The collective will descended into Sasuke Uchiha's body, and the conversation with the four Hokage inside the Uchiha Shrine was abruptly cut off.
In the blink of an eye, everyone found themselves on a battlefield.
A massive, grotesque tree towered straight into the sky…
At its peak was an enormous flower, straining as if it were about to bloom.
What… is that thing?!
There's someone next to the tree?! Floating in the air?!
Following Sasuke Uchiha's line of sight, the ninja and the Kage all saw a humanoid figure hovering beside the divine tree.
But it was too far away. With their consciousness anchored inside Sasuke Uchiha's body, even the Hyūga clan members couldn't use the Byakugan. They couldn't make out the person's features, only that it was a man, gray-white from head to toe.
Is that the Third Tsuchikage's Light-Weight Rock Technique? No… it doesn't look like it.
Someone can actually fly?! An enemy? Where is this place?!
Before anyone could find answers, the view shifted as Sasuke Uchiha looked around. The people from the major ninja villages finally saw the battlefield in its entirety.
Devastating…
It was a scene that shocked even ninja who had survived the Second and Third Shinobi World Wars.
The ground was covered in wounded and corpses, their bodies withered as if every last drop of moisture had been drained from them.
Although every forehead protector bore the same ninja symbol, their clothing made it clear who they were: ninja from Konoha, Sunagakure, Kumogakure, Iwagakure, Kirigakure… and even samurai from the Land of Iron.
Everyone's wearing the same forehead protector… which means…
It's the Allied Shinobi Forces?!
This is the battlefield of the Fourth Shinobi World War?!
This is…
This is too much!
Who did this?! Madara Uchiha?!
No…
When the figure floating in the air descended slightly and began to speak…
Several people were completely stunned.
Especially Adult Obito, Adult Kakashi, and the trio from Team Minato—Obito, Kakashi, and Rin.
["The ninja world has ended. There's no need to resist anymore. As long as you don't fight back, I won't kill you. Instead, I'll take you to a perfect world—one without war, without pain, without regret, and without despair."]
Adult Obito: You could've just killed me outright, but you had to go with this kind of public social execution… that's really too much, future Sasuke.
Young Obito: Aaaaaahhhhhh!!! (internal groundhog-style screaming)
ANBU Kakashi was left utterly speechless.
What has the Obito from another world been doing…?
Could all these corpses on the ground be…?
"If I do nothing, can I live?"
"As long as you don't resist…"
So powerful that even the Allied Shinobi Forces had lost all hope and no longer dared to fight back?!
Many people recognized him. Despite the drastic changes, the face was still unmistakable. That gray-white figure was Obito Uchiha!!
Madara Uchiha and Obito Uchiha…
How could the Fourth Shinobi World War end up so completely one-sided, with the scales tipping toward an enemy made up of only two people?
"Don't give up! If you're trapped in an illusion with no future, what difference is there between that and being dead?!"
That voice—
It was the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju!
So after the four Edo Tensei Reincarnation Hokages finished talking with Sasuke Uchiha, did Sasuke Uchiha decide to abandon his revenge against Konoha and join the battle against Obito Uchiha instead?!
"Are there any ninja from the Yamanaka clan here?!"
Yamanaka?!
Inoichi Yamanaka, whose consciousness was sealed inside Fourth Shinobi World War Sasuke, and Ino Yamanaka, who was still attending the Ninja Academy, both froze.
"Yes!"
In their vision, aside from the First Hokage, a long-haired girl around seventeen or eighteen years old appeared.
Inoichi Yamanaka immediately recognized her.
That was his daughter, Ino!
Looking in that direction, the Academy's child ninja also saw their future selves.
Kiba: Akamaru?! He got that big?!
Ino: Chōji got even fatter, and the one lying on the ground… is that Shikamaru?!
Shikamaru Nara and Shikaku Nara stared at the drained-looking young Shikamaru, both clicking their tongues in the same way. Compared to Shikamaru's annoyed expression, Shikaku's gaze was far more severe.
"Can you use the Mind Body Switch Technique?!"
"Yes! I can!"
"Help me connect everyone on the battlefield! There's something about the Infinite Tsukuyomi that everyone needs to hear!"
Everyone on the battlefield?!
Inoichi Yamanaka froze for a moment. Even if it was a request from the First, this number was…
Yet to his surprise, the grown Ino didn't hesitate at all. She directly linked the First Hokage's thoughts to every ninja from the Five Great Shinobi Nations on the battlefield, along with all the Kage.
