Madara held his Truth-Seeking Staff, gazing coldly at Naruto and Sasuke in front of him.
"Even though I don't yet possess the full power of the Sage of Six Paths," Madara said with icy confidence, "you still won't be able to defeat me."
"I'm not Obito."
"I have no attachments to this world."
"Even if you resurrect Izuna, it won't change my resolve to save this world."
Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Naruto, you've got some kind of plan for this kind of situation, right? If we don't stop this guy now..."
Naruto nodded solemnly. "Yeah, I know."
He turned to glance at the God Tree in the distance. The fruit was only a few minutes away from ripening—five or six minutes, at most.
Suddenly, Might Guy flashed onto the battlefield, landing beside Naruto. "Naruto, let me handle this. I'll take on Madara with everything I've got. You two—think of a way to finish him off!"
Naruto looked at Guy with concern. "Bushy Brows-sensei, it's not time for you to open the Eight Gates of Death yet. Don't throw your life away!"
Guy clenched his teeth. "The Allied Shinobi Forces are attacking the God Tree, but the assault is weak. Taking out the caster is more effective. Naruto—follow my lead!"
Naruto hesitated. "No… it's too risky!"
He looked back toward the massive, looming God Tree. His anxiety spiked. He couldn't let that fruit blossom. Once it did, the world would fall into the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Eternal darkness.
But there was something else weighing on him.
Sasuke still hadn't awakened his Rinnegan. And neither of them had received the Six Paths Yin-Yang Power from Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.
For a moment, Naruto faltered.
Was my assumption wrong?
Should I have intervened sooner? Should I have stopped Obito and Madara before they reached this point?
No.
Naruto believed in Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki's foresight. That ancient sage definitely had a backup plan. Otherwise, why would he split his power between them? Why would he allow Naruto and Sasuke to inherit Asura and Indra's chakra? More importantly, how could he have manifested after death and granted them his power?
Naruto's eyes widened.
There might be a way.
He recalled how, in his previous life, he and Sasuke had met the Sage of Six Paths when they were on the brink of death.
If that's the key...
He turned to Sasuke.
"Sasuke, come here. I need to tell you something."
Then, to Guy: "Bushy Brows-sensei, engage Madara. If necessary… open the Eighth Gate."
Guy was stunned. But then he grinned, giving Naruto a big thumbs-up.
"Heh. About time, Naruto. For the future of the ninja world… we fight on!"
Guy shouted across the battlefield, "Come, Madara! Face the Blue Beast of Konoha!"
Sasuke approached Naruto, frowning. "What is it? Spit it out."
Naruto raised his fist. "Bump fists with me. I'll transmit my chakra—my memories—directly to you. You're the reincarnation of Indra. You'll be able to see it."
Sasuke blinked, caught off guard. "So… you noticed that too?"
In truth, both Naruto and Sasuke had sensed the strange chakra within each other—echoes of Asura and Indra. A deep, resonant energy that felt ancient and familiar. It was like their very souls were connected across time.
Without another word, Sasuke lifted his fist and bumped it against Naruto's.
Their chakras surged together.
"Stay calm no matter what you see," Naruto warned, his Rinnegan glowing faintly.
In a rush, memories surged into Sasuke's mind—Naruto's memories from a different lifetime.
He saw them fighting side-by-side during the Fourth Great Ninja War, saw Naruto becoming the Seventh Hokage, saw him marrying Sakura and raising a daughter. He saw Boruto, Naruto's son, become his own student.
Then the scenes turned darker.
He saw the Ōtsutsuki Clan descending from the stars, a threat far beyond anything the Shinobi world had faced. He saw the destruction, the war, the death—so many friends, so many comrades, gone.
He saw his own death.
Sasuke staggered back, breathless.
"What… are these?"
Naruto grabbed his shoulder. "It's real. I've been reincarnated."
Sasuke stared into his eyes, stunned. "No wonder… you always seemed to know everything. No wonder… you haven't felt like the Naruto I remember."
Naruto looked at him solemnly. "Sasuke, help me."
Sasuke studied him for a long moment.
"What do you want me to do?"
For a heartbeat, it felt like they were back in that other life—Naruto as Hokage, Sasuke as the silent guardian of the village.
Naruto finally smiled. His partner was back. But he still lacked the strength he once had.
"I have a plan," Naruto began. "You saw it. In our last life, Hagoromo appeared when we were on the verge of death. That's why I think…"
"You want us to die again?" Sasuke interrupted.
Naruto nodded, dead serious.
In the past, Sasuke would've called him an idiot, said he was insane.
But now…
"That's a huge gamble. What if we die and the Sage of Six Paths doesn't show up?"
"I don't think that's going to happen," Naruto said. "Hagoromo has planned all of this. That man wouldn't let us reach this point unless he had a contingency."
Sasuke locked eyes with him. "How sure are you?"
"Sixty percent."
Sasuke snorted. "You're going to gamble the future of the world on sixty percent?"
He shook his head, but his voice was firm. "Then let me be the one to die. If the Sage appears, great. If not, you'll still be alive and can try another plan."
Naruto waved a hand. "I don't have the Yin-Yang Seal. I won't be able to stop Madara. And the God Tree is almost done blooming. We're out of time."
Sasuke gave him a wry smile. "I knew it. You were planning to let me die from the beginning, weren't you?"
Naruto looked startled, but nodded.
"You still don't trust me," Sasuke continued. "So you decided to take the fall together. Safer that way. Even if you die, you can use Uchiha's forbidden technique—Izanagi—to rewrite your own death."
Naruto glanced at his arm—seven Sharingan lined his forearm. A grim reminder of the Uchiha's darkest jutsu.
Sasuke said quietly, "Why are you like my brother? Bearing the whole world's hatred and darkness alone, and still trying to protect it all."
He smirked. "In our last life, you hated that about me. And now look at you."
Naruto didn't reply.
Sasuke laughed. "You're under even more pressure than Itachi ever was. At least he got to choose to die for peace. You don't get that choice. You can't die, Naruto—not ever."
"If you do… the entire ninja world loses hope."
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