Standing at the door… was Sasuke.
Naruto saw the grave expression on his face and immediately felt his heart tighten. "Sasuke, what happened?"
Sasuke said, "I wasn't at ease, so I went back to investigate the Ten-Tails space of Kara. The result… the Ten-Tails is gone."
"Gone?" Naruto frowned, then instinctively replied, "Since that place was exposed, it's normal for Kara's people to relocate the Ten-Tails, isn't it?"
Sasuke shook his head. "It wasn't done by anyone else. Whoever took the Ten-Tails broke the sealing cage and took it away by force."
"The strength of that cage is extremely high. Even my Six Paths Chidori could only leave a shallow mark on it. Among Kara's members, aside from Isshiki himself, no one has the ability to break it."
"It had to be Isshiki. He must be planning to use the Ten-Tails for something!"
Naruto hesitated. Then, in his mind, he asked, "Sage Grandpa, what do you think about what Sasuke just said?"
The Sage pondered briefly before replying, "I've seen that Ten-Tails. At most, it's just a juvenile form. Its power is far inferior to my mother's mature Ten-Tails or the Divine Tree."
"Also, Isshiki does not possess my Six Paths Ten-Tails Coffin Seal. He cannot become a Jinchūriki. At best, he can absorb some chakra from it to heal himself."
"That won't bring about any qualitative leap in strength. He cannot break through the Six Paths Yin-Yang Barrier. At most, he's just prolonging his inevitable death."
Hearing the Sage's authoritative explanation, Naruto relaxed and smiled. "Sasuke, you heard Sage Grandpa too. Don't worry. We should trust authority."
Sasuke thought to himself: Perhaps. Just as Kaguya is the catastrophe in his mind… Naruto, your authority is the Sage.
At that moment, the Sage spoke sharply. "Sasuke, you went back into enemy territory on your own without a word. Did you consider the consequences if you were surrounded?"
Sasuke fell silent. Of course he had considered it. But knowing the Sage wouldn't approve—and unable to shake his unease—he had taken the risk anyway.
"You're being overly cautious, Sasuke. Normally that's fine, but at a critical moment like this, even the slightest mistake is unacceptable."
As the Sage finished speaking, a strange reaction came from the Rinnegan seal on Sasuke's forehead.
Buzz!
The six tomoe in Sasuke's eyes vanished instantly.
"Sage… you—"
The Sage said calmly, "I've temporarily sealed your ocular power through the Rinnegan mark. That way, you won't waste chakra recklessly again. Don't worry—I'll release it when we depart for the Hidden Shadow Village."
So the Rinnegan mark can not only amplify my power… but also suppress it… Sage!!
Sasuke clenched his right hand tightly.
Naruto patted his shoulder, trying to comfort him. "Sasuke, Sage Grandpa is doing this for your own good. With a major battle coming, the more tense you are, the worse it gets. Relax a little. It'll be fine."
Sasuke let out a weary sigh. "Hopefully." Then he turned and left.
Naruto watched his lonely back.
His emotions were complicated—indescribable.
After losing Sakura, Sasuke had changed a lot.
In the past, Naruto could read him at a glance.
Now… he couldn't.
And when you can't understand someone, words fail. When words fail, differences arise.
Differences weren't inherently bad. Over the years, Naruto and Sasuke had always sought common ground while accepting differences.
They shared the Will of Fire and a sense of justice in major matters. Their differences were only in personality and approach.
But this time… that invisible gap seemed to be evolving into a difference in ideology.
After so many years together, Naruto could tell—Sasuke was resisting the idea of attacking the Hidden Shadow Village and confronting Kaguya and Akira.
On matters of principle, we've always been aligned.
It seems… the pain of losing Sakura runs deeper than I imagined.
Naruto spoke sincerely, "Sage Grandpa, I have a request. May I?"
The Sage replied, "Let me hear it."
Naruto said, "After sealing Kaguya, when you summoned the souls of past Kage from the Pure Land to bring Team 7 and the Tailed Beasts back… you can summon the souls of the dead into this world, right?"
The Sage paused slightly. "Ah, you mean that. Yes, I can summon the souls of the dead into the living world. What are you thinking?"
Naruto said, "Can you bring back Sakura's soul? I want Sasuke to see her one more time… to help him find closure."
The Sage stroked his beard and thought for a moment before replying meaningfully, "Hmm… that's not difficult. But now is not the right time. The Six Paths Pure Land Summoning is not something to be used casually."
