Buzz!
The colossal Truth-Seeking Ball continued its relentless expansion, its dark surface growing ever larger as it consumed the light around it. What had begun as a sphere no larger than a house had now swollen to the size of a mountain, its presence so overwhelming that it seemed to eclipse the very sky itself.
The massive orb cast everything below into an unnatural twilight, its gravitational pull creating pressure waves that rolled across the dimensional landscape like the breath of some incomprehensible god. Every living thing within the space could feel the weight of annihilation pressing down upon them—a force so absolute that resistance seemed not just futile, but conceptually impossible.
Minato, Naruto, and Sasuke could sense with terrifying clarity that if the Truth-Seeking Ball continued its expansion unchecked, the entire dimensional space would be reduced to absolute nothingness. Not destroyed in the conventional sense—simply erased from existence as if it had never been.
This was power that transcended mere destruction. This was the capability to unmake reality itself.
"Obito!" Minato called out, his voice carrying the desperate urgency of someone facing the end of all things.
His gaze fixed on his former student with an intensity that conveyed entire conversations in a single look. The unspoken question hung between them—could Kamui provide an escape route from this dimensional holocaust?
Obito's response came with a heavy shake of his head, his visible eye reflecting genuine regret. "I can transport all of you into the space-time connected to my Kamui dimension," he explained, his voice tight with frustration. "But if we abandon this location as our link point, I'll never be able to locate the coordinates of the ninja world again."
The tactical reality was stark and unforgiving. Kaguya's dimensional spaces existed in realms so far removed from normal reality that even Obito's advanced spatial manipulation couldn't navigate between them freely. His Mangekyo Sharingan, powerful as it was, simply lacked the scope necessary to traverse the vast distances between these alien realms.
"It looks like we have no way out," Minato stated with grim acceptance.
The words carried the weight of absolute finality. He would never choose to hide in Obito's pocket dimension while the ninja world remained trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi's illusion. Every person he had ever known, every village and clan and family—all of them were still caught in that terrible dream, their life force being slowly drained to fuel Kaguya's power.
The choice wasn't really a choice at all. They would fight here, in this place, against impossible odds, because the alternative meant abandoning everything they had ever sworn to protect.
"We can only seal her before this space is completely destroyed!" Sasuke declared, his voice cutting through the oppressive atmosphere with razor-sharp determination.
The young Uchiha's Sharingan blazed as he stared up at Kaguya's floating form, positioned directly beneath the expanding sphere of annihilation. The tactical situation couldn't have been more desperate—they needed to execute a complex sealing technique that required precise coordination while reality itself was being systematically erased around them.
"Sasuke, let's go!" Naruto shouted, his patience finally reaching its limit.
The young jinchuriki's body erupted with golden chakra as he prepared to launch himself directly at their target. Every instinct screamed at him to act, to fight, to do something other than stand and watch as the universe collapsed around them.
"Wait," Minato called out, his voice cutting through Naruto's urgency with parental authority.
His hands moved through a rapid sequence of seals, creating a small but sophisticated barrier that enveloped all three of them. The technique was designed for complete acoustic isolation—sound could neither enter nor escape the protected space, ensuring absolute privacy for their final planning session.
Visual concealment would have been pointless against an opponent who possessed the Byakugan's all-seeing perception, but preventing Kaguya from overhearing their strategy remained crucial.
"We don't have much time left," Minato began immediately, his words carrying the urgency of someone who understood exactly how many seconds they had before the expanding Truth-Seeking Ball reached critical mass. "This has to succeed on the first attempt—there won't be opportunities for corrections or second chances."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed with intense focus. "What's your plan?"
Minato's gaze moved between his son and the young Uchiha, his expression reflecting both the gravity of their situation and his absolute confidence in their abilities. "You two represent the greatest threat to Kaguya because you possess the power to seal her permanently. That makes you her primary targets—she understands that eliminating either of you will make the sealing technique impossible to complete."
His analytical mind was working through the psychological aspects of their opponent's decision-making process. "In the upcoming battle, she'll focus everything on killing one of you first. She'll commit to that objective completely, because from her perspective, removing half of the sealing equation guarantees her victory."
The tactical insight was both brilliant and terrifying in its simplicity. "And that single-minded focus will be our opportunity!"
As the barrier dissolved around them, Minato placed his hands on Naruto and Sasuke's shoulders, his touch conveying both paternal affection and strategic partnership. The three of them stood together for a moment, their eyes fixed on Kaguya's form floating beneath the expanding sphere of annihilation.
"For the ninja world, this is the final battle!" Minato declared, his voice carrying the weight of absolute conviction.
Everything they had fought for, everyone they had ever protected, every sacrifice that had brought them to this moment—it all came down to the next few minutes of combat. Success would mean salvation for their entire reality. Failure would mean the end of everything.
