The Uchiha residence in Konoha had been sealed off.
Elite jonin guarded it layer upon layer, inside and out.
A Katsuyu clone larger than the house itself now stood where the tent had once been.
Smaller fragments of Katsuyu were using Sakura's chakra to maintain the Slug Healing Technique, clinging to Sasuke's chest as he lay unconscious on a medical stretcher.
Even that wasn't enough.
Shizune and the medical corps stood nearby, jointly performing the Regenerative Healing Technique.
As Sasuke's condition gradually stabilized, one of Shizune's assistants wiped the sweat from her forehead and glanced toward the other stretcher.
"Sakura! How are things on your side? Do you need help?"
Naruto lay on the stretcher before her, his abdomen covered in reinforced medical sealing talismans.
Sakura had tied up her hair. The Strength of a Hundred Seal on her forehead had been released, dark markings spreading across her face and arms, connecting to her glowing green hands as she used Creation Rebirth.
"I'm okay here for now," Sakura replied firmly. "Naruto still has Kurama's chakra protecting him. He should be able to regenerate on his own."
"The real problem is these spikes sealing his chakra points."
"I don't know where they came from, so I haven't dared touch them."
While adjusting her chakra output, Shizune glanced at the rods embedded in Naruto's body and frowned.
"You were right not to touch them. They look exactly like the black receivers used by the Six Paths of Pain."
"The Six Paths of Pain…" Sakura's eyes narrowed.
"Yes. I was the one who analyzed the Animal Path's body after Jiraiya-sama brought it back. I won't mistake them. They're the same type of transmission medium."
"Oh… so they're just Pain's rods."
Sakura kept one hand healing—and freed the other.
A blue chakra scalpel formed around her palm as she swept it down.
Crack!
The spikes lodged in Naruto's thigh, knee, and calf snapped off.
She swept back in the opposite direction.
Crack! Crack!
The rods in his ribs, collarbone, and shoulder were severed as well.
"Sakura, you—" Shizune stared in shock.
"I thought they were Truth-Seeking Orbs leftovers from Madara or Obito," Sakura replied flatly. "That's why I didn't dare touch them. Turns out they're just fragile sticks."
She raised her voice.
"Kurama! You can hear me, right? His chakra points are clear now! Send chakra to the injured areas and work with me!"
Kurama snorted in Naruto's mind.
"Hmph… impressive. No wonder you've got Naruto and Sasuke completely in line."
Whoosh!
As massive chakra flooded in, Sakura's Creation Rebirth surged. Naruto's abdominal wound began closing at a visible speed.
His eyelids fluttered.
He was regaining consciousness.
Sakura leaned close, her voice low and serious.
"Naruto, I know it's cruel to make you talk now. But this is critical. I need you to explain the situation to Shikamaru. Keep it simple."
At that moment, Shikamaru rushed in with several stationed jonin.
"I knew something was wrong when your shadow clone disappeared at the office," he said grimly. "What happened?"
Naruto forced out four words.
"Uchiha… Akira."
Sakura frowned.
Uchiha… Akira?
An unfamiliar name.
They had just dealt with Uchiha Shin. Now another Uchiha appeared?
How many lost relatives did Sasuke even have?
Shikamaru's face stiffened.
"Uchiha Akira? He did this to you and Sasuke?"
Naruto nodded weakly.
"What did he use? Did he really resurrect Madara with Edo Tensei?!"
What!?
Edo Tensei… Madara!?
The words exploded like a bomb.
Everyone present froze.
Someone whispered in shock, "W-What is going on…?"
The name Uchiha Madara alone was enough to revive the shadows of the Fourth Great Ninja War.
In the dead silence, Naruto raised a hand to cover his eyes.
He didn't want them to see it.
The fear still lingering there.
Taking a breath, he spoke as calmly as he could.
"No… He didn't revive Madara. At least, I didn't see Edo Madara."
"He beat me and Sasuke… with his own power."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
The name Uchiha Akira carved itself into everyone's memory.
"Dad! Let me in! I want to see Dad!"
A boy's desperate voice rang out from outside the wall.
"Young master! You can't! This area is under lockdown!"
"Move! I want to see how badly my dad got hurt!"
A blond boy pushed through the crowd.
On the stretcher, Naruto closed his eyes.
"Boruto… I'm sorry you have to see me like this…"
—
Elsewhere.
With Mitobone amplifying him, Obito easily tore open the barrier of the Super-Gravity Dimension.
Beyond it lay a scorching desert.
"The Desert Dimension," Obito murmured. "Where Sasuke once got lost. We worked so hard to bring him back."
He activated Kamui again.
The desert scenery was replaced by endless snow.
Obito's expression shifted.
Akira nodded to Madara.
Madara understood and lifted them both with Susanoo, stepping inside.
The vortex vanished.
Before them stretched familiar glaciers.
But today, heavy snow fell from the sky.
Obito's gaze softened with memories.
After Black Zetsu left his body, he had lost consciousness.
When he woke up again, it was here.
In this frozen world.
After hearing about the war's progress, he had rushed back into battle—only to die later in the Super-Gravity Dimension.
If that place was his end…
Then this place was his beginning.
The place where he started atoning.
"When I woke up here back then," Obito said quietly, "I decided I'd leave my life behind in this world… to repay my sins."
"Who would've thought I'd return here again."
He clenched his fists.
"This time, I won't leave regrets."
"Let's continue, Akira."
Akira stared at the falling snow, lost in thought.
In the original timeline…
Around this season, Sasuke had gone alone to a certain place.
There, he found Kaguya's scroll.
And encountered Momoshiki and Kinshiki.
Akira didn't know the exact location.
But he remembered that outside the temple where Sasuke fought Kinshiki…
Snow like this had been falling.
Come to think of it…
Not just this dimension.
All of Kaguya's dimensions were vast.
"Akira?" Madara asked. "What are you thinking about?"
"Ah… nothing."
Whether Kaguya's city was here or not, now wasn't the time to go looking for trouble.
Acid Sea.
Lava.
Super-Gravity.
Desert.
Ice.
They had passed them all.
"The next stop," Akira said softly, "should be our destination."
The core dimension of Amenominaka.
The place where Team Seven's battle with Kaguya had truly ended.
—The Origin Sphere Dimension.
Akira focused.
Obito synchronized with him.
—Mitobone · Kamui!
Whoosh!
The ice dimension split open.
A vast plain of dark red soil appeared beyond the portal.
Their destination.
Madara carried them inside.
The portal closed.
Snow continued to fall silently in the empty world.
—
Some time later.
Whoosh!
A black vortex twisted space without warning.
A massive figure descended.
His fists hung below his knees, each as large as a bowl.
A wide white cloak concealed half his face and body.
One Byakugan eye was visible.
A thick horn protruded from his hood, pointing toward the sky.
After surveying the surroundings, he spoke respectfully to the smaller figure standing on his shoulder—a young man draped in a veil, wearing high wooden sandals.
"The spatial disturbance we detected… should be here."
"Momoshiki-sama."
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