Watching Obito gradually walk forward, Kakashi and Gaara were both ready to move.
The next moment, a Flying Raijin kunai slammed down right in front of Madara.
On the other side, Kamui manifested alongside Gaara's surging sand.
Madara paused. The combined assault from everyone hit him all at once.
In that split second, Minato instantly entered Sage Mode and materialized directly in front of Madara.
With a Rasengan spinning in his hand, Kakashi activated Kamui from Obito's other side while Gaara unleashed a torrent of sand.
But in the very next instant, Madara severed Minato's arm. Simultaneously, Kanon placed a hand on Madara's shoulder, using the leverage to kick Minato and his severed arm flying backward.
The detached hand carrying the Rasengan, along with Minato's body, tore back through the sand. Minato crashed heavily into Gaara, while the Sage Art-infused Rasengan struck Kakashi squarely in the chest.
The coordination between Kanon and Madara was flawless, prompting Madara to burst into a hearty laugh.
"As expected, Kanon, it truly is wonderful to have you around!"
"Old man Madara, Obito is coming over," Kanon reminded him.
A short distance away, Sakura, who was helping Naruto, murmured in disbelief, "This... how is this possible? An attack by three people, completely ineffective..."
"To think Madara and Kanon neutralized it all so easily."
Watching Obito approach, Madara extended his hand. Obito extended his as well.
Suddenly, Rin's memories and voice echoed in Obito's mind:
"You've already worked so hard, Obito. I've been watching you all along."
"Do your best, Obito!"
"Make sure you let me see the day you become Hokage and coolly save the world!"
"That's a promise between us!"
Rin's final words filled Obito's heart completely. At this moment, he was no longer acting as Madara Uchiha. He was Obito Uchiha, the one who wanted to be with Rin, the one who promised her he would become Hokage!
Just as Obito's hand was about to grasp Madara's, Kanon instantly sensed something was wrong. Obito's resolve at this exact moment was absolutely unyielding.
"Not good!" Kanon realized it quickly, but she was still a moment too late.
Splat!
Obito's right hand plunged directly into Madara's chest.
"You bastard!" Madara growled, his pupils shrinking in fury.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Black Zetsu roared.
Obito's Sharingan shifted into his Mangekyō Sharingan as he looked toward Kanon.
"You should understand by now..."
"So, in the end, you still chose Konoha?" Kanon didn't make any aggressive moves, offering only a flat, calm response.
"Yes..." Behind Obito, a fraction of the Six Paths chakra was wrenched from Madara's body. Truth-Seeking Balls began to manifest in Obito's hand.
"I've heard that those who wish to be leaders, even if they must let others step over their own corpses, must never step over the corpses of their comrades."
"So, to prove that point, you must become a corpse first!"
"I won't let you step over me! Letting others stare at your name and leaving everything to them isn't the same as entrusting things to your comrades. I finally understand that now!"
"I am not you!"
At this moment, Obito's expression was firmer than it had ever been. His sheer resolve clashed violently against Madara and Kanon's presence.
Kanon didn't attack. Obito now possessed the Truth-Seeking Balls, which, just like Madara's, had transformed into a Six Paths Staff. Furthermore, her own Rinnegan required a little more time.
Her silhouette instantly blurred into intangibility as she leaped back to create distance. Madara nodded slightly approval, "Excellent judgment!"
Facing Madara, Obito spoke with absolute conviction:
"The current me..."
"Am the one who once aimed to become Hokage..."
"Obito Uchiha!"
Boom!
With a sharp yank of his single hand, Obito violently ripped out a portion of the Eight-Tails and Nine-Tails' chakra from Madara.
Watching this, Kakashi gasped heavily for air. "Obito, you finally managed to..."
Before he could finish, Madara had already struck. Charging at Obito, Madara's strike phased directly through Obito's head. Indeed, Kamui had been activated; Obito had entered his intangible state.
"It passed right through... Is this the original power of your right eye?!"
Madara leaped backward, widening the gap between himself and Obito. He couldn't allow Obito to absorb any more of the Six Paths power!
"Do you intend to weaken me by tearing the Tailed Beasts away?"
"Did you actually believe you could defeat me?!"
Obito pulled downward, but the extracted power was minimal. It was so weak that Madara hadn't even bothered to stop him.
"Too weak. You could only barely manage to tear away a small portion of the One-Tail and Eight-Tails."
Obito ignored him, shouting to Kakashi behind him, "Kakashi, send Naruto to the space-time dimension!"
Kakashi understood the plan instantly. Obito intended to transfer the Nine-Tails within the Kamui dimension.
"In your dreams!" Kanon was about to activate her Flower Realm, but Minato suddenly intercepted her. He threw a kick, but it passed harmlessly through Kanon's intangible form.
