Madara Uchiha didn't get to become the Sage of Six Paths. Oh well. At least he got a "glorious, heroic" death.
"Reduced to ash? Good. That way, I won't be able to recognize you anymore."
Madara Uchiha had taken on many forms throughout his life. Frankly, this current state was Yūshin's favorite.
Yeah. Even Madara Uchiha could become likable… once you ground him into fine powder.
Madara's ashes scattered on the wind. Yūshin finally walked over to the Nine-Tails.
The fox had indeed been trussed up like a hog earlier. Its limbs were bound, and its snout was wrapped in tight coils of a wood dragon… all to stop it from blowing bubbles.
Once Madara turned into natural phosphate fertilizer, the wooden dragon binding the Nine-Tails lost its vitality, reverting to ordinary lumber.
The Nine-Tails easily shook off the restraints, regaining its freedom.
"I kept wanting to tell you," the fox grumbled, its voice a low rumble. "Madara was using Hashirama's techniques to siphon my chakra. Seems like it didn't matter in the end. Wouldn't have changed the outcome."
Madara had been using the Nine-Tails' chakra. But as the fox said, it was irrelevant.
"You're way too easy to control," Yūshin criticized, shaking his head. "One glare from a Mangekyō, and you're just a remote-controlled toy."
"Mangekyō power is one thing. But Madara was… an exception," the Nine-Tails huffed, a weak attempt at an excuse.
"Forget it. That's a hardware issue. Not your fault." Yūshin waved a hand. "I'll just upgrade you."
He held a small, translucent, bladder-like object in his left hand. With a casual motion, he slapped it against the Nine-Tails' massive foreleg.
The fox's eyes began to change. Within a few breaths, concentric circles engraved themselves upon its pupils.
"Buying a new skin always boosts your stats. It's a universal law."
Yūshin was a frugal man, so of course, he'd retrieved Madara's eyes. The problem was, they were useless to him now. So, he gifted them to the Nine-Tails.
"These are… Madara's eyes?"
"Yep. How do they feel? Ah, right. Still got work to do over there. Go play."
Leaving the Nine-Tails behind, Yūshin strode to Sasuke's side. He pulled the boy back, dodging a sweeping attack from Kaguya. "Here. Shake my hand."
Sasuke's palm bore the mark where the Sage of Six Paths' Yin power had gathered. Yūshin wasn't after the power itself. He just wanted to use a "little scalpel" to scrape off a tiny sample.
"Ah, so that's how the Sage used this power…"
A quick analysis revealed the Sage's methodology. Simple enough. Put the "sample" in a petri dish, and it would rapidly multiply.
Sasuke done. Next, Naruto.
Even with the situation fully under control, Yūshin remained cautious. Grabbing both Sasuke's Yin and Naruto's Yang power simultaneously? Absolutely not.
If he shook hands with both at once, he might be the one getting sealed away.
Unlike the cooperative Sasuke, Naruto was trickier. In his mind, Yūshin was an enemy, not a friend.
Good thing Yūshin didn't need his cooperation. A soft whistle. Naruto's body floated over against his will, arm lifting, palm exposed.
Naruto: "…"
The Nine-Tails was in control now. Naruto might not know Yūshin, but the fox sure did.
"Alright."
With that second sample, Yūshin had all the pieces.
In this rushed state, he couldn't manipulate Yin-Yang power with the Sage's finesse. But his goal wasn't sealing. Just a brief binding.
No need for a precision strike. Just bog Kaguya down in mud.
Naruto and Sasuke continued their assault. For the current Kaguya—a powerless, hollow shell—holding off two was already her limit.
So, as she desperately blocked and parried, Yūshin materialized behind her. A single hand landed on her shoulder.
Kaguya Ōtsutsuki fell completely still.
Yūshin kept his right hand on her, maintaining contact. His left hand rose high. "You two! Catch!"
Catch? Catch what?
They blinked, confused. Yūshin's left hand didn't move. But a moment later, a black sphere, like a lead shot, tumbled out from Kaguya's sleeve.
Sasuke caught it one-handed. On its surface was etched a face contorted in agony. Black Zetsu—just reunited with his mother, now forcibly separated again.
"This one? Don't catch it. It's my trophy."
Yūshin's left palm pressed against Kaguya's back. Chakra probed inward, hooking onto something inside like a fishing line.
With a sharp pull of his arm, he yanked the massive Gedo Statue—the empty husk of the Ten-Tails—out from within her. Then, he absorbed it into his own body.
"Hah. That feels much better."
Yūshin had consumed the Chakra Fruit. His chakra had been in a state of constant, uncomfortable overflow—like being stuffed to the brim.
Normally, that was his limit. He couldn't handle more energy. Any extra, and he'd end up like Kaguya just did.
But there's always a way.
If Yūshin's main "energy tank" was full, and expanding its capacity was near-impossible—humans have limits, after all—then he'd just take a different approach.
Tank one full? Fine. Just hook up a second external tank.
And the second tank was ready-made: the empty, Tailed-Beast-less Gedo Statue.
With it integrated, the sluggish, congested feeling vanished instantly when he moved his chakra. It was replaced by an effortless, silky-smooth flow.
"Alright. Feels a bit like cheating, but… does this count as breaking my limits?"
Yūshin had basically exploited a bug, stuffing the chakra of one Ten-Tails into the combined shells of two.
Post-"upgrade," he could extract Kaguya's chakra more aggressively. No need to hold back now. He drained her until nothing remained.
The Kaguya before him now posed zero threat.
Good. Final step.
"Get ready! You really need to catch this one!"
Yūshin's left hand, still pressed to Kaguya's back, shifted. His fingers straightened into a blade. He stabbed through her heart—or where it would be—and sliced diagonally.
A portion of her body was severed.
