Akira's divine robe sleeves had been completely burned away by the flames…
Yet his arms were completely unharmed.
Madara, who already had some understanding of Akira's abilities, immediately saw through it.
"Oh? Yūmotheru reversed time on himself and restored his body to its pre-injury state. Seeing this ability in action… it's even more monstrous than I imagined."
On another mountain peak, Obito sighed.
"Yūmotheru… its mechanism is even more terrifying than Kamui. Mangekyō abilities are shaped by the user's convictions at the moment of awakening. Akira, you didn't awaken this just because you're good with time concepts. When you witnessed your parents' deaths… you must have desperately wished time could turn back, didn't you?"
"This is bad, Sasuke."
"Yeah. Let's assume it's regeneration for now."
"If it's regeneration, then it definitely comes with side effects."
"Let's get serious, Naruto."
Sasuke slowly drew the Kusanagi Sword from his waist.
"Perfect timing!" Naruto clenched his fists.
"Watch out for the dojutsu that disintegrated our jutsu earlier! Let's decide this with taijutsu and swordplay!"
"Got it!!"
Purple and gold light burst forth together.
Naruto charged in with fists and kicks empowered by Kurama's chakra.
Sasuke followed, his Kusanagi blade wrapped in crackling lightning.
With ever-changing footwork, the two pressed Akira relentlessly.
So they're treating me like Momoshiki, huh…
Fine.
Akira's right eye shimmered crimson as he engaged them in a razor-thin taijutsu duel in the forest clearing.
No matter how fast or fierce their attacks were, he always evaded with ease.
He focused on dodging—
But whenever he counterattacked, it came with explosive, lightning-like force.
Naruto and Sasuke could only retreat or block with all their might.
Clang! Clang!
Both were blasted backward by his fists.
"Naruto, did you notice?"
"Yeah! Our attacks slow down when they get close to him, but his punches suddenly speed up when they reach us! It's freaky!"
"That's also from that personal barrier!"
"But any dojutsu has limits!"
"That barrier isn't an exception!"
"As long as we keep pressuring him, we'll break it!"
"We will!"
Having once reached Six Paths-level power, both had absolute confidence in their chakra reserves and foundations.
And the facts proved their strategy was correct.
Which was exactly why—
Akira wouldn't play along.
As they charged again—
Akira slammed a Slug Sage Palm toward Naruto.
Whoosh!
Naruto twisted in midair like an eel, evading it—just like he once dodged Madara's Limbo.
"The same trick won't work twice on me! If you want to hit me, you'll have to grab me again with that sudden Susanoo!"
Madara thought to himself:
Looks like Naruto's getting his combat rhythm back.
Though it missed, the palm strike slowed Naruto slightly.
And in that instant—
Sasuke's blade struck first.
Akira's right eye flicked.
—Shinsō!
Crack!
Sasuke stared as his sword shattered, leaving only the hilt.
"What?! He can even break down solid objects?! That first attack on Naruto was just to isolate me and target my sword!"
Snap!
Akira seized Sasuke's wrist in a crane-grip, shook it loose, caught the falling hilt with his other hand, and stuffed it into his pouch.
One smooth sequence.
"Naruto! Switch!"
"Got it!"
Whoosh!
Sasuke used Amenotejikara, swapping Naruto into Akira's grasp.
Boom!
Naruto broke free with brute force, Kurama's chakra forming a massive fist that crashed down.
—Shinsō!
Crack!!
The giant fist disintegrated.
But—
It revealed a tightly held miniature Tailed Beast Ball inside.
"I figured out your dojutsu," Naruto shouted.
"It only works on one target at a time, right?!"
—Shinsō!
Slash!
Before he finished—
The mini Tailed Beast Ball dissolved into black particles.
"Damn it!"
Naruto roared.
Multiple massive tails erupted from his chakra cloak, bending inward to form a sealed structure.
"Sasuke!!"
"Nice setup, Naruto…"
Sasuke's Rinnegan focused.
Blood streamed from the corner of his eye as his Eternal Mangekyō spun.