"Go!" he commanded.
Naruto and Sasuke exploded into motion, streaking toward Kaguya from opposite directions with synchronized precision. Their approach was a masterpiece of tactical coordination—two trajectories that would force their opponent to divide her attention while positioning them for the simultaneous contact required by their sealing technique.
Minato followed behind them, his own path calculated to provide maximum distraction while maintaining the flexibility to support either of his young allies as the situation developed.
"Sage Art: Flying Thunder God Third Stage!" he called out, his hands flowing through seals with practiced efficiency.
From behind his racing form, countless brilliant points of chakra light suddenly erupted like a meteor shower. Each projectile was infused with senjutsu energy and marked with Flying Thunder God techniques, creating a dazzling array of potential teleportation points that spread across the battlefield like stars.
Whoosh!
Sasuke's chakra exploded outward in a torrent of spiritual energy, the power coalescing into his signature Susanoo technique. The ethereal shinobi materialized around him with perfect clarity, its armor gleaming with purple light as it raced toward their target.
Simultaneously, Naruto's Six Paths chakra reached its absolute peak output. Golden energy erupted from his form in waves, the divine power crackling with such intensity that it seemed to challenge the very darkness of Kaguya's expanding Truth-Seeking Ball.
Kaguya responded to their coordinated assault by forcibly suppressing the tailed beast rebellion still raging within her body. Through sheer willpower and overwhelming power, she reimposed control over the chaotic energies, preparing herself for the decisive confrontation.
Then she launched herself forward to meet their attack, her form streaking through the air like a falling star.
The brilliant rain of chakra light from Minato's technique spread around her in all directions, creating a three-dimensional web of potential teleportation points that could bring him to any location within the battle zone instantly.
Swish!
In the blink of an eye, Minato vanished from his position behind Naruto and Sasuke. He materialized directly beside Kaguya, his hand already extended toward her with deadly intent.
"Sage Art: Super Frog Kumite!" he announced, channeling what remained of his natural energy reserves into a devastating physical attack.
The air itself seemed to vibrate with the force of his technique, ripples of invisible pressure radiating outward from his fist. But even as he launched the attack, Minato knew it wouldn't be enough. In Kaguya's alien dimension, there was no natural energy in the atmosphere like what existed in the ninja world. He was operating on reserves alone, and those reserves were nearly exhausted.
Kaguya didn't even bother turning to face him directly. With casual dismissal, she gathered a portion of her chakra around her body and shaped it into a massive fist that intercepted his attack effortlessly. The collision scattered his senjutsu technique like mist before a hurricane, the overwhelming difference in their power levels making any direct confrontation meaningless.
Minato was forced to teleport again immediately, his survival depending entirely on superior mobility rather than raw strength. But Kaguya's chakra construct continued to expand, its reach growing longer and more destructive as it swept through the space he had occupied.
Wherever the giant fist passed, Minato's carefully placed chakra markers were obliterated instantly, reducing his teleportation options with each passing second.
"Now!" Naruto and Sasuke shouted in unison.
They had used Minato's distraction exactly as planned, closing the distance to Kaguya while her attention was focused on dealing with his diversionary attack. Both young shinobi approached from opposite sides, their positioning perfect for the sealing technique that could end this nightmare once and for all.
Golden chakra condensed in front of Naruto's outstretched right palm, taking the form of massive fists that pulsed with Six Paths power. On the opposite side, Sasuke's left hand blazed with light purple energy, the Yin release mark burning with divine intensity.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Their chakra constructs transformed into countless giant fists, launching a coordinated barrage that converged on Kaguya's position from multiple angles. The attacks came so fast and from so many directions that even her enhanced perception was challenged to track them all.
Kaguya's response was immediate and devastating. She extended both arms simultaneously, her own chakra erupting outward in a technique that dwarfed anything they had seen before.
"Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack!" she declared, her voice carrying the authority of absolute power.
Fists formed from pure chakra materialized in numbers that defied counting, each one crackling with enough energy to level mountains. The technique was the ultimate expression of the Gentle Fist style, refined and perfected beyond anything the Hyuga clan could have imagined.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The collision between their attacks and hers created shockwaves that threatened to tear the dimensional space apart. Where chakra constructs met, reality itself seemed to bend and distort, unable to fully contain the forces being unleashed.
At the moment of impact, Kaguya's assault completely overwhelmed both Naruto and Sasuke's defenses. Her recent absorption of chakra from the Infinite Tsukuyomi victims had restored enough of her power to tip the balance decisively in her favor.
A cold smile spread across Kaguya's ethereal features as she observed the results of their exchange. If this pattern continued, not only would Naruto and Sasuke be unable to get close enough for their sealing technique, but they would eventually be killed outright by the overwhelming force of her attacks.