"How about this—after we reseal my mother Kaguya and eliminate Uchiha Akira as a destabilizing factor, I'll grant your wish."
He paused, then added, "Naruto, not only will I let Sasuke meet his wife Sakura again, I'll also let you see your mother, Kushina, once more. How about that?"
"Really!? Sage Grandpa, you're amazing! There's no one more wise and understanding than you!"
Seeing Naruto's overwhelming joy and gratitude, the Sage couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
Naruto… honestly, I envy you. You had a mother who was understanding and willing to sacrifice for her child.
Unlike my mother, Kaguya… who only cared about her clan and reclaiming chakra. Nothing else mattered to her.
If she had been like any other mother—willing to listen to her children—how could things have ended up like this between us?
Back in his simple room, Sasuke stared at the clock on the wall.
9:32:17.
27 minutes and 43 seconds until departure.
At this point, he had no reason left to delay the inevitable confrontation with Uchiha Akira.
He opened his right palm, looking at the black crescent-like mark of Yin power.
He had already grasped the essence of Six Paths Yin power. If he wanted, he could make it his own at any time.
But the Rinnegan mark was far more complex—something he couldn't fully comprehend in such a short time.
For now, he could only hope Isshiki's threat would truly be resolved as optimistically as the Sage believed.
As for Akira and Kaguya… if Naruto chose to fight, he would never stand aside.
After everything he had gone through, Sasuke had let go of many burdens. His mind had become clearer.
Conflict, he realized, was also a way to understand truth.
Through conflict, one could see a person's true nature.
Sasuke no longer questioned Akira's alignment.
Akira was undoubtedly on the side of good—Sasuke was certain of it.
If Akira had even a trace of evil intent, neither he nor Naruto would still be alive, let alone possess their current power.
What Sasuke truly wanted to understand was Akira's deeper purpose—his beliefs, his path, everything he had done, and everything he foresaw.
And what role Naruto, Sasuke, and Konoha played in his grand design.
That was what Sasuke had been trying to uncover by buying time.
But now… there was no time left.
For the unavoidable battle ahead, he had already made up his mind.
He would fight alongside Naruto with everything he had.
If they lost, he would accept whatever fate Akira decided.
If they won, he would not force Akira into submission as Naruto intended—but instead try to bring both sides back to negotiation as equals.
Tick… tick… tick…
Time continued to pass.
At this very moment, neither Sasuke, nor Naruto, nor the Sage, nor anyone in Konoha knew—
Isshiki had already arrived silently.
He floated above the clouds thousands of meters in the sky, looking down at the golden barrier enclosing Konoha.
His Tenseigan functioned like an ultra-precision scanner, surpassing even the Ōtsutsuki Byakugan by nearly tenfold.
It pierced through the barrier effortlessly, observing everything inside Konoha—every movement, every building.
No one could detect his gaze.
This was the power of the highest-purity Byakugan—the golden Tenseigan.
"Found you… Uchiha Sasuke."
"I can see clearly. Your Rinnegan is currently dormant. That means… that reflection ability isn't active."
Distance: 3,800 meters.
With Tenseigan-assisted targeting—
Buzz.
A dark crimson light condensed into a single point before Isshiki's six-tomoe Rinnegan.
This eye—derived from the Ten-Tails—could launch any technique as a long-range sniper attack.
There was no distance limit. The longer the charge, the farther it could fire—potentially infinitely.
With Tenseigan's precision, he could assassinate any target silently from kilometers away.
"Feel honored, Uchiha Sasuke. You will be the first to die by this technique."
Ame-no-Hoko!
Boom!!
The condensed point exploded into a beam that pierced through heaven and earth.
It cut through the barrier dome, through the roof of the house, through the floor beneath—
And pierced straight through Sasuke's forehead.
Then—
Deep underground, the beam detonated with a Ten-Tails-level explosion.
By the time the shockwave reached the surface, it had been partially dampened—but it still erupted into a massive pillar of flame over a hundred meters tall.
Everything along the beam's path—Sasuke and everything around him—was completely swallowed.
Rumble—!!
The entire Konoha base shook violently, like mountains collapsing and seas overturning.
Naruto, who had just finished using the bathroom, slipped and dropped to his knees, shouting, "What the hell just happened!?"
The Sage: This… this chakra… how is this possible!? Who is it!? Who on earth is it!!?
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