The Shinobi World.
Kakashi clutched his left eye, blood flowing ceaselessly between his fingers. He had just lost the Kamui Mangekyo Sharingan that Obito had gifted him, and Madara had successfully infiltrated the Kamui dimension.
Kakashi knew all too well that disaster was looming. He could only pray that Obito had managed to destroy the Rinnegan in time.
Minato and the others gathered at Kakashi's side, their expressions equally grim. Kanon had carried Naruto and Sasuke far away from this very planet, leaving them entirely in the dark.
Just as Tobirama attempted to step forward, a rose-patterned vortex materialized directly beside him. Before he could react, countless black receivers erupted from the swirling void, ruthlessly pinning him to the ground.
"You treacherous Senju corpse, it's time for you to finally cross over."
Kanon stepped elegantly out of the rose-colored spatial vortex. With a casual flick of her wrist, she hurled the unconscious forms of Naruto and Sasuke back toward Kakashi's position.
The two boys collided heavily with Kakashi and Minato, sending them tumbling backward, while Kanon brought her foot down ruthlessly onto Tobirama's face.
"Remember this, the Uchiha clan is not something a weakling like you gets to define."
With a simple sweep of her hand, Kanon activated the power of the Human Path. She wrenched Tobirama's soul cleanly out of his Reanimated vessel.
In that single instant, Tobirama Senju vanished from the mortal realm, meeting his demise once more as his Reanimated body crumbled into harmless dust.
"Tobirama!" Hashirama bellowed.
"First Hokage, are you so eager to throw your life away next?!" Kanon challenged coldly.
Hashirama's brow furrowed tightly. The girl standing before him had already far surpassed both himself and Madara; confronting her with brute force was a fool's errand.
"Uchiha child, you are still so young! This world is not nearly as full of despair as you think!" Hashirama urged. "Your ideals have not yet matured, and there is still a path back for you. Do not let yourself be consumed by hopelessness!"
"You still have time to grow, to re-evaluate this shinobi world and think things through! Do not act on blind impulse!"
Kanon merely spared Hashirama a passing glance. To have someone preach grand moral lessons to her now was utterly laughable.
She looked at Hashirama and stated flatly:
"A twisted shinobi world, twisted shinobi, and a twisted will, your entire way of life does nothing but sicken me."
"A village was originally created for the sole purpose of protecting one's loved ones. To harm those very loved ones just to sustain the village completely defeats the purpose."
"Therefore, this entire shinobi system might as well be destroyed. I will establish a brand-new order, Hashirama Senju."
"I will create a world where heroes no longer have to weep before graves, a world where people can truly open their hearts to one another without reservations."
"There will be no clan discrimination and no pain. Whether one is a resilient blade of grass or a brilliant, colorful flower, everyone will live peacefully and without a care in an eternal, happy meadow."
In the distance, a trembling voice cut through the air. It was Naruto, who had finally regained consciousness.
"Then... why do you still want to cast the Infinite Tsukuyomi...?"
"Do you honestly believe that this is right?"
"In the end, that's nothing but a dream, Kanon!"
"A dream always has an awakening! It's just running away from reality... running away from things that have already happened—"
Before Naruto could even finish his sentence, Kanon cut him off sharply:
"So what if it is?!"
"The cruelty this shinobi world shows to the weak is more real than anything else."
"Before that blissful, perfect meadow can be realized, I am fully prepared to bear the weight of every single sin required to get there."
"What does it matter if it's a dream?! The weak are destined to lose everything, while the strong dictate the fates of everyone else."
Naruto stared at Kanon, falling entirely silent. He found himself at an absolute loss for words to refute her.
"Hope is nothing more than a passing firefly in the dark, Naruto. You will see it snuffed out soon enough."
"When that time comes, you will realize that darkness is the only true eternity."
Leaving them with those words, Kanon walked forward with an indifferent expression, her gaze shifting up toward the sky. Having attained a level of power that transcended even the Six Paths, she could now create countless Flower Release techniques at will. Naruto and Sasuke were no longer a threat to her.
She stood calmly in place, waiting for Madara's return.
…
The Kamui Dimension.
Obito's body trembled violently as he gasped out to Sakura:
"Hurry... destroy the Rinnegan in my left eye. I can't even move my body anymore."
"If you hesitate, Black Zetsu will seize both the Rinnegan and my physical form in one fell swoop."
"If that happens, he will use the ocular power of my right eye to escape to the outside world and hand the Rinnegan directly to Madara."
"Once both eyes are reunited, something truly catastrophic will happen."
