails, but it will also harm you..."
"A little collateral damage is nothing. The Ten-Tails' hide is more than durable enough!"
Obito could not fathom it. Why was it that no matter what kind of immense agony Naruto was subjected to, he managed to stand right back up, step by step? Was the despair not deep enough? He wanted to see exactly how Naruto would choose when confronted with the exact same magnitude of grief that had shattered his own world.
The Ten-Tails began gathering immense chakra, forming a colossal Tailed Beast Bomb aimed squarely at the Allied Shinobi Forces below.
Right at that critical juncture, Sai flew directly above the Ten-Tails, carrying Killer B on his ink bird.
B instantly manifested the Eight-Tails. Gyuki slammed its own Tailed Beast Bomb directly into the Ten-Tails' open maw.
"Taste this!" The Eight-Tails' projectile collided violently with the Ten-Tails' attack inside its mouth, triggering a cataclysmic explosion.
The backfire from the blast severed the Eight-Tails' tentacles and left its entire body scorched and smoking.
However, this desperate intervention bought Naruto the crucial window he needed to ignite his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, linking his power with the collective army!
Naruto tightly clasped Hinata's hand, his gaze hardening as he locked eyes with Kanon, Obito, and Madara.
"Let's go, Hinata!" In an instant, the golden shroud of the Nine-Tails' chakra enveloped Hinata's body.
Kanon watched as Naruto held Hinata's hand, his defiant eyes fixed upon her. Her lips curled into a beautifully tragic arc.
"So, you've chosen them after all."
"Kanon! What you're doing is wrong!" Naruto roared.
He was completely oblivious to what holding Hinata's hand in front of Kanon truly signified. The absolute final thread of their friendship and shared bond snapped cleanly away, vanishing completely with Naruto's actions.
Kanon closed her eyes. Within her mind, every single memory she shared with Naruto began to dissolve like ash in the wind. 'Best friends' indeed... in the end, he still chose Hinata. He chose the Allied Forces.
In that moment, she surrendered. She completely abandoned the desire to drag Naruto along to help her forge her beautiful Flower Realm.
Along with all her past expectations, yearnings, and sentiments, her heart shattered completely.
Kanon's face completely emptied of any warmth. Her expression turned entirely stone-cold, showing absolute indifference as Naruto distributed his Nine-Tails shroud to the entire battlefield.
She walked silently behind Obito and Madara, her voice devoid of life. "Do whatever you want."
Across the battlefield, the Allied Shinobi Forces were rapidly being cloaked in the vermilion shroud of the Nine-Tails' chakra, passed along through Naruto's shadow clones.
"Is that brat distributing the Nine-Tails' chakra to everyone?" Madara observed calmly.
"I'm done playing around, old man Madara. Let's finish this quickly. If you can't handle it, I'll step in myself."
In another quadrant of the battlefield, Rock Lee wept uncontrollably as he cradled Neji's lifeless body, a burning hatred consuming him for Kanon, Obito, and Madara.
"Lee, don't cry!"
"Lee, as long as we carry Neji's will forward, he will always be with us, living on inside our hearts." Guy pointed directly over his own heart.
Abruptly, Obito spoke up, his voice carrying across the crater: "Let me share some enlightening news with all of you."
Every shinobi turned their gaze toward him.
"It is precisely these 'bonds' you all hold so dear that created the monster I am today."
"Engrave this into your minds: those very bonds are nothing more than a powerful curse!"
While Obito and Madara stepped forward, Kanon sat down with her back facing the Allied Shinobi Forces. She buried her face in her knees, remaining entirely mute. Witnessing this scene from afar, Kakashi spoke in a low, somber voice: "Naruto, remember what I told you before."
"'I will never let my comrades be killed'..."
"That is a mantra I use to remind myself as well."
"I have lost so many comrades along the way."
"That is why I tell myself that I must protect them the next time."
"But every single time, I am forced to confront the harsh reality that I failed to save them."
"It means I must live with this agonizing scar for the rest of my life."
Naruto nodded slowly, the deeper meaning of the words settling into his chest.