She was immortal, sustained by power that transcended mortal limitations. As long as she could prevent them from making the simultaneous contact required for the Six Paths Chibaku Tensei, victory was inevitable.
Swish!
Suddenly, Minato reappeared in the battle, streaking toward Kaguya's position despite the overwhelming difference in their capabilities. From her enhanced perception, his chakra signature was pitifully weak—whatever energy he had remaining wouldn't be sufficient to launch an attack that required any serious defensive response.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Still, she wouldn't allow him to approach unchallenged. Her long white hair suddenly became animate, individual strands hardening into needle-sharp projectiles that shot toward him like a deadly rain. Each strand moved with precision and lethal intent, designed to pin him down or eliminate him outright.
In Kaguya's estimation, this human could do nothing but flee like a cornered animal. His only advantage was mobility, and even that was rapidly being eroded as her attacks destroyed his teleportation markers throughout the battlefield.
After a prolonged exchange of devastating techniques, both Naruto and Sasuke's chakra reserves finally reached their limits. The strain of maintaining such high-level attacks while defending against Kaguya's overwhelming power had pushed them beyond their endurance.
BOOM! BOOM!
In the end, Kaguya's assault shattered their defensive constructs completely. The massive chakra fists that had been protecting them collapsed under the pressure, leaving them exposed to the full force of her technique.
Thud!
Both young shinobi were struck simultaneously by the incoming chakra barrage. Naruto and Sasuke each coughed up blood as the impact sent them flying backward, their bodies tumbling through the air like broken dolls.
"Trying to seal Mother through direct confrontation is simply suicide!" Black Zetsu laughed with cruel satisfaction from its position pinned to the ground.
In the parasitic entity's assessment, the tactical approach chosen by Minato and his allies had been fundamentally flawed from the beginning. A frontal assault against someone of Kaguya's power level was doomed to failure, regardless of their coordination or determination.
Now that Naruto and Sasuke had been injured and separated, the opportunity for executing their sealing technique had passed completely.
Gray bone spurs began growing from Kaguya's left palm once again, the deadly protrusions emerging through her pale skin with predatory intent. Her analysis of the tactical situation indicated that Sasuke would be the easier target—while Naruto possessed flight capabilities that made him difficult to pin down, the young Uchiha's mobility was more limited.
As she focused her killing intent on Sasuke, preparing to eliminate half of the sealing equation permanently, her attention naturally shifted away from other potential threats.
This was exactly what Minato had been waiting for.
Taking advantage of Kaguya's single-minded focus on eliminating Sasuke, he finally managed to close the distance between them. At this moment, nothing in Kaguya's perception was more important than ensuring the young Uchiha's death—and the apparently harmless human approaching from behind represented no significant threat to that objective.
Whoosh!
The bone spur shot from Kaguya's palm with lethal velocity, streaking directly toward Sasuke's position. The gray projectile moved so fast that it seemed to cut through the air itself, its trajectory calculated to pierce his heart and end the threat he represented forever.
But as the deadly attack approached its target, Sasuke suddenly raised his right hand. In his palm was a specially crafted kunai—one that bore the unmistakable markings of the Flying Thunder God technique.
He placed the weapon horizontally in front of his body, its marked surface positioned directly in the bone spur's path.
At that exact moment, Minato's hands completed a complex sequence of seals from his position behind Kaguya.
Buzz!
A black barrier pattern erupted from the kunai in Sasuke's grasp, the technique manifesting just as the bone spur reached its target. The deadly projectile struck the barrier and was immediately absorbed into it, vanishing completely as if it had never existed.
The defensive application of the Flying Thunder God technique was something Kaguya had never witnessed before. She had observed Minato's ability to teleport himself and others through space, but this represented an entirely different use of spatial manipulation—one that could intercept and redirect attacks through dimensional barriers.
Recognizing that the human behind her was responsible for blocking her attack, Kaguya spun around with fluid grace to eliminate this unexpected obstacle.
But as she turned, Minato released his hand seals and allowed his arms to drop naturally to his sides.
"What!?" Kaguya's eyes widened with genuine shock.
Minato's hands were positioned mere inches from her shoulders, close enough that she could see the distinctive markings blazing on his palms. His left hand bore the symbol of the sun, crackling with Yang release energy. His right hand displayed the moon's sigil, wreathed in Yin release power.
The distance was too close for her to open a spatial portal and escape. Her attention had been so completely focused on eliminating Sasuke that she had allowed the true threat to approach within striking distance.
Those hands—one containing the power of Yang, the other the power of Yin—suddenly pressed down on Kaguya's shoulders with inevitable finality.
Those hands, containing the power of Yang and the power of Yin respectively, suddenly pressed on Kaguya's shoulders!