A cataclysmic upheaval suddenly erupted as terrifying, white chakra blanketed the entire battlefield. The colossal explosion seemed poised to reduce everything in its vicinity to absolute nothingness.
The very clouds in the sky were blasted apart by the shockwave. Surveying the devastation around him, Madara spoke in a low voice, "The real show is yet to come."
Behind Madara, a blue Susanoo materialized as he, too, began making his preparations.
At that exact moment, Kakashi glared at the Ten-Tails. This time, he was absolutely determined to eliminate it.
The instant Kakashi prepared to unleash his Kamui…
"Kamui!"
Obito unexpectedly seized Kakashi right then and there.
"It seems you were waiting for this exact opening. But so was I, Kakashi!"
In that split second, a swirling space-time vortex manifested. Obito was actually dragging Kakashi along with himself into the Kamui dimension.
"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto screamed toward Kakashi.
"Naruto, I'm leaving things on this side to you!" Kakashi yelled back at the top of his lungs.
But things on Naruto's end were about to get far more difficult. Right at that moment, the cataclysmic upheaval fully detonated, enveloping the entire battlefield in a terrifying shockwave.
Kanon stood firmly in her place. The raging gales and flying debris could not harm her in the slightest; even the deafening roars and bursting underground water failed to shake her composure.
While Madara utilized his Susanoo to withstand the cataclysm, Kanon sat on the shoulder of the Ten-Tails, watching the chaos unfold below with great amusement.
The shinobi were all clad in the Nine-Tails' chakra cloaks, so they wouldn't die that easily. Had they been unprotected, this single attack would have undoubtedly obliterated everyone.
Despite the horrific conditions, Naruto had actually distributed all of his own chakra to everyone. Because of this, he had dropped out of Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, leaving his body covered by only a single layer of a tailed beast cloak.
The cataclysmic upheaval was simply too devastating, leaving even Naruto severely wounded at this point.
The heaven and earth continued to fracture and collapse. The roaring of the Ten-Tails felt as though it were tearing the entire region apart, painting a stark picture of the impending apocalypse.
"This should clear up the battlefield a bit," Madara remarked, looking around.
"Who knows?" Kanon leaped down from the shoulder of the Ten-Tails, casting her gaze toward the Allied Shinobi Forces.
Sure enough, just as she expected, the Allied Shinobi Forces, shielded by the tailed beast cloaks, were not so easily killed. Though many lay on the ground heavily injured, they were still alive.
Everyone understood that Naruto had protected them yet again. Even Hinata, who had previously been pierced by Kanon, had now recovered due to the transformative properties of the tailed beast cloak.
Clutching his right arm, his entire body bleeding, Naruto panted heavily as he faced the Ten-Tails. "It didn't work..."
However, the Ten-Tails across from him brought its hands together and began forming signs. Its body grew progressively larger and more muscular, while the tailed beast cloaks shielding the Allied Shinobi Forces simultaneously dissolved into nothingness.
"It looks like you've reached your limit, Naruto," Kanon said, standing in place with a mocking expression.
Madara spoke up as well. "You've finished playing your part in this grand show. It's about time you exit the stage."
Just as he was about to move, he realized that countless shinobi from the Allied Forces had stepped forward, shielding Naruto with their bodies.
"Everyone, let's join our forces and charge together!" Hinata shouted, standing at the forefront of the massive crowd in front of Naruto.
Naruto was somewhat taken aback to see Hinata rallying everyone's morale. Behind him, Sakura immediately began administering medical ninjutsu.
"You need to be healed, Naruto."
Watching the swarm of shinobi pooling together to protect Naruto, Kanon drew her Kusanagi Sword.
"A mere rabble. Stop wasting your breath."
Meanwhile, Obito and Kakashi had successfully entered the Kamui dimension.
Obito stumbled and fell onto the ground. Seizing this momentary window, Kakashi immediately lunged toward him, a Lightning Blade already crackling in his hand.
The precise instant the Lightning Blade was about to pierce Obito's skull, Kakashi froze. The precious memories of his youth shared with Obito flashed before his eyes once more.
Looking at the current Obito, his mind flashed back to the horrific scene of his Chidori impaling Rin's chest. The sight of Obito before him caused a profound sense of guilt to well up from the depths of his soul.
This was what caused Kakashi to stay his hand. Watching Kakashi's hand halt right in front of his face, Obito let out a cold sneer.
"Hmph. You really are hesitating, Kakashi."
"Before this, you clearly had a chance to kill me, yet you still went soft."
Kakashi knew exactly what Obito was referring to, it was the moment the Nine-Tails had helped Kakashi enter the Kamui dimension to execute a coordinated attack across both spaces.
"For someone as cold and ruthless as you to actually show mercy to an enemy on the battlefield... what difference is there between us and Kanon or Naruto?"
