Uzumaki Naruto turned his head in a daze. Every classmate, and even a stunned Iruka-sensei, looked as though they had seen a ghost.
Their eyes darted between him and the "World Destroyer" on the heavenly screen, brimming with terror, doubt, and utter disbelief.
"Na-Naruto… he… he…" Kiba pointed at the boy, his finger trembling and his voice cracking with a sudden, sharp fear.
Sakura covered her mouth, her face turning bloodless as she glanced from the screen back to Naruto. Even the ever-cool Sasuke stood frozen, his mind reeling as he stared at the "Dead Last."
"Hey! Why are you all looking at me like that?!" Naruto met their eerie stares, his voice rising in a confused, defensive shout.
Inside the mysterious space, An closed his eyes in delight, savoring the tsunami of peak shock and incredulity flooding from the entire Ninja World. "The ultimate suspense is finally unveiled," He murmured with a calculated smile. "Next, we shall reveal the tragic origin—why the 'Hero' became the 'Demon'."
Above the smoking ruins on the heavenly screen, the atmosphere was thick with the scent of ozone and scorched earth.
"Naruto." Sasuke's voice was calm, but beneath it stirred complicated waves of emotion reserved for this one person.
The icy detachment on the hovering Naruto's face melted a fraction, like frost meeting a winter sun. He smiled—a familiar teasing grin, yet one tinged with an unspeakable, bone-deep weariness.
"Sasuke, you're ruining my plans again while I'm distracted. Picking on an old classmate, huh?"
The light tone made it sound as if they stood on the Academy training field instead of a devastated summit site. Sasuke's lips curved in a faint, resigned arc of tacit agreement. "Look who's talking. Your way of greeting old friends is as 'special' as ever."
"Haha…" Naruto laughed, the sound echoing across the ruins, hollow and desolate. When the laughter faded, his expression sobered. His ice-blue eyes locked onto Sasuke, overflowing with a raw, painful sincerity. "Sasuke, you're my most important friend. I've always… seen you as a brother."
Sasuke gave a slight nod, his dark eyes reflecting Naruto's golden image. "I know."
He paused, tasting the weight of their bond. "That's why I've always considered you my best friend, my… little brother. I really… don't want to fight you."
A sigh of boundless regret slipped from Naruto's lips. He extended one last invitation to the brother before him. "In that case… why not join me?"
Wind swept through the ruins with a lonely whoosh, whirling dust into the air. Sasuke didn't answer at once. He simply stared, trying to pierce the icy shell and find the boy whose sun-bright smile had once hauled him out of a lonely hell.
"Naruto… once, you pulled me out of the darkness." Sasuke spoke with a firm, almost pleading tone. "Now… I don't want to see you sink even deeper into the darkness you've made. Turn back, Naruto."
His words rang like a final warning bell across the silent ruins. The real Ninja World fell deathly still, stunned by this duet of pain and helplessness.
Back at the Ninja Academy, an uproar nearly tore the roof off after the initial hush. "Ehh—?!!"
Naruto and Sasuke spun toward each other, their eyes wide with identical revulsion. "Me, close with that guy?!" They both looked as though they had swallowed live rats.
"Protect Uzumaki Naruto!" Hiruzen Sarutobi ground out, issuing another urgent order to the Anbu. Could it be... because of my actions? An icy chill shot up his spine. For the first time, he realized his handling of the boy might have personally nurtured a demon.
Inside the heavenly screen, Naruto shook his head—slow and resolute. "Sasuke, you know," He said quietly, his voice as immovable as a mountain. "There's no turning back for me… and I don't want to."
Sasuke fell silent. He had never been good with words and had no idea how to warm a heart that seemed frozen solid.
"Naruto!" Tsunade-sama stepped forward, her voice thick with old affection. "You once… even called me Granny Tsunade! I don't want to see you keep making mistakes!"
Naruto merely glanced at her coldly—no respect, no warmth, as though she were a stranger standing in his path. Ignoring her, he kept his gaze on Sasuke. "Since you choose to stand with them… there's no other way."
The moment the words fell, a suffocating pressure erupted from Naruto. Sasuke's pupils shrank; he pushed his Chakra to the limit with a sharp crackle. The Five Kage and their guards braced for battle; the temperature on the ruins plummeted.
Yet Naruto didn't strike. He spread his arms as if to embrace the shattered world and thundered: "I declare—the Fourth Great Ninja War officially begins!"
The proclamation tolled like a final judgment. Naruto burst into wild laughter—arrogant, untamed, and lonelier than ever.
"Hahaha! Either I kill you and destroy everything, or you kill me and stop it all! I'll give you three days to gather your forces! When we fight, it will be the final battle!"
One clash—to decide the fate of the world.