Her entire form shrank noticeably. The severed mass of flesh and blood plummeted. It tumbled through the air, then let out a sharp, piercing cry.
Naruto, baffled, instinctively reached out and caught it. Only then did he realize—it was a baby.
"Ah… my mistake," Yūshin said, scratching his head. "I should've separated him before draining Kaguya's chakra."
No helping it. Without chakra, only this tiny infant could be split off.
"But thinking about it… this accidental result might actually be a good thing."
Yūshin released Kaguya. She swayed, drifting unsteadily toward the ground. Her feet touched down. She wobbled but didn't fall.
Kaguya stared at her own hands. All power was gone. What was the difference between her and an ordinary human now? Well… one difference. She couldn't die.
"Yūshin. Explain. What is all this?"
Sasuke stepped off his "flying disc," moving to Yūshin's side. He handed over the black sphere first, then pointed at the infant. "What is that?"
"You don't recognize him? That baby is your esteemed Uchiha senior."
"Senior?"
"The Masked Man. Obito Uchiha."
"?"
When I slowly type a question mark, it's not because I have a question. It's because I think you're the one with the problem.
Naruto was still fumbling, panic-stricken, holding the baby like it was a primed explosive. The moment he heard it was an Uchiha, he immediately thrust it toward Sasuke.
Friendship's boat capsized in an instant. Pass the "bomb" to Sasuke. Better him than me.
He handed off the infant. Naruto gestured wildly. "We're still fighting! This guy's way too loud! Are there any… physical methods to make him stop crying?"
That sounded borderline psychotic. You wanna strangle him?
Yūshin tapped the baby's forehead. The crying ceased instantly.
"Wrong. The fight's over," Yūshin stated calmly. "Kaguya has lost all her power. No need for sealing."
"The fight's… over?" Sasuke murmured, the reality not quite sinking in. "The world-ending crisis… is resolved?" He paused. "What about the Tailed Beasts?"
"I'll take them with me. Think of it as me tossing them into the deep reaches of space. They won't threaten the Shinobi World again. They won't find their way back."
He then pointed at Naruto. "Except this one."
This Nine-Tails had… cultivated itself into something more. Letting it stay in the Shinobi World was fine. It wouldn't cause trouble.
"And Kaguya Ōtsutsuki?"
"Kaguya goes with the Tailed Beasts. I'm sure they'd love to be her jailers."
The Tailed Beasts feared a powerful Kaguya. But a powerless one? Let her brace for their relentless bullying.
There was a potential issue here. Kaguya's threat in terms of ability was gone. But what about her knowledge? She wasn't the brightest, but the Tailed Beasts had zero intellect. They couldn't watch her properly. They might even get their own chakra siphoned.
But that wasn't actually a problem.
"The Shinobi World… free of walking natural disasters. Is that truly a good thing?" Sasuke, having grown up, seemed to enjoy philosophical questions.
"That's for the Shinobi World to figure out."
No more Tailed Beast rampages. Short-term, the benefits would outweigh the drawbacks. All major villages had lost their beasts, so the balance of power remained.
"Alright. This matter is settled. Madara Uchiha's brief, accidental revival and swift demise. Kaguya and the Tailed Beasts, dealt with. Time for you two to leave… But first, a few words of advice."
There was no reason to stay in Kaguya's dimension any longer.
After a moment's thought, Yūshin began:
"First, the power you borrowed from the Sage of Six Paths… no need to return it. You borrowed it fair and square. Why give it back?"
"Second, Sasuke. Once you're out, you still need to run. Trust me, Ao is ruthless. You might not outplay him."
"Anything else you want to say?"
"What will you do next?" Sasuke asked.
"Me? I'll go see the Sage of Six Paths first. Alright. Evacuation time."
Yūshin opened a portal with Yomotsu Hirasaka. He gave them no chance to reply, shoving them both through the spatial rift.
......
Near Amegakure.
Thanks to the Ten-Tails' earlier rampage, the village was mostly rubble.
The Five Kage and their elite shinobi still prowled the area. 'Prowled' wasn't quite right. They were on high alert, nerves stretched taut. But they had all this strength and nowhere to direct it. They could only stare at each other, antsy as ants on a hot skillet.
"Listen! They must have taken the fight to another dimension! Regardless, it will conclude!"
"Whoever wins or loses, they will have to return to our world! Therefore, maintain combat readiness at all times!"
"Remember! No matter what happens next, do not panic!"
"I repeat! Do not panic! Only by staying calm can we remain undefeated!"
As the Kage busied themselves with morale-boosting speeches, a dark spatial rift tore open.
"They're back!"
"Everyone, positions!"
Under the intense, bloodshot stares of the entire force, Naruto stepped out first. The sight of all those wide, unblinking, dead-fish eyes staring right at him made him jump.
He instinctively took a step back.
Sasuke emerged right behind him, infant in arms. The flustered Naruto backed right into his chest.
Everyone froze.
The time-traveling Sasuke was a few years older, a good head taller and broader-shouldered than Naruto. With Naruto leaning into him like that, he suddenly looked… oddly delicate.
That alone was jarring. But Sasuke was also cradling a baby.
The Five Kage: "…"
The assembled shinobi: "…"
No. No, no, no. What in the world was happening?
These veterans of countless battles were instantly, profoundly discombobulated.
Don't panic, they'd said. And they weren't, not in the traditional sense. But Naruto and Sasuke's… alternative homecoming instilled a deep, psychological dread in everyone.
Add their disheveled, exhausted appearances… they looked like a couple who'd weathered the apocalypse.
The Hokage, ever quick on the uptake, took a deep breath. Her voice cut through the stunned silence.
"Naruto. How many years were you in that other dimension? Was it… a post-apocalyptic world? What… sacrifices did you make for the continuation of humanity?"
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