So the Raikage stepped up again and played the role of commander, immediately organizing the advisory unit for an emergency meeting.
The advisors argued at top speed and quickly produced a plan to manufacture a violent thunderstorm, then began assigning tasks.
Anyone who could use Suiton (Water Release) would spray water. Anyone who could use Katon (Fire Release) would boil it. The goal was simple: generate massive amounts of steam, build dense cloud cover as fast as possible, and have the Fūton (Wind Release) users whip up dust and sand while pushing the cloud mass toward the main battlefield.
As for lightning—waiting for the clouds to naturally produce it would take too long. They needed shinobi coordination.
Tenten directly pulled out the Lightning Release sword Kiba and, with a surge of chakra, drew lightning down through the cloud layer. In no time, the thunderstorm was complete.
"Hehe… honey, I put your plan into action. That means I helped, right? So you have to win… we're still going to get married and have kids…"
Under Tenten's whisper, the storm clouds were driven onward by the allied forces' gale-force winds.
And by sheer coincidence, the Divine Tree appeared at that moment, rooting into the earth as if it were trying to answer the moon.
Everyone instantly started cheering the clouds on like they were a living thing.
"Go! Cover it! Clouds, you can do it! Block the moon! Cover that damn moon completely! To hell with Mugen Tsukuyomi (Infinite Tsukuyomi)!"
The thunderclouds answered their wish, finally sliding into place—wedging themselves between the Divine Tree and the moon and blotting the moonlight out.
Cheers erupted across the allied ranks.
The despair and resentment that had been choking everyone eased, at least a little. They'd done something. Even if it wasn't enough to decide the war, it was still better than doing nothing.
And while they had no idea it was happening, the unconscious Sasuke and Naruto had their consciousness tugged by an unseen force—pulled into a strange, unfamiliar space.
An old man stood before them.
His appearance was almost identical to Madara in his Six Paths form.
Sasuke and Naruto immediately understood.
"You're the Sage of Six Paths?!"
The Sage of Six Paths nodded. "I am the Sage of Six Paths. My name is Hagoromo. I have been watching the shinobi world… and watching you. Within you are the reincarnated chakra of my two sons, Ashura and Indra…"
Soon, Hagoromo told them the story of his sons.
Indra was a genius, but arrogant. Ashura was a failure in talent, but unbreakable in will. They fought each other, and Hagoromo ultimately left his inheritance to Ashura. Indra's resentment only deepened, and their conflict escalated until it consumed everything.
Even after death, their chakra continued to reincarnate—repeating the same cycle of opposition in the shinobi world.
And in this generation, Ashura's chakra rested in Naruto, while Indra's chakra rested in Sasuke.
As for why the two of them were "supposed" to be opposed…
Well, for some special reason, they didn't seem fiercely opposed at all. If anything, they'd become friends. But the point was: the two of them were, in effect, Hagoromo's sons.
Then Hagoromo explained the real danger.
If Madara cast Mugen Tsukuyomi (Infinite Tsukuyomi), it would release the sealed Ōtsutsuki Kaguya—Hagoromo's own mother. When that happened, the shinobi world would face an apocalypse.
So Hagoromo placed the responsibility on their shoulders—ordering them to save the world.
And with that, he granted them his gifts.
Naruto's right hand received the sealing jutsu's Yang power. He awakened Six Paths Sage Mode and learned Yin–Yang Release techniques.
Sasuke's left hand received the sealing jutsu's Yin power. His left eye evolved into a six-tomoe Rinnegan.
When Kaguya was released, all they would need to do was combine Yang power and Yin power to activate the sealing jutsu together—sealing Kaguya away once again, saving the world.
It was an absurdly forced shortcut to Six Paths power.
But there was no helping it.
These two were the protagonists. The saviors.
Sasuke stared at the crescent mark on his left palm and suddenly said, "So… you once sent Natsuki a dream, didn't you?"
Naruto blinked. "The Sage of Six Paths sent Natsuki a dream? What's that supposed to mean? How come I never knew about this?"
Sasuke shot him a look. "Because you were weak back then, and you never stopped running your mouth. Who would trust you with something like that? Anyway, Natsuki knew the truth. He shared it with me, with Neji, with Lady Tsunade, and with Jiraiya—and later Lady Tsunade even made it public at the Five Kage Summit.
So a lot of people already know that Obito was used, that Madara was deceived by Black Zetsu, and that Mugen Tsukuyomi (Infinite Tsukuyomi) is a complete scam—just Black Zetsu's plan to revive his mother!"
"So that's what happened, dattebayo! You guys suck—why'd you hide it from me?!"
Naruto bristled, feeling like everyone had shut him out, even though he should've been allowed to know.
Sasuke could only feel exhausted. He'd just said Naruto was weak and loud—if they told him, he'd probably leak it to the enemy within an hour.
Hagoromo hesitated for a moment, then admitted, "Yes. I was the one who sent that child, Natsuki, a dream."
He had been watching the shinobi world, watching his sons' reincarnations, so he naturally knew of Natsuki as well. He'd been shocked when Natsuki revealed the truth—and what left him speechless was that Natsuki claimed it was due to "a dream from the Sage of Six Paths."
Hagoromo didn't understand Natsuki's origins, and he didn't know why Natsuki knew so much.
But he could tell Natsuki's intentions weren't malicious… so he simply accepted the claim.
Naruto grew even more curious. "Sage Grandpa… then why did you send the dream to Natsuki? If we've got your sons' chakra inside us, shouldn't you have sent it to us?"
"Ahem…" Hagoromo coughed, momentarily at a loss. After struggling with it, he gave an answer.
"It was for fairness. My sons fought; it wouldn't do for me to openly favor either one. And even if I sent the dream to you two, you likely wouldn't have believed it. So I chose that child, Natsuki. He's smart, strong, and able to think calmly. I believed he would be of great help."
Sasuke nodded without hesitation.
In his view, that was exactly right—and Natsuki had helped him more than anyone.
Sasuke wouldn't say it out loud, but most of the money he'd needed… Natsuki had covered it. He was genuinely grateful. Hearing Hagoromo praise Natsuki like this made Sasuke happy for him.
"Alright," Hagoromo said. "Time's running out. You need to go. The battle is growing more intense—you have to help."
As soon as the words fell, Naruto and Sasuke's consciousness snapped back into their bodies.
They woke up.
Sakura lit up in relief. "Sasuke-kun! Are you okay?"
Tsunade hurried to check them as well. "Naruto and Sasuke are fine. It looks like they were just knocked unconscious… probably some concussion symptoms from Madara's attack."
Sasuke immediately asked, "What's the situation now?"
Sakura rapidly explained what she knew, but all she could say was that everyone had retreated. She didn't know the current state of the main battle.
Naruto and Sasuke couldn't sit still for another second.
"No. We have to go!" Naruto barked. "Tenten—use Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) and send us to Natsuki! Now! If we're any later, we might not make it in time!"
(End of Chapter)
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