Naruto had no pulse, and both Obito and Sasuke were barely alive.
Rin Nohara and Sakura were desperately trying to heal the three of them.
But Obito and Sasuke had pierced hearts, and Naruto had been stripped of the Nine-Tails—medical ninjutsu alone couldn't save them.
Kushina Uzumaki wiped her tears and placed her right hand over her abdomen.
[Release the Seal!]
Minato Namikaze stared at Kushina, his nose burning with tears he refused to let fall.
Kushina said bitterly, "This is the only way… to save my Naruto. Don't stop me, Minato. I have to save my son."
She channeled the Yin Nine-Tails' chakra within her into Naruto's body.
Meanwhile, Orochimaru and Kabuto slowly rose from the ground.
Seeing them, Shindai seized upon a glimmer of hope. "Orochimaru-sama, Kabuto—you can save Obito and Sasuke, right?"
Kabuto replied helplessly, "Aniki, let Orochimaru-sama and I check their conditions first."
"Yes, yes!"
Orochimaru and Kabuto began examining Obito and Sasuke's injuries.
After analyzing the damage, Orochimaru declared, "Their hearts are pierced but still active. With medical ninjutsu combined with completed Hashirama cells research, we should be able to save them. Let's begin, Kabuto."
Kabuto nodded and retrieved a glob of white, organic paste, and began treating Sasuke immediately.
This was a creation of Orochimaru's experiments—fusing White Zetsu tissue with Hashirama cells.
Orochimaru also started treating Obito.
Then, Orochimaru pulled out another glob of white paste and tossed it to Shindai. "This is what you asked for. The Hashirama cells inside are highly potent—they can stop life force depletion and replenish lost vitality. Even after losing the Tailed Beast, Kushina will survive."
Shindai caught the white paste and looked toward Kushina.
He understood that Naruto and Sasuke would experience near-death states, meet the Sage of Six Paths, and receive new powers.
Originally, Naruto was supposed to revive using the Yin Nine-Tails sealed within Minato Namikaze. But now that the Yin Nine-Tails was within Kushina, if Naruto reached a critical point, only Kushina sacrificing herself could bring him back.
Thus, Shindai had previously requested Orochimaru to develop a method to allow Jinchuriki to survive even after losing their Tailed Beasts.
Hearing this, Minato visibly brightened upon realizing Kushina wouldn't die.
Exhausted, Shindai slumped onto the ground.
He'd been genuinely terrified—after all, Naruto and Sasuke were saviors of the world, granted aid by the Sage of Six Paths himself. But Obito wasn't. If he died… he was truly gone.
Shindai handed the white paste to Minato, instructing him to apply it to Kushina later.
Hinata, Rin Nohara, and Sakura burst into joyful tears upon hearing that Obito and Sasuke wouldn't die.
Itachi's sorrowful mood also eased somewhat.
Then Shindai stepped aside.
Kakashi approached Shindai's side. "You're not about to start crying, are you?"
But Shindai suddenly started cursing loudly. "That smug old geezer! Who does he think he is, acting so cool? If his mother hadn't set Black Zetsu loose to cause chaos, we wouldn't have all these problems! Without Orochimaru-sama and Kabuto here, Obito would already be dead!
"If anything really happens to Obito, even though you've been dead for years, I'll still find your grave, dig it up, and smash it to bits!"
Shindai ranted off a long string of creative curses, leaving Kakashi utterly speechless, his eyes wide in shock.
Meanwhile, within the spirit world—
Naruto and Sasuke stood together before the Sage of Six Paths.
Looking around at the unfamiliar surroundings, Naruto asked in confusion, "Sasuke, where are we?"
Sasuke shook his head. "Not sure… Maybe Yomi—the realm of the dead?"
Naruto panicked immediately. "Huh?! What?! Are we dead?! No way! The battle isn't over yet—we're still needed out there!"
Ignoring Naruto's fussing, Sasuke turned to the Sage ahead. "Who are you?"
The Sage of Six Paths' forehead bulged with visible irritation.
And the reason was because Shindai was furiously cussing him out.
Why was he being cursed at?! He had been dead for ages already—he couldn't save anyone now! Cursing him changed nothing!
And she even threatened to smash his grave—that was going way too far!
After adjusting his mood, the Sage answered Sasuke's question. "I am the embodiment of peaceful order, known as Hagoromo."
Naruto looked completely confused.
But Sasuke made a guess. "Hagoromo… Otsutsuki-Hagoromo. You're the Sage of Six Paths?"
Naruto exclaimed in shock. "Eh?! He's really the legendary Sage of Six Paths?!"
The Sage nodded. "Correct. I am the Sage who founded the ninja way."
Naruto drooped his head sadly. "Sasuke… It looks like we really came to Yomi after all. We've even met the Sage of Six Paths..."
Sasuke's expression darkened as well. After all, he had been with Orochimaru for many years and knew well about the Impure World Reincarnation—this forbidden jutsu capable of summoning spirits from Yomi. So Sasuke believed they must both be dead now.
The Sage responded, "You aren't dead yet. This is the spirit world. I know you're anxious, but right now there's nothing you can do. So…"
When they heard the Sage say they were alive, Naruto and Sasuke felt delighted—but then the Sage went on and on again, making them both increasingly impatient.
Interrupting him, Naruto blurted, "Old Sage, can't you speak in plain English?"
"Can you just speak like a normal person for once?!"
"Because of the huge time gap and the differences between our eras, there's been a major shift in cultural traditions, values, and ethics. When meeting reincarnators who transcend time, this discrepancy becomes especially apparent. Although I've learned the language and forms of the new culture..."
This time, Naruto hadn't even lost his temper yet when Sasuke exploded first.
Sasuke glared at the Sage of Six Paths impatiently, "We don't have time to listen to your rambling here! Just tell us how to get out of this place!"
The Sage of Six Paths sighed, "People these days really have no patience..."
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged annoyed looks. The war outside was still raging—who had the patience to listen to ramblings from someone long dead?
"Whether you leave or not isn't something I can decide. Whatever others intend to do with you, my role is simply to pass on this inheritance. So right now, there's no point in rushing. Listen to me talk—not should, but must listen."
The Sage struck his staff against the ground, and two figures appeared on the surface of the water—Indra and Asura.
The Sage floated in front of Naruto and Sasuke: "Naruto, you're the reincarnation of my son Asura. Sasuke, you're the reincarnation of my other son, Indra. Now that all conditions are met, I have something important to entrust to both of you."
"Asura? Indra? You're entrusting something to *us*?"
Naruto and Sasuke exchanged confused glances—they didn't have the slightest clue what he meant.
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