Sakura asked in confusion, "Catastrophic? Can the situation really get any worse than this?"
"I've already had more than enough."
Hearing her hesitation, Obito urged her with frantic explanation:
"Back then, even I couldn't handle implanting both Rinnegan at once."
"With just this single left eye, I nearly lost myself to the sheer magnitude of its chakra and visual prowess. A single eye made me, someone who isn't even the original owner, this incredibly powerful."
"If both Rinnegan return to their true master, it's highly likely that absolutely no one left alive will be able to stand against him."
"This..." Sakura stammered, entirely overwhelmed by Obito's words.
"Only when both eyes are gathered can their true visual power be unleashed! Come on, act quickly!"
"Destroy the Rinnegan now!"
"I can't keep Black Zetsu suppressed much longer!"
Yet, Sakura's hands shook uncontrollably, her weapon hovering indecisively as she hesitated to strike.
"Do it now!!!" Obito roared.
"I know...!" Sakura whimpered, her frame trembling, though she finally steeled her resolve.
Just as Sakura prepared to drive her blade home, Madara materialized inside the Kamui dimension.
Obito's pupils shrunk into pinpricks, but in that exact microsecond, Madara had already hurled a black receiver forward.
"Foolish illusions!"
The black rod soared directly toward Sakura. In the face of imminent death, Obito rapidly activated Kamui, warping Sakura out of the dimension just in time.
…
The Battlefield.
Sensing a sudden distortion in space, Kakashi and the others snapped their heads around, and even Kanon turned her gaze toward the source.
Sakura stumbled out of the spatial ripple, collapsing heavily onto the ground.
"Sakura..."
"Kakashi-sensei! Wait... why is Sasuke here?!" Sakura gasped, looking at the newly conscious Kakashi and Sasuke in utter bewilderment.
"How did Sakura suddenly end up back here?" Sasuke asked, his brow furrowing.
"She went into the Kamui dimension just moments ago. Sakura, what's the situation on the other side?" Kakashi inquired.
Kanon walked up beside Sakura, casually listening in on their conversation. The original Team 7 had not resumed their clash; having experienced the absolute disparity in their strength firsthand, neither Sasuke nor Naruto possessed the will to continue a reckless assault.
Kanon, too, refrained from striking. For them to abandon a futile struggle was best for everyone; once the Infinite Tsukuyomi was cast, everything would reach its true, definitive conclusion.
Naruto looked at Kanon standing right beside them, her gaze calmly sweeping over the group. With Sakura and Sasuke present, a strange, quiet sense of warmth actually fluttered in his chest.
It was a reunion of Team 7 that hadn't occurred in what felt like an eternity. Even though Kanon stood before them as an adversary, he couldn't help but feel deeply nostalgic for this sight.
"Kakashi-sensei, your left eye..." Sakura noted with deep concern.
"It was taken in an instant. Madara must have ripped out my Sharingan."
"Let me take a look, Sensei."
Sakura immediately knelt down to administer medical ninjutsu to Kakashi's eye socket.
"That aside, what happened to Obito?"
"Madara must have used Kamui to transfer himself inside," Kakashi deduced.
"I was sent back here completely out of nowhere," Sakura added.
In that instant, a terrifying realization struck Sakura.
"This is bad! Doesn't that mean the situation has gotten infinitely worse?!"
"Obito was completely exhausted and unable to move. If things went down like that... Madara is going to steal Obito's Rinnegan!"
Kanon gave a subtle, elegant nod and stated flatly:
"Exactly."
"It seems our victory is finally at hand."
Seeing her demeanor, Sasuke stepped forward and spoke directly to Kanon:
"Kanon, you are the only one left who can stop Madara. The Infinite Tsukuyomi has always been the wrong choice."
"The Hokage of the past are the ones responsible for letting things degenerate to this point. That's why only by me becoming the Hokage can all of this be corrected."
"In the past, my sole purpose was indeed destruction and revenge. But things are different now. I will destroy the old foundation, and then I will create a brand-new village and a world entirely devoid of darkness."
"A true revolution. Kanon, you should be standing by my side to help me achieve it."
Kanon merely let out a dismissively cold chuckle, her voice dripping with disdain.
"Bearing all the infamy and enduring disgrace in the darkness? Itachi's methodology does nothing but sicken me to my core."
"I told you before: the era of shinobi will finally come to an end. Enjoy these final moments of your shinobi existence while you still can."
With those final words, Kanon's silhouette blurred and vanished. In a fraction of a heartbeat, she opened up a vast distance between herself and the trio of Team 7. By her calculations, Madara would be emerging from the void any second now.
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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]