—Amaterasu: Kagutsuchi!
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Black flame spears burst from the ground, piercing into the golden tails.
Then the flames bloomed inside, devouring them from within—
Forming a black-and-gold lotus of fire on the battlefield.
Naruto retreated beside Sasuke.
They stared at the apparent death zone.
By now, neither believed Akira would die—
After all, as a Mangekyō wielder, he must have Susanoo.
But there was no way he'd come out unscathed.
"How about that?!"
"Even Madara in his prime would've suffered from this!"
Crack.
The fire lotus split open.
Akira walked out through the scorched ground.
His upper clothes were torn—
Yet his body remained completely unharmed.
He said sincerely,
"That was impressive. Seeing you both regain your form… honestly, I'm glad."
Sasuke's face was tense.
What is this?
He didn't even use Susanoo.
No regeneration signs. No special cells. No Byakugō Seal.
Is it his sage mode?
No… my instincts say that alone isn't enough.
Gulp.
Naruto swallowed, drenched in sweat.
"Monster… Uchiha Akira is a real monster."
Akira lifted his gaze calmly.
"Naruto, don't act like you understand everything and slap labels on people."
—Toyomiketsu-no-Mikoto!
Gurgle! Gurgle!
Naruto and Sasuke were trapped inside dense water spheres and lifted into the air.
Sasuke held his breath.
"A water prison… cast with his right eye!"
Naruto focused.
"And it doesn't need maintenance—it's autonomous!"
Madara nodded.
"So the stored techniques are complete systems. They don't need continuous control."
Obito added, "Like that autonomous Susanoo earlier."
Inside the water prisons, Naruto and Sasuke locked eyes.
Only one thought remained.
All out.
Boom! Boom!
Kurama's golden avatar and Sasuke's dark-purple Susanoo burst free.
Their powers rose and began to merge.
Madara murmured,
"Beast Hardship… They've mastered my old technique."
Obito sighed.
"That move ended my Ten-Tails era."
Madara thought grimly:
Yin and Yang united… absolute power.
Akira, don't mess this up.
Yet Akira didn't even look at the forming colossus.
He checked his watch.
5:13:17 a.m.
"Time to send them home…"
He dashed sideways.
"He's running!"
Naruto started forming a Tailed Beast Ball, then smacked his forehead.
"Wait—he can erase things!"
"Sasuke!"
"It's fine. Use this one!"
"But he erased my mini one!"
Naruto suddenly realized something and looked at the still-burning black flames.
"Oh! Our combo with Kagutsuchi and the tails—he didn't erase that!"
Sasuke nodded.
"Right. His disintegration depends on the target's volume."
"A full Tailed Beast Ball is too big."
"Fire it!"
Naruto hesitated.
"But… what if we really kill him? He's a father…"
"I want to give him a chance."
Sasuke said quietly,
"Naruto… he still hasn't used his left eye."
Naruto froze.
Then he clenched his fist, hardened his resolve, and condensed the largest possible Tailed Beast Ball.
He fired.
Buzz!
Akira glanced back mid-run.
Both eyes shone.
—Midonami: Shinsō!
Crack!!
The ultimate Tailed Beast Ball dissolved into countless black motes.
Naruto and Sasuke were stunned again.
Akira stopped before the century-old tree encircled by the sword formation.
He checked the time.
5:13:25 a.m.
Madara's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me… Akira, you're planning to—"
Akira's right eye flared crimson.
—Yūmotheru!
Whoosh!
Time reversed.
Black lines trembled.
The sword formation vanished.
The stone in the tree hollow disappeared.
When the trembling stopped—
Slash!
Naruto, full of confusion, was once again skewered onto the ancient tree.
Boom!
In the distance, the fused avatar collapsed in golden fragments.
"Naruto…?"
Sasuke stared blankly.
Naruto's golden form—and Naruto himself—were gone.
A chilling terror crawled up his spine.
He looked at Akira.
"Uchiha Akira…"
"What exactly… are you?"
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