"Kanon also had countless opportunities to kill Naruto, yet she never followed through."
"She abstains because of her bonds, but what about you? Is it guilt?"
"Because you failed to protect Rin and broke your promise to me, you're riddled with self-reproach?! Is that it, Kakashi?!"
Hearing Obito's words, Kakashi fell completely silent. It was entirely true; he had been enveloped by guilt for half his life, a scar he could never truly forget.
Facing Obito, facing Rin, and even facing Sasuke and Kanon, he felt he had no right to stand before any of them.
Staring at the current Obito, he recalled the time Kanon defected, remembering how she had been covered in wounds. It was entirely his responsibility as her teacher; he had failed to protect his own student. The words Kanon had spoken prior to her defection felt like a blade repeatedly carving into Kakashi's heart.
Seeing the look on Kakashi's face, Obito stated calmly:
"Don't tell me you're expecting me to repent and change my ways?"
"Obito, stop this..."
"Your dream used to be becoming the Hokage. It's the exact same for Naruto right now."
"He says the very same things you used to say," Kakashi said, his voice trembling.
Kakashi thought of the current Naruto and the Obito of the past; both shared the same magnificent dream. So why had Obito turned into what he was today?
"Obito... without realizing it, you've begun to overlap your past self with the current Naruto."
"Subconsciously, you view the words Naruto speaks as the words your past self once said."
"You desire to be refuted by your past self, don't you?"
"There's no way you don't understand Naruto's feelings!"
"You can still turn back. You can become your old self again!"
But upon hearing Kakashi's absurd assertions, Obito could no longer restrain himself and burst into hysterical laughter.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"You claim I understand Naruto's thoughts, and that may be true. But have you ever tried to understand Kanon's thoughts?"
"Obito..." Kakashi lowered his head, his body trembling slightly.
"You knew everything all along, didn't you?"
"Why Kanon defected, why she became what she is today, and exactly what Itachi did to her!"
"And what did you do as her teacher? Someone who can't even protect a promise or his own students has no right to spout grand delusions here."
"It is precisely because I understand Naruto's thoughts all too well that I want to listen to everything he has to say, and then reject all of it."
"Kanon, who is far stronger than I am, has already rejected all of it. Her resolve right now is firmer than anyone else's."
Kakashi opened his mouth to speak, but Obito cut him off once more.
"Let me tell you one more time: the fact that you feel guilty toward me is laughable in itself."
"If you truly believe that my reasons for starting this war boil down entirely to you, Rin, and her desire for revenge..."
"Then you are dead wrong!" Obito's Rinnegan and Sharingan spun wildly, his expression growing utterly crazed.
At that moment, he activated a genjutsu, causing his body to phase right through Kakashi's Lightning Blade.
"I know everything!"
In that instant, Kakashi's consciousness was pulled back to the past. He found himself reverted to his younger self, staring at Rin as she was impaled by his hand, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth.
This was the absolute reality he never wished to remember, the very reason he feared facing Obito most of all.
But Obito spoke up right then: "Rin threw herself into your Chidori of her own volition. She chose death herself."
"At the time, Rin had been abducted by Kirigakure and was forcibly turned into the Three-Tails Jinchuriki."
"Even though you successfully rescued her, that in itself was a calculated part of Kirigakure's ploy."
"In order to drive you both back toward Konoha, they even put on an act of pursuing you relentlessly."
Kakashi's pupils shrunk to pinpricks, the three tomoe in his eyes trembling violently.
"How... how do you know that?"
Obito did not answer him, simply continuing his narration on his own terms: "Kirigakure's plan was to wait until Rin returned to Konoha, then release the Three-Tails inside her to go on a rampage, using it to destroy the village from within."
"Rin was fully aware of this, which is why she utilized the Lightning Blade you had unleashed against the enemy to commit suicide."
"She resolved to die by the hand of the person she loved! All to protect Konoha."
"No matter what you say, to me, you, who failed to protect Rin, are nothing but a fake."
"To me, Rin was never meant to die."
"Therefore, the Rin who died is also nothing but a fake!"
"Only a living Rin is the real Rin! The entity that repeatedly brought about this kind of reality is the shinobi system itself."
"The entity that forced someone as inherently kind-hearted as Kanon to become a rogue ninja and turn into what she is today is the shinobi system, the villages, and the shinobi themselves!"
"What truly drove me to despair is this world itself!"
"There is no hope in this world!"
"Though I walked the shinobi world under the name of Madara, everything I saw and heard only served to make me more certain of this truth."
Obito thought of Nagato's story, the creation of Akatsuki, Kanon's past, and the ultimate truth behind Itachi.
At this moment, he roared at Kakashi at the top of his lungs: "I have completely despaired of this wretched, fake world!"