[Danzō Shimura: "A rare sight—every village actually agreeing…"]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: "This is what I always hoped to see."]
[Fourth Raikage A: "Peace is precious!!"]
[Mei Terumi: "Shall we… call off the wars right now?"]
[Tsunade: "I'm in."]
[Ōnoki: "So am I."]
[Naruto Uzumaki: "@Uchiha Obito—I told you before. I'll rip your mask off."]
[Uchiha Obito: "…"]
Obito stared down at the sea of shinobi. His pupils tightened.
"One—two—three!"
At Naruto's shout, the entire Alliance hauled with everything they had, the tug-of-war lines blazing like streams of sunlight.
When Obito opened his eyes again, he was standing in a white inner world—
And opposite him stood Naruto.
Behind Naruto, shapes gathered—comrades.
People from other villages, other nations, all making the same choice: to trust him.
Because of a simple creed he'd heard from Itachi:
"It isn't that Hokage is recognized by everyone; it's that the one recognized by everyone becomes Hokage."
That belief had drawn people to Naruto, step by step, fight by fight.
More silhouettes filled in at his back—friends, rivals, even former enemies.
The music swelled.
Obito, trembling, glanced over his shoulder by instinct—searching for that familiar outline.
But behind him… there was no one. Only quiet.
He looked back at Naruto—
And Naruto's face blurred into Obito's childhood self.
"Am I… actually regretting this?" Obito whispered, eyes conflicted.
[Ōnoki: "I'm crying!!"]
[Rasa: "My eyes got Shukaku in them!!"]
[Shukaku: "Your brain's got a leak."]
[Himawari: "So this is what Dad went through…"]
[Boruto: "…Idiot old man… you went through too much."]
In the present, Boruto scrubbed at his eyes, then firmed his jaw. His goal stayed the same: walk the shadow path beside Sasuke-sensei—guard the world from the dark.
[Itachi: "Knowing you're lacking—that's why you find comrades to fill the gaps. Naruto's already beyond me."]
[Naruto (young adult): "Itachi-nii, you flatter me…"]
[Sarada: "Big Bro's right. We should believe in our comrades more."]
[Iwabee: "Decision made: I'll help more people and earn their recognition—Hokage route!!!"]
[Inojin: "@Iwabee Pay me back."]
[Iwabee: "…"]
"You said you're no one, that you don't want to be anyone, right?"
Naruto's voice cut through Obito's thoughts.
Obito flinched, taking a step back. "Stop… stay out of my heart."
"But you're just like me. You wanted to be Hokage, didn't you?"
Obito's pupils shrank.
"I told you from the start," Naruto said, steady, "I'd rip off your mask."
Fear—pure and childlike—flickered in Obito's eyes.
His road had run out. The Creation Blade was shattered. The Six Paths shield was gone. There was nowhere left to set his feet.
[Minato: "Obito… you're so much like Naruto. Your childhoods were almost the same."]
[Kakashi: "What will you choose now?"]
[Rin Nohara: "Obito, come back to the village and turn yourself in."]
[Obito: "I…"]
In the Kamui space, Obito stared at his own hands, lost.
"I've come this far… am I really going to throw it all away?"
He hated the thought. And yet the Obito on screen was losing—
Even with Six Paths power, would he fall to the Alliance?
Their debate went on.
Naruto's stance was simple: If you want to be Hokage, you endure the pain and walk in front of everyone—never letting anyone step over a comrade's corpse.
Obito rejected it. The road ahead was fog; no one would choose a path so uncertain.
If there's a bright road—Infinite Tsukuyomi.
A false world, yes, but a world at peace. Isn't that the Hokage's purpose?
"Wrong," Naruto said. "For the Hokage, there are no shortcuts, and there's no retreat."
Looking into Naruto's eyes, Obito went pale.
Words failed him. Doubt crept back in. He stared at his palm, unsure if the path he'd chosen… was truly the "certain" one—
Because wasn't Infinite Tsukuyomi also a bet on the unknown?
Rin, watching the sky-screen, wept.
She'd waited on Obito's path for decades.
He'd taken the long way, bled the long way, shouldered a world alone for a dream called peace—
Dueling two supremes by himself, stalling the entire Alliance by himself.
No one could say he hadn't paid the price.
[Boruto: "Dad's right—there's no Hokage shortcut."]
[Sarada: "No shortcut to becoming a leader, period."]
[Iwabee: "So Obito's will wavered because of Rin?"]
[Itachi: "Not just that. His original intent was good—peace at any cost. But in Naruto he saw a different way."]
[Obito: "Naruto… why are you so sure you'll succeed?"]
[Naruto: "Because my dream is Hokage. That's it."]
In Kamui, Obito's eyes widened.
That had been his childhood answer.
A memory flashed—twelve-year-old Obito tossing a lone kunai into empty air.
It hit nothing. No mark, no sound, the kunai vanished—
He assumed it was wasted.
Years later, a whisper of wind behind him—
He turned, and that same kunai from a decade ago landed right between his brows.
In the sky-screen, Naruto's words poured on.
And Obito felt the knot loosen.
Like Nagato, he could bet on a new world—
One built not on sleep, but on waking.
The golden cords blazed brighter.
Behind Naruto: a thousand hands and a future full of lights.
Behind Obito: the quiet echo of a single name.
He shut his eyes.
Will he let go—or pull back?
—Next: The Knot That Wouldn't Break… and the Hand That Wouldn't Let Go.
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