"That's why we endure... Aren't we shinobi?"
"How could we ever choose to forget that scar? Isn't it the definitive proof that our comrades are still alive within our hearts?!"
"Comrades created inside a dream world who can never hurt you are nothing but illusions. Choosing them means erasing your real comrades..."
"I don't care if it's a curse or whatever you want to call it, I am going to keep the real Neji alive inside my heart forever!"
With a mighty surge, Naruto interconnected his chakra with the masses. Red, bubbling chakra burst forth even around Might Guy and Rock Lee.
Kurama watched Naruto from within the seal, letting out a dry scoff as he thought to himself:
"You've pretty much finished transferring it all. Is this what you wanted, Fourth Hokage?"
"This kid surpassed you guys a long time ago. The sheer scale of the chakra he's linking and distributing leaves yours in the dust."
"Kushina, Minato... hang your heads in shame, because you've been thoroughly beaten by your own son."
"But I suppose... this is exactly the kind of strength you wanted Naruto to inherit."
Madara glanced at the visibly frustrated Obito, and then at Kanon, who sat completely silent with her back to the alliance.
"Kanon, is that the extent of your resolve?"
"Allow me to lend you a hand, then."
Just as Madara made a move to step forward, Kanon extended her arm, cutting him off.
Madara's expression shifted into one of genuine surprise. Looking closely at her Mangekyo Sharingan, which had contracted into sharp, needle-like pinpricks, he could tell just how catastrophically turbulent her emotions were right now.
"It seems that brat Naruto truly was the final straw that broke you." Madara crossed his arms, nodding slowly in understanding. "Let us see then... what kind of cataclysmic power the strongest Uchiha of this era will unleash when pushed to the absolute brink."
But in the next heartbeat, both Madara and Obito froze in sheer disbelief.
Kanon stumbled blindly backward and fell straight off the head of the Ten-Tails. Her body plummeted like a discarded stone, crashing heavily into the earth below.
A massive plume of dust erupted from the impact, drawing the immediate attention of Naruto and everyone around him.
Naruto's eyes widened in sheer panic. Kanon lay motionless inside the deep crater, the light completely drained from her eyes, looking for all the world like a corpse.
"Kanon! What's happening to her?!"
"Take her down now!" Kakashi roared, instantly generating a crackling Chidori in his palm as he lunged toward her.
The surrounding shinobi followed suit without a second thought. They moved with absolute lethality, entirely intent on capitalizing on the massive, inexplicable opening Kanon had just exposed.
Her heart had died completely. The bond she shared with Naruto had been the absolute final line tethering her fractured, desolate soul to sanity.
But just now, Naruto had held Hinata's hand, standing alongside the Allied Shinobi Forces to utterly reject her ideology. Only now did Kanon truly realize just how agonizingly painful it was for that final thread to snap.
The tragic slaughter of her clan, the massacre orchestrated by her older brother, the cold corpses of her parents, the dying words of her master, the total annihilation of Team Hana, the horrific truth behind the Uchiha downfall, and the ultimate betrayal of her kin... Having survived all of this agony, Kanon had foolishly believed that Naruto might actually be the one person capable of understanding her, the one who would stand by her side.
But in the end, all she received was the sight of Naruto taking Hinata's hand, standing firmly as her enemy alongside the Allied Forces.
Deep within the hollow crater, Kanon's pupils were entirely swallowed by darkness. Any lingering desire to bring Naruto over to her side vanished completely into nothingness.
"I'm done, Naruto..."
"'Best friends'...? What a joke, Naruto Uzumaki. In the end, I was absolutely nothing to you..."
Beset by the entire world, Kanon finally broke. Standing between the Allied Shinobi Forces and the boy she once called her friend, she had utterly lost her soul.
Kanon lay completely unresponsive in the depths of the crater, slipping out of consciousness.
Yet, deep within the inner recesses of the Flower Realm, the crimson-robed figure sitting cross-legged slowly snapped her eyes open. Within her irises, a twenty-four-tomoe Rinnegan spun with terrifying intensity.