It was like…
She had created an enormous group chat and pulled everyone into it!
Including them—or rather, the consciousness of Sasuke Uchiha at that moment—was added as well!!
"My clone heard from Madara that the flower on this tree needs an enormous amount of chakra as nourishment to bloom. The moment it blooms is the moment the Infinite Tsukuyomi succeeds! So we must find a way to cut down this tree before it blooms!!"
"There are only fifteen minutes left until it blooms! During this time, we absolutely cannot give up!!"
The First Hokage's voice echoed in everyone's minds. Immediately after came the discouraged reactions of the Allied Shinobi Forces—
"So we're just nutrients?"
"Only fifteen minutes left? Then what's the point of fighting?!"
"The gap is too big! We're no match for that guy at all!"
If Hashirama Senju hadn't spoken, it might have been better. Once he did, the entire Allied Shinobi Forces sank even deeper into panic.
"Didn't I tell you not to give up?!!" Hashirama Senju snapped angrily.
But through the Yamanaka clan's secret technique, everyone trapped in the Rinnegan's genjutsu felt the despair of the ninja who would fight in the Fourth Shinobi World War.
"You're a Jutsu Reincarnation! We're still alive! Of course we don't want to die!"
"As long as we don't resist, that guy promised he won't kill us!!"
"It's over. It's all over."
"If I'd known this would happen, I never would've joined the Fourth Shinobi World War."
"Ah… if only we'd known our future would turn out like this…"
"I'd rather never have become a ninja at all!"
Those who had never personally experienced the Fourth Shinobi World War couldn't possibly imagine what kind of terror could drive future ninja to this point—so afraid that they would even want to abandon their identity as ninja.
All at once, their focus snapped to a boy propping himself up on the ground, so angry and frustrated that he was crying.
This is Sasuke Uchiha's field of vision!
Who is that?
He's the only one wearing a Konoha forehead protector!
Blond hair, whisker-like marks on his face, about the same age as Sasuke…
Almost all of the Ninja Academy students realized it at the same time.
It was their class dead last.
Naruto Uzumaki.
'Did that guy actually become a ninja?'
'I thought he wouldn't even graduate from the Ninja Academy. I didn't expect him to be part of this battle.'
'Did you hear about that fight he had with Sasuke before? He actually fought Sasuke Uchiha to a standstill. Even the teacher couldn't pull them apart!'
'Crying on the battlefield? Dead last is still dead last.'
As the Konoha ninja wondered how Naruto Uzumaki, that bottom-ranked troublemaker who only knew how to pull pranks, could possibly become a ninja and take part in a battle like this…
...
Their vision was suddenly veiled in a faint purple glow.
Only a handful of the Uchiha clan recognized it immediately.
This was Susanoo.
The same Susanoo they had once seen future Sasuke use.
The wooden limbs reaching toward the Allied Shinobi Forces were severed in an instant by "their own" blade.
When had ordinary people, or low-ranking ninja, ever experienced power like this?
That overwhelming sensation of inhabiting someone else's body was almost impossible to comprehend.
Then they heard "themselves" turn around and speak to the blond Konoha ninja who was still crying with his head lowered.
"Are you giving up, Naruto?"
"Then let's go, Jūgo."
"Yeah."
Konoha ninja: That Uchiha…!
Young Naruto: Sasuke?!
Although Sasuke Uchiha had his back to the Allied Shinobi Forces and Naruto Uzumaki as he charged straight at Obito Uchiha, because he was also linked through the Mind Body Switch Technique, he never stopped paying attention to Naruto behind him.
The Konoha ninja found it impossible to understand.
Why…
Why would someone as overwhelmingly powerful as Sasuke Uchiha care so much about Naruto Uzumaki?!
The next moment, deep within everyone's consciousness, they saw it.
Naruto, who had been sprawled on the ground moments ago, crying in despair and rage—
Whoosh.
His entire body was suddenly bathed in golden light.
Even his clothes transformed, resembling the Hokage's ceremonial cloak, as if they had been plated in gold.
His eyes became hollow, marked with cross-shaped pupils, and a red shadow appeared around them in an instant.
This is…
That's Naruto Uzumaki?!
Is this some kind of mistake? How could he possibly have power like this?
Isn't he our class dead last?!
The guy who couldn't even learn the Clone Technique… is he trying to scare people again with a Transformation Technique?!
Does he seriously think he can fool the final boss of the Fourth Shinobi World War with a Transformation Technique or the Sexy Technique?!
What a joke!!