Yet, in that brief moment of distraction from Minato, Kakashi instantly activated Kamui. Resonating with Obito's eye, the spatial distortion immediately warped Sakura and Naruto away.
At the exact moment Kamui triggered, Madara hurled a Truth-Seeking Ball straight at Obito.
Obito brought up his Six Paths Staff to block the projectile. Activating Kamui while leaving himself completely unguarded would expose a fatal opening. His Kamui was inferior to Kanon's Flower Realm; both its speed and operational range fell short.
"As expected of someone who was once the Jinchūriki of the Ten Tails. You still managed to siphon a bit of power from me."
Inside the Kamui dimension, Sakura collapsed to her knees, panting heavily. Just moments ago, Madara and Kanon could have killed her and Naruto at any second.
The sheer terror Kanon and Madara exerted had made Sakura forget to breathe. Setting Madara aside, she couldn't believe Kanon, a former member of Team 7, possessed such horrifying strength.
The power of those two was simply in a different world compared to her. No, it was an entirely different dimension.
Back then, Sakura had genuinely believed she had finally caught up to Kanon, Naruto, and Sasuke. Looking back now, it was nothing short of a joke.
If Kanon and Madara had wanted to kill her back there, it would have taken them a single heartbeat.
Outside the Kamui dimension, Kanon and Madara stood side-by-side. Across from them, Obito and Kakashi stood together.
The two sides formed a clear divide. Kakashi spoke softly to Obito, "I've sent Naruto through. Next, as long as you get over there too, Naruto can be saved, right, Obito...?"
Obito let out a cold scoff and replied, "Honestly... you always carry yourself with that high-and-mighty attitude."
"Always acting so self-righteous when you speak. You've been like this since we were kids."
Standing side-by-side, Obito and Kakashi looked exactly as they did during their youth.
Both ninjas kept their eyes locked onto Madara and Kanon ahead. They were no longer boys, but the tacit understanding built over a lifetime remained unchanged.
"This time, I'll handle the vanguard. You cover me, Kakashi..."
"It's been a long time since we operated as a two-man squad... Don't screw this up, Obito."
"Your student is right across from us, Kakashi," Obito noted quietly.
"The amount of time Kanon spent with me probably doesn't even match the time she spent with you," Kakashi replied softly.
"True. So, are you ready?"
"Yeah. I'm glad that my partner for our final operation is you."
"But it's a shame that Kanon over there happens to be my subordinate."
By now, Minato had already been bypassed by Kanon. Her Kusanagi Sword pierced through Minato's back, pinning him firmly to the ground.
Minato turned his head to look at Obito and Kakashi, ancient memories resurfacing vividly within his mind.
Watching Kanon handle Minato and return to his side, Madara spoke coldly to the distant Obito:
"Obito, return everything I entrusted to you."
"Especially that left eye. The socket is still empty."
Obito countered with a mocking sneer.
"Does it bother you that much?"
"Don't think that just because Kanon is on your side, we're completely out of options."
"Madara, you were the one who said a Sharingan can only unleash its true power when both the left and right eyes are paired. In that case..."
"Incorrect. It is no longer a Sharingan; it is the Rinnegan," Madara interrupted sharply.
However, Kanon deciphered Obito's intent. "Are you and Kakashi a matching set? Fascinating."
Madara then spoke quietly to Kanon:
"To revive Naruto, they require the Rinnegan and the Nine-Tails... We simply need to prevent Obito, who possesses them, from moving to the space-time dimension."
"Our previous clash proves that my attacks travel faster than his Kamui's teleportation speed."
"I presume they will employ a tactic where one acts as a diversion against me while the other seizes the opening to use Kamui."
"Either Obito teleports himself, or Kakashi assists him with a synchronized teleport. It's a binary choice."
"Kanon, do you have any thoughts on this?"
Madara highly favored Kanon and trusted her explicitly, which was why he laid out his entire strategic assessment to hear her perspective.
"If Kamui only had a single eye, that would be true. But right now, they have both eyes active. Unless I deploy the Flower Realm the exact instant they attempt it, phase inside, and slaughter them all."
Madara quickly rejected the proposal.
"No, that's far too dangerous. Obito holds the power of the Six Paths, which heavily amplifies his Kamui."
"I am not comfortable letting you go in there alone."
"So what? Our dream is right within arm's reach," Kanon argued.
Madara firmly grabbed Kanon's hand, anchoring her in place.
"I still won't allow you to go."
"You... Old man Madara, let go! You're hurting me!"
"Ah, my apologies..." Madara released his grip.
The two of them silently watched Kakashi and Obito.
By now, Kakashi could easily read Obito's intentions as well.
He and Obito absolutely had to succeed. Failure was not an option!
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NOTE: This fic has been completely translated. If you want to read the whole story head over to my p-atre-on: p-atre-on.c-om/Overgod [Just remove the hyphen to access normally]