The Sage of Six Paths avoided mentioning Kaguya—whether out of guilt or because he approved of Naruto's decision, no one could tell. What was clear, however, was that although the Sage felt indebted to his mother, the shinobi world owed the Sage nothing.
Their discussion ended, and the Sage of Six Paths quietly withdrew from Naruto's consciousness. Though they had spoken at length, not even a second had passed in the outside world.
At that moment, Uchiha Madara—once blazing with ambition—seemed hollowed out. Decades of schemes and battles now felt like nothing more than a fading dream.
But then Madara's gaze sharpened. He stared at Black Zetsu and Naruto, his face—revitalized by Six Paths chakra—slowly turning cold and imperious once more.
He had returned to being that Uchiha Madara.
"The victor is king, the loser is a bandit. Since I lost… I have nothing more to say."
There was no intention of blaming Black Zetsu further. Everything was already decided.
Madara lifted the Edo Tensei on his own and allowed himself to fade, returning to the Pure Land.
His decisiveness stunned everyone.
Naruto sighed. Madara still refused to lower his pride, even now. But Madara could be dealt with later—there was a far more pressing matter before him.
Not far away lay Obito, heavily wounded, glaring at Naruto with a hatred bordering on madness.
"You hate me, don't you?
You must hate me a lot."
Naruto's voice was calm, almost cold.
"Your dream collapsed, and now… you might never see her again."
The murderous look Obito gave in response spoke volumes. Many didn't understand, but a few knew exactly who Naruto meant.
Obito's voice cracked.
"This world is false!
Greed, desire, wars—humans are never satisfied!
What did I do wrong?!"
Naruto snorted.
"You're a coward. A weakling who couldn't face reality—
That's why you awakened Kamui, a jutsu made for running away."
Obito's breathing grew ragged.
Naruto stepped closer.
"If all you wanted was to bring her back… you could've done it long ago.
But you were scared—scared she wouldn't be yours.
So you tried to create a perfect, fake world instead."
Naruto's words carried across the entire battlefield, but to everyone else, they sounded cryptic—obscure truths they were not privy to.
"Shut up, Uzumaki Naruto!
You have no right to talk about her!"
Obito roared, as if Naruto had torn open the last wound he wanted hidden.
"Obito…"
Minato Namikaze—the Fourth Hokage—looked at him with a grief-stricken expression. This was the student he had once trusted.
"Obito, this is my fault.
If I had arrived earlier, maybe none of this would've happened…"
Obito's gaze snapped toward Minato, filled with bitterness, anger, and guilt.
"Heh… aren't you the Yellow Flash? Then why… are you always one step too late?"
Minato lowered his head, unable to deny it.
Naruto clicked his tongue.
"Don't blame my dad. He was responsible for the entire battlefield—running everywhere, saving countless shinobi. The fact that he arrived at the end already means he cared."
Naruto's tone hardened.
"If you want to blame someone… blame yourself. Your weakness created all of this."
His voice cut like a blade.
"You're a coward—a frightened sheep drowning in your own delusions, using illusions to cover your incompetence."
Obito's eyes trembled.
"You think losing your sensei gives you the right to kill mine?! I'm the Fourth Hokage's son, yet I starved as a child, was treated like a monster, and nearly died countless times because of the mess you helped create!"
Gasps rippled through the battlefield. Many couldn't imagine Naruto's childhood had been so cruel.
Lee, Sasuke, and even Neji fell silent. They had lived beside Naruto for years—knew the scars he never spoke about—but hearing him say it aloud hit differently.
Naruto pointed straight at Obito.
"Sasuke's clan was slaughtered because of you and Danzō.
The Bloody Mist became worse because of you.
Countless people across the shinobi world died—because of you!"
The battlefield erupted.
"So face judgment!!"
"Kill him!"
"Kill him!!"
"Kill him!!!"
Shinobi from every village cried out in fury.
In truth, countless shinobi across the world were victims—especially those affected by the Nine-Tails incident. And the one responsible for all of it, the true cause behind the tragedy… was the Masked Man, Obito.
Even the death of Neji's father, Hyūga Hizashi, could be traced back to Obito's actions.
Had the Fourth Hokage lived, Kumogakure would never have dared to attempt such an outrageous kidnapping. And a Fourth Hokage who maintained good relations with the Uchiha clan would never have silently watched their downfall.
But the darker forces within Konoha could not tolerate a Hokage who shone like the sun.
During the Nine-Tails attack, Minato had taken command directly from Hiruzen in the midst of chaos. Not a single Root operative was deployed, and the Uchiha clan was even forbidden from offering support. Konoha only fought at thirty percent of its true capacity—while the remaining seventy percent did nothing.
For all these reasons, Obito had to die.
Before the eyes of all the shinobi present, Naruto struck Obito's heart, ending him completely. Without Six Paths power, Obito's body was fragile—almost pitifully so.
Kakashi felt a wave of grief wash over him, yet he also understood that, for Obito, death might have been the only release left.
Naruto crouched beside the body, retrieving Obito's Rinnegan and Mangekyō Sharingan. He kept them, silently determined to return the Rinnegan to its rightful owner in the future.
For the majority of the shinobi present, Obito's death brought a sense of long-awaited justice.
"Naruto… what should we do now?"
Kakashi looked down at the fallen form of his old friend, sadness clouding his eye, then turned to Naruto for guidance.
"Since he's dead, we'll bury him. He was a top-tier 'Boiling Sheep,' after all."
Naruto said this calmly.
Kakashi had no idea what "Boiling Sheep" meant, but it didn't stop him from gently lifting Obito's remains. Even now, he could still see the remnants of the past—the half of Obito's body that had survived only through White Zetsu matter and Hashirama's cells.
As for the Ten-Tails, the empty husk of the Gedo Statue, Naruto simply waved his hand. Space rippled, and he pulled the entire construct into another dimension as easily as one would move a scroll.
"Naruto… I've already fulfilled the contract. So when will you rescue my mother?"
Black Zetsu looked at Naruto with rare anticipation. At this point, the only one capable of freeing Kaguya was the young man standing before him.
Naruto didn't hesitate.
"I can release her right now. I don't need Chibaku Tensei—unraveling it is easy."
With the sealing techniques Naruto had mastered—techniques enhanced further by Six Paths power—undoing the Chibaku Tensei seal binding Kaguya was trivial.